Miniature Books

Agatha Christie's stories are fun, personable, & easy to read. I love all of her characters & have not read a "bad" one yet.

I keep looking all the time for stories by Christie that I havent
read; a very hard thing to do. Sometimes I go back to some of
the older tales having forgotten the ending. You won't be able
to put this book down. There,s Miss Marple,the ever lovable little
Belgian(not French!) detective who uses his little gray cells to
solve most mysteries. Also Parker Pyne who puts ads in the newspaper
how he can help you solve your problems-are you lonely?, do you have
so much money you dont know what to do with it? Is your life dull and
you seek excitement? Parker Pyne can do it and at very reasonable
costs. Then there's Mr. Satterthwaite who travels the world helping
he meets on the way to solve their problems but not without the help
of Mr. Harley Quin, a man very hard to describe. He just seems to pop
up out of thin air when Mr. Satterthwaite needs him. In the tale on
World's End, at the end they are standing viewing the ocean and
Mr. Quin literally disappeared perhpas into another world.
My favorite tale in this book, one I had never read before was
Greenshaw's Folly, a horible looking very old house Mr. Greenshaw
had built leaving to his daughter. This is one story you actually
dont know if you,re coming or going. Absolutely one of Christie,s
best.

Excellent book. Thought I'd read all the Agatha Christies, but this book contained many stories that I had not seen.....especially ones about Harley Quin.

You can't go wrong with Christie, and this book is a major find for any fan of hers. The stories in this huge volume are what enticed me to buy it. I already own six dozen Christie books, so believe me, the chapter list would have had to be REALLY exceptional for me to buy this book -- and to buy it NEW at that. Here we're given what looks like every single Parker Pyne and Harley Quinn story she ever wrote, as well as a few from Poirot and Marple. There are a total of 25 from the former two, which is the main reason I bought this; finding their stories are a lot harder than finding Marple and Poirot stories. The clincher, however, was seeing that they somehow managed to include *Poirot and Marple stories I'd never heard of.* That's quite a feat, considering that I've been rabidly devouring Christie's books since the 7th grade and have at least *heard of* 95% of her output, including several non-mystery books of hers I own that she wrote under assumed names. It takes a lot to raise the brows of this die-hard Christie fan, but this book did it.

In case you've never heard of Pyne or Quinn, you should know that their stories aren't mysteries in the strictest sense of the word -- at least, not all the time. Parker Pyne runs an agency promising to make people happy. This ranges from setting up elaborate adventures for bored people, making love matches, and *sometimes* solving a mystery. Harley Quinn, meanwhile, is more of a spirit than an actual man and he comes around to right wrongs. I haven't finished all of his stories yet, so it's unclear to me what precise role he plays in the stories other than sort of guiding different characters to the truth.

The one complaint I have about it so far is the cover illustration -- or lack thereof. Amazon has no picture yet, but it's quite dull. All they do is take the title information and put it in a spiral with a little man in the middle, as if he's falling. It's a cheap effect, and fairly stupid. Would it have killed them to go old-school and give us a nice collage of bloody knives, smoking guns and sparkling jewels? I mean, you can google that stuff.

Anywho, here's a list of the stories given. They're grouped by detective in the book, so skipping to your favorites is simple. There are also introductions to Pyne and Quinn, written by Christie herself! They are compiled from different sources, which are given -- they certainly weren't written directly for this book!

Enjoy this! It's a great buy for die-hard fans like myself who can't rest until they own the complete Christie oeuvre, and makes a great gift for someone just starting out with Christie. Treat your friends or treat yourself, but find a copy today!

Parker Pyne:
1) The Case of the Middle-Aged Wife
2) The Case of the Discontented Soldier
3) The Case of the Distressed Lady
4) The Case of the Discontented Husband
5) The Case of the City Clerk
6) The Case of the Rich Woman
7) Have You Got Everything You Want?
8) The Gate of Baghdad
9) The House at Shiraz
10) The Pearl of Price
11) Death on the Nile <-- (No relation to the book of the same name!)
12) The Oracle at Delphi

Harley Quinn:
1) The Coming of Mr. Quinn
2) The Shadow on the Glass
3) At the Bells and Motley
4) The Sign in the Sky
5) The Soul of the Croupier
6) The World's End
7) The Voice in the Dark
8) The Face of Helen
9) The Dead Harlequin
10) The Bird with the the Broken Wing
11) The Man from the Sea
12) Harlequin's Lane
13) The Love Detectives

