There is something very magical about a child's first connection -- not exposure, mind you, but real connection -- with music. Children's writer Budge Wilson captures the feeling, as well as the frustration children can feel while grappling with techniques beyond their abilities.

Ages 6-9 will find A Fiddle For Angus to be a captivating story of a young boy's determination to learn the fiddle. Susan Tooke's art is realistic and appealing as they tell of a young boy born into a musical family who learns how to participate.

If you are ever called upon to tell a scary story and don't have one ready, pull this book down from the shelf. Not only is it filled with good stories to tell, but it also classifies them according to the appropriate age of the listeners. And in the margins are suggestions for gestures, sounds and so forth.

I used it for my first adventure in public storytelling last Halloween. All the stories were a success.

The theme of this book is the involvment of the audience. That is proving to be, in my experience, a key to good storytelling. I thank Jennifer Justice for starting me off on the right foot.

An excellent way to learn more about storytelling itself.

After reading Goal Setting, I used the valuable information to plan several different events. Susan's ideas help you stay focused on the process of planning, and executing any project. "Goal Setting" challenged me to produce a complete goal, manage time and energy, and delagating people in specific roles to achieve those goals. The achievement of those goals were very gratifying for myself, and all involved as the outcome was extremely positive. I also use this in my personal life to make the most of my time, improve personal goals,and make positive changes. The biggest lesson I have claimed from "Goal Setting" is the things I feared the most were the very things that kept me from growing into a person with high goals. I was just a someone with potential. Ms. Wilsons' book helped me step out and start achieving and setting goals to make me a stronger goal oriented person. I pick up this book often and review to make sure that I am still on track and making the most of my life!

This is a completely charming book, showing a child going through his day, from waking to sleep, in a world surrounded by imaginary and intriguing creatures. They are vaguely Dr. Suess-like, but the illustrations and simple, short rhymes appeal to even smaller children. My one-year old nephew loves it (again and again), and my child, now eight, enjoys these unique creatures and the made-up words. It is a book that I'm happy to read too, especially in the evening, since the child goes to sleep in the end. I highly recommend this book, with its great illustrations and rhythm.

Susan Wilson has done a wonderful job writing essentially a "travel" book in an approachable and compelling style. Her instructions and "trails" are clear and logical and take you into some of the prettiest areas in Boston and the surrounding towns. Yet while she is directing you in and among the alleyways, Wilson manages to weave a compelling history of characters and places that has you heading for your local library to check out long-forgotten authors. I've drawn up a whole "Boston" reading list to reacquaint myself with some old friends and maybe make some new ones.

Susan Wilson's guide not only takes on the 19th century period when Boston carved out a revolution in the world of ideas - and separated US culture from England, but it takes on 400 years of a multi-cultural Boston Literary History, from black 18th century poetess Phillis Wheatley to WEB DuBois and Kahlil Gibran.

It is well written and usuable. It helps you to find these places in the Boston area, and at the same time locates them in their place in Literary History.

It lets you know where the current bookstores are in Boston as well. It is really usuable, as well as readable.

I found that this book was the most authenic and has easy to follow instructions. The foods were wonderful just like my mom would make. The author who is the cooking school instructor at the time she wrote this book knows that people need to see how the food is made and how the finished product should look. By giving step by step instructions with pictures it was very easy to try the recipes. I've ordered her first book in the series healthful korean cooking and can't wait to recieve it.

Susan Wilson's book is the perfect gift for anyone who wants to merge caring from the heart with professional, powerful business behavior. The format (snippets of wisdom) make Your Intelligent Heart both an easy reference and a delightful read. And you aren't wasting your time reading a bunch of "fluff." The author uses real life examples for punch. Can't wait for YIH 2!

No matter how hard I search, I've yet to find the "perfect" book on herb use and herb growing. This book isn't perfect, but it does have some real strengths.

Rodale's ILLUSTRATED ENCYCLOPEDIA OF HERBS is organized in a strange way--everything, and I mean everything--falls into alphabetical order. For example, "Gardening with Herbs falls between "Foxgloves" and "Garlic" and "Growing Herbs" falls between "Grindellia" and "Hawthorn."

The book is printed on semi-gloss paper so it will stand up to use and not crumble in a few years. Each entry contains line drawing illustrations and a few sections of the book are highlighted with color photos.

