The courage of the Danes in World War II just blew me away when I read this book. I first read it because Lois Lowry's book Number The Stars struck my intrest. When I read the stories of the Resistance and the Jews, I can admit I cried. The author tells their stories perfectly. She conveys the courage these people had and how brave all those young Resistance leaders were but does not leave the hardships endured by these people. It is certainly a wonderful reference book for anyone doing a project on the Holocaust. There was only one thing that disappointed me. There wasn't a reference to the permeated handkerchief that fishing boat captains used after the Nazis started using dogs to search the boats.

Bravery, courage, and selflessness, characteristic of the Danish resistance during WWII, are bright glimpses of hope during a dark period of world history. The history of the Danish resistance is recorded chronologically, with individual rescue stories woven throughout. This beautifully rendered acount, including photographs, is printed on thick, rich paper, underscoring the beauty of what was accomplished by the Danish people. Recommended for young adults and adults interested in the topic.

The Danish resistance and rescue of the Jews receives in-depth treatment for grades 5-7, with vintage black and white photos accompanying the story of the resistance and rescue of the Jews of Denmark. Levine interviewed dozens of Danes from rescuers and survivors to those captured for this inviting probe.

Touching and powerfully honest personal accounts of the daily lives of children / youth in the Civil Rights Movement. Children surviving domestic terrorism in a culture of violence, ever hopeful of realizing " all men are created equal". Though it documents 'traumatic' incidents the focus is on courage , hope, and our personal responsibility for making the world a better world. For the children each day, each choice, each action made a profound vote for justice and equality. They are truly activists, and advocates for 'humanity'. Our elementary class uses this book to learn about and portray each person. They often seek to emulate them.The children respectfully honor these young heroes, and find their own 'voice'.

Freedom's Children was a very good book because it involved different interveiws by thirty people so every person's story was different. It is probably one of the best African-American books for children. I really recommend it to people who like true stories and the 50's and 60's. At some points it was depressing, and at some points it was happy.

Freedom's Children is filled with inspiring real life stories of children who lived in the 1950's. It tells about their separate lives and how they fought for Civil Rights. This book describes many aspects of the movement. One part is about the Little Rock Nine. I admire them for having enough courage to attend an all white school. They were made fun of and even physically threatened by fellow students. The book also tells about the bus boycott, Freedom Riders, and all the laws passed to make a better life for African Americans. I enjoyed this book mostly because of how much it taught me and I recommend it to anyone who wants to learn

I've had the rare pleasure of reading Alexandra Tomnalonis's book, "Henning Kronstam: Portrait of a Danish Dancer" and it is wonderful. The book is crammed with information; with Ms. Tomalonis's writing style I never felt I was plowing my way through an encyclopedia. The narrative flowed and my interest did not waver. Kronstam emerges a fascinating man. He was a silent Dane not given to letting others know much about him. An artistic genius, his style was all but lost in the era of the Ballet Boom and the following changes in the art. The book tells about his exciting entrance to Royal Danish Ballet, his dancing career, his dramatic excellence, the dancers of his era, and the nurturing of the Bournonville tradition. It continues with his career as artistic director and ballet master, and his influence on the dancers fortunate enough to be coached by him (there are many insightful quotes by his protégé's). He was a man of great detail and it is fascinating to read about those tiny details he'd add or subtract from a ballet in order to make it perfect. I highly recommend to book.

This remarkable book looks superficially like a ballet biography. It is so much more than that. It deserves, and I hope finds, a readership far broader than a ballet book would normally reach... In the book we learn that his first experience as a professional was as a child actor in the very theatre he would later dedicate his life to, so his destiny on stage in some capacity was assured. He danced the principal roles in all the major ballets, and was especially notable in the Bournonville tradition that he helped maintain. He had many new works created for him by modern choreographers, including the part of Romeo in Ashton's Romeo and Juliet. Whenever the Royal toured, which was not often enough, foreign critics and audiences singled Kronstam out for special recognition for both his dancing and his acting. But I venture to say that ballet lovers who know of Nureyev and Bruhn, who were roughly Kronstam's contemporaries, may not know Kronstam's name. This book gives some interesting perspectives that help explain why.

The fact that the book is called "Portrait of a *Danish* Dancer" (rather than simply "Portrait of a Dancer") puzzled me at first. But Ms. Tomalonis has thoroughly captured Kronstam's complex personality, and in many ways that personality was the Danish national character in microcosm. It seems that many of Kronstam's inherent strengths and weaknesses were reinforced by the societal expectations of both his family and his nation. This may have contributed, consciously or unconsciously, to Kronstam's choice to remain in Copenhagen for his entire career when others chose to leave to pursue international recognition with foreign companies.

