This is the best book for young readers about the Aztec culture that I've ever read. It's an incredibly valuable tool for teachers since it is factually accurate. The fantastic story of a young boy being transported back in time is a wonderful device used cleverly by the author to allow this time period to come alive. It will definitely be added to my classroom library this year. Thanks, Mr. Burnett. I look forward to reading your next novel.

We have long needed this book. Historically, most texts have either concentrated on describing the natural history of venomous organisms or the medical implactions of envemonations (a noteable exception is the excellent contributions by Halstead). This book provides a great deal of biological informtion about toxic marine organisms and then combines this with the latest information about medical treatments for envenomations. In addition, this book also contains an excellent reveiw and classification for cnidae, which I have personally been looking for for a while. I honestly can't say enough about this text. Although this book is not really for the layman (you won't find much in the way of popularized accounts of injuries), it is an EXCELLENT text for specialists.

This book is a must for anyone trying to understand the West of the 20th Century. Georgellen Burnett picks up where Frederick Jackson Turner and John Steinbeck left off. The frontier didn't end in 1890, not if you were a woman. The women she profiles are the genuine articles behind the fictional Ma Joad. This gifted young historian uses her own "voice of the llano" to tell how our pioneer grandmothers were stewards of the land, builders of homes and people, and the keepers of culture and sanity. They endured; they saved beauty and hope for us; "They...toughed it out...."

This was one of the original Golden Guides done back in the 50's, along with The Stars, Rocks and Minerals, Birds, North American Trees, and some others. I collected and read just about all of these and it's surprising how much info they got into these little books. Each book is exactly 160 pages, if I remember right. Thus, they have a fixed format, so they have to be very careful about what they select for material since it all has to fit.

These books sold for 75 cents or 95 cents originally. They were great little educational tools when I was a schoolboy, and I could still read them with profit many years later.

The more specialized ones, such as Pond Life, Structural Geology, The Heart, Insect Pests, Spiders and Their Kin, Mushrooms and Non-Vascular plants, were also very good.

It is small. It is well illustrated. It is simple. It is comprehensive. It is correct, almost no errors and no "over simplifications." If you are a CEO, a student, or a child over 10 and interested in understanding weather, this well organized and concise book is a good place to start.

Why this book is out-of-print is anyone's guess! This lovely novella, written by the author of the ever-popular Little Lord Fauntleroy and The Secret Garden, is a classic dealing with life after death. After her first son's untimely death, Burnett delved into spiritualism and found this a great comfort in dealing with her grief. This was a subject she was interested in for the rest of her life. During World War I, Burnett finally got a chance to put her beliefs about what happens after death into writing. The story involves a young woman with unusual insight living as a semi-recluse in the Scottish Highlands finding the love of her life. The White People is very evocative of life in the Highlands and is also a fictionalized validation of life after death. This is an old-fashioned, innocent tale that will warm your heart. Anyone tired of the graphic type of novel currently popular should certainly give this a try. Highly recommended.

Wolfwinter, written by Thomas Burnett Swann, is based on Greek mythology. Erinna, the heroine, falls in love with a satyr, conceives a child by him, and leaves her human husband when he threatens to expose the child to the wolves. She searches for the father of her child with the help of another satyr. It is a fascinating read, as are all the Thomas Burnett Swann books.

Frances Hodgson was very fond of her own family garden, but when her family moved to the center of Manchester, she began to write stories as a way to escape the ugliness of her surroundings. She was inspired by the old rose garden at Great Maytham Hall in Kent, England, her second home.

In this story, Mary Lennox is living in India when cholera takes the life of her parents. She then travels to England to live with her uncle at Misselthwaite Manor on the edge of the bleak Yorkshire moors.

Mary is used to being waited on hand and foot and she soon starts to feel lonely and becomes very unhappy living in a manor filled with a maze of dark passageways and tapestry walls.

Soon she ventures outside and finds the key to the hidden door of the locked garden which has been shut up for over ten years. Once Mary meets Dickon she tells him she has: "stolen a garden."

"When Mary entered the secret garden she found Dickon already kneeling on the grass working hard. "Oh, Dickon! Dickon!" She said. I'm so happy I can scarcely breathe." They ran from one part of the garden to another and found so many wonders that they had to remind themselves that they must be quiet. There was every joy on earth in the secret garden that morning, and then came the most delightful surprise of all. Swiftly something flew across the wall and darted through the trees to an overgrown corner." Pg. 33

Soon she finds another project. The rather spoiled Colin, who is crying pitifully. Mary bewitches him and soon he is reading pictures books. Dickon also becomes a friend and soon the three of them are out in the garden teaching Colin to walk again.

A story about how one person can change the world they live in for the better.

The 1993 Secret Garden movie: ASIN: 0790720434
is the best one I have seen so far.

This book is a children's classic, containing all the elements of a fairy tale. There's a villain, a good person, a magician, a princess in disguise, and a "happily ever after" ending. Except, unlike a fairy tale, it could have happened.

