I really enjoyed this story. I really liked it when her family felt sorry for her and let her have that cat. It's about a little girl on her way to Missouri with her family, Ma, Pa, Kate, Benjy, Duffy, and Doris.

My 7 yr. old advanced reader found this book not only reasonable to read, but it held her excitement at wanting to know what would happen to each of the characters as the wagon train progressed on its journey and met real dangers. It was not too scary, but filled with the concerns of real life in the pioneer days. The story developed the unfolding of a girlhood friendship in such a way as to show a young reader ways to ease into a relationship. It was a delight to read with a child and educational in many ways.

Everyone knows Robert Louis Stevenson; everyone has at least one of the myriad books of his poetry. There are some stunningly illustrated collections of his poetry out now, notably two by Thomas Kincaide, among others. But how many of us have actually read all or most of his work? I'm guilty as charged.

This smaller, quieter version of Stevenson's poetry helped me finally, actually read all the Garden poetry. True, the illustrations are spare, but delightfully accurate. My children (7 and 10) were not as mesmerized by this book as they are by others with fanciful graphics, illustrations and larger type to accompany the poetry.

Still, this small book found its way into my purse to be used for waiting moments, e.g. at the orthodontist, doctor, and also to my bedside, where it's shear diminutive size did not dissuade me from reading "for only a minute or two." And within Stevenson's words and language lie the ferment of creative pictures. I liked to have my children close their eyes while I read short poems to 'force' them to use only their mind's eye.

I thoroughly enjoyed the adventures, moods, and images Stevenson conjures and at long last can understand why his poetry remains so classic.

Most everyone knows that Robert Louis Stevenson was sickly, both as a child and as an adult, and the happy result for the reading public was his nearly feverish flights of imagination. Here, in an edition of his classic "A Child's Garden of Verses," that fever is complemented in spades by the fantastical illustrations of English artist Joanna Isles.

Isles uses an arsenal of utterly frivolous flowers, borders, insects, birds, kings and queens, fairies, and more to expand upon the imagination exhibited in Stevenson's poems. The children in these pictures are depicted as being in charge, being at one with their environment, and being delighted to be alive.

Some of the illustrations hint at the influence of artists more famed than Isles (Henri Rousseau appears to be a special favorite of hers--see the illustration for "The Unseen Playmate," in which a boy lies down in weeds that might have sprung from the edge of Rousseau's painting "The Dream"). Using both primary colors and pastels, Isles creates a world within the world of Stevenson's verse. The marriage of the two is a happy one.

When I was younger, well 5 actually, I had the chicken pox. This was one of my mom's favorite books. The words in the poetry just soothed me. It seemed like the author, Robert Louis Stevenson, knew exactly what I was going through.

You can't forget about the little toy soldiers (a poem) at your feet because when you are sick for days, you can imagine all kinds of things in your mind. The curtains billow like sails, the bedpost is your anchor. I sat there in bed and just floated away with the fun of having someone to share my illness. It seemed like a had a friend right there with me.

I loved the pictures too. The little kids are old fashioned and it made me laugh because the boys wore silly clothes, but they fit the time period, my mom said.

I love this book and keep it by my bed when I need to be relaxed.

Hayley Cohen

The "Best Editorial Cartoons of the Year" series has been around for at least 30 years now.

I know this because I actually remember the 1972 and 1973 editions. The differences between those editions and this one show how far the art of political satire has declined and how far the Matriarchy has progressed.

We're never told what standard is used to rate a particular cartoon as among the "best" of the year, and it's fairly safe to say that it's purely based on the subjective preference of the editor, Charles Brooks. And this much has to be said for him - he includes cartoons from a number of perspectives but leaves out left-wing heavy hitters such as Conrad, Trudeau, and the recently deceased Herblock (did they hit him in the head with a shovel to make sure?). This is important for balance, simply because there are no right-wing heavy hitters among political cartoonists to even the score.

For the most part, the cartoons included in all collections have been from relatively obscure contributors - both left and right. This is all to the good.

