Very inspiring book. It makes you look at not just the world of raccoons but the world in general. A great bedtime book for kids and adults.

We read this book outloud and were throughly intrigued throughout the story. It is a book that is hard to put down. It is a wonderful story of racoons personified, as those who would be new or seeking Christians. By example the story teaches us about the heart of God! A wonderfully well written book that has never gotten enough exposure. My children gave this book for a birthday gift to several friends and all enjoyed the book and often bought the sequel Methuselahs Heart. Which is also a good read about the heart of a christian practicing servanthood. It is good for all ages!

I believe that this book shows that ohers have thoughts like us. This book really touched my heart. It is one of my favorite books. This book shows a family of raccoons that are trying to understand humans, under the teaching of Methuselah. It shows what this world should be like all of the way around-kind.

this is so good of a book its fun to read and the lion is a sucker for carrot stew kids of all ages will love this book

What a wonderful and fun story this is. I love reading this book to my daughter and have read it to her in whole or part dozens of times. Since it is a joy to read and the story flows page to page, I don't mind reading it to her again and again even if she'll only sit still for a few pages (she's currently only 6 ½ months old).
While I understand that to make finding things easier books for children get categorized by age (and this one is in the 4 to 8) don't be misled into thinking that this book isn't suitable for babies or toddlers, they simply need someone to read it to them. I love this book and if she chews and tears the pages I'll gladly buy another.

I've been reading this book to my first graders for years. It never fails to inspire lively discussion on such topics as friendship, sharing, trust, and a host of other worthy subjects. The story is fun, and the messages are gentle, but my six year olds never fail to pick up on them. This is a story that has been around since my childhood and it is as entertaining and fresh a story as it was then. I highly recommend this book.

"Society for Commercial Archeology Journal," Spring, 2000 For those of you unfamiliar with the West Coast, Highway 99 is the principal historic highway that knitted together the states of California, Oregon, and Washington. Portions of it were known early on as the Pacific Highway or the Valley Route or the Golden State Highway. However, in 1928 these various bits were sewn together and given federal designation as US 99. Despite de-designation as a US highway in 1964, Highway 99 continued to play a prominent role in western transportation. Jill Livingston and Kathryn Maloof have compiled a two-volume guide to the history and sights of Highway 99 in California. Each book, half-sheet size and paperbound, provides a general summary of the road's history and a detailed description of features along the existing road organized geographically from north to south. Both offer an extensive photographic tour of the respective route sections, as well as sections devoted to detailed maps that outline the route and provide directions on how to access often-bypassed elements or road alignments. There are generous graphics and photos throughout. I may be a biased reviewer of this topic. I grew up on Highway 99 just south of Sacramento and enjoy mostly fond and entirely vivid memories of this road. I have muddled memories of passing objects from car to car while careening down the Grapevine toward Metler, CA to rescue a friends' stranded vehicle. I also remember with fresh horror as I watched my record collection of 250 albums melt in 100+ degree heat while broken down on that same wretched hill in 1983. Livingston and Maloof have brought it all back for me. I pine for chicken dinner at Pollardville and an orange freeze at the Mammoth Orange. I mourn the passing of the Blueberry Hill Café in Chowchilla, and am startled to see a picture of the theater where I saw my first genuine rock concert in 1975. The authors have peppered their text with sidebars of interest to one and all. The evolution of the Ridge Route and disappearing/reappearing highway under Shasta Reservoir are two of my favorites. The organization of the books is clear and easy to follow; the photos are beautiful and plenty. The text is well written and enjoyable, not bogging down in non-essential detail or excess verbiage. These books are just the ticket for roadside exploration off the beaten track in the Golden State.

That Ribbon Of Highway II: Highway 99 From The State Capital To The Mexican Border takes the reader from Sacramento to Calexico in a history that is enhanced with more than one hundred historic and contemporary photographs, an Accurate Road Log, and twenty detailed maps. Together, these two volumes present the armchair traveler with a splendid and informative entertainment, and serve the on-site traveler with a marvelous reference for a truly engaging road trip. Also highly recommended is the companion title, That Ribbon Of Highway I: Highway 99 From The Oregon Border To The State Capital.

