Presented in a traditionally Cajun rhythm, Appelt's lullaby includes creatures native to a bayou, including crawdads, bullfrogs and (of course!) mosquitoes. Rhythms are those of human speech, and include Creole language. This awesome book will appeal to a variety of ages!

This is my all time favorite children's book. I found it in a children's book store in New Orleans several years back and have memorized the words to lull my youngest to sleep at night.

Anyone who has ever been in the land of the Cajuns or seen the, "muddy waters chocolate , where tadpoles hide and seek," will be enchanted with this dreamy tale.

I don't know which of us likes this better, my son or me! It makes a perfect last-book-of-the-night, with its nocturnal images and lilting lyricism. It's one book you won't get bored reading out loud to your little one---the words are like candy in your mouth, and they seem to soothe my son deeply. Great!

I originaly read this poem in a book of collected childrens stories and poems (which I am still trying to find again; there in a series of red-bound books), and to see it resurface again, from both Loreena McKennitt's song to this book, is fantastic! A wonderfull poem that has so many sides to it. I am glad I found it again and I hope you enjoy this as much as I do.

This book offered a wonderful protrail of the classic by alfred noyes. The pictures within 'the highwayman' are great, they have been wonderfuly drawn by Charles Keeping to portray the fantasic poem that has won the hearts of so many.

Interesting visual interpretation of a classic. I remember being introduced to this poem in junior high (over 20 years ago!) as an example of the "anti-hero". Readers may also be interested in Loreena McKennitt's musical version of this poem on her "Book of Secrets" CD.

Young Bernard comes across an old and frail looking artist painting in New York's Central Park, and is entranced. He sits in the grass and watches the man as the canvas is transformed into the dazzling reflecting pool and surrounding area. "The Big Apple never looked better!" As the painter packs his things, Bernard introduces himself. "Where are you going?" Bernard asked. "To find another place that asks to be painted." And so Bernard joins him and takes Vincent all over New York City, to Harlem, the Statue of Liberty, the Brooklyn Bridge, Greenwich Village, Chinatown, Times Square, and Fifth Avenue... "Everywhere they went, Bernard watched as Vincent painted New York in bright and beautiful colors." Finally it is time for Vincent to leave New York and move on. But before he goes, he takes Bernard to see something very special on the second floor of the Museum Of Modern Art..... Neil Waldman has written a marvelous and inspiring fantasy that takes youngsters on a "Van Gogh" adventure through New York City. Mr Waldman's simple and gentle text takes a back seat to both his charming pen and ink story illustrations, and ingenious Van Gogh-styled, bold and bright New York scenes. Together word and art transports the reader on an evocative and entertaining journey with one of the great masters. Perfect for budding artists 4-8, The Starry Night is an engaging feast for the eyes; a portrait of the artist, his work and his unique style.

In his childhood the author was excited by the color and power of Van Gogh's paintings.In this book his painterly yearnings are poured into the character of a young New York boy. In Central Park Bernard encounters Van Gogh at his easel. He offers to show the painter some other 'amazing places'. Many paintings later Van Gogh has a farewell surprise for his young friend. They visit the MOMA gallery on 53rd Street and see "THE STARRY NIGHT" hung there.

When the artist disappears, Bernard determines to paint his own copy. The end papers of the book include some of the copies of the famous painting as imagined by the author-artist's own students.

The fantasy goes full circle as Neil Waldman's striking paintings are shared in tnis book to benefit the Children's Aid Society & N.Y.school children. Imaginations -- not all young! -- are fired up. Be sure to check all titles of Waldman, illustrator, and also read Joan Shaddox Isom's "The FIRST Starry Night."

What a wonderful book! I have shared this book with many children. Their reaction is always the same: entranced by the stunning paintings of New York, curious about Vincent Van Gogh and eager to begin to draw and paint. I think this book will help kids to discover their creative potential. (And big kids - to age 90 - love it too!)