Sara Crewe's officer father sent her to an English boarding school when she was seven. Because she was rich, the ambitious headmistress of the school, Miss Minchin, spoiled her. Then Sara's father lost all his money and died, leaving Sara a pauper in Miss Minchin's care. Miss Minchin put her to work at what was essentially slave labor, scrubbing floors and shoveling coal from dawn to dusk at no pay and very little in the way of food and other necessities of life. Sara was about to despair, when mysterious things started showing up in her room. Hot meals laid out for her in the morning and evening. Then a rug for the bare floor. Then a warm nightgown to wear, and a new blanket for the bed. She didn't know what was happening, and assumed it was magic.

It was a fine book, very good for children I think. My only problem is that Sara, like most of Frances Hodgson Burnett's characters, seemed too good to be true. She was never angry at Miss Minchin for treating her cruelly. When she found fourpence in the street, she bought food and gave almost all of it to a beggar girl even though she herself was starving. And so on. But other than that it was great.

This book has familiar fairy tale figures, such as a wicked stepmother-like Miss Minchin, a fairy godfather, and an orphan protagonist who is a princess in disguise. It's the story of a little girl who endures some setbacks but reaches a happy ending not only for herself, but for those around her whom she helps even when she's pretty downtrodden.

The writing is charming and Sara comes through as a person who is determined to maintain her values, through good times and bad. She has a definite personality and that is a good role model for any child. She stays true to her beliefs in being kind, mannerly, charitable and above all, herself.

The magic in this book is unsurpassed in children's literature. When Sara comes home, wet and cold and neglected, to find that a magician has transformed her world, you can't help but be enchanted. I will admit to reading it again now and then as an adult. The charm is still there.

Just a fun factoid; A Little Princess was originally a shorter story titled Sara Crewe, in a volume of children's novelettes by Burnett.

If you remember seeing Shirley Temple in the 1939 "The Little Princess," this is the same basic plot with a wonderful new twist. The story is based on the beloved classic by the same author of The Secret Garden.

The movie opens with some stunningly beautiful scenes from India and all too suddenly Sara Crewe must leave with her father who is being called away for military duties. Sara has to go live in a New York boarding school. Through her experiences she learns to survive in the world and takes each day as it comes. Her vivid imagination is a pure delight and when she tells her magical stories, they are played out in a fairy tale like way onscreen. This contrasts with her real life at the school.

Sara's fun-loving spirit does get her into trouble from time to time. Overall, she is just used to living with her father and being free to do mostly what she likes. In her new school she has to follow many rules. She draws strength from her father's words to help her believe in herself. He tells her that she will always be his little princess.

A wonderful movie which shows that if we make the best of our circumstances, we will be blessed in the end. Five stars for storytelling magic!

The secret garden is a good and loved book. This book shows that nature would change human's personality how much.
The main characters in this book ware Mary and Collin. They are cousin and always cross and nervous. They have a point of sameness. They have lost his mother in child. The reason of their nervous character was affected their environment. In early, Mary's mother was not care of her daughter and Collin lost his mother in his one year. Mary changed his mind more and more because Martha concerned to her at first time. One day, Mary found the secret garden, which was not opened for ten years. Mary and Collin worked hard for recovery garden. They effort to garden's live, to have keep the secret.
I would you read this book what secret is. When you read the end of story, you would experience miracle. And then you will think about your family and your life. Through this book we will recognize what we love, how we love and whom we love at first. Furthermore, when you are lonely,read this book.

I am EAD a fifth grade student at Wadron Mercy Academy.
A sour nine year old, Mistress Mary, has just moved to her uncle's mansion in a far lonely place. She has moved here because Mary made a nasty wish that her parents and maids would die, and it came true! Now, Mary is lonly and unwanted by everyone. Mary's uncle is a widower who has one son named Colin.
Soon, Mary becomes used to this place and explores all of the gardens. She has an Irish friend named Deacon. Deacon and Mary explore all of the gardens. Does Mary, Deacon, and Colin find the magic garden that their aunt had locked up? Find out what happens to Mary, Deacon, a krippled boy Colin, Mary's mysterious uncle, and the magic garden. ... I think this book was a real page turner. I could not put this exciting book down. I highly recommend this book. It is a classic of all times! I rate this book #1 of all the books I have read. I also recommend the movie.

The Secret Garden (book review)

Soon Kim
June 18, 2002

Do you believe in magic? If you read The Secret Garden you will experience the amazing magic, I am sure.
Mistress Mary Lennox was born in India. Her parents paid no attention to her. Mary is not loved by all, she is spoiled, gloomy, sullen, and selfish in India. Suddenly, her parents die and she goes to live with her uncle on the Yorkshire moors of England. But also her uncle is an apathetic person.
When she arrived in Yorkshire she found another person who looked like herself. He is her selfish sickly cousin Colin. Mary and Colin discover his mother's garden. They take care of flowers and trees together, and they have a great deal of fun together. Mary learns to accept that there are other people in the world, and she helps Colin. The garden's magic makes the two children's characters normal and happy through good people and the beautiful secret garden.
I wish that you would read this book; if you need to love, if your mind has been devastated, if your life is dry and boring, if you lose interest in everything, then read The Secret Garden and your mind will sprout " The word is so beautiful." I still smell many kinds of sour smelling blushful roses in the secret garden. The sweet roses are coloring my mind still ......... I love them so.