Lifestyle Books

I love this series! It's a nice historical transition from the Little House on the Prairie books. In this one, the girls are 12, and venture into the world of theater, solo expeditions downtown, etc.

One note for moms of younger children: the characters may age beyond the interests of your children. At least, this is true for me. For instance, in this book, around p. 120, there's a discussion of whether Santa exists. It's a wonderful passage, except that in my house, we don't doubt Santa and we certainly don't want to introduce any doubts. While I was reading the book the other night, I had to skip over the Santa section - I was just glad it was me reading and not a guest reader, like Grandma, who probably would have read right through.

In the next books, Betsy and Tacy seem to get (I haven't read them) more interested in boys, etc., so I don't think my daughter will be able to relate. We'll take a break from this otherwise excellent series after we finish Betsy and Tacy Go Downtown.

This book is part of the Betsy-Tacy series by Maud Hart Lovelace, a heartwarming saga featuring Betsy Ray, a girl growing up in small town Minnesota at the turn of the twentieth century. The books follow her from kindergarten to marriage. In this particular book, Betsy is twelve and on the brink of high school, but she and her friends Tacy and Tib are still enjoying childhood and all that comes with it. Betsy's interest in writing is blossoming, and her world is expanding yet still endearingly safe, composed of seeing plays in downtown Deep Valley, seeing the town's very first automobile, meeting a long-lost uncle, befriending a lonely former actress whose daughter died, and visiting the new Carnegie library. Visit Deep Valley if you want a refreshing respite in the innocence and charm of Betsy's world.

We first meet Betsy, Tacy, and Tib's school friend Winona Root in this book, and the four of them make a wonderfully real crowd of friends. I especially enjoy Winona's addition to their group.
Where the first two BT books were almost little collections of stories, from Big Hill on, there are larger themes to them. Betsy's writing and her uncle, Keith Warrington, are tied up together along with her friendship with Mrs. Poppy in this story, giving a great purpose to the book.

These are the perfect books to read with my granddaughter. The times they lived in were much like my childhood. My granddaughter still relates to their adventures and it givbes her a glimpse of the world I grew up in.

I first read Betsy Tacy Go Downtown over 40 years ago. This book and all the Betsy/Tacy books have had a huge impact on my live. Imagine, finding out I was not the only one. Through the wonders of cyberspace I have found a whole communinty of Betsy/Tacy fans. There have been trips to "Deep Valley" and discussions of the books and characters. It is wonderful to find others who love the books as much as I do.

Betsy Tacy Go Downtown is a sweet book and colorfully paints a picture of a simpler, gentler time. These books have stood the test of time and are a wonderful read for all ages. I read them out loud to my daughter when she was 4, over 17 years ago. She enjoyed them and I am sure most people will.

My 19-month old loves this story. The plot is simple and unfolds so nicely, and the illustrations lend such life and feelings to the inanimate characters. Its rhyming style is fun to read and the story even has a valuable lesson to share ("the grass is greener..." so we should appreciate what we have). Good thing it's such an enjoyable story since my husband and I find ourselves reading it at our son's request several times a day!

Former Disney artist Bill Peet brings a Disney-like feel to his books, especially this one which features a great story about what one wishes for and what one sometimes winds up with. The drawings are works of art, and the story gives parents a chance to talk about railroads and wishes. No robots, no monsters, no computers, just a gentle story and fabulous art.

Another of my family's all time favorites. This story is filled with so much excitement and adventure. It is a sheer joy to read out loud. The illustrations are timeless and stunning in detail and humor. This book along with all Mr. Peet's others should be compulsorily stocked on every household's bookshelf!

Great artwork combined with a good story makes this an all time favorite and makes Katy a hero. All of my kids (especially my boys) loved this book. There are always big smiles when I finish reading how "Katy did."

The Author Bill Peet has the gift to spark the imagination of all children. His stories are amazing. There are over 30 kids books by him and I recommend them all!The Caboose Who Got Loose (Sandpiper Books)

We've had this book for a long time and we still bring it out every now and then.
I think we enjoy the nostalgia of reading a favorite book together and we still
like seeing Marvin's adventures in the city and trying to remember where the
emu and the cat are. It took us years actually to find the emu on the subway.

