My ex girlfriend, Ashleigh, gave this to me years ago, before she was forced by her family to marry this guy. Long story but she sent this book to me and signed the inside.
Next to Shakespeare, this is the most bittersweet and poetic
poems of love that I have ever read.
It was said that a husband and wife team wrote these so one can only imagine how passionate their marriage was, huh?

This book of sonnets and poems is just wonderful. Elizabeth Barrett Browning's writing is able to get to the very heart of the reader with honesty and beauty. This collection really speaks to the romantic soul with passion and truth. I find her writings to be incredibly moving and this volume touched me deeply.

These sonnets ease my tension when I read them.

I bought this book recently and have had occasion to try out the pirate theme - what a blast! We wore the eye patches and hooks and spoke pirate all evening! This family theme dinners book is full of great ideas and I can't wait to try out some more. Fun for kids, and for the young at heart!

Brilliant little book - easy to read & even easier to get inspired to inject fun into mealtimes.

This book explains simple, fun ways to bring families together over a meal: these dinners get everyone talking and interacting with one another - no mean feat in the midst of our hectic lives today.

A great gift for families.

What a wonderful idea this book is! I cannot tell you of all the fun times we have already enjoyed with theme dinners from "Under the Plastic." Having three small children and getting them to eat dinner is a chore in itself. But this is really fun. I actually look forward to preparing the dinner and having the kids help me find supplies needed throughout the week for our Saturday dinners. Whats more is I am adding a family theme dinner in the middle of the week because we enjoy having these fun dinners together! Hip Hip Hooray for Verna Jones and Donna Armstrong on a job well done!!!

I have been a fan of Jump Start since it was introduced to my local newspaper. It is a breath of fresh air seeing African Americans depicted in such a positive and realistic light. I can't wait until Mr. Armstong compiles another book with the addition of Jojo Cobb! An excellent read. perfect for the Coffee Table.

Robb Armstrong is a genius. No two ways about it.

"Jump Start" is a delightful strip and I'm lucky my local paper carries it. Considering the paucity of good strips featuring black families, this one has set new standards in many ways.

Joe and Marcy, the Jump Start couple are professionals. He is a police officer and she a nurse. They have intelligent conversations and are delightful and believable.

I like the fact that race is simply a part of the story and not the focus of the story. One of my all time favorite strips in creation was a Jump Start strip. Joe and Marcy's friends, Clarence Sr. and his wife complain about how people "act stupid around them" because they are an interracial couple. Joe tells them, "friend, they aren't ACTING." Translation: If folks can't accept interracial families, then the stupidity is NOT an act. I LOVE THAT STRIP!

The Jump Start kids, Sunny and baby Jojo are adorable. I love the way Sunny remains bilingual -- fluent in English and baby talk. Baby Jojo acts like a crib sized executive with his day care pal Benny his faithful partner/employee/man Friday. It is so hilarious to see the way the kids interact!

I love all the strips when Sunny runs from the comb. One can almost feel her pain during these feared comb out sessions. Is there a child in the world who likes to have their hair done? I sometimes doubt that. I love the one where Sunny thinks dreadlocks will save her from the comb. I also like the fact that Sunny and Jojo have playmates of all races because that is how the world really is -- made up of all races.

Robb Armstrong is a genius!

I say hats off to Robb Armstrong for creating and hitting it big with his very popular comic strip all about a whimsical African-American family! It all begun with the high-school courtship between Joe and Marcy. Then they got married, launched their very busy careers as a policeman and a nurse, and along came their two very precocious kids, Sunny and Jojo (what curious names!) Then the whole family goes tumbling into the wildest adventures with a bragging Pop and a doting Mom, household chores, police car chases, shootin' up with the bad guys, the hectic emergency room, the crazy day-care scene where small kids all act like grown-ups, and of course, Sunny's very bushy, untamed hair! And it's all told in a true-to-life vein shot through with intoxicating flights of fantasy and very saucy, well-crafted satire, especially where Joe turns into a very muscular superhero every time his ego gets stroked and the whole family being chased around the house by rabid IRS agents! Rather like "Rose Is Rose", only with a very endearing cast of black folks!

