In this installment, we find our western horse and city pig travelling back home to the city. Along the way, they meet an old dog with a passion for dancing. My students loved reading about Clarence in the first book and flipped over this selection. Really is a must for any collection!

When we last saw Clarence, the pig, and Smoky, the purple horse, they were about to leave the dude ranch and head back to the big city where Clarence lives. They've packed their bags and are ready to begin their long journey, over the mountains and across the desert. "Clarence can hardly wait. But first, Smoky is going to show Clarence a great surprise. Clarence loves surprises." They travel, and picnic, they sleep under the stars in a tent, go fishing, nap, watch the clouds roll by, and even get to stay in a hotel. "Clarence loves the hotel. He really loves room service. Smoky orders hay." But best of all, they meet a new and special friend along the way. Old Edgar, the dog, hums and dances. In fact, he is such an amazing and energetic dancer that Smoky warns Clarence, "You'll have to watch him to make sure he doesn't twirl away." And as the three friends travel on to see the great surprise, that's exactly what happens..... For those who loved Clarence Goes Out West And Meets A Purple Horse, Jean Ekman Adams is back with another Clarence and Smoky adventure that's sure to warm your heart and tickle your funny bone. Her engaging text, with its simple message of friendship, loyalty, and acceptance is filled with gentle humor and begs to be read aloud. But it's Ms Adam's marvelously bold and bright artwork, rich in witty western detail, that makes this picture book sparkle, and brings these endearing characters to life. With a satisfying, happily-ever-after ending to complete the story, Clarence And The Great Surprise is perfect for youngsters 3-7, and is a sweet little treasure of a book, you don't want to miss.

I am delighted that author/illustrator, Jean Ekman Adams, has returned Clarence to his devoted fans with a second book. Clarence stole our hearts with his first adventure, "Clarence Goes Out West and Meets a Purple Horse." Now he and Smokey are off on another adventure and they have taken a dancing doggie along with them. The same endearing illustrations are found throughout this second offering and "the great surprise"...well is a great surprise. Clarence and friends are gentle souls with silent lessons abounding throughout their stories and illustrations, all of which will delight readers of every age. I eagerly look forward to the next adventure.

The simple fact is that the sun always shines somewhere. When times are tough at home, there is some country where investment opportunity is best!

I find wisdom, humor, and so much intelligence here. I pass this book on to my husband and children so that they may gain from reading it.

Diversification is key. Diversification ensures that when there are big swings and big hits in the U.S. market, a portfolio has some balance to it. For safety, look for markets that don't react the same way at the same time as your domesitc market does, and that should be offshore. The other main reason to invest offshore is opportunity. Opportunities abound in places like China, the Middle East, Africa and other third world nations that are shedding their third world status.

Just finished reading " Deep In Our Hearts", a book I'd like to strongly recommend. It captures on a very personal level, the spirit of the Civil Rights era, from the perspective of nine different white women who were deeply involved in the struggle to bring about more racial justice. It is a moving tribute to all the heroes of that very difficult time. To all who were involved at the time or those who are the least bit curious of "what went down", you cannot fail to admire the stories of these brave women. This is history (herstory) as it should be related-from the participants.

Imagine leaving your comfortable world as you knew it in the erly 1960's. Young white women; some from the north, some from the south. Rural and urban, college kids, middle class, working class and just plain poor. Heading to a dangerous world and joining the early days of the Civil Rights Movement. Leaving behind the scorn, disdain, and ridicule of family and friends. Walking into a climate of hate and bigotry, and joining in civil disobedience against segregation. Walking in the picket lines, sometimes fearing for your life; organizing, and joining in singing hymns of freedom. Going from tears of frustration to smiles of great joy, while hitching a ride on that freedom train and holding on for dear life.
One recent eveing at Northern Lights Book Store and Cafe in St. Johnsbury, Vt., 70 people heard two local women who participated passionately in that movement. The authors read from their book, Deep In Our Hearts: Nine White Women in the Freedom Movement.
The book is an eloquent and powerful one that takes us back to one of the most tumultuous periods in American history; the erly days of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), Freedom Summer, voter registrations, lunch counter sit-ins and the rise of Black Power and the women's movement. Deep In Our Hearts is a collection of essays, that take us into the lives of a group of young women who were transformed by the Civil Rights Movement.
The audience listened as Penny Patch looked back and read softly. "I understand well that what was between us will never be again, but still, that experience remains at the core of who I am. The fact that some of us had deep friendships that crossed all racial lines is simply a miracle. For short periods of time, in those early yers, we leaped over all the history and all of the minefields between us."
Perched on a stool and sipping warm tea to sooth a sore throat, Theresa Del Pozzo read from the book. "My involement with the movement began as a moral reaction to the blatant injustice of segregation and the denial of basic human rights of African-Americans. Along the way I got an education in the intricate patterns of racism and began to experience what I think as the small-c culture of the African_American community: the wisdom, dignity, strength, humor, gentleness and creativeness of its everyday life and people. The experience of living within the black world changed forever the person I was to become and the way I live my adult life."
Listening to the authors as they told their stories one could not help but admire their courage and admire this courageous book. They stand as powerful testaments to a time when the goal of universal justice was truly in sight and to the hope that a new generation of blacks and whites will take up the challenge to make the world a better place.

