John Books

This book is pretty good for beginners. I have recently started teaching myself html and I was able to handle most of the things I was reading about without too much trouble. There were a couple of times I really needed to pause and go back and read it again. Then maybe I could put it together. Only one or two times did I just give up with total frustration. All in all it's a great handbook and I am sure I will get it all someday!

The text was easy to read and gave a great number of examples but lacked any questions or problems at the end of each chapter.

A very good book if you would like to understand how HTML works

I've been doing HTML work on and off for the last 5-6 years. This book is full of great examples for beginners or more advanced users who just forgot how to do something. You won't regret owning this book.

Although the author gives some superfials explanations on JavaScript, CGI & DHTML, this book offers and comprehensive and fairly complete explanation on HTML.
Higly recommended for those willing to learn and master HTML.

I graduated from the University of Redlands (California) with a Bachelor of Science in Information Systems degree a few years ago. Many of the textbooks I used were not very enlightening - I suffered through using them and immediately took them back to the bookstore for resale. This wasn't so with the CREATING COOL HTML 4 book. I use this as a reference book now.

One of the classes I took included a web design portion. How fun to create web pages that were exciting and not boring. It was easily accomplished using this book as a guide but someone who knows nothing about HTML design could easily use this and create.

The chapters are broken down from the basics to intermediate items. The author, Dave Taylor, explains exactly what entails a web page, what a URL is, basic html, graphics, tables, links, pointers, image maps, and other advanced designs.

Now many technical books are dry to read and often times leave the non-die-hard techies wondering what was just said. Not true with Taylor. He gets everyone to understand html - those creating their first web page to those who want to do more, those that want pizzazz on their pages.
If you're not a beginner, you may want to skip the chapters in which Taylor explains to new users about Web pages, how browsers work, what URLs are, and other basic concepts. (But it can be a good refresher for those who haven't designed web pages in a while). Next he expands into basic HTML, fonts, text styles, and gets the reader to understand the making of lists, special characters, pointers, and links. Next comes the explanation of graphics and the creation of tables and frames. But my favorite part is next - chapters on advanced items like background, marquees, image maps, JavaScript, forms, plug-ins, Dynamic HTML, style sheets, and much more.
Examples shown in the book are easy to follow and let the reader completely understand what the code does and how it will look on a web page. Nothing in CREATING COOL HTML PAGES is overwhelming and will let everyone create a web page of which they can be proud. I'm a computer programmer, and still use this as a reference. In fact, it's one of the most borrowed books in our office! This book is highly recommended for any level of html programmer.

This book is unbelievably impressive. After four years, I finally got my copy. This book is roughly 800 pgs. About 100+ are dedicated up front to the story of the seven nations that make up Cajun and Creole cuisine. I love this insightful info. Does it help you cook any better know, but if you like a little background info with your cookbooks, this over-achieves.

What I thoroughly enjoyed was the brief explanation of the difference between Cajun and Creole cuisines. It was only a couple of paragraphs, but I appreciated the plain English. (It's the little things that make me happy.)

The recipes, as expected, are voluminous and accommodate a range of skill sets. Each recipe has a short comment. I would've liked a little more information about the origin of the particular recipe, but I'm greedy like that. (For instance, are these Folse's recipes or a particular family's recipe, etc.) The recipes are organized into the following chapters:

-Roux, Stocks & Sauces
-Breakfast & Lunch
-Appetizers & Hors d'Oeurves
-Soups
-Salads
-Veggies
-Seafood
-Poultry
-Meat
-Wild Game
-Desserts
-Breads
-Dairy
-Beverages
-Festivals
-Plantations
-Holiday & Special Occasion Menus
-Lagniappe

Now here is why four instead of five stars: this is a definitive text (which should have earned a James Beard award), but the photography leaves a lot to be desired. There is a ton of it, but it is poorly lit. It and the graphic design of the book give the entire thing an `80s feel. This was first published in 2004! Although this is a classic reference on Southeastern Louisiana cuisine, the photography makes it feel slightly less than polished. With that said, it is still more than worth the cost of ownership.

