Sit down and settle in for a great read. You'll want to become Paisley Sterling's best friend. E. Joan Sims spins a real story filled with loveable, memorable characters. I can't wait to see what Paisley, her mother Anna, and her daughter Cassie dream up for their next mystery adventure!

Cemetery Silk is the first novel in E. Joan Sims delightful new series featuring Paisley Sterling, an author of children's books (the Bartholomew, the Blue-Eyed Cricket series), her college-student daughter Cassie and her genteel mother Anna.

When William, the husband of Anna's late cousin Abigail dies, Paisley, and Cassie return home to Kentucky to attend the funeral.

Anticipating no more than her grandmother's table, Paisley's mother is surprised to learn that the bulk of William's estate, including the table, is going to the Dibbers - neighbors to whom William granted power of attorney just two weeks before his death. Equally surprising to everyone is the disclosure that he left a legacy of over 3 million dollars.

When her agent is unable to sell Paisley's latest "cute little blue-eyed crickets with charming mousy friends" book, she suggests Paisley try her hand at "a nice juicy crime novel". Paisley, her mother and Cassie begin devising a plot for a mystery based on William's death and the newfound wealth of the Dibbers. They find themselves in great danger when they realize they might have come too close to the truth.

The greatest charm in Cemetery Silk stems from the relationship among the three generations of women. Anna is the "true Southern women" who is unfailingly polite, perfectly coifed and dressed at all times and able to "look years younger after a good night's sleep." Paisley is sassy, down-to-earth, and resilient in the face of misfortune and Cassie, with an in-your-face attitude and natural intelligence is a delightful and refreshing change from the super genius youth portrayed in so many novels today. They are all different yet they love each other and they like each other. This really makes this story work.

Some very interesting side characters are introduced early on in the book but Sims then drops them and they never reappear. Hopefully some of them will return later in the series. The most significant stumble is the Remington Steele-like invention of Paisley's co-author Leonard Paisley who starts to take on a life of his own as the novel progresses. His existence could distract from the winning appeal of the three main characters.

Sims writing is brisk and the whole time you think she is taking the plot in a predictable direction, Sims adds enough twists to keep the pages turning and make the resolution gratifying. Cemetery Silk heralds the beginning of a satisfying and long running series and a fine new addition to the mystery genre.

I fully enjoyed Cemetery Silk. Being from Kentucky, I recognized and felt at home with the meals mentioned, customs and slang. The twists and turns, nooks and crannies of the plot kept me riveted to each page, waiting to see what was going to happen next. Having met the author and spending an enjoyable time with her at her daughter and son in law's beautiful home, I feel especially blessed to have the book and will treasure my autographed copy of it. An excellent choice for any time, but especially curled up with a afghan or comforter and a hot cup of chocolate.

Joan Piper wrote a very well balanced and factual account of the black hawk tragedy. What kept me interested was the personalization of her story and her ability to remain unbiased...as hard as that must have been. As a blue-suiter myself, I salute the whole Piper family and encourage everyone to read this book!

On April 14, 1994, a tandem of U.S. Air Force F-15C Eagle fighters descended below their mandatory altitude restriction of 10,000 feet, proceeded to misidentify two Army Blackhawk helicopters flying a routine mission in the Iraqi northern no-fly zone, and fired on both aircraft without provocation, warning or permission. In ten short minutes, 26 peacekeepers -- American, British, French, and Kurdish -- died a horrible and tragic death.

Joan L. Piper, a fifth grade teacher from San Antonio and the mother of one of the victims, is also the spouse of a career Air Force officer. The experiences of 26 years of military service reflect a depth of knowledge and expertise with which few can compare. In A Chain of Events, she demonstrates a relentless thoroughness in finding the answers that always seemed just out of reach.

Far more than a tale of a mother's grief for her slain child, "A Chain of Events" is a touching, poignant portrait of a family's loss and their grim quest for the truth. It is a compelling story of a woman's search for closure after a tragic loss and a chronicle of a family's frustrating battle through the seemingly impenetrable walls of a stalwart bureaucracy. But, more than anything else, it is an account of the strength of a family in the face of tragedy. Her conclusions are emotionally charged, yet nonetheless valid.

