This book is my 4 year old daughter's favorite! It gives us both a good laugh everytime we read it. It's a must-have for every home as it teaches kids and parents how to be creative on a rainy day. Watching Pete's parents turn him into a pizza was quite funny!

Pete's in a bad mood because the rain has spoiled his plans to play ball with his friends. His father decides to cheer him up by making him into a pizza. As his mother looks on dubiously, he proceeds to lay Pete on the table, knead him, stretch him, and twirl him in the air. Mom joins in the fun as he adds the oil (water), flour (talcum powder), tomatoes (checkers!), and cheese (paper). After some teasing and tickling, the pizza is ready to come out of the oven, and the sun, too, is ready to come out. A chase and a hug, and the pizza marches out the door with his football; all is well with the world. Steig's simple illustrations are worth a thousand words; the expressions on the character's faces tell all. What a treat to see such playful, loving parents sharing a game that the author himself used to play with his youngest daughter.

My daughters enjoy reading this book, because it shows Pete and his parents having fun on a rainy day. Pete gets made into a pizza, with all the trimmings. Kids will giggle at the thought of Pete being covered in tomato sauce, cheese and pepperoni!

A fun read, with lovely drawings, and lots of color. A five star book for your child.

When William Grote approached me to review his new book I was elated, at last someone who has done what I, as I was writing STANDING THE WATCH: Memories of a home death, could not. Here he takes us through the maze of understanding our parents' needs & wants, in a big book, with a CD tucked into the back flap so you can print out the things you'll need along the way.

When it comes to taking care of our parents, & by the millions, we baby-boomers are now facing this, most of us don't know where to begin. It is especially true if your parents have been independent & living on their own all your adult life.

I know well what William Grote means when he wrote: "Sooner or later most of us will have to step in and help our parents...being able to help...when they're truly in need is one of the most important opportunities you'll have in your lifetime. It's far more important than a promotion at work, or any personal achievement you may seek for yourself. It's a chance to get in touch with the meaning of why you're here, to become aware of the greater sense of your humanity, or even allowing you insight into your roles as a spiritual being." Page 6.

HELPING YOUR AGING PARENT is a worthy companion for everyone facing their parents' final years. It is reader-friendly, the cartoons are good for a giggle (you've got to hone your funny bone along with all your other skills!) & the information it contains, from health to economics, housing to hospice will be of immense use.

Very well done!

Would you know what to do or where to start if your ageing parent was showing health related problems that suggested things were not right? If you have an ageing parent you care about then this book is a must.

It is an extremely well researched book that provides very easy to read detailed information on how to detect health problems with your ageing parent even if you know nothing about medical conditions, how to arrange medical care, accommodation, negotiating legal and administrative issues relating to your parent's assets and will, setting up trusts, right up to funeral arrangements. It really is a complete guide that will alleviate the mysteries of how to look after your ageing parents. It even includes a CD-ROM with 27 forms and checklists to provide practical assistance! There are also a number of websites to help out on identifying which drugs to avoid.

This 'how to do' guide is presented with compassion and reflects the reader's real-life experiences. It provides all the information you will need to assist your ageing parent.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who cares about their ageing parent/s. A very small investment in this book will provide enormous returns.

Contacted by this writer for a book review of his guide to helping aging parents, this reader was impressed by the amount of knowledge amassed by author Grote in his effort to help those faced with the awful decision of finding adequate care for the elderly. There has never been a greater need for the type of book author William J. Grote has put together, yet there comes a time when the information becomes essential to making the best decision possible for our loved ones.

In Helping Your Aging Parent, Grote offers advice that ranges from visiting the doctor with your parent/s to finding a hospice to making funeral arrangements. And because this is such a difficult subject for many to face, it's easy to see why so many put these arrangements off until the last possible moment. Who really wants to deal with trust funds and living wills when it's the parent we're worried about? What about the stress involved in seeking a retirement home or nursing home when it becomes painfully obvious our parent can no longer function on his or her own? The issue of housing for the elderly is thoroughly covered in Grote's book, as are warnings and issues to watch for when exploring options.

Mr. Grote also deals with geriatric illnesses ranging from Alzheimer's to various stages of dementia, hospital care, hospice care and the struggle most children face when dealing with the fact that their parent needs additional care. This extremely well written and researched book gives the reader a road map of sorts to follow, a guide for what to watch for and how to deal with nearly every imaginable situation. Face it - this is, unfortunately, an unavoidable subject. But after reading compassionate and intensively detailed how-to care book, it is obvious that ignoring the issues of aging won't make them go away. This book offers hard-earned advice and experience in ways to make the transition as stress free for the parent as possible, while offering support for those that are left to make difficult decisions. This is a must reference for any household, for sooner or later, we're all going to have to deal with the issue of aging and elderly care within our family.

