I was excited to receive a copy of Leaves of Red and Gold for my birthday last month! My best friend that bought it for me said to make sure that I set aside time to read it because once I started I would not want to stop. He was oh so right! As an attorney I can say that the courtroom scenes are extremely well done, but this is not just the story of a courtroom lawyer who becomes a big politician in Massachusetts. This is a definite spine tingler! The reviewers here at Amazon have it right: this is a 5 star novel that should hit the big screen!

I appreciated the author's well written development of characters that are three dimensional and non-predictable. Even the main character Matthew has you mad at him some times to the point you yell out loud "what is wrong with you man!" I also appreciated that this novel while it is about a gay leading character is not filled with gratiutous sex. Oh there are surely some hot steamy sex scenes in the novel, but the sex is there for a purpose, not just to sell the book off the shelves. This is not a novel built around sex, no it is built about strong character development and an interesting storyline.

What makes this novel so special is that it tells a story of love and fear, of winning and losing, and of fine friends who come together to help and hold each other in times of need. It also deals with some incredibly gripping topics besides the law: social work, child abuse, priests on the run, AIDS, and the politics of Massachusetts. As with all really good novels the end of the novel comes as a surprise and one that will have you talking!

If you are going to buy one book for your summer reading, I would suggest that you pick up Leaves of Red and Gold right here at Amazon.com. And call your local dealer and tell her to start stocking it too!

Leaves of Red and Gold turned out to be the most interesting book I have read in over a year! You cannot help but be drawn in by the main character -- Matthew Schipani -- as his tale of disappointments, loves, hatreds, frustrations and accomplishments unfolds. Be warned -- the end is riveting and you won't be able to put the book down!

What a novel! Leaves of Red and Gold is an excellent piece of fiction and I agree with the reviewers on this site that it should be made into a movie! Hello HBO! I bought this book and read it in less than three days (I even snuck in some pages at work)...I couldn't put it down! The scenes are so well written that I can see myself walking the Harvard Law School campus with Matthew, the main character. The book has many light moments along with its dark and very thrilling moments. It is so interesting to watch Matthew go from being a child abuse social worker to a great legal force! His relationships with his various boyfriends are also well done, and show that men can love other men in honest, open, and very deep fashion!

I also very much enjoyed the ensemble of characters supporting Matthew in this novel. They are well developed and I can see them all in my head, which tells me that this book is well written. This is why it would be perfect on the silver screen - it is not predictable, it is fresh and new, and it will capture all! I agree with the reviewers that I hope Mr. Chapman is working on his sequel...more quality work like this and we may have a new Tom Clancy on our hands!

This is the third book by Andrew that I have read. After reading Being Happy and Making Friends, I was quick to purchase this one, since I couldn't agree more with Andrew's philosphy on life. His writing is clear, direct, and easy to read and understand. His no-nonsense approach to problem solving and taking control of your own destiny is as good as it gets. And he offers real,practical,how-to advice for those who are looking to move beyond their ho-hum everyday lives. I would recommend this book to everyone, and especially those who need to dust themselves off and start all over again!

I got a much appreciated early holiday gift this year... an advance copy of "Follow Your Heart" by Andrew Matthews before it was released in the USA. In short: as soon as this book is available, buy it! Mr. Matthews's humor, wit, and way of "telling it like it is" shines through once again. For fans of "Being Happy", he doesn't dissapoint. For readers not familar with his previous work, you will find simple fulfullment in your life and work (as the subtitle states) just by taking the time to read and savor his gems of wisdom. On a personal note, "Follow Your Heart" came to me just as I was questioning a MAJOR change in my life and career. It helped me sort out my fears and choose the path I truly wanted to take in life. What I was reading gave me practical advice I applied to my own life.. and for the first time in a long time, things made sense. I hope Mr. Matthew's book can reach as many people as possible and change their lives as it has mine.

