I sat down to order this book from Amazon for my 3 kids after taping my copy from Christmas 1973 together (again). I was absolutely shocked to find out that my favorite childhood book, which inspired me to travel and learn about other lands and cultures, was...out of print!!! I was even further shocked to find that there were a lot of people in the world who feel the same way as I do, finding themselves missing a hard copy of the talent and imagination of one of the greatest children's writers of our time. I do hope that this book will go back into print. Some of the images and ideas presented in this little book will stay with me forever.

Busy, Busy World is a gift from Richard Scarry to the world and has brought countless hours of reading pleasure to many families. Our copy is 28 years old, dog-eared and taped together but we still read it to children who come to our home. Traditionally we have given copies of the book to kids who are special to us, and there have been many. We'd add the child's picture to illustrations of Noah the boa constrictor, Pierre the Paris policeman, Couscous, et al around the world map on the full-page spreads just as you open the book. We recently had an adult friend read Schmudge, the German chimney sweep and it was delightful to hear her say as she finished the story, "It's a white kitty!" And so I am heartbroken to learn that Busy, Busy World is out of print. I hope the publisher has a change of heart. It's a shame that this great classic is no longer a staple of children's literature. What a tremendous loss.

I just gave my grandson "Cars and Trucks and Things That Go," a book that all 4 of my children adored, and he adores it too. Thought I'd give him Busy Busy World next, another all-time, all-kid favorite, but NO! it's out of print. Lots of books that the 20-somethings loved have gone out of print and it's too, too bad. Bring this one back, and all the others, in their original large formats. I noticed that Cars and Trucks... has actually been reprinted in a slightly reduced format with colors less sharp, probably because cheap-o Golden Books now owns it. But even in inferior copy, Busy Busy World deserves to live on.

With beautiful illustrations and a simple story, I am a Bunny is a perfect book to share with your youngster. Although even the smallest child will be captivated by the colorful work of Richard Scarry, this book isn't just for babies. Every illustration is filled with details - dozens of different butterflies to name, animals to count, and flowers to "smell" - that bring nature to life for your child. It's no wonder that this book has been around for so many years!

I remember the first time my grandmother read this book to me in 1969. The year my baby brother was born. As we turned the pages thru the four seasons in Nicholas Bunny's life she would encourage me to smell the field of daffodils, to pick out a favorite butterfly, to actually "blow the dandelion seeds into the air", and for me to take notice of how happy the toad appeared to be in the rain under his toadstool. My husband and I sometimes laughingly burst forth in reciting "I Am a Bunny" from memory because we have read this dear children's book to all of our six children repeatedly. And we too encourage them to "blow the dandelion seeds into the air."

I read this book every night with my mother when I was a toddler. Now, 14 years later I still can recite pieces of the story of Nicholas Bunny who lived in a hollow tree. I loved this book with all my heart and I strongley encourage you to read it!

I am 26 years old and I LOVE Sweet Pickles. There, I said it. I thought that I was going mad when I couldn't find them anywhere. I would pay any amount of money to get them back. There are not too many good learning books out there for children anymore and I would love to share with mine the stories that I grew up with. Please contact me if any of you know where I can get my hands on them. Unfortunately, mine got destroyed in a flood in our basement. I would do (almost) anything to get them back on my bookshelf to share with my kids. My favorite is about the Zany Zebra who used to ride around on his skate board creating all sorts of havoc. Please, if youa are a Weekly Reader person reviewing, please bring it back. If you are another publisher reading this, please get smart and buy the rights from Weekly Reader. These testomonies should be proof enough that this series should have been here to stay. Thanks.

When my oldest daughter was 4 she had the collection of Sweet Pickles books. They were offerred a a local grocery store. Although I was a very young, single mother, I made sure I bought one whenever I could afford it. Her 2 favorites were Me Too, Iguana and Fix-It Camel. I have spent years trying to find copies of these books! My oldest is now 21 years old and I now also have a daughter 3 1/2 and twin boys 3 months old. I would love to have the series because I think these are such educational, fun books with valuable lessons to be learned. If anyone has a sourcce for them, I'd love to have it!

All of the reviews I've read echo my own opinion of the Sweet Pickles books. As a child, they were my favorite books. And like so many of you, my set was destroyed by other children. I would love to find this series again and show my baby nephew why Sweet Pickles are the best. If anyone has any leads, let me know!

