Excellent book that gives detailed instruction that allows crafts person to create a wonderful version of the Dickens Village creations. Gives actual photos, interesting histories, and examples of completed projects. Excellent for novice or expert. Would love to see additional patterns and other Dept. 56 books.

This book is fantastic. The directions are very easy to follow and the pieces look just like the ceramic building. It is a wonderful complement to your Heritage Village pieces. I can't wait to make a few pieces and frame them in my Dickens' room.

What I most appreciate about this particular volume as a reference book on the film career of Katharine Hepburn is that it is richly illustrated with both professional and candid photographs, provides a complete list of the cast and crew for each of her films, and extensive excerpts from contemporary reviews. "The Films of Katharine Hepburn" is a wonderful companion volume to my almost complete tape collection of Katharine Hepburn films (Hey! I even tracked down "The Iron Petticoat"!).

The introductory "Rebellious Lady: A Biographical Capsule" is only two-dozen pages long but it covers Hepburn's professional career in a complete but concise manner. The photographs included in the essay are the best collection of Hepburn shots you are likely to find, including: a rare shot of Hepburn with her husband, FDR and her gibbon monkey Amos. There is also a watercolor of Hepburn by Ginger Rogers, a bust by Robert McKnight, Alexander Brooks famous 1938 painting, and even Hepburn's first appearance with Spencer Tracy...in the 1938 Mickey Mouse cartoon "Mother Goose Goes Hollywood" (he is one of the three men in a tub along with Charles Laughton and Freddie Bartholomew and she is Little Bo Peep, who has lost her sheep and doesn't know where to find them... "rheally I don't.")

The main portion of the volume is just what the title says, Hepburn's films. For each film Dickens provides the cast, credits, a synopsis, commentary from the "Critic's Circle," and notes on the film, along with at least a half-dozen photographs. The synopsis tend to run towards the short side, but that just underscores that this is a supplementary text and is not intended to substitute for the films. The excerpts from the reviews, which focus specifically on Hepburn for the most part, are the most fascinating part of the volume. In keeping with this you find that even in his own notes Dickens tends to use the words of others--Hepburn, her co-stars, her director--to provide insights into the film and her performance.

Dickens' book ends with a stage chronicle of Hepburn's career, a gallery of Hepburn in each of her film roles, and a list of not only Hepburn's Oscar nominations but her competition for Best Actress each year as well. This format serves Dickens well, not only in this volume but in the other ones he has produced.

What I most appreciate about this volume as a reference book on Katharine Hepburn is that it is richly illustrated with both professional and candid photographs, provides a complete list of the cast and crew for each of her films, and extensive excerpts from contemporary reviews. "The Films of Katharine Hepburn" is a wonderful companion volume to my almost complete tape collection of Katharine Hepburn films.

The introductory "Rebellious Lady: A Biographical Capsule" is only two-dozen pages long but it covers Hepburn's professional career in a complete but concise manner. The photographs included in the essay are the best collection of Hepburn shots you are likely to find, including: a rare shot of Hepburn with her husband, FDR and her gibbon monkey Amos. There is also a watercolor of Hepburn by Ginger Rogers, a bust by Robert McKnight, Alexander Brooks famous 1938 painting, and even Hepburn's first appearance with Spencer Tracy...in the 1938 Mickey Mouse cartoon "Mother Goose Goes Hollywood" (he is one of the three mem in a tub along with Charles Laughton and Freddie Bartholomew and she is Little Bo Peep, who has lost her sheep and doesn't know where to find them... "rheally I don't.")

The meat of the volume is just what the title says, Hepburn's films. For each film Dickens provides the cast, credits, a synopsis, commentary from the "Critic's Circle," and notes on the film, along with at least a half-dozen photographs. The synopsis tend to run towards the short side, but that just underscores that this is a supplementary text and is not intended to substitute for the films. The excerpts from the reviews, which focus specifically on Hepburn for the most part, are the most fascinating part of the volume. In keeping with this you find that even in his own notes Dickens tends to use the words of others--Hepburn, her co-stars, her director--to provide insights into the film and her performance.

