Most people think it's odd that Garrett Wood and Molly Bride are best friends. The place is Mississippi, the year 1927, and Garrett is white while Molly is black. But they ignore what everyone else says and remain friends. They're united in their dreams of getting away from their dreary lives on cotton farms. For some time now they've been saving money in a jar in the bayou. When the rising waters of the Mississippi threaten to put the bayou underwater, Garrett and Molly set out on their little homemade raft to retrieve the money. But instead, they end up being swept down the river. They encounter dangerous currents filled with debris, poisonous snakes, and storms. Their journey will truly test their courage and friendship. An excellant survival story with historical details about life in the south in the 1920s.

Molly Bride and Garrett Wood are both from poor families barely making a living on Mississippi cotton farms in 1927. Molly and Garrett dream of getting away from Mayersville, their little home town. So for three years, they've been saving up nickels and pennies and hiding them in a secret place. But the rising, raging Mississippi threatens the money, and Molly and Garrett go to retrieve it. But the current wins, and they find themselves headed up the turbulent Mississippi on a little homemade raft. Can Molly and Garrett survive? I couldn't put this book down! The part with the water moccasin was so scary, I felt as if I was there. A very, very exciting book!

It was my delight in find in one book history, application, meanings and references. I consider this book to be user friendly for the absolute beginner and of interest to the professional florist. It has even provided new insight to classic literature. I consider this book to be of excellent value for its price.

What a dynamite packed book! Filled with a rather thorough history of Victorian flower giving and the rules associated with sending messages in the language of herbs and flowers. A very complete dictionary cross-referenced by both herb and sentiment. This book is a dream for those of use who study the emotions, sentiments, messages, symbolism, origins, folklore, and mythical side of herbs.

My husband and I took this recipe book with us on our vacation to Florida. I enjoy cooking and do not have alot of time to cook at home. We tried several recipes and enjoyed every one!! I left the cookbook in our vacation home for others to use and am ordering another one to have at home. We usually go out to eat while on vacation but I used this book and we enjoyed wonderful meals at home. The meals were elaborate but with not alot of preparation time. I've never used a cookbook so much.

Trusting a recipe often comes down to trusting the source. The sources for the recipes are impeccable; in fact, they're some of the best chefs in the state.

Kathleen Alcala's "The Flower in the Skull" is a haunting, beautiful and well-researched novel that begins deep in Mexico's Sonoran Desert in the late 1800s and follows three generations of women up to the present. Alcala's language is clear, evocative and, at times, heart-wrenching as she tells this story of diaspora, lost family connections and personal discovery. One of the most moving chapters (titled, "The Girl in the Closet") is Alcala at her best as she captures the almost overwhelming fears of a woman beaten down by the sexual transgressions of her employer: "If I just stay here, I will be fine. Before I shut the door, I got a box of crackers from the kitchen, so I will be fine." This is a powerful novel.

In Flower in the Skull we see three generations of women trying to adapt to their sorroundings and at the same time make sense of their past. This is no easy task but the characters make an effort, and although they are not always totally happy, they manage to make it on their own. A very good book, very honest and informative.

The review that follows says it all, but I want to add that this is THE book for African American history in the Seattle area. I found it moving and thought-provoking. Anyone serious about understanding issues of diversity in the Pacific Northwest should begin with this book.

Though Seattle's experience may be somewhat different from other parts of the country, the issues were still (and are still) complex. This book not only puts it all in context, but leaves you hungry for more. It's an opportunity to discover unsung heroes, mourn blaring injustices, and refresh the belief that we can still learn from the past in order to forge a better future. As a native of Seattle now living in Georgia, I especially appreciated the breadth of information. Reading Taylor's book inspired me to read Horace Cayton's autobiography and follow up on some of the other sources Taylor drew on. Well written, dynamic, and comprehensive. Can't wait for more!

As someone who's hobby is re/creating illuminated manuscripts, I found this book to be a great help in getting me past the hurdle of attempting to do gilding on some of my own work. Ms. Whitley's no-nonsense approach, step-by-step instructions, examples and photographs of her gilding her own pieces helped me overcome my nervousness in dealing with gold leaf.

This book is a must for anyone wanting to 'leap the hurdle' and utilize gold leaf in their own manuscript illuminations. This book goes onto my 'working reference' shelf...it's not going to be collecting dust for quite some time.

