This book is a valuable reference for adults trying to explain to a child, what happens during the calling hours and funeral ritual. It also is a good book for a child who has lost a grandparent to read as well. It hits many aspects of loss, to include the phases of grief as well as the some common funeral rituals. The trip to and from grandpa's home allowed reflection and reminiscing by the family. In doing that the child was able to learn more about grandma and to share her own times with her grandmother. . The story also shows, well , the different phases of grief among family members, ie the tears of the grandfather and the mother. There were tender moments. One such moment took place with the child and her grandfather when he spoke of his wife's love of fishing. The child was a comfort to her grandfather. The child at one point was given the choice to attend the funeral and her decision to attend was honored. This inclusion in the decision makes the funeral less scary for a child. The child was a part of the process and was able to experience the feelings of loss, as well as the ritual, the ability to reminisce and to celebrate the life of the person who passed. This book was written very simply and in a matter of fact manner. The illustrations were soft and non threatening. I have added this book to our Hospice library and feel that it will be a good resource for our community.

The day that grandma died we drove all night and all afternoon. On the way mom told stories about how grandma traped a ratcoon in the garbage can. She bought a new garbage can with a lid and fead that rascull scraps of food every day after supper.

This is a story of a little girl whose grandmother has died and she has to travel with her family for the funeral. It takes her through the stages of wondering what it is like to go to the funeral home and to see her parents and grandfather going through some of the grief. It is a very realistic approach to way Americans approach the process of grief. This includes the funeral home, the cemetery, and even a consolation breakfast.

This book allows the child to see death as a real part of life and allows for the discussion of death with children. They will see how even when people are sad they can still laugh, remember, and talk about the person who died. It helps the healing process.

Excellent book for young children.

I consider Richard Kennedy one of the best short story writers - bar none. Oliver Hyde's Dishrag concert is the consumate tale of the separation that can come from loss of contact with others. Come again in Spring a clever tale of outtalking death. Crazy in Love is about the joy in finding someone to share your life. Mouse God- well I love to imagine the cat dressed in his mouse fur coat. Best of all is The Porcelain Man- about finding love in people not in fantasy. When my brother was blind and ill- I would read him these stories and they never failed to touch him- make him laugh (from picturing Ben Grizzard flying through the air) and help him accept the inevitable. It seems to me that Kennedy is really in touch with the joys and pains of being human and it comes through in these perfect tales.

This audiotape of Richard Kennedy's wonderful stories is magnificent. The storyteller reads them with flair, and is very true to the author's intentions. The tape is engaging, fun, and the storytelling quality of the author is at its best when listened to as stories. Kennedy is one of our best authors for children. Of course, I know of many adults who enjoy them even more! I like to compare Richard Kennedy with Hans Christian Andersen. Kennedy's stories have a fairy tale quality to them, and the personae's voices are strong, clear, and personable. This is excellent stuff! One should both read and listen to these stories!

A simple book introducing animal names.

I found 'Captain Snap' to be an intriguing book for all ages, particularly when using it with a few children all gathered 'round so we could examine the marvellous illustrations in great detail. As the above review points out, it is a familiar story line, but for those of us who are either young, or young at heart, it can be made new again. The descriptive language draws you in, and the ever important balance between loneliness and belonging is put out there to contemplate. A child may be inspired to think that she CAN made a difference in brightening someone's life. Hurray! Hope you enjoy this as much as we have.

A poor and gentle priest falls into coveteousness after he receives his parrishioner's meager Christmas gifts. His hand falls on a mysterious old cracked pot as he looks longingly at the full moon and wishes he could receive a marzipan moon every morning. And so begins a delightful turn of fantasy which keeps our dear little priest and we readers guessing -and smiling - at every quirky turn. I can guarantee that Nancy Willard's "Marzipan Moon" will be a family favorite. Her combination of fantacy and familar failings in mankind give safe distance to grasp the struggles and dreams we all share. Marcia Seawall's illustrations convince readers of the characters believable delimas, with their sad shoulders or beaming faces and incredible creations of imaginations. Don't rob yourself of experiencing this tale with your children. Mine are still asking me to form them marizpan moons for Christma, some 15 years since we began reading this!

What a fascinating and beautiful look at a traditional Native American celebration. Both my young son and I enjoyed it very much. I learned something, and it gave him a good start at appreciating and understanding cultures different from our own.

