Boyd Books

My daughter is four and in the beginning stages of reading. She absolutely loves this book. We checked it out at our local library three weeks ago and haven't taken it back yet because she doesn't want to part with it. She reads it from front to cover every other night! I taught first grade for 5 years and know a good book for very young readers. This is a GREAT book!

My daughter just loves this book. Her name is Zoe but she's under two years old so doesn't even get that part yet. She loves to turn the pages and point to each hat. It's one of her favorites!

Using hats, Holm has created "A Book of Colors and Patterns," as the subtitle puts it.

Round-faced Zoe models all types of millinery-brown Stetson, gray, spotted hat (upside-down colander), flowery hat, silly hat, bright hat. Hats of all colors and descriptions.

Three end-pages depict just the hats, asking readers to name their colors and patterns.

"Zoe's Hats" will appeal to very young "mad-about-hatters."

Delightfully written and illustrated by Sharon Lane Holm, Zoe's Hats: A Book Of Colors And Patterns is the picture book story of Zoe, a little girl who loves hats of all kinds -- floppy, flowery, fancy, and funny. Zoe's Hats is particularly recommended as a pleasant and entertaining introduction for young readers to colors and patterns, each of which is enhanced with splendid illustrations and a simple, rhythmic text.

What a delightful book! The illustrations are rich with color and pattern. The drawings are simple and charming. The text and rythmn of the words enhance the format of the book. The size is perfect for little hands. Zoe has an impish little smile that is waiting to break into a funny little giggle. I can hear her now as she pops on one silly hat after another. I have fallen in love with this book. As a grandmother, I enjoy reading this book to my grandson; as an art teacher, I plan to use Zoe's Hats to introduce colors and patterns with my young students.

I got this as a pre Bar Mitzvah gift and at first I thought it wasn't what I wanted because I figured it was for younger kids but when I read it I felt it was for everybody, even people who aren't Jewish. It was a story about a person's whole life and how they change which was pretty neat to think about especially when you are having a bar mitzvah. My grandmother gave it to me because she said it was like her dad's life. It is sort of getting me ready for my bar mitzvah to think about the importance of tradition in your life

This is a beautiful, moving story that was a gift for our son on his bris. (It moved me to tears when I first read it.) Exquisitely illustrated and well-told, the story celebrates values, tradition, and intergenerational relationships. It will be a great conversation starter with our son, when he is older, about our own family history. It would make a great gift for a bar mitzvah or any occasion.

in this well crafted story about a young boy. The Always Prayer Shawl was selected to be included in the Jewish Community Library of Los Angeles public radio production "One People Many Stories: Jewish Stories from Around the World." Henry Winkler reads this love filled story on the CD, One People, Many Stories: Jewish Stories from Around the World.

The bond of grandson and grandfather in this handsome and heart-warming tale about a Tallit is indeed good for people of all ages and all faiths--girls and women, boys and men. It tells of the undying human urge for freedom and fulfillment and reinforces the importance of prayer, and the strength of tradition and family. Alyssa A. Lappen

Truely a wonderful book written by such a wonderful woman. I purchased this book for my daughter. She absolutely loves it. The illistrations are wonderful. Janet did such a great job describing my home towm of Westfield, Maine. My daughter is captivated by the book as she recognizes most of the places in the book as my parent still live in the small towm. This book is set in the winter, but is more than just a seasonal book. It portrays the love between a father and a daughter. A must read for any family.

I just received this book for my 27th birthday. My father is now the plowman for that same little town of Westfield, Maine and has been for the past 25+ years. I remember going out with him as a young girl and being my dad's wingman on the very same roads mentioned in this book. The illustrations and story were wonderful. They brought back so many great memories of times spent with my dad in the plow truck as his wingman.

I absolutely LOVED this book. Not only were the illustrations gorgeous, but the story was so beautiful. I may be a bit prejudice-because I went to the same school Mrs. Allen taught at. She was never my teacher, but she was to my brother & I always liked her.

