Johnson Books

It's a good book to teach your kid that share and take turn are so much fun.

I would highly recommend any of the books in this series by Cheri Meiners. This book has been especially helpful as my 5-year-old sometimes encounters children who *don't* share well or want to take turns. These books caught my eye because the writing level is just right for pre-K and kindergarten children. Truthful without being preachy or overly wordy, the series shows children and family members from many different ethnic groups in the colorful illustrations, and each book addresses issues which are developmentally critical to this particular age group: sharing, taking turns, being afraid, listening, respecting others, helping out at home, etc. These books have given us a starting point to discuss problems at school or interacting with others, and have helped my son to have more empathy for his peers....I am hopeful that this quality will serve him well as he continues on to kindergarten and elementary school. It is exciting to hear him use ideas from this series to problem solve.

This book uses multicultural children in familiar settings to deliver the message of sharing and taking turns. It is a very good way to reinforce appropriate play skills with my preschoolers.

The products arrived in a timely manner and they were exactly what I wanted. In fact, some other people liked them so much that they wanted to order this series of books. (They were Christmas presents.)

Excellent book. Covers a variety of situations. Simple art is childlike and perfect. It holds my kids' attention and they want to read it again. Good series.

This book appeals to a wide age group of children. Important for a grandparent with limited room in the bookcase. It was given as a gift to a 1yr old, but 2 and 4 yr old grandkids got a kick out of it too. Nice way to introduce books to children with few words in their speaking vocabulary. Beautifully illustrated.

My two-year-old son adores this book, my husband adores this book, I adore this book. It's been a favorite for a year now and gets read almost every night, sometimes two or three times. It's a completely lovely book and even when my son was just a year old, he easily "got" it - the storyline, sequence, sounds, etc. He loves to "read" it to us now.

This book is beautifully illustrated by a fantastically talented artist and first-time children's book writer. Honestly, I have no idea why this book didn't win the Caldecott.

It's a simple but wonderfully realized concept.

There is no "story" in the conventional sense but rather the gorgeous images are accompanied by sounds: the SCRAPE of a shovel, the MEOW of a cat, the CRINKLE of wrapping paper.

Positively lovely.

Using only images and a few "sound words" (Onomatopoeia) bubbling up from the illustrations, Johnson conjures up the images and sounds associated with a snowstorm. (For example the sound of a snowplow outside scraping the streets, or the happy yawn of a little boy as he awakens and takes a peek outside.)
Brilliant concept and it is executed perfectly with beautiful delicate pastel illustrations. (As to be expected, Johnson is a very talented illustrator.)

So many memories of my own came to mind when reading (or should I say viewing and "hearing") this book. The trill of hearing a snowplow at night (and hoping it means a snow day the next morning.) immediately came to mind.

This is a great book to read to any child (young or old) who enjoys winter or better, who is enjoying the first snowstorm of the year!

Your average American citizen lives his or her life in a state that is too often blissfully ignorant of the horrors that surround them. Each day they traipse unknowingly into the void, never suspecting that one day, when they least expect it, the unthinkable may happen. They may be required to (gasp shudder) locate a good onomatopoeic story. Oh, I know what you're saying. "It could never happen to me." "Other people get those kinds of requests." "I'm too young to have to worry about searching out the word `onomatopoeic' in a library's on-line catalog." Well fellow citizens, I tell you that unless you prepare for this most awful of occurrences you may someday find yourself seriously and undeniably onomatopoeicless. Fortunately, there is a solution. A solution in the form of one Mr. David A. Johnson. Though he has not yet found himself the proud owner of a household name, Mr. Johnson's work is instantly recognizable to one and all. Even if you are firmly convinced that you've never seen one of his illustrations, prepare to be corrected in this belief. As for his delightful "Snow Sounds: An Onomatopoeic Story", it's a real treat. Capturing perfectly the feel of cold winter mornings, the anticipation that leads to Christmas break, and the experience of having to leave a delightfully warm bed when not a speck of light comes from the sky, the book is a woolly winter gem.

