Bridges Books

Reviewed by Paige Lovitt for Reader Views (7/06)

Traditionally, haiku is Japanese poetry that is written on three lines. The first line and the third line are composed of 5 syllables and the second line has seven. "The Haiku Apprentice," written by Abigail Friedman, takes us through her journey of discovering how to write Haiku well. It is really more than just those three lines. The Haiku Society of America defines Haiku as, "A short poem that uses imagistic language to convey the essence of an experience of nature or the season intuitively linked to the human condition." Through Friedman's experiences, she not only learns how to write haiku, but she also learns about the culture and the lives of other haiku writers in her group. As you read her story, you also learn about the richness of the culture. Friedman is able to convey how the Japanese people are able to connect their writings to their lives. As a people they work hard on doing everything well. When you are in their country, you really see this. It doesn't matter what their jobs are, or how menial a task might seem, they do it well. From my personal experience, they are very gracious people. Friedman conveys this in her writings. It adds to the richness of her memoirs. Just reading her story alone is enjoyable, especially when you are learning about her experiences as a diplomat in Japan. I really think that a haiku writer who is not well versed in the Japanese culture will be able to write much better after reading "The Haiku Apprentice". I enjoyed learning about haiku by reading her story, rather than a textbook. This is also a great book to read if you are interested in writing haiku or starting a haiku writer's group. At the end of the book, she offers information and advice on how to start a group. She also has a list of questions to stimulate discussions for a readers group.

Ms. Friedman's first literary work is a delight to read and most helpful to anyone interested in learning about Japanese poetry. She painstakenly explains her journey into the Japanese culture necessary to appreciate the feelings and emotions expressed through the Haiku.
It's refreshing to read how this remarkable woman can balance her devotion to her family, her diplomatic career and yet develope an interest in the Haiku.
It's a good relaxing read at anytime and in any place.

The Haiku Apprentice: Memoirs Of Writing Poetry In Japan by Abigail Friedman is not a standard poetry collection, but rather the personal memoir of an American diplomat in Tokyo who discovered that anyone can enjoy the pleasure of writing haikus. Learning to express herself in haiku introduced her to a literary and cultural world in which poetry was more than a vehicle of expression; it was a means by which neighbors and friends could form a connective bond and see the world in a new way. The Haiku Apprentice is a warm and inviting autobiographical story, and also a kind of loose blueprint for forming haiku or other poetry-writing societies in one's own backyard in order to better foster communication, understanding, and a fresh perspective ready to absorb the wonders of life. A unique and thoughtful memoir, The Haiku Apprentice is enthusiastically recommended reading.

The Haiku Apprentice is the joyous story of an American diplomat's journey into the realm of haiku while living in Japan. More than that, it is an account of spiritual and political self-scrutiny. Abigail Friedman is a marvelous narrator, and I find it easy to enter her world. Friedman's descriptions are vibrant, while her down-to-earth wit spices the narrative, which is consistently intelligent and sharp.

This writer is careful not to leave linguistic stumbling blocks. She opens doors for less experienced readers, with lucid explanations of Japanese words, pronunciations, and traditions. As Friedman describes her haiku education under the tutelage of Kuroda Momoko, one of Japan's most esteemed haiku masters, readers will surely find it impossible not to learn along with her. Every haiku student should read her discussions of kigo and Zen. She features contextually relevant haiku throughout, including some written by her fellow poets in Japan and a few by the author. Her translations of well-known haiku by the Old Masters invite readers to rediscover their timeless appeal. When seen again through Friedman's eyes, long-familiar poems are newly inspiring.

After the author joins a haiku group, she shares a new awareness regarding haiku poets: "Perhaps all these people had discovered something I was just now learning; that survival in an increasingly complex world requires each of us to tend to our souls, our individuality, more than ever. I needed to nurture my ability to see the world as I saw it, not as others might see it."

Abigail Friedman ends the story of her haiku quest with perhaps her most important insights: "My new name was a reminder to me that haiku is not just about writing about beauty, but is a path of self-discovery. I could not expect to write good haiku if I was not seeking to be true to myself."

