Moser retells and illustrates this story of three pigs who seek their fortunes, only to encounter a hungry wolf. Moser's innuendos and tongue in cheek humor is hilarious and many a parent will want to read this with their child to gain the maximum benefit.

Whoever reviewed this book in "editorial" needs to have their eyes examined. Grotesque watercolors? Inept humor? What are they talking about? This is the FIRST version of the Tinderbox by H.C. Anderson, one of my favorite fairy tales that I've really found to be pleasing. The three dogs with humoungous eyes are delightfully fantastic, and the hero and heroine well rendered. The more bloodthirsty and amoral elements of the tale are changed (ie: the soldier doesn't lop off the witch's head but instead traps her in a deep pit) to its improvement, IMHO. Warhola's watercolors are cheerful, fairly realistic, quite appropriate for the lighthearted and rambunctious story.
A great introduction to an exuberant tale for the young, especially for boys. It's not a wimpy fairytale by any means, even if there is a princess and kissing at the end. Warhola and Thompson do a commendable job. Should be reprinted!

Everything Turtle carries on her back is part of a livingtradition, passed down from generations. Arrow, Buffalo, Corn &all the traditional symbols in this illustrated dictionary are defined in terms of stories told in the People's way, full of meaning & poetry. Rarely have twenty-six letters brought forth such evocative visions & stories...

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow is the best book I ever read.And when Icibod Crane hears the storys about the HEADLESS HORSEMAN! He got really scared and falls in love with a girl named KATRINA the doughter of a rich farmer. But Icibod had some compittion,a man named BROMBONZ.He was tough but Icibod was sure that he would be the one to marry the lovely KATRINA.

Shiloh

The book Shiloh, a realistic fiction book, is a great book. Shiloh, by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor is about this boy, Marty, who found a dog. [...]Naylor made the characters in her book as real as she could. With Marty, the main character, you can hear what he is thinking. You can't literally hear him think, but the book says what he is thinking. If you have read Jade Green, also by Naylor, you probably know what I am saying.
This book is all about animals. It talks about animal abuse and how to try and help animals that were abused. All through the book Marty knows Judd Travers is abusing Shiloh, the meanest guy in town. He tries to tell his parents but they will not believe him. So they give Shiloh back to get more abused.
Shiloh is a very touching book. I suggest that you read it. Any body would really like it. It would be especially be good if you love animals.

Shiloh by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor is a very good children's novel. "Boy and their dog stories" have been kind of a staple in children's literature since Ouida's A Dog of Flanders, and this is one of the better examples. This book is narrated by Marty, and eleven-year-old from a very poor West Virginia family. He happens upon a dog one day who has noticably been abused. Marty falls for the dog, but he doesn't want to return it to its owner. Ethical questions are raised as to whether he should return the dog or keep it (steal) and lie to his parents. This novel presents a good and well-written story. It also raises some thought provoking questions and teaches some marvelous lessons. My favorite aspect of the novel was the way in which the family was written about. The setting and speech are captured exactly. The situation of a dirt-poor family that loves each other and is working to better itself is presented brilliantly. Children should read Shiloh.

It is good and this is how it starts. Marty finds shiloh near the old Shiloh schoolhouse, so he names his dog Shiloh, only to tell, that it's Judd Traver's dog. Judd is a mean guy and treats his animals very cruely. Marty will do anything to get Shiloh and keep him for his own, away from Judd Travers. But will Judd let him? Read the book to find out what happens to Marty, Judd, and Shiloh. If you don't, it would be a shame. Phillis Reynolds Naylor is a great writer, and everyone should read Shiloh. So buy it now, or check it out at the library. Adults would love it too, even though people say the reading level is only for kids ages 9-12. I hope you read Shiloh, and enjoy the book. Thank you for reading my opinion and for all of your time.

