From the back cover: "This book is a fascinating account of the belief in the magical powers of gems and jewels in Great Britain up to the end of the 18th century. The author has examined nearly every lapidary of importance from the ancient world through the renaissance and beyond..."

Nixon has authored over a hundred books for young adults, and many of her readers have asked her secrets. This tells of the early influence of journalism teachers, of her youth and coming of age as a writer, and of the lessons she learned in perfecting her writing art. Inspirational - and a strong biography that fans of Nixon will relish.

In this darling tale of Chelm, where the not-so-wise-men live, everyone has their recipes for Chanukah latkes.

Malke, the tailor's wife, guards her recipe with her life. "I may be a poor woman, but I make the best latkes in Chelm, and I'm the only one with the recipe," she says. As a young bride, she would let people taste them, but afraid that people could taste each of her ingredients, she closed her doors to all but her own.

In their memories, the Chelmites remember Malke's latkes tasting even better than they did. Finally, Berel the shoemaker could stand his wife's heavy latkes no longer. To ensure that he will again eat latkes that taste like clouds, he hides behind a tree outside Malke's kitchen until she starts cooking. He writes down everything she does.

Berel gives the paper to his wife. The recipe calls for 5 potatoes and 2 eggs. His wife Yentel says, "Some secret recipe."

"Scallions," he says. "Scallions," she screams. "Who ever heard of using scallions instead of onions!" She uses an onion, as always. Next Malke used flour, but Yentel uses bread crumbs like always. Malke used pepper, but Yentel objects to that too, and uses salt, as always. When the recipe calls for lemon and parsley, Yentel balks again, just as she does when the recipe calls for frying in vegetable oil.

"That's not a secret recipe, that's secret nonsense!" Malke protests. So, she fries in chicken fat, as always.

Needless to say, the latkes come out as heavy as ever. "They taste just like ours," Berel concludes. To which Yentel replies, "Well this just proves that no matter how you make them, latkes always taste the same."

When you have finished reading the story, you and your children can make the secret recipe, which is happily provided. Trust me, latkes DON'T always taste the same. But the fools of Chelm will never know. Alyssa A. Lappen

This book was fascinating! Mark Morris' work is brilliant, beautiful and new. This book offers insight into the artist's childhood and early introduction to the arts, traces the evolution of his company from its humble and informal beginnings to its present place as one of the outstanding modern companies in the world, and explores the themes Morris' work so often addresses. The insight into his complex character makes watching his work still more rewarding. Includes many great photos.

Jason Horn offers the first thorough investigation of the relationship between Mark Twain and William James, emphasizing Twain's friendship with James beyond their shared intellectual interests. He uses James to understand Twain as thinker and to illuminate Twain's often vaguely defined religious and philosophical observations. The book provides a fresh estimate of Mark Twain's later years and challenges readers to discover a new way of seeing one of America's important and endearing writers.

Each of the Maggody mysteries by Joan Hess is a delight. In Martians in Maggody, an enterprising moonshiner bolsters the local economy by creating a tourist attraction in a corn field. This field of dreams (or nightmares, for the local police chief)becomes a murder scene. As always, Police Chief Arly Hanks is bothered more by her meddlesome mother and by the characters who populate the strange world of Maggody than by the Martians and the murderer who are only passing through.

I enjoyed this book tremendously. The style is inviting, the illustrations are beautiful, and the stories about Martin's life are wonderful. I especially like the connections that Joan Monahan draws between Martin's values and the issues we face today. Born four hundred years ago of mixed race to a single mother, Martin knew how it felt to be rejected. He is a model of social justice, concern for the environment, and respect for animals. Whether you're already familiar with St. Martin de Porres or not, you will learn much that is new and inspiring in this well-researched and highly readable biography.

I'm disappointed to learn that the book, Martin's Hats is out of print. When my son, who is now 14 and my daughter, who is now 12, were about 4 or 5, they insisted on reading the book at least daily. As I remember, Martin goes on adventures associated with a variety of hats he has at his disposal. Since my 4 year old goes on imaginary adventures constantly throughout the day, I know he would love the book. I was hoping to purchase a new copy for him, since Martin's Hats is one of the best children's books I've come across.

I'm intrigured by how Follett--an outsider to higher education, elective politics, and business enterprises--managed to make lasting contributions to all three. And I'm intrigued by how much detective work it took to produce such a substantial biography, since Follett destroyed her personal papers right before her death. Any biography lover will admire this book.

This is the play that was used in the 1987 (?) movie, "Anne of Avonlea." It's really neat!