This classic tale is one that I have included in my permanent children's collection. The detailed illustrations of Dr. Seuss are fun to explore while enjoying the story. It is a delightful book to read aloud to a child, with dramatic expression, remarking on the extraordinary changes in the hats as Bartholomew takes them off his head.

Just imagine how bewildered you might be if another hat appeared when you took off the first one! And the scribe's surprise as he counts them all the way up the hill! I can't give away the end of course, you will just have to read and enjoy it yourself.

Once again the delightful writer of other books such as; 'Horton Hears a Who' and the classic, 'Cat in the Hat' has done it again. The captivating story of Bartholomew Cubbins is a hilarious tale of a steady line of hats that more or less drove the town delirious. The fun-filled suprising end should be enjoyed by all. I recommend this child novel for all generations.

I run a day care in my home and I read everyday to the children. They love the story of Bartholomew Cubbins. After reading about the first few hats, the children pretty much read it on their own. They knew what would happen when the next hat came off. Needless to say, I had to read it many more times before I had to return it to our library. Dr Suess never disappoints his readers. Here is another example of his perfect writing skills.

I'm a big fan of Don and Audrey Wood (THE NAPPING HOUSE is one of my all-time favorite children's books; I love PIGGIES, too). I'm lukewarm on this one, however. Admittedly, the illustrations are extraordinary. One bathtub scene has the King and his Knight sitting in steamy tub filled with miniature ships and sailors battling through soapsuds and waves. Another scene has the King fishing in the tub with his Duke. The Duke sits hunched over in a mass of cattails and lily pads, furrowing his brow and trying to bait his hook. Trout leap from the tub, ducks and frogs hide in the rushes, and turtles crawl along the tub's edge. You could spend hours looking at the illustrations; you'll notice all sorts of funny details if you do. I've read this book a million times with my toddler, and I only noticed today that the castle-shaped cake in the food scene (where the King feasts in the tub with his Queen) is topped with a miniature bathtub with King Bidgood in it. Unfortunately, the text is rather weak. It's a simple story. A young page announces that King Bidgood won't get out of the bathtub. Various court officials try to get him out, none successfully. Finally, the entire court ends up in the tub at a Masquerade Ball which gets so crazy that the page pulls the plug. This gets the King out of the tub. The problem is the text is a repetitive quasi-poem thing (which the book jacket describes as a "lyric text"), and some of the lines don't really work. What does it mean, for example, to cry out "with a trout, trout, trout"? That's not to say that the text is horrible. It's not. It's quite okay, in fact. But when the illustrations are really extraordinary, a quite okay text feels like a real let-down.

When I was in 5th grade, I read King Bidgood's in the Bathtub, and got to hear the tape with it. It was so good, my brother and I would read it constantly. We would even walk to school singing the song (at the top of our lungs, of course!). A great children's book, all in all, with beautiful illustrations. The absurdity of fishing in a tub, going to war in a tub, eating lunch, and even having a royal ball in a bathtub will have you laughing in no time. Get it for the kids in you life, but I bet some adults will like it too!

She did it again with this book. A cute story with good illistrations. The only thing I didn't like was that the book was a little dark. I usually like bright vibrant colors. My children enjoy the book and ask me to read it often.

I enjoyed this book completely. It was a wonderful, quick way to learn about the young royal who would become Queen Elizabeth I. It becomes so much easier to remember her relations to other royals and what happened in her life when they appear as characters and situations in a fast-moving story. Her sister Queen Mary really comes to life, for example. The historical setting was brought to life beautifully as well - for example, the way the royals had to keep moving from one household to another because the houses would become too filthy to keep living in. It's easy for us to forget in modern times what life was like so long ago, even for a princess. It's one thing if a textbook tells you; it's another when it's part of a fiction setting. This was extremely well written. I recommend it to all.