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is one of the most clever and entertaining books yet written. The author's use of language is extremely appealing to the younger readers. These young readers are attracted to this book because of the author's use of many songs. For instance the lullaby sung by the duchess to her child. The Mock Turtle also sang to Alice and the Gryphon a song about the Lobster Quadrille. The author also uses poems that are entertaining and fun to listen to. "You are Old Father William" is one of the many poems. Not only does the author use poems but she also uses commonly known poems and changes the words to fit the character saying them. For instance the Mad-Hatter sings Twinkle Twinkle Little Star in different words saying "Up above the world you fly, Like a tea-tray in the sky." If this isn't a unique way of writing I dont know what is. Another style of her writingthat is appealing is when she creates a picture, using words in a poem, about the poem. Yhis is used on page 37. The words in the book are nbot hard so the book can be enjoyable when it is being read, not stressful. The author brings animals to life which is an interesting style of writing. This is Lewis Carroll's style of writing. The main character in this book is a little girl with blonde hair named Alice. This child is full of fantasies and dreams, which is what the book is about. Alice is very curious and likes to know every little detail. She thinks she is very smart. For example, when Alice is listening to the Dormouse's story she asks questions like "What did they live on," and makes smart comments such as "They could'nt have done that you know, they'd have been ill." She is also a little bit bratty, especially to the Dormouse when she says: "Nobody asked your opinion." These characteristics pull together to make an interesting main character and to create a fabulous story. The theme of the story is sometimes you need to take a break out of every day life and dream of fantasize. This makes your life more interesting even if you dream about things that will never come true. Alice does this when she dreams about changing sizes and listening to talking animals. Dreaming doesn't hurt anyone except the people who don't do it. If nobody ever had dreams life would be extremely stressful and boring. The plot of the story is all about Alice trying to find the white rabbit, which of course is in her dream. Following the white rabbit takes ALice to interesting places, such as the Courtroom filled with animals, and the Duchess' house, along with meeting interestingpeople such as the Cheshire-Cat and the Queen. This amazing cat hes the ability to disappear whenever it wants to and it always smiles. In the end Alice finds the white rabbit and then wakes up from her dream. This is the plot of the story. The story is effective to the reader. This is so because after listening to such acreative dream and fantasy, it inspires people to take a little time out of the day and be creative and dream once in a while. All the parts of this five star story; the writer's style, the main character, the theme, and the plot; come together to create the overall effectiveness of the story. This is why I rated this book five stars.

I really like Alice in Wonderland and its sequel because it is so whimsical. The way Dodgson made fun of Alice so much makes one laugh until tears come pouring down. He based the character Alice, on his friend; a real life Alice. Throughout the book, he constantly makes references to her, or something related to her. For example, when a character asks her the exact day Alice replies May 4th. May 4th is the real life Alice's birthday. Alice walks through Wonderland, and she sees many strange things, but thinks otherwise. If you like poems, you will certainly like Alice in Wonderland and its sequel, for both books contain numerous poems. However, in the book Carroll takes the original poems and creates a parody out of them. Something interesting to know is that all the poems relate to the chapters. These are all minor details, but something to muse over. On the surface, Alice in Wonderland is a book where she meets weird creatures and walks away from them always feeling humiliated, as she thinks she is smarter than she really is. That is most of Alice in Wonderland.

Alice through the Looking Glass is similar to the prequel, yet glaringly different. The whole book revolves around a chess game, and so the character's actions correspond to moves on the chessboard. Alice joins in the game, starts out as a white pawn, and proceeds to move until she becomes a queen. At each square, she meets a new character, but in one chapter, characters from the previous book are in this one too. An important thing to know in this famous classic is that everything is backwards. It makes sense since Alice is on the other side of a mirror, yet she encounters difficulty sometimes in understanding this. But in the end, she manages to become a queen and to checkmate the red king. Both books are very enjoyable, and I strongly advocate both children and adults to read it. Enjoy!! Cheers!!!!! : )

