Learning to read means learning new words and when you learn new words you need to learn what those new words mean and once you learn what words mean they should continue to mean what they mean because otherwise how would we talk to each other? Or, to quote Humpty Dumpty, "I mean what I say is not the same thing as I say what I mean." That is why "Amelia Bedelia" is such a great little story. Author Peggy Parish knows that words do not always mean what you think they should mean. So when Amelia Bedelia shows up for the first day of work and Mrs. Rogers gives her a list of things to do, Amelia Bedelia reads the list (after making a delicious lemon-meringue pie first) and does exactly what the list tells her to do. If the list says "Put the lights out when you finish in the living room," then Amedlia Bedelia carefully unscrew each light bulb and hangs them on the clothes line to air them out. Children and former children alike will laugh as Amedlia Bedlia literally goes through the list of instructions left by Mrs. Rogers. The illustrations by Fritz Siebel are almost as good as the pictures in our mind of Amelia Bedelia changing the towels in the green bathroom or dusting the furniture, plus Siebel gives the rosy-cheecked maid the same great smile on every single picture. Once you finish there book there are more literary adventures of the literal Amelia Bedelia and if you like these books then you should also check out "The King Who Rained" by Fred Gwynne and advance to the joy of homophones.

Amelia Bedelia is a whimsical character who translates everything quite literally. Ameilia works at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Rogers. Mrs. Rogers makes a list of chores and tells Amelia to just do what the list says. When Ameilia reads, "Dust the furniture," she thinks, what a silly thing to do, and then proceeds to stand on the divan and shake the powder puff all over the room. Next, Amelia sits down with pen and paper and "draws the curtains" since Mrs. Rogers gave instructions to follow the list. Throughout the day Amelia is surprised by the list of instructions left by her employer but is dutiful inspite of her misgivings. When the Rogers return they are flabbergasted by the completion of the chore list. Mrs. Rogers is very angry until Mr. Rogers discovers the wonderful gift that Amelia has. They learn to give her the appropriate directions because Amelia can do one thing perfectly. Kids love the mistakes that Amelia makes. And they love seeing that even a character like Amelia has a wonderful talent. Enjoy!

Amelia Bedelia is a well-meaning maid, who takes everything literally. On her first day of work at the Rogers household, she is given a list of chores and an admonition from Mrs. Rogers to "...do just what the list says". That's when all the fun starts.

The first item on the list says: "Change the towels in the bathroom". Most of us wouldn't think twice about such a request. We would simply pull out fresh towels and replace the dirty ones. But not Amelia! She can't figure out why Mrs. Rogers would want to change such beautiful towels. Nevertheless, she pulls out her scissors and starts "changing" them! Mrs Rogers also instructs Amelia to trim the fat off the steak and dress the chicken. Within minutes the steak fat is beautifully decorated with ribbon and lace, and when it is time to "dress" the bird, Amelia cannot decide if Mrs. Rogers prefers a "he" chicken or a 'she" chicken!! In the end we learn that there is one thing Amelia can do with flair (and no instructions), and this makes her even more endearing to us all.

Amelia Bedelia is a book about interpretation and literal meanings. This is a fun resource for teaching communication skills.

Very cute.

Mattimeo is the longest and best book in Brian Jacques series. Matthias the Warrior's son has been kidnapped by a slave band and marched into the far south, with Mattias, and a host of new and old friends, hot on the trail. Meanwhile, Redwall is under attack from a small army of black birds. While Matthias must deal with the largest vermin horde to date, the fierce and funny woodland creatures of Redwall must defend their Abbey from arial invaders. Using high adventure, and great recipes for excellent feasts, Jacques creates a wonderful journey, culminating in the greatest good vs. evil battle I've ever read. Despite the heavy odds against them, the fearless Redwallers always manage to win out in the end. A great book, that I've had the privilege to read more than thirty times (No joke.)

