I thought I might try to get through all of the Mary Soon Lee anthology WINTER SHADOWS AND OTHER TALES in one go, but really could not. Lee is a masterfully efficient storyteller, and packs great impact in a mere few pages. Her theme may frequently be the angst of the need and the search for true love, but there isn't much sentimentality here, and a very small margin for mere flattery and superficiality. For those who prefer that love be proven, genuine, and hard-earned, these are small but memorable gems, making strong use of easily accessible fantasy settings but always relevant to reality. It is tempting to wonder what Lee could do at greater length, but I personally have no idea how, or why, I would dilute such potent content.

In collections of an author's short stories, usually you like some, and some look boring and you skip them. Not so with Mary Soon Lee's Winter Shadows -- each story draws you in and you read through the book from first page to last.

If there's a unifying theme to the collection, it lies in the word transformation. Not just humans turned into animals, but people in general being transformed by their experiences. A lot of fantasy and science fiction is weak on characterization; but not the stories of Mary Soon Lee. In short, I can't recommend this book enough. I understand this is Ms. Lee's first book, though she has been appearing in the pages of magazines like Fantasy and Science Fiction, and Interzone, for some time now. If her later books are as good as this one, she will be a formidable presence in the spec-fic world indeed.

I teach kindergarten, and my students have read all the books about Mrs. Wishy-washy and her animals. This book has the same fun, joyful tradition of the other stories. The children's immediate comment was "Read it again!". One child wanted to write to Joy Cowley to see if she was going to write another one. This book is a winner.

I have recently purchased this book for my 2 year old and she cannot put this book down. The pictures are wonderful and full of color. The pictures are so big and the story plot is not that long so that for non readers it is just great and lots of fun to read. Suggestions, make noises as you read the few lines and have them call out and descripe the colors and animals seen on the pages. I truly recommend this book because most importantly my daughter loved it and I loved seeing her face.

This book is filled with poems that hit very close to home in many ways. I found many to be inspirational as a motivational "energy drink"! I'm buying more copies and using as the perfect gift for friends, family, & my work colleagues. Thank you!

The book is filled with poems that hit very close to home in many ways. I found many to be inspirational as a motivational "energy drink"! I'm buying more copies and using as the perfect gift for friends, family, & my work colleagues. Thank you!

Want to see how the world situation is related to God's move? Do you know that God also has a history? Read this book to find out. Warning: You may be finishing the book in one sitting; once you start you may find it difficult to stop.

I enjoyed this book much more in my second reading, nearly twenty years after the initial publication. Full of the Holy Spirit and of wisdom, Witness Lee was the best Bible expositor I have ever read. In this book he identifies how God has sovereignly directed human affairs during the last 2,000 years, in order that He can accomplish His eternal purpose on this earth.

With all the books published on the Civil War, it's hard to
find something NEW, but this book brings to light a collection of soldiers' letters unpublished since the Civil War. Not only are the letters themselves new and fresh to
Civil War scholars and enthusiasts, but Bill Styple has done
an excellent job of editing them. The Civil War is presented
in a new light. One of the best Civil War books in many years; if you like to read about the Civil War, buy this book!

This book is a great addition to the serious Civil War reader's library. Being able to read the battle descriptions, thoughts and feelings of those who actually participated in the war is always enlightening, bringing the reader a different reality than that of the historian who writes about the Civil War with the benefit of hindsight and without the benefit of personal experience. The compilation of letters in this book - in chronological and logical order - brings alive the crucial battles in the Eastern theatre of the Civil War. The only slight deficiency is that very few letters from the Eastern soldiers fighting in Western armies are included. My suggestion: have this book at hand and read what the soldiers had to say about a specific event or battle immediately after reading narrative descriptions of the same event or battle by today's leading historians, for a complete view. Overall, a wonderful book and highly recommendable to the "advanced" Civil War reader.

Many people want to become more involved in a daily spiritual endeavor, or simply want a way to spend a few extra minutes every day in prayer. But it can be difficult to start and sustain, or confusing if you're not familiar with lectionary readings, the church calendar, or just have never tried such a pursuit.