This book is delightfully accessible, regardless of the reader's experience (or lack of it) with poetry or Japanese language and culture. I recommend The Haiku Apprentice, not only to haiku aficionados, but also to anyone who enjoys a good read. - Ferris Gilli, Associate Editor, The Heron's Nest

This book takes you into the daily life of the author and shares the difficult things that can happen when you have a child who has special needs--and of course all the difficult questions that you will want to ask--or shout at God. She shares how she processes God through this experience. She reaches across the page to truthfully share her grief with parents so they too can know that the grief they feel is not a problem to be solved and not a goal to be worked through, but rather something that we live through and adjust with while God works on us along the way. She speaks about how these experiences relate to belief in a loving God and how over time God can help you process and shape a new reality with your child. Most of all, this book provides hope...seeing how this author has come through her difficulties--not with pat answers--but truthfully asking some very difficult questions and finding strength in meeting the challenges that have come along the way. I'm anxiously awaiting her sequel...

If you want to know how you can really help someone who has a family member with disabilities, you must read this book. It is funny and sad. Mrs. Bolduc transforms her feelings into easily read words. You will want to meet this special mom and child for yourself!

I have finally found a book written by a mom who was a Christian before the birth of her son Joel.This mom tells of her journey of
of raising her son(from birth) to be included in her church family and of the rejection of that same community by their indifference. Finding a church when you have a child with special needs is still a challenge in the year 2001! I have met Kathy and know that her journey with her son and finding a welcoming church are not over but,she is hopeful. This book will affirm anyone else who has been here. Her other book A Place Called Acceptance is also another five star read.

Dyer Bolduc brings the reader into her family and her heart as she tells the story of her son's autism and retardation. Her scriptural references and prayers add to what is already a deeply spiritual journey. I didn't turn a page without learning something new or being touched. Any mother can relate to her struggles.

I am a massasge therapist and Reiki Master who uses Reiki everyday in my practice. I have found A History and Understanding Of Reiki by David Smith to be an invaluable tool in my practice. The book is well written and very factual. I find it very easy to use as both a reference and a guide in my practice. Every time I pick the book up I find reinforcement and a better understanding of the workings of Reiki.

Rev. David Smith has taken the time to write a book that anyone can understand about Reiki an incredible healing concept. Capturing the complex idea of universal healing energy channeled through us for the higher good in a simple and concise way is refreshing to read.

Thank you Rev. Smith

Namaste,
Mike Adams

Reiki is a gentle hands-on healing method. "A History and Understanding of Reiki" gives an excellent history of Reiki, how it works, the different types of Reiki, and how we have it in its current form today. It is well written, and is easy to read and follow. As a Reiki practitioner I value this book for its in depth, well researched material. If you want to understand what Reiki is, and how we got it, this is the book for you.

I was privileged to get an advanced copy of this book. The author began with a simple attempt at elucidating and defining a mystical practice and has ended up with a full blown primer on the art that is called "Reiki." I am a student of comparative religions and this has become a staple in my library/archive.

What I like the most about this book is the matter of fact approach the author has used. I have several books on Eastern mysticism and religions and one can't get to the core of the subject due to the surplus of theory and lofty vocabulary that is there for no other reason than pad the tome. Not so with this work.

After reading this book, I actually learned a great deal. For me that is the greatest reward. 5 stars - Hands down!

Ms. Bauer's latest work is an enormously gratifying examination of human behavior and relationship. She is able to breathe an unmistakable honesty into her characters, giving them life which not only seems real but also feels real. Ren and Lou become intimate friends who enable the reader closely to examine her or his own relationships, especially relationships under the stress of everyday life. Kudos to Ms. Bauer for this funny yet highly intimate novel.

Ms. Bauer has written a wonderful book of real people that love each other during the highs and lows of a fascinating life. The book is hard to put down. I am afraid I will be forced to buy another copy since my book has been borrowed by my daughter and her friends.

A thoughtful, provocative meditation on ambition, fame and would-be fame, as well as what's left when the spotlight goes away. It's an inside look at a relationship between an actress and a screenwriter, and manages to celebrate their relationship and romance without trivializing it. At points it's wickedly funny, insightful, sad and inspiring. Ought to be required reading for anyone who wants to go into movies. Bauer is one of the best writers of the human heart around.

Bauer's HOLLYWOOD & HARDWOOD, which I was fortunate to read in "galley" form, follows an actress (Ren) and her playwright husband (Lou) as they chase their dream of artistic accomplishment and acceptance. Their life together, weaved expertly in a series of vignettes, doesn't quite go as they hope, but they push on anyway. And when fame finally does show its fickle face, they learn that what they truly value may have more to do with struggle than success. Ren and Lou soon find that, as John Lennon wrote, "Life is what happens while you're busy making other plans."