In the past, I spoke about my love for Williams-Sonoma New Orleans: Authentic Recipes Celebrating The Foods Of the World (Williams-Sonoma Foods of the World). It is still a valid text because it is a great quick reference. The photography is drop-dead gorgeous. However, if you want comprehensive and in-depth, this encyclopedia is for you.

Thank you, John Folse, for this epic undertaking. Any other cookbook you purchase for this cuisine will simply be for collector's purposes. Trust me, you don't need anything else!

My friend had this book and from the moment I laid eyes on it, I thought "I have to have one for myself" I am addicted to it. I read it every night. I can picture the finished recipes in my head, when I read them. The best thing that I love about the book is that it brings you back into history on when, who, and how the recipe was, first, created. If you love Louisiana food and the Louisiana way of life, you will be obsessed with it. Christina Laborde, Marksville, Louisiana.

Like it says its a Encyclopedia, theres a bit of history in the front that makes for great reading. The best part is the recipe's which are varied and very good. My Wife's a great cook and has well over a 100 cookbooks already but she uses this one quite often.

This is the most impressive book yet on cajun/ creole cooking. Outstanding in every way (except perhaps the cornbread, all of which had sugar in it, and grandma would whop him over the head with her iron skillet for THAT). Can't wait to cook from this.

The recipes, history, festivals, photos, and everything else make this HUGE book indeed an encyclopedia. Impressive that the Italian and German settlers to the state were included in the history and recipe tradition as well, as they generally seem to be left out.

What a gift this was. Was delivered by accident two doors down, and my eldery lady neighbor had it loaded in her car to deliver it to me. Really. I was recovering from neck surgery and had to drag it inside my house. Must weigh 100 pounds. The wonderful part is all the history. The best part are the recipes. Trust me, they work. It is Chef's attitude and touch that comes through for me. It affirms and validates my cooking, moreover it gives me great techniques and ideas. Buy it for the history, relish it for the flavor. If you need a Creole/Cajun Cookbook, this is it.

I'm not kidding... I did. The juggling balls are a perfect fit to anyone's hand. I bought the kit because I needed to learn how to juggle for a class, and I got an A! Pretty good for a first timer! Besides, it's a great exercise for your arms.. try it for a couple of hours and you'll see the effects!

I bought this book after seeing a few friends juggling and finding the book on sale at my local Borders store. I didn't think it would take me long to get the hang of throwing and catching three beanbags and now, almost 6 months after buying the book, I am quite proficient with a 3 ball cascade, making a few catches with a 4 ball fountain, and I've been bought juggling clubs!

I would recommend this book to anyone wanting to get into juggling, for fun or sport, it's simple to use and fun to follow along with. The only thing I do not like is that the book's format makes you wish it was spiral bound or bound in a way it can easily be laid flat.

This person is a great dealer with fast prompt service. Would buy from again.

I loved the hole pack. I was trying to find a cheap set of juggling balls to to start learning, when I saw this pack i didn't notice that the beanbags weren't balls but cubes and I was a bit worried at first. Anyway they are great, well balanced, with the right weight, and the unusual format is perfect to beginners, since you will drop them a lot they won't roll away from you like the rounds' ones.

Within an hour of getting this book, I was able to juggle ( though not skillfully at all)three balls. Granted, I've had a little bit of prior juggling experience from years and years ago, so I wasn't totally unfamiliar with the motions. The instructions were very clear and so were the illustrations after I used a hi-liter to keep track of the otherwise black and white balls.

My parents bought this book, "The Many Adventures of Pengey Penguin", for me when the author came to visit. At first, I thought it would be too young for me, but I said I would read it to my younger brother and sister. I ended up really enjoying this book. I'm 12 years old this year, and I like Penguins and travel. I think that's why I liked the book. The main character, Pengey, travels from Antarctica to New York and makes stops at two other countries, so it was fun to find the places on the map and show my younger brother and sister where he went. I've been to New York too. I also like his two best friends and their friendship and how they get into trouble and have to get out again. It was also exciting.

My parents bought this book, "The Many Adventures of Pengey Penguin", for me when the author came to visit. At first, I thought it would be too young for me, but I said I would read it to my younger brother and sister. I ended up really enjoying this book. I'm 12 years old this year, and I like Penguins and travel. I think that's why I liked the book. The main character, Pengey, travels from Antarctica to New York and makes stops at two other countries, so it was fun to find the places on the map and show my younger brother and sister where he went. I've been to New York too. I also like his two best friends and their friendship and how they get into trouble and have to get out again. It was also exciting.