Mr. Grote, a worker in the publishing industry for a quarter of a century, decided to put this book together after having to face the reality that his own parent was showing signs of suffering from dementia. This guide is the result of many lessons, frustrations and hours of research.

I now own two copies of this book, one for me and one to loan to friends and family. This book is in no measure short of a miracle. Putting aside learning disabilities and her youth, Ms. Abeel is a gifted poet and author of exceptional depth. That this began as a middle school writing assignment by a child struggling to survive in an insensitive world makes it a tribute to the difference one or two "seeing" people can make. This book is a must for anyone interested in well expressed observation of the rich tapestry of life. --Dave

This poetry book by a thirteen year old learning disabled child opens the doors for all of us as writers and readers. It allows both children and adults to recognize their own "personal disability", maybe something no one sees, and realize that all are conquerable! The prologue and epilogue include Samantha speaking, her parents, and her english teacher...these three points of view bring an in depth view of the "gift within us all" just waiting to be recognized and nurtured. This is a must read for anyone who touches the lives of children!

Though this book is recommended for kids, its greatest value is for anyone, adult or child, who is learning disabled. The author, a teenager at the time of writing, was learning to deal with her severe learning disability-dyscalculia- a total inability to deal with numbers. It is evident from reading her poems that what she lacks in arithmetic abilities is more than compensated for by her exceptional way with words and images. The fact that she was only 15 or so when she wrote the poems is even more astounding. a must for anyone who has a learning disability or knows someone who has one. This is one book that should be catalogued under learning disabilities and education!

(Originally reviewed: August 3, 1998)

This book is packed with nuggets. Although some are sort of buried in the stories, this Mama told the truth without the sugar and spice to make it all nice.

Kelly Williams gave sound advice for mothers of daughters and sons of all ages and races. This book is not to be read like a novel. Single Moms should tuck the little angels in for the night, snuggle up to this good book, and STUDY it.

The most important chapter is near the end, Spirituality. Read this first!

I recently became a single mom of a 4-year-old via divorce, and needed guidance to make sure that we were on the right path: Kelly's book is a warm, humorous, reassuring guide to how to find that path. Not only does she have convincing case scenarios, practical tips and advice, she is very quick to point out that the solution is not to latch onto another brother, which made me feel more comfortable in my decision to be alone for now and not just "settling." I passed this book on to another single sister in need, and would heartily recommend it to any woman who wants to make the best out of her situation all the way around. Thank you so much Kelly, for the knowledge and encouragement, and sistas.....COP THE BOOK WITH THE QUICKNESS!!! YOU AND YOUR CHILDREN WILL BE GLAD YOU DID!!!

The information in this book gives single moms something to sink their teeth into and something to hold onto. Kelly Williams understands. She's written this book in a helpful but straightforward style. I had the pleasure of interviewing Ms. Williams and SINGLEMamahood is the result of a genuine desire by the author, to give women some positive information regarding their experience as single mothers. If you're a single mom (or know one), READ THIS BOOK. It's talking to YOU!

What a book! And what a nice man... For anyone out there who thinks they may not be doing such a great job at this parent thing it's a great read... you realise that you're actually not doing too bad, that you can't be perfect all the time and are allowed to make mistakes - and learn from them, because after all that's what they're for. It makes you think, then it hits you that however long your childs life is it isn't that long at all... I for one will take a little step back, take a deep breath and enjoy my son a little more.

One of my favorite memories growing up was sitting around the fire pit in my grandparent's backyard. Those summer nights with the crisp breezes would carry embers of the roaring fire my Grandfather couldn't help feeding. With every twig or twist of paper he's poke in, a story would ignite. Its those "I remember when's" that educated me, inspired me, molded me and triggered my youthful imagination.

Now, thirteen years after his passing, the embers no longer blow in the crisp breeze . . . but the "I remember when's" are continuing on. Only now, instead of embracing my Grandfather's spirited recollections and insights, it is the words of others I am capturing. William Isaac Douglas, author of the Amateur Parent, pens the words of the latest "I remember when's" and tales of insight I drank in.

