New York Books

This second Murphy Dog book is even better than the first! It's also longer. See the circus for the first time through the eyes of a curious dog! It's such a fun read - I smiled throughout. The rhyme and rhythm of this book is every bit as good as the first, plus you feel that the author has really hit his own personal Murphy Dog book rhythm and they will just keep getting better and better! As with the first book, there is a dictionary in the back to help younger readers learn as they read. The Murphy Dog books are great for teaching reading and for spending that quality time with your child before bed. Can't wait to see what Murphy Dog is up to next!

We all wonder if our pets have their own imaginations...Do they wish they could be somewhere else? Do they dream? Etc.? This book cleverly answers that question, YES!
Murphy Dog goes to the circus with his family and wishes he could fly, and knows he could tame that lion...VERY CLEVER!
My daughter has a new affection for her dog, and we all think we have a deeper understanding of him. How wonderful to think dogs (and cats too) might have illusions of granduer! How delightful!

One great book outweighs ten mediocre ones. Murphy Dog at the Circus is one of those great books. As a special education teacher, I wish every child had this book at home. The illustrations are stunning. You feel that you can almost reach out and pet Murphy Dog. Paired with this, the book's easy, rhythmic, and imaginative text paints a great picture in the reader's mind. This book also lends itself to meaningful conversation between an adult and child. Whether you read it to your child, or he/she reads it to you, Murphy Dog is a book that is definitely worth your while.

This wonderful book is written in rhyme and is interesting, beautiful, and fun to read. Original art work adds to the text. The dictionary in the back teaches children how to find the meaning words, a very important thing to know. A joy to read and a joy to hear. Joan Mayor

Mr. Sidle has used his words and ideas to write an outstanding book for children of any age. It is a classic bedtime story. My younger siblings Must have it read to them everynight before bed! They will not go to bed without hearing the Murphy Dog stories!

I think that Mr. Sidle is a very powerful storyteller, expressing values that all should have through the story of a dog's life. His discussions include self-esteem and self-worth - topics many young children should hear more of.

I think anyone and everyone should read Murphy Dog at the Circus!

We borrowed this book from our local library, and now I have to own it because my 3-year-old son absolutely loves it. The story and illustrations are quite imaginative. It is a real treat.

I just bought this book for a friend's child, but I fell in love with it first. It is a delightful story, with absolutely wonderful illustrations. I think I'll have to get a copy for myself now!

This is a wonderful story with beautiful illustrations. A great book for children!

This is one of my five year old son's favorite books. We read every night before going to bed. So, we read lots of books. This one always stays at the top of the stack. The illustrations are magical and make the story come alive.

This is a great book to reinforce a number of concepts. As a music teacher, I love how this reinforces the importance of practice. It's also a great lesson in the "specialness" each of us has within us.

I'm addicted to Geary's true-crime series, "A Treasury of Victorian Murder" and this volume is probably one of the best I've read thus far. The story is that of the well-chronicled but mysterious death of a popular New York cigar seller, Mary Rogers. The circumstances of her death, the people involved and the evidence gathered all make for a seriously bizarre but fascinating true-crime tale. Rick Geary's meticulous black-and-white illustrations are tidy and convey the story wonderfully. An unusual use of the "graphic novel" medium, but an effective one. Highly recommended!

Rick Geary brings the 1840s back to life in this study of an unsolved murder. Mary Rogers was pretty and well known in New York City back then. Her brutal murder splashed across the tabloid pages until interest gradually waned. It never waned completely, though, because Edgar Allan Poe immortalized it in an analysis thinly veiled as fiction.

Geary illustrates this classic mystery in his unique style: black and white pen drawings with no shades of gray, and, static, isolated panels like loosely-related snapshots. It's enjoyable, but more for the afficiando of mysteries or unusual comic styles than for the fan of mainstream comics.

//wiredweird

With The Mystery of Mary Rogers, Writer/Illustrator Rick Geary continues his "Treasury of Victorian Murder" Graphic Novel series, this time exploring the facts in the death of Mary Rogers, a well-known "Segar (Cigar) Girl" (She worked in a large Manhattan Tobacco Shop).

