This listening based book is very helpful in boosting the confidence level of "false beginners" and those who have not really used spoken English very much. It is a good springboard for conversation as well.

I read this book in a mall book store today. It has delightful illustrations, in simple but bright colors. Not one of those overly hectic try to impress the art world books. The story is simple, with those repeat sentences that young listeners love to echo...or shout out. The animals have a fuzzy texture. I am ordering this for the grandchildren for Easter! And can't wait to read it to them.

Charles Webb is a poet of surprising versatility who has the sense and timing of the comedy stand-up performer but, just when one accepts his comedic self, touches one's heart with his thoughtful,"Inheritance" and "Chapel in the Pines" and "Floating Loin," as well as the title poem "Liver."

A wonderful book for mothers and daughters to read together. Lizzie and her mom make a wonderful pair that not only my child, but I also love to read about over and over again. Do I love this book? Yes I Do Do Do!

A wonderful book with complete instructions for making collector-grade, period furniture. However, it's not for inexperienced woodworkers or those without good power tools. A lathe is essential for his beautiful turnings. The highly skilled author is a retired structural engineer and it shows in his meticulously crafted works.

"Mary Jane Harper Cried Last Night" is an excellent, descriptive, and unputdownable novel. Joanna Lee and T.S. Cook bring you into the world of an abusive mother of a three year old girl, who wants peace and quiet and ends up with too much of it.

Marx once wrote to a friend that he did not feel his contribution was the discovery of the material underpinnings of politics nor the existence of class conflict but rather identifying the central role that the working class was to play in the struggle toward socialism. Luxemburg felt that the role of a party was to support the spontaneous movement of the working class toward that goal. For her spontaneous did not mean impulsive as in unplanned but rather organic, beyond the capacity of a party to predict, but which a party must engage, educate, and support. A quick and good read.

Maya Angelou has explored the themes of racial, sexual, and economic oppression in several autobiographical volumes including "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings," "The Heart of a Woman," and "All God's Children Need Traveling Shoes." In 1993 she was inivted to compose and deliver a poem at the inauguration of President Clinton, "On the Pulse of Morning." In this biography for the Journey to Freedom series, Judith E. Harper deals with the racial prejudice Angelou (born Marguerite Annie Johnson) faced growing up in Stamps, Arkansas and the pivotal event in her life when she sexually abused at the age of seven by her mother's boyfriend. The man was convicted, sent to jail, and murdered shortly after he was released. Believing that the man was killed because she had spoken at his trial, Angelou was convinced her voice was a murderous weapon and vowed never to speak again. Of course, young readers of this excellent juvenile biography will discover that Angelou did begin speaking again, but that her time of being mute taught her many things, including how to listen.

Harper details Angelou's "Difficult Road to Success," which included being a single mother, a singer and dancer of calypso music, and a member of the touring company of "Porgy and Bess." Angelou became involved in the Civil Rights movement and was inspired by Malcolm X to work with the Organization of Afro-American Unity. Following Malcolm X's assassination, Angelou focused her energies on writing and her first book was published in 1970. In 1972 she was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize for her first published book of verse and that same year became the first African American woman to have a screenplay produced in Hollywood. She even was nominated for an Emmy for her performance in the celebrated television mini-series "Roots." Before she turned 70 UNICEF appointed her a National Ambassador.

Young readers will find Harper's biography of Angelou to be very informative and doubtlessly they will be inspired to seek out her writings, whether her autobiographical works or her poems. This is one of the best volumes I have read in the Journey to Freedom series, an on-going effort by the African American Library to educate children abut the achievements and contributions of noted African Americans. My only complaint would be that I think it would have been nice if one of Angelou's poems could have been included. But, fortunately, with the Internet it is not difficult at all for a young reader to find Angelou's works after reading about her life has inspired them.

I just bought a new book that all of us should have. The author,
Jane Harper, has included things that we usually find out how to do
only after we've done it wrong. If you are a new club officer or
you're looking for guidance on how a meeting should be run,
this book is a must.

...if he's on your M.A. reading list.