Powell Books

A wonderfully scholarly tome, one that provides hours of reverie and insight into the the spiritual nature of the the Tarot. It is recommended as a vital additions to one's Tarot library.

Having read literally thousands of books on various paths of spirituality, few have touched me like this one. Every page, almost every line, glows with a new pearl of wisdom and insight. The book explores with greater clarity than any I have found the genuine heart of Hermeticism; the threefold braid of mysticism, gnosis, and magic; the center where meditation and contemplation meet; the "art of becoming". While the Anonymous Author speaks of his content as addressing itself to Christian Hermeticism, I would qualify it only as Authentic Hermeticism. The amazing scholar who penned this tome was so learned that he weaves in the great spiritual traditions from around the world and throughout time. Each chapter is written as a gentle letter to an "Unknown Friend" (that would be you), and the feeling when reading is of having an exquisitely gentle and brilliant man of God, a truly radiant Sage, share with you the secrets from the aeons that he has gleaned, just before he leaves this earth. I expected a good if not great read when I got this book. I was not prepared for what I actually received: a Holy gift that has opened countless doors for me. This is not merely a book. It is a teaching in the highest sense; a journey into The Mysteries. If you are the author's next Unknown Friend, this book may very well touch the core of you and change everything.

I'm not sure how I came across this book a few years ago - I guess I was intrigued to hear what a catholic monk had to say about the encoded remnants of alexandrian wisdom his murderous forebears had done their level best to eradicate ... in the name of jesus. I have many books on the tarot rangeing fom the ridiculous to the sublime. At the top end are Crowley's Thoth and Wirth's Tarot Of The Magicians: at the bottom are the likes of this. After year's of christian brainwashing as a child and adolescent I thought I would give this good old, bad old religion one last backward glance to see if it had any merit at all - and bought the book.

I am glad I did. Having studied the works of Jung for many years I now understand more clearly - after wading through this tome - the nature of psychosis and the sickness that christianity is. If you really want to stretch your mind and rid yourself of illusion you could do worse than read Stephen Wolinsky's Nirvana Sutras and Advaita-Vedanta. I kid you not.

Do NOT be put off by the title, thinking this is some New Age book about how to do tarot readings. Nothing could be farther from the truth. This is a major work of scholarship--not for the faint of heart. It is heavy going, extremely deep and erudite. The author (and there is speculation as to who this is) plumbs many sources, which he/she knows well--the bible, kabbalistic tradition, esoteric religions, Nietzsche, Freud, Christian mystics (Bonaventura, Francis of Assisi, to name but two), and the Tao Te Ching. This is work rich in symbol-making and he/she has the scholarly erudition to illuminate the nuances held in the cards.

At 650 pages, this is a tome to approached with reverence and seriousness. To 'read' it is to study it, slowly, contemplatively. It will change your thinking about many things.

This might be touted by many as a "wonderful spiritual classic," but if you are a Christian, I'd stay away from this one. It is gnostic to the core. I bought it hoping to learn about Catholic hermaneutics - what a dumb mistake. That's what the teaching magisterium of the Catholic Church is for! Stick to documents of Vatican II and you won't get lost. Plus, they are just as exciting and an easier read than this heady book of 'secrets'!


Not everything with a Catholic label is authenitcally Catholic: Found these comments about a couple of the books endorsers on another website: "The similarities between centering prayer and Transcendental Meditation are striking. "As an ex-TM mediator," says Fr. Finbarr Flanagan, O.F.M., "I find it hard to see any differences between centering prayer and Transcendental Meditation." Frs. Keating, Menninger, and Pennington authored centering prayer at a time when St. Joseph Abbey had received several retreats involving Eastern religions, including Transcendental Meditation. I cited Fr. Pennington's praise for the Hindu guru and author of Transcendental Meditation. This involvement in eclecticism has continued. Fr. Pennington has not just attended an e.s.t (Erhard Sensitivity Training) session but has served on its board. Frs. Keating and Pennington gave endorsements, appearing on the dust jacket, for Meditations on the Tarot: A Journey in Christian Hermeticism. The tarot is a deck of cards used in fortune telling. Fr. Keating calls the book "the greatest contribution to date toward the rediscovery and renewal of the Christian contemplative tradition." Fr. Pennington says it is "without doubt the most extraordinary work I have ever read." Amity House, the publisher, is heavily New Age. The Library of Congress has classified the book under "occult sciences" and "cartomancy." 'Nuff said.