Geary's books are laid out incredibly well; most "Mainstream" non-fiction writers could learn a thing or two from him. He presents THE FACTS in the case, and since the murder was nevr really solved (At least officially...), he avoids any supposition; At the end of the book, he gives the reader a few scenarios that MAY have happened, never presenting any one of them as the actual solution. Geary's writing style is very informative, and his illustrations have a depth and resonance that belie their "Cartoony" look.

Overall, this book is a pleasure to read! The hardcover is a very attractive package at a low price, the text is informative and illuminating, and the artwork is superb. In a perfect world, Geary would be a fixture on the best-seller lists.

In 1841, Mary Rogers, a well-known resident of the city of New York, was found floating in the Hudson River, dead. The investigation was hampered by jurisdictional disputes and the primitive forensic science of the time, and is officially still unsolved. It was a great stir in its day, and everybody had opinions about it; Edgar Allen Poe based his "Mystery of Marie Roget" on it. Geary gives us the known facts, and proposes a solution in line with the modern thinking on the subject. His evocative artwork makes this book a visual treat. I'd love to see him tackle the alleged murder of Sarah M. Cornell by the Reverend Ephraim K. Avery; it occured at nearly the same time this case did, and is still officially unsolved.

It is very unusual for antebellum New York to get any sort of treatment in popular culture, which is a shame, because the whole space between the Revolutionary War and the Civil War features dramatic changes in the city's popular landscape. Institutions for maintaining public order and safety that we take for granted today were less organized and often appropriated by the underworld for its own purposes.

Scorsese's upcoming movie, GANGS OF NEW YORK, looks like it will offer an interesting look into this time. Readers looking for a little less bombast can take in Rick Geary's tight little graphic exploration of THE MYSTERY OF MARY ROGERS. Geary tells the true tale of a corpse that captured the public imagination in a manner similar to any of today's celebrity victims. He renders useful maps and recreates the known facts of the case with haunting sillhouettes and faces that are remarkably expressive in their cartoonishness. Geary also tosses in a tidy little chunk of social history -- so that we understand the context -- and chronicles the sensationalism that followed this case. As a final service, he puts forth the prominent theories about the case, noting its inspiration of Poe's mystery.

Graphic (as in illustrated) non-fiction is somewhat of an oddity, often represented by simpering auto-bio. True crime stories tend to show up in the BIG BOOK OF ... series. This, however, is a neat and stylistic volume that would put Anne Rule to shame.

Loved seeing the beautiful homes! So much fun to see into the homes of these people. Loved the tradional decor. A great coffe table book.

Beautiful book showcasing the elegant style of Greenwich. Unlike many similiar books, this one is more than a pretty cover. Beautiful interior shots, and the kind of book you want to go back and look at over and over. A good purchase, and I have given it a few times as a gift as well!

I'm not sure I would have bought it, but I was very glad to get this book as a Christmas present. It's gorgeously photographed, and provides a sneak peek at some stunning New York dwellings. If you're interested in interior decorating, you'll love the photos of works by Mario Buatta, David Easton, and other boldface names. But even if decorating is not your thing, you'll enjoy taking a look some amazing apartments. Warning: This is almost guaranteed to cause envy.

This is simply an haute couture guide for homes. Stunning photography showcase these magnificent homes and provide a peek into a world few of us will ever actually inhabit. More than just a glamorous photo book, this is a must have for anyone interested in traditional, luxury interior design or looking for elegant styles to emulate.

The 25 apartments featured in the book are beautifully photographed and provide some basic information as to how the rooms were put together to get the over all "feel". This is not a "how to" book but rather a virtual portfolio of some of the best designers in the City.

This is a wonderful coffee table book and would make a traffic gift to anyone interested in design, lifestyles or New York City.

Stunning, just stunning, an exquisite inside look at the quintessential New York City apartments. From Central Park West to the Village to Chelsea and Tribeca and Brooklyn Heights ... a glimpse into the urban chick homestyles that is Manhattan and the Big Apple.