When I was assigned Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass to read for my Victorian Literature class, I was excited. Even though I had heard Alice's Adventures in Wonderland referred to countless times throughout my youth, I had never read the story or seen the movie. I had never heard of Through the Looking Glass, but while reading, I realized that many people who think they are talking about AAIW are actually referring to TTLG. The two texts seem to be conflated in a way that makes them indistinguishable from each other. It is for this reason that I enjoyed reading this edition of the texts. There is only a page separating the two stories, which allows the reader to easily make the transition between them. This small separation also allows the reader to recognize the undeniable connection between the texts and to understand why many people combine them in their minds.
AAIW is about a young girl named Alice whose boring day with her sister is interrupted when a white rabbit runs by her saying, "Oh dear! Oh dear! I shall be too late!" Alice's curiosity is aroused, but surprisingly not to a great degree. This is the first hint to the reader that Alice is not an average child, as she seems to believe that a talking rabbit is quite normal. She does become intrigued, though, when the rabbit produces a clock from his pocket, so she follows it down its hole and enters a world of wonder. I loved the story from this point on. It is filled with such unbelievable creatures and situations, but Carroll's writing style made me want to believe in a world that could be filled with so much magic and splendor. There was never a dull moment in the story, and each page was filled with more excitement. I will offer a warning, though. This story is not for those who like a neatly packaged plotline. It is written in a somewhat discontinuous nature and seems to follow some sort of dream logic where there are no rules. However, I enjoyed the nonsensical pattern. Without it, a dimension of the story would be lost. It offers some insight into the mind of a young, adventurous, fearless girl, and Carroll seems to be challenging his readers to be more like Alice.
The second text in this book, TTLG, is again a story about Alice. In this adventure, Alice travels through a wondrous world on the other side of her looking glass. As in AAIW, Alice again encounters absurd creatures, such as live chess pieces and talking flowers. The land she travels through is an oversized chessboard, which gives this story a more structured plot than AAIW. The chess theme provides Alice with sense of what she must accomplish in the looking- glass world, and it provides the reader with a sense of direction throughout the story. Alice's goal is to become a chess queen, so the reader knows that when she becomes queen, the story will be over. However, just because the story has some structure does not mean that it is not just as wild and marvelous as its predecessor. I enjoyed all of the characters. They seem to have an endless supply of advice that people in the 21st century can still learn from. My favorite example is when the Red Queen says, "Now, here, you see, it takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place. If you want to get somewhere else, you must run at least twice as fast as that!" Maybe what Carroll is suggesting is that if we read more nonsensical, unbelievable stories like his, we won't be so afraid to be adventurous and fearless like Alice; so that the next time a white rabbit runs by us, we might just see where it leads us.

It seems many of the reviewers have misread this wonderful book. "A River Runs Through It" is not about fly-fishing and Montana any more than "Romeo and Juliet" is about Italy. MacLean uses fly-fishing as a back drop for his story about family, time, and love. If it could be summarized in a sentence (and it cannot) it would be about loving completely without complete understanding. The scope of the book expands far beyond the confines of fly-fishing. I think that is why so many readers, even the ones who think it's about fly-fishing, see themselves and their families in this book.

I only write all this because I'm afraid readers who would truly enjoy this book may be turned away, not wanting to read a book about fishing. It's a beautiful story, beautifully told.

Do not ignore this book simply because you may not have an interest in fishing. This 104 page story does consecrate a considerable number of pages to starkly poetic descriptions of fly fishing (lovely, haunting descriptions of men standing in Montana's Big Blackfoot River, attempting to achieve something great in the half-light of a rocky canyon), but this story is not about fishing. It is about two brothers who vaguely understand that--much like a river--life takes its own twists and turns and cannot be stopped by man. Life cannot always be understood in an intellectual sense, but sometimes it can be appreciated in a visceral one, and perhaps we can pull moments of brillance from it, just as a fisherman might pull a beautiful trout from a river. Maclean gives us his life and his heart in this story, and it is impossible not to be touched by his emotions. Everytime I read this book I learn something new, and as I plan on reading this book many more times to come, I suppose I still have a lot of learning to do.

One of the ten best works of fiction written in the English language, this book, but particularlly its title novella, takes the reader not just on a trip through the world of fly-fishing, but through the trip of life. Maclean's work tackles the difficult question: how does man relate to the world around himself? Maclean's work is not just the culmination of an author's hard work, it is the culmination of a lifetime of experiences, rolled over in his mind till the full meaning of those experiences is understood. One need not enjoy fishing at all to appreciate the stories of this masterpiece. In fact, it could be argued that it isn't even about fishing. It's about love, art, faith, doubt, charity and all the other myriad things which infest the life of ordinary man. The University of Chicago Press does not publish fiction works as a rule. It's worth the time spent reading to find out why they broke that rule with Norman Maclean