I read Mattimeo by Brian Jacques. This anthropomorphic story was about a fox, who is a kidnapper, and he kidnapped some little animals, including the warrior of Redwall's son. He made them into slaves, and took them to a place called Malkariss, and set them to work on a statue. Meanwhile, some rescuers from Redwall come to rescue them and are successful. At Redwall, some birds attack the Redwallers, but they are beaten back. Then the rescuers return. One is the hero of the story, the warrior of Redwall, Matthias. Everyone at Redwall has a big feast and everyone exchanges tales.
I recommend this book for anyone who likes fast-paced, exciting, and suspensful books, like in the part where Matthias and his friends are fighting all of the rats.
I thought Matthias was cool because he used a sword, unlike his five friends, and with them, defeated seven hundred rats.

For those who have read Redwall, this book will be all the better for you.Being reunited with your old friends gives you unsurrpressed joy, and seeing them with their children fills you with a sence of great pride. ( Though seeing the animals who were quite young in the previous book having children was quite awkward at first )This story is exellent and I rate it accordingly.
Few things can happen to Redwall that is worst than this. First, The young ones are stolen from the Abbey, And when Matthias, Jess and Basil, along with some new found friends, whose young ones have also been stolen, are gone, some other uninvited guests visit the Abbey. General Ironbeak and his birds from the Northlands invade Redwall, at the time when most of the fighting beasts are gone searching. I would tell you more but this book but it is very complicated and wonderful. Another story for the Faithful Redwallers who adore these books and Brian Jacques.

This novel is one of a series, and makes the presumption that you have read the earlier novels in the series, with references to previous action. It is written in a narative style. The main character is not fully identified by name until page 74 (part of the assumption that you have read the previous novels). Tony Whats-his-name from book one in the series reappears, along with other characters from previous books. There are numerous digressions, and a tendency to use foreign language terms.

The plot is a whodunit as various characters search for the lost Trojan gold that disappeared from Germany during the final days of World War II. In the chaos at the end of the war, many valuable items disappeared, apparently looted. Now a story has emerged that the Trojan gold (artifacts that had been in a German museum) was carried to safety and hidden. Many people have an interest, either for museums or for their own profit.

With two people murdered, and an assortment of people just happening to be on the scene, there are questions about some people's motives (other than the fact that several men are trying to seduce Vicky). Vicky finds her life in danger, as various people follow clues in attempts to track down the gold. There are indications that it had been hidden in a schrank (a type of wooden cabinet). The good guys prevail over the bad guys, but the story leaves things unfinished and the schrank disassembled.

This book was such a satisfaction to read and reread. I've grown so attached to Peabody and Vicky Bliss, not to mention their fellow characters, that waiting for Barbera Mertz to write more books about them is torture. I hope Ms. Mertz lives to an active old age for the selfish reason that I want her to keep pumping these books out as long as possible.

In Trojan Gold she really delivers the good stuff. John and Shmidt's personalities get a good filling out, reading it is like eating Godiva chocolates, only better. Words can't say enough. In her previous Bliss mystery, Sihloette in Scarlet, the plot seemed weak, but the follow up made up for it. Apologies for misspellings.

I must admit that, as much as I loved Street of 5 Moons and Night Train to Memphis, this is the best of the series. The humour is wonderful: I had to put the book down several times due to hysterical laughter. However, this is not the only reason to read this exceptional Book! The mystery is compelling, the setting is beautiful, and the characters gain much more dimension. After being dissapointed by Silouhette in Scarlet, this book more than reaffirmed my faith in Elizabeth Peters. And for those of you who are also in love with John, he's back in top form here with very few traces of the obnoxious twit he was in Silouhette. He's absolutely charming and romantic. How lucky Vicky is!

Anne of Green Gables is about a skinny red haired girl who has both a short temper and a very colorful imagination. She really loves the little farmhouse but the Cuthberts might send her back to the orphanage because Matthew needed a boy about 11 or 12 to help him on the farm.

