I decided to read this book because I have heard about this book from my friends. I also read this because it had been awarded a Newberry Honor award. The day I was introduced to it, I thought it was boring. How I was wrong! Instead, the book was very interesting.
The main character of this book was a young, mute boy called Agba, but the most important main character is a horse called the Godolphin Arabian, or Sham. Agba is a kind boy who took care of Sham from when he was born, and after Sham's mother died. Sham becomes known as the fastest horse in his stables. Sham is a spirited horse that only listens to Agba, and no one else. I feel sorry for Agba because he ia a mute.
I enjoyed reading this book. It was fun reading about Sham and his descendants. The story plot was great. It also talked about what happened to Agba and Sham, and about their trip to France, and then England. This story was told by the owner of Sham's descendant. That's why this book received a Newberry Honor Award.

this has to be the most wonderful book ive ever read.from the moment i read it,my mind was instantly taken to the stables of morroco(sp?)with his beutiful horse.it is so imaginative,adventorous that you'll want to read it over and over.i think its one of the best books ive ever read.im reading it for the..........20th time i think:)you'll love this book if you love horses.it is very discreptive and i highly recommend this book to people,horsey or not.hope you read it.buy it,you won't regret it:0)

This book is about so much more that just horses. It is about unconditional love and about seeing the beauty in everyone and everything. You start feeling what Agba felt and what Sham felt. Only a lucky few have a relationship with their horse like Agba had with Sham and I am one of those lucky ones. Not only to own but to be friends with something as beautiful and proud as a horse is truly remarkable. Even though Agba couldn't speak he communicated with Sham in a way that pulls at your heartstrings. You just have to read it.

My mother gave my a copy of "Faeries" for Christmas 1980, when I was 11. I was instantly enchanted with the idea of faeries as real beings, and accepted much of the text as truth. I fantasized about spotting faeries in the woods and rocks surrounding my childhood home, and made many (sophomoric) attempts to copy Brian Froud's illustrations. As an adult I even had a flower faerie tattooed on my ankle in homage to his art

My origional copy of "Faeries" is tattered and dog-eared, most of the pages have fallen out, and are hopelessly out-of-sequence, but I can't bear to throw it away. I count "Faeries" as one of the most influential books I had as kid growing up, and I wholeheartedly recommend it to any child (or adult) interested in faeries or mythology. The book is incredibly well-researched, and beautifully illustrated. The hand-written text can be difficult to read at times, but adds to the wonderful illusion of illicitly reading someone's journal

Bravo for reissuing this book, I am ordering my new hardcover copy today

When you imagine a fairy, the first thing that comes to mind is a pretty little girl with wings, maybe long hair, sitting on a flower, singing a song, or dancing....well, the world of fairies is MUCH more than that! There are ugly fairies and pretty ones, there are small fairies and big ones, some live underwater, some in trees. There are goblins, dwarfs, cluricauns, leprechauns, brownies, kelpies, pucks, witches, primroses....you see, its a whole different world filled with interesting little inhabitants that you may have never imagined! The illustrations are great, fun to stare at. Good folk tales and descriptions. I was skeptical about the world of Faeries but after reading (and looking) thru this book, I am forever drawn to them!

I have never seen such gorgeous and detailed art with faeries! The entire book is fascinating. There's some regular handwriting along with typed text, so it gives the reader a break from uniform letters. A lot of the faeries have some sort of folk-tale to them. Some are simply described. The pictures come in such variety! There are paintings, extraordinarily detailed drawings... drawings that look inked. As an 18 year old aspiring fantasy artist (who loves to draw faeries ;o) ) Brian Froud's work is an incredible inspiration! I adore this book so much. It's something you can read over and over... read out of order... I could spend hours alone just looking at the pictures! This is the best faery book I have ever had the pleasure to come across! (So far anyway...:o) )

A great book on love! I really loved this book as a kid and still remember when my Gramps used to read it to me when we would visit him in the province. He gifted me the book on my 7th birthday and became a real sentimental favorite. My original book got lost when my family vacationed in Milan when I was 12, too bad. I could recall how depressed I became when I discovered that I left the book in the hotel. I missed that book terribly and eversince I was on the look out for another copy, until 16 years later, my beautiful girlfriend gifted me one on our anniversary when she returned home from Munich. I was so happy as I lifted the copy out of the box and I couldn't help but shed a tear out of happiness! Since then, it remains on my bedside table. It is very enlightening, heart warming and full of love. I really love toys up to now and this book really manifests unconditonal love. I will surely treasure this book and in time gift it to my future kids. It's a real classic , something to be treasured forever!

