When I was very little, my sister would read this story to me every Christmas. It was our little tradition. As we grew older, I came to read it on my own. I had two Macy's holiday traditions- The Thanksgiving Day Parade and this story about three lovable mice that take up living in a Macy's over Christmas and the mystery of a missing Santa. I have just found a copy of this book and I can't wait until my fiance have children to be able to read it to them every year. It's definitely a story worth handing down!

Marvin the Magnificent, Raymond and Fats are three mice out to enjoy life ... in Macy's department store. When the toy department's Santa gets kidnapped they are on the case in the best manner of old-movie private eyes. But how can three mice track him down and rescue him before Christmas?

Narrated by Marvin himself, this story is absolutely hilarious. Don't be stopped by the mice. It was one of my favourite books growing up and I still recall it with great fondness (and a vague sense of irritation that my children's books got sold a few years back).

There are at least three other books about this mouse trio, and I think a couple of them are still in print. This one, however, is my favourite, and worth looking for in your local library/used book store.

Even though I haven't read this book in about 8 years, I still remember it as my favorite childhood library book and am currently traking down a copy to own. I read this book every Christmas for years and am very familiar with it. The story is magical and uplifting. A true classic.

Reading this book wasn't just fun, but it really helped me in my French. I learned more in reading it than I have in all of my classes combined. There are some little changes in it, but that is because of the language difference and my over-reading the English version led me to know its wording too well. Still, that only made it more fun. I'd recommend this to any French student.

I bought the French translation of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire for my son who began his first year of French this year in Middle School. It has been great fun and encouragement for him. His teacher found it fun as well, reading short excerpts from it to the French class. Everyone loves Harry!

I never really liked to read. It was just too boring. Reading all those pages that had no effect on me. Then I heard about Harry Potter. Everyone really liked it. I wanted to see what the big deal was. I read the first book. I thought to myself how imaginative it was. The creatures, the characters, and the plot. They were all like a puzzle fit perfectly together. It made my mind run wild. I had to read the second book. I went through that like a person going after 1 billion dollars. It was so amazing. The third book was next. That was better than the first and second books. Finally the forth. Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire. That was the best of all. My favorite character is Ron. He reminds me of me. All except the looks. I look a lot better than him. This book is filled with creativity, mystery, fantasy, and love. All in one. Thats why I got hooked on all these things.

Then, Harry and the Weasley's go to the train station. Then they say goodbye to everyonne and get on the bus. They meet their new teacher and their best (not) friend, Malfred. Their is a special game instead of quidditch this year and only people over 18 years of age can enter to win. Three schools are coming to play but only 3 people, one from each school, can play. Harry plays. But he's not 18 so a lot of people get mad. I won't tell you what else happens, so get the book and read it!

I gave this a 5 'cause this is a grat book and it lets out your imagination!

"How To" is most appropriate for this useful guide. I discovered this book at the very beginning of our international adoption process and it has been a wonderful guidebook. It is extremely well organized and explains the process and the paperwork required. It provides a lot of information but is not a thick, wordy volume that is intimidating to read. It is a source of information complementary to what my agency provides, and has increased my confidence that things are proceeding as they should. Tips like what kind to expect in a home study and what questions to ask when that important referral call comes makes this book compare to a knowledgeable friend who has been through the process.

As the Adoptive Parents of Vietnam listowner, I recieve questions about the complex process of international adoption on a daily basis. The Erichsen's guide will be a great resource to anyone interested in international adoption. I reviewed this book in detail on our website, but here is a quick synopsis. "How to Adopt Internationally is the best guide now available to the complex and sometimes frustrating experience of the paper chase required for adopting internationally from any country. The Erichson's include a step by step guide to every requirement and procedure, starting with the U.S. required home study and INS's I-600 all the way through post placement and final adoption requirements. For every major step, they include the actual or example forms, along with suggestions for completion. For anyone involved in international adoption (or even contemplating an international adoption), this book will get you started and be a welcome resource through the process. It provides an overview of the reasons and requirements of the international adoption process that is duplicated nowhere else. If your agency is less than helpful with the paperwork requirements, this book will be worth its price many times over."