Don't worry if you don't reside in New York. This book is a must have if you like the images of christmas.

The book and it's many wonderful pictures depict christmas that many of us share no matter where you live.

If you want a real christmas mood setter and a beautiful coffee table christmas book to share with your visitors over the christmas holidays (and you and your own family too), then this book is one to get.

A most recommended christmas book.

This book truly captures the essence of New York at Christmas. Mr. Crosby has done a remarkable job of capturing the known and the unknown, both of which make Manhattan a spectacular place to be.

The presentation is wonderful, the content is great, and the author/photographer is to be thanked for sharing his art with us.

I look forward to future books by Mr. Crosby.

Being in New York at Christmas is one of my favorite things...and now I can relive that time whenever I pick up this book. The selection of subjects for the photographs is fascinating, the quality of the photography is excellent and the comments throughout the book are illuminating. I recommend New York Christmas as an ideal book for your library or as a gift.

This is an amazing piece of work which deftly displays a wintry charm that I never knew New York City possessed. It's funny that only by looking at familiar places through someone else's eyes can we really see what's there. Whether you're a New Yorker, a transplanted New Yorker, or just an occasional visitor, this wonderful collection of Christmastime photos surely deserves a prominent place on your coffee table. Hats off to Mr. Crosby for a job quite well done.

I like the red ribbon. My favorite picture is the polar bear

if you were a kid who's never been to new york city like I was at one point, you'll learn so much about it through the BSC including in this book.

this was one of my favourite BSC super specials. The plots I enjoyed most were how the art classes claudia and mallory were taking turned out, and how jessi met quint. Reading all about new york made me want to go there, the descriptions are well written

If you're interested in going to new york city and wondering what to do there, this book may inspire you. Jessi goes to ballets, claudia and mallory are taking fancy art lessons and get to draw some of the city's well known tourist attractions, stacey and mary anne have a mystery on their hands, and so forth. You also get a taste of how multicultural new york city is, far more than little stoneybrook when they go to chinatown and eat food from different cuisines.

"New York, New York!" starts with a journal entry by Claudia Kishi about her plans to take an art class in New York City during her two-week school vacation. One thing leads to another, and the entire BSC is on their way to New York for two weeks. During their stay, the following things happen: Stacey McGill and Mary Anne Spier baby-sit two British children who they believe are being followed by a mysterious man who wants to kidnap them; Dawn Schafer becomes apartment-bound because of her fear of city crime; Claudia and Mallory Pike enroll at Falny together, but their friendship falls apart when the art instructor plays favorites with Mallory and criticizes Claudia's work on a daily basis; Jessi Ramsey meets a guy who also loves ballet just as much as she does (She receives her first kiss from him!); Kristy Thomas finds an abandoned dog in Central Park and sneaks him into the apartment, despite the no-pet policy.

This is the sixth Super Special in the Baby-sitters Club series, preceded by Baby-sitters on Board! (#1), Baby-sitters' Summer Vacation (#2), Baby-sitters' Winter Vacation (#3), Baby-sitters' Island Adventure (#4), California Girls! (#5), and succeeded by Snowbound (#7), Baby-sitters at Shadow Lake (#8), Starring the Baby-sitters Club! (#9), Sea City, Here We Come! (#10), The Baby-sitters Remember (#11), Here Come the Bridesmaids! (#12), Aloha, Baby-sitters! (#13), The Baby-sitters Club in the USA (#14), and Baby-sitters' European Vacation (#15).

What I liked most about "New York, New York!" (and every other Super Special) is the change in character point of view with each chapter. Although this is primarily Claudia's book (she compiled everybody's diary entries and letters and then included some illustrations--which were drawn by Ann M. Martin's father, Henry R. Martin), everybody in the BSC had a chance to share their fun and excitement in New York. This is definitely a must-read for BSC fans, especially those who love the Big Apple.

Bloomingdales, The Hard Rock Cafe. The Baby Sitters are going to see it all!