It's the 23rd of December, and a young boy sleeps soundly on a frosty snowy morning. Woken by his mom so that he'll get to school on time, we see both inside and outside the house. Outside, trucks salt, slush, and smoosh the snow on the roads, making it safe for travelers. Inside the boy goes through his morning ritual. These two narratives come together when the boy goes outside to shovel the house's walkway, just in time for the bus to arrive. He almost forgets a Christmas present inside (for his teacher or for himself?) but his mom manages to pass it to him just in time. Told entirely in sounds, everything from the crinkle of the present's wrapping paper to the chug of the snowblower comes to brilliant life when accompanied by Johnson's lively pictures.

We would be amiss if we were to say that Mr. Johnson's book was the first of its kind. I took one little look at "Snow Sounds" and immediately was reminded of Lynn Rae Perkins' wonderful, "Snow Music", published years before she earned herself a Newbery Award. "Snow Music" is perhaps the number one onomatopoeic winter tale. From the whispered words "peth peth peth" that describe the sound of falling snowflakes to a truck salting the road, Perkins captured Midwestern winter to a tee. But Johnson's eastern Connecticut tale is just as snowy and devotes itself to a different kind of telling. While Perkins would include dialogue and even a kind of poetic turn here and there, Johnson sticks to his guns. It's onomatopoeic sound or nothing. Some of these make it infinitely clear that the author knows from whence he writes. Anyone who has grown up in a part of the country prone to snow will recognize the "Whomp" sound that comes when you step outside of your home on a wintery morning in your thick protective boots. Or how about the "Crash Crush Clank" of the plows as they make a berth in the early morning hours? Every sound found here has its place in real life.

And then there is Mr. Johnson's style to consider. I have heard some people say that his images in this book are too light and airy, and I respectfully disagree. The fact that this book was made merely with watercolor and ink on paper boggles my little mind. I mean, let's talk about Johnson's use of light. One of the earliest images in this book is of the boy's house from above before the sun, such as it is, has risen. The family Christmas tree is entirely covered in a thick white coat, but several lights shine through, offering one of the two points of illumination on the page. The other light comes from a distant splatter of white, far far away on some distant road. You might be able to see it clearly, but Johnson has found a way to replicate the look of slight vision-obscuring splatters of snow. He knows how to make droplets of paint burst from the page like actual sparks of pure white light. And his grasp of pre-dawn darkness is unrivaled. I know of no other picture book that has ever done as good a job at truly displaying this time of day. Even when the day has lightened and the boy is going to school, you can still tell that the sky is overcast, even without seeing it. If there were a picture book award given solely on the basis of "quality of light", I don't think there's a title that's come out this year that could even come close to rivaling this book's style.

I don't want to tell you how to spend your money. Okay... fine. That's a lie. I would LOVE to tell you how to spend your money. I would love it if every recommendation I made was followed to the letter and purchased forthwith. If nothing else, however, I would like you to see whether or not you've bought enough onomatopoeic books for your picture book collection. Do you see a gap in this area? Well, how about early morning wintery stories? Do you have a lot of those? Honey, I don't see how you can afford NOT to go out and purchase "Snow Sounds" if you're lacking in either area. It's beautiful and truly without compare. Other books should be able to boast so much.

I loved this book so much. It was amazing writing and had a wonderful meaning. Phoebe Rose's story will keep you interested and thinking for a long time. Her story is touching and worth reading. I recomend this book, you wont want to put it down!!

Phoebe Rose dreams of becoming an artist when she grows up. However, the only person who encourages her is her father. One day he disappears, and Phoebe and her mother are forced to live out on the streets dragging a suitcase with all of their belongings from soup kitchen to soup kitchen looking for food, trying to find places to sleep, and trying to survive. Homelessness makes Phoebe so sad that she stops drawing and nobody notices. When Phoebe loses the suitcase at a bus station, her mother sends her to live with her grandmother for the summer at Full Moon Lake. That's when her new life begins.

