I like this book a whole lot. My favortie part was the Mothers Day tea party because it was so sweet the way she couldn't decide to bring Mimi or her father. What I don't like is how they don't tell you how her mother died.
(that's something very small)
It was a great book. For those who liked this book, I recomend:
Mystery5 MaryAnne and the Secret in the Attic
Kristy's Portrait Collection
Abby's Portrait Collection
They're all great books! Thank you Ann Martin!

This was an interesting story. It helps you get to know her father more and see that he really cares about her. I thought that Mary Anne's grandmother was rude to keep putting him down to her and to criticize Mary Anne and make her upset. Mary Anne tells her off and runs out the door and hides in the cornfields. Then she comes back and says sorry. SORRY FOR WHAT? That part irritated me. It was her Grandma who needed to say sorry. It was her doing.

Very tender sweet, moving story on growing up, and mother loss. Mary Anne's search for a female figure in her life is touching, especially her attachment to Mimi. Her dad tries to fill in, but there's no one in a girl's life like a mother. I was also glad to meet Mary Anne's grandmother along with Mary Anne. I was so happy for Mary Anne and Verna, especially when Mary Anne found out about her mother, Alma. I like Verna and would like to see more of her in future BSC books. I could see Verna had been through a lot and was also working through her grief of losing a husband AND a daughter. It was really too bad that Richard and Verna hadn't grown up yet back when Mary Anne was a toddler and fought over her. It's great that now Richard and Verna are putting their feelings aside for Mary Anne's sake.

Mary Christmas is well written and was a pleasure to read. The short stories are stand-alone making it the perfect book to take along on a trip.

Great writing. With all of the heavy feelings in the world today it was nice to sit down and read the many stories.

For someone who is looking for a book of Christmas short stories, but is sick of the same, old, traditional style, MARY CHRISTMAS might be the perfect solution.

This collection of twenty easy-read stories which take place at Christmastime is definitely unusual. The plots range from a nine and eleven-year-old camping out in the fall-out shelter in their back yard, to a Russian mail-order bride dealing with the loss of her daughter whom she left behind in Russia.

I usually don't enjoy short stories, and I especially dislike anything which doesn't end happily. This book, however, was an exception to both of the above. I was surprised by how quickly I was drawn into the tales, and even the sad ones were enjoyable because they ended on a hopeful note. Somehow the reader knew that the protagonists would eventually make it through their pain and be okay.

My favorite story was "We Wish You a Merry Tonsillectomy". I fell in love with the spunky seven-year-old who concluded that her doctor must be pretty stupid if he thought he needed her date of birth in order to distinguish her from all the other Mary Jane Pulaski's in their town! Although I read this book over a month ago Mary Jane keeps bounding her way back into my thoughts.

I also especially liked "The Magic Shirt". It was impressing to me that in 19 pages the author was able to hook me into the plot, teach me some history, and put me in touch emotionally with several of the issues the Indians and their reservation priests struggled with. (In this story a young Indian woman who had been converted to Christianity went against her better judgement and agreed to help her brothers make two magic shirts. Their belief that the shirts would repel bullets caused one brother to die, and the second to be imprisoned.)

This is a beautiful song and well worth the purchase. Beautiful, beautiful.

This CD that's in the book is very heart stopping and emotional.
I can put myself in Mary's place.

Mary did you know, is an intriging question that brings to mind several other questions regarding the mother of Jesus Christ. The author, Mark Lowry, brings to light some very interesting points regarding Mary's perspective on the birth of Jesus. So if your searching for a book with heartfelt warmth, this is the one. Or if your looking for a book with a wonderful message conserning the savior, once again this is the one. With this in mind, I give this book my recommendation without reservation

The words to this Mark Lowry song are awesome enough, and, to add the beautiful pictures makes this book a must have. We have a continuous check out of this book from our church library, and will be purchasing it for our daughter's next birthday!

If you have ever heard the beautiful song, "Mary Did You Know?" then you can truely understand the excellence of this book. The illustrations are magnificant giving a young child more understanding to the words of the song. It also inspires us older people as well. I just shared this book with the members of my choir and am back here tonight ordering many of them a copy. It is an excellent book for this wonderful time of the year to be able to sit back and reflect rather than get caught up in all the hustle and bustle of the holidays. Enjoy and God Bless.

My kindergarten class did a Mass based on this book, they themselves had come up with very similar questions. Did Mary know everything? This book really makes one think, and such beautiful questions.

Ed Haslam has written a landmark book of investigative journalism. It is a well-written page turner that is a "must read" for anyone interested in what has really gone on in this country in the last 40 years. I have lived in New Orleans since Mary Sherman was murdered here, and personally know many of the people mentioned in this book. As far as I can tell this book is completely truthful. Mr. Haslam tells you when he is speculating and when he is giving you facts. This book has my highest recommendation.

