A very pretty and sensitive book about pregnancy and birth (does not deal with conception). It is told from a second person point of view, as though the child being read to was the infant. The author focuses on the feelings of the mother while she was carrying her baby: what it felt like when the infant kicked, how the infant was fed, etc. Includes good in utero descriptions and drawings. Lacks multicultural drawings.

This adorable book on how we all came about, is one of my favorites when it comes to children's books. My kids never get tired of hearing the story, I think partly because they love to be talked about, and because the author and artist really convey those special moments of pregnancy and birth that "speak" to children-(as well as the adults!) The first time I read it to my boys, ages 2 & 5, I had to make a real effort not to cry! It's a beautiful-TRUE story, and makes a wonderful gift for an older sibling-when there's a new addition to the family! It brings back wonderful emotions for Mom and Dad, and helps the older child realize that the love Mommy and Daddy have for the new baby is exactly the same as it is for them. Great book!!!

If you really look at it, "Adventures On File Island" is hard to decide if it's 2nd or 3rd best because it has a good introduction to Digimon, but this book dosen't have all that Digimon Vol. 1 has. It's still good though, if you read it and thnik overall about the action. This isn't the best one, but if I were you I'd read it.

...I have a better idea. One, wear a cool cowgirl suit like Mimi. Two, if you like this book, just buy the cotton pickin' thing, okay? Three, if I was Tanemon or Palmon, I'd stick by Mimi's side all day and all night.

This book AKA "And so it begins, Parts 1 and 2". It's still good, though, but I'd not rate it much higher than the first reviewer.

This book is basically just the first two episodes in print. There is nothing new here. I would save my money and just tape the show.

I think that this book would be about 2 kids that fight giant bugs. Yes,the book was what I Expected It to be. I still feel the same about this book. Nothing about this book has changed.
Thi9s book is about these kids who go to this planet called
''Sk'rrr'' and one of the kids accidently kills a bug. The main characters are:Zak,Tash,and Hoole.The setting is at the Sikadian
Garden. The Book was actually about 3 kids that go to a planet called''sk'rrr''and one of them kills a shreev and it upsets the swarm of bugs.This book is Fiction.The author is John Whitman.
I like this book because it has fighting in the book and it
has adventure striving in it. I would rate this book 4 stars. The
headline for this book is:The Sikadian Garden on Sk'rrr has many
beautiful plants and flowers.

I usually steer clear of kid's books, but my sister had and I only read this book because it had Grand Admiral Thrawn in it. It wasn't bad, for a kid's book, pretty interesting in some parts. I felt Thrawn should have gotten a better role in the book. Other than that, it's pretty good.

I only read this book because it had Grand Admiral Thrawn in it. It wasn't bad, for a kid's book, pretty interesting in some parts. I felt Thrawn should have gotten a better role in the book. Other than that, it's pretty good.

Truman Capote's novel "Other Voices, Other Rooms" opens with the main character, 13-year old Joel Harrison Knox, traveling to the home of his long-estranged father. As the book progresses, Joel becomes more intimately involved with the people of his father's household and of the larger community; there is a stress on oral history as Joel learns their stories. Overall, plot struck me as secondary to character revelation.

The people of Joel's new world are colorful, often pathetic, and sometimes grotesque; at times it really feels like Capote is putting on a human freak show for the thrill-seeking reader. He leads us through a world of decaying old buildings and broken spirits. But Capote always respects the essential humanity of his troubled characters.

There is a pronounced theme of alternative sexuality and/or gender identity throughout the book. Capote establishes this theme early on in his description of the main character. Joel is described as not looking like a "'real' boy": "He was too pretty, too delicate and fair-skinned." "Other Voices" thus has a lot to offer readers with an interest in gender issues as they have been explored in American literature. Capote also does an interesting job of portraying a mixed-race household where the African-American servants are as vividly drawn as the Caucasian family members.

Throughout the book there is some richly descriptive language, as well as intriguing representations of American vernacular English. Although at times "Other Voices" seems more an exercise in style than a fully satisfying narrative, it is for me quite a remarkable coming-of-age story.

An infinitely complex novel, Other Voices, Other Rooms is a riveting examination of the often disturbing human heart. One of Capote's most obscure novels, the book is difficult to comprehend as it is read. It takes great effort to move from page to page trying to find the patterns in the ambiguous and suggestive imagery. However, on completing on the novel and thinking about it, one finds that Other Voices, Other Rooms is a gift to literature. Nobody can agree on what Capote was actually insinuating, but what we can all agree on is that when one reflects on the novel as a whole, one is very likely to think about one's life in a different way. A must read for a serious reader.

