Children Books

Both of the previous books in this series had shortcomings: The first book had an abysmal plot line with very few believable moments. The second book neutered the protagonist completely, removing all traces of romance. This book was the perfect fusion of everything GOOD about the first two... and then some.

I was overjoyed to read this book and discover that it would be a love story again, but this time with a compelling conflict in the background to sustain it. It was, in my opinion, even more believable and touching than the first romance in Magic's Pawn. Besides the romantic points, the book had mystery and intrigue, brilliantly shaped characters, and heroic and heart-wrenching moments of joy, sorrow, pain, and love. To top it all off, the character arcs of virtually all of the major players in the series are concluded nicely, even though not all end happily.

My gripes with this book are mostly picky details. For instance: a villain who is only a threat when the plot demands it, but who backs off when the characters need time. Along those lines: Benevolent creatures who just happen to show up out of nowhere in a time of need (think eagles in Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit). But it's still, hands down, the best of the series, and well worth the journey.

This triology along with the arrows of the queen triology are among my favorites of the Valdemar series. Full of magic, action and meaningful relationships along with an exciting plot that leaves you wanting more.

"Magic's Price" is the darkest and most gripping of the Last Herald-Mage trilogy. It is heart-wrenching,and the closing epilogue is at once satisfying and poignant.

In the final book,Vanyel is older,wiser,and still dealing with his grief from losing Tylendel. He has had many lovers,even fathering children with women despite his own attraction to men. Tylendel is his lifebonded. Mercedes Lackey solves the problem of Vanyel's loneliness with Stefen,a Bard with the power to sing away pain. Stefen is young enough to be Vanyel's son,yet he is Tylendel reincarnate (though Tylendel was slightly older when they first met) Stefen's courtship of Vanyel is at once romantic and humorous. The rarely humored Vanyel finally laughs,finding love in the process.

However,tragedy darkens their blissful world. Vanyel's beloved Aunt Savil is murdered,as are other Herald-Mages. Vanyel is brutally gang-raped. While the villain is vaguely defined (a common problem in Lackey's writing),Vanyel gives the final battle his all. In the epilogue,however,Lackey shows that death does not have the last word.

When Mercedes Lackey created the character of Vanyel,she said she intended for him to be gay,connecting it to him being the Last Herald-Mage. Though he has fathered children,he dies without heirs of his own and a family. He finds love with Stefen,who mirrors himself at a younger age;paradoxically,Vanyel sees him like his father,and emulates his mother. In some ways,Vanyel drowns in his own image like Narcissus,yet in the end he is redeemed through his ultimate sacrifice. In the beginning,Vanyel was a vain peacock;in the end,he is the fiery phoenix.

I thought the story was better and more enjoyable than the first two. BUT, it also describes the homosexuality in greater detail.

I tolerated the first two because of the tasteful use of "fade to black" before any love scenes. This one goes into more detail -- though still tame by "romance novel" standards.

The worst was the depiction of a gang-rape. Uncomfortable to read.

The hero was still too moody and sulky for me and too dense to see the good in his life. Also, too careless in some very important decisions.

A reasonably satisfying ending.

I'm glad I read it. I will not be recommending it to my children, however.

I picked up this series because I was in the process of writing a fantasy novel with a gay hero and I wanted to see what other works were out there. I had never read Ms. Lackey's work, so I didn't know what to expect. I was not just pleasantly surprised by this trilogy, I was completely captivated by it and very sad when I reached the final page. The plot is interesting and the pace is quick. The characters, especially the hero Vanyel, are extremely sympathetic, primarily due to the fact that they are so flawed. Some may find the romance a bit sappy, but I'm the first to admit that I dig that kind of thing and you'll see it in my own novels as well.Orphan's Quest (Chronicles of Firma, Book One) Best of all for me, though, was the fact that although her hero is unapologetically gay, the series does not become mired in its "gayness" as so many other works of gay-themed fiction I have read.

This trilogy gave me a great deal of inspiration to push on with my own fantasy aspirations. I owe Misty a big hug if we ever meet face to face. I highly recommend these three books. Whether you're gay or straight, you'll find them an excellent read and, like me, you'll be sorry to reach that last page.

