Canada Books

I really, really, really like this book. I love the pictures too. It tells you a lot about steps and how to become a healthy dancer. Also, it tells you a little bit about pointe.

A wonderful example of beautiful ballet technique and poise. It is a friendly and simple introduction to the basics of ballet for any beginner. My sisters and I really learned a lot from this book. I highly recommend this to any aspiring ballet dancer.

This survey of ballet dance for young performers provides a fine introduction for kids just beginning to explore the potentials of ballet. Black and white photos of students in action accompany tips on positioning, pointe work, allegros and ballet classes. A fine guide recommended for young newcomers to ballet.

The first graders at The Children's School loved this book. They thought it was funny and cute. They said that it "teaches us that having fun is better than winning." If they could, they would give it one thousand stars! A good book to read if you are interested in poems.

This is a good book to use to introduce young children to chapter books. It contains nine short chapters. Good book to use when beginning a unit on poetry (teachers) or reading poetry books (parents) together. Poor George gets writer's block--something we all can relate to. Mr. and Mrs. Bean as well as Jenny and Anna have no trouble with writing--how frustrating! Family love and unity come into play. Children will be motivated to try their hand at writing their own poetry.

I worked as a school librarian for a number of years and this is my favorite Betsy Byars book of all. It is a tender, yet funny, story of how every child has talents and is worthy of love. It's a great read-aloud or independent reader -- I used it for third grade on up.

The collaborative effort of author Nancy Carson and photographer Jennifer Jones, Believing In Ourselves: A Celebration Of Women showcases the wisdom and inspiration of thirty-five ordinary but nonetheless remarkable women drawn from all over North America. Black-and-white photographs enhance each of the women and their exemplary encouragements placing pinnacle importance upon women having faith in themselves to achieve their goals, dreams, and aspirations. Believing In Ourselves is a very highly recommended and inspiring addition to personal improvement and Women's Studies reading lists.

Believing In Ourselves
From a housing project in the Bronx to the U.S. Court of Appeals, from life on welfare to working as a top industrial engineer . . . the stories of these amazing women inspire dreams.

Believing in Ourselves: A Celebration of Women (Andrews McMeel Publishing,..., April 2002) introduces the reader to 35 amazing, inspiring, and unstoppable women from all over North America and from all walks of life. Many of these women have overcome significant obstacles in their lives. Others have succeeded in fulfilling unusual personal goals. Each of them will amaze and inspire you with their courage and fortitude.

Strengthened by hardship and made generous by their experiences, they offer up their stories to guide and encourage others. In this new book you will learn about:

--Mary-Lisa Orth, Tucson, Ariz., who struggled out of welfare to become a top industrial engineer - while raising four children on her own.

--Beth Bakke-Stenehjem, Bismarck, N.D., who gave life and hope to a friend and coworker through the gift of one of her kidneys.

--Sonia Sotomayor, New York, N.Y., who went from a housing project in the Bronx to sitting on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

--Sinthea Brown, Seattle, Wash., who overcame drug addiction and poverty to become a counselor to the homeless in her community.

Believing in Ourselves celebrates the gifts of women who pursued goals that people told them were impossible. They proved themselves by taking the hard road instead of the easy road. Their journeys have instilled each of them with self-awareness, inner peace, and a sense of satisfaction.

About the Author and Photographer
Nancy Carson, a freelance writer from Alexandria, Va., writes regularly about everything from educational technology to family caregiving, but her favorite form is the personal essay. She travels widely and is often in Manhattan, the home of her artist daughter.

The pages of Believing in Ourselves are enhanced by the graceful black-and-white photography of Jennifer Jones of Tucson, Ariz. She attended the New England School of Photography in Boston, Mass. Her photographs have appeared in a number of newspapers and magazines.

A perfect gift for your close friends, your sisters, your mothers, this inspiring collection of stories about the triumphs of real women in their everyday lives, written by Nancy Carson and accompanied by lovely photography from Jennifer Jones, is a reminder of the heroines we encounter daily but don't always recognize as such. These are women who have made their way through extraordinary difficulties and built successful lives for themselves - success defined as they see it, not in the narrow confines only of career and money -often helped along the way by other women. Their life stories, beuatifully presented, serve as a reminder to all of us that: 1) we are each the architect of our own life story, and 2)we don't have to do it all alone. Of course, in Ms. Carson's skillful hands, even a less amazing life would probably provide inspiration to others.
Put this book on your own table or next to your bed, to read on a sunny morning, or when the darkness looms and all seems hopeless: at least one of these women will "speak" to you and help you find a way to go forward.

