Excellent Guide. The book is organized in a manner that makes it easy to find individual pieces. The information is both informative and entertaining (to a collector of HK anyway). I was surprised to find so many of the new pieces in the book, Leanna must have worked up to the last second including them. This is a must for any Harmony Kingdom collector.

The second edition of the Harmony Kingdom reference guide provides even more fascinating background on the company than the first, and provides even more useful data on the collection.

If you're an HK collector, this second edition is indispensible. If you're not one, reading this book will make you one.

There was a large group of retirements immediately before the publication of the first edition, so the second edition provides production figures for thirty pieces whose true rarity may be a surprise to HK collectors.

The background information in the first volume is not completely repeated, which prevents the first edition from becoming truly obsolete.

Anyone who collects Harmony Kingdom will find this book interesting and extremely helpful. The author provides a wealth of information on the company and the artists, an explanation of how the boxes are made, and a listing for each piece. The listing for each piece includes a picture, a description, information on variations, and the secrets to be found on the piece. A really handy book to have with you when you go out hunting for HK!

Even if you have the first edition of this book, I think you will want this edition too. It includes all the pieces released through 1999 and more background information on the artists and the company than appeared in the first edition.

Joseph Heller's work, Catch-22, is an unequivocal satire on postmodern American life, with messages of dissident revolt that were well suited to the decade in which it appears. Heller is almost systematic in the issues he touches: the frustration of the individual up against powerful and faceless bureaucracies; the anticommunist purges of the Cold War and its smug hypocrisies; and strong antiwar issues that dominated postmodern America. In Heller's work, escaping these traps and inconsistencies of government is essential in the pursuit of moral and self-preservation. After all, "The enemy," as Yossarian puts it, "is anybody who's going to get you killed, no matter which side he's on." (Joseph Heller)

That about says it all. I had no idea what to expect when I picked up Heller's masterpiece. I was left breathless with my outlook on life completely thrown for a loop. No book has ever made me think and reevaluate as this one did. A perfect novel - it makes you laugh, it makes you sad, it makes you think and it stays with you. I reread Catch-22 regularly.

Catch 22 is like no other novel. It has its own rationale its own extraordinary character. It moves back and forth through OUR conception of time. The humor and overallvitality and power of the novel create the master piece that is a catch 22.

This is the book I heartily recommend to clients and to workshop participants who need to know about helping children around issues of death and grief. Joy Johnson has put together a practical and extremely helpful book that reads easily from cover to cover or can be used as a reference. She addresses the most frequently asked questions and also makes sure to address the more difficult issues....anger, AIDS, suicide, murder, drunk drivers, and others. It's also one of the best bargains you will ever see in a book. 180+ pages for $7!

Packed with the information you need to deal lovingly with a grieving child. Explains death and grief from the various perspectives from infants to teens and offers you the information you need to respond compassionately

Whether you have recently experienced the death of someone close or want to prepare children around you, Joy's book provides information in a non-threatening, conversational format. Reading the stories of real children and the questions they ask, helps to make death a part of living.

This is an extremely readable, concise, enjoyable book about a very difficult subject. We give it to our families in our hospital.

I have always had a fascination for higher mathematics, but I've never bothered to learn much of anything about it. When I bought this book, I had forgotten just about everything I ever knew about Algebra 1. I couldn't remember the difference between a coefficient and a variable. I ought to be embarrassed, but I am now too old to care what people think of me for reading a book that's obviously designed for kids. Now I'm starting to think that, if math is really this much fun, I'll be reading PAINLESS DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS in another year or two.

In '93, I withdrew from college because I could not pass pre-algebra. I never took algebra in high school, so I was lost in my college pre-algebra class by the second week. My professor told me to withdraw in order to save my GPA which was quite high.

Fast forward to 2001. I bought this book and it really opened my eyes! I can see where I made my mistakes in class and I can understand the concepts that my prof. and a tutor could not get me to understand. Everything seems so simple now--some of my past mistakes were very simple ones!

