If you and your child (or even if you don't have a child) love the song and story of the Teddy Bear's picnic, then you will adore this book.

The text is pretty straight forward - as well all expect it to be. But the illustrations are just delightful - full colour on every page, teddies everywhere you look and getting into all manner of interesting things. This is what is so charming about this book - the sheer delight of finding a bear and seeing what it is doing - is it eating cake? Climbing a tree? Falling asleep? Avoiding the children in disguise?

It may be a difficult book to find, but it is just lovely, and well worth the effort.

Good book with good illustrations to accompany familiar song.

"If you go down in the woods today You're sure of a big surprise If you go down in the woods today You'd better go in disguise For every bear that ever there was Will gather there for certain because Today's the day the Teddy Bears have their picnic."

This is such a fun book to read to my kids! The rhyming verse has a nice rythem to it, but its the pictures we enjoy the most. They make you feel like you are peeking through the trees at this wonderful picnic! This book is a treasure!

I'm a mission to purchase all the Carl books. I think it's a great way to show children how wonderful animals and pets can be. I especially like the board book format. It will allow my baby to enjoy it for a long time.

All of the Carl books are thoughtful and creative, though this one is my favorite so far. I love making up the words for each of the books. The format definitely encourages analysis and discussion in a fun way. Little ones must look carefully and closely at each picture and think about how they choose to interpret the events. This book would make a timely birthday gift as well.

The basic premise is that "Mom" sends Carl and the baby girl (now a toddler) next door for their naps so that she can prepare for Carl's surprise birthday party. Of course, mischievous Carl and the baby sneak back and get into everything before the party.

This story is full of sweet little details (Carl receives a toy sized Rottweiler which they can't seem to get rewrapped quite right. Carl takes a bite out the cake and disguises it with a carefully placed flower. Somehow, all the toys that Mom picked up end up back out and under the party table....what Mom can't relate to that one!)

But most of all, I appreciate the free spirited theme that underpins these books. For me, they are a reminder that all of the details that seem so critical are really just a means to a bigger end. In the end, it's the spirit and joy of childhood that is important, a spirit that Carl and that little girl epitomize without saying a single word.

If I had to choose a favorite Carl book (they're all favorites!), this would be it. The story line is so clever, and the whole book is so funny!

Follow Carl is a wonderful book for all fans of this special Rottweiler. He takes his charges through a fun filled day in the park. The colorful illustrations encourage the reader to embellish the story and truly have fun with this book. As the owner of two Rottweilers, all the Carl books are in my son's library! Three cheers for Carl!

Having all of the "Carl" books I thought perhaps Ms. Day would run out of "things" for Carl to do. Not so. Carl has plenty to do, so much that everyone ends up napping--some of the children are positioned like little puppies. Carl, of course, is his usual self. Very entertaining.

As usual, Ms. Day has captured the essence of Carl and the childrens' escapades. Anyone who enjoys children and dogs (especially Rottweilers)will appreciate the accuracy of both the stories, the story line, the poses, and the facial expressions of all the characters.

One of the many enjoyable Carl books.

Grave Undertakings: Mortician By Day, Model By Night - One Woman's True-Life Adventures is the engaging story of Alexandra K. Mosca, America's first and only funeral director/model who has also posed for Playboy magazine! Offering a unique perspective into the mortician's trade (a male dominated profession with only 13 percent women morticians), Grave Undertakings is alternately humorous, sensual, revealing, dramatic, and at times heartbreaking. An absorbing and revealing tell-all, Grave Undertakings is an unusual, exceptionally well written, and highly recommended autobiography.

This book makes one glad that there are strong, independent-thinking women in the funeral industry who aren't afraid to care about the people they serve and the people they work with. Alexandra's all the more credible for showing the down-side as well as the up-side of her work. This is a lady I want to meet someday.

REVIEWS:

Grave Undertakings:

"Mortician by Day, Model by Night-One Woman's True Life Adventures"

Alexandra Kathryn Mosca, New Horizon Press

Far Hills, New Jersey, 295 ppg, ...

