North America Books

Once I started reading this book, I couldn't put it down until I was through. Congratulations on an excellent delivery. Waiting for Kokopelli's Dream.

A friend of mine suggested this book to me, I told me it would be worth the effort taken to find it. I couldn't agree more. The life story of Manny Twofeathers told in his words is a inspiration.

Manny is by no means a polished author, but the plain language and the raw presentation help to make this a much more compelling and effective book.

With some of the graphic descriptions of the sacrifices and ceremony involved in the Sundances,

I would suggest this book to anyone who is looking for some inspiration as they make there way through a long and troubled journey.

I found myself identifying with the authors sense of wandering and how he found his true spirit within the sundance. The path he chose was not easy nor seen as sensable. Yet through his commitment and spiritual awarness, the author was able to achive the greater sense of self we all desire.

Road to Sundance is very well written and enlightening. I thank Manny Twofeathers for telling us of his journey. anyone who has any interest in Indian traditions or is looking for their spiritual path should read this. Ambyr

As one who knows Manny and is a Sundancer I recommend this book to anyone who truely wants some understanding of this most beautiful and powerful prayer. Manny's descriptions of how he got to this road and the road he traveled are straightforward and descriptive without loosing the respect for the ceremony. He describes the heart it takes to follow the Sundance Road.

Perfet for any Culture , or People.

This is a good book for beginners that teaches the basics of arrow making the traditional way. It also offers alternative ways using modern tools. If you are looking for the way a specific tribe/people made arrows then further research will be required as with any book on this subject. It does however give some detailed information on the arrow crafting techniques of some plains Indians.

I believe this book is a "must-buy"; whether you want to discover the wonders of Native American traditional medicines or just interested in herbs. It's easy to read, and Dr. Cichoke provides the remedies for many illnesses.

A magnificent compendium of Native American cures and treatments, which are just the thing unless you are actually, you know, sick.

Another book you don't loan out, you'll miss having it for reference.

It lists recipes for ailments, and companies where you can purchase the items needed in the mixes.

I had to buy more than one, one for loans, one for keeps.

The best advice is also given in this book, just because one mix worked for another, it may not be the same for you. We are all different, and so are the many different species of plants. So it doesn't just give you one recipe for one ailment, unlike so many other herbal books.

Here is a bold and well-documented argument that the Abe Lincoln-Ann Rutledge romance was real and not the stuff of legend or outright fabrication. Walsh presents testimony from numerous persons who knew Lincoln and Rutledge. Although I don't accept every source Walsh uses, I find the cumulative impact of his research to be persuasive.

This was an excellent book regarding the story of Lincoln and Ann Rutledge! Logical and concise--well worth the read! And I like the fact it doesn't bash Mary Todd Lincoln. The two relationships were at different times with different Lincolns---apples and oranges!

The Abraham Lincoln/Ann Rutledge romance is once again being debated among historians; any who want to get to the source of the legend would do well to start here.
Walsh does not write histories, so much as stories about how history is written. He takes small but important moments in American history - Lincoln's fabled "Almanac murder trial," or the hanging of British spy Major Andre during the Revolutionary War - and methodically peels away the layers of revisionist history to give us an unvarnished look at the event through the eyes of those who experienced it. At the same time, he lets us see how layer upon layer of scholarly interpretation can muddy the waters of our past to the point that the truth is all but invisible. In "The Shadows Rise," he meticulously traces how Lincoln's chief 19th-century biographer, William Herndon, first heard eyewitness accounts that, while living in New Salem, young Lincoln fell in love with, and became engaged to, a lovely, bright and popular woman named Ann Rutledge. Tracing all existing accounts of former New Salemites, he puts together a convincing and warmly human portrait of Lincoln's first love, and of her tragic death. In all, more than 20 people who knew Lincoln and Rutledge in New Salem (the entire population of which was only around 100) testified the two were in love and engaged, but historians - often basing their opinions on other historians' analysis, rather than first-hand understanding of eyewitness testimony - have hotly debated the story since Herndon first went public with it shortly after Lincoln's death in 1865. The book succeeds in revealing a tender and telling chapter in young Lincoln's life, and in introducing us to a charming young woman it is difficult not to fall a little in love with yourself. Perhaps most importantly, it also shows how much confusion historians can cause when they spend too much time talking to each other, and not enough time listening to the real voices of the past. This is a marvelously readable book, equal parts history and detective story, that will have history buffs thinking about the past in some new and important ways.