This book is one that I am glad I picked up and read. I saw the cover and was intrigued by it, but even the cover doesn't do the information inside of the book justice. I am a college professor and I read the book a few months back; I am teaching from it now. Much respect to Mr. Boothe for penning such a necessary and informative piece of work, and I look forward to more fresh and insightful writings from him in the future.

really great and informative book. I really enjoyed reading it and mr demico boothe is a very well informed and gifted brother whom I wish all the best to.I would hope that mr boothe would view these comments.

At a time when selective affluence, alleged equality, and proclamations of color-blindness abound, brother Demico Boothe exposes the harsh realities of life for millions of black men in America. His insights and conclusions are not drawn from the shelter of a university library or coffee shop. His life on the streets and prison is combined with a profound analysis of how white supremacy, free enterprise and violence have impacted black males in America. Boothe's perspectives may make some folks uncomfortable. But discomfort and agitation is what we need if we are to change and system that consigns black men to prison, drugs, and early death at rates much higher than college or employment. His work demands that we step forward and resolve the burning question of his book, Why ARE so many black men in prison?

This book should be required reading for all Americans, but especially African-Americans. Lots of knowledge and info about the subject that you won't get in the media. EVERY black person, male or female, who is in prison should read this, every drug dealer, every single mother, every gangbanger, every black congressperson and lawmaker, every black businessman, and every so-called scholar that wants to speak on the subject of criminality and imprisonment and lawmaking. This is the truth coming straight from the horse's mouth.

Its okay black men. If you need someone to blame, blame it on my great grandfather. But you'll get no sympathy from me. Be a real man and be responsible for your own actions!

This is the last time I am going to read a book with a Stephen King reccomendation on the cover. After the tedious The Ruins, I thought I'd give Haunted a try. I more or less enjoyed Herbert's Sepulchre, though the twist ending was apparent about half way through the story. It didn't take nearly that long to figure this one out. There are so many things that don't work in this book it's hard to know where to start, but probably the most egregious is the pointless b-plotline that is too obviously padding inserted into a too short book. The attempted twists and turns, the cliche characterization, the back story, are all laid on so thick that this reads more like a story from the pulps of the 1930s rather than a modern novel. The main character stumbles about, noting all kinds of strange phenomena and clues without ever getting a hint of what is obvious from the first moment he steps into Edbrook. I'll give Herbert another chance or two, but I am not optimistic.

James Herbert,one of the masters of horror has written a book so scary it will make you noticeevery little sound at night when you turn of the light and try to go to sleep.Very crepy for sure

'Haunted' is another of James Herbert's more 'concise' thrillers, along the lines of 'The Rats' and 'The Magic Cottage'. Despite its relative brevity, the action tends to drag in places for the first two-thirds of the book. In fact, most of the main plot until around chapter 20 is just exposition for the 'shocking revelation' about the true nature of the Mariell family and their home, Edbrook. The trouble is, this information isn't exactly a huge shock if you pay any sort of attention to the earlier chapters...or if you've seen 'The Sixth Sense', or even read 'The Magic Cottage'! In spite of this flaw, the aftermath really saves the day here.
The opening chunk of the story seems remarkably quiet and uneventful for a Herbert tale. The most interesting parts are actually digressions from the main plot, shown as flashback sequences from the viewpoints of Ash's two colleagues, Kate and Edith. Both sequences are entertaining,and insightful about Ash as a character, but they seem to point out the lack of action in the main story.
As mentioned before, there is very little humor or 'comic relief' in 'Haunted'. This is something of a departure for Herbert, as he always includes some (usually dark) joke to lighten the tension at some point.
The one attempt at jokeiness falls flat, as Herbert inserts a long-winded filling-station attendant into one of those scenes where a major character 'just wants some information'...and the guy doesn't shut up for about two pages, spewing a non-stop monologue of 'Northern English-accented' rural speak! This, and a similar 'stream of conciousness' moment involving the discredited fortune teller(speaking in 'the voices of the dead'), are moments that take away more from the story than they add to it, as they seem to be there more for Herbert's amusement than the reader's benefit.
What really saves 'Haunted'(and earns the book another couple of stars) is the last half of the story. As we learn more about the respectives pasts of both David and the Mariells, the tension begins to accelerate, and we're left with a satisfyingly scary read, as well as a hint of things to come in Ash's next appearance, in 'The Ghosts of Sleath'.
A book for patient fans of the author and the genre. Patience will be rewarded!

