This is a great book. Small Brown Dog has lost his collar and can't remember his name -- the story follows him as he visits with other dogs who all remember individual things about him (for instance, that he likes to splash in puddles) but can't remember his name either. The ending is inventive and funny, children and adults will both enjoy this book. I also loved the illustrations, they convey action and excitement as well as a bit of sweet goofiness.

Scott Simon read this book on NPR's Weekend Edition on November 25th and it is a wonderful book. I've only heard it on the radio but it made such an impression being read aloud which shows how good it is.

It's on my daughter's wish list already.

THE STORY LINE MOVES ALONG AND EACH CHARACTER INTRODUCED ADDS TO THE COLORFUL MIX. SMALL BROWN DOG ISN'T TOO FAR REMOVED FROM MAY OF THE PEOPLE WE ENCOUNTER EVERY DAY.

CHILDREN WILL LOVE THIS BOOK BUT ADULTS WILL ENJOY IT JUST AS MUCH.

This is a superb book, in the top 5 of my recommendations to my clients, students, and friends, because it works just as Carol Orsborn assures you that it works. Give yourself one full day alone with the book and follow her from page one, and within 5 to 12 hours, you will have found resources within yourself to solve a major problem or question or concern in your life. Period. And, she explains why it works as you are finding it working with you. It is well-written and interesting, and powerfully life-changing. And, there is not a one of us who truly can not give ourself one day to ourselves... Love yourself, and explore your illuminated way to your happier, more effective path. Waging Peace!

Of all the self-help books I have read this one is definately the best. Not only did it help me, but it literally felt good to read it. The author suggests setting aside a day to work through the book. I was not able to do that so I read and worked the exercises as I could get to them. I made time to work on it every day and in 5 or 6 days had completed it. As a result, I think that I was much more aware of the process and the changes that were occuring within me. Some of the changes were pretty small, but they made a huge difference. It was like turning a Kaleidescope slightly to form a completely new picture! The copy of the book that I read was checked out from a library. I will be ordering my own to use in the future because I plan to go through the book again within the next year. The author asks the reader to pick out a specific problem or area to concentrate on as you work through the book. Most people have more than one problem so I am going to keep this book on hand right next to my aspirin!

I have found that solving problems is, at least in business, traditionally a left brain focused attack. This book gives great ideas about how to let your right brain kick in and intuit higher level solutions for issues that would otherwise have us unsettled for days. The promise of a 24 hour solution may seem to be stretching it a bit, however, I personally have had this intuitive right brain approach kick in in an amazingly quick time span and with an unusual and innovative approach and result. My advice, get the book and try it - only dismiss what you have tried and personally found to be ineffective. Until you experience this type of a process (operative word - experience!), you just will not know which approach is most effective, will you?

Soup of the Day is a fabulous cookbook. Its delicious, numerous recipes offer an appealing variety. Its clear directions are easy to follow and most soups may be prepared with minimum preparation.

I've already used it as a gift to eight friends, both men and women with varying degrees of culinary skill -- all are delighted. Most enjoy selecting recipes for "recreational" cooking on the weekend.

People who enjoy background stories will appreciate Lydie Marshall's delightful commentary.

Lydie Marshall is an incredible chef, but more than that she is an extremely generous person. I adore reading her books and creating the delicious dishes.

Get out your pots and pans! Lydie Marshall has written another superb cookbook. Even if you think you don't like soup, you'll enjoy reading Madame Marshall's charming, often amusing, stories about her childhood in France, her family, neighbors and friends that accompany each recipe. (There's even a soup from her French cats' veterinarian's wife!) The recipes are easy to follow, the steps simple and clear and the results uncommonly delicious. The soups are divided into five sections: broths; vegetable soups; bean, pea and lentil soups; seafood; and meat and poultry soups. The recipes range from standard classics like Mediterranean fish soup with garlic mayonnaise; borscht, gazpacho and pistou to a sublime porcini consomme, Mexican chicken soup with tortilla chips and youska, a Russian potato and lox soup. There are 53 vegetable soups, categorized by season. She has even included an excellent as well as surprisingly efficacious "day after" soup for when you've overindulged the day before or feel a cold coming on. Also included are selections of salad, bread, and dessert recipes that go well with soup. I especially liked the chicory salad with bacon, croutons and poached eggs and the salad greens with fried potato and onions. Calvin Trillin has written a delightful laudatory ode of an introduction. The book's covers are laminated and it has a knock-out gorgeous dustjacket that looks so delicious and happy and warm, you almost want to eat it! This is one case where the cover truly does reflect the book. A must for anyone interested in healthy gourmet cooking and good eating!

Ah! If spatial relations had been taught like this when we were all young, everyone would be fluent mathematically.

Instead of all those problems about two trains rushing towards one another, this book takes a practial problem and uses it to illuminate spatial problem-solving.

Mr. and Mrs. Comfort decide to invite their family and neighbors over for dinner. Pretty soon, 30 people have accepted so they will be feeding 32, including themselves. In a role reversal from the sexual stereotypes, Mr. Comfort is the cook and impractical one while Mrs. Comfort is the left-brained problem solver. She knows what needs to be done, but everyone else has to work it out for themselves by moving the furniture around.

