Media Books

This is a must for my grandchildren. If it was good enough for my kids, it's good enough for theirs.

Ferdinand, Monroe Leaf's classic children's book, is a timeless story. It mesmerized my sons three decades ago and held the attention of my fourth grade students year after year. I always include it in any collection of books I purchase for a new baby. It's a delightful read-aloud for any child.

When asked to describe a favorite children's book to a poetry group, I wrote:

Ferdinand

friendly Ferdinand
charming young
flower bull
his passion is quiet
seeking peace
desiring beauty
he savors small joys
a bull of the sixties
if ever there was one

delights
in sensory
pleasures
comfortable
solitude
won't wait
til he's old
to retire
to lie back
in cork tree shade
meditate
breathe in blossoms

gentle iconoclast
no snorting
fighting fiercely
sticking his horns
butting
he has
his own vision
soft
pure
mellow
my hero
Ferdinand

My mother used to read me this story as a kid. I always liked it. As I got older, I began to appreciate it even more for its subtle humor. The story is unique and the illustrations should really be admired. I just bought it for my 2 year old and she seems to enjoy it as well. I highly recommend it.

Ferdinand is a bull who listens to his own heart. He does not bow to 'peer pressure' and try to be someone he is not. The story is not really about bull-fighting, but about self-acceptance and the acceptance of others for whom they are -- even when initial expectations are not met.

I completely forgot about this book until one of my students had me read it. Such a classic with an important message about staying true to yourself even if you are off the beaten path. The Spanish culture and charming illustrations only make this all the more likeable.

Any kid who reads The Doll People and the sequel, The Meanest Doll In The World would be very excited if they knew there would be a third book. I'm one of those people, I read both of them and I LOVED THEM. I decided it was my favorite book so far (I'm only 10 so I know that won't be forever). I recommended them to everyone who was looking for a good book at the right level, I think if you are 8 or up, you would love the idea and l ove the way Ann M. Martin and Laura Godwin writes and how Brian Selznick illustrates. They're all a really good team. One of the things I LOVED were the illustrations. For someone who doesn't know how to picture things in your mind while you're reading, this is the book to get in the book store. If you feel interested to read this book then grab it out of the bookstore or buy it anywhere, please. Both of those books are great!

Anntie Sarah was lost for 47 years ago, then 47 years later, Annabelle got a hold of her diary. She kept it very safe until the Funcrafts came to the house. Annabelle Doll shared the diary with the Funcrafts daughter, Tiffany, and everything in the diary they both read is a step closer to find Anntie Sarah.

By Rose

This is an excellent book with fun and adventure abound. Good reading for people of all ages. My 70 year old Father loved it, so much so I bought him his own copy. A fun read over and over.

The Doll People
By: Ann M. Martin

Book Review by: Caroline Le

Have you ever lost someone near and dear to you? Well that's exactly what happened to Annabelle Doll in this book, The Doll People. It's about a family of dolls trying to find their lost family member, Auntie Sarah, but the problem is that Auntie Sarah could be anywhere in the house and the whole family is only about an inch in height. The whole family includes mama, papa, Uncle Doll, nanny, Annabelle, her little brother Bobby, Baby Betsy, and of course Auntie Sarah. Along the way they get into a lot of problems, with The Captain (the humans cat) and getting lost, plus they can't move while the humans are around, it'll jeopardize their secret, but they also have a lot of fun too so don't worry. Personally I think that one of the best parts in the story is all the adventures they have. Read the book to find out what happens to the Doll family and Auntie Sarah. Enjoy reading it, I know I did.

