This delightful Halloween story about a goblin who brings gifts to his sweetheart during the 13 nights before Halloween begs to be sung to the familiar tune of 12 days of Christmas. Rebecca Dickinson's illustrations are exquisitly detailed and provide kids with hidden creatures to find. As a teacher, I use this book as a motivation for my students to write their own descriptive Halloween stories. We have a great time with this book!

I bought this book several years ago, after Rebecca Dickinson (both author and illistrator) visited my school. As a 15 year old I still love to read this book and share it with all my little cousins and the kids that I babysit. They all love it too!

I have had the grand opportunity to meet the author....This is a book that I highly recommend to people of all ages. The brillantly colorful pages filled with so much detail make you want to read it over and over, each time trying to find something new that you didn't noticed before!

The adorable little monsters on the cover of "Monster Cake" immediately attracted my little girl's attention. She even bypassed her current favorite, Blue's Clues, when she got an eyeful of this one. Uh oh, I think my weird taste in books may be catchy!

The story is a cute one with a sweet message at its heart. Three young siblings (who happen to be the most precocious little monsters) awaken early and decide to bake their mom a birthday cake. Only, since they're monsters, the cake isn't your typical Betty Crocker variety. They mix together all sorts of gross items including green smiling slugs (!) that fascinated my four year old, along with her six year old brother. The monsters make a big mess while having a blast along the way and Mom has a fabulous birthday celebration.

This is a fun book for all but especially for little ones because there is very little text and colorful, bold, funny illustrations that pre-schoolers can relate to. Many pages contain no text at all and my four year old loved making up a "story" for these pages. For the beginning reader the text is easy to pronounce. I recommend this book for those looking for an entertaining family reading experience. It encourages creativity and also a love of storytelling. ~ Laurie Shallah

Rebecca Dickinson's lastest book is a delight! I use Monster Cake in my classroom to stir up the imagination for some Halloween writing and drawing fun. My students love Ms Dickinson's descriptions and illustrations of icky ingredients which they then use to brainstorm, write, and illustrate their own recipes for Monster Cake!

The recipe for this book works. Stir together three little monsters' love for their mother with some awfully ghastly ingredients (adults will wrinkle their noses while their kids squeal with delight), sprinkle in the stealth needed to surprise the mother monster and add a dash of macabre imagination, and the results is a delightful concoction that will have the kids clamoring for more.

A friend and I are taking an intro to astonomy course and this is one of the recommended texts. I can certainly see why. It's a very clearly written work with a heavy emphasis on planetary and solar astronomy and a lucid discussion of stellar objects visible with personal telescopes, subjects that the noviate astronomer is most likely to find of interest. The author also dedicates two chapters to the subject of theoretical astrophysics at the very basic level of cosmology, ie) the theory of the origin, the possible ultimate destiny of the universe, and the liklihood of the existance of coevil universes parallel to our own. Dickinson also throws his lot in with those who would believe in UFOs, to the extent that while he doesn't believe in the sightings people report--however well meaningly--he does believe that intelligent life is out there and may well already know of our existance. He gives a thorough and lucid outline of why he believes this to be the case. He also summarizes the SETI project and the ultimate change in position on this topic of high visibility astronomers like the late Carl Sagan, Iosif Shklovskii, and Ben Zuckerman. A very interesting book, and one that whets the appetite for further information.

Easy to read, modern review of cosmology and astronomy. Contains some of the best produced astronomical illustrations. Terence Dickinson is an astronomy writer. He received the 1992 Royal Canadian Institute's Sandford Fleming Medal for achievements in advancing public understanding of science.

Excellent, highly readable book about the various aspects of the universe. Presented with fabulous photos, images, and illustrations. An absolute must-have for anyone interested in astronomy. So fantastic, it will even inspire those NOT interested in astronomy. Suitable for elementary school kids (for the photos) on up. Dickinson has an absolute talent for writing about astronomy in a clear, concise way without talking down to you or relying on too much technical jargon and does all that and makes it fascinating too. Wonderful.