Easy to read and understand the principles of healing for spirit, soul and body, which we draw on by repentance and faith.

Easy to read and understand the principles of healing for spirit, soul and body, which we draw on by repentance and faith.

Jim Glennon's message is direct and simple. In order to get well it is necessary to claim God's promises as revealed in the Bible, repent, believe, obey and above all forgive and forget. The resulting healing can be immediate or gradual.

Glennon gives many specific suggestions for those seeking a healing and he adds a chapter of encouragement for those working in the healing ministry. An appendix is included which describes the deliberations on the healing ministry by past Lambeth Conferences held by Anglican archbishops and bishops under the chairmanship of the Archbishop of Canterbury.

Jim Glennon is canon of the Anglican Cathedral in Sydney Australia, which draws 1000 people to its weekly healing service. He sets forth a calm, reasonable but powerful theology, which is essentially as follows: The Kingdom of God was restored at Calvary, which means we have access to the great promises of God that are mentioned in the Bible, including material provision, peace, joy, power, love, and wisdom. We will still continue to have difficulties in life, because it is God's will that we depend completely on Him, and so He permits difficulties to occur. However, if we acknowledge that fact and turn to God with each difficulty, continually affirming that we can draw on His power, we can draw increasingly on the experience of God and know "the joy and peace of believing." The discussion is largely about healing but the theology is practical and can be applied to every aspect of our lives. If our problem, for instance, is fear, we must first of all repent of any sin in our lives, particularly unforgiveness, and then believe (by deliberate decision, not emotion) that we now have access to the promised blessing, which is power, love, and soundness of mind. In a progressive way, we may then experience freedom from the difficulty, knowing it is His will for us to be free of it. Buy this book, apply its principles, and know a strength in the Lord that you never dreamed possible.

Trying to figure out what a word means by the words around it is guess work when all one really has to do is open up a dictionary. Why try to figure it out when Mr. Webster and other's have come up with books that tell you all the different meanings of words in different contexts.

As more and more people are taking an active part in education, dictionaries are becoming "popular" again in classrooms and home school rooms. Wouldn't it be helpful to really understand what you're reading, at work, at home, for pleasure, or when putting together a piece of furniture? Why suffer frustration and guessing at what a word means?

The behavior of students greatly changes when using this book in conjunction with "Learning How to Learn" and "Grammar and Communication". I've been using this book for many years as a home school teacher. I now use it as a life improvement coach. This is another must-have book by educator L. Ron Hubbard and a greatly appreciated contribution to society.

This book taught my son the basics of using a dictionary. He is 9 years old, and read this book when he was 6. He feels that there is NOTHING he can't study, simply due to what he learned from studying this book.

He has read books written for grown-ups, and he can read the newspaper, too. Whenever he comes across a word he doesn't understand, he looks it up in the dictionary! It really impresses people when a child asks them, "what does that word mean?" It seems that most kids are so used to hearing words they don't know the meanings of, that they just learn to brush past it.

This book teaches HOW to get the definition of a word, and it makes it easy to do so. Instead of getting MORE confused trying to look a word up in the dictionary, all the secrets to HOW to find these definitions successfully are in this book.

I love this one, and I think ANY adult or child could benefit from it!

One thing that was missing in my own education was instruction on how to properly use a dictionary. Usually, when I tried to look up a word, I went away more confused than before!

This book explains the proper method of using a dictionary so more confusion does not result! Which may not seem, at the outset, to be very important, but I believe it is the single most important aspect of education.

In modern education, children are usually taught to "guess" at the meanings of words. Which might sound fine, unless your mother is about to undergo surgery, and you consider the strong possibility the surgeon about to put her under the knife came across plenty of words in his study that he was told to "guess the meaning" of. Or how about the next time you board a plane? Do you really want a pilot who was taught to just "guess" at those definitions? I sure wouldn't want a lawyer to draft a contract on my behalf, unless I knew for certain that HE knew the definition of every "heretofore" and "forthwith"! ("heretofore" means "up to this time" and "forthwith" means "immediately".)

To be truly successful, one must fully understand the meanings of the words one comes across in life, and especially in one's profession.

