Gibson Books

This work was excellent, as it gave advice to the black writer. I found it very useful and I believe it is the only publication of it's kind. Aliona Gibson shared her publishing experiences, good and bad. This is a must read for black writers and self publishers.

So, you want to write a book too? Well, here is a book that spells everything out for you from the author's experience. The book is loaded with reference material to aid us in finding an African-American agent or a African-American publisher. Buy this book!

If you are a Black writer who wants to get your book published you must buy Ms. Gibson's book. It tells you everything you need to know and breaks it down in little baby steps. It also has examples of press releases, querry letters, and a sample of a synopsis. If you're serious about getting published hunt this book down anyway you can.

I bought her first book "Nappy" and thought that it was one of the best works published that year. I'm very happy to see that she has written this this book to help out struggling black writers such as myself. I went out and bought the book as soon as it hit the shelves and I must say that it has proven to be a very good investment. It is jam packed with information for anyone of any color who wishes to pursue a career in writing.

I just received this book and can hardly put it down. I'm only half way through it, but I feel I've already learned a great deal. Ms. Gibson is obviously very talented in all aspects of forensic art and I can only hope to be a fraction as talented.

This book is worth studying...not just reading. The content is invaluable for the forensic artist to examine how a composite sketch is done. The common mistakes, step by step explainations that make sense, and the examples are wonderful tools. I allowed a teenager to read one of the chapters when she was struggling with a sketch. The chapter helped her to apply the information and stop struggling. So it is a great tool for Art Teachers when they are trying to teach how to do a portrait.
I enjoyed the humor that eased the pain of some of the example stories. There's a gentle tone to the wording of truly horrifying real life stories and focus on the courage of the witnesses. I enjoyed the book beginning to end.

I have a stack of required reading Forensic Art books, but Lois Gibson's book is the one that once picked up, I couldn't put down! Written in a down-to-earth format, well-organized, easy to understand, takes the reader straight to what you need to know to practice and join this exciting new field.

If I had anything negative to say, it would be that the publishers priced it a little too high for the general public, who I believe would snap this off the shelves with the right marketing.

This book would be a welcome addition to any artist's collection, as well as any Forensic enthusiast.

It is with utmost sincerity and enthusiasm that I recommend Lois Gibson's book Forensic Art Essentials to all those interested in identification techniques for forensic art. Whether you are a beginner or an established forensic artist this book is absolutely essential for anyone in the field! Lois' book contains a wealth of information that is presented in a clear, concise manner.

Lois' book gives a complete and comprehensive "how to" for composite drawings. She begins with a detailed description of basic materials, references materials and a step by step guide to help draw individual features. Lois then goes into depth about almost every possible situation a forensic artist might face in their career of composite drawings. I find her insights thoroughly accurate and very reassuring. In a field where most artists work essentially in a vacuum (without another artist's guidance or assistance on a day-to-day basis) Lois' life experiences (which she shares so readily and with great detail) will help alleviate any questions, fears or self doubts the working forensic artist might have.

Not only does Forensic Art Essentials explain issues and techniques regarding composite sketches, but it also introduces the artist to the important concepts and techniques used in post-mortem drawings, two-dimensional, and three-dimensional skull reconstructions. You'll be taken, step by step, through these processes and given professional advice as to determining the best way to approach unique situations. If your a forensic artist, Forensic Art Essentials will make for great study and reference!

Charles Dana Gibson, I think, can be credited for single-handedly creating in our minds the ideal of Victorian womanhood in the Americas. His "Gibson Girl" was the pin-up of its day (if that's not too vulgar), stoic, immaculately dressed, and a formidible match for her man. I've enjoyed his work for a long time, and was happy to find thsi volume. In it, you will find a wealth of Gibson's "GIbson Girl"-related illustrations, as well as a selection of illustrations that are more satirical in nature, dealing with members of America's social classes around the turn of the century.

What is most amazing - beside Gibson's excellent command of line and his beautiful, sensitive renderings - is his eye for irony. GIbson's illustrations - almost all of them accompanied by a witty caption - seems to have been something of a wit, and never failed to make a poignant pun on his subject. Some of his commentaries on the poor situations of the working class are actually quite scathing - unexpected from an illustrator I always associated with the "upper strata" of society. This book is not simply a gallery of work by a master - it is also an education.

