I was first drawn to Schwartz via Saul Bellow's book Humboldts Gift. Although his rise and fall may be sad, what I am struck by here is the breadth of his poetry. As he says in his poem "The Kingdom of Poetry: "Poetry is quick as tigers, clever as cats, vivid as oranges". In his work, there are dark passages as "The Heavy Bear that goes with me" on the clumsiness of physical body. In contrast, there is the joyous morning song of "A small score" with song of crickets and the bubble of birds. Throughout there is the juxtaposition of classical images, as in "Plato's cave" and modern sensibility of the soul. In the longer series of poems Coriolanus and His Mother, the Roman characters of Brutus, and Marcius are interspersed with Freud and a semblance of standup comedy. I recommend this book, for its diversity and depth ... some of the images have remained with me over a decade now.

Those who have read his short stories "In Dreams begin responsibilities" will enjoy the twist of the words in the selection of poems in the section "The Dreams which begin in responsibilities".

Delmore Schwartz was well recognized in his day, but has since lapsed into obscurity. His range of style is enormous, and his talent is superior. I recommend this work to anybody who is interested in poetry as the mainstay of a reading diet. It is truly outstanding. I don't know how I managed to earn a bachelor's degree in poetry without ever having read Delmore Schwartz. I hope that there are others like him waiting to be found . . .

The romance aspect of this book is a bit slim, because most of the story involves intrigue about smugglers, and it isn't until the last few pages that the hero and heroine figure out they love each other. There are two other secondary romances--one between the heroine's cousin Julia and a political activist, and one between the housekeeper and a smuggler. By the way, in this book, the smugglers are neither bad, nor dangerous, and the main characters are actually cheering for the, which made for an interesting perspective. What made the book most enjoyable was the gradual revealing of the characters' personalities, the fun dialogue, and the playing out of the plot. I laughed out loud when the heroine, Octavia, accidentally becomes "foxed" by drinking spiked cider. There was humor and mystery in this novel, combined in an effective way. It isn't so much a "romance" novel as it is a novel with a bit of romance. A great light read to entertain for several hours. It is long enough to allow for good development of character and plot, but not weighty at all. Highly recommended! I wish the author would write more like this one.

I thought this book was quite enjoyable. Julia and Octavia are cousins, Julia being tall, rich, slender and beautiful while Octavia is plump, poor, and somewhat homely. But the two cousins have huge hearts and they are wonderful. Julia is ready to accept the marriage proposal of a wealthy and suitable caring, young man until she falls in love with Octavia's best friend, a poor young man with not much to offer but his love. Well, when Julia's parents find out how she feels, they forbid her to see him and send her off to stay at a house far away and they send Octavia with her. From there, the light romance starts as they run into smugglers and have an adventure of their own. All the while, Julia is striving to push away the feelings she has for her beloved but she is just too true to her heart. Octavia comes out of her shell and starts to be the charming young woman she has kept hidden. But soon, things will start to fall into place. I recommend this book as a great vacation read. It is quite unlike any book I think I have ever read and I loved every minute of it.

I was delighted to give this book to my grandaugter who is spending her first summer away from home, staying with me in Manasquan. Being away from home for an extended period, for the first time is a difficult adjustment at best. I feel the author did a superb job of dealing with the insecurities and universal feelings that can easily overwhelm a child. Most important she helps children understand they are not alone in their feelings, even adults can be insecure with change.

The book helped my grandaughter to aggressively seek out new friendships, delight in new experiences, and understand that missing home is very normal.

As a grandmother, I was grateful to find a book written with such clarity and sensitivity.

This is a wonderful book and I would love to see more work from this writer. I read Starfish Summer after my daughter raved about it and I agree wholehearteldy with her. The characters are beautifully constructed and are warm, funy and most of all, approachable. Amy, the main character, is in the process of learning who she is. For a long time, a Momma's Girl, on her first time away from her Mother, she begins to understand the "remarks "of her peers calling her a Momma Girl. Through a series of encounters with some dynamic and quirky characters at the beach, she begins to find her inner strenth and wins the friendship of a unwilling girl her age. What was most impressive in a book for this age was that the author didn't try to solve all the worlds problems nor lecture about how parents should be. One little girl with a big heart and a lot of courage shows us simply and subtley how by looking at the things we fear on their own terms, we can begin to solve them and grow in the process.

Now in his seventies, Robert Dana draws upon his decades of life experience and a keen eye for the world around him to craft a poetry that is totally engaging, fearless, respectful, and occasionally inspiring. Sunlight Gospel: I'm here in this little/four-room, four-square/house, sitting it its/gospel of pal sunlight;/fog in the madrone, in/the pines, in the orange/roses of my neighbor's/garden; a wafer of sun/burning overhead/to break through; part/of the bare ghost of/an old orchard; four/apple trees--three/across the road in a/still-empty lot deep/in brown grass; two/dead, another half/dead, all their limbs/twisted wonderfully/and wrung by salt/winds off the bay;/only the one in my/tiny front yard,/leafy, bright with/tart, feral fruit.

In his eighth collection, master poet Robert Dana offers the "gospel of pale sunlight," and shows us "the patient/spaces each word makes/to keep the day in place." Surveying the scene from the aerie of his 70 years, sculpting everyday language to the metrics of the heart, Dana celebrates the rituals of daily life, reminding us in peril of forgetting that "everything we do/is a form of prayer." From his vantage point in the mundane-sacred, the poet perceives "God in the gar-/bage, in the stares of children,/the mouths of charlatans." Here's a poet at the top of his form, saying the beauty and poignancy of time distilled by the prism of a life.

A classic from the Dr. Seuss "Beginner Books" series, and in my opinion, the best of that series.