I thought I was getting a paperback version of the original hardback book of cartoons. It is the same book but the paperback version is much smaller than the hardback.

The New Yorker has all these things, and the combination of cats and The New Yorker is a felicitious one. These witty, wonderful cartoons are just the thing to bring a sparkle to even the most glazed of eyes.

Two ladies sipping tea, a cat strolling past tail in the air. "Whe she was little," one says "we had a very close relationship, but now we're just friends."

And a hundred others. A book is not as good as a cat, but this one is halfway there.

Cats you say? Take a look at the cover. Take a good look. Nobody does it like THE NEW YORKER. 101 cartons and 65 years later, the cats still have the last laugh. High level stuff and highly recommended!

I rated this book based on the hardcover version, but I do want to put in a word against the miniature paperback version in the beginning. Avoid the miniature paperback: It is very tiny, reproduced poorly, the paper quality is not good, and some of the material cannot be seen without a magnifying glass.

The only drawback I saw to the hardcover version was the lack of a witty introduction. I graded it down one star for that lack. The New Yorker cartoon books on business and money have wonderful introductions, unlike this one.

In the spirit of full disclosure, I must admit that I do not have a cat. Yet I have many friends who do, and I tried to view these cartoons through their eyes.

The main cartoonists of these 102 cartoons are Charles Addams, Tom Cheney, Helen Hokinson, Frank Modell, Mischa Richter, Danny Shanahan, William Steig, and Saul Steinberg.

The cartoons generally follow one of the following styles: juxtaposing cats for dogs; anthropomorphizing cats; and treating humans like cats. These formats were predictable enough that the humor worked best when one of the categories was not followed, such as in a cartoon with no words where a cat is seen scratching against an arm chair while a man sits in it reading the newspaper -- chair, man, and newspaper all bear the same scratch marks everywhere.

Here are a few of my favorites:

A woman letting a large number of cats out of the back door: "Everyone be home by two o'clock."

No words: A man sits in a chair reading with his feet on a bear skin run. Behind him, a cat lies in a bed with a mouseskin rug on the floor in front.

A man receiving a call at work: "Your wife feels that your cat needs to hear an authoritative male voice."

One mouse to another: "Miss Egan, bring me everything we have on cats."

Dog to cat: "Hey, pal, let's hear 'Doggie in the Window' again, and this time play it like you mean it!"

Cat to cat in bow tie: "I'm sorry, but I think it's uncatlike."

Cat in casts to another cat in casts in vet's office: "I tried to make it from the windowsill to the top of the refrigerator. How about you?"

Cat behind loan officer desk in bank to dog: "Beg."

Man to cat: "The fact that you cats were considered sacred in ancient Egypt cuts no ice with me."

Person shouting through the window to a woman in a roomful of cats: "Glendora Hogan got another load of cats, Elinor honey. Can you take a couple?"

Let this good-natured look at one of our favorite animal friends liven up your day, and remind you of the humor behind everything. It's only our stalled thinking that denies us a good laugh at everything!

If you live with a cat, you'll want to read it before you give it to another feline lover; it makes a wonderful present.

"A sleep-looking pocket-sized black book of maps, charts, listings and commentary that's apparently too sleek-looking for out of towners (but certainly useful for them), this user's guide in Manhattan covers the borough by neighborhood (even, thankfully, the ones above 110th Street) and points out such useful information as the locations of movie theaters, video-rental places, ATMs, and liquor stores."

--TIME OUT NY Nov 30-Dec 7, 2000

"Every year I come upon a new travel or city guide concept. NFT is one of the best and elegantly thought out sourcebook ideas--each designed in a format suitable for the city covered--listing major city resources for people who live there (where to get bagels or find a gas station in any NYC neighborhood, for instance) with great maps. So far they have Manhattan and Los Angeles. DC, San Francisco, and Boston are next."

--Eugene Schwartz, from FORWARD THIS WEEK April 3, 2002

"Not For Tourists Guide to Manhattan is nothing less than a sleekly designed, full-color guide to everything from the lighting schedule of the Empire State Building to a map of Central Park, to Web addresses and phone numbers for ferry services, to full breakdowns on the 10 branches of the Long Island Railroad (with a helpful note about the LIRR's policy on pets).