My son LOVES penguins. When he asked for a chapter book about penguins for Christmas, I turned to Amazon. It was nice to be able to find what he wanted. This is a cute story, easy to read, and full of adventure. My son is very happy with it. I recommend it to any child who is interested in reading.

The author came to our school to do a visit and reading for us. Mr. Burns was very informative and we all really liked hearing him read. Then we were all able to buy a book if we wanted too. I think this is a great book and a great adventure to read for children. My friends and I think Pengey is really cute and some of his friends are very funny. Our teacher said she likes the book because it is funny and also she could use the book to teach us about the world and different animals and the ocean. We all love Pengey!

Bought a copy for my granddaughter who had it read to her several times and enjoyed it so much she has since donated the book to her school library. I will replace hers with my copy since she is still a firstgrader!

The Mark of Zorro is the first Zorro story, retitled for publication in many different book editions.

Repression and oppressive taxation grows in one corner of California. Don Diego Viega, whose picture might just be beside the word 'fop' if California had a dictionary, can do nothing about it.

As one of the local military says "he is about as dangerous as a lizard basking in the sun".

The same cannot be said for Zorro. The Fox offers the local peons some hope, and does what he can to foment resistance.

When the moneygrubbing goes to far and some of the reasonably well liked local aristocracy are imprisoned, things come to a head, especially after the flogging of the local friar.

In an amusing scene, Senorita Pulido gets herself out of captivity by holding herself hostage. Luckily, while fleeing, Zorro is on hand.

Comedy, and action, and romance as Zorro saves the day.

Well worth reading.

Excellent reading of old Spanish California - Paladin of Justice.
Recommend to young and/or old - global audiences.
Thought provoking and suspenseful filled with witt.

We all know the story of Zorro by now. I, myself, read The Mark of Zorro more than two decades ago, when I was a child and the copy I read was titled The Curse of Capistrano. No doubt, more people have seen the various Zorro films than have read the actual book, which started the Zorro legend. Johnston McCulley first introduced his iconic character in a five-part serial in the pulp magazine All Story Weekly, in 1919. The story proved to be popular enough, but this masked avenger really took off when silent film star Douglas Fairbanks read it and subsequently made it into the silent swashbuckling film The Mark of Zorro in 1920. Since then, Senor Zorro has never looked back.

Before re-reading this novel, I was afraid that I would find the writing stilted and archaic. Happily, the page-turning experience proved to be as reader-friendly as I remembered it. True, you do have to get into a certain mindset to get used to the writing style (this is classic pulp writing, after all), but, once you do, you'll be swept along. Zorro, nicknamed the Curse of Capistrano and the defender of Old California's oppressed, was still the same vibrant Zorro - dashing, bold, cunning, and intolerant of injustice. He still flashed that certain twinkle in the eye and displayed that playful nature. Handsome, wealthy Don Diego Vega, on the other hand, was still the dubious caballero, unbolstered by his languid, foppish mannerisms and hindered by the weak constitution. Upon seeking a girl's hand in marriage, Don Diego announced to her father that he would send his servant over at night to serenade the girl by proxy, because the chill night wind would kill the delicate Vega. Of course, we all know it's a game that Diego's been playing for years and his devotion to his wussy role makes it all the more delicious for the reader. Also, I was again struck by how delightful and plucky the beautiful love interest, Senorita Lolita Pulido, was.

Another thing I didn't recall was how long it took before Zorro's alter ego was divulged to the reader, although McCulley didn't really try too hard to hide his secret identity. People ignorant of the Zorro mythos (and under which rock have you been hiding?) would still be readily able to figure out who Zorro really is. However, the novel was almost at the last page before Zorro finally unmasked. But it was worth it to witness the stunned but happy reaction of Diego's father, Don Alejandro Vega, who had long been disappointed with his wimpish son.

