Children Books

I have read very little Children's Lit in recent years but did enjoy reading this one before passing it on to my granddaughter who also enjoyed it.

Fifth-grader Cliff Abernathy has come to realize that being the oldest of six children is not just fun and games. The position comes with responsibilities. His parents expect him to help monitor the behavior of his little brothers and younger sister and he is often in trouble for falling down on the job. He definitely enjoys the perks of being the oldest but sometimes he wonders if they are really a good trade-off for the extra work his parents expect of him.

In Fig Pudding, Cliff shares his memories of everything that happened to him and his family in the past year,twelve months that includes things he wants to remember forever and one or two that he just wishes he could forget. The Abernathy kids have distinct personalities and Ralph Fletcher gives each of the kids a chance to shine in a chapter of his own.

There is Josh, only three years old and the youngest, who has to spend Christmas Eve in the hospital and desperately wants a "yidda yadda" from Santa, a gift request that has the whole family confused. Teddy is the hyperactive second-grader who spends so much time sitting under the kitchen table where his mother can keep an eye on him that he starts to like it under there and considers it to be his special playroom. Cyn, the only girl in the family, decides to "adopt" a new family and spends more time with them than she does at home. Cliff and Nate learn some things about themselves and each other as the result of a couple of fishing trips, and Brad, the most easy going of all the children, surprises everyone, and probably himself, with the Easter prank that he pulls on the whole family.

Fig Pudding is generally aimed at readers age 9-12 but readers of all ages will be touched by the tragic accident that claims the life of one of the boys. Each member of the family has to work through his own grief, anger and confusion in order to come to grips with what has so shaken them all but they finally come to understand that their lost son and brother will be alive forever as they celebrate his memory.

Ralph Fletcher cleverly ends Fig Pudding on a comic note by devoting the last chapter to the way that young Josh accidentally adds a "secret ingredient" to his father's fig pudding, a dish that the Abernathy family traditionally carries to a large family gathering every year. It has never tasted better than it does this year - even with Josh's help. This is one of those books that might well have children shedding a few tears as they read one chapter and laughing out loud during the next one, just like life in the real world.

I receieved my books in couples of day, in pretty good condition, I have no complaints.

~ "Sometimes I feel more like a policeman then the eldest of six kids," says Cliff a boy who has four brothers and one sister and feels like he is the baby-sitter and can't do anything he wants to except make sure his siblings don't get in trouble. If they do he gets yelled at instead of them-that doesn't seem to fair to me!
~Cliff as you know has five siblings, all younger. Cliff is in fifth grade. Nate the next oldest is in forth grade. Cyn, the only girl is in third grade. Teddy, the trouble maker is in second grade. Brad, the sweet one is in first grade. And of course little Josh is only thr-ee.This book goes through a year of events and goes back in time on Christmas up until the last none -the greatest one yet. Each sibling has a big thing they're going through, from thinking your part of another family, to getting really hurt, this story made me laugh , cry, made me feel guilty and many more feelings came to me, you can feel too.
~I love this book so much, in fact, so much I read it three times! My favorite part was when an accident happened, and Cliff couldn't cry and he felt guilty. When his uncle takes him and Nate to the beach, he says, "When something bad happens, you are handed a big bowl of steaming hot sadness. You can eat it all up right away, or you can save it for latter and let it cool, no matter what you'll eat the whole thing." That's my favorite part because it's very true, and it makes me think about it, and peoples bowls can be different sizes depending on how close you are to the situation, like his mom probably got the biggest bowl and so on. What made me think about that is Cliff talks about how close his family is to him, he says his family is like the million of blankets on you in the winter, Nate is his closest blanket, then Cyn, Teddy, Brad and then Josh. He can't feel the ones on top but he knows they're keeping him warm. That's another favorite part of mine. I also love this book because I had a lot of connections to it. I'm the eldest of three kids, I always have to watch over them, and I feel the same way as Cliff. Even the little things I can connect to, like when he gets a fishing pole, he pretends to fish in the grass -I do that with my brother and sister on a big hill in the back yard of our time share, right across the street from Mirror Lake.
~I highly recommend this book to anyone who would love to laugh, cry, and have a great time in one fantastic novel, and Ralph Fletcher is just as fantastic so read Fig Pudding!

This is one of my favorites. It's a little old for the third graders I teach, due to the tragedy in the middle of the book, but it's great for older children and fabulous for adults. It has one of the most touching views on tragedies I've ever read and I quote it often.

I first heard this book as a third grader- my teacher read it to our class. It loved it then: the characters were lovable, the writing was amusing and rich, and the story was captivating and memorable. So memorable that 8 years later, I borrowed this book from the library to reread and re-enjoy. I highly recommend this book to 3rd- 5th graders as a independent read or older kids for a quick read.

This book is hard to find in book stores, so buy online or borrow from the library.