This is a wonderful book that will prove invaluable to anyone who has experience the loss of a loved one.

This book is both a well told mother's story and an exceptionally well researched critique of the government's coverup of the widely publicized friendly fire tragedy which claimed this mother's daughter. Mrs. Piper's story will grab your attention from her opening sentence and you will quickly be drawn in as she skillfully weaves a tapestry of facts and feelings to keep you hooked until the very end. I have read other accounts of these events which were mostly regurgitations of the government's official account. Having some military flying experience myself, nothing I have read before had the ring of truth. If you want to know what really happened, you must read this book. It is meticulously researched and documented. In spite of this it is one of the most imminently readable books I have ever encountered. The author's chapter-by-chapter alternation between her family's personal reactions to unfolding events and factual accounts of what was occurring on the other side of the world, as her daughter's helicopter flight proceeded from ground planning to the shootdown, was a key ingredient in keeping me turning the pages!

In this book Joan Dornemann gives us a basic introduction to operatic auditions from preparation, to aria choices, to behaviour at the audition. She includes little tidbits of her vast experience as a coach for interest. Her approach is kind, but realistic. Therefore, you may be empowered and exhilarated in one moment and completely depressed the next. In the end it made me wish that the purchase of the book came with a private coaching session with Ms. Dornemann. I look forward to a more complete record of Joan Dornemann's knowledge of the operatic repertoire, the pitfalls etc. She has only whetted my appetite.

I was brought into enjoying Opera by the public master classes by Ms. Dornemann. Those are experiences in colective levitation, when you feel one with a group of public, singers, teachers and composers.

The allways positive messages that she delivers (doesn't matter how they are expressed)read: "I am correcting you because you are terrific!"

The book brings lots of the experience, insight, common sense, kindness and warmth that makes her more than a great teacher: a true magician.

If you have been to one of her master classes, you will love the book, and if you read the book you will buy or borrow or steal a ticket for her master classes

This book, written by two masters of the opera world, give the student or young professional everything they need to know about making it in the opera world, and that the secret is making tough rules for yourself and aiming for perfection. When I finished, I felt like I had just taken a master class.

Brave Cowboy is one of my childhood favorites (along with Cowboy And His Friend and Cowboy's Secret Life). I have vivid memories of Mom reading me the books and my fascination with the pictures. I received my copy of Brave Cowboy for Christmas in 1961 (I was 2 1/2) and I'm sure my own vivid imagination as a child is part of what made this book about a young boy's imagination resonate with my younger self. The other day Mom asked me if I still had my old copies (a friend wanted to give them to her grandchildren or something to that effect), so I got them out to reread them. The pictures held the same fascination for me now that they did so long ago (and made me wonder if part of my love of Peter Parnall's illustrations had its origin in these simple drawings rendered in two colors), but some elements of the story bothered me. I know the book is a product of the period it was written during (a young child of the time probably knew a lot of what they knew from watching TV and movie Westerns), but the portrayal of the Native Americans in the story bugged my 42 year old self. And Brave Cowboy seems a little flagrant with that toy gun. I am NOT prone to heavy bouts of political correctness. I think it was flawed back in 1959 when it was written. But the pictures in the book are so cool! I think any adult buying this book for a child now should be prepared to deal with these elements. And hope that the other books come back into print since they do not suffer the same problems.

Anglund's children are irresistible in any book, but this one shows how a three or four-year-old can use his imagination to become a brave cowboy
in the old West. Reality is shown in black ink
sketches; the imagined scene is in red.I gave
this as a baby gift(for boy babies)many times
until it went out of print and would love to
see it brought back.

I have the 1959 first edition, and it has seen better days. It was read nearly every day and now my children love it too! It is 19 pages and a joy to read. All about a little boy that pretends he's a cowboy. Just a sweet story by a beloved author and illustrator.

