This book has such an unexpected gut-level impact on everyone who reads it! I have read it aloud to people of all ages and there is never a dry eye in the room! Each of the short letters begins with a date which will be meaningful to anyone who lived through the depression. Oddly enough, disasters and hard times seem to bring out the best in people and this book sets out to show just how that is true. Lydia Grace Finch is such a universally loveable little character - she is unforgettable! The text and the illustrations are so perfectly suited to each other - they seem to have been created by the same person -but they aren't! (Just a "marriage of true minds" I guess.)The book gets at the heart of what a family can give a child even without money - what it means to be poor and what it means to be rich.
This is a lovely gift book for children or adults and I hope it stays in print for a long, long time!

Lydia Grace is not only a gardener, but a writer of letters. This lovely book is a collection of her precious letters to beloved family members, and through them her story unfolds. David Small's simple but powerful illustrations bring Sarah Stewart's story of this brave little girl to life. What a great combination of author and illustrator. Be sure to read "The Library", as well.

The Gardener is now our favorite book. My three sons love to look at the wonderful illustrations. I love to garden and I have enjoyed teaching them. My children love to hear the letters Lydia writes to her family, which tell the story. In today's world, letter writing is becoming a thing of the past. Most of all, we love the ending - showing the love Lydia and her uncle developed for each other. It makes me cry every time I read it.

Elizabeth Brown always loved books. In fact, "She didn't like to play with dolls,/She didn't like to skate./She learned to read quite early/And at an incredible rate." And through her long life, Elizabeth was never without a book, even while vacuuming or shopping or even exercising. As the years passed, her collection grew until every surface was covered with books. "When volumes climbed the parlor walls/And blocked the big front door,/She had to face the awful fact/She could not have one more." So Elizabeth Brown did the wise and generous thing, she shared her books with the entire town in a very original way..... The wonderful husband and wife team of Sarah Stewart and David Small have authored a delightful and entertaining story about an endearing red-headed, nearsighted bibliophile. Ms Stewart's simple and gentle, rhyming text sparkles, and is complemented by Mr Small's charming and humorous artwork. Children and adults alike will enjoy all the wonderfully special details in each picture. Together word and art paint an engaging portrait of a unique and spirited, book-loving heroine who won't be soon forgotten. Perfect for youngsters 4-8, The Library is a classic little treasure to read and share with the entire family, and is definitely a must for each and every home library.

Sarah Stewart has crafted a wonderful story of Elizabeth Brown, nearsighted and shy, who is not very good at sports. Elizabeth Brown learns to read and from that moment on, she is emmersed in books. From climbing under the covers with a flashlight to read until late at night, to reading in class, to playing library with her friends, Elizabeth loves her books. As she grows up, she chooses books as her companions and fills her house with books. Like many people who love books, she passes up new clothes and snacks and looks for new books to read. Soon her house is filled to the brim with books, books are everywhere!And Elizabeth still always has a book in her hand, no matter what she is doing. Finally, realizing she hasn't room for one more single book she decides to find a new use for her beloved books. This whimsical story will spark recognition in older readers and delight youngsters. Once again, Sarah Stewart and David Small have teamed to creat the very best of books. This is a delight.

I bought this book when I was in the midst of a grass roots effort to get a new library built in my small town. That library opened four days ago. Fortunately, unlike the heroine in the book, my motivation was not driven by the need to find a home for too many books, although that new library does contain some of my overflow!

This is a wonderful book about the joy of reading, and the sharing of that joy with others. Some of us choose to share it through teaching, others through library work or literacy programs. Our heroine literally shares with her whole community when her collection grows too large for her living quarters.

A wonderful book to share with you favorite reader, or advocate for reading. A copy will find its way to our beautiful new library soon!

