Written by former plantation mistress Julia Peterkin, Scarlet Sister Mary is a novel of intellect, individualism, coltish word play, tradition and most importantly, respect. The novel, like, Their Eyes Were Watching God and The Color Purple, is written in an old southern vernacular, and it tells the story of Sister Mary or Si May-e, a young and sprightly woman at the novel's start. It is some time after Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation, and freedon (used loosely, historically speaking), has come for those individuals who were field slaves or indentured servants. Their opportunity to flee has come, to seek opportunities for self and financial betterment. For some, however, betterment is not up north or anywhere else in the country; it is exactly where it is: the native coastal terrain of South Carolina - the setting for the novel. Religion, faith, folklore, generational history and magic are the ties that bind the folksy and hard working men and women of the Quarters. Dignity and peacefulness does not come from being nomadic, as was in the case of the pioneers to the Midwest and far West; it is closer. It is in the hoeing, the field labor, the mud between the crevices of the rough and crackling flesh. It is in the earth. To combat the joyous harshness of the work is love and a family. And thus, Sister Mary comes into the picture; she is at the marrying age, and July, her suitor, is ready to be her protector and provider. Or so one would believe. Using faith in lore and mythology, Sister Mary's marriage is almost doomed from the start: "'Do, Master, look down and see what a rat is done!' Mary's heart flew up into her mouth. Cold chills ran over her as she ran to see what happened. There it was, a great hole gnawed deep into the bride's cake's tender meat...she fell into bitter dumb sobs...Such bad luck was hard to face." (p.29) And it only advances to something worse via the aid of a love charm and another woman's insatiable lust for the groom's affections. Time passes, and Mary is all alone with her son Unex (shortened for Unexpected). A suffocating cover of depression smothers Sister Mary, and as time heals old wounds, Mary rises into a life of self-satisfaction and sexual gratification. She enters the dominion of sin and religious transgression; she is altered in the eyes of those around her. From Sister Mary, she becomes Scarlet Sister Mary - red with hungry passion as the adjective implies. She has a flock of children, but they are not heart children, as in the case of Unex, but they are passion, lust children. Redemption is nil, and her destiny upon her final breath (in the eyes of her brethren) is clearly understood; her spirit, her soul, is scudding rapidly to the flaming and billowing sulphur pitts of hell. Can redemption and acceptance ever come into her grasp? Will peace ever rectify the wrongs incurred in her heart and mind? Her somewhat sardonic life philosophy and world-weary actions narrow down the chances for hope. But that hand-clenching curiosity does get solved. Banned in Boston when it was first published in 1928 and winner of the 1929 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, Scarlet Sister Mary is a classic among classics - lyrical in prose and description, vivid in the intellectual exploration of the "Negro question" - (vii) and complex as well as humane. But it is by no means an accurate representation of a specific catagory of people. Consequently, the work, although brilliant, is slightly antiquated and beguiling.

Scarlet Sister Mary is the story of a free-spirited woman's life in the post-Emancipation South. It is unique in its portrayal of an African-American community as capable of independent existence in the South at that time. The culture of the community is portrayed most interestingly and permeates through the religious, spiritual and even medical undertones of story. While Peterkin tells a poetic tale of an independent, strong, rebellious woman (of whom you grow dearly fond, and cannot help but cheer her on in her resistance), one finds it hard to wonder how accurate a picture Peterkin paints as one who viewed African-Americans in the South rather than lived as an African-American in the South. But all in all, this book is a must read (and if you attempt to read it as you would imagine people read the book when it was first published, you have a most scandalous story of taboo story before your eyes!)

I really enjoyed this book!! It is very well written and captivating. I couldn't put it down. It amazes me what strides women have made in the workplace over the last 100 years. This is a great book for history lovers, professors and for all women.

Perhaps this is an 'expert review' because I have just retired from thirty years on the faculty at the University of Colorado, Boulder. Dr. Sewall showed good sense to hire her in those early days. Who today would teach German, French and mathematics. I weep for her adversity, but I rejoice for her courage. How much easier my life has been because of her.

This book and the book Follow the River are both excellent depictions of the life of my ancestor. She was a heroic woman who shall be remembered and honored by me and all my family members. We are proud of her and are happy to have such excellent books to share.

Mary Ingles was courageous! I read it in one night and I'm going to read it again. I'd read about Mary Ingles in the book Follow the River, but I didn't know she lived in Lancaster or that her parents were Scotch Irish. This book tells about her whole life including escape from the Indians. That's the most exciting part though when she hikes 800 miles through rivers and mountains to get home and see her family. I think this is a very good book so I gave it five stars!

My parents alerted me to this book. It's different, as the singers of today do not sing songs. They talk to a beat. Connie Haines sang with Tommy Dorsey's fine orchestra when Frank Sinatra was also a singer with his band. They did lots of duets together. I think that Helen Forrest and Connie Haines were the two best singers of those big band days. Her's is an interesting story that stresses her religious faith and how she overcame distress in her life. The photos are great, too. I understand she is still singing today with the same gusto. A friend recently saw her perform in Atlantic City with a World War II type review. Her good friend Jane Russell penned a foreword.

