One of my students brought this book in to share.We do an extensive rock study in grade two, so I read this book. It is informative, and very well written. The children LOVED it and now want to see the famous "rock" at the museum in New York. I think it's a wonderful book for any grade 2-3 teacher to use.

This is one beautiful book! Look at the pictures to see why they say "...illustrated with museum-quality paintings by Caldecott winner Richard Egielski..."These are big 8"x10" prints very suitable for framing. I would buy two copies - one to frame the pictures and the other to read to a young person. My mother did that with my first reading books and I loved to enjoy the illustrations as framed art for years to come. There is one picture with Matt Henson in it, but they forgot to credit it. This is a truly massive meterorite, 70,000 pounds and still today an amazing specimen. Henson and Peary had a heck of a time moving this thing and it's two smaller pieces on a ship - it took several expeditions to finally move the main mass onto a ship. Peary made a sensation in the press when he brought the meteorite to New York. Today it is still a main exhibit at the Museum of Natural History in New York City. I know, because as a child I used to climb on it ! when on special days my Mother would drive us in to New York from Connecticut for a day of exploring the great museum. I still recall it's great metallic mass with crater like holes in it's cold, smooth surface. Great first reader, great introduction to Peary & Henson - the most amazing and famous of all Arctic explorers who went on to reach the North Pole in 1909. I hope these authors choose to illustrate that story some day. I'll buy one just to frame the prints!

The book "Ugh" written by Arthur Yorinks and illustrated by Richard Egielski was one of the funniest books that I have ever read. It kind of reminded me of "Cinderella" but it had its own sense of pre-historic mystic and plot. I truly hoped that the author will be inspired to tell us a little bit more about "Ugh." Perhaps a sequel would be nice . . . Either way this book is great. I never laughed so hard-- its simply hilarious!

"Ugh" be story of Ugh, cave boy with big ideas. But Ugh not happy. Ugh have mean sisters, mean brothers. Ugh do all the work-- painting the cave walls, rubbing sister's feet-- while the world plays. But things change when Ugh invent bicycle. --For the first time since "Louis the Fish" introduced adult-style fictional minimalism, complex psychology, and maybe even reincarnation [as well as thuggish salamis and hamburger patties] to the American picture book audience, Yorinks and Egielski have created an equally charming fictional world, in which a perfectly modulated narrative voice is wed to perfectly articulated illustrations. "Hey, Al!" may be the Caldecott winner from this duo, but "Ugh" and "Louis the Fish" are the true classics.

I'm a Children's Librarian and in my experience "Buz" is the only book that I have actually had the kids ask for by name. Usually when I have storytime, the kids completely forget what I've read by the following week, but not so with Buz. Egielski's illustrations are delightful and the text is so much fun to read! And to top off all this it's education to boot! I highly recommend BUZ!

Set in New York City, Richard Egielski's version of The Gingerbread Boy is a treat for the eyes. The illustrations are richly detailed and colorful, and my 3 year old son loves this modern version. He and I talk about the characters and details, telling stories within the story. Our favorite illustration shows of a group of construction workers who pause in their work to chase that irresistible gingerbread boy. My son really loves the chase scenes, but the picture of the fox eating the gingerbread boy is a little scary. We highly recommend this version to readers 3 and up.

Arthur Yorinks is a spare writer with the gift of hitting the comic and serious simultaneously and with deadly accuracy. This book sings its humor and moves along with the pace of a keystone kop two reeler. And the picture of a man with no head trying to eat a bagel alone is worth the entire price of this prince of children's books. Read it and don't laugh. I dare you

Dear Mr. Gellett: I'll never forget, the fun I have with you. My only regret, As I think of you yet, Is you only wrote TWO! The Little Father is one of the cutest books I've ever known. I cherished it as a child, my child couldn't get enough of it, and my first grade kids want to climb all over me, when I read it. One author I wish I could have met!

Long after this story joined our vast family collection, our son especially took to the pranks of Milton and Morris, twins who accidentally blow up the ship carrying them from England to New York--and their parents, too.

"It was an accident at sea many years ago" the story begins, following illustrations of the boys sneaking into the ship's hold and lighting some fuses. (Devils!)

