This book has really lovely illustrations and a magical imaginary story. Nora is visiting her grandmother and is learning about the wonders of a plum tree, a turtle and hibiscus flowers, all things that are new and exciting to her. After a busy day, as she's in bed, the toys from her grandmother's youth come alive and hop out of an old trunk that is in the bedroom with Nora. (...). It's a simple story, happily dreamlike, nothing scary, just a wonderful flight of fancy before drifting off to sleep. The illustrations are enchanting, sparkling like a night sky. The wakeful toys are charming and Nora's thorough but unselfish enjoyment of the stars makes for a comforting and positive idea to savor in those last moments before sleep. Stellar!

A good test for a children's book is whether a toddler recalls the book and asks for it about 2 months after it was last read to her. By this standard, "Nora's Stars" receives an A. My 3.5 year old daughter asked for it last night and was disappointed to learn that we had returned it to the library a while back. The story gently flows from the commonplace-- visiting grandma -- to a magical event, and back again. There are no frightening creatures or disturbing events. Its an almost perfect bedtime story. And the illustrations are engagingly beautiful too!

This book and the two that follow this book are esquisite! The story line is both inspirational for children and awe-inspiring for them to listen to! The illustrations are divine! My 4 yr.old and two yr.old adore these books! We discovered them at the library and I had to purchase them immeditately!

This book was inspired by a Safari to Kenya and Tanzania. I was part of the group that travelled with Ms. Ichikawa to Africa. The beauty of the land, the warmth of the people, and the magic of the wildlife is all recreated here... of course, in a simplified manner that makes it accessible to children of all ages. The First Bear in Africa is a story of two children learning about each other's culture. Since there are no bears in Africa, this additional clever twist adds another layer to a wonderful story. Thank you, Ms. Ichikawa, for a magical memory of an incredible adventure.

Isabela, an island girl, loves to wear ribbons in her hair. In fact she has never been seen with-out one. Her favorite game is hide and seek. She plays it with her dog, grandmother, neighbor and ever a reluctant parrot. One day when she has no one to play with she takes her ribbons into the mango tree and ties them on branches. She fancies them to be fish in the ocean and she too is one of them. After swimming with the fish for a long time she sees children playing on the beach. Isabela wants to share her fish with the children so she tells them to swim over to the kids. The ribbons at this point float down to the beach where the little boys and girls look up and see Isabela in her tree. She has lots of new friend to play with. Now all the little girls of the island wear ribbons in their hair.This is a lovely story about sharing, imagination and friendship. You can all most feel the breeze and smell the mango trees. Satomi Ichikawa does not disappoint!

The text consists of names of children's toys.

Nora finds a little duck in the woods and takes it to her friend, DR.John, a retired doctor who now runs an animal sancuary. Dr. John tells her that the duck will be fine after a little rest. He then takes Nora on a tour of the grounds and introduces her to other animals that have come to be in his care. Later in the afternoon they check on Nora's duck and sure enough it is better. Nora introduces the duck to Dr. John's other guests before returning it to the pond where it rejoins its mother and siblings. This is the most heart-warming of the Nora books and the fact that there really IS a Dr. John makes the story that much more special! The book is out-of-print now but it is well worth an o.p. book search to add this gem to your Nora collection.

I love Nora's Roses- it is a delightful book for a young child or for anyone who remembers being in bed with a cold. The illustrations are particularly charming; in fact they would stand alone. I especially appreciate the multi-cultural, multi-generational characters (not to mention the animals). Nora's imagination adds more to the story as well!

"Rosy's Garden" is a superb tale of grandmotherly love interwoven with flower songs, tales and history. A perfect choice for young readers who love gardening and grandmas. The overall theme is a summer visit with grandma. Interwoven are individual stories which can be read or skipped depending upon the skill level of the reader. My children have read and re-read this book for years

This book is just lovely. (That Publisher's Weekly reviewer must not have any children....) The illustrations are luminuous; the text is simple, pure, and wholly moving. I've owned this book for a month now, and still can't get through it without tears in my eyes. It perfectly captures the depth of emotion parents have for their children; how children bring joy and the unexpected to their parents' lives, and how parents impart patience, understanding, and most of all, love, to their little ones. This book is as much parents as it is for children -- it crystallizes all that parenting is, and all that our children bring to our lives. Simply wonderful.

I purchased this book for Christmas for my 22 month old daughter and like others, cried the first time I read it. During Christmas, I was overheard reading it to my child by her grandparents, and they too, stood there with tears in their eyes saying it was the sweetest book they have heard. Please do not listen to the Publisher's Weekly review...it is quite obvious the person who gave such a negative review does not have children. My daughter sat still while I read it as rhyming kept her attention as well as the day-to-day activities of the bear were similar to hers. This is a book to be treasured!

I've been moved to write my own review so others can read this instead of the surprisingly negative editor's review on this wonderful book. I am a new mother and have a 5 month old daughter. As I stood in the book store flipping through each page, I could not hold back some little tears. Yes, some of the rymn does not work 'perfectly', but it doesn't matter. The pictures are wonderful, and it sums up some very deep emotions with very simple words. I now know what other mothers meant when they used to tell me, 'You just can't describe the love you feel for your child...there is nothing else in the world like it..' Now I know. I bought this book so I can read it to my baby now and for the rest of her life! A little dramatic, I know, but this book deserves a better review. Enjoy this book with your little one too.

In The Lost Flower Children, A mystery is unravelled when 2 unexpecting children are sent to there Aunt Miny's house. When the kids read the story too many things look familiar in the pictures. Follow through this mysterious mystery and be suprised! I reccomend this to people between the ages of 8-12.

I enjoyed this fanciful, dreamy, and yet extremely "down to earth" story at least as much or more than Taylor's Newbury Honor book, Afternoon of the Elves, and felt this one deserved a similar honor. As usual, Taylor does a superb job of towing the line between reality and fantasy, lacing ordinary experiences with little hints of magic that seem so natural and believable that it makes you think twice. Satomi Ichikawa's wistful sketches also provide a perfect compliment to the text. This is a charming book for lovers of gardens or of fairy tales, for imaginative young adults, and for people of all ages who still want to believe in a bit of magic.

I read this book last night, having merely picked it up to see if my daughter would like it. I couldn't put it down. The style is so gentle, and much like the books I read in my own childhood, rather than those stories which feel so forced to demonstrate how cool they are in order to interest today's children. I imagine many very normal girls will be very interested by the excellent style of the writer, by the story of the flower fairies which takes place in a summer garden, and by the genuine love and emotion which is generated by the interaction between the main characters.

The story is about two sisters whose mother has just died. The older one is able to admit to herself how lonely she feels for her mother. Yet she is also able to sacrifice her own need to grieve in order to care for her younger sister whose response to loss has been to obey rigid self-imposed routines and to contol her life in a way her mother's death would bely, by keeping outsiders strictly out of her life. The girls spend a summer with an elderly aunt and pursue an old mystery they read about in one of the books in the aunt's ancient home. Much of the action is spent in a wildly unkempt but magical and charming garden, and the girls' journey from grief to a more peaceful acceptance of their loss is a somewhat magical journey. The story gives a very positive role to the elderly aunt whose home they spend the summer visiting, and also paints a beautiful picture of sisterly support and love.

It's an absolute treasure of a book and I highly recommend it.