We just recently purchased this book from Amazon.com and it's a wonderful guide for those just beginning the adoption process or those currently involved in adopting internationally. This guide is now currently (October 98) aiding us to expedite our adoption via the comprehensive information and step by step guide to fulfilling all international requirements. A great find!

I'm 15 and I still like Goosebumps. How to Kill a Monster was the first Goosebumps book I've read in a while. The book was so cool. It's about Gretchen and her stepbrother Clark, where they have to stay with their whacko grandparents in "Mud Town". Later in the book, they both discover a monster living there and they must find a way to kill it, before it gets them....

I read the book How to Kill a Monster by R.L. Stine. It was a very interesting book because it had a lot of twists in it that you wouldn't expect. I liked the part when the monster was chasing the kids and when the kids tried to kill the monster. I would suggest this book to anyone who likes mysteries.

This book is so awesome! But, still, I don't think anyone would leave to get help that they will never get. Back to how awesome this book was. If you liked "Welcome To dead House" alot, you will not like this one. It is NOTHING like "Welcome To Dead House", so, don't buy it, if you liked Book #1. Also, I liked the names of the charactors. Gretchen, Clark, I've barely ever heard those names, but now I think they're cool names. So, again, THIS BOOK ROCKS!

My 2.5 year old son loves this. We make up our own stuff to spy and don't really use the riddles(yet). This is kind of similar to his earlier favorite book(My first word book) which I also recommend. They both have taught him many new words.

I agree totally with the review from the reader saying " this is a MUST have for the home library ". Our home library has every I Spy book. We love these books. I Spy: a Book of Picture Riddles is a great one to start your collection. As my children 10, 8, and 5 started very young with this book. These books encourage your child to think, to learn, and to explore while they do this with fun and enjoyment. I cannot rave about these books enough because each time you open one up you have a new experience. You will enjoy the many hours of entertainment and time spent with your child as well.

I bought several (Marzollo) I Spy books for my son when he was 3. Now he's almost 5 and they are still his favorite. Now, my daughter, age 2, enjoys them also. The books have large pages, each consisting of a big photograph of intricately laid out objects. The pictures are clever enough to be enjoyable to adults as well as children of almost any age. Probably the greatest thing about these books is that they never get old. My son and I still discover things that we never noticed in 2 years of looking at the pictures. Even once you solve the poetic riddles in the books, you can make up your own challenges. I usually read the book with both children at my side and see if they can find the things that I spy. It is easy to give them age appropriate challenges - I will give my son something hard to find and give my daughter something easier.

All the books are great, though you will see the same pages appear in different books. The computer games are also good.

My 18 month old would read no other books than the I Spy series for a whole week! They have shown him in a simple way the association between words and pictures. He adores them!

Keep this book on hand for a real toddler treasure hunt. Take it with you to restaurants and car trips. It's fantastic. We have devoured this one. We've discovered a new one for even a younger child that is not to missed either; WHAT IS ROUND? In both, the photographs literally pop off the page. Keeps them happy while they are learning and discovering objects in their world!

This is my daughter's favorite book. I like it because at 8 months she loved flipping through the pages and pointing to all the pictures, and now that she's 14 months she likes the "I Spy" aspect of it. It's definitely a book that has grown with her. A great gift!

I recently received An Ifugao Notebook as I was getting ready to move my family, including two young children, to Africa. I was moved by the humor, wisdom, and tenderness this book evokes through children's encounters with another culture. It makes me feel good about my own decision to let my kids explore life in other countries, and get them to think of themselves as global citizens, not just patriotic Americans, from an early age. This is a great book--wonderful for all generations.

