Burnett Books

With Skeletons in Purple Sage, Barbara Burnett Smith has
created a very appealing heroine in Jolie Wyatt, a
realistic and interesting family and a whole town of
characters, good and bad.
A disasterous flood has brought the Governor to town
to asses the damage and Jolie has been picked to host
a reception - difficult to do when the site is under
six feet of water.
The next available location is logical but difficult,
since the hostess is the new wife of Jolie's good friend's
Ex. After that, the discovery of the body of the town's
beloved doctor in a ditch just piles on the trouble.
Jolie wants to find out who took her doctor's life, why
the local fundamentalist church is shunning the doctor's
funeral and why her Mother always liked her sister best.
I strongly recomment this book for its character development
and the exciting plot.

Austin, TX writer Barbara Burnett Smith has done it again--Jolie Wyatt, everywoman and perfect amateur detective, is up to her ears in flood waters and murder in the latest Purple Sage mystery. Things start innocently enough when Jolie and best friend Diane arrange a tribute dinner for a couple of old friends from their past. But thanks to the monsoons, before the night is out, one of honored guests has had the humiliating experience of being hosted in her former home by the husband who left her and his new trophy wife--and the other Guest of Honor is dead.

Then the sheriff announces that the death may be a suicide--and Jolie's on the warpath. Dr. Bill did NOT kill himself--and she's going to prove it. Complicating her mission are a host of suspects who may have believed they had ample reason to hate Dr. Bill, the arrival of Jolie's estranged mother, and Jolie's own fluctuating temper and emotions--is it sheer frustration from multiple directions, PMS--or even humble pie, as Jolie discovers friends who are foes, foes who might become friends, black is white, Truth may be relative and...well, the waters run very deep.

This Purple Sage contains the things we've always loved about Smith's books--the great small-town politics and tangled personal relationships--and takes them in unexpected directions. If you enjoyed the other Purple Sages, don't miss this one. And if you haven't tried them yet, what are you waiting for? And yes--I think you can start with this one, if St. Martin's STILL hasn't reprinted the others!

Purple Sage is a small Texas town founded by nine religious fundamentalist families and even today their influence can be felt. Jolie Wyatt, a newcomer to the town and married to native-born Matt, is hosting a party in honor of retiring Dr. Bill Marchak and Beverly Kendall, who has returned after a three year absence to take care of her ailing father.

The only problem is that most of Purple Sage is flooding and the house where the reception is supposed to take place is underwater. They are forced to hold the party at the home of Beverly's ex-husband Tom who divorced her to marry Leigh. A gracious Beverly insures no one feels uncomfortable. Later that night, Dr. Bill's body is found tightly wedged in a drawn wrenched ditch. Nobody knows the cause of death but rumors abound. Shortly thereafter, Leigh disappears. Julie finds the body believing that the same person murdered both people.

The protagonist, trying to achieve justice for the dead, almost finds herself becoming the third victim of a demented killer. Her bravery and unwavering quest for the truth as well as her loyalty to friends and family are only some of the reasons the heroine is easy to like. Sad to say, the killer's identity is totally believable and raises some interesting legal and social issues. After a two-year absence, it is good to see the Purple Sage gang reunited again.

Harriet Klausner

This book is full of outstanding digital, arcrylic,oil and sculptures of just amazing art work. I showed most of these Spectrum books to my art classes and they went over well. I enjoy looking at the pictures as weel it creates a spark in my imagination to draw and paint better. I reccomend this book to any one that can handle a slight bit of nudity. But its great you should buy it.

Spectrum 3 book is the best reference book in fantasy drawing, painting, illustration, digital art and sculpture. You'll see amazing styles and techniques of artist from all over the world. You'll notice some famous artist's work when they were unknown... very impressive. Do you feel the need for inspirations? Do you have feeling that you're not improving? This book will fire you up and make you work all tonight long~!!!

