I read this marvelous book when I was a fifth grader and absolutely loved it. My love for the book did not fade, as when I was in the eighth grade, I wrote a required book review and chose Just David as my book. My love of the book must have come through, as the teacher read it aloud to the class. She had never read anyone's book review aloud before--so the influence of this book is wide. A reprint would be so welcome to both today's young readers and to those of us who loved the book in the past. I hope to own Wendy Lawton's Just David doll someday.

"Just David" is a wonderfully delightful book. It shows the beauty of innocence. I love music and believe this book shows the power that good music can have on the lives of others. My daughter and I are both learning to play the violin. I am, in part, because of David's passion for expressing himself through his violin. My mother-in-law had me read it in October of 1999. Since then I have purchased several copies to give as gifts and, of course, bought one for myself! I purchased from a company called Whole Heart Ministries in Texas. If you would like more information e-mail me.

My mother read this book to me as a child, and I have read it many times myself as an older child and as an adult. It teaches the true values of life from the mind of a totally innocent child, who has never been exposed to all of the attitudes of the "real" world, but has been thrown into the real world by unfortunate circumstances. The sweetness, beauty and innocence of this child is so refreshing in this world. My mother also read it to my oldest child. They had regular Friday night reading sessions, and JUST DAVID was one of their favorites. This is one of his best memories of his grandma. She died when he was 9. I will have a first grade classroom next year, and plan to read this to my class. Would love to have another copy. My copy is a family treasure, and I hate to take it to school and risk losing it. Hoping for a reprint. Excellent and timeless book.

Our whole family LOVES Bubba! This is a fantastic, extremely funny twist on the old "Cinderella" tale. The art work is amazing - we delight in the illustrations and the book is just plain fun to read! My daughter adores the fact that Bubba [the "boy" Cinderella in this tale] wants to go to the ball with Miz Lurlene [its a cool change!].

We read this in a Texas drawl [you almost can't help it!] and just have loads of laughs with every re-reading. We originally checked this out of the library on a whim and have since bought our own copy [and will probably be giving copies for birthday presents too!]. This book is money well spent - and one I truly don't mind reading for the 3,000th time!

This book is fabulous! My son loves it and I look forward to reading it to him. The story is a twist on the classical "Cinderella" story but set on a ranch in Texas and this time Cinderella is a cowboy! It's the best! I can't tell you how much everyone who reads it raves about it.

This book was recommended by our Librarian because I was looking for some outstanding illustrated books for my 6 yr. old daughter who is real observant and truly enjoys and appreciates the detailed illustrations in the books she reads. She had not expected a twist on the well known Cinderella tale. What a humorous and enjoyable story to read with illustrations that take you right into the story. This book was not only entertaining but the colorful and humorous illustrations were outstanding! My daughter and I love this book so much that we ordered it for our own library at home.

What a lovely book. My friend's little girl,who is 3, just loves this book. Her mum raves that she can't go to sleep without hearing it. They gave it to my 2 year old as a birthday gift. The illustrations are beautiful and the story is charming. It's fastly becoming my child's favorite book. It must be...I read it to him at least 3 times a day. Enjoy! I'm going to buy more of her books.

We received this book as a gift from the authoress' father-in-law. Our three-year-old just loves it. When we carved the Jack-o-Lantern the other day, we saved the scraps and made some pumpkin soup. The story explores feelings about change and how it can make everyone feel uncomfortable. The story resolves with everyone agreeing that things can change, but only so much at one time! Another favorite of Emma's is Billy Goats Gruff as told by Ted Dewan, husband of the authoress.

I highly recommend this book. The illustrations are outstanding. My three year old loves it. The story is engaging and sweet. It is one of our favorite bedtime books. It is a rare treat to find a book that has great illustrations and a great story to go along with them.

Forget Me Knots from the Front Porch is a great reading book. The recollections are short, to the point, and tell stories that will remind you of your own front porch, or that of a loved one. The writing brings the characters to life: one can almost feel the sun on their back, the breeze on their face as they read. Because the majority of the stories are written by adults about their childhood, it is one of those books that can be enjoyed by anyone, young or old alike.

And because the stories are short, they are wonderful fillers -- just enought time to read one during break or lunch. I recommend it to anyone.

If you ever feel like you want to have the security and safety you knew as a child, Forget Me Knots...from the Front Porch is what you need. A great book of short stories that range from young love to old grandmas and grandpas, it takes the reader back to a time when we were at peace with the world--and with each other. A must read for the days when you just want to pull your hair out. I guarantee that half an hour with this book will have you forgetting there is a care in the world.

