This book was not only informative, but entertaining. I couldn't put it down. It provided an in-depth exploration of the psyche and experiences of Mary Mallon. It humanized the villan "Typhoid Mary" and gave the reader a deeper understanding of the struggles she endured that shaped her path in life. A great read!!

Mercedes Graf eloquently gives the reader a rare opportunity to explore the personal life and struggles of Mary Mallon as well as those who touched her life. From this we are able to find both sympathy and respect for what this woman had to endure, and we are forced to question our own judgements and beliefs. A wonderful account and enduring read!

Quarantine takes us into the story of Typhoid Mary in a unique approach which allows us to see more than one side of the story and understand the feelings of both Mary and her oppressors. The author has an excellent style in developing the subject. Let us hope to see more of this style biographical work.

This book is the direct sequel to Trixie Belden and the Secret of the Mansion, which really must be read first. On the quest to find Jim -- on the lam from his evil stepfather Jonsey -- Trixie, Honey, and Miss Trask arrive in the Autoville trailer park, and the girls eventually find the dual mysteries of Jim's whereabouts and a stolen red trailer converging in one area of countryside.

The Red Trailer Mystery does get confusing and could have used a map, but the author summarizes the action periodically, and it sounds natural and helps develop the reader's comprehension and critical thinking.

I think this series gave me an appreciation in my adult life for the benefits of family, community, and enduring friendships.

l too loved these books and still have the whole set funny how these can be so much fun to read even after all these years....nope l dont wanta sell them....LOL

As a young girl (like seven years ago!), my mom pulled out a box from the attic when I showed an interest in reading. In the box were the first fifteen Trixie books. I have treasured them dearly. Number 2 is still my favorite! I have enjoyed reading and collecting the rest of the set. I have only 3 left to find! - Julie Major

Coming from a high school where hockey was a sought after sport, i really can relate to this book. The MN high school hockey league is one of the best, if not the best, in the nation. Mary protrays the game the way it should be portrayed. I just started another book by her, Star of the North, and it is right up there with River of Champions. Its a great story about Henry Boucha, the late Detroit Red Wing, and his battle through the national hockey league as a minority. Try it, its a great read!

The book, River of Champions , gave me an insight of what it means to be a Prowler hockey player. It made me want to go back to High School and play again. The River of Champions can be very motivational to any hockey player who loves the game .

This book brought back some fond memories. It has special meaning to me, as the story takes place where I grew up and went to school. I still remember going to the games, cheering on the hockey team, and listening to the champion games on the radio like it was yesterday. Something I would pass down to my children with pride.

"The Shine Man" is a wonderful book that will surely
become a classic Christmas story. It reminded me of
my own father's tales of life during the Depression.
It teaches an important lesson in giving as well as
a bit of history and will stimulate family discussion.
Both the artwork and the story are excellent.

This story feels timeless, a real feat for a children's book published this year. From the period details to the lyrical prose, I felt a sense of deja-vu throughout, as if I were reading a childhood favorite. And the last page is stunningly beautiful. I bought it for my daughter, and I'm about to go get another copy for my nephew.

This story of finding the divine in people during the Great Depression is a gentle way of helping children (and their adult loved ones)focus on what's most important about the holiday season. Illustrations are reminiscent of Dickens, but set in the 1930's in this country. I'll think of this story (especially the last two pages)when I behold the stars in a bright December sky.

I used Slaves Who Dared with a classroom of sixth grade students and found it to be most effective. The students were fascinated by direct quotes from people from that era as well the details of their misfortunes. The text captured their interest immediately. They remarked positively about the illustrations, photographs, captions, and sidebars with definitions and interesting details. Most important, though, they learned about historical figures previously unknown to them, and they demonstrated a desire to know more about the subjects presented in the book. This book would be an excellent introduction and springboard to a social studies unit on this period of history.

Although this book is intended for a 9-12 reading level, I have found it to be appropriate for my 11th grade "at-risk" United States History students. The stories grab the attention of the students and keep them engaged in the narratives. This is a great book and I am delighted to have found it to use as a resource in my classroom. When students have completed their assignments, they often pick it up and read it voluntarily, which is a great compliment, given the student population.

