This is a beautiful book to share with young children who have difficulty to identify or recognize their own feelings and moods. I happen to live in the country where one's emotions and feelings are seldom addressed directly. This book helps me to show my daughter that it is ok to feel what she feels inside. My daughter wants me to read this book to her every night before bedtime. After reading it , she would tell me if today is a good day for her and why. The illustrations are beautiful and humorous. It really teaches the children that no matter what the mood is, life can still be fun and full of surprises.

The illustrations of TODAY I FEEL SILLY AND OTHER MOODS THAT MAKE MY DAY are wonderful for the child who cannot yet read or who is independently spending a lot of time looking at the pictures. The moods jump right out of the pages and allow the child to relate to the feelings he or she might have and learn that they are normal feelings. Another title, THE SMILING STONE, also available from amazon.com, would be appreciated by teachers looking for books that build self-esteem for their theme lesson of feelings and emotions. It differs from "Silly Moods" in that it is about a single emotion but it is similar in that the child can have the feeling, too, as the book ends with the simple verse, "YOUR SMILE casts forever a beam of light". Children will be lucky to have teachers who pick these titles for their lessons and parents and children will have a starter library on this important subject.

This book is wonderful!!It is funny and it rhymes.. for any and very emotional children! As I am a step mom. My step daughter had many mood issues.. I was amazed how she took to this book...she loved it!The first thing she noticed that the main charater was a girl.. she read it evry night! and she laughed at the pictures.. there is a mood wheel at the back of the book...she used it so much it broke! LOL...My husband thank me for getting this book for her...as she had SO many emotional problems and at 4 years old could not express them. She is 8 now ...and doing so much better.. I really think this book with the "mood wheel" helped.. in maybe a small way??!! But every little bit counts!! I respect Jamie Lee Curtis more so now....she understand...KIDS!

What a charming, cleverly packaged presentation. "Where do Balloons Go?" is sure to captivate the interest of a variety of readers, not to mention adorable inquisitive children who love to ask questions, and still use their imagination. If balloons can fly; can I? Is adventure in another place really possible when I just let go? What is on the other side of the clouds? This book presents balloons with the qualities of people which is a good way to "soft-sell" some interesting ideas, and present answers. Jamie Lee Curtis has done a fine job. The sing-song rhymes are clever. This is an ingenious follow- up to her previous book, "Today, I feel Silly and other Moods". Take a peek at this uplifting mystery about balloons. Be adventurous. Didn't you ever wonder what happened to the balloon that was supposed to bring another traveller back from Emerald City in the Land of Oz to Kansas ? She used her red slippers, and made the trip home just fine, but that balloon is still out there. Or is it?

This is an imaginative look at the possibilities that await balloons that have escaped their owner's grasp! If you have ever watched a balloon floating skyward and wondered where it would end up, you will enjoy this book.
The rhyming text poses questions about the fate of lost balloons and creates a sense of wonder that almost everyone can relate to. The colorful, engaging illustrations help to spark the reader's imagination. I especially enjoy the fold-out picture in the center, that adds an element of surprise for young
readers.
Although I purchased this book to use in a third grade classroom, as I read it for the first time, I became so engaged in wonder and so filled with warm memories of my own childhood and my children's, that I highly recommend it for all ages.

This book clearly deserves more than five stars!

Most good children's books have a primary story line that entertains the children, and brings home an important lesson. The outstanding children's books manage to combine more than one lesson. The great children's books appeal to adults as much as to children. The classic children's books take children and adults to places, thoughts, and lessons that they would never otherwise have considered. Where Do Balloons Go? has all of the elements of a classic children's book, with some novel improvements in combining text and illustrations to expand your imagination.

Where Do Balloons Go? begins with this query:

"Where do balloons go when you let them go free?

It can happen by accident. It's happened to me."

Now, if you are like me, you assume that the helium-filled balloons are carried high into the air until they either develop a hole and burst or explode from the expansion of the helium into the near-vacuum around the balloon. Not very exciting as alternative thoughts, are they? That dead-end in your mind, though, sets you up for the wonderful, mind-expanding speculations in this interesting book.

"Are they always alone? Do they ever meet up in pairs?

Do they ever get married and make balloon heirs?"

To fully appreciate this set of questions, you have to imagine the illustrations that complement the queries. Balloons are dining in a restaurant, having a romantic time. Using that illustrative vision to launch into the idea of balloon "heirs" (pun obviously intended for "airs") is hilarious. I just loved it.

