I received this book as a baby shower gift for my first baby. Now that I am expecting another baby in April I searched everywhere for more copies. I finally found it here. There are not enough good things to say about this book. It is a full record of your child's health from dr. visits to first teeth, birthday celebrations to important steps in development. It is a must for every child in your family. I am ordering for myself and extra for gifts. Well worth the investment!

I received this book as a gift for my first son 2 years ago and I wanted another one for my second son. I couldn't find it in the bookstore, so a friend suggested amazon.com and there it was! I ordered one for keeping track of my second son's health and am ordering one now for a friend who just had a baby. It is the perfect gift.

I bought this book not knowing what to expect. I wanted a book to record my daughter's medical records and milestones. I was VERY pleased when I received it. It wasn't as big as I thought it would be but I have found that it is the perfect size. It is a spiral bound notebook that is seperated by early months then years. For the first year, it has pages for feeding notes, milestones, birth history, pediatrician information and doctor visits. All throughout the book there are pages for illnesses, injuries, checkups and sick visits to the doctor. For each year, there are places to put notes about birthdays, talking/senteces, etc.. What is great about it is that it goes up to 9 years and has little notes about that year in baby or child's life.
I suggest that every new mom/parent get this book. It's a great way to keep up with your baby's life. It goes beyond most ordinary baby books. Another thing I love about it is that there are plenty of lines to write little notes about everything. I'm a writer so that is one of my favorite features.

Anna's story begins in early Nazi Germany, and ends in Canada, a land of new hope for her and her family. This is a beautiful story about a disabled and misunderstood child overcoming her own self-hatred and the scorn of her family. From Anna's point of view, the reader learns about facist Germany, the Depression, the complexity of family-love, the challenge and rewards of language, the terrors and miracles of school, and the "meaning of Christmas." This book made a real difference to me as a child, and has continued to influence me as an adult.

"From Anna" tells the story of a young German girl whose family moves to Canada.Anna and her family learn about physical handicaps,financial problems and cultural differences as they settle into their new home.Most of all,though,they learn about love - a love that overflows at Christmas into a gift - a gift from Anna. I read this book more than twelve years ago,as an eight-year-old in a school library in St.John's,Canada.My family,like Anna's,had just moved to Canada(from India),and I was learning to cope.Like Anna,I too had to wear glasses and struggled with the same feelings of insecurity.Even today,I will never forget how I identified with Joan Little's book.I just hope that this tale will touch the hearts of many more readers.

When I went to my public library a couple of days ago, I never imagined that I would come across two of the best books ever written by a very talented author. 'From Anna' and 'Listen for the Singing' touched me deeply, in a way that no other book has had the ability to do. Although it's language is simple and the style is nothing too out of the ordinary, Jean Little was able to use easy words in a very good way.

The last time 'From Anna' was borrowed was early 1997. Most of us would most probably never take a second glance at the book -- that is, if we judged a book by it's cover. However, if one takes the time to read deeper and look beyond the cover, they will find that they have stumbled across an extraordinary book.

The story starts off with a young 9-year-old Anna Solden, nicknamed 'Awkward Anna' by her older siblings. Anna is indeed very clumsy and klutzy, hence the nickname. When she hears her family is moving from German to Canada, Anna is devastated. She can't learn German; how will she ever cope with English?! But shortly after her arrival in Canada, Thanks to Dr Franz Schumacher and his discovery that Anna has a severe vision disability, Anna receives a pair of glasses, which bring forth a world she never knew -- a world where words and letters aren't masses of grey blur, a world where numbers stay on the page and where the everything is clear and bright.

Anna is sent to a special sight-saving class in order to repair the damage done to her eyes and salvage as much of the remaining ones. There, she learns things about herself -- she CAN have friends, she IS skilled and most of all, she has confidence. Her friends and teacher, Miss Williams, see a whole new Anna devloping as the year draws to a end. A new Anna very different from the old one. And with their help and support, she finally learns to confront her family with secrets that they never knew.