They wash up in New York, shuffle from orphanage to orphanage, and finally escape from Rotten's Home for Lost Boys to the circus. Then they, oops, try lifting a pocket watch from a clever old man. He catches them red-handed, and takes them home.

Nathan, it turns out, is a fine tailor. When he dies, they are bereft. But they know tailoring. Dressed as old men, they start selling suits to the fanciest of people.

One day, a delighted Mrs. Guggenheim declares, "You two simply must come with us to meet the Queen." Milton and Morris find themselves in England wowing the court--everyone, that is, except the Queen's gardener and his wife. Yup, you guessed it, their parents.

This story is just plain old fun. Alyssa A. Lappen

Terrific story to read aloud. Anyone who has ever visited FOA Schwartz or other giant toy store will appreciate this story about Molly and her Grampa. How to choose just one present??? You will enjoy this delightful tale, I promise.

Like so many other story's listed above, I too first read this story when I was 9 years old. At that age I believed the longer the story was the better the content. Generaly I was wrong, but this time I couldn't have been more write. I read the whole story in a matter of hours and fell in love with it. I checked out Amy's Eyes as often as I could and made it my favorite book. After I moved away I was shocked to find that I couldn't locate Amy's Eyes anywhere. I'm 13 now and just recenly found the story at a library and I'm glad to know that I can now own this book for myself. This heart warming tale about a young girls imaginative adventures is one I'll never forget. Its tragdys and joys will live inside of me for all of my life.

I know that I sound like all the other reviews, but this story took me back to my childhood. I originally checked the book out at the library when I was young and read parts of it each night to my little sister. This was a special time for us and this story transported us to everywhere the doll went. We are older now and have grown somewhat apart. I recently found this book and ordered us each a copy. It is a great read as adults just like when we were younger and we will always have that bond between us. It is such a magical story that I can't wait to hand down to my children.

This review may sound like one further up on the page, but that is very similiar to my story. When I was 8 or 9 I picked up Amy's Eyes and I couldn't put it down, it was so wonderful! Now, I'm 13 and I was thinking about it the other day. I vowed to find a copy of that book! So I did, and I read it again and it is even better now then it was then. I absolutely loved it!

Dragnet (dum de dum dum), nursery rhymes (Little Boy Blue), James Cagney (you dirty rat), and Hawaii 5-O (Book 'im, ducko) all contribute to this clever detective tale, and the typeface looks like typewriter type, just as a detective's report would have looked before computers.

The inventive use of other sources and the logical detection of the plot make this a winner for adults. I can't wait to see how my four-year-old grandson likes it.

Parts of some illustrations didn't seem to have anything to do with the story, but the lettuce leaf hanging from the dirty rat's chin is perfect, though obvious.

If the children you read to like mysteries, try the Nate the Great series by Marjorie Sharmat. They are easy-to-read books and great logic puzzles for the young.

The Web Files is a wacky, hilarious detective tale set in a barnyard with two ducks as heroes. Dum De Dum Dum. Styled on the old Dragnet series model, the tale unfolds with minimum clipped dialogue and lots of implied action humourously expressed by the color illustrations of Richard Egielski. This school age child's book's style is contagious. Be prepared for repeat requests to read this one aloud.

What a fun and funny book Margie Palatini has written--and Richard Egielski's cartoonish yet deadpan illustrations complement it beautifully. Palatini has taken the "Dum de dum dum" theme from TV's long-ago "Dragnet" and applied it here to a barnyard mystery. Sounds simple, and simplistic, but she soars in weaving into the story all sorts of fairy tale and nursery rhyme goodies--not to mention wonderful wordplay, like:

"A lot of squawking going on down in the coop area, Ducktective Web. Looks like fowl play. Report says feathers are flying. Chief says we should check out the chicks."

"Chicks?"

"Check."

"Let's fly." DUM DE DUM DUM . . .

Palatini works in Peter Piper and his pack of pickled peppers (upping the ante by calling them perfect and purple as well), a falsely accused Little Boy Blue who offers the alibi that HE didn't do it because he was under the haystack, fast asleep--which the witnesses then confirm with: "The sheep were in the meadow. Cows in the corn." Swing back again quickly to the "Dragnet" end of things and the author makes one of the suspects an actual Dirty Rat (aptly named Ratzo).

This is fun for children and possibly even more fun for their baby boomer parents. It's a great read.