I am a college student, with an undying love for baseball. An old coach recommended it and i could not put it down. It's easy enough for any child to read, and entertaining enough for any baseball lover-no matter what age! It touches on all of the real issues of a little leaguer and how they feel. I felt like i was being transported back into my little league dugout. Then the magic of the story is an added bonus. This book is a "must read," and will be finding itself a home on every sports lovers bookshelf in the very near future. Wow what a book! Great Job Mr. Bosworth! You are a great author and a true baseball story hero!!!

i purchased this book for my 9 year old fanatic baseball fan of a son last Christmas. It was then, and remains still, his favorite book ever. I truly hope that Mr. Bosworth has more books just like it.

Finally a sports fiction for both children and adults. The Box Seat Dream touches the heart and soul of anyone who has ever played baseball or any sport for that matter. My son is not an avid reader but loves to play ball. He couldn't put this book down. He even brought it to the dinner table. I loved it as well. Exciting baseball games, realistic life obstacles, skills learning and fantasy all wrapped up in one book. Mark my words, this story will one day become a movie. If books were honored in the Baseball Hall of Fame, The Box Seat Dream would be inducted. It is that good!

Winsor McCay's "Little Nemo in Slumberland" is a rare combination of artistry and imagination that deserves to be considered the first classic comic strip. "The Yellow Kid" came first, but it never demonstrated the superb craftsmanship of McCay's work, which is done in a distinctive "art nouveau" style that presages the coming of surrealism. Within the frames of his story McCay was able to create illusions of vast size and space, showing a word that was remarkably futuristic. Each of Little Nemo's weekly adventures told of a dream of the tousle-haired boy (of about six?) and concluded with him falling out of bed or waking up. McCay's son Robert served as the model for Nemo. Before working on the Slumberland strips McCay had experimented with other comics including "Little Sammy Sneeze," "Hungry Henriette," "Poor Jake," "Tales of Jungle Imps," and "Dream of the Rarebit Fiend" (the last one under the pseudonym Silas), but none of them even hinted at the splendor of "Little Nemo." In 1909 McCay would go on to create "Gertie the Dinosaur," the first commercially successful animated cartoon, which is probably how most people know of McCay's work. But that can only be because they have yet to be exposed to this comic strip.

The 200 "Little Nemo in Slumberland" comic strips in this book originally appeared in the "New York Herald" Sunday color supplement from 1905 to 1914 and are faithfully reproduced in their original colors from rare, vintage file-copy pages in the hands of a few choice collectors. We follow Little Nemo as he first enters Slumberland and learns to cope with his unpredictable flying bed, pursues the beautiful Princess of Slumber, searches for the castle of King Morpheus, and endures the ministrations of Dr. Pill. Nemo also meets up with the devilish Flip, a green-faced clown in a plug hat and ermine collared jacket, who starts off always trying to summon the Dawn and wake Nemo from his dreams but then becomes our little heroes boon companion in his Slumberland adventures which involved an impressive array of strange giants, beautiful mermaids, humongous elephants, mysterious space creatures, exotic parades, fantastic dirigible rides, a jolly green dragon, and anything else McCay could imagine.

By both artistic and historical standards "Little Nemo in Slumberland" is the first truly great comic strip. When you look at the great strips that followed, such as George Herriman's "Krazy Kat," George McManus' "Bringing Up Father," Bud Fisher's "Mutt and Jeff," and Frank King's "Gasoline Alley," they are all decidedly different from what McCay was doing, although the use of "art nouveau" interiors and zany byplay by McManus is clearly an homage to "Little Nemo" as far as I am concerned. There is a sense in which those who see nothing similar appearing on the funny pages until Bill Watterson's "Calvin and Hobbes" have a point, although I would acknowledge Snoopy's imaginative life in "Peanuts" as well. It is therefore totally appropriate that Watterson and Schultz are both among the artists (along with Maurice Sendak, Ron Goulart, Chuck Jones, and Art Spiegelman) who write essays exploring the genius of McCay's work. There has never been a more magical comic strip. Never.

Each (color!)strip is so beautifully mesmerizing. Its the perfect example of what can be accomplished in the comic industry. Windsor McCay was a genius!

This book is an absolute treasure. Every cartoonist should buy and study this book with a magnifying glass for a few hours a week. Winsor McCay is maybe the most dedicated, hard-working cartoonist to date. He was certainly before his time, and he has still carries more weight than most artists of today. His strips are lavish and generous. You can believe that I will be studying this book for years to come.

