This very clever story fills each page with the unexpected and makes full use of the idea of actually being able to pick out and own a dinosaur, without ever suggesting that owning a dinosaur would be unheard of where Alex lives. The authors and illustrators really let their imagination flow while molding a good and well rounded story. My three year-old usually wants to read it at least three times in a row every time we read it, and as a parent, I think she's making a good choice!

The story is pretty good, I remember it was very engaging when I read it when I was little (I'm 13 now). But what really makes the book good is the illustrations. They're beautiful. There's a lot of magic in them. Kitamura pays very close attention to the details (like seeing the neighbors cat outside on the fense through a window). The illustrations are great because they are not "perfect" (in the sense that everything is proportional, lines are straight, curves tend to be more pointed than curved, objects don't look perfect), which lends a great feeling to the pages. The facial expressions are great (part of what made Angy Arthur good), as are the people. I would highly recomend this book to anyone. Satoshi Kitamura is one of the masters of art in Japan, along with Hayako Miyazaki (Director and Animator), and Yoji Yamamoto (Clothing designers), and many more!

My younger daughter loves this book. As "the second princess" in our house, she often feels the same way as the second princess in this book. This book reinforces that her feelings are okay, that her actions about them may not be, and that working it out with the "king and queen" may be a better solution. My second princess and I would highly recommend this book to anyone with two (or more) daughters.

I adore Tony Ross's illusttrations - this story follows in the same vein as I want my Potty, I want my Dinner & Iwant to be...I loved it & both my daughters (3 & 6months) do too.

This book is a hit at my house. My 5-year-old son gets the giggles at the dog's antics every time we read it. I like the friendship between the cat and the dog. Cute, warm fuzzy story!

Princess Chamomile may be a princess but she doesn't mind getting dirty! Princess Chamomile and Milchoir (the gardener) plant a garden designed by the Princess. It takes a long time to create the garden - but it is worth the wait. This book is great for readers from 7 years and up and is a great book for all people interested in gardens and princesses! My favorite part of the story is when Princess Chamomile admits that she didn't play the piano well because she was day-dreaming. Knowing that someone else feels that way may let kids understand that a little whimsey instead of perfection is perfectly okay. It is also a good story to teach patience - and that good things take a while to come true. The illustrations are perky and fit the charm of the story. This is a delightful book and a good way to get students back into the swing of reading for this school year.

My daughter loves hearing about the girl who fears being so precious that she will someday marry a prince, be wrapped in cotton wool and come out only for glittering balls and to tell the servants what to do. It has a wonderful message to girls, especially the tomboy type.

"In the Attic" is a great children's book featuring the wonders of a child's imagination. We have used this book in a family literacy project at our local public library and the parents love it too. This is a great book to teach readers to pay close attention to the details in a book's illustrations.

"In The Attic" is a wonderful invitation into the world of imagination! A small boy climbs a toy ladder into the attic to play, to discover, to dream. The illustrations invite the reader/listener to become part of the fantasy while also inspiring ideas and questions for discussion. Many possibilities for literature extension activities and creative play. Appropriate for school-aged children as well as preschoolers.

It is a message most of us need to hear. As we find many people being segrated in many neighborhoods the walls that divide us cause confusion a fear. If we take the chance to go over that wall we are often surprised that the people from the other side are really just like us. This really hits home to me as I live on the well to do side of a large block wall that separates our neighborhood from a housing project.

In a place like New Zealand/Aotearoa we have lots of ethnicities, nationalities, and Etc. diverse groups. This book is one of those jewels that hopefully will stay in school libraries all over the world forever. Definitely a refreshing chnage from animal stories and fairy tales for children of all ages... AND EVEN ADULTS TOO, EH?

Signing Off,
"CoolKiwiTeacher"
Wellington. New Zealand/Aotearoa

My feelings towards this book are ambivalent. This is not one of my favorite children books - reason being this book deals with destruction and chaos, even the end of the world and for me - with my adult associations, this is very unpleasant. My child however accepts this book "as is" without questioning for once the reality / validity of the story and the power of Arthur's anger - an anger so destructive it ruins the world("Look mom, his grandma is an astronaut now"). The text is very simple and clear and the subject is very close to a child's heart... ("when I get mad"...)I think that the other reviewers are correct in saying that with the right guidance, an adult can lead the conversation and discussion of the book into an educational experience. I am just uncertain that I wish to do it. I also agree that the topic is very strong and can be related to what anger and hatred can cause - wars in general and the stupidity of man... but do you really want to get into this when you read a bedtime story...?

I bought this book looking for something to help children explore the emotion of anger, and hopefully open up a realistic dialogue to include problem-solving for angry situations. This book's plot is fantasy-based, and offers no jump off point for a realistic dialogue with children. Also, since anger is sometimes a scary feeling for very young children, I did not like that Arthur's anger actually caused his world to explode. This is not very reassuring to children looking for mastery over their emotions.

Constantin, my 7 year old son, tends to loose his temper... This book really opened his eyes about self control. "How could a little boy generate such a mess?" he wondered and laughed... We explained to him that sometimes your bad temper can ruin your day and other's and it does not take you anywhere, in the end, you do not even remember how everything started! All that chaos and energy for nothing! Constantin loved those last pages where Arthur is sitting on is bed in outer space... We read this book in Spanish and liked it so much that now want to order it in English.

This is my favorite of the three Oram and/or Varley "Badger" books. Admittedly, "Badger's Parting Gifts" is the big award-winner, and it is a wonderful book that serves a very important purpose (teaching children about death); it's just not a fun book. "Badger's Bring Something Party" is a fun book. It's like "Wind in the Willows" but for very small children. My two-year-old son loves it. We talk about the different kinds of animals (badgers, bats, stoats, snails) and what they bring to the party (fairy cakes, hats, dance steps). We also talk about Mole and why he didn't bring anything to the party (at first), how this made the other animals angry with him, and what he did to remedy the situation. I say we "talk" about all this because, even though the story is a simple one, the text is heavy for toddlers. We've been reading this book for six months now, and I'm still only actually reading fifty percent of the text. This should not, however, discourage parents from buying the book, as I think it's important to have books that children can grow into. People should just be aware that they'll have to do most of the story-telling at first.

When Little Bear has a problem, Big Bear can always make it better with a hug and a kiss. One day, when Little Bear comes home and Big Bear has a problem -- it's not specified what the problem is -- the tables are turned and it's up to Little Bear to kiss it better. The illustrations are really adorable, and the idea of the little bear being able to comfort his parent feels good. The ending has Little Bear putting band-aids on Big Bear to make sure the kisses do their magic, and that's a very cute, nice touch. The only thing I would mention is that if your child is prone to worrying anyway, he or she might get hung up on the letter that symbolizes the problem Big Bear is having. It isn't specified what kind of trouble it is, just that it's something really bad. If your child would be the type to fixate on this type of problem, you might want to find an even softer story to read to him or her. But for the average child, I think this would be a very reassuring story.