If you have read Bloody Mary you would have learned why Mary was Elizabeth's enemy. You would have learned of how much Mary was tormented by Anne Boleyn and how because of her, Mary's mother was cast away. What of Elizabeth? The accident and now only remnant remaining of Anne Boleyn? Elizabeth's life story is no better than Mary's. In this book you see how Elizabeth could never trust hardly anyone and her tiny limit of friends such as her governess, Kat Ashley. You see how strong Elizabeth had to remain, to see her sister pursue her with so much hate and remorse. You hear of what made Elizabeth never want to marry. This is an excellent book and if you have read The Royal Diary of Elizabeth then you would see that both books are spectacular. However in the Royal Diary their is less peril and horror as in this book because Elizabeth was younger. It's safe enough to say that Elizabeth suffered more as she became older. Elizabeth endured much and this book takes many gloomy turns as Bloody Mary did. Cheers for Meyer on her excellent job!

Spies everywhere, potential poisoning, being sent to rot in the tower, a Queen who's sure not to put you on the throne as a sister; that's the life of Princess Elizabeth for you.

Taking place right after the death of King Henry VII Beware, Princess Elizabeth tells the tale of how Elizabeth, Princess of Wales, survived the rein of not only her brother, whom she loved dearly, but the infamous rein of her sister, Princess Mary Tudor. Told by Princess Elizabeth herself, she tells you of how she lived day to day life in the royal court and what she thinks of the dukes, earls, and princes whom King Philip II, Queen Mary's husband, tries to marry them off to her. Being as steadfast as Elizabeth is on not marrying, she refuses all proposals and lives in fear of what the King and Queen, especially the Queen, might say or do about her defiance.

Having every one she loves either dead or taken away by the order of the Queen, Elizabeth feels totally and utterly alone. How will she survive this horrible torture and still hope to become Queen of England? Find out in the wonderful book entitled Beware, Princess Elizabeth and enjoy!

My personal opinion of the book was that it was quite entertaining. I do admit that it did have some parts where it was a little long-winded but those parts were few. For the most part I gave the book 5 whole stars for its great development of the characters and making history come alive and enjoyable to read.

I've been on a Tudor reading binge lately, and this teen novel about Mary Queen of Scots is part of it. It is the story of the tumultuous reign and disastrous marriages of the young Queen, as told by her female jester, La Jardiniere--born Nicola Ambruzzi, orphan and traveling player.

Nicola is given her position as fool just before Mary's husband, the king of France, dies. Having no reason to stay in France, Mary goes back to her native Scotland and sets herself up as queen. Nicola goes with her, serving as a courtier, and also as a friend, during the years between Mary's return to Scotland and her exile in England.

The book starts slowly, and is almost but not quite boring until the murder of David Riccio, a close friend of Mary and Nicola. Then it picks up, starting with a touching scene of Nicola visiting David's grave. After this beautiful interlude, the real action begins. Nicola must keep Darnley, Mary's frat-boy husband, from usurping the throne, and later has to help Mary escape from imprisonment on a remote island. The second half of the book is much more interesting than the first, but I suppose it would have made no sense without the background of the first half. *shrug*

Overall, a decent novel about Queen Mary for middle-schoolers or thereabouts. It might even encourage you to read more about the Tudor/Stuart period.

Nicola Ambruzzi's parents died when she was young and she was adopted into her uncle's travelng performances. Her Uncle was cruel to all of his children, but most cruel to Nicola, for she was adopted into the perfomance crew. One day, at the most important event for the traveling crew, at the Palace in Rheims, where the crew was to entertain Queen Mary and King Francis, Nicola had a few run-ins with the Queen Mary herself. Queen Mary found Nicola witty and entertaining, so she bought her from Uncle as her own fool. For the first few months as fool, everything went perfect for Nicola, but the turning point was when King Francis died, and it was decided for Queen Mary to leave France and live in Scotland. From then on, the story became more and more depressing for the Queen and for Nicola, who was always behind the Queen. From the awful husband, Darnley, who was murdered, to the Queen's imprisonment...This book was true to history and was fun to read, but I don't think Queen Mary would have been such a kind soul.