This book deals with alot about living life, how to succeed, have a peace of mind, and be happy. The format is fun, the concepts are easy to understand, and I would happily say that this book is the best of Andrew Mattews. If you are thinking about reading Being Happy as well, I will first mention that the concepts in these two books are similar, except I think this one is more organized, especially since the author became more skilled in writing and expresses himself better in this one. This review is written in my humble opinion, and anyone who does not agree with me, don't get all excited. If you are mad, maybe you should read the book again :-) jm

I bought this book years ago when it first came out, and absolute
ly LOVE it: great recipes, great pictures, down-home real food.
Best recipe for biscuits I have ever seen-my book's permanently
stained from use! Even tried the potato chip sandwich, a little
salty, but delish.

You don't have to pay an arm and a leg for pretentious, overpric-
ed "country peasant cuisine," you have it right here: polenta's
grits, baby! A lot of these recipes are solid, delicious food,
stuff we grew up on in the Midwest, stuff our granmas used to
make. And if you have ever attended a church social, you'll re-
cognize many of the dishes in this awesome cookbook.

It's worth it for the center photograph section, for a nostalgic
touch, for in the rush to urbanize here in Florida, many roadside
fruit and vegetable stands have been zoned out of existence. Up
in the Panhandle you might still find roadside boiled peanut sta-
nds(now THAT'S some great eatin'!), and some produce stands-but
if you can't go there-try this book-you won't regret it.

You might approach this book thinking of it as a joke, or in a
condescending approach to white trash(read American Peasants),
but once you start to read the anecdotes and recipes, you gain an
understanding and respect for these tenacious souls.

P.S. Try the cheese grits-with Velveeta and Tabasco sauce-that
will wake you up some!

I first bought this book years ago, when it first came out-and it
shows: the biscuit page has tea stains all over it-so does the
potato-chip sandwich! The latter is worth a try, albeit a tad
salty, but it IS delish. You absolutely cannot fail to make good
biscuits with their recipe, it is simple, basic, and wonderful.
What they do with food is real simple, and the low-priced version
of "peasant food." It is worth it for the pictures in the center
alone, it doesn't put down white trash, it celebrates 'em! Darn
fine cooks, too. Really delicious summer produce recipes, and
the tomato sandwich idea is one anyone can relish.

This book occupies a proud, and well-used, pride of place in my
cookbook collection. Unlike snotty cookbooks where they look
down on the reader, presupposing a well-laden pantry groaning
with esoterica-this is REAL FOOD, REAL SIMPLE. A tribute to all
the white trash who built this country, and really tasty, too.

Y'all try it some, hear?

I have spent many many hours reading and re-reading this book. This is a cookbook by it's cover but when you get inside and look at the recipes read the words and the see the wonderful photos you'll see that it's a cultural documentation of some very beautiful and proud people.

This was one of the first books I bought to read to our son. Each page contains a shape and a color and a flap that opens to reveal an animal and a texture. For example the circle is filled with fuzzy yellow cotton that opens to reveal several ducklings. The textures will fascinate your child, and each time you open a flap your child will be amazed at the animals hidden beneath. This book is not meant to be read by the child as the flaps will easily rip. It is however a perfect first book for a baby, especially when the baby begins to develop eye hand coordination so that s/he can touch the textured materials. Your child may even learn the names of the shapes and the names of colors as an added bonus. This book is beautifully ilustrated and bound and will complement any young child's library. Highly highly recommended!

From our first read-through, this book has captured my son's attention more than any other in our collection. Each time we go through the book (every day), I find a different way to talk about each of the illustrations. The animals are depicted in such an expressive and humorous manner. We can discuss so many different things: shapes, colors, textures, numbers, species, moods (witness the grumpy, bumpy toads), actions, and more. I speak as if my son is older than his four months, but this is the sort of book that will be a definite favorite for years. I can't wait until he's explaining it to me. For now, he looks and looks while pawing at the pictures; each page occupies a full five minutes.

