This is a delightful, thoughtful creation. The author has masterfully pieced together an idea that has come up in the minds of so many youngsters--the misinterpretation of ring bearer as ring bear. This is not only a superb gift for any ring bearer, but it is also a great buy for all children. It is extremely humorous, yet so realistic. A must have!

The Ring Bear by N. L. Sharp is the story of Robert, a young boy who loves bears - real bears and stuffed bears, bears in books and even bear crackers to munch! So when Robert learns that he is to be a "ring bear" in his aunt's wedding he is excited - until he learns that his aunt isn't expecting a real bear! A whimsically told story artfully supplemented with amusing color illustrations by Michael T. Hassler, Jr., The Ring Bear is a welcome and highly recommended addition to school and community library picture book collections for young readers.

It's eighty-seven degrees, just after noon and Danny and his father are sharing a cigarette in the heat on their way to the track.

This is the way of Michael DeCapite. How he moves through the telling of what he sees. Life as it is, with no embellishment. Slow mostly. Mostly time passing...

DeCapite is to writing what baseball is to sports-deceptively simple, slow, quiet, an expanse of green spread out under sun or lights, a few players...waiting...most of them. Men returning to the field daily, doing it again, waiting it out. A field so perfectly laid out that the deeper into you get, the more you realize the perfection of the game-from the precise incline of the pitcher's mound, adjusted over the years to most evenly match pitcher and batter-to the distance to dead center-it all matters...quietly...it's all headed somewhere. And there is so much going on in any given moment that you can scarcely take it in. This is DeCapite on the page.

Sitting Pretty is a quiet story. Seven men spending an afternoon together, old friends, one of them dying, his grown son too 'slow,' too 'troubled' to realize. "Those doctors know what they're doing. They're scientists. My dad was sick but he went to see the doctor. They can do anything. The doctor gave him some pills, he's better now. Aren't you, Dad? Hey Dad, you're my sunshine, right?"

Gambling, drinking, cancer, oppressive heat, loss, the horses barreling down the stretch for home...all this hanging from the afternoon sky, while downstage, seven lives move tenderly through another couple of hours. So quietly you might miss it if you didn't know where to look. A father's hand on the back of his son's neck. The whole world is in it.

DeCapite traffics gracefully in the realm of the overlooked - here in Sitting Pretty and in his novel Through the Windshield. I hope America doesn't overlook Michael DeCapite.

I had to read it twice, and will probably read it several times more to get all the little nuances that Decapite has filled this story with. My favorite line on first reading..."It's so bright my soul squints..." The story is very male socially and very human relationally. It offers an insight into something that most of us take for granted, a father's love. Decapite's writing captures the essence of the human relationships in a microcosm that is so full, it is like glimpsing the angels on the head of a pin.

This book is especially grewat for halloween or for any time. It's garenteed to give your kids a chill. There are stories that you've probably never heard before. It is also a great present for kids who are into to this stuff.

After Empire is a revealing window into identity and displaced cultures. The novelists featured are themselves unique writers and have interesting personal journies that are reflected in the book. While at first reading the book may appear academic in approach, it is certainly not an intimidating read for those with an interest in literature and the way in which race, ethnicity and culture form individual and national identity. An intellectually challenging and fascinating exploration of the perspectives of the colonisers and the colonised .

Just having returned from 18 days in the UK two of those spent in jet and bus travel and eight more getting the most out of an eight day Brit Rail pass that we could I must say that even though I have stopped running I feel like I am still running in place. That is how I get some of my best ideas. Those of you who know me know that I sort hang at the margins of the formal academic study of literature. I do this because language and literature study are really sort games which you have to learn the vocabulary (lexicon) if I were presenting at a conference or writing for blue noses.

Well one of the hottest games now in the world of literature is the study of the postcolonial literature of the former European colonies, South Africa, Algeria, Vietnam, or what ever. If you were a young academic then it would be well to focus your study in this area. This is especially true if you want work in something other than the house keeping and food service industries as your ultimate career goal.

That got me thinking as I re-read and loved Rip Van Wrinkle by Washington Irving in this wonderful collection that I was reading perhaps the archetypal work of post colonial literature, old henpecked Rip (a subject of George III), has a few beers with some very serious 120 year old Dutchman as he falls in with them in their the secret Hudson River Valley meeting place.

