"Katherine: Heart of Freedom" is one of the best books I have ever read. It is the only one in the series I've read so far, but I'm going to get the others as soon as I can! I'm not going to write anything about "Katherine" - except to say that it's great- because if I do, I know I'll spoil the ending! I recomend this book to anyone! Happy reading!!

I love the Hearts & Dreams series. I've read everyone. Thefirst one I read was Charlotte and I loved it! It's still my favoritebut Katherine is my second. It was a wonderful beginning to the whole series and Cameron Dokey is brilliant. I recommend this book along with all the other books in the seried and Hindenburg 1937 (I havn't gotten around to the Washington Avalanche book but I'm sure it'll be great because Cameron Dokey wrote it.)

My cousin gave me the first two books in this series. For some reason i read Charlotte first. It was so great, i couldn't imagine how Katherine could be better. But it turns out i couldn't put Katherine down. It's got to be the best book i've ever read! So if you enjoy history, romance, and adventure, then Katherine is THE book to read! So what are you waiting for? Pick up the book and READ IT!!! Hope you enjoy it as much as i did!

After reading Free The Children I feel as though my eyes have been opened to another world. Craig Kielburger managed to keep me interested while successfully telling his story.

At times I laughed while I read the book. However at times I was horrified by what I was reading.

Free The Children has shown me that one person or a small group of people can make a difference, it has also given me the inspiration that I needed to get on with my life. My problems are nothing compared to what others in the world go through.

All over, Free The Children is well worth the read and I would strongly recomment this book to adults as well as children.

I loved "Free the Children", it's one of the best books i have read in a long, long time. Craig has a way of bringing what he saw and did to life, he makes you feel like you are there with him on his journey across Asia. I have got to see Craig in real life at a NCYC conference in St.Louis, Missouri. From the moment i heard him i had to get his book. This is an inspirational book, i think everybody should read this book to see how big of a problem child labor really is, and how FTC is helping children around the world. I definatly give this book 5 stars.

It has been my pleasure to recently read "Free the Children," an autobiography/travelogue from Craig Kielburger, the founder of the youth-run Free the Children organization based in Canada. It tells of the morning Craig first heard of and was made incredulous by the realities of child labor around the world. The book follows his strong desire to get together with fellow kids and try to learn more about the state of children and hopefully be able to change it somehow. Through his amazing commitment and dedication, along with his burgeoning public speaking skills, Craig was able to motivate two dozen of his schoolmates immediately to the cause and soon earn several speaking engagements in local schools to spread the word about child labor.

With the help of a family friend Craig was able to travel to South Asia to see first hand what working children's lives were like and to speak with the children themselves to hear how they lived, what their working conditions were, if they ever went to school, and if they had any ideas for their own futures.

It is a truly inspiring book for adults and children who can always be reminded that one person can absolutely make a serious and badly-needed difference against child exploitation.

Kavik the Wolf-dog was the first book about wolf-dogs I have ever read. Because of this book, it inspired me to respect and raise my own wolf-dogs and wolves to teach people how noble these animals are. I was in second grade when I read it.Now I'm almost thirty and this book stills vividly sticks in my mind. This is a classic novel.

I read Kavik The Wolf Dog and loved every bit of it. I like how it told a story about a dog trying to find his way home, and the challenges that he had to overcome to get back to the place is loves. I think that this is a book that lots of people would love to read. If you like adventure, this is the book for you!

I loved this book! It may be dull at first, but soon you'll be hooked. I liked it so much, I didn't want it to end.

Kavik is a wolf dog who is a champion sled dog who belongs to Charlie One-Eye. He gets sold, but the plane flying him to his new "owner" Mr. Hunter it crashes, and Kavik is left to die. His only hope is a boy named Andy Evans who is out hunting. He is shocked when he finds Kavik, and wonders if he should take his gun and put him out of misery. But Kavik's golden eyes say "I'm not ready to die." Andy takes him home, and after a while, with the help of a nearby doctor, Kavik heals, But his courage is damaged from the crash. His owner returns to take him. Kavik is miserable in the puny dog run Mr. Hunter looked him in, and hates Mr. Hunter as well. One day when Mr. hunter is showing off Kavik, he runs away, on his quest to get home to Andy. Kavik gets a ride back up north on a boat with an elderly couple. He runs away from them, and meets a young female wolf and falls in love. Like in the real world, Kavik must fight another wolf for her, and he gets his courage back. But a hunter kills her, and Kavik continues to travel until he finally makes it home to Andy, and Andy gets to keep him. It is a wonderful book that has everything. Love, compassion, loyalty, adventure, action, and all that other stuff. You gotta read it!

