I found this book to be both inspirational and thought provoking. I am a mother of an eight year old special child, and this book shed light on the conception that I am not alone. I would also recommend this book to anyone who has a special child in their family. The inspiration from scriputres are excellent and make you realize what a special gift you have in your child.

I have a 1 yr old with Down Syndrome and I wish this had been the first book that I had read, It was so encouraging and up lifting. It was also very easy to read. I am recommending this book for Christian parent with handicapped children. The cover even looks happy and fun.

This book was so helpful for me - as a physical therapist. I was able to better understand where parents are coming from - and it gave me the desire to be a better Christian physical therapist. I LOVED the stories - the good and the bad. I strongly recommend it for teachers, therapists, parents, churches, etc.

Ms. Engdahl's works are the rare sort that broaden or change philosophical mindsets while being great stories with characters the reader never forgets. That any of her works are out of print is a mystery. Whenever I have loaned anyone her books, they have devoured them in one sitting and begged for more. The Far Side of Evil is a realistic depiction of the emotions involved in individuals living in a world divided by ideology. The writing is a masterpiece of human psychology. More than that, it offers hope of a sane future for humanity presented with calm rationality and certainty. And even more than that, you can't help but laugh and cry with Elana, and feel, as she does, empathy for those whose emotions have pulled them in destructive ways yet who are not bad people, just mistaken. The people of Elana's world view compassion as a strength, unlike our still Youngling world with its emphasis on the hard exterior which is only an appearance of strength. I read this book for the first time when I was 12, and I still check it out from the library. My son read it and loved it as much as I do (though the Children of the Stars trilogy is his favorite)If only the publishers would sit up and take notice and reprint this book!

I read this book when it first was published, and recentlyfound it again when moving and going through books. Even thirty yearslater, it is still fresh, and gives a vivid picture of totalitarian society as seen by an outsider. The moral and ethical issues are interwoven with a touch of Sci Fi. It might be classified as 'young adult' but this adult enjoyed it once again!

This is a wonderful sequel to 'Enchantress from the Stars', telling about the further adventuers of Elena. As good as the first book. But please, why isn't it in print?

Forever Friends is a delightful look at the close relationship between a pet dog, Petey and his boy companion, Skip. The text is warm and concise and reads aloud very well. The playful illustrations match the writing precisely in both spirit and content; an essential criteria for a great book in my children's estimation.

My nine year old opened the book initially thinking it was for "babies" but found herself highly amused that the story is told from an animal's perspective. She re-reads it often. We love Forever Friends!

Yes, children 2-8 will love this quiet book about friendship between a boy and his dog. Rolls are blurred and we're never sure who is taking care of whom--not that it matters. This book makes a great gift with which to celebrate an adult friendship. Especially one that has surmounted role reversals and faded boundaries.

Simply and engaging written by Barbara S. Cohen, Forever Friends is a warm, highly enjoyable children's picturebook about a young boy and his dog - forever friends, as seen from the pooch's point of view! Easygoing, simple caricature color artwork by Dorothy Louise Hall illustrates this delightful picturebook book for young readers ages 2 to 8 -- and most especially for boys and girls just learning how to read.

Louise Erdrich is the author of the award winning novels Love Medicine and The Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse , amongst others. She is an incredibly gifted novelist. Grandmother's Pigeon is her first book for children.

I haven't read a book written specifically for children in well over a decade (Harry Potter and The Narnia series would be more for young adults and are suitable for adults on different levels), but Grandmother's Pigeon is a true children's book. It is only about 30 pages, half of which are illustrations. Like any good children's book, this one is mixed with the simple and the fantastic (perhaps all the more understandable considering Erdrich's American Indian heritage). The story is simple, a grandmother goes away on a trip and bird eggs are discovered in her room. When the eggs hatch, the birds turn out to be Passenger Pigeons (a long extinct species), three males. There is some commotion about the pigeons and finally they are released into the wild by the family. The fantastic comes in from the very start when Grandmother announces she is going to travel to Greenland on the back of a turtle and it is hinted the a stuffed animal toy pigeon may have been the cause of the mysterious eggs. It is a very sweet, charming story and I would imagine any child would enjoy reading this book.

