Irene, age 90, lies essentially bedridden in the parlor where she can still feel part of the farm. Her bedroom upstairs lies vacant now, along with the rooms of her dead parents and brother. Insistant on maintaining imput on the goings-on, she tries to keep the upper hand in everything. Lying quietly, she has embarked on documenting her life on the farm she was born on. Her mind is as sharp as the pencil she scribes her memories. Her notebooks serve as her testimony to the past and the very present.

Among her reminisces are her present day quips targeted at those that seem to be circling her, poised to take advantage of this old woman's lurking day of death. She fears losing the farm in her death, the land cut up into suburbs, the old machinery auctioned and the house left to those who will never understand the sacrifices and joy that have walked in and out the kitchen door. As she gazes out the window, she can see the graves of her parents, her uncle and the many faithful collie that guarded over the flock of sheep. It is a fearful thought that in the modern day, she would not be allowed to be buried alongside her family.

While she fights to maintain the bare bones of the farm in her later years, she recalls the years she spent keeping the farm going after her father's death at an early age. Passive in grief, her mother steps aside and lets this young woman manage the intricacies of a sheep farm, a large garden and the general upkeep of the land in the mid 1900's. Praised in national magazines for the quality of her sheep's wool she gains the respect in the community for her work.

It is this woman's memories that are golden as she recalls ninety years on the farm. Particularly insightful are Irene's recollection of seeing the first automobiles driving along the road at night. Unfamiliar with headlights, Irene and her mother stand nearly terrified as they ponder what those lights coming across the valley floor are. It is her impression, once the car has passed by the dirt road in front of their farmhouse, that things will never again be the same.

Living over 90 years is a sure bet that things will never be the same at one time or another. It is the wonderous theme of this lovely novel that allows Irene to move on but look fondly back.

This was a really good book to read - I definitely recommend it.

I cannot express have wonderful I found this novel to be! I could not read it in public, because I was so filled with emotion at so many places throughout the story. The story of Irene's life itself was rather straightforward but the rich punctuations of reflections on nature, life on a farm, the essence of what a farm life means,and insight into the process of aging and dying ,raised the novel to great heights. For any reader who does not understand the attraction of life connected with nature, this book will provide refreshing insights. For those of us who were bitten by the bug to farm (certainly it was not in my NYC bred genes for generations!) it helps us to explain why we feel the way we do about the farm life, surrounded by animals. It actually awakens an awareness so that I found myself exclaiming why had I never thought that out loud but already knew in some deep place of the soul! For the farmer, it provides a possibility for keeping the working farm long after hehas moved on. For the person simply living a life, this book offers a perspective into the process of dying and into the exhilaration of the soul that dying a meaningful death can hold.

A young dog and his woodland companions teach us the importance of family and friends in our lives, and that loyalty and courage can come in all shapes, sizes and species. A beautifully written and highly entertaining story that will make you both laugh and cry, A Friend Indeed was a joy to read. A must read for youngsters and adults alike!

A Friend Indeed is a delightful tale of courage, friendship and hope. Its message speaks to a global audience and imparts words of wisdom that are truly uplifting. I can't wait to pass the book on to my daughter! Bravo to Ms. Short in her successful effort to share a wonderful story about life and the power of love.

What a pleasure! For once a story that parents can enjoy along with young adults. I can not wait for another one from this author.

Fast paced, suspenseful, and a bittersweet past love that sizzles off the page. This book has a thriller edge to it that kept me turning pages late into the night.

I have not read a Harlequin book in years, this one I could not put down. Not only was the main character beautiful and intelligent, her sophistication in dealing with a would-be murderer possibly linked to a family she could have called "in-laws" was a stroke of brilliance on the part of the author. Particularly interesting to me was the fact that I formerly worked at the City-County Building in Madison, WI and know the politics (real or imagined) of the court system. Keeping her wits about her while dealing with a former love was especially well done. I look forward to Ann Voss Peterson's next publication.

A strong and interesting heroine, a conflicted hero and an intriguing mystery. Who could ask for anything more? A terrific debut from an author who writes with great maturity. I'm looking for many wonderful reads from Ann Voss Peterson.

Jane Myers Perrine

Doug the Dragonfly helped to tell my son something that I couldn`t get across to him. He is four years old but in 1st grade. The other chilren beat him up just about everyday during recess. I tried to explain to him that he is vonerable because he is so young. He is a bright child but was unable to get the point I was trying to make. Then one of my freinds from Springfield, Mo sent this book to me. He simply told me to give my son the book and let him read it by himself. My son, to my suprise, came out of his room and said to me, "dad, I like who I am". I was absolutly astounished. Three weeks later he invited one of the bullies to spend the night at our house, and they have been best friends ever since. Of all the childrens books my child owns this is the only one that has had such a large impact on his self-esteem. Ann Leach seems to understand a childs thought processes, and Russell Aldredge has the visual impact to follow.

