Shepard Books

This book is fabu. It helped me get great marks in my music!

The collection of "The Ancient Fantasy" series will take both adults and children into a world of folklore of long ago. In another time and country. My grandson's and myself have been reading this series and we have all enjoyed what we have read so far. We just finished reading "The Songs of Power". The front and back cover are enchanting. Brandon and Johnny love them. In their words again: "they are awesome". I am always delighted when we finish a book and they look again at the covers and they recognize some of the characters.

As a mom it was important to me to teach my children to enjoy reading. As a grandma I truly love to teach my grandchildren to enjoy literature. I highly recommend the whole series to parents, grandparents, any child or adult.

We had just finished reading, "The Song of Power" when Brandon said "Grandma my teacher says poems are just songs". So we read this book in different ways many times. We each read it to our own beats. We even tried to sing it. We each chose a song we knew and changed out the words to fit the book. I am so glad there was no one around to hear us. It is something only a grandparent could love.

I am so proud when I see the light of understanding in their eyes shine. Or when they have read a part without mistakes. What a blessing for me.

Mr Shepard you are helping children to develop their own imaginations. These books have taken my grandson's away from their video and dvd games they keep here, and that is quite an accomplishment. Especially in the world we live in now.

When I first told them I had some books coming that I thought they would enjoy was a mistake on my part. Every day until the books arrived I was asked if I had check my po box that day. When the books finally arrived I waited and let them open the box. We looked at the books and then at each other and knew these books would be different than any we had read before.

Thank you once again, and as my grandson's say this is another five star book. They think your books get better and better as they read each one. I say their minds have opened up more and more.

Sandra Heptinstall
Brandon Heptinstall
Johnnie Heptinstall

'States of shock: A vaudeville nightmare' was first presented by The American Place Theatre in New York City
on April 30, 1991. The cast was as follows:
COLONEL John Malkovich
STUBBS Michael Wincott
GLORY BEE Erica Gimpel
WHITE MAN Steve Nelson
WHITE WOMAN Isa Thomas


This is the only play, the two other titles are screenplays.
The colonel - dressed in a strange ensemble of military uniforms - enters a diner in the company of a young man who could be a relative or a subordinate. The two other customers are a married couple in their sixties. Every time the waitress passes by, they complain that they have to wait so long for what they ordered. The man says they should leave this place but they stay.

The way the 'colonel' is dressed is a symbol for the story of this play. It's build up in different layers as there
are different characters each with their own problems. In the end they all try to make the best of it. The problem between the colonel and Stubbs is intricate and in the beginning a little confusing. It's a father trying to understand his son.


'Far North' a film starring Jessica Lange. (1992)

Reading a screenplay can be a little tedious because indications for the camera and crane movements are on every page. But then again screenplays are not written for the public but for cast and crew.

The main character of this movie is a horse (yes, a real horse.) Bertram, the owner, lies in the hospital and swears that he will kill the horse. What happened? Bertram, a farmer, was seated in a buckboard drawn by Mel. Suddenly the horse breaks into a gallop. The buckboard flips over completely when it hits a ditch. this has unpleasant consequences for Bertram. His daughter Kate (J.Lange) visits him in the hospital. He asks Kate to promise she will shoot Mel. But it won't be that easy. Kate never shot anything and she thinks about a way to break her promise to her father.

In this intricate story - it's not so simple as it looks - comedy and tragedy alternate.


'Silent Tongue' starring Alan Bates, Richard Harris and River Phoenix (1992).

The story is set in 1873 in New Mexico Territory.
It's about a medicine show and the dark legends of the native Indians. A vast, primitive prairie landscape of
harsh, flat isolation. Nothing moves but the wind and the buffalo grass.

When a biological weapons threatens Washington DC the people get there chance to take out a terrorist. One man carrying the latest in germ warfare has planned the attack with precision. Carefully detailing every step of the plan. The only thing he forgot was to plan for the American people. Our government, our troops may falter but our nation stands strong. This is must read for everyone that feels the need to thwart a terrorist plan.

As always, Shirley Hughes has a winner with her book, Stories by Firelight. The stories are fascinating, with just a bit of eerieness and fantasy to keep children interested, just like a tale told by firelight. Burning the Tree is a delightful tale about a grandfather and a grandson who has an uncomfortable secret which has quite an exhilorating resolution for the boy. As with many of her books, there are lovely poems interspersed which just add to the joy of reading a Shirley Hughes book.

A fantastic place to start exploring readers theater. We had a very hard time finding appropriate materials for our new drama club at our elementary school. Stories On Stage has a nice variety of different stories, something to appeal to everyone. The children love the stories and they are short enough to not overwhelm the teachers!

The mystery and joy of Christmas is enhanced through this aspect of the holiday. A delightful and enlightening work, worthy of reading!.

The text follows a pattern of an adjective, that adjective in its comparative form, and that adjective in its superlative form.
This is an easy pattern for students of English as a second language to follow.

Swindle is the best magazine because:
1) Its hardbound
2) Talent
3) Roger Gastman
4) Shepard Fairey
and all of the above put together a fine masterpiece that will never lose the classic edge it has. I love Swindle.

I decided to judge this book by the cover and purchased it for my son who was thrilled by the site of school busses. What I found inside was delightful.

For younger children, this is a picture book drawn at a child's eye level. It has a bus, 2 dogs, a cat, pet food dishes, blocks, a drum, dinosaurs... so many things to hold a child's attention. It is the simple story of what a child does while his older sibling is away at school.

What creeps into the pages is so much more.

The illustrations depict a red-haired Edward and a main character, Tom, who appears to be Asian. What a gift for parents of multi racial families to have a book in which diversity needs no explanation.

The tender love of adults for the child and of the siblings for each other is heartwarming. Tom is offered assurance and encouragement from parents, from the housekeeper, and, most importantly, from Edward.

My 4 year old son loves having it read over and over. And I love reading it.