This is a book that has been 50 years overdue. The book effectively destroys the unwarrented attack on Ann Rutledge by Mary Todd Lincoln's defenders. Walsh shows that not a single person in New Salem at the time denied the affair. It was only when the Randalls in the mid-20th century decided to become Mary Todd Lincoln's defence attorneys that there was even a question about Ann Rutledge's affair with Lincoln.

A question that has never been answered is why did it matter? Why did MTL's defenders feel it cast aspertions on MTL if Lincoln was involved with a woman four years before he even met her?

I HAVE BEEN A LINCOLN SCHOLAR ALL MY LIFE AND ALL THE EVIDENCE POINTS OUT THAT ANN WAS ABE'S TRUE LOVE.WHEN SHE DIED ON AUGUST 25,1835 PART OF LINCOLN WENT INTO THE GRAVE WITH ANN.SHE WAS BEAUTIFUL,KIND AND LOVING-THE TYPE OF WOMAN LINCOLN WANTED.I AM SURE THAT HE LOVED MARY,BUT THERE WAS ALWAYS A SPECIAL PLACE IN HIS HEART OF ANN RUTLEDGE.I STRONGLY RECOMMEND THIS BOOK!GOD BLESS ANN AND ABE!!!!!!!

An invaluable glimpse into the lives of the people affected by "free trade." Concise and eloquent: the perfect book to hand to someone who believes that more trade is necessarily better trade.

Shafted is a powerful and punchy read! I recommend this book to all those concerned about the future of our economy and the effects of free trade on working people in America. The testimonies reveal the devastating effects of free trade on workers, family farmers and farmworkers. These testimonies also reveal, however, that people refuse to sit back and allow biased economic policies to destroy their livelihoods and their families. By fighting to expose the myth of "free trade," the working people in Shafted are demanding a shift in the values of America - from the unjust and exploitative values of corporate America to fundamental values of the global community - human rights, justice and dignity of people everywhere.

I've always been a domestic policy wonk, and for a long time kept my head buried in the international sand. This book made me wake up and realize that the line between domestic and international is no more, and that it's time to get serious about a cohesive, solid global movement to protect the environment, workers, and basic human dignity. Not a movement based on ignorance, slogans, and bandanaded rebels, but one based on solid information and real-world relevance. Shafted could prove to be a huge step in that kind of a movement. I hope so.

This may be the best introduction available both to the problems of "free trade" and to what a congressional hearing might look like if Congress were focused on the needs of people rather than the needs of campaign contributors.

"Shafted" is an easy-to-read and powerful window into the human side of the effects of free trade. It's one thing to read statistics and another to hear stories directly from those affected. The book is based on a congressional briefing in Washington D.C. where a delegation of America's working poor was able to tell members of Congress and the American public how free trade has impacted their lives. "Shafted" is separated into four parts: Farmers, Workers, Farmworkers, and Analysts. What is great about the book is that it includes stories and analyses from people of different backgrounds, including racial, ethnic, and work backgrounds. I especially liked the contributions in the Analysts section (the analysts coming from the Public Citizen organization, Cornell University, American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations, and California Senate Select Committee on International Trade). I found them accessible and to the point, lacking loads of economic and political jargon. Throughout the book you'll also find short excerpts from important historic documents such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, International Covenant on Civil Political Rights, American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man.

This is an important book that addresses a growing menace in our society and in the international arena. It does not provide a suggested plan of action, however it does include resources to further educate yourself and to get involved.

"Shafted" is a quick and powerful read that'll open your eyes to another side of America that we hardly get the chance to hear from. And it shows how people are bravely standing up for what they believe it. An invaluable book!

Black Elk Speaks

I ordered the book for my friend Kayla. When I found out that she was writing a paper on American Indians, I insisted she read what I feel is one of the most amazing insights into a facet of the mind they, the American Indians know well; that of the Medicine Man, their Shaman. Black Elk Speaks opened my mind to a world I knew of only in reading other books on sages that have entered realities unknown to most of us, sages from other parts of the world. Our culture generally discourages any practice that helps an individual get beyond the mental confines of the world we know. In this book, we read about a people, in this case one man, that makes it his and their life-style or "Way" where the exception in the norm.

