Bryan Books

It is a praiseful book in a differnt cadence.
It is powerfful book in its illustrations.

Observing the closed book,one is captured by the clean and clear-cut designs in shades of black, white and gray on the cover. Upon opening it one sees a repetition of color in the illustrations that are depicted in black and white block prints.

The way in which the story poems are displayed invites one to read because the lines are usually short and a certain rhythm can be felt. The messages are very clear if you understand the dialect and if you have read the explanations be the author. This is very important. To neglect these interpretations will defeat much of the joy to be obtained from the reading. I enjoyed the special language immensly.

It is wise to follow the designated age/grade levels for the best use of the material. Here is an example: I gave copies of 'How God Fix Jonah" to two families that include grandnieces and nephews. One little five-year-old, who is an accomplished reader for her age, opened the book immediately and tried it out. In a little while she came over to me with the book in her hands. I asked her what she thought about it. She answered, "It sounds a little strange." I tried to explain that this is the way some foreign people talk before they know how to speak English very well. I suggested that she have her parents read it to her. On the other hand, an eleven-year-old has kept it on her nightstand ever since she received it eight months ago.

There is a great advantage in having this group of stories compiled and kudos are in order for the author's daughter and the publisher for their collaboration in bringing this work to fruition.

If you love words, their meanings, their sounds, and unexpected usage this book calls out to you. It is filled with Bible stories that are written according to the way that a young African lad would sound telling the stories in a mixture of his own language combined with the new language he is just learning, English. Read silently, you will discover immediately that it is pleading to be read aloud. Read it to children or adults, or a mixture thereof. When I discovered this unique book I had great success reading it to a large group of men, women, and children. They were entranced, mesmerized as they listened attentively. The applause at the end of my sharing was tremendous! Discover, too, individual stories in this book which were originally published as picture books. You will find so many uses for all of these books if only you will read one aloud -- just once!

"I Just Am," is a great book to read. As a parent of a six-year-old with Down syndrome, I found this book to be very inspirational and a must have! If you are a parent of a child with Down syndrome or not this book will inspire you. I recommend this book for all to read. This is an easy to read book and overall great book!

I really enjoyed reading this book. I felt like it presented a positive view of living with Down Syndrome. I read it to children too in order to educate them on what it is like to have Down Syndrome and how they are very much like them. It is good to get the perspective directly from the individuals involved. I think the authors did a great job of presenting the material and the pictures were great.I would also be a good book for a school library.

Bryan Lambke has grown up knowing he was different. He doesn't feel different, but the people around him tell him that he is. Bryan was born with Down syndrome.

Throughout the book written by Lambke, with the help of his father, he explains what Down Syndrome is and his feelings about growing up with this disability. Lambke states, "Down Syndrome is having an extra chromosome. It makes me look different than others. I don't feel different. I just am."

The book is prefaced by an interview with Cheryl Rogers-Barnett, daughter of Roy Rogers and Dale Evans. Cheryl's sister, Robin Elizabeth, was diagnosed with Down Syndrome as a baby. Robin Elizabeth lived less than two years, but her birth and life deeply affected Cheryl and she has never been forgotten. Dale Evans wrote a book about Robin's life titled Angel Unaware.

I Just Am is a poignant look into the life of someone living with Down syndrome. Throughout the book you can sense Lambke's confusion and frustration at being treated differently. Yet despite the obstacles, he is now twenty-three years old, works two jobs and has met two mayors and a governor as well as numerous celebrities. Readers will come away knowing more about Down syndrome as well as what day-to-day life is like for someone like Lambke.

This aptly titled book, crafts beautiful word pictures which make it easy for fathers to understand how they can reflect the image of Father God to their children. The tender images Bryan paints will bring tears to eyes and inspire men to become better fathers. The practical helps this book offers will encourage men to excellence.

Bryan Davis has written a treasure. Although it is pregnant with real life examples of what to do to become a better father, it goes beyond simple nuts and bolts. It contains precious principles that, if taken in, will change the way you father your children, the way you relate to your wife, and the way you relate to your heavenly father. This book is not a book to fly through. You have to take your time to really grasp the essence of what he is imparting. You (and your family) will be blessed if you do.

