I bought this book for our own bear, last Christmas.He never has insomnia, but was as delighted as his owners were to read this enchanting story, enjoying the dreamlike prose and illutrations. This book isn't just for children. It's for the child inside all of us, so that we never forget the magic and innocence of being young, and more importantly, that we never forget the importance of bears. Remember - look after you bear, whether you're 2 or 92.

The comments from the Vermont reader match my feelings about Sleep Well, Little Bear exactly. The prose IS gentle, descriptive, and wonderful. The artwork, however, is so truly beautiful. I especially appreciated Buchholz's use of light. The text and the soft, easy, lovingly detailed pictures makes it a very lulling read. I'm keeping this for my (very) future grandchildren.

This is an truly lovable book. A little bear, in typical little boy style, can't quite get to sleep so he reviews his day of being a pirate on the river that flows past his house, and helping old Mrs Rose with her garden, and other wonders of a child's (and bear's) life. The prose is sweet and gentle and clever and lovely, but what really makes this book is the artwork--surreal, truly beautiful pictures of the circus clown playing his violin to put a baby elephant to sleep, and the little bear peering out his bedroom window at the moon, and the night musicians wandering through the meadow, and the deer in the mist. Buy it for yourself, lend it to your kids.

The books character, Annie, is a lost woman who is found. Found with help from the spirit world who medium through the animals in the woods around her. I loved the concept behind the story. I feel that it would be a good book to put in school libraries as part of American Indian studies. How they think and feel, communicate and think. The author must have been a good mother. She writes in a profound educational manner.

This book was recommended to me and the reading was inspiring. The chapters display a gentle woman of determination. Her dedication is profound, and it is observed and answered.

I am touched by this communication, and re-read it, from time to time, for new insight. I will carry it in my consciousness always. Many good lessons to consider, and many thank yous to Walks Alone.

There is so much spiritual truth woven into this story that I'm sure it must be Ms. Cheatham's own story. If so; she is a most courageous woman. It should be required reading for all Native Americans and anyone that thinks they may have even one drop of Indian Blood running through their veins. I loved it and hope Walks Alone continues to write. How about a sequel or wouldn't this make a fantastic movie? Go Girl, Go!

There is a joke that one often hears when traveling within Native circles. The joke asks what is the average size of a Native Family? The answer is five, a father, a mother, a son and daughter and one anthropologist. It has been written that Native Americans are the most studied but least understood people on the Earth. Native author Michael Dorris states this thought in a more direct way. He writes that Native Americans are the most lied about people on the face of the planet. Much of this discontent with the written record about Native Peoples is due to the fact that much of this record has been recorded by Non-Native people and thus passed through a cultural filter that distorts the reality of Native experience and tradition. "Standing in the Light, a Lakota Way of Seeing," is a collaborative effort by the authors Severt Young Bear Sr. and Dr. Ronnie Theisz to record an account of the world view of the Lakota people that was written from the viewpoint and understanding of a person that has lived his life within the traditional culture of the Lakota People. Severt Young Bear Sr. was born on the Pine Ridge Reservation in 1934 and lived his life in the traditional community of Porcupine, SD. In his life he was a rancher, a ranger, a tribal councilman, a singer with and drum keeper of the acclaimed Porcupine Singers that appeared in the movies "Dances With Wolves, " and "Thunderheart," an instructor at Oglala Lakota College, and founder of International Brotherhood Days, a cross cultural forum that is held the second week of July each year at the Young Bear dance grounds just outside Porcupine, SD.. This book is a rare look from the inside of Lakota culture from one that lived within that context. The work touches on the past of the Lakota People, and focusses on the importance of traditions of the culture to the survival and identity of the Lakota Nation. As a self-styled student of Lakota culture I value this book as one of the most relavant books in my collection. Highly recommended. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

"Standing in the Light: A Lakota Way of Seeing" is a print version of conversations between R.D. Theisz, a college professor, and Severt Young Bear, a Lakota singer, historian, and cultural traditionalist. "Standing in the Light" is a cornucopia of cultural information about the Lakota people. The book begins with a discussion about Severt Young Bear's relatives and ancestors, followed by a very brief history of the Sioux people. Unfortunately, the book went to press about the time Severt Young Bear died, in 1993.

