This story (which can be sung to "Shoo Fly, Don't Bother Me") tells about the mess and havoc a bunch of farm animals cause while lazy Tom Farmer is asleep on the hay in the barn. He eventually awakens to chase them away, but those barnyard critters are a lot smarter than Tom thinks. The book is written in a repetitive style using onomatopoeia (oink, oink oink; shoo, shoo, shoo; shhh, shhh, shhh) and contains some very fun and cartoony watercolor and pencil illustrations. It's also a lot of fun to look for the little white mouse that is hiding on each page. Preschoolers really enjoy this book and it is fun to read as well.

I bought this book for my grandson who is 17 months old and he loved it from the first day. When he is ready to read, he runs to the book shelf saying, "moo, moo, moo". I sing the book to him to the tune of "Shoo Fly Shoo." The illustrations are very bright and attractive as well. Dylan and I highly recommend this one!

I bought this at a book fair earlier this year for my 3-year olds birthday and it has been consistently in his top 3 favorites. Sung to "Shoo Fly Shoo" it at first seems repetitive (cows in the kitchen, pigs in the pantry, etc.) but things change halfway through making it a fun read for both parent/teacher and child! The big bright pictures are engaging for even the youngest readers and the older ones will have fun searching for the white mouse who hides on each page. Have lots of fun with this book!

This book brings back the interesting and believable heroine of "Night Calls", Alfreda Sorenson. It is a wonderful blend of fantasy, myth and folklore that is well worth reading and rereading. It should appeal to a wide cross section of readers from young adults to senior citzens. I would recommend it highly to those people who are trying to find well written and life like characters. Alfreda, Marta, Cory and Shaw are folks I would enjoy meeting. I hope Ms. Kimbriel writes another one of their adventures soon. I can hardly wait!!

I loved this book. I enjoyed it so much, I bought a copy for both sisters and my mom. We also loved "Night Calls". We're all eagerly awaiting more in this series.

I love these books! Although Kindred Rites and Night Calls can be read as stand-alones, they are even more powerful when you read all of the story. Allie is tough, strong, smart, brave, and caring--- a great heroine. She is in even more danger in this book, for not just her life is in peril, her soul is too. A position as Death's apprentice is a much better choice than what awaits her otherwise. Skillful handling of myth, mountain lore and woodcraft, herbology, etc. Kimbriel has done her homework, and blends them all in with a strong plot, believable characters, and a clear clean writing style that delights. Enough terror to give you a jolt, enough strong writing to satisfy even the pickiest reader. READ THIS BOOK

My mother first read this book as a late teenager, and fell in love with it--the characters, the history, the writing style, etc. She named me after Katherine, and presented the book to me when I was thirteen--I have since read it five times. The novel transports you back to the late fourteenth century, into a time immediately before the chronicling of history really began. It brings clarity to a fuzzy image of the period. Not only is this book the least painful way to learn about this era, it also brings it alive with a vividness not often seen. This time period, so often snubbed by historians as just another unimportant century in the Middle Ages, has its share of important characters and events: Geoffrey Chaucer, the Peasant's Revolt, the Black Prince, etc. Seton does well in portraying a time colored by intrigue and revolutionary change. It paints a portrait of England directly before its transition into a world power. All told as a subtext of a great Romance and historical drama. A wonderful portal to another time.

I first read this book as a teenager, it changed my life! I'm now 40 and I must have re-read it at least a dozen times. Anya Seton transported me back to the fourteenth century and I live and breath those characters each time I re-read it. I have looked up all the places on the map, visited Old Bolingbroke, Kettlethorpe and Lincoln Cathedral. The Cathedral bookshop publishes an interesting booklet about Katherine and Joan's tomb. The book has inspired me to study medieval history at university, read about medieval mysticism and The Great Pestilence and study the lives of the mighty Plantagenets. One can learn so much from this book, matching the facts to the necessary fiction and the truly great thing about it is that it compels the reader to want to find out more and more about this fascinating period in English history. Oh how I wish the Savoy was still standing! English history lovers will also enjoy the excellent Green Darkness (tudor)and Devil Water (Stuart).

I enjoyed GREEN DARKNESS so much I decided to make my next read Anya Seton's KATHERINE. It has now become my FAVORITE READ OF ALL TIME. It is a love story of epic proportions unlike anything I've ever read or experienced. This is truly a real-life fairytale.