There is no Spoon River, IL. Check your map. Several towns argue that they stake their claim in being what Masters asserted to be this mythical town. Petersburg and Lewistown, two towns of otherwise minor repute seem closest... but it is so much better we haven't an actual town... Spoon River's residents are our next door neighbors, whether we live in Central Illinois or Central Florida, or southern Alaska.

Masters has written not fables, but the essence of American life. He hasn't captured the life and times of 1915, but has instead recorded in 1915 the life and times of our present day America.

The same reason the paintings of Norman Rockwell makes sense is why Edgar Lee Masters poetry makes sense. To read the quick messages on the gravestone of one man, learning a little bit him, and something about a neighbor or two, we can learn a little about how we live in communities today.

Our lives, like Jimmy Stewart's character in "It's a Wonderful Life" found out, interact and impact everyone we meet. Who we love, who we should love and who we reject. And when we die, others feel the loss. Masters has aptly put this in a humorous, yet insightful way into short verses.

The poems don't rhyme. The meter is not solid, and the poetics aren't intricate. They aren't poems like Poe's or Dickinson, not in the way they wrote American poems. Don't expect iambic pentameter-based sonnets or villanelles. Expect a conversation, and listen in.

The poetry here is in the subtle use of social nuance. In the nuances are his insight and wit. Two readings will bring to light what you miss in the first.

Buy this book, read it slow. It reads faster than most poetry book, but don't get caught in the temptation to zoom through each poem just because you can.

After you read it, see the play if it happens to be performed in your town.

I fully recommend it.

Anthony Trendl

Inspired by The Greek Anthology, a collection of brief poems from the Hellenistic World including epitaphs written from the perspective of the deceased, Edgar Lee Masters wrote a series of monologues spoken by dead townspeople (some more fictional than others) who inhabited Spoon River, the area in Illinois where Abe Lincoln once lived. Real people include Anne Rutledge (Abe's first girlfriend) and Fiddler Jones, who worked in Lincoln's general store as a boy.

But this book isn't about Abraham Lincoln. It's about the trait that we will all, both saints and sinners, one day have in common: death. And it is about the small triumphs of life that the dead remember. Just as William Carlos Williams was a doctor, and his poetry was informed by his contact with everyday people, so too Masters. He was a lawyer and a keen observationist. He writes directly and frankly, especially about male-female relations, which earned this book a bit of a scandalous reputation in its time. Of course, it is mild enough today that the book is assigned reading in junior highs, even in the South.

I've read this book three times through, and often re-read individual favorites. And I have it in easy reach on my shelf because I plan to keep re-reading it. There is something about the people of Spoon River and their sentiments that keeps me coming back. As May Swenson says, in her introduction to this edition, Masters "bequeathed to us a world in microcosm." A world, in my opinion, worth exploring again and again.

Edgar Lee Masters was a Chicago attorney who, long before Lake Woebegone, wrote of the mythical village of Spoon River, IL. Specifically, of the real stories of the people in it's graveyard. Now that they're dead the truth can finally be told. And almost all of them lived lives of terrible lies. I was introduced to it in Jr. High, was blown away at the realization that people all around me probably had these same kinds of secrets, living with them hidden, or hoped they were hidden. Paraphrasing, "I was of the party of Prohibition (anti-alcohol), villagers thought I died from eating watermelon. It was my liver. Every day at noon I slipped behind the partition at the drug store and had a generous drink from the bottle labeled Spiritum Fermenti!" The several poems that introduce Hamilton Greene are as powerful as anything I've ever read. Do yourself a huge favor, read this book! And then imagine yourself in the Spoon River graveyard, finally able to tell the truth about your life.