Who says that you can read and enjoy children's books? This book is on par with some of the great children's literary classics like the Wizard of Oz. The author creates a world in which a Doll family comes to live unknown to the human residences around them. While the Dolls remain forever the same age, Annabelle Doll had remained an eight year old girl for a hundred years. She is on the search for her missing aunt Sarah who disappeared 45 years ago. She and the Doll family travel without getting human detection which means that they can be forever frozen in time. The Doll life is very fragile and human detection can determine their frozen state. A fear that the Doll family must have while Annabelle and her sister yearn to break free from the dollhouse that is their home. They remind me of Anne Frank and her sister hiding in the attic. They have so many rules of their own without being detected from humans. It's quite an entertaining novel for both adults and children alike. I could see an animated movie come alive and popular quite easy. The illustrations are in black and white. I don't have any complaints about the book but hope to get back into it soon enough.

Hi, I am 9 years old and I LOVED this book its about a doll that's a hundered years old and is named Anabelle who lives with her mom, dad, brother, uncle , and baby sister. While Anabelle is looking for Auntie Sarah, who has been missing for 45 years, she finds another doll family, the Funcrafts. They are newer dollhouse dolls. The Funcraft family & Anabelle's family become good friends. And the Funcrafts have modern things the old dolls don't understand, like a microwave & Bar-B-que. And when Anabelle's birthday comes around they have a party for her at the Funcraft's dream house. The dolls have to be careful that the humans don't see them moving around & talking or else they will be in "doll state" (this is where they get frozen for 24 hrs). This book would be good for girls 7-12. The words are easy to read & the story is easy to understand. It's a long book, about 260 pages, but all totally entertaining. No boring parts. If you are looking for a great book to read, get this book NOW.

I didn't find this book all that special. The style seemed stilted and awkward. Characters seemed emotionally flat and I didn't buy the romance in the story. Not a bad read, but half way through I was ready for the book to end.

One of the things I like about this book is that it manages to retain an archaic feeling without sounding fake (you know, the type of dialogue that sounds like a bunch of college students roleplaying). Pope's choice of using modern language for the dialogue doesn't spoil the setting at all, whereas trying to force readers to jump back and forth between Elizabethan dialogue and modern narration could be annoying, e.g. Patricia Wrede's version of "Snow White and Rose Red".

Overall, Pope's characters are really well fleshed out, and she's also a master at describing atmosphere. The supernatural terror that Kate is subjected to in the underground halls kept me up at night for a while after both times I read this.

I didn't know the plot of "The Perilous Gard" was related to an actual legend till I stumbled across the name "Tam Lin" elsewhere on the Internet. Now I'm fascinated...

This book is beautiful. The proud elves! The historical drama! Probably the best theory for where elves/fairies came from, oh, and the answer will suprise you!
This books haunts you in that though there are mystical, magical elements in this story when you done reading you have to admit that it really COULD have happened. This book made me cry, I love it when books have the power to make you feel that much emotion. Do yourself a favour and read the book!

The Perilous Gard

The Sherwood Ring

The Perilous Gard is a book I still reread as an adult. The Sherwood Ring is good also. I just wish that Ms. Pope had written MORE.

The Perilous Gard is a wonderful rainy afternoon book. The characters seem real and the Elizabethan England that is described seems real and charming but none too easy to live in.

The best part of the story is the characterizations of the fairies themselves. Not the fluttery, glittery creatures beloved of Walt Disney, but a real, proud alien race at one with nature. The queen particularly is both admirable and cruel, pitiless and pitiable.

I enjoyed this book immensely once I got into it. The first chapter didn't impress me, but after that the book held my attention. The main character, Kate, was a great heroine that I enjoyed reading about and she had her own flaws, which I thought was great. Because most books in this sort of genre have the perfect, beautiful, strong, intelligent, courageous heroine, which I always found somewhat unbelievable. This book is adventursome, fantastical, and has some romance thrown in too. Its my kind of book! I plan on looking for more books by this author.

All the women in my family are very creative and artsy, every single one of them, except me, I tried every craft that looked remotely interesting and not a one panned out for me. And then I found this book, and I fell in love. My grandmother had done cross stitching for as long as I can remember, but died before she had a chance to teach me. So now I finally have my craft, its perfect for a tattooed domestic goddess such as myself!