I remember this book from my childhood. I think I kept it checked out of my school library almost the whole year! I am so glad to find it again, since it obviously left quite an impression. It's such a wonderful, well-written book, and certainly not your run-of-the-mill fairy tale princess.

I first read this book when I was in elementary school. I remember reading it and not wanting to put it down. When my mother finally made me put it down and help with the dishes I explained everything I had read so far to her in detail and after I was finished helping my mother, I went back to reading and finished the entire book the same day I started it. Years later I tried to find this book but because i had read it when I was so young, I couldn't remember the title. I was thrilled when I found it and once again read the book the same day i got it. The book was still amazing(I had my worries because things that seem great when your young sometimes turn out to be pretty bad as a adult). I found the story of Amy heartwarming with a creative twist to the other princess stories we all know. I find the idea that Amy wasn't the image of a beautiful princess because she had freckles and straight hair charming. It makes you realize there is more to beauty than perfect complexions and blond hair. I think every little girl should read this story and plan to purchase it for my niece when she is older. Even as an adult I enjoy reading this fairy tale and highly recommend it for all young girls.

I wish I had this book when I was a child instead of filling my head with the traditional fairytales. I think we try to hard to live up to the impossible standards that these fairytales represent and when real life hits, we feel like a failure for not being able to fulfill them. Truly a great book to read to your child and one that has a little something for us as well.

This book emphasises that there are other virtues and qualities aside from aesthetics. It is difficult to describe. The book teaches that beings ones true self is what matters most and goes beyond valueing superficial signs of worth.

One may know the story of the servant girl who gets to go to the ball, the story of the beautiful girl that falls in love with the beast, the princess that is finally awakened by a kiss from a dashing prince. But, it is quite possible that one may go half of her life before ever hearing the story of another girl, a princess in fact, who was born once upon a time in a land called Phantasmorania. She was christened Her Serene and Royal Highness Princess Amethyst Alexandra Augusta Araminta Adelaide Aurelia Anne--a name fit for the most beautiful and exraordinary princess in all the land. Special gifts were bestowed upon the baby at this christening celebration by the magical fairies of the land. All seems to be heading straight for happily ever after until the last fairy bestows her idea of a gift on the princess: "You shall be ordinary!" The kingdom is turned upside down. An ordinary princess?

The king and queen may consider this gift a curse indeed, but it is what makes the story so endearing to readers. Traditional views of what makes someone noble and special are tried, especially what makes a woman beautiful and of worth. In a classically fairy-tale setting, a mythical land ruled by Oberon, king of the fairies, new-age ideas are considered and ultimately proven plausible. M.M. Kaye's story, The Ordinary Princess, is a refreshing new take on classical fairy-tale stories that enamors readers with its relatable characters all the while enchanting them with a somewhat fantastic plot and imagery. Because Princess Amy is so believable, readers are better able to walk along side-by-side with a princess and vicariously experience all her adventures instead of gazing longingly from afar.

Kaye's story brings ordinary and fantasy into beautiful harmony: it is what makes this story the most enchanting fairy-tale you might've never heard of. It's never too late for this kind of magic.

A princess is supposed to be fair, with hair golden, skin like wild rose petals and cream, and eyes as blue as larkspurs (3). A princess is supposed to be graceful, well-tempered, always behaving with the utmost dignity and poise. Kaye characterizes all six of Amethyst's sisters by nothing more than this description of what a royal princess should be. But, because of the gift bestowed on the little princess to be ordinary, Amy, as she was thereafter called (for "what could be more ordinary than that?"), is hardly those things at all (21). Amy was much more like us: she was imperfect. She had a stubbed-nose, freckles. She was gawky and had the "distressing habit of standing with her feet apart and her hands behind her back" (22). Already, an ordinary audience has come to relate to this ordinary princess. The audience can relate to physical imperfections, but the audience is inspired by the way Amy reacted to her imperfections and lived her life. It wasn't that Amy never was discouraged. Indeed, no. This facet of character makes her all the more relatable, realistic. But, she was optimistic about looking at things though and she enjoyed life, trying to look at the bad in a positive light. Amy was such an ordinary sort of girl that she would sneak out of her window to play in the Forest of Faraway. It is easy for the audience to like Amy for themselves and it is natural for them to empathize with her, but the people in the kingdom don't seem to like Amy and her manners very much at all. The reader finds acceptance and an embracing of his imperfections through the character of Peregrine, the "man-of-all-work" she meets a neighboring kingdom. He grows to love her for her ordinary self and her ordinary habits. She is not timid and delicate like a princess is expected to be and he loves her and all of her "imperfections," without even knowing that she is a princess. It is human, it is ordinary, to want to be loved for what we really are and Amy and Peregrine's story gives the reader hope that it can happen.

