Lifestyle Books

I've read all of Robert Burleigh's many fine children's books, and this could be my favorite. Like the bike ridden by messenger man, the text is spare and poetic. Children will love the energy and warmth of the story. They will feel what it's like to be "messenger man," confident in his worth and the importance of his work. The art is perfect, creating and capturing the confidence of Calvin Curbhopper from early morning through late evening.

Children will ask you to read this book again and again -- and you'll love doing so.

Robert Burleigh's _Messenger, Messenger_ is an exciting portrait of a bicycle messenger in a big city.

In rhyming poetry, we meet Calvin Curbhopper, a young African-American bicycle messenger, as he moves around a big city making deliveries. He's constantly on the move. It's an exciting look at the bicycle messenger's life!

In our glimpse of Calvin's apartment, I was pleasantly surprised to see that his mattress is on the floor, and his place looks sparsely furnished and more than a little sloppy. He's got a bookshelf full of books, an alarm clock, some music, and not a lot more.

Calvin works hard and enjoys himself, yet he doesn't have a lot of stuff! So few children's books even present a glimpse inside the homes of single adults. It's a minor point, but it's nice to get a look into Calvin's pad, especially because it isn't the 3 bedroom family suburban spread I'm accustomed to seeing in picture books.

The lines in _Messenger, Messenger_ are poetic, and move along with a nice rhythm. It's easy to feel the rhythm of the cyclist as he moves through traffic.

My two year old son loves this book. He likes the rhythm of the story, and now I think, (gasp) that he might want to be a bike messenger when he grows up. So much for engineering and medicine, I guess.

There aren't many picture books which portray the life and lifestyle of the bicycle messenger. My son and I both like this one.

You should take a look at _Messenger, Messenger_.

ken32

Metropolis is an amazing tour de force for readers of all ages. It seems to be a children's book at first glance, with full-paged color illustrations, but it satisfies the curiosities of any reader about life in different cities and different times. Where else could you learn about the construction of Notre Dame Cathedral in the 12th century AND Koblenz at the height of the plague in the 14th century? I plan to keep this book as a family treasure and pass it down to my children some day. Read it!!

This gorgeous book is nominally about cities, but through elaborate color illustrations, cross-sections and graphics, it depicts human endeavor and activity as well.

This is a large (though lightweight) book, approximately 10" x 12", and each of the cities depicted are given six pages. The first two-page spread puts the city into a textual and graphic context. The second spread depicts a building or the city being described, and these illustrations are dense with activity revealed more acutely with cross-sections, blow-ups and detail. An illustrated timeline of the century also runs along the border of these two pages. The final spread explains the centerpiece illustration and offers more detail of some aspect of the time. For example, Paris in the 12th Century first describes the Middle Ages and the history of Paris, and explains why so many cathedrals were built in this era, accompanied by a map of Europe showing many of them; the centerpiece illustration shows the construction of Notre Dame, with details of smiths, roofers, masons and carvers at work, and a timeline along the border that shows 22 other significant events of the century, such as the death of Omar Khayyam, an appearance of Halley's Comet, the birth of Genghis Khan, the murder of Thomas a Becket, the ascension of Richard the Lion-Hearted to the English throne and the construction of the Leaning Tower of Pisa; finally, a description of the cathedral work is given along with detailed text and illustrations of Notre Dame's carvings and stained glass, including the Rose Window.

The text is informative and detailed, though this is a supplement to history texts and not a substitute, with an emphasis on how people of the time lived and worked. The cities chosen are historically and culturally significant: Jerusalem of the 11th century with a discussion of religion and the Crusades; Paris of the 12th century, with a discussion of the cathedrals of Europe; a Mongol tent city of the 13th century; 14th century Koblenz, with a discussion of the Plague; Lisbon and Mozambique of the 15th century; 16th century Florence, with a discussion of Renaissance art and learning; Osaka of the 17th century, with a discussion of Kabuki and No theatre; Vienna of the 18th century; 19th century London; and 20th century New York, emphasizing its immigrant populations.

If you are a history buff, or have a child studying history, this lush book will add dimension to your/their understanding. Highest recommendation.

The illustartions for this book could not have fit the story any better. It is such a wonderful combination of words and pictures that my 3 year old will NOT put it down. I love it too.