This books rocks my socks. I'm a novice cross stitcher and this book has some fun, basic designs you can make right away. It also has a great resource guide and other ideas to further you on your cross stitching career once you've got the basics. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to pick up cross stitching or those who are sick of stitching cutesy bunnies and flowers and such and are looking for something new and fun.

Subversive Cross Stitch makes a good gift for the cross-stitch enthusiast with a quirky sense of humor. The book includes patterns for cross-stitch projects with a twist, as well a helpful guide to making your own projects.

A word of caution, however, this book may not be appropriate for young viewers as it does contain some profanity. Otherwise, it's rollicking good fun!

(New Hallmark slogan)
"If it's good enough to send to Ann Coulter, that's good enough for me!"
http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2007/1127071coulter1.html
(the police report mentions this book, because some fool sent a card to her!)
(on pages 3 & 4)

If you're easily offended, surrounded by people who are, or simply lack a sense of humor entirely, this is simply not the book for you. Clear, informative instructions and patterns make this a great book for a beginner, while the freedom to change the charts as you please will make the adept smile. Then there's the content: Oh lord, how I have suffered through the ghastly aisles of Precious Moments and sappy angels and babies! Finally a book for those of us who need a little salt with our otherwise wholesome obsession with stitchery. And it's so cute, sitting there on your table, and your mother-in-law will pick it up, and wonder, and then read, and then howl (perhaps in delight?)...

An eight-year-old Jewish girl, Marissa, is sitting down with her family for the Passover seder. This year it is not only her family at the meal, but two guests, an older couple named Alex and Mela Roslan. At her Uncle David's prodding, Marissa's father, Jacob, tells the story of why he is so honored to have the Roslans as his guests. It all started long, long ago, when Jacob was just eight years old.

Jacob and his family lived in Warsaw, Poland, at the start of the Holocaust. His mother died giving birth to his youngest brother, but the rest of his family was well off, with servants and a nice house. Everything changed when the Nazis invaded. All of a sudden all of the Jews were put into a ghetto. The men of the family escaped the country before then, believing the women and children would be safe. Jacob's aunt managed to find places for his little brothers, Sholom and David, in the country. Jacob, however, stayed in the ghetto. Life was hard but livable. Then, his aunt began to worry about the fact that so many people were being arrested and taken out of the ghetto each day. She found a place for Jacob to live, with Alex and Mela Roslan and their two children, a family of Christians.

Throughout the war, Jacob lived with this courageous family, a family who put their own lives at risk to save the life of someone they had barely known.

This is another true Holocause story, and another one that makes the reader see there were some good people out there, surrounded by the bad. I liked that this book showed that helping Jacob was a difficult decision for the Roslans to make. They probably saved his life, but they still were concerned about their own lives and their own children. I would have liked to have seen more of what the Roslan children were thinking during this time. It would be interesting to get the point of view of the children who were involved because of a decision of their parents.

An excellent book dedicated to two people stood up for life when others looked the other way. My children and I enjoyed reading this book together.

Visitors are coming for seder dinner and Marissa wants to know who they are!

This is an amazing story of a young Jewish boy during the Nazi occupation of Poland. Jacob is his name, and he is given a chance to live with a brave Polish family. The Roslan family takes Jacob in and protects his brothers and him. This now united family must go through many hardships throughout this story, but there is still happiness and gratitude flowing in the text. Alex the father is the bravest of them all. He keeps the family alive and healthy.
This book tells a well rendered real life experience of a very brave family. It explains what was going on in Poland from the peoples view not the generals prospective. In this book Jacob tells this story to his daughter. Think of finding out that your father was living through an adventure story that had dire conflicts.
What I'm saying is if read this book if you want a idea of what happened to people that were brave and fought in their own way during World War 2.

