I was amazed with all the positive comments from other readers regarding this book. I want to join in praise for Victoria Johnson's book All I learned in life I learned from Romance Novels.I loved the how to book on successful relationships.I loved the quotes from the famous Romance authors. Her advice is genuine and you can tell that the author knows her subject matter.Her book is positive and uplifting.

I literally could not put the book down. I enjoyed the authors views, the quips from celebrities within the romance field,and the vast amounts of research about intimacy and relationships.I will recommend All I ever learned in life I learned from Romance Novels to all of my friends.I plan to reread and keep as a steady reference.

I loved every word of author's Victoria Johnson's book titled All I need to Know in Life I learned from Romance Novels. I use this book as a steady reference, the information is incredible. It is obvious the the author is in love with romance. This book shows how the average woman or man can be their best selves in trying times.

I'm only 12, but this is the best book of the hundreds I've read. Alice McKinley's aunt reminds her that she's almost 13 and will be Woman of the House soon. (Her mother died when she was four.) Alice gets a head start on her womanhood by cleaning the entire house, having her father and brother get physical checkups, and throwing a birthday bash for her father's fiftieth birthday. Besides that, she must survive the latest crisis at school: the boys are matching the girls' chest sizes with a state according to its mountains' heights! Perspective yet hilarious! My favorite book ever until the next Alice book comes out

Alice in April is a really a good book.Alice is about to turn 13 and her dad and her Aunt Sally say that she going to be Woman of the House.Her mom died when she was little.As woman of the house Alice think that her dad and her brother Lester should go get a Physical.IF you want to know more about the book READ IT. Amanda S.-14

ALICE IN APRIL IS A BOOK THAT WILL HELP ANY SEVENTH GRADE GIRL WITH HER PROBLEMS. ALICE MOM HAS DIED WHEN SHE WAS FOUR WITH LUKEMIA. HER AUNT SALLY REMINDS HER THAT SHE IS ABOUT TO TURN THIRTEEN AND WILL BECOME WOMAN OF THE HOUSE. ALICE ALWAYS
THOUGHT THAT HER FATHER AND LESTER WILL ALWAYS TAKE CARE OF HER.
ALICE CAN CRY BUT CAN BE A HAPPY AT TIMES. DURING HER LIFE IN THE SEVENTH GRADE SHE DEALS OF MISERY, AND DEATH. ONE OF HER FRIENDS DENISE DIES BECAUSE OF SUICIDE. SHE KILLS HERSELF BY STANDING THERE WHEN THE TRAIN IS COMING. ALICE IS HEARTBROKEN
BUT BECOMES HAPPY AFTER A WHILE.

it's an astonishingly helpful book. It has so many useful things in it that it's just amazing. I've helped myself deal with more than a few health issues with this book. Highly Reccommended!

This work is a superior rendition on specific modalities which
relates vitamins and nutrients to specific disease processes.
The beauty of the work is that specific dosages are quoted in
daily milligrams or international units. Nutrients are ranked from essential to important to helpful. There is good coverage
of the various antioxidants i.e. the ACES-Vitamin A,
Vitamin C, Vitamin E and Selenium
The book provides detailed recommendations and helpful
considerations on virtually every disease process. The author
provides a list of Health and Medical Organizations throughout
the USA, as well as a list of important manufacturers and
distributors of vitamins, minerals and other supplements.
This book is a good supplement to your existing vitamin and
nutrient regimen. In addition, it's a good literature source
to provide background information so that you can interface
intelligently with your own physicians and local medical
providers.The book is valuable in handling common health
problems; such as, osteoporosis, allergies, infectious
diseases and the more elusive cancers. The work is a worthy
investment for any personal library.

I have been buying these updated books for as long as I can remember. I found this book to be the queen bee on detailed info on all nutritional supplements. I learned an incredible amount of information on how important nutrition is to your body. Missing certain supplements in your body can cause all sorts of undesirable diseases and problems. It describes in detail what diseases/problems occur (most likely) when you are lacking certain supplements. This book has been truly helpful in the building of my site (parentingnaturally.net) and has shed a lot of light on nutrition.A must have!

