Since the text follows a simple pattern, the book is good for teaching English as a foreign language. Here in Korea, I have had students ask me to read it again.

It is also good for a lesson on spoken intonation. The children enjoy playing the xylophone on C-E-A-G-G-G while I read "but it wasn't spilt milk."

Got this book for my children and also my niece. Remembered it from a long time ago. Encourages use of imagination.

I'm a new elementary educator, and I found this book very useful for promoting creativity in the classroom. Not only is it a good book to read before introducing a unit on clouds and weather, but also it can be used to increase artistic expression. You will not be disappointed with this title.

"Gargoyles: Monsters in Stone" is a fine educational book by young readers. Jennifer Dussling's text is accompanied by Peter Church's charming full-color illustrations. Together, these collaborators explain the story behind the stone gargoyles that can be seen high up on many buildings.

The book explains the practical function of the gargoyles (to drain water from buildings). The book also explains how a stone carver creates a gargoyle, and illustrates various types of gargoyles. The illustrations are particularly pleasing, as are the Celtic-looking design borders that are used on the pages. A must-have for kids with an interest in the topic.

You know what? My daughter, 23 months, LOVES this book. Gargoyle (or rather, "ga-goyle") has become one of her favorite words. She asks for this book by name frequently, and excitedly points out gargoyles she sees on local buildings in Chicago. This is a pleasant change of pace from the usual childhood fare.

Children will walk away from this easy reader with a wealth of knowledge about gargoyles! The illustrations complement the rich and accessible text by giving a medieval feel! A great read aloud! A great independent read!

Naked At The Podium: The Writer's Guide To Successful Readings is a very practical guide of tips, tricks, and exercises for authors who may not be quite so at home giving a public reading as with the usual day's work of bringing drama to blank sheets of paper. Techniques presented include how to use body language, cure pre-reading jitters, become one's characters, and generally make the reading a memorable promotional event to spread word of one's book. Naked At The Podium is strongly recommended reading for authors seeking to promote their books through public readings at bookstores, libraries, or other venues.

Before I read "Naked at the Podium", I had given a number of presentations of my book. However, after I read it, what a difference! I was more at ease, more confident, and the audience reflected this change. The result: more book sales. No writer setting out to promote a book can afford not to read, and use, this important contribution by Kahle and Workhoven. Evelyn McDaniel Gibb, author of Two Wheels North

Wow. Forget the fluff... here's a book crammed with valuable tips and information you will use to make any speaking engagement more effective.

As I was preparing for several Author appearances and book signings for my first novel (The Glass Cocoon) I was fortunate enough to obtain a copy of this helpful, informative, valuable and fun to read book.

Authors Peter Kahle and Melanie Workhoven have learned by trial and error the most effective ways to prepare yourself for any speaking engagement. They know most of the 'secrets' and 'tricks' and have written an extremely easy and fun book to read that will help you get rid of the jitters, and present the best you, you possibly can,when you get up in front of a group of people.

Melanie's background as an actress and Peter's as a author combine in a book that doesn't waste any valuable time in giving you great ways to prepare to have successful readings and speaking engagements.

There is a lot of information, practical advice, insights, tips, preperatory exercises (complete with useful pictures) in this book. The information is delivered clearly, concisely and with a generous dose of breezy humor and in-the-trenches examples. A lot of research and a variety of personal experiences from the authors and some others have been effectively tapped. The book will walk you through the whole process and experience and you get the feeling your best friend is holding your hand and filling you with confidence and encouragement.

Follow the advice in the book and you can be assured of not only having a successful speaking engagment, but also of having a lot of fun too.

Thank you.. thank you.. thank you Peter and Melanie for this extremely useful and valuable resource.

Christopher J. Jarmick is the co-author of the recently published mystery suspense thriller The Glass Cocoon with Serena F. Holder.

"Rain" is yet another memorable work by Peter Spier.

Like "Peter Spier's Christmas!", "Rain" is a wordless picture book that beautifully captures the essence of the moment that Mr. Spier is trying to convey. Childhood memories are faithfully recorded in a montage of images that we all know and remember.

The amount of detail in Spier's work is staggering, but not overdone. Everything just seems to fit. Upon repeat viewings, the reader captures another hidden detail. Obviously, Mr. Spier knew what it was like to live around older homes, with all of their idiosyncrasies. Here we see an old, uneven brick doorstep. Ornamental decoration on the pillars of the family porch. The assorted flotsom and jetsom that fills the yard of a large, old home, and the children's room in particular. All of these and more are extremely accurate reditions of an older home.

