Tag along with a little boy and his steam engine as they "chugga-chugga choo-choo" to the city on a very busy day. This engaging little book, (also available in board size), begs to be read repeatedly due to its wonderfully rhythmic prose and vibrantly animated illustrations. "Sun's up! Morning's here. Up and at 'em, engineer. Chugga-chugga choo-choo, whistle blowing, Whoooooooo! Whoooooooo!" This book is actually a nighttime story, but my 11th month old is so enthralled by the vivid colors and musical beat that I read it to him after his naps. Oh, and not just for little boys, my four-year old niece adores this book. She asks for Chugga-chugga choo-choo and walks around afterwards saying Whoooooooo! Whoooooooo! A real winner! Birth and up.

This is a great rhyming story about a boy's imaginative train play. A young boy has set up a creative train layout in his room: going over the fish tank (bridge), to the freight yard, up mountains, down valleys, etc. His entire room is laid out with track and many of his toys are involved in the layout such as blocks to prop up the track and dolls to lift boxes. As we read the book we see the toys "moving" and doing jobs and the illustrations are such that we are as small as the train and looking out and around as if we were riding the train ourselves. At the end the train is said to go into the roundhouse and the boy is seen sleeping in bed with his locomotive and the track laid out on the floor all around his room! Great imagination!

The text itself is well written and rhyming and just has a great flow to it.

I bought our first hardcover edition right after it was published which was over 3 years ago. My older son has loved this since he was 2 years old and I have read it over and over and over. He is a real train lover and even now at age 5 he loves this book (over many of the other train-themed children's fiction books we own).

The text is not annoying in any way and I truly don't groan when I have to reread it to him several times. My second son has loved this book since infancy. Sadly, after 3 years of handling it finally fell apart and now I am buying a second hardcover edition. I browsed the board book version in a store but was disappointed. The hardcover is a larger size than usual and the illustrations are bold and large. In the board book version some of the illustrations are greatly pared down in size and much is lost. If you own the board version I highly recommend also buying the hardcover edition if your child likes the book. This would make a great gift!

Chugga Chugga Choo Choo captures and holds the attention of my 10-month-old baby boy every time we read it to him. Not many books (other than Eric Carle's) can do that. He loves the fun rhymes and the bright & colorful pictures as well as the "choo choo!" and the "whoo whooo!" sounds that we make for him.

But Congressman Lewis does not reveal it in his autobiography about participation in the civil rights movement. What we get instead is a brave highly motivated young man who put his belief into a free and equal society into action.;

Lewis, who is currently one of the few southern democrats in congress has a record of defending the civil rights of all groups. Although I had always admired his voting record, reading about the seeds of activisim was very moving and touching.

Braving arrests, poliice brutality, political apathy and confusion, Lewis and his friends were early disciples of Martin Luther King. Also interesting is the uncanny habit of rubbing shoulders with John and Robert Kennedy. Although revisionist history has cast some doubt on the actual motives of the civil rights position, Lewis fondly remembers both as American heroes.

According to Lewis, both men were genuinely anti-racist, but were unpreppared to deal with dixiecrat resistance to intergration or the actual sight of segregation. Indeed,many readers such as myself still find the conditions under which Affrican Americans were expected to exist horifying.

Although many books and memoirs have been written about the civil rights movement, Lewis attaches unparralleled grace. One can almost hear the representative personally narrating the epic journey himself.

John Lewis captured the Spirit of America and the true motivation behind the beginning of the Civil Rights Movement in "Walking With The Wind." This book allows the reader to not only experience the movement, but to gain a better understanding of the issues and events that have shaped American history in the last half of the twentienth century. Brilliantly crafted, this book epitomizes the "American Dream." Highly recommended to anyone interested in American history or modern day hereos.

John Lewis tells the story of a time when America was at its crossroads. He was Destined to become a leader in the Civil Rights Movement from his humble beginings in Troy, Alabama. Congressman Lewis tells his story of 35 years standing steadfast with determination and never wavering efforts to bring about "The Beloved Family". "This book is a legacy to us all and should be required reading in all educational settings."