The hero, David Ash's stubborn adherence to skepticism in the face of ghosts that set him on fire and try to drown him is rather touching. What will it take to make him believe in the supernatural? In one unintentionally funny flashback, which seems to be completely unrelated to the main story, Ash attends a fake séance and jumps up to denounce the medium. He claims she is not really communicating with the dead, she is reading the minds of the living. She is a telepath.

He believes in paranormal powers, just not ghosts.

This book has the energy and many of the scenes from an old Hammer B-grade horror movie. If you enjoy those movies as much as I do, you'd be disappointed if, after a slow pan to an open casket, the corpse's eyes didn't pop open; if the hero didn't discover the family mausoleum and hear something scratching inside a tomb; if he didn't descend into the cellar and get bitten, bopped on the head, or set on fire. "Haunted" will live up to your wildest expectations in this regard.

A bit of this lunatic energy is drained away when the author hops from viewpoint to viewpoint like a grasshopper on a hot sidewalk. I would have preferred Herbert to have stuck to the third-person, David Ash POV, unlikeable though I found this hero. He drank too much, smoked too much, didn't seem to care for anyone other than himself, and had absolutely no sense of humor. He evoked so little sympathy in me that I was inclined to speculate on what new horror would prey on him, even while he was making a pathetically feeble attempt to ward off the current ghastly apparition.

Read this book if you're a Hammer film aficionado. It is fast-paced, very creepy, and you don't really have to care what happens to any of the characters.

This is a spooky, well-written haunted house novel, a gothic ghost story that is a wonderfully atmospheric. The author is Britain's premier writer of horror stories. Having read many of his other books and been thoroughly satisfied, this one is no exception. Those with an interest in haunted house stories will find this one most entertaining and enjoyable.

David Ash, a man with a skeleton in his closet, is a professional investigator of psychic phenomena with a penchant for debunking so-called supernatural occurrences. After receiving an intriguing and pleading letter from a Mrs. Webb about ghostly apparitions at Edbrook, the rural manor home in which she resides, David goes to Edbrook, only to be met by the Mariell clan, consisting of Christina, and her brothers, Robert and Simon. It turns out that Mrs. Webb, in addition to being their aunt, is also their old nanny, whom they all still call Nanny Tess. She is clearly terrified of something that is going on in at Edbrook, and the Mariells all seem to be humoring her.

The Mariell siblings, at first, appear to be somewhat eccentric, but later seem to be more than just a little twisted, as it soon becomes apparent that all is not right in that household. There definitely are things that go bump in the night, and the ghostly apparition of a young girl seems to glide about the house and grounds. Moreover, Nanny Tess always appears to be in a state of acute, though restrained, terror.

As a romance heats up between David and Christina, however, David appears to turn a blind eye to what is going on in the household. Too late, he realizes the nature of the evil within this isolated, rural manor house. In the end, it takes the force of something beyond the grave to save him from an almost unimaginable horror.

Those who enjoy this book will also enjoy the wonderful film of the same name adapted from this book. It is an excellent adaptation with a stellar cast. It stars Aidan Quin as David Ash, Kate Beckinsale as Christina Mariell, Anthony Andrews as Robert Mariell, Alex Lowe as Simon Mariell, and Ann Massey as Nanny Tess. This wonderful haunted house story transitions beautifully to film. It is as spooky as the book.