Childhood memories... we all have them and we all like to reminisce at times.
Helen K. Polaski collected 47 of stories from all around the globe (including US, Canada, England, Australia and the San Juan Islands) about people's fondest childhood memories.
There was a little twist: a front porch had to be involved in one way or another.
Watching the unfolding of exciting events from the front porch point of view; receiving sad news and using the porch swing as a mode of imaginary transportation to near and far places are some of the topics in these stories. They are sure to entertain the reader, bring happy and sad tears to their faces and call upon memories of their own.
If you feel inspired to write a story of your own, Polaski just finished compiling stories for a sequel "Forget Me Knots Beyond The Garden Gate" with a major theme of, you guessed it: gardening. She plans on developing ideas for other themes, so be on the look-out! Whether you like to read, write or both, the "Forget Me Knots" series is sure to please your heart. Be sure to remember this book at gift giving time also!

Poor Rodney Rat...he can't say his R's, and life at P.S. 142, where all his classmates tease him mercilessly, is pretty miserable. "All of this teasing day in and day out made Wodney the shyest rodent in his elementary school. His squeak could barely be heard in class. He gnawed lunch alone. And while the other rodents scurried and scooted about at recess, Wodney hid inside his jacket. Then one day, a new student, Camilla Capybara, entered the class and began to wreak havoc. "I'm bigger than any of you. I'm meaner than any of you. And I'm smarter than any of you." And she meant it! That afternoon, poor Wodney Wat's luck turned from bad to worse. He was chosen to lead the daily game of Simon Says and his speech impediment, unfamiliar to Camilla, suddenly became an asset..... The dynamic duo who brought us the wonderful Tacky books, have written an engaging story that will have kids cheering for this shy little underdog as he becomes the class hero and saves the day. Helen Lester's simple, gentle text is complemented by Lynn Munsinger's bold, bright, and expressive artwork, and together they've authored an entertaining story about an endearing character, that's filled with insight, wisdom and humor. This is a story that will inspire little ones to have courage, and to stand up and believe in themselves. "And from that day on the pupils of P.S. Elementary School for Rodents never teased Wodney again. He was their hero. "Hooway for Wodney Wat!" they cried. "Woot! Woot! Wooty-toot-toot!" Perfect for youngsters 3-7, Hooway For Wodney Wat is a treasure.

This is one of the most charming books I have read in years. Wodney provides children with a hero (or, as Wodney would say, "hewoah") who overcomes so much just by being himself. It's a great lesson for both children who identify with Wodney or who are more like the other wodents in the book. I intend to share this book with adults and children alike.

They've done it again! The team who brought us such memorable books as A Porcupine Named Fluffy and Tacky the Penguin are at their absolute best with Hooway for Wodney Wat. Funny text and hysterical illustrations combine to make the perfect read aloud book. I laughed so hard I cried. A must have!

This is my all time favorite children's book (with an almost tie: Don't Give up Josephine!)! I read this to the campers at my day camp this summer and they loved it as much as I do! I don't have the book yet, but I've read it so many times I know it by heart. I can't wait to read it to my sister (who's a lot like Tacky...). I recommend this to anyone who loves eccentricity and fun!

Would you ever want a penguin that walks funny? Well in the book Tacky The Penguin you will see one. I think this is a good book because it is really funny. The author shared that you should be kind to others no matter what they do. The Authors name is Helen Lester. Tacky does not act like a normal penguin. He does cannon balls and wears a Hawaiian shirt. The hunters are puzzled by Tacky's behavior. Find out what happens to Tacky and the other penguins.

Our 2 1/2 year old daughter loves to have her daddy read her this book over and over again. Although she can't read, she knows the book so well that she is able to tell us the story just by looking at each page. Tacky teaches us that it is OK to be an "odd bird" because that's what makes us all so unique. So, march and sing off key and enjoy yourself!

Vargas Llosa's gripping 1981 book is a fictionalized history of Canudos, the community in the dry interior of Brazil that was utterly wiped out by the Brazilian army in 1897. Vargas Llosa's book is as long (over 500 pages) and as dense as the seminal Canudos book "Rebellion in the Backlands" by Euclides da Cunha, and those fascinated by the story will want to read both. This book takes da Cunha's as its point of departure, for where da Cunha was a military engineer who accompanied the military campaigns against Canudos and wrote about the event's impact on the Brazilian identity, Vargas Llosa is a novelist captivated by the human element. "The War of the End of the World" is the massive story of four successive military campaigns against a religious sect (part-Waco, part-Masada) that killed about 10,000 people on both sides. It is built on the lives of many key personalities. By threading together the life stories of several real Canudos inhabitants who included criminals, castoffs, and misfits with the lives of landowners, journalists, and military officers, including the famously brutal general Moreira Cesar, Vargas Llosa both chronicles the Canudos tale and creates a powerful human novel.