The love life of Alexander Harris is not exactly great as the three Buffy the Vampire Slayer episodes novelized by Keith R. A. DeCandido in "The Xander Years, Volume 1" prove in excrutiating detail. This initial look at Xander's person Gordian knot provides the following trips down memory lane from the show's first two seasons:

"Teacher's Pet," in which Xander almost falls prey to a sexy substitute teacher who turns out to be a She-Mantis. In "Inca Mummy Girl" Xander finds love at last with a foreign exchange student who is really a, well, Inca Mummy Girl (and a Princess!) brought back to life who needs to drain the life force out of people from time to time to surive. The best of the lot is "Bewitched, Bothered & Bewildered," where Xander gets dumped by Cordelia and has Amy Madison cast a love spell. The course of true love or spells by teenage witches never goes smoothly and so Coredlia is the ONLY woman in Sunnydale not affected by the spell. Joyce and an ax-wielding Willow fight over Xander is certainly a memorable moment. (Note: Buffy spends most of the story as a rat because that was the week Sarah Michelle Gellar was hosting Saturday Night Live).

You have to say one thing for Xander. If it wasn't for bad love the boy would have no love at all. He might be the comic relief for the Scooby Gang, but as everybody who was repeatedly shot down by the girls in high school can readily attest, there is a pathos to his character. There will certainly have to be other volumes in this series, which will hopefully include his bright shinning moment in "The Zeppo" as well as his troubles with Anya. Since these are novelizations of the original teleplays for these episodes, this book only gets four stars. You cannot get five stars for a Buffy book unless it is an original work like "The Gatekeeper Trilogy." Sorry, but these are the rules. You can look them up.

This book is a novelization of three episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The first Teacher's Pet is a homage to the big bug movies of the late fifties. Inca Mummy Girl revives the curse of the mummy and Bewitched, Bothered & Bewildered explores the magic of love. In each story Xander falls in love with dire consequences. His heart is pure and his intentions good but the results are both frightening and humorous. I recommend this to all Xander fans. It could be a dating manual for the new century.

Not only is Xander funny,cool,and crazy on the show but now his wackyness is contained in a book! In the book there are three stories, Teacher's Pet,Inca Mummy Girl,and Bewitched,Bothered, and Bewildered. Three stories of Xander's crazy love with the unhuman,undead, and the unusually nerve wracking. In all it's a great book. Read it. The more Xander fans the better.

I am not a big fantasy fan -- I like hard SF better. However, I like Diana Wynne Jones's books a lot. I read Howl's Moving Castle on recommendation of a friend and loved it. At the age of 34, I bought Hexwood in a 1st edition hardback on a whim and thought it was fabulous. It is a weird combination of archetypal fable, Arthurian legend, romantic story, and futuristic SF tale. It reminded me of the movie Pulp Fiction with its complete disregard of a linear timeline. I was consistently surprised as I read along, waiting anxiously for the next plot twist. Jones manages to keep all her plot twists in order and ties everything up at the end. The only drawback about this book is that it is probably too advanced for most teenagers.

"Hexwood" is a very strange novel, but extremely rewarding. It's not much like other stuff Diana Wynne Jones has written; although there are humorous moments, it's decidedly not lighthearted, it's not written in a straightforward manner (as it's instead written in five sections), and the time-sense of the novel is rather skewed.

No matter. This is one of the few books I've read cover to cover, then turned back to re-read immediately. I did that for two reasons; Ms. Jones' use of language is extremely moving, especially when talking about Mordion and Vierran's halting romance, and I really wanted to figure out what this whole odd time sense thing was all about.

The main reason the novel is written in five parts is to keep you guessing; it's an intellectual puzzle that's almost impossible to describe. The simple stuff is that there really are people behind the scenes controlling everything on Earth (and in the galaxy as a whole), people called Reigners. They're not very nice people; Reigner One is particularly offensive. And they've co-opted many other, better people to act in their stead as enforcers, crippling them emotionally in the process.

I enjoyed figuring out the twists and turns of the most convoluted plotline I've ever read, while I reveled in how Ms. Jones managed to show people who were emotionally shell-shocked from years of abuse find love, laughter and meaning despite it all.

Five stars, highly recommended for anyone with a good amount of patience and a love for mysteries.