SPINNING STRAW - The Jeff Apple Story - written by Phyllis J.D. Green, related by Patricia M. Apple, is an absorbing story of a child with Serious Injury Behavior. While many treatments are attempted and the unpredictable behavior of Jeff is recorded, the reader marvels at the patience of his parents and care givers and at their ability to keep on hoping something will work. Rumpelstiltskin, a funny looking little man, offered to help the miller's daughter spin straw into gold. In her desperation, she made a deal with him. Jeff Apple's family accepting help from every one that could give them hope of healing for Jeff were as desperate. They spun a lot of straw but never succeeded in spinning it into gold. They never knew more than temporary success. While his parents and kind therapists tried every possible means to teach him to refrain from self injury, Jeff continued to inflict pain and abuse to his person, sometimes injuring those trying to protect and care for him. The reader learns much about SIB and the character of those who seek to keep the sufferers safe from themselves. Such a sad story, Mrs. Green tells. She explains the day by day routines that sometimes worked and the reader became hopeful with the parents and therapists and feels the disappointment and frustration at failure. The reader identifies with the mother, who has to agree to dreadful things like electric shock, restraining sheet, cold showers. The reader knows the anguish and guilt Mrs. Apple felt in allowing her child to be so treated. And yet her desperation made it imperative that she accept these in a hope of saving Jeff from himself. Yes, Pat Apple had to make an awful deal, as the miller's daughter did. Well written, it is not a happy story. It is a epic story of the victory of the human spirit over dreadful circumstances to continue to love and hope. The title SPINNING STRAW is intriguing and apt.

- Sybil Austin Skakle

Author Phyllis Green's almost irritatingly breathless prose guides us on the relentless journey with the Apple family. In the sixties, Jeff Apple's disability could not be found in text books. Spinning Straw is perhaps the only biography of an autistic child who is a severe self-injurer. From the age of two-and-a-half, Jeff Apple assaults his own body.

Autism is probably the third most common developmental disability. Over 500,000 individuals in the U.S. have some form of autism - identified as a communication disorder that makes it hard to communicate verbally or nonverbally with the outside world. Typical signs are repeated body movements, unusual responses to people or attachments to objects, a resistance to non routine environments, and sometimes, aggressive behavior or self-injurious behavior. [The latter is officially known as "SIB."]

An articulate wordsmith, Green, helps Mother Pat Apple share the family's heartache as Jeff's self-violent behavior gets worse. The Apple family becomes submerged into an unknown world, a world with little comprehension. We are inspired through the endurance and determination of the Apple family's everyday life.

Despite Jeff Apple's overpowering urge to self-destruct, he provides subsequent insight into the meaning of humanity. This true story stimulates readers to appreciate the true quality of life. In Spinning Straw, the writer delves into a human experience teaching us more about the human condition.

As an author in North Carolina, I had the great pleasure of meeting Phyllis Green when I was promoting my book in Chapel Hill. I attended a book event where Ms. Green appeared with co-author Patricia Apple in Burlington and was fascinated with how this story came about. SPINNING STRAW is the true story of a boy with a self-destructive disease and how his family made it through the ordeal and everything in between. Green and Apple have captured the essence of the human spirit and touched me as a person. Anyone with children will appreciate SPINNING STRAW and will take away a different perspective of parenting. 5+ stars!

--Jeff Pate, author of WINNER TAKE ALL

As a children's librarian, I always picked this book up first during storyhour. Here is a hint! I use a dog puppet to tell the story for me! Then each child can meet and greet the puppet after the reading is over. Very interactive. Try to talk to kids about being kind to animals after you read this one - it will make them really listen to your message.

My two year old son absolutely loves this story. The cute rhyme-style keeps his attention...and the colorful, detailed pictures keep him pointing and talking for quite some time. We particularly like all of the colorful characters who enter the taxi...this book is a real winner in our home.

