I think I could highly recommend all of Richard Scarry's books, but this is a one of the classics. This is the book I most identify with Richard Scarry. A large book with loads of things on every page - all with the word underneath. In addition, the cover has numbers to 20 and the letters of the alphabet all with the appropriate corresponding items. This more than anything taught my son not only how to count but what numbers actually mean. I am now buying our second copy; our first is missing it's cover and is torn on many pages. My son is almost 4 years old and has been "reading" this book since he was 9 months old (to himself)! Both he and my husband are big Richard Scarry fans and have converted me. I am buying this book again to begin teaching my son to read.

I highly recommend this book for children from babies to early school age. I don't know a child in my family who doesn't love it!

THIS IS THE BEST BOOK FOR KIDS! I had this book when I was a child so I was very excited when my sister gave it to my son for Christmas! He absolutely loves it and takes it to bed with him ever night in place of a stuffed animal! My son is 2 &1/2 and has learned to count to 15 because of this book! Every day he learns something new and is so excited to share it! I am now buying this book as a gift for my nephew and several other Richard Scarry books for my son! I would like to encourage you to but this book as it is one of the best purchases you can make for your child!

Richard Scarry has done the best job of combining learning with fun. The pictures in his book are bright, colorful, and fun to look at. The words that correspond to the pictures are words that kids can relate to in their everyday activities. My brothers and sisters and I loved to follow the adventures of Lowly Worm and Huckle Cat through Busytown. Definitely a must in any family.

This inordinately ambitious, often overreaching & self-contradictory, but nonetheless thought-provoking book takes as it's central thesis the following: "The dominant themes of the Frontier Myth are those that center on the conception of American history as a heroic-scale Indian war, pitting race against race; and the central concern of the mythmakers is with the problem of reaching the 'end of the Frontier'. Both of these themes are brought together in the "Last Stand" legend, which is the central fable of the industrial or 'revised' Myth of the Frontier." Slotkin proceeds to trace the impact and the changing understanding of the Frontier Myth from King Phillip's War to 1890, when Frederick Jackson Turner declared the Frontier closed. He maintains that over this period of time the hero of the myth evolved from an agrarian/frontiersman/hunter to a soldier-aristocrat, because that was what industrial capitalism required.

Of course, this thesis begs several questions: Does Custer as culmination of the myth of the industrial captain make any sense? He was, after all, suckered and slaughtered by a pack of illiterate barbarians, are we to believe that the overlords of Capitalism wanted to be seen as incompetent fops? Also, why does Sitting Bull emerge as an American legend too? Shouldn't we expect him to be remembered as some kind of monster, rather than as a noble savage?

The reason that Slotkin can not, or does not, answer these questions, is because his book is a work of ideology as much as of history. He wanted to vilify Capitalism and 19th century robber barons and so, he finds primary sources to support his view. But does the fact that a few novels or newspapers treated the Last stand in the manner that he hoped they had actually prove anything? How do we know what kind of influence these contemporary writings had & did they really outweigh the opposing presentations in other periodicals and novels? And what explains the image that comes down to us in films like She Wore a Yellow Ribbon, where Custer is portrayed as a blindly obstinate fanatic, largely responsible for his own death? Had Capitalism lost the need for it's own myths? It hardly seems likely.

In the end, Slotkin's book should be read for the panoramic sweep it offers of Frontier history and for the provocative, albeit inaccurate, theories that it offers up. His arguments are well worth wrestling with & refuting.

GRADE: B-

Richard Slotkin was educated in the New York City public schools and has a Ph.D.in American Civilization from Brown University (1967).

The essence of Slotkins' theory is that myths, stories drawn from history, are preserved in their narrative and become part of the language, as a deeply encoded set of metaphors that contain all of the lessons we have learned from our history, and all of the essential elements of our world view.

Slotkin's intention is to trace the historical development of a single major American myth, "Custer's Last Stand", and offer a critical interpretation of its meaning. The reader will judge the significance of this single myth, not simply by noting its recurrence and persistence, but by the waxing and waning of its hold on the marketplace in relation to other genres expressive of other myths. The focus of his study is myth as a set of narrative formulas that acquire, through specific historical action, a significant ideological change. To explain,a world defined by myth produces discontent. Ideology, however offsets this by generating a new narrative, or myth, that will account for and give value to reality. This creates the basis for a new cultural consensus or world view.

