I collect children's picture books. This is one of the best I have found. It is a great story that children will love. I recomend this book without reservation.

Best known for the mainstream Taras Bulba, The Inspector General, and Dead Souls, the Ukrainian Gogol wrote some excellent early absurdist stories including "The Nose," "The Carriage", and the seminal "Diary of a Madman". Another well-known story, "The Overcoat", considered one of Gogol's best works, also has several distinctively absurdist characteristics, including: the antinomy of outward appearance and inner reality, the related issue of questioning socially established values, and a fantastic ending. "The Nose" by Nikolai Gogol is more a reflection of the technique of story telling than any attempt to create a narrative. Indeed, Gogol purposely mangles form and content, breaking all conventions of traditional writing. The plot and more importantly, the way he presents it is a nonsensical jumble full of gaps, contradictions, interruptions and extraneous information. The piece is only unified through its attempt to betray the reader's assumptions of how a story should be told. Gogol opens strongly, establishing the normal foundation for a coherent plot to develop. "On 25 March a most extraordinary occurrence took place in St. Petersburg." (Gogol) A man named Kovalyov wakes up that morning to discover his nose is missing, in its place nothing but smooth skin. "The Nose" spends many pages following Kovalyov through futile attempts to recover his nose. Like the narrator, Kovalyov is often distracted from his mission by random thoughts and events.

Eva Ibbotson's delightful humor combined with Prunella Scales's flawless reading makes this audio book a winner. Two witches, lifelong friends, have a falling out when they appear at a party wearing identical (live) snake hats. They move away from one another and both are courted by an evil man who plans to use their powers to become rich. The plot is fast moving and funny, but it is the many humorous touches that make this story a hit with adult listeners as well as children. Who can resist a balloon inflated by politicians' hot air -- education ministers claiming that more testing will improve education, and an atomic energy minister claiming that nuclear waste is good for fish! Scales reads as if she believes every word so listeners soon forget there is a narrator between them and enter fully into the story. Great listening for ages eight and up.

My two boys, age 1-1/2 and 3-1/2, both thoroughly enjoy the Poombah. The rhymes are unusual and fun, and the illustrations are eye-catching. Your kids will demand that you read it several times each night.

This book is one of my most favourite children's books. It is a simple little rhyme about Miss Terry who jumps on her squeaky bed and wreaks havok through out the entire house. Until the Troll, who lives in the basement, hears the squeak and sets off to deal with Miss Terry himself. The illustrations are wonderful. I took this book to read to my four year olds when I worked in a daycare, and they asked for it again and again whenever storytime came around. You can't ask for a better recomendation than that!

Wesley's parents think he is odd. He is different from other boys. At night, some wind blows some seeds into his yard. In the morning he found some flowers with purple petals. His neighbor said "are those tomatoes, beans or Brussels sprouts?" Wesley said "none of the above". The next day they had grown larger. Wesley called his crop "Swists". Swists allowed Wesley to create his own civilization. At the end he got some friends and he teaches them about Swists and games he made up. I like this book and I recommend that you read it.

How would you like to start your own civilization? Would you like to own a garden so you can make a game with from your crop? That's what Wesley did with his crop. He made clothes, screen, mosquito repellent, food, chairs, tables, games, forts, a flute, and an imaginary language. He even made his own alphabet with 80 letters.
At the beginning of the story, Wesley had no friends. At the end of the story Wesley had tons of friends by the end of the summer.
My favorite part of the story was the flowers. I like them because they were pretty and big. I also liked that you could eat the seeds and you wouldn't have to pay for food. You should read the book, it's great!

Have you ever dreamt of starting you own civilization? Well that's just what Wesley did in the book Weslandia. Weslandia is the story of a boy that planted flowers called "swists".
Wesley gets food, clothing, juice, and even friends from the Swists plants . He starts his own civilization. He makes a garden. Wesley's neighbor went through his garden and looked at his flowers and said that he should pull out the weeds, but Wesley's garden doesn't have weeds in it. Everything in Wesley's garden is used to for something.
I like the book because Wesley creates his own civilization, and I think that's cool. I think you should read this book because it is a good book.

I have enjoyed most of Bill Grossman's books, although some of them seem to be a little too "dark" for our daughter. I liked most of these poems as did my daughter. However, several of them seemed a little inappropriate and my daughter was noticeably uncomfortable with them (the words and/or illustrations). We no longer have the book and will stick with the other Grossman books in our library.

