This book was one that I would definetley love to keep in the family. Kids of all ages can enjoy as well as adults. This book is something that family's can share together. It not only has a charm to bring people together, but it can also teach lessons. I loved it!

This perticular story has the potintial to inspire millions. I could totaly relate to Irving. I feel as if Irving was me.The story is mystical and heart warming. Irving is an inspireing hero that always win in the end.

This story has action and suspense. It taught ne not to be scared of monsters. I like being able to pretend Irving the dragon is really with me when I am afraid because he is a good dragon.

Corrigan's book features easy to follow lessons based onIsshinryu (Okinawan Karate). Illustrations are simple black and whitedrawings which make the "action" easy to follow. As a librarian I have recommended this book to my library system for its emphasis on attitude and confidence building. A good choice for schools, libraries or any child starting out in karate.

As a practitioner of Isshinryu karate for over 21 years, I was very impressed with this book. It is small in size, but loaded with useful information. In addition to very clearly-illustrated "how-to" procedures, Corrigan emphasizes self-respect, self-discipline and self-control, wonderful qualities for young people to be learning. I especially enjoyed how the author began each chapter with a little philosophy of how the "old masters" used to do things. As Corrigan states:karate is more than just punches and kicks.

This is an excellent book for children (and for the parents of children) who wish to learn karate. The instructions and illustrations of the physical aspects of karate are clear and easy to follow. More importantly, the philosophy of the book is one that I would encourage in karate students of any age.

This book truely captures how children should be taught karate.

This book is great for teaching moral values through an interesting story. It keeps the reader particularly engrossed in the character detail as forces of good against evil combat one another on a level all too real. You will find Keeping Promises hard to put down.

This is a story of a family that is torn apart by infidelity. The characters jump to life on page one and will not let you leave their world until you are finished. An incredibly super Christian fiction that shares the gospel within its storyline. A great evangelical tool for you Christians who are not as easily able to share your faith but who would like to store up "treasures in Heaven" as Jesus advised us to do. This is a great book to recommend to someone having difficulties in their marriage. The characters are so believable, you'll think the book is really written about you with the names changed to "protect the guilty"!!!

I recommend this book for any person who has marital problems, and for those who don't!
This book has it all....
Spiritual Warfare, drama, shocking twists and turns, comedy, etc.
Will make you laugh, cry and will provoke all kinds of emotions.
You will feel like you personally know the characters.
And it gives a great outline of the gospel.
Get this book for all your friends for Christmas....
I give this book a TOTAL THUMBS UP!

Debbie Farmer's Life in the Fast Food Lane had me laughing out loud so often. As the mother of four kids, not to mention the occasional goldfish, semi-permanent turtle and seemingly permanent hamster, I really appreciate Debbie's self-deprecating, yet never sarcastic, look at family life. Her take on bathing suits and homemade cleaning solutions had me laughing so hard I cried! Finally, as a humor writer myself, I'm a tough audience to please, and Debbie is first-rate.

I love this book! Every time I feel overwhelmed by the unbelievably difficult job of parenting, I love to grab a cup of tea and Debbie Farmer's book, Life in the Fast-Food Lane. Her knowledgeable and witty essays about the challenges of raising kids always makes me laugh and reassures me that I'm not crazy. Anyone who is a parent will enjoy this book and I'm sure, will be able to relate to Debbie and her riotious adventures that she has so kindly decided to share with the world. Thanks Debbie!!

Debbie Farmer is a terribly funny humor columnist who is known to her readers as being dead-on with her observations of motherhood and family life. This book does not disappoint... it is all here, every thrilling moment in the life of "the domestically impaired," as she puts it. You'll love this book for its warm wit and self-deprecating humor!

As Siskel and Ebert would have said, 2 thumbs up. It's a great book to learn about the "shores" of Alaska. WTG Dr.Mason

2 thumbs up....... A book worth it's wait in gold, its a must for readers who want to learn the truth about the "shores" of Alaska.........WTG Dr. Mason

2 thumbs up....... A book worth its wait in gold, its a must for readers who want to learn the truth about the "shores" of Alaska.........

This is a great book. Not only does it help you to sort out what you really want to do in life, it provides an easy to follow series of actions you can take to help you get there.

I found that the hardest thing about finding a new job or career is knowing where to start and how to get moving in a new direction. This book is set up in such a way that you can read a page or two at a time, get some food for thought and put it down. Then, Later you can do a "fill in the blank" quiz or checklist and get a new piece of information to fit in to your plan. Bit by bit, idea by idea, suggestion by suggestion it gets you moving and that's half of the battle to finding and keeping a job you can love at least it was for me. I highly recommend this book.
Scott Rassoulian, Brookine, MA.