Sometimes her imagination gets her in trouble. For instance when Marilla asks her to get a pattern from Mrs. Barry she doesn't want to because she imagined the woods between the houses were haunted! The book tells about her life growing up in the 1930's. As she grows, she learns many lessons and meets many friends who help her to become Anne of Green Gables.

This book is wonderful. It is a great book for girls to read. I loved it because the character was funny, spunky, and could talk forever. She reminded me of my sister. Anne never gave up trying to reach her goals. She will keep you interested throughout the whole book!

This is one of the best books ever written and the credit goes to spirited Anne (make sure it's spelled with an "e"!) Shirley. It's not often you find such a charming heroine as Anne. ANNE OF GREEN GABLES is the first of a series on this lovable orphan, and it begins with Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert, a respectable brother and sister, living at Green Gables. They are both growing old and need a boy to help out on the farm. But they got a talkative redhead girl instead. Before they can send her back to the orphanage, Anne has managed to win the hearts of Prince Edward Island with her wit and imagination. She seems to affect everyone around her - from busybody Mrs. Rachel Lynde to handsome Gilbert Blythe. And now, Green Gables will never be the same! . . .

It's not often you find such a spirited and lovable heroine as Anne. Captivating and captivatED, Anne is full of enthusiasm and fun, which gets her into all sorts of scrapes. This book is one that you are guaranteed to laugh over, cry over, and never want to put down! It is an ideal novel that you won't want to pass up! (Even if you don't read the rest of the Anne books, read this!)

A few weeks ago, I got really sick of today's children's literature. I had read enough mysteries and trashy books about romance to last me a lifetime. So I wanted something else to read, something well-written with a good plot and lifelike characters. I had to look no further than the first book I picked up- Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery.

Anne of Green Gables is the first book in the Anne of Green Gables series. It takes place, as most of L. M. Montgomery's books do, on Prince Edward Island in Canada. This particular story takes place in the town of Avonlea. It follows young Anne Shirley, an orphan brought to Green Gables to help Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert on their farm. Much to Anne's dismay, Marilla tells her that they wanted a boy to help around the farm, not a girl. However, Marilla changes her mind and decides to keep the dynamic young girl who would become Anne of Green Gables.

This novel is incredibly written, with well-developed characters and an intricate plot. I absolutely loved it. I would recommend it to anyone who is looking for a great example of children's literature at its height.

The Bellmaker is another wonderful Redwall book. Everything I like in books is in it- action adventure, fighting, and much more.

This book gets you hooked right from the start. Chapter 3 (the chapters are farely short), really gets you wanting to read more, as the prisoners escape from their captured castle, owned by the vicious Foxwolf, the Urgan Nagru. Mariel and Dandin, Redwall warriors adventuring in the south get captured by Foxwolf.

In Redwall Abbey, Joseph the Bellmaker, Mariel's father, has a dream and comes down with four others to save his son. After an amazing escape, the fugitives gather up their puny forces to defeat the mighty hordes of rats and Foxwolf himself.Wan't to know the result's? It'll surprise you, for sure.

Jauques writes a wonderful book, with lovable characters, lots of surprises, exciting actions, plenty of humor, amazing feats, unpredictable outcomes, and lots of adventure, fighting, and everything you could want in a book. I would HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS BOOK FOR ANYONE.

Amazing! This book was even better than Redwall and the Outcast of Redwall! It has everything you could expect from a Redwall novel: Evil, Action, Adventure, Humor, and Mouthwatering Food. The plot is as follows: Mariel and Dandin, along with a new friend called Major Meldrums, are in serious trouble. They were caught while resisting the evil Foxwolf, Urgan Nagru, his mate Silvamord, and their hordes. So, when Martin the Warrior visits Joseph, Mariel's father, in a dream, and tells him to help Mariel along with four other Redwallers, Joseph sets out immediately. The Redwall Rescue Team makes a new friend in Finnbar, a sea otter, who steals his old ship back from searats. They journey to Southsward, the beautiful land that Foxwolf has taken over. There they encounter toads, warrior hedgehogs, and (gasp) Foxwolf. Can they save Mariel, Dandin, and Meldrums in time? Read the book to find out. I recommend this book to Redwall readers, fantasy readers, and just plain readers.