Beverly Kaye and Sharon Jordan-Evans have written a clever, candid, thorough guidebook for managers who would like to keep good people in their employ. With no filler, and plenty of insightful stories, this well-organized book is divided into 26 chapters - each one named for a strategy that begins with a sequential letter of the alphabet. Illustrated with color graphics that carry the eye to sidebars and other informative tidbits, the book offers advice ranging from professional to personal. It makes plenty of sense. We [...] recommend this book to anyone who manages or supervises employees, and for employees themselves.

Love 'Em or Lose 'Em is an excellent resource that all employers should read to better understand the needs of their employees. The way people work is changing constantly and employers need to realize that each of their employees need to be stimulated and encouraged to do their best.

Beverly Kaye and Sharon Jordan-Evans organize this book in an easy to read fashion. Yet the writing is not dry at all. The exasmple are explained with many real world examples and even in a fun friendly manner. Kaye and Evans encourage bosses to communicate effectively with their workers. They stress the importance of having retention meetings and getting feedback from key employees. Also important is creating a professional but fun work environment. Overtime may be necessary to complete key projects. But reward employees with a festive meal or a sporting actiity. It never hurts to mentor these key employees and to get to know their personal lives a little without infringing on their space.

Also key to this book is an outline illustrating how the loss of one critical employee effected the attitude of a particular department and even the company as a whole. This recessionary economy will soon lift and many employers need to realize that layoffs and rigid policies will only restrict organizational growth. An excellent resource on many levels.

Love 'Em or Lose 'Em is one of those books you want to give to every manager, supervisor, executive who has ever let a talented employee walk out the door, in turn causing them thousands of dollars to replace. Dr. Beverly Kaye and Sharon Jordan-Evans have made this book full of easy to use activities and useful To-do lists that are critical tools for ANYONE who has employees that they would hate to lose. I found the book extremely easy to read, and the 26 chapters fun to go through. The book is designed so that you can take and apply one chapter (or retention strategy) at a time, instead of being overwhelmed by trying to apply them all at once. A lot of the strategies in the book are common sense, but I know that managers still don't apply them when an employee is about to walk out the door. I would hope that ALL managers, supervisors, executives, etc. would apply just ONE strategy. I think they would be amazed and surprised at the effectiveness this one attempt would have on changing the employee's mind to stay. I highly recommend this book for all organizations, and for all levels within the organization. It truly is the best book I have read on retention strategies, and the authors make the book so applicable to the challenges faced in today's tight labor market!

I've read this book several times and each time I read it I discover something new.

In the book, Maia, a peasant girl, is sold into slavery by her jealous mother. She is forced to become a bed slave and soon a spy for one of the most powerful men in the Beklan empire. The story goes on from there...

It's too good to miss and will keep you up until the wee hours of the morning!

Richard Adams is one of the most gifted contemporary writers of the day. He's at his best with the creation of Maia!

As a sophomore in high school, I was a bit doubtful when my father recommended this book to me. But because I was out of other things to read, i decided to give this bible-length book a shot. Within the first few chapters I was completely lost in the world that Richard Adams created, and was following Maia's every step closely as she meets the other characters. For those who love fantasy, this book is everything you could wish for--it has mystery, suspense, imagination, creativity, love, friendship, and much more. For those who in the past haven't tried reading fantasy, this book will get you hooked. It is a wonderful story of growing up, falling in love, and heroic deeds centered around a very real main character, Maia.

I've always loved Richard Adams' books, but this is his best novel by far. A story about a remarkable girl, Maia, and her (unwilling) rise to fame and glory, will capture your heart and your imagination. Although this was a very long book, it grabbed me and held me from the minute I turned to the first page! My heart was racing and my spine was tingling until the very end! Adams' gift for storytelling is just unbelievable.... after reading this book for the first time, I felt like I had actually BEEN in Bekla! I smelled the smells: the fool vendors in the lower city, the kepris perfume that Zirek sold to the girls, the water in Lake Serrelind; I had felt the cooling Melekril rains, and the dry heat of the Beklan plain. I could see the haze of the lower city from the Baron's palace, the gorgeous gold of Maia's hair, the many colorful gowns the girls wore, the brown skin and orange Metlan of Occula, and her statue of the goddess Kantza Merada.

This story has everything a person could want...adventure, intrigue, politics, friendship, love, hatred, betrayal, murder, bed girls and generals, cattle drovers and peasant women, deposed lords and dancing girls. It's my absolute favorite book, and I've since read it again many times.

You may know Richard Adams from his more well-known book "Watership Down", but I assure that if you liked that book, you'll love this one even more.

