My two year old and my four year old absolutely love this book. I read this every day to them. They have learned so much from this book about construction equipment. It is an absolute must for every "future dump truck operator"!

My two year old son keeps asking us to read this book. He's fascinated with trucks and never gets tired of hearing this story. The whole series is excellent--if your child is into construction or trucks buy this. When they won't sit still for anything else -they will when you read this one.

This book is the literay edition of Disney's THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME. It stays true to the Disney version of the story and has a lot of wonderful illustrations that you won't find in other book versions of the film. After all other than the music, the animation is the best part of the movie. As for story, if you're looking for the literary masterpiece written by Victor Hugo, you won't find it here. Disney totally butchered Hugo's tale (in Hugo's story: Phoebus isn't a hero, just a horny hunk who's filled with lust; Claude Frollo isn't evil, he is overcome by his lust and desire for Esmeralda; Esmeralda isn't the brightest person in the world; and the story doesn't end all that happily) and the book remains true to that movie.

I don't know why this is, but classic books are often bound into heavy, dark tomes and printed in the tiniest print with almost no space between the lines. Perhaps the publisher imagines these books will not actually be read anymore, but instead are supposed to serve as fillers for the large shelves in aristocratic libraries and behind lawyers' desks.

Well, for those of us who still like to dust off the classics and read them, TOR's edition of the Hunchback of Notre Dame serves nicely. It's bound in a modern style--small, with an intriguing cover, with easy-on-the-eyes print. And, it's complete and unabridged (accept no substitutions on this point, otherwise you're depriving yourself of the grand vision of the artist). Also, TOR's 458-page mass market paperback is only [$]--when was the last time you got so many hours of entertainment for so little?

The Hunchback of Notre Dame is a dark, desperate novel, filled with mist and moonlight and echoes in the lonely streets of 15th century Paris past midnight. In the main, it tells the intersecting stories of three lonely characters, each aching in their own way. There's Claude Frollo, archdeacon of Josas, who's spent his whole life cloistered in the tight garb of Catholicism. There's La Esmeralda, an enchantingly beautiful gypsy who's searching for her long lost mother. And, of course, there's Quasimodo, the malformed, hunchbacked figure haunting the shadows of the Cathedral of Notre Dame.

Hugo knows how to tell a story--there is plenty of irony, a few good surprises, and some excellent characterization. He paints the dark places of humanity: people struggling to survive, to find hope in the midst of horror, each clinging in some way to a dream that can never be realized.

One drawback of the book is its pacing, which, at times, slows to a crawl. For example, there is a long chapter on the layout of Paris in the 15th Century, which, if you're not a city planner or fastidious historian, can get pretty long and boring. Even Hugo seems to know it becomes boring, because he recaps so often. Also, Hugo often breaks the fourth wall and directly addresses the reader, which can be distracting and anti-dramatic at times. Thirdly, I would have liked to spend some more time with that loveable wretch, Quasimodo. He has a big part in the end, but not much more. But don't let these minor annoyances stop you from reading a great story.

If you have patience, The Hunchback of Notre Dame will rebuild the gothic Notre Dame of stone in words; if you have imagination, it will acquaint you with the adventures of some extraordinary characters; and if you have a heart, you will shed a tear for Claude Frollo, La Esmeralda, and Quasimodo.

I never thought a book could make me feel such intense emotions. The story is beautifully written, and the scenes between Quasimodo and La Esmeralda are among the most touching and most heart-felt experiences in all of literature.
Quasimodo's lonliness will move you; he is too ugly and deformed to be part of this world and he accepts it. There is a gripping scene in which Quasimodo is stripped and beaten before a jeering crowd. The pain and humiliation he felt brought me to tears, yet his courage and bravery inspired me. It is certainly the most moving story I have ever read.
However, reading through Hugo's lengthy descriptions of historical events and places can get quite tedious; the constant interruptions in an otherwise riveting story may drive you mad. But they can easily be forgiven. In Hugo's novels, one chapter of story is worth a dozen chapters of history.

Well i think that this book was GREAT it takes me back to 4th grade were this would have been my favorite book becaues it as exitment and love.It just was a wounderful story and i see why they make more of theses not alone dose it show right from wronge but it tell you about how the family love the doge weather there where 13 dogs or 101 dogs it was great!

This beautiful book is a full color adaptation from the disney movie of the same name. The illustrations captured my child's attention and made for great story time. Timeless tale of good vs. evil. A great read for any generation!