When Phoebe arrives at Full Moon Lake she's distrustful, but slowly adjusts to life in the country. She has a real home, good food and a sky full of stars for wishing. Best of all, there's Ruby, a new sisterlike friend who sparks Phoebe's imagination and encourages her love for drawing. When Phoebe's mother comes to Full Moon Lake with plans to return to the city with her, Phoebe isn't sure what she wants. Will she return to the city with her mother or will she stay with her grandmother?

This book will make you feel glad that you have a home and don't have to live out on the streets. If I had been Phoebe, I would have stayed with my grandmother. If you like moving stories, you're going to like this book!

--- Reviewed by Ashley

I didn't think of Pheobe as a homeless person. I thought of her as a spirit, a light so bright that even as it dimmed by the harshness of her life, could not be extinguished.
I loved Pheobe's grandmother and the healing that took place on Full Moon Lake. I loved that Phoebe became the mama of her own self. And that she decided to give it one more try, "my mama and me, on our own in the city, a little stronger this time, we'll try."
I think I'm going to go and read it all over again!

Soul Moon Soup is full of beautiful word pictures that capture the emotions of a young girl from a homeless family. Lindsay Johnson shows more than a superficial understanding of what it is like to be trapped at the bottom with no hope of getting out. Her characters all engage our sympathies even as we see their flaws.

Written in verse, the book does not have the same dramatic arcs one would expect in a prose novel. As a poet Ms Johnson gives more attention to examining the fine details of her character's experience, but that is exactly where we find the wonderful images like swimming in soul moon soup.

I highly recommend this book to sensitive readers and to those seeking to understand the humanity of the homeless.

Phoebe Rose gripped my heart and wouldn't let go until I got to the end of this moving book. Written in verse, the story zips by, pulling the reader into the world of a homeless girl. When she loses the precious suitcase with all of their posessions, and her mother makes good on her threat to "slap her back" to her mother's own place of upbringing, the dread builds. But Phoebe's grandmother and her neighbors end up being a small place of refuge. My students tend to find novels in verse to be especially accessible--and what a novel for helping young readers think about the real lives of people they may well pass on the streets every day.

This product is pretty good. When I got it, everything was here, and I was very eager to start making things. The book has instructions on how to crochet before learning to knit with the spool. There are tips on how to tie ends together, seal ends (you use nail polish to keep the ends from fraying), and a couple others. Then it shows how to knit with the spool, and has different patterns you can try with the many different colors of string and beads it provides. It doesn't have enough string to make many bracelets with the 4-spoke stitch, which was a disappointment to me. It was very hard to choose which string to use with the certain colors of beads. 8) All in all, it's a (as I've said before) pretty good kit. 8)

I received this book for Christmas, and so far I love it. The instructions are so simple and well laid out, anyone can follow them. This book teaches a very basic crochet stitch and later, you use the spool included with the book to makes any type of jewelery you want to. I recommend this book for teens and crafty 'tweens'. This is also fun on long car trips... trust me, I've tested. :)

My 9-year old daughter absolutely loves this. The instructions were easy enough that she learned to spool knit by herself. She has made beautiful rings, bracelets, and choker necklaces as gifts for friends and family.

Amazon offers this at a great price; I've seen it in several stores for $20. If your daughter enjoys making jewelry, this is one of the best; it's much more fun and challenging than the usual "bead stringing" jewelry crafts.

I think this is a great book, I think it's worth every penny. Although one might become tired with the bead inserts and the struggling to properly handle the spool while at work, I think it's not really the book's fault, so I can't say I've got any complaints about that. As far as the quality and selection criteria for the materials provided along with the book, I think they're rather satisfactory. The book pages themselves are fun to read and look at, from ingenous drawings of every existent step to making each piece to pictures of how the bracelets and rings will look like in the end. Overall, I don't think I have complaints about this instructing book, and i exhort all those interested to buy it.

