It is the greatest shame in the world that this book is out of print. It was my favorite book of children's poetry from birth until this very moment (with the possible exception of Shel Silverstein, of whom everyone's heard).

Holman's poems are charming and childishly subversive ("They're calling, 'Nan, come to dinner . . .' But I'm not Nan; I'm a dancer . . . "), well complemented by Edward Gorey's drawings.

This book celebrates the imagination and power of childhood--lines from it still echo for me, and I'm 25. Lines like, "On tiptoe I'm taller, and taller I'm older, and older I'm stronger, and stronger I'm bolder . . . "

If you can get a copy, do! And share it with all the children you know.

The book is great and having be dedicated to me is even better. As a young reader I this was one story I loved to read and I would read over and over again. Hallie and Mallie are great characters and the way the author (my sister) gives their way of life or their backround is amazing!! If you love good historical books than you'll love this!!! I love you kim and thanks for dedicating this book to me.

Felice Holman has done it again. This wonder full novel is about Hershey Marks, a young boy trying to find where he fits in, and yet living in Pennsylvania coal country. This wonderful novella is a great read. I also highly recommend Slake's Limbo, by Felice Holman

I read the book Slake's Limbo as an assignment for my Children's Literature class at Northern Michigan University, which is located in Marquette, Michigan. At first, I was not sure what to think of the book. I read the opening description at the front of the text, and I thought that it was going to be some type of fantasy book about a boy that lives in his own little world and goes into a cave or a hole in the ground. Little did I know, this was a book about a young man that had some severe "real life" problems. This boy was horribly abused by some of his peers. He was teased and harassed so much that he had to run away from the boys to the underground subway systems of New York City. Here, Aremis Slake lived for 121 days. He overcame his troubles, though, and found a way to survive for all this time by finding a way to make money and get food. He got his money from selling papers, and took the extra papers to his "home" and used them for his bed. This is truly an inspirational book about a young man that battles fear, hunger, and the dangers of the New York subways to survive. This book is, indeed, a book of survival and is inspirational to those of us that want to give up every now and then. This book also gives adults a realization that we need to listen to children about their problems, and do what we can to help kids that may be experiencing difficulties like this. Many people can learn a great deal from a book like this.

How would you feel if the only place you can live is under a subway? Well slake from the book, "Slake's Limbo" had to face being chased and beaten every day, until he found a little hole in the subway tunnel. This book has a powerful look at homelessness and survival. The books main character is Slake. Slake is a puny, skinny, and homeless boy. One day he finds newspapers, people leave on the floor, and a man comes and takes one and hands him some money. This is the start of a newspaper business. The author, Felice Holman, writes this book from two points if view. It is told from Slake's point of view and the train conductor's point of view. I would recomend this book to boy's and girl's ages 9-12. Will Slake and the train conductor ever meet? Will Slake ever survive to meet this man? Find out when you read "SLAKE'S LIMBO"...

"Slake's Limbo," by Felice Holman, was one of the "young adult" books that made the biggest impression on me when I fell into that age group. Re-reading it recently, I realized that the book has lost none of its impact. Holman tells the story of Aremis Slake, an undersized, persecuted 13-year old New York City boy. Overwhelmed by the stress of his life, Slake flees to the underground world of the subway system -- "a city under the city" where he finds a "home" and a new life. But a 13-year old can't live underground indefinitely; Slake is headed for a moment of truth.

This is a haunting, powerful story. Slake is a remarkable character. In many ways he's like a mythic hero; he literally journeys into the "underworld" and re-creates himself. Holman fills the book with fascinating details about the boy's survival strategies.

"Slake's Limbo" is rich in symbolic details, but the story can also be enjoyed at face value. This book is, in my opinion, one of the very best of young adult novels.

I thought the book was ok. It would teach kids about what or what not to do. It tells you to not steal, but that is how the children had to survive. The wild children also was interesting because they survived in hard ways, but tried their hardest. It was kind of gross when Kostia ate human flesh.

I recomend this book because it told how people lived during the Russia Revolution. I learned how people survied like stealing food and where they lived. It was from a kids point of view. There are many diffrent thigs that I would never do that they do. I enjoyed the book a lot.

This historical fiction book is a very touching book to read. It examines the life of the homeless children in Russia after the Civil War and shows how life really was like back in those days of oppression, poverty and hunger. This book is about a young boy named Alex, whose family has been taken away by the Communists. He ends up living with a band of other homeless children. Through living with them, he experiences all sorts of things and realizes that even among these fierce children who have to survive, goodness can still shine through the smog of the goverment's control.

I wanted to read this book because I have spent time in the Anza Borrego Desert where the majority of this book took place, and I have studied the local Native Americans. I really enjoyed the story aspect of this book and think Holman chose an interesting parallel between the movies of the 1930s and the reality of Native Americans. Unfortunately, she made some errors in their lifeways. The Indians of southern California ate acorns rather than corn, and the eucalyptus leaves that play an important role in the Forever Day "poultice" in the 1700s could not have been used. Eucalyptus trees were introduced to California from Australia many years later. Does this matter? Not if you want a good story, but yes, if the book is used in a classroom to teach local history.

Colly's mother has died in a car accident and his father Matt is a stuntman in Hollywood. Matt has hurt his back doing a stunt and has to rest for a while. Colly and Matt decide to go to a desert while Matt is resting. They are going to stay at a small house that used to belong to Matt's father. When they arrive, they are surprised to find two Native Americans named Benjamin and Ozro. Ozro, a boy about Colly's age, has a great time showing Colly around the desert. A museum company is digging up ancient Indian artifacts that belonged to Benjamin and Ozro's ancestors. One day, Colly decides to do a little exploring by himself to find gold for Benjamin and Ozro. He finds himself very exhausted and hot when he reaches the place where he thought gold might be, but he is determined to find gold, so he continues on. Colly doesn't realize that he has crossed into the "Forever Day." The "Forever Day" is a tragic day for the two shamans that repeats over and over. Sparrow and his Grandmother die in this forever day, so this means that they die every day. Colly somehow entered the forever day and met Sparrow. Sparrow thought that if Colly could find Sparrow and Grandmother's bones and give them a proper Indian burial ceremony, they could be free from the "Forever Day." Colly questions why, but Sparrow just says that he will see. Colly is unsure of this, but he wants to help Sparrow and his Grandmother. After a few hours of talking with Sparrow, Colly is instructed to hide. Colly obeyed and was surprised at what he saw. He saw Sparrow and Grandmother running towards a cliff . Close behind them were white men with guns! Suddenly, there was a loud bang and Grandmother and Sparrow were flying off the cliff! Suddenly, Colly forgot what he was supposed to do to help Sparrow and Grandmother.

This book is good for anyone who is in the mood for a really great adventure with lots of suspense.

This is a poetry book by Felice Holman. The poems in this book are about children's experiences and are told from the first person point of view. This makes it easy to emphasize with the author on such topics as being scared of things outside the window when it is dark outside. Some of the titles of the poems include "Who Am I?," "Bedtime," "The City Dump," and "The Lullaby." The poems are not written in traditional forms like limerick, haiku or sonnet. They appear to be mostly free form. The book includes a number of sketches in black and white. These sketches are simple and generally small. The pictures relate to the poems on the page.