I purchased a copy for a friend's baby shower. I couldn't help but read it before I gave it to her, and I loved it so much that I bought a copy for myself. It is now my go-to item for baby shower gifts, I give it to everyone.

I love all of the stories by Keith Graves. My kids laugh, tell people about the books, and read them over and over again. He is a fantastic children's author!

As an elementary, music teacher I will use this adorable book every year. It encourages less confident students to participate in creative movement. I enjoy it as much as my students!

This is a great book about Frank who just wants to dance. The pictures are great. It is funny for adults as well as kids!

My three kids, ages 6 to 3, absolutely love this book. We ran across it at the library one day and before we bought it we borrowed it about 10 times! The kids think it is just hillarious, especially if you tell it with enthusiasm. My oldest now knows it by heart and loves to retell it to her sister and brother. We even shared it with their schools. Great funny read.

There are parts of the book that are clearly written in the immature style of a teenager (colloquial speech) and parts that have been edited so much that they seem to come from an entirely different person. The overall book is choppy in terms of style, although the organization is excellent.

I would have preferred that the author articulate more clearly his emotions that accompanied his experiences. I would have hoped that his editor/professional writing mentor would have worked on making the story more compelling. I was a bit sad to get to the end of the book and not feel inspired. I felt like it was an "interesting story," but inspirational--not quite.

The captions below the photos should either not exist or tell additional information that is not contained in the text. I was annoyed to read a summary statement below the photo that I had just read on the previous pages.

It would be a good leisure read for high school students (or anyone for that matter), although as an example of good quality writing, I wouldn't suggest it.

A wonderful book that will give you a firsthand account of the situation surrounding child labor in South East Asia.

The Kielburger story is one of an incredible journey that he took as a twelve year old to explore the problem of child labor. The "journey" has continued since then into his discovery of the problem all over the world, in addition to his solution through his organization. They build schools, spread awareness through lectures (and their website www.freethechildren.com), inspire young leaders through their programs, and so much more. This is a story that needs to be told over and over again to whomever in hopes that the world can work together to "Free the Children" all over the globe. Get this book and pass it on to any one and make sure they pass it on....

Craig and Marc's stories are so amazing. I used to think that I can't make a difference in the world because I am only 14 years old. This book taught me that even the smallest of actions can create a ripple that affects more people than I can ever imagine. The ideas in this book are really quite simple, but when articulated so clearly by Marc and Craig, it just makes so much sense.

Craig Keilburger is an amazing man and is one of the Worlds greatest heroes. I have learned more from this book then any in the whole world. Even Social Studies!

I'm listening to this story even as I type inside a 1st grade where just new to English mostly immigrant kids are listening having NEVER ever tasted or heard of gingerbread men, gingerbread babies or anything like that. And you know what? They are delighted by Jan Brett's elaborate drawing and story structure to make her illustrated world view of a Gingerbread baby that struts into the world with the familial bragging rights in the fun of the chase and the hot from the oven bravado we so love to eat right up at the end of their momentary escape from our clutches.Ha Ha.

She, Brett, is without a doubt the visual equivalent of Eudora Welty. Almost like the breath of peony and rosewater that overtakes you in the fetid spring....Brett has sparkled and bejeweled her new version with the twists and turns of infinite pattern. One of my students has arrived at the stage where he asks, What's a gingerbread baby?/ What's a village?/ What's a villager?/What's a fox?/What's bragging? It's rather darling to listen to as my daughter teaches the story so I can film their listening to analyze as they retell this story to me later and I look at four months of instruction in English and where we are now. Lots of fun using this kind of piece of myth.

The question is what lessons are here? And let me tell you there are side stories in the pictures and lots of elaborations to generate very interesting answers including do not tell a village to catch you because they might do it! I like that answer as I listen to her apprehension questions to them as they predict their way through. He is "brash" they decide. Do you know a brash cookie? I do.

This bought along with Robeez Infant/Toddler Gingerbread Man Slip-Onat this price is a fantastic present for a baby/toddler near you. Or try the book and shoes plus Hansel - Gingerbread BoyOr just make cookies for goodness sake, you might find this story appeases needs to have seasonal joy. Then make gingerbread houses. We are.

What a wonderful book! The illustrations are breathtakingly georgous and intricately detailed as is typical of all Jan Brett's books. The story of the Gingerbread Baby is a surprising and delightful retelling of the classic story. My children and I loved this book!

Beautiful illustrations. This is a great children's adventure book. It also teaches children the names of some animals.

When a Gingerbread Boy is peeked at when not supposed to, he becomes Gingerbread Baby! This is the main idea of Gingerbread Baby by Jan Brett. This story is about a boy named Matti in Switzerland. This is a great children's book. I strongly recommend the book.