These words, however, are different. Douglas intertwines lessons and pieces of nostalgic moments into bits of writing and pieces of poetry all sprinkled with wit and humor. At just the right moment, you'll find quotations from singers, writers and the like. While learning about him and his family, you can't help but learn about you and yours.

This inspirational work, comprising of 154 pages, is a relatively quick read. I wasn't able to put it down - each turn of the page unfolded a mystery both within the life of his amateur parenthood and my own. I found myself related to a lot of what he wrote and expecting to experience that which had nothing to do with me or my family. This book taught me that the journey never ends and the journey of my own parents continues.

Jennifer Hollowell -- Editor -- This Book Reviewer

WOW, this book sent me through a full spectrum of emotions. I was laughing, crying, and completely inspired by it's words. The book touched me deep in my heart.

I read it on my way to Washington DC this past week. I just got home this evening. It allowed me to view my fellow man in a new
light while I walked the countries capital.

Dr. Michael Steward, Sr.
Team USA -- Senior Coach

This was a great book and i would recommend it to everyone. It's deeply upsetting, emotional but not whimsical or sloppy like other novls of this genre. This book steers clear of the protentious narrative [stuff]that we often find ourselves bombarded with. It's funny, sad and clever and should be read by all.

This is a book that makes you think, the characters are not described within a few lines, divided into good and bad, like it's so often true in books selected for clubs across the country. Snip: (...)

In 1987, I read what is still one of my all-time favorite books--DAD, by William Wharton. When first his mother, then his father, become ill, John tremont attempts to sort out their affairs and obtain the best care he can for them. But the book is about so much more than that; it's about the relationships between fathers and sons, about coming to terms with a parent's infirmity and mortality, about letting go, accepting new roles within the family, and realizing that, when all's said and done, your parents are just people with flaws like everyone else. but most of all, DAD is about the final days of Jack Tremont, John's father, and how much John, and everyone else, loved him. Jack was portrayed so well that I loved him too, and I could tell John loved him the way I loved my Grandpa. Grandpa was diagnosed with cancer around the same time I read DAD, and I really identified with John and his feelings of grief, frustration, anger, helplessness, and his incredible love for his dad. It was the kind of book I wished would never end. A real tear-jerker!

I would recommend this book for anyone to read, young or old. I, not being a real "big reader", found this book to be very interesting and entertaining. I found the characters to be very real, and could relate to all of them. Even though the book isn't very long, Nicole Bailey-Williams writes this story's plot very well and keeps you wanting to know what's going to happen next. Once again, I really enjoyed reading this book, and I saw a piece of Sky, and some other characters, in myself.

A Little Piece of Sky tells the story of Song Byrd. Song takes a cautious look back over her life, starting with her earliest relationships and in doing so we read a story of triumph. Song deals with an emotionally unavailable mother and later she struggles with the guilt she feels as a result of her mother's death. When her mother dies, she has to live with her father and his wife and adjust to a completely new, but healthier existence. Unfortunately, the scars of the early part of her life don't just disappear and her half sister and brother are additional reminders of the life she left behind. Even as an adult, Song continues to try to heal her wounds and make a life for herself and recover her lost self esteem. The sky is an important theme in this book and it represents hope. As Song shares her story it becomes clear that just a little bit of hope is often enough to carry a person through the most difficult circumstances.

Nicole Bailey-Williams has made a grand entrance into the literary scene with this spectacular novel. She does an excellent job drawing the reader into Song's world and making them share in her experiences through the short passages of prose. While the format of this book is different from the norm, the author's mixture of literary style and prose proved to be just the right recipe for a stellar debut.

Reviewed by Stacey Seay

Song's spirit is wonderfully captivating! The author has artfully transformed the challenges of youth and hard times into the successes of Perseverance, Trust, and Hope!

After 4 years of reading depressing books about what to expect from my ADHD child, finally I feel like someone has given me the key to unlocking his wonderful potential. As a homeschooling parent this book is a special blessing! The first day I read it I tried writing out the word collaborate and followed the instructions to have him visualize it. (This is a 9 year old child who is a full grade level behind in spelling) He not only spelled it, he immediately spelled it backwards without missing a letter. I cried! This book will be an immense help in choosing curriculum for him, and I would highly recommend it as a must to parents of ADD/ADHD labeled children.