I totally agree with the parent who said this book was dark! This book is full of young adult, dark humor. This book creeped me out and I'm a twenty something! I came a across this book being a teacher's aide. I couldn't believe that someone (not the teacher) had selected this book for 4 and 5 year olds! The scariest one talked about "Dad" getting caught in a jar, and not being able to get him out! That kind of thing would really scare a young child. This book is more apprioate for a child who is 9 or 10 and is better able to understand the riddles, and knows that those kind of things could never really happen. However, there are a few riddles that that are just silly, and even a young child would laugh at. The rhymes are really creepy, like the original fairy tales, that kind of creepiness. I think this book should only be on the young adult shelf at the stores. The funny thing is that this book is written and geared towards the really young. I truly think that there should be a parent advisory lable on this book, if they are going to put it on the young kids shelf.

This book is a collection of very funny of short poems. I found every poem to be hilarious and would recommend it to all ages. The poems are the perfect length to keep the children's interest; each page contains a single poem. Along with the poem, the page has great illustrations that showed the children what was going on it the poem. I enjoyed this book because of the funny nonsense poems and the illustrations. The author does a great job of showing the children that writing poems can be enjoyable and fun. This book also shows how much illustrations can add to a story. It would be a great book to introduce different forms of poetry and different ways of writing into a classroom.

Well, alright, so the wolves aren't so wonderful, but the book *is*. I'm nineteen now and it's *still* one of my favourites. My copy is on my "Favourite Books Shelf", and of course I'm gradually buying the whole series.
I'm not sure what I can add to the reviews that have already been posted. A summary could only tell you what the book's *about* not why it's so wonderful...
I think that the first book I read was "Black Hearts..." and I decided that I needed to read the preceding book, and then I was hooked. Joan Aiken is one of the best children's authors of all time! I read the books to my younger siblings and, when the time comes, I'll read them to my own children.
Unlike a lot of books that are out there, these books give children (and adults) heros and heroines who are both good and believable. I find myself at times wondering "What would Dido do in that situation?" when reading other books.
I know this is not much of a review, but I honestly don't know how to explain *how* it is that the Wolves of Willoughby Chase managed to bespell me so completely.

As a young girl, I probably read "The Wolves of Willoughby Chase" about fifty times. This tells the story of Bonnie Greene and her cousin Sylvia who are left in charge of the evil governess Miss Slighcarp when Bonnie's parents go abroad. Miss Slighcarp's evil machinations, the girls' resourcefulness and actions (particularly feisty Bonnie), and the suspenseful story kept me on the edge of my seat.

For those who enjoyed this book, Ms. Aiken wrote several other stories set in the "alternate England" of the nineteenth century, including "Black Hearts in Battersea."

"The Wolves of Willoughby Chase" is the adventure of two young cousins (Sylvia and Bonnie Green) who must outwit the evil new governess, Miss Slighcarp, and her accomplices from stealing the Willoughby's estate. When news comes of Bonnie's parent's death, Sylvia and Bonnie are forced into an orphanage at Miss Slighcarp's order, but later escape with the help of Simon, a friend of Bonnie's, and are then able to uncover Miss Slighcarp's elaborate plot.

"The Wolves of Willoughby Chase" is the first book in the Wolves Chronicles, followed by "Black Hearts in Battersea", "Nightbirds on Nantucket", "The Cuckoo Tree", and "The Stolen Lake". I recommend you read the others as well if you enjoyed "The Wolves of Willoughby Chase".

I first read this book in fifth grade and have reread it often ever since. It's one of my favorite books, and I highly recommend it for all ages.

It was later made into a movie in 1988, but I haven't seen it yet.

This delightful novel takes place in 1910, and tells the story of Maia Fielding, an orphan living in a boarding school in England. Maia receives news from her guardian that she has relatives living in Brazil, on a plantation near the exotic Amazon River. Maia is sent to live with them, accompanied by her governess, Miss Minton. Once there, Maia finds that her relatives, the Carters, are not what she expected. Mr. Carter, a cadaverous man with a collection of glass eyeballs, is heavily in debt, taking Maia in only for her wealth. Mrs. Carter is a plump woman, obsessed with money and keeping Brazilian influences out of her household. Their twin daughters, Beatrice and Gwendolyn, are like their mother in their love of money, and in their fear and dislike of the jungle and its natives. Maia, however, is enthralled by the jungle.. She befriends the mysterious, half-Indian boy, Finn, and a young actor named Clovis, who is worried about losing his job in adolescence. Soon, Maia, Miss Minton, Finn, and Clovis are caught up in a plot involving Finn's relatives at Westwood (an estate in England), two unpleasant Englishmen, and a trip down the Amazon River. This wonderful story provides a likeable heroine, easy-to-dislike villains, and a host of various other characters, all easy to relate to. Kevin Hawkes' ink illustrations are interesting, and provide clear images of the story.

