Daughter Anna (now 19 years old) loved this book. It was her favorite above all others. As we sorted through some old kid things for give-away purposes, we stumbled upon this old, well worn copy of "The Velveteen Rabbit." She insisted we keep the book for HER children.

This was her book that Mama (me!) had to read to her again and again and again. As soon as the last word was read on the last page, it was "Mama, please read it again!"

(how I miss those days, by the way!)

The book also has a powerful message about Love that children understand and cherish.

This is a wonderful book. No child should be without their own copy of "The Velveteen Rabbit."

I make sure I use this book with each class I teach--3rd and4th graders. They always get it--that love makes us real, too. Theymake the connection between the Skin Horse becoming shabby and people getting old. I always bring in my stuffed velveteen rabbit I bought years ago and it starts making the rounds and popping up on different children's laps. It is a pleasure to see them become attached to the rabbit instead of "mechanical toys that were very superior, and looked down upon everyone else." They also relate to the lessons the Velveteen Rabbit learns from the Skin Horse about how becoming real is a painful process sometimes and can take a long time.

It's a sweet story of a 'simple' stuffed rabbit amidst the more 'complex' modern toys in a boy's "toy collection". The rabbit starts to believe that in order to get the love of the boy, he needs to appear 'real', or be able to zoom about like the motorized toys...
(And I'm not going to tell you the end hahahahaha!!!)
It was great having that read to me, while I was hugging my stuffed animals in bed.
But -- in a way, at first glance it looks like a simple story, but it is actually a surprisingly complex story. Leave it on your child's bookshelf as he/she grows up and he/she will reread it again and again as he/she questions issues such as "who am I?", "what does it mean to be 'real'"?, "what is my role in this world?", and even "what is death"?

A book strictly for North Korea specialists. Certainly, as its reviews and the book-cover blurbs indicate a "unique" study. However what none of them say is; (1) this is strictly a basic socio-economic or sociology-type study; and (2) most tellingly, it may well be "a recently declassified CIA study", but what they are not saying is that this study was written in 1980-81 and not updated for a 1999-2000 book publication release. It is a study written in 1980 and is thereby utilising 1970s material. In consequence we have a book about Kim Il-Sung's North Korea of the 1970s. We are reading about conditions in the North Korea of 25+ years ago.

Material content and style presentation is straightforward and "just the facts". Nothing laid out in this book will surprise anyone who is familiar with Communist bloc social control systems. There is no analysis or extrapolation worth mentioning from the socio-economic presentation. Key aspects even within that range e.g. Party-Army-Population relationships are not examined in any analytical way.

This is a quite specific piece set in a quite specific time frame. It is a read only for those with real interest in North Korea. It is, at best, a "background" information source. As one reviewer has alluded to, the only real purpose of any description of conditions and life in the North Korea of the 1970s, is to give us an indication of the seeds of the mismanagement and decline that has subsequently unfolded. The same mixture of issues that have brought down, principally from within, other Communist regimes, in this case merely with a particular North Korean spin to it.

Thus as a book - a very particular snapshot. In its own right, as well as in terms of content.

This book is a fascinating account of North Korea under Kim Il-sung. I learned many things, such as his emphasis on the family. The trouble with this book is that we do not know if it describes North Korea today, or just North Korea in the past. But the description is fascinating.

These authors really did excellent research and they take the attentive reader behind the closed borders of North Korea. It is one of the last countries on earth that doesn't have diplomatic relations with the U.S. In this book the reader will experience the harsh reality of a poverty-striken country that happens to be the largest weapons exporter in the region. Another book that I highly recommend which is also based on a recent declassified CIA report and which discusses North Korea's secret but aggressive nuclear weapons program is the thriller THE CONSULTANT by Alec Donzi.

I'd have to say this book was a complete surprise to me from what I was expecting. Right from the first chapter I was hooked and found it held my interest right to the end. The story was interesting as were the characters. It had a touch of fairytale, macabe, humor, romance great characters and lots of surprises.

Kim Hunter doesn't hold back when it comes to gritty discriptions so be prepared to be grossed out at times. He is not afraid to describe things in it's rawest form.This just adds more believability to the story in my opinion. If you like peaches and cream fantasy then this book is not for you. Otherwise give it a try. I don't think you will be disapointed.

I'm am definitely looking forward to reading the next book "Wizard's Funeral". I'd give this book 4 1/2 stars.

Actress Kim Hunter is probably best known for her Oscar winning turn as 'Stella' in "A Streetcar Named Desire" (a role she also created on Broadway) and as the sympathetic 'Dr. Zira' in the first three "Planet of the Apes" movies. In her combination autobiography and cookbook, we get a glimpse into this actress' life and the culinary delights that pleased her palate.

Published in 1975, Ms. Hunter writes with great wit, insight to acting, lovingly about her family, and the ups and downs of both her personal and professional life. Somehow each dish mentioned in the book makes its way into a chapter. The chapters themselves are short and to the point and there are wonderful photos supplied by Ms. Hunter of family, friends, and her various roles.

However, Ms. Hunter, who was blacklisted by McCarthy in the 50s, does not really give us any information about the time of her life other than going through her "Russian period". I wanted to learn more about McCarthyism and what it meant to her personally and professionally. She basically skimmed over that. It's probably her perogative to do that, but still, it's a piece of history that should be told and be understood by every generation.

Overall, the book is very entertaining, and the recipes look enticing. There's a chicken recipe I am wanting to try that looks easy enough. But who has time to cook? If you like learning about the glory days of Hollywood and what an artist in a particular field goes through to achieve their accomplishments, plus if you like to dally in the kitchen, then Ms. Hunter's book will be a welcome addition to your library.