Diana Wynne Jones is one of the best authors for young-adults (and adults). She mixes fantasy and science fiction into intricate, suspenseful and exciting novels. In my opinion, Hexwood is her best book, and most ambitious. It is the story of Anne, a girl from a country town in England who finds a 'monster' rising out of a metal box in the park near her house. From then on, Anne is drawn into what may sound like a strange, but delightful story - full of robots, castles, knights and aliens; which moves around, in and out of order, until the reader is almost totally consumed (or literally lost) in the story, before the masterful conclusion. It is in fact, an exciting fast-paced book that readers of all ages will have trouble putting down, after they get past the initial, slightly bewildering chapters.

The mix of genre hightens the magic plot twists, for which Jones is most famous for. Very worthy of being my most admired book for it's sheer ingeniousness (and favourite!)

Imagine you1re living in the midst of the 19th century. You1re 19, far from friends and family, and to top it all off, your husband dies and you are two months pregnant with his child.........

Love Comes Softly is an eight book series written by Christian author Jannette Oke. I thought when my mother-in-law tried to get me to read her books, that I was in for another mushy Harlequin Romance novel, filled with people involved with three, four or five men, and definitely no sign of God in their lives. Boy, was I in for a VERY pleasant surprise. Mrs. Oke leads us through the life of a very young Marty Davis, who has just left her family in the east, to travel west with her new husband , Clem. Clem and Marty had been living out of their wagon, eating pancakes and drinking coffee EVERY day, because that1s all that Marty knew how to make. Unexpectedly, though, Clem dies, and Marty is left alone with child and no home, no money, and just what she has in her wagon.

The Love Comes Softly series then begins to take us through the struggles Marty has to overcome and Mrs. Oke guides us so beautifully, that we feel like we are right there with Marty. The eight books lead us through 40 years in Marty and her family1s lives. I enjoyed every minute of the readings. Never has a book so captured me like Mrs. Oke1s did.

I try to count my blessings every day, but after reading this group of books, I found more to be thankful for. I never stopped to realize what the generations before us went through. With Marty, I learned what is was like to bear a child with no husband and no doctor around--just a local lady that had delivered many babies. I learned what it was like to leave family behind, knowing that you will probably never see them again--or even hear from them again.

The funniest part of the series was in the very first book. Marty decides she will try to make her new husband a chicken and dumpling meal. Well........she goes to the chicken pen to try and catch one. After tearing apart then pen, she finally catches one of only two roosters (she didn1t know she was supposed to only kill the female). Once she gets him, she has no idea as to how to kill him, so she decides to tie him up and kill him--that didn1t work, and she wound up cutting off the beak of the prize rooster. When her husband, Clark comes home, he finds the pen in disarray, and sees his rooster with no beak and he comes to find out that Marty was just trying to cook him his first real meal. This part cracked me up, along with the part where she tries to fix biscuits and they turn out as hard as rocks.

You have to read the books in order. They just keep continuing with this saga. The best book in the series was book four. I can1t tell you why, for it would give the ending for the rest of the series, but it was the book that kept me the most fascinated. The hardest part about the series was the way she wrote it. She wrote it with the accents as they would have said things. It was hard at first, but I got used to it by the second book. I highly recommend her books, and am looking forward to the next series I am about to read. The new series is from the Canadian West. It involves new characters, and therefore new lives.

I would really appreciate hearing from others who have read her books--especially the Love Comes Softly series. It would be enjoyable to talk with others about Jannette Oke1s books. You can find her work at any Christian bookstore or even the library. They are expensive, between $9-13.00, but they are worth their price. I found twelve of her books at the library, though. I hope you enjoy it as much as I have. It is definitely a series I would read again and again, and I look forward to my two daughters growing up and wanting to read them as well. They are written in the same manner as the Little House on the Prairie series by Laura Ingalls Wilder. ENJOY!!!!!!

This is a wonderful story about family life at a time when people did not possess much material things but instead loved and cared for one another unconditionally. The story begins with Clark and Marty and goes on to include the lives of their children. What drew me to read and reread this series of books is the way it is written with so much love and understanding. There are many moral issues dealing with the Christian God and how the righteous man would behave. It is therefore also a book of learning. I would highly recommend this series. This is one of the few series of books that I would consider to be worth spending money on. I know that I will reread it many more times. Janette Oke is an excellent storyteller.

