Burnett Books

Everyone is worried about Katie because she is having trouble paying attention at school. She loves chasing butterflies and would rather take time to play than to learn. Grandma Rose knows that play can lead to learning and tells Katie to look at something special in her garden.

Katie and her parents look at the roses and Grandma Rose explains why children are at times like roses. Then she gives Katie a rose bush to take home with her and of course she plays all the way home.

The next few pages have pictures of trees, roses, babies walking and children reading. Each section explains how growth happens in a unique way for each flower, tree, child, etc.

A special section at the end of the book gives a list of people who bloomed at their own time including, Albert Einstein, Grandma Moses, Michael Jordan and even Karen Gedig Burnett.

A note to parents, grandparents, teachers and all who love and care for children gives advice on how to support and respect children who are late bloomers.

As a late bloomer myself, I can say I understood Katie's need to enjoy the world and live in the moment. I've always thought we all grow up way too fast and children do learn through play and through creative stories.

Karen and Laurie create loving gifts for the world. The stories are positive and the art is just a delight. I love all the creatures roaming about in their books. This one has snakes, baby birds, ants, hiking mice, singing frogs, bees, blue birds, dogs and cats and tiny yellow chicks. This book could also be used for counting how many of each type of animal you find on each page.

Karen Gedig Burnett worked as an elementary school counselor for over twenty years and her wisdom is very apparent. Laurie Barrows' artwork is playful and humorous and she brings a vibrant touch to every book she illustrates.

Also look for these valuable books/lessons:

If the World were Blind
The Magical, Marvelous Megan G. Beamer
Simon's Hook

~The Rebecca Review

Katie's Rose: A Tale Of Two Late Bloomers provides young readers ages 5 and older (along with their parents) with an enduring message of acceptance and support in a graphic manner enabling them to understand and appreciate the uniqueness in each child and the individualization of the talents and abilities. That like every rose, every child will bloom in it's own time and in it's own shade. Karen Burnett's has a superb gift for storytelling that is wonderfully augmented by Laurie Barrows as an artist in this superbly crafted and presented picturebook story with its inspiring, insightful moral.

A Little Princess follows the story of Sara Crewe, a young girl whose mother died when she was a baby and who has been sent to bording school. She has the finest clothes and toys and anything she wants but isn't spoiled (the story is a fairy tale, by the way). She imagines herself as a princess and wants to be kind wise and just. She does good deeds as her way of "scattering largess to the population." This results in her being the social butterfly of the bording school and earns her the animosity of its queen bee. All this changes in an instant when her fortune is lost and she becomes a scullery maid in the same boarding school. She works all day, sleeps in an unheated attic, and is underfed. She now imagines herself as a princess in disguise, and continues to try and do good deeds for anyone less fotunate. But now she has another identity too - a soldier, like her father, who must live on rations and bravely face each day.

I didn't find this book to be overly sappy and sentimental, but it got close to the borderline at times. There were plenty of discussions of dolls and lacey dresses and ribbons. I read this as an adult. I guess these are supposed to appeal to little girls who want to have a little princessy playground and so would love to read about ribbons, but I think descriptions of lace would have put me off as a child as well. Like I said, these only get borderline sappy, probably because Sara soon becomes penniless and enters the lower class. As a scullery maid she experiences hunger, phsychological abuse from the bording school mistress, and a grinding work schedule. This is not sugar coated for the children, but it isn't the focus either. The focus is on Sara's internal thoughts, her relationships with her few loyal student friends, and what she thinks of the neighbors and the new people she meets and things she sees. So even though there is all this poverty it is there as a setting and not because the author has an axe to grind. Strangely enough, this book came across as realistic.

This is a children's book, but functions as a book for adults as well. For example, the estate agent's diplomacy in getting Sara hired by the bording school after she is found to be penniless has some subtlties that are going to be more real for older readers.

I recommend this book to all. It is a children's book that works for adults too. It skirts the border of sappy, but for me didn't cross over at any point. It was a good story that I read through quickly and did not get bored with or bogged down by.

Confusing title? You betcha! But just stick with me, and I'll explain very shortly, I promise.

A couple of weekends ago, I was babysitting a young girl who I have been sitting for now for about two and-a-half years. I let her stay up a little later than her usual bedtime, so this dear child was half-asleep by the time I finished tucking her in. I noticed that she had on her bedside table the book "A Little Princess," and I picked it up, closed the light, and carried the book with me to the living room.

I gave it just a very cursory skim; I had read it, and Burnett's "The Secret Garden," ages and ages ago when I was a kiddie, and all I could remember was that while I loved them both, "The Secret Garden" was the more beloved one of the two, for me.

I then settled in to read the book I had brought with me, D. H. Lawrence's "The Rainbow." (A book for grown-ups.) I was up to the penultimate chapter, and it was very slow going -- this chapter was taking me forever to complete, while the rest of the book had read pretty quickly. I gave up and picked up again my little friend's copy of "A Little Princess."

