Wow! What a joy to know they are still selling these tapes! My sister and I grew up in a household where we played the Cinnamon Bear every year. My sister had a baby last year, and my father really wanted to start playing the tapes for the new grandbaby this year. Unfortunately, the tapes must have gotten lost in the last house move. I know my father will be thrilled to get the tapes this year as an early Christmas gift! Let the Christmas tradition continue!

This is our family favorite we even listen to it in the summer! I am 33 yrs old and my father MADE me listen to this on KEX radio when I was little. I just could not stand to hear it then it made me miserable. My things have changed. I bought this gift set for my dad for his birthday because he always said he missed it during the holidays because it has been discontinued. I have a 5 year old daughter who we introducted this to last Christmas. Her being more intellectual than myself just loves it! My husband cannot stand the music. The sound effects crack me up but my daughter just thinks it is the living end. We are planning on getting a reproduction old time radio with a tape player and I cannot wait to hear this on the old time radio. If you dont like this radio show at first it will grow on you. Start it out after Thanksgiving and listen to one everynight. It will get you in the spirit. I wish they had a Cinnamon stuffed bear I could buy my daughter. I like it because you have to use your imagination and things are not just presented to you like on the TV. I highly recommend it especially for people over 55 and little kids!

I first heard the adventures of The Cinnamon Bear and twins, Judy and Jimmy on the radio back in the l940's and remember the excitment I felt in anticipation of each days episode where they were in search of the silver star. The magical happenings, and many unforgetable Maybeland characters make this a cherished childrens story.

Shortly after Thanksgiving I share the story with my grandchildren, playing one episode each day (over the phone) and in addition to the silver stars they have each found in their Christmas stockings, I am sure they have a happy memory of a special story.

This McManus book is one of his classic mixtures of stories about growing up poor in Blight, Idaho (really he grew up in the Idaho panhandle around Sandpoint, I believe) plus hunting and fishing stories. As always with McManus books, the book will leave you "splitting a gut" from all the laughter.
Highly recommended.

If you've read anything by Pat and laughed and would like a book or another book, trust me when I say that you'll like this. It's just more of the same kind of thing, Rancid and Crazy Eddie and Pat running around scaring his friend's Grandma. You can't read it or rememeber it without laughing or smiling, unless you're dead in which case you have no business having the nerve of reading or remembering anything. Trust me, there's nobody better than Pat out of all the humorist authors. Even Daniel Steele. You'll love it if you love anything he's done.

The book is a composite of stories of his childhood and adolescent years. He grew up in the boonies in an old run down shack. As a child he spent most of his time outside. He tells stories of tying his best friends brother up and locking him in the basement. He also gives pionters on taking fish hooks out of a buddys' ear. The book has a plot in every story; with 26 stories there are lots of plots to get burried in. The theme is pretty much the same throught out the book; Life is good if you have the right perception. I thought the book was hysterical. I actualy read the whole book. My parents almost got a divorce, because my dad would shake the room. He was laughing so hard. The book really reminded me of when I grew up; my friends and I were always outside raising cane. The way Patrick tells the story is like a joke, he lets your mind wonder before telling what happens. His choice of words really catch you, words like gunkholing or podner. I would definetly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys the outdoors. Patrick really knows how to make people laugh.

I was impressed with the accuracy and the way that it gave such great information, this is a must for all Beanie enthusiasts like myself, and I must agree Ryan is soooo cute.....xoxox

I liked the book, but most of all I liked Ryan, the co-author of The Beanie Encyclopedia. I got a chance to meet him at a book signing while I was on vacation in Florida. He looks so cute in person. I LOVE YOU RYAN

This book was great. No other Book has taught me so much. Thanks Dr. Carey and Ryan

Cuddling Teddy Roosevelt is kinda strange...but cuddling a soft bear is better. Who would've known that the teddy bear was named after a president!
In this children's picture book, children will be amazed that they know a bit of history after they read this beautifully written/illustrated book.
~Erin
Age 11

This book appeals to all teddy bear lovers- young and old! It is a great way to share history with children. My kindergarten class throughly enjoyed it cover to cover! A must for anyone who ever had / or has a teddy bear!!

I didn't read the book. I gave it as a birthday gift to my niece who is a teddy bear enthusiast. The rating I gave was based upon her overwhelming response to the book.

She was so taken with the story that she excitedly wrote a letter to the author. To his credit, the author responded with a handwritten letter that, along with the book, became a show-and-tell project for her 2nd grade class. She talks about the whole thing with stars in her eyes. It's truly priceless.

I give 5 stars to both the book and the author.

A "perfect" cold weather story. What better way to start a unit or theme on polar bears with the reading of this great Erin Brooks book. You can expand in many directions: cold weather, artic regions, problem solving and friendship. I'm in the process of exploring the cold weather theme with my first graders now. Thank you and I hope to see more Percy stories in the future. This would be good author studies group.

I was a substitute librarian at an elementary school and read this book to a class of second graders. They were mesmerized by the story and actually cheered at the end. I'm ordering a copy for myself for my own library and to carry along with me as I substitute teach.

Ever since I first saw the pictures hanging in our 8th grade classroom I knew that someone with a lot of talent would be showing us a book. I never thought you could have great pictures and storyline in the same book. This is a great book for everyone who like polar bears w/ funky pj's or not. I thought it was very interesting and you should try reading this book.