I was greeted by her warm smile every time I saw her. I knew other students who liked her very much. She was a positive role model at my school. I am so proud of her, this book is so tender & sweet, I am bursting w/pride that I know her.

Good job Mrs. Allen!!!

Julie Morrison-Augostino

Young Janny has a very important job helping her dad run the snowplow through their rural town in Maine. She's the wingman, responsible for raising the right wing of the plow to avoid their neighbors' mailboxes.

Postier's illustrations elicit the warmth and closeness between father and daughter in this snowy landscape where adventure and opportunity around every corner.

In this sweet, quiet book, young readers will learn about life in rural northern Maine, and will see what there is to see on a snowy winter's night. Look for special animals throughout, and for the kind of illustrative details that make a book like this special. It's from Boyds Mills Press, a publisher famous for creating books you'll want to save for your kids' kids. This is one of them.

We borrowed this book from the library and loved it so much that we bought our own copy. It's beautiful and informative, tells a great story, too. Both my kids (3 and 7) love this book. It's ideal for reading to kids of different ages because the younger ones will enjoy the illustrations and story and the older ones will appreciate all that as well as the science.

This is a great book to use in conjunction with a unit on trees. I was absolutely thrilled when I received this book. I purchased it based on the description that it tells the story of a tree and the history that occurs in our country as the tree grows older. I was thrilled when I saw that is also discusses how the tree grows, its rings, and growth needs. I strongly recommend this picture book for any elementary school teacher.

I came to Amazon, as I typically do, looking for something special. 1,000 wods, hunh? Okay. One of my fondest childhood memories is of a book entitled The Big Tree. It was read to my 2nd grade class by a wonderful old grandmotherly teacher...Mrs. Woods. This was at Wineteer Elementary School at McConnell Air Force Base in Wichita Kansas in 1962. That book literally changed my life, in the sense that it alone initiated a love affair with reading that has lasted my entire life. The book was about the life and times of a giant redwood tree in California...as I recall the story spanned several hundred years. Clearly, it made a terrific impression on me. I came here looking for this book. Instead I have found Bruce's book, which appears to be a similar story told from an oak tree's point of view. I can say this about that, considering the fact that I have not read Bruce's book. If it is half a good as the book I recall, I would recommend this story whole heartedly. If a book like this can reach your grade school child the way the redwood story affected me, it will be an investment in the future the likes of which you can only begin to imagine. Bruce, thank you for keeping the dream alive.

Much later edit to this entry by the reviewer:

Interestingly, I have recently stumbled upon the book I was searching for - it was written by Mary and Conrad Buff and entitled Big Tree. It is the life story of Wa-No-Na, a 5000-year old Sequoia. Just the book I was thinking of.

Actually, I was motivated to search again by someone (Thanks, David!) who was looking for the same book I was and read my comments here at Amazon. [...].

This is a wonderful book. It is the story of a maple tree inNew York state; how it began from a seed, grew up in the forestprimeval, survived the pioneer's axe to live in a family's yard, has provided shade and syrup to generations passing on its way to becoming the venerable giant it is now. Part science, part American history, all beautiful. My son has enjoyed this book since he was about 3 (he's reading it himself now at 7) and I'm buying extra copies as gifts.

This book contains full color pictures of all Boyds plush animals up until Spring of '99. Yet, the book also informs the reader of up and coming new releases and retirements. Of the 221 pages in the book, 46 pages give information about the Boyd's company and info on all the plush animals. 146 pages contain the full color pics of all the Boyds plush animals and each one's information such as height, color, year issued, year retired and current value. There are 4 pages to list your collection of Boyds animals and write in their market value. 14 pages list info about furniture and accessories for your Boyd's plush. Finally, there is an 11 page index for looking up all the Boyds mentioned in the book. With an alphebetical listing of all the names of the animals, and separate catagories such as Bears, Cats, and Hares, it takes just minutes to find exactly what plush you are looking for. This book also gives info on bearstones, folkstones ect., limited edition and exclusive pieces and the F.o.B club. This book definitely deserves its 5 star rating.