A truly touching and moving story with a very fitting ending. Get this book, enjoy it and read the second one -- 'Listen for the Singing', which is just as good, if not better! A definite book I would recommend with two thumbs up!

"To Destroy You Is No Loss is an extrodinary book; it should be read by those who wish to understand this or any genocide, by those who would like to better know the Cambodians among us, and by those who are concerned about the still unresolved tradegey of the world's refugees. Criddle's book is far more than a history of annihilation. Like the finest examples of Holocaust literature, it is an affirmation of teh human spirit, of the will to prevail. It is the proof of the possibility of endurance of the human dignity in the face of incredible brutality. This book is in fact a deeply disturbing real-life story.

Joan Criddle has woven a gripping account of the personal experience of one young woman, Teeda Butt Mam, and her family under the oppression of the Khymer Rouge. Although I knew a little about Cambodia's killing fields, this book reveals in considerable detail the brutality and horror of Pol Pot's regime. Yet, it's an inspiring tale of survival, courage, and family loyalty under the most extreme conditions of deprivation, fear and suffering. I couldn't help but wonder if I would have had the strength, ingenuity and willpower to survive such horror. The book also includes many interesting details about traditional Cambodian life and culture.
I highly recommend this book. It's an amazing story!

THIS IS ONE OF THE BEST BOOK I EVER READ. I HAVE THE PLEASURE OF WORKING WITH VITOU AND I HAD THE FIRST HAND ACCOUNT OF HIS STORY. HE NEVER STOP TO AMAZE ME FOR THEIR WELL TO SURVIVE.THIS STORY SHOW THE TERMENDOUS COURAGE AND STRONG WELL TO SURVIVE AMONG MONSTERS WHO HAVE NO REGARDS TO FELLOW HUMANS, YOU HAVE TO WORK HARD AND RISK YOUR LIFE EVEN FOR THE BASIC NECESITY OF LIFE JUST TO SURVIVE. THIS IS AN EPIC OF FORGOTTEN HOLOCUST AND THE STORY OF A CAMBODIAN FAMILY GOING THROUGH HELL AN BACK. A SUCCESS STORY OF A FAMILY MOVING TO A COUNTRY WITH A DIFFERNT CULTURE AND LANGAUGE AND MAKING SOMETHING OF THEMSELVES. I AM PROUD TO BE A FRIEND OF VITOU AND I HAVE THE PLEASURE OF KNOWING HIM. EVERYONE SHOULD READ THIS BOOK, IT WOULD MAKE YOU APPRECIATE MORE OF WHAT YOU HAVE IN LIFE.

This book deals with the most important topic of the coming decade for the criminal justice system: what to do when all of the massive numbers of criminals we have sent to prison come home. Petersilia not only describes all of the legal and practical hurdles criminals face when they begin reintegration, but she identifies how we can actually help them return to the community. This book is an easy read with an invaluable compilation of the latest statistics and summary of the challenges of life after incarceration.
Petersilia has written an academic piece with both theoretical and policy influence. It is a must read for criminologists, but most importantly for all practitioners in the criminal justice system from police and prosecution to corrections and parole. For students, the book provides a necessary education of the implications of recent law and public policy.
This is an excellent text for all of those interested in the criminal justice system. Petersilia succinctly describes what we have done wrong, then she provides recommendations for the future.

In "When Prisoners Come Home," Petersilia not only describes parole and reentry, but also the impact the war on drugs has had on young people. In short: too many people to prison, too many prisoner returns, and in the end--too many lost lives. The author also outlines the impact of a number of unintended consequences for families, communities, and children of the prisoners coming home.

There hasn't been a book written on parole in over 30 years. This is a much needed publication and should be read by anyone interested in corrections and sentencing policy. However, anyone with even a casual interest in current correction's issues will find this book engaging, interesting, and easy to read.