The illustrations in this book are wonderful and are a perfect compliment to this strange,comforting story of a loving family and the legacy of their magical grandmother. There are some subtle nuances that parents will pick up if they pay attention. This is a tale about ecology and love for free and wild creatures, with a bit of shamanism thrown in for good measure. There is humour here and wisdom. I love this book for the satisfying feeling of gentle wonder that I feel as I turn the last page and close the book. I recommend it to all with childish hearts.

helps to show children that people in their family can be different, but you still love them.

This book serves two purposes. Young children love to have it read to them. Older children like the humor of Minerva Louise's judgement errors. It's a very enjoyable book, ages 2 to 10.

I read this to my Kdg students. They noticed there weren't any quotaions marks in the text..yea for them! They wondered why and would like to write to the author! help!! what a great language activity!

Such a simple little story with a winsome little heroine. After meeting her in a bookstore I fell hopelessly in love. I will admit that visually she struck me to the heart and of course there is her name. My granddaughter reads about her adventures every night and she understands that even though she gets to hear the stories the books are still Grandma's. If she is properly respectful of Minerva Louise I will pass her along one day. Not yet. This charming little hen must stay with me for a while

Years ago at a writers' conference in South Georgia, I met Ms. Shivers. She read an excerpt from her tiny novel and I was hooked. Now I read it often, especially when I've had to be around people who butcher the english language. Shiver's beautiful prose is like a soothing salve. Ex: "There were trees along the main street, real tall elms as old and lofty as the Confederate monument on top of the mound in Elmwood Cemetery. In the summers any little stir from the branches fanned the cured tobacco smell from the warehouses and sealed it over the center of town like a jar lid." Now, who in their right mind, after reading those words, wouldn't want to catch the next bus to North Carolina just to find such a place? Shivers writes like she's sitting in a porch swing, talking. Don't have time for a long book? Pick up a copy of this little jewel. Its rich, southern voice will lure you in and you won't want it to end!

This obscure novel is one of the best books I've ever read (and I've read many, all genres). In a deceptively simple story of an illicit love in tobacco country, the author deals with the deepest mysteries of life, death, and redemption. I wish Louise Shivers were more prolific, and so will you after you read this slender but astonishing book.

If you read only one book this year, make sure it's Louise Shiver's lovely little book. Yes, it's out of print, but worth the effort to hunt for. There is a treasure awaiting whoever goes to the trouble. I heard Ms. Shivers read an excerpt from this book when it first came out, and the memory still brings up a sense of incredulity at the beauty of the language she used. I consider it among the top 3 favorite books I've ever read. Get it! Read it! Then read it again. . . . and again. . .!

The author is a medical illustrator and her familiarity with human anatomy is evident with each drawing in this book. Both male and female anatomy is presented, and the differences between each are noted. Where possible, the anatomical and finished drawings are placed side by side so that underlying musculoskeletal features are shown on the surface. Most of the drawings are of dynamic poses to show how the parts of the body work together. This book will be one of your primary references on human anatomy.

I was struggling to get the concept of drawing the human figure even though I was enrolled in a figure drawing this class. Within a week of buying this book, and this is true, I was drawing extremely well applying what I seen and learned from the book to my drawings. The book shows you both the anatomy of the body, something extremely helpful since you'll need to know what goes where when you draw, and the bone structure and how one bone connect to the other. Louise Gordon's drawings are simply magnificent and can easy be achieved just by reading her notes and drawing the way she does. Once you do you can easily apply it towards your own drawing technique. And with the many depictions of famous artist drawing renderings, this book with give you a very high jolt in artistic vision to where it's impossible for you to not improve. Do yourself a favor, BUY-THE-BOOK and also check out her other books. If you start a collection of How To books, Louise Gordon should be a primary choice.

I thought that this book was great. It was really helpful. It had many great and useful tips on the human anatomy, which really helped me alot since I couldn't draw the human figure if my life depended on it lol. Now at least you can tell it's a human.

If your looking for a book full of positive affirmations then this seems to be the only book of it's kind. All the other books I have looked at seem to all say "if things are looking bad then..." this book is more like "things are good and will only get better". A bit to New Agey but otherwise a very positive book.