We had a new way of starting Hanukkah this year. Instead of starting off with the gifts, the kids got to choose a Hanukkah Book to read to everyone - adults and kids after we lit the Hanukkiah. We picked By the Hanukkah Light and we read it to everyone together. It was great to read and everyone in the family really liked it a lot. It talks about Hanukkah in a really clear way and also it has a great story about a grandfather and his life. The two stories fit together really well. Its like you learn about Jewish history and the history of a family.

I am not Jewish, and so don't know a lot about Hanukah, but I want to teach my children about the beliefs of different peoples around the world. So when I went to the library to get out some Christmas books, I got this book as well. My 3.5 year old son LOVED it. He wanted me to read it over and over so he could understand the story. And I embellished it a little bit telling him what little I knew, and telling him which of his friends, or other people he knew, who are Jewish. It was a wonderful learning experience that we both enjoyed. I highly recommend this to both Jewish parents who want to share with their children about their holidays by reading a story, and for non-Jews who want to know more about this holiday.

A warm feeling will come over you and your children as you read this book together. It is touching and also very powerful as it deals with Hanukkah is a very original and sensitive way by making it relevant to the world we live in

I wanted to just "read" the book to the kids. But gosh, I started singing it. And did they love it. I sang and flipped pages as fast as I could. Over and over. I teach preschool and this was America week. This was pretty much the only book about America their "level." It has beautiful "impressionistic" painitings of all sorts of beautiful and significant places in America that you can talk about. And if you are proud and interested, the kids will be too. We sit on a map rug so the kids are getting familiar with all our landmarks. But this book helps learn the song and gets them familiar with our nation. The last page has a picture of the Statue of Liberty in the harbor, "from sea to shining sea." I felt so good to read this to the kids. Please get this to make not only children feel good about where they come from, but also you as well!

The book has good illustrations and it has the song five times. The illustrations go very nicely with the words to the song.

I bought this for my 3 year old not really knowing what to expect. When it arrived my daughter wanted to open it immediately and read it. She loved the beautiful pictures. I loved the simple words. A great introduction to Jewish traditions, thoughts and prayer that you can build on at home.

This book is one of the best I've ordered so far. The writing is in large bold print and there are only a few sentances per page, so it holds a toddler's attention. There is a great message and the illustrations are adorable. Great children's book!

The Gold Coin is the story of Juan, a thief of experience, and his journey to find an old woman who gives away gold coins. In his quest to find her to steal away her assumed riches, Juan is forced to experience the helpfulness of strangers, depend on their kindness and enjoy with them the feeling of an honest day's labor. By the end of his travels, he has been transformed by the goodness of the people he has met. When he finally comes face to face with the woman he had intended to rob, he is a different person. Instead of taking her gold, Juan offers to mend her roof. He learns that giving to others allows him to feel rich. The Gold Coin is a great story to read aloud. It is warm and inspiring.

Alma Flor Ada is an author who writes both in Spanish and English. Her work focuses on action over description. Her communication of the values and qualities of the culture in which she immerses her readers makes her books notable. The Gold Coin tells of a man who is twisted in body and spirit until he is transformed by honest hard work, and caring decent people. The reader is introduced to an inspirational character, Dona Josefa. Although the thief doesn't meet her until the end of the story, it is her model of goodness that shines throughout the story. The illustrations admirably reflect the changes the thief undergoes as his body becomes straighter and his face less pale and angry. There are many surprises seeded throughout the story and the ending is wonderfully satisfying. Although this is an original tale, the writing has the flavor of a folktale and the culture and landscape of Central America are authentically portrayed.

We give this book as a gift at the completion of the Bar/Bat Mitzvah, from our Temple Brotherhood.

We use this book as our family siddur. It has prayers in hebrew and english for _all_ occasions. It has meditations and readings for stressful times. It is much more useful than the traditional siddur for home events.

At one point in "The Passover Journey: A Seder Companion," author Barbara Diamond Goldin explains that there are four different places in the Bible that instruct parents to tell the Passover story to their children. The Rabbis who created the Seder came up with the idea of four different children who represent four different ways to tell about the Exodus: the wise child, the wicked child, the innocent child, and the child who does not even know how to ask a question. This develops the goal of telling about Passover so that each child can understand the story. Within that context it becomes clear that "The Passover Journey" is a volume that can speak to any child (or former child) whatever initial knowledge about the Seder they have to the reading of this book.

