Pamela Berkman's Her Infinite Variety is a clever/humorous/insightful blend of a few facts and a lot of fiction. It is a fictional treatment of the lives of the women of Shakespeare. Six of the stories are about the women in his life, and four the women of his plays. Or we might say that three about women of his plays and one about a fairy -- Titania.

Ms Berkman has done all of the work required for historic fiction: she writes of everything from the laws of the time to the family linen. To this she has added an inspired imagination and outstanding writing.

The result is an excellent collection of linked stories -- it almost adds up to a novel about Shakespear. She has taken what little we know of these figures and constructed plausible, fascinating, three-dimensional women.

I would have entitled this review "Her Infinite Imagination," but someone has already used it.

To read *Her Infinite Variety* is to be dazzled by Pamela Berkman's imaginative capacity. From story to story, she displays a rare ability to intuit the gaps in our knowledge of Shakespeare's women--the ones in his life as well as the ones in his art--and then to fill in those gaps with the delicate filigree of her fiction. Yet while these stories display a delicately rigorous structure, the language holding them together is as vibrant and sexy as the women they depict. If you have never enjoyed Shakespeare, buy this book. Berkman's tart-tongued Titania, her haunted Ophelia, and her utterly down-to-earth Bard (rescued, finally, from both scholars and souvenir-sellers) will make you reconsider.

Berkman's stories give us a multifaceted prism--"the women he loved"--through which to view Shakespeare's works and days. In Duty, we get a glimpse of the secrets Juliet's mother must hide, giving broader dimensions to the classic love story. No Cause reminds us that the people in the Bard's sublunary life were real, with needs more immediate than the call of mere literature. My favorite story (Magic Wand) has Titania bridging these worlds with an Orlando-esque sweep through time and levels of reality (which is more real--the midsummer fairy world Shakespeare created or the world that buys Globe Theatre keychains?), portraying a muse who must be written in order to live and who must live to enable a writer to create lives. These little gems are witty and thoughtful; I look forward to a deeper novel from this young author.

Tom Wentz has done it again. His book, "Transformational Change," is the best book I've read on that subject; and I've read many.

This time around Tom combines forces with his son, Bill, (who is a teaching and playing golf professional) to create a fascinating and very instructive treatise on leadership. The book narrates - from multiple perspectives - human actions and reactions to a business simulation that the authors conduct through nine holes of "team golf." The lessons are profound and the narrative style is compelling (I read it through on the first reading). More importantly, you don't have to be a golfer to get the messages. If you know who Tiger Woods is, you'll get the message.

The core lesson - that you must start with the end in mind and SWING TO BALANCE, rather than "hit the ball" - is simple to understand and very hard to execute. Of course that's the way leadership is in real life.

I've got a dozen I'm giving to my clients.

In Leadership and Golf, Tom and Bill Wentz have provided an entertaining experience in business, life, and golf. We all have a limited amount of time and money - invest both wisely and spend a couple of hours experiencing the meaning of Swing To Balance. Its not what you'll learn that will make the difference, though most will learn something, its what you'll feel that will change the way you think and act.

Mr. Wentz gets it right when he writes, "You not only have knowledge about Swing to Balance, you have feelings about it. It is not until a concept becomes a vision in terms of emotions that a person or organization can choose to behave as that concept implies."

Leaders act on information, but emotions are often the catalyst that gets the action started . . . or stopped. Learn to Swing To Balance, and learn how to make meaningful, positive change in life and business.

"Swing to Balance" is an excellent book that uses the golf swing as an analogy for business. You don't need to have any golf knowledge to understand how businesses suffer if they cannot utilize everyone in the organization and coach them to understand the company goal. Thomas Wentz does a wonderful job helping these actual real characters understand how working together for a common goal will result in success. It will transform your business.

"George Shrinks" is one of my favorite children's books of all time. It is the first book that William Joyce both wrote and illustrated--and what a grand debut!