I have always been a fan of Louise Hay. I have read so many of her works. Since reading You Can Heal Your Life, I have tried so many ways to keep her positive affirmations running through my head. I would post them on my mirror, at my work office, next to my bed. These helped, but this new book is much more useful. Full of long, positive affirmations, I can carry this book around in my pocket and every couple of hours, I pull it out, pick a page, and repeat out loud the affirmation. This has helped me more than anything else I've used. After a few days, you will find that voice in your mind starting to repeat the words you have gotten used to saying out loud. I highly recommend getting this book after you have read one of her others. After hearing her explanations about how important positive affirmations are, I find this book the most useful way to benefit from them.

This book was originally given to me, and within a few hours of having the book, I was on-line ordering a few more copies from Amazon.com to buy as gifts for friends. This book is a wonderfully, uplifting book. Full of positive affirmations that you can read and learn from. Here is a small example of what the book entails; "When I begin to work on myself, sometimes things get worse before they get better. It is okay if this happens, because I know that it's the beginning of the process. It's untangling old threads. I just flow with it. It takes time and effort to learn what I need to learn. I don't demand instant change. Impatience is only resistance to learning. I let myslf do it step by step. It will get easier as I go along." I don't think you will be disappointed it you buy this book.

Gentry Steele conveys the essence of the remarkable northern extension of the Great Chihuahuan Desert in his well-written text and supliments it admirably with supurb large format photographs. An excellent introduction to one of America's least explored regions.

The Big Bend is a rugged, powerful, unforgiving, and beautiful country,that exists on a scale that most of civilized man never experiences. Most casual tourists who visit Big Bend are disappointed, as I was, in their pitiful efforts at capturing the essence of the experience both in words and 35mm photographs. This is a land that does not exist in standard format; it is truly a large-format landscape that requires exceptional verbal ability and skillful large-format photography to do it justice. Gentry Steele has done just that. His love and knowledge of the Big Bend country are clearly evident in his text and, especially in his striking black and white photographs. A hearty thumbs up for this spectacular book!

This is the kind of book you return to again and again. Steele has both consumate technical skill and the eye (and heart) of an artist. The composition of each photograph is striking, but it is the play of light and shadow -- across canyon walls, over abandoned adobe buildings, and the occasional plant -- that will delight and amaze the viewer. Steele used the intense desert light as his accomplice, creating art out of light, shade, rocks, and space. Each photograph is accompanied by a brief description of what you are seeing and where the photograph was taken. Steele's love and respect for the Big Bend region is evident on every page. This isn't the kind of book to be flipped through casually. I find myself lingering over each page, savoring the image, returning over and over to particular images, seeing some new each time. I plan to give this book to friends and relatives for Christmas this year. I confess to owning two D. Gentry Steele photographic prints, including the one chosen for the cover of this book. Highly recommended!!

It is misleading to promote this book for 9 to 12 year olds! My spouse and I sat down one evening and read the riddles, trying to see which ones we could figure out....much better than spending the evening in front of the tube! The Native riddles get your brain thinking in different directions. Soon I found myself making up my own riddles, using the same sort of "twist" in the descriptions. I plan on getting several friends this thought-provoking, inexpensive book for Christmas, and I'm in my 30's!! I highly recommend it for anyone who is interested in Native culture or who enjoys tricks of the spoken word!

I always trust the work of Bierhorst; he is excellent at making Native American culture accessible without trivializing or idealizing.

In this book, he takes advantage of children's affinity for riddles (not neglecting that adults can enjoy riddles as well). Some of the riddles are unlikely to be solved by a child, but the answers and the riddles themselves give insight into the culture from which they come. Note that the cultural source is always given.

Other riddles are accompanied with pictures that give a hint so that the child can answer some of the riddles - a nice touch to keep the child's interest and confidence.

An example: "Wonder, wonder / Who can she be? / The dark lady on her golden chair." Answer: a pot on the fire (Guarani from Paraguay).

The source of the riddles ("Who the Riddlers Are") is a clever mix of information useful to a child - pronunciation of the tribe's name, a more detailed description of their location, a index to the riddles attributed to them, and the source of the riddles. "Sources" provides a traditional bibliography.

There is a wonderful introduction to riddles and their cultural place - in gambling, dance, initiation rites, within stories etc.

A wonderful addition to a child's multicultural library.

Many references to Alaska and many Alaska native riddles are included. Riddles from South America and Mexico are hardest, because answers aren't familiar things. Black and white illustrations were very good. They gave away the answers to the riddles. I would like to recommend this one to the 2nd through the 12th grade, along with a recommendation that teachers and parents also read along with the younger students.