Hercule Poirot:
1) The Third-Floor Flat
2) The Adventure of Johnnie Waverly
3) Four and Twenty Blackbirds
4) The Double Clue
5) Double Sin
6) Wasps' Nest
7) The Theft of the Royal Ruby
8) The Second Gong

Mrs. Marple:
1) Strange Jest
2) Tape-Measure Murder
3) The Case of the Perfect Maid
4) The Case of the Caretaker
5) Greenshaw's Folly
6) Sanctuary

Though three decades have passed since the great Agatha Christie past away, she remains one of the most beloved mystery writers of all time, second to none just about in popularity. Her novels and even her plays have been made into movies and TV shows that are usually well received. However, apparently Ms. Christie also wrote a ton of short stories all containing her fine twists, but not seen in one package before this superb anthology. The Detectives focuses on some of writer's better known sleuths ((Poirot (8 inquiries), Marple (6 tales), Pyne (12 cases) and Quin (13 investigations)) as each works in their unique style. Also included are Ms.Christie's introductions to Pyne and Quin. The tales show that besides novels and plays, Ms. Christie crafted miniature masterpieces. Fans of the author and anyone who enjoys cleverly written shorts will want to read this fine compilation. Perhaps a second collection can follow with some of her lesser known sleuths.

Harriet Klausner

This is as good as it gets,score-wise, for Handel's best known piece. Unless you want to spend a lot, this is it !!!

This edition of Messiah by Alfred Mann dates from the early 1960s. It is a good edition at an excellent price. For the latest scholarship and all of Handel's variants, however, you should consider the 1998 Oxford University Press edition edited by Clifford Bartlett. For the best guide to the work, read "Handel: Messiah" by Donald Burrows in the Cambridge Music Handbook series.

Paul N. Van de Water

Even to atheists and other skeptics---thanks to G.F. Handel.... I don't know anyone who doesn't love this masterpiece. Handel sets the dry prose of Revelation and Isaiah to Baroque rock n roll, and has earned a place as one of the great vocal composers of ETERNITY... This Dover full score is priced lower than some piano reductions!

Handel's Messiah is one of my favorite works of all time. And nothing goes with a great recording of this exquisite music like a fantastic score - exactly what Dover has provided for us here. Dover sews their books (they don't glue), so you can count on this score's durability, and the print is legible (which can't be said for all music) so you don't have to search out the magnifying glass to read the notes.

Masterful music in a high quality book and at a more-than-reasonable price. Do not delay in acquiring this score.

This is a wonderful book if you love to sing. Even if you just love the songs and have a copy of the concert on tape, now you can learn the words! My commumity has Messiah all sing concerts and even though I know the songs, it's always nice to have the music on hand. I ,personally, have been looking for this book everywhere!

The transfer patterns included are surpisingly detailed. They say that you can use them several times. It appears they could be used for embroidery, crewel work or needle punch. The instructions are only for iron transfer to cloth but not for the embroidery. You could look at the front and back cover for ideas but the actual book doesn't give any hints. I had ordered a punch needle "how to" book so I can use that to complete the little rugs.

This book is exactly what it says it is. It is full of iron on transfers for minature projects. So there is no surprise there.
It is full of transfers and is worth the money. If you are good with the computer you could enlarge these patterns and use them for larger doll houses. I have transfer pencils from hobbytex I can use to make these larger patterns into iron-on transfers.
If you are into making items for miniatures I recommend this book and if you do have a transfer pencil you can make even more than what is recommended by this book.

Miniature Iron-On Transfer Patterns for Dollhouses, Dolls and Small Projects is full of imaginative, playful designs for tiny rugs, curtains and bedspreads that will enhance any dollhouse. In addition, the patterns can be applied to many other projects: I have used the delicate baby animal motifs to embellish baby clothes and the many attractive decorative borders are ideal for embroidering collars, belts, bookmarks, and table linen. The transfers are easy to work with. The designs can be used by needleworkers of all skill levels.

This is a wonderful, affordable book full of iron-on patterns for rugs, bedspreads, quilts, and other mini applications. If you use just ONE pattern, it is worth the price of this book!

I was really surprised with this book, it's loaded with all kinds of patterns to be used for making dollhouse items. I think this is a must have for any one making dollhouse items.

A very beautifully written book, with fine photography. A great resource

I thought that this book was beautifully written by Risa Palazzo. While giving much valuable historical perspective, the spirit of the periods covered was wonderfully captured with great feeling.

A terrific book on antique china, silver and glass that was well-written and beautifully photographed. I felt like I was part of the periods discussed.