Their relationship manifests the harmony of the ordinary and the fantastic that Kaye uses to enthrall readers. Amy meets him in a very casual setting and they decide that they would like to be friends. They talk as friends. They are informal and playful in their dialogue. One day, when they are lounging in the forest as they often liked to do, he talks of having seen the princess that had come to visit the king of this far away kingdom where Amy had runaway and where she met Peregrine. She asked him, "What's she like?"

He answered her, "Like a princess." She didn't like this answer saying that it was silly, so she threw a blackberry at his nose. That's not the sort of thing Cinderella would do but it seems an ordinary thing for a modern girl today to do. Their conversations are full of silly, friendly dialogue and they almost always end their rendezvous walking hand in hand and laughing together. But, the fantastic part about it is that they truly love each other. This ordinary relationship turns into something real and something that can last. Even when the plot takes an unexpected turn, they still live happily ever after together. The coming together of the ordinary and the extraordinary in their relationship uplifts the ordinary reader, giving him or her evidence that fantastic is in the realm of possibility.

In addition to character development and plot in bringing a refreshing harmony to the work, M.M. Kaye cleverly and naturally manipulates simple, every-day words and assembles them in an enchanting way that creates the sweet, lovely undertone of the entire work. Instead of using extraordinary, sophisticated words to describe the beauty of a baby, she says simply, "she was as pink and white and gold as apple blossoms and the spring sunshine." In these simple words, the reader receives almost an entire idea of what this baby is like because the reader is able to imagine the softness of the babies skin like the petals of the blossom, the babies sweet smell like the scent of the blossom, and the warmth of the babies skin like clean spring sunshine. Kaye takes advantage of the readers' minds ability to make relationships to words and bring up images without the image being explicitly laid-out by the author through unnecessary wordiness. The images that Kaye creates using such simple words are so brilliant that it would seem that she were a fairy herself. Because she uses this simple diction to color her piece, all, young or old, are able to read her story as if it were meant for them, gleening from it what their mind imagines all on its own.

Even the illustrations that enliven the pages of Kaye's fairy-tale are enchanting. The simple and sometimes amusing black and white line drawings add a childlike intrigue to the book. The images look simple enough but they are beautiful and oftimes delightful caricatures of the people or the situations Kaye is describing, adding to the humorous, casual, friendly aspect of The Ordinary Princess.

This story is attractive to modern audiences because of the idea that what is traditionally valued by society is not always the most valuable thing to have. What Amy lacked in beauty and elegance, she certainly made up for in warm, gentle kindness and friendliness. Amy, like other fair-tale princesses, was so gentle that she had animal friends that kept her company, a crow and a squirrel. She was able to look past herself and think of others because she was not caught up in her appearance. She was straight-forward and sometimes rambunctious about the way she did things, something contrary to the traditional idea that a woman should be demure, and in this way attracts the modern reader whose idea of woman may be different. This story has the fantastic, enchanting aspect of a fairy tale but because Kaye chose to combine that with the ordinary aspect of humanity, it can attract and resonate with a wider audience.

