What an amazing book! The way that Josephine has interpreted things in this book is just amazing! It brought me to tears! I would recommend this book to everyone. It is a book to keep on your nightstand forever!

Amor y ternura de Josephine Powers, la hilandera de las espigas del trigo. Miscelanea literaria de poemas, prosas líricas, citas literarias y poemas an prosa que fluyen como lava volcánica por las landeras de sus recuerdos. El cántico espiritual que nos ocupa es una poética autobiográfica no adscrita a ningún género literario. Su espíritu (el desierto ) recibe la palabra de Dios (el chubasco ) y se transforma en las espigas del trigo(los frutos de su poética) gracias a que "lloran las nubes" y "el milagro se hace" mudándose "en sublime verdor de luz inapagable". Y Dios le dijo: "ESCRIBE MIS PALABRAS, SIEMBRALAS POR TODO EL MUNDO, SE DISPERSARÁN COMO LA LUZ MISMA; BAÑARÉ DE AMOR, TERNURA, CONOCIMIENTO Y PODER AL QUE LAS PERCIBA".

Escribo esto para cualquira persona que busca inspiracion. Este libro solo puede estar inspirado por nuestro Senor, Jesu Cristo. La autora usa sus palabras benditas para darnos su fe....

This book is a great story and is somewhat a secondary book to Belle and the Beau.

The leading character in this story is Josephine Best, Daniel younger sister, and is very set in her goals. She owns a hairstyling shop, been to college, and is dating George Brooks who is passive and not really her type.

Then she meets Adam Morgan, Daniel's friend from way back, who is famous for his charm with the ladies. Jojo knows that she can't get caught up in that... but somehow she just cant help it. She tries to resist Adam. But does it work? Do these two who seem destined to be together work it out? Or does this romance fall apart?

I highly recommend this to anyone who love historical romance... definatly a five star book!!

Reviewed by Brenda Turner

Seventeen year old Josephine Best had a life long dream to own her on beauty shop.

JoJo didn't bother with affairs of the heart, because she had more other important things on her mind. With the war coming to the end, JoJo had her sights set on marketing her hair products. JoJo was not looking for love, when she met George Brooks, a wounded soldier on medical leave. George convinced her to allow him to court her.

Casanova, Adam Morgan has known Josephine most of her life. When he joined the military she was young girl who was always getting trouble. Upon his return, he met a gorgeous, sophisticated, extraordinary young women who stole his heart away.

When Adam found out that the young lady was JoJo his best friend's younger sister he could not believe his eyes. Because his reputation preceded him JoJo had no mind to consider Adam as a beau, even though she was attracted. Both JoJo and Adam tried desperately to stay away from each other. But one kiss let them know that it was impossible. Their heart had already been pierced by cupid's arrow and they had eyes only for each other.

Touché to Ms. Jenkins on this excellent bouquet of emotions. A magnificent romance that brought memories of my first real love. I rated this great piece of art 5***** stars.

If you have read any other books from this series, you know that they are simply fantastic. Belle and the Beau features JoJo, who's story is in Josephine and the Soldier. JoJo is Daniel's little sister, the man that Belle married in the aforesaid novel.
JoJo's story is my personal favorite in the series(so far. In Belle and the Beau, Adam Morgan and his brother Jeremy used to tease their best friends little sister all the time, calling her "Pest" and aggravint her to no end. When the brothers move to Canada, the Best family thinks that that is the last they will ever see or hear from the Morgans. But it's not!
Adam is injured in the civil War and returns to his old town where several soldiers are staying. Mrs. Best offers him a place in their home, since she always loved the Morgans like her own sons.
When Adam see his little "Pest" again, he doesn't even recognize her! She is grown up and beautiful, taking his breath away. However, the Jo remebers Adam and Jere was that they unending charm towards the ladies, always "picking flowers", and they stayed that way. That is, until Adam sees JoJo.
JoJo treis to ignore the way Adam makes her fell, but she simply can't. She has her eye on another man, after all, who's asked to call on her. But, then how does Adam make her feel in ways that no other man ever has? She loves him, and he her, bu whereas Adam is willing to admit to it and put an end to his "flower picking days", JoJo does not believe him....yet.
Read this book, but only after you read Belle and the Beau. Knowing the two's history together makes this even more charming and hilarious then it would be, READ IT!