My aunt suprised me one day with the LOVE COMES SOFTLY series she had had for a couple years. I put off reading them for a couple years because I was only eight! I started the first book when I was 11 and just could not put it down! I read the whole series and it had a very big impact on me. I've read the first three books at least ten times each, never getting bored with them and the rest of the series at least three. Please consider these books. They are the bomb!

Firstly, if you are new to the Oz series, read The Marvelous Land of Oz before reading this book. Marvelous Land of Oz is what directly follows the original, infamous Oz book.
Believe me they just keep getting better.
This is a lovely book to read aloud to children of all ages. I highly reccomend all of the Oz books for their amusing, imaginitve characters(in this book, The Wheelings and Billinia are introduced) , their fantastical situations (trees with lunch boxes full of food, talking chickens, a shipwreak, all in this one), sweet plot and storylines. These books still stand the test of time (written over 100 years ago!)for good reason.
This book really sets the tone for the rest of the books to follow and in my opinion the best. A must read for every family.

Though I first read this book nearly 50 years ago, it still remains one of the best books I have ever read. Adults may feel that it is a kid's book, and of course it is perfect for kids, but believe me, it can be enjoyed by people of any age. All you need is love of a good story. For many years Ozma was my heroine--I dreamed that I would meet her somehow, somehow be transported like Dorothy to the Land of Oz. Though these dreams faded, I still often think that this book might be the favorite book of my life. Dorothy's new adventures, the rescue expedition from Oz that crosses the Deadly Desert, and the spooky confrontation between good and evil in the caverns of the Nome King. The Oz characters have accompanied me through life. Try them---you will never forget them.

Ozma of Oz is the 3rd book in The Wizard of Oz series and follows The Land of Oz. In this book, you will be reunited with many well-loved characters and be introduced to characters you will soon love.

Dorothy, who was not in the last book, again comes into this story. After being shipwrecked, she and Billina, a yellow hen, arrive on land. They wander around to see where they are and discover a new friend, Tik-Tok, a wind-up, mechanical man. They also find a castle. Inside, lives the family of Ev, who have been captured by the evil Nome king. Only a princess who can change her heads lives inside. Dorothy, Billina, and Tik-Tok decide to rescue the Ev family with the help of Ozma. --I won't mention who Ozma is because you may not have read The Land of Oz. You will find out in a later review.--

I would highly suggest this book, along with The Land of Oz because of the adventures and fun.

The Search for Delicious was a great book! It starts out when the king is making a dictionary and they come up to the word delicious. The king said delicious is apples but the court doesn't agree with him so they send Gaylen to poll the towns and find the real meaning of delicious but Hemlock messes it all up. Gaylen meets a lot of interesting people along the way. To find out more about the book you have to read it. I recommend this to all people that like fantasy books and have a good imagination.

My mother read me this story when I was in second grade, reading new chapters each night before I went to bed. I was in love with the story, the characters -- everything about it. There was a sense of magic and mystery that seemed to send me off to bed every night, as Gaylen's quest for delicious, the story of Ardis the mermaid, and the treacherous Hemlock took over my dreams. I often would read the book again and again, throughout grade school, until I misplaced it. Later, once I had entered college, I came across the book at home. I was able to read it in one afternoon, and was amazed at how the power of the story was still within those pages. Moreover, I was able to recognize its allegorical power. It is a must read for everyone with some sense of imagination, as well as an interest in keen political satire.

The book that I read was titled The Search For Delicious, written by Natilie Babbit. I believe that it would be most enjoyed by readers of fantasy books. It is purely a fantasy story. The story is basically about a boy named Gaylen who is sent on a quest through the kingdom to find what people think is truly delicious so that his father can complete his dictionary. Unfortunately, what start out to be a simple question turns into something that will tear the nation apart.

My first opinion of the book is that its characters were mainly understandable and believable. I found this to be strange, knowing that it's a fantasy. The mythical characters led lives similar to mortals but each different in it's own way. For my second focus, I'd like to explain how I chose this book. I picked this book out primarily for its unusual title. It drew me to it because it made no sense at the time. The last item I would like to bring to focus is the author's vivid description of the mythological character like the mermaids and winds. Phrases like "a voice so low and soft that he had to bend close to distinguish it from the lap of the water at the rock" and "...leaves of exquisite tree frothed low..." frequently appear during the piece and make it quite realistic and enjoyable.

