I work in a library and see books of all kinds nearly everyday. Somehow I came across this wonderful little book and fell in love with it. The pictures are adorable and the story line is touching. It made me nostalgic for my younger days, and for my favorite stuffed animal. Whether you're a child or an adult, you will fall in love with Used-Up Bear.

I don't have kids, and normally my literary tastes run more toward Delillo, Pynchon, Ondaatje and Helprin, but I picked up this book for my new-to-the-world cousin and I have to say, I just loved it. The pictures are so incredibly cute and touching, the story is moving and sometimes sad but with a very happy ending -- let me tell you used-up bear, we've all been there! If you have a kid, or know a kid, or once were a kid yourself, you have to have a look at this adorable book.

When Clay Sings, tells the story of Indian pottery lying in the sands of the desert of the American Southwest. This pottery cries out with stories from the lives, customs, and thoughts of the people. The legacy of their lives are wrapped up in the art. The beautiful Indian artwork on each page matches the lyrical, imagery effect of the text. A great book for introducing children to Indian heritage or pottery in general.

This is a book I would give to my grownup friends who are potters, or graphic artisits, or parents of budding artists.... I was drawn in by the title and the cover art, and enchanted by what I found...truly a treasure! It is about the centuries-old tradition of pottery and the stillness necessary to hear the small voice in the clay as it sings to the potter. A wonderful book to give as a gift during these holidays so filled with noise and technology and BUY ME! Enjoy.

Inspirational. Covers a wide range of subjects in detail not found easily else where. For example, as well as discussing techniques, tools and materials used in each area, details are also given for suppliers of many of the materials mentioned. Most chapters have colour photo step-by-step demonstations of the basic techniques under discussion and each chapter is also accompanied by fabulous photos of various illustrators work in the subject area. There is also an extremely helpful chapter on photographing your "illustration/artwork".

I particularly enjoyed the chapters on paper and fabric, and in regard to the fabric info, would recommend this book to cloth doll makers. There are many useful hints, wonderful photos AND a demo of Lisa Lichtenfels "creation" process of her Bette Midler piece. Ellen Rixford also discusses and demo's her techniques, which are equally exciting.

Although my interests lie with fabrics, I thoroughly enjoyed this book as a whole, and would now have a go at a number of the other techniques detailed. With the fantastic colour photos through out the book, I still re-read this book regularly, if not for inspiration, just for pure enjoyment!!

A great buy! One of those book you will always keep!

This book is an excellent reference for a beginner or experienced art facilitator. (The introduction explains how to be an art "facilitator" rather than teacher, by providing the materials and opportunity for children to discover art hands-on, though practice and experience.) It is wonderful guide to the basic methods of collage, drawing, painting, clay and construction techniques, as well as more specialized projects, such as paper mache puppets, making "molas" or weaving. The author learned to perfect these projects through many years of experience with her Summertime Arts and Crafts Workshop. Many black and white illustrations and some line drawings help illuminate the techniques and reveal the end products of childrens' art. I like the page spread of photos showing childrens' many variations on the paper mache puppet. This is one of my favorite art reference books.

From Planeta Journal - This wonderful book provides a much-needed overview of travel that enriches the soul. The diversity of "alternative" travel is as broad as the interests that propel travelers to leave the comforts of home. Chapters cover independent travel, special interest vacations, senior travel, family travel, disability travel, adult study, student overseas programs and living abroad. This volume synthesizes the most practical information for making the most of traveling abroad. This is an excellent resource.

A must have source of inspiration for all those interested in small scale to miniature contemporary illustrative sculptural work. Would appeal to model builders, contemporary doll artists & sculptors alike.

