Bubbe always made Thanksgiving dinner. Now that she has passed away the family tries to recreate that dinner at the request of the youngest member of the family. When the lights in the house blow, a neighbor comes to the rescue in helping them complete the meal and cook their dinner. In fact, a number of their neighbors help. This book has a true spirit of giving and remembrance. Good read aloud at home or for classes. Excellent writing.

A Thanksgiving Wish by Michael Rosen has become a family story time tradition begining this year! The story relates to all ages and became a favorite the first time I read it to my eight year old daughter. I gave a copy to our minister and he used it as his sermon the Sunday before Thanksgiving! The story of family and community coming together combined with John Tompson's beautiful illustrations makes this a wonderful book! I love it!

Michael Rosen read this story to us last Spring at the West Coast Literacy Conference in Anahem before it was published . There was not a dry-eyed person in the room when he finished. The story of a young girl and the relationship she has with her grandmother will touch your heart. How the family overcomes difficulties and celebrates a truly memorable Thanksgiving will renew your faith in tradition as it did the young girl's. I plan to read this story to my class if I can get through it without tears. I highly recommend it as a holiday read for both children and adults.

This is the standard text and facsimile on the Dresden. Thompson was one of the greatest experts on the Maya and for the time, did an excellent job. However as we can now read the glyphs with greater reliability, some of the interpretations are out of date. This should be part of any serious student of Maya Codices, but reference should be made to other more up-to-date titles. Although this is out of print, The Fondo de Cultura Economica (FCE) is due to re-publish soon an updated version with a new commentary.

This commentary is required reading for any student of the Maya codices. It was the best available resource at the time of publication. Even the ideas that are out of fashion by present thinking are worth considering. The facsimile is a full-color reproduction, based off the Förstemann edition, but re-colored by Thompson.

This is a fairly good book on the subject of Yoruba masks and drumming. Contains good pictures of masks (Gelede) and is very informative with regards to ceremonies performed at the Gelede.

Is recommended reading for any of the followers of the Yoruba religion and to students as well.

I would have liked to have seen a more in depth review of the ceremonies and religious aspects of the Gelede, therefore I have not rated it a 5 Star.

Nonetheless, I would still read it all over again !

I do recommend this nice book to all those engaged in the practice of the Yoruba cult. The author gives a good persp- ective of what is behind the cerimony. Mo juba Iyami Osoronga!

On the positive side, this book gives a glimpse at Ozian history, telling about some of Mombi's hitherto unknown evil deeds, the rulership of the Munchkin Country, and the origins of the Good Witch of the North. On the negative side, Thompson shows her usual carelessness with dates and times, and some people have objected to the Good Witch's origins. The story itself is somewhat weak on plot, with everything resolved as soon as the main characters get to the Emerald City. On the other hand, it contains some of Thompson's best creations: a fire-breathing sea monster, a medicine man with an actual medicine chest, a naive animated statue, and the title character, a horse with expanding legs. The creativity level of this book makes it well worth reading, despite its minor flaws.

What a story! A ferocious sea monster demands a mortal maiden be brought from Oz to serve him, or else he'll destroy the Ozure Isles. When Trot is kidnapped and whisked away to the monster's lair, the Scarecrow and a living statue named Benny rush to her rescue. Later they encounter High Boy, the giant horse with telescoping legs, escape a tribe of shadow people, defeat the violent Round-abouties and solve the mystery of Tattypoo the witch. A wild, imaginative tale, which ranks among Ruth Plumly Thompson's finest.

Bourdieu's point is not to explore linguistics but rather to explore the larger impact that language has on shaping symbols, meaning and power in the social context. Symbolic interactionists and conflict theorists would probally find this book to be a great read.

This book will most likely not appeal to US students in linguistics. Because Bourdieu deals with rather abstract concepts which cover a lot of social ground (e.g., symbolic, cultural, economic capital, field, etc.)and not enough linguistic ground, some linguists will have trouble applying concepts to the actual production of speech at the phonological, morpho-syntactic, pragmatic and discourse level. He never really deals with actual production of language by speakers, so it creates a lot of work for the reader to fill in the details of what, for example, an actual linguistic habitus might look like, what its dispositions might be, and how they might be coordinated in their habitus set.
However, unlike many US linguists, he assumes there is an empirical connection between language use and larger social domains; furthermore, he is able to explain the way power often operates through exclusion and devaluation (dialect analysis). One of the less abstract chapters, the chapter on Searle, is excellent. Bourdieu accurately locates the efficacy of the speech act, not in the functional form of the utterances, such as christening, ordering, requesting, etc., but in the recognition by all involved that the agent who produces the speech act has the right to be obeyed and that the material circumstances of the speech act are appropriate. Mary Jane down the street and the mayor of NY may christen a new warship using the exact same functional words, but the power of those words depends on our recognition that, in this example, the mayor, not just anybody, has the authority to name. Bourdieu masterfully argues this point, and I would recommend reading that chapter first for its accessibility and accuracy in pointing out that the extra-linguistic is as much linguistic as the linguistic.