"Standing in the Light" has four parts. The first section deals with names in Indian culture. According to Severt, names are of central importance in Lakota culture. Young Bear explains how the people received their names and what names mean in Lakota (his own Lakota name is Hehaka Luzahan, or Swift Elk). Agency officials anglicized Lakota names in the 1880's for a census on the reservation and then applied these names to descendents in perpetuity. This bothers Severt because it means descendents in his family do not earn their name, an important part of the Lakota life process. "Young Bear" comes from Severt's grandfather, who received the name to reflect his accomplishments in battle; he was a fearless warrior who fought like a bear when cornered. The name "Severt" comes from his father's war experience, when Severt's father befriended a Swede and promised the man to name his son after him.

The second part of the book discusses oral traditions in Lakota culture. There are some great stories in this section, like the story about Sio Paha (translated as the Medicine Hill). This place received the name Medicine Hill because in prereservation days it was the site of a test between powerful medicine men. The medicine men would practice their magic on each other in order to discover who had the most powerful medicine. Whenever a man was felled by magic, he was out of the contest. Severt discusses one contest where a heyoka (a sacred clown, or someone whose role in the tribe was to make fun of everyone else) won by practicing medicine he learned from the bumblebee. There are more stories in this section, all of which are fascinating and informative.

The third section covers Severt's career as a musician and his days as a member of the Porcupine Singers, a Lakota drum group who toured powwows and other important Indian gatherings. There are all types of songs in the Lakota world, from honoring songs to dancing and social songs. Many of the social songs helped Indians get together back in the days when the government frowned on Indian gatherings. The Rabbit dance is a good example of a social song. Rabbit songs are quite simple lyrically, but young people used to gather in someone's house to dance to these songs. Of course, all these musical gatherings required musicians, and this is where Severt brings in the importance of the drum and its role in creating and expressing the music. He also discusses how life on the road for the successful Indian musician is just as stressful as it is for any type of musician: egos get large, cars break down, and arguments over money usually ensue.

The final section of the book is Severt's examination of what is wrong with Lakota society. Young Bear turns out to be quite conservative as he discusses the problems of the reservation world. His arguments for a return to personal responsibility, a healthy diet, respect for the elders, and responsible childrearing not only have lessons for Lakotas, but also are important for all cultures. Severt's involvement in the American Indian Movement (AIM) and its stand at Wounded Knee in the 1970's, covered in some depth in the book, further highlights his concern for cultural issues.

At the end of the book, Severt sums up his reasons for agreeing to create this book. Severt believes every powwow or gathering of Indians has four circles. The first circle is the one in which Indians are dancing and taking part in their culture. As the circles move outwards, one finds Indians who are not as aware of the cultural activities going on in the first circle. The last circle, the circle on the farthest reaches of the gathering, holds the lost Indians, those who are afraid of learning about their culture and so lose themselves in drugs, loose sex, or alcohol. Severt wants to bring all of the other circles into the first circle, into the "light," so all the Lakotas may partake in their culture.

"Standing in the Light" is a powerful statement. For those who wish to learn about Indian culture, look no further than this book. I am surprised there are not more reviews of this amazing survey of Lakota cultural ideas.

Beyond feathers and bells, "Standing in the Light" gives non-Native people a glimpse some of the real culture and values of the Lakota people. What values are held in high esteem, and how do they work in the everyday life of the people, are just a few of the answers given. Long overdue for those seeking to learn the culture beyond the feathers and bells of a Powwow.

I was delighted to discover this book while volunteering at my son's school library. After renewing Tale of a Tail from the library twice, I decided we needed to own it for our own home collection.

This story is new to those of us in the West, but it has all the elements of a classic (and is, in fact, an old Hungarian fable.) The story of Tale of a Tail has a wonderful and surprising twist that makes it an enjoyable read for parents as well as children. The artwork in the illustrations is gorgeous; I am surprised this book did not win a Caldecott award.

This book earns the highest recommendation of our family!!!

Judit Bodnar's rollicking tale of tables turned & turned again, in a funny & Aesopian tall tale, is wonderfully endowed by John Sandford's awesome artistry of life in an amazingly enchanted forest!

Fox is a quick witted creature & soon catches himself a basketful of trout. Just as he's about to dig in to his huge supper, he hears a knocking at his door. It's Bear, drawn to his friend's home by the lovely fishy smell.

Fox is not a polite neighbor & tells Bear to take a hike & when Bear persists, Fox thinks to give him a hard time by telling him how to fish for his own supper.

Bear, being a bit of a bumbler, takes Fox's lesson to heart & sits for one miserably cold winter night with his tale stuck in a lake.

In the morning, without catching one fish, Bear decides to go home. When he stands up he finds his tale frozen to the lake. With a mighty heave Bear pulls the whole lake out & staggers away, muttering at his Foxy friend.

Naturally, the lake melts & Bear gets his own feast, beyond Fox's imaginings!