I finally picked up "Sharpe's Rifles" months after having the series recommended to me by a friend. I wish I hadn't waited. Although I read a lot of military fiction, I have never read anything about the Napoleonic wars. Cornwell actually brings the battles to life, from the cries of the dying and wounded to the smell of the smoke of the battlefield. All of the cahracters come to life, and are exemplary of the kind of lives lived by the soldiers and officers of the era. It is obvious that Cornwell did his homework here.

Richard Sharpe is a well developed character, an everyman that developed not only into a super warrior, but also into a superb leader of warriors.

In this novel the author gets right down to the story, and wastes no time getting to the heart of the story. The writing is straightforward and clean.

Highly recommended

I am a history teacher and I am very serious about historical details. The characters in this book may not be real, but that makes no difference. The book is well written, the characters are complex, and the story line is steeped with historical detail. Cornwall is a fantastic writer who seems to capture the feeling of the Napoleonic Wars as if he were there himself. This book introduces the reader to Richard Sharpe and Patrick Harper, two of the best written characters in modern fiction. The action starts almost immediately as Sharpe takes over the 95th Rifles. Your heart won't stop racing until the final page. Sharpe and Harper have grabbed my imagination as does the back drop of 19th century Spain. This is a must read for any student of the Napoleonic Wars.

'Sharpe's Rifles' is the first of Bernard Cornwell's orginal Richard Sharpe series and is a wonderful start. Here we meet for the first time the maverick British officer Richard Sharpe and his tough-as-nails companion Sergeant Harper. The story takes place during the British retreat from Spain in 1809. French victory seems certain. Lieutnant Sharpe is seperated from his unit and forced to command a rag tag company of riflemen, who have little love for thier new leader, though enemy territory back to the British lines. On top of these worries, Spanish partisans insist that the British escort them to a remote village where they believe victory over the French is possible. This is a novel that takes you back in time to the desperate days in the struggle against Napoleon. Even if historical novels aren't your thing the adventure alone is worth the read.

If are a lover of cats, or have enjoyed the musical "Cats", or appreciate masterful poetry, or even a student of modernism, you will fall for "Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats" by T.S Eliot ("The Wasteland" "The Lovesong of J.Alfred Prufrock").

However, I especially recommend this book to parents who read to their children. Imagine an older and more conservative grand-master poet focusing his skills in rhythm, rhyme and content into a book of lyrics suitable for 5-year-olds. What you get is a book that not only has the sonority and imagination, combined with an appealing subject matter ( a diverse group of antropomorphized cats), for the children, but also is dense enough to be enjoyable repeated reading for the parent (Who of you still gets turned on by "Green Eggs and Ham"?), and challenging stimulation for the child.

If you have a son or daughter who loves cats,this book is a must buy!

As a mystery author with my debut novel in its initial release that features a private investigator who is also a poet, I love this book. This verse collection is perhaps T.S. Eliot's most accessible work, and it provided the raw material for the fabulous musical CATS. I enjoy reading these poems, and I've enjoyed attending the musical. I think I saw CATS three times during its Winter Garden run, twice in Los Angeles, and once each in San Francisco and the Palm Springs area. CATS would not exist as a most enjoyable musical if the poet Eliot had not first jotted down OLD POSSUM'S BOOK OF PRACTICAL CATS.

This book was a delightful read! Poems for everybody to come to love! It was also the inspiration behind the musical Cats, and everybody can certainly see why!

Between some of the cheerful and bubbly poems you'll find, a discussion/interpretation of the social issues surrounding Eliot at that time, giving the reader an insight into the inspiration behind his poetry and into his psychology.

Garnished with lovely illustrations to feed and humor your imagination, Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats has everything to become something for all of the family, and all generations to behold. I couldn't put it down, and it always beckons a re-read!

Dead souls is a book which starts of amusing you and leads you to believe that it must have an intricate plot and Chichikov, the protagonist, leaves you wondering about his devilish motives. Chichikov is here in this town to purchase serfs who have died since the last government census. The landowners therefore, must still pay taxes on these 'dead souls' until the next census. Chichikov, in possession of these cheaply purchased dead souls would appear to be a rich and prosperous landowner to those ignorant of his scheme.

Gogol describes how Chichikov ingratiates himself with the town's most powerful and respected officials. There are vivid descriptions of his various excursions to meet different landowners. The first meeting between Chichikov and landowner Manilov was absolutely hilarious in its description of how two absolutely disparate and removed people can feign such affection and friendliness, one out of greed, and the other simply from a naïve sense of propriety. As the story progresses, you tend to realize that the book doesn't really attempt to maintain a plot, but Gogol's criticism of the depicted Russian society is much more apparent and seems much sharper and more incisive. The story unfolds in such as a way so as to create the most opportunity for observation and comment on all the characters and situations rather than a story that drives itself towards a particular climax. Gogol's style of writing soon pulls you out of the main story- the reader first being an observer of the general happenings around the various characters is soon put into a different position from where he witnesses how Gogol's subtle humour and sharp criticism blend to create a clear picture of Russian society. Gogol's masterly creation of humor in this book is the essence of its brilliance. Through certain generalizations and allusions made throughout the book, his subsequent observations on each character are much more amusing.