PR2

In this story called Jacob's Rescue a Holocaust Story, Jacob is a Jew. He finds out that he has to go away from his Aunt and his grandma, to live with a German. The German's name is Alex. He hides Jacob from the Germans, or any other people who don't like Jews. Jacob becomes family to Alex and his wife and kids. Throughout the whole story Jacob is scared and frightened by the Germans. He doesn't want to get caught.
I absolutely loved this book. I couldn't keep my hands off of it. It was that good. I am really interested in the holocaust, so I enjoyed reading it very much. Anyone who likes reading about history or the holocaust, this is the book for you. This is based on a true story. That makes this book a lot more interesting to read.
By: Tenille

Jacob's Rescue by Malka Drucker and Micheal Halprin is an awesome book to read. It starts with Jacob getting captured by the Nazis and being put in a ghetto but for most of the story he is kept in a small apartment.

This book is about an 8 year old boy named Jacob and the extremely brave people who rescued him, Alex and Mela. There were also two brave kids the son and daughter of Alex and Mela. Jacob is one of the Jewish people who got put in a ghetto. In this story Jacob loves to play cards and do math. The whole story starts when Jacob gets put in a ghetto. Their problem is they have to find a way to stay safe without getting caught and being killed. My favorite part is when he escapes from the ghetto and goes with Alex to his new home.

I gave this book five stars because many of you know how many Jewish people got killed because of the war. This book is about the few people who went way out of their way just to save two Jewish boys life. I think that just to know that people would be so giving is a great thing. I think that Malka Drucker and Micheal Halprin did a great gob on this book and I hope that there are more books of theirs that I can read. I would recommend this book to a friend because I think that it's cool to know that two boys' lived through a war because of two people that saved them.

This is a great book to read. I would highly recommend this book and others by the author for fun reading and at the same time great learning opportunities.

I read this book 60 years ago as a young boy of 10. It made a tremendous impression on me with regards to the geography of the Great Lakes of the US and Canada. I was thrilled to find that it is still being printed and the pictures are the same as I remember--excellent. A wonderful story.

As others here have said, this is a true keeper. A babysitter read it to me when I was 10, and I never forgot it. I bought and read it to my kids when they were around that age, and they wouldn't let me put them to sleep without reading at least one chapter. It's educational, beautifully illustrated, and a touching story. I may have to fight with my kids over who gets to read it first to their kids! A treasure.

Wonderful illustrations and a book that will not bore an adult. Great learning tool for young readers.

This book was recommended to me on a recent sailing trip thru the Great Lakes. I bought it for my hometown library as it was a wonderful geography lesson. Truely a dateless book and a lovely present for a child or library.

I LOVE all of Holling Clancy Holling's books, but I have to admit that Paddle to the Sea is my favorite. The story of a little boy who carved a little man in a wooden canoe, and the adventures encounterd by the little man just captured my imagination. I never knew the Great Lakes until after feeling as though I had been there with Paddle to the Sea. H.C. Holling books are works of art packed with wonderful facts from science and geography. Any teacher's dream curriculum because you'll have the children enrapt attention! My sons love them as much as I do, and even now, they remember reading them as great memories.

Louisa County High School recommends that you read Baby Alicia Is Dying. We all agree that if you read the book then you would think before you made a bad action like Alicia's mother did. Many of us cried in the end.

Baby Alicia is Dying by Lurlene McDaniel is a great book. Well I want to tell you a little bit about what this book is about.It's about a girl named Desi who is hiv free and is trying to stop smoking and who wants a baby who is hiv positive and who wants to take care of that baby.In my opinion i think this book is exciting to me because it tells you the problems Desi is having and what she does And how she's gonna stop doing what she is doing.I recommend this book to people who like exciting books about drama and that tells you about people's lives.

This book is the greatest book in the WORLD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! its happy and sad at the same time. i could read it 10,000 times and never get bored of it!!!

I liked this book bacuase is told me about a little girl that was born with HIV. Also that seh was born HIV positive. I liked this book also becasue it has great details of what the young girl went through since she was born. I mostly liked this book bacaue of the was it decribes the characters are doing, and what is on in their mind at that time and place in the book. The sadest part was that when i read this book that I have felt the same pain as Alicia does in the book because my grandma Burger died of being HIV positive back in January of 2005.