I have never read a better book on add and adhd. my son has struggled with add all through school, but because he was not hyper (adhd) well behaved and never drew attention he was one of the thousands that slipped through the cracks of the system. we finally, with our own money (about $5000) found out his problem, and he is learning, but it has been a long, hard struggle. this book is so on target with these children. The problem isn't that these children can't learn, but that they learn in a different way. not a wrong way, just different. it should be required reading before a teacher is allowed to teach. every year i struggle through the process of visting teachers over and over to make sure my child is learning at grade level, and explaning his way of learning and what i need from them. i shouldn't have to do this. as much money as i pay in taxes my child should be getting the help he needs, but they can't provide it becasue they don't teach in a way these children can learn. great, great book..any parent struggling through add/adhd with a child must read it. not only does it pinpoint the problem, but makes you feel great about your child and his/her ability.

I did not read all of this book (I have a short attention span), but what I did read was so good that I read 80 pages all at once while STANDING UP and supposedly getting ready for bed! I read it to help me with one son in particular, and found myself listed on the pages as well!

Not only does he list characteristics/qualities of an "ADD"/right-brain-dominant person (which helps those who aren't to understand how a person can "tick" differently), but he also lists workable strategies to work WITH (not against) the way a person is internally formed, in order for that person to gain success in the demands of life (which, for a child, means school and home).

Highly readable. Interesting. Offers HOPE! (Hope for parents, their children, and also for adults who see themselves described on the pages.) Lists practical steps to take for improvement.

Coming to Term is a father's first hand account of the premature birth of his daugher, and her subsequent four month experience in the hospital's Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. In 1997, twin girls were born to William and his wife Kim. Due to complications from a pregnancy related syndrome known as HELLP, the babies were born very premature at 24 weeks gestation. The smallest, Nina, died soon after birth. However, Josie, weighing a scant one pound 2 ounces, survived, coming home with them after 125 days in the hospital.

When his daughter is first born, Woodwell is reminded of the one and a half pound lobsters from past Cape Cod vacations, but he is soon amazed at how human the the tiny babies look. As his life narrows to the NICU, he observes how people react to him as well as how he reacts to his own experiences. As the author explains, "the smallest human beings can teach us the biggest lessons we will ever learn."

Preemie parents and others who are interested in the journey of premature babies will find this book a compelling guide.

Coming to Term helped me understand the day to day struggle of my nephew and his wife whose twin daughters were born very prematurely one month after Kim and Bill Woodwell's babies. One of the twins died a month later, and the guilt and grief these parents felt was made more real to me by Woodwell's story. I also finally understand why my nephew's wife was pumping and storing her milk for many weeks before her baby could breastfeed, and how difficult it is to wean an extreme preemie to the breast. The story is especially poignant told from a father's point of view. Woodwell opens his emotions and vulnerabilities as we follow his journey from skeptical father-to-be to a father and husband who now greets each day as a gift. In addition to its educational value, Coming to Term is a truly inspirational book.

What happens to a family when, looking ahead to celebrating the birth of twins, they are suddenly faced with the loss of one daughter and the questionable survival of another? How does a father support his family emotionally and deal with his own feelings of loss, guilt, and fear, when his children enter the world after only twenty-four weeks in the womb?

Despite the difficulty most parents experience in sharing their struggles, William H. Woodwell successfully tells his story in a way that informs, validates, reassures, and even inspires other parents confronting similar horrors. In "Coming to Term: A Father’s Story of Birth, Loss and Survival", he describes in detail the events surrounding his wife’s life-threatening pregnancy and the subsequent early birth of their twins. With an honest prose and candid tone, Mr. Woodwell successfully conveys the sense of loss and despair felt by parents who suddenly find themselves on the emotional roller coaster of prematurity. Parents will appreciate his frank disclosures about how he felt regarding Nina, the more fragile twin, and her early death. His candor and empathetic understanding will help parents facing similar situations to garner strength. Mr. Woodwell superbly expresses the painful emotions of a husband whose wife is critically ill, of a father whose children face an uncertain future. Confronting a terrible predicament, he openly questions his roles as provider, supporter, and defender of his family, and allows the reader to glimpse his grief, uncertainties and feelings of helplessness. He illustrates the surreal atmosphere that surrounds high-risk birth and neonatal intensive care units, simultaneously discussing the bittersweet aspects of the experience and the crisp medical prescriptions for his family. Coming to Term is tough to read in many ways, and its audience is likely to find their emotions welling to surface, but it ends as a simple and beautiful story of survival and accomplishment in the face of tremendous adversity. "Coming to Term: A Father's Story of Birth, Loss, and Survival" is endorsed by The Preemie Place, an international support resource for caregivers of premature children...