There is a new band of translators who are trying to capture the feel of original cadence and language by applying the cadence and language of modern English. Strict translation is sacrificed for readability; this, in turn, is mitigated by plenty of clear notes and commentary. Elio Zappulla's new iambic pentameter, unrhymed verse translation of "Inferno" by Dante Alighieri succeeds as such a translation. It is a joy to read. Dante's 14th century masterpiece, one of the first major works to be written in the vernacular (of Italy), is appropriately translated into the ordinary and occassionally coarse words of English. The result is anything but ordinary; sometimes reaching the extraordinary clarity afforded by the verse (over the prose). If you enjoyed Rober Fagles' translation of Homer's "Odyssey" or Everett Fox's translation of "The Five Books of Moses", then you will breeze through Zappulla's "Inferno". I hope that Zappulla is already preparing translations of "Purgatorio" and "Paradiso". --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Other notes: The book is pleasantly typeset. The paintings by Gregory Gillespie are, unfortunately, an unnecessary distraction. I found the diagrams in a Carlyle-Okey-Wicksteed translation much more illuminating.

Dante Alighieri's three part epic The Divine Comedy ranks highly among the literature of the world. Written in early Italian and rhymed in terza rima, it's 100 cantos display impressive allegory and use of scholastic philosophy. In INFERNO, the first volume, the narrator finds himself "half of our life's way" (around 35 years old) and lost in a forest at night. When day breaks, three savage animals bar his escape. The Roman poet Virgil (best known for his AENEID) appears and tells him that Heaven has sent him to lead Dante through Hell, Purgatory, and finally Heaven to bring him out of his spiritual malaise.

Dante's Hell differs from the traditional view of everyone together amongst flames. Here the dead receive different punishments based on their sins. Thus, the lustful are caught up eternally in a whirlwind, and astrologers and magicians have their heads reversed (so those who tried to fortell the future can only see their past). Nowhere, however, does anything seem wrong. The dead are placed into Hell not by an unjust God, but by their own decisions and actions. INFERNO is a slow beginning, most of the grace and beauty of the Comedy lies in the subsequent volumes, PURGATORIO and PARADISO. However, this first volume has a solid role in the allegorical significance of the Comedy. Dante wrote not just a simple story of quasi-science fiction, but a moving allegory of the soul moving from perdition to salvation, the act which the poet T.S. Eliot called "Mounting the saint's stair". While INFERNO may occasionally lack excitement on the first reading, the next two volumes thrill and upon reading them one can enjoy INFERNO to the fullest.

I believe that the best translation of INFERNO to get is that of Allen Mandelbaum, which is published by Bantam (ISBN: 0553213393). Mandelbaum's verse translation melds a faithful rendering of the Italian with excellent poetry, and has been praised by numerous scholars of Dante, including Irma Brandeis. Here's an example from Canto XIII, where the poet and Virgil enter a forest where the trees are the souls of suicides:

"No green leaves in that forest, only black;
no branches straight and smooth, but knotted, gnarled;
no fruits were there, but briars bearing poison"

Mandelbaum's translation also contains an interesting introduction by Mandelbaum, extensive notes (which are based on the California Lectura Dantis), and two afterwords. The first of these, "Dante in His Age" is an enlightening biography of Dante and how he came to write the Comedy while in exile. The second "Dante as Ancient and Modern" examines Dante both as a wielder of classical knowledge and as a poet working in a new and distinctly late-Medieval style (the "dolce stil nuovo") which broke poetry out of the grip of Latin and made it something for people of every class.

Inferno is a book that I believe should be read by everyone. College students, parents, movie buffs, etc., will all be able to pull something from this book. At face value, this book can be just a simple adventure of a man through Hell. It can also be a stepping stone into the world of Christian and Greek mythologies.

Inferno is the story of Dante (same as the author) who becomes lost (spiritually/mentally) at the age of 35 and finds himself at the base of a path leading him on a long and wonderous journey. Dante meets Virgil (see the Aeneid) and Virgil becomes Dante's guide through Hell. Along the way Virgil explains why certain people are being punished and Virgil will communicate with his contempories (as Dante will communicate with his own.)