As a financial planner specializing in Wealth Preservation Planning, one aspect of my practice is providing life insurance, when appropriate. As a result, part of my job involves the delivery of death claim checks to widows. Unfortunately, many of them have never had the opportunity to deal with family finances or budgeting - but are suddenly thrown into a situation where they must assume that responsibility. It comes at a time of great instability and disruption.

"On Your Own" by Alexandra Armstrong and Mary R. Donahue deals sensitively with both the emotional and financial issues of widowhood, and provides guidance for both - with compassion and authoritative wisdom. It provides comfort and knowledge in a clever structure which allows the reader to review applications of each chapter's information in one of several optional formats, based upon her individual set of circumstances (young with children, elderly, etc.)

I am so impressed with the book that I give it to each of the beneficiaries to whom I deliver a death claim check. The thank you notes I have received have provided a wonderful reward for sharing this valuable information.

I purchased this book five years ago from Ms. Armstrong at a NAIC Congress in Florida. At the time I purchased it as a reference for my investment club's library. With 21 women in the M & D Investment Club I figured someone would need it sometime. I have skimmed it occasionally through the years but when I recently become widowed it was the first book I brought out. Ms. Armstrong has literally saved me much time and grief in trying to figure out what to do next. There is no time of greater confusion and despair than at the sudden and unexpected loss of a beloved spouse. When I can read this book gives me something to do or think about. The suggestions for organization are excellent and will allow me to make informed descisions instead of emotional decisions. While I did not expect to be the recipient of her wisdom I am grateful for it. I highly recommend it for all women, married, single, divorced or involved in any relationship that has financial involvement. We can't afford to not know how to best proceed with our financial future.

For all who have ever asked "What do I do now?" or "Who can help me with...?" I recommend "On Your Own". Like earlier editions, this is a sensitive and insightful resource for those who have recently experienced (or are preparing to experience) the loss of a spouse. In a highly readable and usable style the authors lead the reader through important topics often thought to be too intimidating or too confusing for someone wrought with fear and sadness.

Retirement Nightmare isn't your typical retirement guide on how to save up enough money or make investments: its focus is on how to protect yourself from heirs, and chapters survey involuntary conservatorship and guardianships with an eye to revealing how incapacitated seniors fall victim to the statutes designed to help them in their old age. Advance planning is recommended as the key to avoiding situations such as the author's own experience and those described in courtroom cases.

Dr. Armstrong has produced a document vital to the safeguarding of personal dignity in today's world. In language accessible by anyone reading the book, she dissects complex legal matters and lays them out in plain view for all to understand. This book should be required reading for all people tasked with ensuring our personal rights within the framework of our various legal systems. It should also be recommended reading for anyone when the natural course of life puts them in a position of reliance on the ethics and goodwill of others...even those 'nearest and dearest' to them. When we are vulnerable... that's when we need help. This book gives us the ammunition to help ourselves. Everyone intends to survive the journey to the retirement years; this book exposes some of the ambushes that others have found there and lays out steps each of us should take to avoid those ambushes. As proof that fact can be scarier than fiction, this book will curl your hair quicker than anything King has ever put on paper.

As a lawyer, I found this book to be a tour de force compendium of the guardian and conservatorship laws in our country. For both lay readers and lawyers, it is an invaluable reference tool - comprehensive and clearly written. Full of actual stories of actual individuals, it also makes for eye-opening human interest drama.

Jan Brett's illustrations are so colorful and richly drawn that you could tell the story without the words if you wanted to. Her illustrations are magical.
This book is a wonderful telling of the fairy tale. The true meaning of the tale comes shining through. The illustrations bring life to the printed words.
You will love this book.