Peter Dickinson's classic book on such imponderables as how (and why) dragons fly is one of my favorite books on the care and feeding of our scaled neighbors. He goes into great detail about what it takes to get a 20,000-pound appetite up into the air and speeding to its next meal. Sometimes slightly tongue-in-cheek, Dickinson draws on legend and story to create a delightful theory that takes the imaginary and makes it real.

Not satisfied with explaining away the impossible, Dickinson goes on to explore the dragon life cycle, habitat and sociology. I took particular delight in the section that explains that most horrific of monsters, the george, otherwise known as 'the mean man in the tin can.' He is quite outspoken about the monstrous atrocities committed in the name of 'dragon-slaying.' And for doubters, there is even a section citing the evidences for the existence of dragons. Of course, those of us who drive from peak to peak dragon-watching in our ancient Volkswagen busses need no further evidence.

The other delight in this book is the rich illustration by Wayne Anderson. We find dragons cute and fearsome, old and new. The work is both beautiful and whimsical, and you will find yourself returning to the images countless times, whenever the dream starts to fade. The book is both beautiful and fun - a worthwhile addition to the mythophile's library.

The book answers the right question - Not "How could something as big as a dragon fly?", but "Why did dragons need to be that big in order to fly?". The approach is a straight faced, imaginative explanation of dragon phsyiology, psychology, life cycle, and more. The author manages to engage in a ciritcal scientific examination of all the evidece without losing the sense of awful wonder for the dragons he is studying.

I totally agree!!! This is the best book! Basically, he starts out on the premise that dragons actually existed (at about the time cavemen were around), and goes on to explain how something that large could fly, why this lead to them liking maidens, jewels, and gold, why they lived in caves, and why they can no longer be found! Read it (if you can find it)

This is my absolute favorite book on orcas. I have read it three times. I bought it years ago at the Vancouver Aquarium while visiting the whales in the area and never tire of re-reading it. One of the the things I like are the appendices which list data on the whales. I wish Erich Hoyt would write a second volume or update it again! If you love orcas you will love this book.

I am an avid orca lover and this book was amazing. I was astonished by some of the stories I read. If you like orcas, you will love this book. It is very informational and quite entertaining. I highly reccommend this book.

An aewsome book. Reads really well and is full of useful information. A must for all Orca enthusiasts.

As soon as you read the first few pages, you will not be able to put this book down. The author has a magical way of letting you feel the power and emotional connection that the main character has to love and to be loved. In reading Pages for Her Heart, you will be taken back to a time in your own life when innocence and love were synonymous with each other. As you follow the journey of the main character, Cassie, you will feel the joy, and pain that opening your heart causes you to experience. The theme of the book is that you must have the courage to follow your heart if you truly want to be happy. If you want to feel the emotions that you had when you were first in love and the peaks and valleys that follow this is a must read.

This beautiful romance set in the tropics took me to a place that is magical and enchanting. The author has a mystical ability to make the reader feel the beauty of the island and the sensibility of the main characters. The story touches many people and one can really relate to the emotions and struggles that the characters go through. So many times we think about doing something and acting on our feelings yet not ever really finding the courage to go through with it. Never having the strength to put ourselves out there. This is a book that will remind you why we are so vulnerable and have this natural instinct to shield ourselves. A lifetime can pass and we are masters at convincing ourselves that our life is perfect, and yet something from our past is triggered, and we can't help but reflect on what might have been. What kind of life would you have if your heart truly led the way, casting away all responsibility and obligations to be with the one you love? This book is funny and charismatic, focusing on the diary of a young woman who goes through life always longing for that one person, the one person who can truly make both their lives a dream come true.

