Faulkner Books

This story is cute but I recommend getting The WIDE MOUTHED BULL FROG or THE LONG NOSED PIG which are more entertaining, in my opinion. My kids love those 2 and are so-so about the hippo story.

I love hippos and was delighted to see this book. It's a pop-up book with tabs and flaps to keep children's interest. The illustrations are truly marvelous. It is fun to see the many friends of the hippo try to help with getting rid of hiccups. A very simple story that can lead to laughter and fun with children.

This is a wonderful way to use fantasy and dreams to reinforce saving money.

I gave this to my niece's for their birthday. even though one was turning 15, it was soo pretty that it was apreciated. The 12 yr old was very excited, the look of it is most wonderful, and it made the idea of saving monies much more pleasant.

The second and third sections of this book are invaluable to the serious reader or repeat teacher of Faulkner. Volpe has done all of the difficult sorting and taxonomy we are obliged to do before we can come to our own terms with a novel. Who is each narrator or character, what do the events look like in chronological order, etc. To have that kind of work done for you for such novels as "Absalom! Absalom!" and "The Sound and the Fury" is worth the price of admission.

In the second section, each novel is given a reading, and while one may not always agree entirely, they almost invariably identify all the major features and events of the novels and are often closer to very careful glossed summaries than they are argumentative. If you've read a novel, these are comprehensive enough to return to you whatever you might have forgotten. If you haven't read a novel, they function very adequately to convey the essentials.

The third section provides detailed chronologies of events for nine novels.

If you're interested in making your own sense of the novels, Volpe's meticulous work will allow you to get down to business more quickly.

The author explains Faulkner in a direct, straightforward, "Hemingway" style, risking reductiveness but undeniably expanding the potential audience for the book. Readers entirely new to Faulkner may benefit from the general introduction as well as the interpretations (basically sound, "widely-received" readings) of individual novels. Others may understandably take a pass on the first two sections in favor of the third, which provides a breakdown of the narrative order as well as the "actual" chronology of each of the chapters in Faulkner's novels. Included are scene descriptions based on compiled evidence from the chapter as well as verbal clues that alert the reader to scene shifts in a narrator's consciousness.

A downside: Like most other commentators on Faulkner, Volpe often takes too seriously the seriousness of Faulkner. This is especially apparent in discussions of "Absalom, Absalom!" Unquestionably, it is apocalyptic, tragic, visionary narrative, but it is also supreme farce. Readers need to know that it's OK be bemused by the first chapter and to laugh out loud at the second. Critics have done a grave disservice to Faulkner by representing the novel with such unrelenting sobriety. (Reading Robert Browning's "Caliban Upon Setebos" might be the first step to a cure from much insensitivity to the playfulness of Faulkner's discourse.)

Finally, the page references to Faulkner's novels have not been updated to agree with the current Vintage editions. And the decision to ignore all of the short fiction might have been more palatable had the author not cast aesthetic judgement upon it, in effect "ranking" it beneath the novels. Faulkner's short fiction is not only of the same high order as his long narratives but is inseparable from them.

His late wife, Ally, speaking on a memory videotape she'd left behind, was actually suggesting he start dating.

"Date?" Grant thought alound. "Who would I date? Who wants a widower who lives on a principal's salary and has three daughters?"

Clearly anticipating his reaction, Ally said into the camera, "I know you're going to sit around for weeks saying you wouldn't know who to ask if you wanted to go on a date. I've though this out, too."

She leaned forward in the chair. "Jenna," she said softly. "I want you to date my best friend, Jenna. And, Grant, I think you'll fall in love with her."

Imagine, if you can, having your deceased wife ask you to fall in love and marry again.

This is what happened to Grant Monroe - two years after his wife, Ally had died of cancer.

She had to have been a very thoughtful and loving wife to be concerned about her husband and children to make such an unselfish request. She asked Grant to at least date again and to start with Jenna, their best friend.

