Sheila Rae's Pepperment Stick became an instant favourite at our house. Our 18 month old son has to take it everywhere with him... in the car, into the grocery store, into bed. I like it, too, because at the very end, I always get a big hug and kiss.

My concern about the book is the portrayal of the classic interaction between an older and a younger sibling: teasing with that edge of clever nastiness. I've now become somewhat immune to it but during the first few readings I cringed, wondering if taunting needs to be modeled even in charming books. My husband and I, however, are careful to leave that tone (how easy it comes to us!) out of our voices as we read Sheila Rae's responses to Louise.

All in all, it is a fun book and wonderfully illustrated. It is great to see Sheila Rae being a good sport when she is foiled by her own game.

Sheila Rae has a peppermint stick. It's long and striped and thin and sweet. But most importantly, it's all hers. When little sister, Louise, asks for just a taste, one little lick, Sheila Rae does her best, big sister style, to torment and tease tiny Louise. "You can have a lick if you can guess how many stripes there are." And of course poor Louise doesn't have a clue. But when Sheila Rae's second challenge backfires, the two sisters work out a winning compromise that leaves Sheila Rae, Louise and the reader, happy..... Nobody captures the ups and downs of sibling relationships quite as well as Kevin Henkes. His easy to read text and dialogue are down to earth and true to life and his characters are so real they could live right next door. Youngsters will easily identify with Sheila Rae and Louise, since they're sure to have played out many similar situations with their own brothers, sisters or friends. Add Mr Henkes charming and expressive artwork and you have the makings of a terrific little book that's perfect for pre-schoolers and emerging readers. This is Kevin Henkes' first board book and it's sure to join his many classics as a new family favorite. Sheila Rae's Peppermint Stick is a winner!

Sheila Rae of "Sheila the Brave" is back again. This time, she's received a long peppermint stick that she doesn't want to share with her little sister Louise. Sheila continues to promise Louise the stick, if only she can guess a series of questions Sheila thinks Louise will never be able to answer. Much to Sheila's chagrin, Louise bests her. When Sheila refuses, Louise grabs the stick, and it breaks in half. Peppermint sticks for everyone! "Sharing" is probably the moral of this story, but Kevin Henke's unique story-telling makes it much more fun than a finger wagging Aesop's Fable. This book is available in board form, my favorite for younger kids- they're virtually indestructable. My son threw one into a tub full of water, and apart from a little warping, the book still looks and works fine. Enjoy!

This book made me laugh a lot.I don't know where Kevin Henkes gets his inspiration.I thought this book was very creative.

Two Under Par is my favorite book ever! I am only twelve years old, but I've read this book about fifteen times! That's how much I love it. I'm not sure why. I guess because it is funny, and realistic.

This book is about a young fellow named Wedge whose mom (Sally) just got married to a man named King who has a son named Andrew. King owns a putt-putt course. Sally announces one morning that her and Andrew were going on a camping trip and King and Wedge would stay at home. Wedge didn't really like King so he didn't like that idea. If you read this book you will find out how Wedge and King learn to love each other and be friends. This is a great book!

I was so thrilled to get this book as a gift, especially since it includes the long out-of-print "Babar and Zephir." When I began to leaf through it, being very familiar with the older editions, I grew sicker with every page. Jean de Brunhoff's stunning artwork has been absolutely destroyed.

Do you know how you feel when watching an old black-and-white movie that you have long loved which has been "colorized"? Yes, your favorite golden age actress now has pink skin, fucshia lips too big for her face and what color are her eyes supposed to be, exactly? The Babar art has been colorized in the most grotesque and garish sense of the word--which is really horrid when you consider that most of Brunhoff's original illustrations were already in color to begin with. Random House has decided, apparently, that Brunhoff's colors are not bright enough. Where Brunhoff shaded, Random House has plastered one uniform cartoonish shade from line to line. Babar's green suit ranges from merely loud green to splitting-headache green. The suit which he wears while playing trumpet in the circus defies description. Suffice it to say it is very blue and very red.