A boy named George wakes up one morning to find that he is only three inches tall. He also finds a note from his parents with a list of chores he must do (which becomes Joyce's unique way of telling the story--the parent's note is the actual text of the book). The story follows George as he heroically navigates through the now gigantic house, evades the hungry house cat, and completes all his chores in very creative ways.

The illustrations, done in watercolors (though not pale and washy), are a mixture of highly realistic details (the house and surroundings), and a comic style (the characters). Included are several wordless full-page spreads of George flying a toy airplane which on their own are worth the price of the book.

If you can, buy the new large format of the book (November 2000 edition). The illustrations are much larger and the colors are more brilliant. The illustrations were probably rephotographed since the original edition is back from 1987 or so. (...) The newest version has a brand new cover illustration recently done by William Joyce.

Well, enjoy this book and happy shrinking!

"One day, while his mother and father were out, George dreamt he was small, and when he woke up he found it was true." So begins this delightful picture book by
William Joyce, who will be most familiar to folks as the creator of Disney Channel's Rolie Polie Olie. George too has his own series now, on PBS, and a spanking new
reprint of his original adventure.

The story here is fairly basic : George, suddenly three inches small, follows the instructions his parents left behind in a note, to clean up the house and watch his little
brother (now a BIG little brother). Along the way he avoids an ornery house cat and rides in a toy plane. Our kids favorite page features George scrubbing dirty
dishes by skiing down them on a sponge.

As with Rolie Polie Olie though, the story is secondary to Mr. Joyce's remarkable artwork. In Olie he manages to combine Art Deco with Futurism; here it's all
throwback. George Shrinks looks like a really hip version of the Dick and Jane books. A story with a miniature hero kids can relate to and illustration interesting
enough to hold adult attention--what more can you ask?

GRADE : A

"George Shrinks" is one of my favorite children's books of all time. It is the first book that William Joyce both wrote and illustrated--and what a grand debut!

A boy named George wakes up one morning to find that he is only three inches tall. He also finds a note from his parents with a list of chores he must do (which becomes Joyce's unique way of telling the story--the parent's note is the actual text of the book). The story follows George as he heroically navigates through the now gigantic house, evades the hungry house cat, and completes all his chores in very creative ways.

The illustrations, done in watercolors (though not pale and washy), are a mixture of highly realistic details (the house and surroundings), and a comic style (the characters). Included are several wordless full-page spreads of George flying a toy airplane which on their own are worth the price of the book.

If you can, buy the new large format of the book (November 2000 edition). The illustrations are much larger and the colors are more brilliant. The illustrations were probably rephotographed since the original edition is back from 1987 or so.
Well, enjoy this book and happy shrinking!

With the exception of the short dictionary at the back of my Greek New Testament, no tool has been of more use in my study of Biblical Greek than this lexicon.

More than just a dictionary, the strength of this lexicon is that it gives both specific meanings of words in context as well as a knowledge of the shadings of meaning that a word carries throughout the Bible. This moves the student from a general grasp of a thing to an attentiveness to the precise way God has made himself known--there is nothing quite like it.

As other reviewers have noted, this is probably not a good place for beginners hoping to do a word study to jump in. I'd recommend Vine's for that. I also recommend that those serious in the study of Biblical Greek use this book in conjunction with a Greek New Testament, Mr. Mounce's Grammar (his lexicon is handy too), and Zerwick's Grammatical Analysis. This broad group of tools should help keep you from falling pray to a single interpretive spin.

Don't let its size and price scare you off--this book is essential for the student of Biblical Greek.

The third edition of this famous Greek-English Lexicon does not disappoint. It is a significant improvement in at least three respects. First, specific Greek words have been given general definitions even where the word covers a wide semantic domain. This was not the case in previous editions where the reader was left with the meaning of a word only in its particular occurrence. Now readers can draw some conclusion about the basic meaning of any given Greek word. The approach suggests a regression in the approach to biblical words spearheaded by James Barr in his "Semantics of Biblical Language" and a return to the approach of older lexicographers to the effect that words have meanings. Second, the range of Greek authors has been expanded and now includes more noncanonical (especially apocryphal) Greek writings of special interest for the study of early Christian origins. Third, the type set and publication of this edition is dramatically improved, making it as sheer pleasure to handle and read. The second edition suffered from typeset that was too small, and lacked bold catchy print for the words themselves. Readers who own the second edition will want to upgrade for this reason alone.

