I agree with the summary below except to say, "there needs to be an instructor or tutor to pronounce the words correctly."

This book is a quick and easy tool for ADULT refugees and immigrants who must learn English to survive in the United States. It incorporates vocabulary, syntax, writing, and culture in each module; and users are practicing simple dialogues from the first lesson. The drawings and exercises are practical and reinforce the principles of the lesson. Unlike other ESL (English as a Second Language) books, this one is geared toward adult learners, rather than children or traditional students. Don't expect a grammar book, this one teaches English exactly as it says in its subtitle: English Through Conversations. Two cautionary notes: Users must be able to recognize and write the letters of the English alphabet to get started on solid footing, and, to get the most out of this book, there needs to be an instructor or tutor to correctly pronounce the words.

This is a hillarious book. I read it while hospitalised and laughed so much the nurses came running, thinking I was in pain. In the beginning it might not seem as funny as the sacred diaries but belive me, you will laugh to tears at the last chapter. And, by the way, if you've read the second diary(adrian plass sacred diary 37 3/4) you just got to read this book so you'll understand what was really going on in Australia...

I was in South Africa at the time, living in a Christian commune and each person read it. You could always tell when they were near the end because hysterical laughter would break out in their room. The book may not seem very funny at first but there is a BIG payoff in the last chapter when it all comes together.

A lovely story. Thoughtful. Sometimes having what we wish for is not nearly as important as giving. Our value comes from within. A story I look forward to sharing with my nephews and grandchildren.

I've been reading books to children for almost two decades, and Leo Lionni's books have always been among my favorites. They're simple in the same way that the parables of Jesus are simple - the meaning of the stories is immediately clear, yet they are deep and wise, and the stories stay with you forever.

Tico and the Golden Wings is not one of Lionni's best known books (Swimmy and Frederick probably fill that category - and both of them are terrific), but it's one of my favorites. It's about a bird born without wings, who cannot fly like his friends. The friends are kind to him, but he feels left out because he cannot do the things they do. Wishing for wings, he gets his wish, but the wings are made of gold. As Tico flies around the world, he encounters people with great needs and tries to help them by giving each of them one of the gold feathers from his wings. His reward for this generosity is to grow a real feather for every golden one he gives away.

In the end, Tico returns to his friends, who are thrilled to see him with wings just like theirs. They think he is now just like them, but Tico nurtures an understanding that his thoughts and experiences are not like those of his friends, that inside he is still different.

The message is simple: you can care about others and still nurture your own indivuality. What is special about this book, though, is not just the lovely and wise message, but the fact that it remains lovely, and not the least bit cloying or preachy, after hundreds of readings. You can read this book to any three or four year old who has enough experience with books to sit still for a quiet story, and continue reading it to him or her for years, knowing the child will get more out of it each time he or she hears it.

I know this book by heart. The best thing about it is the great, colorful pictures. Parents will be able to go above and beyond the simple story line to get their child involved in what's happening in the picture, as Elmo and Grover's grandad go for ice cream, listen to musicians, go to the zoo, etc. One caveat: Elmo doesn't ask his parents if it's okay to go somewhere with Grover's grandpa. Not a big deal, but not something to be glossed over in this day and age...

My 2 year old relates so much to this sorry. She really understands Elmos pain when he falls down and hurts his knee. It is a MUST read, requested daily by my little Elmo lover

War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy is a very involving and intricate novel about the struggle for victory between the French and the Russians with more of a focus on the private lives of the Russians. The story is extremely interesting and thought provoking, but you should only try to read it if you have a lot of free time on your hands. If you have the time and patience I suggest that you read this book. This book shows the every day struggle that comes from a war whether you are a soldier, poor man, or rich land lord, and that it effects everyone equally. The book follows numerous people through out the book and doesn't focus on one perticular person, but it does tell what happens to many different people. The story is a very hard to read book and if you don't stick with it and try to tough it out you'll have to start over continually, so if you want to read this book just keep at it and you'll get it. I really hope you'll read it because it is a really good and interesting book.