Marvin Minkler of the North Star Monthly

This collection of stories, detailing the lives of nine white women active in the fight to end racial segregation and discrimination in this country, is sure to touch your heart. It is a must read for anyone interested in learning more about the Civil Rights movement of the sixties. I couldn't put it down.

This short but sweet story gives a hilarious look of the ever so familiar creature-the human through the recognizable figures...Adam and Eve.

Mark Twain presents the journals of Adam and Eve. In a satirical tone we see how they cope with new things. Eve names things and animals and is appreciative of nature. She comments on the moon which falls out of the sky and is brought back. She recalls her reflection in the water, but regards this as a separate entity all together. Adam, differently, builds shacks and searches the land. They eventually find a baby, Cain, who for Adam may be a fish, a bear, a kangeroo, or parrot. He eventually sees that the baby is, of course, a premature human.

There are many instances of humour. The reader is left to wonder how it might have been for the 'first' couple. Kierkegaard remarked that Adam and Eve must have felt trapped by their own freedom, not knowing what to do. I myself regard Adam and Eve as mythology but can see the curiosities of what a 'first couple' would have been like. Would they be happy? Would they be attractive? What were their conversations like? It gives to the imagination, undoubtedly. But like Twain, I can't take it seriously.

Mark Twain creates a fascinating experience of a man and a woman discovering each other, learning to live together in the real world, growing up toward being a whole being.

Throughout the entire delicious epic of the story, the two characters grow from unaware children to mature humans, able to make a living together through all difficulties.

Adam, on one side, starts regarding Eve in a critical way that reminds the rigorousness of an engineer and ends warmly with the calm passion given by a lifetime of togetherness.

Eve, on the other, depicted here as the essential expression of the womanhood, appears as a living miracle of contradictions. She is so playful, sunny, innocent and wildly alive, that Adam finally realizes he's happy to be sentenced to love her forever. It is worth saying that even the Sin is reconsidered here rather as an abuse of Eve's ingenuity than an assumed trespassing...

The friendly, optimistic approach to life, the art of putting strong, fundamental feelings into everyday's words, the gentle humor far from cheap melodrama, the subtle metaphor of the joy of living arising from each chapter made me to consider this novel the most touchy love story ever written.

This book was very informative! I learned a lot from reading this!

Enjoyed reading the options and information this book offered.

very inforative book, enjoyed learning options and information.

I bought this book back in the early 70s. During that decade I read it repeatedly (and it shows), made mead and wine based on its loose instructions, and unwittingly expanded my worldview thanks to its digressions into mythology and epic poetry. Thirty years later, I dared to brew beer using a kit (a 2002 Christmas gift from a well-meaning niece), and the result was barely potable. I pulled this book from the book archives, made my first batch according to Adams, and never returned to the kit.

Times have changed since the writing of 'An Essay.' Mead is now relatively available, the law prohibiting homebrewed beer was reversed in 1978, brewing supply shops abound, and wine shops are many. Still, Adams instructs us -- no doubt as he did his students in the great state of Washington -- in the general concepts of making a fairly good beer inexpensively, producing an ancient drink that still gladdens the heart (and produces a nasty hangover), home-distilling substances that the government still frowns upon, and producing a good wine from those local fruits.
I wonder if Adams ever considered a "How to Make Booze Revisited."

A true treasure from an era gone bye. Excellent for the reader with a desire to embark on the journey of homebrewing without the snobbish, elitest, cynicism usually found in do it yourself, how to books. Also, excellent for the reader that posesses true curiosity and a love for "reader friendly" words. A quick read that provides both laughter and actual instruction with pinch of back to the earth philosophy.

I can't remember where I got my copy, it was at my bedside for years and every couple months I would read (or re-read) a chapter or two. One day, my wife sold it at a garage sale for 10 cents. I decided not to divorce her because of the children.