The Bellmaker is a very exciting book to read. It starts off with the Foxwolf's clan of 300 armed vermin, sailing southward to to capture the Castle of Gael the Squirrel King. After that, it goes into the Bellmaker's dream that his daughter, Mariel was in great danger. So he sets out like Martin the Warrior tells him to, but also, Martin said that "four will ride the Roaringburn, but only for e'er out of five will return." So does that mean that one of the five will die in battle with the Foxwolf? Read it and find out!
I liked the battle which was when everybody swarmed toward the castle that Foxwolf took over, and everybody from the castle swarmed and they fought. Only Joseph the Bellmaker, Meldrum, Dandin, and others, went in the castle to save Rab, Mariel, and Muta.They ended up fighting Foxwolf's highest executive, Silvamord, and her horde. Arrows flew with javelins, lances, and spears at the battle field. It was a wild dance of death, which made it very cool and exciting, and nobody in the southward army cared if the lived, so everybody had bloodwrath in them which made them diffcult to defeat them. That was what I liked about the book.
What I didn't like was when Gael kept in the Foxwolf for hospitilaty. Instead, Foxwolf took over and put his family in the dungeon. That's just sad, when I read that, it was very painful. Later, I got mad at the squirrel king, he was a very foolish mule. I wouldn't have done that, if were him I would let the Foxwolf stay outside and starve. That was what I didn't like about the book.

Like the other Star Wars: Essential Guide books this book allows you to see what ships that featured in the many books looked like. A lot of the familier ships are here TIEs, X-Wings, Mon Cal Cruisers and Star Destroyers along with many unfamilier vessels Dreadnoughts, Victory Star Destroyers and Cloakshape fighters including several vessels from the books that covered the period some 10,000 or so years before the films. Giving manufacturer names, specifacations and some facts about each craft this book is useful if you ever wanted to know a little more about the Star Wars ships and vehicles.

However this book does have some flaws. It gives the size of the Executor SSD at 8,000 meters, it has since been agreed that the Executor is closer to 18.5 KMs in length LARGER that the Eclipse by a full kilometer Lucas himself has apparently confirmed this. Also the Victory and Imperial Star Destroyers have the pictures mixed up.

Apart from these flaws it is an interesting book.

My first dabbling in the "Essential Guide" series was the Guide to Droids. After that I was thirsty for more and so I decided to buy the Guide to Verhicles and Vessels. I certainly didn't reget it. I really liked this Guide, although I thought the Guide to Droids was still even a little better. The book contains a nice selection of craft from both the films and the novels that ranges from several of the various Imperial Doomsday devices to ore haulers and freighters. and gives some interesting insights on these verhicles. My only point of critism to this book is that Darth Vader's Super Star Destroyer was described as being much smaller than it seemed to be in the movies. This is just nitpicking though, an actually the only vague hint at critism I have towards this book. The Essential Guide to Vehicles and Vessels certainly is one of the best of the Star Wars guides and certainly worth the money if you like this series. Weel done Mr. smith!

An excellent book! Very informative! It has every ship the Rebellion, the Empire, and the New Republic used! I bet not many people knew that shortly before the Battle of Endor the Empire developed the TIE Defender! Or that the AT-PT (All Terrain Personal Transport) was developed by the Old Republic! Know you know! The only disappointment was that it didn't have any color pictures.

A review by Shannon
Mrs. Frisby, a widowed mouse with four children. Unfortunally, one is ill with a serious case of pneumonia. The family lives beneath a garden that is soon to be harvested and must be moved immediately or will face death. Timothy, the child with pneumonia and must not be moved. As time goes on she hears about the rats of Nimh. These weren't any ordinary rats but ones with an extraordinary breed of high indigents. Soon she finds herself flying on the back of a crow and placing sleeping powder into a cat's dinner dish.