As historically detailed as GREEN DARKNESS, I was amazed to find I loved this book even better. Set in the mid 14th C. Katherine de Roet is a convent-raised young woman who, with her sister, comes under the care of Queen Philippa (wife of Edward III), and despite being without dowry marries the rather difficult Sir Hugh Swynford. Eventually she becomes the mistress of Philippa and Edward III's son John of Gaunt, and after bearing him four children, becoming his wife. The children's births are eventually legitimized and John and Katherine eventually are the forebears of both the Tudor and Stuart dynasties.

But this story is of the relationship between Katherine and John and the many twists and turns it takes before these lovers can be together. When Katherine turns 15 the Queen summons her from the convent to Windsor and she soon gathers much attention for her beauty. When Sir Hugh Swynford attempts to ravish her, the King's third son, John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster comes to her rescue. Hugh gets out of the situation by saying he wishes to marry the fair young maiden. Sir Hugh is a rather disagreeable and homely man, but it is seen as a step up for young Katherine, without dowry, to marry him. She does but very reluctantly. Meanwhile she is befriended by the Duke's wife, Blanche, and returns her friendship for which young Katherine is eventually richly rewarded.

Katherine and Hugh go to live at his mismanaged estate, Kettlethorpe, near Lincoln which is not too far from the Duke and Duchess of Lancaster's favorite home of Bolingbroke Castle. Katherine is not exactly happy but accepts her life. But when she befriends Blanche again and then sits with her as she lays dying from the black death, her whole life changes.

To give more details than this is to rob the first-time reader of the discoveries they will read. It is a story to particularly savor as when the Duke tells Katherine "She is my heart's blood. My life. I want nothing but her." Talk about a Cinderella story! Those better versed in English history of the mid to late 14th C than I am will realize just what is happening in some of the dramatic historical scenes than I did.

But even after Katherine and the Duke are finally together, all does not go well. Seton details the history of this time beautifully and, sometimes, painfully.

Seton includes quotes from Chaucer (who was married to Katherine's sister Philippa). It is also surmised Chaucer may have had Katherine in mind for some of his passages, particularly in "Troilus and Criseyde."

This book made slow reading for me as every few pages I was either picking up a historical reference to read more or searching on the internet. I do have to warn readers though, keep the hankies handy. I could have used an entire box and even woke my husband up with my sobbing. Most of these tears were tears of joy though.

And I have to add a "shame on you" to the eejit who gave this book only two stars and said it reads "much like any other "romance" novel put out by the thousands on a daily basis," which not only is a disservice to this book but to the historical romances as a whole which, it is obvious this person has very little experience with. First of all this is a romantic historical and does not fit the definitiion of a romance novel at all. Secondly, to say romance novels are "put out by thousands on a daily basis" is not only inaccurate but ignorant. This book has both huge differences and many similarities to romances, but isn't a romance novel by any stretch of the imagination. That said, readers who enjoy their books both historically accurate and very romantic are sure to enjoy this beautiful story.

Review: God, is that You? By Katharine C. Giovanni

An avid appreciator of the works of Gregg Braden (The Isaiah Effect: Decoding the Lost Science of Prayer and Prophecy portrays marvelous insight into the operations of this universe) and Sophy Burnham (The Path of Prayer: Reflections on Prayer and True Stories of How it Affects our Lives shows the depth of our need to connect with God), I found Katharine Giovanni's book, God, is that You?, splendidly down-to-earth.

The joy in reading different styles of writing lies in one's ability to glean meaningful and personally applicable concepts through slightly altered perspectives. Katharine's book reminds each of us that every individual remains important to our Creator. It grandly opens the door to connection by reminding the reader that any and all types of communication with God are appreciated. This presents an "everyday" approach to prayer where we can "talk" to God without fear and in so doing, we discover that indeed, we are not alone. Her own reflections and those of others in the text bring our emotions and a sense of humility into play. These feelings allow us to remove the barriers that we ourselves have created - ideas on when and how to pray - and the method of free-writing a conversation with God, I suspect, will warmly surprise anyone who undertakes this prayer quest.

Marc Gafni, the learned author of Soul Prints, suggests that "God loves a story....let us be the heroes of our own." In Ms. Giovanni's book, we are asked to renew our very personal connection to our loving God. As simplistic as this might sound, the results prove extraordinary. One might find the use of writing questions odd in light of the omniscience of God, but free will explains the freedoms given to man. In addition, writing questions to God allows us to focus our thoughts. Once the door to this magnificent experience of unity is open, you will have succeeded in making yourself available to new possibilities. What more generous love could exist than that of a "creator" who wants his creations to also have that power over their own lives.