Brutally honest, but not so cynical that it's annoying.

This is a query as to what happened to the On the Loose Series. Did the big boys (Fodors, Frommers, Let's Go swallow them up?) Any information about the demise of these student writers would be appreciated.

This is the best guidebook I've ever read. It's brutally honest, concise, and seriously funny. Offers great resources and detailed maps. Have fun !

I read this book when I was maybe 7 and thoguht it was really good...and now that I read it 8 yrs later I still love it! This book plays out so strangely. It's like a dream. You have to read it!

Do you like taking matters into your own hands, well if you do listen to this.
Ok theres a book I've been reading called The Big Bazoohley by Peter Carey.Its about a nine year old boy Sam.Sam's mom dad and of course him were down to there last twenty three dollars and fourty cents.So his family all went to a small town to see if they could make some money.Sam's Dad is a big gambler and his mom paints and sells art the size of match boxes but worth big bucks Sam was worried cause his big shot dad took his family to a huge hotel with a casino,buffet, and huge rooms.
The hotel was asking ....a night.Don't foreget they were broke, but sams mom was selling a .... piece of art so they supposed if she sold it theyed be able to pay rent.But it didn't work out how they thought,Sams mom didn't get the money and his dad was afraid to lose any more money by gambling it away.So Sam decided to go on a voyage for the thing his dad called the big Bazoohley.
I liked this story because a little boy thats 9 years old boy is going out to help his family.
I recommend this book to any body because it's usually hard for me to get into a book but I liked this one from the first chapter.

This kid needs more than ordinary luck to get himself and his parents out of a tight spot, but he isn't just going for a fix for the situation; he's shooting for the Big Bazoohley!

A book about guts and glory. A childhood adventure with a touch of magic.

Peter Carey brings his originality and poetic vision to a children's book with all the success he has had in adult prose. I loved it!

Gorgeous book. Almost like being there as we read. Enjoying it now and

will for years to come.

The wide double format spread of the pictures is awesome. I have had it open in the living room since we got it, open to a new picture everyday. Every picture has a frame around it, just like you would have if you had it on the wall.

BIG SKY captures some gorgeous panoramas, capturing natural landscapes and tinting to explore some of the lesser-known state parks and wilderness areas across the country. It's a personal celebration of the American West by a photographer who spent over twenty years searching for just the right sites and experiences: when one was found he'd take a series of panoramic shots and stitch them together on a computer, here produced in panoramic 27x9 inch spreads to properly capture the results. Art photography libraries as well as public libraries strong in visual travel representations will want this.

When we were senior high school and university students, I couldn't think of a better way to spend your summers, than working at Bigwin Inn before going back to school in the fall. I spent the summers of 1963 and 1964 there playing the piano in the band. Bigwin Inn became a very special place to most of us who spent time there. I didn't take many photos and now wish I had, but this great book can bring back a lot of your memories because it has lots of photos taken at all stages of this great Inn's life, as well as a history of this grand old Inn.

Relive your memories with this great book!

When we were senior high school and university students, I couldn't think of a better way to spend your summers, than working at Bigwin Inn before going back to school in the fall. I spent the summers of 1963 and 1964 there playing the piano in the band. Bigwin Inn became a very special place to most of us who spent time there. I didn't take many photos and now wish I had, but this great book can bring back a lot of your memories because it has lots of photos taken at all stages of this great Inn's life, as well as a history of this grand old Inn.

Relive your memories with this great book!

Bigwin Inn encourages the protection of a unique
landscape and its built environment by examining
Bigwin Island's environmental heritage, the
archaeological heritage of its First Nation burial
grounds, the nautical heritage of the steam yacht
Bigwin and the rare architectural heritage of the
Bigwin Inn complex.

McTaggart states, "If the great legacy of Bigwin
is to survive as testimony to an important part of
the country's identity, the landmark demands immediate
heritage designation, structural stabilizaiton and
protection against the implications of an ill-
defined future". Star columnist Christopher Hume
wrote, "As McTaggart rightly points out, "Bigwin
was the perfect embodiment of an era, a time when
man's ability to master nature with massive and
indestructibe projects was very much in vogue."
The complex consists of numerous buildings-some
huge, some small; some public, some strictly utilitarian
- but all designed with an eye to the environment-physical,
cultural and social. Even as it falls apart, the
Inn remains a magnificent structure. By contrast,
the majority of contemmporary buildings in Muskoka-
mostly cottages-though smaller and more intimate,
are at odds with everything around them.
The difference is that Bigwin Inn's designs assume
the full range of architectural possibilities.
The context is history, not some ersatz notion of
a Muskoka style, or of local color."