Today, there are more than 600,000 inmates leaving prison and returning to their communities each year. This high number taxes communities, the correctional system, and the resources needed to assist in the prison-community transition. This book deals with the most important correctional topic of the coming decade: what to do when all the prisoners come home. Petersilia not only describes how we help prisoners return, but also identified all of the legal and practical hurdles they face in their reintegration challenges. It is critical that those interested in corrections, community cohesion, and saving tax dollars read and understand the challenges and opportunities that are available in improving the reentry process. There has not been a new book on parole in 30 years. Petersilia's book is the major resource available to begin this study of prisoner reentry.

Petersilia continues to define community corrections in her unique, empirically-oriented, style. Her writing is lucid, non-pretentious, and cutting-edge. Whether you are an academic or not, you will find this book totally readable and useful. This book goes through the entire parole and prisoner reentry continuum. Describing who is coming home, how well they are prepared, and what their contribution to crime in the community is likely to be. Petersilia also describes the impact on victims.
Victim advocates will find the chapter on how victims can play a
stronger role in parole and reentry as excellent.

Petersilia not only describes parole and reentry, but the impact of the war on drugs on young people. Too many people to prison, to many prisoner returns...and too many lost lives. Petersilia outlines a number of unintended consequences for families, communities, and children of all the prisoners coming home.

Petersilia identifies 12 policy recommendations for rethinking prison programs, parole release, and post-prison supervision. This book should be of tremendous use to correctional practitioners, academics, and all those interested in correctional policy. Strongly recommended.

The result of Evans and Avis's five-year collaboration is an extraordinary book, The Women who Broke all the Rules, containing stories based on ideas, motivations, and behaviors of 100 selected female representatives of the Torchbearer Generation (individuals born between 1945 and 1955). By utilizing an effective interview questionnaire, designed by the authors and provided in the Appendix, as well as by conducting extensive face-to-face interviews, Evans and Avis have accomplished a difficult task. They have successfully managed to combine four decades of thousands of childhood, adolescent, and adult memories into an enticing exploration of American social history.

Pleasantly surprising, these 100 Torchbearers are not easily recognized public figures, superstars, or celebrities. Instead, they may be readily distinguished as any one of our own trusted wives, older sisters, younger sisters, cousins, aunts, friends, and colleagues who have had to "reconcile their 1950s childhoods with their more liberated adult selves." Whether married, divorced, remarried, childless, with children, or invested in any other combination of personal realities, the self-made female heroes in this book are cleverly discussed within the concepts of "old rules" (e.g, "Your families' values, beliefs, and practices should be yours") or "new truths" (e.g., "Honor your traditions but act on what you think is right"). Understandable, engaging, and thought-provoking, this fine piece of work presents significant "choices" to think about and discuss with friends, lovers, or family members.

An important contribution to the literature of the social history of women in the 2nd half of this century. Contains material previously unstudied and not available elsewhere. Starting from the old paradigms of the female code of conduct this book moves through the lives of the women who were able to create their own paradigm. We learn that the costs and rewards were great and therefore how critical it is to understand how this resonates with the women from this generation. Ultimately we must come to grips with how their journey changed the social constuct of male/female relationships and produced the achievement oriented women of today.This notable book accomplishes all that and more. A good read with thought provoking insights that you will ponder long after the book is read.

What a wonderful reading discovery!!! This certainly gave me new insights as a male species! Since I'm "bordering" that age group on the "far side" age wise, this book by Drs. Evans & Avis certainly gives me thought provoking insights into the lives of women around me! As for the writing - where have these two credible authors been hiding? I'd love to see more of their work! With their intuitive natures, I can see a similar book for men of the same period by these two brilliant authors. This book should be a "MUST READ" for all men between the ages of 21 & 60! Maybe you'd understand your grandmothers, mothers, sisters, co-workers, friends in a slightly different way! My eyes have been opened wider! Thanks, Dr. Joan Avis and Dr. Susan Evans! Kudo's!!!! :)

It's clear the recipes in "Cucina & Famiglia" have been handed down and refined within the family over the years because they all work very well. They're not complicated, but they are satisfying. A few are even inventive, like chicken lasagna that uses besciamella sauce in place of cheese, lentils with spaghetti (once you taste this you wonder why you hadn't tried it long ago) and of course, the timpano. I find myself returning to this book more than any other except perhaps "Vegetarin Cooking for Everyone".