If you want ghosts and witches, then read any one of Ibbotson's other novels - they're all great, and perfect for Harry Potter fans. However Journey to the River Sea has its own kind of magic, and it's just as good as the stuff with wands and potions.

Maia, an orphan, is sent with her formidable but loving governess (shades of The Little White Horse) to stay with her unpleasant relations on the Amazon. They're being paid to take her in, and hate everything to do with the extraordinary country in which they find themselves as much as Maia loves it. Luckily for her, she makes friends with two boys - one a child actor playing Little Lord Fauntleroy on the boat over, the other a mysterious boy who lives in the jungle, who turns out to be the heir to a great title and fortune back in England. Maia's evil twin cousins and relations are soon plotting how to kill her and capture the boy, for whom a huge reward is being offered. But the love of her governess and friends may yet save her....

This won the Smarties Gold Prize in the UK and is expected to win the Carnegie too. It's unputdownable, packed with old-fashioned story-telling virtues from a great plot to characters you'd love to know.

Journey to the River Sea is the story of Maia, and orphan that is sent to Brazil to live with her aunt, uncle, and twin cousins. Maia is excited about moving, and ready to explore the Amazon and make new friends. Unfortunately, things don't turn out picture-perfect as she'd hoped. Her cousins are absolutely terrible, and her aunt and uncle are nasty people who go beyond being condescending. Maia's life is ridiculously confined for someone living in a place presenting so many opportunities for adventure. However, things begin to look up as she finds wonderful companions and stumbles into a dazzling quest. Journey to the River Sea is one of those extremely satisfying adventure stories, and while the way it's put together is familiar, it is still an original read. Those who think that it is boring must learn that not all good books are laugh-and-explosion-a-minute stories. This book is filled with charm, and you won't regret reading it. Pick it up with an open mind and you will be very pleased, trust me!

At first, I chose this book because I have read and enjoyed all of Eva Ibboton's books so far. Once again, I was not dissapointed. Island of the Aunts is about three aunts who take care of all kinds of mystical sea creatures. However, they are growing older and need some people to take care of their "residents" when they are gone. With this in mind, they kidnap two children that are named Minette and Fabio. Minette and Fabio, are two extremely wonderful children that come from horrible families. At first, Minette and Fabio are frightened, but they soon grow to love and adore the aunts. Later, all the animals as well as the aunts are in danger for horrible people who are trying to find them, and it is up to them to save the aunts and creatures they love.

Can you believe world with mermaids and, sea creature even exists? Well, I didn't until I discovered the world of "Island of The Aunts!" There are three aunts that live in one island and they care of the island but what is going to happen to island when the aunts die? Well they need somebody take care of the island but who is it going to be? If they pick adults to take care of the island well they will destroy the island and make the creatures extinct, but if they pick kids the kids will love the island and they wont do harm to any of the creatures! How are the aunts going to get some kids to take care of the island? They are going to kidnap children! Find out when you read " Island of the Aunts!" This book has love, courage, and danger! Discover the world of mermaids, sea dragons, big boobrie, and lots more unusual creatures! If you like books that have adventure well, this is the right book for you!

Kidnapping Aunts on the loose in London! Enter a world that your imagination can't even create. Only such an author as Eva Ibbotson has the mind to do it. Mermaids, Selkies, and a large bird called the Boobrie live on the Island. And when three aunt's name Aunt Myrtle, Aunt Etta, and Aunt Coral need honest and caring children. They do the most desperate thing ever; they go posing as Aunts from an agency called "Unusual Aunts." They kidnap three children Minette and sentesine girl, Fabio a foreign boy how is so sweet, and Lambert, loudmouth, cries for his cell phone and his daddy. The kids soon find out the magic, mystery, and peace this Island has. This is a story where everything you didn't believe in comes to life.