"Lawrence the Laughing Cookie Jar" has something for everyone, it is truly a wonderful book. My grandkids love every bit of the book and make me read it over and over to them---they are especially fond of Reggie the dog. I also found it interesting that a jar is actually a jar in Will Marks' world, not a Safeway sourball. As a grandpa and erstwhile disciplinarian, I admire Marks' style by having the cookie jar laugh hysterically when the kids attempt to take more cookies. While my Phys Ed measures were far more draconian, Marks shows that you don't need to be Colonel Jessup from "A Few Good Men" to properly discipline kids. They are far better off learning from their own mistakes...the cookie jar is a kind way of teaching an important lesson in life.

This was a great 2nd book for Marks. As a bachelor for years, Marks provided me with many simple recipes in his initial epic instructional, "No More Mac and Cheese". The gazpacho soup recipe was my favorite, so easy I could throw it together in the back of my Vanagon or in the comfort of my PE office---although the aroma never overcame the jocks in the locker room!! Every meal was always finished off with a nice couple of jars, usually the ones left over from the glandular kids who got only 0+ on the pullup bar (apologies to Otis). I look forward to more from Marks.

The kids aren't happy with the ration of one cookie each; but they face an impossible barrier to more: a laughing cookie jar which loudly chuckles when they try to get more. Josephine Taylor's whimsical drawings enhances William C. Marks' fun story of trying to get the most from a cookie jar - through creative theft.

It's one of those books your kid makes you read over and over again long after you get sick of it (after 45 reads for me, which is a record). I give it as a gift to every new parent. You'll dig it.

Farley Mowat had already written a book titled "The Boat Who Wouldn't Float," so he could very easily have called this volume, "The Ship Who Wouldn't Sink."

"The Serpent's Coil" is a companion book to "Grey Seas Under" and continues the story of ocean-going salvage tug operations in the Atlantic. "Grey Seas Under" chronicled the adventures of the tugboat 'Foundation Franklin' before and during World War II. "The Serpent's Coil" takes place after the war and tells the tale of ships battered by the consuming fury of not one but three hurricanes (the "serpent's coil" of the title) in the autumn of 1948.

The author blends mystery, life-and-death adventure, and humor in his tale of rescue and salvage operations on 'the Great Western Ocean.' The mystery centers around the disappearance of so many ex-wartime Liberty freighters in mid-ocean. Most of them were in ballast when they vanished, and it was assumed but never proven that shifting ballast caused the freighters to turn turtle and sink so rapidly that no message could be transmitted on the 'how' or 'why' of their plight.

'Leicester' was an ex-Liberty freighter fitted out in peace-time rig, newly under the command of Captain Hamish Lawson. He met his ship for the first time while she was taking ballast---"a sludge of sand and gravel dredged from the bottom of the [Thames]"---in preparation for a voyage to New York. Lawson had originally been scheduled to take command of another ex-Liberty freighter (called Sam-ships by the sailors, because they were built for the wartime Lend Lease program by 'Uncle Sam'), but the 'Samkey' had disappeared on route to Cuba. "'Leicester' was the twin sister to 'Samkey'; built in the same yards, to the identical design. The only difference was that she was younger by a year..."

Captain Lawson's freighter was halfway between Ireland and Nova Scotia on the Great Circle route to New York when the first storm struck. 'Leicester' rolled more than her Master liked, but she weathered the gale easily enough. His main worry was the ship's malfunctioning radio, without which he couldn't receive weather reports or transmit his own position. The Atlantic was not a good place to be in the middle of the hurricane season, without a radio.

Sure enough on the morning of September 14th, the crew of the 'Leicester' found themselves sailing under another threatening sky:

"Lawson watched the ominous black arch [of the hurricane bar] for a quarter of an hour, and even during this short interval it seemed to grow, humping up from the horizon, spreading east and west. Above it, and around the hemisphere of sky, the high clouds were thickening, growing more opaque. A light, aimless breeze that seemed to come erratically from every point of the compass had begun to play about the ship. Lawson noticed that there were no gulls or other seabirds anywhere in sight."

The Sam-ship tried to dodge the hurricane, but it was much too late for such maneuvers. Within the hour, 'Leicester' found herself enmeshed in the roaring hell of "The Serpent's Coil."

Mowat certainly knows how to tell a suspenseful sea story! The rest of his book describes the travails of 'Leicester' as she founders but does not sink amidst the coils of the first hurricane. Her adventures afterward are entwined with those of the salvage and rescue tugs, 'Foundation Lillian' and 'Foundation Josephine,' plus another, even more savage hurricane that struck while the Sam-ship lay helplessly at what was supposed to be a safe mooring.