This was and exceptional book for all ages. This book is full of adventure and amusing humor. If you enjoy animal characters, this is a great book for you. I am now in High School and I think that this book is very exciting and will kept you motivated to read more. I really enjoyed the part where Mrs. Frisby slips a sleeping powder into the cats' dinner plate because you never know what is going to happen until it does. The part that really caught me off guard was when the author brought to conclusion what every thing looked like. He was very descriptive, for example" he was stocky, square and muscular, with bright, hard eyes. He looked efficient." This story is told in a third person perspective. I like it.
I would strongly recommend this to any reader that enjoys adventure and relationships that grow between the characters. This book has many positive out comes on life.

Mrs. Frisby, a widowed field mouse, is forced to take on a big adventure when her youngest son Timothy gets ill. Timothy's illness comes just before spring, and with spring comes moving day. Mrs. Frisby is forced to seek help, leading her to the all but ordinary Rats of NIMH. This fictional adventure is perfect for capturing the attention of any reader nine years of age or older. Although the story is written from the view of fictional farm animals the reader is pulled into the suspenseful plot and is easily drawn into the emotions of each character. Not only is the book enjoyable to read, it is good for the classroom teacher. It conveys lessons on qualities like friendship, bravery, and teamwork. These qualities let the book easily be integrated into the classroom. I recommend "Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH" to anyone who would enjoy a fun and rewarding text.

Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH is one of the best books that I have ever read. It has now sold over 1 million copies as well as being extremley well regared by the critics. Why is this book so good? Well for starters, it has a perfect no holes plot with intelligent writing and believable characters. The book is also very imaginitive and suspensful. When I first read it in grade 3 I thought it was a great story and that was it. However now that I am older (17) I can tell it has much more depth. The author had a view that we should respect the environment and be hardworking, so he gave the Rats that quality. He also believed in interdependance; helping one another. For example, Mrs. Frisby helps the crow and then he helps her in return. Without the aid of several characters in this novel, Mrs. Frisby would never have been able to solve her dilema. And of course I love that line from Jenner, "people are our cows." I highly reccomend this Newbery Medal award winning book

Those readers who love intricate fantasy worlds and complicatedplots, with rollicking good action, will enjoy this and any of theseveral "Redwall" books by Brian Jacques. To describe the main storyline sounds almost silly. Mice and other woodland creatures living in an abbey must protect themselves from the evil creatures, usually weasels and ferrets, who would take over their riches. The characters are richly drawn, and the action is at times intense. Sometimes a character dies, sometimes a character allows the bent for revenge to transform them into less than good--just like in real life.

Brian Jacques creates intricate plots and subplots, but always keeps the main action moving forward. He delights readers with his dialects and language variants of some of the creatures, most noteably the moles and sparrows. The peculiar speech of these characters is a challenge to anyone who reads this aloud, but my kids, who are now 10 and 14, can't get enough of these books for family reading time. If you haven't discovered the world of Redwall, it's time you did!

Hi I'm 14 years old actually but I couldn't use the adult form. I wanted to tell everyone under 13 to read this book. It has action, adventure, horror(well maybe not horror)comedy and love. It's a beautiful story and I urge you to read it. I personaly love Matthias. He kind of has the same attitude like me. Always standing up for waht you believe in. Matthias, Cornflower, Constance and Basil Stag Hare are my favorite characters. They're funny, entertaining and its easy just to fall right into their world with them as the "stars" of the book. Mr. Brian Jacques is a magnificent author. I think that his book, Redwall, beat Harry Potter 1,2,3,4,5,6 and 7, and 5,6, and 7 aren't even out yet. When I read this book for the first time at the end it brought a tear to my eye when. . . Well if you want to know why it brought a tear to my eye, Read This Book! Then try reading all 14!!

