I have used Rough Guides and similar travel books for years.Information about buses and trains is well researched as are descriptions of youth hostels. That of other accomodations is sparse.A good index is a must in a travel book you carry with you. The index is totally unacceptable.Many important sites are described in detail but are not listed in the index. The maps are good, but it would be frustrating to use this book as a guide while traveling because of the index.

Don't be put off by some of the less-than-glowing reviews of the Rough Guide to Ireland, for this, the sixth edition, remains without question the best in a long line of books geared to the Eire-bound traveler.

Yours truly has traveled to Ireland for eight of the past nine years, and the Rough Guide has been a consistent and consistently helpful travel companion. The recently updated (May 2001) sixth edition is a candid and comprehensive guide, as it covers all the well-known and little-known aspects of the Irish landscape. What distinguishes the Rough Guide from Fodor's, Frommer's, Let's Go, Lonely Planet, et al., is its writing: frank, literate, hard-to-put-down. This reader has all of the aforementioned guides to Ireland (and more), and it's the Rough Guide that receives the overwhelming bulk of my attention. It's the one guide that I turn to again and again, and the one guide that accompanies me to Ireland.

Beyond it's highly literate style, the Rough Guide is particularly strong in the areas of Irish history, and its relationship to the sites that dot the Irish landscape. In recent years the Rough Guide has increased its emphasis on dining and lodging options (this guide is no longer content with hostels as the only way to go). Indeed, the Rough Guide now caters to a broader geographic. In other words, it's not only for those who want to "rough it." Another noteworthy improvement in recent years is the Rough Guide's expanded index, and, even more noteworthy, is its "Contexts" section, which is a wonderful, most informative 75-page section devoted to numerous things Irish: history, wildlife, books, movies, architecture, and more. The contexts section, come to think of it, may alone be worth the publisher's asking price. As for maps, however, this is one of the Rough Guide's shortcomings. While there are more than 40 (and they are clear and helpful), this dedicated reader would like to see more of a particular region. Three pages of maps for all County Donegal, for example, doesn't do justice to a chapter that runs 45 pages. In the future, it would be helpful to have more detailed maps of, say, southwest Donegal, western Donegal, and the like.

Minor criticisms aside, the Rough Guide's sixth edition is a must-have for the serious traveler to the Emerald Isle. While not nearly as slick as some other guides (i.e., Eyewitness), its depth of subject and highly literate style more than compensates. Perhaps it's the ideal guide for the traveler who intends to return to Ireland again and again.

If you've a preschooler with a dramatic flair, see if you can find this a your local library since it's out of print. The whole family can take part in the animals stage production.

Our local library read this book during story time every week for several months. My son is only 16 months old and knows all the actions and even anticipates the next actions. He smiles and gets excited at the mere mention of the title. It is an excellent book to read repeatedly for a small group of toddlers or preschoolers.

I actually still have this book from when I was a child. My mother bought it when I was only a year old. It has now been twenty years and I am still finding myself reading this book from time to time. I am now starting to think about raising a family and I look back at this book and I think all the stories are great. However some can be a little scary for really young children. The case in point I know of is the Story of the Minotaur. It is not a happy ending story and will no doubt keep kids up if they are impressionable. My personal favorites to this day are Nail Soup and the Nightingale. They all have great morals and are as much fun to read as they are to hear.

A Treasury of Bedtime Stories

This book means so much to me. Born in 1983, I have grown up with it. My mother used to read stories out of it every night. I love the selection, and the illustrations are so elaborate! In fact, my favorite story,"Pix Pax Pox", has had such a great "force" on my life, that I have named my screen name after it. "PixPaxPox@email.msn.com". I know that your children will love it too. Please buy this book so another generation of young readers can carry it on to their children.

Finally, in closing, I'd like to say that reading this book as a child has made me creative, and with an appreciation for literature. I moved on from this book to harder books, and am now reading Shakespeare and Plato. (I'm only 14!.) I have been accepted into the Gifted Education system, and so far have a 4.0 GPA.