This book is absolutely wonderful in that Gogol, sharply criticizing the kind of culture depicted in this book, earnestly regards these people as in fact, very Russian. The consummate Russian society would have to include besides great writers, thinkers and scholars, those such as Chichikov, Nozdrev and Manilov. Gogol sharply criticizes them but acknowledges their existence as very much a part of Russian Society.

As much as you would scorn the fatuous lives of the landowners and senior officials portrayed in this book, you would fall in love with the image of that perennially drunk Russian serf who's likely to be a swindler or that sincere, unlauded worker ...who might even be dead and purchased by our Chichikov!

Nikolai Gogol has a very creative mind as well as a unique style of writing. While reading Dead Souls, one is more likely to view the world from Gogol's point of view than his own. His writing contradicts everything Americans think they know about Russian literature. This book is a discussion of a world whose values are radically flexible. Though the concept can be frightening to those who do not take time to ask questions about their lives, Gogol has used crazy comic genius to exhibit an honest and impartial view on what is known today as "The Human Race." His book shows that humans' actions are motivated by greed and that the idea of money does not have any real significance because the value of everything that is sold is created by the human who is selling it. Gogol has also written the book in such a way that every single sentence is a universe of its own.

Dead Souls takes place in the Russia of the late 1800s, where, unlike in America, one must be born into a prosperous family in order to have opportunities. The main character, Chichikov, is clever enough to develop a scheme in which he can rise from being a petty clerk to a respected landowner. In order to do this, Chichikov moves into a new town, pretending to already be a landowner, and begins a quest to buy the names of dead serfs who have not yet been officially reported dead. Each person that Chichkov presents this offer to has a different reaction, starting with the shy and introverted Manilov. Though he does not understand Chichikov's need for the names of these dead serfs, Manilov is a character that is so desperate for company that it does not take any effort to trick him into selling his dead souls cheaply. However, as Chichikov continues his journey, he starts to deal with more clever landowners who become suspicious of his scheme.

Chichikov finds that the townsmen known as Sobakevich and Nozdrev are much harder to negotiate with. This is because they are more and attempt to trick Chichikov even though in truth, Chichikov is the one who is playing the trick on them. Nozdrev agrees to sell Chichikov his serfs under the condition that he can sell him something else along with the serfs, such as a horse or a pair of hunting dogs. Chichikov, of course, refuses the offer because he owns no land and has nowhere to keep any horses or dogs. Because of this, Nozdrev curses Chichikov and orders two of his guards to beat him up. However, by sheer luck, the police show up at that exact time to arrest Nozdrev because of crimes he committed in the past. Seeing this, Chichikov runs away and immediately sets off to visit Sobakevich. In his encounter with Sobakevich, Chichikov offers him less than one hundredth of what Sobakevich claims is the rightful price. However, the reason for Sobakevich's logic is that he claims the serfs have just as much value now that they are dead as they did when they were alive. In the end, however, Chichikov's stubbornness surmounts Sobakevich's absurd logic and Chichikov ends up buying the souls for the price he offered.

Unfortunately, as they say, "there is no such thing as a perfect crime." In the end of Dead Souls, Chichikov is stabbed in the back by the people he does business with, and does not get away with his ingenious plan. The main thing that Gogol is proving in his novel is that the entire human race is very similar to Chichikov; their interest lies in money and in prosperity. So if human beings are constantly trying to outsmart each other, a perfect society will never be obtained.