"The Serpent's Coil" and its even more exciting companion, "Grey Seas Under" are gripping testaments to the daring and skill of Canada's master seamen. Even the sections of these books that were strictly concerned with salvage operations kept me reading ahead at full steam.

Farley Mowat ,The Dean of the Canadian outdoor Writers, at the top of his form. If you've ever wondered what it was like to work on an Ocean going Tug Boat this is the book for you. Mr. Mowat uses his wartime experience and makes the men and vessels seem to have a life of their own. It's all done in a style that make putting this book down next to impossible. Be sure to have a turtleneck sweater and a steaming mug of Grog available because as you read this account of Maritime Tug's out of Canada you'll be chilled to the bone but kept warm by rapidly turning pages.

True account of North Atlantic deep sea salvage.Men and equipment routinely battle impossible odds and harrowing conditions to save stricken ships. Reads like fiction.

Author Josephine Nobisso and illustrator Maureen Hyde bring enchantment to the play of shadows and wind deep in the night in SHH! THE WHALE IS SMILING. As a fierce wind blows outside their home, a sister comforts her brother turning fear of the cold dark into a warm, safe place of imagination. Flying in their bed to the sea, they join a whale swimming among bubbles in a world of their marvelous creation.

The fear of the dark, wind and storms is gently confronted in this imaginative story for children. The dark becomes deep water, movement the swimming of a whale, and wind a part of the mystery of the sea, thereby replacing the fearful with the imaginative. A delightful tale, with fabulously realized illustrations, SHH! THE WHALE IS SMILING comes very highly recommended.

As the wind begins to blow upon a sleeping house, a little girl lights a candle and travels down the hall to her little brother's room to comfort him during the storm. She quietly holds him and sends them both on a journey to the sea to meet and swim with a whale. And as her story delights and distracts him from the storm, he relaxes and falls back to sleep, knowing he's not alone..... Josephine Nobisso has written a very gentle and expressive picture book, told in soft, vivid language, that will charm and calm all pre-schoolers. While listening to the story, Maureen Hyde's beautiful and very detailed artwork will entrance youngsters as their own imaginations take them on this wonderful adventure with an amazing sea creature. Shh! The Whale is Smiling is the perfect bedtime story your little ones will want to hear night after night and a great addition to all home libraries.

For three weeks mommy has read it to me for bedtime because it is my favorite book in the whole wide world!

Ms. Davidson has provided an excellent overview of Greek myths complete with a wide variety of comprehensive exercises. I am most impressed by the original concept and well as the extensive glossary and lists of discussion questions teachers can use as they pick and choose from the many lessons.

This book has become my Bible for teaching mythology to seventh graders. The first year I used it, I was almost overwhelemed by the number of resources, but now (2 years later), I am absolutely loving it! The kids love the dramatic aspect of the unit, and I enjoy watching what they add to the plays. I recommend it highly!

This is a wonderful book! It helps you to learn Greek Myths, while having fun. If a teacher was to have her class act out the plays, they would get to know Greek Myths, and be able to remember the characters, too. I love this book! I am an 8th grader and I think it would be benifical, as well as fun, to use this book in the class room!

A great book that my wife and I discovered at a Spa. Wonderfully informative and enjoyable to read. Even as a male, I found good-to-know information. We're sending it to my mid-sixties mother who is going to be absorbed with it.

With so many products claiming superiority out there, the book's best feature is the objective evaluation of branded cosmetics.

A great book for anyone interested in not just beauty, but total and optimum health. Have seen nothing like in the States.

I totally agree with the reader from San Francisco. This book is GREAT! Delighted that I found it. I am "mid-sixties", feel great, and fighting "aging" every step of the way! This book has sooo many answers-----it covers skin care, make-up suggestions--even goes into skin care products. Then, continues into foods, exercise-- well it covers everything for me. It is so full of good information. It is a big book, and a pretty one. I just love it---can you tell? And highly recommend it! Thank you Josephine Fairley and Sarah Stacey!

No Need to go anywhere else! Comprehensive, magazine-style reading; it is full of critical information and reaches beyond the beauty industry by speaking with health and well being experts from around the globe. I give the set to girlfriends as gifts. Needless to say, they are anticipated presents!

This is a wonderful novel about a man who is sleeping through life, and then one day a hurricane hits. And the man decides that he doesn't really like the practice of law anymore, so he's going to do something about that. And the man's been fantasizing about women his entire life, and so now he's going to do something about that, too. A really remarkable book!

