This book is for anyone who wants to read with children - their own children, their grandchildren - or even the neighbors' children. Although it does have strategies for building a book club, it also has tips for building a reading relationship between one adult and one or two kids. For instance, the book gives ways to read books that have some disturbing events in them - such as any book dealing with the holocaust will have. Don't get me wrong - it isn't all serious, but discussing serious issues is very possible with young readers and this collabortive team lets us know how to do that.

If all parents read with their children in this way, we would have a nation of amazing adolescents on their way to becoming fine leaders and thinkers. Now - THAT'S a thought. . . .

This book's title should not scare off a mom or daughter who feels she doesn't have time or inclination to start a book group. Its content is great inspiration for reading with your own child or a child you care about (regardless of gender). For instance, there are some very good thoughts on how to help a child handle potentially disturbing or scarey parts of an otherwise enjoyable book. Also, the reviews in the last chapter are really meaningful as a suggested reading list.

With the above in mind, I have suggested this to friends in my generation (as a grandparent) as well as to young parents and friends.

This wonderful gem should be publicized everywhere in the USA. Not only does it include practical suggestions for the mechanics of starting a parent-child book club, it also shines with whimsy and freshness. Reading this book is like conversing with friends whose good senses of humor temper problem solving and strengthen their relationships. Sidebars let us see the uniqueness of the members of this collaborative team, and the book reviews by these young girls reveal such perception and kindness. I am giving it to friends - young and old - throughout the year 2001.

Don't disdain this marvelous book. Julie Sahni teaches you how to cook Indian food in the microwave, with flair and flavor. In the process, you learn things about microwave cooking you never knew. The microwave really can make "real" food, and Julie Sahni shows you how. The recipes need the quantity of spices increased in some cases, but this book is an endless delight and resource. Wonderful for summer months when you crave the flavor of that luscious curry but want to beat the heat in the kitchen, or just for any time when speed and ease seem the way to go! I love this book. I own over 30 Indian cookbooks, but I return to this often.

I tried several of her recipes after watching Ms. Sahni on the Frugal Gourmet a few years ago.
The dishes I prepared were a hit with family and friends. I would especially recommend making the Indian sweets using her microwave methods. The results were quick and delicious!

This is the first time I've ever read a cook-book that actually gives you real step-by-step recipies that work really well. The directions are obvious, even for a initiate like myself, and at least 95% of the ingredients are the off-the-shelf variety. I also love the way Julie Sahni "narrates" her recipies, giving me just enough outside information to add some depth to the dish, and yet not so much as to detract from the recipies themselves. What else can I say except that my copy is used almost every weekend, and it's already dog-eared and well worn. I just hope she comes out with a follow-on at some point...

I gave this book to my 5 year-old niece for her birthday, and she really liked it! The story is really cute, and it repeats certain words--which is a good reading tool for kids. It also has these stars that the child is supposed to give themselves each time they read the story. That's neat--good reinforcement for reading skills! Also a great book for satisfying a child's curiosity about losing their tooth.

My 6-year old daughter is getting better at reading everyday - this book helps put confidence into beginning readers and the subject matter of losing teeth is a BIG HIT with any 6-year-old. Definetly a must have for any early readers collection!

This is a fun read-aloud/early reader for those awaiting their first few visits from the tooth fairy! It has appealing pictures and a rhyming story that my daughter delighted in reciting by heart after the first few readings. It perfectly captures the obsession young kids have with their first loose teeth. And unlike many of the early readers we've looked at, it tells a real story that kids in the target age group (or a bit younger) are actually interested in.

I have been searching for this book for several years and I have finally found it(I forgot the title so it's been a long search)!I read it years ago and was moved to tears many times. Ms. Salamon describes her mothers history in such a way that you feel like you were right there with her. You can feel her joy and her pain. You get to know her before the war touched her life and all the way through her move to America and the start of her family. This was the only book I have ever read that I could not put down! It's unbelievably good!

