Billy and Emma is one of my son's favorite books. Even if you are not fond of parrots, if you like beautiful illustrations, adventure, and enjoy a happy ending, you will like Billy and Emma. Billy and Emma, two macaws who are best friends, enjoyed a happy life at the zoo until Emma was kidnaped by a robber. Despondent and desperate, Billy turns to his friend Nancy the crow for help. With the aid of Harold the owl and some friendly pidgeons, Billy and Nancy perform a daring rescue. While telling a very entertaining story, Billy and Emma teaches about the importance of friendship, teamwork, and good triumphing over evil.

_Crossing the Starlight Bridge_ is an extremely insightful novel for children that touches on both the imperfections of family as well as the importance of culture and identity. The protagonist, a young Penobscot girl from Maine, is unwillingly transplanted from an island where she lives with other Penobscot families and friends to the mainland, over the "starlight bridge". The reason for this move is that her father has left her mother, and for financial reasons they are forced to go live with her grandmother on the mainland. Of course all of this change is devastating for a young girl who feels robbed of everything familiar and comfortable in her life on the island, including her family, house, and Penobscot culture. Rayanne, the protagonist, is unwillingly forced to adapt to a new lifestyle.

Alice Mead does an excellent job of expressing the thoughts and feelings of this young girl as she struggles with the separation of her parents, resentment toward her mother and father, and the less peaceful ways of the mainland. Adapting to this new life is not easy for Rayanne, but her grandmother, who has learned to embrace Penobscot culture and yet function in the culture of the mainland, makes this transition much easier for her.

The grandmother's character is wonderfully written, and exudes comfort and stories and all that grandmothers should be. She is an imaginative woman, and sparks Rayanne's imagination through her own stories of Penobscot culture. As a result of this support, Rayanne is able to rebuild her life on the mainland and find her own niche with new friends and her family.

This is an excellent book for any child, but I think that kids who are dealing with major changes in their lives, especially their parents' divorce or separation, would especially appreciate _Crossing the Starlight Bridge_.

Junebug's life is changing from the old world he used to know. He, his mother and sister Tasha have left the projects and onto a better way of life. But the change is not as happy as he first expects it to be. His close family seems to be going their own way and he fears that they are drifting apart. Tasha makes friends easily, while Junebug is tormented by bullies (worse his mother insists he play soccar with them!). His mother finds a new romance which is hard for him to cope with, and as if that wasn't enough, Junebug must now spend some time everday walking with a cranky elderly "Reverand" as part of his new responsibilites. His hopes of having a lazy summer squashed, Junebug tries to adjust to his new surroundings. In the process he learns a great deal about family ties, and himself.

This book is a sequel to JUNEBUG but you needn't have read the first to enjoy JUNEBUG AND THE REVERAND. I immediately liked the sweet character of Junebug the moment he appears on the page...probably because I know a kid just like him and I so seldom see such boys portrayed as realistically in print. He is thoughtful, kindhearted and resilient -- you can't help but take him into your heart. It is refreshing to see such an honest portrayel of children and community and I look forward to reading more about Junebug's growing up years. This is a book to be shared with your children.

The author has traveled to Kosova/Kosovo, both before and after the NATO airstrikes there, and is currently active in attempts to release Kosovar Albanian prisoners held by the government in Belgrade. In Adem's Cross, the author attempts to depict rural life in Kosova/Kosovo during Serb rule, from the perspective of a Kosovar Albanian teenager, Adem(Adam). The humanity of individual Serbs and Roma(Gypsies), the ineffectiveness of several policies of the Democratic League of Kosova(LDK), the depictions of the city of Prizren and the nearby border with Albania, the views of Kosovar Albanians toward the then raging war in Bosnia-Hercegovina, and the prediction of future intervention over Kosova/Kosovo by the United States, make this book unique, in that it was published before the open emergence of organized armed resistance in Kosova/Kosovo, let alone the start of involvement by NATO.

Believe me,this book is so beautifully written.As a Kosovar I've found it amazing how Alice could make such a great story which in fact most of it or perhaps all of it is true because these sort of things hapenned very often in Kosova. I would highly recommend this book to all of you - no matter what age you are...Well done Alice and Keep Writing as your books will always have a spare place on my library...The best of luck

Adem's Cross is a wondeful book it's easy to read and very informative. This book makes you want to reach out and help these people. It's captivating and exciting, your always on your toes and it ends very well.A+

I like Junebug. It is an exciting book. Mother fell down the steps and Junebug called the doctor and the ambulance came and took her to the hospital. She stayed there and Junebug came to the hospital to visit his mom . I also like the happy ending. Read this book and you will like it.

October 26, 2001
This is my Review of the book, June Bug. The Book June Bug is a good book . It is about a boy named Reeve Mclain but everybody calls him June Bug exept his mom and his teacher. He put all of his wishes in bottles and wants to throw them out to sea, and sense he has fifty bottles he hopes that someone will find it. For his birthday all he wants are corks 50 of them, and he wishes he had a boat to throw his bottles out on.

Junebug is a good for anyone that likes stories about kids living in the city. Junebug, his mom, his Aunt Jolita, and his sister live in an apartment in a rough part of the city. Junebug enjoys collecting bottles and his dream is to get bottle messages from people in other places. You should read it.

I picked this book up at a bookstore because I am Albanian myself and wanted to know more about the conflict in Kosovo. This book has a good plot, Zana, an Albanian girl, witnesses the hatred targeted towards her and other Albanians in Kosovo by the Serbs. Even after they have killed her father and two brothers, she tries to remember what her father told her before he was killed, "Don't let them fill your heart with hate". And to make the story more interesting, Zana has a Serbian friend. However, Alice Mead's writing style is very amateur. Even after Zana's father and brothers were killed, she doesn't slow the story down. It seems like she is trying to hurry the story along.

This is an excellent introduction for children about the recent struggles in Kosovo. The heart-wrenching account of Zana and her family during the volatile period surrounding the war in Kosovo, should draw interest and concern to the children reading this book. The story is based on an actual family as described in the "author's note." I wish a map of the area was included with the place names as a reference. Most children are probably unaware of the unfortunate violence in Kosovo's history. The story is a page-turner and a building block to learn more about current events. A good modern realism for children and young adults.

This is the owrst book that I have ever read. It is about a bouring place in maine and nothing exciting happens in the book, But the main character raises clams (oh the excitment!) and his dad deals coke (that isnt reviled untill the end of the book so now there is no point for you to read it) this book is bland and lacking of a good plot. SO DONT READ IT IT SUCKS!