Never having read a Capote novel or short story before this novel was probably the best way to go. The premise was simple enough: a boy whose beloved mother has died, sets out to live with his estranged father in a rural southern town. The story, however, is not that...ordinary. The mysterious father does not immediately appear, and the young boy is left virtually alone with a mentally imbalanced extended family headed by an aging artist. Capote introduces a Carson McCullers-esque tomboy, a witch doctor, a circus sideshow, and you begin to understand that this novel is about many stories--not just Joel's story. Capote never lets you imagine for a moment that his novel will turn into one of those "feel good" coming of age stories in which, despite setbacks and loopy family arrangements, the young hero or heroine finally "makes it." Our hero moves on in the best way that he can, which is all anybody really can do. I appreciate Capote's sense of reality.

White Oleander is the story of a mother and daughter, Ingrid and Astrid Magnussen. Although not the typical mother/daughter. Ingrid is a free-spirit, tempting, controlling, man-eating artist. Astrid learns to be wise beyond her years to make up for her mother's lack of parenting.

The story's plot centers around Astrid's continual move from foster home to foster home after her mother's arrest and incarceration for the poisoning death of her lover.

As Astrid is tossed around from the various foster homes she learns how survive and discovers who she really is and not just the identity that she is Ingrid Magnussen's, the artist's, daughter. She also learns how to stand up for herself and let go of her possessive mother. Even from Ingrid's prison cell she tried to run the show of Astrid's life. But in the end Astrid proves she is much stronger than Ingrid.

I loved the imagery in this novel. The descriptions were very fitting because the two main characters were artists. However, some chapters in the book were left all to the imagination and had me wondering what really happened. Such as the death of the lover. The author does not tell the story of how this happened. Just one chapter they are fighting and the next chapter he is dead and Ingrid was arrested. I thought the author could have done a little better description of how this happened because the other descriptions were so vivid.

I could not put this book down! "White Oleander" was wonderful from the very first sentence to the very last and I have Oprah to thank for bringing author Janet Fitch to my attention. The story is narrated by Astrid - a teenage girl - who suffers through years of living in the foster care system while her mother Ingrid serves a life sentence for murdering her ex-lover. (I can just envision a younger Angelina Jolie-type playing the role of Astrid in the film version.) Each family that Astrid lives with has its own unique (yet sometimes cliched) cast of characters that are instrumental in shaping and transforming the young woman she becomes. This is a novel of self discovery the hard way. I personally cannot imagine the loneliness and terror that Astrid experienced while bouncing from home to home to home. Ingrid stays present in Astrid's unstable life through letters and occasional visits and their strained relationship is key to Astrid's development. The character are so real, the writing style is beautiful, the plot moves swiftly and the story weaves the reader through every human emotion possible. While I'm not a fan of the Oprah Winfrey show, I am a fan of her book club and this novel ranks up there as one of her best picks.

White Oleander exposes truth about a subject rarely written about, the plight of a little girl in foster care. It reveals the harsh reality of what these children go through in a smart, sensitive and painfully truthful manner.

Ingrid is a woman who prides herself on being stong and dominant. Manipulative and cold she has never allowed herself to feel any real positive emotion for fear it will make her weak. She teaches her young daughter:" We are the Vikings, we are the ones who sacked Rome.", and to never apologize, never explain. She meets a man and falls in love for the first time. Her lover leaves her and she gets revenge. She poisons him and is sent to prison for life. Meanwhile she leaves behind a young, vulnerable , innocent daughter who is not wise to the survival instincts of her mother.

White Oleander shows us the foster hell this child goes through and how she finds ways to survive. It speaks of the strength of the human spirit, Ingrid must survive prison life and Astrid must endure foster hell. She encounters memorable yet sad charactes such a Starr, a bible thumping mama who is all but saintly and Claire a neglected housewife who shows Astrid what true love is really all about. Rena shows Astrid about the ways of the world.

White Oleander is beautifully written and the author displays wisdom far beyond her years. It is a novel of the highest quality and will stay with you long after you've read it.

I was very disappointed with this book. It started off nicely with spooky atmospherics and some gruesome details. But once the plot actually got moving, it became bland and also disjointed. The prose obstructed the telling of the story. It was like molasses. Also, the story meandered, with little suspense. Finally, while it's not indispensable in a mystery, it would be nice to have a few clues, however abstruse, tossed into the plot as it moves along (sarcasm!). And now for a positive: if you want to read a good book, read one of Michael Connely''s, especially Void Moon, The Poet, Trunk Music, The Black Echo and The Wild Coyote.

Unfortunately I read this book after INSTRUMENTS OF NIGHT (which was published later). The two books are similar in plot and tone, but I liked INSTRUMENTS much better. Thomas Cook is always an interesting read, but this one didn't quite measure up. It was strung out a little more, more pointless details, slower moving and the mystery was not as riveting. It was still better than most books though, and I plan on reading all of this books.