If you like tragic love stories, then this is a great book for you! It follows the path of a young woman who is a dancer and meets the man of her dreams overseas. There is a story within a story in this very imaginative book; it chronicles her love for this talented businessman in the form of her diary, and goes through the emotions of first falling in love, of being betrayed by her best friend, of being afraid to trust again, and ultimately sacrificing so much of herself for love. It reminds me of "The Thorn Birds" in that this woman is both drawn to and hurt by the very man that she loves, and so she makes sacrifices - many without his knowledge - for him. The character of Cassie is so real - almost too real in some places -and I identified with many of her thoughts as she struggled with where to take her life direction. She knew she couldn't lie to herself - although she tried - and the anxiety, frustration, anger, joy, and exhiliration all come charging through her diary. This is a gripping book that gave me goosebumps as I read the last page!

Allegedly the first of a series of books about Monroe, a sniper, this is really about the people around him. And it is fascinating in detail and characterization. It will be interesting to see where the author goes from here.

"The Silent Men" is an excellent novel from first-time writer Richard Dickinson. He has crafted a story that is as far from a cookie-cutter war novel as you could hope for. His characters are never stereotypes; these are real people with real flaws, and the decisions his "hero", Jackson Monroe, makes in this book will likely come back to haunt him in future novels. Dickinson's descriptions of Vietnam are detailed and moody -- he describes the country such that you appreciate the beauty and fear for each step at the same time. The novel presents the horrors of war with unusual brutality, describing each death with an almost forensic detachment. The level of graphic violence is sometimes disturbing, but anything less honest would not have been in keeping with the realistic and personal tone of this book. And the tension is relentless. This is one of the most exciting books I've read in years (I finished the last half of the book in a single sitting -- I just couldn't put it down). I highly recommend this book, especially to those who say they don't like "war stories". "The Silent Men" is a cut above the typical war novel, and Dickinson has a very promising career ahead.

Dickinson captures the back stories, the covert ops, deceit and filthiness of this nearly-forgotten ugly war in the way that no other writer has done.His descriptions of soldiers and civilians under fire are better than Celine, better than Ian MacEwan in "Atonement". Dickinson's heroes are killers and the killing is a form of sanctioned ritual. We meet an anti-hero, an unforgettable black sniper(!) who Dickinson, according to the blurb, plans to do more with in a subsequent novel. This reader would have torn the library apart to get it but, alas, it doesn't exist yet. Soon? When?

Don't get me wrong, I truly love a large selection of the poems in this volume. However, that is a measure of Emily Dickenson and me, not T. Johnson's collection. What makes this book better than many that are around and about, as has been mentioned, is the lack of editing to her poems--something that has always bothered me. In this regard, the content of the poems is better than many others, however there are other issues of note.

This is, of course, an abridged collection. As such, we are forced to rely on the opinion of another. Granted this is common enough with poetry collections, but that doesn't change the very nature of each person having differing interests. There is no way to know if the ones he leaves out are just as good or even better, from each individuals perspective, without going to more comprehensive texts.

Regardless, I do have one gripe with this book that is unrelated to the above pettiness. The method of dating each poem seems silly to me. The reason is that they are all claimed to be from one of several (if memory serves 3) years separated out over several decades. That and there are two listings of dates for each poem, which I don't recall off hand why they did that, and it may serve some purpose, but it's not useful information if when these poems were written can only be pinned down to plus or minus five-ten years. I can't blame Johnson for this as I imagine that is as close as is known, but, by the same token, the dates could have been left out so that it doesn't detract from the actual poetry.

All in all I would recomend this book, but I might suggest getting a more complete version instead (so long as it is unedited--Emily hated it when people wanted to edit her poems, and I think that we should respect that).

I was never actually a fan of poetry until I encountered Emily Dickinson's poems. It seems as if she has written a poem for everyone. I strongly recomend this book, as my English teacher did to me, not only because of my love for Emily Dickinson, but for the quality of the book. It is obvious that Thomas H. Johnson, the editor, put many long hours of hard work into gathering this collection. Many of her poems were simply scribbled on little pieces of paper, which makes me wonder what kind of literary genius she must have been. With the help of this book, she has become my favorite poet, and I have learned that poetry can be strong medicine for the hurting soul. Final Harvest never leaves my side.