This a great piano book with classic, fun music pieces. I learned on these books, just like my mom before me.

The John Thompson's Modern Course For the Piano, graded 1-5 are excellent for the student. I have started teaching piano after many years away from the instrument. When I stopped playing, I was in my teens, having accomplished advanced works by Chopin, Beethoven, Clementi and other great classical composers. Going back to my beginnings and having to teach elementary students, I remembered the John Thompson series of books. I was frustrated to see what was on the market for teaching beginners. I got a copy of the The First Grade Book by John Thompson and very honestly have not seen such tuneful pieces available by any other author of sheet music. These pieces are not only tuneful, but they take the student through theory, syncopation and other challenging advancements, such as the "tie" , key signature changes and introduction to the various scales in such a way that the student is not overwhelmed. Sensitivity is also addressed with discussion of tone coloring, "roll-drop" techniques, legato and staccato, "making the phrases breathe", etc. These concepts are explained in detail before the piece is started. There are recital pieces introduced after concepts are mastered throughout the books. I want to recommend the series, as old as it is (copyright 1937). I think it is a good foundation for later study into the classical music literature.

I'm quite fond of Ruth Plumly Thompson's Oz books, and I think there's a definite sense of fun that prevails even in her weaker Oz books. Unfortunately, this is one of those weaker books. The plot revolves around the major characters from the first Oz book visiting a country in the stratosphere. The Tin Woodman angers their ruler, and he sets out to conquer Oz. By this point in her Oz-writing career, Thompson seems to fall back on the "some villain wants to conquer Oz" plot when she can't think of anything else, and King Strutoovious isn't really even that much of a threat. Despite being weak in terms of plot, however, this book is still a fun read. The descriptions of Stratovania are interesting, Ozma's maid Jellia Jamb finally receives a starring role, and the Wizard of Oz gets the chance to use some clever magical devices. While there are many better Oz books, this one is still pretty good.

1939 was a banner year for Oz: MGM studios released its classic film adaptation of The Wonderful Wizard Of Oz, and Royal Historian Ruth Plumly Thompson issued her last official Oz novel, Ozoplaning With The Wizard Of Oz, which, as serendipity would have it, was also one of her finest.

Probably due to the release of the film, Ozoplaning With The Wizard Of Oz opens on a crisp fall evening when the cast of the first book ' and thus the cast of the film - are celebrating the anniversary of Dorothy's arrival in Oz. Sparing no detail and demonstrating Oz's reality principle, an elaborate cake has been prepared with a model of Dorothy's Kansas house in its center, the house that fell to Oz in a cyclone and happily, accidentally, and conveniently crushed the Wicked Witch Of The West. The Little Wizard, who has grown quite stout, has another surprise: his latest invention, two airships that are equal part rocket, airplane, and hot air balloon. With Ozma temporarily away from the Emerald City, the group, accompanied by newly matured maid - in ' waiting Jellia Jamb ('Jelly and Jam') and the Soldier With The Green Whiskers, take to the skies adventuring.

After several weak and disposable titles, Thompson's Ozoplaning With The Wizard Of Oz has the distinction of being the fastest moving and most economic novel in the entire Oz chronicle. There is no superfluous padding whatsoever, and, looking ahead to illustrator John R. Neill's The Wonder City In Oz (1940), the novel has a loose, kooky, post ' romantic tone which perfectly suits Baum's utopist fairyland. No longer a 'sweet, darling little maid' perennially restricted to the background, Jellia Jamb is modern young lady ' not a little girl - with a feisty, determined spirit and a bright mind. Happily, it is Jellia, and not Dorothy (who, in defiance of the laws of the kingdom, also seems to have matured considerably), who is the book's protagonist. Thompson also allows the Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman to stand center stage, utterly freeing the characters from the dreary limitations Baum often saddled them with in his later titles. Never has the Tin Woodman been this lively, decisive, vigorous, and comical. Thompson's characterization of the Cowardly Lion was the most realized of any of the Oz writers, a talent again demonstrated here. Thankfully, none of the lead characters are transformed into beasts, no overly sweet or obnoxious sidekick animals are introduced, and no one speaks in broken baby talk.