This book is very well done, and have loved reading it cover to cover. It tells of many groups from A-Z and very acurate and put together very well with much thought and plenty of heart. This is the one book to get for all you christian music enthusist who want to find out about their favorite bands. And the Jesus music era. The only downside to this book is that it dosent mention some artist which I was disappointed in that but very understandable, maybe because powell didnt know them or hear of them yet. Or the bands were created after the book was done either way I hope someday he will reissue this book again with other christian bands

My experience with CCM dates back to the mid 70s, on the tail end of the Jesus Movement. I attended my first Saturday night concert at Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa and the group was Daniel Amos. They were just releasing their self titled debut album. I was hooked and hungry to find out as much as I could about other artists who were putting out this high quality music. Thank you to Mark Allan Powell for bringing back some great memories as well as for balancing first hand interviews, historical accounts and sound theological analysis. I was not expecting a resource work on a music genre that is not always known for its depth to challenge me, but Powell managed to do so by demonstrating how a number of the artists developed and matured in their understanding of God and themselves. The articles on Marsha Stevens and Sam Phillips in particular describe two CCM pioneers who do not fit into the tidy CCM image, but at the same time deserve prominent places in the history of the genre. A one of a kind resource. I look forward to an update.

I bought this book with high hopes that it would be an encyclopedia. Upon getting it and reading it the author's bias and opinions seem to carry more weight then just the facts. That's all I wanted, just the facts. Encyclopedia writers usually let their readers decide their opinions instead of brandishing theirs. He uses the book to get his church bashing in. If there is an updated version out or coming out from this author, I for one will not be purchasing it. Highly disappointing!

My son loaned me this book so I'd have something to occupy my time while recovering from surgery. I understand there may be an updated version out there, but I'm commenting on the original (2002) taking into consideration that it doesn't have the latest and greatest contained within.

On first glance I was thrilled to browse through this huge volume, but as I get more into it I am disappointed.

The Jesus Music and early CCM of the 1970s and early 80s played a major part in my faithwalk. I realize that no individual artist or band is perfect -- we've all blown it -- but reading some of the entries on certain brothers and sisters in Christ, you feel like you're getting "the dirt" like you would while perusing a secular rock publication.

The plethora of musicians Powell has included is outstanding, but his biases definitely show. "Anti-abortion" rather than "pro-life," for example. He knocks Phil Keaggy's "Who Will Speak Out for the Little Ones?" His attitude toward sexist language is so PC. As a woman I have no problem whatsoever singing or listening to "Rise Up O Men of God!" Can't believe he nitpicks about things like that. Finally, his lengthy treatise on Marsha Stevens is almost sickening.

So he's showing his colors as a liberal revisionist. Is this theologian a believer? One wonders. Is this otherwise helpful and informative work truly an encyclopedia? Or is it one man dissing orthodox Christians within the music industry? Hard to tell sometimes.

It was when writing an article on contemporary christian music when I decided to purchase this book. As I live in Spain, I didn't really know most of the artists reviewed in it.

The information it provides is complete and extremely useful. As other Encyclopedia I bought (about Country Music), the only preface makes the book a worthy purchase.

I don't know what Karen has in mind but this is one book that does not have a table of contents. She seems to want more that readers read this cover to cover of 700 page book than saving reader's time. For someone one who does not respect reader's time, I give a one star review no matter how good the writing is!

Reviewed by Laura V. Hilton

Colin L. Powell is probably one of the most admired men in recent American history. A military general and serving a tenure as U.S. Secretary of State, Powell also had a brief run for the White House which he bowed out from early due to threats made to his family.

Soldier takes you on a trip to Powell's Bronx childhood days, as the child of Jamaican immigrants, and follows him as he grows up, enters the military, serving in Desert Storm, and then later serves as Secretary of Sate.

