Fifty - two years after Oz author and illustrator John R. Neill's death, The Runaway In Oz at last saw print for the first time in 1995. Neill had authored and illustrated one classic in the Oz chronicle, 1940's The Wonder City Of Oz, though his two books that followed, The Scalawagons In Oz (1941) and Lucky Bucky In Oz (1942), both suffered from weak plots, convoluted storytelling, and poor editing. In the early nineties, artist and writer Eric Shanower, in conjunction with Neill's family, rescued, edited, and illustrated The Runaway In Oz, and by doing so not only gave the world another fabulous Oz title, but salvaged Neill's reputation as the author of only a single great entry in the Oz series.

Everything about The Runaway In Oz is perfect. Neill wisely choose to limit his cast to a half - dozen characters, thus allowing his narrative to revolve primarily around the group's interrelationships, though there is also rip - roaring action aplenty. Neill not only chose the popular Scraps the Patchwork Girl as his protagonist, but also allowed Professor Wooglebug and Jack Pumpkinhead, two woefully under - utilized reader favorites, the honor of playing major roles in an Oz tale. Neill's own creation, headstrong style guru Jenny Jump, one of the most distinctive of all Oz heroines, is also on hand as a key player in the drama. Neill and Shanower respectfully honor established Oz history, and their attention to detail, old and new, is remarkable. The Wooglebug's 'dream castle' is literally a product of his intensely directed desires, and when tenderhearted Jack Pumpkinhead weeps, he logically sheds pumpkinseed tears. Oz devotees will be thrilled to see Jack's whimsical Shoe Orchestra from The Wonder City In Oz back for another extended series of concerts, and, as in the three earlier Neill books, every illustration of Jenny Jump reveals her with a new outre hairstyle, some that look back on twenties Dada and others that presciently look forward to seventies Punk and eighties New Wave. Readers will also learn that the Little Wizard has returned Jenny's temper to her with the understanding that she promise not 'lose it' again. The Patchwork Girl's obnoxious but previously acceptable poetry spouting habit becomes an active element of the story, as Scraps suddenly finds herself in a repulsive world in which everyone she meets seems to be an enthusiastic and compulsive rhymer.

In fact, The Runaway In Oz revolves around all aspects of Scraps' antisocial behavior. As the novel begins, Jellia Jamb, the Tin Woodman, and Jenny Jump have all grown impatient with the boisterous Patchwork Girl's thoughtlessness; feeling rejected and unappreciated, Scraps decides to run away from the Emerald City and from Oz itself. Though Scraps never gets beyond the borders of the kingdom despite her best efforts, she manages to accidentally unknot the Wooglebug's 'Castle in the Air' from its moorings, infuriate a mountaintop - dwelling witch that controls all of the world's weather, and strand herself on a shooting star high in the heavens above Oz. Along the way, Scraps makes several interesting new friends and traveling companions, including "talented and gifted" boy scholar Alexample, the leafy Popla the Power Plant, and the Twinkler, an older man imprisoned on the star and forced to polish its lights for eternity.

Meanwhile, Jenny Jump and Jack Pumpkinhead, who are eventually joined by the fretful, castle - searching Wooglebug, have set out in search of Scraps; Jenny feels guilty for having told Scraps that "no one wants to be bothered" by her "tantrums," and though Jack Pumpkinhead's motives are less clear, his behavior appears to have something to do with romantic attachment as well as human concern. The Professor, Jack, and Jenny find themselves lost for days in an enchanted orchard, where they are attacked by an army of thorn carrying quince apples, who are in revolt against being sold at market like common fruits and vegetables. By the time the two parties meet, almost everyone is furious at Scraps except Jack, and the Wooglebug is enraged at everyone.

The Runaway In Oz is great fun throughout. The narrative is smooth, streamlined, and grounded, less manic and explosive than The Wonder City In Oz, but no less hilarious. Neill's real forte as an Oz author was characterization, something Shanower seemed to fully appreciate when editing the manuscript. In fact, the depiction of Scraps here may be the best of any of the Oz titles, since her irritating qualities, always recognized by readers but only rarely by other Oz characters, are realistically acknowledged and addressed head on. The Runaway In Oz portrays Scraps as immature, callous, irresponsible, willful, and vain while simultaneously revealing her foresight, courage, intelligence, determination, concern for others, and eventual common sense and humility. If Jack Pumpkinhead is slightly more downtrodden than usual and the Wooglebug more uppity, longtime Oz fans know there are precedents for their behavior in earlier titles.