Robert Yanasak

These are the original records of a series of interviews about spiritual awakening that resulted in the classic book "Black Elk Speaks." When Black Elk describes his vision, it is the most beautiful, the most profound assessment of human experience that I have ever encountered. Black Elk speaks in the language and symbols of his culture, so a reader who has knowledge of his way of life will better understand what he was trying to convey.

This book is the most powerful book I have ever read. Black Elk exudes a spiritual connection that is unparalleled. He also was a man of service. He speaks with a poetic sense of the world that has been killed by science, rationalism and money lust. If we could recover the spiritual sense, this indigenous way of being, that this man had the world would be rich. This book is better than the book "Black Elk Speaks" by Neihardt, because Demallie publishes the interviews verbatim (Neihardt's influence is limited), he provides many footnotes and writes a 100 page introduction and biography on Black Elk using material not contained in the interviews. Demallie also discusses issues that arise from what Black Elk says.

I felt this book was a constant page turner. If your interested in native american literature this is a wonderful book to have in your collection. Find a quiet place burn some sage and cedar and begin your journey with the sixth grandfather.

In reading this book on Black Elk Speaks I was overwhelmed. It seemed like the book was meant to land into my hands. When I began to read this novel, I understood. My feelings about vision quests, and soaring with the creators helpers has been an enlightenment to me for being here. I see things that I read in Black Elk Speaks and I understand. I understand what it is like to want to save the people and to have this heaviness come over you when they don't understand you. I have heard your message and I understand.

I don't need to tell the story, enough has been well done of that.
But, I want to say I truly enjoyed reading Ms Styles' second book. It was as much fun as "Crossing Burning Bridges" but in a different way.
The research she did opened my eyes to another era of events in our country. Some rather mean ones. But in all the book was warm and I LOVED every minute of it. Only again, I didn't want to keep reading because I knew it would finally end. Can't wait for her next book.

In the mountains and skies beats a heart of one warrior. A Lakota warrior left to live without his sacred lands and family. This is his story of despair, hope, love, and eventual discovery of the true warrior/man left inside of him.

During the 1880s...

The Lakota warrior, Snake Catcher, is honor bound by a dying request from his brother, Hail Maker to return something to Paradise Valley Ranch. It is through his travels and subsequently meeting Susan Paradise, whose parents have left her the ranch that this story begins to unfold with drama, realisms, and heart-warming romance. Won't you travel through this warrior's story as Snake Catcher tells the history of his people, while falling under the spell of Susan?

Snakes in Paha Sapa is by authoress Cyndie M. Styles. This is a subject near and dear to this reader's heart: the plight of the People. Here is a novel steeped in true-life events with fictional romance blended in making it a wonderful and heartfelt reading experience. Styles truly wields a pen coated in a profusions of great writing and wonderful foresight. This new author's voice is outstanding! This is the type of historical romance that the reading audience in general can enjoy. It is devoid of profane language and sex scenes, while giving the readers background on the lives of the Lakota people.

Susan has an open and unselfish heart, yet she is like a velvet glove concealing an iron fist. Susan treats Snake Catcher with the respect and dignitary befitting any human being, whether they are white, black, or an Indian. Her friendly personality will endear her immediately to the readers. When Susan looks at Snake Catcher she see a man with a big heart, willing to learn and grow, but he is also afraid of the White man, and what they have done to him and his people. Can Susan's gentle soul change Snake Catcher's opinions? Can two diversely different individuals find happiness in the harsh lands of the White man?

Snakes in Paha Sapa is writing from the heart by author Cyndie M. Styles. It is romantic, thought provoking, lovingly detailed, and extremely well written. This reviewer found this novel to be profoundly refreshing and engaging to read! The ending of this story marvelously completes this tale of love between a Lakota warrior and a White woman, and how their lives play out.

Reviewed by © Janalee Ruschhaupt, 2006
Courtesy of Love Romances www.loveromances.com

More than a Western...more than a romance. This story of the native Americans' struggle for their rights living in this land is fully outlined in this book. It takes you to a simpler time but also a time that is harder to survive in. This story is very adventurous and has tons of "on the edge of your seat" reading. There are many subtle humorous moments as well. This is a heart-warming story of all the residents at the ranch and how each of them have their own stories of struggles. This story begins with true Lakota honor. I was indeed entertained and learned much about the Lakota culture.