The beautiful scene in which the Celesteville residents bring gifts to infants Pom, Flora, and Alexander has lost its pastoral sweetness and is positively grotesque. The babies lie in their pram, which looks as though my kindergartener re-outlined it in black magic marker, under glaring green palms and flowers with a turquoise blanket scarcely dimmer than the book's cover (see above), while royal blue butterflies flit nearby. Babar is standing in a suit that is (if possible) even greener than the greenery directly behind him. A uniformly orange cow and dromedary are in the reception line. Think Fisher Price.

Does your child really need to know that the mermaid Eleanore's sisters are peeking out of the water when Zephir captures Eleanore? Due to the paint job the sea has suffered, you may need to point this out, as Brunhoff's few lines are no longer recognizable as the tops of mermaid heads. Somebody overdid the brown on the faces of General Huc and Colonel Aristobald, these brave and clever monkeys no longer have visible eyes, mouths, or hairlines.

The subtlety, the grace, the old-world patina of the gorgeous Babar art is gone. In its place, we have. . .well, they do say that bright colors are good for babies' development.

I want to cry.

My husband and I grew up on Babar. So when we saw this book we bought for our 4 month old son. He loves to hear our voices as we read to him and he also loves the bright colored pictures. We enjoy the memories that the stories bring back to us. A great addition to anyones collection.

TIP: We take the dust cover of any of his books that have dust covers and put them in plastic sleeves for later when we are sure he will not rip them up. That way when he is older the book looks like new even though it really is old.

We have a 3 year old and a 2 year old and they both really love Babar and the gang. They love the book and Babar videos. We've had this book for over a year, and our children continue to ask us to read it to them. This book is wonderfully illustrated and humorous. Enjoyable even for adults.

I just read this book a few minutes ago. it's about a little girl named Ruthie who has an imaginary friend named Jessica. They do everything together! From reading books, to playing with blocks. They are the best of friends. Ruthie's parents try to get her to believe that Jessica isn't real, but Ruthie won't listen to them. On the first day of kindergarden, Jessica goes along with Ruthie. But, Ruthie makes a new friend, whose name also happens to be Jessica and they become really good friends. I think that if you know of a child who has an imaginary friend, then they should deffinately read this book, or you could read it to them!

An elementary school teacher gave me this book at my baby shower. She told me that her students loved "Jessica," and that my daughter would, too. Time has proven her correct. Recently, my daughter, who is now two and a half years old, asked that I read her the book. "Jessica" has quickly become her favorite book. The story is about five-year-old Ruthie. Ruthie doesn't have a brother, a sister, a cat, or a dog but she has an imaginary friend, Jessica, "who is even better." Although Ruthie's parents tell her that "There is no Jessica," Ruthie knows that there is. The book describes all of the activities that Ruthie and Jessica do together and concludes with Ruthie's discovery of a "real" Jessica when Ruthie begins kindergarten. My daughter loves this book and can recite it word for word. Children quickly become familiar with the story because key words and phrases are repeated throughout the book. More importantly, the book talks about activities and fears that all young children have and accurately depicts a child's hesitation to voice his or her fears. For example, when Ruthie's parents want to go to a movie, "Jessica," not Ruthie, gets a stomach ache and wants them to stay home. This is a terrific book.

This story and its illustrations evoke the gentle magic of a snowfall. The text is rhythmic and pleasantly repetitive. Small children would love the simple paintings of familiar animals. The climactic 2-page spread has plenty for a toddler to pore over without being too busy.

The language and sentence structure are simple enough to make this book useful as an easy reader as well.

Snow has fallen during the night, so in the morning the animals and children can't wait to go out to play. Each animal is featured with it's own poetic text and acrylic illustration which gives the book a quick pace at the outset, then a full two-page spread halts the action so we can all marvel at the winter wonderland and exclaim "OH!" Henkes words and Dronzek's pictures are perfectly matched to carry the listeners through a day in the snow. Continuity is provided with the story beginning and ending with a page of falling snowflakes transporting readers into an almost dreamlike state. Read at bedtime, this can only inspire young imaginations to wish for snow. A warm book for a cold winter day recommended for children two through five.

