I have read this book at least once a day for the past year. I HATE IT! My son loves it. He is 2.5 now, but dumpy was one of his first vocab words. This is not a modern book, but a slow paced family oriented view of life as it was/ought to be. Be prepared to be animated and read with lots of noises. The whole collection is full of them. Thanks to these books, my son can tell the difference between a backhoe and a bulldozer and a rooster and a chicken.

Dumpy and its sequels tell the story of a seemingly abandoned truck that is discovered, refurbished, and given a new life. It is such a delightful parable about objects discarded in haste and a metaphor for what people may do to each other. The story is the begining of a collaboration between actress/singer Julie Andrews Edwards and daughter Emma Kate Walton Hamilton. Emma Kate's father, Tony Walton, is the ilustrator.

I trust this will be the beginning of a long collaborative effort.

As the story begins, everyone is hard at work on Merryhill Farm...Bee-Bee the Backhoe, Trundle the Tractor. Everyone, that is except Dumpy. He's old, rusty and broken and stuck in the tall grass behind the barn. There are birds and mice living in the stuffing of his leather seats and it looks like his work days at Merryhill Farm are over. Farmer Barnes is planning on having him towed away to make room for a new and bigger barn and this makes his son, Charlie sad. "It's so sad to get rid of something you love just to make room for something new." His grandfather, Pop-Up agrees and they hatch a plan to save Dumpy. First they pull him out of the tall weeds and clean him up. They scrub and polish, mend and paint, get him new tires and then go to work on the engine. And in no time, Dumpy's better than ever, looking good and back to work, helping to raise the new barn..... Julie Andrews and her daughter, Emma Hamilton have written a charming, endearing story about love, teamwork and purpose that will delight youngsters aged 3-7. Their gentle text, full of imagery and sound effects, is complimented by Tony Walton's colorful and expressive artwork and together, they have authored a story with the subtle message that big and new isn't always better. Dumpy the Dump Truck is the first in what should be a wonderful new series, that you little ones are sure to enjoy.

Drear House has dangerous secrets that have never been told. The house is anything but normal with sliding walls, secret passageways, and even gold treasure. Thomas has one secret. He needs to find out who is responsible for the weird things going on. Thomas needs to know fast, before he becomes a secret himself. Do you think the house is hauntd?

THE MYSTERY OF DREAR HOUSE is a thrilling, terrifying, nightmare come true. I am easily scared. Yet, I enjoyed this book thoroughly. Since the descriptions were strong in detail, I was so distracted I was less nervous about the book. This is a book you don't want to miss!

The House of Dies Drear is a great book. I loved the way the author left you hanging at the end of each chapter. I read it in class. It was really hard not to read to the next chapter. I loved it.

Well, in the begining, Thomas and his family buy a house in Ohio, but it turns out to be more or less than they expected. But, well, you'll have to read it to find out all the exciting plot twists and turns, it kept me guessing throughout the book, and I had to smack myself on the forehead at the end, because it gave me the answer at the begining. A very good read. Buy it for anyone from 3 to 1,003.

Until I read this book, my only experience with Matt Helm was the goofy series of Dean Martin movies from the sixties. I read this book on a whim, and was pleasantly surprised. In this book, Matt has to protect a (female) scientist from a bad guy who's supposed to assassinate her at some vague point in the future. Unlike the movies, the tone is completely serious, and Hamilton has written a very suspenseful, lean book that was fun to read. It reminded me a good bit of John D. MacDonald's "Travis McGee" books. I definitely plan on picking up more Donald Hamilton.

Another Matt Helm story. Good twists and turns. If you like James Bond you will LOVE Matt Helm.

I enjoy all the Matt Helm books, but this is one of my favorites. Matt has to keep a lady scientist safe from the people who have been shadowing her and many other important people. How better to keep a watchful eye on the target than by marrying her? Meanwhile, he is faced with the "assistance" of a well-meaning but fumbling young naval officer.

The suspenseful plot is filled with adventure and twists, some of which tie back to previous books.

As always, Donald Hamilton tells a good tale.

This is a collection of some Zorro stories written by Johnston McCulley, the creator of Senor Zorro, from old pulp magazines. The stories are "Zorro Saves A Friend", "Zorro Hunts A Jackal", "Zorro Deals With Treason", "Mysterious Don Miguel", "Zorro Draws His Blade" and "Zorro Upsets A Plot". The book also contains a checklist of all Zorro stories on pulp magazines; good reference for Zorro fans.