Many will buy this book for the Timpano recipe. I must say that there is just so much more to this book besides that. I've made close to 15 of the dishes in it and they are all gold so far. In particular, I must recommend the vegetable torte. The crust is absolutely fantastic and easy to make if you have a food processor.

As for the Timpano itself, a friend and I made it and it was quite the event. It took about three days to make sure that we had all the things we needed (sauce and meat need to be made ahead of time, not to mention side dishes). One thing to consider before attempting it is the right basin. Enamel basins like the one in the movie are not made any more, so they are difficult to find. I actually was able to secure one from a company recommended by the book, but it took a few days to track down a retailer. I was also able to get one that looked exactly like the one in the movie, but it was used and I don't know what for, so for the sake of being sanitary I went with the one from the retailer. After it was all said and done, the Timpano was everything we expected and more. Follow the recipe exactly and don't skimp on any of the ingredients, it may seem like collosal ammounts of food, but I tell you that it is all accurate.

Bottom line: fantastic cookbook with excellent recipies, comprehensive and easy instructions with preparations requirements that will appeal to everyone from the novice to the expert! Buy it now!

This book is a work of love, and as we all know...Food is Love. This cookbook is as interesting to read as it is to use. The stories of the emmigration of their families from Italy, bringing their culinary traditions with them and developing new ones in America, are as facinating as the food you'll prepare.

Joan Tropiano Tucci is the mother of actor Stanley Tucci, who wrote the forward and made the movie "Big Night" about a failing restaurant trying to come up with "the" signature dish to keep it alive. The timpano recipe from the movie is here.

There are chapters on appetizers, eggs, soups, pasta, bread, different meats, seafood, vegetables and desserts. Everything you need to know to prepare a fabulous meal for your family and friends is here.

Follow the recipes and you will enjoy a lush culinary experience that can only result from well developed family traditions. Get out your Pavarotti records and get cookin'. "Most of the world eats to live, but the Italians live to eat." Mange, mange!

I borrowed this book from the library and found it so captivating and enjoyable that I plan to buy. It is definitely a book you would likely read more than once.

The basis of the book is a story of pagan religion & magic in France -- it is told from the point of view of the main character (a child) who grows up seeing horrible violence and wonderful magic. He learns about life and love and the wonders of magic and the world. Ann Chamberlin tells the story with such clarity that you can picture what it was like during that century, you can picture the fantastic situations as they happen -- a wonderful writer! Any fantasy enthusiast will enjoy this story. Wonderful book!

I look forward to book two with great enthusiasm!

Merlin of St. Gilles' Well blends Arthurian legend with the story of Joan of Arc's rise. History, fantasy and action blends in this opening book which represents the first of a focus on Joan of Arc. Here a boy's vision of a Maid and her powers slowly evolves to reality against a backdrop of change and discovery.

It's not an easy feat to write a fantasy novel that will stand out from others, but that is exactly what Ann Chamberlain has done. She has adeptly managed to seamlessly blend truth, fiction and myth in a story that transports readers to another time and place. Although there are instances where the names and places were a bit confusing, it was easy to overlook that and focus on how skillfully the story was told. It read more like history than fantasy and at times I had to remind myself that the spells of magic in the book were fictional...or weren't they? That's what Ms.Chamberlain makes you think and feel. At some points in the book I felt the influence of pagan rites (for lack of a better term) and realized that she had successfully woven it into her story and managed to show it in a better light than others have previously done. In this story the heretical and heathenish behavior unfavored by the Catholic church was shown to the reader to have origins of good intentions--something that I'd never seen before in a book. Ms. Chamberlain's storytelling also was successful in creating characters that were extremely likeable and/or despicable. I pitied Jean Le Drapier and also liked and disliked Gilles, his milk-brother. I have yet to make a determination about his character until the next book, which unfortunately won't be out for several months. For me, this book is exceptionally good and I'll be sure to put it right next to my other favorite trilogy: The Memory, Sorrow and Thorn series by Tad Williams.