This was a good little book. The thing that impressed me with it is that the story actually fits into the continuity of The Phantom Menace. The art is well-done and was obviously done by someone who understands and takes pride in the Star Wars universe. A lot of books that are similar to this seem to be done by people who hadn't even seen the relevant movie. Incidentally, George Lucas has claimed that the pit droids are his favorite characters from Episode 1.

The best part is when Anakin's pit droid helps him get the power plug from Sebulba. He has to be brave. The brave little droid helps Anakin put the power plug in the engine. Everybody cheers when Anakin wins the race.

I bought this book because "Mighty Loader" is my Son's favorite Tonka. He asked me Day and In and Day Out, Daddy what does Mighy Loader do. Well, this book answered all his questions. Excellent illustrations, well written.

Reading so many truck-type books, sometimes Mom & Dad get bored. This book has more than just the loader, a bonus for me. It also mentions dump trucks, graders, bulldozers, cement mixers, etc. Even with all the details of what a loader can do, it holds the interest of my 2 yr old. One of his top 3 favorite books.

Disney Mouseworks seems to be moving to smaller books and it looks like the end of the line of the Disney Classics series. The new Read-Aloud Storybooks are shorter (by about 20 pages) and smaller (by an inch here and there). That's too bad for those of us who have been collecting the old series. The paper is nicer and the artwork is very good, though, so it's not a total loss.

The Edgar Rice Burroughs books are full of suspense, a perfect bedtime story. The best thing is that many (if not all of them) can be downloaded from from Project Gutenberg. Try reading the first one, Tarzan of the Apes, to your child as a serial bedtime story. They'll be begging to go to bed.

This version of Disney's Tarzan is clearly written and has accurate drawings true to the film's content. Rarely do you find a smaler version of the big books so well presented.

it is good for children learning to read my nephew loves it and he is learning to read from it

I love this book called "Disney's the Lion King (A Big Golden Book)" by author Justine Korman.

This is a book from the movie & I have this book & I loved it!!!

Brother, help me!!!

I loved it!!!

One Golden Book in america!!!

I loved it!!!

I found this an enjoyable book. My daughter of three just loves it! It is written in good language and just right for her age. There is also not to much written on each page, but the book still follows the video-story closely. The illustrations are bright and of high quality! Really a joy to read and re-read!

Jonathan Swift's 18th century satire, Gulliver's Travels, is an extraordinary tale of the adventures of an English ship surgeon. The ship surgeon, Gulliver, by a series of unfortunate events on each of his four voyages at sea, receives the chance to explore the cultures of the countries of Lilliput, Brobdingnag, Laputa, Balnibarbi, Glubbdubdrib, Luggnagg and the land of the Houyhnhnms. Each land is considerably different from the others, and creates quite an entertaining read.

While the story itself is particularly unusual, the satirical element which Swift applied to it adds another level of comprehension. If understood, one could have a nice chuckle at the way Swift mockingly portrays ideas and people through the various cultures which Gulliver encounters. Some similes, however, are intended to get a more serious meaning across. For example, in his first journey of the book, Gulliver finds himself in the country of Lilliput where the people are only six inches tall, save the king who is seven. In this land there are two groups which were distinguished by which side a person breaks their eggs on. One king published an edict commanding all his subjects to break their eggs on the small side, but many would've picked death over breaking their eggs on the 'wrong' side, so many did. By this, Swift meant to throw contempt on the exaggerated importance that people place on their differences, as on which side one breaks an egg is a very trivial thing. The two groups mentioned represent the Catholic and Protestant religions, between which were many wars and massacres during the 1500's when the Protestants first appeared.

Gulliver's Travels takes the reader to many lands, all different and unique ' each adding another perspective on traditional beliefs and ways of thinking. Gulliver changes as much as the scenery around him, and after each voyage he has changed dramatically. At the end he has transformed so much that I feel really sorry for his family ' although it's only love that could allow them to put up with his strange behaviors.

I would recommend this book to anyone with an appetite for literature, as Gulliver's Travels is an excellent satire of the ways of the thinking in the early 1700's. Also, the author does a good job in describing the lands which Gulliver visits in great detail. Although Swift may not have written this book with intense action scenes and steamy romance, it is definitely a work worthy of the people of today.