Talking With Artists volume.3

This book is pretty interesting. It is about artists who share what they like to draw and about their lives. They are asked questions such as, "Do you have any kids or pets?" The illustrators show some of pictures that they drew when they were children. They also show how the children illustrators got their inspiration to draw.

I liked this book because it was neat to see how good some of the kids are at drawing and then to see them draw as they are older. Also that was cool it showed how to draw pictures in the back of the book. I recommend this book to people who are just stating to draw and people that want to read an interesting book.

I got this book at the library for my children, but I think I enjoyed it as much as they did! (I plan to buy a copy of my own!) Instead of a cool, impersonal presentation of artists and their work, this book provides a refreshingly personal view. The artists talk about their childhoods, how they spend their days (the answers are fun & honest!), their families, and best of all, they give us peeks inside their studios. I don't know about you, but I love seeing inside of an artist's private workspace! It's like a glimpse inside his/her mind.
The styles of the artists are very diverse and they use many different techniques that kids and adults alike would like to try out. I highly recommend this book!

I love Kevin Henkes' other books, and I love dogs (we have three). So you'd think that this book would have been love at first sight. But I don't get it. Sorry Kevin! Give me more Lilly, Julius, and Wendell.......and I'll keep coming back for more.

My girl just turned 4 and is very artistic/graphic, and she just thinks this book is terrific (even though it says babies to preschool). I agree with the other reviewer, the plot is rather, um... lacking or bizarre (ie. it's never going to be one of my favorites). But she likes the pictures and the conceptualization of it, so I think that's the point. Now she goes around town and see's large O's and says "circle dogs!"

Our three-year-old, who's a big fan of Margaret Wise Brown, absolutely loves the sounds and rhythms of this story, and wants it read again and again. She now recites it word for word. The illustrations by Dan Yaccarino give this book a really different feel from Henkes's books about mice but that's okay. In fact, the change magnifies the strength of his writing for small children. Like Margaret Wise Brown, he really understands their world view. A great book!

Benjamin Hunter had a tragic past that started with an accident at the age of two. His uncle Ian made him a chair and was working on one of the wooden legs one night when some of his tools slipped, cutting little Benji's pinky right off. Ever since that day Benjamin didn't see his uncle and after his thirteenth birthday, he was invited to finally visit him. His mother gave him a room for his birthday, to be treated as an art studio. Benjamin had a talent in art and drew extraordinarily well. He hoped for a big screen TV or something better, but the letter from his uncle cheered him up. After acquiescingly agreeing to go, his mother goes to her brother for a visit to erase their past hatred and become better siblings.

I thought this story was a bit pointless. The plot seemed to be thought up in a few hours and I still don't understand the title. However, there were some good aspects of the story that drew me to the end. The author got detailed in the environment, calm and serene, that made me feel like I was in the scene. The characters were humans that made mistakes and basically were set up realistically.

I don't recommend this book to advanced readers above 8th grade level because after reading it for a few hours, the plot got to seem pointless. The level of comprehension this book requires is average and maybe less. The vocabulary was plain, and simple adjectives described everything. If you read all the Harry Potter books, Stephen King books, and Tolkien books, then you can give this book a try, but don't expect a spectacular adventure.

Not perfectly written; has at least one cliché. And I was disappointed they didn't go to the Oregon coast. But otherwise an enjoyable story.

This book was about a boy who had to visit his uncle who had made tragic things happen in his life. Read to find out about what happened....trust me, it's a good book once you get into it! I would probably suggest this book to people 9 or 10+!

This spiral bound manual serves as a nice companion to Petrology lab work. The color photographs of thin sections are the strong point of the manual. The organization, however, is the weak point. I find myself having to look up each mineral in the index in order to find it in the book --there does not seem to be any logical organization to the entries. Like I said, the photos are very helpful, but be prepared to spend time hunting for what you're looking for.