The illustrations are done in vibrant colors, emphasizing lots of purples, that create a play with the text and vice versa as the above example shows to greatly expand the meaning of the book.

For a further example, the text says that balloons are

" . . . always concerned that they'll POP --

maybe caught up in wires

pushed by the breeze . . . or tangled in trees . . . . "

The corresponding illustration emphasizes professional human balloon detanglers with advertisements and all kinds of specialized gear untangling balloons from trees. The illustrations have a Richard Scarry-type appearance combined with a New Yorker-style sophistication that effortlessly engage these illustrations to nicely bridge the gap between children and adults, without excluding either side of the audience. In this sequence, you have an additional reversal in that people are serving the balloons, rather than our usual conception of the object serving the person. Without this illustration for the text, that final visual play on the verbal concept would not have been possible.

A standard technique for children's books is just to anthromorphize the objects. This book goes well beyond that. First, different types of anthromophization are employed (as objects with senses "twisted by clowns" as well as self-animate objects "Do they tango with airplanes?"). The balloons are also made into creatures with animal-like qualities ("Or cha-cha with birds?") and spiritual beings (with a relationship to the stars).

You will have to read the book to appreciate its full power. Along the way, you will be exposed to concepts that explore balloon communication methods, how balloons relax, benefits achieved by floating away, activities they pursue unseen in the sky, and the mental perceptions of the balloons as all this occurs. In one nice surprise, there's an enormous fold-out illustration. At the end, you also have stickers that your child can put on the book or anywhere else that she or he wants to.

The ending is brilliantly done, in closing the seemingly open-ended circle of the questions and the action. You will appreciate the way the ending connects parent and child in a particularly nice way.

After you have enjoyed the mind-expanding, humorous, and versatile perspectives in this book, I suggest that you take another question to which there is a scientific answer available, and build your own set of speculations and interactions. In the process, you and your child can create the story together . . . along with your own illustrations. If you cannot think of any other question, I suggest "Why does popcorn pop?" as a starting point. The punny potential of that question could even take you beyond the heights reached in Where Do Balloons Go?

Reach mentally for the stars and grab the physical and emotional closeness that rewards both you and your child!

We just love this book! We read it over and over again, always finding something new. My two yr old loves the part about "painting toenails bubblegum pink." I think for all babies making that transistion from baby to toddler, to big sister or big brother, this is a terrific book. Superbly illustrated and well written, the author really gets to the toddlers level in her desciptions. My toddler really relates!

The pictures are great fun. If you have to read the book 20 or 30 times, it helps to have something new peek at you out of those rich pictures every once in a while. And I love the story too. This book is about being a big kid, versus a being a baby. Too many new sibling books make the new baby the subject. I think most new big siblings have had just about enough of those darn babies. And it's funny. My daughter and I disagree about what's really happening in the picture that goes with the part about time-outs, but we both think it's funny.

This is the first year that I am teaching first grade. I read this book to my class then asked them to draw a picture of what he or she remembered from when they were little. Every child had an idea! As the students were drawing pictures I asked them about their memory and wrote a sentence or two for them to copy (this was only the third week of first grade). The parents will love to see these at conferences! A Fun book and a great writing prompt!

Tell Me Again: About the Night I Was Born is an account of that wished-for moment in every prospective adoptive parent's life: the phone call that brings them and their child together. Written in a sweet, easy language that a young child can understand, this book portrays both the magic and drama that accompany this momentous event. I've read the book a mere two weeks before our own call came and read it again upon returning home with our new son. I found so many similarities between the book and our own experience it brought tears to my eyes. It's a book I would love to share with my son when he is a little older. Any adopted child who has ever wondered "How did I come to be with you?" will be enriched by the magic this book conveys. The accompanying illustrations are vivd and happy, enriching the text and adding to the festive atmosphere. This book is all about love, and the message comes through loud and clear

When I first read this book, I was moved by the eloquence of Curtis's writing--she certainly has a knack for creating the voice of a small child. I, too, am an adoptee, and while my story is very different from the one presented here, I could relate to Curtis's message of love and belonging. I did not feel that it was necessary for Curtis to speak of the birth parents in this book (as other reviewers have mentioned), as her goal was to help adoptees adjust to their new homes and families, and to let them know that they are special. Including information about the pain of the birthparents in giving up the child would most likely be upsetting for the child, who could already be in a fragile state. That is a topic that should be reserved for the parents to discuss with the child--and this book could be the perfect "discussion starter." While the book does not mention birth fathers either, surely it is not up to Curtis to include every aspect of adoption in one book meant for young children, so that should hopefully encourage other writers to step forward with more stories about adoption.