Bryan does a great job synthesizing what a godly father is all about. With 7 kids, I know he's had plenty of practical experience. With inspirational stories and hard-hitting, down to earth advice, Bryan captures what the Image of a Father should be about - the Image of our heavenly Father.

Well done Bryan! I'm looking for more great books to come from you!

Private Sneden, a survivor of the Civil War was long forgotten when this was published recently. What is so vital about this book is that it is untouched by politicians, generals,and other propogandists of that era. Furthermore it is done through the viewpoint of the artists eyes, and done by his hand - without the editorial expections of the time.

It is so refreshing to see this long studied subject being given a fresh viewpoint from someone who was actually there.

Recommeded for any serious student of the Civil War.

Images From The Storm will appeal to two audiences: those who appreciate treatises on early military art and those with an interest in the Civil War. The Virginia Historical Society unearthed a treasure trove of photos by Union photographer Robert Knox Sneden: this shares his handwritten memoir and a sampling of his storehouse of nearly 1,000 watercolors, sketches and engravings about the war. An outstanding example of military art.

If you love to see pictures from a fascinating time in American history, this is your book. The details and the description really put you there to experience what was happening. No flowery, romatic view of war from this guy!! This book provides
extra pictures that were not included in "Eye of the Storm".
Don't miss this piece of history.

Many of the techniques used in this book's hardware/software waterfall project to make it succeed, are also used in agile software development to help them succeed. People skills, frequent feedback, keeping in touch with reality. I loved the humor and compassion exhibited by the authors. I recommend this to practitioners of Scrum, Extreme Programming, and other agile methods to provide a perspective on a real-life waterfall project and problems common to all development projects.

Excellent material, well written and cogently organized. Reads like a Steve McConnell book, but at a more general "Project Management" level instead of "Software Project Management". Loaded with funny (in hind sight *grin*) stories that make the major points very memorable.

I related to many of the stories (they read very much like AntiPatterns), and I gained important insights into a current critical project -- which is having immediate positive impact on my current planning and actions.

Very glad I read this book in time.

Strongly recommend this book for current and future project/program leaders!

"It Sounded Good When I Started" sounded equally good when I finished reading it.

This is a book about project management, not as it should be, but as it is: confused, satisfying, creative, mundane, exciting, demanding and chaotic. Built around the authors' adventures with a real, large scale project named Delphi, one feels as if she/he is working with the them and their very human cohorts as they cope with problems of enormous complexity.

The chapter titles themselves should give a flavor of the book:
"Digging Yourself into a Hole,""Going Where Angels Fear to Tread: There Is No Right Way to Do the Wrong Thing," and "A Charlatan in Expert's Clothing: Writing a Lie - The Proposal..."
being typical examples.

Each chapter concludes with "clinical" phrases such as, "The Dog Ate My Plan" or "I Wasn't Involved," that serve as warnings, in everyday language, that something is amiss. The warnings are then followed by very useful "bullets" that suggest ways for coping with the "dog" or the excuses one gives for his/her participation in a phase of the project that ended in failure.

A highly readable book, it should be of interest to all people who are engaged in project management, whether the project involves creating a piece of multi-million dollar electronic equipment or planning a extended family reunion of relatives who are ambivalent about getting together.

This book was funny & smart! The illustrations were brilliant. I loved it and will purchase another ....once I have another neice/nephew to purchase for!

For anyone who has ever owned a pug (we have 3, they sort of multiply without you realizing it), this is a great book. This book is the cutest and silliest and so true! The rhymes are really catchy and the drawings are very whimsical. I never write reviews but wanted to let the author know how much we love this book. My mom reads this book to our 6 month old son over and over again. Don't miss out on the last page, it'll have you cracking up!

My 3 1/2 year-old son loves this book. It's a cute 2 minute read, with a pug who loves to juggle all kinds of things, who breaks mugs, tugs on curtains, has a friend named Doug, and who likes to poop on the rug. The town is up in arms and wants the pug out, but the pug only started the juggling act for hugs, so they all learn to live together in peace. Hugs are one thing we all want more of! The poop thing, of course, is what sells my son on this one. That's his favorite part, for sure. We are a cat family, so he has no idea this actually happens -- what hilarity!! This is one we'll read daily, and it won't give me a headache any time soon. Very sweet, upbeat story with illustrations that match.

