My 9-year-old son wasn't an avid or enthusiastic reader, and when it came time for his first book report, my husband and I panicked. We were afraid we'd never find a book that sparked his interest enough to want to read through to the end.

Thank goodness for Henry Huggins. This story is simply adorable, and I was delighted to see my son laugh out loud as he read the book. After he finished a chaper, he'd run and tell me what new mess Henry and his lovable scoundrel of a dog, Ribsy, had gotten themselves into. In fact, I actually caught my son reading the book on his own, with no prodding from me or his father.

This book was published in 1950 and so my son did have a few questions about why things were so inexpensive in the story, but other than that, "Henry Huggins" is not dated at all and the story is just entertaining now as it was in the 1950s.

I am so thankful that I purchased this book and that it not only kept my son's interest but helped him realize that books could be fun. This story should be a great first "chapter book" for any child who is ready to move past picture books.

One day Henry finds a dog and he tries to take it home on the bus. Henry and Ribsy become best friends. One funny chapter was when they entered a contest and Henry tried to clean up Ribsy and mistakenly put pink powder all over Ribsy and they ended up winning because Ribsy was a pink dog. I am going into 4th grade and I read this book for school summer reading. I liked it a lot.

From my understanding, Beverly Cleary was a librarian who could not get some boys to read. They complained that there wasn't anything to read that they could relate to. They asked why weren't there books about kids like them, just average boys? So Beverly Cleary wrote "Henry Huggins" for them- a story of an average boy who gets into all sorts of believable adventures with highly amusing results. It is a GREAT book, and Ms. Cleary introduced to children's literature some of its greatest characters: Henry and his dog, Ribsy; and, in later books, his tomboy friend, Beezus, and Beezus' amazingly pesty kid sister, Ramona. Everyone of the subsequent books in the Henry/Ramona series is fantastic- filled with humor and characters with whom kids can understand and relate. "Henry Huggins" started it all and makes a wonderful introduction to Ms. Cleary's world on Kickalat Street.

Beverly Connor is a jewel of an author who has yet to be discovered by the masses. But she will be. No mystery writer this good can go long without topping the bestseller list. In this installment of her Lindsay Chamberlain series, Beverly does it again with clever twists and turns and sharp writing. She's a smart writer for an intelligent reader. I never read a Connor book without learning something and, quite frankly, that's the kind of fiction I like to read. Buy this book and I promise you won't be disappointed.

Lindsay Chamberlain never invites danger into her life; it just happens upon her frequently like an unwanted guest. In this tale Lindsay is in danger...this time of losing her job at the University of Georgia's Archaeology Department due to a merger with another department. If that were not enough to worry her, a cache of priceless artifacts delivered to her by her father is stolen, and all eyes are on Lindsay. Lindsay also becomes involved in the murder case of a long-missing UGA professor whose skeleton is recently found? Friends and strangers linked to Lindsay are either injured or killed trying to help, and Lindsay must put together all of the strewn puzzle pieces before she is next on the hit list.

I have enjoyed Beverly Connor's series for many years; Lindsay Chamberlain is one of the most original and dynamic sleuths to have been created in recent years, and Dressed to Die is well worth the cover price.

Ms. Connor does another excellent job! Dressed To Die is a finely written book. This plot is close to the protagonist heart. Lindsey must face that her dear grandfather may not have been the man she thought he was. This story involves two murders close to home. One found on her family farm and another involving the University where she works. Once again, Ms. Connor gives the reader a fun and involving plot to soak up. What is the family secret? Who did what and why did people have to die? The author does a great job in answering these questions, with pose and wonderful character development. What a fun read this mystery series is, I look forward to more Lindsay Chamberlain novels. Thank you Ms. Connor for this excellent series.

Beverly wrote a gripping story about the patterns of abuse that can occur in a mariage and which in turn, affects the whole family. She made the characters very real and did not try to "sugar coat" the problem. This is a book that you will not be able to put down and the story will keep your interest until the last word is written. I wholeheartedly recommend this book!

Not only did this book describe what it is like to live with an abusive mate, but it also gave hope that there is a way out.

I really enjoyed this book to the fullest. I checked it out from the library and was so wrapped up in it that I read it in 4 days! I am looking forward to the sequel! It is so sad that there are actually women out there in the world going through stuff like this. It makes you wonder why God would allow something like this to happen, but that shows that when things like this happen we need to trust in God and lean on him for help. God said he woldn't put on us more than we could bare. As long as we trust in him, he will see us through

THIS BOOK IS SO GOOD! ALTHOUGH I DO THINK MERRY SHOULD LIKE LEVI MORE AND GET RID OF JON. I ALSO THINK THESE BOOKS SHOULD NEVER END. AND I LOVE LEVI, ( THE AMISH ARE MOST ALWAYS CUTE.) VERRY GOOD!