I got my first copy of "Love Your Job" after I saw Dr. Powers on CNN and enjoyed his upbeat message for those in a down job market. Since then I have recommended it to many clients in my organizational consulting practice. The exercises and mini-tests (self assessments really)alone are worth the price of the book and are both motivational and practical. I have found this book to be as helpful to an executive or manager as it is to someone new in the job market. I'm on my third copy now because they keep getting "borrowed." Timeless wisdom!
Dr. Edward Deevy, North Andover, Massachusetts.

The first grade classes at our school read MARIA's COMET then went on a field trip to a planetarium. This book really enriched the factual part of the lesson, and helped the students think about all the people in the past who have looked up at the stars in wonder and curiosity. Highly recommended!

I got this book for my daughter, who loves to look at the stars. It's inspiring to read about a girl who pursued her dream of being a scientist at a time when such careers weren't open to women.

This is the kind of book I wish I'd read as a child. The art makes you think you are back in time, and the story reminds me of how important childhood dreams can be.

An adorable story that carries you along its pages through an adolescent's eyes coupled with the worldly wisdom of a respected family elder. It's simple truths and lessons capture your awareness and are applicable to all aspects of life and all age groups. Through the application of the practices outlined within this story, one has the ability to concretely and effectively identify, discern, separate and accept the many different aspects of self. In so doing, it also offers the opportunity to better keep one's life in balance; teaching you to live in the present and to live truthfully with yourself. A sweet tale, softly spoken and easy to identify with. Applied, its universal truths allow for one's own personal flowering and growth.

This book has a remarkable gift inside: a framework for healing the self and developing into a self-actualized citizen of the world that goes way beyond Id, Ego, and Superego. If only we all had grandmothers who could love us in such clear and practical ways that we learned to see the guideposts along life's journey. Well, guess what, we do. The grandmother in MESHE... she belongs to us all. Ms. Farris has seen to that by sharing her through the eyes of the child within us all. A medicine story as powerful and relevant as the The Education of Little Tree, The Celestine Prophecies, and Medicine Woman, MESHE, HESHE, MISON, and ORBIT takes us to the place our souls feel at home. Plus, it's written beautifully!

Karen Farris has written a very special book that will not only appeal to, but greatly benefit young adults who are questioning their intuition, power, direction and general relationship with the world. But the book will also appeal to not-so-young adults as well. I was surprised to learn that it was not a true autobiography because the main charachter is so fully realized. I think it would be a lovely gift, especially from a grandmother to a granddaughter. The message is that you are already in the right place but you just need to appreciate your surroundings and the people in your life. No need to battle against it. There is a lot of wisdom here!

When it comes to the spate of books produced to mark the Golden Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II's accession to the Throne, this is perhaps the best and most relevant, especially within the context of the Queen Mother's recent passing, since it looks at the British monarchy in its entirety; past, present and future.

The authors interviewed some 100 Royal Family friends, acquaintances, and members of their retinue, in an attempt to compose a portrait of their personal and public lives.

It makes for fascinating reading - authentic accounts from those who were there to witness history in the making, such as the day Queen Elizabeth II learned of her father, King George VI's passing. She cried upon hearing the news, "And then," according to her equerry-in-waiting at the time, Mike Parker, "she straightened up and she went in, to the desk she had been working at, and started to send all these telegrams off...."

The majority of the interviewees are British and there's a good deal of conjecture about different happenings, accounts that sometimes disagree; but it is this very conflict that makes it seem like you're there as events unfold through the various dispatches which provide enough detail to allow a clear picture to emerge.

We become privy to the inner workings of the monarchy. For instance, the King's many secretaries had a code for a multitude of contingencies, including his death. Sir Edward Ford, the King's assistant private secretary, reveals, "I got a telephone call from [Private Secretary, Sir Alan] Lascelles at Sandringham [House, one of the Royal Family's private residences], saying 'Hyde Park Corner,' because that was the code. He simply said: 'Hyde Park Corner. Go and tell [Prime Minister] Churchill, and the Queen Mary,' and he rang off."

The book includes a brief history of the monarchy, dating back to its establishment in 1066, with stops at notable milestones and interesting tidbits along the way. Queen Mary, for example, according to the Seventeenth Earl of Perth, John David Drummond, was "a very forceful character.... When she was visiting a grand house, she would like to see various things. And there was always a risk if she said: 'Oh, I like that; that's really something very nice.' It had almost reached the point that the host...felt impelled to send it on to her later."

Also covered is King Edward VIII's abdication of the Throne in 1936. The royal biographer Lady Langford divulges that the words "the woman I love," used in his abdication speech, referring to the twice-divorced Wallis Simpson, who would become the Duchess of Windsor, were suggested by then-Prime Minister Winston Churchill.

Lady Longford also shares a story about how, when George VI became King, Princess Margaret asked her elder sister, "'Does that mean you'll be Queen?' And [Princess Elizabeth] said: 'Yes, some day.' And Princess Margaret said: 'Poor you.'"