A Review by Mac Mc McCormick

"Grave Undertakings" might suggest a "Tell-All" offering of scintillating, bizarre or macabre tales. Instead, readers who complete the book will find Alexandra Mosca to be a talented, sensitive and seasoned writer who has the ability to evoke emotion from the most hardened of souls. Mosca, a licensed and practicing funeral director, gives us a mesmerizing glimpse into the inimitable world of funeral service in New York City. The early portions of her spellbinding autobiography include admirable insights into the hardships and indignities she endured some years ago as a female apprentice and young funeral director. Mosca clearly understands how difficult it truly is for an "outsider"- someone who doesn't originate in a wealthy funeral service family- to enter and survive in the funeral service profession. She decidedly has a flair for describing her years of difficulty and adversity. Blended with her extraordinary adventures as a Playboy model, the second half of Alexandra Mosca's tale clearly uses striking philosophy and allegory as she describes how she matures into a caring, thoughtful and professional funeral director.

Final analysis: This is a "must read" for anyone interested in, or currently working within the funeral service or allied professions. Do not dismiss this fine effort because some of the truths about greed and malice in funeral service surface in its pages. Mosca realizes, as many of us do, that serving as a funeral director is a true gift. "Grave Undertakings" shows us all that Alexandra Kathryn Mosca was blessed with other gifts. She has the ability to be a stunning model who is inherently more attractive inwardly. Mosca also displays a tremendous talent to describe her life experiences in a book that you absolutely will not be able to stop reading once you begin. An "A plus" effort by the Gotham City funeral director...

I am so disappointed this is out of print! Obviously the "powers at top" haven't used this book in their daily lives, as I have for 3 years! It is a perfect journal size with beautiful, colorful pages, that don't overwhelm, and insightful quotes fill every page. Travels well, and the pages can handle any type of ink with out bleeding through. On top of it all, a lovely purple ribbon to hold your place every day. Another of Mrs. Stoddard's wonderful works of art!

For the past two years I have kept this book as a daily journal. I love to keep journals & yet as a college student with heavy course loads I do not have much time to devote to a journal. The space that I am limited to by the format of this book allows me to focus only on what I truly appreciated and gained from each day & it enables me in retrospect to see what truly makes me happy & what I value in my life. There are also potions of this book designated for lessons learned, funny memories, personal information, inspirational quotations, & what is important to those people who are important to the reader. I cannot tell you how many friends & strangers have complimented my journal & I have encouraged to begin their own. Within the past year I have been unable to find this book in any stores & was gravely upset. It is truly a companion of mine that is irreplaceable. I cannot tell you the joy that I have received flipping through the memories of the past years & those moments that would have otherwise been fleeting. I whole heartedly encourage anyone to begin keeping for themselves a similar record of this coming year. You will find yourself greatly rewarded.

...for paranoid schizophrenia, depression, cancer, and AIDS.
The author is a famous and extremely beloved lama in Tibetan
Buddhism. Tibetan Buddhism is a "touchy" subject once we go
past our common agreement that the Dalai Lama is a "nice guy."
In the Dali Lama's tradition, there are lower rebirths in which
one may be in hell for millions of years. And in which a human rebirth is considered rare. The author will talk about "spirit
harm". This tradition also believes, like Hinduism and Christianity, in spirit possession. Once we try to understand
these concepts with an Einsteinian view as opposed to a
Newtonian one of seperate objects existing within and by themselves, we can then set the preliminaries to a new kind of
healing. The author provides remedies, but not certain cures,
for anything crummy that might happen to you. And since this
tradition (Gelukpa) is not supposed to lie, I would believe the
claims that he makes. This is the one book that I would want by my bedside if I were dying of AIDS. By doing a very advanced but simple practice called "tonglen", one can transmute
one's own disease into one of helping all beings everywhere.
And ironically enough, this seems to be the best cure for
seemingly fatal and hopeless diseases! The author states that
there has only been one recorded recovery from AIDS through
meditation, but I believe that this may increase as we study
Tibetan Buddhism and Tibetan Medicine more closely. Perhaps you will only be able to accept these cures when you let down
our view of a "skin-encapsulated" ego and invite a vision
of an interconnected world. Otherwise, most of this beautiful and wonderful content will be dismissed as superstition. If the reader can remain logical but not judgemental, he or she could find themselves not only healed, but even healthier and happier than before. Thank you and I wish you well.

This book really is the best thing a Caricature artist like myself can have in his libary. Crammed with tons of drawings by both Mr. Staake and dozens of other artists, there's definitly no shortage of examples in this brillantly illustrated book. However, this is not your traditonal "step-by-step, this is how to draw" kind of book. Rather than directly teaching you how to draw caricatures, Bob Staake explains in great detail all the important aspects of caricature, such as how to incorporate the subject's personality into the drawing and what are the best reference materials to use while drawing. Truly a must have for ANY artist.