As you have probably inferred by yourself, this piece is splendid for young and old fantasy lovers and even those who aren't. This book will give you a marvelous insight into how much there might be, beyond what we know.

Ann Rinaldi is one of my favorite authors. This book was no disappointment to me. I loved the way she twisted the plot and what happens to the characters. I myself could not put the book down once I started to read it and I think you won't be able to put it down either.

Hannah Chelmsford has been the one to watch out for her brothers and sisters since her mother's death. Hannah's father, Nathaniel Chelmsford, has barely anything to do with his children and has Hannah take care of them. Hannah and her sisters, Abigail and Thankful, are making a quilt. When they started the quilt, there were only going to be pieces for family, then they decide to add people that have meant something in their lives and there has to be trust between these people.

Hannah soon helps her sister, Abigail, plan her elopement. Abigail has to elope because her father won't let her get married. They put the plan into action one night hoping everything goes well.

Lawrence, Hannah's brother, is going on a trip west with his father and Thankful, to paint pictures of the Indians. Lawrence is made second in command because of his militia experience. Thankful gets to go along because she made a bargain with Hannah, to where Hannah would get their father to let her go along and Thankful would keep her mouth shut about Abigail's elopement. What will happen to Thankful, Lawrence, and their father in the west?

Richard Lander, the captain of the Prince, is a long time friend of Hannah's. Richard has become the talk of the town since rumors have gone around about his ship. Plus no one but the investors, Richard, and his crew know the destination of the ship and that has made many people mad. Richard asks Hannah to wait for him, but Hannah thinks that there's no trust between them. In the weeks before he is to leave Richard tries to prove to Hannah that he cares for her. Will Hannah decide to wait for Richard while he's gone?

Louis, a man Hannah was once engaged to, shows up at the door asking Hannah if she will watch his baby. Night Song, the baby, is half Indian and Kentuckians killed her mother during a raid on a Shawnee village. Will Hannah decide to keep the baby for Louis?

Hannah's father puts money into making the first cotton yarn factory in America. The factory ends up in trouble when the ladies of the surrounding community threaten to shut it down. Hannah is asked to help but will she? Will Hannah keep the family from falling apart?

I loved this book! The plot is great! I love how trust is the main idea behind this book, because I believe you have to have trust between people just like Hannah did. I enjoyed this book very much and I believe you will too!

This was a great book about Hannah, a 16 year old girl forced to care for her sea loving brother, unloving father andyounger sisters thankful and abby, . The author gets into the mind of all characters in this well written novel. The characters are all interesting. Each one has their own problems. you should read this book to find out how Hannah tries to pull her family together, and find out the truth behind why the town hated her mother.

Imagine you are a 14 year old girl who has to deal with the death of your dear mother. This situation would change your life forever.

Well that's what Hannah has to deal with in the story "A Stitch In Time" by Ann Rinaldi.

In this story Hannah is left with all the troubles that her mother has left behind after her death. There are many family problems Hannah can't deal with such as the way Hannah's father, Nathenial has betrayed his youngest son, Cabot; and the way Abigal, the oldest of the kids, ran off to marry Nate Vudeau, who she was forbidden to see. Hannah is making a quilt to try to piece back the lives they once had that were full of joy and happiness but now are full of pain and sorrow. Ann Rinaldi is a very dramatic writer. This came through in one if the scenes where Hannah gets a letter from her sister Abigal, Hannah thought Abigal was missing out at sea. The days and nights went by and Hannah had not gotten a letter from her sister. She had this awful feeling that something terrible had happened. She cried and wondered why Abigal had to go marry some wretched sea captain. Finally on a rainy, gloomy afternoon there was a quiet knock on the door. "I have a letter for you miss." Hannah's legs grew weak; she carefully took the letter. "Thank you," she replied. She quickly read the letter. It was from Abigal saying she was on an Island and doing well. Hannah's chest felt like an enormous weight had been lifted off off. If you enjoy a dash of History, and cups of drama; if you like books you can't put down...I recommend you should read "A Stitch In Time. You will love it!