The book succeeds on so many levels. It has all the hallmarks of a good biography. The author, who personally met with and interviewed her subject extensively and also spoke with scores of his relatives and colleagues, discusses Kronstam's personal matters with tact and dignity. She portrays Kronstam with a kind of tenderness that does not detract from her clear-eyed understanding of him. The fact that Kronstam, an intensely private person, was comfortable and candid enough to reveal as much as he did to her bespeaks a level of trust in the author that few biographers enjoy. Inspite of the pervasive sadness of Kronstam's story at the end of his life, when she met with him, Ms. Tomalonis is able to show Kronstam's warmth and humor as well. It gives Kronstam an aura of nobility which he, in his typical humility, would probably have derided.

For balletomanes, like me, the book showcases Ms. Tomalonis' depth of both historical and current ballet expertise. Her writing style is so fluent and graceful, however, that the wealth of ballet detail never interferes with the book's story line. One can sense that this very expertise was part of the common language between author and subject that made it possible for Kronstam to communicate his thoughts so effectively to the author.

Finally, for anyone interested in understanding the creative process, there is a unique opportunity to hear Kronstam's own recollections of how he developed his roles, how he was able to inhabit a role with his characteristic intensity. Several of the modern ballets in which he created characters contain harrowing psychological plot lines, and one can only wonder how Kronstam was able to both shield and use his own vulnerabilities to bring these works to life. This section of the book should be required reading for dancers, because it illuminates the thoughtfulness and dedication required of any intelligent performer who wants to do more than execute steps and pantomime emotions. Actors, I am told, embrace the opportunity to "be" their characters, to try on other lives. Here Kronstam conveys that process in a human and insightful way. Ms. Tomalonis somehow manages to make herself invisible during these passages, so that it is Kronstam who emerges with tremendous immediacy... Kronstam could have expected no greater tribute than to have his story told with so much grace and feeling.

Although Henning Kronstam was a dancer of world-class talent and style, he chose to remain close to his beloved home, the Royal Danish Ballet. While Erik Bruhn made international headlines, Kronstam remained mostly at home, blessing the Danes with his perfect technique and great stage presence. I never understood why he had chosen so to shape his career, but Tomalonis' excellent book examines the artistic, psychological and social forces which informed him, and the reading is fascinating, whether the reader is a ballet fan or not. She writes compellingly and with grace and wit, so much so that one is almost loth to finish the book, which must, of course, end with its subject's death. One wishes men like Kronstam to live happily forever. Here is a story of a life well worth examining, and from which to learn.

If you lived at the time of Martin Luther King J r.
By Ellen Levine

The Book is about when it was the 1950's to 1960's. A man named Martin Luther King Jr. was the leader for the blacks. White people were very mean to African-Americans. They had to use different schools, phone booths, neighborhoods, bathrooms, restaurants, hotels, and drinking fountains.

I like this book because I wonder about if I were there, would I have tried to help the black people? I know I would have.

I also think the illustrator did a great job on coloring the pages. I think the author wrote this book because it was about segregated laws. She wanted kids to know a famous leader or what it was like if the kids were there with him.

Whenever teachers in our predominantly white elementary school ask me to recommend a title pertaining to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., or to African American history, this is one of the first books I suggest for grades 4, 5 and 6.The question and answer format lends itself to reading aloud and then discussing topics that come up, like segregation, white supremacy, the Montgomery bus boycott, etc. I recently read part of this book to a fourth grade class who just had "segregation" as a vocabulary word. The students were quite attentive and asked some excellent questions.The title is a bit misleading in that some might view it as a biography of Dr. King. While many sections do draw upon personal events in Dr. King's life, such as when he was a youngster riding in the car with his father and he heard a police officer call his dad "boy." Or again, when he was young and he was told he could no longer play with his white friends. But as the title says, it's really about if you lived at the "time" of Dr. King. Therefore, it's an excellent introduction to many aspects of the Civil Rights movement.While the watercolor illustrations are an improvement over the black and white drawings in earlier editions of this "If You Lived At the Time Of" series, in this case I think the text could be more fully enhanced with actual photographs, especially since many of these illustrations are copied from well-known photographs.All in all, this is an excellent introduction to the Civil Rights Movement for upper-elementary students (and apparently for middle-school students according to another review here). This is one title that, in my opinion, should be in every elementary school in the nation. Recommended.

I read this book to my middle school students every year. Levine explains the need for a civil rights movement in terms that kids can understand. This book makes students want to learn more about this important event in American history.

Was Ellen Levine in my elementary school class? If so, we are both authors of many books. We're both 57 or so. If so, you were my friendly classmate at PS 177 or D.A. Boody JHS. Is that you, Ellen? If so, a warm hello from a grandma of five who also writes a lot of books, a history buff, and was also born around 1941. If this is another Ellen, then just ignore this message.