Ms. DeYoung is associate editor at The Washington Post, and this shows in the book. Written in a straightforward, report-the-news style, she introduces us to the man so many of us admired, without a lot of flowery prose. The bad thing is that the whole story is told to us, and as a mostly fiction reader, that mean that I was able to put the book down a lot. That is the only reason I'm giving it 4 stars (out of 5). Otherwise, it was excellently told, very well-written, and very informative, including pages and pages of notes so if you doubted anything the author said and cared to research it, you could find the author's source with ease.

I learned a lot about Colin Powell that I didn't know, and a lot about my country I didn't know--for instance, there is a War College to study war, both how to fight and how to avoid.

The book is flattering to Powell, presenting him as a soldier, forever more, and is comprehensively researched.

Armchair Interviews says: Recommended as excellent biography for students of history and to learn about this much-admired man.

Overall, this book is an excellent, informative look into the life of Powell. However, it certainly seems to have a definite slant towards the left in the personal opinions of the author, with opinions on Republican presidents and leaders being less favorable than those of the Democrat leaders. However, those slight tilts are so minute as to possibly be non-existent, but simply a figment of my own imagination.

Overall, excellent reading, and a great source of recent American Historic overview in general.

This biography of Colin Powell is very impressive. It details both his career as a serviceman and then as a political appointee for a period totalling almost 50 years.

As a non-American, it is interesting to read a biography of an individual who is both influential in terms of the positions he has held, and a positive role model for many. Colin Powell comes across as a fundamentally decent human being in an environment where power can have a corrosive effect.

I recommend this biography to anyone who wants to know more about Colin Powell and his life and times, as well as to anyone interested in understanding the world events and political influences within which he served the USA.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

One of the best biographies of a political character that I have ever read. There are times where I lose track of who the players are and what a particular politician or officer's title means. Yet, overall I was able to follow what was going on and how it affected our nation. Powell did an excellent job of speaking at the Speaker Series. He was smooth and easy to follow with quips and humorous antidotes throughout the evening. He reminded me of that member of everyone's family who is easy to talk to and one who people are drawn to. That is probably why he has been such a great leader of our generation.

Ransom J. Powell joins the Union army at age 13 as a drummer boy. While escorting a supply column, his regiment was captured by the Confederate army and taken to a prison in Andersonville, Georgia called Camp Sumter. While at the prison, he got the nickname Red Cap. Red Cap made the terrible times at Camp Sumter more bearable for every one there.
I liked all the details in this book. The author described everything very well. I could visualize everything.
I also liked reading this book because spent less time on boring things and more time on interesting things.
The only bad part of this book was that there was a lot of sadness.
Overall I would give this book 4 stars.

For a Civil War unit, this story is about a 13 year old boy who becomes a drummer in the Union army. He is captured and imprisoned in a Confederate prison where 13,000 men died. The book is based on Ransom J. Powell, 1849-1899, private and drummer Company 1, 10th West Virginia Volunteer Infantry. Although the reading level is 5.4, the language may be too complicated for some English language learners. If the teacher reads the book, however, this content might be quite engaging for learning language and history.

I liked this book because I like Civil War stories. I felt like a was watching a movie when I was reading it. I think other kids will like this book too.

Red Cap is one of Ransom J. Powell nicknames the other one is RJ. He lives in Frostburg, Maryland. He signs up for the Union army as a drummer boy. While he was in the army he sees a big battle. The battle makes him have more respect for the men fighting. He is taken as a Prisoner of War during a raid, and taken to prison. He is taken to two prisons and the last one was the worst, and that is the one he stays at the longest. At the camp many people died. Will Red Cap die or live; you will read this book and find out what happens.

I would recommend this book to war story lovers or and people that like action and adventure in their book.

I liked every thing about this book besides the ending it was ok. The end was kind of hard to follow, but you might not think so.

