I bought this book in 1988 when my oldest son was three. I had no idea what to do at a birthday party other than to serve cake! It contains "themed" parties but also has sections on recipes, games, and activities to do for each appropriate age group. For instance, it says that 5-year-olds generally do not like to play "win or lose" games, so this book has many suggestions for games that do not leave anyone crying because he has lost a game. EXCELLENT -- the games are great, and the kids have fun and are happy. I now have three children, and the best suggestion that I've found that is a hit is the scavenger hunt. However many children attend the party determines the number of "notes." Each child reads a note that will lead him to the next note and eventually the treasure. Kids absolutely go wild over this! This book makes planning a home birthday party not only simple but fun. My kids' friends always leave saying that this [particular] birthday party was one of the most fun they've ever attended! The games spark the imagination yet more importantly, are FUN for kids. This book has made my life as parent of a birthday child much, much easier. I sincerely highly recommend it!

Babette is an adorable baby mouse left alone when her mother, to escape the cat who lives in their Paris park, catches hold of a flyaway balloon just in time. Her mother is saved, but flies off into the cold winter sky. Babette has no family--until she is adopted by the most unlikely creature, a crow. As the mouse grows, she wonders why she does not look like her crow mother. That is how things are, the crow tells her, accepting her child's differences and loving her anyway.

Babette also learns the importance of self-reliance and determination. She refuses to be cowed by a cat, and eventually trains him to be nice. How could a mouse tame a cat? You'll just have to buy the book, and find out. Alyssa A. Lappen

I have used this book in my practice as an OB-GYn Nurse Practitioner and have recommended it to many of my patients and friends with daughters about to enter puberty. It isn't the dry, clinical text seen in earlier works and the illustrations make it fun. I believe the best chapter to be "What if...?" as it was written in collaboration with the author's 15 yo niece.

How could this be real? That's what Kate Calambra keeps asking herself when she wakes up one morning in the 1850's, in a small mill town. She was living before in the 1980's when she had gone to sleep the night before. Kate has to accept the unbelievable truth- she really has gone 130 years back in time.

Now she is Kate O'Hara, one of five children in an Irish immigrant family. To add to her confusion, Kate finds herself overwhelmingly attracted to her handsome "older brother," Patrick. Kate's growing love for Patrick seems hopeless. After all, he thinks she is his sister. Kate sets out to do the impossible--convince Patrick that she has traveled back in time. But even if she is able to do that, and Patrick returns her love, will they ever know if Kate can stay in the 1850's, or will they one day wake up years apart?

Okay, that was on the back of the book. My take? It showed what it was like for the Irish, working HARD HARD HARD work, 13 hour days, with terrible wages and no time or energy to play or hang or anything! Really taught me a lot. It was like reading a history book, only without falling asleep. Great storytelling, excellent writing, good plot. All around great book. I give it 85 gazillion stars.

I really like this book. Intriguing pictures paired with nice short text show what kids can do at different ages. It goes step by step from a newborn to a seven year old. I am particularly pleased that the photographer choose kids from a variety of ethnic backgrounds.

My son is 2 1/2, we first bought this book because of the realistic pictures of infants. I'm pregnant with number 2 and anxious to help him make a good transition. So far, this book has really helped us with discussions about what the baby will be like. It's also been helpful in discussing all the different things my son can do. Unfortunately, I gave it to him right at the end of a massive teething period. Needless to say, I'm ordering another to save until he's way past the book eating phase.

Once again, I highly recommend this book. I think kids of all ages would enjoy it.

Marzollo does it again! The text and illustrations in thisstory are highly supportive, so that even emergent readers can enjoythis book. Marzollo uses rhyme and repetition to follow the cycle ofa leaf through the four seasons. Very lively and informative, with bright and beautiful cut-paper illustrations...a must-read at home and school. Children who read this book will become well aware of leaves as indicators of the season changes, and more appreciative of their contibution to nature's canvas. I only wish the big book was available to use with my own students!

I originally bought this book thinking it was just a cute christmas story. However, it has been so much more to my daughter! My daughter is 4 and in pre-k. She was glowing when she finished reading this book all by herself. This book has given my daughter reading confidence, helped her with the very first concepts of reading and encouraged her to learn some numbers and letters she didn't know before. If she wasn't sure of a number, we had her count how many in the picture. She is so excited to read other books. I hope I can find more books with this style.

My 2.5 year old is now very interested in details, so when I saw the well-populated photographs in this book I knew we had to have it. We take it on outings and pull it out when she needs a quiet activity. Both she and her older sister pore over the illustrations (see if you can find the Scotty dog on a bead bracelet) and they even practice counting the items in the photos! This is a sturdy book with illustrations that will hold the interest of even busy youngsters.

A wonderfully written and illustrated book that teaches the reader about how plants grow and the cycle of life. Two different seeds are planted in the beginning of the story and the reader observes how the each seed becomes a different plant. My three year son loved the book the first time I read it to him!

This is a wonderful, simple book with lovely pictures. I started reading it to my baby at 4 months. Now at 7 months he clearly shows a preference for it over the many other books we read. He loves the pictures of animals and the sing song words. I look forward to giving this as a new baby gift.