But this year's edition was just a lot of pap. For one thing, Gary Condit had been the big story before September 11. Where are the Condit cartoons?

Of course, the biggest story in 2001 turned out to be the terrorist attacks on the Pentagon and the World Trade Center. So the "best" cartoons mostly repeat conventional sentiment - what a tragedy, but we're strong and united now so we'll get the bastards, blah blah blah.

How many cartoons were drawn which showed the Statue of Liberty, Uncle Sam, and the American Eagle alternatively weeping, praying, retaliating etc. etc.? What a self-replicating show of pompous victimologistic self-assuming virtue!

Incisive masculine wit is disappearing from the modern political cartoon, and cartoons that are supposed to make you EMOTE without THINKING have become the rule.

Get a load of the contribution from Richard Wallmeyer of the Long Beach Press Telegram about "anti-bully" legislation. In the penultimate panel, one kid suggests that people just live by the Golden Rule instead of passing a law and in the last panel, his friend responds by reminding him that religion isn't allowed in public schools.

That's it. No wit; no nuance; no attempt to make the reader THINK about what the cartoonist is trying to say. No symbolism even. Wallmeyer tells you straight out what you should believe.

And Jeff Parker's post-September 11 contribution from Florida Today showing two Floridians wearing "I Love NY" paraphernalia and agreeing between themselves that "We are all New Yorkers now".

No biting masculine wit, no nuance, no intellect, no symbolism. And suck a lozenge, Jeff Parker. All of the terrorists attacks in the world won't turn the average New Yorker into a human being, any more than the 1989 earthquake could do so for the average San Franciscan. Parker is just engaging in cheap sentiment masquerading as patriotism.

The decline in quality of political cartoons stems from the fact that as women continue to make war on men and as the Matriarchy's grip becomes more crushing, male cartoonists have become softer and more effeminate (this is happening in other settings too, obviously).

And more women have become political cartoonists. There's an Ann Telnaes cartoon in which Joseph Lieberman's statement at Notre Dame that public morality should be based on faith is juxtaposed against a picture of Moslem women wearing veils.

Even assuming that it's BAD for women to hide their features, is it really accurate to suppose that a faith-based public morality would require an imposition of the burqua? No more than it would require baptism or a kosher diet but in a feminized world, the reader is not supposed to think but to emote, emote, emote.

Of course, as anyone who has seen her recurring appearances on C-SPAN knows, as a political cartoonist, Ann Telnaes is one hot babe whose face definitely should NOT be covered. But her cartoons would only be improved by the camouflage that a veil would provide. They are hardly worthy of inclusion among the country's "best".

And the feminization of the American political cartoon isn't just limited to matters of style.

Resistance to the Matriarchy has become unthinkable. In the 1973 edition, there is an entire section devoted to "Women's Lib", most of the contributions deliciously skewering the feminazis.

In one uproarious example, a man is standing at the altar looking apprehensive while hooked in his arm is his "bride", a man in drag. The preacher performing the "marriage" ceremony asks the "groom", "Do you, John, promise to love, honor and obey the Equal Rights Amendment?"

Go try to find a cartoon like that today! We've come a long way from when Thomas Nast cartoons afflicted and ultimately defeated party bosses such as Bill Tweed. Today's feminist bosses have no reason to moan, "Stop them damned pictures!" The people drawing them come from the same New Class that their masters do.

So where gender issues are concerned, the drawing board cult members bow their collective heads in deference to the "women are strong and good; men are weak and bad and deserving of punishment" party line. The 2002 edition shows an androgenized Statue of Liberty punching a Taliban member in the face in a display of women's "rights" (get it? She'll throw her "left" at him next).

The Evil Rights Amendment might not have been enacted, but feminism has still become the official state religion of both left and right. As such, it stifles masculine energy, independence, and creativity. These can only return when and if a younger generation of males rebels against the imposition of public morality in the name of this particular faith.