This book was on my Summer Reading List. I read it 1st because it looked small. It's about a boy who joins the Union Army as a drummer boy and eventually gets captured and brought to Andersonville. It was based on a true story so that's a plus. He makes and loses a lot of friends including Confederate soldiers. In the end, all of his friends die but he lives out of the kindness of a Confederate regiment stationed just outside of the camp. He was only 13 when he as captured. There is a lot of Southern slang even used by the prisoners. I recommend any person to read this book who is interested in the Civil War.

i love this book! There are great recipes that are easy to prepare and very delicious.

Lots of very good information. Haven't finished reading the information part and haven't tried any of the recipes yet, but they look good.

The recipes in this book look scrumptuous! This is hard to find in some vegetarian cookbooks.

Just got this book today, so haven't tried any of the recipes, but I'm very much let down. I'm not a vegetarian, yet I live and eat a healthy, low-carb, high-fat diet. I was looking for interesting vegetarian meals that fit into that lifestyle, but this was the wrong place to look. The carb count for a serving of, say, "Moroccan Bean and Pumpkin Tagine" (a main dish) is 98 carbs (less 7grams fiber...so 91 carbs) is insane. I live with 2 Type-1 diabetics, my hubby and son. Feed them something like this, and their blood sugars would sky-rocket, low GI or not. We try to keep total carbs per meal less than 30, and that's pushing it.

I notice the authors of this diet are young...many vegetarians are young and idealistic. Heck, I ate what I wanted when I was their age, and went through a similar period as a vegetarian. Hit about 40-50 where you can't eat a ton of carbs without gaining a ton of weight, and you have to be more realistic about what you put in your mouth. I prefer realistic. I also prefer Kat James diet in her book "The Truth About Beauty." Low-GI, healthy diet plans abound, without the trade-off of excessive carbs. To its benefit though, this is a beautifully prepared book...lovely photos with scrumptious-looking foods. I wish I could eat this way, but it's not what I consider healthy.

I bought this book expecting to learn how to identify and use low-GI ingredients.

Why I'm disappointed:

(1) The recipes for more substantial dishes have a lot of rice and pasta. While technically these are low-GI, their glycemic load is high because portion sizes of these are typically largish and/or they have a lot of available carbs. I had hoped to learn about alternatives to these kinds of ingredients.

The photos are attractive and the recipes sound good and aren't too complicated. But too many of the use foods that I want to diminish in my diet. They are pretty conventional in the sense that no light bulbs went off as I read through the recipes.

I hope this helps.

A terrific read from someone I had the honor of knowing in 90-91. Best wishes and keep the books coming!!

Ted

A big shiny crisp apple, minus the worm, for Ms. Powell for having the courage to reveal the reason for America's teacher shortage. Written with honesty, wit, and poignancy, Ms. Powells' story is told in the "We have to laugh to keep from crying" tone well-known to teachers. Using varieties of apples and apple recipes as metaphors for the categories of students, parents, co-workers, and administrators that all educators will recognize, Ms. Powell relates her story in episodic style, interweaving the optimism and idealism of a teacher with the reality of teaching. I can attest to the fact that her experiences with cowardly, inept, unethical, cruel administrators is not unique. While Americans pay lip-service to the importance of education, a thread on anti-intellectualism runs through the fabric of America culture, manifested in placing the blame for all of society's ills on teachers. Demoralized sheep in teachers' clothing willingly act as doormats in exchange for job security until they can finally retire, while unethical educrats go to any length to protect their lucrative positions and self-perceived importance. Superintendents as CEOs, principals as middle managers, and teachers as blue-collar workers [produce] assembly-line students as products, destroying all humanity and joy in the educational process, thereby guaranteeing an endless supply of minimum wage workers and cannon fodder... Her stories and her message are lucid, and all too true. We must hope that this book will serve to inspire other educators to reveal the truth about education; we must heed the advice of this "brilliant eccentric," and demand school reform before education, and democracy, is destroyed in America. As Thomas Jefferson said, "A nation that expects to be ignorant and free...expects what never was and never will be." I recommend this book to all educators,including administrators.

Rotten Apples - what an understatement! I was a child of the public school system in central Louisiana, were I received a minimal education.