I'm pretty no-nonsense when it comes to books for my children....The message is precisely what they need to be reminded of at ages 4 and 7. I'm especially fond of the colorful cover she chose to use.

Doug is typical of what a lot of children are like these days-always thinking that life is better somewhere, or as someone, else. In the end, Doug realizes a valuable life lesson-we must all make the best of our own gifts and talents.

One hilarious book! Tells about a monster who sure loves to eat food. Has pretty funny rhymes and quotes in the story. Has a ton of laughs in it! Just a good book for someone who loves to eat food! One of the funniest books I have ever read!

This book is absolutely the best childrens book. I have had my name on a list at another book store for two years and they kept telling me it was out of print. I decided to look here and voila I see it. I am ordering eight copies to give to each of my grown children (and one for grandpa to keep for when the grandchildren come to visit) so they can read it to their children.

This is a very funny book about a big animal who keeps making people mad because he always wants food, and they keep getting upset with him. This has a lot of funny rhymes about food in th story, and there are some great pictures. Awesome and funny book. For anyone who loves to eat.

Kristy's Big day is a good book because her mom and watson actually get married. its incredible how well this books was written.

Kristy's mom is finally getting married to Watson! Kristy is still a little reluctant until she gets to be the bridesmaid! Charlie is going to escort Elizabeth down the aisle, Sam is a best man, David Michael is the ring bearer, Karen is the flower girl, and Andrew is too shy and doesn't want to be in the wedding. Elizabeth and Watson's friends and relatives are coming to help out and go to the wedding.Problem is -they're bringing their kids. The BSC decide to watch the fourteen kids.A great adventure lies ahead!

Kristy's mom and Watson are getting married!The wedding is going to be much sooner than anyone thought.All of the Thomas/Brewer kids get to be in the wedding.Kristy is going to be the bridesmaid!A lot of relatives are coming and they're bringing their children with them.The Bsc is going to take care of them all.This is a great book.It's really funny, like when Stacey take some kids to the movies.Buy this book!

I read this book by chance, yesterday, Memorial Day 2003.
Been crying.
It's like Schindler's List or Sophie's choice.
How could they do it?
How can we let them continue doing it?
The animals still are around us, although using another names, another symbols, another motivations.
I kept reading, hoping to find some of the people to be safe at the end, but almost everybody was killed.
Binim, Rozak, Mayer, Bronka, so many of you.
I miss you, my friends.

After reading this book, I feel this should be in every house in every country. You hear so much about the people and the numbers killed that sometimes it doesn't seem real but this book makes it very real. The pictures are so powerful and at the same time so ordinary - they could be pictures of anyone's parents or grandparents. The most haunting pictures are those of the children - you have to wonder how many survived. The stories of the survivors bring it all home - "There's the aunt of the little girl I used to babysit", etc. I found it amazing that these pictures did survive 40, 50 years before being discovered again. Anyone who denies the Holocaust happened should read this book and then try to still say it never happened. Thank you Ann Weiss for bringing these pictures and the stores behind them out of the darkness.

"The last Album" by Ann Weiss is well organized and well written. It contains 400 remarkable
photographs that were brought to Auschwitz-Birkenau by victims in 1943. These photographs were taken
prior to the Holocaust and depict people bursting with life. This is an extremely unique book, and contains material that was lovingly researched for a period of 15 years. The beauty of this book is that the
photographs and the research accomplished brings to life people that were lost during the dreadful time of
the Holocaust. The book like the author is soft, sweet, articulate and brilliant

I love this story but my son is only 16 months and it doesn't hold his attention as well as some of the other books we bought ("I'm a Big Brother," "The New Baby") to prepare him for becoming a big brother. The story is just beautiful and it reads very well; he's just not interested in it. I think if he was a little older, he might like it better.

This book tells the story of a little boy who, while curled on his Mother's lap, wants to bring all sorts of other objects up with him... until the baby wants to be included. Of course, there's "always room on Mother's lap" which the little boy finds is not only true but a pleasant experience for him as well.

I love the restful illustrations and the ethnic items the young boy wants to have with him on mom's lap. The overall story is one of sweet acceptance and a perfect read for a young older sibling.

This adorable book tells the simple story of a little boy who not only wants to be on Mother's lap (but not little brother!), he wants to pile all his favorite things on her, too. It happens to be set in an Alaskan village, and some items in the room are of interest for those children learning about Alaska. The Mother in the book is very patient and wise, and lets her boy know that "There's always room on Mother's lap." A very sweet and loving book.

