The story of the cute, spunky heroine Uriko-hime who was born from a melon will surely delight children of all ages. It is actually a retelling of the Japanese folktale Momotaro. Judy Sierra's narration is lovely. Tontoko-tontoko--I could hear Uriko-hime's wooden sandals. And Meilo So's illustrations are a real eye-candy.

As a Japanese language teacher in a Primary school, I have always shared the story of Momotaro with my students who are really fascinated with the oni (demons) and Momotaro's bravery and kindness. I was thrilled to find this new reworking of the traditional story with a female "hero" who was born from a large melon rather than a peach, and sets off to Onigashima to rescue the babies from the oni, accompanied by the dog, pheasant and the monkey, all sustained of course by the famous kibidango. A really enjoyable and fun read-aloud and a good teaching tool for comparing traditional stories with reworkings.

As a fourth grade teacher, I plan to use this book as an introduction to folklore. It is especially appealing to find a book with an Asian heroine.

This Indonesian version of Cinderella hails from the Moluccas, or Spice Islands--the place to which Christopher Columbus was headed when he found the New World. In 1492 they were the only place in the world where cloves grew. The earliest written version of Cinderella is from China. As the author indicates in the afterward, no one knows where the story originated. But she speculates that Cinderella may have traveled West with the spices.

Damura was a child when her mother taught her to light a fire, cook, and to tend and harvest rice. But she still loved dolls when her mother died. The lorikeet and little green parrot outside in the nutmeg tree were not company enough for her. With a new doll, a neighboring widow bribed Damura into convincing her father to marry her. Her stepmother's two daughters were kind at first, but soon made Damura their servant. She cried at night that she had traded her happiness for a doll.

One day as she washed the family's clothes, she lost her sarong in the river. She called to the creatures of the wild for help, and a crocodile appeared. "Good morning Grandmother," she said to the crocodile.

The crocodile gave Damura her baby to care for, and returned with a silver sarong that sparkled like the night sky. She told Damura to take it and come to the river again if she ever needed anything.

Her stepsisters were naturally jealous of the sarong. But when they tried to entice the crocodile to help them, she saw through their façade. A year later, the village buzzed with excitement as the prince planned to hold a dance to choose his bride. Damura asked her stepmother if she might go, wearing her silver sarong. Of course her stepmother refused her.

The rest of this tale is very similar to that of Cinderella. But to find the unique ways in which it sparkles, you'll have to read this book. Alyssa A. Lappen

I Have never read such an interesting version of the cinderella story, i recomend that every one with children or who know those who have them buy this book and save it. It will provide pleasure to generations to come

As you can easily guess from the title, "The House That Drac Built" takes the basic structure of "The House That Jack Built" and throws in everything from a bat and a cat to a manticore and the fiend of Bloodygore. Everything chains out, albeit rattling chains covered with dust from a dungeon, and young children will love the way new monsters keep getting added into the mix. Then, just to make things really fun, some children show up trick or treating and pretty much scare the monsters. Author Judy Sierra keeps this relatively simply despite offering up such things as a fearsome manticore (apparently she and her husband like to convince trick-or-treaters that they have come to the house that Drac built, which apparently is located in Eugene, Oregon). Will Hillenbrand's illustrations are atmospheric without being overly spooky (e.g., the mummy from days of yore), thereby catching the whimsy of this particular tale. Be sure to have your kids check out the cover where all of the characters from inside the book can be found lurking around somewhere.

I am a student studying to be a teacher at UNL. I used The House That Drac Built for a lesson on counting. I created a felt board and allowed the children to add the characters as I read. We counted them and then took them away at the end when the children arrive at Drac's home. I found this book to be very entertaing and useful in my lesson. It served as a perfect way to integrate literature into my Math lesson If you agree with me, please respond and let me know what you think! I would love to know what you think!

This is a simple, enjoyable story involving toy cars, a cute villain, mud pies, and preschool children as the heroes--ideal for reading to a preschooler!

The writing is simple, lyrical, and easy to remember. After only a few reads, our two-year-old knew the story well enough to act it out with her toys. The plot teaches that things that might seem a little scary can be overcome, and that with teamwork, anything is possible.

My 28 month old son absolutely loves this book. After reading it a half a dozen times in one day, he'll ask to read it "one more time". And if you don't read it to him, he will turn page by page and tell the story aloud, well his version anyway, which is pretty close to the book itself. Although he knows the story, and the ending, he will sit still with anticipation until the very end of the book, which is a nearly impossible task for a 2 year old. He loves the repetition of his favorite vehicles in the book, and no matter how many times he hears it, he giggles with delight at the in depth description of the "sleepy, creepy, deeper-than-you'd-think mud puddle". This book is an absolute must for any little boy who likes trucks & cars & puddles, and what little boy doesn't?

This is a treasure trove for anyone who leads children's groups: scout leaders, camp counselors, Sunday school teacher, etc. The games are timeless, and many require no equipment. Children love the games, and enjoy the connection they feel with the children of another time and place.

The Dancing Pig is one of the best books that I've ever bought for my son. He was captured by the story and didn't take his eyes off the book at any time, and even better, he didn't stop my reading to ask a question. The well written story and the many brilliant full page illustrations definately added to my son's increased interest. The culture oriented story line and illustrations in The Dancing Pig brings a feel of beautiful island of Bali. The author and illustrator must have spent time there in order to produce such a marvelous book. I strongly recommend the book. Your family will treasure this book!

I train childcare teachers and use this book when teaching how to tell flannel board stories. The author gives guidelines for using the flannel board story with different age groups. A total of 50+ stories, poems, and songs are included, some appropriate for the younger child, some for ages five and older. The selection is varied, including familiar stories such as "Three Billy Goats Gruff" and "The Three Pigs". Also included are folktales which are less familiar but equally wonderful. For each story, the author shares special directions for using the flannel board characters and how to include the children in the telling of that story. For me, a special feature of this book are the patterns for the characters--they are large, clear, and easy to duplicate.

TWENTY great stories similiar toour own childhood read alouds but with a different twist and sillywords to repeat together guaranteedto make every one laugh and get so silly you will be giggling andend up sillier. Beautifullycolored illustrations add to thepleasure of these short stories tobe enjoyed by adults as well....abook you will want to read over andagain. Children's books are expensive but this one is worth it.

Wiley and his mother outwit the Hairy Man in this compelling retelling of the folk tale. The illustrations alone are worth the price of admission, but you and your child will get a fun, absorbing story as well.

I purchased the CD because of the good reviews on the book. My seven year old loved the CD and I was surprised to find myself singing along. He's been learning about penguins at school - this is definitely a good way to reinforce what he has learned while having lots of fun in the process.

An adult friend recommended this book to me (also an adult), figuring that I'd enjoy anything containing a poem titled "Regurgitate." She was right, and I found the rest of the book well-written and well-crafted, full of similar humor and the kind of realism-in-viewpoint that is sometimes (too often) lacking in books that feature animals. The illustrations are also excellent. I'm told that children do enjoy this book, but it's also captivated many of my adult friends ... including one woman to whom I presented a copy for her 55th birthday. Quality shines through any good work, and that's definitely true of "Antarctic Antics."

The book was very entertaining for my five year old granddaughter, making her laugh as well as learn about penguins.

The art work was as well done as the writing. I recommend it to anyone who is sly enough to teach through laughter and rhyme.