"On Thursday, when Imogene woke up, she found she had grown antlers." So begins award winning author and illustrator, David Small's silly, funny, very charming story. Imogene has quite a day trying to get dressed, walking through doorways and under chandeliers. And she finds her antlers are useful too, for drying laundry and feeding birds. Her family is puzzled, the doctor can't find anything wrong, her school principal has no advice and her brother thinks she's turning into a rare miniature elk. Everyone's upset but Imogene. After dinner, Imogene goes to bed, dreaming of her very unusual day. "On Friday, when Imogene woke up, the antlers had disappeared." Her family is overjoyed to see her back to her normal self, until she walks into the room..... Imogene's Antlers is a magical story that's perfect for kids 4-8 years old. The delightful, simple text is secondary to Mr Small's wonderful, expressive illustrations and youngsters will laugh out loud as they watch Imogene and her family's antics as they get through the day. Imogene's Antlers is a classic that will be enjoyed for generations to come and a MUST for all home libraries!

What's a girl to do when she wakes up with antlers on her head?

I remember this book from way back when! It had such a magical, whimsical quality that stayed with me for a long time. The story is told simply with wry humor and the illustrations are crips and clean. It's so good to see it back in print for a whole new generation to discover. I've already introduced it to my friend's child who now wants to wear antlers for halloween. If you never read this as a kid, then run out and read it now. You won't regret it.

This book was originally writen 15 years ago and in my opinion it falls into the timeless classic category. The illustrations deserve an award. Everything about this story was well done. I laughed out loud at the end!

Start a new holiday tradition by reading the Christmas Crocodile with your family. You'll laugh at the crazy antics of the eccentric family members and the crocodile who "didn't mean to be bad." This book is a winner from beginning to end and the illustrations capture the hilarity perfectly!

Crocodiles do not conjure up images of a well-behaved pet! Alice Jayne sure tries to convince her eccentric family to keep a "puppy eyed" crocodile she finds under the Christmas tree. Our sympathy immediately goes out to the Christmas Crocodile who really "didn't mean to be bad." He sure gets into trouble in this book.

From page one, get ready to laugh at the adorable antics and pictures of less than amused family members. If the "Cat in the Hat" had been found under the Christmas tree, even he could not have created this much chaos! After gobbling down just about everything (a water bottle, candy canes, a Christmas roast, pumpkin pie, twenty-nine crumpets on the kitchen counter, a box of pralines, one fruitcake, five golden oranges, the left stove top burner, and a plate of ginger star cookies), the family locks the crocodile in the back room. They then retire for the evening.

What happens next can only be told by Bonny Becker and illustrated by David Small. We have copy which says: "For Alexia, Season's eatings!" signed by Bonny Becker! This is a magical book from start to finish. You don't want all this fun to ever end...and you know...it might just being again. Don't peak at the last page! This is the perfect gift for any child at Christmas time. They will enjoy reading it all year long.

I heard Daniel Pinkwater read this book on his Chinwag Theatre program. My family really ate it up! We cried crocodile tears-of laughter. It is really funny, and the illustrations are perfect too, with lots of personality and great details. My kids love the little dog, who is annoyed by the greedy but lovable crocodile, but Aunt Figgy is a close runner up. Alice Jayne's crazy relatives are a hoot, but the story has a real sweetness and generosity that kids and parents alike will appreciate. Everyone we have shared it with has loved it--young and old.

I liked the book it makes it easy to create a rpg based of any kinda anime. The ruels are easy and simple. I've even started applying the weapon flaw rules to my D20 games

For those of you looking for that one "generic" system, look no further. Big Eyes Small Mouth is the game for you. Based on Guardians of the Order Tri-Stat system, BESM has all the rules necessary to create any kind of character you can think of and play in any world your imagination can create. The rules are simple yet complete, and you can concentrate on the details of the game without being bogged down by tedious rules. All dice rolls are based on 6 sided die. (The normal kind) so you don't need any polyhedral (funny looking) dice. Even though the game is suppose to be an "anime" based game, you can use it for any type of genre. The book is also very colorful and filled with great art. The pages are glossy and feels like those expensive manga books. Pick this book up and you won't regret it!