This book is real easy to understand. The book breaks down each concept and the problems are broken down step by step so it's real easy to see what you have to do. It took me only a half-hour to memorize the Order of Operations and apply that to the problems. If you use this in tandem with a book you have for a class, it will make things really easy. The books takes you from the beginning (what a variable is) all the way to graphing two dimensions on a graphing table.

My husband who was a math whiz in school looked at this book and said it's an Algebra 1 book. I'm hoping to understand the concepts thoroughly so I can take a Pre-Algebra placement test and pass for credit.

The only negative things I have to say are that there aren't enough problems to work on. And, my husband said it was a shame that there was only ONE problem (at the end of the book) that shows graphing in three dimensions. He said since the author put that in, she should have continued on with more problems for that concept, or she should have left it out.

I'm just so happy about the fact that I can finally understand Algebra! It's like a lightbulb went off in my head. Now, I'm going back to college to finish my degree!

My 12-year-old wanted to learn more about algebra. He is teaching himself by reading this book. The author clearly explains topics without a lot of confusing text. There are cartoons and illustrations in the book to break up the monotony. It's kind of like a workbook. Highly recommended. Wish there was a "Painless Geometry."

Hans Christian Andersen is one of the most famous writers of fairy tales. The Snow Queen is one of the longest tales and one of his best known. He would listen to folk and fairy tales as a child and when he grew up, he wrote some of these stories in his own words.

Anderson began writing The Snow Queen on December 5, 1844 and it was published sixteen days later in book form! His fairy tales made him famous and the stories have been translated into more than 100 languages and some have been made into films, like the Little Mermaid.

Nilesh Mistry is one of my favorite illustrators. He was born in Bombay and moved to London, England in 1975. His books include The Illustrated Book of Fairy Tales and Aladdin. I simply want to own every book he illustrates!

In the story of The Snow Queen, you will find illustrations and photography that shows the settings of the original book. This classic is again brought to life, yet never so beautifully as with Nilesh Mistry's art. Kai is whirled away by the icily beautiful Snow Queen. His playmate Gerda sets out to find him and encounters many adventures in his quest. This is a story I remember very well, yet I had to imagine the pictures in my own mind as a child.

In this book, she looks hauntingly similar to how I pictured her as a child. "The driver stood up, in a coat and hat of purest snow. She was a woman, tall and glittering. She was the Snow Queen."

The story begins with a story about the Devil who laughed at his own cleverness. He creates a mirror that sets people against one another by making people see the ugly side of things. If a splinter of glass from the mirror ever entered a person's eye, their heart would become a lump of solid ice. (quite a lesson there to be sure!)

When the "imps" decide to take the mirror up to the angels and try to make fun of them, it falls and shatteres into a hundred pieces. When "Kai" finds a grain of glass in his heart his entire attitude to life is changed. "Keep away from me!" he screeches at his friend Gerda.

Then one day he falls off his sled and sees the Snow Queen. She kisses him with her cold lips on his forehead and she takes him away through a cloud of darkness up into the sky. When Kai doesn't come home, Gerda goes looking for him. She sings to the river and drifts in a boat down a river to find Kai.

Gerda is a contrast to Kai and is loving and kind. Only when a spell is broken is evil defeated. After the story a page of where the event takes place helps make the story more interesting. Finally, we can explore the real and imaginary world of The Snow Queen.

Even as an adult, I am fascinated by fairy tales. They appeal to the child in us all and to something deep inside of us that knows, good will triumph over evil, in the end.

Family Classic Audio Books is a series of outstanding "theater of the mind" audiobook productions featuring a full cast performance. One of their latest offerings for young listeners (and their families) are Hans Christian Andersen's classic fairytale The Snow Queen adapted and with lyrics by Adrian Mitchell set to music by Richard Peaslee and wonderfully narrated by Jonathan Pryce. The Snow Queen follows young Gerda's quest (with help from some magical characters she meets en route) to rescue her friend Kai from the icy clutches of the Snow Queen.