Twenty years later he wakes up to find he is an American Citizen. I don't but know for sure but, I bet a lot of post colonials feel like that They share with Rip one very large hangover. Well I could go on and play the game further but I think you have the idea, and as a dear friend of mine once said sometimes Philip a little of something goes a long way. So let me get back to this wonderful book , as I urge you to add it to your collections

American Fairy Tales is a collection has something for everyone .It is a collection of American tales, which really serves three publics. First of course the adolescent reader who may miss or only seen fragments of these wonderful stories. Next the eternal Adolescent likes my self at age 55 who loves a good story. It also serves any serious students of children's literature, this medley of stories progresses chronologically across a century, from Washington Irving's "Rip Van Winkle" to Carl Sandburg's "How They Broke Away to Go to the Rootabaga Country." From the Maleficent Witch, Mother Rigby, in Hawthorne's "Feathertop" to the ethereal fairy in "The Lad and Luck's House," Book List had some good things to say about it "A patriotic-looking jacket with blue stars and red stripes adorns this collection of 12 stories drawn from an emergent American literary tradition that includes such characters as bee-men, goose-girls, kings, fairies, and wizards." Editor Neil Philip provides an introductory essay about the "American fairy" tale" and briefly introduces each selection.

I loved the variety of stories and the collection of famous writers, including Hawthorne, Sandburg, Alcott, and Baum. McCurdy's woodcut illustrations give the stories a sense of the past yet still allow plenty of room for fantasy, woodcuts have a haunting timeless look about them. Theses stories are made to read aloud. But it must remembered that because of the time they were written but a few contain language or allusions that now seem politically incorrect. But we must be careful not to throw out the baby with the bathwater. American Fairy Tales is a beautifully Illustrated book you may have to work a bit to find it.

Philip Kaveny, Reviewer

The story "House on the Embankment" begins with a man, Glebov, who is middle aged, balding, fat, and seeking to buy some furniture. It is around 1970, in the Soviet Union. While looking for the furniture, he notices an worker who appears familiar to him. It turns out to be a former friend, Shulepa, from his childhood days, who ignores Glebov after the latter calls out to him. Now Glebov is an elite member of Soviet society, so the question is raised as to how this successful academic is associated with this alcoholic loser.

The narrative then goes back to a time long since past, in the 1930s, before the Second World War. It is a tale of Glebov, Shulepa, and several other friends with names like "Bear" and "Walrus" growing up in or around a large apartment building in Moscow known as the "House on the Embankment." The House is a place of residence for those of the privileged class. The children are not much unlike those whom you or I may have grown up with. Trifonov does an excellent job of bringing every character in his novel to life. And there are certainly no shortage of characters in this story.

The narrative then gradually proceeds forward in time, to the War, to the 1950s when Glebov and Shulepa attended College, and finally up to the present time in which the novel began. There are many events which occur over the years, many tragic events; for example the disappearances of people during the Stalin era, and also things like unrequited love. As these events unfold, the reader begins to discover what was the cause of the animosity between Glebov and Shulepa in the beginning of the story. But Shulepa isn't the only one who hates Glebov, this man who has so little character.

Perhaps the most interesting thing about this novel is the appearance of a second narrarator. The initial narrator is a 3rd person who is in the background; not an active participant in the events. The second narrator is different--he is actually one of the several friends in the story, and it is the readers' task to discover who the second narrator is. I read this story about 3 times before I narrowed down the choices to two different characters. After the 5th reading, and some research in the secondary literature to back up my conclusion, I discovered who it was. (I won't spoil it for you by telling you who it is here, but if you want to know, you can contact me.) Throughout the novel, these two narrators trade places, one distant and passive, the other one active and passionate in his narrative style.

This is a very beautiful novel, certainly worthy of the name "masterpiece." As I indicated earlier, I read this 5 times, and I found each read as interesting as the previous. Each time that you read it, you discover some subtle point which you missed the last time you read it; this is one of those stories in which the plots are so numerous, it is easy to miss something.

About the only thing that could stand some improvement is the translation of this work from the original Russian. (The original appeared in the literary magazine Druzhba Narodov in Jan. 1976, p.83) The translation is not bad, otherwise I might not give a good review here, however the translator, Glenny, leaves out certain intimacies between characters, and on some occasions, inserts or transforms sentences during the translation, of which I didn't see the necessity. I suffer from the belief that you should retain as much fidelity to the original during your translation, at least to the point where you begin to lose the reader because the expression you are translating does not have an equivalent in the second language.