From the best known animator outside the US. Miyazaki is never a comic artist, in fact, Nausicaa is his only work in graphic novel format. While the backdrop of the story, a post-appocolyptic portrayal of a world very much like our own but not quite exactly earth, is hardly original, Miyazaki has a lot of surprises in store for his readers. I don't want to spoil the fun for any potential readers. Nevertheless, this is something I can say. Nausicaa is a serious science fiction work, with very rich and engrossing details. The characters are well developed and very likable in ways you won't find in many post-appocolyptic stories. Despite a rather moody background, the story is not as dark as you might expect from a book of this type. Finally, true to his origin, Miyazaki delivers top quality art in his books.

If there was ever a reason to get into reading manga this is it. Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind tells of the legacy of a devoted Joan of Arc esque princess born in a small peaceful valley. An intricate tale is woven through absolutely masterful drawings to depict Princess Nausicaa's walk of life to save not only her home but her despotic rulers, their enemies and the sea of destruction that would destroy them all.

Set in the distant future, man has all but lost the battle against the poisonous jungles which now cover much of the earth. What remnants remain of human society wage war for their own interests further culling the dwindling human population. With more and more people dying young and fewer children living past infancy, Princess Nausicaa takes a quest of compassion to save the world from itself.

Miyazaki presents a world of hand to hand sword fighting, huge flying barges, giant insects and a truly admirable princess in a short skirt.

If you die without having experienced these books then you have never truly lived.

-----Outside of the US borders, Miyazaki is almost universally regarded as the best director and writer of animated movies(in Japan, 'anime'. See alt.fan.miyazaki). His films have won numerous awards, and in the Animation 'Nausicaa of the valley of the wind.', the Character 'Nausicaa' has been often regarded as the most admirable fictional character in fiction. Despite this, I say that the character development, drama, and storyline of his graphic novels far exceeds that of the animated video(not available in any reasonably accurately translated form in the US, but very well known in Japan and amongst fans of Foreign animation.) --The story of Nausicaa is set in the earth's future. The immense wars that Humanity had waged have wiped out all major cities, and the remnants of technology that remain--airships, and a few other toys--cannot be repaired when they break down. Most of the surface of the land is covered with poisonous forests--forests which release debilitating miasma and which contain many immense and formidable insects, and which grow larger and larger each year, threatening the healthy land--that is, the land which people can live and farm on. The valley of the wind is protected from the Miasma by--you guessed it--wind, and the people of the Valley are happy in their lifestyle under the rule of Nausicaa's father.. ..until, that is, an airship from a foreign kingdom crashes in their valley.. --for this is not a story about nature, conservationism, and living in harmony with nature(though these do, naturally, creep in)--this is a drama about politics, wars, intrigue and the value of life. Adventure is far from absent in this fantasy tale, but it's not the swordplay, gunfights, and chases that will make you want to buy the entire series.. --it's the way the books play with your mind. Check it out

Lewis gives us excellent insight and perspective on the nature of temptation and how Satan works. The work is set up as correspondances between a beaucrat in hell and his nephew Wormwood. The letters are advice and training for Wormwood who is given charge of luring certain people down to Hell. The book is entertaining, humorous, but also deep and should strike a chord with those expiriencing strong temptation in their life towards some form of evil. The best way to fight your enemy is to know him, and this book is an theory on how the devil and his angels might work to take souls away from God. The book is also very easy to read, and without the pretentious philosophical jargon that theologians use. It's down to earth, common sense theology taught in story form. An excellent work!

Witty, brief (no chapter more than four pages, the book easily read in an afternoon), timeless Truth presented with refreshing satire aimed where it should, C.S. Lewis' legendary "Screwtape Letters" is at once soul and brain food.

Lewis tells his story through the title character, an experienced devil instructing his apprentice nephew to lure a young man to condemnation. The apprentice, Wormwood, tempts with everything from family (distancing prayers for the man's mother from behavior toward her) to social circle (flippant friends stray him from his new life, a new girlfriend moves him closer to it) to work and even worship.