James Kirkwood, novelist, exposes the nuttiness of Garrison's chuckleheaded jihad against Clay Shaw. Mr. Shaw, respected, liberal, a gentleman, found himself indicted for conspiracy to kill a president for whom he voted. The nightmare he endured, which left him in near penury, is recounted here. How can such a man endure a trial with witnesses against him who include psychotics, drug addicts, and those who think they have been hypnotised several hundred times by besmirchers of their sex lives? And how can such a man keep his own sanity after such an ordeal? Find out in this excellent book, brilliantly written with humor and pathos. The account given in "On the Trail of the Assassins" by Garrison himself leaves out a few details; this account, written by one who attended the trial daily (unlike Garrison), is detailed and amusing and....well, sane. Buy this for the truth.

Today we know them as Old Hickory and the Great Compromiser. However, they called each other King Andrew the first and the Corrupt Bargainer. Jackson and Clay were the opposite poles of the axis of Antebellum politics. Each man carried an ideological dislike and often personal hatred of the other man. However, each shaped the political landscape in the US perhaps more than any men after 1800. The 1820-30s were the utmost of critical in the development of the US- the crossroads where the US could prove a failed democratic experiment or emerging industrial country. In these crucial times nothing happened in Washington, DC without either Clay's or Jackson's approval. Their personal feud infulenced everything from construction of national highways, and the national banking system to slavery and tarriffs.

Watson keeps an even hand in explaining the complex relationship of these two important men. His writing is percise and insightful. The first part is Watson's explantion and analysis. Part 2 consist of over 100 pages of historical letters and writings. This allows the reader to understand Jackson and Clay thru their own words. The 200+ pages read very fast and contain all the information your likely to ever need to know about the connection between Clay and Jackson. The book was designed "to be a reasonable one-week assignment for a college course." It proves very reasonable indeed.

I wrote this novel. It published in 1983 after winning an Idaho Fiction Competition. It's about an epileptic artist whose self-induced auras become more than he bargained for. I think only 600 copies were printed, maybe a few hundred more. Since then, I've published another novel, "Santiago and the Drinking Party" (Viking Penguin, Pacific Northwest Booksellers Award), a couple of photo-geography books, and a history of NASA's program with the Russians, "Shuttle-Mir." Dutton will pubish my young readers novel, "The Boy Who Spoke Dog," in November 2003.

I AM A THIRD YEAR M.E.T. ( MANUFACTURING ENGINERRING TECHNOLOGY) STUDENT AT NIU(NORTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY). LAST SEMSTER I WAS ENROLLED IN A CLASS KNOWN AS TECHNOLOGY-294 IT WAS A CLASS ABOUT HOW TECHNOLOGY HAS CHANGED AND INFULENCED OUR SOCIETY. AT THE END OF THE SEMESTER INSTEAD OF A FINAL EXAM WE WERE REQUIRED TO WRITE PAPERS AND GIVE PRESENTATIONS. I CHOSE TO DO MINE ON THE HISTORY OF THE AUTOMOBILE. I LOOKED AT MANY BOOKS, AT AMAZON AND MY CAMPUS LIBRARY, THAT WOULD GIVE ME THE TYPE OF INFORMATION I WAS LOOKING FOR."THE AUTOMOBILE" BY CLAY McSHANE WAS A GOD-SEND! IT HAD EVERY SINGLE STATISTIC, HISTORICAL HAPPENING, AND PIECE OF INFORMATION EVEN REMOETLY RELATED TO THE HISTORY OF THE AUTOMOBILE. EVER WONDER WHAT AUTO MAKER MISSED THE CHANCE TO HIRE ENZO FERRARI? OR MAYBE YOU WOULD LIKE TO KNOW WHAT AUTO MAKER IS BELEIVED TO HAVE STARTED THE HORSEPOWER REVOLUTION WITH THE INTRODUCTION OF THE FIRST PUSHROD ENGINE. THIS BOOK HAS IT ALL! I ORIGINALLY THOUGHT THE BOOK WAS A BIT EXPENSIVE BUT ONCE I READ ALL OF THE FACTS AND FIGURES, IT'S PRICE WAS CLEARLY JUSTIFIED. OVERALL THIS IS AN EXCELLENT BOOK!