Blake Books

We bought this book on a trip to Minnesota for a wedding from a store near a local farmers market. Seeking flavorful recipes that used fresh, seasonal ingredients, this book was the perfect find.

This book is a must for those seeking delicious, healthy, fresh recipes. Last night we enjoyed the pomegranate duck breast and it was delicious, as have been all of the other recipes we have enjoyed. The recipes are simple to follow and can turn the beginning cook into a gourmet chef. The key is the use of fresh ingredients.

The books organization is also fantastic being sorted into seasons similar to Michael Chiarello's Tra Vigne Cookbook.

This cookbook also contains many flavorful and unique vegetarian recipes, which in my experience are hard to come by.

A definite for a cook who wants healthy and flavorful recipes.

Northrop Frye one of the great Blake critics presents a selection of the master's work. He also writes a very good introduction. The work contains selections of Blake's lyrics,(Songs of Innocence, Songs of Experience)his minor prophecies, his major prophecies ,(The Four Zoas, Milton, Jerusalem) his letters, later works, marginalia.
In the introduction Frye says " Much of Blake's poetry is for the common reader, and will not mislead him. The lyrics speak for themselves: they may contain great riches of meaning, but still what the attentive and sympathetic reader thinks they mean is basically what they do mean.It is no so with the " Prophecies" where commentaries can save one a good deal of time."......
"The central conception in Blake's thought might be expressed somewhat as follows: the imagination turns nature inside out "Where man is not, nature is barren." said Blake, and by" nature" he meant the world as say, it would have appeared to a single intelligence at the beginning of human life....."
"Works of art are, if we like, 'imitated' from nature; but their function is not to reproduce nature at second hand, but to give nature the form of civilized human intelligence."

It is impossible to resist citing a few Blake lyrics just for the joy of seeing and hearing them again.

The Lilly

The modest Rose puts forth a thorn
The humble Sheep a threat'ning horn;
While the Lily white shall in Love delight,
Nor a thorn, nor a threat, stain her beauty bright.


The Tyger

Tyger! Tyger burning bright
in the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?

In what distant deeps or skies
Burnt the fire of thine eyes?
On what wings dare he aspire?
What the hand dare seize the fire?

And what shoulder and what art,
Could twist the sinews of thy heart?
And when they heart begin to beat
What dread hand? and what dread feet?

What the hammer? what the chain?
inwhat furnace was thy brain?
What the anvil? what dread grap
Dare its deadly terrors clasp?

When the stars threw down their spears
And water'd heaven with their tears
Did he smile his work to see?
Did he who made the Lamb make thee?

Tyger!Tyger!burning bright
In the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?

I first read this book when I was ten years old. That was thirty years ago. Even though my perspective has changed, these stories are still spell-binding. My favourite is the famous jaunt into space where a common pet cat creates a whole race of cats by accident. To the casual observer, seconds have passed. To the cat civilisation, billions of years. In fact, the cats end up more advanced than us...

This is a classic.

I have this book in paperback. It has 120+ pages. 7.5" x 6" Printed on heavy quality paper. Illustrated by Quentin Blake in color and some black and white. He also illustrated majority of Roald Dahl's books. The book covers from the origin of Sinbad to his seventh voyage. This is a great book to read to 4 to 8 years old, but, for independent reading purpose, I would recommend it to advance chapter readers - 3rd grader or above. For the story, as you know, is a timeless and classic adventure that all kids will enjoy.

This is a wonderful introduction to sharks for young readers, with good photography. Howard Hall discusses the different types of sharks, how their feeding habits are reflected in their size and shape, how they see, swim, and locate prey. I was surprised to read that they can actually dislocate their jaws and thrust them forward past the end of their noses to bite their prey - and this happens so fast that it can only be seen on film in slow motion. Hall explains why the sharks close their eyes before the attack, that their eyes are so sensitive that they can see in near-darkness, and many other fascinating facts. Although the author uses some advanced terminology such as ovoviviparity, heterocercal tail, Ampullae of Lorenzini, etc, all words are well explained within the text and in a special glossary. It's a book worth having.

I am a principal in an urban school district and I found Blake's words to ring so true--urban girls are an especially "silenced" and misunderstood group. I think all urban teachers and administrators should read this book to learn how we can learn more about the students we teach. Blake shows us how we can, through writing in the classroom, actually help students to think of alternatives to violence.

A timely and well-written book! Highly recommended!

This is a sweet and gentle book. The sheep have personality and the author has them working and living together Their antics are comical and bring a smile to your heart and your face. A good beginner book for teaching Christian caring.

Impressively enhanced with an accompanying CD-ROM, The Smell Of Sweat: Greek Athletics, Olympics, And Culture is enthusiastically recommended to the attention of students of Hellenic Studies and/or Olympics Sports. This remarkable body of impeccable scholarship survey's Greek athletics from the Homeric era down through the fourth century BCE. There is a wonderful body of sound information on ancient religious and athletic centers, the festivals that were associated with Hellenic games; the unique culture of the "gymnasion"; and more. The CD-ROM provides easy access to literally hundreds of ancient original sources in translation. With its extensive bibliography for further study, The Smell Of Sweat is enthusiastically recommended for personal and academic instructional and reference collections.

If you play music for kids, they will love this story. My kids (10 and 12) perform for children using this book and it is always a hit. Great story, pictures, and especially the music.

... here's the description from the back of the book to help you decide if this story is for you: "A wild, turbulent tale of hot young blood and blazing passion. It sweeps the reader across oceans and continents, from the wilds of 19th Century Australia to the New World, from the holocaust of the great Chicago fire to the San Francisco earthquake to the most horrendous debacle in the history of man -- the volcanic eruption of Krakatoa in the South Seas. ADELAIDE TRENT -- the blindingly beautiful vixen who broke the hearts of all who loved her and whose beauty swept men after her -- even to the remote corners of the earth. DAN BOYLE -- Tall, angular, red-haired, a raging firebrand, who raced halfway across the world to win Addie's love. NED KELLY -- A killer, a robber as different from Dan as night from day, but consumed with passion for Adelaide and driven by the desire to posses her very soul."