Shanower's illustrations are extremely detailed, clear, and timelessly perfect. Alexample, though an Oz citizen and apparent native, bears no resemblance to Woot the Wanderer, Ojo the Lucky, or Button Bright. Instead, he is a clean - cut, eyeglass - wearing young boy in fifties - style clothing; only his thick, black hair hints at romanticism. Jenny Jump was already a modern gal in Neill's earlier titles and illustrations, and continues to be one here. Shanower's Professor Wooglebug, a wonderful balance of erudition, pomposity, enthusiasm, and frustration, surpasses even Neill's. Shanower's weather witch is not even a fourth cousin to traditional hag Old Mombi, but a tough, capable, mature woman in worker's overalls. Popla the Power Plant is a shrub whose beautiful woman's face is hidden within her branches, the female counterpart of the European Green Man of history, architecture, and folklore. From its cover to its double-page drawings and lovely illustrated blue end papers, this edition joyously reflects Shanower's commitment that The Runaway In Oz be every bit as beautiful as the early Baum/Neill books. Highly recommended.

I first heard of "The Runaway in Oz" when I read Martin Gardner's introduction to the Dover edition of "The Marvelous Land of Oz," in which he mentioned that this book had been left unpublished due to Neill's death. At that time I had read only a few Oz books (now I have read almost all of them), but I felt deeply sorry that this book was unavailable for me to read. Now, at last, thanks to the efforts of Eric Shanower (who edited and illustrated the book), we can read this long-lost volume of Oz history. It certainly is an interesting book, and forms an exciting conclusion to Neill's four-book tenure as Royal Historian. Scraps, the Patchwork Girl, decides to run away from the Emerald City and find a new home, and the book details her adventures with the new friends she makes, as well as those of Jenny Jump, Professor Wogglebug and Jack Pumpkinhead, who go searching for her. Among her new friends is Alexample, a young boy who is TAG (Talented and Gifted); this is a highly noteworthy feature of the book, since I could count on one hand the number of other children's authors I know of who have depicted gifted children in their books, thus leaving gifted children (of whom I was one) with a paucity of literary role models. (Meg and Charles Wallace in Madeleine L'Engle's Time Trilogy and Claudia in E. L. Konigsburg's "From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler" were among the welcome exceptions.) Neill's style of writing is highly cinematic and visual, as might be expected from the greatest Oz illustrator; thinking back to reading this book, I feel almost as though I had seen it as a movie rather than reading it. The gorgeous illustrations by Eric Shanower contribute to this impression; Shanower certainly is the most talented person illustrating Oz books today. One slight quibble with Neill's tale concerns the characterization of the Wogglebug: in no other Oz book is he quite so unlikeable as here (although still not extremely unlikeable). Also, I must agree with "The Baum Bugle"'s reviewer, who wished Shanower had explained the extent to which he had to work on the book's text. The story's tone is somewhat more serious than was that of Neill's previous three Oz books, though that might be due to Neill's failing health while writing "Runaway" (something similar happened with Baum's last few Oz books) or to the lack of interference by a Reilly & Lee editor who, I understand, heavily revised Neill's earlier Oz books. However, one aspect of the book that is quite atypical of Neill is the excellence of its continuity. There are practically no mistakes when the book refers to characters or events from earlier Oz books, and the characterizations are almost completely consistent with the depictions of the same characters in earlier Oz books by Neill and others. Neill's other books are well-known for having the worst continuity in the whole Oz series, with such egregious mistakes as Jack Pumpkinhead remembering being enslaved by Mombi for many years (which never happened) and the introduction of Scraps' never-before-displayed propensity for punching people (which she does again at one point in this book, but that is simply an example of consistency with Neill's previous books, and otherwise her personality is exactly as depicted by Baum and Thompson). One has to wonder whether Neill's manuscript contained continuity errors which Shanower corrected. Nonetheless, the availability of this book after so many years is cause for rejoicing among all Oz fans here in the Great Outside World.