This book is a simple work of art. Its beauty in itself is virtually indescribable. When I was little, it was my favorite book. In fact, I've had it ever since I was born. It is about a boy who owns a stuffed rabbit, and longs for it to be real. Eventually, because he loved the rabbit so much, his wish was granted. The book is so well written that it brings tears to my eyes almost every time I read it. It is definitely one of my all-time favorites.

The Velveteen Rabbit was (and still is) my favorite children's book. The classic tale of how the little boy's love made the rabbit real is a classic. I had a hard time finding this book, but I finally have it. I am hoping to read it to my future kids and hopefully my kids will read it to their kids. This is a book that anyone from any generation could enjoy. I will always love the Velveteen Rabbit!

"Star Wars, Episode I: The Visual Dictionary" combines text by David West Reynolds with a wealth of excellent full-color photographs. Rather than rely on shots from the film, the book primarily uses still shots that appear to have been purposefully taken for a project like this. This was, in my opinion, a wise choice, since I have noticed that the photos in other movie tie-in books can sometimes be a bit murky. The photos here are crisp and colorful, and really allow you to analyze and enjoy the details.

The text comes in the form of easy-to-digest nuggets. The book covers characters, ships, weapons, clothing, robots, animals, and other elements from the movie. The text offers intriguing little tidbits of info about the SW universe (although I imagine that more devoted fans may argue about how "canonical" this info is).

A nice aspect of the book is the fact that barely glimpsed elements in the film are given loving attention here. For example, you can "meet" the members of the Jedi Council more intimately. I liked the comparative size chart of Naboo sea monsters. And the fashion-oriented will have a great time exploring the ornate costumes worn by Queen Amidala and others. Overall, this book is a lot of fun.

The Dorling-Kindersley Visual Dictionaries are all top-notch products, fascinating not only for children, but for adults, as well. The STAR WARS, EPISODE I addition to this line does not disappoint, with page after page of wonderful, detailed photographs of the people, things and places featured in the film. Everything, from lightsabers to battle droids to Darth Maul, is examined closely and exhaustively labeled.

The fun doesn't stop with the photographs, however. Written in close concert with Lucasfilm, the book provides greater insight into the film by providing information about even minor characters with little screen time. As a result, the next time readers watch EPISODE I, they'll find themselves recalling these tidbits, and enjoying the movie even more than they did before.

Readers, adults and children alike, will find this Visual Dictionary a delight, and it will rarely stay on the shelf. Fun to read cover-to-cover, or just to leaf through, the book is an excellent addition to any STAR WARS fan's collection, and comes very close to being a must-have.

This slim volume, published in 1999 to coincide with the release of Episode I, is actually a treasure for Star Wars fans who are interested in the details of the characters, lifeforms, and technology from that "galaxy far, far away...." Lavishly illustrated and wonderfully written by David West Reynolds. Also worth getting are The Star Wars Visual Dictionary and the Star Wars Episode II Visual Dictionary.

This book, like most of Dumas' work is wonderful. His adventure stories still evoke a sense of wonderment and raise the hairs on the back of your neck. Most movies of the same titles do not portray the events as he wrote them, but I have found that most accomodate the tempo or the 'feel' of his novels. I would additionally like to set the record straight on the trilogy argument that I see in most of the reviews in this page. The series was originally published as a trilogy, The Three Musketeers, Twenty Years After, and Vicomte de Bragelonne. The Vicomte de Bragelonne is now published by most in three volumes: Vicomte de Bragellone, Louise de la Valliere, and finally The Man in the Iron Mask. I have seen it split into four parts with Ten Years Later being placed in between the Vicomte de Bragellone and Louise de la Valliere. This splitting was done because when the three are combined, or rather not split, the novel is large and cumbersome to read. I hope that all this literary information does not detract one from the greatness of this series however, it is truly a wonderful tale to read about, and the story endures through to modern times with the same ferver in which it was released.

Twenty years after, although not as good as the Three Musketeers, is an excellent novel. In traditional Dumas style it starts of slowly to reach the climax late in the book. Twenty Years after is the second in a series of five novels about Athos, Porthos, Aramis, and D'Artangnan. Once again I dare anyone not to get drawn in by these four characters. I recommend that one reads these five book in order (The Three Musketeers, Twenty Years After, Vicomte of Bragleonne, Louise de la Valliere, and The Man in the Iron Mask). Please write back with any comments.