My daughter was doing a project on Harriet Tubman, and found this book on other slaves who had a major impact in African-American history. It's chapter by chapter format allows brief biographical introductions to key individuals with photographs (some graphic), and really was instructive to my 10 year old on the contribution of these heros to advancing African Americans rights. I highly recommend it for 10-14 year olds researching black history or anyone wanting inspiration from the stories of individuals overcoming significant barriers to achieve greatness.

This book is one of true meaning an excellent written book, which show's the through Ireland. This books explains the mentality of the religious and states minds. Truly deeply sad book but very much worth the read. This book is excellent in the sense of giving true awareness to the Irish state.
Highly recommended.

This book presents a portrait of 20th century Ireland that will debunk any nostalgic or sentimental view of the so called 'Emerald Isle'. No shamrocks and leprecauns in this book, but a history of cruelty, abuse and power. It tells the story of how Irish children were incarcerated in huge numbers throughout the 19th and 20th centuries in reformatory and industrial schools which were managed by the Catholic Church. Based on detailed historical research and interspersed with gut-wrenching first hand accounts of survivors of these institutions, it shows how an alliance between a power hungry Catholic Church and an indifferent Irish State resulted in the incarceration of the children of the poor. Rather than helping poor families, Church and State removed these children to bleak institutions where large numbers were sexually and physically abused and tortured by their Christian carers. I don't think that I will ever think about the Catholic Church and Ireland in the same way ever again. Anger, saddness, frustration, disbelief, but above all anger - why did this happen? I experienced all these emotions when reading this book. If you want to really understand Irish society, this book is essential and harrowing reading.

This is a shocking and rivetting book. It deals with the enormous scale of child abuse in Irish institutions during much of the 20th century. This included severe sexual and physical abuse, together with emotional bullying and serious neglect. It was carried out mainly by members of Catholic religious orders. This book shows that the abuse was not secret -- Irish society knew about it, but denied that knowledge to itself and didn't act to protect the thousands of children literally locked up in this incredible system. But most importantly, this book is fascinating on the international connections of all this. It shows that some of the Irish-based Catholic orders exported this terrible system to abuse children all over the world. The Irish Christian Brothers and the Sisters of Mercy set up institutions for children in Australia and in Canada, and 'Suffer the Little Children' provides us with a unique insight into the terrible cruelties visiting on these children as well. This is the most comprehensive telling of a child abuse system that I have ever read. It is essential for anyone who cares about how societies fail to protect those who most need that protection, and the awful consequences of that failure. While it primarily concerns Ireland, this book has a universal and widespread importance.

you can do it all with this detective kit...

it has cool detective gear and a guide for how to be a super detective!

Stick with the motto that everyone follows {even the author}:

Buy it!

It is very handy book for those who want to be detectives!!Comes with allot of coool stuff.Stick with it - buy it!!!!

If you are a fan of the olsens, you will LOVE this kit! it comes with lots of stuff! I also reccommend the Walt Disney World adventure book.

An easy quick read. If you're looking for a fun book, this is it. Basically it's a story of three cousins who see one another ever summer. It's set in a small town in Newfoundland in the 1960s. It's interesting to read a story set in Newfoundland, the language the characters use is probably one of the best parts of the novel, hilarious! Definatly true Newfies! The novel isn't widely known, but still extremely good. It seems that every time anyone comes to my house and sees it, they ask to borrow it! And everytime, they love it. Honestly, everyone I know who's read it has loved it! I trust that this novel will rely soley on word-of-mouth for sales. Anyway, it's a great read for anyone who likes stories about good friends, good family, and good times!!

Set in a small village on the coast of Newfoundland, Seven For A Secret by Mary C. Sheppard is a highly recommended, "reader friendly" novel of Rebecca and Kate, two fifteen-year-old girls and their confrontation with opposing directional pulls. Invited to develop their artistic talent and explore the world beyond their village borders, Rebecca and Kate are forbidden to go by an uncompromising family member. Also available in paperback..., Seven For A Secret is strong tale of personal will in the making one's own destiny.

Actually, unlike the reader from Nova Scotia, I really liked the whole book - including the ending. I didn't live in rural Newfoundland in -when was it, the sixties or seventies?-, but it sure rings true to me that lots of girls in that time and place would get pregnant before finishing high school.