What keeps this book, for me, from receiving five stars, is that some of my favorite of his cartoons have not been included. I saw a similar volume published in the 1970s that had a selection of similar size, but different illustrations, and I wish tha that would be published as well. However, at any rate, this is excellent and well worth the money for any fan of illustration. Enjoy!

This is a great book for anyone who likes the fashons of the late 1800's, Gibson girl, or just well drawn pictures! Gibson was a great artist, and you can tell from his captions he had a sense of humor. Every page in the book is filled with beautiful, clear, large sized drawings of Gibson Girl and her friends. I was delighted with my copy!! It even includes Gibson's "comic" book, "The Education of Mr. Pipp", and a brief but interesting biography of Mr. Gibson.

Awesome. I thought this would just be a few sketches of his ladies, but it's LOTS of his renderings of all kinds of different subjects. He's one of the most amazing talents I've ever seen.

The two leading American illustrators of women at the dividing point of the 19th and 20th centuries were Charles Dana Gibson and Harrison Fisher. I find that I have always liked Gibson much better than Fisher, because Fisher seems to lack a sense of humor while Gibson's work is informed by a sharp, dry, sometimes sardonic wit as he eyes the fads and follies of the high society of the 1890's and early 1900's (of which he himself was a part by virtue of his marriage to one of the Langhorne sisters). As the previous reviewer has mentioned, the highlight of this particular collection is the inclusion of the bulk of the drawings from his famous "The Education of Mr. Pipp", which combines Gibson's trademark humor with not one, but two, beautiful Gibson girls. (Considering that Gibson, earlier in his career, had issued vituperative denunciations of mercenary marital alliances between Eurotrash nobles and American women - most notably in his famous "America's Tribute" - it is particularly humorous that one of Mr. Pipp's daughters is snagged by a Scottish laird who is as clean-cut and upstanding as any American Gibson man!) As I mentioned in my review of Steven Warshaw's "The Gibson Girl", "The Gibson Girl and Her America" is best appreciated as part of a comprehensive collection including both aforementioned books plus Woody Gelman's "The Best of Charles Dana Gibson" and Fairfax Downey's 1936 biography (containing over 100 Gibson drawings) "Portrait of an Era as Drawn by C.D. Gibson". (Actually, the Gibson completist really needs to get - if he or she can find it! - the 1906/1907 2-volume behemoth "The Gibson Book", a compilation of 11 of the artist's volumes with a total of over 800 drawings.) Failing that, this book is a splendid introduction to the work of one of the true icons of America's popular culture.

I got this and "Hardings Luck" one christmas about twentyfive years ago. These stories have stayed with me throughout my adult life and I have never forgotten how I was swept away by the stories. These books are educational while being simply spellbinding...my imagination went wild, back then. Absolutely a must!

One of the delightful things about this book is that it treats children as thinking beings, yet still manages to contain all of the magic and adventure of childhood. As in all of her work, E. Nesbit tells an exciting story while encouraging the reader to consider the meaning of things. One of the best books written by one of the best children's writers of all time.

I was hoping to read this book to my 7 year old boy. It was heavy for him and somewhat slow. The book requires maturity and sophisticated vocabulary, somehow it does not fit the pace at which our kids live now.

It certainly can be appreciated by an older, more mature kid, who loves the English language. It is beautifully written.

Two 10-year-olds are the last survivors of a long line of english aristocrats.The family castle lies in ruins, but the children are determined to restore it to its former glory with the help of the long-lost family treasure. The task seems daunting, but they soon discover there's some intricate, powerful magic in the family crest.. Subsequently the treasure hunt hurtles along at breathtaking pace. The magic includes frequent trips into the turbulent (and dangerous) times of England's feudal past to discover the exact time and place where the treasure was hidden.. This book and it's sequel (or prequel?!) "Harding's Luck" can't be recommended enough. They are children's classics of the nicest kind - not the least bit sirupy - but full of adventure and magic

Everyone's heard of "The Forsyte Saga," the BBC family epic of the late Victorian Age. Fewer have read the Galsworthy book, and that's a shame, because it's fascinating on so many levels. "In Chancery" is the story of the divorce of the two main characters, Soames and Irene. But without what came before, you'll lose the significance of what happens.

