This is a great book with which to teach science. It gets and keeps the attention of teenagers who have the attention span of a gnat. Each chapter is a great overview and summation of a unit that I teach at some time during the year.

Kids will tend to ignore this book because it is too serious for a comic book and they will believe it is a klutzy attempt by adults to sneak up on kids with something educational. They are mistaken. Adults may, with a glance, dismiss this book as being for kids. They should know better. It is a systematic approach using pictures and limited captions to explain the basics of environmental science. It also uses Gonick's humor, sometimes-- ahem-- mature humor, and charming cartoonery.

Not as good perhaps as some of Gonick's other works-- due to limitations posed by a difficult topic for him to do-- it is still pure Gonick and worth the money and worth keeping (or giving to a kid or adult).

THIS BOOK IS A MUST FOR ALL KIDS! Good for all ages. If you don't get it you really missed out.

I really liked this book. I have all the other ones of this series and this was just as good as them all. Mary-Kate and Ashley are on a cruise with their family and take part in the scavenger hunt, they have to find three clues. With each clue is an object to prove they have got the clue, but then the objects start disappearing, can Mary-Kate and Ashley solve this mystery? Of course they can. I higly recommend it!

She was a Minnesota farm girl who came to the Big Apple to break into the theatre. After almost two decades of living in the city Alice Nestleton is still looking for a break. To supplement her income between acting jobs, she pet sits for cats. An acquaintance of a friend, Louis Montag hires Alice p to play with his cat while he is writing his book.

When she arrives at Mr. Montag's home, she's told that his hired companion is walking the cat and will be back shortly. The doorbell rings and Alice goes to answer it thinking it is Brat and his companion but before she has a chance to see who it is, she's knocked unconscious. When she comes to she finds Montag tortured and killed. Alice decides to find his killer, a move that once again puts her own life in jeopardy.

A CAT NAMED BRAT is a light hearted enjoyable mystery that doesn't take itself too seriously especially when Alice "personalizes" the murder of a client's owner. Give the plot time because the story line makes sense only when all the facts are in and the readers are able to tie them together into a picture of an almost inconceivable scenario. Lydia Adams once again delivers a charming amateur sleuth tale.

Harriet Klausner

I think that this is the BEST one Lydia wrote so far. Its about a guidebook author getting murdered. He calls Alice Nestleton to catsit Brat(his cat) for him while he works, when she gets there he says that the cat is out with the catwalker. While Alice is there waiting for Brat the doorbell rings she goes to answer it and gets knocked out and the author is strangled. I read this in 1 day and I thought it was her best so far!

These publishers are the greatest. They consistently top the competition. This book offers so many visual gifts to its readers, and since the quilts are small, the projects are producable within a reasonable amount of time. I just let my eyes meander through the book, and I am inspired to get back to the sewing machine. It is written in a friendly style, without the typical clinical and off putting language that we find in so many other quilt books.The quilts are photographed so clearly with such vibrant colors. I dare anyone to read this book, and not turn directly to her fabric stash and begin dreaming of the next project!

This is such a terrific book if you would like to fill your house with quilts in a short time! All of the quilts in the "Little Quilt" collection are a wonderful addition to any quilt library...

Charlotte's Story was a delight! In addition to being a fascinating historical account of life in the Florida Keys in the early 1930's, it is a story of self-sufficiency. Charlotte was a "city girl", but adapted quickly and well to life on an island. The story is written in a journal type form and gives almost a day to day accounting of life on the island. The characters that she meets and tells about are intriguing. As I read Charlotte's Story, I found myself wishing that I was living on an island like Elliot Key in the early 1930's!

Charlotte's Story, written by Charlotte Arpis Niedhauk, edited by Mary-Alice Herbert, and published by Laurel and Herbert, is a fascinating page turner as well as an important historical document of how a young couple managed to exist alone on an isolated Florida Key in 1934-5. Their survival reminds one of the manner in which people lived before the advent of electricity, supermarkets, running water, or any of the modern conveniences. Their "store" was the beach, where they would look for and find what they needed from raw materials cast forth by the ocean. Charlotte's resourceful husband Russ would make such objects as a dipper from a coconut shell with a handle carved from a madiera limb, a windproof ashtray from the bottom of a shell, fish and lobster traps, kitchen cabinets, and even a jewelry box from a coconut for Charlotte from their "lumber store," the beach. City-bred Charlotte learned to cope with mosquitoes, sandflies, and scorpians, and even how to scull a boat. Their island home was visited by a potpouri of strange, often frightening characters, who threatened theri lives and made off with their property. No one who reads the book will ever forget the couple's experience in the terrible hurricane of Sept. 3, 1935. According to a newspaper report, the barometric pressure was the lowest ever recorded in thehistory of world weather. Excerpts are given from Russ's diary, i.e."Violent wind squalls lasting from 20 to 25 minutes. Sometimes with wind bursts to 70 or 80 miles per hour....Charlotte is sitting on the floor in the open doorway. She saw the tide receed 50 feet before each squall, and then return with a rush. Each time a little higher. No waves visible. The wind has blown the tops off. Afraid for our boat at high tide...The roof of the old house is blowing off in chunks. I can't stop it." After the hurricane was over, the couple decided that being alone on an island had lost its attraction for them, and decided it was time to return to the homeland. At the beginning of their sojourn on Elliott Key, Charlotte seems a naive, somewhat helpless young female. It was a delight to see her grow into a resourceful, independent woman who was an equal partner to her husband. She wrote her story from notes and memorabilia almost a quarter of a century after they left Elliott Key. The first edition of Charlotte's Story was published in different form by Exposition Press in 1973. When the book went out fo print, the clamor for it was so great that Laurel and Herbert republished and reedited it in 1998. This is a book for everyone, Florida Keys residents, tourists, feminists and macho men alike; in other words for simply everyone who loves a good read.