We also see the child's viewpoint of rain. The standing in running water by the curb, the walking under a broken gutter with your umbrella, the colors that jump out from rain-soaked flowers, the wind, the warm cocoa Mom provides upon returning home to tell of your adventures. All of it is here, and real, and true-to-life.

The story follows two children as they spend the day experiencing their world during a rainstorm. Nothing more. Nothing less. It's that simple, and that beautiful.

Buy this book.

There is nothing more to say.

Originally found it at the library. My 2 & 3 year old loved making up their own story and pointing out the story in their own way. I look forward to owning this one and getting other works from this author!

I want to own this book in hardcover. It is a keeper. You can look and look again seeing more each time you look at these scenes of family life and the natural world. Thanks, Mr. Spier.

This is the companion volume to Reading Latin, by the same authors (q.v.). This volume contains the vocabularies for the reading exercises in Reading Latin, as well as the grammar for each section and copious exercises. The combination is a thorough and effective way to learn Latin while introducing you to some of the best of Latin literature. The vocabularies are cleverly constructed so that you build up a good core vocabulary, without producing ridiculously simple reading sections by trying to keep the vocabulary too restricted. A hint: the authors suggest you don't do all the exercises, but choose a few. You'll do much better if you do most, if not all, of them. Secondly, the course is not called Reading Latin for nothing. There are exercises in translating from English to Latin, but if you want to write Latin, you would be better off with a Latin Prose Composition course. Latin is not an easy language and all language learning takes time. The whole Reading Latin Course will take 18 months to 2 years to work through at a comfortable pace.

I am one of those mature students who did not make out at school and found to my regret that I had hit my forties without achieving any academic qualifications. I studied Philosophy at Bachelors' and Masters' levels when I discovered I wanted to ultimately study mediaeval philosophy at Doctorate level. However, I had zilch Latin and Greek, for I was like the majority of my generation (the ones who had not paid to go to school) and had been denied these subjects at grade school. At the level I was now studying, I needed to read the original texts in Latin and this way was barred to me at that time. I ceased my academic philosophy studies and tried to acquire the necesssary Latin skills in order to read these texts. I tried various grammars and struggled until I came across this book and another set with which I worked a deux: 'the Cambridge Latin Course'. I will talk about the Cambridge course elsewhere. 'Reading Latin' consists of various texts from Latin authors like Cicero and Plautus with appropriate exercises and grammar explanations that take the reader through the essentials of Latin. It was tough going at first for Jones and Sidwell do not go in for the faint hearted. You could say that 'Latin is not for Wimps!'. However, after two years working with the exercises and conscientiously keeping plodding on, even when I felt 'grammar fatigue' coming on, I passed my 'A' level Latin with a grade A distinction! I am now reviewing some of the more grey areas and dipping into Sidwell's follow-up book 'Medieval Latin' (sic) which takes the keen reader and me, the hopeful mediaevalist, into the areas where Latin became the repository of Western Thought and the language of the scholar. I am presently working my way through the opening chapters of the sister volume of JACT, 'Reading Greek', that takes the same approach, albeit in three segments and not two. Due to 'Reading Latin', I am now commencing my DPhil studies in the Fall, confident I can handle the material. I would have been unable to do this without the basics covered in this book. As I have already emphasised, Latin is not an easy subject and is not for the faint hearted, although its rigours are ultimately extremely rewarding. I believe the educationalists, those hidden strategists of class education, were ultimately wrong to deny Latin to working class people like me, who they supposed would occupy some menial niche under someone who had. However, with this book and accompanying text and some steely perseverance, the dogged formerly classics-denied individual will finally get where they wish to arrive: easily reading and appreciating these immortal writings of great beauty and structure that underpin the very culture that we belong to; these works that were supposed to be so great that they were to be kept from the many, as a preserve for the elect. I believe Cicero, Ovid and Horace would agree with me!

If you are in search of a great book that will help you in your quest to learn to Read Latin, then, this is the book for you! The information provided is thorough, and organized in a way that every philologist will appreciate. It covers Latin grammar and vocabulary in a section by section manner, with each section building on the previous section learned. Each section follows the same format: Latin running vocabulary, learning vocabulary, and grammar, in addition to other helps such as "word building," "everyday Latin," and "Real Latin." Then, continues on with the following exercises that reinforce the students growing knowledge of Latin: Morphology (translating English into Latin), Reading (translation of Latin text using correct grammar), and English-Latin (translating Latin into English). This text also provides a "Glossary of English-Latin Grammar," "Total Latin-English Learning Vocabulary," "Total English-Latin Vocabulary for exercises," "Additional Learning Vocabulary," and a handy "Index of Grammar" used throughout the text. It is a great help for adult students and non-students alike learning the language, or for those studying classical culture in general. A must have for any Latin aficionado (from Latin "affectio" AFFECTION)!