I have become a collector of this series. Each year I am there to get my copy as soon as the publication comes out. Nothing but the best is presented here. Highly recommended.

the book opens up the exact opprotunities that all writers wish that you could do for the readers.The writer did a very good job in writing this book and capturing the total essecne that and it was like I was in the story and she was writing about me and my life, it was like reading the never ending story ofr the first time, it kept me at the end of my seat the whole way through the book .

In genre increasing its use of gore and violence, "Writers of the Purple Sage" is a welcome diversion. While quite modern and friendly in its manner, "Writers" evolks images of mysteries of days gone by. No blood, guts, gore and profanity here - just a tightly knit mystery that doesn't bring you down.

Jolie Wyatt, recently divorced and trying to raise a teenage son, is meeting with her writers' group one night when she learns that Judge Volney Osler has died. What might not have been such a big deal--after all, people do die, and the Judge was old--becomes a very big deal when it turns out that the Judge was murdered. What was a very big deal becomes a huge deal when the murderer's method turns out to be one Jolie herself devised for her as-yet-unpublished mystery novel. Since she had shared her manuscript with only the other members of the group and the officer investigating the crime, the list of suspects is small indeed. When the police officer devotes particular attention to Jolie, the townspeople of Purple Sage have little trouble narrowing the suspect list down to one: Jolie. The fact that Jolie had an argument with the victim shortly before his death does little to help her case.

With a very personal interest in solving the crime to absolve herself, Jolie begins to poke around. Soon she discovers motives for many of her writing group, but still the solution seems elusive--and the danger seems to be getting closer to home. With a son to protect and an ex-husband trying to protect her (and threaten her independence), Jolie finds that her efforts to solve the crime are not entirely consistent with her efforts to maintain her small family.

"Writers of the Purple Sage" is Barbara Burnett Smith's first novel in the Purple Sage series, and it is a most enjoyable read. Smith juggles a traditional cozy mystery in the Christie sense with a domestic tale, and it is the latter that really gives the novel its strength. Jolie Wyatt, as a single mother, is a very sympathetic character who is afraid of losing the life she has provided for her son and who has become an island unto herself. The events surrounding the murder threaten her and her son, and she fights back bravely. While the everyday citizen investing a crime so thoroughly can be problematic (and is indeed a problem in many of the novels of the cozy mystery genre), Smith seems well aware of this problem and has made strides toward explaining Jolie's sleuthing. Jolie investigates in self-defense. I'm not sure that this justification works completely, and there are times when Jolie seems a bit too brazen for either her own good or common sense, but overall the novel works well and is a pleasure to read.

In Comfortable Living By Design, registered interior designer and licensed contractor Deborah Burnett shows her readers how easy it is to develop there own creative abilities, how to use the basic elements of design, and how to create a truly comfortable home, apartment, or office. Such issues as the use of light and color, the principle of balance, and tapping into personal creativity for an extra touch of "personality" in design are covered clearly and accessibly. Quick and easy design tips are offered within each chapter that will make creative efforts come alive with professional quality results. The commentary, instruction, advice, and suggestions are as practical as they are inspiring. Anyone contemplating re-doing their home or office should first begin with a thorough reading of Deborah Burnett's Comfortable Living By Design!

Enjoyed reading this book due to the fact that Deborah helps to explain the aspects of decorating and design in a way that I (the average person) can understand them. She opened my eyes to all sorts of things that I had never thought about before when trying to make my home feel like me and my family rather than trying to duplicate some photo in a magazine that I really liked , but when in fact it wasn't my style at all. I really recommend this book for anyone who was a frustrated as me when it came to decorating my home.

I had the privilege of not only using this book as a textbook for a comparitive politics class, but listening to the author who was the professor expand on the concepts in the book.
This text is an excellent text for student to learn the concepts and methods of comparitive politics. It is written in an easily readable style that makes the material much easier to digest. The country studies range from the well known Western European Democracies to the less developed countries and emerging democracies in Africa and Latin America.
All in all an excellent textbook which makes what could be a dull and grating subject interesting and contemporary.

My Government AP class used this as our main textbook for the Comparitive Government semester. It was a great basic guide to comparitive government and politis. It was very helpful in reviewing for the Compartive Government AP test. I would reccomend this textbook!