The plot is simple: Pavel Chichikov arrives to a provincial capital of Russia, impresses everyone with his social skills, gets adopted by the "high society" of the town, and then sets out to business: trying to persuade landowners (who are also lifeowners) to give or sell to him all the peasants who have died since the last census. These people, although dead, still generate taxes for the owner, so in principle it is convenient for them. But, of course, everyone asks themselves: "Why would anyone want to buy dead people who cause taxes?". I won't spoil the plot by giving the answer. The important thing is that Gogol uses this plot to paint an exhilarating (but in fact sad) portrait of the Russian society of his time, and of human nature in any time and place, which gives this novel its status as a classic work of art. Corruption, stupidity, naiveté, extreme individualism instead of a spirit of community, and other social vices, present in any society, are represented here by the very funny characters created by the author. Every landowner is a particular form of strange person, procuring Chichikov with crazy adventures. Gogol's writing intersperses the narrative with social reflection and thoughts on human nature, never boring or pretentious, but always funny and satirical. In fact, Gogol's irony and cynicism are probably the most valuable assets of this novel. It belongs to that literary family of books which portray heroes or anti-heores, wandering around, pursuing a fixed, idealized goal. Sometimes this goal is foolish but noble (like Don Quixote), sometimes it is narrow or despicable. These characters illustrate the virtues and vices of us humans, and that makes them live through the centuries. "Dead souls" is undoubtedly a dignifed member of that family, a book which will make you laugh, think and laugh again. By the way, another valuable thing is the way in which Gogol depicts the Russian countryside.

This is a superb story of a young mother who finds a man to love, and who loves her. Her little girl loves the man, too, and so they all get married. He's Jewish and she's Christian, and her mother-in-law has her doubts about the marriage, but she eventually learns to love the young woman and her daughter.

As the months go by and she becomes pregnant with her little boy, she finds out after the birth that she has cancer. This is a very trying and difficult time for Bernie Fine, the young man who has waited all his life for his dream girl, now with the thought of losing her to a terrible, uncurable disease.

Fine Things was made into a movie of the week, and it is one of the finest Danielle Steel movies ever made. It ranks 2nd in my opinion poll, right under The Promise with Kathleen Quinlan and Steven Collins.

Little Noley Thornton (alias Heidi) stole my heart in the TV movie of Fine Things. I love everything this child is in, but especially this movie.

Both the book and the movie are worth buying, and I give them both five stars!

"Fine Things" was the first Danielle Steel book I ever read, probably 10 years ago by now. I was up well into the night frantically turning the pages to see what would happen, and I was stunned to find myself in tears more than once. I can't emphasize enough the emotional impact of this story. This is also one of the few times that DS has written a story primarily from the male perspective, and she did it extremely well -- in fact even better than some of her recent books have written about women! Bernie isn't your run-of-the-mill hunky dreamboat -- he's a regular guy with problems in the romance department and an interfering mom to boot. His relationship with Liz and her struggle with cancer was truly heart-wrenching. If you have to read just one Steel novel, make it "Fine Things".

Fine Things is a wonderful story. I read the book in less than 3 days. I couldn't put it down. I fell in love with Bernie Fine and his wonderful character. Once you pick this book up, you will not be able to put it down. This story demonstrated the courage to continue. It was such a vivid story. I rented the movie to compare the book and the movie and the people in the book were just like the people in the movie. This has got to be one of the most wonderful books I've ever read........ and I've read many. Kudos to Ms. Steel for such wonderful work.

Valerie Boone-Ogunleye

This little book has impacted my personal Christian walk more than any other book besides the Bible.

Mr Chambers has managed so well to sublimate his life to the control of the Almighty that I continuously sense God's Holy Spirit speaking through the pages Mr Chambers wrote.

It's as if God reaches through the mere two paragraphs per day and grabs me by the lapels saying "I want YOU! I want ALL of you! Just trust ME to take care of your every need..."

I deeply appreciate this call to a whole hearted Christianity in today's pluralistic society. Oswald Chambers is an author whose work I will read and re-read into the foreseable future.

This compilation of Oswald Chamber essays and sermons was originally captured by his wife after his death. The format of a daily devotional provides an excellent daily read for the avid and growing Christian.

The individual devotionals are not easily devoured in one reading, generally requiring a second or third reading to fully grasp the depth of Oswald Chambers' deeply Christian messages based on Biblical scriptures. This is not light reading, but in the small fifteen minute devotional increments daily, this makes for excellent reading and provides specific daily focus for the Christian reader. This thought-provoking book can easily become a favorite habit, and it also makes an excellent evangelical gift to those who are new to Christianity.

If you buy only one Christian book this year, buying Oswald Chambers' 'My Utmost for His Highest' would be an excellent choice.

I received this book as a Christmas present and in the month and a half that I've been reading it on a daily basis, it continues to speak to my spiritual condition in a way that's almost eerie. Not every day hits but those that do shock me back to my faith journey and remind me about where I should be focused. How could He/he (God and Oswald Chambers) know so accurately what I need to hear? As a committed Quaker (Religious Society of Friends), I have been surprised to find that "My Utmost" transcends the unfortunate Christian political divisions and meets us as followers of Christ. This book had become as central to my daily routine as brushing my teeth but far less rote!