I wish I could give a whole galaxy of stars to this book instead of only five! This book is a perfect bedtime story for a child or for an adult. The book is brimming with gentle, drowsy imagery and you feel softly drawn into the dreamy world of a warm night with moonlit pastures and peaceful, slumbering creatures. The art is EXQUISITE! We are beguiled with starlight and moonbeams, cascading magnolia petals, misty valleys, moonshadows and softly glowing embers in the fireplace. The sleeping farm and the little boy who watches the peaceful night descend complete this enchanting treasure.

James Ray is our hero here at Pug Headquarters. His Science of Success was good and his Million Dollar Mindset is equally as good.

These are common sense rules of conduct which can be easily applied for certain success.

Brian Tracey suggests we invest 3% of our gross income in learning tools. He also recommends to use wisely the time spent in our automobiles by listening to educational improvement material. James Ray's Million Dollar Mindset satisfies both those things.

Diana Taylor
Top Dog
Pug At The Beach

Sometimes all you need in life is the wisdom of a good dog.TM

Pug at the Beach: An Island Dog's Reflections on Life

"The Million Dollar Mindset" is an incredible learning system from a true thought-leader in the field of wealth creation and personal development! As a celebrated wealth expert, James shares the proven methods that are guaranteed to turn a mindset of lack, limitation, and scarcity to one of prosperity, increase, and abundance. For these reasons alone, it's easy to see why Oprah invited him on her show, twice!

One of my favorite parts of "The Million Dollar Mindset" is contained within the 5th CD, which delves deeply into the psychological factors of influence. James uses the acronym C-R-A-L-S-S, which stands for consistency, reciprocity, authority, liking, social proof, and scarcity. Mastery of these factors combined with James' insight, is absolutely priceless and has sky-rocketed my income in the last few months! I've learned how to effectively leverage my time, efforts, and energy through other people.

I highly recommend this program to those that are serious about acquiring massive wealth. Since I've been so inspired by this course, I've been giving it as a special gift to friends, family, and fellow entrepreneurs. Reflecting on my phenomenal results from using James' system, the information included is worth thousands of dollars and James Ray International should charge what it's really worth!

- Dr. Matthew Loop

Author of "Cracking the Cancer Code"

We loved this one! Not only was it great at teaching how things double, but the strokes of humor, both in the text and illustration made this one a read-over-and-over favorite! Can't go wrong with Minnie's Diner!

My grandsons love this book. They ask me to read over and over. I recomend to anyone with small children.

This book is great, not long enough but so much fun to read. I liked learning how Rose lived. I want to read the whole series now!

Its 1894, and Rose Wilder and her Papa and Mama move from the prairie to Missouri . They past a Dusty Trail and when they make camp Rose gathers fire wood. The next day they eat hardtacks and Rose travels with George and Paul on there wagon. Then they cross a river, go swiming, and meet Russians and help a lost dog but soon they come to Missouri.

Like many toddlers, mine loves the moon so I went in search of a good lunar book - preferably in verse. This is it. The poem is lovely, the illustrations extremely charming and my moon-crazy baby can't get enough of it (we started reading it at about age one, but I think it would engage older children as well). Even absent an obsession with heavenly bodies, this book should charm: the appealing illustrations feature a cozy family narrative with lots of familiar and interesting objects to point at and talk about: a baby, a clock, dogs, cats, a bird family, deer, etc. Highly recommended.

This is truly a wonderful book. It is short, sweet, and simple. At least that is the way it felt as I read it and looked at the pictures. The text is a classic poem by Robert Louis Stevenson who lived between 1850 and 1894. And the watercolor illustrations marvelously bring the poem to life so the reader can better understand it. There are 15 scenes (2-pages each) in the book.

The story is about the moon and what happens at night while it glows. We meet some raccoons, deer, owls, dogs, cats, bats, and a mouse. 5 stars!

This is a beautiful picture book, like all of the books in this series about Nora and her Grandparents farm. It shows how draft horses work on the farm and how caring a good farmer is to all the other aninals who live on the farm, be they residents or part of the natural enviroment. A wonderful story, simple and beautiful. The illustrations are true to life and make you feel like your at the farm with Nora.