There are two drawbacks. The first is price. This is an expensive volume, but perhaps that is to be expected. The second is that I noticed several examples of errata. No doubt these will be removed with each new printing.

If it were not for this lexicon the serious, but "linguistically challenged" scholar, would have a hard time understanding the correct usage of just about any Koine Greek word. By comparring the usage in the NT and the writings of Josephus and early Christian writers, we can discern how the early church used a certain Greek word, in fact, what the Apostle's intended to convey in their writings. No other lexicon in existance does this. If there is such a thing a "truth" this lexicon shows what the early church taught that it was. Throw out all of your other lexicons and buy this one.

I first read this when I was probably about the age of Tycho in the book. I loved it then as a strange, time-hopping tale of terror. But now, fifteen or so years later, I still pick it up and read it from time to time. It's a very fast read, but I don't mind. Every time I read it, I see more and more that I didn't see the first time.... One of the classics of YA Science Fiction.

When I read the book "The Green Futuers Of Tycho", I was amazed at how well William Sleater( The author) Put together this Science Fiction book. My teacher read it to the class, and right after she finished the book, every one wanted to read it once more. I was trying to get my hands on one of the copys, to unfortunatly find that the book was out of print. [...]. I defenetly reccomend this book for anyone, and esspecialy those who like Science Fiction.

This book is great! If you like time traveling you are going to love this book. This book is about a 11 year old boy who finds a mysterious egg that can travel back in time. During his adventures to the futures he finds that his older self is cruel. You just have to read this book!

I think this was the best book of all the sagas so far that I read. It was a great story and it was really scary. I definatly recommend it!

This story is very interesting as it has a very good line. It explains the history of how Justin Fear became very powerful and those who knew him had tried to destroy him. Until Madeline a young and beautiful woman, had shifted to Shadowbrook met him and fell in love with his unnatural look and was warned by an old woman and a ghost to leave right away before it's too late. The ending was really good...and I loved it. Keep up the good work R.L.Stine....and keep writing.

This book is totally superb! It keeps you on your toes, and saying "don't go to him, he's EVIL" and "run far away, don't let your aunt and uncle talk you into marrying him"!!! Stine produced the perfect amount of detail and suspense. I really think that anyone who likes mystery and horror books should definatly read this book.

This text was my first major teaching assignment and both I and the students enjoyed this book of mythology. Evslin is an easy read and a very compelling storyteller. It's wonderful beginners book as well as an excellent reference. The book contain all of the major gods, concentrating on their origins and major myths that involve each one. Heroes such as Perseus, Theseus, Atalanta, and Daedalus are included. I was disappointed that Hercules was not included; however, his mythology is rather long and widely known, which is probably why it was left out. Other myths included: King Midas, Pygmalion, Echo and Psyche, Phaethon and many others. This is an excellent source for beginners and students. If you are already versed in Greek mythology, you may find the lack of certain myths discouraging, but I do encourage you to revisit a wonderful telling of myths that probably got you interested in Greek mythology in the first place.

I found this book browsing in a bookstore. At first glance it looked like a cheap knock-off under the guise of mythology. However, I was captivated by the authors introduction, in which he explains how as a child the myths were read to him in Greek, and much was lost in the English translations he later heard- so this book is his way to communicate the myths as comprehensive and story-like as possible. He succeed on all levels.

I have read many English versions ancient Greek texts, and this one has an excellent flow that is not acheived by mere translation. This book helped me to learn about the characters in the Greek myths and legends better than any other, in the sense that the stories are presented in a MEMORABLE way. Now I can read other texts with a real sense of knowing who everyone is.