I used this book to introduce a unit on Native Americans to my fourth grade class. We were studying Thanksgiving from a Native American's perspective. We used the book later in the year when we were learning about Colonial America. The content is perfect for both areas. The illustrations are beautiful. My students enjoyed the book tremendously.

I got this book out of the library because the grandfather on the cover looks so much like my dad. As for the book,it's simple,charming stories and illustrations are perfect for the "pre-Harry Potter" set. I really liked the relationship between the little girl and her slightly eccentric,but very lovable grandpa. With her parents being divorced,she develops a very close bond with him,which is the main message of the stories. A good book to read aloud(the songs the grandpa sings are very cute) Enjoyable with a positive message for both young and old.

Karen Heese followes in the footsteps of Phillis Renolds Naylor with this girl-and-her-dog tale showing us just what friendship means when a girl and a dog unite and would do almost anything to keep that friendship. The only downgrade was the pictures. It would have been much better to let the reader invison it themself.

I would like to recomend the book Sable to anyone who beleives in faith. A young girl named Tate Marshal gave up all hope of ever getting a dog. Tate's mother was terifyed of dogs since she had been tor up by a dog when she was young. One day a raggety old dog came to Tate.Tate named her Sable. If you want to figure out what happens you will have to read the rest of the book.

The girl has a friend that she cannot keep because it is getting into trouble. Karen Hesse writes about a girl who has a problem with love.

This book was called Stone Fox and it was by John Reynolds Gardiner. My favorite character was the dog named Searchlight. She was an old dog from Indiana. I also liked the character named Willy. Willy was a boy who was ten years old. He wanted to try to help his grandpa because he was sick. Willy's grandpa also had to pay lots of taxes. So Willy and his dog Searchlight were going to try to go in a dog sledding contest and win $500 dollars. Willy entered by using all his college money. Will Willy and Searchlight win? Will they get $500 dollars to pay off the taxes and not lose there home? I recommend this book to everyone. It is a great book and is a nice thing to read. So go to your local library and check it out!!

I have come to tell you about a book that is not only for you but for all ages.The book is no other than Stone Fox written by John R.Gardiner and illustated by Marcia Sewall.I know this is a good book because of 3 reasons personal experience,experiences from teachers and students,and newspaper ratings.

Reason one is from my personal experience.When I read this book it was interesting,and had a lot of action,I rated it excelllent.Some of the parts brought me to tears and had an hard impact on me.For some reason I just couldn't what would happen to me if I was in the same situation as Willy.I beleive that this story was so baffling because it showed something that we might not see very often.Ayoung child taking the position of a man and maybe even ding more than he can handle and that's why I chose and love this book.

Reason Two is from student and teacher experience.On the Internet at www.amazon.com I read the e-mail feed back from a teacher that said this"I read this book and loved it so much,I can't harldy wait to read it to my students!"Now to me not any book can impress a teacher to read it to her class but this one did!Also a class of students said:"We all like Stone Fox and recommend it to everyone!A teacher on amazon.com said:"It moved me to tears,and also had an huge impact.Even though not listed under my reasons parents are recognizing the greatness about this book,one parent said this:"It's worth reading,it beacme my son's favorite."Now that shoul be enough to convince you that it is a great book.But I have one more paragraph to convince you.

Reason three is the newspaper ratings.Now you be saying:"Yeh.All that experience stuff is good but where is the editorial side of it.Well I just want you to know this is what the Chicago-Sun-Times said:"This story deserves four stars."Another newspaper The New Yorker said:'A superb piece of storytelling-withut doubt the most exciting and moving book this season.I hope you that because two of the nation's most popular newspapers said that.

In conclusion I want you to know that this book can make you laugh and cry at the same time.Also it shows you about a wonderful moral.That is responsibility,and how a young child can do the things that are expected from a man.That is why I love this book and believe it is wonderful.

This book Stone Fox is by John Reynolds Gardiner. It takes place in Indiana. My favorite character is Searchlight. I like Searchlight because Searchlight is a dog who is brave and has a good heart. Searchlight loves Willy so she wants to helps him save the farm. Willy's grandpa is sick and Willy needs money to survive and pay the bank because his grandpa didn't pay so the bank was going to take the farm away. Willy decides to go in a race to earn a lot of money if he wins. Find out what happens to Willy and Searchlight. I recommend this book to you if you like races and unexpected endings. Hope you enjoy this book!