The two novels in this book, Burnett's best and most famous, keep much more than the category 'children's book' promises. I had first read both as a teenager and was then truely enchanted, but I only came to fully appreciate especially 'The Secret Garden' when I had to reread both novels in order to write a paper on Burnett. There is so much more to Burnett than the average child or teenager can fathom... I really recommend some adults to consider reading this book (even if they already have in their childhood - it's truely worth a revisitation); they might learn how to dream again!

This is a book containing both of the stories of The Little Princess and The Secret Garden. It begins with the classic story of a girl in a mysterious mansion with a mysterious uncle and a mysterious secret garden. The second part of the book is about a girl who comes to an girls school during the world war who suddenly falls from a beautiful lifestyle to one of pverty and servant-hood. Overall it was a good story but would have been better if they were told seperatly like other books of their kind.

It was because I enjoyed the author's Tithing and Still Broke that I read From Broke To Broken. I was not disappointed. The former book explored the reasons why some Christians suffer lack, even as they "tithe", and pinpointed the main reasons as spiritual. Unlike other books on the monetary tithing message (which I've read) that focus primarily on debunking it as unbiblical, the author didn't leave it there but took it to a more important level: fulfilling one's personal God-given calling as a faithful steward of His resources. This is true spiritual abundance, regardless of one's external circumstances and current financial situation. This new book builds on this point and takes it to an even higher level: enduring and overcoming adverse circumstances, even running towards some of them under divine inspiration like David ran to Goliath to take his head off. This may sound exciting, but one must be aware that sometimes adverse circumstances will test your endurance. "Endurance will be the difference between a fulfilled vision and a lost one." Also, "the real evidence of faith is our level of endurance while we rely on a loving God." But this comes only through something else: becoming broken. This does not mean what some may suppose: self-loathing. As the author perceptively puts it: "If we are to go from broke to broken, we must begin to love ourselves by denying ourselves." This sounds paradoxical but it is based on an important distinction between self-love (love your neighbor AS YOURSELF - internal) and life-love (loving one's life in terms of external attachments; carnality). The author expounds on the differences, but they could have been better explained, especially as they relate to the subtitle of the book (notice my review title). I would add that the distinction is based on the difference between one's human nature or true self, created in the image of God, and one's sinful, "carnal" nature or false self which acts as a parasite on the former, producing deception. When one becomes born again, uniting the true self with the divine nature, one is spiritually circumcised from the sinful nature (Colossians 2:11), the false self, although that nature isn't eradicated and still deceives to a certain degree, and internally tempts one to fulfill its sinful desires. Only by renewing one's mind with divine truth (our being a new creation in Christ) and walking in the Holy Spirit will one overcome the sinful/carnal nature with its deception and sinful desires. In the last chapter, the author discusses the internal battle with the carnal nature and speaks of that nature as a mountain that God will make into a plain. It is only through realizing that the sinful nature does not define who you truly and completely are in Christ that the mountain is made into a plain, and it is through the Holy Spirit's motivation of love (which extends self-love to one's neighbor) that one is progressively sanctified.

Chapter six discusses unshakable confidence. Some Christians erroneously think that all confidence is arrogance which results in false humility through self-condemnation and doubt. May God use this book to help overcome this deception that weakens the body of Christ. It is through God-given, lion-like boldness that the body is enabled to fulfill its multiple love-motivated purposes through Christ as the Head, enduring and overcoming all suffering to the glory of God. Although there is much more that could be said regarding the truths that the author shares (and I would word some things differently), one is given some important biblical basics to build on. I was encouraged by this book which bore witness with my own spirit, sharing the same vision. May those who read this book be blessed with same empowering contentment wherein Paul spoke and ministered in love through divine inspiration (Philippians 4:11 - 13).

Being broken? Actually, no. Brokenness is something to be attained. Brokenness sets us apart from the masses pretending to be okay. We don't have to be "all that." Someone else wants to be that for us. Burnett reveals how we can live a blessed and even prosperous life when we enter this honest and vulnerable state of brokenness and allow God to be everything we need.