When a young man (17 years old) shoots and wounds a woman who entered a store he was attempting to rob, both their lives are turned upside down. The story told alternately by each of the main characters reveals their individual terror and struggle; the woman with her paralysis and sudden change of fortune is compared to the boys sudden realization that he has made a mistake that will last him the rest of his life. Their struggle is for forgiveness for each other and for those who have peopled their lives.

There are some beautiful poignant moments when each of the main characters realize how influential family have been and how little they meant at the time. The first person narrative becomes a bit boring at times but otherwise the story is well told and maintains interest.

Novelist Joan Barfoot strikes another home run with her latest, Critical Injuries.
Barfoot says she writes because, "I get to live inside other lives, not only my own. This is a kind of dehydrated reincarnation: add words and stir."
Luckily for us her latest reincarnation, her eightth, is one of her best!
This time out, she inhabits forty-nine-year old successful Isla and seventeen-year-old dreamer Roddy. Isla is reveling in second chances. Roddy is about to escape his past. A chance encounter changes everything. Critical Injuries reconstructs their lives with hope and grace.
Barfoot clearly sets the stage of her main characters' inevitable meeting, describing, "One of those moments when life turns completely ass-over-teakettle, in no good way, no good way at all." --Page 12.
One character quickly runs into a store to spend her money; the other is there to improve his financial situation.
While each journey to that moment is truly unique, the way in which their individual paths cross that fateful night, forever unites them. And the consequences of this chance meeting will involve courage and choice.
"Funny how sorrow always seems more powerful than joy. Joy just kind of jogs along, but grief, that really throws a person off the track, onto a new one." pg. 202
I was fascinated with Barfoot's unsentimental voice in the bodies of Isla and Roddy. There is a striking contrast between Barfoot's gift of prose and her main characters' sparse use of verbal expression.
And while most of the characters in Critical Injuries, are "doomed to observer status in the shocking events" [pg. 51] that transpire, I was entertained. I couldn't wait to find out what happens to these characters.
Barfoot's narrative flows seamlessly between Isla's and Roddy's ongoing drama, guiding the reader to its inevitable conclusion.
Barfoot's tale convinces me that living in the moment may be a good thing, for when tragedy befalls us, you'll have more than enough time to recall your past. That is, until you focus on a place you want to be.
Barfoot's yarn is woven to perfection, words spun like the master craftswoman she is. No wonder Critical Injuries is longlisted for the 2002 Man Booker Prize and shortlisted for the 2001 Trillium Book Award!
I fully expect to see the cinimatic Critical Injuries, made into a movie and shown at Cannes and Toronto Film Festivals in the very near future. It will be well worth the wait!

Simple pleasures lead to dangerous results in Barfoot's deeply compelling and emotional novel Critical Injuries. Isla, a middle aged women goes with her husband Lyle to get an ice cream cone as a small reward. This innocent act turns to tragedy when Isla finds herself in the wrong place at the wrong time. Roddy is a teenage boy who makes a foolhardy plan with his close friend Mike to make some quick money in an attempt to escape the monotony of their small town. A thoughtless action at the dairy bar sparks a chain of events that will alter their lives forever. Gradually, as the heart wrenching struggles of the present unfold, the pasts of Isla and Roddy are related to give an unprejudiced view of their development. Each has had to deal with unexpected loss, disappointment and terrifying challenges. Extraordinary decisions need to be made by ordinary people. This novel is a tribute to that struggle. Slowly we are given a detailed picture of the nature of recovery and forgiveness. The brutal honesty of the ending creates a resounding impression.

The tremendous strength of this novel is in the power of Barfoot's prose to create a sense of immediacy. She does this through establishing powerful voices for her characters that comment upon situations as they occur letting their thoughts and memories leak out into the present moment. Her portrait of each character is deeply sympathetic to their struggle to live happily and thus the reader feels a strong connection to them. It is as if, through a slight alteration of fate, these moving characters could be us and their harrowing events might be ours. Each character is neither perfect nor evil. The author depicts with elegantly constructed prose the flaws of human nature using accuracy and profound wit. The intellectual conflicts the characters face are presented with emotionally rounded pictures lending depth and wisdom to their struggle. The novel makes a powerful impression.