Since my family moved to the San Joaquin valley in 1972, I have seen many changes on Highway 99. This book not only brought back memories, it also piqued the curiousity I have always had in travelling old highway routes. I have now covered all of old Highway 99 between Sacramento and Fresno. Someday I plan to make it to Calexico. Even if youdon't plan to make the journey, this book is a must read for anyone who has travelled or lived near Highway 99 and is interested in it's history. The photos are wonderful and informative, as is the text. Especially the appendix (Following The 99 Trail). FIVE STARS PLUS!

This is the one that introduces Diana Lynch to the Bob-Whites club, as she despairs of her recently arrived obnoxious uncle. Di doesn't bring much but bubbleheadedness to the party, but she does make Trixie look like a rocket scientist in comparison. And we get to see some of Trixie's snarky side as she makes sarcastic comments to Di on the school bus at the beginning of the book (but Trixie does come around later, thanks to Honey's gentling influence).

Note especially the ominous picture in the Deluxe edition (illustrated by Marvin Besunder) of Trixie alone on a field investigation to a seedy neighborhood. (For a discussion of the various illustrators, editions, and authors, check out the Trixie Belden Library website.)

This book climaxes with one of my two most memorable moments from the entire series (the other being in the Mystery of the Blinking Eye). Let's just say that it can be advantageous to stay on good terms with one's occasionally annoying siblings.

This is a great book! It's a little outdated (i read my mother's decrepit copies) but it is very warm and happy, but realistic- maybe her friends are a little nicer than natural, but Trixie has her share of faults. This mystery is suspenseful and fun- find it somewhere!

This was my first exposure to Trixie Belden; I borrowed it from a friend and I didn't want to give it back! Perhaps the sentimental value biases me, but this has always been one of my favorites.

As kids, we were often annoyed by our parents' tendency to trust our charming, rotten classmates and dislike our loyal, less polished friends. Therefore, it's easy to sympathize with Trixie, Di, and their friends when they can see through Di's uncle's trickery and her parents can't. Campbell shows real skill in making Uncle Monty subtly creepy without overdoing it.

How ironic that this warm, intelligent, realistic series is out of print, while the two-dimensional all-that-and-a-bag-of-chips Nancy Drew is still around! Trixie is an imperfect human being with real faults and limitations. Nancy was a great role model in many ways (she could change a flat tire - I never have!), but for a kid having growing pains, Trixie and her friends were so much easier to relate to. There is a real sense of warmth in these books that most of the old Grosset & Dunlap series (Hardy Boys, Dana Girls, Bobbsey Twins, Beverly Gray) lacked. Nancy's friends George and Bess were essentially ciphers; I used to wish that I could meet people like Trixie and her friends.

There's also a real sense of continuity - old friends don't just disappear from one book to the next, and the new friends they make get mentioned from time to time in subsequent stories.

And, to the best of my knowledge, the Trixie Belden books never had to be revised in order to remove racial slurs. Some elements seem slightly outdated, but with the emphasis on people rather than things, the books hold up surprisingly well.

This book will open your mind to various aspects of the global economy. Any serious investor would be doing him/herself a great favor by picking up this book...it is written in a very organized manner wherein coverage of each topic is short, concise, and each has it's own accompanying graphs/charts/statistics page. A perfect reference.

I can't tell you how many times I have referred to this book for my investment descisions. It's an accurate and clear portrayal of what goes on in the global market. My returns are increasing more and more everyday!

Brian Quinlan, son of Joeseph P. Quinlan, is a funny boy who gives interesting speeches and has the best basement and television set in the world. We like to call him TW for terrific warrior. He is a big fan of Doug Flutie and Zack Debolt and you should beware of the "elbow".

The book is worth buying if only for the following chapter alone-Procedures and Diagnostic Tests: Your Life as a Laboratory Mouse. The bit about a mammogram has been the grist for e-mail funnies, and it is only one of the descriptions Hammer deliciously conjures. From the chapter on surgery, this is a snippet of her humor: "Postoperative Activities: Walking. As soon as you've stopped throwing up, they will get you out of bed and make you walk. This is the Lazarus therapy used in the Bible, and it worked quite well for him." This book is good for people on either side of the needle. A real gas!