To me, that was part of the point. That the choices people make are in large part dictated by their environment........... that when you're young your social circle is accidental, but as you get older you increasingly spend time with people who share your goals and values.......... and that the only people who don't end up following the crowd are those who are both single-minded and lucky.

That said, this isn't a message novel. The author seemed to really like and sympathize with all her characters. And so when I read it, I cared about them all too. And the book was subtle enough that you knew everybody in it would have to make some tough decisions. There are no easy answers, the book said, and I agree.

I thought the book was insightful about girls' lives. It was a great read too - I read it straight through in about 3 hours and enjoyed every page.

This is about a Jewish girl named Hannah Senesh who grew up while Hitler's commands were spreading around Europe. She was a brave girl who wanted to save many people who were sent to the concentration camp so she joined the British Air Force, the most courageous rescuers. ALthough many men were interested in her and wanted to marry her, she wouldn't accept. She was never married and died at a young age. Later she was executed by the Nazis at a camp. She is known to be one of the most brave and courageous women.
I read this book because I thought her story was very interesting. This book was aslo recommended by my mom. She also thought this book was interesting because she likes biography.
This book teaches you that being brave can get you where you want. I recommend this book to everybody.
My favorite part in this book was when Hannah Senesh met her mother at the camp and they sent messages to each other across the room. They were so happy to see each other beacuse they haven't seen each other for a couple of years. The part where I didn't like was when she was taken outside and was executed. She didn't deserve to die because she was inisint and didn't do anything bad she was trying to save her people.

It tells about the life of a Jewish family during World War II, and how they had to leave their home. Hannah joined the U.S. Army a few years later after they left Norway. I read this when I was in fifth grade, and I've remembered it ever since. It had a big impact on me, and now I'm an eleventh grader and I still find myself reading it every now and then. I recommend this book to everybody!

This book is so sad, touching, and gives you a ton of useful information. You should get this book, it is AWESOME!!!

Aine O'Malley is the only daughter in an Irish family with four boys, and is neglected, insulted, lonely and highly imaginative. The story opens when she is 10 during a summer in their Victorian castellated house built above the rocky mainland shore. The Dunbeg castle, a crumbling old wreck built nearly 150 years earlier by her great-great-grandfather O'Malley, has its share of family ghosts and legends. Aine's cousin from America, Rupert - her father's brother's son, visits them for the summer, and she finds a rare ally in him even though he's several years older than her. While her brothers ignore her or taunt her and her parents virtually ignore her, Rupert finds time to talk and explore with her, and achieves a real rapport with Aine. They continue to correspond when he returns to Virginia.

The women in this novel are all deeply troubled and unfulfilled. Aine's mother is distant and troubled by her lack of power in her typical Irish marriage where the man rules the roost. Rupert's mother has a similar marriage, but it's further complicated by the fact that her husband is a pedophile and philanderer. Both seem trapped and helpless in their marriages, which creates negative examples of female vulnerability and dysfunctional relationships for Aine.

Aine is haunted by unexplained nightmares, shadows and visions, and is constantly criticized and ostracized by her family for her imaginings; but only Rupert seems to understand her. They don't see each other again for years, when she is 13 and he is leaving for college. An awkward and uncomfortable event causes a rift between them, and they lose communication for several years while he is away at college. They meet again when she is an adult and attending drama school in London, but he is engaged and she is angry and disappointed in him. She agrees to marry Nigel soon after meeting him in London, mainly as a negative reaction to Rupert's engagement.

Aine's intense feelings for Rupert are eventually resolved in a surprising manner, and she eventually faces her demons and ghosts and learns how to deal with them.

The themes of oppression and haunting are mirrored in the splendid, vivid descriptions of the Dunbeg castle and rocky seashore and of the humid, sultry surroundings in Virginia. The author allows us to empathize with Aine and be fully engaged with her environs. We feel we know her before the end of the novel, and want her to find healing and peace of mind in a world that so far has been hostile and insensitive.