A good illustration of Slotkin's thesis is his chapter on regeneration through violence in the history of the Indian War 1675-1820. He focuses on the common elements of the literary mythology of Indian dispossession and the violent wars of conquest. The colonists acquired title to lands through this conquest and engaged in expansion. This is the system of belief that veiled the processes of economic development as a model for the rationalization of class subordination at home and imperialism abroad. This course reflects the social reality that the myth ideology of the Frontier was developed to conceal the processes of economic development.

You may never read a history book or enjoy an American historical novel again without testing Slotkin's "myth theory" for yourself. I was fascinated by the inevitable truth of Slotkin's theory, placed my "critical view-finders" aside, to simply enjoy my reading discoveries. I recommend this book as an enlightened examination of American perceptions, beliefs, stereotypes, and political policies.

The professional editorials above do a fairly good job in summarizing the gist of this monumental work. What I want to draw attention towards is the absolute yeoman work Slotkin did in researching this the middle act of his trilogy. For example, pouring through miles of newspapers he makes startling observations of how editors placed their stories about Indian uprisings and unrest in the factories from non Anglo-Saxon workers in psychological and proximal juxtaposition in the many newspapers of the day. A mythos was created that was passed on to the subsequent generations of Americans. This mythos (which, I feel, as cultural learned behavior partly fuels all modern racism)is evidently examined further in the third book of the series, "Gunfighter Nation." I will be reading this next work soon. The myth and role of the "culture hero" such as Custer is also very interesting and could well serve as a case study for the psychological and anthropological needs constructs that people have for heroes as examined by Ernest Becker's Pulitzer Prize winning book "The Denial of Death." The book is sometimes hard going but is well worth it. It might also be very profitable to read Slotkins's first book of this trilogy, "Regeneration Through Violence" which covers the colonial period.

This was fun to read for the most part. There really is nothing new and I do take issue with the claim that this is" the first major illustrated work" on Custer. Lawrence Frost's book, The Custe Album, holds that distinction

A large book well armed with pictures of not only Custer, his family, but also of key major military personnel, Forts, leading confederates and best of all, great Indian leaders. Besides the large presence of photographs, the book provides a nice compressed history of Custer from Birth to his postmortem. It's an accelerated read with direct references to historical events without gratuitous detail. In reference to his CW career, Donovan is a little light on Custer in the valley in 1864 as Custer has some conflicts with colleagues over such things as who earned the captured flags versus who actually took them. In addition, Custer's role at Five Forks is a bit large in contrast to the infantry's 5th Corps who crushed the isolated Confederate left. Overall, it's a pretty good overview of Custer's Civil War and pre- LBH western career. I do note that pictures sometimes fill in voids such as the destruction of Lt. Kidder's command and Custer's meeting with Satanta, which are missing from the narrative. The best part of the book deals with the LBH and the author pulls no punches in explaining what he thinks happened. His theory reflects Michno's "Lakota Noon" primarily in that he theorizes that Custer held his battalion on the east side of the river waiting for Reno and Benteen to rally to him to squeeze the Indians his battalion and theirs. But of course that does not happen and the command is destroyed. The author captures all the personal conflicts in command such as Reno's fitness and Benteen's pouting causing his leisurely stroll. The after the LBH evaluation is also quite good recognizing that several elements caused Custer's defeat, not just Custer's brashness, Reno's ineptness or Benteen's bitterness but the loss of surprise, the pressure to attack, the confidence of the Indians, their stubborn resistance capitalizing on the fractured commands and collapse and the primary fact that they didn't run like everyone perceived. Other elements include Crook's stepping out of the campaign with his 1300 men after the battle of the Rosebud the week before against smaller numbers then Custer. But also it's noted that Custer preferred the standard morning surprise attack but after discivering Indians on his back trail, he felt the need to attack immediately with reconnaissance done while on the move. Many forget that Colonel Reynolds inder Crook was nearly Court Martialed for botching the March Powder River attack. Although not mentioned directly, all commanders were under pressure to attack before the Indians dispersed. Terry's and Crook's subsequent post LBH campaigns attest to the Indian mobility challenge. The latter part of the book deals with the Custer legend based on writings, movies and historical hindsight that are based on the culture at the present, WWII era versus post Vietnam. This latter portion reminds of Hutton's great book the "Custer Reader" which is also worth a very good look since it also deals with participant' writings and fellow historians. This is a good book for those looking for a pretty good capsule on Custer that includes excellent pictures and an argument. Then they can venture into the books with greater analysis and detail and of course a greater feel for why the battle is so controversial.