This book teaches so many different things. It has great textures, colors, shapes, and animals. My twin girls love it. They are 22 months now, but we bought this book when they were about 15 months. The best part for them is unfolding the pages! It seems like it wouldn't last, but ours hasn't ripped yet, and we have been pretty hard on it. It is bent up, but that's all. This is the only book that teaches so many different concepts at once. It can be confusing, but once they learn their shapes and colors, you can combine them for even more challenging fun!! I highly recommend this book for toddlers and preschoolers!!

These books are just the bomb Ann! You've really hit the mark with this new series! I'm actually kind of glad Claudia and Stacey are in a Friendship Feud. At least it shows that these girls are starting to get real! (as are the others) These books are deafnitly more realsitic then the Baby-sitters' Club. I have Friends Forever #5 too, and Maggie, Diary Three! Just keep coming with the wonderful books you create! This is my favorite book! FRIENDS FOREVER AND CALIFORNIA DIARIES ROCKS!

This was a cool book. It showed that not all friendships last forever and the plot was VERY realistic.

Stacey and Claudia are involved in a friendship feud over the new guy in school Jeremy. Claudia was sure they would have been going out by now....if only Stacey hadn't gotten in the way and stolen him! I feel pretty sorry for Claudia. Stacey's been pretty nasty to her these days, and she blew me away when she said a remark to Claudia that made my jaw drop! Ouch! (I won't tell you the remark or that would spoil the book)

I love how these are much more real then...oh say...the Baby-sitters' Club? Great job on the new series Ann M. Martin! I'm counting the days until Friends Forever #5!

This book is one of my favorites in the BSC Friends Forever Series so far! A great job you're doing, Ms. Martin! Keep up the good work! I will certainly try to be the first one in line to recieve Kristy Power!

Claudia thinks her ex-best friend Stacey is a liar, a cheat, and a boyfriend-stealer. Sure, she misses Stacey... but she isn't about to talk to her. Instead she's finding new friends, like Erica Blumberg. And the most unexpected friend of all--Jeremy Rudolph, the boy who Stacey stole. Things are about to get very complicated...Will the friendship feud ever end? Read this book to find out!

The "Doll People" was a fun, fantastic, and phenomenal book to read. It is about a friendly, mysterious, fun, loving doll. In this story, all dolls can talk. Her name is Annabelle Doll, who has an Auntie Sarah that is lost! No one wants to find out where she is except for Annabelle. Except for one day, Annabelle meets another doll, her age, which acts like Annabelle too. Her name is Tiffany. Once they met each other, they knew they would become the best of friends for life! Tiffany believes they should find Auntie Sarah too. So, they start to read her journal, to find out where to look for Auntie Sarah. That special place is in the attic. Obviously, Annabelle and Tiffany searched for Auntie Sarah in the attic, for days, and excitingly found her! Does the family live the rest of their life fantastic? Or does someone else in the family vanish? Read the book and see!

Annabelle Doll is an eight-year-old, and has been since she was made some 100 years ago! Part of a family of eight (including Papa Doll, Mama Doll, Uncle Doll, Auntie Sarah, Nanny, Annabelle, little-brother Bobby and Baby Betsy), Annabelle lives her little-girl doll existence - being played with, avoiding The Captain (her owner's cat), and most of all avoiding being seen as alive. However, when she discovers the journal of Auntie Sarah, who has been missing since 1955, she decides to find out what happened to her.

Things become better when her owner's little sister receives the Funcraft Doll House, complete with a brand new plastic family - neighbors. Annabelle, who must be cautious, to protect her china body, makes great friends with Tiffany Funcraft, who is wild and adventurous, with her unbreakable plastic body. Together the girls dare all (or a lot anyway), to find Auntie Sarah.

This book has an absolutely fantastic story. The author succeeds in keeping the main characters in character as dolls, showing their unique existence. There is a great deal of gentle humor, with the illustrations providing just the right amount of action, not distracting from the story. My 9-year-old daughter loved the story, and had absolutely no problem reading it. I recommend this book to everyone with a daughter!