A wonderful book to be read & re-read for the story & for the pictures!

My son was read this book in school and absolutely loved it! He's 7 years old and begged me for a copy of his own. He can't wait to receive it.

My little girl loved this book. She has always adored teddy bears and now collects them. This summer we plan to take her to The Vermont Teddy Bear Company. She brought this book in for show and tell along with her favorite bear, and gave a short presentation on how teddy bears are made. I would certainly recommend this book.

This book is an excellent tutorial in how teddy bears are made and how great the VT teddy bear company is! I never wanted a teddy bear until I read this book. I live in VT and I am excited about going to the Vt Teddy bear company factory and purchasing my own teddy bear!

An exciting, behind-the-scenes tour through the Vermont Teddy Bear Factory, where you can see step-by-step how teddy bears are made. Great full-color photos show you how the cloth is cut, how each bear is filled and sewn, and how their many outfits are created. Special sidebars on the company's history and other topics add additional fun background.

If you have a little one who likes bears and you would like to throw in a little learning, this is a great book. Playful and fun, with great illustrations. As you turn the pages you count down from 10 bears to just one little bear. Each page has the corresponding number of bears written in big bold print, so you can use the book as a learning tool for numbers. With few lines to a page it makes a great book for reading aloud or bedtime.

This is a great book. My 2 year old just loves it. It is easy for a parent to read (over and over and over) and you will be glad when your toddler asks for it again and again, as mine does. Get this book if yours is 1-3 years old. It is sure to be a favorite of both parent and child.

I received this book as a gift and have been reading it to my5-month old since she was about 4 weeks old. It is her very favoritebook that I read to her, and she is also fascinated by the wonderful illustrations. Even when she is cranky because it's bedtime, she'll stop fussing long enough for me to read this counting rhyme to her.

Among Faulkner's best work, The Bear is more than a simple story of the hunt for an ellusive bear. Faulkner uses the backdrop of the hunt in 19th century Mississippi to show the progress his protagonist, Ike McCaslin, makes towards the unltimate achievement of man. Faulkner was convinced of the godd that man is capable of; Ike, the typical Faulkner youth seen in other works, shows this idea in full detail.
Ike begins his hunt as a young man, growing to accept the ways of nature as taught to him by a fallen Indian chief. The connotations of a fallen race abound in the story, yet they are no more obvious than in the detailed fourth chapter. Readers are advised not to merely skim this section; it remains one of the best testaments to Faulkner's ability to create some of the most complex material of the 20th century.

Three Famous Short Novels gathers together three long and diverse works by America's greatest writer (that's my opinion, others my contest it, I will only agree to disagree). Spotted Horses is a humorous tale culled from the pages of The Hamlet, the first novel in the famous Snopes Family Trilogy. The Bear is the expanded version of the somber and mythic hunting story about the killing a legendary bear that means so much more than just that. The final story is the exciting adventure yarn Old Man and was one half of the two conjoined novellas that made up The Wild Palms (aka If I Forget Thee, Jerusalem). Although each story has more power than many writers have in their entire output, they acheive even more when woven into the wide fabric of Faulkner's far reaching, generations spanning Jefferson, Mississippi. Required reading.

If you expected Faulkner's "The Bear" to be as difficult as "Pat the Bunny" you will be deeply disappointed. High school teachers may assign it in segments to English classes, but it is at heart an adult story, with deep seams of place and poetry. In this coming of age novella, the relationship between the boy Isaac and Old Ben the bear takes place against the backdrop of threatened forest land. Faulkner's passionate writing about the value of the woods rings true for nature conservationists today. The lengthy section on Civil War ghosts and the equivocality of inheritance, often considered an intrusion within the main narrative, also rewards careful reading. As for Faulkner's infamous run-on sentences -- well, here they are on full steam ahead, and even Faulkner's machismo is forgiveable in the context of his marvellous sentences.

This amazing dramatization of the Pooh books is performed by a marvelously talented group of British entertainers who truly bring the Pooh characters gently and lovingly to life. As for this tape, I finally got this figured out. This is part of a four-tape program that represents the complete two-book Winnie-the-Pooh story collection, except the stories are out of order (probably so that they would fit equally on the tapes). Book 1, "Winnie-the-Pooh," is represented by "Pooh Goes Visiting" (stories in order: 1, 2, 3, 4, 9, 10) and "Piglet Meets a Heffalump" (stories: 5, 6, 7, 8). Book 2, "The House at Pooh Corner," is dramatized by "Tigger Comes to the Forest" (stories in order: 1 2, 4, 3, 9, 10) and "Pooh Invents a New Game" (stories 5, 6, 7, 8). When stories that depend on previous information are out of order, it gets confusing. My suggestion: Get the "Winnnie-the-Pooh" / "The House at Pooh Corner" gift pack, which is also four tapes (the same recordings), but in the proper order.

