What a glorious treat of Provence through the eyes of an impressionist young girl and her friendship with Vincent Van Gogh. This is such a cleverly crafted story that one has to continually remind one's self that it is a fictionalized account
of Van Gogh. I felt "bathed" in the yellows of his paintings and the countryside of Provence and was grateful to have a porfolio available to see the accuracy of this writer's descriptions. Bravo, Alice. Give us more of the same quality of writing.

For those who are passionate about Vincent Van Gogh, "Seeking the High Yellow Note" is a treat to be savored. Curl up with it by a window seat looking out at trees and gardens and imagine the colors and forms as Van Gogh would have seen them. Alice Williams paints the artist's canvasses again in words as Vincent describes the paintings to his young friend Minette. The author has captured the spirit of the impressionists and the flavors of Provence and of the time. She describes Vincent's loneliness and failed friendship with Gauguin, and his dread of recurrent descents into madness. The events of his months in Provence are interwoven into the story of Minette Ginoux as she comes of age, finds love, marries her sweetheart and provides friendship to the man who was a tortured genius.

A former teacher gave this book to me recently as a gift of comfort-- my mom died a few months ago of cancer. At first I was skeptical- how could a book written for young children who witnessed 9/11 help me deal with my situation? But then I opened it and started reading. I was extremely moved. Ms. Heard has done an incredible job of putting together some very high-quality poems and finding the right people to illustrate them (the pictures are also beautiful). The best part for me is that the book includes poems which look at greif from all angles: from words about crying and despair to lines about the fact that there is hope and not everything is lost. I would recommend this book highly to ANYONE dealing with any type of major loss/trauma, or anyone who simply enjoys good poetry and illustration.

Though 9/11 events were the inspiration for this book, it can be cherished by anyone who has experienced a set-back or loss. I strongly recommend "This Place I Know" as a sympathy gift or as a resource for someone who is hurting.

One the very first books I ever remember reading when I was a little kid was Whoever Heard of a Fird. I picked it out because it had big, colorful pictures not knowing about the story held within. Once I began reading it, I couldn't put it down. (...)

The first book my mother ever checked out for me was "Whoever Heard of a Fird?" when I was 3 or 4 years old. That was 14 years ago and I still remember how wonderful it was. It taught me early on that everyone is unique, and although you might not know of anyone that is like you off hand, that no matter what, there is someone that will accept you for you. I'll always remember the story about a poor half-fish, half-bird named Fird and his journey to find others of his kind.

WHOSE VOICE THE WATERS HEARD is a story of courage of the men who went in harm's way aboard submarines in WW2.
A story of the friendship between an American Diane Slayton and Miko Saito, the daughter of a Japanese officer and the fate that awaits their two fathers as the clouds of war grow ever thicker. The love that developopes between Diane and Patrick Hanifan as the clouds of war grow ever thicker. Most of all, WHOSE VOICE THE WATERS HEARD is an inspirational story that will touch the reader. For those with faith, make their faith stronger. For those who may have lost faith, WHOSE VOICE THE WATERS HEARD may hopefully help restore their faith. WHOSE VOICE THE WATERS HEARD is an OUTSTANDING & EXCELLENT book.

After I read his book, Touch The Face of God, I knew I would have to get Robert Vaughan's next WWII novel, WHOSE VOICE THE WATERS HEARD. I had my name in at the bookstore and when it came out, I got the first one. It was well worth the wait. With these two magnificent novels; WHOSE VOICE THE WATERS HEARD, and his earlier,Touch The Face of God, Vaughan has put himself in the same league with James Jones, Herman Wouk, and WEB Griffen. The characters are compelling; Patrick Hannifan who leaves a lucrative musical career to become a submariner, his fiancee, Diane Slayton, and Choirboy, a young black steward who proves his bravery in battle, and his humanity under stress. But one of the most fascinating characters is Commander Yutake Saito, a Japanese officer who gives the readers a unique look at the war from the Japanese perspective.
The only thing wrong with this book is that it did not debut on the best seller list. It is that good, believe me.

This is a sweet book - what a clever story! My 4yr old and I read this recently and both were giggling because we kept yawning. Nice story for bedtime!!!

This is the perfect picture book for bed time reading. It is beautifully written and illustrated!

A 96-page compendium of classic adventures! This invaluable tome provides you with 11 wonderful adventures, for characters from levels 4-11. Over a hundred different monsters, and the themes are wildly varied - your heroes will hunt a kraken, go on a scavenger hunt, spy, save a dying giant, solve mysteries, hack and slash, and more! A fabulous collection of stories you've probably never seen before, and highly recommended.

This book is a quick read (111 pages) about the functions of angels' work with humans. The book includes a brief bio chapter about Swedenborgs' life which helps the reader understand his scientific background. The book covers how angels "live" in the higher realms and why they care about helping us. It includes beautiful black & white illustrations by John Flaxman which compliment the etheric subject matter. This is a good book for Swedenborg novices because the interpretation is easy to understand. I found some of Swedenborg's direct translation books (Heaven & Hell, Divine Providence) a little difficult to grasp at times due to the language of that period (i.e. "As government from good, which is the kind of government that exists in the Lord's celestial kingdom, is called righteousness, and government from truth, which is the kind of government that exists in the Lord's spiritual kingdom, is called judgement, so the terms "righteousness and judgment" are used in the Word when heaven and the church are treated of, "righteousness" signifying celestial good, and "judgment" spiritual good, which good, as has been said above, is in its essence truth, as in the following passages:...". See what I mean?

I recommend this book highly!

If you want true crime this has it all. An easily readable account of a Forensic Scientists examination of over 200 cases ranging from the Krays and the Richardsons to the worlds most violent Triad gangs. This man has lead a truely remarkable life and has put it down in a form which is easy to read, entertaining yet full of the most greusome details imaginable. At the end all I wanted was more and I really hope that there is a follow up in the piupeline.

Away From Home: American Indian Boarding School Experiences is a magnificent collection of writings, poems, photographs, and paintings and illustrations that document American Indian boarding school experiences in the U. S. between 1879-2000. It was collected as a part of a display on exhibit at the Heard Museum until 2005. From the beautiful but sad painting on the cover (Untitled oil on canvas by Angel de Cora, Winnebago) to the dozens of historical photographs within of different aspects of the various Native American boarding school histories, to the poignant letters, poems, and memories of the many contributors, Away From Home is a revelation of repressed racial memories that underlines the need for dialogue specifically with Native voices in order to accept responsibility as well as to encompass and "enrich our view of America's past, present and future (Page 135, Brenda Child)." Away From Home presents a rich assortment of written and pictured memories from such boarding schools as Carlisle Indian School of Pennsylvania, Sherman Indian School, Riverside, California, and Flandreau Indian School, South Dakota. Both the many negative and some surprising positive aspects of boarding school existence are explored. The shattering impact on family and ethnic identification of the boarding school student is not avoided. The notion that perhaps an apology is owed to present day survivors' descendants is actually obliquely presented in a referent to the "Sorry Day" movement of Aboriginal people in Australia. At least the impact of exhibits and books such as Away From Home contain the impetus to a needed dialogue that has yet to be fully heard. Away From Home is a rich collection, filled with many voices and bitter experiences that were braided into strengths. It is a treasure and a measure of the many colors of beauty in the human spirit.

I enjoyed this book because I learned about alot of new things.For example fleas in Washington State can be as big as the end of your finger and when a baby blue whale is born it is bigger than a small truck.I liked reading THE BIGGEST SMALLEST FASTEST TALLEST THINGS YOU'VE EVER HEARD OF by Robert Lopshire....I'm sure you'll like it too!