Scaring sleeping uncles by popping balloons. Getting a hatchet by mistake. Snowballing cats. Dylan Thomas has captured the perfect Christmas. Without any moral, very little plot, and a concern only for the child's perspective, this little piece sticks in my mind better than any other Christmas story I've ever read. Between drunk Auntie Hannah singing in the backyard and the haunted house down the streets where a group of mischievous carollers get the living hell scared out of them, "A Child's Christmas in Wales" is everything Christmas should be: funny, happy, poignant, a little sad, and fattening. Keep a bowl of candy nearby when you read it.

Dylan Thomas' imagery and prose invoke the secular feelings of Christmas like no other book. His floating word-pictures are both vague and precise, inviting the reader's imagination to fill in the blanks. Thomas creates the sensations of memory--blurred, idiosyncratic, and suffused with impression:

"There were church bells, too"
"Inside them?"
"No, no, no, in the bat-black, snow-white belfries, tugged by bishops and storks. And they rang their tidings over the bandaged town, over the frozen foam of the powder and ice-cream hills, over the crackling sea."

Fortunately, the dreamlike imagery never weighs down the book. Instead, Thomas wishes only to convey the warmth, humor, and imagination of his childhood Christmases in Wales. Although this is great modernist literature, it is completely unpretentious and can be enjoyed by all ages. The book seems longer than it is, perhaps because Thomas' depictions linger warmly after one reads about the Christmas fire, the smoking Uncles and drinking aunts, the presents ("...and a celluloid duck that made, when you pressed it, a most unducklike sound, a mewing moo that an ambitious cat might make who wished to be a cow"), the dinner, the caroling at the large strange house where "the wind through the trees made noises as of old and unpleasant and maybe webfooted men in caves," the music, and the soft bedtime.

These episodes are generally no longer than a page each, but they graft onto our own memories--or would-be memories--of what Christmas could or should be like. In sum, it's a pleasure for the both the intellect and the senses, an unsentimental yet warm treat for both young and older audiences. It's one of the truest--and therefore most satisfying--Christmas books you'll ever read.

Dylan Thomas made hours of recordings of his poems, stories and plays, but none of them is as endearingly personal as this distillation of his childhood Christmases in Swansea. And his performance is unforgettable. Put a log on the fire, and let Thomas's rich, deep voice take you straight to the heart of a child's Christmas.

Here are the dark side of the human soul, with all its charm and idealism! The beauty of the female, the goodness of the idiot, the criminal who falls in love and punishes himself. Here are love stories that make you weep and laugh. You meet a noble thief, and get to know the insulted and the inhumiliated that suddenly seem to you to be the most loveable people in the world. The world of Dostoyevsky is full of love, children, women and... contradictions and conflicts.

The Soviet Union burned Bibles and banned their importation. Yet, possibly out of national pride, they never censored the work of this great Russian novelist. Luther once said that if the entire Bible were lost, except the Book of Romans, that it alone would be enough for salvation. Dostoyevesky takes us a step further: in a land where one could be born, grow up, and die at normal life expectancy, all under the aegeis of Communism, without ever seeing a Bible, could the message of the Gospel still be found? Of course, the author died decades before the Revolution of 1917, but his work answeres the question we pose in the affirmative. His works, excerpted for this book, contain what can only be described as lengthy homilies, clothed as literature. From the famous "Grand Inquisitor" from "The Brothers Karamatzov," to lesser-known passages from "The Idiot" and other works, each selection expounds on Christian doctrine. Strongly influenced by the Gospel of St. John, Dostoyevesky uses the resurrection of Lazarus, for example, as the basis of a conversation between a murderer and a prostitute in "Crime and Punishment." The eleventh chapter of John is included in near entirety, as one sufferer reads it to the other. Nearly all of the imagery here is Johnnine; perhaps Dostoyevesky was a visionary: Spengeler wrote that the next millenium of Russian histoty would belong to St. John. Al all events, this is a bedside companion that will provoke deep reflection in those who read it, and perhaps make them wonder, as I do, if Dostoyevesky's works weren't intended by a higher power to be a light in the darkest days of the Evil Empire. -Lloyd A. Conway

These two words describe simply the book. However, for those "busy souls intimidated by the length of his great novels", I must say: "Buy his long great novels, particularly 'The Idiot' and 'Crime and Punishment'. It will only take you more time reading them but it will be worth it for sure. Believe me."