This is an awesome book. I used it with fourth graders to teach the organization trait in the 6 traits writing. The kids loved the story and suggested we write a spin off of the book. They did an awesome job and made their stories into books and illustrated them. Highly recommend it to get students motivated to write.

I had never heard of this book before my son received it as a gift. He was about 9 months old and would insist that we read it again and again. He is now 4.5 and still likes it. And his little brother has enjoyed it just as much. The illustrations are fantastic and its fun to search for Marvin on every page. I highly recommend this book. I also love the language - it uses fantastic, descriptive words. My soon was 2 and used the words mesmorized and exhilarating because he learned them from this book.

My preschoolers love this book, not just because of the vivid illustrations that go with an easy-to-follow text - they love locating the hidden ostrich, police officers, and black cat tucked into nearly every single page. Check out the clouds...they look like fish, dinosaurs! Can you find Santa Claus hidden in Yankee Stadium's crowd of thousands?

I confess - my husband and I love finding the hidden pictures, too. Its also our favorite birthday gift for my kids friends. Get the book and scan the illustrations closely! Fun!

My three-year-old son enjoys this book so much because it lends itself to active participation. It is fun for him to spot Marvin, the escaped ape, in various settings ranging from a subway train to a ballgame to a ledge on a building. He also enjoys finding the two policemen who look for Marvin as he moves from locale to locale. I don't mind re-reading this book because of the clever illustrations and appealing New York City backdrops. And after reading the book for the first time, we have make a joke of finding Marvin--I say "Where's Marvin?" and he'll jokingly point to other animals or objects. His enjoyment of this book won't last forever, but it's been providing amusement for a few weeks now.

I can't wait until her next book comes out...I've heard there's going to be another book...I hope there will be the 3rd book in the college series ended so soon...awww What happens when Todd opens his wedding present, huh? and what about Katie and Rick...She has to write another one, she just has too.

I didn't like this book as much. I own every Robin Jones Gunn book available and i was sadly disappointed with this book. I found it kind of boring. I read it really quickly and got very little out of it. I also didn't like that this thin little diary had 5 years of her life in it. It missed way too much. The only part i really liked was when she was talking about the meaning of her 'Forever' bracelet

This book is about Christy Miller, only deeper. It shows her life over five years in high school and in college. It gives a unique outlook on teen life with a Christian view. I couldn't put this book down! I would reccomend this book for all Chistians and people who are looking to be a Christian. This is a great way to start the Christy Miller series or to read along with it. JUST READ THIS BOOK! IT'S REALLY GOOD!

Hey ya'll...I think that these books are the most incredible books i have ever read. I have read all 12 of the Christy Miller Series and 1 and 2 of the College Series! I instantly Fell in Love with Todd, and I pray that the guy I marry will be just like him. He has the qualities every guy should have! I wish that my life was just like Christy's and I can't wait to read the 3rd book of the College Series! These Books have helped me in my life more ways than I can count! I love them and I can't wait to read them over! The things todd says to Christy are so sweet and caring, it makes you want to cry. I commend Robin Jones Gunn, she is an amazing writer. I like books that I can sit down in my room, and just get lost in a book. I couldn't put them down. I havne't been able to do that with a book in a long time! I encourage everyone to read these books, every one of them, and open their hearts to learn from them. God spoke to me in so many ways while i was reading the college books the most. I learned so much and my relationship with god was grown immensly. I look up to christy...and I try to be more like her each day!

Hello everyone. Robin Jones Gunn's books on Christy Miller are absolutely the best books I have ever read. When you read them, it's as if you've crawled inside the book and you're there with her everywhere she goes! Todd is such a great character, and he's the exact type I've dreamt of marrying ever since I got book 1. I cry when she cries. I laugh, and trust me, there's plenty to laugh at. I have a smile on my face during every book, and I definitely recommend every single on of them. These books are sweet and romantic, but realistic and give you a Biblical perspective on the way life should be. I have actually grown closer to God through these books. Especially the college series. Thanks, Robin! You're the best!