Until then, the quality of written protest, in the form of political animation, can be expected to continuously decline. But I wonder what the 2032 edition of "Best Editorial Cartoons" will look like.

First, a set of rejoinders: (1) One of the bedrocks of the patriarchy is private property and there are plenty of noted cartoonists, such as Garry Trudeau and Pat Oliphant, who I suspect do not allow their work to be reprinted in a collection such as this because all of their cartoons are going to be published in their own collections. (2) The absence of heavy weight conservative editorial cartoonists is compensated for by the abundance of right wing radio talk show hosts; however, this begs the question of whether a list naming heavy weight conservative editorial cartoonists can be produced in the first place. (3) As a rule of thumb, it is always more fun to attack than the praise, especially when it comes to sitting Presidents. (4) There are, in point of fact, eight cartoons on Gary Condit, appearing on five pages in three different sections of "Best Editorial Cartoons of the Year, 2002." (5) Yes, editorial cartoonists around the country responded in exceedingly similar fashion to the events of September 11th. A lack of creativity is indeed one explanation, but so is the fact that the destruction of the World Trade Center and its aftermath present exigencies and constraints that suggest a particular iconography: two towers suggests two legs or two figures. An attack by terrorists on the United States means the latter will be represented in editorial cartoons by icons like Uncle Sam or a Bad Eagle; because the attack was on New York City within sight of the Statue of Liberty, she serves as an appropriate symbol as well. Using the eagle as America's totem makes it easy to cast the terrorists as rats, snakes, or other vermin.

Beyond that, I am certainly curious as to what sort of cartoons conducive to provoking thinking rather than emotion would be appropriate to depicting September 11th, not to mention those that would display wit or patriotism that could not be dismissed as cheap. For that matter, I would also add that there are some cartoons displaying such qualities amongst those depicting The Response to the attack.

Still, the idea that sexual equality is responsible for the lack of true genius in the over 400 editorial cartoons from 175 cartoonists instead of the ennui that has afflicted every other commercial art form in the world is certainly provocative. I suppose that if the Equal Rights Amendment was still on the political table there would be some choice cartoons on the subject, but since it is not pillorying Hillary Clinton and her spousal unit will just have to do.

Besides September 11th and related subjects (e.g., the administration of George W. Bush, the anthrax scare), this collection of editorial cartoons looks at other major news stories from 2001 such as the surprise takeover of the U.S. Senate by the Democrats, the execution of Timothy McVeigh, China trying to get the Olympics, the death of Dale Earnhardt, and the (stupid) economy. In each of these collections I also find the work of a couple of cartoonists standing out. This time around for me it was Nick Anderson, who won the 2000 National Society of Professional Journalists Award for his cartoon on the Florida recount circus and Rick McKee for his cartoon following McVeigh's execution, a drawing which is doubly icon, and therefore quite powerful.

As always, I find these visual excursions down memory lane to be quite effective for recalling the topics and tenor of the times. It would not have been difficult to devote an entire volume to editorial cartoons just about September 11th, although we could certainly anticipate that not everybody would be interested in seeing the recurring iconic elements that would be worked into dozens of similar cartoons.

Leading editorial cartoonists are presented in a volume which focuses on concerns over terrorism and political actions. Best Editorial Cartoons Of The Year, 2002 Edition packs in popular black and white editorials that reflect the major concerns of the Year 2001: any that wants a record of events and opinions will find Best Editorial Cartoons Of The Year, 2002 Edition intriguing and fun.

Being a native Texan I thought I had heard and read all there was with regards to the Texas Rangers, This book proved me wrong but delightfully so. An excellent book if you want the history of Texas as well as history of the Rangers. The detail with which Mr Robinson writes covers the ground they rode as well as their undying love of Texas and their duty.Although I did wish for some articles to be more detailed, it was hopefully due more to the loss of records then any intentional overlook by the author. Excellent reading, hard to put down.