On each page, the text follows the same grammatical pattern as the title.
This is an easy pattern for students of English as a second language to follow.

This often-overlooked title is a great one for students just beginning to read.

In 5th grade, we had to choose a poem to recite from a book ofthe teachers choice. I was given this book, and fell in love with it.'Grass' is haunting, and subtle word play makes every read seem like the first time.

This book is a classic! It is strong drama that captures your attention. It is worth reading.

What if: after the publication of Gulliver's Travels, some unscrupulous men went to Lilliput, captured some of the inhabitants, and brought them back to exhibit in a sideshow? And what if some years later they escaped and took up residence in a moldering summer house on a forgotten island in a pond on the middle of a huge estate, where they lived their lives undiscovered for two centuries, until the orphan girl who lives there in modern times finds them? This is the intriguing premise of Mistress Masham's Repose, an unjustly forgotten work by the great T.H. White. This is the story of the girl's discovery, and how it changes her life and theirs. Complete with evil governess, scheming vicar, and seeming miles of passageways and mysterious rooms in the huge house, this is a great adventure book with a girl as the hero. My sisters and I loved it in the 50's, our children have loved our old copy in the 80's and 90's, and now t's being republished. Highly recommended.

A marvelous book that deserves to be reprinted, this is the story of a ten-year-old orphan girl living on a huge moldering English estate with her nasty governess. She discovers a group of Lilliputians who have been living on an island on the estate since they escaped from the sideshow into which they were put by an associate of Lemuel Gulliver many years before. There's a good T.H.White homepage with a far more complete review at http://home.techlink.net/~moulder/mistress.html. Like the best children's literature, this is written so well as to be a delight to any adult reading it to his children (as my mother read it to me in the mid-fifties). Find a copy in the library, if you can.

I got this for my niece, a 10-year-old re-reader of the Potter books. I had read it in my early teen years, and followed up with the King Author books. The political undercurrents were invisible to me then, and don't add much now.

She said she liked it. I'll probably get her the Sword in the Stone for Christmas.

It has a happy ending. I had a crush on the protagonist as illustrated by Eichenberg. At 52 it is difficult to be sure of one's competence in reviewing a book for young people, but the memory of it persisted so long that I missed it, long since lost, and paid an exorbitant price for a used copy for my daughter a few years ago. She liked it too.

Odious though comparisons may be, I find more magic in the characters populating Mistress Masham's Repose than I do those in the Potter books. I think, too, that there is something to be said for the progressive maturity of the subsequent White books. Years from now my daughter and niece (and I) will still be enjoying T.H. White.

Till We Have Faces may have had a message to share but I am afraid I never gave the deeper points of the novel enough time to penetrated my young, ADD mind. I'll admit honestly that I enjoyed this book mostly for it's sparce, but well written, action scenes. I loved the swordfighting. I think C.S. Lewis paints a convincing picture of a dark and dramatic fuedal kingdom, complete with heavy-handed tyrants, oportunist nobles, superstitious peasants, eerie priests, and discontented princesses both beatiful and loathsome. From the very beginning, the book seems to be preparing for a really big adventure, but I spent the whole novel waiting without ever having my thirst for action completely satisfied. Obviously the author had something else in mind. The truly dramatic moments were few and far between, but when they did come they were vivid and believable. Though the philisophical and historical efforts of the author were, for the most part, wasted on me, though I did like the way he portrayed the helenistic lifestyle. When we studied greek mythology in high school english, I thought it was ridiculous that any group of people would have actually believed in the moody and promiscuous Greek gods or their Roman counterparts. I imagined the people back then probably chuckled through their togas as they wrote about Zues, Aphrodite or Apollo. However, C.S. Lewis effectively presents people that do believe in their gods, at least enough to kill for them. Till We Have Faces, a tale told through the eyes of a no-nonsense girl, makes a good case for believing in the unseen. Near the end of the book there is a switch from reality into a vision, or metaphorical dreamland I am not sure what. I feel embarrassed that I got lost near the end. I think a more careful reader might gain some important insights from the abstract portions at the end of the book. As for me, I just had to think too hard. Happy reading!

Save for the science fiction trilogy, this was Lewis's only venture into adult fiction, and he considered it his best work. Unfortunately, reviews at the time were tepid, and, daunted, he did not try again. This is a shame, as the novel is a brilliant read, and should acquire classic status. The story is told by Orual, Psyche's ugly sister, and it is her voice, at once erudite and lucid, that lends the novel its charm and power. Lewis made one mistake: he added a section at the end tying the novel closer to the myth. The first section forms a perfect whole. My advice: read the second section once, but discard it on subsequent readings.