I portray a female court jester with a reenactment troupe in Williamsburg (VA) and bought this book in order to gain some insight to my character. I can't begin to tell you what a fabulous book it is! This is not a "baby" book, written only for tiny children - rather it's written in a way that anybody will enjoy reading it. Children will love the book, but it's written for kids on much higher reading levels - I'd recommend it to those in middle and high school, or younger kids who read on advanced levels. It's nearly 400 pages, but I had such a hard time putting it down that I've breezed through it in two days. Nicola "La Jardiniere" is presented to us as a very real human being. She shows us that even court jesters were people, and they had the same emotions as the rest of the court. This poor child has been through the ringer in her young lifetime! She goes from being abused by her uncle, while performing in his troupe, to suddenly being thrust into the role of the court fool for Mary, Queen of Scots. It's frightening for her, to say the least. But, with her wit and charm, she manages to make the Queen's life a little more bearable. I was especially touched in the scene where (something happens - that I won't disclose) and the poor jester throws herself into the Queen's arms and bursts into tears. The Queen merely comforted poor Nicola, and you could FEEL the tender affection between these two ladies. Anyone who's read up on Mary, Queen of Scots KNOWS what her eventual fate was, but you need to read the book to find out how Nicola dealt with such a tragic loss. She's a very brave girl, indeed!
Since reading the book, I have a whole new insight into how to portray MY character at the next feast!

Gerald Morris' writing does not have the depth and description of many books, but I do love the story and the characters, especially Terence. The story has a slight mystery to it: who is Terence really? It is adventurous and set in the time of King Arthur, in fact Arthur is a part of this story as is Merlin and the greatest knight of all: Sir Gawain. As the story goes, Terence becomes Gawain's squire and later Gawain becomes a knight of the round table. It very quickly becomes apparent that Terence has faery blood in him, and he makes an excellent squire for the good knight Gawain, as they both go questing and encounter several adventures. And eventually, Terence does find out who he really is. "The Squire" has its bit of humor and is a book worth reading, very fun and charming.

I was browsing the "stacks" one day when I came across this book. Being the "judger of covers" as I am, I picked up, thinking,"Hey, it's pretty, I'll give it a go." I thought it would be ya know, the usual, every day, semi amusing book.(I mean, there's only a knight sitting backwards on a horse, totally cleche).

Now that I've read this book, i deserve to be slapped. The Squire's Tale is now my favorite book. Every time I went to the library, I found myself searching for a sequel! And there you go! There is now three books written by this author, set in the authorian times.

It's about a fourteen year old boy named Terence. He "coincidentally" met the great Sir Gawain. Terence finds out later that he is destined to be the great knight's squire.

So the two set out to Camelot, where the whole adventure begins.

For anyone searching for a fun-filled(sorry, had to say it...I'm sorry...)book, full of knights,magic,comedy and adventure...HORRAY! you've found it! This is one of the BEST books I've ever read. Hope you like it too! ;)

~*MicheeDee*~

First thing: This book is awesome!!! Mr. Morris captured my attention like no other author has been able to do.

"The Squire's Tale" is a wonderful book based around Terence, a boy searching for his past, who comes to be Sir Gawain's squire, and soon encounters more adventure than he ever thought he would! Sharp, witty dialogue and absolutley lovable charaters (Like Tor, Polgrun, Gawain, Robin, Lori, Ganscotter, Authur, Kai, and, of course, Terence himself!) made this book one of my favorites (Bested only by it's sequal, "The Squire, His Knight and His Lady).

After Gawain, a young man seeking to be Knighted by King Authur has a(rather humorous, stewpot) fight with Sir Hautubris, he recrutes a Squire out of young Terence (With the help of the Hermit of the Gentle Wood, Trevensent.)

The two set out to Camelot, on the way meeting young Tor, who also wants to be a knight. Gawain gets his wish of being knighted,(Poor Tor doesn't, yet!) but only after Terence tells of the fight with Sir Hautubris. ("I have an ill-mannered squire." Gawain replied. "Will you punish him for telling of this deed?" Gawain hesitated, then shook his head. "No, sire. How could I punish him for telling what I wish to be known?")