Well, I started to read and was thoroughly, absolutely smitten, enchanted, head-over-heels about this book. I just HAD to continue reading this when I got home, but I couldn't run off in the night with my little friend's book!! (LOL!) It was a little after 10 p.m., and her parents had told me they would be home elevenish. I was almost certain the nearest bookstore was open until midnight, but I called just to double check, and also to ask if they had a copy of "Princess" in stock. They were, indeed, open until midnight, and they did have a copy.

Her parents came home at 11:15; the father, as usual, put me in a cab, but this time I did not give the driver my home address. I gave him the address of the bookstore, he took me there, I told him to keep the meter running, and I dashed into the store, bought the book, and then headed home, hugging the book.

I stayed up late, very late, into the night finishing this dear story of precious Sara Crewe. I had had, indeed, "'A Little Princess' Attack," a la McDonald's "Big Mac Attack" because I had a craving for that book as strong as any "Big Mac Attack" ever recorded!!

A wonderful, perfect book in every way!

Readers will delight in solemn, wise little Sara Crewe as she goes from riches to rags and back to riches again, without losing a bit of her princessly charm. Captivating characters abound, from the heartless Miss Minchin, head of the boarding school where Sara goes from student to servant, to Ermengarde, Sara's not-too-bright best friend. This is a story anyone can appreciate.

A Little Princess has always been one of my childhood favorites. The story itself is very interesting and there's certainly never a dull moment. Ms. Burnett wrote the book with such excellency until she keeps the reader anxious to find out what's going to happen on the following page. As a child, I must have read A Little Princess over a dozen of times. To be honest, I've even read it as a full grown adult. As a matter of fact, I still own my personal copy and once my little niece is older enough to read with an understanding, I plan to purchase for her a copy. What drew me to A Little Princess was the fine artwork of Tash Tudor. I would recommend A Little Princess to each and every girl. It's certainly no doubt a story they would read with full enjoyment! C. Linder Michaelcfo@aol.com, New York, NY

this book is beatiful and preatty. y watch the movie of this book and it was sad bot really good.

A Little Princess follows the story of Sara Crewe, a young girl whose mother died when she was a baby and who has been sent to bording school. She has the finest clothes and toys and anything she wants but isn't spoiled (the story is a fairy tale, by the way). She imagines herself as a princess and wants to be kind wise and just. She does good deeds as her way of "scattering largess to the population." This results in her being the social butterfly of the bording school and earns her the animosity of its queen bee. All this changes in an instant when her fortune is lost and she becomes a scullery maid in the same boarding school. She works all day, sleeps in an unheated attic, and is underfed. She now imagines herself as a princess in disguise, and continues to try and do good deeds for anyone less fotunate. But now she has another identity too - a soldier, like her father, who must live on rations and bravely face each day.

I didn't find this book to be overly sappy and sentimental, but it got close to the borderline at times. There were plenty of discussions of dolls and lacey dresses and ribbons. I read this as an adult. I guess these are supposed to appeal to little girls who want to have a little princessy playground and so would love to read about ribbons, but I think descriptions of lace would have put me off as a child as well. Like I said, these only get borderline sappy, probably because Sara soon becomes penniless and enters the lower class. As a scullery maid she experiences hunger, phsychological abuse from the bording school mistress, and a grinding work schedule. This is not sugar coated for the children, but it isn't the focus either. The focus is on Sara's internal thoughts, her relationships with her few loyal student friends, and what she thinks of the neighbors and the new people she meets and things she sees. So even though there is all this poverty it is there as a setting and not because the author has an axe to grind. Even the ending is fairy tale, but partly bitter-sweet. Strangely enough, this book came across as realistic.

This is a children's book, but functions as a book for adults as well. For example, the estate agent's diplomacy in getting Sara hired by the bording school after she is found to be penniless has some subtlties that are going to be more real for older readers.

I recommend this book to all. It is a children's book that works for adults too. It skirts the border of sappy, but for me didn't cross over at any point. It was a good story that I read through quickly and did not get bored with or bogged down by.

The Magical, Marvelous Megan G. Beamer: A Day In The Life Of A Dreamer by Karen Gedig Burnett is a very highly recommended and entertaining picture book with an underlying positive message for young folks. Following the adventures of Megan, an impulsive and imaginative young girl, whose exuberance brings her intense criticism, the story hinges upon a key conversation in which the girl's mother reassures her that it is OK to dream, to play, and to be a kid. Wonderfully enhanced with the colorful artwork of Laurie Barrows, The Magical, Marvelous Megan G. Beamer will prove a welcome addition to school and community library collections for children ages 5 to 8.