I give this book 5 stars only because there is no 6 star option. From the very beginning, the book grabbed me and pulled me into a deep, but extremely followable plot. C.S. Lewis uses his skillful word choice and masterful story telling to put the reader directly in every situation, action, and thought. The situations presented to you all throughout the book are explored in full detail until it almost feels as if the decisions made were your own and not the character's. Besides being a joy to read, this book also makes you think. Lewis does a good job of putting just enough spin on the old fable until it seems as if the fable really should have been written his way to start off with. You'll find yourself second-guessing old assumptions you have, and re-addressing your thoughts, fears, feelings, and judgments. If you're looking for a book to put you to sleep at night, this is not the book for you. But if you're looking for a book that's fun to read, interesting, and deeply engaging--a book you can treasure forever--Till We Have Faces is what you're looking for.

Anna Sewell's novel Black Beauty is a timeless classic for readers of all ages, but has a main demographic of females from the age 9 to 16.
The story takes place in 19th century England. IT follows the life and experience of a horse named Black Beauty. The horse is born on a farm and sold at the age of four. His first owner Squire Gordon is a great loving man. Black Beauty is treated with respect and dignity. The story follows the horse as he is then sold from owner to owner. He becomes neglected and abused by carriage owners. A loving and gentle man finally purchases Black Beauty. He cares about the horses and treats them well. Black Beauty is finally happy as a carriage horse when tragedy strikes. His owner is struck with illness and is forced to sell the horse. Black Beauty is sold to a poor owner and is neglected. He longs to go back home to squire Gordon's farm and live a happy life once again.

The book is uniquely enough from the horse's point of view. This helps children connect with the horse, and makes the book more interesting and easy to follow along with. The heart breaking tale of a horse's life that will readers leave on the edge of their seat wanting to keep reading, dying to find out what happens next. The book goes into detail about how animal abuse used to be in the early 1900's. Older children have and will continue to enjoy this book for generations to come.

Since pictures & illustrations are as much a part of a child's imagination as the written word, then this book beautifully combines both, with the abundant B&W line illustrations by illustrator Lucy Kemp-Welch, in addition to the 12 colour plates included - all in keeping with the time period this novel is set in. A wonderful edition to any child's library.

I've been reading horse-topic related books for as long as I can remember; but the very 1st horse story that left an indelible impression on me was ANNA SEWELL's " BLACK BEAUTY ".

It really openend my eyes as to the abuse and cruelty - and majestic fraility - that these wonderful creatures suffer at the hands of their human counterparts.

Ms Sewell opted to write this book from " the horse's point of view " and she was one of the very few authors that was able to pull this off with such great success.

This book also, laid the cornerstone for the ASPCA aims and goals, and brought to light the conditions and treatment of working horses in 20th century London, England ( and elsewhere ).

The story is such a wonderful tale of a horse's life from start to finish; told with a quiet dignity and warmth - and serves as a successful analogy also, as to how humans should interact with one another.

This book also laid the cornerstone for my interest and love of horses, and further spurred my interest in reading about all things Equine.

From there, and I went on to read all of Walter Farley's "The Black Stallion" series ( I used to collect the hardcover editions), and Marguerite Henry's books, and National Velvet(which really wasn't about a horse per se, but more about a little girl who's dreams come true), and anything else I could get my horsey-hungry hands on!

I now keep a copy of Anna Sewell's "Black Beauty" in my library at home, and have given a copy to my daughter to read.

This is a tale that sensitizes the reader to the plight of horses at the hands of their human caregivers, trainers, etc - all told from the horse's mouth ( so to speak )..!

And lest we think that the inhumane treatment of horses has abided since this book was written - one only has to follow the controversy surrounding the use of "Premarin", or abusive training methods of gaited horses, or the Thoroughbred racing industry, or rodeo...etc.

There is still much to be gleaned about the exploitation and abuse of animals from this book - which will always remain a timeless classic.