Lewis then flips God's love and law into effective, ironic Satanic reverses. He shows temptation most effective and deadly in its smallest doses: prayer posture, creation and consideration of an Historical Point of View (including an historical Jesus as opposed to One of faith). Lewis redefines gluttony, defends Puritanism, shows the misunderstanding of romantic feelings in love and sex, and misperception of the large ever-broken promise, "The Future." (This book must be read if only to debunk one of Henry Ford's most famous quotes and the cliched, selfish phrase "impose on my time.")

Lewis shows (and Screwtape plants) the landmines of an early Christian walk: the role of a Church, of humor and the temptation inherent in its roots, Christian truth made trivial and a commodity beside social causes. He even dissects everyday, mundane pleasures (books, walks, music, wine, dated references to cigarettes) for their own sake and not as means to follow an ever more mediocre crowd.

Lewis' final Screwtape letter is his most moving. Sarcasm joins sanctification as we learn target's and tempter's final fate. It ties to themes present throughout Lewis' letters and providing fodder for his conjoined, equally humorous essay, Screwtape Proposes A Toast: "The safest road to Hell is the gradual one...without milestones, without signposts..." This absolutely essential book is just such signpost; "The Screwtape Letters" is joyful, instructional, fun reading for anyone wishing to know what forces fight for the human soul.

One of the best, and most influential, Christian authors of any time, C. S. Lewis's "The Screwtape Letters" is a compelling, and chilling, fictional look at what goes on behind our back in the demonic spirit world.

Screwtape, an upper level demonic spirit, often writes his subordinate, Wormwood, a demonic spirit assigned to misguide and misdirect a human on earth. The letters explain to Wormwood how he would best accomplish his mission of keeping the human our of the Enemy's (God's) hands and ensure that when he dies he goes straight to blazes.

What is most chilling about "The Screwtape Letters" is that, even after all of these years, how much a person can see of themselves in them. Letter after letter seemed to be talking about me directly. Time and time again I saw one demonic trap after another I had fallen into being explained in a letter.

I have to caution you, however. This book is not an easy read. C. S. Lewis did not attempt to write a book that everybody could understand. You will probably have to spend some time re-reading many letters and looking up words in your dictionary and/or concordance for a better understanding of what is being said. This can become quite frustrating, but when you are able to break through and understand a letter you will be able to see how it can apply to your own life.

If you were ever interested in getting a better understanding of how the Enemy and his demonic spirits work, this is a great book to do it with. But be warned: you will learn something about yourself in the process.

C.S. Lewis's "A Grief Observed" is a brief book -- only about 70 pages-- but it contains some of the best metaphors for faith I have ever read. Like his challenging work "The Problem of Pain," this book is unsparing in its belief that a good God can will awful things on people. Like death, for instance. Why would an all-powerful God allow people to suffer and die, especially those well before their prime? Lewis went through this questioning himself when his wife died, and his journal of questions and answers fill the pages of this book.

How can God remain silent when the ill cry out in pain? Lewis compares God to a surgeon performing open heart surgery. The doctor, knowing best the full process required, can't relieve pain at every cry, or he would never complete the process, and the intended purpose of the pain would never come to fruition. This is a pretty unsparing description -- I wonder how many people in grief feel comfort reading such things. This is where faith comes in -- if you believe that the end result of pain and death is resurrection, and you trust in God's plan, you can find comfort knowing that every death is part of the plan.

Not an easy concept to grapple with -- I'm glad I read this book, but I can't help but flinch a bit at Lewis's viewpoint. It is lucid, poetic, and erudite -- and yet I still find myself uncomfortable with a God who would bring suffering on innocent people.

CS Lewis began writing this journal one month after his wife died of cancer. He was distraught, shocked, and confused, especially about the meaning of life. The journal rambles from one throught to another, reflecting his daze and despair.

As a widow, I can identify with his varied reactions to death; however I found the book rather difficult to read. It is only 72 pages long, but each sentence needs to be reread, and slowly, in order to follow Lewis' thought processes. He finds no answers to his questions (mainly: How could God take his beloved away from him?); he simply asks them.

For me, this was not a particularly helpful or insiteful book on grief, merely one person's thoughts on the subject. I am sure however, that admirers of CS Lewis would find it of interest.