Truly one of the best children's books out there. The illustrations are incredibly rich, colorful and detailed and the story is so inventive and charming. I love Maxi! I bought this book today and read it to my 4 month old daughter. It held her attention the entire time--quite a feat! It's no wonder--the beautiful lyrical story with its rhymes and the gorgeous artwork are a delightful combination. I can't say enough about this charming story. What a plus that proceeds of the book go to a worthy animal cause. I want to see more of Maxi's adventures!

I must say this is the best mistake I ever read....I mean that as a compliment because this story rox! This is a very funny and fun crazy unique story that will make you laugh when you turn to the first page..IM TELLING YOU, READ THIS, WHETHER YOU BUY IT, BORROW IT FROM THE LIBRARY, STEAL IT, i dont care, this is the best book ever and its about three friends on a 'road trip' on a train. P.S. Something very shocking happens to pamela on the train!

Alice in Between is my favorite book in the Alice series, of 12 books. It tells about Alice McKinley, who has just turned 13 at the end of seventh grade, and expects it to be wonderful. However, being a teenager and at an "in between" age is harder than she thinks, though she and her friends still have some great, often hilarious times together. A fancy date, taking the "pencil test", and going on a train trip to Chicago are a few of the things that happen. This is a book that all girls 11 and up can relate to, I'm sure! I've never read a book that is so true to life - Phyllis Naylor is amazing! If you liked this book, be sure to read the others in the series.

this book is really great. it's about alice turning 13 and she, Pamela, and Elizabeth going to Chicago over the summer for a week. To visit Aunt Sally because that was her b-day present to Alice.
At the end of the year, a teacher retires and Miss Summers gives everyone an assignment about poetry that is true. I like this book because the author indicates about friendships, going through changes when you're 13, and learning about sad things that had happened back in the past.
Like the fact Alice had accidentally memorized her wrong poem in class. The poem she had said was about her mother. It was sentimental and really sad.
So on the train to Chicago, Pamela meets a guy who is disrepectful. So read it for yourself. It explains about REAL teenage life and friendships. And Pamela gets gum in her hair and getting it cut really short.
Elizabeth tells Alice and Pamela about God. Like refusing to forgive someone is an unforgiveable sin and what God looks like in her opinion.
Alice's dad and Miss Summers go at a music conference together in Michigan when Alice gets back. So for the second time, read this if you're curious with REAL teenage life as 13.

The name of this book is The Boys Start the War/ The Girls Get Even by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor. This book is a really good book. The Hatford boys are playing tricks on their new neighbors the Malloy girls. Now the Malloys girls are really mad and have to get back at them. The Malloy girls are Eddie (whose real name is Edith Ann but hates it) 11 years old, Beth who is ten and Caroline who is eight, but is in third grade. The Hatford boy's names and ages are Josh and Jake who are 11 (they are twins.), Wally is nine and Peter who is seven. The Hatford boys and the Malloy girls are playing tons of tricks on each other. To find out what happens read The Boys Start the War/ The Girls Get Even.

Have you ever met some boys that you really hate? The three Malloy sisters Eddie, Caroline and Beth have. They just moved from Ohio to Buckman, West Virginia. They just so happened to move into the house where the Hatford brothers, Wally, Peter, Jake and Josh's, best friends the Bensons used to live. The Bensons told the Hatfords that if they were having trouble renting out their old house in Buckman they will come back. The Hatfords think if they can make the Malloy girls miserable enough they will go back to Ohio, and the Bensons will come back to Buckman.So now the boys have started a sort of mini war between themselves and the girls. Until their little practical jokes go too far and Caroline is taken prisoner in their shed. This was a great book. If you like excitement this is the book for you!

i definetly did.the characters are so realistic,beth(named by the boys as the weirdo)and her stephen king/r.l. stine books,eddie (called the whomper)and her baseball skills-the only thing that impresses the boys(other than the tricks the girls manage to pull), caroline(the crazy) and her actressy-melodramatic way of facing the world head-on.meanwhile their favorite ememies, josh,jake, willis,and peter are determined to move the girls out of their old friends house in hopes of having their friends move back in. the book is so funny,from caroline's pretend death to the guys trapping the girls on the roof in a rainstorm,that you wish the ending would never come so you could just read it forever.thats the way it is with good books,though.anyway,i can't wait untill the next one comes out and i definetly recommend this book and all others that follow it.