This book is the first volume in a long series of books which I consider to be the best series I've ever read. It centers around the adventures of a clumsy, unsure young mouse called Matthias. He is forced to grow up abruptly with the arrival of Cluny the Scourge, a rat warlord who commands vast armies of murderous rats, ferrets, stoats, and weasels. Cluny's aim is to conquer the immense Redwall Abbey, which is Matthias's home. However, the Abbey's inhabitants are peaceful creatures, most of whom have never handled a weapon in their lives. The Abbey dwellers manage to keep Cluny at bay, but their skills are too poor to ward him off for too long. Meanwhile, Matthias has gone in search of a legendary sword that once belonged to the famous mouse warrior, Martin. He hopes to use the weapon to defeat Cluny's infamous army and save Redwall. Helped by different friends along the way, he finally discovers the sword's location, but is unprepared for the grave danger he stumbles across while searching for the sword... This book introduces the reader to Redwall, one of the best children's book series ever written. I recommend the book (and the rest of the series) strongly if one is looking for a creative plot with many twists.

Rifles for Watie, by Harold Keith, is a book about a 16-year-old boy named Jeff Bussey and can't wait to leave his farm in Kansas to defend his Unionagainst the Indian leader of the Rebels(Stand Watie. As a soldier, Jeff has to walk hundreds of miles while watching his friends die in battle. He gets sent over to be aspy and if he gets coaght, they'll kill him. But it gets worse. He finds out that the rebels are fairly nice people and on top of that he falls in love with a rebel girl. To find out what hhe does, read Rifles for Watie.
I thought this was a good book because it has a lot of suspence in it and it isn't boring
I think people who love action and war should read this book because that is what it is, action and war.

I read the book Rifles for Watie by Harold Keith. It is about a boy named Jefferson Bussey who is sixteen when the civil war broke out and he wanted to be in it. He was from Kansas living on a farm with his family. Eventuall one day he sneaks out fome his house and goes to the barrocks for war. When he is in war he figures out that war is not all good and glory. You have to march for miles, get fed almost nothing and sleep in horrible conditions. He sees his friends die right in front of him to. Then they send him out to infiltrate the enemys camp as a spy. when he gets there he finds out that they are the same as him but they are just fighting for a diffrent casue. But once he finds out what he had to he cant decide if he should go with the rebels or stay with the Union. The desrana of this book is non-fiction. I liked this book alot because of all the action in it. I recomend this book to any people that like action and war books.

This book is truly one of Harold Keith's best books. He has made Jeff Bussey seem alive when he takes you through his adventures in the Civil War. Jeff constantly came into perils in the book that made me want to keep reading and not stop. He made the battle scenes and the towns seem so real in my mind. This book is a one of a kind. Jeff has been on both sides of the war, seen both side's point of view. He had to make up his mind on which side he stayed on. I was really thinking that he was going to stay with the rebels just because Lucy Washbourne was on that side, but I was wrong. He made friends on both sides of the army and they took him in as their own. His name had a lot to do with it. Jeff's father fought in a war with the south. His name was well known there. I think that if he didn't have that name he wouldn't have been able to get into the rebel front lines. I loved this book and I urge everybody else to read it. It is truly a great book. I will have to get my own copy very soon.

This is a wonderfully funny, interesting book. All the neat droids covered in this book are cool. I'm surprised only 5 other people left reviews for this book. The only downside is that the illustrations are absolutely DEVOID of color besides white. Now you may be criticizing me, mumbling under your breath "Oh go crawl back in the sand box," but it IS true that the mere prescence of color can make something marginally interesting massively interesting. The Star Wars: Visual Dictionary and Incredible Cross-Sections series are popular for that very reason, although the Essentials series has tons more information in sheer volume. The black-and-white illustrations were well-done, but mucho DRAB. The original concept art was cool, but the schematics and silhouette models are positively goofy-looking. Still, they get the job done of making it apparent how the droids are supposed to be designed.

I love this book because it shows you the size of the droids and stuff like that.

This book is a must-have for any Star Wars fan, and explains 100 of the coolest droids. One bad part is, it has no terminology section, like the Weapons and Tech Guide had, for those people who dont know what a Photoreceptor, Vocabulator, or Servomotor is.