I grew up in Illinois, but only after I moved away did I learn that the vast midwestern sky is unique. Irving's panoramic photos capture the beauty of the open sky as no others I've seen. Whenever I'm homesick, if I need to see a midwestern thunderstorm, I open Irving's book and I'm there.

If you live in the Midwest or try to photograph it, this may be the best $20.97 you can spend. It is a book of inspiring, panoramic, color photos of rural Illinois. Gary pulls the beauty out of a landscape that most people, including photographers, usually ignore. This book has opened my eyes to the state I live it and given me photographic ideas that I was blind to before.

This is a wonderful book. It brings delightful regional recipes to the reader. I already have dozens of these recipes on my list to try. Ms. Adams gives us information to pique our interest in the recipe without boring us.

Wonderfully put together and easy to use, this book should be on everyone's shelves who are intrested in cooking and keeping our heritage alive.

Linda and Raymond (her husband?) explore the beauty and history of the historic Carnegie library in Rural, Central Illinois. This book is the definitive source of its kind. Linda is to be commended! Bravo! A must read for the library enthusiast.

Teenagers Hank and Clifford encounter a mysterious old lady living in a deserted house, a blustering landlord with an itchy trigger-finger, a fire-breathing white bull named Lucifer, and the dastardly Leach Brothers in Raymond Bial's The Ghost Of Honeymoon Creek. Hank saves the day while running a gauntlet of ghosts galore in this "ghost story" novel for young readers ages 8 and up. Also available in paperback, The Ghost Of Honeymoon Creek is a lively, entertaining, and highly recommended for school and community library fiction collections. Additionally recommended is Raymond Bial's early adventures of Hank and Clifford in The Fresh Grave: And Other Ghostly Stories.

For those nostalgic people like myself who look back to the "good ol' Days", this book provides a visual and textual glimpse into that simpler period. It has beautiful pictures of all sorts of unique one-room schools across our country. In addition, the author backs these photos with accurate, informative, and interesting text. Kids should love this book so they can observe what life was like for "grandma and grandpa" while they went to school.

Iron shackles, auction blocks, and backbreaking labor portray the harsh reality that many slaves endured. Through the effective use of contrasting photographs, Raymond Bial (noted and extensive author of children's information books) captures the striking inequality that existed between slaves' and plantation owners' ways of life. Young readers will be angered when they learn that slaves ate cornmeal from gourd bowls in one-room cabins whereas plantation owners dined on lavish meals on intricate dinnerware sets in the "Big House". Commendably though, Bial doesn't portray slaves as broken, one-dimensional field hands. Supportive photographs and information-filled text convey a more complete, often unrepresented side to slavery. Readers learn slaves didn't simply passively accept their situation, but forged a sense of community despite their oppression. Bial quotes Frederick Douglas stating that slaves, "were a band of brothers...a unit". Slaves, Bial also notes, held many skilled labor positions crucial for the survival of the plantation such as blacksmiths, cooks, field designers, and carpenters. Bail's well-written, well-rounded look at slavery is appropriate as a read-aloud for the young reader. Lacking distinct chapters or headings, this book does progress logically from a history of slavery to a focused look at slave life on a plantation. An extensive list of sources lends credibility to Bial's depiction of slavery. Acknowledging oppression but moving beyond, Bial gives an honest and informational portrayal of African American slaves' perseverance and pride in spite of hardship.

"Where Lincoln Walked" takes readers through the footsteps of Abraham Lincoln through the backroads of Kentucky, Indiana and Illinois. Raymond Bial takes beautiful color photographs of Lincoln's haunts that are now state parks: Lincoln Homestead State Park (nar Springfield, Kentucky), Abraham Lincoln Birthplace (Sinking Spring Farm), Abraham Lincoln's Boyhood Home (Knob Creek Farm), Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial (Pigeon Creek, Indiana), Lincoln's New Salem, Vandalia Statehouse, Postville Courthouse, Lincoln Home National Historic Site, the Old State Capitol, and Lincoln-Herndon Law Office. These are photographs of not only buildings, but also of logs split into rails. Be forewarned: these photographs will only whet your appetite and you will have a hankering to go and visit these places (most of which I have had the fortune of already visiting). The text is a simple biography of Lincoln, which is fine because the point is not to tell you things you did not already know about the man but to remind you why these places are important in his life. In this volume Lincoln's presidency is reduced to a single paragraph, most of which is devoted to the eloquent conclusion of his Second Inaugural Address by an etching of Ford's Theater at Washington. This is about the Lincoln who boarded the train in Springfield for the long trip to Washington. I was certainly more impressed by this book than I thought I was going to be. "Where Lincoln Walked" is one of the better photo albums devoted to the life of Lincoln.

THIS BOOK IS A VERY GOOD PRICED BOOK, OF THE BEGINNINGS OF A VERY DIFFERENT AND OLD WAY OF THE LIFE, THE AUTHOR IS VERY EXPANITORY IN HIS WRITINGS, I RECAMEND IT TO ANYONE WHO ENJOYS READING OF THESE UNIQUE PEOPLE. THIS BOOK IS NOT VERY LONG, BUT, GOES INTO GREAT DETAIL.

I really enjoyed this book and it was an easy read. I would highly recommend it to people who enjoy Southern Literature of the United States. It is one of the most refreshing books in its genre and comes highly recommended by Booklist, Kirkus REview and the New York Times Book Review List.
Four stars!

Way to go! Helped me type a report with such ease. This book was practicly my olny resource.