For centuries artists and illuminators have applied gold to paper in order to decorate and adorn manuscripts. Professional manuscript restorer Kathleen Whitley's The Gilded Page: The History & Technique Of Manuscript Gilding explains in detail both the antiquarian and modern techniques of manuscript gilding including the tools, methods, and materials employed in flat, raised, and patterned gilding used on manuscripts and paintings. Impressively researched and written, we are authoritatively offered the step-by-step techniques of applying and burnishing gold in an immanently sensible and easy-to-understand text that is enhanced with dozens of rare illustrations drawn from The British Library, the British Museum, and other institutions, along with Whitley's own photographs and drawings. The Gilded Page is an enthusiastically recommended addition to any bibliophile reading list and reference collection.

Thank you Kathleen and Elizabeth for your enlightening and encouraging book. I loved the strengthing, sistering concept. The way you shared experiences, included great ideas for inspiration as well as extreme silliness, and suggested involving various age groups makes this a great guide for any getaway gang.

This is an excellent guide for connecting & bonding along with good old fashioned fun. Treat yourself!

These 4 books are darling - so much fun, for 3rd graders and up. Same courageous strength as the Laura Ingalls books, but easy flowing, learning without getting bogged down. Lots of enjoyment!

Gold-Rush Phoebe was a humerous book about pioneers and the gold rush. It is about a pioneer girl who dresses as a boy so she can search for gold in California and have adventures. She and her friend end up running a restaurant, and become rich. I reccomend this book and the rest of the Petticoat Party series.

Most guides to Booktalks feature fiction but not this one. Ms. Baxter has gone where many fear to tread and tackled the favorite of many reluctant readers-Non Fiction. A Booktalk, for those who don't understand Teacherese or Library talk is brief description of a book and is designed to make every memember of the audience want to read the book RIGHT NOW.

GOTCHA! is divided into 7 sections, covering such kid popular topics as jokes, gross stuff, The Titanic,urban legends, interesting people, science, the past and animals. The style is bright and breezy and extensive bibliographies are provided.

Librarians will love it's "ready to use" format. The booktalks are designed to be used as is, or they can be used as a jumping off point and a librarian can modify them to suit their own collections. It will be very helpful to teachers looking for books to accompany science, language arts and social studies units. I can't think of a beter way to introduce a class to poety than with an enthusiastic booktalk featuring Jack Prelutsky. Homeschoolers will find it invalueable in planning units and finding quality literature for their children. In fact,kids will like it it too- it's a great resource for helping them find a book on a topic that interests them.

It's a must have for and Elementary schlool librarians & Teachers, Children's Librarians and anyone who enjoys reading a book about books.

This book is a wonderful resource for parents, teachers, librarians, or anyone who gives books to kids, but who may need a bit of help in choosing appropriate books. Kathleen Baxter and Marcia Agness Kochel have focused on the wealth of nonfiction books which may appeal to kids, proving there's more to children's literature than Harry Potter. The book is organized according to topics: catastrophes/disasters;, jokes, riddles, silly and gross stuff; biographies; animals, history, etc., and is presented in the format of short, snappy "book talks" -- pitches given by librarians and teachers to kids to show them what books are out there and to consequently pique kids' interests and get them reading. The authors show great enthusiasm for the titles they showcase, and give wonderful tips on talking up the books; they "got" me a number of times, as I scribbled out titles and made a beeline to the library to check out a few books. Foolproof topics include dinosauers and mummies, the Titanic disaster, and baby animals. But this book presents lots of other nonfiction choices on a wide variety of topics--there's bound to be something of interest to the young people in your life. Each chapter ends with a bibliography of the titles mentioned, and I'll be sure to use this book when birthdays and holidays come around. And if the authors ever come to my library, I'll be sure to listen in on one of their book talks!

This is another great guide of recommended books by Kathleen Odean. In this book, there are over 750 books about the things kids love, and many, many different subjects. Whether you like cats, kings and queens, basketball, math, or magic tricks, there's sure to be a book in here that is right for you. The book is divided into subject categories with categories about the subject. (e.g.: sports, than one of the categories is football.) The back of the book includes a basic reference shelf for home, book-related parties, tips for reading out loud, lists of books in series, and much, much more. This is an invaluable resource and a perfect gift for all kids.

Kathleen Odean's books are a gift for parents and grandparents. With so many books to chose from for kids, we all need help picking the perfect one for our kids or our friend's kids or our grandkids. Odean has expertly organized the best of the best and given us a great guide. I would recommend this to everyone and plan to give it to all my friends who are parents or grandparents.