Risa Palazzo has truly captured the feel of the periods covered and made me feel as if I was there! A very good book.

I thought Risa Palazzo's writing was beautiful in this book. I gained a real understanding of the eras covered, especially for the way that women lived and entertained during the 1920s and 1930s. A very worthwhile book for anyone interested in table accessories.

This game was very fun! We all played parts at all different ages and it made sense. The charades was the best part because it was very difficult. I highly reccomend this game to families!

Okay this is and game, not an book. It comes with 6 booklets telling each guest what to say and do. Also there is an host's guide, which shows you how to plan it. You might want to read each caricters booklet, so you know how your going to run the party. It is an very good game, PLAY IT!

We were not expecting much from this $5 version of the more detailed versions, however we were all surprised at how into the characters we all got. We had a great time and were throwing accusations left and right! The only requirement is a group who will really get involved(dressing the parts really helped)!!!

Played this on a Saturday night with my wife and 4 of our children- easy to follow- fit right in with dinner and didn't require much set up at all .
The anticipation created by the sequence of events laid-out for you in the game made it easy to enjoy; the game played within the game made it more fun say than Clue ( although my kids love to play Clue and Clue DVD version). Also,the role playing was interesting and if you give out the roles to the respective players several hours before the game starts , it should make it even more seamless as everyone will be a little more fluid/ at ease playing their part.

I ordered this party kit for my daughter's 12th birthday party. When it arrived in it's tiny little box, I thought we were sunk! After thumbing through the little booklets I was very impressed. It didn't take much to get things rolling and everyone had a great time! This party kit worked great with 12 yr olds but it would be successful with any age group!

There are a lot of high quality photographies of very wonderful netsuke, interesting design, good advice how to do the photographies of small netsuke better! This book is very good for beginning carvers, galleries!

Symmes does a wonderful job of composing this text. He gives a nice history of netsuke, covering the span of time from feudal Japan to the present. He includes a small section on netsuke manufacture, and another on photographic techniques for macro photography and design, and then the text opens into a wonderful collection of full-page photographs of several varied and incredible pieces, some dating back to the seventeenth century. He includes brief descriptions of the netsuke, although he could have elaborated on the Japanese (and Chinese) fables that inspired many of these creations for Western audiences. Many of the pieces in this book are available today in reproduction form, and the netsuke are composed of several different materials, not just the "typical" ivory or wood. This text is a must have for any collector, beginning or advanced, as it will inspire readers to research their private collections as well as create the desire to build them! The reproduction of detail from the photographs is amazing!

Between the introductory text and the stories attached to each picture, this book serves to both educate and whet the appetite. I struggled with the desire to own each of the pieces that Symmes so lovingly photographed.

As author Symmes says, netsukes have the "power to influence people and pocketbooks." This statement is true in several aspects. First, the collector of netsukes will find that they are expensive. Second, the purpose of a netsuke is to fasten an "inro," or case holding valuables, to an obi or belt. "Ne" translates as "root" and "tsuke" translates as "to fasten." An inro's cords are held tightly by an "ojime," or bead, to keep it closed and the netsuke keeps the inro from falling off of the wearer.

The highly-detailed photographs of netsukes are in harmony with the scenery and objects surrounding them, so lusciously artistic that you may consider framing them.

HIH Prince Norihito of Takamado, who wrote this book's foreward, says he looks for "warmth, wit, and a certain twist" in his own netsuke collection. To fully appreciate a netsuke, "hold it, feel it, and examine it closely in one's hand."

Netsuke figures have stories associated with them. Many figures are puns in which the same word may have several meanings. For example, monkey is "saru" which is pronounced the same as "to leave," so it would be unlucky to marry in a monkey year.

If you are not familiar with Asian astrology, this book will teach you much about the associated legends. One tale that fascinated me was about Daruma, the 28th patriarch of Zen Buddhism. Daruma meditated for 9 years, sitting so long that his legs lost their strength. My sister, who lived in Japan for many years, sent me a wooden Daruma doll with two blank eyes. When you knock over the Daruma doll, it pops back upright, reflecting an undaunted spirit. Here's what you are supposed to do with a Daruma doll: you color one eye to make a prayer, then you color the other one when the prayer is answered.

You'll learn much about Japanese life and legend from studying these tiny netsukes -- and Symmes provides us with a fun way to learn.

This book is a lot like the netsuke themselves. At first, it looks like it might be something interesting, so you pick it up, look a little closer, and...you are inside a whole different world. Something deceptively simple shows itself to have hidden depths.