Wonderful paperback for Boyd Plush collectors. This book has great pictures, and identification details of all Boyd Plush. Best info for insurance purposes with original prices as well as current values. Super tool to update a database of your collection. Love it!

This is a wonderful guide for Boyd Plush collectors. This book has pictures of all plush. Also gives original prices as well as current values. There is a place to record the value of your collection for each of the pages towards the back of the guide.
Highly recommend!

This book is much better than last year's in that fewer bears have been omitted and the "long losts" of Boyds have turned up in its pages with some beautiful photographs. I do miss the photos of the Boyds in scenes with accessories (T.H.B. Style) side by side. But these photos are great! CVG prices are realistic and in some cases even low - unlike some other value guides - these are the real prices people are paying this Spring 99 for many of the pieces I see bought and sold. The book has one serious SHORTCOMING - not found in the 99 partner book for resins (The Bearstone Collection...and Desk Animals, also by Checkerbee). The alphabetical index is great -- the organization is fine -- BUT there is no numerical index on this guide so that users can use the "Bearfinder Index" by name and by number - only by name. As Boyds have Boyds numbers assigned to them and sometimes arrive to owners as mystery bears - known only by number, this book makes you work hard in such cases to determine who your little prize is - even if he is mint in the manufacturer's bag with a Boyds Style # written on it. But - don't be deterred - If you are a serious collector, you will use it daily! And, you'll see lots of nice little furry faces while you hunt! It will make you smile.

This review first appeared in the "Ephrata (PA) Review":
This book's cover catches (merited) attention and readers' imagination; it features a building shaped as an elephant. Lucy-constructed of nearly 1 million pieces of wood, 200 kegs of nails and 4 tons of bolts and beams-makes her home in Margate, New Jersey. Erected in 1881, the elephant is the nation's oldest example of mimetic architecture-buildings that mimic other objects.
Designed by engineer and land-developer James V. Lafferty Jr., Lucy was meant to attract potential buyers of land that Lafferty owned near the growing seaside resort of Atlantic City. The marketing ploy paid off, hugely, and residents grew fond of the community's "mascot." In 1976 Lucy was designated a National Historic Landmark.
Travelers have purchased gas at stations designed to look like teapots, gas cans, pagodas, even an iceberg. They've stayed in lodgings resembling giant teepees, windmills, and ships. They've eaten at restaurants and food stands shaped like milk bottles, dogs, watermelons, castles, roosters, and ice cream cones.
This attractive book, highlighting 35 still existing mimetic structures, provides fun and facts as it explores a whimsical, little-known facet of Americana.

Why not plan a road trip from the Elephant to the Madonna Inn? I doubt that any nation on Planet Earth has an equal variety of odd-ball buildings that kids would love to visit, have their picture taken with, and take home for Show and Tell. Lucy the Elephant near Atlantic City has a window in her butt, and used to be a bathhouse where you could change into your clothes after a tough day on the beach. The Teapot Gas station in Zillah is sort of a gateway to wineries in the area. The ORIGINAL White Castle in Wichita is about the size of a garage. The Corn Palace in Mitchell, SD is often the site of a Prairie Home Companion show. It would be such fun to do a BIG book of Weird America with lots more sites to visit. But this one has plenty, and lots of possibilities for the classroom using mapping, Google, and virtual travel. The book has maps front and back with many states devoid of sites. There's the challenge for the classroom--to find something in every state and build a national directory of nutty architecture. Start your engines!

I ordered this book for the library where I work. My main reason was to have something on hand about Lucy, the Margate Elephant, since it's in our area. I would have been satisfied at almost anything on a child's reading level, but was pleasantly surprised at the quality of the book.