When it comes to choosing an edition of Emily Dickinson's poems, we need to be very careful. Selections of her poems have appeared in many editions, and the earlier ones - which are still being reprinted - often contain extensively edited and revised versions of her poems which do not give us what she actually wrote.

Her poems are so unusual, in terms of their diction, meters, grammar, and punctuation, that earlier editors felt obliged to replace her characteristic dashes with more conventional punctuation, and to regularize and smooth out her texts to make them more acceptable to readers of the time.

In fact, it was only when Thomas H. Johnson's editions appeared that readers were finally given an accurate version of the original texts, with Emily Dickinson's diction and punctuation restored.

Johnson has produced three different editions of the poems. The first, a 3-volume Variorum Edition (1955), includes all of her many variants, since Emily Dickinson often added alternate words to her drafts and in many cases seems never to have decided on a final reading. These variants, though extremely interesting to scholars, enthusiasts, and advanced students of ED, are not really necessary in an edition for the general reader.

What the general reader needs is an edition in which the editor, after closely examining the manuscripts and taking into account all relevant factors, gives what he feels is a sensible and acceptable reading, and this is what Johnson has given us in the two other editions he prepared, a Reader's edition of the Complete Poems (details of which are given below), and an abridgement of this which included only what he felt were her best poems.

In other words, readers can feel confident that in the present edition they have been given (insofar as it's possible to get her idiosyncratic manuscript drafts over into typography) at least one accurate reading of ED's original draft.

Those who would like to look at the variants can always consult Johnson's Variorum (1955), or the more recent Variorum of R. W. Franklin (1998). Better still, if they can, they might take a look at R. W. Franklin's sumptuous 2-volume 'The Manuscript Books of Emily Dickinson' (1981), which gives photographic facsimiles of many of her manuscripts.

Emily Dickinson is a very great poet. Personally I think that in some ways she is the greatest poet of all. In the present edition we have been given accurate texts of a selection of her poems, arranged so far as was possible in chronological order of composition. Johnson's is an edition which should serve the general reader well enough for most ordinary purposes.

Another excellent Reader's edition that can be recommended has been prepared by ED's most recent editor, R. W. Franklin (1999). Either of the Johnsons or the Franklin (which contains 14 additional poems) will give you access to a body of poems that are so far above the ordinary run of poems that we really ought to have another word for them.

Just as a prism breaks up light into a band of colors - red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet - and their infinite gradations, so do Emily Dickinson's poems become, as it were, a prism which conducts the white light of reality, a reality which as it passes through the prism of her poem explodes into a multiplicity of meanings.

It is the rich suggestiveness of her poems, a suggestiveness which generates an incredible range of meanings, that prevents us from ever being able to say (to continue the metaphor) that a given poem is 'about red' or 'about blue,' because her poems, as US critic Robert Weisbuch has pointed out, are in fact about _everything_. This is what makes her so unique, and this is why she appeals to every kind of reader.

Emily Dickinson's poetry is one of the wonders of the world. Whether you select one of the Johnsons or the Franklin edition, it will become a book that you will cherish, a golden book and endless source of pleasure and inspiration that you will find yourself returning to again and again.

For those who may be interested, details of Johnson's reader's edition of the Complete Poems are as follows :

THE COMPLETE POEMS OF EMILY DICKINSON. Edited by Thomas H. Johnson. 784 pp. Boston : Little, Brown, 1960 and Reissued. ISBN: 0316184136 (pbk.)

I gave this to my wife as a gift before our recent trip to New Orleans, and she carried this book everywhere. While any book like this is a bit out-of-date as soon as it is published, it was still very useful for finding all the sites and giving us good background information. One important note though is that Anne Rice is selling off her doll collection and the orphanage, so there is no longer any tour. That was really a disappointment.