I love the romantic parts the best. And I love Levi Zook. I think that Merry should like Levi more, Merry should get rid of jon And Merry and levi should be together. I also think there should never be an and to these Awesome books. I totaly Adore these books. everyone should read them.

[....]readers should known or probably infer from the esteemed SUNY press W.E.T. series that Deveney cites ALL sources, resultant of some 150 pages of extensive notes which are a worthy and entertaining/informative read in themselves! Also, P.B.R.'s Occult philosophy and practical systems/methodologies are explored in a highly scholarly yet equally accessible manner, and as an appendix are given in their entirety two of PBR's most essential Sexual Magic works, for which I have appropriated the title of this review. Though a scholarly work, as well as an historical one, it is throughout biographically focused on an 19th century Exemplary Mage's Life and Work!

Paschal Beverly Randolph (1825-1875)was one of the first well-known Afro-American Novelists (if not THE FIRST), of whom Frederick Douglas was an admirer, and one of the most famous as well as sincere mediums of the Spiritualist movement, famous for his speeches of whom President Johnson was a fan, and a KEY figure in bridging the gap between that nec-romantic movement flowering dangerously into the European/American Occult Revival of the mid-late 19th century. He grew up an orphan in a murderous section of NYC; had almost no schooling, (yet became a recognized genius by sheer will/determination and self-discipline) who lived in the "(spiritually) Burnt-out" district of upstate NY where he added the abbr. "DR." to his title and sold his Glyphae Battah (Magic Mirrors)and Hashish, love & healing philtres:'snake-oil' basically, and married a part Native-American Indian Woman and tried to raise a family in dire poverty. And this is just the beginning to his life! He was very influential in getting Black soldiers into the US military in the last years of the Civil War(& getting them paid like any good-willing American!)...also, Blavatsky gleaned much from him, I think her writings concerning Randolph evidences, if only his living example of an highly artistic and Original one-man Occult campaign via Randolph's numerous Rosicrucian brotherhoods which The Hermetic Brotherhood of Luxor would later appropriate nearly ALL of Randolphs ideas to immense practical benefit (see Godwins and Deveneys co-efforts in releasing many key documents in relation to this group), while the Theosophists waged war against that very practicality deeming it black magic basically...later the Surrealists' devoured Randolph's magical works which were circulated widely through the Russian-born Parisian Surrealist Maria de Naglowska efforts...How does a man like this, who entertained at the court of Napoleon and who counted President Lincoln as an acquaintance as well as knew most every influential Occultist/Abolitionist/reformer/Free Love Politician / Spiritualist of his day (Bulwer-Lytton, Hargrave Jennings, Laurence Oliphaunt, Andrew Jackson Davis,et al. ad infinitum)how does such a figure disappear from history? as if suspiciously erased? The question is as tragic as Randolph's life, for it is a pained life full of much suffering, bore throughout with nobility if despairingness at his predicament. He is a beautiful writer--one must allow him that at least---whose sexual magic works serve as a poignant appendix to Deveney's excellent and thorough 600-plus page biography of a life that serves as an intimate magnifying-glass to probe into the goings-ons of an era filled to overflowing with myriad colorful characters and the energy and excitement of endless rounds of ingenious scientific discoveries and religious aspirations/explorations which as the Poet Osip Mandelstam said "if ever there was a golden age surely it was the 19th century!" Wherever you may be John Patrick Deveney, I thank you a thousand times over while reading this and thank you still for giving us this touching biography which served as a means to truly know what it must have been like to have lived in Randolph's day, during an age of 'Romanticism' and later,'Symbolism' in Art, while an Occult revival raged, made up of a noble search for self-knowledge and universal Uptopianist solutions to universal ills, and art finally becoming a RELIGION itself!...Western Esoteric studies should take as an example Deveney's biographical tome, and know the history of the world is in the lives of men and women more than anyplace else, as Jules Michelet pointed out a hundred years ago...I would suggest to anyone interested in gaining a first hand insight into an era & a subject finally lent proper credence to be studied seriously as it should be respected even if despised by "religious realists"...to read this book full of a life lived with such style & grace. Randolph's motto was: "T-R-Y !"...which is what I would say to others here interested in reading a rare work of an even rarer life that hopefully will become part of the American Artistic and Cultural iconography and more widely known literary canon because of Deveney's immense efforts and achievements herein! Bravo Deveney!
---readers should known or probably infer from the esteemed SUNY press W.E.T. series that Deveney cites ALL sources, resultant of some 150 pages of extensive notes which are a worthy and entertaining/informative read in themselves! Also, P.B.R.'s Occult philosophy and practical systems;/methodologies are explored in a highly scholarly yet equally accessible manner; though a scholarly work, as well as an historical one, it is throughout focused on an 19th century Exemplary Mage's Life and Work!