Dickens' book ends with a stage chronicle of Hepburn's career, a gallery of Hepburn in each of her film roles, and a list of not only Hepburn's Oscar nominations but her competition for Best Actress each year as well. This format serves Dickens well, not only in this volume but in the other ones he has produced.

I was very pleased with this book. It is a good story and easy to visualize the characters. When you get to the end you really want to know what keeps happening in the main character's (Lilly) life. She has such a hard beginning and you want to see if her new road is good for her. Maybe there will be a followup book.

The Gospel Singer is a spicy novel about a young woman determined to rise to the top of the gospel music industry. She is seductive, yet naive. And while she uses other to carve her pathway to fame, she is also used by people who take advantage of her hunger to succeed. From small town to the big city, Lili maintains her lust for life and glory.

With a top notch cast and a wonderful, well planned adaption, this easily ranks as one of BBC's best radio drama presentations. The horror, romance, and tongue-in-cheek silliness of youth are all thoroughly portrayed here. Pip is as he should be... a sympathetic but misguided character whose life is spent in the pursuit of hollow happiness.

The BBC drama does well on many levels... Sound is excellent, superb acting, all the major plot twists seem to be intact... Highly recommended!

Great Expectations is an exciting story dramatically done in this audio presentation.

What a wonderful story! I highly recommend it to anyone, regardless of age. It's a good, fast-paced book about kids with cancer and is done in a light-hearted, light-handed way. It will appeal to mature kids and teens because it's written from the point of view of an eleven year-old who has leukemia, and it will appeal to adults who are seeking an entry-level piece into the subject of childhood cancer. There's plenty of mischief and humor, as well as some somber moments. Like the quote on the back of the book says, it gave me tears and smiles. For those looking for more information about this book, I found a brief summary of the story on the publisher's website (1stbooks.com).

This is one of those rare, wonderful, young readers books for everyone - both young and old. It deals with an energetic, young girl who has leukemia and her miserable, aristocratic neighbor who doesn't care about anyone. This light and upbeat awareness piece about kids with cancer is a fast read and you walk away learning something about a very difficult subject. An enjoyable book for all to read, Mrs. M will be particularly helpful to families, friends, and relatives of those young people diagnosed with a life-threatening illness.

In bookstores and libraries, literary classics are a dime a dozen. There are so many different editions available of each that the problem becomes one not of finding a good read but of selecting the edition of it that's right for you. Charles Dickens is perhaps the most popular of the past masters. All his books are enormously entertaining, whether he's writing about the tragedies of this world or its travesties. His eye for the ludicrous is faultless; his representation of it in print is perfection. He never fails to paint on the canvass in our mind, with a few simple strokes, a comic character that resembles someone we've met somewhere, sometime in our lives. His characters are so real that he needs to do nothing more than describe their appearance briefly and then let them speak for themselves. They speak with all the dignity and importance we all feel in ourselves, yet they unwittingly disclose for the reader all the foibles we all possess ... and mistakenly think known only to ourselves. Likewise, when introducing tragic characters, Dickens prefers to offer brief but unerringly accurate descriptions of their build, demeanor, and dress, and then allow their own words and actions to speak for themselves. His creations elicit mirth and misery in us without fail as Dickens masterfully plucks the strings of our hearts.

Unlike most writers, Dickens is equally at home in both the short story and the full-length novel format. This is because his novels were serialized in periodicals in their first publications. Only later were they edited for book form. "Sketches by Boz" is an offering of Dickens's first attempts at writing for a living. It consists of 56 passages, most of which can be read in a single sitting of less than half an hour. These are divided into four sections: "Our Parish", "Scenes", "Characters", and "Tales". Of these, only the last contains fiction. The 44 nonfiction accounts are just as entertaining as their made-up brothers. In fact, I found them even more fun to read at times. Dickens only thinly disguised the identities of his victims while lampooning them, and as editor Dennis Walder so rightly points out, many of these descriptions would surely result in lawsuits for libel if they were published about public figures today.