While the head of the family, a cultural anthropologist, conducts a year-long program studying a primitive agrarian society in a remote region of the Philippines, the author (his wife) and 2 young sons set up housekeeping in a thatched-hut compound and are plunged into the life of the village. In addition to assisting in the scientific studies and generally overseeing the domestic wellbeing of the family, the author home-schools the two boys whose education is otherwise broadened by acceptance into the activities of the local youth. Adapting to the primitive conditions of life in the village is not without its problems, and the author provides a vivid account of the family's experiences. A helpful glossary is included, as well as a pronouncing dictionary of the Ifugao language. Highly recommended!

I just read An Ifugao Notebook cover to cover (no mean feat with a 3 year old!), and loved it. It was vivid, and personal, qualities missing from most ethnographies! It was also very well written; I particularly liked Jean Conklin's device of writing from the perspectives of her children and her cat. I got so attached to everyone I was grateful for the Epilogue! That Jean did everything she did that year, and this notebook too, is really astounding to me, as an anthropologist and a wife and mother. Read this book if you know Hal Conklin's work for insight on how it happened. But also read it if you're doing fieldwork anywhere with family.

The Jesuits were members of the roman catholic church also known as the society of Jesus. It was found by Saint Iganatious, who was a very well educated pope in 1540 A.D. St. Iganatious had friends who also jooined the Jesuits. One of his friends was Francis Xavier. He was also a very well educated and talented man. He helped St. Iganatious run the group and he was one of the people who were on the hall of fame for the Jesuits. Jesuits are known throughout the world. People in the world join the Jesuits because the group was a very religious order of men and it helped people all over countries. Jesuits were also very famous for their excellence in their missions and the vows which were very reasonable. Jesuits' missions were fantastic because the missioinaries help out people who are in need and they give blessings to the poor and the weak. They try to live their lives just as Jesus did.

The most heretic leader or pope to me was propbably Francis Xavier. I admire his work in the group and in his missions. He was probably the best missionary the Jesuits had. He helped out everyone and was a fine leader. He was admired by his followers, leaders and people who were helped by him. Xavier set a great example to all of the members and people who were younger to him. Xavier was known as the father of the his people. Xavier made up the vows which every Jesuits would take. These vows helped the leaders of the Jesuits make certain that the members would be very faithful to them. The vows were very strict, but it helped the members a lot.

My favorite part in this book was when the book talked about the missions. The missions were one of the best things that the Jesuits did. They traveled on carvans, boats, or on foot. Being a missionary was really tough. The members would have to be trained hard for 10 to 15 years.The members needed great experience to travel out of their homes and spread the words. First, they would have to know the bible and the stories really well. This way the members would be able to answer hard questions which are asked by unbelievers. Next, the missionaries would have to go travel to differnet places for a while because they didn't want people toget home sick. Finally they would have to test the members every thing.

This book, which the author did not intend to make comprehensive, is the best general history of the jesuits I've read so far...it is fair in it's assessments of the society of jesus; and it aims to be fair...it does not intentionally aim for the sensational yet entertaining writing of Malachi Martin's book-this is more serious reading; the author approaches the lives of select Jesuits throughout history, starting with the founder-Inigo de Loyola; and taking the book through Francis Xavier in Japan, Matteo Ricci in China, and my favorite part of the book: the Jesuits in south america among the guarani-for anyone who loved the film "the Mission"-this chapter is worth obtaining the book alone! However, the story of the Jesuits suppression is a gripping page turner as well as how the society survives under some surprising protectors of Orthodox and Lutheran backgrounds...the chapter on teilhard de chardin made me want to dig up some of his works right away....but where the book really touched me was with the new Ignatius-Pedro Arupe- the father general who was not dealt so kindly by the current conservative pope...the book also includes some black and white photos of well known jesuits which help in associating a face with the histories behind them...beautiful book, which may stir the reader in further jesuits readings to complete the subject that was tackled here with admittted ommissions...