I love this book because it has easy to follow instructions and it is very interesting.

As I read this book I felt Joe White wrote it just for me. HOW DID HE KNOW I AM FEELING ALL THE THINGS HE MENTIONS? I have read many many books, too many to even count, and not one has touched me like this one has. It is not just about finding solutions but about understanding the process of forgiving and healing old wounds in order to TRULY move forward. You would find ne in many occasions nodding my head in agreement over a word, a sentence or a phrase I read. Tears of every emotion possible rolled down my face. It is definitely a MUST read for EVERY parent with a TEEN!

This book is fabulous. Joe White obviously knows teens. He talks about what things are "normal" and what things parents should be more concerned about. He offers practical things to think about and advice that's doable and makes sense. I'm thankful for a book that offers help to parents who's teens are in trouble.

This book is an excellent guide to parenting. Often this monumental task is confusing and Joe really helps untangle the complicated knots of parenting. I highly recommend this book.

Author of such books as FUEL, DARE 2B WISE and PURE EXCITEMENT, Joe White has made it a career of investing in the lives of youth via his written texts and acting as president of Kanakuk Kamps. White now teams up with another prolific young adult author, Lissa Halls Johnson, to offer parents tried-and-true practical ideas for sticking with teens during the most emotional (good or bad) spaces of time.

White and Johnson open the book with some personal thoughts and a few cheerleading-type challenges to hang in there with teens, despite the seemingly endless parade of emotional roller-coaster rides, unexpected detours and personal disappointments. Readers get a sense that both authors truly love kids and have experienced the ups and downs of rearing these ever-changing, always transforming individuals.

Within a 13-chapter format, White offers quotes from anonymous parents and kids alike that punctuate and highlight each section's topic at hand. Readers will find these brief statements alternately funny and sad, but all ring true to family life. The authors then jump in with the "experiment" of parenting. Citing one family's wake-up call, both literal and figurative, White shares one couple's dilemma when being awoken in the middle of the night to find that their son had not only stolen from a friend's truck, he'd been drinking, taking drugs and was at that moment running from the police. During the conversation, the same son announces his plan to move to Mexico once his friend gets his inheritance at age 18. Talk about a "wake-up" call.

White then offers a few other examples of home violence and discusses how times have changed; what parents lived out as "rebellion" during their teen years no longer exists in today's violent, up-charged climate. He asks parents to think hard about the following statements. If parents can respond with a "yes" to any of these, then White says, "Wake up, your relationship is already stretched, strained, or snapped." Further, White tells parents in half-jest, "Welcome to the club."

* My teen doesn't like me.
* I'm embarrassed for anyone to know what my family life is really like.
* I don't want anyone to know what my kid is doing.
* I don't like my teen's choices.
* I want to fix my teen.

Following this self-check, White and Johnson get into the nuts and bolts of the text and discuss practical ways for moms and dads to gauge if behavior is normal, and if not, then to anticipate their teen's triggers, which may have provoked the unhealthy or rebellious behavior. White encourages parents that it is never too late to begin listening, caring and investing in one's family. Offering his own parenting missteps as "don't do as I did" case scenarios, parents will have hope and find direction. Much of the text is interactive in scope, meaning that parents will be posed questions that require honesty and humility coupled with the stamina to start over and over and over.

Within this concise handbook, parents can expect to endure parenting boot camp on issues such as forgiveness (offering it and asking for it), dismantling the verbal walls and reconstructing healthy ones, making time and spending it with the family, and committing to a never-give-up mentally. One of the most reader-friendly aspects of STICKING WITH YOUR TEEN is that every chapter is short enough to read in a single setting, but provides enough "homework" to practice on before tackling the next subject.

--- Reviewed by Michele Howe

I really got a lot of information on how communication w/ your teen is so vital. I am not a BIG reader of self help books, but this author has been there and admits to his faults as a parent. I really have enjoyed the challenge this book has to offer me as a mother. I am really enjoying my teen as I try to understand her more.