After a wonderful fight scene with the five kings, who were threatening Camelot and Aurthur, Gawain, Tor (He's knighted, yay!), Kai and Terrence are all rewarded by the king.
A few months later, King Authur is married to Guinevere. During the party, a hart and hound, both almost compeletly white, wreak havoc. Soon after them, a hag on a white mule appears. A brief quarrel causes the hag to have Gawain pursue the hart and Tor follow the hound. ("King Aurthur," The woman said, "Send Sir Gawain after the hart." She looked at him through the corner of her eye. "Perhaps he will find adventure where he saw none before.")

Gawain and Terence set out Questing. In the course of three months, they encounter quarreling brothers, rude men, one beautiful, but unusually blood-thirsty girl, one quiet knight who befriends them after a quick jousting competition, Gawain's "autie" Morgan Le Fay, ("You always were a twisted wench, Morgan.") two love-sick fools, The Lady of the Lake, Ganscotter the Enchanter, Lorie, his daughter (Also the hag from the feast), and many others. (I won't say who else! Surprise, Surprise!)

All around, I'd say this is one execllent book for young readers. I'm 13, and even though I've read it many, many times, it still enchants me! HIGHLY RECOMENDED!!!

The Princess Test, by Gail Carson Levine, was a well thought-out and carefully expounded version of Hans Christian Anderson's The Princess and the Pea. It made a good read, but was rather short, giving slight room for those important 'little' details such as character development. Levine told her tale in true Anderson style, much like the original story, but with Levine's humor and clever twists to the plot. Those who have enjoyed Levine's previous book Ella Enchanted will finish The Princess Test and clamor for more, but if you are not familiar with Levine, you may wonder what all the fuss is about.

THis is a great book. But all of Levine's books are good. This one is a retelling of the Princess and The Pea. Lorelei, a farmgirl, cannot do anything. For example, if she washes the dishes she'll get a rash, so all she can do is embroider things on the linen and clothing. One day the prince comes by and sees her. They fall in love, but the prince can only marry a princess. So the queen decides to have a test. They have to pick out the weed in the bouquet and stuff like that. It's a great book. READ IT!

Wonderful version of the classic The Princess and the Pea. It is a story about a young girl whose name is Lorelei. She is the daughter of a local blacksmith. The only problem is, is that she is so spoiled that she is the only child in in the village to have satin sheets and so on. Also she can not wash dishes without getting a rash and when she tried spinning she pricked her finger and could have bled to death. In fact the only house chores Lorelei is good at is making beds and hanging clothes. But there is one thing Lorelei is very good at it is embroidery, she embroiders the clothes and the linen. One day she meets a prince and they fall in love. That would have been perfect for each other except there is one problem. The prince has to marry a real princess. The queen makes a test for the princesses that come and Lorelei gets wound up in it by mistake. Will the pince get to marry her or not? Read the book to find out. It is a totally thrilling book although I found it was too short. Also I would recommend the book The Fairy's Mistake.

I'm a huge Ruin Mist fan...Out of all the books, this is my favirote. This book has excitment. It makes you wanna keep reading and reading. It's soooo mysterious because you just want to know what's going to happen next. This is another hit from Robert Stanek! This book was excellent! If you read it you won't be able to put it down. I read it again...

This book is the best I have read in a long time. As a newcomer to reading fantasy books, The Elf Queen and the King seemed like a good place to start. It wasn't as complicated as a lot of Fantasy novels, which made it easier to get into. The only trouble is that once you get into the book, you really cannot put it down. I found myself reading the book in a very short time. Not to give to much of the plot away, one of the most amazing pieces of writing I have ever read are the chapters relating to Emel and Adrina.

This book introduces us to the mysterious world of Ruin Mist. I'll be the first to admit that I am late in joining the Ruin Mist craze. My son wanted to read it, so we read it together, and I was pleasantly surprised!

It's the story of a great change coming to a magical world and those that have a part in that change. Vilmos is a young boy. He lives a somewhat normal life with his "mother" and "father", until his dreams become more than figments of his imagination. With the help of a mysterious benefactor, Vilmos gets away just before he is found out for what he really is (a wizard-to-be). It is also the story of a princess, who is heartbroken, and the journey she undertakes that changes her life and helps her come to terms with the loss of her mother.