I am a doll lover, and am always looking for books like this. I got lucky here; a favourite author, favourite illustrator, and a favourite subject. The story is a lot of fun too; Annabelle, an eight-year-old doll made nearly 100 years ago, has to deal with two events at once; worrying about the mysterious disappearance of her Aunt Sarah fifty-five years ago, and dealing with a family of plastic dolls that has been bought for the younger sister of the girl who owns the old dollhouse. It is funny, lively, and a lot of fun to read. I loved it and hope they write more books about the two doll families.

I am in third grade. My teacher read my class this book and the one before it to. Every time when my teacher would stop reading the whole class would beg her to read more. the author does a great job of stoping the chapter right at the really exciting parts.I LOVED it!!!!!!!!! Normally I don't like books about castles but this one I really liked!

It has been around 2 years since we read The Castle in the Attic which was one of the best adventures my son and I shared together. I was previously unaware that there was a sequel to this engaging book. After reading the first couple pages my son's came to rapt attention. "I remember this now," he said excitedly. He began remembering the charecters and adventures of the first story. Almost immediately we were captivated by this next adventure - familiar, but new. It was like coming home to the castle. Each chapter of Battle For the Castle brings a new depth of feeling and connection with the charecters - and, yes,each chapter opens to greater surprise and suspense. My son said feelingly, "I love this book." Even on Saturday morning when his favorite activity is to watch cartoons on TV, begged, instead, to hear "one more chapter!"

The Battle for the Castle is about a young boy who go to a different world to save a castle from billions of rats, who hate light.

This is an exciting book that leaves you breathless at the end of the book!!! READ IT!

This book is a wonderful source companion for anyone seeking to find effective ways of dealing with stress and the mental and/or physical pain that it can cause. By offering a variety of proven methods and approaches, The Relaxation and Stress Reduction Workbook has helped me to discover and focus on those techniques that are the most helpful and effective for me. Clearly written and easy to read, I recommend it highly.

This is one of, if not the best books on stress management and relaxation. It is a must have for health care providers working in this area, and an incredible resource for laymen seeking personal help or self growth.

I've recommended this book to probably 1000 psychologists, and as a specialty dealer of products for stress management, relaxation training and biofeedback, I know that at least 600-800 actually bought copies. Many of the ones I suggested it to already owned the book and I was always happy they did, because then, they knew I made credible recommendations.

The book offers a wealth of beautifully, simply explained exercises and techniques you can use immediately to learn to relax and cope with stress more effectively.

Brew yourself a cup of your favorite herbal tea and curl up in a quiet corner because you're in for a treat. This book is exactly what the title says it is - a workbook for relaxation and stress reduction - and its user-friendly style enables the reader to dip into any chapter at will and derive something useful and informative from it. The book's orientation is very much a holistic approach and the authors' emphasis on mental coping methods dovetails nicely with the chapters on reducing physical stress symptoms. I found the progressive relaxation guidance (including instructions for creating your own tape) particulary well done and helpful. As the authors make so clear, many of us are unaware of how and where we store our tension and how our breathing impacts our ability to move from a stress response to relaxation. Methods such as progressive relaxation - systematically tensing and relaxing all the large muscle groups in the body - aid in gaining awareness of what we are experiencing physically both during stress and in relaxation. The book also discusses goals, time management, nutrition and exercise, with copious worksheets for the reader to dissect which area(s) he or she most needs to focus on to achieve more individual balance, and therefore less stress. The end of each chapter includes suggestions for further reading, providing the reader a jumping off point for deeper work in a particular area, if needed. Each chapter is a module for bringing about psyche/soma homeostasis. The book's one drawback in my view is the length of the personal stress analysis worksheets. One is of course free to skip over them or complete only a portion of each one. Overall though, the book provides a palatable plethora of nurturing and nourishing ideas and methods for bringing mind, body and spirit to a place of respite and repose, whatever one's outer circumstances may be.