Mrs. Comfort figures out that they don't have enough tables and chairs for this many people. So she rents some. She correctly figures out that 8 tables seating four people each will do the trick (8 times 4). She rents 8 tables and 32 chairs (but they deliver only 31, and she has to find an extra folding chair).

All is well, until the guests start to arrive. They don't want to sit at separate tables. They want to eat at one big table so they can be closer to everyone else.

That creates a problem. Each time two tables for four are put together, two places are lost (you now have only two ends, while you had four before with separate tables). That's not immediately obvious to the guests, because most of the chairs and tables are unused in the beginning and they don't know how many people are coming.

Mrs. Comfort tries to warn everyone that it won't work, but they ignore her. She finally gives up.

When most of the people arrive, there are not enough places for them at the table (even though there are enough chairs), so they begin pulling the tables apart from one another.

Sure enough, in the end, the guests are seated at 8 separate tables for four. Isn't logic wonderful?

Mrs. Comfort could have ordered more tables and had everyone sit closer to one other. But she wanted to save money. That makes sense, doesn't it?

There is an adult's guide in the end for how to work with your child to make this a problem that she or he can work on. The suggestion is to make 8 little cut-out squares, and to move them into different configurations to handle the various numbers of guests. From this, the child can see that the perimeter varies for the same area, depending on how the area is configured. That lesson will never need to be taught again.

You can also use some of the cooking quantities in here to do math as well. Assuming the children eat so much, and the adults so much, how much will be left over of the meat balls?

Having seen how such a problem can be constructed, I suggest that you develop your own story puzzles. I can guarantee that your child will remember you as a cross between Einstein and Diderot if you do. Here's a hint: How would you go about planning a trip for your family if you were going to have to use frequent flyer miles and the number of miles you had to use varied with when you flew? You can complicate that one for older children by introducing variables like the cost of hotel room nights and car rental days, and having a fixed number of frequent flyer miles to work with in order to find the solution that optimizes the trip and its cost.

But I'm sure you will have even better ideas!

Math teachers: This book will bring the gladness back into your heart, as well as create dedicated, happy students. Do yourself and your students a favor and use this book as a teaching aid.

Think carefully about the periphery to get to the heart of the matter!

I used it in my 4th grade classroom as the basis of a formal observation by my prinical. The kids were enthralled by the book and activities I made using this book to reinforce ideas about area and perimeter. Just as important, my principal liked it too!

This book is an excellent tool for introducing perimeter and area to an elementary school class. The story is engaging and funny. The children can easily move colored tiles to imitate the movement of the tables in the story.

Spot the Dog books are a favourite with my girls. They love the simple stories that they can relate to (hiding, baking a cake, playing with others etc) and the lift-the-flaps always bring screams of delight even though we've read them many many times. As they grow I'm sure they'll be one of the books they learn to read with. The words are simple and the font easy to read. Lovely books to cuddle up with your children on your lap. They are also big enough to hold up and read to them as they sit in back seat on car trips.

I feel in love with "Spot Goes to School" and will be reading it to my grandson when he gets old enough to read.He is only six months old but I am stocking up now. The illustrations are really cute and on every page there is something that easily "opens" to reveal something underneath. What an adorable book to prepare a child for going to nursery school etc.!

Spot does it again! That dog named Spot shows little ones how he goes to school and talks about his day. From singing with Helen and Tom, to painting a picture, to reading stories, Spot let my son know it would be fun to go to preschool. We purchased the book right before my son started attending preschool and as we read it, he told me about his day, which includes storytime, painting and singing, as well as playing on the playground. The lift-the-flap books engage little ones to keep on reading. It is a nice way to end the day and naturally talk about what happened at preschool that day. Way to go Spot!

The story of "Father's Day" is one of persistence, survival and stubborness. Vihlen is a very brave man--Korean fighter jock, airline pilot, and TWO-time, record-setting trans-atlantic sailor in a "miniboat." Very interesting to get into this guy's head during his long ordeal. A good read...not just a trip's diary.

This book was the best read I have had in quite a while. One does not need to be a sailor at all to enjoy this TRUE tale of adventure on the North Atlantic. The "rollercoaster of emotions" was well documented; to such an extent that I would recommend it to anyone! Good Luck in 2002 Hugo!

I am by no means the sailing type, as I wont go into any water unless it is crystal clear and I can see what is swimming around me. So, this book is not just for the ocean savvy! This is a true story of a man who sails the smallest sail boat EVER accross the North Atlantic Ocean. His boat is under 6 feet long. After spending over 2 months at sea, he finally docks in England. This book is the sailors actual journal logs from his long trip.. The emotions go from excited to depressed, to almost hallucianite. This is one of the best books I have ever read, and would highly suggest it to anyone who likes REAL LIFE stories. If anyone knows the author, please have him email me at my address! WOW! What a book!