Robert Stanek put together a true masterpiece. Not only did the book set the stage for the following books, but it allowed the reader to feel like they were right there within the story. This is one well written book, as it has a little bit of everything. There's well-developed characters, mystery, suspense, conflict of good vs. evil, and more. This was a truly good book and a pleasure to read. This book should be enjoyed by readers of all ages!

Elske is the next part of the puzzle as Voigt reveals piece by piece the perspectives, history, and tales of the kingdom. The story Elske certainly holds you attention, while the main character is fiesty and new to her surrondings. A short summary is:

Elske tossed into an un-known world makes her way as a hated enemy. Surprisingly enough attracts many types of friends, through her innocence as well as decieving appearence. As she turns away many situations where she could live a peacefull life, only to serve a "feindly princess." Beriel a girl fighting for what was hers as well as mustering a dark secret..... Together they make do with each other and even befriend each other.

The one thing about this that makes it so appealing is that Elske is not your average distressed maiden making it through life suffering, but always content while sharing a romance with a good hearted man of higher or lower status. Beriel and Elske's characters are very captivating.... You'll love this book if you are a fan of or have read: Jackaroo, On Fortunes Wheel, or Wings of a Falcon. New readers will enjoy this book just as much because no other former "tid bits of the last books plot" are key facts.

Clean, effective writing and a great plot are trademarks of Cynthia Voigt's work, and the more she writes, the better she gets. I read some of her earlier books beginning around the age of eleven -- Homecoming, Dicey's Song, Seventeen Against the Dealer, Jackaroo, The Callendar Papers -- and I've never forgotten them. Voigt doesn't shy away from complex, adult issues; instead she makes them challenging and yet accessable for anyone.

I saw ELSKE on this site and couldn't resist buying it to see if Voigt was still as good as ever. Turns out she's even better -- I've read all the books in the "Kingdom" series and this, though I love the others, is my favorite. It's an adventure story about two young women making their own way in a world against them, and it's got everything: "primitive" tribal customs, plots against a royal family, narrow escapes, war, even love. It's got morals, too, but Voigt skillfully avoids hitting you over the head with them. All told, it's as great for adults as for kids.

NOTE: I would recommend that any "kid" reading it be old enough/mature enough to understand and handle things like rape and sexual innuendo, which are in no way graphic or overdone, but certainly are important elements in the story.

I've been a fan of Cynthia Voigt for years. And this addition to the Kingdom series was great! It really kept me reading to find out where she was taking Elske. As a student of medieval history as well as of viking culture & history I appreciated Voigt's depiction of the Volking and Elske's perception of her place in their society. I encourage young women and their mothers to read this book in their book groups and to explore the medival world. My 12 year old daughter, a mature reader, loved it. Cyntia Voigt has done it again with another great book.

I had a beach Babar book as a child, so I bought this to share with my daughter. It is kind of bizarre, so keep in mind that it was written in the 1930's. First, Babar's mother is killed, as was the fate of most classic animal stories. Then, he decides to become more like men, HOW ODD! He wears clothes and walks on his back legs. Any time any of the elephants in this book wear clothes, they gain the instant ability to walk on their hind legs. When he returns to the elephants, he is crowned king, which is unlikely since elephants are matriarchal (they are led by females and grown males are banned from the group except during mating times). Then he marries his cousin, and they live happily ever after. In the spirit of Curious George, who was kidnapped from his home and forced to conform to human ways, this is a charming but very out-dated tale.

Babar first came into my life at when I was 8 and in 3rd grade. I will always remember because that was the happiest grade-school year of my whole life. I was going to private school with a wonderful, sweet teacher and awesome friends. Among all the wonderful things my teacher did with us were some of the neat things in the classroom, some being her supply of story books. Naturally as an animal lover, I grabbed this book during silent reading because I needed some reading material. Tears were streaming down my face as I began to read of Babar's mother's death, and I had tears of joy as some good people take Babar in. I remember being so touched by Babar that whenever someone would mention the word "elephant", I'd get all misty-eyed! It seems funny now but at the time it was quite a dielemma! I was too embarrassed to tell my mom and dad why I was upset so they were concerned! Then my mom went on a trip to California and visited a bunch of garage sales and found some patterns for making little felt Babar and friends dolls. No doubt, Babar had touched my life deep inside. My wonderful childhood was made richer.