The book is a quick and captivating read, could be done in one day. I thank the author for his outstanding job. He has acheived a book which compliments the myths of the Greeks, and other translations can compliment this book.

It was soincredibly interesting and fun. not only did I enjoy reading the hella cool stories, i learned that Greek mythology does affect our language today. i learned how alot of things now, came from what we learn in mythology. the stories are so entertaining and fun toread, Sime are sad, some are happy but all of them kept me flipin' pages. I'm happy I read this book because it gave me knowledge about history and it made me know cool stories and I liked Disneys Hercules alot more. I felt smarter watching it. it a great book, props to the auther who wrote it in a non boring way. Thanks!

Rita Williams-Garcia's Like Sisters on the Homefront is the tale of a fourteen-year-old girl who is sent by her mother to live with her Aunt and Uncle in the south after getting pregnant for the second time. Gayle Whitaker, the protagonist in the story, compares her stay at the relatives as 'being sold into slavery'.(Williams-Garcia. 23)
This link is constantly being made throughout the story by Gayle, a girl who seems to lack any kind of regard towards anyone or anything except herself and three friends. The reader has a hard time connecting to her because she appears so self-centered which although common among young teenagers is hard to accept from a girl who seems older than her years as a result of her experiences. It is only through Gayle's interpretation of the world that one can see how vulnerable she is and realize that her lack in concern is directly related towards her age and development.
Gayle's lack of any type of emotion is clear from the beginning of the book when the reader discovers she is pregnant. To the reader it seems as though her regard to her situation is without concern. Her response to the abortion was more a sense of annoyance than any type of loss or even understanding about consequences. When the Doctor tries to offer some sympathy and encouragement during the procedure Gayle responded with, "Oh, Doc, it ain?t nothing to cry about."(Williams-Garcia. 8)
The inconsistency Gayle expresses shows how she can still easily be taken advantage. Throughout most of the book she tries contacting her boyfriend Troy with no success. Instead of realizing he has moved on she places the blame of his lack of response on everybody else but him. Yet the flight attendant on the plane causes Gayle to feel suspicious. "Gayle didn?t trust her. She was to nice." (Williams-Garcia. 21)
Although she seems experienced and often the reader forgets her age, comments Gayle makes throughout the book often expose how young and unexposed to the world she really is. While flying over New York, Gayle notices the landmarks like a wide-eyed child. "Jose! Look. There go that Freedom Lady and her torch. See! And those two giant buildings be on postcards. Look!"(Williams-Garcia. 22)
Upon meeting her relatives at the airport, Gayle refuses to show any emotion towards her cousin Constance. Although she is aware the 'insolent' response to her cousins 'sympatric look' causes Constance to feel rejected and reveals this by justifying her unfriendly behavior to herself. "How can I smile at you? Smiling means we know the same thing, and you don't even know what I'm feeling. Cootie still sore fore the abortion. Ears still ringing from the plane ride. Back fit to split wide open from playing the mule, but I?m s?posed to be grinning at you?"(Williams-Garcia. 27)
Many readers may have a hard time relating to this book. The main character seems shallow. Taking a closer look though shows depth to Gayle and allows a great deal of maturity and growth throughout the book.

My eighth graders loved this book! They were so excited after I read the first page to them as a preview of what's to come, that they went to the library to check out the book because they weren't scheduled to read it for another week. They really connected with the author's use of language and her up-front, in your face style of writing.
The author deals with teen pregnancy, abortion, and religion in a well-written, well- balanced way. She makes sure that the "real deal" of these teen issues are portrayed, as well as offering a "there's still hope" message for the readers.
As a reading teacher, part of my job is to expose my students to well-written, exciting books they might not ordinarily find on their own, and I'm surely glad that this wonderful treasure has been found!