Jan Brett's books are always richly and beautifully illustrated. There is always a little extra "story" in the illustrations. In this one, you will be watching the animal servants throughout the book. Pay close attention to the tapestries in the background to see who these animals really are. My favorite are the monkeys. This version is very much like the original French fairy fale, and is well told.

I got this book years ago when I worked for the publisher. I've given this book as a gift many times. The illustrations are just breathtaking and whimsical. You will find yourself stopping and searching the pictures in the middle of the story. The story is very nicely done and my kids enjoy it much more than the Dineyized version storybook they have.

Matthew Allen had a seemingly perfect childhood, that is until the death of his father. Struggling economically, his family was forced to move out of their comfortable suburban home, sell most of their valuable belongings and move into a tiny apartment. Many of the things children tend to take for granted slowly slipped out of Matthew Allen's reach. Things only became worse after his mother remarried and eventually Matthew became the victim of a major tragedy. As a result of these things, Matthew decided that the best way to cope in a cruel world was to cut himself off emotionally, not caring about anyone he encountered.

As the story begins, Matthew is beginning his medical internship at a hospital he is less than thrilled about working at. His ability to get along with both colleagues and patients is severely limited due to his emotional distancing so he keeps to himself as much as possible. That is until a 98-year-old, seemingly homeless, African American patient, who prefers to be called "Grandma" is placed under his care and he is forced to once again feel.

Together, Matthew and "Grandma" go on a supernatural journey that allows them to travel time and space in order to find healing. "Grandma" poses a difficult question to Matthew, "Do two wrongs make a right?" and he must struggle to arrive at the answer. In doing so, he must journey as a spectator through his own childhood and some of the lives of people in "Grandma's" past.

In this book, Armstrong creates a tale in which gender, age, class, and racial barriers are transcended through the special bond that Matthew Allen and "Grandma" develop. The unlikely duo work together to heal the emotional wounds of the past and build new hope for the future. Though at times the language in the dialogue was a little bothersome, the story will draw you in making you feel anger, sorrow, frustration and joy right along with the characters.

Reviewed by Stacey Seay

Touched is a compelling novel by Linda Armstrong Miller about the power of forgiveness to transform life itself. When Matthew Allen, a man burdened by the pain in his past, closes himself off from all friends and family, he denies himself love and happiness. Yet his self-inflicted deprivation is about to change, as he comes to understand that learning to forgive and to make peace with one's past is the first step to being able to truly embrace and enjoy life. Touched is highly recommended, emotionally satisfying reading.

The saying you can't judge a book by its cover is so true. When I received the copy of Touched by Linda Armstrong-Miller, I have to admit it took me two days to actually start reading. But once I started I didn't want to put it down.

The author did a wonderful job painting a picture of her characters. It was as if I lived through them. I think the thing that "Touched" (pun intended) me the most was the conversation throughout the book between Grandma, and Mathew. Their dialogue was crisp and believable. It was as if I were in a room observing them from afar. We cannot predict what challenges we face in life; however, through our faith and the support of loving, caring people we can overcome.

I like the story more so because it showed a continued hope for Matthew to change, and that the change was going to have to be as a result of him finally letting someone into his life. I wholeheartedly recommend this book as one to add to your bookshelf. I plan to read it again, just in case I missed something the first time-Kudos to Ms. Armstrong-Miller.

T.C. Matthews Co-founder, Prolific Writers Network

I can not believe no one else has written a review for this outstanding thriller.

Frank Pagan, the protagonist, is a bruised, battered London cop, whi is assigned to the anti-terrorist squad.

The "Jig" of the title is a well-accomplished Irish killer.

Frank has to catch him.

So, yes: it's a chase story. And it moves. The body count is awesome, the tension is overwhelming. The atmosphere is gritty, sweaty, saeamy. It's real. While it doesn't actually say so in the text, you know that Frank Hagan is a man who farts. He's human. He's damaged: a widower, still in love with his dead wife. He's... eccentric: a Londoner who drives a huge American car and plays 1950s rock and roll LOUD on the car stereo.