Some children's books can be read over and over again, and Jean De Brunhoff's book about Babar, the little elephant is among them.
The copy we have in our house were purchasted in 1988 and has survived 4 kids. Out Marta is the forth one, and at age 6 she still loves to cuddle up with a smile on her face listening to the story of Babar. The very sad part for a six year old is the beginning where Babar's mother dies and Babar runs away. But Babar is lucky and meets an old lady who takes care of him. And the joy is always big in the end when Babar meets his childhood friends and cousins again in the end of the books. And even becomes a king and marries his cousin Celeste.
The book was written in 1939, but is still well worth reading for any child, and should be part of every lucky child's book collection. It will still be read again and again here in Norway, though the pages in the copy we have almost fall apart now (they can always be glued together again though)

Britt Arnhild Lindland

Katrina Clancy October 24, 2002

The Seeing Stone, Kevin Crossley~Holland, 0-439-43524-2

Having your wrist cut of for stealing doesn't seem fair. But for Arthur de Caldicot it is part of growing up in his country manor in England, 1199. This realistic fiction novel takes Arthur on an adventure as he tries to unlock his future, past, and present through a gift given to him by his dear friend Merlin.

The Seeing Stone was a roller coaster of emotions until the very end. Felling sympathy for the characters and also hate towards some. You can't be afraid of terrible things happening because this book is just like normal life. This book is also an extremely interesting book because the genre is realistic fiction. This genre seems to appeal to a lot of people because it allows you to use your imagination all the time. This story basically takes you on the ups and downs of the life of a family who lives on a manor and all their occupants. You won't want to put it down and you won't want to stop reading. While reading this book your understanding of how life was during the middle ages will increase but also the respect you had for people who lived during that time.

The Seeing Stone held my attention until the very last page but I wouldn't recommend it to people who don't really enjoy this genre because it would seem confusing at some points for them. It's also important to remember that life was very different for the characters of this book and they did undergo strong emotional a physical changes. The Seeing Stone is a thought provoking book and anyone who reads it should be proud of their newly acquired skill because this book was not that easy to understand at first. Most people will be drawn in quickly however, because it is really easy to connect with the main character and his life problems as a person in general. I personally loved this book and look forward to reading this sequel. The story is amazing, it holds you to the last page, and I can confidently say that Kevin Crossley~Holland is a terrific author.

Magical Arthur Stone

The Seeing Stone by Kevin Crossley- Holland is a magnificent book providing numerous details about King Arthur. It takes place during the crusades and displays many characters plus it has a good plot behind it. Arthur De Caldicot is 13 and is named after King Arthur. Merlin, who is Arthur's father's friend, gives Arthur a black stone called obsidian. The stone starts to tell stories about King Arthur that is Arthur De Caldicot's namesake. When Arthur first received the stone, he does not know what it means and is very confused.
The stone plays an important part. Only Arthur can see stories in it though. The stone has a mind of its own and is mysteriously unusual. Sometimes the obsidian shows smoke and other weird thoughts and pictures inside it at different times. When Arthur is confused about his stone he tries to ask Merlin what everything but Merlin can't tell anything. Arthur has to figure it out his self. In one point in the book he sees his good friend Gatty in the stone. All through the book Arthur tries to figure out what the stone means to him. Merlin is the only person who knows about the stone. Arthur can't tell anyone though or else the magic doesn't work. Arthur has the only power in his warm palm to see the King Arthur stories.
I would highly recommend this book for a fun read and to people ages 12+. Although it contains violence sometimes it still is an incredible book. The book goes by in a snap. It is also easy to understand.

The novel The Seeing Stone (Arthur Trilogy, Book One)
by Kevin Crossley-Holland was one of the most amazing that I have ever read. Just recently I read the harry potter series and since then have been waiting for another series of its quality and detail to come out, and this book completely went up to and over the level that harry potter was written at. If you like history, adventure, or even love in an novel, do yoursel a favor and buy this book. You will be extremely happy with this purchase.