What makes the Jesuits tick? No doubt the answer lies in the spirit of abnegation and service inculcated by the Spiritual Exercises, with the extraordinary sense of creative freedom that flows from it. Xavier, Ricci, Teilhard, the Jesuit martyrs in El Salvador, and many other of Lacouture's subjects enact this gospel paradox before our eyes in his vivid pages. Yet, with a slightly irritating Gallic coyness, Lacouture also insinuates a darker side to the Jesuit experiment. Conscious of how naturally blind obedience comes to the human animal and how calamitous its role has been in recent history, Lacouture suggest that the glorification of obedience to the Pope and to the superior has been a tragic shackle on Jesuits and their church (particularly after the nineteenth century restoration of the Society, under the auspices of ultramontanism and political reaction). Lacking theological qualifications, Lacouture does not query the biblical basis of the cult of obedience, contenting himself with vague allusions to masochism. That dark strain in his narrative reaches a painful climax in his account of John Paul II's treatment of Pedro Arrupe. The Jesuit exclusion of women (even of Madeleine Sophie Barat's Sacred Heart Sisters, formed on Ignatian principles) also comes in for some judicious criticism. Apart from a knowing pen-portrait of De Lubac, the book does not pay much attention to the great line of Jesuit theologians and philosophers. Their external lives would add little color to this multibiography, yet their intellectual adventures were perhaps as exciting as anything recounted here. On all fronts the Society of Jesus represents a precious heritage of Christianity and of Western civilization, and one can only pray for whatever radical adjustments are required to prevent it being squandered.

This secular curriculum has been an invaluable resource in the homeschooling of my son this year. The lesson plans are very in-depth, easy to follow and well thought out. I also appreciate the wealth of added lesson plans and activites that are included. I supplement and subtract according to the level of my son's understanding. It's a great guide for me as his teacher. The only negative I've found is with the quality of the paperback itself. The cover tears from the book binding. This happened with both books I bought. The first book I returned. My second book just tore recently. I would recommend if this book is printed again that the publishers consider putting it in a ring binder which would better hold up and be more practical in a homeschool setting. Overall, I highly recommend this book to homeschoolers.

This is my first year homeschooling and this book has been my lifesaver. It lays everything out for me so I spend more time educating my son instead of developing lesson plans. The only thing that was frustrating for me was having to flip back and forth between the sections. This and copying the accompanying worksheets probably contributed to my front cover separating from the book. I like the fact that I can supplement or substitute in areas that I choose. Overall, a must have for the homeschooling family on a budget.

I am currently homeschooling my 5-year-old daughter using this curriculum and so far it has been an absolute pleasure! The daily lesson plans and supporting activities provide an excellent springboard for us to work from. The corresponding worksheets are not only educational, they're also fun for my daughter to do. I can't print them up fast enough for her!

I don't know whether or not they fixed the problem with the binding (see below), but so far I've scanned most of the worksheets in the book and it's held up very well.

This book is concise, thorough and easy to navigate. I highly recommend it to anyone who has decided to homeschool their first-grader and doesn't want to pay an arm and a leg for their curriculum.

This is a terrific book, great illustrations and rhyming text, perfect for a 2-3 year old. My only objection is the verse about the ghost ("every ghost loves a BOO") with the not so friendly looking ghosts hovering around the gravestones. I think this is a difficult scene to explain to kids who haven't really experienced Halloween. In what other context could you explain this to a young child? I may be overly sensitive to this issue because of a death in our day care family, but I think I'll be more comfortable reading this book to my preschoolers after I glue the "ghost and BOO" pages together so that I can skip them entirely.

My two-year-old son loves this book and could read it himself the second time through. He loves to be able to say "I read it!" and the content is great as well. The ghosts do not bother him at all because he hs not been taught that ghosts are supposed to be scary.

We received this book as a gift, and I just bought another copy to give my niece. I would recommend it to anyone with small children. It's a cute and catchy rhyme with appealing illustrations. As an added bonus, my 4-yr-old likes to "read" it to his little brother!