As a producer for two national talk show hosts, I can honestly say this is one of the finest and most thought provoking books I've read. Ed Haslam's book is a major dot connector. Think about it. We already know thanks to A & E's Investigative Reports that Oswald did NOT kill Kennedy, but that's not the big jist of this book. What needs to be understood is that the polio virus vaccine all the baby boomers received via shots and sugar cubes in the 50s and 60s was contaminated with SV-40 Simian Monkey Virus...the results...an epidemic of soft tissue cancer. And SV-40 shows up in autopsies of cancer victims. However, even more horrific is that the SV-40 contamination does not end with those of us that received the polio vaccine. It is passed to our children and grandchilren even though they have not received the vaccine. Who is responsible? Ed Haslam's fabulous research was given to us in this book in 1995, and five years later, in the February, 2000 issue of Atlantic Monthly, it is finally discussed by the "regular" media. Stop and think about this...Plutonium experiments from 1936 through the cold war on unsuspecting Americans,radiation experiments on military men, the Tuskegee, Alabama syphillis experiments, the depleted uranium issues from Desert Storm, and countless others...this book exposes another form of deception and coverup. If this book doesn't make you think and do even more research, then you're in denial and have your head in the sand. There are countless other books that should be on the suggested reading list after reading Ed's fabulous work, but Amazon hasn't listed them. Please read Pulitzer Prize winner, Eileen Welsome's book, THE PLUTONIUM FILES, then read Martin A. Lee's THE BEAST REAWAKENS, and if you can find a used copy, get Borkin's THE CRIME AND PUNISHMENT OF I.G. FARBEN.

Ed's book is superb and written in a style that is easily assimilated. Buy it, buy two, give one to a friend, loan your copy, but get it out...and connect the dots!

Ed Haslam reveals that two -- maybe more--secret cancer research laboratories were connected with Tulane University, Dr. Alton Ochsner, and persons associated with the Kennedy assassination such as "Dr." David Ferrie and Lee Harvey Oswald. Logical, organized, and intriguing, this book contains hard-to-find photos and a good map. Haslam did his homework: he may have discovered the murderers of eminent cancer research scientist and orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Mary Sherman, who was found with a missing arm, on fire, and full of knife wounds, one to her heart. His book gives the reader a picture of sabotage, biological blunders and anti-Castro lab activity, and gives us hints about where the AIDS epidemic came from. Since this happened in New Orleans in 1963-1964, there may have been a lot of reasons for all the cover-ups concerning Oswald, who lived only about a mile from Dr. Sherman and the high tech research facility where she seems to have secretly worked. Bring your brains along, though: this book forces you to rethink what many people take for granted about the role of Lee Oswald, the alleged assassin of JFK.

I use this book each year to teach my class about different countries and means of travel. I made up math related questions for small group work that includes estimating how many pumpkins could fit on/in each means of travel, How many for sale signs the man had to make, the children time themselves writing out the for sale sign that was attached to each pumpkin. Each child also uses multiplication, divison, estimating with the use of calculators. In the end the book, Pumpkins is a sotry for the chidren to express fellings and emotions about the mans experience in his field of dreams.

I am lucky enough to be able to see Ms. Ray and thumb through her books at the Concord Farmers Market each weekend. She is a lovely, magical lady and this is a lovely, magical book! I cried when I first read it and it still makes me weepy because it shows such love and hope. (I am a grownup.) It is also very witty and it SOUNDS good out loud, so parents won't get tired of reading it over and over to the children. Everyone should have a chance to read and re-read Pumpkins, any time of year (it's not a Halloween book, really). Several local conservation organizations carry this book because it demonstrates (in a technically unrealistic way, but that really doesn't matter) how one person can make a big difference. I can't imagine anyone not being touched and amused by this book.

This sweet book captivates younger readers with its wonderful painting illustrations, and the simple story of one man's determination. I love the spare, simple text full of evocative details (when he needs to write explanatory tags for every pumpkin he ships to countries that don't have pumpkins, "luckily he knew how to write in many languages"). This is one of those that I get a lump in my throat reading even after who knows how many times through it.

A Messy Job I Never Did See A Girl Do, by Mary Jane Ryals, is a kaleidoscope of tumbling words that ultimately fit together into a highly perceptive, rough-edged picture of southern U.S. culture. The result is stories that make you laugh out loud, cuss and spit, and cry revival empathies for the banged-on unheard. Mary Jane captures the native intelligence of young people who, in their own awkward ways, expose the weaknesses, the bigotry and emotional insensitivity of the adults in their lives. At the same time, we feel all of the characters' fears behind the numbness or the anger, the anxiety and the outrage, or the wiry strength and simple stubbornness. Her characters make us believe that the scars on the new generation will not run so deep and not be as debilitating as on the old. We are left with the hope that the new generation will be better in some ways, kinder or more accepting, willing to look over walls, kick them, and knock them down.

IF YOU EVER GET THE CHANCE, GO HEAR RYALS READ FROM HER BOOK. LISTENEING TO HER BEAUTIFUL SOUTHERN VOICE BRINGS THE CHARACTERS ALIVE. THE BOOK IS GREAT, AND THE AUTHOR IS TOO!