After my introduction to this ensemble cast with "Pooh Goes Visiting," I looked forward to the rest of the series. But this one is a bit of a let-down. Be warned that the stories are, or seem to be, out of sequence. Contrary to the title, only two, I think, are about or even contain Tigger. And the voice of Tigger is REALLY annoying. Really. But the rest of the cast continues to bring a gentle wonderfulness to the Pooh stories -- so much so that it's well worth the annoyance of Tigger. Get this one, but don't miss the other, better ones.

[This is a review of the Hodder/Headline audiocassette version] I learned to read by listening (again and again and again and again) to a pair of well-loved and well-worn LPs of the Pooh stories read by Maurice Evans. I always considered them the finest Pooh audiobooks ever recorded. Up until now! Now there's this wonderful series of fully-dramatized adventures of Pooh featuring a brilliant cast of wonderful British actors: Stephen Fry ("Jeeves and Wooster") as Pooh, Geoffrey Palmer ("The Madness of King George") as Eeyore, Judy Dench ("Shakespeare in Love") as Kanga...and best of all, the *incomparable* Jane Horrocks ("Little Voice" and Bubbles from "AbFab") as a squeaky, alarmed, and altogether adorable Piglet. You don't have to be a kid to appreciate these fine recordings (and there are plenty of adult Pooh fans out there who will *love* these versions). Accept no substitutes: this is simply the finest Pooh audio series yet created, beating by a *far* distance the Alan Bennett and (ugh!) Charles Kuralt versions. There's more than just this one tape in the series, too. The series includes "Tigger Comes to the Forest" (ISBN: 1840322195); "Piglet Meets a Heffalump" (ISBN: 1840320524) and "Pooh Invents a New Game" (ISBN: 1840322268). Type the 10-digit ISBN number into the Amazon search field to go directly to the webpages for these cassettes.

The illustrations and text of this book are wonderful. We read this at bedtime very regularly. It is a story about a tiny creature who is cared for by a bigger bear and his family until he finds himself back safely snuggled in his own bed. -- My three year old son finds the play on size just enchanting. He really attends to the story, picks up on the subtleties of the illustrations, and always gives a heartfelt chuckle at the end of the book.-- I guess he knows firsthand just what it is like to be littler than most things, but bigger than some! Great intro to a discussion about the different sizes that all things can come in.

This wonderfully, warm and touching book chronicles Giant Baby Bear's discovery of a Very Small while walking in the forest. Giant Baby Bear offers to share his Mommy and Daddy with the lost Very Small. He even builds a playground for the Very Small using things from his room. The Very Small eats with Giant Baby Bear and bathes in the soap dish. Finally, Giant Baby Bear and the Very Small settle down to sleep. Although, the Very Small is sad and misses his family, it appears he has found a family to share with Giant Baby Bear. Suddenly, Giant Baby Bear sneezes sending the Very Small tumbling and flying safely back to his parents. The Very Small's parents tuck him into bed with his own baby bear who is very, very small. This is a charmingly tender book of sharing and friendship. The illustrations are watercolors with deep vibrant colors. The bears have sweet, loving faces and the Very Small is adorably elfish. The layout of the text when the Very Small is sneezed back to his parents is in a downward arch and adds to the feeling of flying through the story. This fine bedtime book reinforces the value of family and encourages bedtime hugs and cuddles.

Delightful! It was a wonderful story about sharing everything that Baby Big Bear had with the Very Small that he just found. Very Small was lost and Baby Big Bear tried to make him feel better by sharing with him. A great way to illustrate compassion to your child. The illustration was beautifully done with appealing colors and an adorable Very Small. My three-year-old and I enjoy it over and over.

Deb Manitowoc, WI

I just discoverd this wonderful book at a local bed and breakfast near the Sleeping Bear Dunes. The photos are remarkable and I had to get my own copy after climbing the same dunes.

This is an absolutely gorgeous book. Thomas has truly put the best of Sleeping Bear on paper! The bad news is that now it will be more crowded up there because so many will see what they've been missing.

A stunning and beautiful book showcasing the legendary Sleeping Bear Dunes. The photos come to life on the page, included are views no longer visible because of natural growth. The text has captured the soul of the area and does nature proud to be so well represented. A perfect addition to your library, or as a gift.