The title of the book itself, The Ordinary Princess, brings too dissimilar things, ordinary which connotes mundane or down-to-earth, homely and the idea of a princess which is basically everything extraordinary, beautiful and noble and sophisticated. The title intrigues readers because of the juxtaposition of these two seemingly paradoxical ideas; the reader may question or dare to hope that these two characteristics aren't so contradictory after all. As the reader turns the pages of Kaye's tale, absorbing the character of Amy, the fun and childlike humor of the dialogue and the characters, and the mesmerizing illustrations one comes across every so often, they are increasingly enchanted with the idea that fantastic is in the realm of possibility. Amy is loved for her ordinary self. Being true to one self is more important than living by society's norms and that is when happily ever after can really happen.

We purchased The Beginner's Bible for our Daughter as a Christmas gift. She loves it and is very interesting to her. I think this is the perfect beginner's bible with all the illustrations it will keep kids attention and make it fun to learn.

I bought this as a Christmas gift for my 7-year-old daughter. She'd been begging for a bible of her own & after reading the reviews & seeing the recommended age of 4-8 I thought it would be great for her. I was a bit disappointed when the book came & I saw right on the back cover that it states: Ages 2-5.

The reading is o.k. for her age but the illustrations would be best for the younger age group as suggested by the publisher. Nevertheless the stories are still great & it's a nice book. My 5-year-old son will enjoy this a bit more though than the 7-year-old.

I would recommend this book but to the ages 2-5 rather than 4-8.

I had a chance to read this bible and the previous printed version. I liked this one better than the older copy. Although there is not too much of a difference. It was recommended to me by the Associate Pastor's wife of my church for my two year old daughter.

This is a wonderful Bible for small children or new readers to introduce them to the Bible stories. The language is age-appropriate and the illustrations are great - not scary like some children's Bibles. This has been the 'textbook' for my Sunday School class (ages infant-2yrs) for 6 years and I make sure that all of my sweet little students have one to read at home also. It is comprehensive enough to cover most all of the lessons that we cover each year. This book is broken up into Bible 'stories' which are just the right length for a Bible lesson or bed-time story. I have seen many children's Bibles and this is my favorite. (I tried to go back and rate this 5 stars, but couldn't change it)

I love this book and so do my children 7 and 3. We have also taken it to church and used it in our sunday school class. Very well done.

This was such a great book when I read it many years ago. I've recently gotten ahold of a copy and have to say that it's still a great read, especially when we are surounded by object in our daily lives that seem capable of their own thoughts and motives. It's also nice to see young people painted in such a way where they're not just miniature adults but actual kids reacting well to tough situations. I always wanted to learn more about what happened to Ellen and Otto and imagined they both continued to be self-sufficient individuals who went on to do quite well for themselves.

The Silver Crown by Robert C. O'Brien is a wonderful fantasy about a girl named Ellen Carroll. Ellen wakes up one day and finds a silver crown on her bedside table. Shortly after, her house burns down with her family inside. Not knowing what else to do, Ellen decides to hitchhike to her Aunt's house. But then she finds the person who burnt down her house is stalking her because he wants to kidnap her and take her silver crown.

The book begins with Ellen receiving a silver crown in the mail on her birthday. The next thing she knows, her house has burned down, her family is missing and people are willing to engage in mayhem and murder to find her. Ellen decides she needs to visit an aunt and sets out on foot to find her. She eventually meets up with a somewhat mysterious young boy and they attempt to solve the mystery of the crown and get Ellen to safety. This book was written in 1969 and at times it really shows. For example, that Ellen wears pants briefly and gets messy is considered striking within the book. However, in the end the book is driven by Ellen's determination and will.

I first bought this book when I was 12 years old at a book fair at school. I absolutely adored it and read it repeatedly for the next year. I gave it away to someone and never got it back. Only recently have I thought about it again and decided that Amazon was the first place to look for it. When I had read it again I couldn't believe how much of it I remembered from many moons ago. It was the first book to capture my interest in fantasy writing and I have never looked back since.

I first this book when I was about 12, and it remains on my shelf to this day (I'm now 35.) I highly recommend it for kids who enjoy fantasy books. Yes, it's dark and has genuinely creepy moments in it--but I see no reason that should discourage young readers or their parents, as it's an extremely engaging tale of a little girl battling the forces of evil. Resourceful girl characters are in short supply in children's fantasy literature, so this shouldn't be passed over.