This book will give your child that advantage. His SAT scores will be better. His ability to fully understand what he is studying depends upon his ability to discover the exact meaning of the words he comes across. His LOVE of study depends on this as well!

My children studied this book, and continue to apply the principles. When they come across words they don't understand, they get them defined! As a result, they are bright and interested in learning.

With this book, you will not only learn HOW to use a dictionary, but WHAT dictionaries to use.

I recommend this book to every parent I know...

By far the most under-used and least understood book in the field of education is the Dictionary. The book teaches an individual how to use a Dictionary. It will give you a fundamental understanding of how to trace the origin of words, pronounce them, define them to achieve full understanding and much more. This book belongs at the entry level to any step in education, and deserves to be in broad use. I recommend it for both children and adults.

This book makes the perfect gift for anyone experiencing the passing of a loved one. It is a powerful book that will leave you with hope, inspiration and insight. I strongly recommend it as a valuable life resource.

Reading small passages of this life-giving book has been truly wonderful. It transcends the usual books on spirituality, bringing together the integrity of spirit, body, joy, and discovery. I found the writing to be a grounding force that invites the reader to view new perspectives of the divine.

The Last Adventure of Life is a book filled with the awareness of what loss and grief are truly about. After more than 10 years of caring for my beloved mom, I lost her on Christmas Day. My friends were a wonderful help, but I needed something for those moments at 4am when you sit up in bed and feel the profound emptiness of your life. The grief changes, life does go on, but for those moments in the first days, weeks and months, I can't recommend any other book more highly than this one. It is a treasure for anyone going through loss. Read it for your own life.

I think this book by Maria Dancing Heart is a treasure. We never really know what "The Last Adventure of Life" timing will be but if it holds the grace and feeling Maria has uncovered I know I will better for it. The feeling of caring warmth is what I take from reading it. In this time of cultural numbing and anxiety the world is longing for a breather, especially in the reminder that we all will die regardless of anything. On page 158 the evocation of "connecting" reads as a subtext to the book. This book is timely for me as I am still learning about living so that dying is sacred. Many pages touch me because Maria connects with her heart and that helps me find mine. As you can imagine, I very much appreciate and endorse this one. The book feels like a friend speaking about what matters in the space of sharing a ride on an open road.

This book is stunning. I highly recommend it. Each page is beautifully illustrated and wonderfully done. And each illustration is a tribute to this heartwarming story of the Legend of Rainbow Bridge. For some reason the reviews of the older edition of this book which is much less impressive are included here and I found that very misleading. There is no comparison. This version is exceptional. Truly stunning. I couldn't have asked for a more perfect gift for my friends who have loved their special pets. I bought it with "The True Story of Critter Angels" and together they have been enourmously helpful in the healing process for me and for those I love. I highly recommend this book. My young niece loves reading both books just because she loves the stories about animals.

Gave this to my wife as a gift. She loves dogs, but even more loved the illustrations. They are wonderful for young or old, and the story is also. I can picture someone reading this to a grandchild, explaining the loss of a favorite pet. I can picture an older person, after losing a long time pet, tearfully enjoying the illustrations and the story. Well worth the price.

I bought this book for a friend who had just lost her great dane. She found solace in this book and was grateful for the gift.

This is an outstanding book replete with equally outstanding illustrations. Readers are treated to the Legend of Rainbow Bridge. This is without a doubt one of the best books in offering solace to anybody who has ever lost a pet. I highly recommend this one.

I recommend this one with "The Rainbow Bridge: Pet Loss is Heaven's Gain;" "Jasper's Day;" "I'll Always Love You;" "For Every Dog an Angel" and "Saying Goodbye to LuLu." I think this one will bring tears to the eyes of all who read it. I say a heartfelt thank you to William N. Britton and Dandi Palmer. THANK YOU!

This book is simply the best book written on the subject of the vine and the branches in John Ch. 15. I strongly recomend it.

Lessons from a Venetian Vinedresser is Biblical in its premise, pragmatic in its purpose and motivational in its approach. This book is splendid in every way. Robert Scott Stiner's book is well conceived and artfully executed. Christians everywhere should read, mark, learn and practice its truths. I heartily recommend it.
Jay Hartranft D. Min
Chaplain
Lieutenant Col.
United States Army

This book is a must read for everyone that desires a closer walk with the Lord. Mr. Stiner walks you through the Vineyard and allows you to see through the eyes of the Vinedresser as he lovingly and carefully cares for his vineyard. Jesus said that he is the vine and we are the branches and in this book we learn just how much Jesus "our Vinedresser" loves us and tenderly cares for us. This book gave me insight into the fact that many times, we Christians think that we have backslidden when we are being "pruned" by the Vinedresser to "bear more fruit." I think this book should be read once a month to revive and restore our walk with Jesus.