This is the very first book I have read by Maureen Johnson, and she's already one of my favorite authors. I thought this book looked very interesting when I picked it up at the library and now that I've read it I realize it was just as interesting as I thought it was, maybe even more so. By the end of the book I found myself really missing the characters because I had grown so attached to them. I LOVED this book and I can't wait for the sequel!

I actually laughed out loud a couple times while reading this book. I think it was Johnson at her best... like she is really starting to master her technique in that her voice totally shines through. I've read some of her blogs in which her personality (and amazing sense of humor) are shown and I could definitely tell that she wrote this book. That said, I really enjoyed it.

I really loved this book. It was a very fun start to a series. The characters are great and wonderfully humanly flawed, giving them credibility.

The thing I liked best about the book is how much the author's sense of humor came through in her writing. For anyone who has read MJ's blog, you will definitely see MJisms throughout the book. This made reading it infinitely more entertaining because it felt like being told the story by an old friend, rather than just a narrating character.

Definitely a fun read for young adults (and not so young adults!)

Scarlett just turned fifteen, but instead of being awarded a fantastic vacation away from home (like all her other friends) she is given a suite in the hotel she lives in to take care of...like every other Martin in the family when they turn fifteen.

This isn't too bad until she meets her first guest that she must cater to, Mrs. Amberson, who will be staying all summer long! Though Scarlett believes this will be another boring summer, things start to get crazy with Mrs. Amberson along. She almost gets arrested for shoplifting, must keep helping to save her brother's production of Hamlet and his chances of ever making it as an actor, fetching Mrs. Amberson more tea then she could ever need, and even falling for a boy along the way!

Get ready New York: Scarlett is taking over!

This is my first novel by Maureen Johnson, but by no means will it be the last! I loved SUITE SCARLETT from the very beginning, immensely enjoying the characters and adventures. Scarlett and her brother, Spencer, have a great relationship with amazingly witty comebacks. You'll find yourself laughing along and wishing you had their relationship with your siblings!

The book is hilarious, thought-provoking, and fun! I'm thrilled there is going to be a sequel. So if you've read Johnson's work before...you need this one, as well. And if you haven't, then get to it! It's the perfect book to start you out on!

Reviewed by: Lauren Ashley

Every 15th birthday in the Martin family is special. It is at this age that each of the Martin children has received suites in the family's Hopewell Hotel that they are responsible for. And on her birthday, Scarlett receives the Empire Suite, along with its new permanent guest, Mrs. Amberson. Mrs. Amberson is unconventional, exasperating, and demanding, and Scarlett resents that because of her, she can't get a regular summer job. But when Mrs. Amberson saves Scarlett's brother Spencer's show, a rendition of Hamlet, from certain disbandment, and insists on being a part of it, Scarlett doesn't quite mind so much. It would certainly bring her a lot closer to Eric, who is very good looking and just happens to be a part of the cast...

Suite Scarlet is quirky, fun, and oh so hilarious. Johnson's trademark engaging writing style, subtle (and sometimes not so subtle) humor, and intelligent lexicon will not fail to captivate readers once again. It's wonderfully refreshing to read about siblings that actually like each other, but are every bit as dysfunctional as the next family. The dynamics between Scarlett and Spencer especially are a delight to read, and their characters are wonderfully pragmatic and expressive. Mrs. Amberson is a sort of insane and intriguing enigma whose eccentricities and antics add just the right amount of pizzazz to the plot. Throw in each of the carefully presented details, from avid descriptions of Scarlett's family and friends, and crazy theatrical catastrophes, to bits of trivia from throughout the lives of the Martin family, and you have a comprehensive look at Scarlett's life, forging a connection between reader and protagonist that you won't want to sever...and you want have to; a sequel is already in the works. The release of Suite Scarlett has only reinforced Johnson's status as one of the top YA authors out there today.

