I loved this book. It paints a colorful and touching portrait of the characters, Emma Deane and Mrs. Minshull. They seemed so real, I felt like I'd actually met them both. I cried at least twice! This book also gives a fascinating glimpse of life in another era. Don't miss this book!

I enjoyed this book a lot! It reminded me of an American Girl, but with more complex characters. The growing relationship between Emma and Mrs. Minshull, Emma's growing strength (both physical and mental), and her pride in her talent was neatly drawn. And just the right length for young readers! Would have liked more information about the canal life.

Ten-year-old Emma is used to working ten hours a day in a silk mill in Victorian England. When she is locked out for being a moment late, and gets a job on a canal boat, her life takes an unexpected turn for the better. I loved this book

this book has nothing to do with the dj howard stern as the previous reviews would have you believe. this is a book about the art of howard s. stern and his life events.

The controversial radio show host takes a stab at mystery writing and does it up Kinky Friedman style, with himself as the protagonist and a cast of characters that include his associates on his syndicated and televised talk forum. The mystery involves the death of Hank the angry, drunken dwarf who is found stomped to death outside a NY Peepshow.

This is by far the most detailed description of his radio show, including Gary Dellabata's dental records! I must for any fan of junior high humor, or Stuttering John fans.

beautiful, compelling...a great study of one of the most interesting rebel artists of our time. everyone should know who howard finster is!

Fans of the odd and eccentric will find Howard Finster's Paradise Garden fascinating and entertaining. The quality and selection of photographs of the garden is fantastic, and Finster's statments regarding the vision behind his creation are intriguing. This book is definitely worth examining for its unusual scope and content.

It is an expressive story and very realistic, too. It was touching and made you realize that not all people may be able to do everything others can do, but everyone has true feelings. Marguerite and Francie were special to each other and shared an extremely special and genuine bond of friendship that is rare in most friendships. The characters seemed almost real, and it was easy to imagine what life was like for Jeannie-- having an admirable older sister determined to help a kindly disabled girl fit in, a group of typical neighborhood children who seemed thoughtless at first but in the end realized that just because someone was different didn't necessarily mean they were unfriendly, strict but kind typical 1920's parents, an extraordinarily talented, charitable woman (Mrs. Hanisian)two withdrawn but changeable teenage girls (Marie and Zadora) and finally, the sensitive but lovable main character, Jeannie Sloan. A Circle of Giving is a wonderfully penetrating focus on friendship and caring and I think everyone should read it. If you're like me, it will touch and change your heart forever and give you a gift--the gift of caring and honesty.

Although its a very short story, Ellen Howard has a way of packing great meaning into each sentance. I read this book very slowly, stopping after each sentance to soak in the full meaning. As I read this moving story about an early pioneer family in The New World, I began to feel as though I was there. Very well written, very good story. And Ronald Himler's excellent illustrations do justice to the depth of Ellen's words. Good Work. I recomend it.

This is a story of a girl's relationship with her dog as she grows into adolescence. It accurately portrays the change in the relationship, and the girls' reaction to the death of her dog at the end.

I find it to be very realistic, without being graphic. It is sensitive and touching, but not overbearing. My 5 year old daughter is enamored of this book, and I know that she gets more out of it as she reads it over time.

Murphy and Kate is a bittersweet story about the relationship between a girl and her dog. The story begins when Kate is a toddler and Murphy is a puppy. It shows how the relationship grows as they both grow older, to the end when Murphy dies of old age. The story is realistic, and handles the death of Murphy in a gentle way. Anyone who has lost a pet they loved, can relate to this book.

This book is an excellent portrait of humans being self-centered. Using a historic event, the author adds a fictional character into the story and conveys the theme. This book is for all ages, and especially for people that likes African-American literature.

This book tells us about a historic slave rebellion. The book's theme teaches us to be caring for each other and not to be self-center. This book is fit for ages below 14 and the author describes the setting very detailed and beautiful. I enjoyed this book and finished it within a day.

Mellie was your average girl. At school, she just wanted to fit in. Her peers made fun of her because she was adopted. She lived with her aunt and father. They never talked about Mellie's past, and she had many questions. There was this Chinese laundry man that passed her school and house daily. At school, the other kids laughed and shouted names at him because he was Chinese. Mellie joined in.
One day, her aunt decided to go on a trip to Florida. Mellie was in charge of all the chores. When her father was at work, he got badly hurt, and was sent to the hospital. Mellie didn't know which one. That's when she got to the hospitals until she found him. When she did, she found out that her dad was unconscious. She spent the night with the Chinese man.
When she got to China Town, everything looked familiar to her. She knew this place had something to do with her past. Now, all she had to do is find out what that was.......
I really liked the book because it had a great message. It was don't judge people by how they look, act, or believe. It's who they are on the inside. The book was also fun to read, and left you wanting more.
A book that is related to this story is Phoenix Rising. The main character is, like Mellie, an orphan. At the beginning, she is judgmental to nuclear plant victims. Then, when she gets to know some, she finds they are very nice people.

This book, by the editors of the Washington Post, does a good job of describing the events which led to the deadlocked 2000 Presidential election. In addition to detailing the paths which led to the deadlock, the book discusses all the post-election issues in a very readable format. Surprisingly, the books editors seem only slightly tilted towards Gore (especially considering it is the Washington Post, which is noted for its liberal bias), so no matter who you voted for, there is much to be found here for anyone with an interest in contemporary politics.

Deadlock: The Inside Story of America's Closest Election is a workmanlike and emotionless recollection of the events surrounding the most controversial election of the past 100 years. It is a well organized, easy to follow and not visibly biased view of the relevant events leading up to and following the November 7 Presidential election. Seemingly accurate and double checked to a fault, reading this book left me with the impression that I had just read an excellent 275 page newspaper article and not much more. With almost no humor, lacking any sidebar comments, it is a book Joe Friday would be proud to call his own. While I am a Texan and Bush supporter, I much preferred Jake Tapper's Down & Dirty: The Plot to Steal the Presidency. I guess this means that like most people, when push comes to shove, I'd rather be entertained than informed. I do regret this intellectual weakness and like some of the votes in Florida I may change. But probably not in the next 36 days.

Two things struck me while reading this book, the first is that I doubt there is a book out there that is truly balanced and not somewhat biased. The second thing was that Gore really got the shaft, not so much by the recount wars, but by the election official that came up with the Butterfly Ballot. In the history of the USA this decision ranks up there with new Coke and the XFL, what a mistake. As far as the reporting in the book it was not bad for a review of all the articles they had in the paper, but it did not really dig into the particular issues very deeply. I wanted more detail and behind the scenes with both the candidates. I also wanted more details on the court cases; I felt like the sky-high overview of the issues of the cases did not do such an important issue justice.

In reading the book I think a little bit of a democratic bias comes out, just a little, but enough to notice. I also thought it interesting that they had far more details of the Gore group then the Bush camp, it follows the perception that the Post is somewhat liberal in its views. The book is an overview that came out almost 10 minutes after Gore hung up the phone on the second concession call so there are a few more details out now that they did not get in the book. Overall it is a good effort and a readable book, but not the end all be all on the subject.

This book has a slow start. At first I wasn't sure how the two characters were supposed to be interacting with eachother. However, if you hang in there, the book does pick up, and it all comes together. It is a good read altogether. It is not scary for younger kids either.