I thought this book is hilarious and a definate worthwhile read. I work in the hospital, training to be a nurse, and it was educational to read a hospital experience from a patient's perspective. I had to laugh at how very true this patient was when it comes to the attitudes and behaviors of the medical staff. I was laughing so loud that many of the staff and patients themselves were looking like I should be the one admitted! This would be the perfect gift for any patient or medical professional. What I would like to see next is a book on the staff's perspective on a patient!

This book is an absolute must-read for anyone who has had any kind of run-ins with anyone (doctors, nurses, etc.) from the medical profession. This book makes even the most painful and depressing moments hilarious. It's something that's great to read even while you're in hospital because you don't have to start at the beginning - you can pick it up from anywhere.I don't normally laugh out loud when I read, but I was absolutely rolling as in my hospital bed. I own a copy, and am borrowing it out to others! **Here's an idea - don't know what to get that friend that you are visiting in hospital who has already gotten 2 thousand flower arrangements? Order them a copy of this book - I promise that it will be the best gift they ever got. Even the medical professionals will find this a hit! Try out her other books as well!!

Just remember - try not to "bust a gut" while reading! Enjoy!

Kathy Harrison is not the kind of person who can just sit back and watch others suffer. She isn't the kind of person who feels like making a charitable contribution is doing her part to make the world a better place. Kathy Harrison is one of a special breed of people: someone who is willing to make sacrifices in order to make others happy. For Kathy, those sacrifices mean opening up her home --- and her heart --- to the neediest children in the world. Kathy Harrison is a foster parent but, more importantly, she is a hero to over one hundred children that she has helped through their toughest times.

In ANOTHER PLACE AT THE TABLE, Harrison makes no attempts to glamorize her role as a foster parent. She doesn't make herself out to be a saint. She simply tells it like it is, complete with the disheartening stories of children who have been neglected, abused and abandoned. But throughout the struggles she recounts in her book, there is always a glimmer of light: the children she has helped rehabilitate, the foster children who have found wonderful permanent homes, and the children who Harrison and her husband have adopted themselves. Despite her battles with the social services system, Kathy Harrison has made a difference.

ANOTHER PLACE AT THE TABLE is emotionally draining and fulfilling at the same time. While the subject matter is not lighthearted, the writing is excellent and the reading is fast-paced. Harrison has presented an open, honest view of her life --- faults included. Perhaps that is what makes the book exceptional.

Reflecting on the stories in this book, the phrase "Truth is stranger than fiction" comes to mind. In a world where so many of us live such comfortable lives with caring families, it is hard to believe that the events in this book really happened. And no invented character could rival the personalities of those living in the Harrison household. ANOTHER PLACE AT THE TABLE tells not only the story of Kathy Harrison and her foster children but also the story of foster families across the nation. It will bring you to tears and will make you angry. It won't make you laugh and it doesn't have a happy ending. But it will make you think about the foster care system, and maybe it will encourage you to make a difference.

--- Reviewed by Melissa Brown

Another Place at the Table is the story of a family who progress from adopting two children in need to becoming full time/overtime/all the time foster parents of handfuls of children with major 'issues.' But more than that, it's a story of the social services quagmire, the birth mothers of these kids, and the kids themselves.
Of interest to all who like the truth in human interest stories.
And besides that, it's well written. Read it, and pass it on to a friend. Or better yet, buy two copies and GIVE one to a friend.

Kathy's Harrison's memoir of her life as a foster parent to over one hundred children is at times funny, sad, and heart-wrenching, but always completely honest. She is honest about her own failures and weaknesses, about the difficulty in fostering troubled children, about the many shortcomings of the foster care system, and about the tremendous need each child in that system has for a loving, attentive family. She sugarcoats nothing, yet manages to show the reader each sweet, loving, unique child she took in under the labels of "abused," "troubled" and "mentally ill."

I began this book as someone who never imagined that I would want to be a foster parent, and finished it with the inspiration to pursue it as soon as possible. Harrison is not a superhero, as I previously imagined foster parents to be; she is an ordinary person who has given an extrodinary piece of herself to those members of our society who need it most. Her story, and that of the children she loves, deserves to be read.