If you can read Russian and have access to a good library, I suggest that you read the original. Otherwise, get this book, you won't be disappointed. There is another story in the book, which comes before "House," "Another Life." I haven't read it yet, so I am not reviewing it here. However, the book is worth the price with "House" alone.

This collection of ten Native American short stories for young children is designed as a teaching guide for would-be storytellers. Each story is followed by a set of questions to be used to stimulate conversation about the story. There is also a related activity project for children.

The first story, "Silver Birch Has a Dream," tells of a girl, Silver Birch, who had dream visions that came true. One night she had a dream that Ancient Turtle had died. It upset her. She visited Ancient Turtle and discussed the dream vision. He explained to her that death is not an end to the spirit, only the physical body. She was afraid because she did not understand. Once she reached an understanding of it, there would be no fear. She returned to her home in high spirits, knowing that Ancient Turtle was going to a better place.

The story is followed by three questions:
1.What did Silver Birch's dream of the thunderbird mean?
2.How did Ancient Turtle explain death to Silver Birch?
3.What did Silver Birch learn?
The project is to draw a story of your own on a piece of paper in the shape of a tipi. There is an instructor's guide in the back of the book with all the questions and answers.

This book is a wonderful tool for the fledgling storyteller. You will develop skills and confidence in interacting with the children. By practicing these stories and studying the questions and answers, you will be comfortable and relaxed when you appear with a group. You will also learn to develop an outline and questions about any story. This is valuable training aid for any person with an interest in working with children. I strongly recommend it.

Alicia Karen Elkins, Columnist, Reviewer, & Editor

Reprinted from Gotta Write Network Online

It is hard to imagine another region that can boast more consistently interesting writers per square foot than the beautiful Berkshire Hills of western Massachusetts.
The present volume has gathered many, from the 1600's to our own time, always with an eye for local color and the good read. Along the way we meet some interesting residents and visitors (Francis Parkman, Charles Dickens), sample some old favorites, Hawthorne, Melville, and Wharton, among others, and are pleased to become acquainted with the fine writing of Paul Metcalf and Don Gifford.
Altogether a delight for anyone who cherishes good reading, and especially of course for those who love the area.

(The "score" rating is an unfortunately ineradicable feature of the page. This reviewer does not "score" books.)

Pamela Sargent very very rarely lets me down with her science fiction. I was luckily enough to just find this collection of her short stories and read it through in only two days. The vast majority of the stories are excellent -- well written and populated by enticing characters. Well worth the time and money if you like strong but realistic female characters.

This book was published in 1989 and reprints much of Moorcock's work from the previous two or three years, much of it journalism.
What's really remarkable is that in 1987 Moorcock was warning about our relationship with the Arab world, our failures to recognise and understand its culture and manners. This book isn't that hard to get in the UK second hand. I don't think the essays (there is also a lot of material on Moorcock's strongly
held feminist views) have ever been reprinted anywhere else.
Moorcock's recent Cornelius stories have shown how finely tuned he is to world events -- some of them have an uncanny prescience.
This is where the Reminiscences of the Third World War first appeared, too, along with The Great Rock and Roll Swindle which Moorcock wrote in collaboration with the Sex Pistols. This is a writer who has made it his business to go to the places and events which are amongst the most crucial to this century -- whether it be his immersion in the world of sex, drugs and rock and roll, or his respectful fascination with the world of Islam.
If you want to know the concerns of the next ten years, don't read the 'futurists', read Moorcock, who has always insisted he is merely recording his own experience. This is a key Moorcock title but the short stories were swiftly collected elsewhere and it's a great shame we can't get the essays any more. Someone should publish a book of Moorcock's political and literary essays, including his profiles of Andrea Dworkin, Harlan Ellison, Maeve Peake and Angus Wilson which appear here, too. I'd like to see a copy of The Retreat from Liberty, his long political essay which predicted the fall of Thatcher and the decay of the Tory
Party in the UK. He also predicted how the USA would become increasingly dysfunctional as less and less real information got through to the US public through their common media. In a less self-centered age, Moorcock would be hailed as the modern H.G.Wells. Get this book and find out why!