Ms. Powell's book broke my heart and brought back unpleasant memories. Reading it was an emotional roller coaster for me - elated for her in one paragraph and saddened in the next. I felt her pain and frustration. She hit the proverbial "nail on the head". GOB is alive and well on the state, parish and local levels, to a degree that an outsider could only imagine. "...cronyism, nepotism, rascalism...".

Two of my siblings are educators; both have left the public school system - citing many of the same problems that Ms. Powell writes about. I've worked in state and local government most for my career. I have seen it and experienced it first hand.

I thought the book was well written, retrospectively weaving a tale chapter by chapter.
I especially liked the way she used different apple themes to describe each chapter, which offered some comic relief.

Woe to the NON-GOB.

Rotten Apples - what an understatement! I was a child of the public school system in central Louisiana, were I received a minimal education.

Ms. Powell's book broke my heart and brought back unpleasant memories. Reading it was an emotional roller coaster for me - elated for her in one paragraph and saddened in the next. I felt her pain and frustration. She hit the proverbial "nail on the head". GOB is alive and well on the state, parish and local levels, to a degree that an outsider could only imagine. "...cronyism, nepotism, rascalism...".

Two of my siblings are educators; both have left the public school system - citing many of the same problems that Ms. Powell writes about. I've worked in state and local government most for my career. I have seen it and experienced it first hand.

I thought the book was well written, retrospectively weaving a tale chapter by chapter.
I especially liked the way she used different apple themes to describe each chapter, which offered some comic relief.

Woe to the NON-GOB.

Rotten Apples - what an understatement! I was a child of the public school system in central Louisiana, were I received a minimal education.

Ms. Powell's book broke my heart and brought back unpleasant memories. Reading it was an emotional roller coaster for me - elated for her in one paragraph and saddened in the next. I felt her pain and frustration. She hit the proverbial "nail on the head". GOB is alive and well on the state, parish and local levels, to a degree that an outsider could only imagine. "...cronyism, nepotism, rascalism...".

Two of my siblings are educators; both have left the public school system - citing many of the same problems that Ms. Powell writes about. I've worked in state and local government most for my career. I have seen it and experienced it first hand.

I thought the book was well written, retrospectively weaving a tale chapter by chapter.
I especially liked the way she used different apple themes to describe each chapter, which offered some comic relief.

Woe to the NON-GOB.

Kids learn when there are problems, a positive attitude and hard work will solve most problems. Good for the whole family.

THE SQUIRREL, THE WORM, AND THE NUT TREES is a brilliantly illustrated book. The vivid colors, adorable animals and playful scenes will keep children under interested and entertained. The story focuses on a family of squirrels whose winter food supply is being destroyed by Mr. Worm. Mr. Squirrel realizes that food will be sparse during the winter and they agree to cut back. But the family hatches a plan to ensure that it won't happen again. The unsuspecting worm continues his destruction year after year without realizing that the squirrels have outwitted him.

THE SQUIRREL, THE WORM, AND THE NUT TREES is a delightful book but lacks character development and simple editing. The book fails to answer the familiar question that kids ask, "why"? Why did the worm ruin the nuts? Why didn't the squirrels have a plan in the beginning? What did they do during the course of the year? Anyway, you get the point - these unanswered questions make for a long story time. The reading level is intended for kids 9-12 but the simplistic ideas can be understood by those that are much younger. Powell plans to write a series of books featuring the squirrel and the worm hopefully the next installment will be better developed.

Deltareviewer
Reviewing for Real Page Turners

The Squirrel, the Worm, and the Nut Trees is a sub-par children's book about a male squirrel who has to find a way to outsmart a worm in order to get the necessary sustenance his family needs for winter survival. The worm is causing the nuts to rot, leaving the squirrel without a means to feed his family. He has to think of something; some way to prevent the worm from destroying his food supply if he hopes to survive.