When John R. Neill died in 1943 after writing three Oz books, the manuscript of this book was left without illustrations and unpublished. Preserved by Neill's family for over 50 years, Eric Shanower finally editing it and provided his own marvelous black-and-white drawings to bring it to press. At the time of his death, Neill had illustrated all but the first Oz book and his illustrations have come to define the people and land of Oz to generations of readers. Shanower's illustrations follow in Neill's style, improving, if that is possible, on the work of the master. The story evolves around the theme of anger and its effects as Scraps, the Patchwork Girl, in a fit of anger decides to run away. Upsetting many of the people she runs into, Scraps still manages to befriend Popla, the Power Plant, who is possibly the most unusual character in a land known for its strange inhabitants. Popla is the strongest plant in the world and grows alone on a windswept mountaintop. Scraps, finding a flowerpot, takes the Power Plant, who has never left the spot where she first sprouted, on a exciting and enjoyable journey. Together they travel on Scraps spoolicle, a bicycle with wooden spools for wheels, and through their adventures a lasting friendship is created that dissolves Scraps anger. Anyone whe has ever enjoyed an Oz book will love this unique contribution to the Oz corpus.

This book as mentioned in the title is horrible. It is incomplete in many areas, case and point, curve graphing. In many cases the book does little more than introduce the topic and give somewhat bland math questions. This book will not help you through a normal course because it is somewhat babified.
Now back to the incompleteness. Half-way through the book trigonometric function graphs are introduced (y=sinx and so on). The book very briefly describes aspects of each periodic function in a somewhat scattered manner. All of the information that is given fits on about one 8 1/2 X 11 piece of paper, somewhat terse isn't it?
This book is not for beginners and is most likely not even for people that would like to brush up on trigonometry. For a more comprehensive edition of a trigonometry tutorial you must turn elsewhere because this book will leave you asking what? huh? how? Perhaps one of the better trigonometry titles out there, and believe me I say this reluctantly because it is also deplorable, is Trigonometry the Easy Way. In conclusion if you have this book return it or if you can't use it only as a way to reinforce trigonometry ideas.

This book is great for people with thick glasses with tape on them who are presidents of their computer programming clubs but for the rest of us this is not too great. This book is heavy on the theory but lacks application which MOST people need in their classes. No teacher is gonna ask you what a Apollo Axil Centripital Angle(no such thing) is. Too confusing but very organized. These people did a great job in explaining theory. I would not sugest this anyone to use this independently.

Trigonometry was never a good subject for me--I never "got" it. But when I was taking advanced math and science courses, I needed trig. This book helped me to "get" it, finally, and be able to solve trigonometric problems. It's very clear, up-to-date, and well-written.

Although I believe Lynne Franks has good insight for people who want to start their own business, I found it annoying the way that she would name drop and take credit for the success of others. If you are looking for an uplifting book that will help you take the next step toward running your own business, I would recommend, "Building a Business the Buddhist Way : A Practitioner's Guidebook" by Geri Larkin. This book provides the inspiration to take the next step and more practical advise on how to write a business plan and get started.

If you are thinking about starting your own business, and need encouragement and motivation to take the plunge, and if you are very visual, than this book could be helpful for you. It offers inspirational advice and is extremely well-designed and fun to look at (one of the reasons I bought the book was to put some of the illustrations on my bulletin board). If you are looking for hard-core information about the steps you will need to take to start your own business (i.e. legal and accounting information) this is not the book for you. Other than a list of organizations at the back, this book contains almost no practical information about the logistics of starting a business. Because the author's previous career was in public relations, there is a bit more information in that part of the book. Having said that however, if you get a headache every time you pick up one of those traditional business "how to" books filled with IRS type forms, this might be the book you need to ease you into the process. I find that it gets me in the mood and gives me the courage to tackle the dry practical books. Just be advised that you will need to purchase another book for the technical information. I would have given the book a higher rating, but I found the frequent mentions of the author's personal achievements to be quite irritating.

The book tells you that it is ok to shoot for the stars when every one else tells you other wise. If you want to start you own business and your a women PLEASE BUY THIS BOOK TODAY!

This book is quite out of date. The supplier it lists for the plates no longer supplies them. The new supplier described "Shoebox Holography" in terms I can't post on a public website. Avoid this book; I wish I had.