The issues raised in another review here (regarding the unhelpfulness of adult authority figures in the book, and Ellen's bad descision to accept a ride from a stranger) would be points well taken if this were a book for 5 year olds. However, any child old enough to read and appreciate this book should be well past the point of learning that policemen are generally good and that hitchhiking is unwise. Give kids some credit! And give them good books, like this one.

My aunt bought this book for my daughter and she loved it, then I showed it to my 3 year old son and he started screaming instead of showing relief on the last page, "them ate all the yellow and orange ones, only the red are left!!!" "Them gonna eat the red ones too!" That's right, if you notice on the cover and on each page as you turn them, the lady bugs are different colors: red, yellow and orange, but on the last page, when it says all the lady bugs are "home" the picture only shows red lady bugs. Now maybe your little ones didn't notice this, honestly I didn't either at first, but the author should think about coloring the lady bugs on the last page to reflect not just 10 lady bugs but ones of the right color - or it looks like only the red survived! I know this wasn't the author's intention, as a matter of fact, the placement of different colored bugs on the front might have been a last minute choice, to brighten up the cover, but if your little one is paying attention like my second one was, this is not really a happy ending. I told him the yellow and orange ones are in there somewhere we just can't see them and this is where all ladybugs live, yada yada, but he was suspicious. ;)
It's a cute book, but I'm notifying the editor and hoping they can change it if there's another print - the book is really cute in concept.

This adorable little book is chock full of everything a child will love - tactiles, rhymes, animals, bugs and counting! It isn't annoying in the slightest and it never gets old no matter how many kids have grabbed it off the shelf and plopped down in my lap. I have to admit that when I first read it, I was horrified - it was a nail-biter all the way to the end....where did they go? were they mauled by the duck? the fish? the frog or turtles?! Then, we get to the end *sigh* - all better.

*NOTE to 10 Little Ladybug fans - there is a condensed version which is awesome for the car titled, what else? "Five Little Ladybugs"! So cute - your child will love this and you wont mind reading it over and over and over and....

I use this book in my work with infants and toddlers. The babies love it! They are drawn to it and love to touch the ladybugs. It is a pattern story, with the counting the repetitive focus. Best is the illustrations and the raised ladybug. Ladybugs go down in number with each turn of the page. This book also comes in a variety of sizes. I now buy this for baby gifts as well.

I bought this book for my grandson who was almost 2 at the time. We were going to visit, and I took it to him. The two of us read that book probably 25 times in the 3 days we were in their home. He LOVED that book! We'd read it, then we had to kiss all the ladybugs. . .then we'd read it again, then we'd kiss all the other critters. We had the best time. I would highly recommend this book to any grandparent who likes to read to their grandchildren, especially if they enjoy interactive books. This book is FUN. My grandson LOVES being read to and we've read a lot of books. But this particular book, like "5 Little Monkeys" is a HUGE hit!

Review by Sherry North, Author, Because You Are My Baby

This is a wonderfully designed book. The touchable ladybugs make it engaging for toddlers, while preschoolers will appreciate the clever story. At first it seems like the book has a dark side - with various creatures gobbling up the ladybugs - but the sweet twist ending shows all the ladybugs are safe after all.

I have two preschoolers, and after multiple readings, the ladybugs show no signs of coming off, and the pages have not torn. Well done!

I teach reading at the Junior High level and am a fan of young adult books. This is well written, moves quickly, and provides a great introduction to Greek Mythology. This is the fourth installment and is the best since the first book, the Lightning Thief. The entire series is masterful, on the same level as Tolkien and Harry Potter. I strongly recomend this series and can not wait till the fifth and final book comes out in may.

I bought this book for a Christmas present and quickly received it packaged well and in perfect condition. I would highly recommend buying from them.

I received the book in 3 days with regular shipping and it was in great condition! My son is a great fan of Rick Riordan books so this was a fantastic addition to his collection! The price was much better than I could find elsewhere as well!