Great book to read for inspiration in a comfortable style. Pat Williams writes as if he is speaking with you in your living room. The stories he recounts make for easy reading with a message and lessons for all.

Pat Williams is able to untangle a web of questions that many have been asking for centuries. He defines success with 16 rules that were modeled for him by a man who's life truly counted for something. These secrets unlocked many doors for me as a manager and affirmed what I believe to be our purpose in life. His stories, rational, and honesty are challenging and may cause you to reconsider your philosophy of leadership. It's a must read.

Thank you Pat, for taking time through the years to preserve the rich heritage of this wonderfully gifted and dedicated Christian businessman. Mr. R.E. never fully knew what he meant to some many people. He gave great counsel on frequent occasions and help considerably hundreds of others.

I used this book as the curriculum for a new Worship Skills/Catechism class we implemented last year at our church. The kids (grades 1-5) absolutely loved it! You would have thought they knew personally the kids in the book. It provided an avenue for our kids to discuss similar situations they had encountered in their own lives. And some of the theological discussions the catechism questions sparked were absolutely amazing. Whether you're looking for a family devotional or a basis for a church class, this is a great resource!

Catechisms continue to be wonderful teaching tools, even if they have fallen out of use lately. Susan Hunt has given us a real treasure. This book really makes some solid teaching fun and engaging for the kids. I love this book.

These authors have done a great job of taking the truths from the Children's catechism and relating them in understandable stories that my children really relate to. It focuses on the God revealed in the Bible and helps children to understand who He is and how He relates to them personally. I highly recommend this book.

This book may be small in size, but it is packed with deep metaphysical information. It is a subject that affects us all every day of our lives and it is the ideal book to keep with you and dip into frequently. I have several of Richard Lawrence's books and I enjoy the way he makes even the most complex subjects, very clear and logical. It is said that the greatest gift you can give another person is wisdom. This book really does make a great gift.

It is obivious that Richard knows his subject inside out. He is able to impart the complex and much of the time a hidden and mysterious subject in to laymans terms. He accomplishes this through his own experiences and that of others who have gone before him. This book is a goldmine of information, despite its size it is ideal for anyone wanting to learn more about karma and get ahead in life. Thoroughly recommended!

I have studied many books on metaphysics and karma but this 'little book' has explained more about karma with very easy to read examples that I have yet to find. I found this book simple yet profound, light reading yet deep in context. This book is sure to go far and I will be telling everyone I know about it. Don't leave home without it...

I had this book as a little girl and have been trying to locate it without any author information for about three years! Finally, I figured out the illustrator's name and have hit the jackpot--these stories are adorable and are still with me though I haven't seen the book for 20 years. If you have a copy you're willing to sell, please contact me!

I am lucky to still have my original copy of this classic book from when I was about four years old (over thirty years ago). Even to this day, I have rarely been able to find another book as charming as this one is. Mine is a bit worn, and I hope to find another copy in newer condition to give to my two year old son, so that he will know the magic of this story. I am hopeful that this title will be re-issued someday. It is a classic!

I have had this book since I was a little girl and its magic still captivates me as an adult. I now have two young daughters who I read it to and they find the same delight in the simple stories and enchanting illustrations that I did. The lessons of friendship and family are taught through the adventures of a young bunny, Little Richard and I only wish that I could find the other titles in this series. This book will be in our family as long as I can preserve it!

My daughter loves this series, and she's only 15 months old! The pop ups are sturdier than you'd expect, but we have used some scotch tape. These books have taught her animals sounds (farmyard) and many other things. I'm sure this one will help with her colors.

I bought this book for my son when he was 18 months old. He fell in love with the vibrant colors and pop-up creatures immediately! At 27 months he still asks for the "parrot" book regularly. We love this book so much we buy them for our friends' children and have completed our set of Snappy Pop-Up books with the other four.

My 10 month old niece enjoys this book at least 3 times a day...and has ever since she was only 3 months old. Although, she has about 25 excellent age-appropriate books, this is her favorite! The pop-up paper is sturdy, and the illustrations are bright, clear and simple.

As a life-long fan of The Little Rascals and owner of the complete set of "Cabin Fever" videos from the early 90's, this guide is an indispensable source of information and nostalgia.

I was fascinated by the background information, particularly the biographies of EVERY ONE of the Little Rascals and how they lived the rest of their lives. Be prepared for some tragic, tear-jerking stuff! The information makes viewing the classic episodes even more poignant in hindsight.

