This was an amazing story, the book had awesome pictures! I really like the book it was just cool. I thought Alex Winters had an amazing adventure, well I read this whole book and it was a great book (diary). This was about a boy who was in sixth grade, his parents and father is a scientist and Alex wanted to be one too.Well, he was on a plane sitting next to the pilot and he was writing in his diary that his grandpa gave him. He was going to the Amazon jungle and it was Christmas! The plane crashed but Alex was alright but the pilot was out cold. He was still breathing! The Yanomami and Alex found each other and brought the pilot to their village and when they got there, there was some big guy ordering them to put him in the hut to lay down. Alex thought he was a chief! I just have to say Alex Winters had an incredible adventure and he did, did a good job on his diary!!

Author Hudson Talbott presented a fascinating talk for families at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County detailing his and co-author Mark Greenberg's journey into the Amazon. His description of their trip, plus the engrossing video of the experience helped explain why Alex Winter's fictional experiences rang so true. Mr. Talbott's respect for the Yanomamis and their world is very evident, both in his presentation and in the book Amazon Diary. All in all, a delightful presentation and a terrific book!- Nancy Fox, Education Division, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County.

I recently had the pleasure of hosting both Hudson Talbott and Mark Greenberg at The Cleveland Museum of Natural History where they presented a multi-media lecture for children based on their book "Amazon Diary". I was immensely impressed by the book before their visit because of its smooth integration of photographs, drawings and text into an exciting adventure story. Hearing first hand how their real-life adventures in the Amazon were incorporated into the book makes me admire the authors even more. - Jonathan Wilhelm, Director of Family Programming at CMNH

This book is an insightful, intelligent view into the history of a people in continual state of exile. It transcends their history from before the American Revolution (and the Cuban contributions to it) to modern day tussles with Castro's regime. I highly recommend it to anyone who wishes to broaden their knowledge of a culturally diverse and colorful people who have contributed much to the United States and the world. A "Must Read" in my opinion!

"Cubans in America" is a book detailing the history, culture, and character of the Cuban people and their contributions to American life in all aspects, from politics to entertainment. It's a book which inspired in me a great appreciation for the United States, how this land is truly a melting pot, with a detailed look at how this particular group of people have influenced and contributed to its culture. "Cubans in America" also chronicles the history of Cuba, the people who have had the most effect on her destiny, from colonial times to the Cuban Missile Crisis, and the modern day exile movements, including the Elián González saga. Most enjoyable in the book are also all of the photo captions and facts about famous Cuban Americans, such as actor Desi Arnaz and New York Yankees pitcher Orlando Hernández. A terrific book that shows one of the many origins of what is the fabric of the United States while providing an excellent history of our Caribbean neighbours.

Places in the heart of Harry Belafonte are captured in this charming book which reflects the beauty of the land of his birth, his island in the sun, Jamaica. White sands, lush colorful flora, lovely images match the lyrics of a song made famous by Mr Belafonte years ago. Children will embrace the pictures and follow the words with laughter. Their parents will remember swaying to lilting calypso rhythms. The next time you are at a baseball or basketball game and you hear a clear distinct "Day-O!", and find yourself and the entire crowd singing right back- -- remember you're responding to none other than this author, Harry Belafonte. That's his voice. So "Come Mr Tallyman- tally me banana- daylight come and me wan' go home."

Read this as a book or sing it as a song. This beloved calypso song leads reluctant readers to read as they sing. The illustrations are as bright and atractive as the lyrics. I keep a basket of "Sing Alouds" next to my reading chair. They lift my spirits as well as those of my students. I only wish more of the spirited songs Harry Belefonte introduced to us in the 1960's were available for me to share with my students.

When her class is given the task of creating a picture, Lucy decides to make hers for her Grandfather who is blind. So she goes about her assignment a bit differently from the rest of the class. Even the teacher does not know what Lucy is up to, which is part of the charm.

Though there are clues sprinkled throughout the story, I think it takes at least two read throughs to find them all. Lucy's enthusiastic pusuit of her goal makes the story zip by in a hurry. Filled with bright colors, this gentle story is never preachy or overbearing, flaws that mar too many kid's books about "differences."

Hi I am Lucy a 6 year old who lives in London.Please read more of Nicola Moon's books. Even though Grandpa can't see he is still wonderful. PLease read Nicola's other books because they are neat. From: Lucy With help from mom

As the latest from the Rotovision series, this IS an excellent book, BUT it is a compliation from the very popular Pro-Lighting series (which I already own). If you haven't purchased any of the books in this series, I would not hesitate to get this one! If you already have Portraits, Fashion, Glamour or New Glamour, you already have what this is made up of.

This book is like a catalog of photos; real high quality fashion/glamour/style photos with illustrations of how they were made. There are not a lot of text there. Maybe you still need another book that deals with technique, basic and advanced. It will be great in conjuntion with this book.

Alex Haley & Dave Stevens' QUEEN is a rare gem---the story of an american family that touches many lives. Queen is the main focus of the book but her story spans past & future generations from Ireland to America. Some of the characters are tragic but all have hope for a better tomorrow. The heartbreak of Easter's love for her "master", Queen being taught to read by her grandpa and the Haley family's quest to get a better education for their youngest son are just some of the heartbreaking stories in this novel. I enjoyed the book very much and I now hope to finally read ROOTS.