Ciardi's translation keeps in touch with Dante's terza rima rhyming scheme. This is a strict translation, where some words may seem slightly out of place. There are liberal translations out there, but not in such a wonderful rhyming pattern. Ciardi also ends each Canto (chapter) with infomation as to characters and information that readers may not know. (As Inferno was written in the 1300s.)

And, if nothing else and you're really bored from reading this, try to figure out where you would fit in Dante's Hell.

Bram Stoker's tale of the vampire Count Dracula, and related stories of vampires and other demons, have so saturated our culture that reading the originals of the genre is essential to any dedicated student of either literature or popular mythology. Fortunately, "Dracula" is not the dusty, overwrought tale one might expect from its length and age. Instead, it is intense, exciting, and usually difficult to put down. Stoker had a talent for writing engaging prose that is at once meditative and action-filled.

But "Dracula" is neither flawless nor innocuous. It's a scary read, and sometimes a dense one - as the book progresses, the excitement is increasingly broken up by literally pages of speechmaking and other nineteenth-century affectations. While these may be interesting to a student of literature or history, they're static to the modern thrillseeker, and I found myself confused as to whether the author meant the characters' extreme statements of love, hate, allegience, etc. to be taken seriously.

This is the dilemma of "Dracula". It's a good scare and an interesting read, but the length and breadth of the book convinced me that there must be more to it. The characters seem too obviously stereotyped - the men in their valiant, unselfish approach to villainy and the women in their purity - to be serious, and the plot proceeds along a course so obvious that it seems the author must be mocking himself. But that's the problem with reading a classic after you've seen the rip-offs: the classic seems old and overdone, a cheap parody of itself.

Still, classics have a lot to offer. Beyond the fantasy element, "Dracula" offers a mixture of the traditional epic tale of man against the evil beast without, and the modern introspection of man against the evil beast within. Despite its flaws, it is a worthwhile read.

Bram Stoker's tale of terror, 'Dracula,' is just as chilling today as it must have been to readers a hundred years ago. Stoker's original story, which has been told many times since in film and book, is the tale of Johnathen Harker, his love, and his friends, and their horrific experiences at the hands of Count Dracula. The book begins with Harker traveling to Transylvania to meet with the mysterious Dracula. Aquainting him with English customs and traditions when the Count buys land all over London from his firm, Harker soons learns of Dracula's true nature- that of an unnatural fiend who causes destruction wherever he goes. When Dracula travels to England Harker's friends enlist the aide of Dr. Van Helsing, the only man who understands just what evil the Count is capable of. The story that follows is one of love, hate, maddness, and adventure as Dracula seeks to destroy Harker and his friends. As well as being a great work of literature, 'Dracula' is a wonderful tale of horror that modern readers are sure to enjoy!

The book that I read on Dracula was the unabridged version and it's not this one. However, I strongly recommend reading Dracula because it really scares you. It is told by a series of notes, journals, diaries, and letters. At first, i thought it was very boring because there's a lot of dialogue and everything is descibed in great detail. Fortunately, that's exactly what kept me hooked on the book. I would not put it down and I would stay up until 1:00 am reading it.So,here's a quick summary. Jonathan Harker travels to Romania to help a strange count buy an estate in Britain. He stays in the count's house only to slowly realize that he was a prisoner. After many horrifing and intimidating experiences as the count's "guest", he decides to enbark in a daring and frightning escape from the castle, to return to his loving fiancee, Mina. However,when Count Dracula is in the city, Jonathan sets out with a band of brave souls to destroy the evil count. There's a lot more in the story because it's 414 pages long. I really reccomend the book because it's 20 times better than the movie. I really think anyone can give it a try, and even though at first it's boring, you should make an effort to read it to get to the really good parts.

This book is completetly awesome. I read it for the first time when I was 8 or 9, and I fell in love with it. My sister bought me a copy, and it stands on my favorite book shelf. The story is about a Katherine Tyler, (Kit)a girl from Barbados, who comes to America when her Grandfather dies, to live with her strict Puritan aunt and uncle. She does everything wrong, including wearing fancy dresses, and going swimming to save a little wooden doll. When everything gets really bad though, she meets the "witch" of the town, a very sweet lady who is a Quaker. Because of her relationship with Hannah and also because of her earlier suspicious activities, the town begins to become suspicious of her, accusing her of being a witch.
I can't tell you anymore, because you have to read the story, it's an absolute must. It's my favorite of Elizabeth George Speare's books, and I've reread it 10-11 times.