I've never RPG'd in my life, but this book was a must-have for the groovalicious art. As a bonus, there are clear and simple descriptions of various manga and anime subgenres, and an excellent beginner's list of videos available in the US.

It is very detailed. As it says, it's very similar to the stars you actually see in the sky.

It works as follows: there is an outter dial with the days of the year, and an inner dial with the hours of day. By aligning them, it is easy to see the stars that are on the sky at any day (night) and hour.

One side faces North and the other side faces South. It has the star coordinate system (the one in hours and degrees), so you can find planets, if you have a table that tells you where to look.

I think you should complement this with a book, such as "40 Nights to Knowing the Sky", in order to know what you are seeing.

The first and best star chart for viewing the south sky with low distortion! I highly recommend it!

Having used planispheres for over 40 years, I was very interested when I first saw David Chandler's "The Night Sky". I found it to be the easiest to use, easiest to see and most accurate "sky dial" I had ever used. I can recommend this excellent planisphere to beginner, amateur and professional astronomers alike.

I received this book as a gift from a non-sailor for Christmas. At a quick first glance and once-over I thought 'I already know this stuff' and the book sat on my bookshelf until now.

As a person who has raced dinghies, catamarans and cruised on sailboats up to 80 feet, I thought I had learned enough of the small details that come with time on the water. I knew, of course, that there is a great deal more to know but I never thought it would come in the form of a simple book.

This book has hundreds of nuggets of information that will make your life easier, more fun and help you look like you know what you are doing, even if you are new to boating.

And if you DO know what you are doing, this is still a great book. I guarantee that there will some several nuggets for anyone and well worth the small price.

Buy this book for yourself of for someone else, you will not regret it.

Regardless if you are a sail-boater or power boater, Zora and David Aiken have written a must read, must own book for evry boater. Be it day sailing, cruising, travel, vacation, Good Boatkeeping has tip upon tip that actually makes all phases of boating more fun. The easy to read, well thought out book has helpful hints ranging from mechanics, to cooking, storage, on board entertainment...you think of it, they've thought it through and then some! It's a great gift for every boater.

Carl Sandburg's Huckabuck Family will delight and charm children of every age with a story of family pride and optimism. When the Huckabucks Nebraska barn burns down and all their popcorn pops, they decide to go on the road and wait for a sign to tell them when to come back home. Each year they move to a new town and Papa finds a new job. The Huckabucks may have good luck, or bad, but they always have each other. David Small's illustrations add just the right touch to the story and are so detailed that even the farm animals have facial expressions. So, sit down and take a trip across the country and back with the Huckabucks. I promise, you won't be disappointed. This is a wonderful book the whole family can share.

This book is a satisfying follow-up to David Small's last twobooks, The Gardener & The Library. Though this is an old story its optimistic message suits Small's whimsical style beautifully. I'm thoroughly confused by the review in Kirkus that criticizes the repetitive nature of the names--this is part of Sandburg's poetic form--as well as the "pointless" nature of the Huckabuck family's travels, which is actually the whole point of the story. One must take a change in luck in stride, go out and find one's new fortune, and you may even find yourself back home having learned a thing or two. Cheers (& 5 stars) to the Huckabucks, Sandburg, and David Small.

I write in response to the guy who felt "totally ripped off" by the chapter in this book on dealing with irrational attacks.

I can't tell whether he's baiting the author to see if he'll follow his own directions, or if he's simply throwing a childish tantrum that illustrates the excessive and irrational attacks people often have to suffer. Either way, he obviously didn't get it, and although he calls himself a "fairly nice, sensitive, compassionate person," his letter makes that difficult to believe. Perhaps if he had read the whole book and used the practical exercises, he would have seen how helpful this book could be.

This book opened my eyes to a lot of important insights into how my "niceness" has undercut my integrity and effectiveness as a person. I'm impressed with the substance and clarity with which it's written, and especially the fact that I couldn't find any "psychobabble." I'm also impressed with the balance of theorhetical understanding and practical information. It's been of tremendous help to me. I cannot recommend it too highly.