I had heard this was the "definitive" book on Caricature, and a truer statement couldn't be made! My goodness, this book is absolutely incredible. The caricature samples are diverse and inspiring, the presentation well designed, but Bob Staake's text is just marvelous. Doesn't matter if you're an artist, cartoonist, caricaturist or just a casual reader, this book will have you hooked from the first page. Can't possibly over-recommend it -- truly the most complete book on the art form of caricature.

Never much a fan of her Carl books, I nevertheless love this one, and am saddened to see that it's out of print. Frank (a bear) and Ernest (an elephant) make their living operating businesses while the owners are on vacation. When this pair agrees to run a diner, though, they must learn a whole new language--and we right along with them.

Kids love this, or at least my son did. For some time, we'd use diner talk from the book, calling donuts "life preservers," coffee with cream "a blonde" and vanilla milkshakes, "white cows." The language is revealed naturally in the text (though word mongers will love the glossary in the back); customers order in ordinary language such as "A tuna sandwich on toast, please and a Dr. Pepper with the ice left out" and then Frank calls the order to Ernest using diner talk: "Ernest, I need a radio sandwich down, and an M.D., hold the hail." It is fresh, funny and wonderful.

For the fun of the language, the warmth of these characters, whom no one seems to notice are an elephant and a bear, to the detailed illustrations (you could easily craft a stage set from these paintings), this book reminds us, as children do, that food, after all, is fun. Finally, the diner's retro design and the book's nostalgic feel might make it a fun read for grandparents, who possibly remember such places, to share with their grandchildren. I hope that this book will be reissued, as it is a truly pleasurable one.

This book is unique in that it is written in language used in a diner. For example, is you order ham, they might say "Noah's son". If you are familiar with the name of Noah's sons you would guess this right off the bat!!! Also, my husband and I are Dr Pepper collectors and Dr Pepper is mentioned in the book. We were so thrilled when we read this and honestly, that is the only reason we bought the book!!! I do plan to read it to our young friends. I think they will get a kick out of the way it is written.

I found this scholastic paperback at a thrift shop in Yuba City. The illustrations caught my eye and then I realized it was an Alexandra Day book. Going to a restaurant is so much fun when you know the lingo of the cook! And just look at the concoctions Ernest and Frank came up with. Even though this book is out of print you must try to get a used one. It is well worth your child's imagination! The little boy who had my book took very good care of it.

This book is just a little bit better than Visual Basic Design Patterns. It doesn't even inspire me to rewrite my review about visual Basic Design Patterns. Which I will use again for The Visual Basic Style Guide:

Well, the title of my review pretty much says it all. I read the whole thing in one sitting, and haven't looked at it again. I didn't really learn anything about visual basic
that I didn't know before. Perhaps later, after I read a book that actually teachs you visual basic - I may go back to it for some pointers.

This book can easily be overlooked with no ill-effect...

The reviewer from Charlotte was right about this book being disappointing. I bought it but am going to return it. The content is very elementary. I bought it on the hope that there were tips specific to Visual Basic. There are a few, but any of these tips can be found in a good Visual Basic programming book. I also agree with the Charlotte reviewer that the keyword reference is just filler; it is inexplicable in book of this type.

The book also advocates Hungarian notation (preceding each variable by a prefix indicating its type such as strABC for a string.) I am not fond of Hungarian notation. I agree with Francisco Balena, (Programming Microsoft Visual Basic 6.0) that it makes the code difficult to read. I would have preferred that the author present this notation as an option only, not as the only way to go. The anecdotal style evidenced in the passage printed above ... is also typical. Its seems pleasant at first but soon becomes tiresome, more applicable to a leisurely article in the Sunday paper than a book about programming.

This book is turning out to be a big help to me as I go about customizing Microsoft applications and cleaning up macros. I am a self-taught programmer and was too lazy to write clean, annotated code and want to clean up my act. Especially since I was approached by a global financial services company to clean up and document their code (not just VB either), I realized this is a bigger problem than anyone realizes. Other programming books mention good practices and stuff but this book lays it out in detail. He explains things so clearly and thoroughly that I feel like he's sitting down with me, talking it through slowly. I feel much more confident about the work I put out, and that I can leave at any time without worry about my reputation.