Bigwin Inn was presented to Her Royal Highness
Princess Juliana of the Neterlands in memory of
the Royal Family's stay at the resort during World
War II and of the fiftieth anniversary of the end
of World Warr II. "Princess Juliana was pleasantly
surprised and delighted with Mr. McTaggart's book
Bigwin Inn. The book brought back so many good
memories of the time she and the little princesses
spent at the resort. It is sad to see such a
beautiful place fall into a state of disrepair.
An inn with such a historical past should only but
be preserved,wrote her First Secretary.

"Members of the Ojibway trive have visited Bigwin
Island each summer since the 1800s to pay homage
to several of Bigwin Island's First Nation burial
grounds,"McTaggart states. Al Bigwin of the Alderville
Reserve recently wrote, "My wife and I visited Bigwin
Island two years ago. We were delighted to have
secured much prior knowledge from the book Bigwin
Inn."

Patrons of the resort included Ernest Hemingway,
Franklin Carmichael,Clark Gable, Carole Lombard,
John D. Rockefeller, Andrew Carnegie, Henry Longfellow,
Os-Ke-Non-Ton, PM John Diefenbaker, Glenn Gould,
Cameron Peck and Glenn Miller. Lois Maxwell, popular
for her recurring role as Moneypenny in the
series of James Bond spy film classics and for her
Sun column, wrote, "Bigwin Inn, the nostalgic book
...chock-a-block with vintage black and white photographs
and color plates from the 'thirties has jolted into
mind, scenes, scents and images of elegant people,
dancing in the moonlight and hard work. As a 15-year old,
I fibbed about my age so as to work there as
a waitress one summer...I thank you for those
memories of my youth and innocence, Douglas McTaggart.
Bigwin Inn is a winner!

Mahogany launches, flappers, fortunes won and
lost, big bands, trains, gangsters, prohibition,
steamers, black tie masquerades in the dance
pavilion, opera and film stars lounging by the
Rotunda hearths...
Bigwin Inn by Douglas McTaggart will
take you there...

John Gray's play, a musical tribute to Canada's famous WWI ace Billy Bishop, VC, first performed in the 1970s, has become a classic of the Canadian theatre. It is still being performed in many places in North America, as well as other parts of the world, by theatre groups, and John Gray and Eric Peterson recently (within the past year or so) reprised their roles in "Billy Bishop Goes To War" on stage for a new generation of Canadians. The play is not only entertaining but also reasonably historically accurate, and the music is excellent. The play is sophisticated in its treatment of the subject, hilarious in places, and rather moving. When it was first performed, quite a few World War One flyers were still around to see the play, and many of them gave it high marks. It would have been fun to know what Bishop would have thought of it, had he lived into his eighth decade. The book is recommended, but make sure to see the play if it comes to your neighbourhood. By the way, Gray has also written a musical on the life of woman flyer Amelia Earhart.

John Gray's play, a musical tribute to Canada's famous WWI ace Billy Bishop, VC, first performed in the 1970s, has become a classic of the Canadian theatre. It is still being performed in many places in North America, as well as other parts of the world, by theatre groups, and John Gray and Eric Peterson recently (within the past year or so) reprised their roles in "Billy Bishop Goes To War" on stage for a new generation of Canadians. The play is not only entertaining but also reasonably historically accurate, and the music is excellent. The play is sophisticated in its treatment of the subject, hilarious in places, and rather moving. When it was first performed, quite a few World War One flyers were still around to see the play, and many of them gave it high marks. It would have been fun to know what Bishop would have thought of it, had he lived into his eighth decade. The book is recommended, but make sure to see the play if it comes to your neighbourhood. By the way, Gray has also written a musical on the life of woman flyer Amelia Earhart.

John Gray's play, a musical tribute to Canada's famous WWI ace Billy Bishop, VC, first performed in the 1970s, has become a classic of the Canadian theatre. It is still being performed in many places in North America, as well as other parts of the world, by theatre groups, and John Gray and Eric Peterson recently (within the past year or so) reprised their roles in "Billy Bishop Goes To War" on stage for a new generation of Canadians. The play is not only entertaining but also reasonably historically accurate, and the music is excellent. The play is sophisticated in its treatment of the subject, hilarious in places, and rather moving. When it was first performed, quite a few World War One flyers were still around to see the play, and many of them gave it high marks. It would have been fun to know what Bishop would have thought of it, had he lived into his eighth decade. The book is recommended, but make sure to see the play if it comes to your neighbourhood. By the way, Gray has also written a musical on the life of woman flyer Amelia Earhart.