The messages relating to lifes journey are wonderful. If you have never read this book as a child or as an adult, it is a must!

Do not view these as five individual books, but as five pieces of a whole saga. To read only one would be to cheat one's self of seeing an entire picture.

The epic begins with an child with no memory being raised by a mysterious woman in a small village. Both of them are regarded as local oddities and driven to live in a convent. The boy is known as Emrys, but never feels that that is his true name. As he matures, he develops gifts and wonderous powers, along with an increasing need to know who he is. Eventually, he goes upon a quest in search of his heritage, one that will lead him to the lands his mother's stories spoke of, the Hidden World outside of time and this life. He finds himself in the midst of a battle between warring demigods, and finds a new name for his own, Merlin.

As Merlin journeys through the five books, he makes new friends and bitter enemies. This is a world filled with dragons, witches, goblins, and lost treasures. Secrets that are as powerful and painful as a two edged blade are discovered. Otherworlds are crossed, time itself bends to give the boy a glimpse of his own destiny, and choices musst be made that will affect far more than just Merlin.

***** Elements of other classics are hinted at, but applied in new ways and familiarity only serves to endear. This is a grand saga without the weightiness of other epics. Rather, it is easy to read and charming. This Merlin can stand alongside Tolkien's hobbits or Harry Potter proudly. *****Reviewed by Amanda Killgore.

this book is great! its almost as good as Harry Potter series, almost. this book is exciting and it'll make you read at the edge of your seat, it's that good!

The Lost Years of Merlin epic is one of my favorite reads. After reading this, I thought that "The Chronicles of Narnia" and "The Hobbit" together lost to this book. Unlike those two books, The Lost Years of Merlin series creates an environment totally unlike your own. The author, T.A. Barron, has an amazing ability to manipulate your mind into thinking it can smell every scent, feel every emotion, and walk alongside a young sage named Merlin. Another reason for reading this epic on Merlin is because there are very few books that illustrate and discuss the events, heritage, and acquaintances in Merlin's childhood. If you have read any books on Merlin and have wondered and even questioned his youth, here is the book that can resolve your queries.

I loved this book. It was interesting and kept my attention throughout. I feel it is a must for parents dealing with children on the Autism Spectrum.
As we all know none of our children in the autism spectrum are the same. The boy in this book was more "severe" as a child than my son, but it still gave me a better understanding into why and how my child thinks. Although never explicitly stated in the book it gave me insight to easily find ways to ask my son questions as to why he does certain things. I never would have understood certain issues about my child for lack of a good way to ask my son questions about his problems & confusion had it not been for this book! The book also comes with a happy ending and good closure to this inspiring man's journey living with Autism. Even if you are not a parent or educator with a child on the Autism Spectrum, I think you would find this book interesting and worth the read. As the Author grows, his determination to succeed is inspiring for anyone.

Having a son on the spectrum myself, I found this book to offer such a genuine perspective into the mindset of both the parent and the child. In particular, having the added insights and explainations of Sean Barron, himself, in reference to the often bizarre and seemingly unexplainable behaviors that are associated with autism, gave me a unique new set of eyes to see my son through. What a gift this,is in terms of the insight it provides and the hope it inspires.

I teach children with a variety of behavioral handicaps, and this book explains the behaviors of children with autism from the point of view of the parents and the child himself as well as any I have ever read.