Da Cunha was intrigued by the "why" of Canudos. What fostered a fanatical religious sect in Brazil's interior, allowed it thrive and grow, and why was it the subject of such national fear that the fourth campaign against the village involved fully half of the Brazilian army? Da Cunha spent dozens of pages writing about Antonio the Counselor, Canudos messianic leader. Vargas Llosa is less sympathetic to the military's point of view, depicting Canudos as a safe haven for those rejected by society, by sweethearts, employers, or the church. An island of broken toys. Vargas Llosa writes very little about Antonio himself, casting a reflected light by describing him mostly through the words and actions of his devoted followers. ("Death was more important to these people than life. They had lived in utter dereliction and their one ambition was to be given a decent burial".) Where da Cunha concludes that Canudos was a result of a failure by the Brazilian society and government to embrace all of its citizens -a conclusion that led to a reexamination of Brazil's national identity- Vargas Llosa is less sure. He raises a lot of explanations that have gone before (monarchist conspiracies, racial inferiority, lack of education, "something to do with religion", even a lunatic European communist who tries to make Canudos fit his notions of class warfare ) without settling firmly on any one. Finally, he concludes uneasily, "the explanation of Canudos lies in ignorance".

This is a gripping novel, a powerful tale of warfare, an exploration of intriguing individuals who met in the atavistic isolation of Brazil's parched interior. A Latin American novel devoid of magic realism, for the story of Canudos is fantastical enough.

I read several of Mario Vargas Llosa smaller (but also superb) works before deciding to attempt to read this one, his masterpiece. It is truly one of the more memorable and profound books that I have read. The structure of the book doesn't divert too much from that of the typical epic novel- dozens of characters, numerous subplots, and events of historical significance. Most of the action takes place in the remote, arid backlands of northwestern Brazil. In this land devastated by drought and poverty, a religious leader known as the Counselor manages to recruit a sizable number of miserable and scorned creatures to be his disciples. We are introduced to such characters as the Little Blessed One, the Lion of Natuba, the Mother of Men, Satan Jao, and a host of others who are social outcasts for one reason or another. It is around this time that the monarchy in overthrown and a republic established; taxes are now to be collected, a national census is to adminstered, and church and state are to be separated. The Counselor and his followers regard these new developments as a direct threat and signs of the impending apocalypse, and they set up their own town, Canudos. The newly formed state can obviously not tolerate these renegades, and the book basically relates the war between Canudos and the waves of military forces that are sent to annihilate them. Vargas Llosa spares no details when relating battle scenes; the reviewer on the inside cover of the book was right in calling this one of the bloodiest books of the century. We are presented with images of corpses hanging from trees, ants devouring the open wounds of soldiers, and decapitated heads on stakes. It is perhaps this gritty realism that makes this book so memorable, though. Another aspect of the author's writing that makes this book so convincing is his ability to sympathetically portray all of the competing interests. Although it is probably fair to say that the Counselor's followers are depticted mainly as victims, Llosa also argues from the point of view of the military, the aristocracy, the republican government, a nearsighted journalist travelling with the army, and even a Scottish anarchist. At the end of this book, one is quite uncertain who, if anyone, is on the right side and who is on the wrong side. But I think it is this moral ambiguity that Vargas Llosa is attempting to create in our minds. In presenting this true historical event in the form of an epic novel, Vargas Llosa has given us a masterful tale of devotion, despair, misery, and personal redemption.

This is perhaps Vargas Llosa's best novel and a must for all those well-meaning readers in the developed world who eagerly idealize Latin American revolutions without knowing anything about these countries.

The book is based on the true story of Antonio Vicente Mendes Maciel ("O Conselheiro"), a mad prophet of sorts -kind of a weird Christian ayatollah of the late XIX Century- who ignited, in the most remote corner of Brazil, a bloody uprising among the lowly against Money, Property, Progress, Law, Army, Republic and State, and everything else he found oppressive, sinful and evil. In return, the Brazilian government reacted with indifference, disbelief, concern, anger, outrage and total annihilation.

Little by little, Vargas Llosa transforms this obscure anecdote into a monumental epic of Tolstoiesque proportions that not only hooks you on the plot but reveals the richly interwoven tapestry of Brazilian -and therefore Latin American- society; its illusions and delusions, its races and classes, its loves and hates, its fear of the modern and its contempt for the past, and the fanaticism that pervades both attitudes (to date).