This book of short stories is so descriptive you can close your eyes and feel the muggy heat and sandy dirt of the South, as well as smell the the acrid sweat of people around you. These beautifully written stories cover a myriad of subjects from young girls struggling with the knowledge that their voice doesn't have real meaning, to the pain of living in poverty in the rural South. The wonderful thing about these stories is the sense of hope that some of the characters continue to have, even against seemingly tough odds. "I don't know where I'd go from here, but somehow, my words would get me there." "When I leave someday, I'll fly in a car with red lights, whiz-roaring through the highway"

Mary Jane Ryals' words have certainly gotten her there, she has done a wonderful job capturing the essence of both pain and promise in the souls of these young girls.

Highly recommended reading!!

Readers of this book will have sharply diverging reactions to it, and I myself am of two minds. At her worst, Jean Houston can come across like a precocious and hyperactive college kid: flip, full of herself, flaunting exuberance, self-promoting, greedy for catharsis, disorderly ideas sprouting everywhere like psychedelic mushrooms. On the other hand, at her best, she's brilliant, scholarly, profoundly creative, wise, kind, and funny. On the balance, happily, I found the latter set of characteristics predominant here, although the less attractive side of her nature will be readily apparent to anyone unsympathetic to her style and her philosophy. This is an autobiography of sorts, although one in a style that only Jean Houston could conceive: utterly non-linear. What she actually gives us is series of anecdotes from all stages of her life, interspersed chaotically with a fireworks display of philosophical musing, human potential pep talks, New Age proselytizing, scientific speculation, and lectures on her original brand of mystical anthropology. Interestingly, she's the daughter of neither a scholar nor a mystic, but of an itinerant Hollywood gag writer, whom she loved dearly and who ran the family like an overbearing-but-lovable gypsy king. Numerous accounts of his lautish stunts pepper his daughter's book and bring comic relief. He was a direct descendent of Sam Houston, the flamboyant Texan general and politician, laying down a genetic strain that seems not at all improbable once you begin getting a sense of what Jean Houston is about. Of her retiring Sicilian-American mother, we learn very little. Dr. Houston's central animating idea, like that of her teacher and colleague Joseph Campbell, is that certain myths are universal among all peoples and all times, including our own, and they are the main drivers of psychological and spiritual essence of human existence. Exploring ourselves in light of these myths is key to fulfilling life - hence the book's title. Jean Houston takes this idea much further than Campbell did, and makes it the centerpiece of the teaching, lecturing, and mystical psychotherapy which has become both her life's calling and her business. This is compelling material and she presents it with eloquence and passion, despite the interference which her manic style at times brings to the narrative. I recommend "A Mythic Life", although it's not for everyone, and readers should be prepared for what they're getting.

Through sharing fascinating details of her entire life and family, as well as people she has known and worked with, such as Margaret Mead, Jean Houston demonstrates vividly how we can all be more fully awake to our lives and the myths we all live by, whether we consciously know them or not. Reading her stimulates the reader to want more of her writings, which are plentiful and available.She also has a website worth pursing, at Jean Houston.org. An enjoyable read.

Jean Houston is a gifted writer and speaker. In this book, Jean reminds us that our myths have power within them. They reveal our soul and ways we manifest ourselves into daily living. In so doing, our divine and human qualities merge into a sacred human path. -- Samuel Oliver, author of, WHAT THE DYING TEACH US: LESSON ON LIVING.

Since I did my interview with Mary I have been reunited with my son for 6 Years. All I can say is that being able to tell my story,along with the reunion with my son, brought me a closure to what I had been through that I could have never acheived without either event. I am truly gratefull to Mary, and the people my story has touched. If anyone wishes to talk about there situation I am more than willing.

Congratulations to Mary for writing such a compelling book. I live in Australia and our past adoption practices are under review and it is the birthfathers that have been forgotten. Never given a chance to have a say - the law discriminating against birthfathers. Now through such a book - people will be educated and listen to fathers. It really is a joint project - many birth matters were never allowed to mention the father's name - if they did - it was trouble for the mother. Birth father's parents also had no rights - the only rights available was with the authorities -

Finally some one is helping birth fathers speak out and I can only hope that birth fathers in Australia have the opportunity to read this book and come forward in the forthcoming Inquiry in the State of Victoria, Australia. This book will give them the confidence to "speak out" so that the true picture can be heard by the adopted children. Their parents loved them - and in many cases, had no say as to their own child's future.

Hopefully Australian birth father's will come across this book. I will certainly be doing everything I can to promote the book in Australia.

To all Birthfathers who spoke to Mary congratulations and to those that did not - speak out now.

As a birthfather who lost his children in a closed adoption 25 years ago I found Mason's book to be a breath of fresh air. Birthfathers are the invisible and often unwelcome members in the triad world and this book shows that we are parents who can love and care deeply for the children we have lost. I have become active in triad issues since my reunion with my son and daughter a year ago and this book has helped me keep going when faced with the sometimes daunting birthmother-centered focus in our corner of the triad.