Wow. I can't believe that every South Park fan and Canadian aren't rushing out to buy this! It's a great read, informative but not boring, a fascinating pop culture history.

This is a great book about South Park and its relationship to contemporary culture. Many of the insights end up surprising. There are three parts to this book. The first part mentions the impact of South Park on culture and how it became popular and widespread. The second part is about the show itself: the dialogue, sounds, characters, and visuals. The third part deals with the issues presented in the show. There was an extensive amount of research done for this book and it shows. The author is also not a fan, so the insights come from a more neutral perspective, which makes the book an even better read.

The author also spends a lot of time on the impact and popularity of the show, which is unlike most book about tv shows and culture. The characters chapter is long but still unusually short for a tv show and culture book. Most books about TV shows and culture devote and entire unit and at least 40 pages to talk about the characters. Because she only devotes a chapter, there could have easily been more said about the characters.

All in all, if you are a fan of South Park or like reading about popular culture, then you should read this book. It is entertaining, insightful, and enjoyable.

Just when I began to despair about finding a real fan resource for South Park, along comes "Blame Canada". The various edited volumes about South Park and philosophy (Arp and Hanley) seem to be collections of scholarly opinions that I am sure are important to some obscure university lecture series on philosophy, and Anderson's "South Park Conservatives" is really only of interest to militant Log Cabin Republicans. "Blame Canada" is well constructed, well written and thought provoking. As a fan, I find it a fascinating resource, more so because the author is clearly NOT a fan herself. Neither a sycophantic piece nor a knee-jerk condemnation, "Blame Canada" is accurate and dispassionate.

My favourite chapter in "Blame Canada" is the chapter on South Park and the internet. It documents a period of internet history that had nearly been lost, in which South Park featured uniquely as a pop culture window into the infancy of the internet. I myself, who came late to the South Park phenomenon, had been unable to track down the grass roots fan information that should have been available on the internet for any pop culture icon as important as South Park. Now I know that it is a result of the engulf-and-devour policy of Comedy Central towards "unauthorized" South Park content on the web, which is somewhat ironic considering the libertarian content of the show. I am left to wonder how much more of internet history is being lost forever as technology changes, web pages are updated without being archived, and corporate America exerts more and more control over internet content.

The most interesting aspect of "Blame Canada", however, is the theoretical framework in which Johnson-woods places the show. South Park is nothing if not carnivalesque, so it is an apt analysis. But more than that, through the Baktine analysis South Park fandom becomes legitimized, and South Park becomes as much (and as normal) a pop culture influence in its time as Star Wars or I Love Lucy were in theirs. It is refreshing to know that fan attraction to fart jokes is as old as fandom itself, and not some new aberrant form of entertainment that is a result of (or even responsible for) the moral decay of our society.

I thoroughly enjoyed "Blame Canada", and I am happy to recommend it highly to any South Park fan. It is a worthy read.

As a member of Generation-X (that means in 1998 I'm 35...)I find this book puts many things about life today in perspective. An excellent and easy read, I would recommend this to anyone who is fascinated by social and demographical characteristics of our society. A word of warning though, for all you Gen-Xers out there... You may develop a new found hatred of people in their late 40s and early 50s... It's a fun book. Read it.

As a member of Generation-X (that means in 1998 I'm 35...)I find this book puts many things about life today in perspective. An excellent and easy read, I would recommend this to anyone who is fascinated by social and demographical characteristics of our society. A word of warning though, for all you Gen-Xers out there... You may develop a new found hatred of people in their late 40s and early 50s... It's a fun book. Read it.

I read this book in the summer of 1996, and found it to be an excellent tool. It takes a very organized approach to presenting the history of demographics and applying demographics to trends that we have observed over the past. It is highly relevant to life in rural Ontario which is where i was living at the time. Issues like the future importance of hospital closings, school development, and social programs should all be viewed in the context of demographics.

After reading this I went on to read Faith Popcorn's books, and found them to be rather flat predictions that demographics could easily fortell. Boom Bust & Echo is a useful toolkit for business people with lots of examples to draw from. My wife and I had our own company at the time, and I had to make her read the book so we could re-assess our strategy in light of this under-used tool, and it allowed us to reposition our company without straying from our original mission.