To echo A. Nesbitt's spotlight review, if you thought Johnston McCulley only wrote this one Zorro adventure, think again. McCulley ended up writing more than 60 Zorro stories (65, to be exact), several of which were in serial format. The last Zorro tale, "The Mask of Zorro," was published in 1959 (Short Stories for Men magazine).

Full of derring-do, sword fights, daring escapes, a passionate love story, and a masked hero who laughs scornfully in the face of danger, it's escapism at its finest, imbued with a Spanish/Mexican flavor. Yes, it does borrow a bit from The Scarlet Pimpernel, but no matter. The Mark of Zorro is still as entertaining a read today as it undoubtedly was back in 1919. Give it a try and see why Zorro is hailed as the people's champion and why this book gave birth to so many reincarnations in cinema.

I liked this story quite a bit. I remember when I was a little kid watching The Zorro show on television so I was interested in reading this book and see how it all started. I thought overall it was really good.. Senorita Lolita sounds like a very attractive girl. I like how the story ended as well sort of caught me off guard a bit. If your any at all interested in Zorro then pick this book up.. Good stuff.

Justin

I found "The Mark of Zorro" to be a wonderful romp through a bygone era.
I read this book out loud to my father, and we could hardly put it down. If you like swashbuckling adventures, heroes who stand against injustice and play their part in the struggle between good and evil. Then "The Mark of Zorro" is for you. And if you enjoy finding the origins of things, as much as I do, then this book will be well
worth your wile. A true gem for anyone's collection.

I am a big fan of mysteries but I usually figure out who the "bad guy" is pretty quickly. Fast Track kept me guessing on who the "bad guy" was until the very end. I was anxiously turning pages in suspense trying to figure it out. Lark, the main character, was someone you couldn't help but root for! I hope that she and Lionel, the tough "softie", reappear in future books!

Anyone who has ever thought about what would happen if a train and car collided will be rewarded by the compelling train-car confrontations in FAST TRACK. In addition, John DeDakis is an experienced journalist and shares his knowledge of the art as fledgling journalist Lark learns her trade. He has good lessons to share on interviewing techniques and journalistic integrity.

I received this book & decided to leave it in the car to read during carpool times. It didn't stay in the car longer than the first day. I immediately brought it in & could NOT put it down until I was finished. I can't wait to pass this on to a friend. I am most impressed with your gift of writing John! Looking forward to "Bluff"!

Fast Track by John DeDakis' seems too accomplished to be a first novel. The protagonist, Lark Chadwick, is convinced that the official ruling of suicide in her aunt's death is dead wrong. She is compelled to prove this, convincingly, by uncovering her nebulous past in a small Midwestern town. In the process, she alienates her fragile support system and antagonizes her editor and potential mentor. Her tenacity however, propels this mystery to a very satisfying conclusion. Refreshing to read and care about a deeply flawed victim--more gratifying is to champion a fearless young protagonist,warts and all. I especially enjoyed suspecting almost everyone right up to the last couple of chapters. Can't wait to read Mr. DeDakis' next project.

The smooth flow of the plot combined with the realistic connection to the characters made you want to read the next chapter. The depth of the personalities developed, combined with the twists was amazing. Just when you think you have it figured out, another piece of the puzzle falls into place, which more often then not makes you question all of your assumptions. An exciting read!! Looking forward to the next one!!!

Waste of money. Waste of time. Only advertising book i've been inspired by has been "Hey Whipple Squeeze This." Save your money and skip this one.

I own the 5th edition. I haven't read earlier editions
which may contain more of Caple's original writing.

The 5th edition has modern ads for examples. It still
has a lot of old-fashioned, classic headlines.

There is a great deal of useful information in this
book. It's a fine reference to have on hand. Any
copywriter should own a copy and read it. As a
cover-to-cover read though it's pretty dry stuff.

I can't put my finger on why... Maybe the personality
was bled from the original text by the new editor's
additions and subtractions.

I'd like to read an older copy someday.

This book is a must read for learning fundamentals of ANY type of marketing. I am an online marketer and this book made ALL the difference to my sales. Best book on marketing as a foundation for all other marketing books. Seth Godins books are also fantastic for teaching you where to start and the "formula" for success no matter what you are selling. Another good read is Mark Joyners books!

