Although I admit prejudice, being a proud friend of the author, I am still overwhelmed by the beauty of this book.

Laurie's story, as told from Mary's perspective, allows the reader to truly capture the fear, honor and profound responsibility of being A mother, as well as being THE mother of the son of God, and mankind's salvation. "Fear gripped my heart as we slipped through the night. God was sending us to Egypt. The land that once held my people captive would now shield His son from the sword of Herod."

While she is faithful to the biblical descriptions of the nativity, by writing from Mary's point of view, we can share in her thoughts, and we can feel the same awe and joy that allows the reader to feel transported to one of the most profound events in all of Christianity.

Kasi Kubiak's illustrations are nothing short of exquisite, evoking in me the same emotional awe as in Mercer Mayer's Beauty and the Beast. The light emanating from Jesus and the gentle detailing of each face clearly reflect that this was a labor of love for the artist. I find myself lingering on each picture and enjoy how 'alive' they look. (You also have to love an artist who uses her father's face for one of the wise men!) She has also captured MY vision of what angels look like, and I am planning on buying another copy so I may frame several pictures as they moved me greatly.

This book can be appreciated by anyone at any age, and gives an added dimension to the birth of Christ that will captivate all who read this book.

I should start this review by stating that I am a very biased critic. I was an emotional supporter for Kasi Kubiak as she created the magical characters for this book. I watched as she put in hours of work, beginning the process with prilimary sketches and making numerous changes to the paintings themselves. She never considered her work done until she was absolutely positive she had captured the true emotion of the characters. Watching the work and love that went into the illustrations, I have a new found respect for artists in this profession. This book started as basic Bible text and Laurie Knowlton was brought in to add life to it after the publisher's saw Kasi's illustrations. (Laurie and Kasi were left to do the marketing for their book on their own and between the two sold approximately 800 books. Book stores mysteriously left it off the shelves during the Christmas season. Where were the publisher's?) I'm sorry the previous critic felt that Kasi's illustrations were inappropriate for this book, but everytime I look at my signed copy I see myself in Mary and the love in every stroke of Kasi's brush.

This is a great book for the holidays. I read it to my 4 year old sunday school class and they were captivated. It is making a wonderful gift for my friends and family.

A fun adventure with great illustrations! The animals actualy pout when they can't come along! My three year old loves it!

"I set off one morning in my little red canoe. My dog wagged his tail. "Can I come, too?" "You bet," I said. "A trip for two-just me and you..." Down the river paddles our young narrator and furry friend. Soon they come upon Beaver building his dam. He stops chewing just long enough to ask if he can join the trip. "There's not much room. It's a one-dog canoe." But that doesn't deter Beaver, and he jumps right in. And as the trip continues down the river, so do Loon, Wolf, Bear, and Moose. But when Frog insists on joining the fun and hopping in... Author, Mary Casanova's playful and engaging text is filled with rhyme, rhythm, energy and marvelous onomatopoeic sound effects that begs to be read aloud. Illustrator, Ard Hoyt's captivating pencil and watercolor artwork tickles the funny bone with endearing characters, hilarious facial expressions, and clever, eye-catching details. Perfect for youngsters 3-7, One-Dog Canoe is an entertaining, chain-of-events treasure. So grab a paddle and hop aboard. It's time for a fun-filled ride.

We entered this book into our library system today, and I laughed like crazy when I read it. The pictures are adorable, just watch that dog's face. A delightful book I will buy for my grandchildren.

This book is an absolute hoot to read aloud to students or to your own child. My students range from average to gifted, third through fifth grade, and EVERYONE of them loves this book. The characters are very easy to "voice". Students also love to read this book to themselves. The illustrations just add all that much more fun. I'm buying two copies, since the library wants it back!