Have you ever struggled to keep your pet? In the book Shiloh Season by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor a boy named Marty Preston tries hard to keep his dog Shiloh. Judd Travers a mean hunter formaly owned Shiloh. Judd attempts to kill Marty and Shiloh. Judd was trying to shoot Marty when he was at his doctor friend, but luckily missed. One of Judd's rabid dogs bit Becky in the arm. She was weeping and weeping, but Shiloh came to the rescue when he attacked the mad mutt. Judd tried to run over Marty and Shiloh with his rusty truck. One late balmy night Shiloh was sleeping on the porch Judd shot his gun and woke up Shiloh. This is a book I recommmend.

In the sequel to Shiloh, Shiloh Season, the award-winning author, Phyllis Reynolds Naylor, once again beautifully portrays the rural life of West Virginia and the love a young boy, Marty, has for an abused dog named Shiloh.

In this sequel, Marty is faced with the conflict of losing Shiloh to the dog's original owner Judd Travers. Judd is known throughout the small community of Friendly, West Virgina for not only being a drunk but also for abusing his dogs.

I would recommend reading the first Shiloh before reading Shiloh Season. However, Naylor gives background information in chapter 1 to refresh the reader's memory from what happened in the first of the 3 novels. Therefore, if you choose not to read the first Shiloh then you will not be totally lost when picking up with Shiloh Season.

Marty worked for Judd in the first Shiloh in order to earn the right to own the abused beagle Shiloh as his very own. However, in Shiloh Season, Judd continuously taunts Marty in wanting Shiloh back as his dog again. What could possibly make this situation worse? Judd is drinking heavier now than ever before and backing up his threats of taking Shiloh with gunshots at Marty!

Marty learns many important lessons throughout the course of the story. He not only learns the different responsibilities that accompanies raising a dog but he also learns that truth and honesty are always the best policy even if it means losing something that you love. Marty also learns that forgiving someone is sometimes very hard but a very crucial lesson when growing up.

As a teacher, I would definitely recommend this book for 10 year old students and older to read independently or for teachers and parents to read aloud to their children of the same age level. I can't wait to read Naylor's Saving Shiloh which is the third book of the Shiloh trilogy. I also hope to see future books about Shiloh to continue the series.

Shiloh Season was about a boy named Marty and a dog named Shiloh.They had an adventure that Marty would never forget. The setting was in a town just like any other town and the characters were realistic because Marty was like any other kid and Shiloh was like a normal dog. The main character was a very likable person because he was nice. I liked this story because it was exciting. Shiloh was like a real dog. My favorite part was when Judd Travers wrecked because he was always mean. One thing I learned from this book is that you can't make some people happy. I would recommend this book to a friend because it's realistic and heartwarming.If you like this book you will like Shiloh.

This book is one of my favorites! It's about a mouse named Mrs. Frisby (she's a widow) and her children. They always have to move every year because they live near a farm and the farmer always harvest the place. If they stay, they'll be squashed flat. So they always move. But this year, Mrs. Frisby's youngest child, Timothy falls sick. He's soooo sick that he can't move! So (of course), they can not move that year. But if Mrs. Frisby's family won't move, then they'll all die. But if they do move, then Timothy will die. Mrs. Frisby asks for help and she encounters a friendly crow, a wise owl, and Dragon the CAT!! (She's nearly killed by the cat) The owl tells her that there are rats who can help her. Mrs. Frisby asks then but can they help her? They're all only RATS. But what's going on underneath that rose bush where they are living? They are bring TOOLS. But why? Read it, you'll find out!

