I really enjoyed this book, as did my neice, for whom I purchased it. I think the "Booklist" and "Kirkus" reviews were a little off-the-mark and misleading--the illustrations were excellent and I didn't feel the ending was 'pat' at all. I bought this book on recommendation from a friend, and would recommend it to other friends.

Flying into the land of compassion is a trip that everyone should take. It is an important journey. I purchased this book to add to my multicultural library of student books. The title is what caught my eye. I find that using historical events to teach life skills, i.e. compassion, honesty, hope, etc., adds to the importance of the lesson This book is beautifully illustrated. The simplistic yet detailed drawings are enough to tell the story alone, however the story is told though the eyes of a young girl from childhood to adulthood and the stuggles she encounters growing up as a slave. I believe that everyone can relate to this story. It will be a pleasure to use this in my classroom.

Not many people know how the Seminole's helped slaves to freedom. This book lets children and adults see through the eyes of a young slave girl named Libbie. She shows us what it was like to escape an abusive plantation owner by joining the Seminole Indians and how it changed her life forever.

I would like to review this book because it has very Funny characters.My favorite character is Aunt Lovey because she's very funny when Kevin is around.The book is very funny.

In this 6th book in the Mandy Dyer mysteries series involving a dry-cleaner who helps solve mysteries, Mandy finds herself as the proud new owner of a bunch of old clothes. It seems that a long-time customer has left them to Mandy after her death, and Mandy struggles to determine why this customer left her such a large bunch of ragtag clothing. During her search through the bags of clothes, Mandy discovers that sewn on several garments is a huge collection of buttons, some of which may be valuable. Thinking of the suspicious nature of her deceased customer's death and the potential value of this button collection, Mandy envisions a possible murder plot. Mandy sets out to determine if homicide was the case of death, and who the killer could be. Also included in this mystery is a possible new love interest for Mandy (she finally has broken off her relationship with Stan, the old cop boyfriend from previous novels) that sparks old feelings from the past.

I enjoyed the latest book in this series and was surprised at the killer's identity. The information regarding button collecting was interesting, informative, and added nicely to the mystery. I also was happy to see that Stan was mostly absent in this case, as he was not a supportive character for Mandy's inquisitive nature. This is an excellent book to read even if you have not read previous books in the series.

The first book in this series is "Taken to the Cleaners".

I love this series. Dolores Johnson is one of the few authors I will buy in hardback. I like her humor, her characters and the mystery she creates. I rank her with Laurien Berenson,Rhett MacPherson, Susan Cooper Rogers, Edie Clare..... I can't wait for the next book in the series. Thank you, Ms. Johnson, for introducing another love interest for Mandy. (I never did like Stan). Don't pass up this fun series.

I've been waiting a long time for BUTTONS AND FOES, the latest Mandy Dyer drycleaning mystery, and I wasn't disappointed. BUTTONS AND FOES is a fun mystery with a treasure hunt thrown into the mix, and this time Mandy bumps into a potential love interest who promises to add a bit of steam to the series.

Good work, Dolores Johnson! I can't wait for the next Mandy book.

Olivia Torkelson needs her grandmother's wedding dress dry cleaned and altered so that she can wear it for her own upcoming wedding. Dyer's Cleaners was recommended highly for the job, and Mandy Dyer expected nothing form this job except a big cheque. And then Mandy discovers that naive and vulnerable Olivia is marrying Mandy's womanising ex-husband! Although Mandy's natural inclination is to backout of the whole transaction, she allows herself to be persuaded that a 'job is a job' and to carry on with the alterations and to just avoid running into her sleaze bag ex-husband, Larry Landry.

Unfortunately, circumstances force Mandy into delivering the wedding dress personally, and this inevitably leads, several hours later, to Mandy discovering the bride-to-be in all her wedding glory dead with caddish Larry standing over the body! The police seem to have narrowed the suspects down to Larry and Mandy. And in spite of Mandy's policeman boyfriend's displeasure at her involvement, Mandy feels that she has to discover who murdered Olivia. The suspects are many-- from the second bitter ex-Mrs. Landry to Olivia's old boyfriend. Mandy first thought is that someone is trying to frame Larry; and then there is a second dead body and it looks as if someone is actually trying to frame her!

A good mystery and a fun read.

One way I know if I like a book is how many paragraphs or pages I skim or skip. Simply put, the more I skim, the further the book sinks. No problems here!

One thing about the Mandy Dyer Mysteries is that they simply get better as the series progresses. I did not find myself skimming because her characters were interesting and drove the book.

This time, Mandy is confronted with the dilemma of cleaning the wedding gown of her ex-husband's fiancee. She tells herself that business is business and takes the job anyway. But in true Mandy Dyer fashion, she finds herself involved in a murder investigation when she walks in on her ex-husband leaning over the dead body of his fiancee on their wedding day.

As if that is not bad enough, Mandy begins to realize that someone is carefully setting her up to take the fall for this murder. As the noose tightens and all fingers point to her as the jealous ex-wife out for revenge, Mandy must use all her resources to find the killer and save herself.