Julie Salamon is a friend and a person I respect mightily, so I am not exactly objective. Nevertheless, I found her discovery of her family's history--and her trip to the death camps with her mother--remarkable and so compelling that I was unable to put it down. I read the book in 1996 and though I buy, read and donate hundreds of books a year, this one remains in our library. It will be a good resource for our children as they learn of the effects of the Holocaust on us all--and of human ability to overcome horrors. Alyssa A. Lappen

This is the most moving story of Holocaust survivors that I have ever read. While it does a great job describing author's parents' experiences in concentration camps, what makes it unique is its ability to also show how victims of that horror were able to put their lives back together and not be defeated by it. I also was moved by the author's own journey of discovery about her parents and who they were, aside from their identity as Survivors. All of us, I think, would relish the opportunity to really know who their parents are

Janet Wong writes a collection of poems based on dreams, and uses these to relate to children on several different levels. She uses adult sub-themes that children often don't see, but at the same time these children are seeing a world that previously had only been in their minds. Wong's poems are based on child-like dreams, such as the sensation of falling, finding an old friend, and being alone. Her stream of consciousness style lends to the feeling of a child's dream, and helps to draw in readers of all ages. The illustrations are active and fit with each poem's style, helping ot keep young readers stimulated and interested. This book proves that poetry can be fun and enjoyable, even to small children. Adults and children alike can use this book to escape into the world of dreams without needing to leave reality.

This collection of poems was inspired by several of Julie Paschkis' finished paintings. Having seen her work, I approached her in 1997 and asked if she would be interested in collaborating on a book. She said yes, but insisted on doing a whole new set of paintings! Julie's illustrations take my poems to an entirely new level; look at the border illustrations, in particular. The book was chosen by the NY Times as 1 of the 10 best illustrated books of 2000!

What a book - from beginning to end awash with images of dreams. The artwork beautifully reflects the words. I recommend it to anyone who dreams, or dreams of dreaming.

This is a wonderful book which takes an everyday task, climbing the stairs, and makes it magical. Every step is an event in itself. The illustrations are so adorable it will hold the attention of the reader and the toddler alike. You will enjoy this book as much as your children.

It is a book any child would like. A great way to learn numbers and so much imagination. It's an over and over again reading book. Each step up the stairs has an event. Also the illustrations are suburb, very well done!

Beautifully illustrated, with delightful and resonant text, this book belongs in the library of any parent of a young child. An excellent bedtime book, this one is sure to please. (I'm pretty sure the second mouse is a little boy, though, despite what Kirkus says.)

This is one of the best books I had the pleasure of reading! I suggest this book to everyone who wants to learn about unusual historical information of how human excrement was disposed of. If you think about, the human civilization did evolve because of the toilet. In fact, cities, including Seattle, were built because of the toilet. Highly recommend it!

A delightfully quirky and informative read. The ultimate dissertation on the sociology of elimination. Ideal bathroom reading-no washroom should be without a copy of this book!

What a fun book. A fascinating history of the toilet,with enough humor to keep you turning the pages as fast as possible. I think it is a great gift idea for the peron who has everything. A must for every bathroom

Book Description: Magical realism has become almost synonymous with Latin American fiction, but this way of representing the layered and often contradictory reality of the topsy-turvy, late-capitalist, globalizing world finds equally vivid expression in U.S. multiethnic and British postcolonial literature and film. Writers and filmmakers such as Oscar "Zeta" Acosta, Ana Castillo, Julie Dash, Hanif Kureishi, and Salman Rushdie have made brilliant use of magical realism to articulate the trauma of dislocation and the legacies of colonialism that people of color experience in the postcolonial, multiethnic world. This book seeks to redeem and refine the theory of magical realism in U.S. multiethnic and British postcolonial literature and film. The author engages in theoretically sophisticated readings of Ana Castillo's So Far from God, Oscar "Zeta" Acost's Autobiography of a Brown Buffalo, Salman Rushdie's Midnight's Children, Shame, The Satanic Verses, and The Moor's Last Sigh, Julie Dash's Daughters of the Dust, and Stephen Frears and Hanif Kureishi's Sammy and Rosie Get Laid. Coining the term "magicorealism" to characterize these works, Aldama not only creates a postethnic critical methodology for enlarging the contact zone between the genres of novel, film, and autobiography, but also shatters the interpretive lens that traditionally confuses the transcription of the real world, where truth and falsity apply, with narrative modes governed by other criteria.

Reviews:
"In this exciting new book, Frederick Luis Aldama has done an outstanding job of remapping 'magical realism"--Werner Sollors, Henry B. and Anne M. Cabot Professor of English Literature and Professor of Afro-American Studies, Harvard University.