Alex Hailey is one of the greatest writers known to man. He truely displayed his writing ability in his book Queen. By reading Roots, I was able to follow along as if I was there. The book was truely heartfelt and encourages me to read all the rest of his books.

I absolutely loved this book and have read it many times. It starts with Ireland and goes through the slavery struggle and family life inbetween. The characters are amazing portrayed and presented. Not only does it inspire thought emotion and passion, it makes you wish you could express life so creatively on paper. BRAVO Mr. Haley! I can't wait to read Roots!

This is a wonderful book. This Book shows how even through adversity you can still rise above, and achieve success. It is a book for all ages, Alex had difficult times, but he did not let it stop him..that is an inspiration.

I enjoyed this book very much. It showed us another side of Alex we'd never really seen, the youger Alex, his struggles, his achievements and everything his mother did for him and his family. I like how Alex openly talked about their financial problems and his father, it lets you know that he's human too. He sounded very confident, yet humble enough to leave a good impression. A nice one to add to your collection, the pictures are nice too.

Being a HUGE fan of Alex Rodriguez's, I was truly interested in his story. I loved the book. It was extremely inspiring, as well as very informative. The pictures were amazing too. I think that Alex has definitely "Hit a Grand Slam" as an author with this book. I would highly reccommend it to anyone, any age.

Roots is an important novel. It was a part of the process of African-Americans coming to understand themselves. This process started with the "black is beauty" movement and its most recent development is the growing popularity of the holiday Kwanzaa. This book dispelled the notion, taught by western society, that blacks should be ashamed of the African origins and enslavement of their ancestors.

Root is an important American novel but that is not the reason why you should read it. It should be read because it is an excellent example of the historical novel. Fact and fiction are mixed together to bring alive the rich history of America.

As you read this novel you will marvel at the bravery and dignity of the African named Kunta Kinte and his decedents. You will witness the brutality of the past and see historical events through a new perspective. You will feel pride as you see the human spirit triumph.

Mr. Haley's writing style is not very artistic but it is clear and precise. He truly recreates the past in a manner that will keep you turning the pages.

If you saw the television adaptation, you will also see the changes that were made to the tale to avoid alienating the majority of the audience.

I highly recommend this book to all that are eager to gain knowledge and enrich their souls.

One of my college friends who studied comparative literature in China wrote to me a few years ago, about how she was longing to visit Georgia one day, "The plantation, and the oak trees...". Gone with the wind is a classic and was well translated in many languages. The movie also brought countless publicity and I remembered that I read an article once how the book "corrected" the public perception of the south and the slavery.

Well, that was my impression too, until I read Roots. Gone With The Wind is a story from Whites perspective with a focus on romance. I feel now it carried a heavy make up on the real south and the slavery. It eulogized the relationship between white masters and black slaves. Roots, on the other hand, describes the same south and the slavery, from Blacks perspective.

Roots started from Kunta Kinte's life back in Africa, to stories of several generations in the South. I feel the African part was hard to read, maybe due to lack of interests personally. Once I got past that part, I was fascinated by the story and I was saddened many times by their struggles. I believe the book displayed a much more accurate picture on the slavery and on relationships between whites and blacks. It is more than a family's tale, it is history!

I strongly recommend this book to everybody, especially to those who are interested into American History, to non-blacks, and to foreigners like myself. With Gone With The Wind overshadowed Roots in many other countries, this book offers a great education on American Slavery and on Black History. It shreds new lights on the origins of many current issues in the U.S. such as racism, racial profiling, and affirmative action. I rank this book the best book I've ever read, well, at least in English.

I finally read this book after wanting to tackle its 1500+ pages for many years. I read this book in one week. It is an incredibly moving, exciting and insightful story that traces one American family from the African village of Juffure near the Gambian river, through the civil war and finally to its author Alex Haley. Haley did painstaking research to document an accurate history of his family which can be a typical history of all AFrican Americans. Being a very dramatic, and well paced story with surprises and plot twist; it could be the best source of learning of Black history that exists. I encourage everyone to read it.

I bought this book for my 12 year old daughter and we have both enjoyed reading it. The book covers a great deal of material and I think it reinforces the manners I have been trying to teach at home. The book contains a section which touches on sex and this worried me a bit. My husband and I both read this section and felt it would be okay for our daughter to read it as well.

This past Christmas, I bought this book for my 11yr. old daughter as well as 5 other 11-12yr. olds (both female and male) on our list. It has been the most appreciated and talked about gift of the year (still yet) by both kids and their parents. The appeal seems to be the humor in which manners and the lack of manners are addressed. The book also includes reproducible pages to help serve as reminders, should any of us forget, for example, "The Fifty Commandments of Family Etiquette," or "The Fourteen Commandments of Toiletiquette," which includes the Thou Shalts as well as the Thou Shalt nots! Packer certainly knows this age group. I have also read Bringing up Parents which may turn into the gift of the year 2002!

If ever there's a book on manners that teenagers would actually read and enjoy, this has got to be it. I began to read it during a car trip and was laughing so much that my teenagers in the back seat demanded to see what I was reading. I gave them the book. That was three days ago and they haven't put it down yet. The brilliance of the book is that it acknowledges that teens should use good manners, not only because it is right and respectful, but because it is also in their best interests to be polite and appropriate. "How Rude" never talks down to kids. While the content is serious and exhaustive, it is presented in a fast-paced, hilarious, "MTV" style. The author covers virtually everything teens might need to know or be glad that they learned.