Out of all of the Alexandre Dumas novels I have read, this is the only one with an upbeat ending. I say this because I have run into more than one person who claims that s/he would like Dumas novels if only things ended well for the heroes once in a while. If you're that sort of reader, this book is for you. If you do like the other Dumas novels, this book is also for you.

Twenty Years After is the second part of the Musketeer Cycle (after The Three Musketeers and before The Vicomte of Bragelone/Louise de la Valliere/The Man in the Iron Mask). It contains everything that makes Dumas, Dumas: unmatched adventure writing, wonderful prose, and beautifully developed characters.

I can't recomend this story enough.

I am about one quarter of the way through this book and have enjoyed the content. However, I find that many of the "tutorial" threads within the sections have many errors. In particular, references to screen shots or code examples do not always correlate with the reference. Some of the technical information is either innacurate or out of date. In particular, some issues on activating ODBC databases for use with Cold Fusion either led to errors that I could not find solutions for, or were just plain incorrect. Also, one of the earlier sections explaining SQL and its use caused me some headaches. The version of MSQUERY was quite different than depicted in the book and it took some trial and error to work around it. Overall, I find that most of the tutorial threads do indeed work, even if you have to make some ad hoc changes in the implementation. Though errors in books and tutorials are generally annoying, you may find that you tend to better remember the solutions, and hence the implementations, once you find them. My 2 cents

This book is a GREAT reference, especially for beginners. It is clearly written and goes in a logical flow. What I loved about this book was that whatever function I was trying to accomplish I could easily locate the info and put it into real life... with EASE!! The only missing piece to this book (which I don't believe is the goal anyway) would be graphics or design side... but for function and structure this book is number one. I strongly recommend this as a MUST HAVE for any Cold Fusion programmer's library.

In the age of web based applications, one of the things that helped Cold Fusion to set itself apart is the availability of Ben Forta's book. It is self-contained (from what the web is all about to relational database design to networking with COM) and yet it is so clear and goal-oriented. It is also filled with simple but superb, well-crafted examples. Cold Fusion owes a lot to Ben Forta. And we all to him as well. He set a standard by which many other technical, professional books can be measured.

The Path Between the Seas by David McCullough is an excellent book which details the time period from the Gold Rush to the French involvement of the canal and through to the completion of the Panama Canal in the 2nd decade of the 1900's.

This book in very efficient prose details why the canal's location is in Panama versus Mexico or Nicaragua. This is a bit of history that I was completely unaware of. It is also quite interesting to read about France's involvement and how they (surprise, surprise) failed in their attempt to achieved the successes enjoyed in the building of the Suez Canal.

Mr. McCullough is also quite thorough in detailing the politics behind the building of the canal during that time period.

The yellow fever and malaria eradication campaigns were instrumental in the success that the Americans enjoyed. The author does a good job in acknowledging the successes but not trivializing the very substantial loss of life suffered by the immigrant workers primarily from the West Indies. America did build the canal (and President Carter essentially gave it away), but it came at a heavy price monetarily and otherwise.

Excellent book and a definitive resource for the layman.

It takes a good author to make a subject like this interesting. McCullough accomplished it!

The story behind the Canal is so much more than just the physical construction involved. The years of the French construction involved a lot of corruption and scandal that I'd never heard about!

Then, after about two decades, American takes over, and within a few years the canal is open for traffic. The successful fight against the deadly mosquito was one of the turing points.

McCullough talks a lot about some of the politics involved, in both the French and the American stages. The story behind the Panamanian revolution was quite interesting. . . the US more or less "stole" Panama from Columbia, I guess you could say.

Definitely a good book, and worth your time to read.

Having lived in Panama, along the Canal, and having read this book both before and while living down there I can say that the author did a splendid job. Most Americans today only vaguely realize that we "dug a canal" in Panama years ago. The full story is fascinating history. McCullough weaves a detailed yet very readable story of political will, international intrigue, national pride, and engineering excellence to show that the creation of the canal was one of the crowning American achievements of the 20th century - the "moon shot" of it's day! Wonderful!

The first thing that attracted me to Stellaluna was the illustrations. Creative, bright, and imaginative pictures always catch my attention. And this book has just that, imaginative, good painted pictures.

Stellaluna is a baby fruit-bat that gets separated from her mother. She lands in a bird's nest and grows up living with them. Stellaluna follows the routines of the birds, and practically becomes one herself. Later in the story she catches up with a few bats, and finds out that one is her mother. She becomes reunited with her, and starts to pick up her old bat routines.