We hear accounts of the difficulty involved in securing enough white horses for the service lords to ride on during Queen Elizabeth II's coronation in 1952; and memories of how the intense heat on the day of her father's coronation caused the boots of the bobbies, who lined the procession route, to stick to the tarmac. Reportedly, Winston Churchill opposed televising Queen Elizabeth II's coronation on the grounds that "people might watch the service while drinking beer!"

When the new Queen, in one of her first dictates, overrode the decision not to televise the celebration, sales of television sets soared in Britain.

It's possible that Sir Michael Oswald best sums up the awesome responsibility inherent in the monarchy when he says, "In a political job you can give it up. The Queen sees it that it's something she's consecrated to do, and to do for the rest of her life to the best of her ability."

As the Head of the Commonwealth, she commands a total of 1.7 billion subjects.

We witness salient points in the monarchy's chronicle, from the birth of Prince Charles, to his much-publicized marriage and eventual divorce from Princess Diana, to her imposing death.

Former Foreign Office official Ian Adams explains that the late Queen Mother exerted great influence when it came to the pairing of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer.

Many of Queen Elizabeth II's courtiers are interviewed and we get a sense of what it's like to live inside Buckingham Palace, with its 600 rooms; the "world's largest inhabited castle" - Windsor Castle; and the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Scotland; in addition to the Queen's two private residences, the aforementioned Sandringham House, and Balmoral Castle.

Remembering simpler times, when the beautiful young Princess Elizabeth became Queen, Admiral Sir Henry Leach suggests, "There was very much less scurrilous stuff floating round the media of the day...."

But starting in the late-1950s, the monarchy started to become the subject of criticism, and the authors don't turn a blind eye to this. There's talk of the struggle to find a suitable role for Prince Charles while he waits to succeed the Queen, with British Lord McNally saying, "I might be totally unfair to Prince Charles, but my impression was that beyond a kind of general look-around, there wasn't very much enthusiasm [on his part] for doing a specific job." A chapter in the book entitled, "The Heir Apparent: Who Is He?" examines in detail the issues that seem to surround Prince Charles, with part of it dedicated to debate about whether Camilla Parker Bowles will one day be Queen.

Lastly, there is a further examination of Prince Charles, with an eye toward assessing the future of the monarchy, centering on whether he will step aside and let Prince William succeed the Queen.

Regardless of your position on such matters, the authors present us with a captivating read and an inside look at Royal life.

Excellent, original and interesting - dare I say even entertaining. If you are interested in a bio of a woman deserving of respect, that is not of the tabloid sort on people best described as a dilettante,(can anyone say "Diana",)then take a look at this one. It is very, very good. Elizabeth may have had her role thrust upon her by an accident of birth, but she has handled it far better than most have in the past, and probably will in the future.

This is one of the very best biographies I've read on the Queen - a very fair and unbiased book with wonderful insights from people who really know the Royal Family. The people who are quoted are well known and not afraid to tell the truth even when it isn't complimentary. I'd highly recommend this book - it is like sitting down in your living room and talking to people about the Royal Family. I thoroughly enjoyed it and found it hard to put down once I started.

This book is, without question, the best book available for anyone who is a parent (or intends to eventually become a parent) and wants to preserve or increase their children's intrinsic motivation to learn. If you want children to WANT to learn, to learn WELL, to ENJOY learning, and to CONTINUE learning even after their schooling has ended, there is no finer book than this one. It also will be a fantastic contribution for any person who teaches or intends to eventually teach. I recommend this without question!!

This book answers a lot of questions I've had about parenting. It has good sections on how and when to use rewards, when and how to praise your kids, when you should tell them "Do this now!" and when you should let go. I especially liked a chapter on intelligence where they explain why it's better to emphasize that intelligence isn't a fixed quality. I had never thought about this before but found that it is useful for keeping your kids encouraged in school.

I found that I already do some of the things this book recommends - like reading to my children -- but that they also suggested interesting ways to "stop nagging" my kids yet still have them do their homework, ways to help them do well on standardized tests yet face them calmly, and ways to ensure their self-esteem. One thing I found especially useful was two chapters on choosing schools. They give very specific instructions on how to judge a preschool and what to look for when you visit elementary schools. It gave me a list of questions to ask take when I looked at a preschool for my son recently, so I feel now that I can make decisions based on research and not just instinct.

The best thing about this book is that is a good read. There are lots of examples and suggestions for what to do and what to say, even a quiz to give yourself. This is a book I would definitely give at baby showers, because it's a guide you can refer to from babyhood onward.

This book should be required reading for all parents. Carefully researched, this book lets you know how a child can learn to love learning and how a parent can help that process. The book is written in a beautiful flowing style so there is not a minute of boredom. Research facts and stories intertwine to demonstrate exactly what children need to succeed.