This book is a classic. You need to have it in your library with sticky notes for easy access to frequently used parts of the book. This is not the only book you need on advertising, but it is one of the cornerstone books on advertising. The methods are tried and true (tested) and the content is usable, practical, and for the real world.

I have 47 books, at least as many audiobooks, and I read 23 newsletters and 12 bogs to learn about sales, marketing, and copywriting.

After my computer, this book is the most useful tool I own.

I refer to it daily, and it has saved me hours and hours of time and earned me gobs of money. It's dry, technical stuff but if you put it to use you'll get results. If you do any kind of marketing, selling, or persuading in your life, buy this book.

This is a phenomenal once-in-a lifetime read that will positively impact your life's trajectory, lending you the tools, resources, and tips you need to become a mega-successful entrepreneur.

This is not only a very good read, it is also a excellent source of helpful guidance. A modern day combination of The Power of Positive Thinking, and so many other self help books of the past, this one adds a few new wrinkles that will make the purchase price a mere pitance when compared to the benefits derived from reading this book.

I have been in the personal development field for over forty years. This is THE best book I have ever read in the field. It is life-transforming.The authors guide us with clear information and tools that anyone can use to guarantee success.
It's an instant classic on the level of Think and Grow Rich, the all-time best-selling self-help book.

Bruce Tredinnick

The Answer: Grow Any Business, Achieve Financial Freedom, and Live an Extraordinary Life A well balanced and crafted book. I have read books now by most the participants of the Secret and I believe that this one is the best. I say this becasue it carries you all the way through without dropping you. It is clear practical and spiritual but not in a flaky way. Buy and enjoy, it has the ingredients to 'do what it says on the tin'. Good information from and by guys who have succeeded and continue to succceed.

Dublin Ireland

Before I get into discussing this book I would like to tell a bit of a personal story relating to this book. It is a story that hopefully might even make the book even more interesting to prospective readers. To relate this story to you will make my review a good bit longer than normal, but please bear with me because this story really does have to do with what's in this book...

Last year I watched the international phenomenon, The Secret, which has swept the globe with its message: "Everything that you have, make or do happens because of your thoughts. Everything that happens to you, whether you wanted it to happen or not, was attracted to you by your subconscious mind. This is known as the Law of Attraction. If you want to have a better life, use the Law of Attraction to your benefit."

What The Secret was putting out there was that we are responsible for our own conditions but we need to align what we want in life with our subconscious before we can truly change.

I took this in as positive thinking, as a "philosophy", so to speak but I decided to give the Law of Attraction a try. But after putting a small amount of effort into its practice by trying to manifest some small things - a second trip to Egypt in the same year, an interview in a newspaper, etc., I found the Law of Attraction to be rather true in my life. Thus with no more guidance than the information in that film I started experimenting with one of my businesses last year, a business that hadn't been faring too well in the recent past. To my joy this business turned around and doubled in size within ten months. I then used the same principles to find my sweetheart and in a matter of weeks I found a wonderful girl, just as I had imagined her to be even before I knew her. And after that I turned my attention to a second business I had in December of 2007 and now it is double the size that it was when I started using these principles.

In the course of all of this I moved to Bangkok, Thailand, from Saigon, Vietnam. In Bangkok I have met many new and very interesting people. One day I was called out of the blue by a friend I hadn't seen in a while. She asked me to come to a showing of The Secret which was being held by a Belgian man named Guy, who was interested in the Law of Attraction. I dropped everything I was doing that Sunday and came to the showing. I came not so much to see the movie again, although that was a side benefit, but I really was interested to meet people who were using these principles in their lives so that I could compare notes and see how this was working in their lives. I was there to offer my experiences and to gain from others. Guy and I with another Belgian, Chris, formed our own monthly meeting group.

But something had always bothered me about The Secret: It wasn't enough. I felt like the information in The Secret was more of an advertisement than a practical way of doing things. I decided to focus on finding a guide, a teacher who could take me further into the nitty gritty of how we should use these principles to improve our lives on a day-to-day basis. I decided to "intend" a teacher to come into my life - a teacher who could show me both a much deeper understanding of what I was doing as well as how to use these principles in a practical way.