- Becky Ruff

"God, Is That You?" will rekindle the devine spark within you. Uncompromisingly fresh and profoundly spiritual, Katharine Giovanni presents a clear path to enlightened prayer.

The author did a beautiful job of explaining how to communicate with the divine spark of God in each of us. I really enjoyed hearing her story and the stories of others guided and healed by that communion, as well as her rich, expressive insights into clearing the way to and actually having that conversation.

This work was beautifully conceived and written with refreshing clarity, honesty and humor. I was enriched by it, and I believe that it will go far in helping all of us enter this long-awaited Age of Soul.

The Far Distant Oxus and it's sequels were among my favorite childhood books. I recently re-read them and was once again swept into a world in which children create their own adventures, a river, the forest, the moores are an invitation to adventure and life is filled with endless possibilities. The relationships between the children are very real, with just a tinge of mystery. I found myself nostalgic for a childhood that I never had after reading them again. Written by teenagers, the book lacks any sentimentality, rather the authors' youth seems to have lent an authenticity to the thoughts and feelings of the featured children. I wish someone would publish it again.

I first read this book when I was about 11 - I discovered it in my local library, and ended up borrowing it again and again. I have recently managed to track down a second-hand copy but sadly this is a U.S. edition without the authors' charming illustrations. I loved the Arthur Ransome books as a child but I loved this more - so vividly written, and the children seemed so real. One very memorable scene (to me) was when they were reflecting on their own adventures and realising that they would soon be grown up and that their lives, and the countryside in which the book is set (Exmoor) would soon never be the same again. This was very astute for two teenagers to have written shortly before the outbreak of World War II, especially when you look back 60 years later.

This is a book I discovered as a child in 1938, together with the other two books in the series, "Oxus in Summer" and "Escape to Persia". The child's view of the world as endlessly exciting and the kinds of adventures the children have are so authentic that I doubt any child could resist them. In the present climate the freedom these children have, the imagination, the absence of cruelty or danger, the connection to animals and to each other is enormously refreshing. The book was out of print for a long time but was reissued in 1978 with a fascinating forward by Arthur Crowe Ransome, through whose efforts it was originally published. These books were favorites of mine in childhood and when I used to read them aloud to my own children. I still own all three and now read them to my grandchildren. I have never met a child who had a chance to read this book who didn't love it.

I would in fact prefer to award this 3.5 stars, but the Amazon system seems to compel one to choose between 3 and 4, and I think 4 is too generous. To begin with the text, there is no doubt that this is not the best Shakespeare to buy. It is to a large extent based on the Oxford Shakespeare, which - quite rightly, in my view - has attracted a lot of criticism for some of its peculiarities. Thus, for example, Oxford prints TWO versions of *King Lear*, the quarto text and that of the folio. Norton rightly takes issue with this, and produces the kind of conflated text that most readers would want, but adds the other two AS WELL (so we are offered THREE versions!). This kind of thing is, in truth, academic self-indulgence - it shows an undue respect for academic concerns which to most readers are not of the slightest interest. There is a similar tendency to pay scant regard to what most readers really want and need in the Introduction: that tells us a good deal about Shakespeare's time, and the material is interesting, but it is not often shown to be relevant, or necessary, to an understanding of what Shakespeare writes. The explanatory annotation accompanying the texts is not bad, but often inferior to that of comparable editions, notably Bevington's. The introductions to individual plays are usually stimulating, but not necessarily convincing. Thus Greenblatt on the one hand says about Macbeth's murder of Duncan, "That he does so without adequate motivation, that he murders a man toward whom he should be grateful and protective, deepens the mystery ..." (p. 2558), yet adds a few lines later: "Macbeth and Lady Macbeth act on ambition ...". Precisely, that IS Macbeth's motivation for the murder, as Macbeth himself points out unequivocally in 1.7.25-7 - there is, therefore, absolutely nothing mysterious about his motivation. The edition does, however, offer a number of good references to other writings about Shakespeare. All in all, I do consider 3.5 stars is a fair "grade", in seeking to assess this for the benefit of the majority of readers looking for a complete Shakespeare to buy; but I consider David Bevington's by far the best edition of the complete works, then the Riverside, and only then this one - though, with its annotations, it is certainly more useful than the Oxford edition on which it is based. - Joost Daalder, Professor of English, Flinders University, South Australia