Like Sisters on the Homefront is one of the best books that I read. This book is about a girl named Gayle who is pregnant by a boy named Troy.After her mother found out she went and got her an abortion because she already has a child. After getting her an abortion, Gayle's mother sent her down South to live with her uncle and aunt. These are the issues that Gayle was dealing with: family problems, stress, dropping out of school, getting along with people, looking for a job, and pregnancy.

I think teenage girls will read this book, because they would think it's interesting because having a baby at a young age is not the way to be cool. It takes away a lot of your time and freedom. Gayle learns how to take responsibilities for her and her child.

Down South, Gayle learns that being on her own is hard. Being a full time mother is a hard job. She has to work to get her and Jose things that they need. Doing all this while taking care of Jose is hard because her mother is not there to help her, and she is learning her responsibilities quickly because her mother is not there to do everything any more.

I encourage you to read this book because you can learn a lot from this book.

Excellent book for any fan of the Little House on the Prairie series, or of pioneer history. Capture a taste of the old days making frontier foods that have been adapted for modern kitchens. Very interesting historical information regarding the recipes, cooking techniques, etc. Educational and fun!

I've been a Laura Ingalls Wilder fan for practically my whole life and am now delighted to be reading the whole series aloud to my young daughter who loves the books as much as I. My friend told me about this cookbook and we purchased it - it is WONDERFUL!

I read the whole thing cover to cover - it is just fascinating. The author writes in a very readable, extremely interesting style. I love having all the recipes for the meals mentioned throughout the Little House books and I *love* reading the history included in this cookbook. It adds such depth and perspective to our readings of the LIW books. [This book is as much a history text as it is a cookbook - and it does great justice to both genres!]

My daughter and I have made several of the recipes from the book so far and they have all been delicious, if not exactly health conscious. :) I haven't been able to bring myself to buy Lard, but we have delighted in making some of the same foods Laura ate. My daughter is learning a HUGE amount about history through these experiences.

Buying this book is the best money I've spent in years!

I hope that you will be as impressed with this book as I was. I was taken away with all of the background information on the preparing, cooking, and serving of food in this book. It has some very good recipes in this, as well as great documentation on the life during the time where Laura grew up. The book is also well illustrated. This has been the most impressive cookbook for children that I have seen to date in terms of extra information that goes with the cookbook. I would highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a book for their favorite Little House on the Prarie fan. This book would also be excellent for a scout troup wanting to do something a little historical. A definate must!

Santa Santa Calls Book Review

Santa Calls is a book by William Joyce. Art is a boy who lives on a farm. Santa sends his family a box and they fly north in it. When they get there, Santa takes them for a ride. When they are riding, dark elves take Art's sister. Art gets her from the dark elves. Santa Calls is an awesome story. I liked the part when Art made a candy bomb of his own design. To find out this stuff buy Santa Calls.

By: Joey

I sent this book to my nephews & nieces last year, and it was a huge hit. Both families have children ranging in age from 5-9, and finding read-aloud books that are interesting for everyone is always a challenge. This story was well-loved and enjoyed by the younger kids as well as the old, and its subtle message regarding sibling relationships is perfect for children who are struggling to be "good" for Santa!

In the weird and wonderful world of William Joyce, everything looks like a Little Nemo cartoon, and "Santa Calls" is no exception. You have to experience Joyce's illustrations to appreciate their lush intricacy, but even they aren't as good as this book's warm story, the tone of which perfectly captures the "Boy's Life" fiction of the American West, circa 1908.

Spunky Art Atchison, along with Spaulding his pal and Esther his little sister have a thrilling adventure after Santa calls them all North. They battle dark elves and evil queens with gee-whiz pluck (and a candy-bomb of Art's own design). But even THAT isn't the big hug in the book---it's the very end that makes this gem a keeper. Few read those two letters and go away untouched.

Every year several gooey Christmas books come out, both religious and secular, and very few are worth much. But years after purchasing this one, we still pull it out and comb the rich pictures for new details. Forget the "Ages 5-9" recommendation for this: "Santa Calls" is for everybody!