The book implys that you should accept everyone. A child doesn't have to be the only one to know that 'different people' can be accepted. We should all accept people no matter how 'different' they are. We are all the same at heart.

I bought this book after a fellow classmate showed it to our Early Literacy Learning class. The illustrations were so beautiful I went out and bought it that day. I now use the book when I am substitute teaching and the children love it.

The story is of a bat that falls into a bird's nest and is raised as a bat. The differences between the two kinds of animals are explored and explained. The comical episodes of a bat trying to live in a bird's world are done in an expert manner. The book has a happy ending and afterwards there is a section of notes and facts on bats. I have used this book to kick-off lesson plans on bats and birds, and also in planning a unit lesson on the rain forest.

If for no other reason, this book will appeal to your children, because every one of us has been in a situation where we felt we didn't belong, or we were embarrassed because we were different in some way. Cannon shows children how they can be more like Stellaluna and find comfort in themselves and who they are as individuals, even when they feel like a bat in a bird's world.

Why 5 stars?:
This book is worth buying simply for the illustrations. But, the story is one that shows not only compassion on the part of Mama Bird, but Stellaluna learning she does not have to change who she is to fit in. The information provided about bats at the end of the book is a great resource for children wanting to learn about the title character. This book will make a great addition to any classroom or home library.

My boys love this book! They loved it so much I bought the CD-ROM book as well. And the plush bat! They enjoy hanging Stellaluna upside down while reading the story.

The story itself is a little scary when the owl appears and Stellaluna is separated from her mother in the dark forest. But the mother bird and her babies are quick to accept and help Stellaluna. The story emphasizes that differences should be celebrated and accepted, and it's always best to just be yourself. It also shines a positive spotlight on an animal that gets a bad rap--the bat. I'd rate this book better than Cannon's other book, which is about snakes, "Verdi."

The artwork is beautiful; I love simply looking at the pages. And the "Bat Notes" section at the end is informative; I know because my pre-reading child wanted me to read it out loud several times!

Lovers of nature, superb artwork, and literature will not be disappointed reading this story to their little ones.

TUESDAY, by David Wiesner

Book Review

Who will be next? Weisner uses no words, which allows readers to develop their own opinions about what exactly is happening. The book is a vivid display of color and detail painted in watercolor. Both children and adults can experience fun and amazement by reading this picture book. As dusk becomes night, something strange happens to animals in this particular town. The story opens and frogs begin to float above their pond, perched upon their lily pads, like genies on flying carpets. As the frogs rise out of the water, they fly in a flock, raiding the town while watchful eyes are asleep. The amphibious creatures fly through linen hanging out to dry and an elderly woman's living room while she is asleep. Then something strange happens to them at dawn. They can no longer soar above and around the town and are reduced to hopping back to their pond without the aid of flight. The following night, another animal is able to fly and see the town in their own new light, once darkness falls. by Matthew Ellenberg

Tuesday is the most imaginative picture book that I have ever seen. It is a wordless fantasy of people, animals, and plants that allows you to supply your own story. As such, it will provide endless opportunities for you and your child to entertain one another. What really is going on? What does it mean? What will happen next Tuesday?

The book is illustrated very much like a graphic novel (a series of comic books bound together in softcover form, if you haven't seen one) but without words. The book does have a few indicators of time and day of the week, that provide the minimal connection to reality needed to launch the story into space.

The images here are very whimsical. Frogs fly on lily pads in formation like the Blue Angels, and create lots of unexpected fun. The book is most interesting when you see what happens on the second Tuesday. How about the third? You'll have to use your imagination for that one.

This book deserves its Caldecott Medal for outstanding illustrations. In no other book that I can think of do the illustrations carry the story. The book uses vibrant colors, done in a low-key way. Stylistically, it is a take-off on the science fiction and super hero genres in pictures.

You will be laughing out loud when you see what the frogs are up to. You will also enjoy the visual puns on textless pages.

Where else can pictures tell the story? Have you ever engaged in pantomimes, shadow puppets, or charades with your child? If you haven't, this would be a good time to introduce those enjoyable games.

Imagination can take you anywhere you want!