Though the narrative eventually falls back on the overused idea of the Emerald City being invaded by outside forces, the writing throughout is so rollicking and enthusiastic that the inevitable invasion seems almost fresh. In an unusual touch, Thompson has the only briefly seen Trot, Betsy, Tik ' Tok, and the Patchwork Girl fleeing the invasion rather than heroically standing their ground. In another refreshing twist, aggressive flying King Strut of The Strat decides to attack the Emerald City only after the Tin Woodman declares Strut's sky kingdom a new colony of Oz. Deeply offended when told that he and his people are now subjects of Ozma, Strut reasonably feels that it is his kingdom that has been invaded, and decides to take the offensive.

Ozoplaning With The Wizard Of Oz is one of the classic entries in the series, touching as it does on both established Oz history as well as Oz history to come. At the fireside party in the opening chapters, early Oz history is thoroughly and joyfully recounted by the attendees. Thompson's Jellia Jamb will remind readers of a kinder, less boisterous Jenny Jump, and the Wizard's cat - like "kit bag" of magic may have been the inspiration for Jenny Jump's "handbag of fairy gifts." For reasons unknown, Thompson changes the true name of the Soldier With The Green Whiskers from the established Omby Amby to Wantowin Battles ('Want To Win Battles'), but, regardless, the Soldier, who is far more of a coward than the Lion, adds excellent comic relief to the story.

Regarding Oz mythology, with its occasionally shifting laws, rules and regulations, Jellia states early in the novel, "If I live to be a million, I'll never forget the day she (Dorothy) came to the castle with the Cowardly Lion, the Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman. Not if I live to be a million!" As Oz scholars know, Oz is not only a non ' earthly paradise but also an approximation of the Christian concept of the afterlife. Presuming she is genuinely alive in the earthly sense of the word, Jellia will live to be a million, and, in fact, will live forever, since no one dies in Oz and only the unlucky or unfavored ' like the Wicked Witch of the West ' can be destroyed. Not only does the opening chapter take the unusual step of informing the reader that it is autumn in Oz (one of the airships has been christened "the Oztober"), but, at the book's end, Dorothy mentions Halloween. Unfortunately the highly potent idea of celebrating Halloween in Oz is explored no further.

Reflecting the book's light, fun tone, John R. Neill's illustrations are among his most brazenly comic. Particularly interesting is Neill's drawing of Glinda the Good's castle in the red Quadling country, which is unexpectedly massive beyond belief. Highly recommended for both children and adults, as well as for established Oz fans and new readers.

This is Thompson's last official Oz book, but also one of her best! The Wizard has inventing flying airships---OZOPLANES and it's a high flying adventure above the skies of Oz as an Ozoplane takes off in hot pursuit of the other Ozoplane which went off accidently! Turns out, King Strutoovious wants to conquer the Land of Oz and Glinda and Ozma are away! This was a great book which is expected from Ruth Plumly Thompson's sense of humor!

This book is Ruth Plumly Thompson's first foray into Oz writing (and it is entirely hers, despite the publishers' initial story that she had written it based on notes left by L. Frank Baum), and it is hardly her best work, but it isn't her worst, either. She does a good job working with Baum's characters, and the premise of the book is an attempt to solve one of the greatest mysteries left behind by Baum: why the Scarecrow is alive. I know some people have been dissatisfied with the explanation, but I have no problem with it. A weak point to this book is that it isn't especially tightly plotted, with some moments where the action stops for no reason.

Thompson seemed to want to make Oz more multicultural than Baum left it, and, to this end, she used this book to introduce an Arthurian knight and an Oriental kingdom. While this is admirable in a way, Thompson uses a lot of stereotypes in writing about foreign cultures. The Scarecrow considers the Oriental Silver Islanders to be "stupid," and is disturbed to find out that they eat cats. The illustrations are even worse in this respect. I would say these stereotypes are the only potentially offensive part of the book, though (unless you're of a similar mind to the Wogglebug fan who posted an earlier review, in reply to whom I can only say that the Wogglebug might be slightly meaner here than in Baum's books, but overall, he's just as Baum introduced him: a stuffy, stuck-up academic, who is rarely intentionally mean or unfriendly, but often rubs people the wrong way). I would say any Oz fan should read this at some point, but, if it's your first Thompson book, keep in mind that she gets better.