The situation of these stories is a little different from that of "The Mark of Zorro", the very first Zorro novel written by McCulley. For example, in "The Mark of Zorro", nobody dreams that languid Don Diego is Senor Zorro, while in these stories, the Army officers suspect Don Diego to be Zorro. The stories mainly describe how the enemies try to trap Don Diego/Zorro and how Don Diego/Zorro brilliantly outwits them. They are amusing and I enjoy reading them.

I would be happier if this book were an ordinary size paperback and much less expensive. But I will perhaps buy Volume Two if available.

Reading this book is a real joy. If you loved the TV shows or the movies, I think this will be a real treat for you. The only problem is that it is such a quick read (because I had trouble putting it down), that it is difficult to really "soak up" the flavor of the writing. I don't recommend starting this book the week before final exams, because if you're like me, you'll neglect studying!

McCulley started Zorro and this first collection of his pulp stories are great!

Z forever!

Wonderful coffee-table style book documents the tour "Stars On Ice", and is a definite choice for fans of professional figure skating. The brilliant photographs, a perfect balance of personal and professional, out-do the text...which is good but could be more profound over-all. In addition to the other stars, Gordeeva & Grinkov fans especially will enjoy the memoir and the pictures...Lipinski, Kulik, Chen, Cousins, and Meno-Sand fans might be disappointed in the only 6 pages devoted to those skaters. A little short but well worth the photos!

This book was what i expected it to be. It was full of colorful pictures, and very good description of how Stars on Ice evolved to what it is now. GREAT pictures excellent story....though if u were thinking of getting the video "The Best of Stars on Ice" ... it wasnt good at all. They were performances from the last 5 years and not the 10 years it talks about on its back cover..

Reason why I bought the book: Just one. Rosalynn Sumners. She was rather reluctant when Scott called her and invited her to join the tour......and that was back in 1986. Thirteen years and a few hundred shows later, Roz has matured into one of the finest entertainers on the ice. Her departure from the SOI tour after the 1998-99 season was rather sad, but rereading her thoughts and feelings on subjects such as Sergei's death to Scott's cancer and her own shining moments was well worth the money I paid for the book. Roz, I'll miss you when SOI starts the 1999-2000 tour. God bless!

(This review refers to Volume One only.) Asimov has collected eight stories in this anthology that were influential in his own writing. Asimov read most of these stories when he was about 12 years old, being fortunate enough to devour most of them from pulp magazines that were sold in his father's candy store. As might be expected with any anthology, some stories are better than others, and some have held up better through the years than others. Yet these pieces are not included for comparison to current stories, but to show what Asimov read as a young person and how the works influenced him. Asimov's mini-autobiography alone is worth the price of the book. After each story, Asimov tells how an idea or a concept from a story led to the formation of one of his own works. A very interesting idea. "The Jameson Satellite" is a forerunner of "I, Robot," and "Submicroscopic" is a small step from "Fantastic Voyage." As mentioned by another reviewer, the reader will have to deal with several prejudices from the time these stories were written (especially racial), but overall this book is a great insight into what makes Asimov Asimov.

This collection of early, pulp-style scifi works is a great joy. Asimov's introduction to the stories is exceedingly interesting and helpful. The stories sometimes show flaws or problems in their writing and in their attitudes (while several stories are forward-looking, most show the racism and misogyny common to that time), most of the stories are entertaining and all of them are interesting from a historical perspective. Check it out if you can get your hands on it, it's a great find. I really got a kick out of several pieces, which run the gamut from more reasonable 'conquered man, driven underground, strikes back at his evil alien oppressors' to the completely ludicrous story about the planets of our solar system hatching into giant space chickens. (That last story is meant to be taken seriously, by the way.) A veritable laundry-list of great, long out-of-print authors and some wonderful writing from the early days of popular science fiction.

This book contains the good old stories from the 1930's. There is nothing great here, but it is till worth reading. You can see the evolution of the Science Fiction field by reading the stories in this book.

I liked this book, particularly since it deals with the best character from the original Star Trek, Spock, and the second best character, his father. There have only been glimpses of Spock's family in the various series (e.g., "Journey to Babel", the animated episode "Yesteryear"), but this novel provides more of an insight into the difficulties Spock had as a child straddling two worlds, human and Vulcan. Nice book, but I've never been terribly impressed by Todd Cameron Hamilton as an artist..., and his work here is particularly derivative, obvious and uninspired.

This book is very well written it shows spock at a young age being the intellegent and also stubborn vulcan we all know. After a Diplomatic trip with his father a young vulcan seems to be a target for assination. Do you think Spock sits back and hides? Not our Spock.

From the strict Vulcan academy to saving diplomats, Spock does it all. Spock the half human, half Vulcan, he feels as he doesn't belong. Spock befriends a son of a diplomat and the conspiracy just flows through. It is refreshing to see young Spock and his dealing with his father.