Grant was hesitant as he had been out of the dating game more years than he cared to count. Hannah, his oldest daughter was just a few months shy of sixteen, and Becca was eleven and then the youngest, Maddy was only five and just starting school.

Jenna has always, unselfishly been there for his daughters and him since Ally's death. She was also responsible for her sister, Amy. Imagine her shock and dismay when Amy found a boyfriend.

In a fit of anger and jealosy, Hannah told Jenna about the tape her mother left for Grant - implying that a marriage between them was just part of a plan. Grant wanted everything neat and tidy and Jenna could care less and she was never on time.

What a conflict --- you will enjoy finding out how these two people who fall in love [finally], resolve their differences and meld a working family unit between them.

Definitely recommended - but to be expected of the daughter of Judith E. French [you will enjoy all of their books]

Reviewed by Simon Smith (age 9) for Reader Views (5/08)

"Stand Tall, Abe Lincoln," by Judith St. George, is about Abe Lincoln's life from when he was born to when he was about fifteen. This book is a good mix of a detailed picture book and a short chapter book. I learned from reading this book that there really are schools called "blab schools" and that Abraham Lincoln really hated slavery or cruelty to anything in any kind of way. Abraham grew up as a perfectly healthy boy and from the start seemed to have a love of animals.

Unfortunately for Abe, though, his mother Nancy died because of milk sickness, which is when a cow eats a certain type of weed and the milk is poisonous. Later, Abe's father decided to find a new wife so he left the three kids alone in the house, which is something no parent would ever dare to do these days. Abraham Lincoln loved to read and when his father found a new wife, and she moved in, Abraham found that she owned many books and that he was welcome to read them. For about four years of his life, when they once moved, Abraham Lincoln did not have to go to school because there was no school, unlike the schools today that keep on coming up like bugs.

There were two things that I did not like about this book. One was that there was one sentence that said that killing a pig was as cruel as slavery, even if they needed to kill the pig for good reasons. The other was that one of the pictures of Abraham Lincoln reading on a horse while it was resting seemed to be in the wrong place since the writing about it was on another page. On every page, there is a large illustration. I think that the illustrations in "Stand Tall, Abe Lincoln" do add to the story a lot and help you think about what it would have been like to have lived Abraham Lincoln's life. I think this was a pretty good book for those two things I mentioned and it is good for kids aged five and up.

I had lunch with an author the other day and the subject happened to turn to the topic of biographies for children. Sometimes it seems like publishers are afraid of doing anyone new these days. It's all Einstein and Martin Luther King Jr. There are a whole lot of Helen Kellers and more Anne Franks than a kid could ever really need. Unusual subjects sometimes seem to get the shaft, and this is a real pity. You'd think people would want to learn more about the obscure heroes out there. So when I find myself with yet another Abe Lincoln book in my hands, I am not impressed. I am particularly unimpressed when I realize that 2009 is going to be the year when Lincoln celebrates his 200th birthday. Do you know what that means? It means that we're going to get swamped in even MORE children's biographies of Abraham Lincoln. Bearing all this in mind, I decided to read Judith St. George's newest title, "Stand Tall, Abe Lincoln" with an eye to the "hook". Every bio of a much over-examined subject needs a hook. The D'Aulaires' hook was that in spite of being truly terrible (oh yeah, I said it!) it won the Caldecott. The hook of Russell Freedman's Lincoln : A Photobiography was that it was beautiful to look at, exquisitely written, and collected all known photographs of Lincoln in a single source. And the hook of "Stand Tall, Abe Lincoln"? The fact that the turning point that made Abe into a future statesman had much to do with his stepmother. It was his stepmom Sally Johnston who encouraged him to become a great man. And while I would have liked the title or cover of the book to emphasis this point a bit more, the book's respect for both its subjects is touching and it presents an important story for kids of all ages to hear.