I had been interested in netsuke for awhile, ever since buying a little ivory sumo in an antique shop in Japan one day. There was something about the miniature wrestler that fascinated me, and I found myself going back to the shop over and over again, just to look at it. I finally knew that, even though it was expensive, it had to be mine.

This is much like the feeling that author Edwin Symmes describes, leading me to believe that it must be a universal experience amongst netsuke appreciators. He is someone who loves the stories behind the tiny figures, who tries to find their personality rather than figure out their rarity or value. In "Netsuke: Japanese Life and Legend in Miniature", he combines his fascination with his skills in photography, creating small vignettes incorporating the figures with appropriate settings, such as an ivory tiger emerging from real bamboo, or a wooden Daruma nestled inside a rock cave. Next to each image is a story, detailing the legends behind the figure, or maybe a little something about the carver, something that you wouldn't know just by looking but which deepens the understanding and appreciate of the figure.

What this book is not is a collector's guide to netsuke. Anyone new to the art form, and looking for a "How to.." guide to give them tips as what to look for, isn't going to find that here. Not that it is entirely lacking in practical information. There are sections describing the history of netsuke, their original use and their evolution, but that is not the focus. To those who's interest lies in photography, Symmes includes a fascinating section on photographing netsuke. But the real joy lies in looking at the pictures, reading the stories, and sharing the love of netsuke that radiates from this book.

I have both of Dan Kiedrowski's books, the original and this latest edition. He takes the breed from its origins in Germany to the present day. If you are a breeder, exhibitor or just a schnauzer lover you will be in for a treat. There are photos from the past and the present, so that you can clearly see the changes in the breed. The Miniature Schnauzer is a wonderful breed and this book shows the breed beautifully. If you are interested in a specific breed, schnauzer or other it would be wise to read all you can, and learn all you can so that you will be able to make an informed choice. Dan's book will give you accurate unbiased information regarding schnauzers.

THIS BOOK WOULD BE AN OUTSTANDING REFERENCE GUIDE FOR THE BREADER OR OTHER INDIVIDUAL INTERESTED IN THE HISTORY OF THE BREED. I JUST PUT A DEPOSIT ON A SCHNAUSER AS A CHRISTMAS GIFT FOR MY DAUGHTERS AND WAS MORE INTERESTED IN AN ENTRY LEVEL GUIDE BOOK TO CARE AND TRAINING, I WOULD NOT RECOMEND IT FOR THE NOVICE.

This is the best new book on miniature schnauzers that I've seen. It covers history of the breed and desirable vs not-so desirable physical characteristics, and other interesting information, plus, oodles of pictures of modern champions and their lines. I found almost all of the champions in our schnauzers' pedigrees. The book did contain a clinical report on eye ailments, which was oddly out of sync with the rest of the text (it looked like someone was just trying to get their article published). This chapter should have been completely omitted or else presented as a general discussion of the ailments typical of the breed. Aside from this problem, the book should be a visual delight for any schnauzer lover.

To answer the question of the other poster, this edition has gone out of print as he is working on another one. That should hopefully be coming out soon.
His books are a fabulous history of the breed in the US and around the world.

This is the kind of information that people really need to know about a breed. This is the kind of book that is all too hard to find, written by an expert. This is not a book with 10 pages in the front about schnauzers and 200 pages about any kind of dog. This is a real, schnauzer book, completely for the min. Schnauzer lover. Why would anyone put such a good book out of print? What is the matter with these publishers? A book like this is good forever. These basic things never change. Howell book HOuse should be ashamed.

I live in Australia so expected 3 to 4 weeks for delivery of this book, it came in less than 2 weeks so was plesently suprised with it's early arrival and it was well packed. I really enjoy the step by step projects how too's, and tips and tricks with lots of pictures to guide you.

I really enjoy using this book for inspiration and practice. I don't use her ideas for greeting cards, but for small paintings. Most of the paintings can be finished rather quickly. The topics are appealing and I have sold a number of them. I like her 3-in-1 compositions, dividing the paper with masking tape and having related subjects treated differently within each block. It is a practical and user-friendly book, well worth the purchase.

This is an exceptional watercolor book that offers over 35 step-by-step projects in miniature art. It is not just for beginners. It is packed with useful information on how to design a painting, vary a theme to create a series of paintings. By walking you through the various painting techniques, then using them in step-by-step projects, Jaqueline Penny shows you how to how to turn one small painting into variations based on such things as differing the arrangement, color schemes, weather themes, horizontal vs. vertical presentation, etc..