You could take the amount that I know about African-American spirituals and fit it into the hollow of the ear of a flea with room to spare, I think. Put bluntly, I don't know much. As far as I can figure it my spiritual knowledge begins with the song "This Little Light", continues through "When the Saints" and ends somewhere around "In His Hands". Awfully considerate of Mr. Ashley Bryan to select those three songs in particular for his picture book collection of three classic spiritual songs then, eh? Earlier in the year I sent out a query asking for people to tell me about the books that could win the Caldecott and the title that got the most mentions was "Let it Shine". A book that I had not A) Heard of or B) Seen. I'm correcting this great wrong right now and though I'm not the kind of person who normally goes gaga over cut paper, Mr. Bryan has done some pretty slick stuff with just some colored pulp, a pair of scissors, and some of the finest folk songs in the world.

From the very first page Ashley Bryan's vibrant images just leap at you. Three spirituals vie for your attention. In "This Little Light of Mine" children are seen carrying lights in all kinds of containers and sources as the words to the song appear below. With each verse, Mr. Bryan finds an eclectic way to bring these lyrics to life. The same can be said for the other songs as well. Within an ever shifting series of hues, tones, shades, and colors, people are seen praying and singing. They laugh and dance. "Oh When the Saints Go Marching In" shifts from light to dark and the book ends with a blow-out production of "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands".

I was first introduced to Mr. Bryan's work years ago when he wrote the Coretta Scott King Award winning title, Beautiful Blackbird. For some reason, at that time I never really realized what kind of paper the man worked with. Not fancy self-pressed sheets of tissue or lacey linens. No, Mr. Bryan is a master of a material that even the youngest child will instantly recognize: construction paper. I mean, it's pretty cool when you sit down and think about it. Art teachers and Sunday school teachers could probably have a field day with this book. They could charge their own kids to come up with their own stories or images with the songs that they like. There are possibilities galore.

I was grateful for the back matter in this book too. If you're going to make a title that consists wholly and entirely of three songs then it would be a crime not to include a little sheet music in there. Sheet music there is, and ah-plenty. A short note from the author too, explaining the roots of Spirituals and their importance. And of course the endpapers of this book are practically worth the price of admission alone. In both the front and the back of the book are two hands, undulating and reflecting a host of different colors. It all looks so straightforward until you notice that Bryan has been able to create the illusion of light playing over paper by constantly changing the shades of each finger on the hand. I was amused to also see the Xeroxed photographs of the scissors that Mr. Bryan must have used to cut out all these thousands and thousands of paper pieces.

Sometimes it's difficult to find quality Christian children's books. There are some umpteen bazillion Christian publishers out there, many of them churning out books for kids every year. Still, once in a while you need to look outside this closed little world to find the real gold. "Let it Shine" will make so many people happy. People looking for a great selection of music. People looking for something Christian. People looking for a title that'll involve African-American history and a great contemporary artist. It's all here and it's all bound to make a whole host of folks very very pleased. As I may have said before, cut paper doesn't usually make my little heart go ah-pitter pat, but for Ashley Bryan I will make an exception. Stamp a big old "NECESSARY PURCHASE" all over this puppy.

Of the thousands of Spirituals created by African-American slaves, Ashley Bryan chose to illustrate three of his favorites -- "This Little Light of Mine," "Oh ,When the Saints Go Marching In," and "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands." He took two pairs of scissors inherited from his mother and colored papers and created exquisite collage illustrations bursting with color that sweep and swirl across double-page spreads.

The artist, who frequently works in primary colors, has chosen a different palette of exciting, compelling,complimentary colors with yellows and golds, blues and purples, and browns predominating. Without a
speck of white background showing through, his stylized, multi-layered collages of flora and fauna, and people, mostly children in silhouette, dance across the pages. On one spread, illustrating the verse,
"Don't let Satan blow it out," two candle-holding children in bright colors face a swirling mass of cool grays, blues, and greens. It represents Satan trying unsuccessfully to blow out the children's lights. It looks ominous without being frightening. Filled with meaningful images, such as the image for God from the Ibo people of Nigeria, Bryan has an original, unequaled mastery of form and color. This book is a tour-de-force that is as beautiful from a distance as it is close up.

