This is one of the most charming children's books I have ever read. I hope it will get back in print soon.

Jodi and Jimi visit their Aunt Ippy, who is not just the best chocolate-chip cookie baker and the best hugger, but also the curator of her own museum of JUNK! She doesn't just have things laying around. They are categorized & the categories are priceless. A few examples: "Fish Tank full of Plastic Fruit," "Bulk Dinosaurs," "Sack of Clocks." We could all learn from a creative woman like Aunt Ippy, whose car "runs on old cooking oil." Jimi and Jodi are allowed to take a few special items with them and happily declare, "We're starting our own Museum of Junk at home!"

If you were lucky enough to have a relative with whom you shared a special bond, who let you get away with things no one else did, you will recognize a kindred spirit in dear Aunt Ippy!

This is the only book providing thorough, complete coverage of sights in the Bavaria and Franconia region.

Rodney Clapp reconciles being a Christian and loving jazz in this thoughtful, intelligent and entertaining work. He covers how theologians are becoming increasingly irrelevant, points out how the church's refusal of jazz points to its sin of racism, and questions how the church can become as effective in its mission as the multinational corporations. Clapp displays a thorough and real understanding of Christian faith and contemporary culture, but never disappears in technical language or recycled, stale "God talk." I highly recommend this book for pastors, laypeople, and theologians of all sects and political affiliations. Everyone will be challenged and affirmed.

Part 1 of the Yandilli trilogy, (which is about to have part 4 released!) Captivity Captive is a fictional solution to a true story: the unsolved Gatton murders that occurred in Queensland, Australia, in 1898. Using facts from the case, relocating the events a little further south, Hall uses the real names of victims and family to tell the tale of two sisters and a brother who were found shot and bludgeoned to death in a paddock in 1898.

The novel opens at the death bed of Barney Barnett, a man who was engaged to the youngest victim, Ellen, who attempts a fictitious confession more than 58 years after the murders, in order to gain notoriety. His lies are seen through by the Inspector who has come to hear him, and by the remaining survivors of the Malone family - Patrick, our narrator, and the now paralysed Jeremiah, and mentally handicapped Willie.

From there we are drawn back into the depths of Patrick's memory, and he tells a history of his family -- here Hall veers away from murder-mystery genre territory here by sketching unique, distinctive characters -- in all its violence, ignorance and brutality, before inevitably leading us back to where we want to be -- what really happened on Boxing Day, 1898 that led to the gruesome deaths of Michael Malone - aged 29, Norah Malone, aged 27, and Ellen Malone, aged 18. The truth is shocking, the violence disturbing, and the sexual tensions of the novel gripping and unsavoury.

My only beef with Captivity Captive is that too often, Rodney Hall leaves the reader guessing about exact events. He seems to like us to guess about exactly what the victims and the perpetrator(s) of the crime got up to on Christmas Day, and then on that fateful next day.

A very captivating and harrowing novel about the dark sides of the lives, memories and personalities of the people who carved farms out of the ancient Australian forest, and a superlative psychological examination.

Stripy the cat likes colors and tries on clothes in different hues. Index tabs make the book very easy for older babies and toddlers to handle. Each piece of colored clothing is presented on a black-and-white background, so it is easy to tell which item is the subject of each page. My eleven-month-old loves this book.

The Contentious Triangle is a tribute for Harvard Professor emeritus George Huntston Williams. Contrary to what Amazon.com lists in their entry for the volume, the editors are actually Rodney L. Petersen and Calvin Augustine Pater, and it is in honor of his 85th birthday, rather than his 90th. Both the scholarship and the contributors of this book are first rate. Contributors include Jaroslav Pelikan, Peter Gomes, J. Bryan Hehir, Edward Idris Cardinal Cassidy, Harold O.J. Brown, Heiko Oberman, and Demetrios Trakatellis, among others. This group of internationally repected church historians, church leaders, philosophers and theologians write on subjects that span the history of the church, in the spirit of Williams own overarching perspective of the discipline.

Rinnah Two Feathers is looking forward to her summer vacation. She and her two best friends, Tommy Red Hawk and Meagen Paige, are staying in a cabin in Spearfish Canyon as guests of Meagen's dad. But on the first day, Rinnah is handed a note from a nervous, mysterious woman who says "They're after the rose," before taking off again. Then the woman is found face down in a pond. The note is confusing, but the trio is determined to discover what it means. With every clue they piece together, they discover they're in more danger. Meanwhile, Meagen is having a hard time adjusting to the new woman in her dad's life. This summer is shaping up to be anything but restful.

This is the second in a new mystery series for kids. I'd enjoyed the first, and this one didn't disappoint me in the least. The characters are real kids with strengths and weaknesses. The plot left me confused until the end. Mr. Johnson skillfully weaves sub-plots into the story and pulls off several tense, atmospheric scenes. I was turning the pages quickly for the last 50, trying to find out what would happen next.

Kids ready to move on from the Hardy Boys or Nancy Drew will love this new series featuring great characters, plot, and writing. My only complaint? The third one isn't out yet!

Effective Department and Team Leaders is an outstanding handbook for all school administrators. Mr. LeBrecque provides the reader with hands-on, immediately useful information for leading content area departments through curriculum improvement efforts especially at the high school level. Areas that are covered particularly well are self-evaluations, supervision, conflict management, and organizational structure. Throughout the book there are specifically designed excersizes for the reader to do that press home the objective of the chapter she or he is reading. I recommend it to anyone in education who has assumed a leadership position.

With great anticipation, I have awaited the release of this book. Pirtle recounts the true story of Susan "Sukey" Richardson's escape to freedom using the Underground Railroad. Through letters that had been hidden away for more than a century, Pirtle weaves us in and out of the life of one of Sukey's most sympathetic supporters, William Hayes. Through this non-fiction account we learn of the hardships all Americans faced during the mid-19th century. We're told of Sukey, her master, and those brave men and women who risked their lives, reputations, and personal finances to help others make their way to freedom. Equally fascinating is the courtroom drama between Sukey's master and those who allegedly helped the young woman in her run to freedom.

If you're a US history enthusiast, a fan of Illinois history, an Underground Railroad aficionado, a Civil War buff, or just a casual reader who's interested in a captivating story...you'll be sure to enjoy this tome. I highly recommend it.

And...if you're interested in other stories related to Southern Illinois history, I urge you to try to get hold of Pirtle's other two books: "Shining Moments" and "Where Illinois Began: A Pictorial History of Randolph County."

This book is a great learning tool! It "teaches" you about your own body, how it works and why you should care about what you eat, exercise, etc. The book is very well structured, with an objectives list at the beginning of each chapter and reasoning skills questions at the end, that helps you develop study and observation skills. This is a great book that changed the way I see my body, I learned a lot with this book!!