This book is a very good start!

Bishop Browning has compiled short personal devotions, reflections, excerpts from the Episcopal Church's Book of Common Prayer, and his own comments -- one devotion for each day of the year. Each day's devotions are short and sweet -- though they are the size of "appetizers," they will fill you as though they were full-course meals! The devotions cover a wide range of topics, but rather than seeming disjointed, it actually drives home the important underlying theme: God is with you every day! God loves you, no matter what! Trust Him, and invite Him into your daily life!

Regular prayer, and especially daily prayer, is so vitally important not only to individuals but to the church as a whole that anything we can do to advance it is valuable. Even if you're not an Episcopalian (I'm not) and are not familiar with the Book of Common Prayer, those seeking to enhance their daily prayer life will find this book to be a treasure. I do.

Most highly recommended!

The Book of Common Prayer contains the liturgy of the Episcopal Church for most occasions and the text of all the Psalms. Bishop Edmond Lee Browning, who has now retired as the presiding bishop of the United States, has taken brief phrases from here and there in the BCP and provided a thought-provoking meditation on each. His thoughts are as current as the Waco siege -- "we were haunted by the deaths of those little ones," he writes -- and how withdrawal from the world is not the way of Jesus. A passage about the weather reminds him that "We often have very little say over what will happen, but we have sole power over what we will do with it." Each BCP phrase has a page number with it, so you can look it up if you want to read more. Even if you are not familiar with the poetry of the Book of Common Prayer, Bishop Browning presents each passage without previous knowledge required. If you have a well-thumbed copy of the prayerbook, then you may be surprised at the meaning he brings to oft-said words.

So many children's book read like translations, but here is one that is fun, creative, and reads like someone wrote it in Spanish. Even in Spanish speaking countries it is hard to fine books for children, especially children under five, that are not translations from other languages.

YO TENIA UN HIPOPOTAMO has my two and a half year old squealing for joy as the boy in the story gives away different animals to family and freinds, and in the process learns some great vocabulary. The illustrations are also fun. This is a book that will hold a childs interest whether they be 1 1/2 or 4.

Nuestro hijo tiene este libro, y es uno de sus preferidos. Puede ser difícil encontrar un libro de los niños de la calidad en español y por un autor de habla hispana cuando usted está en un país de discurso no-español, pero usted encontrará uno en este título. Además, las ilustraciones son muy hermosas mirar, y el texto introduce no solamente muchos diversos animales, pero también muchas diversas palabras españolas para las relaciones (vecino, abuela, primo, etc).

Dos pulgares para arriba (y cinco estrellas)!

This book is just simply the best. If you have allergies this book will give you all of the remedies to deal with it. I STRONGLY suggest that you buy this book. Every house should have it.

This book is just simply the best. If you have allergies this book will give you all of the remedies to deal with it. I STRONGLY suggest that you buy this book. Every house should have it.

Dedicated to all the grandchildren of the world, 82 year old Kirk Douglas shares his favorite Bible stories. In a kindly grandfatherly tone, he explains why each protagonist is a hero on a level that children will readily comprehend. He thinks through why Joseph's brothers hated him and how David's faith in God helped him overcome Goliath. Interspersed throughout are his childhood experiences, which today's students can relate to and which aid in the understanding of the memorably written text.

The book "Young Heroes of the Bible" is a fabulous. When I want to pick up a book and read, this book falls into this category. I have already read the book twice, and I think I will read this book many more times. This book is a wonderful book with excellent explanation for what happens in the bible. This book falls into the category of all other short stories, pick up this book again and again category.

What a subtle, beautiful, thought-provoking book. Indispensible for understanding how teenage pregnancy shapes the lives of young people. Offers a poignant view of a variety of American teens facing parenthood, of different classes, different races, different religions and regions. Would be particularly valuable for high-school researchers, or as a complement to drier, more statistical or policy-oriented analyses.

The photographs are fantastic and will capture your heart and mind. The pictures communicate in a way words never could. You will feel like you know and understand these young mothers.