"Frederick Luis Aldama offers a vigorous revisionary perspective on postcolonial literature and, more specifically, on the much discussed phenomenon of magicorealism. He has a commanding knowledge of postcolonial theory, and he performs a welcome critical task in demonstrating how it tends to confuse the confines of the academy with the contours of the real world, textuality with ontology. Aldama himself is a political critic, but he sanely argues that the arena of any serious politics is the world of living people and not a text"--Robert Alter, Professor of Comparative Literature, University of California at Berkeley and author of Canon and Creativity.

"Providing a lucid and cogent critique of the tendency in contemporary criticism to ontologize "magical realism," a tendency that implicitly articulates a relatively simple mimetic relationship between "magical realism" and various postcolonial cultures, Frederick Aldama instead posits a theory of what he calls "rebellious mimetics" that introduces a complex aesthetic and political mediation in that relationship. In doing so, he weaves together a series of excellent analyses of novels and films by authors and artists as diverse as Salman Rushdie, Ana Castillio, Oscar Zeta Acosta, Julie Dash, and Hanif Kureishi. This is a very significant contribution to the study of this genre"--Abdul R. JanMohamed, Professor of English, University of California, Berkeley.

"In this insightful and forceful study of magical realism, Aldama successfully argues that a true postethnic and postcolonial criticism should not (con)fuse the world with the text. His commentaries on Castillo, Dash, Kureishi, Acosta, and Rushdie force the readers to see these artists' magicorealist works in a new light, thus revealing all of their splendid and contradictory complexities. Aldama's book is a must for anyone who wishes to understand the intricacies of magical realism and the vitality of this genre in contemporary European postcolonial and ethnic American literature and scholarship"--Emilio Bejel, Professor of Spanish American Literature, University of Colorado at Boulder and author of Gay Cuban Nation.

"Through a study of the playful narrative techniques of writers and film-makers such as Dash, Garcia Marquez, Rushdie and Kureishi, Frederick Luis Aldama offers a powerful critique of those who view magical realism as either a means toward postcolonial resistance or as a depiction of some exotic real world. Proposing a "postethnic" approach, Aldama argues convincingly that a reader's or viewer's understanding of the aesthetic dimensions of what he calls "magicorealism" can lead to greater political understanding than older, more ideologically oriented interpretations"--Herbert Lindenberger, Avalon Professor of Humanities, Emeritus, Stanford University.

"It is rare that we come across a truly great book, one in which fierce intelligence asserts itself in pages that truly matter. Such a book assigns us the task of reordering what we have taken as true on the promise of an understanding more profound. In such a book, we are guided by extraordinary vision, by an author with keen insight. In the rarest of occasions, we read words that are wise, words that make broad connection and interrogate a range of thought that afterwards we deem necessary. Postethnic Narrative Criticism is such a book; Frederick Aldama is such an author"--Alfred Arteaga, Associate Professor of Ethnic Studies, University of California, Berkeley.

This work offers a highly valuable rethinking of magical realism, one that assesses previous work in new ways, one that extends the historical reach of arguments about magical realism, and one that brings a new level of sophistication to arguments about it"--Carl Guitierrez-Jones, Professor and Chair, University of California, Santa Barbara.

Enfin! Postethnic Narrative Criticism is the first book in ethnic and postcolonial literary and film studies that cuts through Gordian knots that arise from confusing narrative fiction (a complexly organized aesthetic that uses point of view, style, and genre to engage readers) with the facts that make up our reality outside of the text.
This is a must read for any reader interested in moving away from studies--poststructrualist or otherwise--that lead to dead ends.
It is a must read for readers tired of jargon and fundamental misconceptions of what novels and films can do in the world at large.

Calling for active participation from knowledgeable and intelligent readers, Post-Ethnic Narrative Criticism serves as a well drawn out map for literary exploration through an innovative approach to understanding complicated literature and films. Thought his engagement as an author, Aldama speaks directly to his audience in a manner that is candid, forthright, and compelling. Although this is a difficult text- one that must not be taken lightly, this work acknowledges real dilemmas of real peoples, and offers up a critically and emotionally balanced understanding of the often-subtle dilemmas of contemporary narratology confronting such peoples.
As a result of my own time spent with this text I have walked away with a greater understanding of how narrative techniques inform textual spaces of those who are often placeless, and how this (dis)location functions both inside and out of the academy.

I think Julie Elizabeth Leto is one of the fastest rising voices in the series romance field. She is so strong in her craft, she creates vivid, interesting characters that are very memorable, and imbues her stories with her love of the New Orleans area, showing a strong technique in romance writing. She understand how to create sexual tension on a level of 10, yet still remembers the difference between sexual tension and romance. She has the wee touches that make a writer shine and shine she does!!