Make no mistake: "Agape Agape" is not the mammoth achievement of prior Gaddis novels. However, it still is a worthwhile read brimming with ideas on every page.

A man is dying and from his bed he struggles to put his papers in order, to try to give shape to his last book. His mind races with all manner of thought mainly about society: the mechanization of the arts, society's dumbing down, player pianos, the Pulitzer Prize, school violence. All these thought threads come together in one overarching theme, and Gaddis's genius is not only in the ideas put forth but in his prose style: a style of fits and starts, sentences that run on incessantly, others that end abruptly to go on to the next thought. It is the perfect representation on paper of the thought processes of a dying intellectual man.

Admirers of both Gaddis's work as well as the work of Thomas Bernhard will gain much from this slim volume. Joseph Tabbi's afterword at the end puts this novella in context when viewed against Gaddis's entire ouevre.

Readers new to Gaddis might start with this one or "A Frolic of His Own."

Either way, treat yourself to this little book, one that deserves to be read more than once, one that deserves to be admired, one written by a largely overlooked American giant.

I have seldom if ever revised my opinion of an author based on a posthumous work-until now. I confess to having found the late William Gaddis' other (and in some circles, classic) novels (J.R., Frolic of His Own, The Recognitions, and Carpenter's Gothic) theoretically interesting and probably brilliant, but always far too long, very self-indulgent, difficult for its own sake and almost unreadable-in other words, they bored me, what I could get through of them.
This prejudice of mine is coupled with a general dislike for posthumous works in general-the kind where a Major Author left a work unfinished at death, and which is years after released and edited with an introduction or forward by some noted Scholar: ("This really IS a great book, all of Fitzgerald's/Hemingway's/Duras'/McGowin's major Themes are here," etc., etc.). Well, they very seldom are great works, and just as the act of Revision seems contrived to some (your Kerouac wannabes, perhaps), I, conversely, find the act of posthumous publication to itself be contrived-again, in general. Glenn Gould, the great pianist, once expressed his intense dislike of "live" recordings being released on record labels with the surrounding hoopla, and said he planned to do a "fake" live album, recorded in the studio, complete with mistakes and overdubbed with audience coughing, etc. Sony of course wouldn't go for it, but I've often wanted to write a "fake" posthumous novel, the Final (unfinished) Work of a Great American Novelist-I'll make it about 100 de-contextualized pages, with 200 pages of forwards, introductions, afterwards, and footnotes. Now that Dave Eggars is a Publisher, he should get in touch.
But in the case of Agape Agape, the Afterward is totally superfluous. The book was finished when Gaddis died, and I don't need to have that explained to me, nor do I care what Joseph Tabbi et. al. Think of it in the overall context of Gaddis' other novels or what it started out as or what Gaddis wanted it to achieve. It's 125 pages, and all of a piece, without section or chapter breaks, the perfect length for what is the most cohesive and affecting book the man ever wrote-the free-associations of a dying narrator who's afraid his lifelong goal to write the definitive history of the player piano will never come to fruition. Into this frenetic and breathless narrative, then, is woven...everything. What begins with the narrator's opinions concerning several aspects of the History and Future of Technology becomes a fictional autobiography the likes of which has rarely been achieved, cemented by the character's grasp of mortality and humanity, and by Gaddis' seamless and masterful narrative drive. He is ON.
This is a one or two-sitting book, and the reader will come away from it reeling. It's too brief for me to go into specifics, for the specifics are the book, the book is the plot-but if you've never read Gaddis, START HERE. And if you need to picture a Literary Precedent, think of Dostoyevsky's Notes from Underground, perhaps, or of the best shorter work by Camus or John Hawkes-but only think. Because this book suceeds where Gaddis' other novels drag in that it also makes you feel.

William Gaddis' Agape Agape is a brilliant, philisophical rumination on the nature of contemporary society and its relationship to art and the artist. It's not really a novel, but rather a 100 page diatribe of a dying man trying to get his affairs in order before the end. He is in a bed somewhere, spilling water, bleeding slightly on his notes, his books. He talks to us about everything from the mundane (the blood) to the deeply philisophical (Plato and many, many others). I read this one one sitting in about an hour because it's that compelling and enjoyable. The conversation seamlessly moves from real estate matters to artistic matters. His commentary will make you chuckle, will make you shake your head in agreement. This is an interesting work and if you are looking from a step up from your average novel. Enjoy.