This is a great book for anyone interested in getting an edge on their classmates and thoroughly trampling the spirit of Ohana into the mud. It is particularly useful in take home exam situations where the professor has selected a dense and overly complicated text book and then failed to set appropriate expectations as to the nature of the test material. The book is well organized and to the point and will allow you to quickly and efficiently find the answers you are looking for - providing you with a powerful advantage over your classmates who are bogged down in the textbook. Forget teamwork - cast Ohana aside - buy this book today and keep it to yourself! Set the curve - don't be victim of it! (Note: team members may henceforth despise you and shower you in a white hot rain of criticism and hostile accusations which you shrug off but secretly find hurtful)

I had been looking for help in how to write off depreciation expenses. Simple question but after 40 years away from accounting it became a frustrating experience. I had purchased several other books and found no help. I even went to a college book store but found no real help. By more or less accident I sent for this book. It not only helped with my then current problem but has proved a real help in remembering all those little things from many years ago.
It is Accounting 101 and I am glad that someone has taken the trouble to write on these subjects.

I am a 24 year old college senior. I have been going to school part time and working since I graduated highschool 6 years ago. Stretching my college career out like I have, makes Accounting 101 seem a million years ago. This book makes me feel more at ease about what I already know. It is a great review and a quick reference book. I'm not as nervous about attending upper level accounting classes with 19 year olds who still have basic accounting fresh in their mind. I use it alot!!!!!!!

I bought the second edition of this book several years ago when our company (USWest) was closing departments and we knew we would have to start testing for job title changes. It was one of the most helpful purchases I have ever made! I retired, and now I'm going into real estate. Naturally the real estate classes (and the state test) have lots of math and math problems. As they say...what you don't use you lose!!! There were several of us in the classes who were having a difficult time with the math problems and formulas. This book was once again a life saver. At first glance one would think it's too simple...more for children than adults, but it isn't. Mr. Williams makes math super simple for any age!!!

The first few chapters are basic math...addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, Roman numerals, etc.

Chapters 6-8 are fractions...changing improper to mixed numbers...subtracting, multiplying and dividing fractions...unlike denominators, etc.

Chapters 10-13 cover decimals...comparing, rounding off, adding, subtracting, multiplying mixed decimals.

Chapter 14 covers percents...changing percents to decimals, to fractions, and finding the percent of a number.

Chapter 15 covers measurement.

There are pre-tests to see if you need to study the chapter, word problems, practice examples, and practice tests after every section.

I recommend this book for everyone...young people who find math difficult, as an invaluable aid for parents of school age children, for anyone who is making a career change and is faced with job testing, and for those...like myself...who have been out of school for years and need a brush up on math skills. The price is minimal!!!

Thank you, Edward Williams, for writing this book. Thank you for the difference it has made it my life!!!

I am a 40+ year old M.D. who is relearning math to do some tutoring, and this book is really solid, well written. It clearly took a great deal of effort to make it so lucid and logically sequenced, beautifully sequenced with difficult concepts explained with simple explanations. I would definitely recommend it to just about anyone who needs to work on any or all of the following:

addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, fractions--including addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division thereof--decimals and percentages

I'm sure if I had encountered this book in high school i would have done better in math, and I plan to use it as a resource in my tutoring.

I think this is a great book because I was failing math in school so I decided to try to look for a book at amazon.com. Then I found Arithmetic the easy way.It really helped.In one month my grade went from a D to an A. I love this book and I know anyone who buys it will enjoy it to.

What I like about this book is it's easy to use. When you need help with grammar just look it up in the handy index. Yes this is a book on "basic" grammar, but isn't that what troubles the average Joe/Jane Blow in his or her everyday writing.

The beauty of this book is its simplicity. Adults can benefit from Dr. Elliot's humorous approach used to keep eigth graders from falling asleep between reading about nouns and verbs.

The best way to describe this book is it's a kids version of Strunk and Whites, "Elements of Style."

As a retired high school teacher of 10th and 11th grades, I wish I had had this resource for my students. More formal usage books are not only colder and more frightening-looking but are usually much less functional than this book in actually helping the student to write clearly and well. I wish that I had written it!

If there is a way to make grammar painless, Dr. Elliott has done it. This book is delightful. My teenagers aren't even intimidated by fact it is a grammar book. It stays by our computer for every writing project, even mine.