My husband was told to lose weight after knee surgery, and I was told in December that I was borderline Type 2 diabetic. We bought this book (I also recommend 'The Wisdom of Menopause'), and Dr. Strand's knowledge of my situation and his solution makes total sense. Since January, my husband has lost 55 pounds, and I've lost 35 pounds. It seemed effortless, and both of us have no intention, desire or craving to go back to our old ways. I have purchased over 10 of these books from Amazon for friends. So many of them have seen similar results from the book and the usana.com nutritional supplements. [...]

This a wonderful book for anyone who wants a healthier lifestyle and for anyone who wants to lose weight permanently! It is an easy read and everything is explained in simple terms.

This is a well researched approach to losing weight in a more permanent fashion. It gives hope to all those people who have been dieting forever and not getting lasting results. Excellent read.

The whole idea behind this book is wonderful and helpful. I will re-read it and use it as a reference book because this is a subject I really need help with. The only thing that was surprising, and it is an important observation, is that there were so many grammatical and spelling errors. This always gives me a negative response to a book, especially since the author is a doctor. Then I have the tendency to doubt his or her credentials. Maybe we are entering an age when grammar and spelling are not as important as they used to be.

I read a borrowed copy of Releasing Fat: Developing Healthy lifestyles that Have the Side-Effect of Permanent Weight Loss. It wasn't until after I ordered a copy for myself AND and copy of Healthy for Life... that I read the blurbs about them on Dr. Strand's website. You can't tell on the Amazon site that the books are virtually identical. The only difference is that Releasing Fat includes Usana products (meal replacements, snack bars, and vitamins and minerals) in its meal plans. Healthy for Life just has low-glycemic foods in its meal plans. If you want only one copy, you just need to get one or the other, not both. HOWEVER, I wasn't bothered by having two copies of what amounted to the same book because I've learned so much about insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome, killer (abdominal) fat, carb cravings, cellular nutrition, and the benefits of a low-glycemic diet that I wanted to recommend it to all my friends and relatives.
There are a lot of low-gycemic diet books out there now, but this is the only one I've seen that goes into such detail about the specific negative health effects that result from the way most Americans eat and how a change to a low-glycemic diet will counteract those health problems.

A friend at work loaned me her copy of this book. She lived in La Veta and knew, or had met some of the people who used to live in Libre (Adrienne, for one that I can remember). I became instantly enthralled in the story and found myself procrastinating at the end of the book to keep from finishing it. Although I was 10 in 1968, I've always had a hippie spirit. My husband and I sold everything in 1979 and moved into our Ford van with our 6-month old daughter and headed to Ouachita Mountains in Arkansas from Nebraska to "live off the land". We built a little homemade house like some of the ones described in the book. Our chickens laid eggs in our dresser drawers. Our cat had a litter of kittens in the bed beside us while we were sleeping. We heated water on a woodstove made out of a 55 gallon barrel. We scratched out a garden spot in rocky soil. Lived on nothing. Had an outhouse, etc. So I could relate to a lot of the book and enjoyed seeing how our lives might have been different in a communal setting. Besides, who could not read this book after seeing that front cover photo?

This book is a rare gem. For those of us who experienced the hippie generation firsthand it is both nostalgic and cathartic. For younger folks who wonder what the heck we were thinking back then, the answer is in this book. One of the things I loved most is that it has no particular agenda; it is simply an honest and objective chronicle of what life was like for the author in an early seventies commune. The writing is captivating; it reads like a novel.

I was born in the town of Walsenburg in Huerfano County, Colorado. So when I heard Ms. Price being interviewed on Colorado Public Radio, I knew I had to read her book. And I'm so glad I did. I was too young to fully understand what was happening in the counterculture but reading about Libre has helped fill that gap. But moreover, I loved reading about my birthplace from such a different and interesting perspective. I knew the Huerfano only through the eyes of a child. Now when I return and drive those quiet roads as I recently did, I have a much broader understanding and a much deeper appreciation of why so many of us love it.