While James West Davidson's "After the Fact" is thought-provoking, much of what he writes is simply inaccurrate. His lack of research or deliberate withholding of certain evidence to merely prove his views is disdainful. This is especially evident in his chapter on Vietnam War movies in which he gives some completely inaccurrate information (such as claiming the Russian Roulette was not played in Vietnam, while some vets admit they were forced to play it while prisoner). He also shows obvious liberal bias by accusing most Vietnam films to be unrealistic because they do not include an event similar to the My Lai Massacre. With all due respect to Mr. Davidson, events such as the My Lai Massacre are given much press time, but did not really occur very often. How can every movie about a war be expected to show a certain event the way Mr. Davidson wants it depicted? A final gripe with this section is the author's claim that it was "wrong" to portray Viet-Cong soldiers as inhuman in "The Deer Hunter", and that this contributed to making the film unrealistic. "Deer Hunter" was obviously meant to show the American viewpoint of Vietnam, and how the war affected not only those who fought in it, but almost everyone at home in America. While portraying the American viewpoint, it is necessary to show the Viet-Cong as evil (would you revere someone who forced you to play Russian Roulette with your best friend?). Many other sections of the book show Davidson's obvious political bias, and if you truly desire to discover how (and are not averse to extreme suffering), read the book (but don't say you weren't warned).

After the Fact is a book that every serious historian should have in their library. Davidson and Lytle do a great job elucidating the various aspects of exploring the conundrum of history. From the very basic task of exploring the veracity of the Declaration of Independence to the monumental task of discovering the reasons why history was made in a certain context. Every chapter is interesting and captivating, and a "must read" to supplement the history seminar. If you do not have this book already, I strongly suggest purchasing it.

After the Fact is a fantastic introduction to the field of historiography. It is a very easy read as well as providing concrete examples of how writing history is a selective act, dealing with different kinds of evidence, and the general practices and problems of historical methods. I would recommend using this book in an introductory history course because of its understandability. It would serve as a good introduction to beginning historians to the problems and philosophical concerns of their field.

In this age of videos, TV and the never-ending search for faster and flashier entertainment, what a pleasure to find a book with good, easy and basic ideas for children's crafts. Simple yet timeless ideas that have helped this grandmother enjoy many a rainy afternoon with her grandkids. I remember making some of the projects when I was a kid!

I have used this book and the others in the "Child's Play" series for years with lots of preschool and elementary school-aged kids. It is particularly great for babysitters because all the activities can be done using materials everyone has around the house, so you can just scrounge in the kitchen and office for paper, egg cartons, crayons, and other odds and ends for and end up with really cool finished product. Kids love it, and the activities are easy to do and easy to clean up after. Plus the illustrations are cute and funny.

I spend every Saturday with my 3 nephews. One is 6, the others are two 3-year old twins. This book has saved my life! So many times the kids have been over and I haven't had any idea of how to keep them occupied! Since about January of this year, I've been using "200 Instant Crafts" as an instant sources of great craft ideas. The best part is how inexpensive the crafts are to make. I really do have most of the stuff around the house. The guidelines that tell me for what age the craft is appropriate have been an immense help to me. I had no idea what a 3 year old could and couldn't do as opposed to the 6 year old. Using these guidelines keeps me from asking the kids to do something they aren't ready to do. I'll be using this book all Summer! Thanks.

As a young African-American teenager going through cancer surgery, this book was a such a gift that helped me to take my mind out of a semi-private room in a children's hospital, and to exercise my fantasy of being Geeder. Virginia Hamiliton's writing is simple, but powerful; the emotions very realistic and can be taken to heart. Most important, it speaks of differences among the "same"; the acceptance of the diversity.

I'm in my late 30's now, but this book still remains one of my favorites from childhood. As a preadolescent I read this book countless times, and found it only became more engaging with each reading. I valued its realness. I often wished I could enter the worlds my books revealed, but this was the most concrete of those worlds with which I wished to engage.

This is not an easy book. Hamilton challenges her readers. Still, for children who like to read, this book is terrific.

When I first read this book, I was puzzled and a bit put off by the heroine. But I find, like Mike Johnson, that the more you read it, the more you find. Like Geeder I am mesmerized by Zeely, her beauty, serenity, and her mystery. I am also inspired by the book's emphasis on reality--not realism--that it's good to dream, but you shouldn't lose hold of reality--those pigs. I'm also inspired by the idea that we need to know the truth about our families and our history before we're ready to make up stories. The book is a reminder that we can all be queens if we do our work with dignity and grace.