After having read several of Lewis' books, I read "A Grief Observed" which quickly became my favorite. It is his journal - and almost too personal - where you bear witness to Lewis' progress as he sloughs his way through the deep mire of sorrow and grief.

In the first pages of the book, he tells of going to God, seeking relief from the agony he feels in his heart over the fresh loss of his beloved wife, Helen Joy, only to find - the door slammed and the sound of the door being bolted and doubled bolted from the inside.

He rails against God and his faith is stirred to its core.

In the end, he finds his way back to God, but it is not an easy journey or a primrose path.

For all of Lewis' intellectual reasonings and scholarly attainments, I find "A Grief Observed" to be his best work because it comes from the very heart of a man seeking to find the answers to life's hardest questions. It is not a philosophical insight or an intellectual wrangling, but a spirit-filled work that lays bare the heart of a man who loved his wife completely.

This is an important book. Read it. You'll be changed.

Anne of Green Gables is about a skinny red haired girl who has both a short temper and a very colorful imagination. She really loves the little farmhouse but the Cuthberts might send her back to the orphanage because Matthew needed a boy about 11 or 12 to help him on the farm.

Sometimes her imagination gets her in trouble. For instance when Marilla asks her to get a pattern from Mrs. Barry she doesn't want to because she imagined the woods between the houses were haunted! The book tells about her life growing up in the 1930's. As she grows, she learns many lessons and meets many friends who help her to become Anne of Green Gables.

This book is wonderful. It is a great book for girls to read. I loved it because the character was funny, spunky, and could talk forever. She reminded me of my sister. Anne never gave up trying to reach her goals. She will keep you interested throughout the whole book!

This is one of the best books ever written and the credit goes to spirited Anne (make sure it's spelled with an "e"!) Shirley. It's not often you find such a charming heroine as Anne. ANNE OF GREEN GABLES is the first of a series on this lovable orphan, and it begins with Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert, a respectable brother and sister, living at Green Gables. They are both growing old and need a boy to help out on the farm. But they got a talkative redhead girl instead. Before they can send her back to the orphanage, Anne has managed to win the hearts of Prince Edward Island with her wit and imagination. She seems to affect everyone around her - from busybody Mrs. Rachel Lynde to handsome Gilbert Blythe. And now, Green Gables will never be the same! . . .

It's not often you find such a spirited and lovable heroine as Anne. Captivating and captivatED, Anne is full of enthusiasm and fun, which gets her into all sorts of scrapes. This book is one that you are guaranteed to laugh over, cry over, and never want to put down! It is an ideal novel that you won't want to pass up! (Even if you don't read the rest of the Anne books, read this!)

A few weeks ago, I got really sick of today's children's literature. I had read enough mysteries and trashy books about romance to last me a lifetime. So I wanted something else to read, something well-written with a good plot and lifelike characters. I had to look no further than the first book I picked up- Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery.

Anne of Green Gables is the first book in the Anne of Green Gables series. It takes place, as most of L. M. Montgomery's books do, on Prince Edward Island in Canada. This particular story takes place in the town of Avonlea. It follows young Anne Shirley, an orphan brought to Green Gables to help Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert on their farm. Much to Anne's dismay, Marilla tells her that they wanted a boy to help around the farm, not a girl. However, Marilla changes her mind and decides to keep the dynamic young girl who would become Anne of Green Gables.

This novel is incredibly written, with well-developed characters and an intricate plot. I absolutely loved it. I would recommend it to anyone who is looking for a great example of children's literature at its height.

This is the best of the Narnia series. C.S. Lewis allows the plot to get away occasionally from his strict form of Christian allegory. Moreover, the book is funny and episodic and exciting. And it's about getting to know yourself and changing what you don't like.