This is an excellent book for those looking into and exploring holography. It demistifies a lot of the jargon associated with holography, as well as the most difficult part... correct development. Unlike what another reviewer said, this book is up to date and has good sources for materials. I would not suggest this book for those who are already making holograms, it is really for those just starting out. But it is almost perfect for those beginers. The only downfall of this book is it's lack of setup diagrams, it only illustrates one. This keeps things simple but does not allow you to progress unless you do research outside the scope of the book. Over all this is an excellent book that truely makes "real" holography easy enough and cheap enough for anyone to do.

I have used this book personally, I have used it in my high school Communications Technology lab, and it works. After reading the book, and introducing the world of Shoebox Holography to my student, it was like a DREAM COME TRUE. The students are are not only learning how to make holograms but it is the knowledge they learn from the process. The Science, Math, and Technology they learn, from the process, becomes MEANINGFUL to them. This book not only covers the process of holography it also goes into great detail of laser and fiber optic technology. It excites all levels of high school students and they actually run to class to make their holograms. It has also been useful to build teamwork in the classroom. By creating teams they learn to work, communicate, and rely on each others abilities. The book has illustrations and photos that explain the concept along with the written directions. I have been teaching for 23 years and this is the best classroom tool I have seen in years. I am going to order classroom sets, of this book, for my students to use in their studies. I highly recommend this book.

Miller's works might not be deliberately designed to inspire boys to go on a vigilante killing spree, but since they have no other themes than making violent attacks on criminals look cool to teenagers one wonders what else they could be for. This is one of his worst offenses. Don't show this stuff to your children, and get professional help if you enjoy it yourself.

This is by no means Millers best work, but it is definately worth picking up if you enjoy sin city. It's basically a collection of short stories, each different and not necesarrily related. The art work as always is very very good, and as always the stories are entertaining. Keep 'em coming Frank! .... no? .... oh... (drops head in sorrow). Oh well.

This is a very good colection of the shorter sin city pieces. What I like most about it is that you can see Frank Miller's art style progress to the form it's in now. Many great stories with the sadistic sin city twist. Not for the week-hearted!

Pacetta's book is a real winner! Of course there is nothing new in the area of sales, motivation, or inspiration. What is new is the way it is all arranged. And Pacetta arranges his material with wit, honesty, humor, and a blatant attack on the basics. Back to basics is what every professional needs. We get so caught up with our careers and lives, that we stray from the basics; the basics of business, customer relations, employee development, etc. I read this book from cover to cover and loved every page. BUT, did anyone else notice all the typo's? I have never read a book with so many typo's and grammatical errors. It got to the point where it was humorous. Several in each chapter... but it was still a great book and worth every penny. It is especially a must read for those in top level management!

I had the privilege of attending one of Frank Pacetta's presentations last month and enjoyed it so much that I bought his latest book. His passion and no-nonsense style has really inspired me to help in eliminating the "ho hum" in our organization or move on to a place that has that "passionate attachment" towards its employees.

Thanks for a great book Frank!

I'm a sales trainer and, from a calloused standpoint, don't believe that there is anything really, really new in the world of sales. What's left is the ability or strategy of finding your passion and setting or staying on a course of success. I believe Frank Pacetta is all about that.

I've had the pleasure of meeting Frank and his family and can attest to the fact that this man "walks his talk"! As he says, if you're spending a little too long in the shower or can't read this book, you need a change!

This book is a joke. One can get far more accurate and practical information for free from several mailing lists and web sites dedicated to finding, courting, and (hopefully) marrying a woman from the FSU. Turns out that this is more of a sketchy and disjointed (this guy is obviously not a writer) travelogue of resturants, casinos and nightclubs, conquests (ick), and the occasional rant about how great Russian women are compared to American women. This book doesn't even make it as a document of one man's personal quest; by the end of the book, the reader doesn't even know whether the author decided to persue marriage with anyone at all. Stick with the free newsgroups and save your money.

To Russia With Love is an interesting account of one man's experiences of traveling to Russia on a group tour to find the perfect Russian wife. Obviously the author's efforts did not land him on any short list for the Pulitzer Prize. While in Moscow he dated women with whom he had corresponded prior to making his trip as well as those who were met for the first time at the socials. I would have liked to have been given more details about his pre-trip correspondence to know what it was about those women in particular that led him to want to actually meet them on his trip. Similarly, the author failed to provide many details about what it was about the particular women that he met at the socials that singled them out from the two to three hundred women who were in attendance. The reader is simply told that he would be meeting Irina, Sveta, or whomever at 7:30 p.m. and it is difficult to keep the various women straight. The author writes at great lengths about his dissatisfaction with American women, though he is presumably preaching to the choir since most men contemplating such a trip to Russia most likely already share his views. My final criticism deals with the contant lawyer- and Clinton-bashing, which seemed totally unneccessary, but then again, I am a lawyer and a former Clinton supporter! Despite these faults, the book still did make for a quick and amusing evening's read, though it probably could have been shortened into a better article for a men's magazine.