On the surface it's the story of Soames Forsyte, the quintessential icon of the growth of the upper middle classes and the decline of the nobility during the Victorian era. Descended from a farmer in Dorset in the not-too-distant past, Soames is a lawyer and a man of property. He buys wisely, sells more wisely, and husbands his wealth and that of the family. He is in control of everything that affects him, except one thing--his wife. Desiring to possess the sensitive, beautiful, genteel but poor Irene, and with the help of a callous mother, Soames pressures Irene into becoming his wife. From this single mistake, the one time Soames let passion rule, his life and the lives of his family and their descendants are changed in unpredictable and frightening ways. Galsworthy's theme is the constant tussle in life between property and art, love and possession, freedom and convention. In the fine tradition of family sagas, these themes play themselves out over and over with each generation.

On another level, this is the story of an age, the story of the British Empire at its peak. Galsworthy packs his book with allusions to the great crises of the time, the Boer War and WWI, the rise of Labour, the death of the Queen, the spread of "democracy." The Forsyte homes are meticulously detailed, from the French reproduction furniture to the dusty sofas to the heavy drapes, to the fireplace grate, to the electric lights in the old chandeliers. Soames collects art, and Galsworthy showers us with the opinions of a British gentleman of the great and not so great art of the day.

The saga was written over a period of many years, and on yet another level I found the the changes in Galsworthy's style from the rather clipped, detailed recitations of events and commentary typical of the 19th century to the more expressive style of the 20th. Especially in the first volume of the three, family relationships are painstakingly laid out, the rounds of dinners and family gatherings carefully chronicled. By the third volume, To Let, Galsworthy reveals the love of the countryside and the pain of repressed emotions that the family members a generation ago would have hidden. The writing is very beautiful--as in this sentence: "Fleur raised her eyelids--the restless glint of those clear whites remained on Holly's vision as might the flutter of a caged bird's wings."

It took me a good six weeks to plow through The Forsyte Saga, but it was worth it.

_In Chancery_ is the second of the novels in the first Forsyte Saga trilogy. A delightful and pointed look at the rising upper middle class in England, this book picks up where the interlude "Indian Summer of a Forsyte" left off and continues the story of Young Jolyon and the man of property himself, Soames.

This installation continues the theme of musing on the nature of possession and freedom as they relate to love and marriage as Soames wishes to remarry so that he can have a son who can help keep the family property intact. Usually bound together with "Awakening", the interlude that binds this book generationally to _To Let_.

Discovering the world of the Forsytes has been one of my delights of the year. I have no idea why these books have been forgiven, but they're really wonderful. Discover them yourself!

In the second installment of "The Forsyte Saga", writer John Galsworthy reassumes the life of the Forsyte family. "In Chancery" is situated a few years after the events told in "The Man of Property", in a few pages recaps some of the most important facts of the first book and their aftermath. After that he is able to move on.

And on he moves -- but the narrative still concerns on young Jolyon, Soames and Irene that forms a love triangle. While the remaining Jolyon become a close friend to Irene, her ex-husband --from whom she hasn't divorced in all those years -- fells jealous and considers claiming his wife back.

Needless to say that this is not the only plot in the novel. Galsworthy develops more family plots. It is impossible not to have the feeling that while he is sometimes depicting the shallowness of the elite from his time, at the same time he has an indulgent look upon the rich and wealthy -- which is not a bad thing as a matter of fact.

Those who like "The Man of Property" will certainly find more pleasure in "In Chancery". He finishes the book with the perfect hook what will come next.

The second volume of the Forsyte Saga; this time primarily the story of Jolyon (Young Jolyon), Soames (who might be called Young James), and Irene ~ Soames' wife who becomes Jolyon's lover. Galsworthy is really the forerunner of Joyce, with at least as much understanding of how men think, and close to (if not as much) the ability to portray it ~ in a more readable fashion. There is real affection in the portrayal of his characters, as much because Galsworthy was by birth a member of the rising upper middle class in England during the time of which he wrote as for any intrinsic value in those characters. As he shows them, though, they are close to loveable, certainly Jolyon is admirable, and Soames is, by his lights, decent ~ even if he does have an unrequitable passion for his wife. Though this is by no means an action-packed plot ~ i knew the essence of the action before i read it, from having read the Introduction ~ it nevertheless compelled me to read, read closely, read quickly. I shall be hard pressed to wait the few weeks i've promised myself before i borrow this volume from the library again and read "To Let," the third novel in the Saga.

Innovation to the Core is an excellent book! I can recommend this book to anyone working in large enterprises on innovation, innovation processes or business strategy. While not going deep into the question why innovation is important, the authors role out an extensive plan how to make innovation a core capability of your organization. It is assumed that successful application of this "blueprint" will ultimately lead to sustained competitive advantage through continuous breakthrough innovation both in products and in the business model. The examples of Whirlpool, P&G, IBM, GE and others are used to proof this assumption.