I can't say enough about this series, but this book is my 21-month old's favorite. This book explains house, street, town, state, country (U.S.), continent, planet, and universe. My daughter always races to the back of the page where the planets are. She has memorized the planets and loves to show off about it! We've read it in English and Spanish. The translations are wonderful and professional.

I loved this book! It will really help any child learn the basic words that place us in the world. The book begins right at home and then each page backs away from a home, to a state, to a country, to a continent, and so on until the pictures are showing where earth is in relation to the other planets. What a great way to show children where they live. The back even has a pronunciation guide for the main words. A perfect introduction to the Spanish and English language!

Of course, this book is not really about being blind; it's about looking past appearance to see the person underneath, it's about recognizing that personal qualities are more important than physical attributes, it's about treating people with respect. ~Karen Gedig Burnett

Why do we treat people in various ways? Why do others treat us with respect or disrespect? In "If the World Were Blind," Karen Gedig Burnett addresses the issues of how we judge people based on their skin color, nationality, clothes, body shape and looks. This is a book about judgment and prejudice.

This book is made up of pages with black backgrounds that fold out into full color scenes of people saying various negative and positive sentences. The point is well made because if you were blind you would not be able to see the scenes filled with people of different ethnicity, action and dress. White words are printed on the black background and a sentence in a white box at the base of the closed page states what a person would not see if they were blind, for example:

"If the world were blind it wouldn't matter what color skin a person had: black, tan, white, red, yellow...

Next page: "...it would matter only that their voice is kind and their touch is gentle."

In the black section of the page you might see:

"Go back where you came from," "It's so good to see you," "Stay away from people like that. They're no good."

When you open the pages you can then see who is saying which phrase.

An interesting way to explain that we should treat people with respect and to care more about their internal motivations all while learning to reach out to one another with kindness.

Even if this book is teaching children not to judge by appearance, I still think it is good to teach children to respect themselves and by improving our own appearance through exercise or by dressing in a way that shows others they respect themselves. Often people do show how they feel about themselves by the way they dress or by the way they take care of themselves. So, the issue of self-esteem is not really addressed fully in this book and is definitely an issue to consider. The author does give advice on choosing friends who are good for you.

I guess the main point of the book is that no matter what, we can treat people with respect and in order to make the world a more nurturing place, we have to be the catalyst for change. We can diffuse anger and hate with love and be part of the solution.

~The Rebecca Review

If The World Were Blind... is an especial picturebook written by Karen Gedig Burnett and illustrated by Laurie Barrows for the purpose of teaching young readers about judgement and prejudice. Every two-page spread of the book is initially colored black, with only people's words and thoughts as well as main text standing out. Every two-page spread then folds out into a long mural twice the length of the open book, which brings the words in darkness to vibrant, colorful life, showing the people of all shapes and sizes who are thinking or saying the words that were printed on darkness before. While the foldouts make If The World Were Blind... more delicate than an ordinary picturebook, it is much sturdier than a pop-up book, and the format soundly drives home the book's conceptual message - that if people were not so quick to judge based on what they see at first glance, then everyone could learn and accept more from one another. "If the world were blind it wouldn't matter if someone were/short or tall, large or small, had an athletic body or a potbelly, perfect teeth or a toothless smile.../...it would matter only that they were / honest and fair." Very highly recommended for school and community library collections.

Darling little book. A joyable read with many activies, recipes and ideas for ones own little secret garden entertaining and planning events. Any one who enjoys Frances Hodgson Burnett's writings will want to add this to their collection. Wonderful illustrations by Tasha Tudor and Mary Colllier, which is an added bonus. Both Carolyn Collins and Christina Eriksson, did a wonderful job in writing this book

For anyone who wants to learn more about "The Secret Garden" and its author--where the original garden really was, how an English robin differs from an American robin, how to make a nesting station for birds in your garden, what "oatcakes" and "doughcakes" are and how to make them (along with other recipes from the book), how to plant a miniature secret garden, how to make a windchime from keys like the one that unlocked the Secret Garden, and lots more! Wonderful gift. Tasha Tudor illustrations.