Lemuel Gulliver is a surgeon/ship¨ˆs captain who embarks on several intriguing adventures. His first endeavor takes him to Lilliput, where all inhabitants are six inches tall, but resemble normal humans in every other respect. His next voyage lands him on Brobdingnag, where a grown man is sixty feet tall, and even the shortest dwarf stands thirty feet tall. On his third trip, he travels to several locations, including a floating island. During Gulliver¨ˆs final voyage, he is abandoned by his mutinous crew on the island of the Houyhnhnms, which are extremely intelligent horses. No evil or concept of lying exists among these creatures. The island is also inhabited by Yahoos, savage, irrational human-like creatures who are kept as pets by the Houyhnhnms. Gulliver wishes to spend the rest of his life on this peaceful island, but he is banished and forced to return to England.
I really enjoyed this book, and I would recommend it to people 14 or older. Since the novel was written in the 1700¡¯s, the words, grammar and usage are a little confusing. The reader also must have prior knowledge of 18th-century politics to get a full image of what Swift is trying to convey. At some points, the author goes into detail about nautical terms and happenings, and that tends to drag. Overall, the book is well-written, slightly humorous, if not a little confusing.

I have trouble reading classic literature. I am an avid reader and I want to enjoy the classics, but just find it difficult to understand the meaning in some of the writing.

This, however, was a pleasant surprise. Although written in the early 1700s, the story itself was fairly easy to follow. Even towards the end, I began to see the underlying theme of the satire that Swift has been praised for in this work.

Being someone who reads primarily science fiction and fantasy novels, I thought this might be an opportunity to culture myself while also enjoying a good story. I was correct in my thinking. Even if you can't pick up on the satire, there is still a good classic fantasy story.

Essentially, the book details the travels of Lemuel Gulliver, who by several misfortunes, visits remote and unheard of lands. In each, Gulliver spends enough time to understand the language and culture of each of these land's inhabitants. He also details the difference in culture of his native England to the highest rulers of the visted nations. In his writing of these differences, he is able to show his dislike with the system of government of England. He does this by simply stating how things are in England and then uses the reaction of the strangers as outsiders looking in, showing their lack of respect for what Gulliver describes.

I found it very interesting to see that even as early as the 1700s there was a general dislike of government as well as lawyers.

I would recommend this book to anyone who reads the fantasy genre. Obviously, it's not an epic saga like so many most fantasy readers enjoy, but it's a nice break. I would also recommend this to high school students who are asked to pick a classic piece for a book report. It reads relatively quick and isn't as difficult to read as some of the others that I've tried to read.

Congo opens on a grizzly gorilla attack on a group of explorers. Crichton goes on in telling how the search and or rescue party gets there and the horrific things they experience. With the company of Amy the most advanced ape in the sense of sign language, they learn many things about gorilla life and their past. From Chrichton I've also read Airframe, Sphere, Jurassic Park and The Lost World; personally this is my least favorite of the books. I admit the first few pages grab you with quick and intense action, but the main part of the book, I thought, was extremely boring, no action what so ever not even flared emotions. Written in 1980 it is expected to have out dated technology information, in fact some of things they mention weren't even fathomable then, but now are a part of everyday life and I made a note of that in the back of my mind, but while reading it seemed as though it was in bold print and it simply got annoying. Don't get me wrong it is a well writen book, it's just that I feel is other books are definately more worth reading. The ending as in all books is the most exciting part of the book, overflowing with action that almost makes up for the eye drying middle; almost.

This novel kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time I read. Michael Crichton does a good job displaying realism in this realistic science fiction novel. He creates a story in the darkest region of the Congo, near the Lost City of Zinj,where an eight-person expedition dies brutally in a matter of seconds. At the home base back in Houston, supervisors watch a gruesome video transmission of the ill-fated team: dead bodies, tents crushed, and a blurred dark moving image. A new expedition is sent to the Congo. Some are in search for diamonds while a primatologist is taking his gorilla Amy, who knows sign language, back to her home in the Congo. During the expedition they encounter trouble with the native tribes and man-eating gorillas. Many people die and there is a lot of action in this thriller. Life threatening creatures and jungle weather creates a setting which makes this book so entertaining. This book can be compared to "Jurassic Park." Both display great action scenes and interesting stories by the same author. I recommend this book greatly if you are either a science-fiction or suspense thriller fan.

A Review by Brendan

Michael Crichton has done it again, he wrote a bestselling book once more. If you liked Jurassic park 1+2 you'll love Congo.in the depths of the jungle in Africa, people have been mysteriously killed by some unknown animal. When one scientist discovers and ape is having bad and unnormal dreams he decides to find out what they are. This book is full of adventure and excitement. If you want to know the rest pick up a copy at your local library.

There are so many things Michael Crichton did perfect in this book, but there were a few he could of left out. About 1/3 of the story talks about things we didn't know existed, like all that scientific junk. Do we really care about that? We want the blood and gore{well a lot of us do}.
What he did do well on is the detail and explaining the confusing points. This was a good book and very interesting.

I would recommend this book to readers that like blood and gore. I would also recommend this book to people that like science and mathematics. This book is very good and there are always part that include all readers.