It's been 20 years since I read this book but I remember it so well. I was hooked by the third chapter when Pierre goes to see his dying father and his Uncle and beautiful young cousin conspire to steal his inheritance. Natasha grows up in the course of the story, loved by Prince Andre, and she has her own brush with cads and ruinous scandal when she makes the error of eloping with a dishonorable man. One of the most memorable scenes takes place when the Czar has ordered everyone to evacuate Moscow and rather than take their possessions with them Natasha's family loads their carts with wounded Russian soldiers. Pierre later tries to assasinate Napoleon. Full of memorable characters. Really a great reading experience. Don't be afraid of the size of the book. I couldn't put it down.

Booth defines religious addiction and abuse then goes over a twelve step program of recovery. This book shines a light into the dark recesses of religious abuse. The person who is the most addicted and abusive may very well be the person who is admired by outsiders for their religious conviction. The children and spouses see a very different picture. I think this book would be helpful to someone who was willing to consider the possibility that they have a problem. I think it is more likely to be read by someone affected by another's addiction than by the addict herself. Booth says he has success in his practice of working with religious addicts so perhaps they can be helped. In my experience though it seems that the people who fit his description of a religious addict are the ones who would never consider that they may be wrong or that their religion is causing a problem. For these cases Booth presents ideas for staging an intervention when the addict/abuser will not admit to the problem. Good luck.

One problem I have with the book is his anti-atheist bias. He wants to bring the people to a better spirituality but considers atheism to be a negative outcome. He sees it as a backlash to abuse. He must be aware that people can arrive at atheism in many different ways. He seems pretty open minded otherwise. People who want a healthier relationship to their faith without giving it up should be comforted by the fact that he is in no way trying to talk them out of their faith. He is a man of the cloth himself.

I'd recommend this book for someone who thinks his or her religious involvement may be getting out of hand. For the abused children or spouse of an addict it's a start only. I'd like to see a lot more awareness that religion can be used in such a damaging way and this book is a step in that direction. Abused children are in the worst position since society doesn't really recognize this type of abuse and is not prepared to do anything about it. (I read the hardbound version.)

In this book, Fr. Leo outlines the problem of being addicted to religion. He outlines the steps one can go through as the addiction comes to dominate one's life, and outlines the steps necessary to break free from this addiction. Being a religious addict myself, I really enjoyed this book. He described my life to a 't' in this book, and it has helped me break the chains of religious addiction and has helped me attain a more healthy spirituality. If you even suspect you might have a problem with your religiousity, I highly recommend this book.

martin adveitch is a shoemaker,and he can't accept the the lost of his wife,so he broke up with god,at one time he met a peasant,convincing him to reaturn to god,he find out that what the peasant said was true,one day he heard a voice saying that god will see/visit him at the window so he wait a long time,that time he helps people that comes by(please excuse my shortcut,i really know the story)and after all those,one time in his basement he heard a whispering voice saying it is I. he saw figures of person whom he helped,then at that time it made him so happy and realize that god is the answer to our problems

These are wonderful stories. I read this book a long time ago. Whenever I think of the story with the three hermits it brings a smile to my face. They are fiction stories with a moral. I highly recommend this book!

A scientist, his sidekick and a big strong sailor are going to have their lives changed forever when they are sent to capture a giant octopus. But, instead, they fall overboard and find out what they think is an octopus is really a giant submarine with a Captain Nimo and a crew that speaks their own language (which the trio calls "the submarine language")! In this submarine, they go on millions of adventures like: tunneling through blocks of ice in the antartic, zooming through tunnels from sea to sea, and seeing every different kind of fish you could ever imagine. The only problem is the scientist's sidekick joins with the big sailor, Ned, and together they try to escape. They have many of their own adventures too, like when they try to escape the first time and they almost get caught by cannibals. The second time they escape and write a story which you will read if you want to read it and it's called, "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea". If you're looking for an adventurous book that's exciting and funny too, then just read the book I did a review on. Lindsey (age 9)

A action-packed thriller, 20,000 leagues under the sea starts ou t when M. Arronax and his servant, Conseil, are asked to help track down and kill a sea monster on the Abraham Lincoln. When a Canadian named Ned Land harpoons the monster,it sinks the Abraham Lincoln. M. Arronax, Conseil, and Ned survive and are taken aboard the monster which is a submarine called the Nautilus. On there voyage they cruise the world and learn many secrets of the sea. When the captain of the Nautilus, Captian Nemo starts to go mad, M. Arronax, Conseil, and Ned escape the Nautilus and are drawn in to a legendary whirlpool in a mini-boat. There, the Nautilus is destroyed, but the people in the boat live.
The reason I gave this book 5 stars is because it's action-packed, very creative, well written, and is full of knowledge.

