Unexpected earnings from the Great Exhibition of 1851 (at the Crystal Palace in London) were used to establish the following year the Victoria and Albert Museum, the world's largest collection of applied art and design. In 1853, Commodore Matthew Perry made his famous expedition to Japan, which had been isolated for 250 years, and set up trade agreements. Examples of Western technology (locomotive, telegraph, camera) were given to the Japanese, and Japanese artifacts to Westerners. Of particular impact were Japanese woodcuts of the 17th through 19th centuries, called ukiyo-e or images of "the floating world," tens of thousands of which ended up in museum collections throughout the world. Many (perhaps most) American and European artists and designers were influenced by the then-strange stylistic traits of these prints (crisp black outlines, bold flat areas of color, asymmetrical arrangements, and dramatic cropping), among them such people as Whistler, Manet, Degas, Toulouse-Lautrec, Gauguin, Aubrey Beardsley, and Frank Lloyd Wright. "All my work," wrote Vincent van Gogh to his brother, "is in a way founded on Japanese art." This stunning volume is a full-color treasury of 130 of those woodcuts (introduced and annotated by scholars) from the many now in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum. (Copyright © by Roy R. Behrens from Ballast Quarterly Review, Vol. 14 No. 3, Spring 1999.)

Alejandro is lonley living in the desert. By accident, he learns that if he plants a garden, animals come for the water and shade and Alejandro's lonliness is lessened.

But later, Alejandro learns that gifts given (the garden) makes the gifts received (the company) all the more sweeter.

"Alejandro's Gift" is a quiet book - no need for funny voices or wild antics. It makes a great bed time story or a great "snuggle with your kids on a rainy day" book.

This can also provide a nice way to discuss nature and preservation with your children.

There are lots of interesting things to look at in the illustrations. I read this to a group of school agers and they all enjoyed looking at the pictures and trying to identify all the different animals. We live far away from any desert, so many of these animals were unfamiliar to us.

This is a good book and I definitly recommend it.

Having lived on the west mesa outside of Albuquerque, New Mexico I am certainly familiar with the flora and fauna of the southwest. In "Alejandro's Gift" we meet an an old man who lives in a small abode house besides a lonely desert road. Alejandro has a well, with a windmill to pump the water, and his only real companion is a burro. With visitors a rare treat, Alejandro busies himself by planting a garden to keep him self occupied. But as the days go bye and his garden starts to blossom, Alejandro finds a ground squirrel has come to visit him. The lonely man hopes that squirrel will come again and indeed it does, bringing other small friends of the desert. Enjoying his little visitors, Alejandro thinks of why they have come to visit him and what he can do to make his new friends more comfortable. The idea that forms in his mind becomes the gift of the book's title.

Author Richard E. Albert wrote pulp Westerns in his younger days and wrote "Alejandro's Gift," his first book for children, when he was eighty-three years old. What he has written is a book that is as much about living in harmony with nature as it is about the importance of friendship. The detailed illustrations by Sylvia Long show an understanding of both animals and the great outdoors. The back of this book contains an illustrated list of the over two-dozen animals who enjoy "Alejandro's Gift." Since most of them are not identified during the telling of the story, this will allow young readers to go back and identify everything from the Arizona Pocket Mouse to the White-Throated Wood Rat. However, be warned: if your children live anywhere near nature, where animals are frequent visitors to your backyard, then do not be surprised if they suddenly want to do something special after reading this book.

"Alejandro's Gift" combines a story by Richard E. Albert with illustrations by Sylvia Long. Together they tell the story of Alejandro, a man who lives in an adobe house beside a lonely desert road. His only companion is a burro.

When Alejandro plants a vegetable garden, his home is soon visited by small animals who drink from his irrigation furrows. Delighted by the appearance of these creatures, Alejandro conceives a project on a slightly larger scale.

The realistic illustrations of this book are full of life. The animals and plants, as well as Alejandro himself, are captured beautifully. Alejandro's gentleness, thoughtful nature, and hard-working spirit are wonderfully brought to life. The pictures and text together offer a good message about respect for nature.

The book ends with a short "mini-encyclopedia" that names and illustrates animals and plants of the southwestern United States: mesquite, saguaro cactus, the sage sparrow, the collared peccary, and more. An educational and heartwarming book.

It has great applied problems, but as for its usability, it stincks-horribly. Unless you already have a good backround in diff eqs, I don't recommend this text.