The Mandy Dyer series just gets better and better. Her character is funny, original and well written. Johnson is a solid writer with a great sense of humor. Keep writing! Haven't read a mystery I enjoyed more than this one in a while. It was light but not trite! Humorous without being silly, and well plotted. Congratulations on another fine mystery.

This definitly has to be one of Dolores Johnson's best efforts in the Mandy Dyer Mystery series. I'm not going to give away too much, but now with that horribly stale relationship with Stan off to the side, there's room for a bit more!

I'm too excited for her next story to see where it goes, hopefully it won't be too long for the next episode.

Mandy is a delight and so are the characters around her. She is always getting herself in 'hot' water when she ends up trying to solve a murder. You can't help but like her as she is so human and likeable. It is a fun romp of a murder mystery. Good for a beach, plane ride or fun read.

It starts out as a straightforward dry cleaning problem. Mandy Dyer's cousin had a coat switched at a restaurant and she wants to get her own coat back. But when cousin Laura is involved in a hit-and-run as she leaves the dry cleaners, Mandy wonders if it could truly be coincidence. Coincidence is stretched past breaking when Mandy walks into an in-progress burglary at her cousin's apartment. With her matchmaking mother riding to the rescue, a hopelessly nerdy reporter falling for Laura, and a hunky detective causing problems for Mandy's heart, the problems look to be getting worse in a hurry.

Photographer Laura's restaurant photos seem a likely starting point. But who would have guessed that a small restaurant could cause so many problems--a man dining with a woman who isn't his wife, another couple confronted with news of the woman's unexpected pregnancy, a woman stood-up by her business partners, and a strange ghost-like double-exposure which could be just about anyone. Mandy presses on in her investigation--although occasionally her motives are more to get away from her mother than to solve the crime.

Author Dolores Johnson delivers a spunky heroine, amusing characters and dialogue, a very different background for her sleuth (I haven't seen any other dry-cleaner/detectives) and a well-written story. I enjoyed TAKING THE WRAP a lot.

While Laura was at the Rendezview Restaurant someone took her coat while she was taking photographs so she borrowed the last coat that was on the rack. In Laura's coat was a role of film she would like to get back and in the stranger's coat is a stamped envelope, a bottle of aspirin and a box of matches. Laura wants her friend Mandy, owner and proprietor of Dyer's Cleaning, to call other cleaners in the area to see if they have her coat. She figures they might be able to identify the other coat owner by tracing the laundry logs.

When Laura leaves the cleaning store, a car deliberately hits her, breaking her le:, Mandy rushes her to the hospital. When Laura is released, Mandy goes over to her apartment with some Chinese food to cheer her up only someone in the apartment hits her from behind. Mandy thinks that her unknown assailant is looking for the photos or the coat and starts another one of her investigations that almost gets her killed.

TAKING THE WRAP is an upbeat, often funny amateur sleuth mystery due to the heroine's mother's visit to take care of Laura and help Mandy in her investigation. All that does is make a bad situation worse when she tells people things they don't need to know. In between her botched matchmaking efforts, Mandy does the impossible and finds the coat that belonged to Laura's friend who no longer needs it because someone killed her. Two other people who were at the Rendezview also turn up murdered, leaving Mandy to connect the dots and find the perpetrator before Laura joins the morgue.

Harriet Klausner

This book does much in the way of unveiling and educating the masses into an understanding of what Tantra is. Not an easy thing to do as Tantra is essentially about creating a profound relationship with ourselves, something which the authors, if we let them, allow us to do with aplomb.

The chapters of the book are sequentially designed to bring us closer into gaining a deeper level of understanding of our own consciousness and sexuality. We are encouraged to write a journal as we work through the book, answering questions designed to lead us further into this understanding.

The meditations in the book are not wishy washy having their roots in genuine Indian metaphysical lineages; we find the likes of Shavasana and Yoga (Ananda) Nidra, rubbng shoulders with healthy techniques of worshipping ourselves and our partners.