I simply loved the interactions of all the characters in this book, especially between Betty the bag lady and Mandy's mother. Two women,who in their effort to help Mandy out of her dilemma end up causing her more trouble. They are two women from different ends of the spectrum and reading their verbal exchanges will have you laughing. I recommend this book to anyone who likes mystery heavily laced with fun.

This is another terrific entry in the Mandy Dyer drycleaning series. (And if you think drycleaning is dull, you need to hang out with Mandy a little more!) The book is well-written, with believable characters and some nice twists that had me guessing right up to the end.

Farley Mills has started a new discount dry cleaners which begins to undermine Mandy Dyer's business. Mandy doesn't mind fair competition, but Farley is passing out coupons to his establishment right on Mandy's doorstep. As Mandy is pondering what to do about it, Farley's body is found on the premises of Dyer's Cleaners. Mandy has an obvious motive and one which the police seize on immediately. In self-defense, she decides to start her own investigation. After some checking around, Mandy discovers that several of her employees have motives for the murder. One by one, she tries to investigate each of the suspects until she discovers the guilty party, only in time for her own life to be threatened. Johnson is a good writer and this second book is a good addition to the series.

I thoroughly enjoyed her second book. She seems to be getting better with each book. I look forward to her next.

After reading this book, I went out and got as many Mandy Dyermysteries as I could find. Characters are likeable and humorous, and theplot was intriguing. As a fan of Sue Grafton's style of realistic characters and interesting plot twists, I'm looking forward to reading more by this author.

This is another solid effort by Dolores Johnson. It's not, by the way, a "sink your teeth into", heavy suspense kind of book. Like all the others in this series, it is a fast-paced and light mystery involving an amateur sleuth/dry cleaner owner who keeps running into murder victims one way or the other. Who knew the dry cleaning business could be so adventurous? The thing that I like about this series is that Mandy and her friends are quirky, but likeable. In fact, I like this cast of characters better than most other mystery series out there. The thing that I do not like is there is a tendency for predictability. This particular book and Mandy's detective work just got way too predictable and the ending . . . well, I won't go into the ending, but anyway, still a worthy read if you enjoy "cozy" mysteries. Not much explicit language in this series, which I appreciate, but there are a few occurrences of it in this book.

If you have not read any books from Dolores Johnson, I highly recommend starting from the beginning of this series - "Taken to the Cleaners" is a great book.

This is the first book I've read by this author, and while I enjoyed it, like another reviewer, I thought the ending fizzled. I would have liked to have seen how some of the relationships that were formed in the book were settled. I will, however, read more of her books. I enjoy murder mysteries that aren't heavy and scary and full of foul language, and this one fit the bill.

I enjoyed this book so much I will buy the rest of hers.

I met the author of this true story, Calvin Miles, on a bike trip in Vermont. A kinder, funnier, more intelligent guy you couldn't hope to meet. I've never read another children's book that explores, as this one does, children's worries about Christmas: Is there really a Santa? If not, can their parents really afford to buy them the gifts they're dreaming of? The glowing, warm-hearted pictures reflect the safe, joyful feeling Christmas can bring. For me, the pictures of the shiny green bike bring back memories of beloved possessions that took on a magical quality.

Since so many children's Christmas classics feature white people only, this is a perfect addition to classroom libraries 'round about December.

This was not the best nor the most interesting cozy mystery that I have read, but it did have its good points.

Mandy Dyer has inherited the family dry cleaning business upon the death of her uncle, a man who raised her when her man-crazy mother left to follow her latest love interest. One morning, the neighborhood bag lady gives her a suit that she found in the garbage which is covered in blood. Mandy immediately calls the police and is out to catch a killer, that is if the killer does not get to her first.

While the idea of the story was good, I just did not warm up to Mandy as a character. I kept wondering why she was so interested in pursuing the killer herself, despite Denver's finest on the case. I felt the author did not sufficiently explain Mandy's interest in solving the mystery to make the entire book make sense. Maybe I missed something, but I felt that Mandy would have been more interesting staying at home to rant about her ex-husband.

If you have nothing else to read, this will do.

The Mandy Dyer Mystery series is set in a dry cleaning establishment, a unique place for a "cozy". Mandy has inherited the cleaners from her uncle, which is fortunate since she has had to make her own way in the world since her divorce. She has befriended Betty, the local bag lady, who often stops by for a doughnut which Mandy gladly supplies. One day, however, Betty brings Mandy a suit in a bag which she has found in the garbage down the street. What neither Betty nor Mandy realize is that it is a blood-covered suit with knife tears in it. By the time Mandy discovers this, Betty has left and Mandy fears that the person connected to the crime might try to harm the bag lady. Mandy then tries to find Betty while solving the mystery of the bloody suit. This is an enjoyable and well-written book, with likeable characters and it inspires me to want to read the rest of the series.

This was a fun book, even though there is a point at which the killer becomes obvious - usually that annoys me, but the story was flowing along so well, I didn't mind this time. It created some anticipation for that big moment when Mandy would figure it all out at the worst possible time. Good, likeable characters right down to the cat and look forward to reading more of the series.