The story is a tad dated, but gripping nonetheless. Read it, then read the follow-ups: Jigsaw, and Heat.

They all compare favourably with Nelson Demille's "Cathedral".. enough said?

Jig is the code name of an Irish assassin with a sense of right and wrong that separates him from other IRA hit-men.

Frank Pagan is the Scotland Yard agent assigned to bring him down.

When a ship carrying over a million dollars' worth of money and weapons for the IRA is attacked in the Atlantic, the two adversaries are thrown into a game of intrigue, deception, violence, and trust that Campbell Armstrong has woven into a flawless novel of suspense that will have all readers on the edge of their seats.

It is in New York City that the two meet face-to-face...and the chase begins. Jig doesn't know where to begin looking for the money. Pagan can't convince the FBI to allow him to investigate in his own way. And Ivor McInnes, a Belfast minister, is working on something so deadly that Jig and Pagan are forced to join forces to stop a scheme that will bring the IRA to its knees.

Featuring a conscience-torn ex-priest, the President's brother, and a mysterious woman named Celestine, "Jig" is a riveting page-turner that echoes the dance it is named after. And the faster the dance gets, the harder the book is to put down.

It's a shame that Jig is one of those countless thriller novels that will sink into literary history without anyone noticing. I would just recommend that you should really, really try to find this book. Jig is a classic assassin chase type thriller, and I believe it's one of the best in the genre, even approaching the perennial favorite, Forsyth's Day of the Jackal.

Jig is an Irish assassin who is well trained and ruthlessly efficient. He is a fascinating character, his emotions, his feelings are well written throughout the book. Even better is the clever twist about 100 pages into that book that reveals the assassins real identity, making further study into his life and family even more enjoyable.

The story revolves around a stolen shipment of 10 million dollars sent to IRA coffers from a group of high profile American backers. Jig is sent to America by his mentor to find out who took the money and to take it back. Tracking him down is maverick MI-5 investigator Frank Pagan, a man obsessed with Jig. Pagan's wife was killed in an IRA bombing, and he takes it very personally.

The action is well paced, the mystery fairly compelling. The Jig vs. Pagan dynamic drives the book, but there are a host of supporting characters that are intriguing as well.

Jig the book deserves a lot more attention, even as Ireland seemingly is on the path to peace. It's hard to believe that the stories hinted at in Jig took place in reality. Try to find it, it's worth the look.

Did you know that a child who misbehaves in class is unconsciously telling you how he/she needs to approach learning? As a special education teacher and devotee of multiple intelligence theory, this book satisfied my thirst for knowledge on how to recognize and honor children for who they are, not simply who and what we want them to be. Armstrong covers MI theory not only in relation to learning academic subjects, but behavior, classroom management, and life in general. You will never look at education the same way!

Have you considered restructuring your 2000-2001 teaching program or, if you are a school administrator, your entire school program around Dr. Howard Earl Gardner's Theory of Multiple Intelligences (MI)? If you answered that important question in the affirmative, then Thomas Armstrong's "Multiple Intelligences in the Classroom 2nd Edition" is a must read.

In "Multiple Intelligences in the Classroom 2nd Edition", Armstrong reinforces Gardner's (1983) MI theory as a confirmed classroom application. This revised and expanded book encourages all types of teachers, be they special education teachers, regular classroom teachers, or teachers of students identified as intellectually exceptional, to show a more holistic view that validates students for who they truly are.

The 156 pages of this book outline innovative strategies for integrating an eighth intelligence, the naturalist, into a classroom/school program. Moreover, Armstrong presents new outlooks, including three potential predicaments, about the possibility of a ninth intelligence--the existential--the intelligence of concern with ultimate life issues and its potential.

Armstrong's insights for teaching and learning, recent case studies and research on the effective uses of MI theory represents a welcomed update to his initial 1994 book of the same title.