The Book The Witch of Blackbird Pond written by Elizabeth Speare is a wonderful novel. It teaches kids about the lifestyle of the colonisaal people and how one girl survives a major change of lifestyles, from the higher class life to a lower class. Also, I think the book reflects love, friendship, and courage. The book is about a young girl from Barbadoes, Kit, who moves in with her Aunt Rachel and Uncle Mathew in Conneticut. She has to adjust to changes and the lifestyle they live in Conneticut such as working around the house instead of servants doing all the work. Kit meets an old women named Hannah. Her and Hannah grow a strong realationship together, but one thing could break them apart. The town that the two ladies were living in thought Hannah was a witch! Kit was accused also of being a witch because she hung out with Hannah. Kit was sent to trial for this so called "crime" . She was locked up and only hoping that someone would come and save her. Maybe William would come and save her, Maybe Prudence,the girl she had helped to learn how to read and how to write, or nat, maybe even Aunt Rachel. Read the novel to find out what happens. I think this book reflects friendship because Hannah was a great friend to Kit. She was always there when Kit needed comforting of just when she needed to talk. It also reflects friendship when Kit and Prudence became good friends. Kit helped Prudence to learn how to read and how to write. They too where there for eachother when they needed a shoulder to cry on. This book also reflects courage. Kit had to stand up for herself in many places. For example, Kit had to stand up for herself at the witch trials. She had to convince them that she really wasn't a witch. SH ehad to be couragous also when she went to her Aunt Rachels and her Uncle Mathew's house. She had to expect that they would let her in and she couldn't back out after she had gotten on the boat. I really enjoyed this book and I hope that others who read The Witch of Blackbird Pond will enjoy this book as much as I did. I t was a well written chapter book. I had a hard time putting the book down.

Have you ever read a book that was so good it made you feel you
were going back in time? That is how I felt while I was reading this book about a 16 year old girl who has to move to the unfamiliar Connecticut colony to live with her relatives because her father has died and she has nowhere else to go. Everything is so different from her sunny Carribean home where she has lived most of her life.

This book takes place in 1687 in a small town in Connecticut called Weathersfield, a stern puritan community. Kit Tyler, the 16 year old, comes to live with her Aunt and Uncle after her father's death. Even after she settles in to her new life, she starts to feel caged like a bird. She is unhappy and unliked by the townspeople because she acts so differently. For example, she wears expensive silk dresses, knows how to swim and becomes friends with the local witch. She meets the local witch, named Hanna, in the meadows, by the swamp, the only place Kit can feel completely free. Her association with Hanna and the fact that Kit is different form the townspeople cause her to be accused of witchcraft. Can she prove to them she is not guity of witchcraft before it is too late?

The reason I like the book was because of the strong, action-filled plot. I also liked reading this book because it had portrayed the time period in which it took place accurately. The book seemed very plausible that a town in those days could panic and accuse a stranger of being a witch. I also liked the book because I liked the main character. Kit is someone that I would like to have met because she is independent, and wants to be accepted for being different. One thing I didn't like was the town's atmosphere. The atmosphere was dark, and strict, and loaded with witch hysteria.

I would recommend this book to people who like the genre of historical fiction, and particularly the time period of witchcraft. This book would appeal to those in sixth to eighth grade who are studying this time in American history. This book is more for teenage girls than boys given it female main character and narrator. There is also a love story in the subplot that would appeal to those who like romance. If you have read and liked the novel "The Scarlet Letter", this is another good book to read.

The climax of the story is when the main character is tried for being a witch. This review is not going to give away the outcome of the trial, but it is a strong finish to a well told story that will not disappoint the reader. I guarantee it! The conclusion will leave you feeling that almost anyone could be found guilty of breaking strict traditions in this stern peritian community where this book takes place. Can Kit escape the town's accusations and find happiness in this cold region, so unlike her native home?