As a mother of two daughters and a passionate knitter, I am very glad I bought this book. There are splendid designs for boys, for girls and some which are wearable for both.The knitting instructions are easy to understand, though average knitting experience is needed. Some difficult techniques are explained, f.e. the "vertical double decrease". I think it's particular good to have four sizes with each design, so you can knit the same design for two different-aged children. Each design is photographed in detail, not only to make a beautiful picture but to give the knitter an impression of what's awaiting him. What seems to be a bit of a problem if you want exactly the same knitting as in the book is that they have used Alice Starmore yarns only. Nevertheless an inspiring book! If you want to knit something special for your child, buy this book.

First off, I'll admit to significant bias, as I am a huge Starmore fan. That aside, this pattern book is one of the Starmore team's best, and is a worthy addition to a knitting library (even one, like mine, already stocked with every Debbie Bliss book). I won't begin to confess how many projects' worth of yarn I have stockpiled already, and yet it was all I could do not to run out TODAY and acquire more for several projects in this book. Some knitters will recognize a few previously published patterns for grown-ups, resized for children highly successfully (Sand Dollar from the now out-of-print Pacific Coast Highway, for example, finally makes sense as a young girl's sweater dress). Others are wholly new and as exquisite as anything we've ever seen from these designers. (Secret Garden is next on my "yarn to buy" list.) As a mother of two boys and aunt of two nieces, I also was pleased to see a nice balance between feminine, masculine and unisex patterns. All in all, a fabulous treat for knitters with children anywhere in their life!

This lovely little volume is a gift that keeps on giving. Its essays are simple, elegant, soulful, inspiring. And thought-provoking. You may well find yourself searching your own Christmas memories, and finding gems you had long forgotten. Which is what this book is all about -- seeing, hearing, remembering those things we take for granted, and cherishing them anew. This is a book to feed the heart, and the soul. And it's just the right size for stocking stuffing!

The kind of collection that is a great gift during the holidays for anyone - it reminds us of the spirit of the season and connects us to our past, our hopes, and the more important meaning of our lives! Great gift for family members, co-workers, neighbors and for anyone on your list!!

Peter and Alice Gowland present their "favorite sixty images," spanning the period 1940-1987. Compared with some of the photos we see nowadays in glamour/erotic magazines, what is here can be considered real art.

Most pictures show smoothly flowing body lines, without the breaks caused by jewelry, shoes and other accessories we often see now. And definitely no body piercings or tattoos. Then as we move from the '40s and '50s into the later 1960s, there are less heavy facial makeup and more relaxed features, giving a more natural look.

Someone said that Gowland's models look like they are wearing clothes. I wouldn't go that far. But his work definitely gives nude photography a wholesome look and still maintains some sensuality and eroticism.

Of course, going through the pictures one realizes one of the bittersweet facts of life: Some of these models are now in their 60s, 70s or 80s.

Peter Gowland is the last of the old-school glamour photographers which included such greats as the late Gerald Hurell. In this book he demonstrates the images which have kept him in demand for over five decades. It is not a typical how-to manual. There is no elaboration of technique, but rather a series of examples on achieving beautiful images simply and elegantly. It is also a history of his work spotlighting how he dealt with issues of props, lighting, composition, and treating models as the valuable people they are. A splendid and necessary addition for any photographer of the genre.

I am so amazed at myself for now knowing so much about wordprocessing. I can now do so much with documents and I am not one-third way through the book.

However, even though I have not yet used the books' assigned cd-rom disk, I have so far done good without it. But, now, I have reached a point in the book where the disk is necessary. I bought the book used and I'm sorry for doing that.

I am asking you to please e-mail me back and tell how I may obtain the cd-rom disk without re-purchasing the book. This information will be gratfully appreciated since I am now having a very difficult time continuing the lessons.
Thank you!
Sincerely,
Florenda E. Chambers

I have tried several books on computer programs and have been frustrated at trying to learn from them. This book takes you through WordPerfect Office 2000 in a step by step process. It is easy to follow, even for novices like me. I find it is actually fun to go through each chapter. I highly recommend this book to anyone who owns the program.

My 22 month old has had these books for a little less than a year, and she still loves to read them almost every day. She even loves to just flip through the books and identify pictures. These books have also helped her learn numbers and counting. A must have!

When my husband saw 10 small books in a box his first response was that our 2 year old would loose them in a matter of days. Well,it has been 8 months and all 10 books are looked at with excitement on a daily basis! (And I promise, Nichole proudly places every book back in it's proper place!) I deeply recommend this collection of books. Each story delightfully holds the interst of our daughter. The illustrations are colorful and the text is whimsical. Once your friends and relatives read these books they'll be asking you where to buy them.