This book is about a woman named Rebecca. She hates pumpkins, because when she was little, that is all she ate for a month was pumpkins. Her well planted garden has everything BUT pumpkins. One day, a pumpkin truck went speeding down her road. The truck made a sharp turn and a huge pumpkin fell off the truck, and into her yard. After cleaning it up, Rebecca forgot about the whole incident. The following year during spring, Rebecca went outside to find that the pumpkin smithereens the following year had caused more pumpkins to grow. Soon, a mass amount of pumpkins is growing in Rebecca's yard.

I liked this book because the ending is not what you would expect. To find out what happens to Rebecca, read this book.

A favorite to my 4 year old. Personally, I enjoy the subtle messages it carries that I am sure that he will injoy when he starts reading it for himself. Very humane side that makes it injoyable for me too.

Rebecca Estelle has a problem on her hands. Rebecca Estelle is a white-haired woman who lives with her calico cat Esmeralda. She hates pumpkins because when she was a youngster her family was poor and ALL they had to eat was pumpkins. She doesn't even like to think about them. One day a truck loaded with pumpkins loses a pumpkin that smashes in Rebecca Estelle's yard and sends seeds flying every which way. When plants spring up she refuses to tend to them and just ignores them all summer long. She won't even go over near the space where the pumpkin smashed. In autumn, much to her surprise there is a huge pumpkin patch just filled with beautiful big orange pumpkins. At first she is horrified. There is a SEA of pumpkins! She uses her clever ingeniuity and her practical good sense to figure out a wonderful way to not only use up the pumpkins, but to attract many people to help her share the pumpkins. She ends up with a delightful party atmosphere, sharing a happy Halloween and she patches up her differences with pumpkins. The illustrations are utterly charming, brightly colored and filled with warm and homey country scenes. The feeling of autumn's hazy nostalgia and the wonderful aromas of harvest baking almost leap up out of the pages. Parents will enjoy reading this one every year at Halloween and the kids will love it for years to come.

Animal Rites by talented writer Michael Panno is a compelling read that is a real page turner-- offering a mix of many twists and turns, humor, passion and suspense with main character Frank Noble as the reluctant hero.

Animal Rites is one of the best books of its kind. Having read some books about those avenging the unnecessarily abusive treatment of animals, I found this book to have many of the things that I loved about the others and found it free of some of the more stereotypical concepts that tended to annoy me in books like "Free the Animals" for example.

What you won't get is 300 pages that read like a PETA booklet. What you will get is an enthralling storyline of what can happen when selfish exploitation pushes the compassionate too far. Animal Rites is focused not only on the exploitation of animals for human frivolities, it also focuses on the connection between those who oppress animals and those who exploit human beings for profit as well.

Once I started reading this book I literally could not put it down. I seemed to forget the pages and words and instead saw the events playing out in my mind. The detail and fluidity are remarkable.

I would strongly recommend this book to anyone.

Frank Noble did two tours in Vietnam and spent twenty years with the Secret Service when he left it all to move to the woods above Los Angeles in search of a little peace. He has his dog, Bones, and a family of bears living close by who have accepted Frank into their lives. But his peace is shattered when he discovers the mutilated bodies of two of the bears. With the help of a swarf named Marcell, Frank sets out after the poachers -- only to find himself drawn into a seamy underworld of illegal animal parts traffic, drugs, and child prostitution. Animal Rites is a deftly written, compelling novel that falls into that class of character-driven fiction so easy to pick up and so hard to put down!

Everything about this book is terrific. The story line captures the attention of the children as well as teach them a most important life lesson. Children can be very self-centered and this book teaches that we can find happiness when we give to others in many different ways. Life shouldn't always be about what we can get, but about what we can give.

What a super book to teach the values of helping, serving and respecting elders. Today, when kids seem too preoccupied with being entertained, this teaches that joy comes from helping others. I loved it!

Can You Help Me Find My Smile was another one of my Carl Sommer favorites. The story is about Teddy the young bear who is grumpy and no matter how hard he tries he can't seem to find his smile. The help and advise from friends, even a new bicycle on his birthday doesn't seem to make him happy for long. After searching he finally seeks the advise of his grandfather. As Teddy discovers he finds his smile again by helping others. I would definitely recommend this book for elementary school children. This is a good lesson in wisdom, kindness and giving.

I think this book is a must for any teddy bear artist - but especially appropriate for those who are beginning, like myself. It is easy to follow and very well illustrated. I look very forward to finishing up my first teddy bear! This book has illustrations of bears created by many of today's top bear artists as well. Very inspiring.

I just purchased this book today and I have completed my first bear just moments ago. The book is very informative, has step by step instructions, and quality pictures for guidance. This is great for beginners and the experienced as well! It also gives you great tips on how to give your bears unique personalities. A++++

This book contains a wealth of information for even the advanced bear artist. Whenever I need to refer to a basic pattern flow or vary the look of the bear, I always use this book. I recommend this book to anyone interested in designing your own bear with a little help from an excellent author.

The situations and the characters are very charming. Theillustrations are lovely. My nephew loooooved it.

THE FORGETFUL BEARS is a wonderful and entertaining story for young children. We have used the book in here classes at Seton School with great success, our young students always entranced with the stirring plot (and the concomitant moral values). Kudos to the authors!

My little girl simply loves The Forgetful Bears story. And as all us parents know, five-year olds are never wrong--about anything. It's a bed time favorite around our house.