I am the author of Snootie Little Cutie. Connie Haines is the best singer of the big band era. At seventeen she sang shoulder -to -shoulder with Frank Sinatra first in Harry James' band, and then they both joined Tommy Dorsey singing with the Pied Pipers, Buddy Rich, Jo Stafford, all members of the great showcase band. Connie lives in Florida and still performs. Her friend Jane Russell wrote the foreword. This book will transform you back to the Big Band Era with over 100 photos. Connie later toured with Abbott & Costello on their radio show, and also toured with Jane Russell, Rhonda Fleming, & Beryl Davis as Les Girls, singing bible songs on a nationwide tour. "You will learn a lot about this honorable, faithful, fun-loving, talented, crystal- chanddelier-loving Southern Belle," according to Jane Russell.

This story is so beautiful and has such a happy ending that it always makes me cry. I found this book as an adult 30 years ago, and I had to buy a second copy to use as a loaner. Given the prices shown here, I should probably give one copy up for sale, but I can't part with it.

For the lonely people out there who think that there is only one soulmate to be found, this book says otherwise. Love comes in a variety of forms and packages if you're open to it.

I have loved this little book for 30 years now.The lonely little bunny's search for a snuggling companion has such a comforting ending.It is a great one to conclude the bedtime read aloud ritual with a hug.
The softly illustrated pages are timelessly lovely.
A former children's librarian,my collection numbers well over 300 volumes,and I've read hundreds more,but THE SNUGGLE BUNNY still stands as a must have in my top 25 because I love the story and the subtle message that everyone can find love and companionship-just keep looking and love will be there,perhaps just not the way you expect to find it.

I'm A 12 year old girl and every time I went to the library I got out the Sunggle Bunny. Now I own a copy of it, and I read it every night! It truly is the best book ever!

This book was very good. It was very interesting. There was always a question in the beginning or middle of the book, but at the end all the questions are answered. My mom got it for me because I liked the Magic Treehouse books so much. I didn't think I was interested till my mother bought it for me but when I started reading it was great. The whole book is about bugs! Everyone in the book is a bug, except Spider Kane, who you can guess is a spider.

I thought this was going to be just another book that my mom and I would read for school but this turned out to be the best book I ever read sending me on a quest for any other spider Kane books. Spider Kane and his band of the MOTH are the coolest bugs ever tracking missing gold and going under cover to help other bugs. I loved the mystry! I loved the suspence I just loved this book. Spider Kane can do anything he is awesome. I wish there were more books to read about him. I couldn't put this book down we read it in 5 days then I lent it out to my friends. Then I read Under the May Apple Tree and I need more, my mom says Mary Pope Osborn is a genius because this is my summer vacation and I'm begging to read this series.

Thomas was slow to speak, a quiet and solemn youth. Yet he went on to become the Patron Saint of Catholic Schools and the greatest teacher ever in the history of the Catholic Church. For children ages 10 and up. 8 illustrations.

Saint thomas Aquinas was not really dumb he was smart! But was following the virtue of humility.

Laura Riding, if she were a dude.

I was exposed to Ms. Caponegro's work thanks to the wonderful book, "You've Got To Read This!", where writers share stories by other writers that inspired or moved them. The Star Cafe is a dazzling display of human mental interplay and inner mental workings. I greatly enjoyed it.

There are a few picture books out about Mary Anning! All of them are good, but this is THE ONE to read to younger kids! The illustrations are vibrant and colorful. The story is punchy and fun! Kids will be amazed by the story of a young girl who gets struck by lightning as an infant, survives, and as a child finds the fossil of one of the world's largest dinosaurs! It's all true! There's even a dog companion! Buy it and read it to your kids, they won't soon forget it!

I can't remember a more beautifully written children's book since my children were born. The way the story was told was so simple and yet so powerful, I have no hesitation in recommending this to anyone with children. I read it to my 3 and 5 year old girls and they ask for it every night. Simply beautiful.

I expected to be enlightened about the travails of women in academic life (and about the "kindness of strangers" in the mentoring system. But I didn't expect to be emotionally moved by the stories and the valiant spirit of the women behind them! This book offers a completely humanistic prescription to many of the ills which have, since time immemorial, infected higher education. I plan to buy a copy and give it to my department chairperson (if he reads it, he may at least learn how far short of the mark he and his colleagues are and what he might do to improve the situation at our school). Kudos to the writers of this book and to those who allowed their stories to be told.

Presented with passionate conviction and eloquent wisdom, these life-stories show that the Groves of Academe need not be the heartless and treacherous mind-fields that they often have been. There is another way, a better way. Spore et al. offer an alternative, person-centered vision that challenges us to understand that professionalism need not exclude compassion, that the quest for scholastic excellence does not preclude the need for enabling (and yes, ennobling) nurturing. Whether you are male or female, already involved in higher education or planning to be, this book is essential reading.