This book is one of the best books ever written about John 15. If you love to read wonderful christian books this is a must have.
Robert Scott Stiner has explained John 15 so well. Reading this book, it's as if I can visualize Christ in the vineyard with his disciples explaining to them that He is the vine and they are the branches and His father in Heaven is the vinedresser. If you have never read about this story in the bible you need to, but also read "Lessons From A Venetian Vinedresser". It helps to understand what Jesus was trying to tell his disciples.
Sometimes, when we don't bear good fruit, God is going to discipline us, or if we bear some fruit, but not as much as we should then He will prune us. Neither one is very much fun to go through, but our Heavenly Father knows what is best,even if we don't understand at the time. The Lord always has our best interest and wants our best. He loves us like noone else could ever possibly love us. He created us and has so much for us, if we just reach out and ask Him. It's free and it's the best gift you could ever receive.
Mr. Stiner has shown the love of our Lord so well in this book. I truly feel your life will change after you read this book. I'm going through this book for the 3rd time. Each time I read it, something else is revealed to me.
I believe that this book will be on the best seller list and stay there for a long time.
I worked in a christian book store and still deal with christian books. I read alot. I could not put this book down.
You will not regret buying this and reading it, probably more than once. I know several pastors who are doing a bible study using "Lessons"
There is so much to learn from this book. Please pick up a copy and take your time reading and enjoying this fantastic book.
See if like Robert Scott Stiner and so many other people have seen John 15 come alive in a way that I didn't know was possible.
I think how awesome to be able to walk around the vineyards of Italy and see how beautiful everything is and write such a wonderful book. It's hard to imagine Mr. Stiner ever having a writer's block of any kind.
I can't wait to read his next book which I hope will be out soon. I tell everyone about this book and encourage everyone I know and sometimes don't know to read this book.
I guarantee you will not be sorry.
Be blessed by this wonderful story about this man the vinedresser and how not only did Robert Scott Stiner's life change, but so did Mr. Bruzzo.
He deserves to be highly reconized, and I see another wonderful author in the christian book industry.
Thank you for writing this and for more books in the future.

The Pepin family gets into an unfortunate number of bizarre predicaments and even less fortunate for them, they are completely unable to ever come up with an effective solution to any problem that presents itself. Fortunately for the Pepins, they have an author who can hear, with her amazing reader antenna, solutions presented by her readers to solve the Pepins' predicament problem.

Whether they are trying to make cheese out of lemonade or inform their very fine neighbor, Mr. Bradshaw, that he is in love with a barber pole, the Pepins are positively paralyzed in their decision making. Lucky for them, their readers have more than enough solutions to solve their problems over and again. Now, whether they are good solutions-that's up to you to decide.

This book is hilarious. And honestly, I don't know if children will get a lot of the humor, but it sure tickled my funny bone. Which makes me give it five stars on the read-aloud factor alone. But it is also zany enough that kids who don't get the humor will giggle at the silliness of, well, everything. The author's word play is phenomenal, her introspection into the writer's psyche is perfect, and her grasp on reality is loose enough to make it perfectly reasonable to believe that a penguin does, indeed, live in the garage up the street and postal workers really are out to get you (in a purely benign way). And, though I can't say for certain, I think this book will have even hesitant readers turning page after page.

This book holds appeal for readers and listeners from four to thirty-four and beyond.

Armchair Interviews agrees.

I knew it would happen sooner or later! I knew it! Given enough time, I was certain that if I simply continued to read books written by Polly Horvath that eventually I would hit upon one that I liked. That's a pretty snarky statement to start off a review, especially if it's a review of a book that the self-same reviewer liked. Still, I feel some background is in order. I struggled mightily through, "Everything On a Waffle". I visibly cringed with every word of "The Canning Season". Having grown up in the same town as Ms. Horvath (long live Kalamazoo!) and attended the same church as her mother (fellow children's author Betty Horvath) I've always been rooting for her to write something that didn't take the enamel off of my teeth. At long last, she's done it. She's written a book that I think everyone can enjoy. Even people, like myself, who would rather eat hot mustard raw than read yet another precious child raised by crazy aunts tale (in which she seems, usually, to be stuck).