I enjoyed the information in this book. It points out the numerous ways we are getting parasites inside our bodies, what they are doing to us, and how they affect us in so many ways.

What the author doesn't realize, however, that you can get rid of these parasites using minerals. Take one tablespoon of copper in the mornings, and in the afternoon you will take one tablespoon of zinc and one tablespoon of silver. These minerals must be angstrom sized, in liquid form, or it wont be effective. Copper kills parasites and makes them want to leave the body. Zinc and silver escort the dead carcasses out of the body for a complete "cleanse". It works as I've done this and I know many other people who have done this. Parasites have NO place in your bodies. They are destructive and you don't want them around!

All I can say is God Bless Ann Louise Gittleman. If it were not for this book that I brought with me into my physician's office, I would have never discovered that I had a chronic case of giardia. My doctor was dismissing my symptoms for the longest time and finally when I found Ann Louise's books, I realized that a parasitic infection can be misdiagnosed as flu, IBS, or even gall bladder disease. Now that I have taken the prescribed medication and am using Ann Louise's suggested natural herbs from Uni Key as a follow up, I am a new person. This book should be Mandatory reading for every high school student, college student and health minded individual in America.

I thought Ann Louise Gittleman did a wonderfully thorough job of exposing parasites in terms of where they come from, who gets them, and what we can do about it to prevent them. Her dietary information was right on in light of the current concerns about sugar and processed foods plus the herbal and homeopathic remedies really work. I think the overly sensitive reviewer from San Franciso should get with the program - This book tells it like it is and specifically states that parasites know no boundary regardless of gender, race, or economic level.

This book of narrative poems deals with the author's emotional damage she encountered as a child after being sexually abused by a vacation friend. The emotions Ann feels and describes are paralleled to her learning to swim. The book is divided into three sections: sailing, sinking, and swimming. She begins the book as a happy exuberant child looking forward to a vacation in the summerhouse she loves. She is so looking forward to swimming on her own, without the swimming ring or her daddy's hands. She is confident and feels like she is sailing on top of the world. Her tone soon changes when Kevin, a friend down the road, takes her upstairs to read to her. Instead of reading he sexually abuses her and threatens her to never tell. At this point she feels like she is sinking. The secret she cannot tell anyone makes her feel physically sick. The hate and contempt for what Kevin keeps doing to her continue to builds up inside of her. When she tries to swim on her own she thrashes her arms and legs around until she almost sinks. Her daddy says maybe she will have better luck next time. Finally the time comes when Ann tells her mother the horrible secret she had been keeping to herself. Her father, mother, and grandfather try to instill the security and innocence in her that had been lost. Ann slowly starts to let go of the pain. She begins to return to a sense of normalcy in her life. This time when she gets in the water she forgets to be afraid. She starts swimming. This is a wonderful book dealing with the issue of sexual abuse. If something is wrong or someone is hurting you it is always better to tell someone. Then you can start the healing process. This book would be interesting to sixth graders and up due to the content and form of the text. Parents and teachers could use this book to enhance the study of english, art, social relationships, and health.

...Teaching K-8 magazine...suggested that it be used in middle school classes to discuss the presence of sexual abuse by a family member or family friend. While this is obviously not a happy topic, this book explores it in a responsible and appropriate manner.

Culled from the real-life experiences of poet Ann Turner, "Learning to Swim" tells the story of a young girl on a family vacation who is molested by an older boy. Each page has a separate poem that explores her feelings at a particular time. The actual events are not related. The only questionable language is a mention to "private parts". This is what makes the poetry all that much powerful. The images created are wonderful and the reader is able to get a glimpse into the mind that this child must have felt.

The reader will feel the same emotions as the girl and it sends a powerful message about how awful the exploitation of children is. The reading ability is definitely Young Adult and Turner is able to relate this difficult subject matter to a level that is appropriate for this age group - boys and girls alike.

Why 4 stars?: Really my only objection is that she did not write more. While we see the events from the child's mind, I would have appreciated even more depth into her emotions, as well as to the other people involved - her parents, brothers, and even the perpetrator. However, I did enjoy the poems, and could not put it down - I read it the first time in a single sitting, and then had to go back and read them again so the full levity could hit me. Turner does a masterful job of exploring this tragic subject in a manner that is appropriate for adolescents.

This is a unique book about the experience of sexual abuse creatively written in poetic form, from the voice of a young child. Ann Turner eloquently shows what it is like for a child facing this kind of abuse. The book is so short you can read it in one sitting. The best thing about Ann's book is that it is written for a younger audience and in such a way that it encourages children to tell, even though it means facing painful feelings. Thanks Ann Turner for turning your painful experience into a work of art and a way for other children to receive help.