Alicia was a unique and really nice baby. I didn't really think she should of got putt in the hospital because her mom didn't want her. The book teaches us that anyone can help the hospital and help little kids. It also teaches us that even though you got put in a hospital because your mom didn't want you, don't mean you're not a nice person. One example was when people started to tease a girl because she helped the hospital take care of kids.

Alicia was a great baby. She loved everybody. She knew what was wrong and what was right. Even though, she was only two.

This is a great book for ANYONE to read!

Please get this book. We are adopting and it has been great to read to our kids and eventually to our son. I've bought several to give to friends. It is great for adopting and non-adopting families. Great!

I cried reading this book, because it is so beautiful. Recommend it for all kind of families with small children, my son just loved it.

love this book. it gently opens a discussion about what being a mom to a child really means. we dont always "look" like our children and this book addresses that. specifically good for adopted children.

I love this book and my adopted daughter loves this book. Granted she is about to turn 2, however, she still will pick this book up for me to read regularly. I have recommended this book as well to the adoption forums I belong too. Great message we are all different and it is about the love.

I absolutely adore this book. My sister gave it to us before we traveled to China to adopt our daughter. She's just over two now and has read this book with me dozens of times. We both love the illustrations, and even at a very young age, she "gets" the idea that Choco finds a mother in Mrs. Bear, regardless of the fact that they look nothing alike. (I confess I still get misty every time I read it.) The message is delightfully done--not schmaltzy, not overdone. I would recommend this to any family--adoptive or not.

I liked The Wind Blows Backward a lot, its one of my favorites, a classic realistic fiction book about a love story, I normally don't like love stories, but this one has action in it too, and it makes it interesting.
A girl named Lauren who didn't have a lot of friends, just a few, was in love with a jock named Spencer. Lauren and Spencer were friends throughout middle school, but lost touch in high school.
Spencer got in touch with Lauren and started to date her. Because secretly they both loved each other.
One night, Spencer had tried to do something terrible to himself because of his past life, which put him in shock trauma in the hospital.
Everybody knew something was wrong with Spencer, they just didn't know what. What could have been wrong with Spencer that led him to try and possibly kill himself?
Find out for yourself by reading this book The Wind Blows Backward, it's a great story and is interesting all the way through, I recommend this book to everyone who loves love stories but more so of action, you would want to read this book. I loved this book a lot it will definitely go on my top list of favorite books that I've read, if you read it too, I bet you would say the exact same.

I liked The Wind Blows Backward a lot, its one of my favorites, a classic realistic fiction book about a love story, I normally don't like love stories, but this one has action in it too, and it makes it interesting.
[...] Find out for yourself by reading this book The Wind Blows Backward, it's a great story and is interesting all the way through, I recommend this book to everyone who loves love stories but more so of action, you would want to read this book. I loved this book a lot it will definitely go on my top list of favorite books that I've read, if you read it too, I bet you would say the exact same.

This book made me feel things I hadn't felt in a long time.I had always thought my favorite book was a book serise(sp) by Lisi Harrison.My best friend found this book a few years ago in 5th grade.She let me read a few lines in the book and I thought they were intresting.We're in 7th now I finally got to read it.I felt the world around me disappear as I read through the book nonstop for hours on end.This book made me realize what I've been hideing from everyone else my whole life and that I've been depressed for years.But I also realize most of my friends are that way and we can work through it.I grew up with out both my mother and father to be there for me so I can relate to Lauren and Spencer in this book.Out of 1 to 5 stars I give this books 10000000000.I cried so hard when Spencer rode away on the motorcycle,drunk from champaigne,leaveing Lauren to chase after him in the pouring rain.I can't tell you how much tissue I used reading this book.I'm reading again and am almost finished with it.I'll probably read it 10 times before I have to return it to the library.I hope they make this book into a movie,me friend and I would see it the second it came out and she'd laugh at how emotional i am,she always does.She can't really ever understand why people are different.But oh well.I highly recoment this book be read by the entire world!!!!!!!!!