He was born February 12, 1809 to Thomas and Nancy Lincoln in the state of Kentucky. A bright kid, Abe was good in school and lively at home. He talked a blue streak and loved his books. The family moved around a lot and when Abe's mother died of milk poisoning it was a terrible time. With two kids to support, Thomas went to get a new wife for his family, leaving his kids at home. He returned with Sally, a big loud woman with a lot of energy and a great understanding about what made Abe tick. She gave him books, encouraged him to go to school, and told his father to let him study rather than engage in chores all the time. She was one of his greatest influences and her care for Abe may have helped him to become one of our country's greatest presidents.

This is apparently the fourth "Turning Point" picture book biography Ms. St. George has created though it is the first that I've ever read, and what I liked about it was how much of the tale gives props to Sally Johnston's influence on her new kids. Essentially the book hits all the high points of young Abe's youth that these biographies are prone to cover. The day Abe fell in Knob Creek and almost drowned. The time when he got kicked in the head by a mare. The story arc is consistent, though. St. George is very good at tying these little moments into the grander theme of Lincoln's life. Rote facts become small clues to Abe's personality, and taken as a whole they build the narrative until Sally's arrival. A whole book about just Sally wouldn't make a lot of sense, so instead St. George introduces her within the context of the tale and her appearance is perfectly situated so that she influences not only Abe's life and course of action but also the course of the story itself. This takes some wrangling on an author's part, but clearly Ms. St. George has the situation well in hand.

Ms. St. George tends to be paired with illustrators that prefer a lanky watercolor format. Her Caldecott winning, So You Want to be President? featured David Small's remarkable elastic characters. In this particular case, Matt Faulkner creates his images in gouache on cold press watercolor paper and the pictures just pop. There's a real physicality to Faulkner's illustrations. Characters have stubble and moist eyes and loose folds of skin. Hair seems to fall in a natural fashion, fingernails have dirt under them, and bodies splay or wrestle or lounge in natural positions. Faulkner has paired with St. George before, as in their book You're On Your Way, Teddy Roosevelt, so he's no stranger to complementing her words. Their pairing is smart indeed.

Maybe you're sick of all the bios out there on Abraham Lincoln, sure. But there's a reason that people consider this man to be one of the most fascinating presidents we ever had. His story is the kind of rags-to-riches fare that human beings like to eat up. I like that Judith St. George has had the wherewithal to recognize the importance of Lincoln's stepmother too, though. Heroic stepparents don't get a lot of play in either children's fiction or children's non-fiction, and in these days of divorce and remarriage I think it's important to find some that are worth celebrating. Sally Johnston was every bit of that, and it's important to see how her influence affected the very course of a nation. If you add just one more Lincoln biography to your collection, make sure that you add this one.

"Touching Tomorrow" represents a thorough and detailed history of Emily Griffith and Denver's Opportunity School. The transition from prairie schoolmarm to influential innovator is inspiring, entertaining and well documented.
Obviously a great admirer of Ms. Griffith, Faulkner still manages to create a mostly unbiased account of the teacher's life. While some details are either glossed over or merely alluded to, this can easily be attributed to the lack of verifiable information. Other specifics tend to be overstated, making the book at times read like a collection of serialized installments. However, the author's ability to create a timely and relevant backdrop helps place Griffith's life in historic perspective and adds to the enjoyment of this biography.

After going to a fantastic book reading by the author, I picked up the book because I was interested in hearing more about Faulkner's theory on Emily Griffith's murder. I was not dissapointed in the least at Faulkner's eloquent yet lively interpretation of this amazing woman's life and her murder theories. You will read this book in 2 days. It is well worth the purchase, as Emily's life is testament to lessons applicable to today's educational system.

Enlarged and reinforced my appreciation of "Absalom, Absalom!". However, it also raised some questions. Why is Sutpen so abhorred at the taint of black blood in his line? Presumably all he wants is the big plantation, money, power, wealth. And Faulkner indicates he was raised in West Virginia with no prejudice against blacks, in a slaveless world. He of all people should stand outside this. Yet we first see him with blacks as his property.