Keep on writing those wonderful books. They are helpful and make the world a smarter place. Mrs. A

essays_@hotmail.com

Ellen Levine and illustrator Shelly Hehenberger have created a delightful book that takes the young reader into a historical look at life as an Iroquois Indian. The eighty page book is divided into subtitles which concisely tell the story of daily living for the early Iroquois people. As the book is written in second person, the reader is drawn into the story and feels as if he or she is experiencing tribal life. The soft muted colors of the illustrations give the book a feeling of serenity while the writing covers an extraordinary amount of information for young readers.

Though this book is entitled "Jewish Perspectives on Illness and Healing", it is by no means only intended for Jewish readers. It offers insights and poetic inspiration that a much wider readership will find rewarding. Dr. Levine integrates biblical tradition with a modern understanding of human emotions to guide the reader to new perspectives for those on the road to healing. For this, she draws on the Old Testament, the Talmud, and Jewish mysticism. "Jewish Perspectives on Illness and Healing" provides a wealth of encouraging advice for anyone seeking to find healing through the development of spiritual awareness.

After the rest of his family drowned while fording a river on the Oregon Trail, Jedediah Barstow finds himself all alone and carrying on the family "dream" which to him has already been shattered. Adopted by the Henshaw family Jedediah finds himself braving the trails of the old west to carry on the family dream. Even through the constant complaints from grouchy Mr. Henshaw Jedediah perseveres knowing he is the only one to fulfill the dream of his family. Through fording rivers, meeting Indians, getting stampeded by bufflo, and carving his name on Chimney Rock, you get to look into the life of a brave young boy carrying on the family dream.

this book is amazing!
it has sooooo many different desserts u can make, and has pictures for every single recipe, which is important for me to know what i'm making is supposed to look like!
I'd definitely recommend this book, it is a must have for people who love 'la dolce vita'!
I'm getting hungry from just thinking about the desserts in this book!!!!
have fun bakin'!

I got this dessert cookbook for my birthday and I have loved it ever since! The recipes are fabulous and so are the pictures! It's even fun to sit down and just look at it - and think of what you are going to make next time you want dessert. Everyone who has tried the things I've made has loved them. This book is very creative, with lots of very interesting and good ideas and ways to add that extra-special touch to your creations. And - by looking at the pictures you would think that these recipes were very difficult and complicated, but they are NOT! If you can read, you can make anything in this book. Not one recipe we have tried (and we've made quite a few) has failed yet.

There is the most delicious recipe in here for cream puffs! Everyone who has tried them has declared they are better than the famous, acclaimed cream puffs you get at the Wisconsin State Fair! The Baklava is also delicious, as well as the coffee angel food cake and the little tiny cookies called "Sweet and spicy Peppernuts." (No nuts in them, but they do have pepper! Great taste! They are just as small as nuts - you make them the size of a 1/8 teaspoon. The batter mixes up so quickly that it doesn't make it take a terribly long time in the long run to form all these tiny little balls, and they taste so good that it's worth it!)

I highly recommend this cookbook to everyone who loves dessert! There is something for everyone - Cakes, Pies, Cookies, Frozen desserts, and the wonderful feast for the eyes as well as the mouth: Special desserts. You will love this book!

This is my favorite dessert cookbook (and I am somewhat of a cookbook collector). The recipes are well written, delicious and beautiful. The baklava is the very best I have ever had- has made me somewhat famous with friends and family- downside is you'll never enjoy any other baklava again. I am actually online today to order copies for my three young children since I use so many of the recipes as my personal specialties. I know by the time they are old enough to really need them this book will be out of print so I'd better do it now. The recipes are not so difficult, I usually do them with three children helping. They are not usually very short, quick and easy recipes either. You end up with a very impressive, delicious dessert. If you feel it's worth the effort, you'll love this book!

I have not run into many children who have felt this way in my short career as an ESOL teacher but students similar to Mei Mei are out there. This book is very helpful to teachers with ESOL students in their classroom who are not trained in TESOL practices. Students often go through a silent period where they are listening to the language and just taking English in before they begin speaking it. The story of Mei Mei gives an indication what may be going on in their minds at the time.
When I lived in Thailand, I often became frustrated and angry when I wanted to answer someone in Thai and tell them what I understood or knew about a subject, but was trapped by my lack of fluency in their language. I used to think, "Boy! If they could only understand me in English, then I'd tell them!" People would often mistake my lack of ability to communicate with lack of intelligence, which would frustrate me further. I will share this book with my students and hope I understand what they going through at times.

I teach English as a Second Language to Spanish-speaking elementary students. We begin the year by reading this book and discussing how the students feel about learning English. We often refer back to the book throughout the year as we identify our own stages of language acquisition. This book is very realistic and motivational.

Recently I used this book in an ESL teacher training class to help public school teachers understand culture shock for their ESL students. I read this book to a class of 28 adults and they were fascinated. Once, when I looked at them, they were sitting there like a class of children listening to a fascinating story. It was great!! In the evaluations, many mentioned the book as being very helpful to them.