Finally an academic tome on one of America's most beloved children's authors. Pflieger discusses and analyzes all of Cleary works as well as giving some biographical material about her. Academic journals, popular press magazines and newspapers about Cleary's novels are all cited in order to provide other people's reviews and analysis of Cleary's works. This book is a must for anyone who has read any of Cleary's novel and would be particularly useful for college students who are thinking of becoming English teachers, librarians or Ph.D. students in children's literature. Unlike many academic writers, Pflieger's writing style is clear and easy to understand which is a nice contrast to all the boring, pedantic academic writings which are often employed when analyzing children's literature. I would like to see included in the next edition, an analysis of Cleary's newest work Ramona's World, as it was not inserted in this edition.

This is the best of the three Connor/Chamberlain books I've read. It is a pleasurable tour-de-force of multiple story lines always clearly related to the main mystery (ah, but which one is that?). There's harassment against expert witness Chamberlain in one murder case, archaeological digs finding inappropriate bodies, Chamberlain's lightly treated forensic investigations of discovered bones and teeth, a terrifying spelunking adventure after uncovery of more suspicious skeletons, and what seem incidental accusations of financial hanky-panky. Finally, an anthropological story of ancient Spanish perfidy among Georgia and Tennessee Indians is a wonderfully oblique commentary on the other mysteries and worth reading alone. Connor keeps all these threads intertwining to press the story(s) forward and drop clues along the way. The forensics, archaeology, and history are convincingly authentic. Her writing is marred only by wooden romantic interest, some bland subsidiary characters (including the villains), and a final outrageous coincidence to wrap up the hunt.

There must be a reason why Beverly Connor's mysteries starring Lindsey Chamberlain are not as well known as Patricia Cornwell's Kay Scarpetta mysteries, but I'll be darned if I can figure it out. They are fantastic reads! I've read all five in the series -- bought two and borrowed three from the library -- and know I must buy the ones I don't have, so I can have the pleasure of re-reading them.

Questionable Remains is my favorite of the series, since it seamlessly blends a modern mystery with one hundreds of years old. The details are fascinating, and Lindsey Chamberlain is a protagonist to celebrate -- she's smart, resourceful, doesn't take any guff from anyone, yet she's not SuperWoman or perpetually angry, like the aforementioned Kay Scarpetta, whom I have grown to dislike intensely.

My only complaint would be that Ms. Connor cannot possibly write as fast as I can read. Next book, please!!

This second installment of Beverly Connor's Lindsay Chamberlain series is better than the first. The author used a lot of very intricate plotting, but with a very smooth flow within the story. I loved the way Ms. Connor weaves all the "small" details into the big picture. She shows us that if you just look at one or two details, you will miss the whole story. In this story, the author uses all these seemingly unrelated events to put together a wonderful story. Of what life was like when the Spanish was discovering this country. And what greed will do to people both past and present. This is a wonderful series, it has good character development and plots. I have still to get the murderer right! Even the past plot line fools me. I thought I had at least that one figured out. Once again, Ms. Connor tricks the reader into thinking things are as they seem. Again, I recommend this book to you. If you like a bit of history mixed into your mysteries, all the better. You don't have to be a history buff though to enjoy this excellent series.

Picking up right where she left off, my favorite little girl has just started half-day kindergarten. She must deal with her older sister making fun of her, not being allowed to pull a little girl's curls and walking to school with Howie (the boy from down the street whom Ramon could do without).

Ramona is just like any other 5-year old. She gets confused and throws fits. She is such a loveable character because a most wonderful author creates her so deftly and realistically.

The text is appropriate for students in grades 2-5. It also works well in a read-aloud setting with this age group. These students (and teachers and parents as well) will get a kick out of remembering how confusing a time kindergarten can be. I recall hearing it read to me in 2nd grade and now have done the same with my students. A good laugh was heard everyday from our room.

Why 5 stars?:
Cleary repeatedly made young people reflect upon their own days as an even younger person with a string of books about experiencing the world through the eyes of a curious little girl with a will all of her own. This book is the second in the series that predates Junie B. Jones and was much better written.