Poor Princess Paulina. Her father, the king, gave up his throne to become a wood-carver, and she's really missing all the perks of princessing. So when she hears that Queen Zelda, of Blom, is searching for a wife for her son, Prince Drubert, she dusts off her tiara and heads for the castle. Paulina has no trouble passing the pea and mattress test..."That's so once-upon-a-time", or the essay on "Why I Want to Have the Gracious and Exquisitely Beautiful Queen Zelda for My Mother-in-Law, or even the glass slipper test..."For Pete's sake, you never heard of sneakers?" But the final task, cooking a feast worthy of a prince, is a bit more daunting. Especially when the other two finalists, a young lady with an impossibly long braid that drags across the floor and a girl followed around by seven funny looking little men, grab all the ingredients. Paulina is left with only flour, yeast, water, tomatoes and a block of stale cheese..... Mary Jane and Herm Auch have authored a wry and hilarious fractured fairy tale, starring a sassy and confident heroine, that's full of familiar characters and clever scenes kids will recognize from stories of the past. Her witty text is entertaining and engaging, and begs to be read aloud. Mr Auch's bold, bright and expressive artwork complements the story beautifully, and is full of wonderfully eye-catching detail. Perfect for youngsters 4-8, The Princess And The Pizza is a modern fairy tale, complete with a surprise ending with a twist, that's sure to leave readers satisfied, and with a big smile on their faces.

A hilarious take on traditional fairy tales, "The Princess and the Pizza" is a very contemporary version of the eternal triangle - prince/princess/mean stepmother.

Princess Paulina was down on her luck. Her Dad had relinquished his throne to become a wood-carver, a task he had yet to master, and she missed princessing. Why, hardly anyone watched her do the royal wave.

So, when she found out that Prince Drupert needed a bride she was among the first in line. Regrettably she was in competition with twelve other wanna-be brides, and the Queen was extremely demanding. Nonetheless, Paulina didn't tumble for the old princess and the pea trick; she passed the essay and glass slipper tests with flying royal colors. But then, the greatest challenge of all, the remaining princesses-to-be must prepare a feast and the [others] would be beheaded!

Here's where ingenuity and a little luck come in handy. Paulina's pizza takes the prize, but is Prince Drupert such a prize after all?

The Auchs have created an original, laugh provoking tale with lots of twists before a satisfying ending.

- Gail Cooke

I believe in the old idea of storytelling, that we tell our stories in order to help the next generation understand what it means to be human. Mary Grimm's stories fit perfectly into my idea of storytelling. These stories opened my own life stories within me and made me want to write. They reminded me of what is important to me about growing up female. I recognized life transitions that I had gone through but forgotten. These are important stories.

Stealing Time is a wonderful collection of stories by Mary Grimm. The tales are hopeful yet never sugar-coated. The voice is authentic yet changes from story to story, proving Mary Grimm's skill at creating believable and honest characters who hurt, hunt, and sometimes find answers like the rest of us.

I love these stories! I agree that her novel is a bit slow, but these stories are beautifully written, full of memorable detail and complex emotions. Highly recommended.

I became interested in "Ten Sisters" when I noticed that the story took place in my home state of Illinois, but specifically central Illinois. I just graduated from EIU which is located in Charleston and just next door to Mattoon. Reading about the Waggoners in those towns was such a joy, but meeting nine of the sisters was an even greater honor. They signed my book at the mall in Mattoon and were extremely gracious at my interest in their stories. I wasn't able to finish the novel before I met them, but even so, reading the chapters after I had met the authors gave the book a personal touch. I was in disbelief at some of the personal trials they went through. It is amazing that any of them survived so much heartache and uncertainty! My favorite aspect of the book is how Jenny and the older sisters wrote about the same period of time, but by the time you get to Vera's, Audrey's, and Doris' chapters, you are set in a completely different timeframe with completely different lifestyles. It is amazing how so many different stories come out of one very close, very special family. They told me that they will be coming out with an audio version of the book and they'll be featured in a popular women's magazine in Nov. or Dec. I'll be sure to check it out, and you should too!

I really don't like to read...let alone do a report on something that I have read! I don't know why, but I actually like doing it for this book...... It has some really funny, sad, and just odd things in it. I mean who would have a pet goat as a kid? I am in Highschool and lots of my friends and teachers were all dying to read this book. I would sit in class and read bits and pieces and the kids around me would always want to hear more...it was weird! Stuff like having a boxing ring in the front yard, or ten sisters sleeping in one bed not knowing who wet the bed in the morning...for some reason that sparked their interest???? Then there was the sad stuff in the book that was described in detail. It really made me learn a lot more then I already knew about these ladies, it's like stepping into their shoes (although they didn't wear them too often) I really like the book, after I read it there were just soo many things to tell about it in the report I did for my sophmore English class that it ended up getting an "A"...which is odd for me! :) This book is great...there are just soo many things to like about it, so many stories. The part I really like about the book though was that sometimes the sisters had different view points about the story, it was kinda neat to see what each one said about certain things...if they remembered or included it. And living in Iowa, it was a big highlight of my life...not many things can do that here! thanx-AM