I had to come back to Amazon and write this review. I purchased Frank Coleman's book over 3 month's ago while I was preparing for a trip to Ukraine. The book saved my tail. I was hanging out in the different forums for a while and all I was getting was advice from people that were more lost than I. I just came from the best trip of my life, met 3 of the most beautiful girls and now I am planning a return trip. If I had not read this book while preparing for the trip, I honestly think the trip would have been a disaster. I think that every single man should go to Ukraine or Russia. If they read this book, they will find out what the best kept secret really is and it is not here in the USA. The trip was the most eye opening experience I have had in my life. You hear often how beautiful, elegant and educated the FSU women are but words really cannot describe it. Just go there and you will be glad you did.

I've read many books on Zappa and found Necessity is.... to be a
great viewpoint from inside the band itself. So many other books have many stories and thoughts from the authors; many who have interviewed or maybe travelled a bit with FZ to learn more about the inside world, but this book is essentially taken from his bandmates and the stories that they have to tell from that early era of MOI. All of the other FZ books I've read were very good. Its just great to see what it was like for everyone else who worked for the great FZ.....

 "Necessity is.....the early Years of Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention" by: Billy James (c) 2001

(Forward by Don Preston)

Published by: SAF Publishing Ltd. - Unit 7 Shaftsbury Centre 85 Barlby Rd - London W10 6BN

'Necessity is...' in their own humorous anecdotal remembrance, an insiders view of the original line up of The Mothers Of Invention composed of Roy Estrada, Bunk and Buzz Gardner, Motorhead, Ray Collins, Jimmy Carl Black ...and Don Preston, who can be reached at: ....

The significant difference, as compared to the many other MOI biopathies and memorics is that the infinitely covered life and times of Frank Zappa are herein represented largely in the background to the antic histrionics and talented virtuosity of the other Mothers. As die hard MOI fans we always knew that they were an ensemble of great musicians, but we weren't exactly sure why. For those of us who weren't completely bamboozled by Frank's talented ego, 'Necessity is...' finally offers up a member by member biography of their musical foundations and pre-Mothers work which is notably diverse, and avant garde to say the least. For all that has been written about Frank Zappa and his diverse ensembles, this book is a necessity which factionally (versus fictionally) represents our Mothers like no other, including marvelous notes on MOI concert listings and the formation/continuation of The Grandmothers. If Frank is what you are looking for, see the present day composer who unfortunately died on December 4, 1993 of prostate cancer at ...

I have read the following books about Frank Zappa:

THE REAL FRANK ZAPPA BOOK by Frank Zappa and Peter Occhioigrosso

NECESSITY IS... THE EARLY YEARS OF FRANK ZAPPA AND THE MOTHERS OF INVENTION by Billy James

COSMIK DEBRIS: THE COLLECTIVE HISTORY AND IMPROVISATIONS OF FRANK ZAPPA by Greg Russo

NO COMMERCIAL POTENTIAL: THE SAGA OF FRANK ZAPPA by David Walley

THEM OR US by Frank Zappa

UNDER THE SAME MOON by Suzannah (Thana Harris)

BEING FRANK: MY TIME WITH FRANK ZAPPA by Nigery Lennon

Of these, THE REAL FRANK ZAPPA BOOK and NECESSITY IS... are my favorites. Anyone who has read THE REAL FRANK ZAPPA BOOK will thoroughly enjoy NECESSITY IS... Two reasons:

First, Billy James is a good writer, but more importantly he is a good organizer. His task was to take historical events and present them in a coherent manner. He decided NOT to present this history in chronological order per se, but rather he addressed key events from different perspectives. The events are not necessarily in chronological order. It is an unusual way of organizing one's thoughts, but it works. He must be applauded for his creative way of organizing his thoughts.