If you're like me, you might need a little bit of background on the title of Cyndie M. Styles' second novel, Snakes in Paha Sapa. Paha Sapa is the Lakota name for the Black Hills (located in South Dakota and Wyoming), which probably clues you in on the identity of the referenced snakes - they are of the white snake variety that spread westward across America in great numbers during the middle and late 19th century. The novel follows the rather extraordinary life of a Lakota warrior whose fight to reclaim the sacred lands of his people takes on new dimensions as his worldview is shifted by a remarkable white woman rancher.

Snake-Catcher was a great warrior, second only to his older brother. When that brother is ambushed and killed - and great numbers of Lakota tribesmen slaughtered - at the hands of white men, Snake-Catcher's world changes forever. Confined to a reservation, he watches helplessly as the American government reneges on its promises and allows prospectors to settle in Paha Sapa in pursuit of the gold discovered there. Having lost his entire family and his people's cherished lands, he has nothing left but the promise he made to his dying brother - to take a book belonging to that beloved brother to a lady named Susan Paradise in Sundance. When he is finally able to get permission to leave the reservation temporarily, he heads westward to Paradise Valley Ranch as fast as he can. Not surprisingly, he encounters trouble along the way, but the circumstances end up giving him a most enlightening perspective on white society in the wake of his arrival at Susan's ranch. He learns things he never knew about his brother, and he finds unexpected allies in Susan and her band of ranch hands and helpers (a mix of white, Indian, and Mexican cultures). Susan vows to join his campaign to reclaim Paha Sapa for his people, a legal campaign aided by another Lakota educated among the whites.

Susan has her own problems as an independent woman running her own ranch, and Snake-Catcher joins her battles just as she joined his. As you might expect, romance enters the picture eventually, which proves unsettling to both the Lakota warrior as well as the white woman, but theirs is a formidable teamship seemingly ordained by fate to work together for the good of others. Over the course of the novel, many years pass, ushering in a number of brand new elements to the lives of all those at Paradise Valley Ranch. It gives the novel something of an epic quality. Several times, I expected a plot point to be worked out in the end, only to see it resolved much earlier to make way for further turning points in the story. It all comes together beautifully to tell a most endearing tale of human drama.

Snakes in Paha Sapa is a most impressive second novel. In terms of subject matter, it is much different from Styles' earlier Crossing Burning Bridges, yet it retains the author's wonderfully flowing writing style, truly proves her standing as a natural storyteller, and amplifies the bedrock of very real emotions she manages to instill in virtually all of her characters. This is also a very educational novel for those of us who have never really explored the plight of Native Americans deprived of their land by a treacherous and sometimes exceedingly harsh American government. With its formidable mix of historical fiction, Western, and romance, Snakes in Paha Sapa makes for a wonderful, genre-crossing read.

This was the first western fiction book I have read, and I was hooked right from the start--not the "Cowoys and Indians" story I assumed it would be. I found myself reading long past bedtime, and I came to know and love the characters to the extent that I missed them by story's end. I look forward to reading more from Ms. Styles in the future.

A collection of essays wrote by african american and biracal young adults. The essays are about struggles the writers have been through while growing up, and on college campues. I throught all the essays were good.

A collection of essays wrote by african american and biracal young adults. The essays are about struggles the writers have been through while growing up, and on college campues. I throught all the essays were good.

A collection of essays wrote by african american and biracal young adults. The essays are about struggles the writers have been through while growing up, and on college campues. I throught all the essays were good.