I have a good friend who was immersed in the counterculture in the 1970s. I've been reading a variety of books about the movement as a way of understanding him better (I have also read "Sleeping Where I Fall" by Peter Coyote and "Wild Child").

Rather than presenting a rose-colored, nostalgic view of that time, this book provides a clear-eyed view of Ms. Price's reasons for joining Libre and an excellent description of the many personal and practical issues of communal living.

In contrast to "Sleeping Where I Fall," I thought this book did an excellent job of presenting a woman's viewpoint of the counterculture movement.

The ending is inevitable but oh, so bittersweet.

Bravo!

I saw this book one afternoon while visiting my mom in Denver. I picked it up and read straight through it. I lived in Libre, in a dome as a child with my sister, mom and dad. The book was such a different perspective of life at Libre than I remembered. I remembered the hardships of Libre. I remembered the Nature, the other children, things that children pay attention to. Now I am a mom and realize that my perspective on life is vastly different than that of my childen. Roberta has given me a different experience of Libre, not better or worse, just different from when I was a child. As a child it was home. It held no political, cultural, or social significance to me. After reading the book, I can now appreciate Libre more.

Fantastic artistry to go with one of the classic songs, especially for those of us in West Virginia. Can't help but sing as you read. Great fun for the whole family.

I am from West Virginia so Country Roads has always been dear to my heart, especially being a WVU grad where it is blasting all over town on football Saturdays! I bought this for my nephew and I'm sure he will love all of the illustrations as much as I do. Lots to look at on each page and I love how the illustrations are done as if it has been quilted.

My son received this book as a gift for his first birthday. He loves it (and he has no clue who John Denver is)! We've read/sang it a hundred + times. He loves looking at the illustrations, as do I. My husband & I graduated from WVU, so this song is near & dear to our hearts. We hope to make a little Mountaineer out of our son too....this is a good start.

A great song with amazing illustrations. All the pictures look like quilt pieces. This song is timeless and kids love it. I've got kindergarteners who can belt this out and they never get tired of reading/singing it over and over. Very well done. Can't wait for more John Denver songs to come out.

John Denver's music paints a beautiful picture in your mind, but this book brings it to life even more! Book is very animated---almost seems like the pictures move as the vehicles go up and down the rolling hill. Great quilted-look art that covers almost every space in this book. LOTS of things going on (you could look at this book all day long and still find something new the next day) Well worth the money!!! Get is for all your John Denver fans :)

This book was great, it was a little more interesting then the first one, and has many enjoyable chapters I think. I find all the characters in the Quiner family cute and enjoyable expect for the oldest sister, Martha.
I also admired Caroline's mother's strength as he strives to run her family after her husband's tragic death. Her detirmination, her never ending courage and love really make me fond her and her entire family, particulary at he end of the book when they learn they are going to have to move from their home. The mother and everyone really show courage and I like that. I'm glad I got this book.

This is where Caroline, and her family are in Concord Wisconsin, but they along with the rest of the families who have habitated along this town, are working at building the small dwindling town, into a town that everybody would like to live in.

I'm currently reading this book and its great from what ive read! Id reccomend this book to anyone! Its very enjoyable book and i cant put it down! Take my advice and read this book! Im sure you'll love it!

Title:Little Town at the Crossroads Author:Maria D. Wilkes Little Town at the Crossroads is a great book for grades 3-6. I recommend this book because I enjoyed and I couldn't put it down. Children and adults alike will love this book.

Little Town at the Crossroads is a great book! Caroline, age six, is excited as she watches the town of Brookfield grow and grow. She gets to see a circus that comes to town and marches in her first Independence Day parade. But then her family finds out that they might have to move to another farm. Will Caroline have to leave Brookfield?