Unexplored waters and unknown lands create a magic of their own in which Lucy and Edmund and, especially, Eustace -- having magically found themselves on board the Dawn Treader --can come to terms with their weakness and strength. The Dark Island, where all dreams (not just good ones!) come true, Deathwater Island -- the place of greed, Dragon Island, where Eustace turns into a dragon (which, of course, he was on the inside all along), Ramandu's island, the sea people's land, the house of the Retired Star, and more, reveal what stuff these children are made on. What their mettle is may not always exemplary, but in this book at least, characters can change. Eustace can be un-dragoned and become a changed child (having dragon skin a foot deep ripped off by a lion would, I think, inevitably result in change). This is a book of deep, miraculous possibility. As a child, I read *The Voyage of the Dawn Treader* until it fell apart, and I've gone through another copy since.

My only criticism is this: C. S. Lewis, having loosened his strangle-hold on his constricting Christian allegory, occasionally seems to feel obliged to bring in something really ham-handed. It's most annoying. The most egregious intrusion occurs when the children encounter, in the middle of nowhere, a milky white lamb frying fish on the open grass. How the heck does a lamb fry fish? Where does he get fish? Where does he get the frying pan? Why do we *need* this for the plot? The Lamb of God (Christ), communion, fish. Cringe. It's all tossed into the pot and left somehow to be digested. There are fabulous Christian allegories; this is not one of them. I would to say that this is the only place in the entire series where C.S. Lewis' allegory truly and absolutely and utterly crashes and burns. But one Lamb doesn't stop this from being a great book. *The Voyage of the Dawn Treader* provides delight, wonder, and best of all, a promise of a second chance for every one of us.

Think of a whole series of books based on a different world from ours. Now you are thinking of the Chronicles of Narnia. My favorite book of the series would have to be The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. This book by C.S. Lewis is the only book in the series that is based around a ship and the islands it encounters. Even if fantasy isn't your favorite genre this is still a book to look at. I beleive when stories are about different worlds, it makes you want to learn more about that world and all the unique of it. As an example, in this story a river turns anything that enters it into gold;and monsters, dwarfs, and creatures called fauns exist. I would recommend this book to anybody who has an imagination and enjoys things that cannot be explained. Also the author C.S Lewis has written the other six books of the Chronicles of Narnia which are all great. My favorite part is that you don't know how much time has passed in Narnia for every book you read. These are all the reasons why I read the book and why you should too.

I thought the book was great! It is one of the best books I have ever read. The book is about a boat named the Dawn Treader and it's crew. Some people in this book are in other Narnia books such as Caspian, from the book Prince Caspian, Lucy, and Edmund with there new to Narnia cousin Eustace. The story is great and I really like Reepicheep the mouse that could talk. My favorite part was where Eustace turned himself into a dragon and could fly over the island. Lucy, Edmund and Eustace were [taken]in by a picture of a boat. Onboard they met Caspain and went with them on their journey to find seven men that Caspain's father sent out to see what was to the east of Lone Islands, Where no man had gone and returned. on their way there a storm hit and they landed on a unknown island. They went looking around on the island to see if one of the seven men were on the island. They found several more islands and found the remains of several men. They sailed past the Silver Sea and to the end of the world. This book was great and I really liked the book.

Much as I hate to admit it, editors add more value than authors often appreciate. This book is a good example of missed potential for good editing.

The book contains almost 500 Absolut ads, and some of the rejects. What I did not realize until I looked at this book was how much bad Absolut advertising has appeared. Clearly, this volume would have been greatly improved by eliminating about 450 of the images in it. There is also a lot of text about how the ads are created, with a lot of pats on the back for the importers and agency involved. But there is relatively little about the creative process, and what works and what doesn't.

If you want to learn more interesting details about Absolut, I suggest that you acquire the newer book, Absolut, the History of the Bottle, instead.

Absolut advertising is all built around the formula of the word "Absolut" followed by some other word or words intending to say "Absolute X." While the lines are almost always good, the execution of how well the images fit with the text often leaves something or a lot to be desired. In other cases, the visuals are just plain ugly.

As the text suggests here, the idea was that "Absolut would be a product that could laugh at itself." That position is missed when the image is either almost irrelevant or unattractive. It just makes Absolut seem like it is a reflection of bad taste.

The mood for the ads was supposed to be light to " . . . add a dollop of humor so the 'We're the best' claim wouldn't be quite so boring or prententious." Well, you'll have to judge for yourself, but the ads seemed to have badly strayed from that standard.