This is Verne's classic novel about Captain Nemo and his submarine Nautilus. What really fascinated me when reading this story and other Verne novels was not only Verne's contributions to the science fiction genre, but his founding of a whole new genre, one that, as far as I know, he has never been given credit. I think Verne was the first to write the techno-novel, a work that is filled with technical details ala Tom Clancy. For this novel, Verne did considerable research to describe what was known as accurately as possible. Professor Arronax and his servant Conseil board a U. S. ship that is searching for a monster that has sunk a number of other ships. They discover that it isn't a monster at all but a submarine, captained by a mysterious man known only as Nemo (Verne will present readers with Nemo once again in "The Mysterious Island"). Arronax, Conseil, and an American harpooner named Ned Land travel with Nemo and see many wonderous things and have many adventures. Verne's "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea" has gotten some very poor reviews over the decades since it first appeared in 1869. In many cases, it was because of the translation and not because of Verne. A number of the early translators inserted their own sections with their own ideas and opinions and deleted much of Verne's own words. So, readers should be aware of the translator. I read an excellent translation by Walter James Miller that was also annotated. Such an annotated volume can prove to be very helpful to teenagers getting acquainted with Nemo and his submarine.

Considered by many to be the great American novel, Mark Twain's "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" is the story of a boy, Huck Finn, and a runaway slave, Jim, as they travel down the Mississippi River on a raft. "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" is the sequel to Twain's novel "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer". Where "Tom Sawyer" was more a care-free children's book, "Huck Finn" is a far darker less childlike book.

Judging from my rating you can see that I do not agree that this is in fact the great American novel. Twain seemed far too unsure of what he wanted to accomplish with this book. The pat answer is to expose the continuing racism of American society post-Civil War. By making Jim simultaneously the embodiment of white racist attitudes about blacks and a man of great heart, loyalty, and bravery, Twain presented him as being all too much of what white America at the time was unwilling to acknowledge the black man as: human.

However noble the cause though, Twain's story is disjointed, at times ridiculous, and, worst of all (for Twain anyway), unfunny. The situations that Huck and Jim find themselves in are implausible at best. Twain may not have concerned himself too much with the possibleness of his story; but, it does detract from your enjoyment of a story when you constantly disbelieve the possibility of something happening.

"The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" is an important book in that it did affect much of the American literature that followed it. However, this is another novel which is more important to read for its historical significance than for its story.

Want a book with an adventurous twist? Then Huckleberry Finn is the book for you. Not only is Huckleberry Finn an adventurous book, it is also can be comical and light, though the book has a grave meaning, showing the wrongs in society at the time in the late 19th century.
The book The Adventures of Tom Sawyer precedes Huckleberry Finn, where in the beginning of Huckleberry Finn, Huck lives with the widow Douglas, though doesn't like the high class living, and frequently leaves to see his father, who's always drunk, or just hangs out in the woods. While in the woods, Huck meets Jim, a slave who escaped and needs to cross the Mississippi River to the freedom on the other side, in Illinois. Although this book portrays a serious meaning, it can also be funny and witty.
I liked this book because it was witty and comical, though it had an important message at the same time. I really liked this book because of this, though the southern accent complicates the understanding of the book. Overall, I thought this book is definitely a classic and a must read for all age levels.