Megan is a dreamer who is living in a world where everyone keeps telling her, "Don't," "No," "Stop," and "Grow Up." She has a vivid imagination and loves to act out her dreams. As she runs into the kitchen, she imagines she is the fastest kid alive. Well, until she knocks over the bucket of soapy water and her mother says: "Megan, go outside to run."

We find Megan in playful situations where she is dancing "between" raindrops, traveling to Mars or exploring wild jungles. I love the page where Megan says: "I dance between raindrops and never get wet." I remember thinking this was possible when I was a child. There is a cute picture of Megan playing on the lawn with the sprinkler, a dog and a mouse with an umbrella. On the left side of the two open pages, you see a dream-style cloud picture with Megan dressed as a ballerina and the dog is even dressed as an angel. The mouse, blue bird, squirrel, cat, dog and little yellow chicken appear in most of the scenes and this is amusing and cute. Children will enjoy looking for the animals.

Laurie Barrows has created the reality and the dream on all the pages where Megan is pretending to be what she imagines herself to be in her dreams. When she is playing by a stream in the mud, she is really thinking that she is a pretty mermaid diving deep into the ocean to find treasure. Laurie Barrows just has an amazing imagination and she has filled the pages to the brim with art, art and more art. This is truly one of those books you can read and read and never see everything on every page. Each time your child reads this book, they will be delighted to discover new aspects of the pictures.

Of course, no one else realizes that Megan is living in her own little world and so they don't appreciate her free-spirited and joyful attitude to life. Finally, she starts to get very discouraged and the scenes change to Megan wandering through her day discouraged and alone. Laurie Barrows captures the loneliness and dejection Megan feels and finally her mother asks her if she is having a bad day. The next scenes are so endearing as Megan and her mother have a conversation about why everyone wants Megan to be different than she is.

"Well, sometimes people forget what it's like to be a kid. Even other kids can forget what it's like to be a kid," Megan's mother answers.

As Megan and her mother sit on a garden bench, Megan's mother explains the entire situation and reassures Megan that she loves her just the way she is.

"But Megan, I love your dreams.
I love your energy.
And even though I get tired
sometimes and can get crabby,
I wouldn't change you.
I love you just the way you are."

Once Megan realizes that at least one person loves her just for being herself, she is back to being her imaginative, impulsive, creative, free-spirited self.

Karen Gedig Burnett has lovingly penned the words and her story is beautiful and teaches children to love themselves for who they are and to accept other people for who they are. This story also teaches us to love people unconditionally and to encourage them in their dreams.

This is Karen Gedig Burnett's fourth book. She has spent twenty years as a school counselor and her stories are now helping children throughout the world. Karen's books are for children of all ages. She is known for developing plays, stories and programs to help children learn how to handle life's challenges.

I truly hope Karen Gedig Burnett (a.k.a. Grandma Rose) keeps writing children's books. These are truly books children will love and they help parents and teachers to teach kindness and understanding. "The Magical, Marvelous Megan G. Beamer" is a story that remains in your heart and the message is eternal. We all want to be accepted and loved. When we are loved for who we truly are, we can reach beyond our dreams and become more than we thought we could ever be.

~The Rebecca Review

At my school, "peer review" is my chair visiting my classroom once a semester and from her observations (in combination with student course evaluation) extrapolates whether I am a good teacher or not. This book offers a useful alternative to help support evaluating the status of teaching by using a model to what we use for scholarly research - based it on a written record that is developed in a community of peers and is available for analysis and commentary. I (and a colleague) have found this book to be an outstanding guide for walking us through the process of documenting our teaching. The book is well writing and offers useful suggestions, prompts, and examples for creating a course portfolio and then sharing it with a colleague (or external person) for critical review.

I have heard several of the authors talk at conferences/events over the years and am excited that they share their wisdom in a book. I have found this book to be incredibly useful - it offers a detailed guide to faculty peer review (faculty offering commentary, feedback, and development to faculty peers) through the use of course portfolios. The chapters are as follows:

Chapter 1: Making Teaching and Learning Visible
Chapter 2: Capturing the Intellectual Work of Teaching: The Benchmark Portfolio
Chapter 3: The Benchmark Portfolio: Five Examples
Chapter 4: Inquiring Into Specific Aspects of Teaching: The Inquiry Portfolio
Chapter 5: Soliciting and Writing External Reviews for Course Portfolios
Chapter 6: Using Course Portfolios to Foster Campus Collaboration
Chapter 7: Creating a Campus Community for the Peer Review of Teaching
Chapter 8: Addressing Larger Issues in Peer Review

Thus, the book offers a details guide as to what is peer review to writing a course portfolios to how to start a program on your campus. It should be required reading for all new (and older) faculty and all adminsitrators who think that student coruse evaluations are the only way to measure teaching.