Two days after I made the intention of finding my teacher came the e-mail from Norm Goldman of BookPleasures.com. The public relations firm representing John Assaraf and Murray Smith was requesting a review of their new book, The Answer.

Recognizing John Assaraf's name from The Secret immediately, I jumped at the chance to review this book.

Coincidence? Stay with me. My story about this book doesn't end there.

I remembered John Assaraf's name especially for two reasons: First, one of the most poignant scenes in The Secret is when his six year old son finds a five year old vision board in a corrugated moving carton. In explaining to his son the purpose of this vision board John realized that the perfect home he'd wished for five years earlier was exactly the home he was living in at that time! (This amazing and thought provoking story is well covered in both the film and book versions of The Secret as well as in John's book The Answer, so I won't go into great detail about the matter).

The second reason I remembered John Assaraf's name is because it reminded me of a friend who I was trying to reach and had decided some time ago to find out about. At university I had a friend named Marc Assaraf. So the day the advance reading copy of The Answer arrived in my office in Bangkok I checked John and Murray's website for their One Coach business and I e-mailed John asking him whether he would be interested in helping me with any questions I had about the book (he responded that he would). But at the end of the e-mail I asked whether, just by chance, he had ever heard of someone named Marc Assaraf. It turned out that Marc Assaraf was John's own brother!

From my point of view, I could take this situation for a very, very wild coincidence, or I could take it that my receiving John's and Murray's book was a convergence of two intentions that I had clearly stated and wanted the manifestation of. Both answer could not be true.

To make matters even more "coincidental", the very day that I finished reading The Answer I received an e-mail from Chet Holmes inviting me to a conference call with none other than John Assaraf. I opened this e-mail less than one hour after finishing the last page of this amazing book!

Needless to say, this was a conference call that I participated in and gained much from.

The Answer is a well written book that explains exactly how such a "coincidence" occurs. At least in the first half of the book it does.

In the first chapters John Assaraf explains scientifically how your mind and mine are connected to the world through our subconscious and how we can change the poor results we have been getting, whether it be relationships, financial, professional, etc. I really have to admit that when I first opened the book I felt a bit strange reading all about the science behind this. What I was looking for was the quick, practical tips that would help me to better use the principles of the Law of Attraction. (John Assaraf prefers to use "Law of Resonance"). By the middle of the book all of John's painstaking research that he shared made sense - John put all of his findings in so that we'd know exactly the whys of the how to make the changes in our lives. Don't get me wrong, I was not saying that the first part of the book was not interesting. Just the contrary, it was extremely interesting. I didn't see its necessity until later in the book when it all came together and then it all came clear.

John's long-time friend and business partner Murray Smith took the latter part of the book where he gave advice on how to determine where you might be in your business and where you want to go (some of this was covered in John's section of the book, though the two authors were coming from slightly different angles). Murray then gave some excellent tools for both entrepreneurs as well as people who worked for others to be able to use in order to turn their businesses around and to guide the reader on how reach their goals. Both Murray Smith and John Assaraf gave many examples of how their clients had discovered where they had been going wrong and turned their businesses and organizations around. There are also plenty of practical resources in this book for the reader to use immediately.

Trust me. If you want to enrich your life or change something in your business in any meaningful way then read this book. Devour it. Digest it. Once you have read The Answer of course you can draw your own conclusions on what these guys are saying. But I am willing to bet that if you follow their advice you will feel like magic has come into the way you do things. Planning becomes fun and effortless. You will see doors opening for you that before were not just only closed - some of the doors weren't even there! Take it from me: You have nothing to lose and so much to gain by using Murray's and John's advice. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to know how to get more out of their life.

Scholastic put out a tape many years ago with this book being read to music. It is the most fabulous addition to this book. I've seen 3-5 year olds with special needs who won't sit for anything, perk up and take interest when this book is read along with the tape. Unfortunately you can't really find it anymore. If you do come across it, GET IT!

This is my very favorite story to read at Halloween. I read this story to my preschool class every year. The children love the pictures and the repetition. After a few pages they will begin to recite the verse "Drat" along with the characters. I ordered several copies so I could put it in the listening center. I also have the cassette tape to play along with the story.