Your nose will be buried in this book if you start reading it! You have to get it!

Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH is one of the best books that I have ever read. It has now sold over 1 million copies as well as being extremley well regared by the critics. Why is this book so good? Well for starters, it has a perfect no holes plot with intelligent writing and believable characters. The book is also very imaginitive and suspensful. When I first read it in grade 3 I thought it was a great story and that was it. However now that I am older (17) I can tell it has much more depth. The author had a view that we should respect the environment and be hardworking, so he gave the Rats that quality. He also believed in interdependance; helping one another. For example, Mrs. Frisby helps the crow and then he helps her in return. Without the aid of several characters in this novel, Mrs. Frisby would never have been able to solve her dilema. And of course I love that line from Jenner, "people are our cows." I highly reccomend this Newbery Medal award winning book

This story has long been one of my favorites and deserves to be a (future) Classic. O'Brien introduces many serious issues into his fascinating yet charming tale about a fieldmouse mother who desperately needs help to save her family. When Farmer Fitzgibbon prepares to plow up his vegetable garden, it proves an annual Day of Judgment for all the creatures who forage therein. Mrs. Frisby's quiet determination to save her invalid child leads her on a perilous quest, during which her matnernal devotion and courage will be tested.

To willingly enter the home of an owl, to humbly approach the clannish rats in the rosebush, to expose herself to a hungry cat, this tiny fieldmouse proves equal to all demands upon her trembling heart--a true and worthy wife to the late Jonathan Frisby. Her husband has earned the respect of many creatures, including the owl and the secretive rats. She gradually discovers that she (and her children in particular) are much more than they seem.

Just who Are these rats who know so much, who possess so many human inventions, who can read and write, who have even acquired a sense of morality? Why are they called "mechanized" and consider themselves "civilized?" How and where does a private rat Society fit in with normal rats and normal humans--with all their foibles? Can timid Mrs. Frisby help them in their endeavor to find a peaceful and pro-social environment free of human interference? Then too, why should the rats bother about her problem, when their very existence is threatened? O'Brien reminds us of the dangers of genetic tampering, and points out the similarities between both rat and human species when it comes to issues like theft, power struggle, greed, and lust for fame, as well as self sacrifice, courage, faith and hope. This is a wonderful and highly-enjoyable read--not just for kids!

This is an overall sweet book. As the second book in the excellent Alice McKinley series, ALICE IN RAPTURE, SORT OF picks up where the first book left off. In other words it chronicles Alice through her summer vacation after 6th grade, the summer that her father dubs the "summer of the first boyfriend." This was the first Alice book that I read (I did so at a book store while I was in New York, because I had nothing else to do), and I enjoyed it emmensly. I like it mostly because it's honest.

After Alice and Patrick get together everything isn't teriffic. Interesting, yes, but way more complicated than the way things were in the beginning, when they were just friends. Alice has to worry about what she eats (so that Patrick won't get any surprises when he kisses her), what an appropriate birthday present for a boyfriend is (what is Lucite, anyway??), and, in the end, whether or not being more than friends is worth all the strife (something I myself think about daily -- blech).

Recommended for all people who enjoy reading realistic books about girls growing up, and especially for anyone who has read and ejoyed any of the other Alice McKinley books.

This was an awesome book! I recomend other people to read it or have someone read it to them. It tells about how a pre-teen deals with problems in funny and strange, yet serious ways. It's funny parts include Alice's friend Pamela loosing her swim suit top at the beach, having Pamela's boyfriend find her up lift spandex ahh bra and Alice leaving her purse in the car on a date. A serious part was when Alice wanted to break up with her boyfriend and be "Special Friends." If you read this I hope you enjoy it alot

I have read all but three of the Alice books in the series. This is definately the best of all the books I have read. Alice in Rapture, Sort of was the first book I had read from the series, and it is the best. If you can't decide which book to read first, I definately suggest this one. I hope you read these books and enjoy them.