Kim C. Montreal, 05/2000

"Black Beauty," written by author Anna Sewell, is one of the most famous horse books during the nineteenth century. Part of its achievement consists that the novel is a classic for people with many different characteristics. First published in 1877, "Black Beauty" continues to enjoy people for new generations of American citizens around the world. Anna Sewell's brilliant account of animal treatment became a historic breakthrough because it was the first book that described a horse's experience in England. "An autobiography of a young stallion," this book follows the life of Black Beauty. Throughout the novel, it is told in a creative first person form, as if Beauty was describing and narrating his life. Ms. Sewell chose to write this book from the "horses point of view," and she remarkably was able to succeed with her novel. Since Sewell intended on writing this novel in Beauty's point of view, the reader begins to understand the impact of good and treatment towards the horse and his loyal friends. Starter of the Humane Society, the author truly captivates readers with this autobiography of a beautiful, friendly, loving black stallion. In a letter to her friend, Sewell expresses that she hopes "Black Beauty will induce kindness, sympathy, and understanding treatment towards horses." From Beauty's happy, enjoyable youth to his pleasant retirement, Anna Sewell ingeniously wrote the book to remind the cruel treatment in the 1800's. Most importantly, Sewell wrote the book in a time where horses were not given the same respect today, and "Black Beauty" helped to open the eyes of many to the cruelty horses had to suffer. Although Anna Sewell's classic paints a clear picture of the society in London, England, its message is universal and timeless: animals were serve humans well if they are treated with consideration and kindness.

The Jungle Books are usually marketed as juvenile fiction. True, this is essential reading for children, but it's even deeper when you read it as an adult.

Although "Rikki-Tikki-Tavi" and "The White Seal" are just as good as the least of the Mowgli stories, it is the various tales of the boy raised in the jungles of India that are - and justifiably - the heart of the collection.

As a baby, Mowgli is found and raised by a clan of wolves and three godfatherly mentors who each teach him about life in different ways - Baloo the Bear, who teaches him the technical laws he'll need to survive; Kaa the Python, the nearly archtypal figure who teaches him even deeper lessons; and Bagheera the Panther, who perhaps loves Mowgli most of all but understands all too well the implications of the ambiguous humanity of the boy he's come to care for.

The stories have it all, from the alternately humorous and frightening "Kaa's Hunting", where Mowgli learns an important lesson about friendship and it's responsibility, to the epic "Red Dog" that reads like something out of Homer, to "Letting in the Jungle" which, without giving anything away contains a disturbing paragraph that's both glaring and a long time in coming if you've read between the lines in the previous Mowgli stories and yet at the same time so subtle you can almost miss it's importance.

If you didn't read it as a child, read it now. If you did, read it again as an adult.

The story of Mowgli, a boy raised by wolves in the jungles of 19th century India, charmed me when I was young no less than it does today. Kipling wrote this to celebrate his love of India and it's wild animals as well as to show again some of his frequent themes of honor, loyalty, and perserverance. While his writing may seem 'dated' to some, to others the truths he includes rise above politics and 'current correctness'. Baloo the Bear, Shere Khan the Tiger, Bagheera the Panther, Kaa the Python were all childhood friends of mine, and reading these Jungle Book stories to your own children today will result in their exposure to such old fashioned concepts as sticking by your friends in adversity, helping your family, relying on yourself. Good lessons then, good lessons now. Mowgli learns the value of 'good manners' early on, learns that 'all play and no work' leads to unexpected troubles, learns that thoughtless actions can have devasting consequences. By showing Mowgli in an often dangerous 'all animal' world, we see reflections of modern human problems presented in a more subtle light. Kipling leads children down the jungle path into adventures beyond their day to day imagining and along the way, he weaves subtle points in and out of the stories, he shows the value of 'doing for yourself', of 'learning who to trust'. All of this in a tale of childhood adventure that's never been equaled. The book is over 100 years old now, and there are terms & concepts from the age of Empire that aren't 'correct' today. Parents can edit as needed as they read bedtime stories, but I've found that children learn early on that the world changes, and that some ideas that were popular long ago did not prove to be correct. Explaining this, too, is a part of parenting. Some of our current popular ideas may not stand the test of time, but I suspect that 100 years from now parents will still read the Jungle Book to their children. And the children will still be charmed, thrilled and instructed in valuable life-lessons.

This was probably one of my most favorite books as a young child if not my favorite. The way Kipling shows the struggle of this young boy in the jungle is amazing. He fails to leave out any detail and throughout the whole story your totally caught up in it without one point of boredom. I recommend this to any parent looking for a good book to read to their children or to have their kids read. Kipling is a great author and after doing a report on him and reading some of his other works I recommend those as well, especially A White Man's Burden. If your looking for books by a author who mixes fiction with truth, action and adventure with tales that bring in more serious aspects Kipling is the author for you.