The photos are large and plentiful, mostly in full color, and printed on high-quality glossy paper. The text is not difficult yet doesn't talk down to the reader. I've watched several tv shows on this type of architecture, yet there are buildings in this book I'd never heard of before. Likewise, there is more explanation about some familiar buildings than I'd come across before.

At the end the author provides a bibliography of books suitable for both children and adults. She has even starred adult books which will be of special interest to kids because of great illustrations or explanations. A list of websites is also given.

The book is a total pleasure to look at, read and touch. I hope to see it on a list of award-winners sometime soon.

Some years ago a book was published, Learning From Las Vegas, in which the architecture along the ever famous strip was discussed, dissected, and photographed. Perhaps there was a picture of a hot dog stand shaped like a hot dog or a restaurant shaped like a tepee. As is shown in this recent volume by Joan Marie Arbogast one needn't go to Las Vegas to see odd or funny or strange, certainly attention getting buildings.

Some of the architecture featured in Arbogast's book is called "mimetic architecture" because the buildings mimic other objects, a duck, a dog or an elephant. Lucy, the Margate Elephant in New Jersey, was built in 1881. Lucy has a main room somewhat smaller than a two-car garage and car size ears.

We find structures by imaginative builders who sought to capture motorists with eye-catching gas stations, one shaped like a teapot another like a gigantic gas can. There are motels in the shapes of wigwams and river boats, and restaurants built like milk bottles, watermelons, and castles.

"Buildings in Disguise" is an entertaining trip through American offbeat architecture, yesterday and today.

- Gail Cooke

My four year old daugter thoroughly enjoyed this book, and asked to have it read again and again. She suggested we take it with us to the beach. She's never had clams before, and now she wants to try them!

My nephews and nieces enjoyed the book, and I enjoyed reading it to them. We could relate to the fun and togetherness of the family activities written about and illustrated in the book. I highly recommend it.

Beautifully illustrated story of a family beach vacation written as a childhood memory. The beach house is filled with family (siblings, cousins, aunts, uncles, parents and, of course, Grandpa)and every day Grandpa wakes the kids to join him clamming at low tide. After several outings without much success, a bumper crop of clams is gathered that becomes a part of family celebrations for the rest of the year and family history forever. The next best thing to a trip to the beach.

I'm an Elementary School Librarian and when I read HAIRCUTS AT SLEEPY SAM'S the kids are thoroughly mesmerized. They chuckle at the term - AFRO CUTS and love the illustrations. Strickland and Holliday did a great job. I'll be looking for future books by these men.

This is truly one of my favorite authors. Just regret that she doesn't turn out more books and is not really recognizable. If you haven't read about her, then by all means I recommend her with highest praise. Her books are a real joy, right up there with Evanovich, Jance, and Grafton.

Paula Boyd has been compared to Joan Hess,Janet Evanovich and others who are leaders in this genre. The comparison is more than deserved. If you like a classy mystery with lots of laughs, you will love Paula Boyd's Jolene Jackson mysteries. Boyd's writing is tight, well-crafted and her dialogue purely sparkles with wit and humor. Here's a blurb from the back cover:

"Jolene's back in Kickapoo, Texas, for her mother's annual birthday bash at the DQ, which is trouble enough in its own right, but when her checkered high school past comes back to haunt her, the problems turn decidedly
deadly.

Thanks to her old sweetheart, Sheriff Jerry Don Parker, high school wasn't that bad for Jolene - if you don't count the scandal with the non-teaching English teacher, the daily death threats from a jealous rival or the cocky come-ons from the perverted principal. Okay, maybe things weren't all that great back then after all, but with bodies turning up faster than beer cans in the river, they're a darned sight worse now. And it doesn't help matters that Rhonda The-Lying-Slut Davenport is telling anyone who will listen that Jolene ought to be the one showing up dead."

Great fun and a terrific mystery! Treat yourself; order Dead Man Falls.