Robinson captures all the important characters and events in this short, easy-to-read, well balanced book of the Texas Rangers. The book is actually a series of short stories about the most notorious and memorable men who made the Texas Rangers legendary not only for their fortitude and bravery, but also for their ruthlessness and sometimes lawlessness. The book is very objective and does not attempt to portray the Rangers as gods. Nevertheless, the Rangers were a unique band of men who often sacrificed their lives to protect the ordinary citizen living in remote areas of Texas. The real Texas Rangers and their actual accomplishments are far more amazing than the myth that continues to surround these extraordinary men to this day.

Fastidiously researched, well-documented, and equally well-written, this book is probably the final word, not only on the Texas Rangers, but on certain epochs of Texas history. This is the book that we`ve been waiting for - the kind that evokes the human side of the Rangers without destroying their larger-than-life reputation, and one that makes them live up to their sins without minimizing their heroism. This combines equal parts fact and testosterone to make for a satisfying read that, although it does drag occasionally, quite makes up for it with a steady stream of colorful events and individuals on every page.

- Benjamin Gene Gardner

"Do you have your tree yet," Heather asked Robin. "There it was! That question. Only this time it was worse, because of what Sandy Goldstein had done." Sandy's family had put up a Christmas tree and called it a Chanukah bush.

This nub of the first pages in this 9-chapter, 48-page easy reader captures the conflicted feelings of Robin, the main Jewish character whose best friend Heather was Christian. Heather naturally wanted Robin to share the joy of Christmas. Robin wanted to share it too. But of course, being Jewish, her family did not have a Christmas tree, and she had to tell her friend, "There is no such thing as a Chanukah bush."

Things got worse in school, when Robin's teacher directed the children to construct holiday decorations and Sandy Goldstein sat next to Robin, making the ugliest paper chains she had ever seen. Then all the other children started talking about their tree decorations and Santa Claus. Robin felt so, so, left out.

At home, Robin had a conversation with her mother about different ways of being Jewish. Robin's mother finished by saying that if Sandy Goldstein's family had a Christmas tree that was their business, but she would not have one in her house. They lit Chanukah candles.

Then Robin's Grandpa entered. His union was holding a Christmas party and he wanted Robin to go. The story travels through another five chapters and 28 pages before the girls reach an understanding about one another and their holidays. And that understanding is truly magnificent.

This book shows children the respect that they can and should have for others of varied faiths. Children (and people) can be different, but nevertheless help and love one another, deeply.

And PS, this book is not just for girls. Our copy was a gift from a relative whose son loved the story too. Alyssa A. Lappen

Dear editors, I am writing re: my review of 1-25-99. There is a one-word error in the fifth line that changes the meaning entirely. It should read, ".....insight for NON Jewish adults...", not "insight for now Jewish adults." Would you kindly change this wording. As it reads now, it is misleading for your potential future customers, and embarrasing for me. (p.s. I actually AM Heather's mother. Susan Sussman wrote the book using our two daughters as the models for her characters Robin and Heather.)

As a Christian who's best friend was Jewish in elementary school (and to this very day) the two of us found this story to be such an entertainment that we joke about it to this very day, some nearly twenty years later. It helped to bridge a gap in understanding about what Hanukkah means to the faithful, and even now I fondly remember feeling so special being the one Christian invited to light the candles and "tell the story of God and His glory and how precious freedom was won." Even now, I tell people I was raised by a Jewish mother too, with much pride, and look forward to the festival of lights year after year.

I thought that this book was very informative about things that happen to a maturing girl. This book is about a girl, named Annette, that leaves her home in Canada with her mother. She is half Nootka Indian. While she is there she goes to a school that is called St. Johns Chapel. She is teased and mocked because of her looks and race. She makes a new friend, Katie Danbor, despite it all. Annette feels that she is torn between her Nootka background and her present American. I thought that this book shows what life is really about, it doesn't sugar coat the bad news. It expresses how you have one really good friend and alot of people that you don't like and alot of people that don't like you. It shows the reality about everything. It also shows that some people don't have everything and they are still able to hold there heads up high and make it on there own.