Lauren and Jake were the best of friends all during middle school. They both loved books and fantasy stories. Once Highschool folled around Lauren and Jake slowly drifted apart. Jake became popular and is the star track runner. Lauren is left in the dust working at the local library. The one day during senior year Jake walks in the library with his girlfriend and was looking for a book for their english class and he starts talking to lauren. At first Lauren is mad at Jake, but eventually they became friends again. Once Jake broke up with his girlfriend, he asks out Lauren. They hit it off great and talked about almost everything. As the weeks pass though Lauren can tell Jake is hiding somthing. It turns out When Jake was a little kid his father commited suicide and has carried that with him all these years because no one knows he knew that he knew the truth about his fathers death. As the story continues Lauren and Jake struggle with their relationship and wonder if their love is strong enough to keep Jake from making the same mistake his father did.
I would recomend this book to anyone who enjoy suspenceful love stories.This book also has some mystery to it. I think this was a very realistic book and it could happen in real life. It really makes you think about life. I enjoyed this book very much.

The Wind Blows Backward
By: Mary Downing Hahn


Lauren is shy, insecure, and smart. What could she possibly want with the big man on campus, Spencer? Better yet, what would he want with her? Still recovering from their unexpected split as friends in middle school, Lauren wonders whether or not to let Spencer back in. Spencer struggling with his own dark past presses his emotional feelings on Lauren. Will they stay strong or fall apart due to Spencer's dark moods? Mary Downing Hahn brings such a realness and life to the characters in such a way you relate to them almost instantaneously and you feel like they relate to you. If you love suspense, love, tragedy, and teen angst, then The Wind Blows Backward is the book for you. I recommend it to anyone who wants something they can relate to and can't put down.

Poor Fireheart. His beloved leader is losing faith in StarClan,her warriors and her trusted deputy. He can't decide what to do. When i read this book, i figured Fireheart was losing faith in Bluestar. The suspense picks up when the ThunderClan cats chase the dog pack to the gorge. Tigerstar tries to keep Fireheart at bay so the dogs can kill him. But Bluestar rescues him and loses her last life in the process. Mistyfoot and Stonefur morn for their mother and in the end, Bluestar regains her faith. Fireheart is heartbroken. He believes that he can't do anything without the help of Bluestar. But he accepts his new position. I always cry at the end when Bluestar dies, but I'm happy in the end because i know that Fireheart will become leader.

All of the Erin Hunter books are great! I just love them and have read them many times over. I am not a reader, I hate to read!!! But give me a Warrior series book and leave me alone for a few days. They are the best. Thanks Erin for opening up a new world for me.

Pre-teen and early teen girls love the series. It has my 10 year olds attention. She is reading like never before.

this book was a very good read. i would highly reccomend the series to any cat lover. you should always read the books in order, and NEVER read the backs or the character lists of a book ahead of you!!!! I found out something that you will find out in book #6 when I was reading book #4. it kind of ruined book #5 in a way. This book is definately good

The book that I'm reviewing is Warriors: Into the Wild by Erin Hunter. There are thirteen books of Warriors, this is one of the four that books that I've already read. I didn't really like it. The best book that I've read was Warriors: Fire and Ice. If you're a person who likes action, drama, and mystery, this is the series for you.
Warriors are cats who live in the forest. The cats are divided in to five clans when their born. They're Thunderclans, Waterclans, Windclans, Shawdoclans, and Starclans. The clans are in big tribes, which means big protectors which are called warriors. Cats have to be seven moons old to be a warrior. The following names are in the book that I'm reviewing Fireheart, Rusty, Bluestar, Sandstorm, Cloudpaw, Yellowfang and Tigerclaw. There are so many more names in Warriors. The Warriors books are fun and exciting to read.

By Bennett