I confess that after examining 5-6 of the top-selling complete Shakespeares I tried not to like the Norton. There are less expensive editions, there are editions with glossy pages and colored photographs, there are editions that are half the weight and bulk of this leviathan, which is far more Shakespeare than the average reader--perhaps, even scholar, for that matter--would ever require. But despite its bulk and unwieldyness, its 3500 (!) thin, flimsy pages, its sheer excess, I couldn't ignore its advantages. The small print enables the publishers to squeeze in contextual materials--in the introduction and appendixes--that in themselves amount to an encyclopedic companion to Shakespeare's works; the introductions to the plays are written not in "textbook prose" but in an engaging style worthy of their subject; and perhaps, best of all, this is the only edition that places the glosses right alongside the "strange" Elizabethan word instead of in the footnotes. You can read the plays without experiencing vertigo of the eye. So this is the edition, though you may wish to go with the smaller, bound portions that Norton publishes of the same edition--especially if you can't afford the cost of a personal valet to carry this tome from home to office. On the other hand, the complete edition is excellent for doing crunches and other aerobic exercises--activities many of us who read the Bard are abt to ignore.

As a fervent admirer of Shakespeare, this complete collection, comprising excellent introductions to each play and helpful textual notes as well as informative writings on the history of both England and the art of acting that shaped Shakespeare's writing, was like a dream come true. While before I had to walk around trying to find a good edition of the play I wanted to read, now I can open the Norton Shakespeare and read without being afraid of not understanding words or missing the point of the play. This book's obvious drawbacks are its heft and, as mentioned, its delicate pages, but these are easily outweighed by the abovementioned advantages! Buy it and read!

I received Night Calls as a gift, and didn't read it for several months. I shouldn't have put it off! I was fortunate enough to take it with me on a long train ride, and very little reading time has been spent more pleasantly.

The backgdrop of the story is one I haven't encountered before: the American frontier, but through the eyes of a budding young girl/witch of Scandinavian descent. The unusual (but light) cultural slant, coupled with the author's ability to write a story that serves the characters, gave me a new perpsective on dark fantasy. The reader learns about the magic art along with the protagonist, and the writing makes all of it believable. Much of the magic element of the book is based in herbalism, of which I know little, but which the author presents with authority. However, the technical details never overshadow the human elements of the story. I would recommend this book to adult and young adult readers. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

I'm not a big dark fantasy reader and I don't like horror. Don't be fooled by the cover of this book--it's not driven by the dark part, but by the characters. And the story. The one doesn't get away from the other and go tearing off in tangents, either. This is a very smooth read. I didn't find that the book itself interrupted the flow of the story. It is a great coming-of-age tale, but it's not just for the younger set... although it would be a good starting place for young fantasy readers... this is a rich enough novel for adults to enjoy and reread.

Alfreda may have been a little afraid to discover she could hear the werewolves calling, but she was not afraid to choose the path of learning that would help her protect not just her own family but others. She was gutsy without being snotty, a very normal, believable girl.

I enjoyed this book. It had a consistent, interesting voice that was a little different but not at all difficult to read. I liked the skillfully woven in details, both the realistic and the fantastical. From the smells of cider and baking bread to the use of an ash slat bucket and garlic, from a mother's grief to a friend's loyalty, Kimbriel keeps the details coming, and keeps me fascinated.

I've been rather bored with books lately, there are too many that are too similar to each other, but this one really caught my interrest. It has an intricate, well thought-out plot, fascinating characters and a society which feels alive - but...! It left too many loose ends.

So I went to look for information about this book on the net, and behold, there is indeed a sequel. Though I'm glad there's more, I just whish I'd known beforehand it wasn't a stand-alone novel since who knows how long before I get my hands on the next one?

I truly recommend reading Palace, but make sure you have the sequel as well - this is a "to be continued"-book in my opinion.

Usually indifferent to reading books written by more than one author, I was more than pleasantly surprised when I began Palace. This book flowed in a way that co-authorship does not usually allow.

Although the first two chapters made it harder to get into, once I perservered I found that this story was fantastic and I really enjoyed it - science fiction, action, romance, mystery all in one. Kerr and Kreghbaum do a great effort in making the story interesting and making me want to read more.

What a fantastic book. I did some research and found out that the sequal 'Eyes of God - A Novel of the Pinch' by Mark Kreighbaum has not only been written but is also reportedly an excellent read. BUT it is already out of print without any one appearing to know it was ever written.

This is a sad loss. Does any one have an idea how I could get hold of a copy?