a delightful book for the very young set...my daughter cannot get enough of it at bedtime readings! ....if you can get your hands on this book, grab it! your little one will have many hours of enjoyment with benjamin's antics.

This book is filled with underwater exploration scenes where Kelsey and his dive team are near certain death and must choose to go forward into the dark unknown of the Lock in Scotland or face the creature.

Beyond Cotton Country is the 3rd cookbook from the Junior League of Morgan County and their experience shows in this book. The recipes vary from quick and easy meals to cook for the kids on weeknights to gourmet recipes that will impress even the most finiky dinner guest. It also features menus for events ranging from the ballgame "Tailgate party" to a "Ladies Spring Luncheon". This cookbook and it's still published predecessor Cotton Country Cooking are a must have for the cook that appreciates the best in Southern flavors.

Bialosky Stays Home by Nancy Moran is simple, cute, and yummy. Children who read this book will automatically become inspired to create a yummy treat, and they will fall in love with this magical, yet domestic bear.

When Bialosky decides to stay home in order to cook a delicious batch of cookies, he finds that tasting the batter is as good as tasting the final product. Needless to say, Bialosky has only enough batter for one cookie by the time he finishes.

I learned how to read with this book. First through memorization, then applying the story to the very readable print. It is my opinion that every child deserves to have a book this wonderful standing on his or her bookshelf.

One of the undisputed classic reference works for the old-time radio enthusiast, first published during the original wave of nostalgia over 25 years ago, "The Big Broadcast" lists many network and syndicated radio shows that ran in the timeframe of the 1920's-50s, more commonly referred to as "the golden age of radio". A great source for cast lists (if you can't put a name to a voice) with informative articles on genres and more technical matters (sound effects, "independent" networks, etc.). This type of thorough reference work is usually frustratingly hard to find for the old-time radio. This book has been out of print for years, and when you found a copy of the first edition, you could expect to pay premium prices, especially if the seller knew what he had. The introduction, by radio comedian Henry Morgan (not to be confused with the guy who played Colonel Potter on "MASH"), is a beauty.

Simplicity at its best! The art and the poetry flow together so beautifully -- obviously from the same heart. What a great housewarming gift!

Connoisseurs of C-SPAN's Booknotes are familiar with one of the great, and unusual, questions that host Brian Lamb uses : How did so-and-so come to write this cover blurb for the dust jacket of your book ? The genius of this question is that it calls attention to--though, typical of Brian Lamb, he doesn't dwell on it--one of the real scams of the book industry, the fact that the folks who are blurbed frequently have some previous relationship with the author. Someone, it may have been The New Republic, actually used to have a terrific feature where they untangled these relationships. My favorite recurring motif is where the Author's Acknowledgment thanks a person who, we suddenly realize, has not so coincidentally provided an encomium for the cover. Harder to track down, but equally amusing, are the mutual blurbs, where authors' words of praise appear on each other's books.

Now, I'd read Geoffrey Norman's Morgan Hunt series several years ago in paperback, and thoroughly enjoyed it. But had I not, what right-thinking man could resist the blandishments on the back of this hardcover that I found; the authors quoted are : James Hall and Loren D. Estleman, an outstanding thriller writer and the best private eye novelist of his generation respectively; P.J. O'Rourke, one of the funniest political writers going; and not just one but both Buckleys, Christopher and William F., Jr.. I mean, c'mon, even once you realize that Geoffrey Norman is a contributor to National Review (founded by WFB) and Forbes FYI (edited by Christopher) and has written for The American Spectator (once home to PJ), you just aren't likely to ignore that collection of famous fans.

As I said, the books are outstanding irrespective of who endorses them. Morgan Hunt is a former Green Beret and an ex-convict, having killed the man who was physically abusing his sister. He lives in the Florida Panhandle, and the natural world is an integral part of the stories. He's tough but likable, and though he's got a streak of machismo and a fearsome moral code, it's not as if Norman is trying to brainwash unsuspecting readers with conservative dogma.

Blue Chipper might even surprise some folks, who tend to pigeon hole conservatives. The story centers around the exploitation of poor black athletes, in this case a basketball phenom, by scholastic athletic programs and coaches. Norman lives on the Florida Gulf Coast for part of the year, his column for National Review is on sports, and he writes about hunting and the outdoors for Sports Afield. This entry in the series gives him the chance to flex all his muscles, which he does to good effect.

Of course, the other half of the year he spends in the People's Republic of Vermont and you should really be sure to track down his columns on the increasingly frightening politics of the Green Mountain State. They are a hoot.

GRADE : A

It has been 20 years since I last lived in Boise. This book and its numerous color pictures, however, confirmed for me that despite intense growth, the essential character of the place remains the same. The strength of this book is the writers' obvious sensitivity to the character of the place and its people -- a sensitivity that allowed me to make this conclusion. For example, although the title says Boise, the authors, through pictures and descriptions of the rugged and beautiful Idaho outdoors, display an understanding that Idaho wilderness is inseparable from Boiseans' notions of themselves. Very much worth purchasing.

A gift from my sister to my twins... from 9 months old they listened to every word - soon they knew it by heart! They learned how to "guess" and how to "tease" from this book. It's still a favorite, and they are almost 3.

A wonderful, beautiful, exciting, dramatic book. The creation of the Universe (Big Bang theory) explained in a story form for children by the Universe itself. Fantastic illustrations. I bought a copy for my son's Montessori school and a copy for myself I loved it so much. Ties in quite nicely with Dr Maria Montessori's Great Stories. Probably would not suit fervent creationists.