This Is Our House by Michael Rosen

George tries to keep girls, small people, twins, people with glasses, people who like tunnels, and everyone else on the playground out of the cardboard house they used to share, but when he leaves to go to the bathroom, he returns to discover that everyone else is now on the inside and he is left alone on the outside. "This house isn't for people with red hair" says Charlene to George. After a tantrum or two, George learns his lesson and declares that the house is indeed "for everyone." George's conversion and the easy acceptance of his friends teaches an important lesson about inclusion and not being selfish. The urban setting and children of many cultures are also nice touches that are not overdone. The text is well-written and the cartoon like illustrations are detailed and fun. This is certainly a good read and teaches kids important lessons about sharing and getting along. I have been looking for books that deal with these issues and this one does so without being didactic or heavy handed. If you like this book, you may also want to check out Junk Pile! by Lady Borton.

This is a very fine children's book. It has a "message" without being saccharine-preachy. It is so evidently set in a multicultural, inner city area with the sort of kids my son mixes with at school everyday. Bob Graham is a terrific illustrator, and this one is not a let-down.

The children who are originally excluded by the "bully" take action to reclaim their place, and then teach George his lesson, before showing him that their more inclusive way is better than his selfishness.

Kasparov's great works of chess literature: The Test of Time, New World Chess Champion, London-Leningrad Championship, tower above this watered down career summary, Fighting Chess. Much of the book is taken verbatim from those other works. There are many additional annotated games here, but there is nothing to recommend this book if you have the other mentioned works. Those other books are still available through various sources on the 'net. Certainly, Fighting Chess is essential for hardcore Kasparov fans; but The Test of Time alone can keep you occupied for probably a year, so I see little need for this book. Plus, it is a physically smaller book, unlike the previous Pergamon works, which were the large softcover, double-column format that was so attractive. In sum, this is a nice summary work of Kasparov's career to '95, but get the other books instead!

gary kasparov, one of the best descriptive annotators of all time, dazzles us with brilliant combinations of wit and chess moves. A great collection of games from a great chess player! This book also comes with crosstables of tournaments which add even more character.

This book contains 91 games, 38 of which are annotated by Kasparov himself. Kasparov's games are some of the most exciting in chess. It's hard to find much to criticize in a book by and about the man who is probably the greatest player of all time. My only beef is that it's a little on the pricey side (almost 27 Yankee dollars, including tax). But I've spent more money on worse books, so I shouldn't complain. I am surprised that the book is out of print.

The book shows a good transition from a newborn with her first blanket to how the blanket withers with age as the child grows-up. The main character in this book is able to let go of her blanket by the time she is ready for her first day at school. But is also sneaks in a minor character who refuses to give up his blanket, wearing it as a disguise at school. This book has enough simple words for a child who is begining to learn how to read. Yet ofers some challenging words that will expand the vocabulary knowledge of the child.

The book "The Red Woolen Blanket" by Bob Graham is a amazing book for kids. I think its a great book because most kids had a blanket when they were young and took it where ever they went. The also slept with it and some might have even taken it to school with them. It relates to the character in the book who took her blanket where ever she whent since she was a new born. She always had it by her side until she lost it, and finally went wihtout it.

Who has not had a child that was given a blanket when they were born. Our daughter Marvetta, we had purchased a blanket for before she was ever born. I purchased it pink, knowing it was surely a girl. She carried that blanket around until it was spaghetti thin until she went to school and it was only a thread. It went all the way to Germany with us. When I read about Julia and her blanket then the character that used his blanket for a disguise it hit home. Isn't there a child inside of us carrying something as a disguise that we don't wish to part with? To carry something around until it is nothing but the size of a stamp? Loved this book, and the illustrations. Mr. Graham, hit home with this book. A five stars plus for any child to read, and adult!!!!