This was my first experience reading a Penguin Classics edition of Dickens, and I was extremely pleased with it. The editor introduced "Sketches" with a few notes of academic and historical interest, a particular one of which I found to be of great interest as it finally answered a question I'd had for half my life: namely, where Dickens had acquired his nickname of Boz. But more important for today's reader of Dickens is the "Notes" section at the back of the book in which Mr. Walder defines Dickensian slang and explains the author's references to people, events, and places of early nineteenth century London. Much of Dickens's wit is lost on today's reader without such disclosures.

One of my favorite ways of reading a classic author is to collect all of his or her works and then read through them at a leisurely pace in the order they were written. I did this with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle with the intention of noting how his style developed over the years. I was surprised to find an unexpected benefit of that project: I was transported to those times and felt as I imagine one of Doyle's contemporary fans must have felt as he read each new Sherlock Holmes story. After finishing Doyle, I immediately began collecting Dickens for a similar project. "Sketches by Boz", being a collection of Dickens's first literary efforts, was of course the first in this series. The second Dickens book is "The Pickwick Papers", of which I have the Library of the Future edition. But after reading the Penguin Classics "Sketches", I'm determined to first replace "Pickwick" with the Penguin edition. The Penguin books are reasonably priced and well worth every penny.

This was a wonderful collection of all of Charles Dickens works! I highly recommend!

Tassels provides step-by-step instructions for creating sixteen decorative tassels, covering everything from choosing threads to finishing touches. Any involved in crafts or arts projects will find this very specific guide useful and important for adding a tassel touch to a design or piece: the black and white step-by-step illustrations are very clear and the color photos excellent.

Susan comes up with another winner - both beginning tassel makers and experienced designers will appreciate this book. This book is a sophisticated sequel to her earlier The Art of Tassel Making. Basics of tassel anatomy and construction techniques will ease beginners into this wonderful textile art. Among the most useful tips for experienced tassel makers are instructions on how to replicate vintage jasmine petal components, decorative strips and flower centers by embroidering over a sheet aluminum base. Also detailed are ribbon flowers, chevron wrapped and peyote stitched tassel heads, and beaded overskirts. The impeccably constructed tassels are simply but beautifully photographed, and Jane's illustrations are easy to follow. Seven tassels pictured are fairly basic in style and construction, with the remaining nine showing various styles of additional embellishment. This book is another "must have" for anyone smitten with the creative art of tassel making! On the negative side, be forewarned that the much-awaited Suppliers List does not contain any US suppliers; this was a major disappointment. Other than that omission, Susan's new book was another delightful read from beginning to end.

I can't imagine any actor not being transformed by this book. A must read for anyone interested in Dickens or theater.

The Modern Library is, in my opinion, an extraordinary series, and this book is no exception. During the 19th century, there was a vogue for visiting the young American republic, from abroad, then writing a book about it. Dickens does a fantastic job of revealing the country's manners, morals, flaws and fashions. I highly recommend this book--alongside Tocqueville and Trollope--for a European view of the American democracy.

Charles Dickens wrote a detailed log of his trip to America--from the boat in England to his travels on early American trains. His style is very light and entertaining. If you are familiar with his novels about the dark side of London and the social problems that Dickens himself grew up with, this book is quite a contrast. He is writing the book as an Englishman for other Englishmen.

I was expecting to find a lot of satire against Americans. (His comic piece "Martin Chuzzelwit" had this). However, Dickens was very positive toward the social reforms that he saw in America. He also makes some interesting comments on seeing black slaves for the first time.

Unfortunately, he wasn't able to travel far, so his impressions of America are limited. Nonetheless, this is a book that I enjoy reading and re-reading.