'Manhattan is an enormous city, but it's really like 2 separate cities,' explains [NFTs] Rob Tallia... 'If you go out of the neighborhood that you know, it's like going to another city.'

Is the book the next Zagat Survey...? It's certainly the goal..."

Michelle Leder, Crain's New York Business (March 5-11, 2001)

"Wouldn't it be great to be able to visit a city and get around like it's your own hometown? Well, now you can--in New York and L.A., no less. The 2002 Not For Tourists Guide to Manhattan and Not For Tourists Guide to Los Angeles are little black books that are the keys to these cities. The books provide information that is vital to anyone new to the city, and, as the titles suggest, are great toos for native dwellers as well.

"The Not For Tourists series is a new kind of guidebook. It combines the graphic functionality of street and subway maps with user-friendly information, like restaurant listings, shops, and sports arenas. The neighborhood-by-neighborhood guide lists pharmacies, gas stations, post offices, ATMs--the kinds of things you need to know to make the most of the cities."

--TRAVEL HOLIDAY MAGAZINE

"How often do you find yourself sitting in your hotel room flipping through the local restaurant guide, newspaper, yellow pages and the hotel's complimentary visitor guide? If the answer is always, then it's time to pick up the latest edition of the 2002 Not For Tourists guide to Manhattan or Los Angeles--a complete information-packed city guidebook, helping you navigate these two fascinating cities in no time.

"Partners Jane Pirone and Rob Tallia launched Not For Tourists in 2000--breaking the mold of ordinary city guidebooks--including essential information to spend your time most efficiently.

"Whether you are a resident or just traveling through, Not For Tourists offers readers up-to-date information on each neighborhood in Manhattan and Los Angeles, including boroughs. In addition to detailed neighborhood maps, the books feature subway and bus information, as well as essentials such as locations for post offices, 24-hour pharmacies, landmarks and even popular bagel stores.

"Facts about New York City including the Empire State Building's lighting schedule, airport information and maps, rail information, specific ATM machine locators, hotels and FedEx locations pack the 110-page guidebook. There's also a nifty subway pull-out map, so you can maneuver the city's underground system with no problem."

--Jaclyn Perlstein, BUSINESS TRAVELER Jan 2002

Book arrived on time in excellent condition. 100% satisfied with everything and will buy a couple more books as Christmas gifts.

For this former resident (Corona and Laurelton), Old Queens presented an engrossing, illuminating, and refreshing visual window on the area of New York that has received too little historical attention. Arranged by community, the book provides concise, individual historical narratives to go with a set of photographs of people and places and old maps that can only be called amazing. Indeed, the treasures of this book, for my taste, are the many photos from the era before the construction of the subway lines that transformed rural Queens into megalopolis. Many of the area photos (structures from the 1939 World's Fair, for example) will no doubt be familiar to many. What surprises, however, are photos such as the two page spread of an untamed, deserted pre-World's Fair Flushing Meadow, a lush meadow creased by the winding Flushing River, itself crossed by the vanished Strong's Causeway that carried Corona Avenue traffic across the soggy marsh to Lawrence Street in Flushing. Equally compelling are photos of the muddy looking thoroughly rural roads of Queens Boulevard and Merrick Road (in Springfield) from the early 20th century complete with isolated farm buildings. Perhaps the most symbolic photo, however, is the panoramic photo showing a spanking new IRT Flushing Line elevated tracks slanting across a nearly-vacant 1915 Sunnyside landscape that looks more like Ohio than New York City. This book helps the reader see Queens as it existed before the housing explosion. It also makes one wonder what might have been. In effect, Old Queens shows what was lost to all-too-rapid, unplanned suburbanization left entirely in the greedy hands of the marketplace. Lack of urban planning and nonexistent historic preservation is the unspoken theme that resonates often in this book. Who wouldn't want to live in one of those handsome, tree-shaded, Victorian homes on the shady, Lefferts Boulevard in Richmond Hill, Jamaica, or Elmhurst? The question is academic, since none of these homes survived the Queens building boom of the early 20th century. Suppose Robert Moses had actually carried through plans to turn the Corona Dump/Flushing Meadow into an honest-to-goodness park with kinds of recreational facilities he lavished on his Long Island state parks? Suppose the city fathers (and local politicians) had taken a more custodial role and protected Jamaica Bay and it surrounding marshlands from pollution for descendants of the gentlemen angler shown pulling his crabpot out of a quiet channel in Meadowmere? While this reader would have liked to view a few photos from vanished communities, such as Ramblersville (Ozone Park), Black Stump (Fresh Meadows), or White Pot (Forest Hills), he believes that Seyfried and Asadorian have assembled a fascinating book that appears destined for the coffee table hall of fame, that is, if rabid readers don't tear it to shreds, first.