I am not familiar with ANY of the "silent era" episodes, but I appreciate the information nonetheless. It was interesting to see how so MANY ideas for later episodes were either inspired by or directly picked up from the silent era.

I also appreciated Maltin's candor as he reviewed the declining later years of the Our Gang franchise. What was obvious to any fan, Maltin confirms with honest (yet never mean-spirited) criticism.

Highlights: The information-packed episode guides, the aforementioned actor biographies and the wonderful collection of Our Gang photos (I only wish there were MORE)!

Warning: If you are only a casual fan of the Rascals or if you're someone who's only watched the 90's "Little Rascals" motion picture, you should probably skip this book. Devoted "Our Gang" fans need only apply!

This is the most exhaustive treatment available of the Our Gang comedy shorts. The synopses of each episode, the biographies, and the photos are excellent. If you want an entertaining and informative read about this excellent series, this is the book.

The bigger accomplishment is the picture Leonard Maltin and Richard W. Bann paint of the early days of Hollywood. Hal Roach oversaw some of the comedy greats...Laurel and Hardy, Harold Lloyd, and of course Our Gang. We can almost feel what it must have been like to work on the Hal Roach lot in the new and burgeoning film industry. Maltin and Bann are able to evoke the atmosphere, the family of Hal Roach studios. So, more than being just an excellent history of the long running Our Gang series, it is a Hollywood history. Our Gang successfully bridged the silent and talking eras of film, and had as its creator one of Hollywood's seminal geniuses. For this reason, Our Gang is particulary suited to serve as a segue into great film history. This book accomplishes much more than its title implies.

This is the first real book to take a look into the creation,development and success of a popular movie comedy series:"The Little Rascals!".Noted film historians:Leonard Maltin And Richard Bann give the readers insight into the creation of the earliest films,the choosing of the kids that appeared in the series.Plot synopsis,Air dates,behind the scene facts about the incidents that occured during the filming of the shorts and biographies of the cast members.the book also looks at the creation of the other film series that were shot at the studio and about the Man who started it all:Mr.Hal Roach.Maltin and Bann also include a look at "The Our Gang"series successful revival on local and network kids tv shows and two new chapters that were not in the original l977 manuscript:A look at the merchandising of "The Little Rascals"that occured long before the series tv revival and a bio about the series other guiding genius:Robert McGowan. Along with an entire new collection of rare photos and an updated of the book's text."The Little Rascals:The Life & Times Of The Our Gang!" is a must for fans of movie comedies,kids tv and for the history of truly talented and funny kid actors.

I'm a sailor & I really liked this book, although you don't have to sail to appreciate the story. In each chapter Bode tells a tale from his youth about sailing his small blue sloop off of Long Island. He weaves in some of the life-lessons he's learned from reflecting on those experiences without being too sappy about it. Bode is also able to convey some of the intangible reasons why sailors love sailing, reasons that are sometimes hard to articulate. Overall, this book is a quick, light, inspirational read. It's a perfect gift for any pensive sailors in your life.

From Joan Mazza, author of DREAMING YOUR REAL SELF, DREAM BACK YOUR LIFE, FROM DREAMS TO DISCOVERY and THINGS THAT TICK ME OFF.

Richard Bode has given us a beautiful book to savor and ponder. I read this straight through in one day-a rare event for me, since I always read several very different books at a time. FIRST YOU HAVE TO ROW A LITTLE BOAT had me totally engaged and I kept marking paragraphs and writing WOW in the margins. On page 145 he says, "If every man and woman were to take the meaning of their life and pursue it passionately, they would alter the social landscape overnight. In fact, that's how lasting revolutions are made-not by the raised arm of the masses, not by the military seizure of power, not by the political coup d'état, but by individuals asserting who they are one at a time." WOW.

His use of sailing as metaphor worked beautifully for me, even though I don't sail. His comments (page 32) about listening to the wind instead of holding tightly to dogma and rigidity were eloquent bordering on poetry. Very inspiring.

A very very good read.

I read this first from the perspective of a yachtsman, but have read it now probably 7 or 8 times and still get a new appreciation every time.

I guess if you are fortunate enough to have a boating background it makes sense in a different way, however the 'real life' approach to his writing is rewarding in itself. I have bought several copies of this book for others and universally it has been well received and enjoyed. Every time I row (my little boat) out to my (bigger) boat, I think about this this book. It has that kind of long lasting effect on you.