The book is very much focused on the importance of people behind innovation and discusses a wide array of business elements that may need to be changed in order to implement and operate a holistic, seamlessly integrated innovation process. The transformation process and key issues are repeatedly compared to the development of TQM many years ago. An idea that I like because it allows us to learn from experience in the past where companies were challenged with a focus on quality similar to a focus on innovation today.

While this book is great when read with a focus on the key issues surrounding cultural change, values and corporate learning, I can not agree that it is a complete blueprint for making innovation work. The key topic of IT and processes did not get the attention it should have received to complete this book. According to my own experience with global organizations and also to other authors like Prahalad in his latest book on innovation, are IT systems and processes two of the key success factors to a sustainable system of innovation inside the enterprise. Skarzynski & Gibson devote several chapters to processes and IT but only at a very high level without making clear that infrastructure transformation is a key challenge of large enterprises with their zoo of grown systems and millions of dollars wasted every year in efforts to transform these systems into something efficient. If the authors could upgrade the chapter on IT to show how the architecture can be transformed in a workable way this book would be just perfect!

Innovation to the Core provides easy-to-understand, useful information about how to implement a "systemic enterprise capability" that will sustain innovation as a way of life. Rowan Gibson and Peter Skarzynski have given us a breakthrough book about breakthrough innovation.

I was captivated by the book. It is well written, clear and an inspiration to read. Without hesitation I recommend this as a must read for anyone interested in how to implement and sustain innovation in their organization. It is a one-of-a-kind book that kept me reading late into the night until I had finished it. I read a large number of books on innovation and it ranks among the best.

We have interviewed co-author Rowan Gibson about Innovation to the Core and his clarity of thought and insights about innovation are truly admirable.

I loved this book. The methodology is sound, applicability is high and content is very strong. Congratulations to the authors.

This is an outstanding book, it distills ideas from other books into a step by step format! If you've read Gary Hamel's work, this books takes most of his insights and puts them in a how to format. Very insightful! It's great for startups also as it lays the foundations of the seeds to place. Buy it, read it, carry it with you and share it. No more excuses for not making innovation a daily conversation at your company.

A style all his own, with linguistic skills targeting your funny bone. He finds humor everywhere and shares it with you masterfully. Build your vocabulary and increase your insight into others while laughing so hard you make people wonder what you are reading.

Wit is often not associated with the academe. Therefore it is a suprise to see such wit in Stephen Leacock. As a professor of Economics at McGill University in the mid 20th century, Leacock was counted among Canada's greatest humorists.
In the Nonsense Novels, Leacocks unleashes parodies of most literary genres: The Great Detective, the first tale, satirizes Arthur Conan Doyle's Scandal in Bohemia.
There are tales of capers involving gullible women, a desert island landing with an alternate ending, analysis of societal conditions, and some stories that are plain nonsense.
A Hero in Homespun and the Man in Asbetoes are two worth reading; the latter being a farcical exposition on the future of capitalism and scientific advancement - very scary, if it were not so funny.

I was introduced to Leacock while browsing gutenberg.org, and have not been disappointed.
If you feel overwhelmed by the importance attached to triviality today, then you might do well to pick up and read the Nonsense Novels.

Where do I begin to describe the absolutely astonishing quality of Leacock's work? I first heard of Stephen Leacock when reading a book about the Marx brothers. It seems Groucho was on a train, and happened to pass the room of Jack Benny (who was traveling with them, working on the same vaudeville circuit. Groucho heard Benny screaming with laughter, and popped his head into Benny's room to see what the commotion was. Benny told Groucho that it was a book by Leacock, whom Groucho admitted to not knowing. Benny told Groucho, "It's the funniest stuff I've ever read!" Groucho later bought a copy of the book, loved it as much as Benny, and said that he always looked for anything written by Stephen Leacock.

Okay, but what about his stories? Leacock's stock in trade was the parody of classic literature - stories about humble girls of (unknowingly) noble ancestry, who are engaged to work as servants for title lords, only to fall in love with the son of the mansion are turned into hysterically funny romps, where the lies not in the intentionally funny line, but in carefully crafted twists of standard sentence construction.

A sample, from the above-described story, called "Gertrude the Governess; or Simply Seventeen":

"Young Ronald said nothing; he flung himself from the house, flung himself upon his horse, and rode madly off in all directions."