Just so you won't think I dislike the campaign, here are my favorite ads in the book (I have eliminated "Absolut" from the titles to save space): Perfection, Joy, Peak, 19th, Harmony, L.A., Manhattan, Haring, and Appeal.

The other thought that bothered me was treating expensive vodka advertising as art. What's the social benefit here?

After you have finished considering the book, I suggest that you examine how you can add beauty to the world through your life and your work.

A votre sante!

"Absolut Book" covers the evolution of advertisements for Absolut Vodka and the people behind these ads. Most of the book is dedicated to the actual ads, broken up into groups, with captions detailing the ideas and providing additional information. Fascinating for its insight into the Absolut ads creation process. The book also includes some never published prints. An absolut must for collectors or anyone who enjoys print advertising.

This is an excellent book for anyone interested in photography , advertising and art in general. You get hundreds of beautifuly printed images for a good price. After reviewing the book , I also came to a conclusion that the Absolut ads "forte" was (is) the combination of photography and clever ideas. The fashion and painted art ads to me were repetitive and has little impact when compared to the clever product shots. It was great to see this collection in a book format though. lous@mail.idt.net

THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA were the most wonderful and important books I read as a child. I am still upset by this set HarperCollins has published in the last few years that has re-ordered the seven volumes chronologically based on the historical line in the novels. This is apparently according to Lewis's wishes, if so, Lewis was wrong! The best part of the series was reading "The Magician's Nephew" sixth and discovering with a beautiful and never-replicated surprise about all the things that happened before "The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe." (See several reviews below that already say this better.) By all means buy these books for your children, godchildren, nieces and nephews, but PLEASE, specify that the FIRST time they read them that they read them in the original order: LWW, PC, VDT, SC, HHB, MN, LB. They will reread them for the rest of their lives, in every possible order, but something great and beautiful and unsurpassed will be stolen from them if they read The Magician's Nephew first.

Clives Staples Lewis has created a mythical world which absolutely captures the human mind. The Chronicles of Narnia contain exciting plots, which all converge upon each other at the finally of the series: The Last Battle. Through out the books weaves the morals and beliefs of Christianity. These books do a wonder job of telling the story of the Bible, from the instantaneous creation of the world to the death of Aslan (Jesus). The way God cares about every one and desires us to enjoy life through Him, to the last battle and final days at the end of the world (of course Lewis did not know what was going to happen, yet it is still an interesting idea). In one of the best written books of all time, the land of Narnia comes alive with lovable and evil characters. The battle between good and evil is made abruptly apparent in this book as a small country goes through its history fighting for what is right. Light and darkness collide in the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe as four kids explore the land which they will rule. For a time it appears as though the evil side emerges victorious; but it is found that the White Witch as not the ability to peer far enough back into the depths time. This book it one of the most important of the set, because contained in it is the most important message of all time. My father used to read the Chronicles of Narnia to me when I was younger, now I read them on my own. When he did this he stressed, Christianity is having the relationship with God, like the youths had with Aslan. I think these are very well written books and I would encourage any one to read. I uphold C.S. Lewis as a great writer of the centuries and I praise his books (all of them) as magnificant.

This review is of the Harper Collins one-volume edition, "The Complete Chronicles of Narnia", ISBN 0060281375:

Are these books for children or adults? Lewis originally wrote them for kids, but I'm an adult and I read them regularly! They are true classics, marvellously written and essential reading for any age. This edition is one of the best I've found. It is a sturdy hardback, well-bound with good paper. The illustrations are marvellous! They aren't large and obtrusive - they don't overwhelm the text. But they truly capture the magical, mystical feel of the stories. I was taken by surprise when I first read this edition - the books are in a different order than I was used to. I'd previously read them in order of authorship, while this edition places them in chronological order. I believe I like it this way better, now that I've gotten used to it. The price is actually quite low for the quality of this book, too. Of all the editions I've seen of this must-have collection, this is the best one I've found. If you want to buy the Chronicles of Narnia, buy this edition!