Of the Pepins, there are four. A mother who works part time doing peanut butter experiments, a father who's a corrugation expert at a cardboard factory, a son who is a genius, and a daughter who has no particular talents of which to speak. When we first meet them, the Pepins have toad problems. More precisely, toad-in-shoe problems. Here the author speaks directly to the readers of this book everywhere and asks them to send her their potential solutions to this abnormality mentally. This is sort of the form of the novel, and depending on how useful the readers' advice is, the Pepins either exacerbate their problems or alleviate them. As we follow them through a series of fun and funny occurrences (such as having a dapper man suddenly appear in their midst or when they deal with the fact that their very fine neighbor is in love with a barbershop pole) the reader has the chance to find a solution to various Pepin-related problems. Sometimes the answers are ridiculously easy (as when the family becomes trapped on their own roof) and sometimes impossible to solve (as when the cow produces lemonade rather than milk). Through it all, however, Horvath's uniquely skewed point of view enlivens a truly bizarre tale that'll have your kids screaming for a third, fourth, and possibly fifth read.

Initially, the book's rather like a slightly older extension of James Marshall's classic "The Stupids" series (complete with cat and dog, no less). As you continue to read it through, however, it grows on you. It's almost a stream of consciousness. A child-friendly "Ulysees", if you will. I would like to concede here and now that it is entirely possible that I'm giving this book a lot of slack because it referenced the musical "Pippin" obliquely. I'm a sucker for any book that knows its Fosse.

Through it all, Horvath throws out phrases like "dei ex machina" and makes references that will sail over children's heads only to be gratefully snatched up by their parents. And it's funny. Very very funny. When Mr. Pepin attempts to speak like an Englishman the book notes that, "The only two Englishmen that Mr. Pepin knew were Sherlock Holmes and Henry Higgins. He was doing his best to become an amalgamation of the two". If you do not find that at least mildly amusing then this is not the book for you.

To come right out and say it, I think I liked "The Pepins and Their Problems" because unlike Horvath's other works it didn't have her usual undercurrent of nastiness running beneath the action. There's only one truly nasty character in this book (a character that could creep into "The Canning Season" and not create so much as a ripple) and she only lasts for about 2 chapters. The only people who will fail to find this book amusing may be those Delaware and Rhode Island natives who could take offense at some of the pot-shots lobbied at them within this book. If those natives are so thin-skinned, however, then perhaps they didn't deserve to read the book in the first place. To my mind, this is Horvath's greatest creation. I highly recommend that you check out the audio version for car trips, by the way. There's a lot of room here for sly asides and pregnant pauses. Altogether, a joy to read, hear, or contemplate while on one's own roof.

As an elementary school teacher, if I could be rewarded with the privilege of spending a day of leisure with one children's book author, I would quickly choose Polly Horvath. Her manic imagination and wit and her outrageous humor is extraordinary and charming. It would be a frolic to relish and remember--she's a total "stitch!"

The Pepin family and "their very fine neighbor Mr. Bradshaw" are zany noodleheads creating and/or encountering the most improbable and hilarious experiences. Throughout the vignettes, Ms. Horvath adds flourish by cleverly engaging the the reader, as well as the characters, in asides from the commentary. It's novel and endearing.

Then there is Ms. Horvath's wordsmithery. The writing contains rich vocabulary that even an adult will find compelling. (My curiosity had me going to the dictionary on a couple of occasions!) The audience may be a tad older than 4th grade as suggested in the School Library Review; the most precocious 5th and 6th grade readers will truly reap the gifts Ms. Horvath bestows. Encountering enticing words makes Ms. Horvath as writer all the more memorable.

The experience of reading Polly Horvath for me has been something akin to making smores when you're camping and polishing them down with a glass of Pinot Noir!

Polly Horvath's Pepin Family is anything but a usual family group: they get stuck on their roof, searches for cheese in a cow which can only produce lemonade, hosts a 'neighbor-off' complete with dog throwers, and generally introduce a zany edge to living. Add Marilyn Hafner's fun black and white drawings and you have The Pepins And Their Problems, a fine middle grade reader kids will love.