What I particularily liked was the healthy attitude towards sex and spirituality that runs throughout. A book like this could hopefully go a long way in introducing a sane view of sex.

This work is a very thorough attempt at weaving traditional Indian Tantra in-line with everyday Western life and I think it is a success.

This book continues the work from the first volume with more snippets of info from classical tantric texts made accessable for the western reader. The reader is then free to do more detailed reading/study of the classical texts if they wish on their own.

The authors do make an effort to present their ideas in a way that is "gender inclusive" so if you are gay, straight, queer, of have a different relationship style, you will find that this info is helpful too.

I like the fact that the authors are willing to share more of their own personal opinions of their work, (and the work of other "tantrikas")in an open and honest matter.

Make no mistake if you are looking for a fluffy new-agey book, you'd better look elsewhere. If you are ready to do work for your own spiritual growth and enlightenment, not to mention cultivating a new sexy intimate relationship with yourself and the divine spark that resides within you, this is the book for you

If the authors' previous book The Essence Of Tantric Sexuality can be considered theory, then this new book can be the practical workbook.

Replete with fifty-two exercises, dozens of examples, explanations, and experiences, there's a cornucopia of material with which Tantric practitioners or novices can use in order to enhance and enrich their sexual life, focusing on "consciousness, an experimental attitude, and, above all, pleasure".

The authors suggests approaching the material slowly but steadily, studying and experimental with one chapter per week. All of the exercises can be explored by persons of any sexual orientation or gender identity.

The book begins with an examination of Tantra itself, then moves on to sexuality, both physical and spiritual, and how the two can be integrated.

This study is followed by chapters that examine pleasure and desire, with exercises that focus on helping readers to discover various aspects of their own sexuality, what turns them on and off; what forms of foreplays and love-making they enjoy; what their sexual history was like; what does or doesn't happen when they yield to sexual desires; and how they breathe during orgasm, all to help them understand more about their sexual selves.

"From the Tantric perspective, everything that exists is imbued with energy, or Shakti". So follows an explanation of sexual energy: why it happens, how to recognize it, and how to create and manage it.

Following these are informative and enlightening chapters on such things as meditation, reverence, bliss, imagination and other concepts vital to a working knowledge of Tantric sex.

Together with their previous books, Tantra for Erotic Empowerment provides a dynamic and consciousness-expanding awareness of our sacred sexuality.

Using reflection, meditative exercises and practical techniques this unique book opens a door into the center of us human beings, into our unique individual sexuality. After studying the book for the last weeks, I feel that in whatever stage of your life's journey you are, whether you are 18 or 70 years old, whether you are gay or straight, as long as you look inside and are honest to yourself, this book may change and enrich your life, not only your sexuality. Superb.

This is a great book. Mark Michaels and Patricia Johnson are great translators of Tantra for the modern western mind.
Get this book , & better yet take class with Mark & Patricia.
Steven Otero
Manager Sexy Spirits NYC

For the tequila lover, this book is worth checking out simply for the explanation of the different ways that tequila is produced, from archaic to ultra modern. The information on the different types of tequila, the different nuances of types, basic information about traveling in the region, and the food of the region are a huge plus.

A well written and entertaining book on tequila, with the inside scoop on the various distilleries and the house "style". Some serious taste testing was done, with detailed descriptions. The only minor disappointment is that he does not actually rate the tequilas.

Not only is the writing great, and the information complete, but there is a tasting pyramid that breaks down the tasting of tequila into all its difference nuances, and it is amazingly exact. The travel info about Mexico is very good, and the discussion of the process of making tequila is clear and informative. A good read and a great reference.

This book captures the essence of Tequila from the perspective of making it and drinking it. I found it especially interesting in giving the reader a glimpse into the day to day activities of the tequila business.

