My almost three year old son enjoys this book during long car rides and when sitting in a restaurant. It is nice to have the write on wipe off surface, this makes it very convenient on the go.

Anyone who has ever had a brother or sister (or raised a few) knows how much younger children like to copy their older siblings. "Do Like Kyla" is a comfortable tale of one day in the life of two sisters. The younger follows the older through each step of their routine, painting a warm picture of closeness. My daughter enjoyed the simple text and colorful pictures of ordinary family life.

Suitable for 4-8 yrs. More authors, or college Enlish Composition courses should pay attention to this author. Angela Johsnon has a way of expressing mountains of information using few words. She has a rare gift for helping the reader to really identify, on a personal level, with the story.

The story is about a moving day for a family. That's it. But, the author tells the story in such a compelling way, that it will surely evoke a dialogue about this, or similar experiences between parents and children.

Julius is a very unconventional pig who loves jazz music, dressing up, and eating peanut butter out of the jar. Maya teaches Julius manners, which he reluctantly learns, then later uses because he loves Maya. It's a fun, non-whimsical and non-preachy story of friendship. Kids 'get' the moral (bringing out the best in your friend by loving them and sharing your own interests with them) without being hit over the head with it. The excellent facial expressions (esp on the parents' faces) really tell the story.

The illustrations are very engaging -- brightly patterned bits of cloth, some creative distortion of perspective, etc. The African-American family looks like it was modeled on real, living individuals -- a refreshing change from the generic white-person-colored-black look.

This is a great picture book for those of you who are tired of the pastel world of books for the under-7 set.

Nothing was very funny or catchy. None of the lines really stated anything profound. The story wasn't very interesting.

Wonderful children's adventure about how a young girl befriends a pig

A Review by Jake
This book's main characters are " Sweetness " , a girl in the book that is the main character , and a boy and also her mentor Walter. Her and Walter meet in school one day in the lunchroom of their school. Walter was eating his lunch all by himself , like he always does , while Sweetness approached him. They were a little scared of eachother at first but then they became best of friends.

Walter had a rough childhood which included his mother and father excluding him from them in a way that it really brought him down. His brother died at a young age in a drive-by shooting while Walter was at a young age also. He is emotionally scared from his death but over time he has become a better person because of it. He now spends his time continuing school while he is a underground artist on the side. The pictures that he draws are different than others artists work-he draws pictures of barns. Whenever he sees a barn that is obscure to him , he draws it. He had a reputation of drawing alot in his early years of school. He would draw pictures on the walls of the school in alot of places that he went. Because of this he obviously got in trouble. This is what attracted Sweetness to Walter. She knew that he was different than everone else so she made an effort to become friends with him. Throughout there years of friendship , Sweetness would meet Walter at the neighborhood park in which he would pick her up in his truck and they would go to a secluded area so they could spend time together and have picnics. Overtime , Sweetness and Walter friendship transformed into a relationship.

If I were to rate this book , I would probably rate it a 2. Why would I rate this book a 2? Because it is a very complicated book to understand and it never really hes a rising action. It never really stuck to one plot , it was always jumping all over the place which is very confusing. Because of this it was a very boring book and I would not recommend this book to anyone.

I really enjoyed this book. It was funny and also a quickread. Although nothing absolutely phenomenal about it, it was verygood. It is an interesting collection of stories about twelve different people. The stories were not very varied and seemed somewhat similar. Howevever, they were still funny and imaginative. I really enjoyed this book and would reccomend it for a quick read.

"Those Building Men", portrays a story of the structural foundations that our ancestors helped create through their toils in labor. This book tells the story of the men who built the roads, bridges, railways, canals, and skyscrapers to shape America.
"Those Building Men" associates the reader with a story of praise, and contribution toward our fathers, and the work they put into building our nation. The illustrations of this book capture the image of hard-working men of all different races, ages, and classes working together for one common goal, as well as portraying the painstaking labors that our fathers endured to build our country. The illustrator uses a gray, brown, and blue watercolor design to illustrate the different landscapes. He also uses hard chiseled shapes to form the designs of the workers and backgrounds. This book cleverly reminds us of the history of how our nation was built, and prompts us to consider how fortunate we really are. This book sheds light on a way to communicate to future generations the importance of an almost-fading past.
Johnson, Angela Those Building Men Illus. Barry Moser. New York:
The Blue Sky Press, 2001

The story Toning The Sweep by Anglela Johnson is a powerful but sad story about a fourteen-year-old girl, named Emily, and her mother going to the desert to help her dying grandmother, Ola, pack up her home and move back to Cleveland with Emily. Ola was diagnosed with cancer. I thought that all the characters in the story very interesting, especially Ola. She was very lively and was a good blance when the mood is sad. I would definitely give this book three out of 3 stars.

The novel Toning the Sweep by Angela Johnson is a story about Emily a fourteen-year-old girl (the main character) and her mama are moving to Little Rock after Emily's grandfather's funeral. Where Ola lives Emily's Grandmother . Emily finds out that her Grandmother is dying from cancer. Throughout the whole book Emily is videotaping Ola and her friends for memories. Later Emily finds out what really happened to her grandfather and why her mama is so mad. Ola, Emily and mama are moving to Cleveland so mama and Emily can take care of Ola. Toning the sweep the name of the book comes from a chapter in this book when mama and Emily tone the sweep of Emily's Grandfather. To tone a sweep means to hit a plow so it makes a loud noise to make sure everyone knows that someone is dead. This book shows that what ever goes wrong families should always stick together. This book was good book that was quick and easy.

Angela Johnson's novel, Toning the Sweep, is a story about a family coming together after being apart for so long. Emily is a fourteen-year-old girl, who has just found out her grandmother, Ola, is dying of cancer. Emily gets a video camera and starts taping Ola and everyone around her. She discovers the real story of her grandfather's death, the reason mama is still upset about it, and how Ola is saying goodbye to the desert before she dies. This book gives a look into a family that makes sacrifices for each other and are there for each other. I gave this book four stars because it shows the real hearts of the people. If you read this book and do not see the real heart and soul of young, spirited Emily and her loving family, then you did not really read this book. * * * *

when I was a kid my parentd s read me storys before i went to bead They were mostly fairy tails that had a point to it. Thease Blue Clue storys have no point. There short 24 page books that will get done in a flash.

By integrating simple problem solving with beginner level reading, I've found these titles to be a terrific way to assist young children in developing an enthusiasm for both. As the mother of five, I believe the series of Blue's Clues books, activities, and videos to be high quality educational entertainment for my crew.

Yes, there are nice pictures but every recipe I tried failed or exploded, even though the directions were followed and my mom helped me. If you plan on buying this book, please consider these things first. It may be a disappointment to kids like me.