I was recently interviewing for a job and was called in for EIGHT interviews. The stress was on! Duke helped me to see the big picture, to focus on what I wanted and needed, and not be bogged down with needless baggage that some of us "nice" people carry with us.

This book has helped me with personal relationships at home and with friends, has refocused my attention to my communication methods so that I use clear and succinct wording, and it has helped me see that nice guys can finish first.

Thanks, Duke. The book is great

I have an admission: I can't process Duke Robinson's book as fast as I would like. That's because it contains vast insight into how we would-be nice folk trip over ourselves. So, I'm reading it slowly and taking time for reflection.

But I'm also trying new behaviors that the author suggests. For example, I've started saying "I'll have to get back to you" when my own reactivity kicks in. A simple suggestion, almost common sense. But it helps preserve important relationships and gives me time to come up with a calm, healing response.

If you feel a need to be perfect, if you lose yourself into other people's problems, if you sputter in the face of ambush, if you have trouble saying what you want, this book is for you. It offers practical, down-to-earth, doable ideas that work.

But be warned: the author will help you envision the climb toward more authentic niceness, and he will provide some handholds. But the work will be up to you. If you're like me, you will find his suggestions difficult to pull off. But the effort will be worthwhile.

Always being "nice" looks so good from the outside, but oh, the pain that is there inside. Duke Robinson's touching book guides you through simple, yet challanging steps to relieve that pain forever.

My first intention was to read this book as a self-help guide in learnng how to deal with my mistakes. I found my "niceness" in many chapters and immediately began trying some of the suggested changes. They do work and I feel better!

Being a believer that continuing education is a lifelong process, I want to share this book with others. Using the author's study guide, I plan to introduce "Good Intentions" to an adult study group at my church.

Well, if you have a young reader who is looking for a book about the Father of Our Country that is out of the ordinary, tell them to look no farther than "George Washington's Cows." By the end of this collection of humorous rhymes about the rather strange animals at George Washington's Mount Vernon farm the future President is standing with his head in hand, sighing, and complaining "My cows wear dresses, my pigs wear wigs, and my sheep are more learned than me." At least the pigs help out around the house, which is more than can be said for those smart sheep. David Small must have a little Jonathan Swift in him, for this is not exactly a reverential portrait of George Washington, who might have been first in war and first in peace but who takes a back seat to the animals in this cute little volume (I like the wicked little smiles on the pigs the best). However, I think parents will appreciate the book's final punch line a lot more than the young readers for who this work is intended.

Have you ever wondered why George Washington left Mount Vernon and became the father of our country? Award winning author and illustrator, David Small, let's you in on that little well-kept secret. It all started with his cows. They wouldn't give milk unless they could live upstairs in their own room with silk bedding, dress in lavender gowns, eat scones and jam and wear perfume. Then there were the hogs. They thought they were maids and butlers, doing chores, filling in for sick servants and serving meals. And, when it came to genius, Washington's flock of sheep were unrivaled. It all became to much for him, so he gave up the farm, crossed the Delaware and went into politics. Told with creativity and great humor, Mr Small's wonderful rhyming text is complimented by his detailed, expressive watercolor artwork and youngsters will laugh out loud as they see cows, lazing about in bed, pigs in wigs serving dinner and sheep in caps and gowns teaching lessons to Washington's guests. This is a delightful, silly, witty picture book that can be enjoyed by children of all ages and makes a wonderful addition to all home libraries.

David Small is a wonderfully imaginative author. *Fenwick's Suit*, *Imogene's Antlers*, and *Paper John* by Small are also terrific children's books, but this one is just hilarious. My four-year-old daughter nearly fell off my lap laughing at the pictures of the pigs in their powdered wigs, and my eight-year-old son appreciated the wry humor. Few children's books are illustrated as beautifully as this one, and the rhyme and rhythm are delightful. A picture book not to be missed.