A falling down Irish castle, a fey little girl with a host of brothers and an unfilled mother and traditionally clueless father. A rebellious aunt and American cousin come to visit and nothing will ever be the same. Aunt Isabelle warns the tiny and already dramatic ten year old Aine that "Men ... eat feelings. They have none of their own and live off other people's." As Aine approaches womanhood, ancient childhood fears haunt her, as does the prospect of life. Her unconventional and unfulfilled mother equates marriage with "mortgaging your life," and then makes a very dramatic exit. As Aine's very difficult life unfolds, the constancy and concern of cousin Rupert Bear for Tigerlily is an inspired touch, but (as in life) happily ever after is more than a bit of a fantasy. This is a pretty yet dark and multi-layered poetic tale that keeps hopefulness on the horizon, and has a lot to say about families and coming of age. The author is extremely talented, and the reader will feel pulled into this living, breathing family and the various landscapes.

Evocative and engrossing, Mary Ryan's The Song of the Tide creates a story with complex layers, emotions, and settings, describing them with skill and sympathy. The heart and soul of Ryan's heroine, Aine O'Malley, reveal a flair for the dramatic, a vivid imagination, and a keen perception or prescience that become a burden as she grows older. The lessons Aine learns about women's roles in society and the source of their satisfaction or power -- whether it is derived from domestic dominance or the ability to escape such ties -- runs in tandem with Aine's own struggle to escape her obsessions and ghosts. Aine's folly results from her belief that her power to control situations or people's opinions is derived by what she leaves unsaid, and more often her reticence or lies create further turmoil and obstacles for her.

Aine's family owns a crumbling castle called Dunbeg, where the story begins with the arrival of Aine's American-born cousin, Rupert and fraternal aunt, Isabelle. Even to 10-year-old Aine's perception, it soon becomes apparent that Aunt Isabelle is on the lam, running away from her husband. Aine immediately forms an alliance and deep attachment to Rupert, her gentlemanly cousin from Virginia who is the first male that didn't pick on her (Aine comes from a family full of brothers). In their explorations of the land surrounding the castle, Aine and Rupert fall afoul of a local resident tramp named Aeneas Shaw, a silly childhood misadventure with surprisingly far-reaching consequences. Aine, already a martyr to nightmares and insomnia, privately adds her new Nemesis Shaw to her list of fears, but recants her initial reporting of Shaw's attack on her to the police because she feels sorry for him and does not want to be the cause of his confinement to a mental home or to prison. In this one act, Aine establishes a pattern that will follow her throughout her adolescence and young adult years, in which she subverts her own fears about her safety, or allows others to convince her she's crazy or has an overly-vivid imagination, to the detriment of her well-being.

When she is 10 years old, Aine suddenly faces down the taunts of her brothers, screaming "From now on, I want some respect!", but it is not until a decade later that she realizes the power to gain freedom from such bad treatment is actually in her own hands, not in the hands of her tormenters both real and imagined. Aine's role models, after all, are her aunt, who after fleeing her abusive, lecherous, alcoholic husband, returns and submits to his will, and her mother, whose attempts at an intellectually-satisfying life are thwarted by her husband's need for clean shirts and who ultimately turns to an unsatisfying and unsuccessful adulterous liaison as a means of escape. Aine's Aunt Isabelle advises her thusly, after her outburst demanding respect:

"'You must never, ever let them see it . . . Aine, darling,' she whispered. 'You must never show them!' My mouth opened. 'Show them what?' 'You must never show men what you really feel,' she repeated. 'Men . . . eat feelings! They have none of their own and they live off other people's.'"

Aine seems to take this advice to heart and begins a lifelong habit of leaving things unsaid, lying to hide the truth, and being evasive with everyone, including herself. The one constant in Aine's life is Rupert's friendship, and her one goal as she travels through puberty into womanhood, is to win his love. What she finally realizes about herself as a woman and as an individual in her quest for his love makes for fascinating, dramatic reading.

The Song of the Tide is a lushly descriptive, hauntingly beautiful tale set in Ireland, England, and America, and each scene has an all-encompassing quality that surrounds the reader in a tangible atmosphere. The reader is a witness, not only to the beautifully-described exteriors, such as the eerie castle Dunbeg and the sultry state of Virginia, but is also privy to the interiors of Aine's mind and even her dreams. The story succeeds on all levels to draw in the reader to a well-constructed plot, a complicated conflict, and a satisfying denouement.