Queens usually takes third place to Manhattan and Brooklyn on NYC bookshelfs but this terrific photo collection will go a long way to remedy that. There's an enlightening introduction about the borough and wonderful photos/captions for 27 neighborhoods. My personal favorite is on pp.122-123, a jaw-dropping 1906 view of the strange junction of Jamaica Ave., Myrtle Ave. and Lefferts Blvd. in Richmond Hill. Today, this unique street pattern remains but, alas, the Triangle Hotel, later the Triangle Hofbrau, where the likes of Babe Ruth and Mae West imbibed, recently closed down. I've shown this book to a couple of former Queens people and they were amazed. Don't miss it if you're from Queens or have even a passing interest in urban history. Hopefully, the publisher is correcting a page-order problem in the beginning of the edition I purchased at a museum last summer, but don't let that hold you back. This is a real gem.

I guess we all have our own opinion of what we'd like to see in a collection of old photos and the history of a particular place. In the case of this book, there are lots of old photos and interesting memorabilia, like early maps and ads for housing developments, as well as a brief synopsis of each section of the borough through the photos' descriptions. The quality of the photo reproductions is quite good, overall, and the writing is fine. I only wish it was larger and had more from the area I grew up in but, never-the-less, still a worthwhile addition to anyone's bookcase or coffee table.

I grew up in Hollis, Queens during the '50s & and '60s and thought that I saw a lot of changes in the neighborhood. But this book is a real eye-opener showing how the area changed from farmlands in the 19th century (including developer's ads) to a fully built up residential community by the 1940's. The book is a must read for anyone who has lived in Queens

One of my all-time favorites from childhood, and I was pleasantly surprised to find it holds up just as well on a re-read as an adult. Maybe better; I didn't get all the humor and wit at age ten!

The lone average child in an extremely eccentric family, Jack feels left out and begins a campaign to be special too.

Highly recommended!

If P.G. Wodehouse had been writing novels for young readers during the last quarter of the 20th century, he might have come up with something like "Ordinary Jack," the first in Helen Cresswell's series The Bagthorpe Saga. Jack, a hopelessly conventional and normal boy stuck in the middle of the madcap, eccentric Bagthorpe family, known for their prodigious achievements, wonders how he can ever get himself noticed. Uncle Parker, not so brilliant himself, sympathizes and comes up with a plan: Jack will become a prophet and go in for such mystical pursuits as visions, water divining, crystal-ball gazing and Tarot-card reading. Of course, all sorts of complications and much hilarity ensue. This very funny book and its six sequels can be found in British paperback editions and ordered from Amazon.co.uk.

This book is usually billed as a children's book. I'm pretty
sure that's the reason it's out of print. It's an *excellent*
book, one of the best I have ever read. The characters come
vividly alive, driving the storyline. The plot is deeply
involved, yet easy enough to follow. The prose is crisp and
colorful and draws the reader into the story.

The only problem is, the vocabulary is a little more advanced
than a lot of children these days can comfortably handle. If
the book were marketed for adults, it would be a bigger hit.