Lance and Sandys adventure in the land of Tequila is not only entertaining but a highly informative read on the growing world of tequila. A must-have reference guide to take you thru the various types available, written by someone who obviously has had a few! I like the tasting pyramid too.

My review will not be as detailed as others however, it is important to express that this is a book that is a keepsake. It should be given as a gift to friends and loved ones. It is compelling and I enjoyed it a great deal.

Brandy was half-white. Brandy was a slave. Brandy was sold. Brandy became Helen.

Sold from her wailing mother's arms at the age of eleven, Helen's life was changed forever when she was relocated to the Joseph plantation, Arcadia. She learned the science of herbs from the plantation's conjure woman, was the playmate of choice of Arcadia's young Master Benjamin, and became a field worker when it was seen that she could do a fair share of work. In addition, Helen taught herself to read by stealing glances at writing and permanently emblazening letters into her mind. And this was all in her first year there.

The Thief of Letters by Janet Mountain Johnson gives us a glimpse into the life of a field worker, to a house slave, to a mulatto mistress. I was so enraptured by this book that sleep seemed an annoyance, and I battled it, the book resting in my hands late into the night. The writing is superb, worthy of any award that has been bestowed on any piece of litereature. The characters are real, feeling, and human, and tears oft found their way to my cheeks as I walked with them along their path of bondage. Anyone who can read should read this book. Anyone who can't will be encouraged to learn after hearing of the Thief of Letters.

~ Reviewed by CandaceK

I happened upon this book when looking for childrens books on slavery to read to my son. I was fortunate enough to receive this book free and yet I feel as though the author was cheated because I should have paid for the amazing piece of literature. I found myself in the fields, homes, and slave quaters that are portrayed in the book. I could see the dirt roads, the master's house and when the children played a war game it was as if I played along with them. This book was wonderful and I am looking forward to the day that I can see the movie that goes along with it.

I always thought I would like to go back in time and see really how life at these times were. I would not want to be visible because I know life was not as we know it. This book put you there. It made you want to shout out and scream, example at the begining when Helen was taken away from her mother as a child and sold. They threatened to beat the mother if she did not stop the noise when the child was pulled from her. As if she was not a person who had feelings, how would you feel and react if someone just took your children away from not because you were a bad parent. You understood the bravery of Jugurtha (king from Jamaica) but yet you wanted to tell Jugurtha you are no different in your thinking of how to treat your brothers and sister as to that of the slave owners. I picked this book up and could not put it down. I was mad that I finally had to put it down so that I may sleep for the night. This is not a waste of money by no means, the price is probably to low.

The Thief of Letters is yet another tale of the tragic mulatto-however, this time Johnson's vivid imagination and outstanding writing skills breathes new life into a tired story line. This is the story of Brandy/Helen who was sold away from her mother at a young age. (I pause here to relay that the imagery painted by Johnson for this scene in the novel was powerful and heartbreaking-the mother's pain and humiliation crept from the pages into the reader's mind). The reader follows Helen into adulthood as she evolves from being the master's daughter's helpmate to the mistress of the master's son.

True to the "tragic mulatto" formula, Helen is largely ostracized by the majority of the slaves because of her light skin and initial station as a "house" Negro. Her association to the local slave/witch who practices voodoo causes nearly all the slaves to fear her. Her torment is exacerbated when the master notices her strength and stamina during play and places her in the field with the very Negroes who despise and fear her.

Her solace comes in the form of stealing letters (one at a time) from the master's children's spelling books to learn the alphabet. She eventually teaches herself to read. This ability will save her life (and others) repeatedly throughout her adventures in pursuit of freedom. There is so much more to this book that this review does not cover because of space and time constraints. Simply said: The author is a great storyteller and the book is superbly written. There are so many underlying issues and topics of discussion that were intertwined in the novel that one simply has to read it for themselves to appreciate this body of work. Well done, Ms. Johnson! This book is on my Best Reads List of 2002!

Reviewed by Phyllis
APOOO Bookclub, Nubian Circle Book Club