Initially, I ordered this book for my niece who is just a little more than 2 years old. Adopted by my younger sister in Russia at 10 months, her arrival in our family has been a joyous occurrence. One of the things I love and most look forward to is giving her books, telling her stories, and maybe even writing a book *for her* some day. Meanwhile, Jamie Lee Curtis has created a joyful interlude from her own experience as an adoptive parent. This book oozes love and whimsy, and the illustrations by Laura Cornell are delightful to the eye, yet filled with amusing details which will keep them fresh through at least a million readings;) I can't wait to read this story to my niece...if I can bring myself to part with the book!

A previous reviewer (apparently an unhappy adoptee) spouted opinions full of anger and resentment, alluding to "Jamie Lee's obvious bias against birth mothers." I found that very sad. After all, this is a children's book, and IMHO, it was created as a means of expressing an adoptive parent's joy and love for this child, and told through the eyes of the child, it has a precious quality, reminding us how easy it is to teach a child to love and be loved. This book is a treasure, and while I think it's a special gift for any adopted child, it's warmth and whimsy will prove irresistible to anyone who reads it!

My daughter loved the bobbsey twins.for christmas we bought my sisters kids(who are twins)the series and They will probley love it also.I rate 4 stars because some parts of the books were as good as others.

The classic tales of the Bobbsey twins follow the daily life adventures of a family that has two sets of twins, one older and one younger. My 5 year old twins love these books, and we read a chapter or more to them each night. The end of each chapter has a good cliff-hanger to pique interest in the next chapter. Also, the stories are exciting and positive in nature. We started reading these chapter books when my children were 4, and they are perfect for their attention span and interests. I highly recommend them.

In this book the Bobbsey twins visit Meadow Brook. In their stay they chase robbers, win money,and have great fun. One time the robbers opened animal cages and let all the animals out! HOW SAD! Read about Bobbsey Twins mystery at Meadow Brook,and more! If you want to order this book look on your Inner Net. I'm sure it's there!

Kathleen McDeavitt
Age 7

I loved this book and would like to read more of the bobbsey twins, so... I am always looking for the books, in hardcover!

I have a copy of this book, hardcover printed in 1962 and I love the book Angel

I think that this book is really fun because Adam Joshua cheats on his math test by making someone else do it for him so he can finish his science project. In the book they take away the skeleton they have in the science room and . . . read more to find out what happens!

I think that Serious Science is a good book for a lot of kids. It might be a little hard for people and it might be a little easy for people. But, it's perfect for me!

I prefer more traditional quilting patterns. This book has many animal and items of a more comtemporary nature. If you are looking for feathers to quilt, this is not the book for you. It has some nice designs for clothing and provides some ideas for quilting placement. A good book if you are looking for something different.

I found this book had very whimisical and charming quilting patterns. While this is not the first book on this topic I would buy. Because it does not do basic quilting designs, every quilter should have it in their collection to inspired and amuse them.

Thank you Laura Lee Fritz!
My husband ordered me a Handiquilter for Christmas, which depends
on the stitcher having some motor control in tracing continuous quilting patterns. I have very little practice in drawing, so when I saw this book of continuous line drawings, I bought it immediately. I would have bought this book for all the drawings of Pelicans if for no other reason.
Laura gives great instruction on how to set up an overall pattern, by choosing a focus design, then filling the background
with complimentary patterns. She also offers tips on the density of background stitching so that it does not become jumbled.
The book is presented clearly, and the continous line patterns are numerous. These are nice, solid, nature insprired patterns that I forsee using more than once. (I hate it when the designs are so cutesy that you never use them.)
I am already using this book to train my hands and eyes. I've tried sketching some of the leaf patterns onto a quilt border, and I trace around the continous designs with my finger to get the feel of them.
If you are already an accomplished machine quilter and have substantial art background, you won't need this book. But it is perfect for me in helping me in my quest for nicely designed machine quilting.
:)

The circus is coming to town! The Bobbsey Twins have a mystery to solve! Someone stole the circus manager's money. Who could the thief be?!? A fire was set at the back of the circus. It distracted the others, but Nan Bobbsey saw a clown sneaking into the manager's van. Could HE be the thief?

I really liked this book. It was super-duper exciting! I bet you'd love it too!

This was my favorite Bobbsey Twins book. With Bert, Nan, Freddy, and Flossie, you never can tell what will happen. It was a book I couldn't put down. This is one of their best yet!!