Travis and Sarah are the best characters Weyland has ever developed. I can't think of a better book. I recommend it to all my friends. It's not sappy and silly like some of his books. It's a story that rings true for anyone that has tried to do what's decent.

This book is one of the very few that has made me sob-out-loud. It was so fantastically written, and such real-life characters with real-life problems. It was about Sara, who was sexually abused by her step-father, and is now pregnant, and the one boy who befriends her. It was so heart-felt! I could really get into the story. It was really really good.

In researching my historical novel THE FOREVER GIRL, I found Dr. Bisel's book on the skeletons unearthed at Herculaneum an immensely valuable reference. Think about it: These poor people are buried in a volcanic eruption that happens in a single day. They are then discovered after the passage of 19 centuries. The story Dr. Bisel relates is not just about a time period, or an era, it is about one summer day in the life of people living in the Roman Empire. The slave girl Dr. Bisel calls Petronia is found cradling the body of a small baby, but there is more to it than that. The baby is well cared for, well fed, with a gold bulla around his neck. He is one of the elite. Petronia, on the other hand, has been cruelly overworked throughout her short life. She is a slave and nothing more. The whole history of human oppression is contained in this pair of ancient skeletons. What Dr. Bisel describes in her book almost brings tears to the eyes. It is very profound, simple, and moving. I consider it a perfect book for middle school students to read and discuss, and recommend it highly.

One horrid day, a volcano spewed its poisonous gases and suffocating ash on terrified Romans. We've heard the stories before, but Dr. Bisel uses a clever blend of fiction and non-fiction to make us feel the agony of Vesuvius' victims.

The book opens with Dr. Bisel introducing herself as "The bone lady", a physical anthropologist who is offered the rare chance to study Roman skeletons. The Romans usually cremated their dead.

In the next section of the book, Dr. Bisel presents the fictional story of a young slave girl, Petronia. She is struggling to survive a cruel mistress and the volcanic fire beneath their homes. As Petronia's story enfolds, we meet the individuals who are later revealed as the skeletons discovered in sealed boat tunnels.

The fictional narrative, historical information, and scientific revelations are interspersed throughout the text. The pace is effective, quick, yet absorbing.

Because of beautifully written descriptions, strong images, and well-crafted characters, we quickly care about individuals in their last moments before and during the eruption. At the same time, we learn about the artifacts and daily life of Ancient Rome as well as the effects of the eruption on the sealed city.

I use this in my classroom with 6th graders. My primary lesson is "Good non-fiction uses the same writing techniques as good fiction." I hope they will never accept non-fiction as routinely boring after they have finished this book.

Dr. Bisel deserves a "Golden Pen Award" for this excellent work.

This book is a well written personal experience of living through the most terrifying takeover by a dictator with no conscience or
inteligence. I cringed at the Fear generated by people suddenly missing and not heard from again.
The stupidity of taking over the shops and businesses causing shortages of everything needed to keep the people fed, clothed and in good health.
I got a strong feeling from it that it is not that hard to pull off in a civilization that took freedom for granted much like we do here in the United States. Freedom demands eternal vigilance and this book points this out with great force.
The last election in my town brought out little more than 20% of the Vote. That must change or we may emulate the citizens of this great book by Sara Armstong.

Mrs. Armstrong's touching story of courage, faith and personal growth is a captivating account of personal discovery. Sara uses both historical and personal accounts of life in Uganda as an American. She brings you into her world and you can relate to the both the fear and saddeness associated with the fall of Uganda, the Pearl of Africa. Her creative use of sarcasm and humor bring a unique quality to this touching story. This book has something for everyone. I can't wait for the next book.

This is by far the best book on Schubert varieties that I have ever seen. Precise, yet detailed, thorough but never pedantic. Billey is a wonder. The writing, though admirably confined to math, is poetic; never more so, than in that lyrical sentence that begins "Let there be a Wyle space..."

Clear, cogent, and to the point. Explores the relevant variables and delivers the goods. A must read for Schubert afficionados.

What happens when one imposes meat-eating on the other? What happens when the one doing the imposing happens to be your own father? And what happens when such carno-terrorism--to borrow from Jacques Derrida--becomes allegorical, representative of an inability to speak? In "Letter to His Father," Franz Kafka (a self-championing vegetarain harboring something akin to a body dismorphic disorder) coughs up a catalog of paternally-driven injustices and imagines a gastronomic utopia inimical to Daddy's sadistic table regime. Often overlooked, "The Letter to His Father" belongs right up there with Kafka's other canonized marvels. Go ahead and chew on it for a while.