Awesome. Cook breaks the rules with his dynamite flashbacks showing the relationship of childhood friends, Ray and Jackson. I haven't seen this done with such skill in a long time, and the ending was truly a surprise. As Jackson reconstructs the circumstances surrounding his friend's death, Cook draws in the reader effortlessly. If you like Thomas Cook's style and treatment of flashbacks, you will love Laurie Moore's new novel, THE LADY GODIVA MURDER. Mariel Watson

It's a real shame that Jack London coupled one of his most fascinating and full-blooded characters with a stinker of a love story which carries no conviction.

Maud Brewster, like many of London's female characters (from Skeet, Curly and Mercedes in The Call of the Wild to Beth, Alice and Collie in White Fang), is underdeveloped, a mite hysterical, and completely dependent on the male characters. Without much in terms of psychological complexity, Maud provides a poor, poor reason for Humphrey Van Weyden to rebel against Wolf Larsen.

The first half of this book and its final few chapters are superb because London's male characters and their struggles are vividly portrayed. The knife-whetting contest between Mugridge and Hump; the homoerotic segment where Hump tends to a naked and wounded Larsen; Johnson and Leach's struggle against Larsen's iron fist -- London obviously loves these characters and gives them the light of day. Maud is another story.

In any event, the first half of this book is the top-notch tale of a Miltonic hero's slow slide from power, and the ending a moving fulfillment of this character's destiny (life, in the end, *is* yeast...but a savagely active and beautiful yeast, at that). Another one of London's terrible worlds unfolding its brutal majesty before us -- and, of course, another book inexplicably relegated to the children's section of many a book store.

Jack London's stated intention in writing this book was to place a man and a woman, both intellectual, well-to-do, yet socially soft (physically and psychologically). into the very challenging world of a seal hunting boat and watch them strive for survival. In this context, he has created one of the most fascinating characters of all literature, Wolf Larson, the inhuman captain of the "Ghost." Larson takes great delight in the suffering he brings to Humphrey Van Weyden and Maud Brewster, but they steadily grow to meet the challenge. This book can be read and enjoyed on two levels: As a rousing sea adventure, or as a discourse on society and sociology. Jack London is my favorite author -- I am in the process of collecting first editions of all fifty of his books -- and yet I find Sea Wolf ranks head and shoulders above all his other works. It could explain why this story has been turned into a film seven times, more than any of his his other stories, including The Call of the Wild. Two of cinema's great Wolf Larsons have been Edward G. Robinson and Charles Bronson.

The Sea Wolf is a gripping, thrilling and stunning peice of work. Van Weyden and Larsen come to grips with eachother and with themselves in this book. The confrontation scenes between the two are amazingly written and the stark realism of the boat, it's crew and the violence that is almost an everyday occurence combine to make this a book that can not be put down.

The introduction of the female slows the book considerably but in my honest opinion, the ending is fine. Larsen's final fate is surprising and heart rending. The repeated phrase "Bosh" leads to one of the books best moments. While I wish London hadn't included the female, the book is well worth the read. At least before the female comes in, the book is darkly violent and challenging. The social implications of the debates between Van Weyden and Larsen are extremely sobering. All in all, this book is one of the best I have ever read. Brilliant is the best word I can come up with.

As a mother of a child (age 7.5) who was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes this summer, I looked up any book that might help present his condition to his friends and classmates this fall at school.
This one came with good rating, I bought it, and returned.
Not only that it is obsolete (quote "... I don't ever eat candy or ice cream or cake ...", recommendation from the early 20th century), it is insensitive (quote "... My sister thought diabetes meant I would die..."), and it is insulting that it was not updated since 1994 with a more medically accurate and more cheerfull attitude (quote "...my mom cries because she worries...").

If you need a book on the subject, pick a more accurate, medically sane, and straight-forward (like "My own Type 1 Diabetes Book" by Sandra J. Hollenberg)...If you think that kids with type 1 should never, ever eat candy, find another doctor. But please, don't buy this book.

I enjoyed reading this book to my brother who wanted to know about children having diabetes. He has a friend who has diabetes and wanted to know some facts about diabetes. It helped him be aware that children can be treated and that they have to be careful on what they eat. My brother now invites his friend over and has special food just for him.
I even learned about diabetes from reading this book. I did not know that children could be diagnose with diabetes. I am glad that there are treatments to help the children or adults stay healthy and live a normal life.

I am the mother of a newly diagnosed 5 year old boy. After coming home from the hospital, we purchased this book and read it to him, our 7 year old niece, and his classmates. It has made a tremendous difference in his acceptance and his friends understanding. They now understand why he has to have an extra snack before recess that they do not get. They have even started singing.. "Bryson has to eat the right food at the right time!" The book also contains one page addressed to the parents that is very informational and to the point. This is a must have book!!!!!