This book in its initial release was instant an Oz classic, but now Books of Wonder rereleases Thompsons first installment in Baum's Oz Series. In "The Royal Book of Oz " Thompson recaptures all of Baum's Oz magic and addes some of her own. In this 15th Official Oz Book Thompson revives the series by bringing back such classic characters as the Scarecrow(who finally comes to understand why he is alive, who is family is, and faces a lot of serious dangers along the way)and brings us all new Oz characters to enjoy such as Sir Hokus of Pokes(a vallent knight), and the Comfortable Camel. I would recommend this book to anyone looking for an Oz Book with a Thompson twist.

On a quest for his family tree, the Scarecrow travels to the Munchkin farm where Dorothy originally met him. He falls down a magic beanstalk (the pole Dorothy rescued him from) and finds himself in a strange land, the Silver Islands, where he is proclaimed to be the re-created Emperor Chang Wang Woe. Meanwhile, when Dorothy and the Cowardly Lion realize that the Scarecrow is missing from the Emerald City, they go off in search of him. In this story, you'll meet many delightful new characters, such as the Doubtful Dromedary, the Comfortable Camel, and (my favorite) Sir Hokus of Pokes. Like Ruth Plumly Thompson's other Oz books, this one is as lively and at least as funny as L. Frank Baum's series. Thompson wrote 19 Oz books, so if you like this one, there are lots more to enjoy.

I used this book, along with a host of other books, transcripts, articles and recordings of capoeira to complete my undergraduate thesis in anthropology. Regarding an earlier post here, i don't think that Lewis was trying to necessarily undermine the black African origins of capoeira, but rather his experiences with capoeiristas around Brazil led him to focus on the wholly Brazilian cultural aspects (samba, too, is a cultural phenomenon with roots in Africa). While i do belive that his treatment of the African origins of capoeira were sketchy, this is to be expected as the data on capoeira's African origins is not very clear, and to the best of my knowledge is to date a matter of conjecture. The only truth regarding that matter is that capoeira did come from Africa with the (primarily West African) slaves and developed into modern capoeira while in Brazil. This last part, "in Brazil", is something that I stress in the sense that although many Caribbean and South American nations received slaves from the same parts of Africa, only Brazil's slaves and mulattos produced capoeira.

More to the point of this type of entry: the book is a definite must-read for anyone (capoeirista or not) interested in the modern expressions of african diasporan culture.

Yes, I think this book deserves five stars, because it gave me insight; both professional and personal. Training Capoeira for seven years (including two trips to Brazil for the same reason) has taken me to the strange border between two cultures: my own Danish average European socio-historic background, and the Afro-brazilian transcultural vegetation in which Capoeira flourishes. Alouring - and as Lewis notes: deceptive, Capoeira as a performance reveals conflictuality on the Afro-brazilian social and historical level, which differs from the writers own background; in this case quite similar to my case. The task of relating to this difference is met by Ring of Liberation through respect of the ontic 'way' of the capoeirista, and at the same time maintaining an epistemic approach. What this means, is that Ring of Liberation can be read by the intellectual layman as well as the non-brazilian capoeira enthusiast, as a guide to experiences already had or about to happen...great stuff!

I found that this is a VERY true to actual accounts of Capoeira. I've been practising Capoeira myself for a while now, and this book reflex the views that I, and most of my Groups shares. It would seem very one-sided, but you NEED to be a Capoeirista to fully understand the concpts and ideas and history of this book. To me, A VERY GOOD BOOK ON WHAT I BELIEVE

PEACE

I'll make it short. This book has been a great resource for me. I think it's wrong for people to write a review if they have apparently never read it. It covers so many different philosophies (Montessori,...) not just Waldorf.

I give this book as a gift to all my expectant and new mother friends. It has chapters on child development, imagination and play, health, and education all from an integrated, holistic perspective. It is filled with beautiful color photographs and illustrations, practical advice and how-to information on making toys, children's games to play, etc. As a student of Waldorf Education, I recommend this book to all parents of young children who are interested in learning more about the Waldorf philosophy. Helpfully, the author of the chapter on education compares different educational philosophies including Rudolf Steiner (Waldorf), Piaget, John Dewey, Maria Montessori and others. A valuable and enlightening resource -- highly recommended.

First, readers of these reviews should be aware that Dan Dugan has made a profession of his near-fanatical opposition to Waldorf education. If he had read this book, he would have found that it integrates many educational perspectives, including Montessori, Paul Goodman, Carl Rogers, Robert Cole, John Holt, Rahima Baldwin, parent-teacher coops, home-schooling, etc. One of the contributors to the book is the editor of the Educational Review.

In my opinion this book is exquisitely designed, full of heart, and manifestly dedicated to opening a ground where adults and children can meet and learn from each other.