This is a beautifully illustrated presentation of three spirituals. Ashley Bryan uses cut-paper collage masterfully to show the message behind the lyrics. These illustrations offer many opportunities for discussion. The three spirituals are ones familiar to most children: This Little Light of Mine, When the Saints Go Marching In, and He's Got the Whole World in His Hands. The book is a wonderful way to make a connection between the library and music class and is especially effective in the younger grades. During Black History Month, it is a wonderful way to show the great influence of African American music in the American musical experience.

I have bought many Linux books in an effort to learn how
to use Linux commands. Well, after months of use, I can
confidently recommend this one above the others. It covers
just about everything there is to know to use Linux commands.
The arrangement of the book is good and it offers many examples.
Also, it covers commands and utilities glossed over by competing
books. For instance, check the make command page for its usage. The ZIP utility, safedelete and others are covered as well. This is the book I find most useful for command reference.
Highly recommended! If you choose only one command reference book, this is the one to buy for the newbie and experienced user alike.

This valuable little book has saved my sanity numerous times. It has quick and easy to understand answers and gives common examples of how to use various commands. It is like a linux cheatsheet. Anyone can use the Linux GUI, but only a master knows the command line.

If you keep one Linux book next to your machine then this has *got* to be it.

This is not a tutorial book and it is most useful to those with at least an initial familiarity with Linux. 'Instant Reference' means just that, and on that score, this book delivers big time !

The book is not written in an archaic alphabetical order but a much more useful, logical order grouping related commands together - tremendously practical. The 'At a Glance' section at the beginning of each chapter tells you exactly how to perform the most common tasks. After that, after some tips and explanations of the area of Linux the chapter covers,it launches into a plain English explanation of each command under that topic *and* what all the extensions do, as well as associated system files that are affected.

If you are ever sitting at your Linux terminal and wondering how do I do 'x' (which covers most Linux users, most days) then this book is a must have because you simply reach over open it up and it tells you. I have had some pretty good Linux books but if I had to keep one, the decision would be easy.

I found this book to be very useful. I am only doing some part time consulting but this book was filled with tips and techniques that I could really use.

This book is not about technology rather it's about building a technology business. There were many things I didn't expect but were quite useful, like the sections on networking for business, client communication and some pretty interesting marketing techniques for getting new business.

Because of the book design, not only can you read from start to finish, but you can use it as a reference, referring to particular sections when the need arises. Great book!

I was fortunate to get a copy of this incredible book upon release. Being entrepreneurial and depending on consulting, finding real and appropriate books for computer consultants is difficult. Not only does the author fill an important gap, but the book is an amazing collection of information, suggestions, methods, and strategies for supporting a consultant in being the most effective they can be. The book can be read and re-read and new information and competencies will be obtained every time one reads it. The title of both this review and the book speaks volumes - no computer consultant should be without this book.

I have been a computer consultant for over 12 years and am always looking for new sales and marketing strategies. This book is filled with hundreds of creative ideas, processes and innovative strategies and is well worth the purchase price.

The book in broken into five sections; management, marketing, sales, relationships and growth. The author's focus is to provide the tools needed to take a computer consultant's business from a part-time or solo consultancy to a multi-million dollar enterprise. Even if that's not your ambition, the information provided will make your business better and more profitable.

The author knows what he's talking about, he's secured contracts with Microsoft, Symantec, Disney and IBM. There are step by step guidelines for business planning, development, marketing, project and people management and ways to increase the profitability of your consultant practice without adding one new customer.

It's well thought out and a great reference resource. Highly recommended.

K. Celeste Bryan has captured the life, romance and adventure of the 1800s in her novel Moon of the Sleeping Bear. I found the novel to be compelling reading and the characters well developed. It is a novel that is hard to put down. I highly recommend this novel to anyone who loves a good romantic period novel. WOW. Keep up the excellent writing K. Celeste.

Rick Flanagan, author of the Kincaid Saga Series

My son gave this wonderful book to me for a birthday present. I didn't want the book to end...it kept me excitedly interested throughout the book. The Minnesota history added a nice touch. Can't wait for more books by this author. Will encourage my friends to read.

Ms. Bryan has penned a most amazing story. You feel Wynters grief and pain and happiness. Dax has a good heart, he tries to do the right thing. I am thrilled to know there will be a sequel, will answer some unanswered questions. The details of Minnesota frontier life is vivid and colorful, you can picture them in your head as you read the story.

Don't miss this wonderful book, you will not be disappointed.