Leacock treats the classic tale of knighthood (handsome, strong knight declares his love for the gentle maiden of the castle, and she loves him too, though they've never met) to similarly wicked entanglement of story and prose.

"Sorrows of a Super Soul" tells the classic Russian tale of an unrequited love, while "Carolyn's Christmas" the story of the old farmer, his family away (one son in the city, another in prison), his farm mortgaged, and a strange girl happening upon the family on Christmas Eve, with a baby, but no wedding ring. Both of these, and all other stories in this slim book, will have you laughing until you cry.

Buy a copy, get hooked. If Groucho and Jack Benny thought this was the best humor ever, how can it not satisfy you too?

Leacock is one of a handful of literary parodists and humorists (Perelman, Benchley, Twain) whose parodies, though more or less a century old, are still laugh-out-loud funny. If you're a Sherlock Holmes fan, Leacock's "Maddened by Mystery: or, The Defective Detective" will make you chortle. If you appreciate romance novels, "Gertrude The Governess" will still tickle. Canadian Leacock was a master humorist with a light touch, and an unerring deflator of cliche and presumption. This collection of short pieces will still entertain the sophisticated fan of written humor, and should be in every collection.

*Note: The full text of this book is available online.

I am impressed with The New York Review's revival of this unexpectedly non-Jamesian title. A truly unique James choice to bring back to life--it's been done so with a cover so compelling (I'm not a tradional James fan) I opened the book which I found locally in a brick and mortar as they are now called, book shop. The internet cannot do justice to the thoughtful sophistication of this book's packaging. (But I can purchase another copy here more easily!) The publisher's comments about the work were also compelling and complimentary to the cover art. The Other House is a mystery, a detective story, a love triangle with more than three angles--a true page turner--with a timelessly human plot and "modern" characters. Anyone thriller fan would be enchanted with it. And turning every page, holding the book, is a sensory thrill. Paper, writing, art--all representative of what any literary rebirth deserves. If it's worth bringing back--do it with quality, I say! They did--along with a whole marvelous collection of equally intriguing books, with well written new introductions. Good choices--the pieces themselves, the introduction authors and the book artist designers. Truly timeless in all ways!

This book is a novelization of the play by the same name. And you can see the stageplay - the characters are continually coming and going - and there's stage business - all of which I think shows some stiffness - yet about half way through the novel I was startled at how much the characters were real, rounded - I could just about see them - they ached with life - I was always aware of the stage during the novel - the story itself is rather shocking - it's a mystery novel! - it's all very well done - it's short - and it's very psychological

A trusted friend sent me a copy of this new edition of The Other House, insisting that I'd enjoy it. It looked intriguing. I felt obligated to at least give it a try. I still trust the friend! I can't believe this is what is known as a Classic. I thought they were all very boring. I couldn't wait to get back to this plot and I'd never have thought it was written in the uptight Victorian era. It's more like a movie special of the week or one of the top ten best selling novels. Read it then recommend it and impress your friends with your literary depth.

It's hard to believe that James's theatrical turn of the late 19th century ended with his audience "booing" him off the stage. This novelized play reads quickly and delightfully. I've read more than twenty of his novels, and this was the quickest of them all.

The plot is simple enough (at least for James): two houses, apparently back to back, in Wilverley, a small English village, set the scene. One contains a widow, the other a young married couple. The young wife widows the young husband, and he becomes Wilverley's "most eligible bachelor," except for the fact that he promised his dying wife that he would never marry again, at least not during the life of his child. So somebody has to kill the child, right?

Enter James's genius for character. There's Paul, the huge, infinitely imperturbable son of the wealthy Mrs. Beever; the diminutive and impetuous Dennis Vidal; Tony Bream himself, a remarkably good-natured but insensitive fool; and the powerful Mrs. Beever, whose awful determination cows every one else before her. Like James's best writing, his characters become interesting on their own; his fictions become an opportunity to satisfy curiosity. I think that's what makes this book a "page-turner"; the characters are interesting enough that I want to know what's going to happen.

In the end, I suppose, what makes this book succeed is what would have made the dramatic version fail: James's endless fascination with the workings of the human mind must have become either painfully boring or just incomprehensible to a theatrical audience. However it came about, I recommend it unequivocally.