This is the first of the Chance brothers series, and it is a knockout. Serena Deveaux, grew up with Drew and Brandon, but at 17 the childhood friendships began to change. Serena fell in a mild crush with Brandon Chance, and Drew thought he fell in love with her. Brandon drunkenly ruined it all by shattering her teenage fantasies about romance one night. Immediately after, he went off to join the air force, later becoming a Nightstalker pilot. However, vision problems have forced him to retire and he is now opening a private investigation agency in the French Quarter. And who should be his first client - his old love Serena!

During this time, Drew's insistence he loves Serena has grown to the point he is trying to force her into marriage. She wants to discourage him without losing his friendship, and hits upon hiring Brandon to dim Drew's feelings. She concocts a hair-brain scheme to hire him as her bodyguard against the "cliché killer", pure invention on her part (though she later admits to herself and him it was just an excuse to approach Brandon). She thinks if Drew sees them together in a romantic light, he will back off. She makes a bet, knowing the men of Chance cannot back away from one, and banks on him living up to losing. In short time, she see she still is very attracted to him, so fesses up to the whole thing being a red herring, that she was hoping to drive Drew away without ruining their friendship. Only, someone else has other ideas and suddenly is making the "cliché killer" very real.

Aside from the problem of the threat, the main characters' have to deal with their different goals in life. Brandon wants a wife in the suburbs, kids and white picket fences. Serena is New Orleans all the way, loves to party-on-down-Cher and dance till dawn at The Reservation Hall (I have done this so truly sympathised with Serena!!). Can they find that bridge between their desires and their wants for the future???

Serena and Brandon are very warm and loving characters. Serena is wild, full of life, but is afraid of commitment after her parents' divorce. She is working to find a relationship with her estranged twin sister. Brandon, while being Hunk extraordinaire, is also very human - having his vision problems, and forced to wear glasses. Very Nice touch, Julie!!

Sprinkled in are Serena's twin sister (raised away from her), her psychic mother - who knows all - the kindly cook who makes all those wonderful New Orleans dishes that Justin Wilson would adore and all sort of New Orleans 'all that jazz'.

As a writer myself, I think creating one these series books is likely one of the harder tasks any writer undertakes. To give so much in such a short span of pages is a great challenge and Julie Leto rising to that challenge so well.

She is one of the best and brightest talents in series romance - keep your eye on her - she is going places!!

I triple-dog dare you to read this and not love Leto's writing!!
;-)

When Drew Stuart moved beyond insulting or rude Valentines to mushy and started talking about marriage, Serena Deveaux decided to put an end to the nonsense. They've been best friends since kindergarten, and the last thing Serena wants to ruin their friendship by getting married. Her parents had already provided a terrible example of what can go wrong. Now she tries to live as simply as possible: an occasional lover without long term relationships, playing and have fun without marriage. Now Drew has made things not so simple.

Serena concocts an elaborate scheme to ditch Drew's romantic notions. And the scheme involves the only man she's ever loved, Brandon Chance. Fifteen years ago a graduation kiss with Brandon proved to her how foolish becoming involved with a best friend can be. Now she wants to hire Brandon to be her bodyguard and then make Drew think that they are lovers. He'll warn her about friends who destroy their friendship over romance, stop persuing her without destroying the friendship, and all her problems will be solved. After all, marriage is not an option, even if it costs her a cherished friend.

When she shows up at Chances Protection the first morning of business, Serena refuses to be turned away by Brandon's irritability. But he quickly changed his tone when she handed him beignets and cafe au lait. He's spent fifteen years trying to keep Serena out of his life. They are too much alike--"too reckless, too rash, too willing to throw caution to the wind and fly straight into disaster." What he wants is a sensible practical wife to help keep him out of trouble. What he gets is, well, trouble...

Julie Elizabeth Leto creates a passionate, sexy tale of love reunited. Serena is a playful, unpredictable sprite that doesn't back down no matter the wager or the chance she must take. Chance has to learn to reconcile the fun and unexpected with his vision of the future and learn to listen to his heart, creating a marvelous tension in the novel that keeps the reader smiling. Don't start this one at bedtime unless you want to be up all night. Very highly recommended.

"Pure Chance" is a romantic "who done it" novel. The heroine and hero have fun personalities. I did not want to put the book down!