Illustrated by Neil Waldman with drawings of warm pastel colors that recall the temple art of Ancient Egypt, "The Passover Journey" is divided into two parts. Part One, The Israelites' Journey: The Story of the Exodus, goes back to the enslavement of the Israelites and the birth of the baby Moses. The story tells of the ten plagues that befell Egypt and ends with the Israelites walking through the parted Sea of Reeds to freedom. Part Two, Making the Israelites' Journey Our Own that tells us all about the Seder and then details its Fourteen Steps. The first part is fairly familiar to those who have read the book of Genesis or seen either "The Ten Commandments" or "The Prince of Egypt." Obviously the second part is going to be the most informative and Goldin explains everything from haroset (an apple and nut mixture that looks like the bricks and mortar the Israelites used to build Pharoadh's cities) to the well known Seder song, "Dayyenu." The Fourteen Steps of the Seder are laid out and Goldin makes a point of anticipating and answering the questions that could be asked (by any one of those aforementioned four children).

The strength of this book is that it asks and answers questions about Passover that not only lead to an understanding of its rituals and symbols, but also provides an appreciation of their historical context. I knew that as much as I knew about the story of Passover that I knew little about the Seder; this book simply proves how little I knew. This book is ideal either for children who have questions about Passover and the Seder, or for their parents, who would like to be able to answer their children's questions on their own.

I have been at a seder for several years where every participant was given a copy of this book for the night, in addition to whatever varied haggaddot they brought. Every year i thought this was a great idea. I recommend trying this at home! About the book: The pictures are lovely, and it really does act as a good companion to a standard Passover haggadda. This book tries to revitalize the stories and add new facts and perspectives. This is worth buying!

Daughter Anna (now 19 years old) loved this book. It was her favorite above all others. As we sorted through some old kid things for give-away purposes, we stumbled upon this old, well worn copy of "The Velveteen Rabbit." She insisted we keep the book for HER children.

This was her book that Mama (me!) had to read to her again and again and again. As soon as the last word was read on the last page, it was "Mama, please read it again!"

(how I miss those days, by the way!)

The book also has a powerful message about Love that children understand and cherish.

This is a wonderful book. No child should be without their own copy of "The Velveteen Rabbit."

It's a sweet story of a 'simple' stuffed rabbit amidst the more 'complex' modern toys in a boy's "toy collection". The rabbit starts to believe that in order to get the love of the boy, he needs to appear 'real', or be able to zoom about like the motorized toys...
(And I'm not going to tell you the end hahahahaha!!!)
It was great having that read to me, while I was hugging my stuffed animals in bed.
But -- in a way, at first glance it looks like a simple story, but it is actually a surprisingly complex story. Leave it on your child's bookshelf as he/she grows up and he/she will reread it again and again as he/she questions issues such as "who am I?", "what does it mean to be 'real'"?, "what is my role in this world?", and even "what is death"?

I seldom write reviews on children's books, although I love them with a passion. My children are now mothers and my grandchildren are past young childhood. However, I believe that somewhere deep inside each of us remains a small child that still loves fairy tales, cotton candy, and walking barefoot in the grass. This book was one of my children's favourites, along with "Charlotte's Web;" both were also my own personal favourites. When my children were six years old reading this book became a nighly adventure until I knew the words by heart. For the reviewer who rated the book with a one star due to a spelling error, my heart goes out to you; you have sadly missed something very important - the message. The book is not about spelling, editing or lack thereof; it is about encouragement and love.

The book tells the story of a toy, sawdust-filled rabbit who wishes with all his heart to become real. The message contained in this book is poignant, heart-warming and touching, and one that you will never foreget as long as you live. It is a story of beauty, wonder and love. Any child who misses out on "The Velveteen Rabbit" is missing out on one of life's greatest lessons. I cannot say enough good things about this wonderful, wonderful book and highly recommend it to children...and the grown-up child in all of us.