I accredit all this to my humble beginings in "A Treasury of Bedtime Stories." I hope to hear your great reviews soon, too.

Cordially, Jared

excellent book, recommend for teachers, librains, etc

I found this book to be quite educational. And the information it contained concerning these animals was quite accurate. I feel that if someone was to want to own one of these magnificant animals that this book would actually be best served if read before obtaining it will go into detail in how they behave and what you can expect. As far as behavior and containment go. And feeding and what you should know before you get one. I have throughly enjoyes the book and will read it again. I have also lent out my copy to be read by friends. That are interested in this breed. It gives a very indepth look into an animal that you need to give thought and consideration before purchasing. I feel that Ms. Pendergast has done a great job in writing this book. And I have enjoyed reading it.

With _Asphodel_, Hilda Doolittle takes her readers across the Atlantic and introduces them to the literati of the early twentieth century. Her thinly veiled portrayals of Ezra Pound, Dorothy Shakespear, William Carlos Williams, and D.H. Lawrence are insightful and perhaps far more accurate than any biography would dare to be. While it is difficult to believe that she was as naive an ingenue as she attests, it is harder still not to sympathize with the youthful poet determined to succeed abroad even though discarded by the charming but inattentive Pound. This novel is one of H.D.'s best, clearly as strong an example of her writing as _Bid Me to Live_ and _Paint it Today_. While still not consdered a first-rank Modern, Hilda Doolittle is arguably one of the most important literary figures of her day. Her description of the Moderns abroad is flawless and no examination of the Modern era can be complete before reading her prose.

Anyone who has ever read "Black Elk Speaks" should put this book "Black Elk and Flaming Rainbow" on their must read list. Written by a woman who was there during the interviews, this book sheds much light on the arguement of whether "Black Elk Speaks" is fiction or non-fiction. It also explains why "Black Elk Speaks" could not have been written exactly as Black Elk had told his story to Neihardt. The book also touches lightly on interviews leading to the writing of "When the Tree Flowered" also by John Neihardt, as well as "The Sacred Pipe" by Joseph Epes Brown. This book is a must read for anyone interested in Lakota culture.

Russell Myer's Space Junk is another compilation of humourous antedotes which are both funny and engaging. Coupling both one page jokes with several page short suject sequences, Myers is often hilarious as he subtly comments on every day occurances through the eyes of a short fat witch.

Broom Hilda tackles the adult complexities of relationships, alcoholism and hair loss in a silly and engaging manner as well as resulting to low brow humor by imitating Laurel and Hardy and the Three Stooges.

Broom Hilda is accompanied by her happy go lucky friend Irwin and her cynical chum Gaylord. Together, the three characters provide a dual laughter for adults and kids.

This book is a basic instruction in the construction of childrenswear. It includes infant layette, boyswear, girlswear, how to find trims,& how to drape basic bodies to make a sloper. It gives directions on how to flat pattern jackets, pajamas, sleepers, skirts, pants and hoods. I am a student at the Fashion Institute of Technology in childrenswear and this is the textbook we use in our class. It was written by two professors who once directed the childrenswear department and have seince retired. The most helpful thing about this book is the tables in the back which give the measurements of the adverage infant, 2t - 4t, 6x, and 7 - 14. These tables can help you if you are flat patterning a very difficult garment and you must know, for example, what the neck to arm measurment is on the adverage 10 year old boy. The instructions are easy to follow, however, would be even easier to follow if they were numbered and the diagrams were labeled. You must bring your own creativity to this book because it just shows you the basics, nothing fancy. Overall I would say it was very helpful in my courses.

Kids will absolutely LOVE this book! If you like reading toyour kids during the night, or if you go camping! This is a great bookto read to the kids around the campfire, it will scare them till they drop.

This book is only intended for kids, so don't buy this for a 21 year old guy, he wont really get scared. This book is a 5 out of 5 book, however it turned out to be 4 out of 5 because the book had some weird stories. If you take out some of the lame stories you will love it.