Second, he examines each single historical event by getting perspectives of several people involved in the event. Its a fascinating excursion into the study of human behavior. In most cases, different people see the identical event in a contrary manner. In some cases, the conflicting descriptions are quite humorous.

Others who have harshly reviewed this book have missed the point. This is a book of perceptions. It is not an objective assessment of reality. It doesn't make any difference if the interviewees were frustrated or delirious. James provides a fresh perspective.

In addition, James answers some questions that cannot be found elsewhere. For example, I have often wondered how Zappa could include Mark Volman and Howard Kaylan (bubble gum singers from the Turtles) in the Mothers of Invention. In chapter six, James lays out all the events. An impressive job of pulling together quotes and ideas!

NECESSITY IS... THE EARLY YEARS OF FRANK ZAPPA AND THE MOTHERS OF INVENTION provides an important dimension into the understanding of this artist that none of the other books do. It is a critical addition to everyone's Frank Zappa library.

this was really a disapointing run of Orion stories. THE Mystery of wither Orion and Darkseid are really father and son is never resolved. Just a big fight scene at the end,which is very under-welming.

Dare I say it? Walt Simonson writes and draws Jack Kirby's characters even better than the King himself. Now don't get me wrong, I like Kirby. I wrote a very positive review of the trades that collects the first half of his original New GOds series, but this is even better! In many ways it is a sequel to Kirby's work and also follows a similar style at some points. It is, however, much faster paced, and free of some of the out of date comic book conventions that were prevelant during Kirby's time. Simonson's art is also stunning ... for the most part. Ironically, the cover of the trade is one of the book's worst pieces of art so don't let that turn you off. The other covers, collected inside, are much better. I guess they weren't used because they were not as representative of the whole story.
In this fantastic story Darkseid finally discovers the secret of the anti-life equation and goes about taking over earth. This is one of the paralels that this book has with KIrby's original New Gods, which also featured a Darkseid plot on earth. I totally disagree with one of the other reviewers who critisized the book for having a long fight scene. True, the fight scene took up a whole chapter, but it came at the end of a well written storyline. Taken on its own, it would be boring but as a whole it is a fitting climax to a well written, intellenget story.
This book also features short Tales of the New Gods, which spotlight different New GOds characters. Sometimes it character development and at other times it gives us interesting glimpses into the origins of these classic characters.
In fact, these short stories are even better than the main storyline. This is a brilliant story about ORion's birth and another about Granny Goodness's past. Guest artists on these short stories include FRank MIller, Jon Bogdanove and Klaus Janson.

...Orion is one of the most powerful and compelling characters in the DCU! What makes Orion so intriguing is his state of conflict between good and evil. Though Orion is a "hero", he's likely to treat his foes with measures as ruthless as the most heartless of evildoers. But though he is a "dark hero" he's no angst-driven crybaby. Orion is a creature of sheer will whose first impulse is to directly attack whatever threatens him. Walter Simonson has captured the spirit and character of Orion beautifully. This collection is a must have for both fans of Kirby's Fourth World and newcomers alike.

Frank took a break from the world of OZ and wrote this book, It's the same sort of fomula but set in a coastal town. The kids and I liked it, but just not as much as the regular OZ series. It is however mentioned in the later Oz books as Frank liked to keep everyone happy and what better way than to have all his characters live in Oz?

This was a great book! I love the Oz books, and this was just as good, if not better than some. It is about a girl named Trot and her wise old friend Cap'n Bill, a sailor who lost his leg and has lived with Trot's family ever since. They go deep into the ocean to see a beautiful mermaids palace, meet the sweet and lovely mermaids, and explore the ocean. One of Baum's best books, the descriptions are fabulous and humorous. Then the mermaids and their comrades ghet captured by the evil wizard, Zog, and they have to fight to stay alive, outwitting Zog's clever plans. I have always been fascinated with mermaids, and I have never been able to find a great book that really got into the lives of mermaids until now. GET THIS BOOK! END

I too was thrilled to discover that the Magical Land of Noom has been republished. I was searching rare book sites hoping to find a copy, and lo and behold discovered the listing at Amazon.com. I've ordered three copies, two as surprise gifts for siblings. I cannot wait to see the illustrations of the Soft-Voiced Cow and other characters again. I will probably purchase another to donate to our public library, as today's children should have the chance to discover this gem.