I found Personal Safety Nets very helpful when I need to move in a hurry. I built one quickly using the advice I found in the book. But then I realized that it was a great process for meeting any need that can best be managed by a group. I assembled a group to help in a school project, and then using the same methods, found people to maintain what we did on an ongoing basis. This book is a gem in how to manage groups, delegate responsibilities, and avoid group member burnout, for any kind of an organization, whether it is to help in a personal crisis or gather to protect or improve a community. I am so glad I read it, and highly recommend that anyone read it, if for no other reason than to learn it is okay to ask for help when you need it. That it is, in fact, a gift of service that you are offering to your friends and neighbors. Everyone benefits.

I found this book incredibly helpful when I needed it the most! Lots of suggestions on ways to weave a safety net, tools on how to ask for help and true life stories I found engaging and heartwarming. I sleep better at night, knowing I have my safety net in place.

Social safety nets obviously exist, such as Social Security and Medicare, but both these programs are under severe financial strain with an ever aging population. This book focuses on helping people make their own plans for the inevitable major transitions in their lives, so that they have a prearranged support team ready to go - and can work through the issues involved in getting and retaining that network of help. Be it a change in your health, your marriage, your lifestyle or a crisis for your family or friends, "Personal Safety Nets" gives you the luxury of learning from other people's experiences and provides both resources and inspiration to create a safety net tailored made for each individual.

Whether it's anxiety and fear from cancer, dementia, a sudden disability, or preparing for the final goodbye, Personal Safety Nets offers practical, honest tools for both caregivers and care recipients. For example, there are scripting and sample letters for people who might prefer death to asking anyone for help, a self test to distinguish between grief and depression, and dozens of illustrative real-life scenarios (including successes and failures.) Personal Safety Nets doesn't promote yet another speakers-circuit concept nor any religious or political point of view, which I find refreshing. As a man who had a full-time, demanding job and suddenly became a single father with two young boys, I wish I'd had this book 25 years ago! I am buying an extra copy to give or loan to a friend or loved-one when it's needed, and I'm keeping the original on my "keepers" bookshelf.

Quite the reverse. They just don't have a lick of common sense among them. If there is a simple solution to a problem and a complicated one, the simple solution simply won't occur to them. Their minds just don't work the way ordinary people's do. Imagine an entire family with varying degrees of Asperger's Syndrome.

And the poor Old Lady from Philadelphia! I'm sure she sometimes just wants to take a baseball bat and knock some common sense into them.

This is a wonderful book to read aloud to children. If reading to a group, one should stop just before the family goes to see the Old Lady and ask what you think she will suggest. Nine out of ten times, the children will come up with the same solution as the Old Lady; if not exactly the same one, then something equally sensible.

The basic Peterkin formula: the Peterkins are stupid, yetlogical. They are completely devoid of common sense. Theyget into complicated situations and try to work their way out by adding complexity. Eventually they consult the wise old lady from Philadelphia, who always has a sensible, commonplace, wise, BORING answer. The stories are also an unforgettable picture of daily life in what seems to be a suburb of Boston in the early nineteenth century, almost an Eastern version of "Little House on the Prairie." And somehow there is an impression of a _slightly_ dysfunctional family that manages to muddle through, through with warmth, affection, and mutual tolerance. Stories are just the right length for reading aloud. Anyone eight years old or older will appreciate the humor.

Lucretia P Hale's, The Peterkin Papers is as wonderful today as I'm sure it was in 1880, when it was originally published. Meet the Peterkins, a nineteenth century family, totally lacking in common sense and enjoy their troubles and adventures as they muddle through life's challenges. For example, what do the Peterkins do when their daughter, Eliza Elizabeth's piano is delivered and set in front of the living room window backwards. They solve this problem by simply opening the window and she sits outside, on the porch playing and practicing. This is all fine during the summer, but when fall and winter arrive, it becomes too cold for her to sit out, even in her winter coat. Enter the lady from Philadelphia...she's so wise that she always has a quick solution to these tough Peterkin problems. "But why don't you turn the piano 'round?" And the Peterkins are always amazed that they didn't think of that. As Mrs Peterkins says, "What shall we do when the lady, from Philadelphia goes home again?" This is a delightful book of short chapters, each detailing a glich in the Peterkin's lives, that will charm and amuse your family, as it has families for many generations. The Peterkin Papers is an American classic and the perfect read-aloud book the whole family can share together.

Ask the lady from Philadelphia -- a classic line -- one that is often quoted -- the book has been read by five generations in my family -- it is just as relevent today as when written