I read this mammoth masterpiece during Christmass '94 at the midst of the Zapatista revolt in Chiapas, and it was sad to realize how little have we changed our societies. Our development always seems to engender inequality and our social struggles to defend backwardness and ignorance. Vargas Llosa is acutely aware of this, and he conveys it in his story splendidly, without preaching, without agendas, without aloofness and without letting you put down the book. Should you decide to read it, ask for a few days off!

I owned this book as a child, having gotten it out of a pile of withdrawn books at my library. I read it more times than I could count and absolutely loved it. Alas, when I was about 13 or 14 I had the stupidity to give it away when I decided I had outgrown it. It didn't take me very long to realize that I was wrong, and I've spent the last several years looking for it. It's admittedly written for children ranging from about 8 to 10 or 12, but it's one of those classics that anyone can enjoy.

I still have the copy that I swiped from my sister more than 40 years ago. It is pleasant and fun, not an insult to the intelligence as are so many kids books today, and not a tract on recycling or global warming. Recommended for parents who want their kids to grow up to be something besides politically correct automatons. These days, to read a book merely for pleasure is a revolutionary act. (You know, I'm sure, that they have rewritten Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys to make them politically correct. Yecch!)

Get this one, and also "Mrs. Coverlet's Magicians," and then really do the kid a favor and buy her the new "Annotated Huckleberry Finn." Watch out, though, the child might learn to think for himself, and then what will his teachers do?

I was read this book in the first grade by one of the world's best teacher's who was one of the most encouraging ladies when it came to reading. When she read that book to me six years ago I was enchanted. I loved every moment of it. Although I haven't been able to get my hands on a copy in six or seven years, I still remember it to be the best book ever. It has such a rare humour that you are sure to love it at any age.

A wonderful historical depiction of life on a US Naval ship, the USS Barr, during the tumultuous period of World War II. The author has gone beyond the task of publishing the diary of one man's account-his diary of everyday events on the Barr.
I find it fascinating to read a book about World War II written in the crew's own words. I found Movies on the Fantail excellent reading and a recommended educational resource for history students as well.

I served on the USS Barr and experienced the events and times described in this book. I can attest to its accuracy and attention to details.The diary of James Grenga, Yeoman 1st class and brother of the author,Helen E. Grenga,tells it as it was. If you are interested in the events of World War11,this is a must read book, and an appendex to Tom Brokow's "Greatest Generation".

I was very happy to see the amount of research that went into writing this book. Dr. Grenga has provided only verifiable details of the men and their life on the USS Barr. By doing so she has created a permanent memory for our soldiers who defended us during WWII. His brother was one of soldiers who served our nation. Her account of Sailor's diary is not only true but makes an interesting reading. This book uncovers another facet of the life on the ship for our brave soldiers.

Helen Zia provides a good overview of the Asian Pacific American (APA) experience in the United States and highlights specific examples where APAs faced gross discrimination and unfair treatment at the hands of an intolerant (and clueless) society which continues today in more overt ways.

While she provides some personal insights using her own and unique experiences, Ms. Zia doesn't reveal anything new in her book. I would recommend this book for those readers who are not familiar with, for example, the boycott of Korean grocers or the murder of Vincent Chin. But again, it would just be for background information.

I have to admit, though, that this book inspired me to ask myself several questions. For example, it's okay to have an Irish Day or Puerto Rican Day parade. (Ah, yes, it's a way of reconnecting with our roots.) But when APAs want to have an APA parade, we are accused of refusing to assimilate with American culture. I can't wait for the day when every American can celebrate their cultural heritage without being accused of stealing nuclear secrets or giving illegal campaign contributions.

This book fascinated me, a caucasian-American with several Asian American friends, because I never knew half of the history recounted by the author, or the things my friends and their families may have gone through here in the US. Of course, I had heard of the internment of Japanese Americans, Vincent Chin's murder, the boycotting of Korean grocers in NYC and LA, and some of the other historical events depicted, but this book gave me details I never got from history classes or the media, with a front-row perspective. The author's interweaving of her own family's experiences further enriches the book, sometimes even humorously. Highly recommended to all - I got more than I ever expected from this book.

This book is a must read for those who are interested in any of the following: Asian American history, Asian American contributions to the civil rights movement, relationships b/w various Asian American groups and African Americans, Asian American experiences of discrimination and or prejudice, the model minority paradigm. Ms. Zia has written a winner, full of facts and commentary balancing the perfect combination of history and anecdote. One of my favorite recent reads.