I love the perseverance demonstrated in this story. Based on the life of Feodosia Ivanovna Belevstov, the author's mother-in-law, who was born in pre-Revolutionary Russia in 1907, it is one of survival under harsh conditions. The story takes place during the Russian revolution, when the Whites (Mensheviks) lost to the Bolsheviks (Reds), Stalin's 1930s purges and World War II. Belevstov and her husband, who by then had an infant daughter, were captured by the Germans and forced into slave labor. Belevstov emigrated to the U.S. following liberation in 1947. This is a story of hope.

It also offers a tender treatment of the Romany people. As a child, the author's mother-in-law once saw a caravan of Gypsy wagons drawn by tired horses through the first snow. A man and his wife and infant stopped for water, which the child ran to get. She begged her mother to let the family stay the night with them. The young Gypsy woman somehow knew that while the child had a good heart, she was often ill, and told her mother, "Tonight is the first snow. It is a time of healing. Let me try to help her."

Having been to many doctors, all of whom were unable to treat the child's strange headaches, her mother cried in joy at the unexpected offer of assistance. The story goes on, "She bathed my temples with the water from the snowflakes.... She sang to me in her calm, deep voice. The song was old, old. I did not know the words, but they were soft and sure and rocked me quietly with their sound." The next morning the girl awoke to the sound of Gypsy bells as the caravan left the town, and ran after them to say goodbye.

Ten years later, another caravan arrived, this time bearing a fortune-teller who predicted that the girl, now married, would some day cry out for a crust of bread, pray to endure one more hour, take every step in pain. Of course, with the revolution and World War II, all this came to pass, and the rest of the story is framed lovingly around the fortune that the Romany woman told.

The vibrant illustrations evoke the quality of Russian folk art. Alyssa A. Lappen

This is a beautiful bedtime story for all children, and a must for anyone descended of European immigrants. The story is the story of my relatives and my friends' relatives who travelled before, during, and some after, WWII, braving many dangers before bringing us safely to America. As the oral tradition of passing on these stories dies away, it is important to have reminders of our history and what our parents, grandparents, or great-grandparents went through to ensure our freedom and safety. It is a tale that also reminds us of the strength and courage of the human spirit, as well as the love and compassion that we all share for each other, even as strangers in foreign lands. The children I have shared this story with have become fascinated with the adventure (both light and dark sides), and enchanted by the drawings and motifs that are caught somewhere in between folk-art and eastern European designs.

As a second edition, this book is not just an updated version of the original. In fact, it should probably have been called volume 2, instead of second edition. If you have the original, you will want to put this on the shelf next to it. The book covers a great deal in a field that is rapidly moving forward. A must for people interested in what is going on in "the RNA world."

Beautiful language and fantastic illustrations only enhance a story that has the nostalgic feel of a chat with old friends. I had the great priviledge of not having read the book's jacket prior to sitting down with it to read to my two young sons, and so the story had a kind of magical deja vu effect upon me as I was drawn into the adventures of the Southernmost Cat! My boys (ages 4&6) were mesmerized, & learned about amazing new things like the Bermuda Triangle & the running of the bulls. I don't want to spoil the fun, so I won't say too much about the catch. What I will say is that this book is a must read for fans of American Literature, and has earned a place of honor on my family's bookshelf!

John Cech has given children a look at the beauty that can be created through music. In all of the stress of content area curriculum today we sometimes forget the arts. The author has shown how music can be a strength in children that adults may miss. It appears to give the reader the idea to let children share things that interest them and in turn share different aspect of culture and art with children.

This fictionalized account of the life of Emperor Norton fails utterly to convey any sense of the man who is an icon in the San Francisco Bay Area. Reading this artless book is neither enjoyable nor informative.

Some excerpts from an interview with Malaclypse the Younger by THE GREATER METROPOLITAN YORBA LINDA HERALD-NEWS-SUN-TRIBUNE-JOURNAL-DISPATCH-POST AND SAN FRANCISCO DISCORDIAN SOCIETY CABAL BULLETIN AND INTERGALACTIC REPORT & POPE POOP.

GREATER POOP: Are you really serious or what? MAL-2: Sometimes I take humor seriously. Sometimes I take seriousness humorously. Either way it is irrelevant.

GP: Maybe you are just crazy. M2: Indeed! But do not reject these teaching as false because I am crazy. The reason that I am crazy is because they are true.

GP: Is Eris true? M2: Everything is true. GP: Even false things? M2: Even false things are true. GP: How can that be? M2: I don't know man, I didn't do it.

GP: Why do you deal with so many negatives? M2: To dissolve them. GP: Will you develop that point? M2: No.

GP: Is there an essential meaning behind POEE? M2: There is a Zen Story about a student who asked a Master to explain the meaning of Buddhism. The Master's reply was "Three pounds of flax." GP: Is that the answer to my question? M2: No, of course not. That is just illustrative. The answer to your question is FIVE TONS OF FLAX!

Is this the same book? Different authors. From the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press homepage:

Translational Control Monograph 30

Edited by John W. B. Hershey, University of California, Davis; Michael B. Mathews, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory; Nahum Sonenberg, McGill University, Montreal