One thing that's interesting about Humphreys work is that she focuses so strongly on one character. In this book we are privy to all of Rob's thoughts--and he has a lot of them!--but none of the other characters, and so they remain mysterious, both to us and to Rob. We're not sure why they do things.

The hurricane, which one character calls an "act of God," strongly suggests that there are not only people, but forces Rob does not understand, and will never understand, let alone control.

One imagines that the characters who interact with Rob in the book suspect that he is in the midst of a self-destructive part of his life--again, the hurricane metaphor--and yet we, who are privy to all his thoughts, realize that he is at his most alive, and in his center he is totally calm.

Humphreys will get compared to Conroy a lot, as they are both from Charleston and write "Southern," but I think she is the more subtle of the two. Her characters are not as wounded (or their wounds are more hidden). Also Conroy's work is more extroverted, whereas Humphreys' work is more internal, and suggests deeper ideas, or not ideas so much as a hint of an idea. I am drawn to rereading this particular work, as the underlying hints are just as interesting as Humphreys' use of language. Fireman's Fair is one of my favorite books, a truly outstanding work of art.

I read the Fireman's Fair for the first time seven years ago. This is one of those novels whose characters are so well fleshed-out that you feel as if you know them. I have read the novel, in full, at least three times -- and have opened it up and re-read favorite sections frequently, when I feel like picking up with Rob Wyatt and Billie Poe again.

Josephine Humphries, PLEASE write more novels like this!

Josephine Humphrey's paints an acurate picture of life in Charleston and the surrounding Lowcountry of S.C. I would suggest this book to anyone who lives in or dreams of the sleepy S.C. coast. The characters are true to the region and the story. This book stirs those crazy dreams of leaving everything behind to start new. Humphreys is a welcomed breath of fresh air to S.C. authors shadowed by Conroy. I wish her the best and await her future work.

Through his impressive example, Grandpa teaches an older boy how to love the beach as they feel the water and smell the sea air. Indeed, Grandpa loved the wind, the woods, the city, the people, the animals and all things that inhabit those spaces. With his grandpa, the boy learns to listen, to feel, and to love his world, too.

Featuring the distinctive, water colors of illustrator Maureen Hyde,GRANDPA LOVED will touch the hearts of the young, and the young at heart. The spectacular illustrations reveal the illustrator's impressive technique with surprising detail and realism, seeming to glow on the page as they accompany the simple message of love and memory. With a creative appeal to the senses and to the heart, author Josephine Nobisso shows how the love of grandpa lives in the lessons he shared. Simple yet wise, GRANDPA LOVED is destined to become a classic. Very highly recommended.

As a boy looks back on the times he spent with his grandfather, he discovers that what grandpa loved are the things he now loves too...the beach, the woods, the city and most of all family and friends. Josephine Nobisso has written a very special, gentle and sensitive story that could easily be maudlin, but instead is uplifting and full of wisdom, as this youngster begins to understand that even though grandpa has died, he's not really gone and will always be there in memories, places and people he loved so much. Maureen Hyde's expressive artwork enhances this simple and straightforward story and together the winning combination of Nobisso and Hyde help children start to understand the circle of life. A lovely book and a sure classic in years to come, Grandpa Loved is a wonderful addition to all bookshelves.

Grandpa Loved and Grandma's Scrapbook (they are companion volumes) are so poetic and simply charming! When you read one read the other!

I just finished reading all three of the Hickle the Pickle books that are currently in publication and I honestly enjoyed all of them. The third book in the series is entitled, "Being Cool, Going to School" and it was probably my favorite because it teaches as well as entertains. Josephine A. Smith brings Hickle to life with his adventures and you immediately like Hickle and cheer him on as he goes through different stages of his life in each book. I look forward to reading the remaining five books...hopefully they will be in publication soon so I can continue in my adventures with Hickle the Pickle. Great reading for school children and a great book for teachers to share with their students and for parents to share with their children because of the lessons learned by Hickle and the other students in his class plus all the people he meets along the way.

Hickle the Pickle is a really cute book teaching children as they read. It is such a fun book that the children don't even realize they are learning something of value. The book has humor. A really great book to read. I have read Josephine Smith's other books and they are all such a joy. I am thankful for such talented writers who also care about teaching our children morals and values. Please don't stop producing such wonderful talented reading for our children.

I have read this book and find it to be a delight to read. This is very easy reading for children of all ages. I feel that the writer of this book has found the way to use something as ordinary as a pickle to express some good values for kids to learn. I am excited to read the other books by this author.