If you're going to New Orleans largely because you're a fan of Anne Rice's Vampire and Mayfair Witches novels, then this is an essential.

I used it on my first trip to New Orleans. It includes self-guided tours of the French Quarter and Garden District that include Vampire Chronicle and Mayfair sites respectively without leaving out the must-see unrelated sites and experiences. The only caveat is that zoo fans should be aware that the Audobon is one of the best in the country.

Three types of sites are covered - those related to Anne Rice herself, those used in - or speculated to have inspired locations in - the books, and those where parts of "Interview" were filmed.

With chapters on guided plantation, swamp and cemetary tours, as well as restaurants and hotels (the last including descriptions of ambviance that helped me considerably in my choice of hotel), you'll have everything you need to plan your trip and not miss anything like the Ursuline convent where Louis found Claudia and the Gardiner House that inspired the home that Lestat, Louis and Claudia shared.

Best of all, Ms. Dickinson wants us all to be careful out there in a city that can become ominous if you go too far off the beaten track sans tour group - especially at night. As she wittily reminds us, we're not all as indestructable as Lestat, and if an area - even one that contains an Anne Rice site - is unsafe, she doesn't hesitate to tell us so. Following her advice, you'll see everything you want to see and get home safe and sound.

Last year, for Christmas 97 we had to go to New Orleans to see my father's family, I was having a a horrible time because of the weather. (We went the year before for Mardi Gras, the weather makes my hair go afro-y; it doesn't help to use your normal hair-care products.) We went to the French Quarter the day we were leaving and pow there was this cool book. I had to get it, I've read all of the Mayfair Witches books. I recommend it to anyone that's ever wondered about where their favorite characters lived.

This book could be read by couples BEFORE they decide to end a marriage. There are circumstances when that would not work such as abusive relationships, but as a married person I found so many of the stories reminding me how NOT to get lost as a person, how NOT to assume the responsibility of happiness for my spouse, how to remember and honor my spouse in the decisions I make. Once you're married, decisions are no longer exclusive. These stories remind you of that. If the divorced has happened, I would want to read this book after the rawness of separation has dissipated. So often, those who are newly divorced cannot see the forest for the trees yet. I was FASCINATED with the Bible references. Many people today feel the Bible does not apply to today's world. Yet here is God's word showing His love, wisdom, and understanding; asking His children to take responsibility for their actions. I would recommend this book to couples counselors, churches, any gathering that includes the divorced - that's everywhere!

My husband and I work with troubled marriages. Some are going through divorce, others contemplating it. I originally began reading Dolly's book with these couples in mind. However, I quickly found that "Moving On" can benefit anyone. Divorced people aren't the only ones who may need help moving on in some area of life.

Dolly's style is easy-going. Each chapter is short so I was able to read segments as I found time. Sometimes I read very little because I needed time to digest the content. I highly recommend this book for those who have been through a divorce or are going through one now. If you buy a copy for a friend, buy one for your own reading. You'll gain a better understanding of what he/she faces. You might find these "quiet moments" helpful for yourself as well. I plan to recommend this book to ministries, pastors, friends, counselors . . . !

I found "Moving On" enormously powerful. As I read each of the stories, I saw so much of my own divorce process, hurt and struggles. I wish there had been a book like this one when I was hurting. I have read them all and was continually searching for answers and guidance.

Dolly's book is to the point and yet gives one hope that there is a way out. I believe it will help any reader, no matter what stage of divorce they are going through or even if they are just contemplating a divorce. The questions at the end of each story gave me pause to think about how I would have reacted if I had been that person.

The same wisdom is there for both believers and non-believers. Even those walking a Christian life go through divorce and need to know that they are not alone.

I plan to donate a copy to my church library and recommend it to my friends and family.

I saw ditto to all that Mr Dobbs wrote in his review.