As an educator of upper elementary students, I think the whole Orphan Train Adventures series is outstanding! It tells a tale while weaving in historical events. It makes learning history more interesting because the stories are told from a young person's point of view!

The guns swirling around you make you want to turn and run, but you wont.....at least Mike wont. Want to read a wonderful story of the Civil War and the urge that gripped the teens in America during that great war and made them run and join the army? Want to know why the nickname for the Civil War is "The Boys' War"? Well, you'll find out in this wonderful book about the war that claimed the lives of so many and destroyed and brought families together. A wonderful book, that can be a curse because you wont let it down. Enjoy this wonderful tail of the bullets flying and the men dying at your side...........

i thnk this was a good book except for the fact that at the ending it did not tell who the spy was it left the reader hanging too much but overall it was good like i said the ending was bad when it did not tell who the spy was!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(IM AM 13 IM NOT 12 I PUT 12 SO I CAN PUT THIS REVIEW)!!!!!

The book associates Brown's choices in scripture with parts of speeches/writtings by Graham. The problem is the scripture does not always relate to the Graham segment, so it is confusing and non-supportive. The best part of the book is Graham's commentary. It would be a lot better if the scriptures matched his thoughts.

I love this devotional. My mother bought this for me as a gift and I have in turn given copies of this to several people as gifts. Very nice binding and the content is golden! A great daily devotional.

This is the best daily devotional I've come across. We read it every morning before breakfast and it starts the day off right. We've given several copies as gifts.

Book 2 contains more complex songs than the first book, but also displays a wide range for students of differing abilities. Again, there are songs in several languages. I feel this one is a bit better than the first book, but that's my opinion. This book isn't necessarily standard repertoire with my students but I do recommend this for the more advanced sopranos that I instruct.

This book contains solos for sopranos with a decent variance of vocal abilities and vocal range. Songs are in many different languages such as French, German, Italian and English. I used this book when I was a student and now that I am a teacher, it is required book for my students. This would be a great gift for a high school graduate studying music in college.

This book has songs that are difficult and easy. If you sing then you really need this book.
~Adele

I found this book to be inspiring for anyone suffering from Parkinsons. Joan Grady-Fitchett the author has done an excellent job of relating to the reader the gamut of emotions involved in the diagnosis of Parkinsons. Her strong mental attitude and determination should inspire others to do the same.The book also gives important information on doctors to contact and the success and failure of her medications and treatments.

Fighting the challanges of Parkinson's Disease, sometimes winning, sometimes losing; along with general living experiences made this book an informative and enjoyable read for me. However, it ended too soon. Did she have the surgery and what were the results?

An amazing woman fights the little and big things that are no longer familiar. This disease, this invader, is slowing crashing her body. All she has left is spirit and persistence, but these are powerful. Joan's writing is tight and moving. It takes you along with her from the top of success in professional modeling. From anger. Through realization and fear. Through lovers and pain, and to rest of her life. The reader will come away a little smarter, a lot braver, and a little less a victim in their own life.

My son is a beginning reader and this book just has a few words in it. The Fox on the Box and a few others. I would suggest investing in the Bobs Books Series for beginning readers. You get a lot more for the money.

This is a wonderful first reading book.The book is structured so that there is a page with words and then a page with an illustration only. This structure gave my son a break from concentrating. Reading a book like this made his first reading experience enjoyable.

This is the first book that my kindergarten son was able to read independently. After practicing with Level 1A books at school, he was so proud to be able to pick up this book and read it from start to finish. He got a big kick out of the surprise ending and has read it over and over to anyone who will listen--in person and on the phone. The sentence construction is very simple ("The fox sat on a box.") but it's a sweet, funny story that is enhanced by beautiful watercolor illustrations. Even our 15 month old daughter now loves to sit in his lap to have him read it to her. Although he'll outgrow it soon, his reading confidence has been helped a great deal by having books of his own that he can read. We're adding more of Barbara Gregorich's books to his library for just that reason. It's an easy investment to help him develop a lifelong love of reading.