This is a great book for people who wan't to know a little basic information about the life of St. Patrick. It explains wonderfully for children and adults! It talks from birth to death. There is little information about his childhood, but Ann Tompert covers it best she can.

Long ago in the forth century a boy was born in Britain,his parents called him Succat but later in his life he was called Patrick. He grew up with his parents in Britain they thought him about God. He was not a religious man until he was captured by the Irish pirates and sold as a slave. His master was very kind to him. He tended his flocks and while doing that he prayed to God and started to communicate with him. God deliverd himfrom his bondage and show him the way home back to his parents. There he thought people about God after a few years he went back to Ireland and spread the word of God,he was captured and put in prison but he still teach people about God and started many churches and stayed there until ha died.

This book is a wonderful folk tale for all to enjoy. I read it to my children; ages 3 and 6. They were intriqued by the pictures and the plot. This tale brings insight into the theory of evolution and sparks the imagination. It also teaches cooperation and sharing which are so imporatant in the learning process.

Little Fox is tired of having to play in the same area day after day. She wants to travel to the end of the world. When her mother asks about the end of the world, Little Fox tells her of the many dangers and problems that she will have to face to get there. From deep forests to the island of the One-eyed Cats, Little Fox is determined to make it. Her mother is frightened, but Little Fox explains how she will overcome each of these conflicts. Will Little Fox make it to the end of the world and back home safely?
This was a great book, and I recommend it to anyone looking for a fun short story. The illustrations correspond wonderfully with the storyline. This is a quick and easy read. Enjoyable for children of all ages.

Starting school brings about many new emotions in children. Will You Come Back for Me? by Ann Tompert addresses a child's fear and anxiety about being separated from mom. The child in this story is dispondent after mother leaves and just watches for her return. The mother calms the child and tells her she is leaving her heart with the child and will surely return to her. She crafts a heart for the child to carry with her as a reminder. The child then makes new friends at school, knowing her mother will return. An excellent, feel-good, warm and fuzzy book. I would recommend reading it to any child who is beginning preschool or daycare, or any child who is having trouble separating from mom.

This book should be used as firewood not to entertain or educate kids. How did the author get it published.

This book is NOT for babies and pre-schoolers! This creative story shows children how to use a puzzle set of math manipulatives called Tangrams to create pictures. It could be used in ANY grade to improve children's comprehension of spatial relations. A pattern for the tangrams is included in the back of the book to make teaching easier. Any child would love to play with these picture puzzles!

I use this book annually to introduce tangrams into my geometryunit. The information from the back of the book adds a multiculturaland historical dimension to the lesson while the relationship between grandfather and granddaughter offers an intergenerational link. Reading the book in an interactive mode, I use my own renditions of Grandfather Tang's animals mounted on poster boards and flipped over to be uncovered as the story progresses. The kids are completely engaged trying to guess what the next fairy transformation will be before it's revealed. By the end of the book, they are excited to create their own tangram pictures to form into a class book. The soft watercolor illustrations are a balanced contrast to the energy and enthusiasm Grandfather Tang's Story generates with my class.

I purchased this book to help explain the real Saint Nicholas (as opposed to Santa Claus) to my son. I vascilated quite a bit on whether to return the book or keep it.

The author's choice of content is a bit unusual for my needs. The book starts by explaining that Nicholas was born to older parents who were wealthy and charitable. Next it mentions the parents' death (with an illustration I'd rather have been skipped, more on that below) and Nicholas' continuation of his parents' charity. The book continues with some events of Saint Nicholas' life with nice detail: saving the three daughters from slavery, his entry into the priesthood, his intervention during the stormy voyage, his appointment as bishop, the legend of the schoolboys, and his suffering in Roman prison for his convictions. His adoption as patron saint of various groups is mentioned in context. In the Author's Note, written more for parents than children, the author mentions the connection between Saint Nicholas and our present day Santa Claus.

The style of the illustrations is very nice. A "pieced" stained glass effect, it suits the material very well. Most of the illustrations represent the text nicely. The one exception is the page where the death of Nicholas' parents from the plague is mentioned. Here we see a large black cloud filled with scary-looking skeletons that appear to lurch in the direction of the boy Nicholas. Nicholas looks frightened even though his uncle's arm is around him. Before it's next use, I will glue the pages together and just skip it entirely. The dealth of Nicholas' parents can easily be incorporated into the next page where the book speaks of Nicholas' being his parents' heir and continuing their charity.

The book does a nice job of covering the life of Saint Nicholas, but it's nothing special.

We found the book beautifully written and illustrated. It is legendary as well as factual, but his life is presented in a most touching and informative way.

Elephant, Mouse, and all their friends work together and have fun. "Just a Little Bit" is a sweet story about friendship and teaches us all a great lesson. As it was inscribed to me by my friend, "Keep this book on hand to remind you at times when you may be tempted to give up on something, that it may just be that next little bit of effort, that little extra push that makes a world of difference." This book made me smile and I loved the illustrations too!

This is a cute Christmas story for youngsters, however, it would have been better had it been based on fact. The words for Silent Night were written in Mariapfarr, Austria in 1816 and the music added in Arnsdorf, Austria in 1818. The poor mice were not to blame for the malfunction of the organ in St. Nicholas Church in Oberndorf. That was an ongoing problem and easily fixed. The real problem was the flooding of the Salzach River which caused rust and mildew. I like mice stories for children, but if they are connected with something realistic such as Silent Night, the story should be woven around the facts with more care and consideration.