I read this book after an experience that I had in college. It was very easy to read and also informative. "Free of the shadows" is a great book for anyone who has experienced sexual assault. It is also a good book for family and friends to read who are trying to help a love one get through a difficult time. I loaned the copy I had to a friend, who in turn loaned it to a friend. I have been looking for a copy of this book for years! Ever bookstore that I went to told me that they couldn't order it. They said it was unavailable. I am very happy to see that this very resourceful book is still in print.

This book is fantastic. My friend was raped, and I wanted to get her a book that wouldn't scare her but would answer her questions thoroughly. This entire book is a series of VERY helpful questions and answers grouped by topic in chapters. A good book for raising self-esteem and helping get on with life. I agree that it is definately NOT scary to read, and definately one of the more gentle books to read. This is an especially helpful book in my case where my friend believes it's her fault, when it really wasn't. It helped a LOT!!

At first I thought it was overly simplistic. But I think its like that for people to be able to read it immediatly after a rape. Anyway, I think its very good. As rape tends not to be something that is openly discussed amongst even close female friends, (for me anyhow) it gives the opportunity to outline some pretty basic guidelines which- sadly just arn't discussed as freely as they should be. Very good. I thought I was pretty aware, but this reinforced and highlighted perspectives that lurk in the mind, but werent addressed. Surprisingly informative. Made me realize how far reaching the effects of the rape were and how recovery from the effects of the rape were just as important as recovering from the rape/assault itself. If you are on the recieving end of unwanted sexual attention, this is a great book. I have found that there seem to be very few books about rape, which is surprising, as I have always found rapes and assaults to be far too commonplace in this society. I think the word rape puts a lot of people off, because they think it always refers to something quite extreme or violent, but sexual assaults are often not 'OTT', but can be just as scarring. -meaning the act itself is one of violence, but the rapist will not always beat people up or yell etc,. It might be a threatening act, but be equqlly as damaging to the psyce as a more voilent rape scenario.

A fascinating -- and heartbreaking -- look at the cultural devastation ensuing from the efforts of many well-meaning educators intent on "civilizing" Native Americans. Beautifully written, thoughtful, and thought-provoking, this book is a splendid and welcome examination of one of our contry's most shameful episodes.

I chose to read this text for a special assignment for a graduate level curriculum overview course. This book takes one through the historical journey of how American Indians came to be apart of the U.S. colossal education system. American Indian education is the only Federal education system model that exits. With the push for more Federal leadership in schools due to No Child Left Behind legislation, this book can help future (and current) educators scrutinize how successful the federal government has been in the past and present in implementing a standardized education system.

Whether your interest is due to academic reasons or personal interests, I highly recommend this book. The book is divided into four parts: Civilization; Education; Response; and Causatum. Chapter five entitled "Classroom" describes the evolution of the 'standard' curriculum that was decided to be the best/most successful for American Indian children. This curriculum mainly had its birth at the Carlisle Industrial Indian School in Carlisle, PA. That school became a model for the several off reservation boarding schools that were to follow.

Adams' research for his text is extremely thorough. Many times American Indians are currently worried when they see texts that have an anthropology 'feel' about them. This text uses many primary sources such as actual letters from the students at schools and excerpts from actual conversations between teachers and children, their parents, and school administrators. Such as this excerpt from Irene Stewart, "...By the time I graduated from the sixth grade I was a well-trained worker...By evening I was too tired to play and just fell asleep wherever I sat down. I think this is why the boys and girls ran away from school; why some became ill; why it was so hard to learn. We were too tired to study." (p. 153). What is great about his writing is that one is not lost in a lot of elitist research style prose. He is able to incorporate his research in a way to make it easily readable and almost in a story like fashion. Lastly, I really appreciated how he tried to incorporate a balanced portrayal of Indian Education when appropriate. By this I mean to say, that Adams is sure to include vignettes and commentaries to show that not all Non-Indians of the time wished to eradicate the 'Indians' and, like today, many Non-Indians have an earnest interest in the true success - however it may be defined - for American Indian children.

I hope you find this book as helpful and interesting as I did.

The outlook was hubris. The deep motive was greed. The set-up was civilization vs savagry. First came the land grabs, coupled with the troops and the missionaries, bearing THE WORD, and the word could not be in Apache, and some whips to back up the loving deity. Then came the schools, on the res, near the res, and in distant towns. The curricula was standardized, identities stolen--in name and body. Some kids managed to assimilate, many died, some burned down the schools. Truants were chased down like fugitive slaves. Free inquiry rooted in the natural curiosity of children, rising from their particular experiences, banned. What struck me about this incisive piece of educational and cultural history was how much the Indian Schools look like so many public schools today. What those white folks did seems to have come around and bit them, so gently they don't even notice. I hope my students like this as much as I did.