The plant profiles are succinct, covering topics such as 'history', 'cultivation' and 'uses.' Many entries contain material from other sources such as Maud Grieves' A MODERN HERBAL Vols. 1-2. Some information is repeated without attribution or verification. I always find "They say" and "It is thought" offputting, while I appreciate direct citations of which there are many in this book.

THE ENCYCLOPEDIA covers some topics not readily found in other books. The most useful of these is a compendium discussing the "Dangers of Herbs" (located between "Dandelion" and "Deadly Nightshade." The editors have compiled the FDA listing of "tricky" herbs (could kill or cure depending on use) from PREVENTION magazine, as well as similar ratings from James Duke's CRC HANDBOOK OF MEDICINAL HERBS, Jean Rose's HERBS AND THINGS, and Varro Tyler's THE HONEST HERBAL. You realize on reading this section that everything is relative.

The biggest problem with the misuse of herbal remedies is the misclassification of plants by the practicioner. To be an herbal healer one simply must understand botany. The second biggest problem is conflicting information about what a plant will or will not do based on singular accounts (which could be the result of a misclassification of plants or a misapplication of the plant extract). The third problem is idiosyncratic plant and human interaction. One man's poison can be another man's elixer. As with synthetic drugs, each individual has a unique chemical compostion and the herb in question may or may not be effective, or in some cases may provoke an allergy. Of course, there are some herbs that are downright deadly as every mystery reader knows.

This wouldn't be a Rodale book with out a section on "Pests" and "Pest Control" or the synergistic and conflicting effects of various plant combinations in the garden. This information and the sections on poisonous attributes make the book worth it's cost. All I can say about plant combinations can be summed up to this...plant catnip. You'll have to read the book to find out which kind.

This book has *fabulous* illustrations of the plants it details - something usually lacking from herbal books by way of plant identification. The plant descriptions and suggestions for use, as well as the old lore associated with each one are all very useful, and well formatted for easy lookup.

The only thing it doesn't have is the same thing most herbal books lack: complete and comprehensive information on the dangers of certain herbs - although I understand that the reason is that since this isn't a licensed medical text, they're not allowed to present thier information as actual medical advice, and so some of the precautions fall under that umbrella. As with any book on herbs, the reader must remember that the information, especially the warnings, are not necessarily complete.

That said - this is a really useful book with lots of great information, that you'll be glad to add to your herbal library at home.

Rodale's Illustrated Encyclopedia of Herbs is the best herb resource I have ever found, and that is saying a lot, since I own over twenty, and have checked many others out from my local library. It is thorough, interesting, more complete than any other text (no herb book can be complete - it would be thicker than a telephone book!), and always enjoyable to read. Reading it as a child was the initial inspiration for my love of herbology. Most entries start with stories about the plant, or a short talk about it's particular history. Some of those stories are better than most I see in print.
If I could, I would give this book a ten star rating. If you are starting out in this field, this is the place to start. This book is my bible

I can remember my mother reading this book aloud to me as a child; one chapter a night. It didn't take long for me to decide that I couldn't wait for her to get to the next installment. I credit this book (one of many) that led to my lifelong, love affair with reading. It's among the top five books I'm collecting now to read aloud to my own daughter. She may only be 2 months old; but, it's never too early to introduce little girls to Katy and family. This book will never go out of style...life lessons are always in vogue.

The Carrs have always been my family friends, so to speak... I recently re-read this book, having loved it as a pre-teen, and I found out that it was still able to make me laugh and cry. The plot follows the growth of young Katy, focusing on her unfortunate accident and the consequences it has on her and her family.

Naturally, a part of my strongly positive reaction was nostalgia, but nevertheless this is a beautifully written story, both moving and humorous, full of imaginative magic and the cosy warmth of a loving home at the same time. The characters are lovable and memorable - is there a girl who couldn't identify herself with the clumsy, unfortunate Katy or admire the saint-like, yet fully human cousin Helen?

At the risk of sounding like a walking cliche, I must say that they just don't write books like this any longer: clean, wholesome and still totally satisfying and entertaining. But even if the whole world ran after the latest shock values, I would always be coming back to books like these - books for a girl who loves to read.

What Katy Did is one of my all time favorite books! (And I have read a lot of books.) I have read all of the Katy books, What Katy Did, What Katy Did at School, and What Katy did Next, and What Katy Did is still my favorite. This is an amazing book!