Joan Hall Hovey
Author of Nowhere To Hide

This is a very entertaining book with delightfully interesting characters. I am looking forward to reading more by this author. I enjoyed this book thoroughly. If you like unique characters and unusual settings, then this book is for you.

Paula Boyd is a new, and welcome!, entry into the female amateur sleuth genre. She has a great ear for dialog, and her mother/daughter combo is really funny. She keeps a lively pace, and spins a good story. I'm looking forward to more!

This is a fabulous book, the story tells of lifelong dreams, flying and a love for family! It also brings a sweet tear of happiness.

My five year old child is a hugh flying/airplane fanatic. He gets it from his father so this book is very appropriate for our family. But beyond the airplane-related aspects of this story, it is a very touching story of the relationships between parents and children. I cannot read this story to my son without getting teary-eyed! This one is going to be a classic in our house and I can't wait for more books by this author. I highly recommend this book.

This is a wonderful book that I think would be great for many children in the proper age group, particularly those with an interest in flying. The story is quite moving in its own way, the illustrations are eye-catching, and the introduction from Reeve Lindbergh -- someone from a family that knows something about aviation -- is nicely done. Hopefully, we'll get to see much more from this promising author in the months and years to come.

I'm always telling my writing students to have patience. The path to publishing is fraught with pits and turns, and in the end, many writers find the act of publishing their work anticlimactic. Reaching your dream proceeds with small steps of learning, trial, and accomplishment. Strife and bad fortune may take place, but your desire never wanes if it is a worthy and true goal.

Flying Jack is a children's tale of an almost pilot and his struggling author and creator. It's difficult to separate this book from its author, since the protagonist reaches his dream in what seems like moments before the author reaches hers.

"Jack was just about born longing to fly" opens this rich tale by first-time author Petrie. Jack grows up living and breathing airplanes, while the author surreptitiously weaves in the facts of flight history. Eventually Jack joins the navy but is routed into sea duty over his plans for piloting. This pattern is repeated throughout Jack's life, and every time he attempts to get airborne, life or circumstance gets in the way.

While Jack is driven by his passion, his love and duty to his family take precedence. It's one of many important lessons for kids, knowing that some young readers have parents they don't see from one end of the week to the next. Jack wants to fly but tends to his family instead, and in the end, it is this legacy that brings his dream to fruition. Coincidentally, the author was diverted by love and family, yet maintained her faith and vision for being an author, and is no doubt being rewarded in turn as her excellent first book hits the shelves. Flying Jack was worth the wait.

Like Jack, this book is battle-hardened. I threw it before the local second grade class, and it spawned discussions ranging from flight to equal rights for women and the races. That's right. It got them thinking wonderful individual notions, which is the mark, if not the very point, of any good book.

Flying Jack includes a glossary of flying terms and facts that will guide parents and teachers alike through discussion points. This title is appropriate for grade school children and big kids with dreams everywhere.

GREAT for kids and parents. A BEAUTIFUL book that everyone should own! i wish there were 50 stars that i could use to rate this book!

Just a note: this book appears on School Library Journal's Best Books of 2001 list (SLJ December 2001).

I collect picture books. This one is different from all the others I have. The text is a poem consisting of seven pairs of lines. Each line has four words: Fork Plate Knife Spoon -- Morning Evening Midnight Moon. ... The pictures tell a story of their own, they do not "illustrate" the poem. The poem is the music for the pictures, or, maybe, it's the other way round.

This is a book for all ages. Even very young children can memorize the poem and discover the story told by the pictures. For adults, it's a book of art and poetry. I think it's misleading to sell it for "reading level 4 to 8".

This book is remarkable. The poem uses simple words in fun rhythms while the story is told through the beautiful illustrations. It's a tale of a young girl setting off on an adventure through the world - she crosses a bridge, builds a house, meets a bear, crosses an ocean and eventually makes her way back home to her loving family. It's a pleasure to read aloud and to find the details in the pictures. I bought copies for all my favorite kids.