A Letter to my Father by Franz Kafka is a look into the mind of one of the most talented (but also unhappy) writers of the 20th century. It's a very personal account of the relationship between Kafka & his father, his strong, controling, tough father who was the main figure who influenced Kafka's life & way of thinking. Franz Kafka talks with great pain in this 'letter' about his childhood years & how his father controlled everyone in the household, how the writer's own personality was shaped & molded by this one relationship. After reading this letter, the reader is closer to understanding the person that wrote "Metamorphosis" & "The Judgment".

Minneapolis Star-Tribune, July 29, 2001: "This book is a wonderful reference, beautifully illustrated."

These stories of the North American prairie lands provide a rich blend of generations of voices and stories of natural history and the land, blending poems, stories and essays with insights on both native peoples, geography and wildlife. The result is a multi-faceted collection which doesn't neatly fit into singular categories of natural history, geography or culture; but which embraces them all.

Stories from Where We Live focuses on regional experiences from dwellers on the North Atlantic coast ages 9 and older, but is recommended in our adult issue because the entire family will relish these stories. From netting crabs on the Jersey shore to outdoors experiences in Delaware, this gathers regional experiences told through stories, poems, and journal entries to provide an inviting collection of tales.

This anthology is a collection of stories rooted in the North Atlantic Coast, beginning with Newfoundland. It includes the genres of poetry, short story, fiction and creative non fiction. Intended as a teaching tool for children, I found the book to be compelling in the imagery it evoked, particularly of the sea and its inhabitants, both human and animal.

This is a fabulous collection of poems based on well-known fairy tales and nursery rhymes - but with a modern point of view and a wry, often grim twist. Imagine an advice columnist responding to the wife in "Bluebeard", or Hansel and Gretel's appearance in juvenile court... Here's a sample from the poem based on the story of the princess and the frog, as told by her parents:

"...
As for that fairy tale she likes to tell
About the frog who scrambled from the well
And gave her back her ball (all dripping wet),
Then turned into a Prince (that's how they met),
We know he's not a Prince; the point is this:
Our poor romantic daughter thinks he is."

Some of the takes are very funny, but nearly always disquieting. (There's a poem based on "Old Mother Hubbard," from her dog's point of view - sounds goofy but it's utterly heart-rending.) I re-read the poems often, and thoroughly enjoy them. Recommended!

Hay's collection of poetry explores many of the well-known fairy tales, nursery rhymes and fables from our childhood. While other poets, such as Anne Sexton, have been focused on adult audiences, Hay's poetry can be used with younger audiences, too. The book is filled with themes which adults can enjoy, however. The collection offers inspiration to poets to explore the themes in the folklore of our childhoods with grace and charm. Happily ever after is not expected by Hay, but she does not express a hopeless future either. The characters from the tales deal with the potential realities that come after their original "happily ever afters."

Stuart's Cape by Sara Pennypacker is a wonderful story about a very imaginative boy. He has many adventures while wearing his cape, from flying because he ate too much light and fluffy angel food cake to growing his favorite food: toast with butter. I liked this story because it showed how imaginative kids can be. It also made me think about using my own imagination. Sara Pennypacker has a great imagination if she can come up with such a funny story. I can't wait to read her next book!

I loved this book. It was very funny and sweet. Stuart's like a precocious Walter Mitty. And the illustrations were really cool, too!

Sudie is one of the books I recommend to all my friends and then loan out with trepidation. What if they don't give it back? This and Alice (also by Flanigan)are both out of print so my copies can't easily be replaced. Sudie is wonderful, first of all, because its voice is so southern, so trusting and so incredibly authentic. A friendship between a black man and a white child are the perfect contrast to the ugliness of prejudice & abuse. Flanigan is a courageous woman with a voice that needs to speak more often. I keep hoping that her long silence means she is taking her time with another great book. I'd love to hear from the author.

I feel this book should be required reading, not only in secondary school but in primary school as well. I feel that the current over-emphasis on what nationality One is eroding countries such as Canada and the United States. This book serves to remind us all that what nationality(ies) we are is far less important than common equality among us all. Sudie points out that just because we are different colours, it doesn't mean that one race is bad or good, God just made us different colours like the dirt of the earth. We are all the same and should treat others with respect as human beings, not as ethnic minorities. Sudie and Simpson are excellent examples of what I mean. They were friends because they needed each other's companionship and love. Sudie learns first-hand what 'ethnic' diversification can do, when she pretends to be black in another town, and hated the attitude towards her. She and her friends find tremendous satisfaction in taking down the one remaining sign that states 'niggers' were not to let the sun set on them in Linlow, in the end of the story. Sara Flanigan created a good story