Courage comes at an early age... these women had it in 1942 and even today display that same courage. As I know each one of these women personnally, my review may be a bit biased...but anyone that reads this work will see that I am only telling the facts. Each sister is a remarkable work of art. This book is a true "Love story" about "Family" and the meaning it gives to our lives. "Divided" as a family at such an early age has given great meaning to "togetherness" as each sister worked their way from mid 20th Century to present day.... Their style of writing is free and bold as they tell of perceptions and feelings. Just to get ten sisters to sit down and author a book together is almost fiction. Yet again their spirit of "one for all" won out, and I, a reader won too. This book is "true LIFE" at its worst, and best

In today's world, kids are exposed to a lot of choices in which evil is not always clear. This is a great book for teens, girls especially, and is full of suspense. The characters are well- drawn and the protagonist, Tory, is both believable and likeable.

Tory Madison is a female protagonist with the courage of a lion and the heart of a hero. In this time when the presence of evil in our lives has become a stark reality, it's satisfying to read a book in which the black-hearted beast is confronted and defeated. In this fast-paced story steeped in the occult, the struggle to triumph over a tragic past is paired with uncovering secrets in the shadowy present. A terrific read for young adults.

I first read this book at 11, and saw nothing but a creepy story about the triumph of good over evil. Since then, I've come to realize the more complicated plot involved. This book offers an account of the hereticism in society today. The characters aren't very deep, though they are somewhat realistic. I would recommend this book only because of the information on this particular occult.

A few years ago, after starting to realize that I am a FtM transsexual, I met Mary Boenke (the author). She told me about her son, also an FtM, and welcomed me into her home. At the time, she was just finishing TransForming Families and gave me a copy to read.

Wow, what a great book! Not even so much for me, because I'm secure in who I am, but for my parents. It lets them know that they are not alone, and that being transgendered is not the stuff of Jerry Springer but of life and love instead. If you're trans, get this book. If you know someone trans, get this book. If you just want to understand what being trans is REALLY all about, get this book...

This has to be one of the most powerful books I have ever read on how families deal with a Transgendered child. I cried, I yelled, and I recieved hope that some day, some where, people will understand.

This is a must for families and loved ones.

THANK YOU, Mary!

I might be cheating in writing a review since I have an essay in this volume, but I would have bought a copy even if my essay was rejected. This is a collection of stories from various people that have transgendered folks in their lives. From parents, kids, spouses and so on, and how their journey to acceptance happened. This is a great book for someone to read that has recently found out that someone in their life is transgendered. To realize that others have felt the same way, had the same concerns.

Handy to have on the bookshelf if you are in the process of coming out and someone wants something to read to give them more information.

A terrific children's book that stands the test of time. Enjoyable reading for both young and old, the book features great characters and gentle humor. Should be reprinted today!

This is one of the books I remember with fond memories. Great Boo

When I think of my 10 or so favorite books from my childhood, this one is high on that list. Very funny, lots of magic, well created characters, a really enchanting book. Worth trying to get!

This book is so great! I am absolutely in LOVE with the charaters of this book, fabulous, absolutely fabulous!

I remember reading this as a girl and still remember it quite well. I stumbled upon this listing when looking for it on line to see how old my daughters should be before we read it. Now I guess it will be harder to find. If you find this book snatch it up and read it to your favorite kiddo!

I read this book as a young teenager. Zoe and her menagerie of animals for each sign of the zodiac fascinated me. I found it so easy to escape into Zoe's world. I've never forgotten this delightful book, and I hope I can locate a copy to share with my daughters.

I'm not sure what I expected, but what I found was an interesting story of a young woman destined for a life even she couldn't imagine. At the same time, the book takes this woman off of her pedastal and places her firmly in our hearts. Not as someone to be deified, but as someone to identify with and draw comfort from. She faced personal doubts and conflicts and nurtured and raised a family all the while knowing that her oldest son would be taken from her and given to the world.

Even though you know how the basic story is supposed to play out, you will still find it more and more difficult to take a break from reading this book until you finish it.

This book shows the human side of Mary, mother of Jesus. Just as Amy Grant's song does. It is a book long overdue and will be welcomed by Christians everywhere.