Bucolic I think is the term. It gives such a taste for the "outdoor living?", the more natural life. Swann was much ahead of his time or just in step with a smaller group who realized that fate of man was strongly entertwined (?)with that of nature. Paganism seems such a hard oversimplifying term , holistic is more up to date. He called it the "Great mother" now they speak more of Gaia. This is the kind of fantasy that gives you direction and hope in times of pollution.

Day of the Minotaur was actually written first. The series tells the story of Eunostos, last minotaur, and the other Beasts that inhabit the Forest of Forever. It tells how the prehuman folk, such as the minotaurs, dryads, centaurs, fauns, Thraie, and Bears of Artemis, left the world of humans to find their own country, where they could live in peace.

What a great read. This medical thriller, set in beautiful Boulder Colorado, is engaging, fun, exciting, humorous and smart. Dr. Josh is an innocent man swept up in the fallout of a murder of a child. Always being one to give way too much benefit of the doubt to anyone, Dr Josh finds himself getting sucked in deeper and deeper, eventually fighting for his life and that of his family. This book was a wonderful surprise, I recommend it heartily.

The Mortalist is a first rate medical thriller, part part murder mystery, part science fiction, part philosophically insightful novel. More than just a fascinating "beach read", the novel is packed with insight, medical tidbits providing an interesting and candid insight into the real world of a practicing physician, coupled with extremely entertaining use of language. But more, Barry Burnett has an off-beat sense of humor, unexpected in a thriller, but delightful.

This is a literate and thoughtfully crafted novel, a real page turner, but also one that leaves you wanting more when you finish, hungry for his next book. Burnett weaves his story around philosophic and moral issues that challenge the reader to consider points of view not frequently encountered, but with a light and gentile touch.

Seldom does one encounter such an entertaining novel, artfully combining mystery, humor, insight and philosophy.

Highly recommended!

Author Lois Burnett-Guyinn brings to life a wonderful history of African-American inventors in this book. The Muncie Children's Museum utilizes this book in our Black History Month activities as well as our pre-school ABC Read With Me program. The writing style captures the attention of young children and their parents providing a valuable look at these inventions and their inventors. A must read for all parents and children!

Jama Cashdollar
Executive Director
Muncie Children's Museum
Muncie, Indiana

This is an excellent step back in time into African American History. I purchased this book and read it to my children's 3rd and 4th grade classes. They fell in love with the characters and were captivated from beginning to end. The story is not so long as to lose the attention at this grade level.
I highly recommend this book as an educational tool for all children.

Carol Burnett is probably best known for her television show where she performed in various skits with a talented cast. One might not realize just how shy she was as a kid, or that she never dreamed of being a movie star until college. However, it is all here in this autobiography, a charming and personal account of a life filled with entertaining characters. We learn about Nanny, the woman who raised Carol and her younger sister Chrissy. We find out about Carol's alcoholic parents Jody and Louise, very different people and different influences on Burnett's life. There are many stories of growing up, school, various jobs, and family, each incredibly relatable and great fun to read. It is hard to put this book down. It is written to constantly leave the reader wanting more and never disappointing.

It is obvious that Burnett has a great love for her childhood although she wasn't always the most popular or the richest. She is an ordinary woman with a life that anyone can latch onto. The only disappointment is that it is so short. Burnett skips talking about her famous tv show as well as the marriage that brought her the three children she wrote the book for. It leaves the reader wanting more. Perhaps there will be a sequel one day; it will no doubt be as good as the first.

Although written over 15 years ago, Carol Burnett's
autobio is an amazing one. It covers just about all
(or seemingly so) of her early years in Texas,
her move to California, and at age 21, her move
to New York where she hit the 'big time'.

Carol obviously didn't have it easy. Her family
was impoverished and her mother and father were
absentee parents. Only because of her grandmother,
Nanny, did Carol pull through. Although neither
of Carol's parents survived to see her success,
Nanny did...and for that I'm sure she'll eternally
be grateful.

Unbeknownst to me before reading the book, her mother had
an illegitimate baby girl, Chrissy, which she kept...and this
was back in the 40's when such things were
scorned mercilessly. Luckily, just before
her mother died prematurely, Carol was able to take Chrissy
back to New York where she finished her formative years.

The coverage stops all too soon...Carol's narrative
is especially inviting. I was hoping that a few
bits about "The Carol Burnett Show" and Harvey, Tim,
Vicki, and Lyle would be included, but it's easy
to see why that element was left out.
Although the structure doesn't really take the
form of a letter, the book claims to be a letter
written for her three daughters. A unique format.
My only complaint is that the book contains tens of
pages of Carol's handwritten letters to a guy
named DeNootie (an old friend of hers). In the paperback
version, they are impossible to read because the
print is overpixelated. Ditto for the section of
photographs...the photos are all way underexposed.

A must-read for any Carol fan. Definitely among
the best bios I've ever read or will read.