I wanted to read easy-to-understand payers and verses to my 6-year old son, so I searched Amazon and reviewed many books on this subject. I was sold on this book's illustrations and was not disappointed on that score: The Illustrations are wonderful. However the "take a closer look" guide did not offer an opportunity to review the text or prayers themselves. The pictures alone piqued my son's interest and we bought the book. Unfortunately, many of the prayers are long and tedius, losing a younger child's interest within the first six lines. The text content is incongruent with the illustration's message of young, light-hearted, age-appropriate prayer. The attempt at multiculturalism and non-demonitionalism misses the point of delivering short, sweet, enjoyable verse suited for children; prayers that will encourage children to want to pray instead of associating prayer with tedium and boredom. The book review should have indicated an age-appropriate range. My son is a smart and attentive kid who loves to listen, but he grew quickly disappointed with and disintersted in the prose.

A wonderful book, and not just for children! Charming illustrations by several artists and 70 beautiful prayers from around the world. Anyone interested in spirituality should love this book.

This is a fabulous book that shares spiritual words from many worldwide religions and uses beautiful illustrations to accompany them! As a person who embraces different aspects of many religions, I found this to be a valuable resource for teaching my child. And after reading the book, you get a sense of how all religions are very similar and striving for the same things - peace and harmony with all that is around us and with our Higher Power.

My son received this book as a gift when he was 3 or 4. He is now 7 and reads primarily chapter books but still professes MAX as his favorite book. I don't love it as much as he but I do recommend any book by Bob Graham as he does have a special, kind insight into the world of the young child.

It is the cartoon like pictures that make Max, the book, so fun and Max, the boy, so likeable. The story is alla bout the familiar problem of not quite being able to do something that is expected of one--in this case flying like his superhero parents. The parents are clearly distressed by this, but try their darnedest not to let Max feel too badly about it. One day he finally does fly to save a falling bird. The morals come on a little thick then--people learn at their own rates, it is ok to b a minor hero. Even my teen-age daughters appreciated that Max wished his mother would not hug him in public. This is not an earth shaking tale, but it is an enjoyable one.

If you ever saw the Mel Brooks' movie _Spaceballs_, you MUST remember how Yogur told the good guys what did he do: MERCHANDISING. From that point on, every scene in the movie has an Spaceballs product: the Spaceballs towel, the Spaceballs toilet paper, the Spaceballs lunch box, etcetera.

And here we have the Spaceballs novelization. As a novel, it's not noteworthy at all - if you simply watch the movie, you'll enjoy it better and use less time.

However, it does work as a joke, by taking the merchandising mania within the movie into real life. Leave it in your library, among your SF books, and wait for someone to ask you of they can have a look at your library...

I absolutely LOVED the movie and the book was really good too! Good effort by R.L. Stine (who was quite a new author at the time).

I actually found this book just as good the movie, very humorous. Sure, it's not as profanity-laced as the movie because of the ages of people reading the book, but it still comes across as really good. Yogurt rules!

I felt like I came into this story already in progress. I had to check a few times to make sure we weren't missing pages at the front. Yeah, the pictures were nice but the story didn't flow very well.

From Thumbelina and Tinkerbell to The Littles, small folk have always been hugely appealing to the wee storybook crowd. And what could be more engaging to youngsters 4-to-7, than the idea of actually finding a fairy in their own backyard? When Annabelle discovers a fairy child named Jethro Byrd, she can't believe her eyes. Soon, Annabelle is joined by the rest of the musical Byrd family for an entertaining tea party. Her parents, however, are too busy or too unimaginative to see the fairies, but they humor their daughter who can't help but ponder the adventures she might have if she flew off with the Byrd family, leaving her own mundane home behind. Despite the oversized dimensions of this picture book, the story within is very small, offering a simple contemplation about slowing down to look at the little things around us.

This is a lovely story with great child appeal. After much looking for fairies, Annabelle really does find one. The Jethro of the title and his fairy family, including a baby as big as a fingenail, have crashed their ice-cream truck in a vacant lot. Annabelle lends a helping hand and invites them to tea. Her parents play along but can't see the tiny guests. Graham's bulby nosed, ordiniary-looking characters add to the feeling that this could happen in your backyard too.