Leah wants to bring her relationship with Miguel out into the open. At the haunted house that Eight Prime is doing for Halloween, though, she breaks it off with him when he refuses to meet her parents. Eventually the two get back together and tell Eight Prime of their relationship, which makes Nicole excited.

Melanie and Peter are getting kind of closer to each other, which makes Jenna jealous. Jenna and Peter argue about it and Peter drives Melanie home from cleaning up the place where the haunted house was. Before he can even start the car, though, Melanie has a little romantic surprise for him.

This is the first book in the series that I have read. I was looking for a good book to read at the library and decided to get this one. It was a good choice! Great book. I think Miguel and Leah are PERFECT for each other! I am now hooked on these books. Ms. Roberts you did an excellent job! read it!

I really like this series! It's great! I can't believe it's ending at book 20! Book 19 just came out. Anyways. This is a great series. A thing I like most about it is how everyone in this book likes someone. Nicole likes Jesse. Jesse likes Melanie. Melanie likes Peter. Peter likes Jenna. Jenna likes Miguel. Miguel likes Leah. Leah likes Miguel. And, well, Ben, he's just out there, but that's ok. Ok, now about this book:

It's really good! Leah and Miguel want to tell Eight Prime about them but Miguel wimps out and refuses and they get into a big fight about it. Melanie and Peter start hanging out a lot, and Jenna gets majorly jealous. Ben's trying to fit in, and Nicoles just jealous of everything: Melanie, Leah...etc. Overall a very good book. Recommend you reading the whole series.

I really like this series! It's great! I can't believe it's ending at book 20! Book 19 just came out. Anyways. This is a great series. A thing I like most about it is how everyone in this book likes someone. Nicole likes Jesse. Jesse likes Melanie. Melanie likes Peter. Peter likes Jenna. Jenna likes Miguel. Miguel likes Leah. Leah likes Miguel. And, well, Ben, he's just out there, but that's ok. Ok, now about this book:

It's really good! Leah and Miguel want to tell Eight Prime about them but Miguel wimps out and refuses and they get into a big fight about it. Melanie and Peter start hanging out a lot, and Jenna gets majorly jealous. Ben's trying to fit in, and Nicoles just jealous of everything: Melanie, Leah...etc. Overall a very good book. Recommend you reading the whole series.

This book isn't the best book of the series I've read, but I enjoyed all the same. The cliffhanger at the end of this novel was really good - wheter Peter and Melanie will ever get it together or will Melanie & Jesse or Peter & Jenna. Nicole is just way to jealous of everything - Jesse liking Melanie more, Leah and the fact that she still hasn't got a life. Leah and Miguel's relationship is just like a fairytal - poor man falls in love with rich girl. But I liked it when he [Migual] questioned his religion. Jenna is a spoiled brat with good intentions, but she can't get everything her own way and she is just so jealous of everyone. Ben is just Ben - he's goofy and really annoying at the same time. And Jesse, well Jesse is just using people to make himself feel better - Nicole [who is quite thick] and the demoned alchol.

I am a Speech-Language Pathologist, a "big sister" to many, and a proud aunt. These books are worth the money for gaining the attention of young children as well as teaching age-appropriate concepts/information.

Good buy from a great seller-

My kids LOVE this book! I read it to them several times a day and they never seem to get tired of it. Great rhymes and great pictures! Definitely one of their favorite books.

This is a great book just like all of the other "Snappy" books. My son loves them all. He's always throwing them up on my lap for me to read to him. Fun to read, great pop-up pictures...A+

My kids are 2 1/2 and 1yr. They love it! It's a really cute, simple, rhyming pop-up book that teaches the sounds that animals make. They're excited everytime we read, which is often!

I highly recommend this book as well as the other pop ups that are made by this company. The one with the colors is really cute too

This is a favorite of my 15 month old. He has had this book since he was about 6 months old and has enjoyed it since the start. All the Snappy books are fantastic and we have most of them. Snappy Farm Animals is colorful and simple to read. Babies love the colors and the animals. The farm starts out nosiy and slowly calms down as the animals go to sleep and the farmer waves goodbye.