Just received this book. Very inspiring and full of information and "templates" that make it easy to set up a pose and produce some wonderful looking outfits. I was eager to start drawing the moment i opened it. My only problem with it, is that there is no color renderings of any of the fabrics. I'm sure that would have knocked the price up quite a bit, however, seeing the fabrics rendered completely in color would have been a great benefit, and occassionally some of the models are not copied thoroughly enough, so you miss one or two details here and there, but it still blows away a lot of other fashion books i have come across. ... it's worth it!

as a high school student, i take classes at f.i.t. hoping to go to college there next year. this book will help me on my journey. it helps you draw all different types of poses and croquis, including men, flats, heads, body parts, swimwear, pants, evening wear, casual wear, tailored garments and so much more. and for beginners, they have great crouquis you can trace as a base for your own!

This is the most useful textbook i have ever been required to use. My fashion illustration skills have continuously improved while using this book. This book is the most in-depth of its kind, explaining how to draw multifarious details in good fashion illustrations and includes wonderful step-by-step how-to images accompanied with text that are easy to understand and use as a learning tool. Another plus is that the book contains great templates (flats, head proportions, figure proportions, etc.). I recommend this book to anyone with a passion for illustration and design!

I read this as part of my Master's program and found it to be helpful overall. Vella explained many concepts that most might find difficult or intimidating through good examples of teaching. While I enjoyed her refreshing honesty at flubs and not-so-great experiences, I did not find her hearts and flowers emotionalism and pomp as exciting or stimulating.

Her writing style varied greatly within examples from over-blown academic writing to the best of simplistic styling. But it became too much to handle and made for slow reading.

Additionally, although I enjoyed the varied and multi-cultural feel of most of her examples, many in my class did not. They felt (wrongly, in my opinion) that those examples did not apply to them in any way because the examples were so far removed from the US.

I was expecting the usual with this book - a little dry, one or two ideas I could apply to my work, maybe an anecdote. I had never read Jane Vella before! A Maryknoll sister and longtime worker for Save the Children, Vella has taught in 48 countries and for over 45 years doing community development work in incredibly varied and diverse situations. You don't have to be interested in community development though, to get the point of this book. While her stories are riveting (you constantly grip the book asking, "And then what happened?!"), her message is consistent - she maps out how she plans, teaches, listens, and reflects on all her teaching/learning experiences. I particularly appreciated her honest approach (she tells you stories of when things didn't go well) and her egalitarian approach to equalizing power in the classroom (she calls it "the death of the professor"). This would also be an excellent volume for anyone working with a culture not their own - Vella models how to truly listen to people's needs in their education experience and not impose what you think they need.

The 12 Principals of Adult Education set forth in this book will inspire any Adult Educator. They are followed up with relevant case studies from small places in far off corners to college professors. This is a great book for anyone interested in designing adult education programs.

I first read lives of the musicians when I was about 7 yearsold or so. Then, I thought it was terrific. I still do. However, I amnow 12 years old, and now that I have paid more attention to it, I see several faults, but overall it is still a very good book. First of all, their choice of musicians is not the best. I would have recommended Debussy and Schubert, like the Kirkus Reviewer. Some of the composers I have hardly ever heard of, like Igor Stravinsky or Nadia Boulanger. And while Clara Schumann was a great pianist, I think they should have focused more on her husband, Robert, a prolific composer, whose works are among the very best. Also, some of the parts of the biographies are questionable. Frederic Chopin may not have actually been romantically involved with Aurore Dudevant (George Sand), but in love with the Countess Delphine Potocka. The book states that the Waltz in D-Flat, or Minute Waltz, was written for George Sand's dog, when in fact it was probably written for Potocka. However, the book was still very well written, and I enjoyed it, despite the possible mistakes. I recommend this book to anyone who likes music, classical or not. So sit back and enjoy!

I loved this book because it made those musicians seem like real people instead of great-all-star-super-geniuses. It is full of strange little facts about all the famous musicians like Bach,Gershwin,Beethoven and Schmann.

---Megan W.

This book provides interesting insight into the lives of composers. I teach music to elementary and high school students and I read this book to all of my students. They all enjoy learning the details of the composers lives. The book presents the composers in such a way that the students remember the information about the composers. The book does not provide information about what the composers' music sounds like, and that is something I also like to teach. A great book to gain kids'interest in famous composers.