Our family will be taking this book on vacation to the ocean with us this year! Mr. Brown does a great job of showing kids that it is natural to be disappointed when plans don't work out the way we expected. We have found that this tale of our friend Arthur is a great tool for teaching our young boys to be flexible and find the positive aspects of a situation they did not anticipate. It also serves as a great reminder to parents to have a back-up plan!

This simple but sweet 'Arthur' work is probably aimed at a younger audience than the main targets of the T.V. show- 3rd graders, however, like all 'Arthur' works, it can appeal to all ages. The plot is something of a simple mystery that should work the brains of youngsters, and at least amuse the older readers. The illustrations are probably the best part of the book, each page is vividly illustrated in full color with plenty of ambient background details as well. My only complaint is that Marc gets some of the details wrong. For example, D.W. gets her face painted as a cat, and on the very next page, it is gone. Also, the number of pink stripes on outfit seems to keep changing. (Okay, okay, one gets bored.) Overall, excellent work though.

Great Book! My boys (ages 3 1/2 and 20 months) loves this book! It is a great tool to teach them the alphabet, letter recognition, etc. The only down fall is they use it so much the reuseable stickers are starting to tear and loose their adhesive.

Terrific gift item.

This is an excellent book for anyone interested in the origins of the Arthurian myths or in Williams's collections of Arthurian poems. The first section, which discusses the history of the myth of King Arthur is interesting and informative. The only drawback is that the writer died before he could finish it. The second section, written by C. S. Lewis, is an enlightening discussion of Williams's confusing poetry. It also reveals the humor and insight of Lewis, probably best known for his children's stories.

Arthur's Reading Races develops reading skills in kindergarten age children through a variety of activities, games, and interactive pages. An excellent resource that has our 5-year-old recognizing many words with fun, no-pressure activities.

Perhaps it is inaccurate to call this an autobiography. A good portion of it (particularly the first part of the book) is Arthur critiquing the early issues of Astounding Science Fiction magazine. Later, he tells quite a bit about his own life, but mostly this is a memoir of his experiences with Astouding. It is interesting for several reasons: first, we learn what Clarke thinks of a great many of his colleagues (including heavies like Asimov and Heinlein, both friends of Arthur's). But what makes the book really interesting for the hard-core ACC reader is later in the book where he tells a lot about his own life. We learn of his experiences at college, as a civil servant, and his time in the military. We also get a lot of his views and ideas on many things relating to science, as well as a good deal he says about his own subsequent books, the ideas behind them, and how the writing of other authors influenced him. And of course the book is all written in Clarke's trademark witty style.

This will all seem very boring for the casual Clarke reader, or for those who only know him as "that guy who did 2001". But for those true fans who recognize Arthur for what he is, a brilliant, creative, and witty writer who is unquestionably one of the literary greats of the 20th century, and possibly the greatest science fiction writer of all-time. The only thing about this book that disappoints me is that ACC elaborates so little on his own works for Astounding. I figured that would be the main point of the book, but it isn't; although he mentions many times his works, they are rarely the ones found in Astounding. Still, this is a worthwhile and book for the Clarke devotee; casual fans should look elsewhere.

This book reminded me a great deal of "The Little Prince" by Antoine Saint-Exubery, the main difference being that the underlying philosophy here is Christian, as opposed to the Easternish philosophy of the former book. Like "The Little Prince", it speaks quietly and simply of things that are so true we tend to overlook or forget them. Unlike the mentioned book, this one brings in harsher elements, such as poverty and abuse -- and shows how the simple wisdom of a child can overcome them. MacDonald's imagination is wonderful, and some of the dreams and fairy tales in the book almost outshine the "real" story. I love the children who dig for stars. This is one I enjoyed because it is so different, so simple and beautiful, and one I look forward to sharing with my children, should I ever have any.

PS - My sister read an edited, abridged version of this book, one rewritten to make it easier for children, and it was awful. It skipped whole chapters and left out some of the very best parts. I think kids can handle this book, just the way it was written. Stay away from nasty abridgements that are really censorship in disguise!

This book is the result of a survey of 492 backache and neckache sufferers, and what did and what did not work for them. It discusses types of practitioners, drugs, therapies, exercises, and other lifestyle tips. I found it very helpful.

I have a copy of this story and i love it. The storyline is great and it is very well written and it also has beatiful artwork to go along with the story. I enjoyed this book very very much and i recommend it to anyone who loves a good classic love story.

When the postage stamp honoring Benjamin Banneker came out the claim to fame most often mentioned was that he was one of the surveyors who established the District of Columbia. But in this juvenile biography by Bonnie Hinman, young readers will find the fascinating story of a free black in the time of the American Revolution. There are very few stories about blacks from this period, slave or free, except for Banneker and Crispus Attaucks (first American killed at the Boston Massacre). Banneker was a tobacco farmer and a clock maker, then went on to become a mathematician and astronomer. At the climax of his career Banneker wanted to publish his ephemeris (astronomical calculations used by farmers in an almanac) Hinman deals with the troubling question of whether Banneker work was published by abolitionists simply because he was black. However, the fact that Thomas Jefferson endorsed Banneker's calculations seems to settle the matter. This book is illustrated with historic etchings and paintings, including a couple of Banneker. Other volumes in the Colonial Leaders series are devoted to famous colonists like John Smith, Lord Baltimore and Miles Standish, as well as politicians like Benjamin Franklin and William Penn. This entire series will provide young students, and their teachers, with more information about these colonial figures than they will find in their introductory American History textbook.