This book is one of my favorite of all time! It takes Halloween characters and makes them fun. The story is all about working together toward a common goal-making pumpkin pie. This story can be acted out with preschool students. It also has an audiotape that you can't miss with! Even my students with short attention spans pay attention and participate with this one. When we are done reading it for the week, we make pumpkin pie. A great ending to a fun week!

This is a great book for kids 3-5 my kids loved it thought the pictures were wonderful and a good non-scary alternative for halloween stories.

Big Pumpkin is so Big in our house, it's read all the time...Oh and our son loves it too!

Once my son (4 years old) discovered and fell in love with Big Pumpkin it didn't matter if it was Halloween or not. The story is nothing short of hilarious, the illustrations could not be better suited and truly compliment this book where so many others fall short. My husband and I get such a kick out of reading this book as well, we practically know it by heart and have been known to recite it in jest around the house. One of my favorite things about this book is that it introduces the so-called "scary" characters of Halloween, the Ghost, the Vampire, the Mummy, the Bat, and the Witch in the most loveable manner with such simple and innocent humor that it completely removes any possible thought of "scary" for our little ones. Big Pumpkin can make you befriend a Witch, want to help out a Vampire, and just love your "Mummy"! Don't wait until Halloween, buy it now, it's too cute to pass up.

This book follows Tomorrow when the war began. It is Full of Adventure and romance, sharing real feeling, and the violence inside us all. it will be hard to let go of this book.

Ellie and company continue their fight to save their families and their homeland from foreign invaders. This part of the story shows just how creative, tough, and competent young people can be and that they are capable of doing well without adults. The encounter with Harvey's Heroes made me root even more for the teens hiding out in Hell. This book is as well written as the first one and makes the reader pine for the next volume in the series.

This book is great for readers that are interested in action and tons of excitement. Elie and her friends are some of the only people not captured in the small town they live in. There is a war that has become very fierce and deadly which makes it hard for them. They try to fight back whenever they can so that the enemies are weakened.

In the first book Elie and her friends were surprised that there was a war going on and hid a lot. In the second book, though, they were more familiar with how to handle things in the war and they moved into action by doing things like blowing up a bridge so it would be harder for the enemies to transport their supplies. This caught me of guard because I didn't know that Elie and her friends would be able to do that.

If you like the Alex Rider series then you should like this series, too. It's one of my favorites because there is action and suspense that makes me want to keep reading on. Also the characters all have their special pros and cons which makes them seem more realistic. For instance, Elie is brave and a leader who can make decisions and Kevin depends on others to make decisions for him. The characters also change from the first book by taking different roles which makes it fun and exciting to read because new things happen. There is one major twist in the book which really surprised me but I don't want to give it away so you'll have to read the book to find out what it is!

The author ended the book by including the start of the third book in the series. This is an example of why you should read the first book in the series before this one because all the books tie together and you need to know the story lines to understand and enjoy the books better so be sure to read the entire series!

This book is great for readers that are interested in action and tons of excitment. Elie and her friends are some of the only people not captured in the small town they live in. The war has become very fierce and deadly which makes it har for them. They try to fight back when ever they can so that the enemies are weakened a little bit.

Elie and her friends are now familar with what they do and what they need to do so they don't hesitate any more; they just move into action. They make big advancements in this book which caught me off guard because I didn't know it could happen.

This is so far one of my favorite series because I like the action and thriller it has just like I think it has in the Alex Rider series. I would consider this a great follow up book to the first one because it starts off with what it ends with in the previous book. I like that because it reminds you of what happened last. The characters all have thier special prons and cons which makes the book more realistic. There is one major twist that suprised me deeply. I never thought of it happening which made the book take a different turn. The characters also change and take different roles which is fun and exciting because you get to learn more and have new things happen. The author does this in a way so that they change by doing different actions, leaderships, and bravery.

This is just the second book of the series so don't forget to check out the rest of the books!

I loved this series when I was younger and I love it now that I'm an adult. I re-read the entire series probably once a year. It is absolutely fantastic writing - Marsden deals with issues realistically and completely and somehow manages to make this scenario seem entirely real.

Every book in this series is on my favorite books list. If you are an avid reader, you MUST read this series.