My daughter is 6 years old and absolutely loved this book. Her grandparents live on a farm and she has heard stories of work horses and she somehow stumbled upon this book on her own at the library. When it was time to return this book, she searched for something similar and found Hurry! also by Jessie Haas and she was so excited. I also loved these books and immediately signed on to amazon.com to see if we could purchase them.

What a sweet book to read aloud to your kids! If you have just read the Lorax, and your kids like to hear longer stories, try this story about a community of insects that has to deal with a major pollution disaster -- a bagful of trash dumped on their village of mushroom-sized homes. I love Blegvad's illustrations, and the story is neither too long nor too short. It's about the same length and of a similar inspirational quality as "Elsie Piddock skips in her sleep". It is an amazing work of craft to convey this anti-pollution message without any didacticism. Good for both insect-lovers and those who are insect-averse.

Written some three decades ago by the Danish poet N.M. Bodecker, and charmingly illustrated in black-and-white ink drawings by his friend Erik Blegvad, this little book is a tiny overlooked jewel.

The story follows a beetle and his new community of ladybugs, crickets, ants, moths, caterpillars, and other insects as they repair the damage done to their cozy community of mushroom houses by litter dumped in their little corner of the woods. It's a hopeful, none-too-serious tale about recycling and making the best of a bad thing.

A great read-aloud for kids aged 4 and up, and a good short read for ages 7 and up. (Estimated reading level, grade 2-3, but it's a rather short story).

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What's it like growing up on an Aussie farm? Read Alison Lester's "My Farm" and you will be captivated by her reminiscences.

You will follow young Alison and her two brothers and sister through the highs (many) and lows (a few) of their young rural lives.

There's lots of Aussie bush humour shining through. Painting clay stripes on an old black horse gives you a "Native Australian Zebra" and entering your Kelpie sheep dog in the dog high jump is all part of the fun.

We are not shielded from the harsher realities of life in the bush. We are threatened by bushfires; round-up runaway cows and we even assist mum to deliver a newborn calf.

We enjoy the bounties of nature and go picking wild blackberries and field mushrooms.

There are some esoteric references to which only Aussies might relate, such as children swinging on the rotary clothesline, best known as the iconic Hills Hoist.

Alison's illustrations have a quirky charm. Faces are simply drawn, but the atmospherics of the landscapes and farm scenes are exquisite.

"My Farm" is the most sophisticated of Alison's works and neatly supplements her other works such as "Bouncing and Bumping" for the younger reader and "Imagine" her most successful book.

Some readers may want a glossary of Aussie terms eg chooks = hens, drover = cowboy, mobs = herd, but these all give a delightful flavour to a book which will have great appeal to all young children.

This book attracted me with its beautiful cover, and I expected a well-illustrated, serene pastoral. I was right about the pictures, they're uniformly superb but "My Farm" has a greater narrative and emotional range than its simple title suggests. Between the covers, Lester shows us the fun and the hard work of living on an Australian sheep and cattle farm.

"My Farm" skirts the boundaries between the picture book and the chapter book by using three pictures per page, acoompanied by Lester's tightly constructed, informative narrative. Lester is also capable of poetic images that match the soft visuals. This autobiographical book follows the seasonal chores and mischief on a mid-20th centure seaside Australian farm. Lester invokes another time and place through Australian terms (explained at the back of the book), and her pictures of the farm and its surroundings. While farm life (big family gatherings, humorous encounters with siblings, home grown games, horseback riding, community faires) are pleasingly light, Lester doesn't settle into an easy sentimentality. Baby and older animals don;t always make it, and sheep may be slaughtered for food. The latter is depicted by a soft version of something you might see in a butcher shop, nothing gory, but you know what you're seeing.)

A recurring subplot involves Lester's desire for a bigger, faster pony. It's no surprise when she finally gets on, but young kids not used to this formula may enjoy the suspense. Disappointed one summer Christmas (Lester reminds us later that the seasons are "reversed" in Australia), young Alison gets her dream horse one Christmas later, waiting for her under an apple tree just ready for plucking. With gorgeous pictures and funny, informative, and sometimes touching vignettes, this is a heart-warming piece of Australiana.