My 7 year old and 4 year old asked me to read this book every night since before Thanksgiving. It's December and they are still requesting it. The words are so simple, that they now recognize most of them and read to me! Simple words, but great story.

I picked this book up for the holidays ... hoping it would explain the tradition to my toddler. Throughly impressed! The book explains the traditions and history in enough detail for my two year-old to understand and enjoy! Would highly recommend. Hope the author continues to write books about the holidays for the young!

Nice clear pictures, short, simple, interesting story with appropriate emphasis on God's role in the pilgrim's lives (without being a "religious" book). My favorite thanksgiving book for little kids.

For anyone interested in the early days of Honolulu, or in the role that streetcars played in shaping urban life, this book is a wonderful experience. Through an amazing amount of detailed research, it recreates how the streetcar provided the focus for the everyday movement of residents around the city, and in fact was a determinant in how the city constantly expanded its boundaries. Accompany the fascinating story is a wealth of original photographs, many of them colorized in elegant and tasteful tones. It's a beautifully produced book of the highest quality. It will draw anyone who sees it to open it, and will delight anyone who ventures into its realm.

Simpson and Brizdle's book is a delight to read or "breeze through." The writing is superb, the graphics terrific, and the organization and layout top notch. A lot of fun! And a great lesson in history as well. We recommend it for anyone interested in Hawaii, street cars, or just a non-run-of-the-mill coffee table book. We have ours out, and people always comment on it!

Although I assisted in a small way in the research of this book, I can honestly say it is well worth obtaining. The book is about the streetcars that used to ply the streets of Honolulu from the turn of the century up to 1941. The company was HRT&L and later just HRT (Honolulu Rapid Transit). The streetcars were actually responsible for the expansion of the neighborhoods in Honolulu. The photos used are fabulous with many of them color tinted just for this book. There are several interviews of former HRT employees, and residents that remember riding the streetcars. The author and publisher did months of research, and hundreds of interviews to get the facts straight! This is a great book for anyone that loves to take a step back in time to a slower pace of life. It is especially enjoyable because it takes place in Hawaii which is my favorite place on the planet. There is also a chapter in the book on HRT trolley buses which replaced the streetcars. I highly recommend this book.

It's the little things like the descriptions of the scourge used on Jesus' back; the delight of those He was given to in their mocking of Him, the injustice of it all, the vast difference between their reactions to Christ, and Christ's silence among them. These are some of the things F.W. Krummacher will have you consider in the last days of the Savior's life. If you want to be there with Jesus, read this one brethren.

Absolutely, the most compelling book I have ever read (excluding the Bible)period. I was moved to tears, weeping, rather. This book is about the last week of Christ's life before He is crucified. Buy this book. Read it. Then treasure it!

a book to be read prior to the Easter Season. Great detail of the suffering of our Lord by an old Reformed theologian.

Tom Carney tells wonderfully descriptive stories packed with humor and honest emotion. For anyone who has ever owned a dog, fished a stream, experienced the comradery of "hunting season" or just reflected on life from their recliner, this book will fill you with the joy of these memories!

I've been a big fan of Tom Carney's writing since about 1986, when I ran across some of his witty, thoughtful columns in outdoor magazines. I was delighted when I found out that his columns and essays were being published in books. I rate SUN-DRENCHED DAYS, TWO-BLANKET NIGHTS and now his new one, BIRD-DOGS AND BETTY CAKES right up there with the best of books about the outdoor life, especially dogs, birds, hunting and fishing buddies, and generally trying to live a good life in difficult times. A darned good writer and he's funny too.

All too many columnists from smallish papers, particularly those who dwell in the world of hunting and fishing, feel they have the where-with-all to put together their columns over the past few years and call the collection a book. Seldom is it worthy of such a title.

Tom Carney is thankfully not one of these. A regular columnist for a variety of magazines and newspapers, Carney transcends the norm in Sun Drenched Days: Two Blanket Nights. Yes, the book does surround the outdoor experiences involved in hunting and fishing, but it goes well beyond the norm of "me and Sam in a boat stories".

Carney wears his heart at the the end of his pen while introducing you to the wonders of woodcock dancing on the western skies, of brook trout from clear cool waters and the companions he has had the priviledge to enjoy these with. And it seems it is the comraderie that he relishes most.

When I interviewed Carney he told me that he considers his work as simply stories. They are much more than that. This collection is a love affair of all things wild-the sweet mustiness of autumn leaves and the smell of a wet dog, of camp cooking and star-filled skies. It is a collection of people and places that have helped him to grow in appreciation of time afield and of the fleeting time he has had to share with friends.

Readers from Michigan have probably heard of Tom Carney. And while this collection certainly is Michigan-based, it does go well beyond the Wolverine State boundry. Carney will make you laugh, cry and remember. While you certainly have not been with the people he has, you have been with others of their caliber. It is the memories that his stories will rekindle in you that are most important.

Carney's book is something to be consumed while sitting in an overstuffed chair next to a fire. An English setter curled by your feet would be a nice finishing touch.