This book is all about pre- planning and working toward a solution to a problem. This is fine and good, but there are many faults that prevent this from being a good children's book. Among the most noticeable of the issues I have with this book is the lack of good editing. Examples include statements like, I love to rotten the nuts with my silk webs, and, Mr. Squirrel and his family had to stretch the nuts they had found, so that they would last a longtime. Unless the dictionary has changed, the word rotten isn't a verb, a nut cannot be physically stretched, and longtime is two separate words, not one. Some simple editing would have cleared up this glaring problem. Another area that needs editing is the placement of quotes. There are many quotes from Mr. Squirrel and Mr. Worm and they are often right next to each other. You cannot immediately tell who is saying what until you finish the paragraph.

Another issue I have with this book is the story itself. Aside from the idea that planning ahead is a good way to solve a problem, there is no real moral to the story. The story is also a little too simplistic. The squirrel needs to outsmart the worm, so what does he do? His brilliant plan is to gather the nuts earlier in the year. Considering this book is aimed at elementary school children between the ages of nine and twelve, this story is a little too basic. Something more unique or creative would have made the story much better.

Is there anything redeeming about this book? I can think of exactly one thing: The illustrations. They look like they were taken directly from a television cartoon and they offer many cute drawings of the squirrels, worms, trees, and surrounding forest terrain. Most everything is either brown or green, so the illustrations are not particularly colorful. But they are realistic, and there is enough visual enjoyment that children will not pay much attention to the story.

Overall, The Squirrel, the Worm, and the Nut Trees is a below- average children's book that lacks much originality, uses bad grammar, isn't always realistic (what type of worm makes a web?), and doesn't offer a very strong or complete message (the book ends with the worm unable to figure out what happened). Only the illustrations rescue this book from the lower ranks of children's fiction. It isn't much, but it will do in a pinch when the younger children have nothing else to do and want some fun pictures to view.

Mr. Worm doesn't like the Squirrel family, and he will stop at nothing to give them a hard time, even spoiling the acorns they need to eat through the winter. However, by working together, the Squirrel family might just be able to turn the tables on Mr. Worm. It's a story that might have been written by Aesop - a lesson taught through the use of an animal metaphor, and it's a darn good read.

I got this book for my almost-4-year-old, and she really likes it. She likes the funny squirrel drawings, and the colorful pages (even those that contain only text) keep her interest. Yep, several nights running, now, she has asked for the squirrel book, and together we read it through at the end of the day. She gives it a big thumb's up, and who am I to argue? We both recommend this book!

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This is one of the most delightful books I've read for children. It is so clever in revealing several of the "deadly sins" that when the book is over, the children learn (or at least have an idea) about how to manage their world (no matter how small it is).

The squirrels always began to collect food in the Fall for the Winter, but this year it was different; there were very few nuts. Mr. Squirrel brought his family into the search, and together they found enough to barely get them through the long, cold snowy season. Where there should have been nuts, there were silk worm webs.

Then the squirrel knew what had happened. The worm, greedy and mean, had destroyed the nut crop. Mr. Squirrel went to Mr. Worm to ask why he made the nuts rotten.

Mr. Worm told the squirrel that he could not use them, but loved to make them decay so the squirrels couldn't use them either. "Ha! Seems like you and your family will starve! Ha, ha!"

That year the squirrels just made it until Spring brought its small warmth; then the squirrels executed "The Squirrel's Family Plan and Goals". They spent hours on it during the winter with tummies only half full; the plans helped keep their minds off the lack of food.

In early Spring they began collecting some nuts and a few every day of Spring and through Summer; never really enough to be noticed by the Worm. In the Fall there were more that they added to their store house, but left enough to fool Mr. Worm. He laughed with his friends. He was happy thinking that he would starve out the squirrels this year.

They had so much they knew they would not go hungry; and that was a delicious secret.

This book shows what greed and avarice can do, and it shows that ingenuity and a whole family working hard together can avoid disasters.

The pictures are gorgeous, the colors vivid and bright; even Mr. Worm is cute. This is a charming and fun book for kids as young 2-3 and as old as anyone who likes delightful stories with bright, colorful pictures.

Victoria Tarrani