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was one of the best books that I have read in a long time. The way the Huck lives his life is very interesting in ways that I can relate. Whether Huck is sneaking out of the house or talking to his best friends about big plans they have, it all makes sense to me. Mark Twain did an excelent job with all the characters and how they all have different problems at home or with some of their friends. He also shined in this book when he came up with all the ideas for the kids to get in trouble with, like starting a gang or running away and taking off down the river and getting caught up with con artists. In my opinion the best part of the book is right off the start when the Widow adopts Huck and tries to clean him up and get him to study and learn new things, and huck wants absolutely nothing to do with any of it. Then right when Huck gets to the point of losing it, he runs off until Tom tells him to come back so they can start their new robbery gang, which meant that Huck must return. When Huck returns the Widow Douglass' sister Miss Watson is living their now with Huck and the widow and the head servant Jim. Overall, I would have to say the this book was very well written and explained and I would have to give this book 4 out of 5 possible stars for my grade. So if you like funny books with some action in them, this book is for you.

I read all 600 pages of this book in one day, which, I suppose, says something good about it. The basics: Tough-on-the-outside, vunerable-on-the-inside former FBI agent turned victim advocate, Kate Conlan, is given the task of Angie, a teenage girl, witness to a brutal murder. The serial killer deemed "The Cremator" is torturing, murdering and burning prostitutes in the city of Minneapolis, his latest victim the daughter of a billionaire. Special Agent/profiler John Quinn is called in from Quantico to direct the task-force. He's jaded, a workaholic, and has a spotted past with Kate. There are numerous other characters in "Ashes to Ashes", all of which have their own little quirks and interesting personalities. In fact, some of them are more intriguing than Kate and Quinn. I found this book to be somewhat predictable. If you pay attention, you can easily pick up on the foreshadowing, but I guess that's the part that gets a person "hooked". I wasn't mislead by the suspects Hoag plants along the plot. Their presence somewhat annoyed me. I had the feeling of, "get this over with already"; again, part of what kept me reading. I'd rate this book at slightly better than mediocre. If you like smart, witty, no-nonsense characters, it should make a pleasant read. It's a great book if you want to be hooked and enjoy some raw entertainment, sort of like a blockbuster movie.

To call this book romance suspense doesn't do it, or Tami Hoag, justice. This is a full-on, grab you by the throat suspense thriller that rates up there with the best of them. If you enjoy the likes of John Sandford, Michael Connelly, Jonathan Kellerman, James Patterson and Patricia Cornwell you'll love this book. It hit the bookstores here yesterday and I grabbed a copy as they were stocking the shelves...and have just finshed it in one sitting (starting at 5.00am!). As I got into the last third of the book it had me pacing from one room to the other as I read it: I just couldn't sit still. Yes, there is a love story woven through it but Tami Hoag has moved a long way from the earlier romance/suspense she wrote (although I loved those early books too). This book is filled with fascinating characters (including a very brief appearance at the end by a not so nice guy from "Guilty As Sin"), an excellent plot with the appropriate twists and turns and plenty of detail on police/FBI procedures. She deserves to reach a whole new audience with this effort and I'm sure she will. The only problem now is having to wait so long for the next book. All I can say is, thanks for a great read Tami Hoag!

Tami Hoag's ASHES TO ASHES is a meaty, suspenseful thriller that draws the reader to the world of tracking a serial killer, exposing the clashes between law enforcement, victims and politicians. With humor, sensitivity and energy, Hoag creates a novel that sure to be a best seller.

The cops call him Smokey Joe. The public calls him the Cremator. The killer burns his victim's bodies in Minneapolis parks. Unfortunately, the public doesn't truely become outraged until until one of his victims turns out to be the daughter of a local billionaire. Suddenly, the pressure mounts to find the evil creature who mutilates and burns his victims.

When a homeless teenager witnesses a burning, former FBI agent Kate Conlan, who now works as a victim-witness advocate, and the Bureau's top serial-killer profiler John Quinn must join forces to find the killer before he strikes again. But Kate and John shared something special in the past, and now they must find a way to work together despite their painful history.

Tami Hoag writes with an enthusiasm and intensity that carries the reader along on a wave of tension, humor and fear until the last page is turned. ASHES TO ASHES is a gruesome look at a sadistic killer, but it is also a revealing expose of those who are determined to stop him. While the details are horrid, and certainly not appropriate to anyone uncomfortable with mutiliation and murder, the details are carefully presented in appropriate context. Moreover, the humor of the investigating officers provides much need comic relief with a flair seldom matched.