The most thorough and well-researched book I've ever read on Custer. The beautiful illustrations, supporting historical documents, and Dononvan's insightful analysis evoke the myth that is our American West. Custer embodies that myth. Donovan succeeds in humanizing this compelling, tragic man while celebrating his immortality. The author does an exceptional job of establishing and explaining the legend of Custer and why his last battle seized the imagination of the American public. Securing not just a place in American history, but in our culture.

This a great reference book for those interested in the mystery of the LBH. The digs followed a grass fire that provided an opportunity for archaeological excavations. Helps lend credence to the accuracy of markers, IDs the 40 odd bogus markers with Custer and indications of cause of death and mutilations based on skeleton remains. Also lends proof that the latter burials were haphazard at best and guess work at identifying the dead. Great gems in the possible identification of the scout Mitch Bouyer and a trooper skeleton far from the field that may have been trying to escape. Great detail on weapons used and provides evidence that the Indians had significant fire power with repeaters. Also, covers Reno-Benteen field and provides detail on possible military and Indian positions. Deep ravine is still a mystery, why couldn't remains of the 28 fallen troopers be found? If you have a Custer library, this is a great book to have.

Richard Allen Fox has the ability to look at the physical evidence and make his theories about what happened either mesh with history or make us rethink what history says about the event. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to look at the battle from the physical remains left on the site.

The final book in Jane Roberts Woods' trilogy finds Lucy Richards Arnold in rural West Texas, during the depression. The harsh and arid landscape of the land is barely relieved by the people who populate the area,and the nearest town, Blue Bonnet. Lucy and her husband Josh are working for the area school, she is once again teaching and he is the principal....and neither are made welcomed by the populace. They do make friends within the community and are able to undersatnd the dermands on those around them,but nothing is heard from characters at home, except for a brief appearance by Jeremiah. Their son, John Patrick is a continuous light in their lives, but hard times and very little hope for relief have made the entire area weary and unwelcoming. Once again Woods has been able to capture a time and place in Teaxs history and populate it with believable and complex characters.The realities of small town life, especially in hard times,ring true. The whole book is suffused with the feel of the times, and is a wonderful look at characters we have come to care for.

The best book of the series, this story follows The Train to Estelline and A Place called Sweet Shrub. Set during the Great Depression in the bleak, gnarled landscape and drought of West Texas, the characters Josh & Lucy, now with a 4 year old son, settle into their jobs in a troubled school. The deprivation and desperation of the depression sweep over the reader on almost every page, but the high spirited, high minded scholars meet each challenge as it tumbles into the schoolyard. The characters are sketched with a light and usually loving hand, and the situations are not sugar-coated but realistic and often harsh. The "West Texas-isms" are accurate and amusing. The book moves quickly to a ending that is both heartbreaking and heartwarming. And completely true to this reader's experience.

OUR SON USED THIS BOOK WITH HIS SPEECH THERAPIST AND HE LOVED IT. IT'S LIKE THE OLD FASHIONED COLORFORMS. THE ACTUAL BOOK ASKS THE CHILD TO FIND CERTAIN MISSING ARTICLES OF CLOTHING OUT OF THE STICKERS AND THEN DRESS THE BUNNY. IT'S SUPER.

I LOVE THIS BOOK! My Daughter played with it for hours. She loved placing the stickers on the bunny!!!! I found this book at a grage sale It was the best 50cents i ever paid. I am also not surprised this book is a collector item it is wonderful

As a child I loved the song Little Red Caboose. Now as a mother I am teaching this song to my two year old. We were delighted to find such a colorful and accurate book of all the train cars, including the red caboose. Now when my son sees a train, he immediately break out into song and wants to read his Little Red Caboose book. The book is excellent for teaching colors and the pictures are sure to delight very young readers. It is good to be able to tell a child about the way trains use to be.

