This was my daughter's favorite book when she was 7 years old. She liked it so much that I ordered it for her from the publisher. It was very reassuring to her to know that "it would be okay." Now, she's almost 20 and she still cherishes this book. When things are going rough, I remind her of
Ms. Dragonwagon's wisdom,"It will be okay."

I first read this when I was in college, working in the children's area of a library about 15 years ago. It impressed me so much that I wrote down all the words! (It is a short book, almost a poem.) This is the conversation of what appears to be a young girl and her mother. The girl asks, "Will it be okay?" and the mother says it will. Then there is a series of "But what if ...?" from the daughter, with the mother answering with "If that happens, you'll handle it this way" answers that can't help but increase the daughter's self-confidence. Even though it appears to be a children's book, adults (especially worriers like me) will find that it provides a good way of looking at the world. It's great!

I read this book for the first time when I was 10 years old. Today, it still provides me with warm memories, laughter, and a great bread pudding recipe that allows my tattered volume to sit with my favorite cookbooks. Don't miss it!

This is a charming story told by a little girl
about her grandfather. They are alike in many
ways. This is one of my daughter's favorite books.

This was the best book I read all year! I absolutely loved it from cover to cover. The illustrations really make a smashing impact. A "must-read" for all kids trying to get over their fear of rats!

Charlotte Zolotow describes the friendship between two boys, John and an unnamed other, by a series of quiet statements which carry an increasing sense of the power of the relationship. The quiet incantation of the text - each page is very nearly a couplet of verse - shows how the two friends make up for each other's failings, stick up for each other when the going gets rough, and also have a sense of the separate individuality of the companion with secret fears and pleasures.

The two boys are working on a project - to construct a den and organize a midnight feast. Because this project is completed in spare moments between school and meals and homework, and is also shown in the pictures rather than the text, it conveys very clearly the privacy of the secret world which children sometimes collaborate to build.

Amanda Harvey's pictures support this by expressing strong affection untainted by sentimentality. My favourite picture is of a boy in the grip of panic and despair, probably brought on by fractions, being helped by John who radiates concern and patience. The pictures seem to be illuminated as if from behind the page - and this seems in keeping with the constancy of their relationship which shines through all the trouble, routine and fun of childhood.

In the book Confessions of a Teenage Baboon, a kid named Chris waits 'til the day he can wear his father Chesterfield coat. His father died a couple of years before the book began. He has to live in a house with a dying woman and her bad son. A lot of weird things go on in the book that often make you wonder, what is going on in the book. Chris also gets involved with a lot of different things.
A few suggestions to the author would be to use some better wording and description. Most of the book describes a lot but I think that you could make it better. Other than that, everything in the book is excellent. I hope to see more of those good books.

This book was good- just regular, straight-up Zindel. Chris is an interesting character and Lloyd is fairly interesting too. I haven't read this in a while, but I do recommend it for any longtime Zindel fan. Do not begin with this one, however; start with I Never Loved Your Mind or The Pigman.

If you read my other two book reviews, you'll notice that I am a fan of Paul Zindel's writing. And after reading The Pigman and The Pigman's Legacy, I wanted to get my hands on anything the man's written. I picked up Confessions Of A Teenage Baboon one day, and I haven't put it down since.

Basically the book revolves around fifteen-year-old Chris Boyd and his struggles with his dysfunctional mother and the memories of his late father. His mother is a nurse, and whenever she gets a new patient, she and Chris move into the patient's home to take care of him/her. This time around the patient is an elderly woman named Carmelita Dipardi. And the members of the Dipardi household make the families in the movie "American Beauty" look normal. There's Carmelita's drunk son Lloyd and her disturbed husband, as well as Harold, a kid from the neighborhood that always seems to be around.

Here Chris battles love, hate, pain, violence, and especially depression, while temporarily living in the madhouse that is the Dipardi residence. The book can be shocking at times, but all the way through it's very enjoyable. It's filed under YOUNG ADULT, but adults can enjoy it just as much as teens...even more so, I think. I'm 21 and I enjoy it. In fact, I literally read it almost every day and I still never get tired of it. Do yourself a favor and pick it up.

This beautifully illustrated book shows a young child and her great uncle Alfred trying to understand one another through the Alzheimer's way of thinking. Although written for the child who notices their loved one is different, it can also help other loved ones learn how to respond to the quirkiness of Alzheimer's. It gives a gentle sort of peace as you go through the pages, reminding us that not all of the person is gone . . .just bits and pieces. I highly recommend this book for anyone dealing with Alzheimer's, not just children.

This book is an excellent one to read if you are a child between the ages of 8-12. You will enjoy this book if you are some whta interested in politics and how you can prepare yourself if you want to run for your school student council. This book is also humorous because it explains to the readers what lengths Maggie will go to, to get back at Thad for not letting her be his campaign manager. So if this piece of literature seems right for you then go to your local library and look up Marjorie Weinman Sharmat's book, Maggie Marmelstien fo President.

I read this book with my 2nd grade daughter (assigned book through the school counselor). In our household, we don't encourage the word hate; I prefer I'm angry at or I dislike... The book uses the word hate frequently, and the little girl in the story talks of wanting to die rather that talk to her friend about their problem. Neither of us liked this story. I feel the language is inappropriate for the age group.

As a student in the Early Childhood Education department this book was assigned to us for review. I thought it portrayed the thoughts of a young girl in a realistic manner. I don't encourage my children to use the word "hate" either, but I am not naive enough to think that when loose in the world they always behave the way I would like. We try our best, but ultimately...you give them roots and wings.