On top of everything, "Town" made him famous. He was one of the greatest novelists of the 20th Century and it all came from this book. I give it four stars, because the book wasn't the best during the time.

So glad to see photos out of the archival boxes and into print. Text gives adequate context to illustrations. Organization by theme is appropriate, although "change through time" series regarding the Plaza would have been better. An excellent book for homesick HSU grads.

This book is an interesting glimpse into French food in the era 1900-1950. It is a translation of `L'Art Culinaire Francais'. Its main use is a reference book for foodservice professionals and home kitchen French food aficionados. If you need a specific recipe from this era, you will probably find it here.

This is really an encyclopedia of French cuisine. This weighty tome contains 3750 recipes, 864 pages, and tips the scale at more than 5 pounds. According to the editorial information, Ernest Flammarion started editing this book in 1945. So, this book covers roughly from Escoffier and the Edwardian era of elegance to WW2. There are any number of similar cooking encyclopedias from this era. This is a cut and paste edit job from about 3 dozen other contemporary cookbooks, although the lion's share of recipes comes from Pellaprat, Montagne, and Escoffier.

I find it significantly more useful than Escoffier's Le Guide Culinaire. There are a surprising number of recipes that an average home cook can do, but you must be able to find them versus other things the home cook should stay clear of. More than 90% of the recipes are of interest only to culinary anthropologists. However, that still leaves several hundred valuable recipes, viz cream dressing: 3 parts cream to 1 part lemon juice and a little seasoning (for lettuce and romaine salads). This is, in sum, a rather remarkable compendium. Since the emphasis is on home cooking (country cooking, bistro cooking, petite cuisine, or whatever you want to call it), it is much more useful and practical than, say, Escoffier for the modern home French chef or foodservice professional. I was surprised how many recipes I keep getting from this book.

Each recipe is identified as to which book it came from. The recipes were culled as is with no changes in the procedures (or so the editorial information says). The recipes tend to be rather cryptic. You must already know your way around the French kitchen. Rarely do the recipes tell you when something is properly cooked. Despite the 100+ pages of introductory material, it is not an educational or learning tool. Since the editor copied the recipes from other books as is, there was no attempt to correct or clarify the recipes; in order to do many of the recipes correctly, the cook must often engage in a little creative rewriting of the procedures.

The first 130 pages contain general cooking information. There is some interesting material: a mock Madeira sauce, realistic advice about French sauces in the home kitchen, pictures of interesting kitchen tools, cocktails, and many b/w pictures showing various techniques (there are 123 plates, and they are similar to the ones in Pepin's Complete Techniques). Most of the rest of the material in this chapter, however, is of historical interest only. The vegetable chapter was particularly hideous: poor, helpless vegetables are variously molded, stuffed, sauced, beaten, or cooked to death. The subsections on potatoes and rice were remarkable for their brevity and lack of variety. The pastry chapter is rather remarkable: 20 pages of just components (pie dough, creams, frostings, sponge layers, meringue, leavened dough). The color pictures of the various pastries should be instructive to American bakers: note how dark they are baked. My pet peeve is that Americans under-bake their pastry and bread. Sadly, the book does not have bread recipes. The best recipes are in the Provincial chapter: each region in France gets a selection of recipes, and many of them are worth trying.

It has these chapters: Stocks, Sauces, and Garnishes; Thick and Clear Soups; Hors d'Oeuvres; Eggs; Salt-Water Fish and Fresh-Water Fish; Meat; Poultry; Game; Vegetables, Italian Pastes and Farinaceous Foods, Salads; Mixed Entrees; Pastry; Cheese, Fruits; Provincial Cooking; Foreign Cooking; Home Canning and Preserving. There are 585 very nice color photos of finished dishes (which are thoroughly cross referenced with the corresponding recipes) and more than 100 b/w instructional photos. It has a complete, detailed TOC and index, which is a good thing considering the number of recipes it has.