This short board book is sure to be a hit with little train lovers. It is very sturdy and each 2-page spread depicts at least 2 train cars. Because this is a Lionel book, the illustrations of the various cars are very accurate and more detailed than other train board books that are on the market (some of which are very cartoon-y and not true to life in appearance).

There are many different train cars in this book, each a different color and the text includes the color, hence the subtitle referencing this is a book to teach colors. (I feel that any book with objects of various colors can be discussed during a reading to teach colors, you don't need a special board book to teach colors. Just pick objects your child is interested in and simply mention the colors and they will pick it up easily. My children happen to love trains so the fact that this book obviously was intended to write colors is a coincidence for our family.)

The different trains depicted are caboose, hopper car, log car, auto car, tank car, boxcar, crane train, flatcar, and steam locomotive and tender. There is a lot going on in the illustrations including children and adults doing various things near the train, a farm wit cows, and a night road construction scene. There is much to talk about to go beyond the simple and short text. The text rhymes and is catchy. This is a cute book and is not annoying as some board books are. There are ten pages (I wish there were more)!

Note that this is one in a series of train books published by "Little Lionel". I suggest that all young train fans buy the entire series!

This is one of the great children's stories of all time. I loved it as a child and read it over and over again, and my son has been demanding it as a bedtime story regularly since he was2-1/2 years old. The 1991 Platt & Munk (a division of Grosset & Dunlap) edition, beautifully illustrated by Cristina Ong, leaves out all the requests made to the busy trains. The story is now very brief (which is why I give it only 3 stars instead of the 5 the full-length version deserves)--I suppose because it is a board book--but the essentials are all there. It also changes the sex of the engines from male to female, so perhaps some parents would like to read this edition to their children as well as one of the others.

I first heard of this story while watching a Barney video with my son. I bought the anniversary edition of the book. The "shortened" board books - while culled from the original book - don't have the words that my son loves to hear - "I pull you - Indeed not!" and "I think I can, I think I can". The pictures are also great! My son loves to point at them especially the mountains.

Now he wants us to read him this story everynight!

The story of a train filled with dolls and toys that breaks down and asks for help from other engines. The classic story of a simple struggle to bring the dolls and toys to the "children on the other side of the mountain" is a delight when a little blue engine volunteers to help and "I think I can, I think I can, I think I can" is is finally rewarded in the end with "I thought I could, I thought I could", etc. My 2 and 3 year olds' favorite book for many weeks. Enjoy. Dec 1998

Little Lord Fauntleroy is a story about a little American boy, Cedric who suddenly finds himself the heir-apparent to a title in England. His grandfather, the present Lord Fauntleroy, (who originally disowned the boy's now-dead father for marrying his American mother) sends for the boy to live with him. His faultless mother of course agrees to let him take this opportunity, while she goes to live in a nearby cottage.
Then a woman appears with a boy she claims to be the son of an older son, apparently displacing Cedric as heir. It is a testament to Little Lord Fauntleroy's sweetening effect that his grandfather unites with his mother to fight against this alternate claim (successfully, of course...this is no book for bittersweet endings--the good always triumph, the evil always meet they're downfall, and the good and the evil are always on opposite sides).
Enough sugar to gag a horse, but no story. From the start, the little boy is perfect...charitable, pretty, strong, and smart--but infinitely oblivious of others' defects. He does not grow or change. He does not wrestle with problems. He does not even realize there are problems. He is not a character--he's a pro-American fantasy.
The real protagonist is the present Lord, the boy's grandfather. His transition from conceited grump to true grandfather is mildly interesting. However, far too often Cedric's perfect little self takes center stage, constantly presenting himself to be admired by the other characters, who were not so fortunate as to be perfect or American.

I have also seen this version of the movie and it is the best version I have seen. We enjoyed it with our children years ago and were hoping to purchase it for them as a Christmas Present. If it becomes available or someone knows where it can be purchased let us know.