Finding young adult novels which are set in Canada and have an urban First Nations context is extremely difficult because there are precious few. A Woman of Her Tribe merits attention because of its approach to a young person's struggle between traditional and contemporary worlds. Set in rural Vancouver Island and Victoria, the novel deals candidly with a young woman's change into womanhood, and the incredible resonsibility of decisions. Threr are worthy lessons that can be taken from this novel, such as respect for the land, sacred traditions, and the importance of relationships. The story effectively brings to life the tradtional ways of the Nootka First Nations people on Vancouver Island, Canada. My choice is to have older students, twelve to seventeen, read this novel.

it is enteresting and beautifully compose

This is a very funny book and we liked it very much. The best thing about this book is that it was filled with surprises. We loved the ending the best. Read "Slime Time" by the same authors to find out what else Danny is up to.

This is a great book and I enjoyed reading it. However, this is a book that is not in McKillips style. It is not fantasy. Instead, It is a mystery for young readers. None the less, it is worth the time of any true Patricia Mckillip fan.

Few works of adult literature are so well known that they become embedded in our cultural fabric the way that Oliver Twist has. Perhaps it is because the title character is a loveable, sympathetic, young boy that the story, over time, has come to be mistaken by some for a children's tale. And perhaps it is because I feel like I have known the story all my life that I only recently realized that I had never, in fact, read the novel. So as I sat down to (finally) read this book, it was with a sense that I was simply revisiting a cherished story from my youth. But as I quickly realized after a very few pages, this is adult literature in all respects - in its sophisticated, intelligent prose, its rich plot, its elaborate cast of characters, and, yes, the occasional depiction of gruesome violence.

Surely even those who have never read this Charles Dickens' classic could recite the basic elements of its plot. Who among us is unfamiliar with the story of the young orphan who musters up the courage to ask, "Please, sir, I want some more." And yet this novel is so much more than a mere rags-to-riches story. It is also the heartwarming story of the triumph of good versus evil and of the human spirit's ability to face down adversity. Dickens pits an innocent child against the dangers of an uncaring world, and the story's happy ending is at once a celebration of Oliver's innocence and an affirmation of all that is right and just in society.

Though the prose can be tedious at times, Dickens' mastery of the English language is difficult not to appreciate. And while some may find the plot cliché, there is sufficient tension throughout the novel to maintain the reader's interest. For myself, I was continually surprised, as the chapters unfolded, to realize how much more there was to this classic than simply a story about an orphan who falls in with a gang of unruly pickpockets. This is definitely worth reading, even if you feel like you have already read it as a child.

The creative novel Oliver Twist, written by Charles Dickens in 1838, defines a classic of all times. This intense story reflects a young boy's life in London with no family or place to go. The novel begins with Oliver's mother dying, while giving birth to her son and the father remains unknown. Throughout the novel we learn about Oliver's struggles on living on his own. The young boy is befriended on the way and taken in my Fagin. Fagin along with the Artful Dodger invite Oliver to stay with them and become one of them, a thief. While going on one of the adventures of pick pocketing Oliver is caught by Mr.Brownlow who instead of reprimanding the young lad, decides to rise him. Throughout the book Oliver searches for the answers to his past while trying to stay alive on the streets of London. Miraculously, Oliver's family lay right under his nose the whole time. The theme of Oliver Twist examines the importance of a family. Oliver plays a forsaken child, abandoned by all-parental support and thrown into the cruel world at a very young age to live on his own. Oliver's early years taught him to fend for himself and he suffers from never experiencing a loving and nurturing childhood. The tone throughout the novel focused on abandonment and how to live and survive on your own. The setting of the book plays a powerful part as the story unfolded. Dickens describes the setting of London and all the places that Oliver stays very descriptively. "The street was very narrow and muddy, and the air was impregnated with filthy order. The walls and ceiling of the room were perfectly black with age and dirt..." (page. 56). Dickens explains the facilities that were available to poor Oliver, and makes them sound unbearable. He does an excellent job making the setting come alive and feel the characters thoughts. I would recommend this novel because I found it very moving and towards the end you are only hoping for the best for poor Oliver.