Armstrong is to be commended for his comprehensive comments on nurturing students' intelligence strengths. He suggests practical strategies for reducing or (even possibly) eliminating achievement gaps between all types of learners. Moreover, he provides (those busy) classroom teachers and school administrators with new insights for developing a MI learning environment. This 2000 revised book is a necessary read for all who are interested in MI forms of schooling.

Reading Multiple Intelligences in the Classroom literally changed my life, by allowing me to recognize my learning strengths and then to embrace them. We all have different degrees of many intelligences, making us unique in our learning styles and abilities. If every educator could be required to read this book, I know it would at least begin to change the face of education in America. This book can change your life!

Kiev, the capital of Ukraine, had a glorious history and at one time was the capital of ancient Rus'. Yet the Ukraine gained independence only upon the collapse of the Soviet Union. Oppressed by both Poland and Russia/Soviet Union, many Ukrainians felt resentful and hostile towards both Poles and Russians. During World War II, the Soviet Union and Poland fought on the allied side, so an enemy of the Soviet Union, such as the UPA, became an enemy of the West. While the Ukrainians fought heroically both for the Soviet Union and against, they obviously had no monopoly on heroism. There is also some reliable evidence of the UPA members killing innocent Polish and Jewish civilians. Unfortunately, some Poles retaliated against the UPA atrocities in a revengeful manner. This is an important book, which should be read by all those interested in the war on the Eastern Front during World War II.

This book is the memoirs of Maria Savchyn who spent 15 years of her life (from the ages of 14 to 29) in the Ukrainian underground army fighting for freedom against first the Nazis and then the Soviets. It is an exciting story of strength and determination in the face of overwhelming opposition.

In 1925 Maria Savchyn was born in a Ukrainian village east of the city of Lviv. At that time this was a part of Poland. Ukrainians living in this part of Poland formed the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN) to seek independence from Poland, but in 1939 the partition of Poland put Western Ukraine under Soviet control. The OUN continued their activities for independence during this early Soviet occupation, and they formed the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) when the Nazis gained control early in World War II.Fighting first against the Nazis and then the Russians until the mid-1950s, the UPA resisted the occupation forces and fought for an independent Ukraine 50 years before the country actually gained its independence in 1991.

Maria joined the youth division of the OUN in 1940 when she was 14. Later she married a prominent leader of the group. She was an active member until 1954 when she was captured by the KGB. Involved in propaganda, Maria talks more about the day-to-day life of the underground than armed resistance. She gives a remarkably detailed account of her life in the UPA. This includes the names of the towns and villages she stayed in and the names of the people she worked with in the underground.

Its a sad story to read since during the period covered most of her fellow rebels were either captured or killed. Maria herself lost both her children to stay with the rebels. For the last nine years of the resistance she and her allies spent every winter in underground bunkers which were cramped, moist, and dark.

Yet for anyone interested in Ukrainian history or in resistance movements this is essential reading. Few members of the UPA have lived to tell their stories so Maria's book opens the door on a chapter of history long hidden from view. This is, however, not a history of the OUN and the UPA. That book remains to be written and will probably require access to KGB records.

I only wish this book came with a map that detailed the region and the villages mentioned in the text. Most English-language readers will not have sufficient geographic knowledge of the region to follow Maria's exploits without a good map.

This is a story of astonishing courage, resilience, resourcefulness and dignity in the face of the overwhelming resources of the totalitarian Soviet mammoth. The story is told plainly and simply, almost matter-of-factly about a struggle against all odds, a struggle to prevent Ukraine's being drowned in the poisons of Sovietism. Perhaps most striking is the calm dignity with which the author and her colleagues in the Ukrainian underground faced death almost daily, and their quiet determination to continue their mission, well into the 1950's, to fight for some semblance of normalcy in Ukraine no matter what the personal and familial costs to the author and those with whom she served so nobly. This is a stunner.