I neednt say that i love this book and the series..The other reviews tell you that.I just wanted to state that these books don't have to be just for children.Im about to turn 19 in jan, and i started reading these books this year.I was strolling around the Books-a-Million and i saw it. I sat down and read a couple pages.At first i thought kinda immediate but i continued and i loved it. I bought all of them.I love Greek Mythology and i enjoyed this series greatly.The Last Olympian should be awsome and i can't wait to read it..

I would stay awake until midnight to read this book. this is the penultimate book in the series and at that, the best.
when 14 year old percy jackson blows up another school and flees to camp,
a quest falls upon them. they must descend into the labyrinth, a gigantic maze that stretches to every single state, find the man who created the labyrinth, deadalus, and convince him to join there side and help them destroy the evil kronos. this is all I can say without giving away anything. and now I'm begging my mom to pre-order the last book. I highly recommend this book.

We had Bear Feels Scared first, then I bought Bear Snores On for my daughter and she loves this one too. "Read it again....read it again..."

Cute story about hibernation and helps my daughter with some animal names (gopher, mole, raven, wren, etc.) I recommend it.

In this charming tale sure to become a favorite among young readers, Bear will sleep through anything, even through the boisterous party going on in his very own lair. The opening scene of Bear Snores On (Simon and Schuster Children's, 2003), written by Karma Wilson and illustrated by Jane Chapman, shows bear deep in slumber, tucked away from the wintry weather outside his cave. When a mouse, seeking shelter, enters Bear's cave, Bear snores on. What then follows is a gradual gathering of animals in Bear's cozy cave, sharing honey-nuts, munching on popcorn, and sipping black tea. All the while, Bear snores on. When the tiniest bit of pepper sends Bear into a sneezing fit, however, the animals' party comes to an abrupt halt, and Bear, while at first appearing quite menacing, is overcome with sadness when he learns that the animals didn't include him in their lively activities. In an attempt to console the bear, the mouse tells him that the party has just started. Chapman's captivating illustrations, which distinguish the coziness enjoyed by the lively animal characters from the blustery outdoors, and Wilson's catchy chorus enhance the story's heartwarming plot as well as punctuate the ironic humor of final scene in which Bear stays up, but his animal friends fall fast asleep.

This book has been purchased as a holiday gift for my granddaughter, who is in first grade and 5 years old.

What a heartwarming story with such vivid and friendly illustrations. The rhythm is wonderful and the rhymes aren't forced. The story flows and gives the reader ample opportunity to try out different voices for all of bear's friends.

Very disappointed the book depicted seems to be a beautifully illustrated book and it is described as a hardcover book but its a much smaller paperback

You just can't go wrong with this one. It stirs up those deep longings for adventure in all of us. It's a marvelous classic. From kindergarteners on up, it works for everyone. It'll capture your imagination and you'll be caught up in the story before you know what happened. There's nothing offensive. No boring parts. It will inspire a passion for reading (and quite possibly horses!) in any child that voluntarily reads this gem of a book. I love books and this is the one that started it all.

While I adore Farley's entire series, THE BLACK STALLION is my favorite book in the lineup. Alex and the Black are THE best team and I never grow tired of rereading the book.

If you like horses this book is for you. The basic plot:
-after a shipwreck, a kid ends up stranded on an island with a horse
-the two befriend each other and help each other (kid feeds horse, horse kills snake near kid)
-the two our found and taken back to NY, where the kid lives
-all are happy to see the kid's alive
-the horse has amazing talent in the field of racing, but the kid has no papers for the horse so he is unable to race it
-they find a race that was set up by the owners of the horses and ask the owners if he can be entered into it
-they say yes
The book ends with a thrilling race that you feel you are riding in.

A boy and his horse.


In something of a change of pace, a horse book that may just be slightly more directed at boys than girls, although the plot stays fairly similar.

Boy helps out horse in island shipwreck situation. Horse returns the favour. Horse of course is an impressive specimen and can do the fast running thing quite nicely.

So, off to the races then go.