The first time I read this book was while I was in second grade. It was one of my favorite books to read. Today I am now getting ready to finish my associate's degree at the University of South Carolina and still give this book my highest regards. It is a wonderful book that encourages the thoughts and feelings of all young children, and will most definitely create a lasting effect.

This book is my absolute favorite children's book. I have my original copy, and read it to my 21 month old almost every day. He loves Robert, and yells "Bless you Robert!" after every sneeze. I am so glad to see its been reissued and available, as I want to buy it for my friends' children.

We had this book and the copy was so old that it fell apart from reading it so much. My son who is now 4, memorized it at age 2 and we are purchasing another copy because he asked for it the other day so that he could read it to his two year old sister. It is easy to read and understand and children really enjoy it. We highly recommend it and it makes a great gift.

I don't usually read political biographies, but this one gave me the hope I was searching for in the face of the depressing political realities of today. It's inspiring to read about a fiercely intelligent woman who follows her inner moral compass while compromising when necessary to get things done. I wish everyone serving in Congress had to read this book. Every voter should as well!

This fascinating biography is not only a pager turner, it also an insightful discourse on how to be an agent of change. This book is a MUST READ for anyone who is grappling with issues of how to change policy, whether as an "insider", "outsider", or hybrid. It is also an inspirational story of an terrific woman. I couldn't put it down.

A fantastic, inspiring book for these times. Civil Rights history comes alive in the Congresswoman's life story. The writing is diligent and refreshing, illustrating Norton's true integrity and commitment to the core values of the United States Constitution.Lester tells the story in a unique fashion. I couldn't put it down.

While this book was written for a primarily American audience, it still made alot of good sense for me as a New Zealand mother-to-be. What she proposes is really very simple - moving away from the overparenting trap, including our children as part of our lives as women rather than our whole reason for being, allowing the parenting to extend beyond just the nuclear family and most importantly of all, elevating the role of the father as parent. Made sense to me.

No mother returns to work without some feeling of ambivalence. This book does a solid job of dispelling the myths of the benefits of the always available mother which society seems to call for and gives so many reasons why Mother's work outside the home is good for the whole family. I have read it over and over and find new jewels of wisdom each time. Ms. Peters speaks of the value of work with confidence and conviction while never losing her tenderness when voicing so beautifully the absolute joy which children bring to our lives.

This book is about raising healthy children. This is not meant to be a political or controversial book. It deals with the real issues all parents face when confronted with wanting to raise your children and having to support your family. The author's theory is that fulfilled parents raise independant, self-reliant children. There are examples of families that use many different strategies to raise their children successfully, without guilt for the time they spend at work. The author talks about the satisfaction that BOTH parents get from caregiving. Unlike the family dynamic of the 1950's, if the mother is sufficiently supported in child rearing by the father, she can parent effectively herself without becoming burnt out. In addition, the children benefit from having 2 involved parents, rather than just 1 or 1 1/2, and the father gains from having a closer relationship with the children. At the same time the parents have the satisfaction of working and supporting their family together (or however it works best for that family). This book helped me quite a bit. I don't know how I will feel after my child is born and my maternity leave is over. My husband has always promised we would share all work in raising our family but I just couldn't give up the power of running the house. I didn't believe he could do the job as well as I would. This book explains that dads don't do things the same way as moms. They do them differently, and the kids benefit from both parenting styles. This book gave me the courage to trust him to do his very best, just as I know I will.