This book is a brilliantly, hilariously accurate insight into a five-year-old's mind. I know because I read it when I *was* five. (Another reviewer said it was intended for ages 9-12... cripes, was I THAT precocious?)

I'd really recommend this book for any child, but especially for children who are always in trouble. It really is therapy for a pest.

I think it's also therapy for precocious readers - this isn't something adults often think of, but a kid who's ahead of her age can get very sick of reading books about much older children. I absolutely fell on the Ramona books because she was the first heroine I could really relate to. :)

Ramona Quimby is a timeless character. I read this book when I was a kid (too many years ago to mention) and this has to be one of my all time favorites.

Beverly Cleary is an author who really knows what kids are like. Now that I am a kindergarten teacher, I see a room full of Ramonas most every day and each character in this book, from Susan with the "boinggg" curls, to Davy, to Howie, and, of course, Ramona herself, are real!

This is a book that I pull out and read again from time to time when I need a laugh! I would highly recommend it to readers of all ages!

Will they ever learn? These twins get into more trouble than playful kittens! It's a good mystery, with interesting twists. Bert and Nan get mixed up with murder and their attempts to solve it are hilarious and adventurous. A good story to spend quiet time with.

Nan Tatum is tired of the single life. Deciding to try a new way to meet men, she signs herself and her twin sister Bert up for MySoulMate.org, an internet dating service. Soon, she thinks Mr. Right has replied to Bert's posting. Posing as Bert, Nan soon finds out that Mr. Right is Mr. Wrong. The next time she sees him, he's Mr. Dead. But when the body disappears, she can't get anyone to believe her. Dragging Bert along, she tries to prove she's right. Meanwhile, Bert is more concerned about patching things up with her boyfriend, Hank, who believes Bert signed herself up for the dating service.

This book takes the mystery solving twins through yet another harrowing adventure. The twin authors have once again provided plenty of suspense and laughs, and I could hardly put the book down. The alternating narration continues to be an asset, helping with both character and plot development. This is the fifth book in the series, and it shows no sign of slowing down at all.

Fans of the series will enjoy this book immensely, and I'm already looking forward to Nan and Bert's sixth outing. If you've never read these books, do yourself a favor and get the first one (DOUBLE MURDER) today.

This series is a delight! For those who like mysteries that are lively, colorful, and witty - but low on the grimmer aspects of death, this is your cup of tea. This time the real-life, identical twin sisters have written a mystery involving an Internet dating service and their series' characters, identical twin sisters Bert and Nan. The twin's love lives, always an interesting feature of previous mysteries, are highlighted in this one. A trail of deaths follow the twins into the cyber world of dating. The dynamics between Bert, the traditional sister, and Nan, the nontraditional sister, are great fun. With this entry, the writers have continued their development of the intricacies of a twin relationship, as well as a sister relationship. The creative use of each twin's point of view in alternating chapters allows the reader to understand the motivation of each - but it also gives the reader an often amusing peek into how each twin views the other one! Louisville, Kentucky, is the interesting setting for these mysteries. More Bert and Nan!

I think that Ramona the Brave was a really good book.It was funny in some parts of the book.I am nine years old and I think that other nine or ten year olds would really like it!Beverly Cleary has been through alot of books especally Ramona books.Her books are one of the best books that I have ever read !!!!!!!!!

Boy, Bev knows what she's talking about! This book is very realistic. I remember reading it in 3rd grade a long time ago (the Ramona series were the first chapter books I ever read! ) Reading it and about all the injustices Ramona suffered, I could really identify with her! First grade was not easy for me, I was always in trouble for things I didn't start, and felt so picked on and misunderstood! Poor Ramona, I felt so bad for her and knew exactly how she felt!

Ramona is a truly realistic character that is brought to life by the believable writing of Beverly Cleary.
Still trying to grow up as she proceeds into grade one, Ramona can't help but continue to fall into trouble.
One entertaining, true-to-life moment after another... Reading about Ramona's antics is very enjoyable.
From being embarassed by her older sister, to being embarrassed by her friend Howie in front of her class, to dealing with Copycat Susan and her copied owl, and many, many more funny and frusturating things... You'll have fun reading this book. And you can't say that for a lot of books.
Told in a way that you can really understand this first grader, Ramona The Brave will remind you of when you were a child. And what it felt like.
Readers will pity Ramona when she's upset, they'll understand what she does and why. They'll feel her anger, and her happiness.
Definetly a great book, and definetly worthy of 5 or more stars!
Enjoy!