Not a story as such, but a wonderfully simple rhyme about many of the childhood joys of summer. The pictures complement the text ideally. One of my favourite books as a child, and now as a parent. Oh yes, the kids love it too.

The companion book "Snow" has the same illustrator but a different author(s) for some reason. Nevertheless it also is very good, and it is well worth having both (kids like to read both in one sitting).

Looking at the "peek inside", it seems the pictures have been touched up in the new release. The girl now has dark hair. I've no idea why they did this. I hope it hasn't been spoilt.

This easy-reader has my two-year-old enthralled and her parents charmed. Roy McKie's illustrations add to the humor and surprise of Ms. Low's simple poetry. Originally published in 1963, it provides a nostalgic look at a carefree season through the eyes of two youngsters and their dog. McKie also illustrated Beginner Book's "Snow", a nice companion to this title.

This book may be of special interest to homeschoolers since the main character Jessica is homeschooled (as was the author).

Part of Jessica's story is about her having her faith challenged by a skeptical friend and then trying to figure out why she does indeed believe in God. The author cleverly weaves Jessica's struggle into the story so that it flows naturally rather than dominates the book. In an afterword the author presents some classical arguments to prove God's existence, as well as some discussion questions. I thought this was an interesting and thought-provoking addition to a youngster's novel.

This is the kind of story that I would definitely recommend to young girls between 7th and 11th grades. The story was very well-written and entertaining, and it kept my interest the whole time. It is extremely appropriate for and applicable to teenagers because they need to have real answers regarding the origin of the world and their faith, and this is a fun story that solidifies the answers to the questions we all ask sometimes. It is a great story of discovery and soul-searching, but it does not come across as an over-simplified religious doctrinal statement...rather an honest search for truth that ends in a young girl's confidence in her Maker. Anne is a masterful storyteller who weaves the events of the story into three arguments for the existence of God in an understandable and memorable way. The characters and places she creates from her own experiences come alive to her readers. The readers can relate to the struggles Jessica faces, even if the remote surroundings and unusual events are far from familiar to them. The importance of the issues Anne tackles cannot be underestimated, and she brilliantly explains from different Scriptures and experiences how a person can know that there is a God and what that God is like.

I can't praise this collection of stories highly enough. Marly Swick is an artist with words and she paints masterful pictures through her stories. Highly recommended.

I am always excited when I discover a new writer who knocks me out, and Marly Swick definitely qualifies as one of them. Real, whole characters. Intriguing situations. Wry humor. Clarity of emotion and experience. A compelling voice. Resonant, moving endings. Short story perfection.

The connection between grandmother and granddaughter is a marrow-deep one in "Summer Book." Sophia and her grandmother spend their days exploring, talking about life, nature, everything but their feelings about Sophia's mother's death and their love for one another. And yet, underneath the offhand, and often strange conversations that take place between them, you feel their affection and the concern they feel for one another.

"Summer Book" is a strange and beautiful story. There's no false emotions here, no manipulation for the sake of effect. Just an account of a very real relationship between a child and her grandmother, during the last weeks of the grandmother's life. Very highly recommended.

This is a book about Sophia, whose mother has died. She lives with her father, who is a writer, and her grandmother, and they spend their summers on an island. Her father is preoccupied with his writing, and Sophia's grandmother is old and infirm. They do not know it, but this summer marks the last weeks, days, and finally hours of Grandmother's life.

The boxcar children are going to a camp,a camp that grandfather used to go to when he was young, but when they get there, things don't look so great, everybody is being mean to them and things start missing. Can the boxcar children solve the mystery.

the boxcar children are going to a camp that their grandfather used to go to.but when they get there people there don't like them.and things are missing.can the boxcar children solve the mystery?

The Summer Day Is Done works so well on many levels--as a tale for explaining the downfall of Nicholas II, a portrait of a family, and a touching but never melodramatic or sappy romance. Stevens draws his characters with a loving but honest hand, and never gives into the temptation to destroy the book's integrity by incorporating traditional "happy ending"-type of events. I'm sure historians of the Russian Revolution might take exception to his habit of casting the Romanoff family and their actions in the best possible light (it was quite a shock to me when I read Nicholas and Alexandra, after reading this novel), but I rather like his decision to focus on N & A's positive qualities. We'll leave cold reality to the history texts.

And the romance is exquisitely written. It is a wonderful love story, which is rarely found despite the multitudes of books that claim to be romances. (To give you an idea of my taste, I think that Corelli's Mandolin by Louis de Bernieres and Possession by A.S. Byatt fall into the category of intelligent and thoughtful love stories that eschew formulas.) Kirby and Olga never step out of character. Even though you know what really happened during the Russian Revolution, somehow the book manages to avoid predictability. You find yourself hoping desperately that somehow, events that are decades past can be averted.

This is a fabulous book. Read it if you can find a copy.

Since Amazon did not post an editorial review, here's the description from the back of the book to help you decide if this story is for you: "The haunting story of a forbidden love betweenthe agent of the British king and the daughter of the Imperial Czar .... From a window of the Imperial train a young girl looked out. Startled blue eyes met his. He was aware of a girl soft with colour and enchantment. The warm sunlight danced on the windows, was reflected in her eyes and made a shining cloud of her chestnut-blonde hair. He feld the strangest sense of indefinable communications as in shy, suspended animation she returned his gaze, the train bringing her to him, taking her away. The fleeting seconds stretched. He could not resist smiling. And at the very last moment before she vanished, she gave him the shyest of smiles in response. It was the first time John Kirby, British secret agent, saw Grand Duchess Olga. It was the beginning of a tender love that would blossom in the summer's sun while the storm of the Russian Revolution gathered. A perilous, precious love -- all the more beautiful becuase it was never meant to be."