I have been looking everywhere for the Little Lord Fauntleroy vhs starring the late Sir Alec Guiness and Ricky Schoeder (late 1970's). This is by far the best version of the timeless classic. I would hope that in view of Alec Guiness' recent passing that whoever has rights to the movie will re-release it. Otherwise, if there is anyone out there who is willing to sell his or her copy, I would be most obliged if you emailed me: ussrainone@riconnect.com

I love this book because it is so small that I can carry it with me in my purse. I like to get it out on a break at work and read a chapter on what I feel I need help with; it always picks me up and encourages me. What simple and brief yet wonderful advice! As I read I highlight the areas most applicable to me so that next time I read it I can read exactly what I most need to hear. Most chapters have a space that I use for notes and comments. Keep in mind that this is not a quick read. To make real changes in your life, I recommend this book should be read slowly, one to three chapters a day. When I first began, I tried to read straight through but it just goes in one ear and out the other. You have to read a chapter, stop, and think about it to best apply it to your life and make it work for you.

One of my favorite chapters is chapter six: REMIND YOURSELF THAT WHEN YOU DIE, YOUR "IN BASKET" WON'T BE EMPTY. I think the whole world should read this chapter! Here is an sample:

"SO MANY OF US LIVE OUR LIVES AS IF THE SECRET PURPOSE IS TO SOMEHOW GET EVERYTHING DONE....OFTEN WE CONVINCE OURSELVES THAT OUR OBSESSION WITH OUR "TO DO" LIST IS ONLY TEMPORARY--THAT ONCE WE GET THROUGHT THE LIST, WE'LL BE CALM, RELAXED AND HAPPY. BUT IN REALITY, THIS RARELY HAPPENS. AS ITEMS ARE CHECKED OFF, NEW ONES SIMPLY REPLACE THEM. THE NATURE OF YOUR "IN BASKET" IS THAT IT'S MEANT TO HAVE ITEMS TO BE COMPLETED IN IT--IT'S NOT MEANT TO BE EMPTY....REMEMBER THAT NOTHING IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN YOUR OWN SENSE OF HAPPINESS AND INNER PEACE AND THAT OF YOUR LOVED ONES. IF YOU ARE OBSESSED WITH GETTING EVERYTHING DONE, YOU'LL NEVER HAVE A SENSE OF WELL-BEING! IN REALITY, ALMOST EVERYTHING CAN WAIT...THE PURPOSE OF LIFE ISN'T TO GET IT ALL DONE BUT TO ENJOY EACH STEP ALONG THE WAY AND LIVE A LIFE FILLED WITH LOVE."

The book is organized, in my opinion, to be read in any order you want. Some chapters may be useful to you and some may not now but perhaps later on in your life. I find it very motivational. I think you will enjoy it also.

DON'T SWEAT THE SMALL STUFF...AND IT'S ALL SMALL STUFF--WORDS TO LIVE BY!

I loved this book! It is easy to read, fun, simple and effective! What's great about this book is you can enjoy it over and over again. You can open up to any page and get a new perspective on life immediately. Definitely an excellent stress reducer. Thank you Richard!

Another book that I recently bought, read and totally loved (due to a recommendation by another reviewer) is "Working on Yourself Doesn't Work" by Ariel and Shya Kane. Awesome book too! Easy to read, simple and is also a book you can open up to any page and reduce stress instantly as well as enjoy it again and again. Buy this one and you will love it too! The Kanes also have great audio tapes: I just bought "Magical Relationships" and "Roots of Satisfaction".

This is marvelous magical book you hold in your hands in which every word written counts without being weighty. Richard Carlson has written a book packed with ideas that will uplift the spirit, open your mind and heart and free you in a delightful easy manner as he guides you into a clearer focusing of your life. He takes our lives and breaks our activities into bit-size pieces to savor and study easily without choking on our whole life all at once. His next book written "Don't Worry, Make Money" is just as direct and as enjoyable to read. Both books are filled with ideas that just make so much sense, you wonder why it wasn't clear to you before, yet somehow you sensed you've know these things all along. Never mind that you couldn't see them before, Richard Carlson is helping you to see them now! Carlson is a real intelligent pied piper who feeds the mind with seemingly simple words but which form profound concepts and ideas without boring or "spoonfeeding" the reader. You'll find that you won't mind sharing these books with others, in fact you may find yourself encouraging others to take a look at them while you are together; but you won't want to loan them overnight you'll rather wish to keep them nearby for easy reference, they become valuable comrades to you. One of the best things about both his books is that that you can start at the beginning, or just pick up a chapter at random, each chapter stands alone, yet works within the framework of the whole work. Kudos to Carlson, thank you for your enlightened writing.