This book is a very well-done sociological study of African American/bi-racial college students and the telling of their stories to get to this point in their lives. The stories are diverse yet similar. Bright, misunderstood, sticking out like sore thumbs because they were of color and intelligent. That is not the way it is supposed to be. Why is it African Americans are ridiculed for being smart. I read Kunjufu's book some years ago when my daughter was in middle school, Black Peer Pressure: To be Popular or Smart. Why must you choose. I am trying to remember my childhood experiences. I cannot remember being ridiculed for doing well in school. It seemed that was the norm for my group and the kids seem to have more respect for one another. I know this is unusual. I think about my brother who is now a well-known cardiologist in the Bay Area and when I look back on it, he must have felt isolated because he was one of those super-smart, gifted students. From the first story of Prince which was heart-wrenching. He was truly a testament to the poverty and hardship. He proved he could succeed against the oods. So, it is with Malik who had a drug-addicted mother. These young men's stories is in contrast to some of the more affluent of the group. Maria, Rob, and Steve had all of the amenities to have a good head start, well-eduacated, financially secure, and good neighborhoods. However I must say, I was disappointed that these students felt they had little in common with other black students because of their status. And it seemed their attitudes were reinforced by their parents attitudes who seemed to feel if it's white, its right. I am trying to reconcile these parents with the generation that had to strive for basic civil rights in housing and education. Where was the pride in being black. Why were they not going to black churches and putting their children in contact with other young black people with groups such as Jack and Jill or church youth groups? I always thought it was the generation these students that lost the black pride, not their parents who I guess are in their forties, fifties, and sixties. Claudio and Alessandro had to do with the problem of being both black and Latino and all the trials associated with being of a double culture. So often in Latin cultures, children are told they are Latino and then they get out into the world where no one will let them forget they are black. That can be a rude awakening when culture and color clash. The bi-racial students angst of being between two world, not knowing where they belong. This story was also very well told in "Black, White,Other" by Lise Funderburg. Christina and Susanna's black fathers evidently had problems with their black identities. It seems in these and many bi-racial families they do no discuss race, as if not talking about it, it won't be a problem. But as they find out, these issues need to be discussed. Sure these kind of parents say they just want their children to grow up to be good, healthy individuals, regardless of race. Not in America where race and race matters are so pervasive. The editors forewords before each chapter, Janie Victoria Ward and Tracy L. Robinson among them were provacative, intelligent studies. I would highly recommend this book to high school and college student of African descent as well as their parents and students of black sociology. Very well done.

Souls Looking Back is a thought-provoking, engaging and critical work that solidifies the validity of personal narrative as form of interpretive research with a focus on critical race theory. Anyone who may posses any questions regarding the power of such representation should read, ingest and reflect upon the stories of the young people presented in this book. The editors splendedly synthesized these educational and personal memoirs within the context of personal identity, critical race, critical feminist and critical race feminist perspectives. I would strongly recommend this book for all those with sincere interests in anthropology, sociology, psychology, African-American/African-Carribean/Afro-British studies, and education. This book truly exemplifies the multiplicity of lives our young people of color experience.

I never thought I would ever find such a book that I would ever not put down..This book kept me involved like I never been involved before. I loved this book from beginning to end. Also the artwork from Ms. Boyd's mother Silversong is just breathtaking to me. I laughed and cried and cried some more. I have owned my copy for 3 years now. I also have read this book 4 times since I have owned it. This book is part of my favorite possessions and will cherish it forever. Also when my daughters are old enough I will read it to them or have them read it themselves for the simple fact is the strength, pain, love, and sense of woman and family in this book are just absolutely breathtaking. I really recommend this book to anyone with a heart and the heart of a woman...I like to thank Ms. Boyd for writing her family's story. I never will forget it and although this may not be my family story, I will pass this onto my girls and onto their girls so they can see that women can have the strength to go through anything and that love conquers all and that the SPIRIT MOVES through all of us.....

This book is a clear work of literature where the reality of growing up Indian in 6 Generations is laid out before the world. It is a hard life but one where the women make a difference in the lives of their children and grandchildren. Their choices were often made for them until the past 2 generations. It is a powerful and moving story the should be read by all.

This book does have an epic quality about it... Also, it is the type of book that calls to and connects with the spiritual side of all of us regardless of our individual culture, race or gender. Ms. Boyd's gift is bringing a beautiful narrative quality to the experiences shared by her Mother, Grandmother and Great-Grandmother as well as her own. As the challenges and hardships are recounted it seems incredible that the harshness experienced was so recent, relatively speaking. In a time before domestic-violence laws (as recently as 20 - 30 years ago) options were few and overcoming such oppressive treatment seemed to be as much an act of faith as of will. This is a story that's important to all, not just to these lovely Lawson women.

I am buying several copies to distribute to the women in my life. This is the best book I have ever read and I just happened upon it. It has changed my life, I am a better person for reading it. I love it, cant say enough about it, Loree Byrd is so talented, I would read anything by her.

Loree Boyd has done more than merely written a great book. She has demonstrated the pride, strength and respect so characteristic of Metis/Native people in Canada. As a Metis/Ojibway person myself, I found this story, based on Loree's family history, to be moving and inspirational. I laughed, I cried, and I smiled thoughout reading this book. Loree's personal story extends beyond the words of this book; touching the lives of many Metis and Native families throughout Canada. Knowing and recognizing the similarities of my own Metis/Native family history made reading "Spirit Moves" all the more bittersweat. This book should be read in every household in Canada- Metis, Native, and white! Mii-gwetch Loree for your courage, your pride and your story! In Spirit, James Fortier

This tome covers corn "ear" to toe. I love the sassy tone and contrarian viewpoints.