This is one of the most mind-wrenching books of the 20th century, and if you read it, you will understand this is not hyperbole. Just like a Jack London book, this is the deeply emotional and beautiful story of a man and his dog, and the vast love and respect they share through their many adventures. Like chasing down concentration-camp escapees. Like tracking the innocent poor as they flee their persecutors.

How can you not love a dog?

Beware-- this book may haunt you. A simple dog story it is not.

On the surface, this is an accessible easy read; we're in the point of view of Ruslan, formerly a guard dog in a labor camp. When the camp bewilderingly closes, Ruslan is left to his own devices-- trying to find his commander, trying to get food. One terrible scene I have never been able to get out of my mind is when a peasant cruelly offers him a piece of bread-- covered with hot mustard, knowing it will cause the dog pain. No animal lover can read this scene without compassion or tears.

And yet.

Ruslan is faithful, but the reader knows the system he served was an evil one. Like the best allegories, this book works fully on all its levels-- as a sheer survival story from a decent, though misguided, dog's point of view the book is sad. But with the knowledge that certainly any Russian reader would have (and that any reader should have, really) about the changes in Russian society-- this book comes out of the Thaw period, when artists began to be able to critique more openly the repressive Stalinist regime-- the book's real tragedy is almost too much to take.

For Ruslan, you see, like so many Russians, had been deceived in his attempt to be a Good Dog. What Ruslan remembers fondly, the reader with horror can understand as atrocity (attacking prisoners, for example). (Another book which does this is Martin Amis' brilliant TIME'S ARROW, in which the Holocaust is remembered backwards, so that the narrator recalls resurrecting millions out of ashes).

Ruslan comes to a terrible, inevitable end-- the details of which are left to the reader's shivering imagination. Ruslan sees some people he once knew-- and goes to do his job. But the world had mysteriously and completely changed.

Poor Ruslan, he was only doing his job-- truly. The real criminals are the ones who corrupted and perverted his loyalty and decency into serving their evil ends.

An unforgettable book. I wept at its end, and emailed my Russian teacher to complain! (I got no sympathy; tragedy and sorrow are so Russian, she said).

The end of Stalin's system of forced labor labor camp is seen through the eyes of forced labor guard dog. This powerful premise provides a unique perspective on the lasting impact of the Stalinist nightmare on the survivors, and shows the reader that the destruction of one system of evil does not inevitably mean the end of all misery.
The survivors, whether they worked for the system -- as in the case of a guard dog, or those who who were crushed by the system, as in the case of millions of former prisoners, were all forced to continue to endure in Soviet Russia, without any real justice for the victims.
The confusion that resulted, with former victims being "rehabilitated" and yet never enjoying any real restitution, and the former tormentors never being required to face the enormity of their deeds is palpably felt.
In addition, by using a morally neutral character, a dog, the author shows that in the case of many who supported the system, it is impossible to definitively assign to them guilt for the system which they supported. The book shows that while totalitarianism has a few monsters, it has many more people who accede unquestioningly to the environment with which they are surrounded. And it does all of this quietly, without melodrama or histrionics.
This powerful book is a must read for anyone who is interested in the human condition. Let us hope that more such books are written in Russia, and that this book is reprinted.
Michael Glenny provides a well-crafted translation of this important book.

I enjoyed reading this book. I bought it for my husband as a gift, but I read it before he did. The photographs and stories were about at least one family from each North and South American country. Wide range of lifestyles, from tribal Amazonians, peasants in Mexico, poor and rich of Brazil, single mother families in West Indies, farmers in Canada, and urban folks from Chicago. The book covers their diligences and futilities in this world as a family unit.

This type of book should never be allowed to go out of print. It should be available for all to read and learn from. In it, Helene Tremblay offers a fascinating insight into the ordinary lives of various people from The Americas and The Caribbean by spending a typical day with a typical family. In a beautifully illustrated book, sensitively written, Ms Tremblay gently pushes opens a window into their different worlds, eating, resting and working with the families. There is no feeling of intrusion, just an unspoken respect for their way of life. It is at once humbling, honest, moving and utterly compelling. It is a book I refer to many times and can highly recommend.

I've already given a review for the first book which is on this page for some reason... so I wholeheartedly agree that the book on Asia and the Pacific is just as spectacular as the book on the Americas... It was out of print and I was amazed when Amazon.Com came through with a used copy that was in beautiful condition! I was very pleased and impressed and am delighted to have this book in my collection... I was very intrigued by the families in Asia and the exotic Pacific! Very much worth the wait!