This is not to say that children cannot read this book. They
can, if they're avid readers with a good grasp on vocabulary.
I could have read it by sixth grade or so -- about the same
time I was ready to read Dickens and Shakespeare. I didn't
happen to run into it until somewhat later, however, and I can
confirm that it's a great book for adults.

This book will exceed your expectations and capture your
imagination. You'll read it in notime flat, because you won't
put it down for mundane things like meals.

The second book, Absolute Zero, is just as good. The others
in the series are also not bad, though the first two are easily
the best. This is the one to get first.

It's been a long time since I read a children's book that really knocked my socks off. I had heard in various children's book circles about the mysterious Bagthorpe saga. A series of stories in which a single ordinary boy must learn to live with his genius/insane family. What I had heard, however, was not exactly conclusive. For all I knew, these books could be good or they could be overrated justly forgotten tripe of the lowest order. Out of the merest curiosity (and because I could locate a copy in my library) I found an original 1977 edition of the book, complete with illustrator Trina Schart Hyman's fabulous cover in which every single Bagthorpe member is rendered in the flesh. What I discovered will now eat up hours and hours of my spare time as I systematically track down each and every Bagthorpe edition in the series available to me. This is an amazing children's experience that must be read to be believed.

Jack is just your average kid. In any other family, this would be a good thing. In Jack's family, it's just short of catastrophe. For you see, in the clan of the Bagthorpes, everyone's a genius. Jack's brother William has a ham radio, plays darts, enjoys the bongos, and often goes about searching for new exciting talents to add to his bag of tricks (or, as they say, strings to their bows). Rosie, Jack's younger sister, is an accomplished portrait painter and recently beat Jack at swimming. Living in such a conceited family might push anyone over the edge, but fortunately Jack has one person he can count on. His Uncle Parker married into the family and, though extraordinary in his own ways, he's just as normal as his nephew. Together, the two plan to make Jack into the kind of guy his siblings see as an equal. They're going to make him into a prophet. This may mean they'll have to employ dowsing rods, crystal balls, purple suits, bear costumes, and tarot cards, but in the end it'll all be worth it.

So many in-jokes, clever puns, and smart plot twists pop up in this book that you'll wonder how long these characters were wandering around author Helen Cresswell's head before she committed them to paper. Adults reading this book will recognize characters they've met in real life while children will read about them and find themselves wishing they belonged to families just this crazy. There's more than a little "Cheaper By the Dozen" in this book, except that each character you meet in "Ordinary Jack" comes with their own very particular personality. I can even pinpoint the moment I feel head over heels in love with the book. After a particularly disastrous birthday celebration that ends in the dining room catching on fire, Uncle Parker laments that, for him, the real loss of the evening was that he won't be able to get the little mottos out of the crackers now. Americans, unfamiliar with crackers, may need a bit of explanation about this Britishism. Those who know what they are, however, will be delighted by Uncle Parker's assertion that he collects them so that at parties he can "stop conversation dead" with one.

Will kids like the book? They won't be able to help but do so. Jack is completely sympathetic, dealing with his crazy relations by becoming even crazier than they are. I loved his self-esteem talks to his dog Zero and how the women in the family suddenly start to get involved in Yoga for no particular reason. Reading this book, you'll forget it was originally published in 1977, so contemporary are some of the terms and fads. You can only assume that had no-carb diets been around in the late 70s, the Bagthorpes would've been involved in those as well.

There are hundreds of children's books that center on crazy families. Heck, Polly Horvath's practically made her living off of the genre. But the best of all these, by far, is Helen Cresswell's really breathtaking Bagthorpe books. "Ordinary Jack" is one of the best children's books I've ever had the pleasure of reading. A brilliant book for any kid with a sense of humor and a yen for the bizarre.

How COULD they have stop printing these books? I have loved the Bagthorpes since I first got Ordinary Jack as a kid and wanted to get the Bagthorpe series for my niece and friends who are having children. Even though I was labeled "gifted" as a child, Jack is readily identifiable and the books are written with such a gentle humor that they are well worth fighting for.

Really, are we supposed to let "Sweet Valley High" set the tone for our pre-adolescents?