Long before a little boy and his tiger explored the imagination with wry social commentary and surrealism, Winsor McCay did the same with this amazing series of full page newspaper comics. This is a veritable treasure trove of comics history.

Admittedly, the jokes are not the same as Calvin and Hobbes so do not expect the same feelings. I find that Nemo evokes more feelings of wonder and delight while C and H brings about the hearty "guffaw". Also, the ending of every episode is exactly the same in that Nemo awakes to find the night's adventures were all within his head.

On the other hand, this book gives wonderful background of McCay and his world as well as beautiful reprints of the original prints.

I would heartily recommend this to anyone who enjoys fantasy, childhood, comics, or the dreams of past days.

Winsor McCay's "Little Nemo in Slumberland" is a rare combination of artistry and imagination that deserves to be considered the first classic comic strip. "The Yellow Kid" came first, but it never demonstrated the superb craftsmanship of McCay's work, which is done in a distinctive "art nouveau" style that presages the coming of surrealism. Within the frames of his story McCay was able to create illusions of vast size and space, showing a word that was remarkably futuristic. Each of Little Nemo's weekly adventures told of a dream of the tousle-haired boy (of about six?) and concluded with him falling out of bed or waking up. McCay's son Robert served as the model for Nemo. Before working on the Slumberland strips McCay had experimented with other comics including "Little Sammy Sneeze," "Hungry Henriette," "Poor Jake," "Tales of Jungle Imps," and "Dream of the Rarebit Fiend" (the last one under the pseudonym Silas), but none of them even hinted at the splendor of "Little Nemo." In 1909 McCay would go on to create "Gertie the Dinosaur," the first commercially successful animated cartoon, which is probably how most people know of McCay's work. But that can only be because they have yet to be exposed to this comic strip.

The "Little Nemo in Slumberland" comics in this book originally appeared in the "New York Herald" Sunday color supplement from October 15, 1905 to March 31, 1907 and are faithfully reproduced in their original colors from rare, vintage file-copy pages in the hands of a few choice collectors. There is even a special strip that appeared in the European edition of the "Herald" that was never printed in the U.S. The strip continued until 1911 and those strips are published in the other volumes in this series. In these early adventures Little Nemo first enters Slumberland and learns to cope with his unpredictable flying bed, pursues the beautiful Princess of Slumber, searches for the castle of King Morpheus, and endures the ministrations of Dr. Pill. Nemo also meets up with the devilish Flip, a green-faced clown in a plug hat and ermine collared jacket, who starts off always trying to summon the Dawn and wake Nemo from his dreams but then becomes our little heroes boon companion in his Slumberland adventures which involved an impressive array of strange giants, beautiful mermaids, humongous elephants, mysterious space creatures, exotic parades, fantastic dirigible rides, a jolly green dragon, and anything else McCay could imagine.

By both artistic and historical standards "Little Nemo in Slumberland" is the first truly great comic strip. When you look at the great strips that followed, such as George Herriman's "Krazy Kat," George McManus' "Bringing Up Father," Bud Fisher's "Mutt and Jeff," and Frank King's "Gasoline Alley," they are all decidedly different from what McCay was doing, although the use of "art nouveau" interiors and zany byplay by McManus is clearly an homage to "Little Nemo" as far as I am concerned. There is a sense in which those who see nothing similar appearing on the funny pages until Bill Watterson's "Calvin and Hobbes" have a point, although I would acknowledge Snoopy's imaginative life in "Peanuts" as well.

This volume includes "Perchance to Dream," an essay by Richard Marschall, who I think was the single biggest contributor of the strips reprinted in this volume. The essay provides a concise summary of McCay's life and career, with examples of some of his earlier work, "Little Nemo" postcards, and an incredibly detailed editorial cartoon. But the most important thing is that Marschall's efforts have preserved the premier American comic strip for the enjoyment of posterity. There has never been a more magical comic strip. Never.

Winsor McCay has been forgotten by the mainstream Nostalgia R' US spoon-fed media circus that we are all tapped into. Winsor McCay was a pioneering creative genius. He may not have been the very first motion picture animator but created some of the first animated shorts which featured CHARACTERS. His first was Gertie the Dinosaur. McCay would actually tour with his short and interact with the dinosaur on the screen, making it roll over and other tricks. McCay's Little Nemo is a feast

for the eyes. His eye for detail gives us a window to the early days of the 20th Century. The characters are completly fantastic. He was decades ahead of his time.