I must admit, I am actually a beet person (well, root vegetables generally) and bought this book to get ammo to goof on my corn enthusiast friends. But how the worm has turned! Corn and human history are inextricably linked, a bonding of nurture and social evolution. This book lays down the facts.

I guess in retrospect my "hubris" about beets was misguided and wrong. I now think the lesson I learned, whether it pertains to vegetables, politics, music or whatever, is that YOU SHOULD NEVER UNDERESTIMATE DIFFERENT OPINIONS. It's too easy to do, and is an easy way to miss out on fundamental truths.

In that sense, this book transcends it's core audience of corn folk (cornies?) and teaches a much deeper lesson if you are not really interested in corn - that well disciplined research into unfamiliar topics can instruct and delight the receptive reader.

Read it, enjoy and reflect.

Food historian Betty Fussell's survey of corn history blends folklore, anthropology, botany and social and art history to provide a lively blend of anecdotes and facts about world corn, from its influence on war and ritual uses in the Inca and Aztec worlds to its use as a key ingredient in different cultures' cuisines. The Story Of Corn isn't a cookbook; it's a specialized food history which will appeal across many different lines, from students of anthropology and sociology to culinary enthusiasts and history buffs.

Everything you want to know about corn is found in this book. And I mean everything. We see corn growing in fields everyday but do we actually stop and think about it? Do we pull over to the side of the road and LOOK at it? It's amazing how corn has been around longer than anyone will know. This book covers an overwhelming amount of detail. If you don't find it interesting you're just not a corn person. In fact, the only thing it doesn't answer is why I threw up over a bad cob one time. I don't throw up.

I love corn. Whether it's cobbed, creamed, breaded, or popped. This book is non-stop corn!

My mom borrowed two of the Olga da Polga books for me from the library when I was a little nine-year-old girl with her very first pet, not surprisingly, a guinea pig. I instantly fell in love with the bragging Olga, who loves to tell tall tales and considers herself quite a celebrity. If only her animal friends would agree with her! We searched in vain to find any purchasable copies in the series for many years. Words can't explain how much I enjoyed these books as a little girl . . . and still do!

I'm so pleased that the books are back in print (there are several titles, but it's best to read them in order). If you have never read these books, you're in for a treat, whether you're young or old. For those not familiar with Olga da Polga's inventor, Michael Bond also wrote the Paddington Bear novels. His love of animals is evident in both series, as is his wit.

This is the story of a guinea pig named Olga, told from her perspective. From it you learn what a guinea pig likes. How they want their beds to be made, their fur combed, how to pick them up and all of the other aspects of the day-to-day care of a guinea pig. She is also a bit of a scamp, escaping, starting incredible rumors among the animals, and sometimes being pompous and self-centered. In many ways she is a typical pet.
A combination of being an engaging tale about a lovable small pet and her thoughts on her treatment, this is a book that will help teach young children how to care for small pets. The gentleness that is required and to understand that they are creatures with feelings that need to be considered. I recommend this book for the child approximately nine years old.

This book is a charming story about a sassy, clever, adventurous guinea pig with a style all her own. Bond is imaginative, insightful and succintly well written. Olga is self possesed, somewhat mischievous and weaves a web of characters around her into a colorful tapestry of her own creation. I'm sure by the end you'll agree that her ventures end all too soon.

Olga da Polga was read to me at bedtime by my parents when I was about five. 25+ years later, I still remember Olga's antics and stories. As a child, I even went so far as to name my guinea pig "Olga da Polga". A super book for youngsters!

Olga da Polga is a wonderful book from the creator of Paddington the Bear. It begins at the pet shop where Olga dreams of the world outside, and moves to her "house on legs" in the Sawdust family's garden. Along the way we meet the family she belongs to, her friends from their garden, and are entertained by both the tales about Olga, and the ones she creates for her friends. It's a low-key but charming book for those who love animals, and find humor in the little things they do. Children who favor the WWF,Yugio and Power Rangers will probably find the stories a bit tame, but my seven-year old son enjoyed the series of Olga books as much as I did when I was his age.