In the inside of the cover, Wiesner claims these events actually happened one Tuesday and... "all those in doubt are reminded that there is always another Tuesday." Beginning at 8:00pm, we see a three-part picture of a pond that changes perspective to focus on an alarmed turtle. Frogs on lilypads have taken flight and begin to chase after birds, intimidate a dog and confuse a man eating midnight snack. As morning approaches, the frogs return to their pond, leaving their lilypads and the curious detectives behind. The story ends with the words, "next Tuesday" and the shadow of a flying pig.

I've used this book in primary classrooms. It is a very cute story with only a few words. It also provides a wonderful opportunity for children to tell or write their own words. This enables students who cannot read yet to engage in a literate activity.

Why 5 stars?:
This book tells a cute fantasy story with very few words. It lends itself to having children make up their own text, which will support their emerging literacy skills. The illustrations are incredibly lifelike and it is no wonder it won a Caldecott.

Over the years, there have been many attempts to establish a
"Deep Inner Meaning" for "Lucky Jim," but I wouldn't pay them
much attention if I were you. "Lucky Jim" is simply a hilarious
book. For me, it was a revelation -- I had no idea that a book
might leave me with my sides aching, weak from laughter, yet
ready to laugh again, as I recalled the phrase or the incident
which had initially tickled my funny-bone.

One reason the book is so funny is that it gores some very
Sacred Cows. In its time, those sacred bovines very definitely
included provincial academics who were seriously into
Elizabethan madrigals and recorder concerts; Amis had the
genius to see these daffy eccentrics for the incredibly comic
figures they really were. Even more outrageously, the novel's
hero gets the girl of his dreams and escapes the dreary provinces
for a happy career in London, by abandoning the academic life
and going into (are you sitting down?) BUSINESS. Into... TRADE.
It is hard to imagine anything more non-U.

In short, a masterpiece of comic English prose!

Highest possible recommendation!!!

Kingsley Amis is one of my favorite writers, and Lucky Jim (1954) of course is probably his most famous novel. It's also his first novel, which makes him one of those writers who spent their entire career trying to live up to early success. Despite Lucky Jim's preeminent reputation, several later novels are at least as good: I'd mention as my personal favorites The Anti-Death League, The Green Man, Ending Up, The Alteration, and The Old Devils.

I think this is my third reading of Lucky Jim. It remains a very enjoyable book. It's the story of Jim Dixon, a history lecturer at a provincial English university shortly after the second world war. Jim is involved in an unsatisfactory relationship with a drippy fellow lecturer called Margaret Peel, who uses emotional blackmail such as implicit suicide attempts (she took sleeping pills after breaking with her previous boyfriend) to keep him on the string. He hates his job, and he hates his boss (Professor Welch) if anything even more, while worrying that he won't be retained for the next school year. He hates phoniness in general, particularly that represented by Professor Welch, who is into recreations of old English music (recorders and all).

The plot revolves mainly around Dixon's growing attraction to Christine Callaghan, a beautiful girl who is nominally Professor Welch's son Bertrand's girlfriend -- but Bertrand is also fooling around with a married woman, and he's a crummy artist to boot. Also, Dixon is working on a lecture about Merrie Olde Englande, which he hopes will impress Professor Welch enough that he can keep his job, but every sentence of which he hates. The resolution is predictable, if rather convenient for Dixon (involving a rich uncle of Christine's), but it satisfies. The book itself is really very funny: such set-pieces as Dixon's hangover-ridden lecture, and his disastrous drunken night at the Welch's, remain screams after multiple rereadings.

I should say that some things bother me a bit. Some of Dixon's stunts (such as stealing a colleague's insurance policies and burning them) seem, well, felonious. And of course Margaret Peel really is someone he's better off breaking up with, but the way Christine is presented as naturally good because she is beautiful does seem rather sexist. Still, all this can be laid to accurate description of a certain character -- and if we root for Jim (as we more or less naturally do), it should be with some uneasiness.

All this said, Lucky Jim is deservedly a classic of 20th Century fiction, and an enormously entertaining book.

Obviously it's unanimous here...this is one of the most hilarious, moving, irreverent and wise books ever. Jim Dixon is a joy. I named my son after him in hopes that he would embody some of his kindly, mischievous, unpretentious & good-humored qualities.

Amis' writing is so fine, so perfectly crafted. It's an effortless read, but has so many layers of wisdom to it. I became a big fan after reading "Lucky Jim" and have since read and enjoyed many of his other books, but this remains far and away the all-time favorite. Sadly, his first book is also the last one to have an upbeat, humane, let-the-good-guy-win mindset.

Funniest description of a hangover I've ever read at the beginning of Chapter 6...

An unending pleasure of a book.