Things have never gone well for Frances and Blair with their stepmother Clio. Their father seems happy, but they feel shut out. Many people had reasons to dislike Clio in the exclusive upscale Long Island town where the Fair Lawn Country Club is the mecca for the rich. When Clio dies during a tennis tournament there are many suspects. Frances puts her job as a lawyer on the line when she investigates Clio's murder over the wishes of her boss. The case develops into a voyage of personal discovery as she uncovers the true lives beneath the facades of the rich neighbors. Frances comes to a new understanding of the patterns of love in her family and in her own relationships. Uncovering the killer brings Frances even more revalations about her own character. The author shows how many faceted our motives and characters are. As Nancy Geary shows us, we rarely understand what drives other people fully, even our own families.

I enjoyed Misfortune and thought it was so wonderfully written with a host of exciting characters.
Cleo Pratt was an obnoxious woman who was not liked by many in South Hampton, Long Island. She did not hide her racial prejudice or the pride she seemed to exhibit to those not as wealthy as she was. She was selfish and thought only about her comforts and her husband's.
It is no wonder when she is found dead in the powder room at the Fair Lawn Country Club, it becomes an extremely difficult task trying to seek out her murderer, for Cleo Pratt has made so many enemies for herself.
You will meet Beverly Winters whom she gossiped about after her husband's suicide; Henry Lewis a surgeon whom she was instrumental in blocking from becoming a member of the Country Club because of his race ; her stepdaughters Blair and Frances whom she treated like second class citizens when they were in her habitation; a partner in their firm Pratt Capital who she wants to squeeze out, and many many more of the high society you will encounter.
Be prepared to have at least a day to two for this page turner. When all is revealed you will see how well written and how cleverly concealed is the murderer ... Happy reading! I loved it!

Nutface
May30th, 2002

I have almost two separate reviews of this book. The first is of interest to all the mystery readers...this is a good mystery, reads fast and almost any of the suspects could have been the murderer.The author did a good job of making the suspects the sympathetic characters.Although at the end, maybe some readers would have felt a little sympathy for the victim which leads me to my second review. I had a stepmother like Clio. Over the years, I have tried to explain this person to others, and no one could or would believe that this woman existed.They always assummed I was just the jealous stepdaughter. Well, Ms. Geary,(the author), must have been a fly on the wall during my life. My stepmother was like Clio except my story did not have such a satisfying ending. So Ms. Geary, wherever you are, I hope Clio is a figment of your imagination because I hate to think you experienced first hand what my sisters and I did, and of course are still dealing with everyday. People don't realize how damaging emotional abuse can be, and how alone children can feel when they can't reach out for help. Even though this is a mystery, I can see myself rereading this book, just for the emotional expressions of the grown stepchildren. So now you understand why I have given this two separate reviews, one that interests the regular readers, and another for those who have had a Clio in their lives.

Marty Whitman is one of the "deans" of modern value investing. Unfortunately, I believe he's been tainted by his role at Yales' School of Management. The problem with this book is that he works too hard to make his writing style "academic." As a result, his points are rarely easily communicated to the reader. Despite having attended one of the Nation's leading business schools (much more highly-ranked than Yale's SOM), I often felt that gleaning information from this book was like having my teeth pulled -- painful. If Marty would like, I could easily refer him to a number of other books that communicate much more complicated material in a far easier to understand manner. Perhaps he could use one as model for future editions. However, in spite the writing style, the material is quite useful and insightful. Definately worth the price.

This is a fair book written by an outstanding investor. Marty Whitman has practiced value investing successfully for many years, and his writings draw on his vast experience. However, unlike Buffett, he isn't the most clear author in the world. His writing is a little obtuse, and devoid of examples that would illustrate his points. Nevertheless, if you can make your way through the writing, you will find a lot of extremely useful and interesting information. I would recommend this book, but to understand it the reader should have a good working knowledge of financial terminology and an understanding of other value investing techniques and perspectives. If you read (and understand) some other books on value investing, plus maybe a few of Mr. Whitman's Third Avenue Value Fund shareholder letters, I think you will find this book invaluable.

As someone who has read the works of Ben Graham and the letters of Warren Buffett, I can honestly say this book offers some new ideas you are unlikely to find anywhere else. Unlike most investing books that only argue against the efficient market, this book also points out many of the flaws of Graham and Dodd and offers a different method of value investing. It is not intended to be an update of Security Analysis, despite what previous reviews on Amazon may say. The author has over 40 years of Wall Street experience and has also taught at Yale and Columbia. If you want to be exposed to new ideas buy the book. If you just want positive reinforcement of your belief in Ben Graham then this book might leave you shell shocked.