Here are some excerpts from the Table of Contents:
Chapter 3 guides you through 5 projects that vary one scene by changing the sky, color, season, time of day, size and location.

Chapter 5 gives 8 projects that help you become more creative by showing how a subject can be painted different ways--project 18 is how to paint a pear, including how to paint a droplet of water on the pear. Project 19 is painting an apple half. Project 20 Painting Hard Rocks--the author then shows how that same scene can be painted again, but by using different painting techniques, it does not become the same picture, but one with a whole new statement. The next projects are soft rocks, coastal rocks, little rocks. Next, painting two adirondack chairs(facing the viewer), then varying that theme by painting them facing out away from you, and changing the scenery surrounding them.

Penny also teaches how to set up your paper so you can paint several paintings all on the same board, and how to do such things as making a postcard with three related small paintings--one of a landscape, then zeroing in on what's in the landscape and painting a close up of some flowers, or seeing the landscape from a different perspective, or changing the angles of 3 related paintings on a postcard, etc..

I love Chapter 20, because it really shows where creativity and imagination can take you, and it's FUN!! Penny demonstrates how you can allow paints to run together to skies and flowers, then how to make minature paintings for the walls by varying mat colors. She gives you ideas on how to use such things as drips dropping on wet paper to make a colorful flower scene, and how to use that colorful painting along with a colored border cut in various shapes to add interest and make a variety of different greeting cards.

Project 35 is especially exciting for me. It's title is "Pure Fantasy Another Way" It shows you how a wet-on-wet floral painting with a lot of soft edges can be used to create a beautiful fantasy scene with a tiny boy who is about 1/1000th as big as the flower is standing on the stem to gaze at the flower....This idea is then FURTHER EXPANDED by taking that floral idea and changing the boy to a girl, with a different pose and slightly different floral scene, or adding poetry to the scene of zeroing in more to one or two flowers.

This book really demonstrates the multitude of possibilities in painting greeting cards, miniature paintings for the home, post cards, etc. The lessons are not difficult, and are easy enough for beginners, but it is also good for someone who is beyond the beginner stage, as it is also a book about design and creativity.

A Wonderful book, that will help you expand on ideas for watercolors.
If you like the book Work Small, Learn Big, this might be a good companion.

Thank you Jacqueline Penney for making my introduction to watercolor painting fun, informative and very helpful.
The book, Painting Greeting Cards in Watercolor, was a step by step introduction to watercolor painting through the practice of greeting card design. The lessons were fun, quick and very easy to follow, making the student beg to beging the next lesson. After every lesson I felt like I really learned something and was proud of my accomplishment. I'll be honest, as a first time watercolorist I would have given up if this book wasn't easy, fun and easy to understand. Luckily it was a superb introduction and I am very happy.
Thank you again.

I have painted all the pictures in Jacqueline's book. Her detailed instructions make copying her art miniatures easy. Her instructions apply not only to miniatures but also larger sized pictures. I have used several of her designs for greeting cards.

All of the Usborne Art book are great -- but this is one of my favorites. It has dozens of art ideas and concepts that a teacher or parent could use to inspire a young artist.

I like to just open it up to a new page, and take a new technique to apply to whatever we are working on in class.

It is that easy! Very inspiring.

This book has so many terrific, easy to follow, and imaginative ideas. The eye popping illustrations help as a visual aid to see what the end result may look like.I use many of the ideas for teaching middle school students as well as elementary. A must have for any art teacher.

Like all the Usborne books, this book is a great tool for learning. As an elementary teacher, I bought this book just to have as a handy reference. I have also used it with my kids at home, and it is everything I learned in a semester of college art class all rolled up into this handy children's book. With all my experience with Usborne books, I just can't get enough of them. For more information on Usborne books, visit ...

This colorful art book, is full of great ideas for elementary aged children. The projects are easy to read and recreate. The color images are inviting. The art images serve as inspriation for young artists. As an elementary teacher I plan to use this book full of easy and creative art ideas as my school years art curriculum. I am so excited to have such a wonderful children's art resource book.

I bought this book for my daughter who loves animals. She was not disappointed. This cute hand sized but large (700+ pages) book is chock full of wonderful pictures of all kinds of baby animals. It's a great gift for an animal lover.

I got this as a gift. The recipient absolutely loves it and has been raving about what an awesome gift it is.

Beautiful pictures, all sorts of animals, perfect gift, must see (better have) one.

The book is small but heavy - it's a high quality print, contaning hundreds of pictures of baby animals by themselves or being cared for by their mothers. The selection is very good, and makes for a great reading with my little kids.