I'm debating what book pieces seem to define Christmas for me. Oddly this is up there, maybe the story I like the most to reacquaint me with a tear or two, I never can get through it dry.
On the surface the Grinch is impossibly unlikely to undergo transformation into a better and kinder being. He's so delightfully bad, glad to stop Christmas from coming. With his lively old Max and his clumsy old sacks this fellows a far cry from the Saint Nick he represents. How fascinating that this Grinch could be used to compare/contrast with Santa Claus, an interesting thing for a teacher to try with a class....anyway just for me when I raised my children it was the 1st book I gave to a three month old 1st daughter inscribing it "mom's favorite." And my favorite part would be Cindy Lou Who, not more than two, as well as the line, "maybe Christmas doesn't come from a store, maybe Christmas perhaps means a little bit more." A message of peace for one.

I would think anyone would enjoy this, but I often underestimate my ability to be wrong. It's a pretty nifty piece to me.

When I was a child, I found the Dr. Seuss books a bit scary because I didn't much like abstract or surreal stuff. Fast forward many years and I have a daughter who is just learning to read so after seeing that she enjoyed a Dr. Seuss book in the doctor's office I thought I would order this book and give it a spin. This particular edition comes in a nice metallic finish green and red cover. It feels like a quality book.
After reading it to her the first night, I had to read it two more nights after that in succession. It was great fun for me too because the rhyming prose allows the reader (who may not be a great thespian) to do some role playing and added intonation. The illustrations are both unusual and vivid which helps stimulate the young reader's imagination. Finally, the essential story message which is to have a heart is a good one particularly in times such as these. Highly recommended!

the product arrived in a timely manner...and was much more elegant than i thought a "deluxe"' edition would be...i'm very pleased !!!

HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS!, by the incomparable Theodor Geisel - aka Dr. Seuss, is a true Christmas classic. It is a story of hope, faith, and epiphany, and of discovering the true meaning of Christmas. Who else but Seuss could tell such a story so entertainingly, in so few words, and all in rhyme?

That grumpy old Grinch thought Christmas was about presents... and food and decorations and things of that vane. But he stole everything, down to the crumbs too small for the mouses, and Christmas still came! It came joyfully, noisefully, loudy proclaimed! This made our grizzled old Grinch puzzle and puzzle until his puzzler was sore, and until he realized that Christmas was so much more. He returned all the presents and food for the feast, and then our grinny Grinch, himself, the Grinch carved the roast beast.

Only Dr. Seuss could spread the true, pure message of Christmas without any reference to religion. He communicated directly to children of all ages in his wonderfully wacky and wise rhyming, teaching us all about faith, hope, and love.

What a perfect book for this Christmas season. I introduced it this year to my 3 1/2 year old, who just loves it. As her new Christmas favorite, she requests it nightly. And I am happy to read it to her again and again.

Happy Holidays, everyone!

The holiday season would be incomplete without the annual reading of this delightful tale that introduces the little ones and many of the big ones too, to the residents of Whoville. A timeless tale where one will meet Little Cindy Lou Who, Max the Dog, and the Grinch, whose heart is two sizes too small. In the end, the Grinch is not the only one that discovers the true meaning of the holiday. Another Dr. Seuss classic.

All of my children have loved this book. The pictures are great and the story line keeps them interested. This is one of my 2 year old's favorite books. I had to get a second copy because the first one was worn out.

My 18-month old son loves this book and won't go to bed without reading it. The illustrations are colorful, vibrant and interesting. A must for any growing library.

My 2 year old son loves this book. He's loved it since he was about 9 months old. It's rhyming and fun to read out loud with bright and interesting illustrations. Sure to be a hit for any boy who loves trains!

This simple, rhyming book about a toy train has been read and re-read in this house. My girls absolutely MUST hear this book at least five times a day. We're on our third copy, as the first two were destroyed from overuse. My only criticism is that the book is not of more sturdy construction. If you have toddlers and pre-school age children, this book is a must have!

Our boy already loved Tugga-Tugga Tugboat and My Truck is Stuck, so I had an idea that he would like this book by the same author/illustrator combo, especially because he likes trains.

Well, this was his favorite of the three. The drawings are charming, the story sufficiently uncomplicated for a nearly-three-year-old, and he wanted us to read nothing else for weeks. Highly recommended.