hello all your BSC fans. I think the babysitters club is an excellent book for anyone. I'm a guy (please stop laughing) and I read the books. I'm 20 years old and I still read them. I think its a fantastic series. It teaches you about friendships, dealing with problems, and responsibility. its the coolest. My favorite babysitter is Mary Anne. I'm a lot like her because I'm shy and timid too. Well. I think I talked your ear off so I'm going to go. Please email me if you wanna be bsc friends. I'd love that. thanks. My email address is KatSanders@aol.com email me anytime you want. thanks. goodbye and have a very nice week

I LOVE BSC BOOKS!!!! I have read everysingle one. I get all my books from Amazon. I even have The Complete Guide to THE BABY-SITTERS CLUB. That book gives all the information you need to know about the Bsc. I even have every Bsc Doll. I reccomend any of Ann M. Martin's Books. I just hope she doesn't stop making them. The new covers are really neat I have all the Bsc Books and a couple of Karens. I am so glad Ann M. Martin can wright so fast. If Ann M.Martin Reads this E-mail Me Please!!

I started reading Babysitters Little Sister Books when I was 6. I started reading Babysitters Club books when I was 8. Now I am 11, and I still read them. My favorite book is Babysitters Winter Vacation. My favorite babysitter is either Stacey, Jessi, or Maryanne, but I don't like Maryanne's haircut! My least favorite babysitter is Claudia. Bye!

You will laugh, cry and be confused when you read this book. This book can teach you that what you think is good is not always good.

There is a boy named Peter Pan. He sprinkles fairy dust in Wendy and her two brothers. Then he shows them how to fly. He takes them to Neverland and shows them to the Lost Boys who live there. Wendy becomes their mother. She makes up rules, like any other mother would do. The boys have to follow these rules. Everything was fine until Captain Hook came with his crew to where the boys and Wendy were. While Wendy and the boys were at the lagoon, where they go every day after dinner, they see a girl named Tiger Lily, princess of her tribe. She was captured by Smee, one of Captain Hook's men. Then Peter saved her. A few days later Wendy and the boys were on their way to Wendy's house when they too were all captured by Captain Hook. Then Peter saves them. Then the lost boys, Wendy and her brothers go home. All except for Peter.

It is mostly about what the people in the book think is right with childhood. The kids in the book think that if you grow up it is bad, but in our case it is actually good.

Peter Pan is a violent book not really made for children under the age of 10 but people 10 and up can read it. It is violent because of the language that is spoken and the idea that killing could be fun. Also, the vocabulary is very difficult for children under 10 to understand. Even if you're older it is difficult to understand.

Overall, it is a good book but watch out for the violent ideas if you are reading it to little children.

This is an utterly charming work. It has been retold myriad times, but nobody else has done it as well as the original teller, J. M. Barrie.

It's difficult to know what to say about a book like this... everybody knows the story. But I guess that unless you've read this book (not just seen a movie or read a retelling), you don't really know the character Peter Pan, and without knowing the character, you don't really know the story. So read it.

By the way, if you enjoy this, you probably would also like "Sentimental Tommy" and its sequel "Tommy and Grizel", both by Barrie. There are differences (for one thing they're not fantasy), but there are also compelling similarities. Anybody who found Peter Pan a deep and slightly bittersweet book would be sure to enjoy them.

-Stephen

When talking of literature, people tend to look solely at books they read today but forget what they used to read, namely the ones we read as children. It is a common misunderstanding that children's literature is to be read by children and children only, but when we come to think of it, which one of us are not children, at least in our hearts?

One of the best books any child, young or old, can read is Barrie's Peter Pan. Although written in the past century, it has something for any generation at any time. Its humorous views at the world from a child's mind left me rolling over the floor, laughing; the exciting storyline kept me busy with reading until the end; and the serious undertone made me think of whether the world wouldn't be a better place if we realised that deep down, however deep, we are in fact all children. So if YOU are a child, which you most certainly are, get yourself a copy and enjoy your ongoing childhood.