I really love this book ~ it is perfectly illustrated for children.

Peter Spier is one of my favorite illustrators of children's books. Here, his illustrations for three verses of Francis Scott Key's poem and song, "The Star-Spangled Banner," provide an excellent introduction for children to the meaning behind his famous lyrics.

I usually read this aloud to primary classes around a patriotic holidays. This year, because of our late school year, I read it for Flag Day. Since the words and historical setting are unfamiliar to most younger students, I have begun introducing this book with "The Story of 'The Star Spangled Banner,'" which can be found in "The Children's Book of America," edited by William J. Bennett. These two volumes make fine companions.

Even with this introduction, Key's text needs explaining, however with Spier's finely detailed illustrations, this task is much easier. Children love to examine the intricacies and they usually come up with some excellent comments and questions. On the page featuring Arlington National Cemetery, they ask about who died in battle, why some of the grave markers are stars instead of crosses, and why the flag is flying at half-mast.

Our copy of "The Star-Spangled Banner" is nearly worn out from heavy use. That should say something about the popularity of this excellent patriotic book.

our four-year-old claims this is his FAVORITE book. Perhaps it is because his mother chokes up and tears drop to her cheeks as she reads this book. We have found that this is an excellent read-aloud and has stretched our four-year-old's language skills in many ways. As if The Star Spangled Banner weren't moving enough, the arrangement of pictures flows along with the words of the song to create an image of heroics and bravery. In addition, little incidentals like soldiers feeding their horses and wet clothes hanging to dry aboard ship cause us to remember that these were real people fighting. Peter Spier mixes history with the present as he causes us to remember what these men were fighting for. We see schools and businesses, Arlington Cemetery and the Statue of Liberty, cities and rural farms, synagogues and churches, Amish buggies and a Friends Meeting House all as evidence of our cultural diversity. We also see that the fight continues as we witness a renovation project and scientists working in a lab. The first, second and fourth verses are illustrated. The pictures help the capable parent define words such as "conceals" and "discloses." In addition, the artwork contains so much information and story that conversation just develops as the book is read. There is an oustanding collection of Flags of America and a thorough history of the War of 1812. The words to all four verses of the Star Spangled Banner and the music by J Stafford Smith follow. Peter Spier is becoming our hero as the author of our favorite children's books.

This gorgeous book is unlike any other children's book I have ever seen. It is richer, more varied in its offerings and in its fundmental concept, which is a celebration of books. I can imagine enjoying this book with children of any age from newborn all the way through early teens. It expresses a tender love of both language and image that I find deeply evocative. Imagine a book that offers a myriad of possibilities on every page, in a beautiful, nonlinear way, as different from Richard Scarry as possible. This is a wondrous book about books.

This book is fantastic for teaching the power and purpose for reading. Students of all ages can see how virtual reality is not only on a computer monitor but also between the pages of a book! The words are few, but the paintings are outstanding provoking imagination and conversation about the power of thought and the written word. It is a powerful teaching tool for teaching students of all ages, k-post college.

The book was very detailed and interesting. I knew some things about the TITANIC but not as much as this book tells me!!!! This is a great book. I am looking foward to reading all the others Eyewitness Books.

This book is one of the nicest books I have found for children on the Titanic. The pictures are beautiful and it's nice to have an early reader book that is non-fiction.

My 3 year old loves Dragon Tales and immediately loved this little book. The sing-song rhyme of the text was very appealing and the large print is helpful for beginning readers. This simple story tries to encourage children to seek help from others to overcome obstacles. I recommend this book for any young child who loves Dragon Tales and pizza.

My 3 year old daughter loves Dragon Tales and this book quickly became one of her favorites. The simple sing song rhyme of the text is very appealing. The story is simple but humorous and encourages seaking out the help of others when you aren't sure what to do. The large, clear print is nice for beginning readers. This is one little book that we will read over and over again.

Professor Peter Manning has allowed me to appreciate and understand romantic literature to an extent which I would have never thought possible. Professor Manning's passion for the subject shines through every sentance in this scholarly masterpiece. Dr. Manning's years of study and reflection in the Lake District of England, a source of inspiration (and often an adress) for many of the masters in his study no doubt contributed to his abilty to achieve a higher level of understanding of the beautiful poetry to which he has devoted his professional life. Dr. Manning represents all that is good about scholarship and intellectual pursuit in this country.

Peter Manning is a deeply insightful human being and a great father. His cutting analysis and exploration of the works and lives of the Romantic Poets is must reading for anyone who considers him or herself to have even the smallest of romantic leanings.