The creative novel Oliver Twist, written by Charles Dickens in 1838, defines a classic of all times. This intense story reflects a young boy's life in London with no family or place to go. Oliver's mother dies while giving birth to her son in the beginning of the book. Oliver's father remains unknown. Throughout the book the reader sees constant struggles. Oliver is befriended by Fagin and his company. Fagin, along with the Artful Dodger, invite Oliver to stay with them and become a thief. During one of Oliver's pick pocketing adventures; he is caught by Mr. Brownlow. Instead of reprimanding the young lad, Mr. Brownlow decides to raise him. Oliver desperately searches for the answer to his past while trying to stay alive on the streets of London. Ironically, Mr. Brownlow is Oliver's grandfather. A dominate theme of Oliver Twist examines the importance of family. Oliver's early years taught him to fend for himself and he suffers from never experiencing a loving and nurturing childhood. The setting of the book plays a powerful role as the story unfolds. Dickens describes the setting of London and all the places that Oliver stays very descriptively. "The street was very narrow and muddy, and the air was impregnated with filthy odor. The walls and ceiling of the room were perfectly black with age and dirt..." (page. 56). Dickens explains the facilities that were available to poor Oliver and makes them sound unbearable. He does an excellent job making the setting come alive and allows the reader to plight. I would recommend all readers at some point in life to delve into this classic. I found Oliver Twist very moving and towards the end hoping only the best for poor Oliver.

This book seems to be a commissioned marketing book for network marketing. It reads like a sales brochure and contained very little information that was of value to me. It seems likely that it was funded by a bunch of MLM companies, including Prepaid legal, Excel and Herbalife, among others.

Don't believe the other customer reviews, and don't waste your money on this book. There must be better books out there than this one.

I am also shocked at the number of people who endorse this book on the back cover. I wonder how many of them actually read it.

One of the worst books I have ever read.

The New Professional makes clear the evolution of multilevel and direct marketing. Like many folks, I had a pretty dim view of the overly aggressive sales tactics and misleading meeting agendas that I ran into with many of the earlier direct marketing efforts. Now I see that things have changed for the better - much better! Inventory is not in your home, it's not in someone else's garage, it is at the distributor and easily obtained through the internet. Supply chain management is superb in these new companies.

For example, King and Robinson provide statistics to show why direct marketing is a robust and very efficient model for introducing some products into the market place. And, they show why the type of person involved in network marketing today is truly a professional: "Of key interest, the research found 'successful (direct and network marketing) sales people have a communication style or social style that encourages the building of relationships with their customers . . . The most successful sales leaders have a combination of relationship and task orientation' (in their communication styles)."

Network Marketing and multilevel marketing are synonymous terms. They are defined by a business model which pays commissions on multiple levels of the sales organization. Network Marketing/Selling differs from Direct Selling in that Network Marketing:

1. Focuses on relationships rather than on closing the sale or booking an order
2. Focuses on information sharing
3. Independent business owner (IBO)
4. Commissions on multiple levels of sales (not just retail of the IBO)

The role of the network marketing channel is to accelerate the movement of products using the most efficient distribution technique: word-of-mouth communication.

This is an excellent book to bring you up to date on the network marketing phenominon and to understand the new business models (yes, there are many).

If your considering Network Marketing as a career move then this should be your first text book for learning what you need to know first about the business. I have also attended Dr. Charles King's Networking Marketing Certification course at the University of Illinois @ Chicago with equal enthusiasm. If you take anything from this review, understand that this book was written by a Harvard Grad and tenured Professor at UIC who spent much time researching the business. It is a great book that is required reading especially if you're new to the business of Network Marketing.
Last of all, don't listen to fools who scoff at this book or the Industry, unless of course you wish to remain a slave to your employer and retire a slave to the Governments program.