A boy named Matti decides it's a perfect day for gingerbread. But, when his mother tells him not to peek, he does anyways. Then out pops ... not the Gingerbread Man but ... The Gingerbread Baby! The Ginger bread Baby runs away and everyone chases him. It's very funny.

I think that the Gingerbread Baby is the best character. He's the best character because he is my favorite character. The main characters are, Matti, The Gingerbread Baby, and the animals. The writing style is great. The story is very easy to read. It's a great book.

I really like the illustrations. They really tell the story. Some of the pictures are funny. The Gingerbread Baby even has his own little saying like the Gingerbread Man. One saying is "Catch me if you can!"

The story was great and funny. I really enjoyed the book. I really hope you like the book too. I recommend the book for grades k-5. This book can be for any age, boy or girl.

I really feel like the odd one out, but I wasn't too impressed with this book. Sure, the illustrations are gorgeous...By no means am I knocking Ms. Brett's skill here, but I just find the text a little long winded and ackward. Maybe it's the way I'm reading it...? It just doesn't seem too terribly well-written to me.

The gender roles and language is a little dated in this series but it's my daughter's favorite and makes a nice tie in with the TV shows.

My two sons (5-year old and 4-year old) have enjoyed this book for a couple years now. They imagine themselves as "little bears" and enjoy adding their own imagination to the book's different stories.

I really liked the "Birthday Soup" chapter best and have used it to teach my sons that no matter how little you have, you always have enough to share.

The book is a classic and you can add it to your storybook collection with Amazon's 4-for-3 special offer. I suggest you pick up "Little Bear's Friend" (see my review), too.

This is a warm, nurturing view of childhood. My children and many others have loved it for years.

I purchased the Little Bear (An I Can Read Book) for a first grader that I mentor and she had asked for this book. I have given her other books and can't wait to give her this one

My kids and I came to know Little Bear through the cartoons on TV first. Perhaps part of the appeal of the books for my kids is that they know these stories well from the cartoon, but the books are much more engaging!

Best of all, unlike the cartoons, you have the amazing illustrations of Maurice Sendak. They give the books a timeless appeal.

Perfect to read to little ones, and an excellent reader for K-2.

Other titles in the Level 1 - Beginning Reading series are:

- "Father Bear Comes Home"

- "A Kiss For Little Bear"

- "Little Bear's Friend"

- "Little Bear's Visit"

well written by someone who knows how quickly a puppy grows into an adult and how quickly life ends for them. Pets never live long enough but perhaps that is why they are so precious and important in our lives. Thank you, Hans Wilhelm, for sharing your story.

A book I saw when working at the library and thought, someday, I'll need this book. 11 years later I did. Now, it's on a table in my family room, in honor of my father, Nick and yellow lab, Sammy, who both passed early this year, a few months apart and who were best buds.

This is such a sweet (and sad) book. I have it in my school library and it is a wonderful book for children to read. I love how the little boy loves his dog and the depth of his feelings. My son and I have reread it everytime we have had to say goodby to one of our beloved pets. I gave this book to our family vet recently and this is the one he liked best for his young son. I highly recommend it.

Read it cried as usual. Great for my daughter. Did not do much for me on the healing process.

Of the three books I purchased for my two young friends (boys, aged 6 and 10) who was experiencing the loss of their life-time friend, Charlie-the beagle... this was the BEST BOOK of the three.
The pictures are wonderful, the text simple but meaningful, and most of all.. it tells us all that we should love and express that love while our 'friends' are with us. "I'll Always Love You" brought tears to even the adults reading it with the children; also a good lesson that it ok to cry and grief for our four-legged friends even if we are a grownup.
I'd recommend this book for any age child.

My kids love this book, it's perfect for them right now, they love silly made up stories with fantastic and amazing events.

We borrowed this from the library and read it every night, then renewed it over and over again until we couldn't renew it anymore. I finally bought one for our own library.

The kids love the story and I love the pictures.

We just discovered another similar story that goes perfectly with Jimmy's
it's called The Crimson Comet by Dean Morrissey and it also has beautiful illustrations. If you like this you very well may like that.

Fantasy. Young elementary.

Summary
Jimmy's mother won't give him a moon pie and mil, before dinner. So, Jimmy uses his secret project--his jalopy--to go to the moon. The man in the moon-moon maker gave him 1000 pies. Then he went to the Milky Way for milk. He had an accident and landed on Mars, where it was raining milk from his accident. When a Martian monster came, he made friends with the food. The Martians made a giant moon pie wrapper balloon so Jimmy could get home. He arrived home in time for dinner, and his mother gave him a moon pie and milk for desert.

Illustrations
The pictures seem to be of an older time, but they have a modern look, boy-humor, fun, colorful, and enchanting.

I first discovered this book at my sisters house. My son loves it. Amazing illustrations, fun story with a little nod to the 50's lifestyle. Encourages imaginative play with a little mystery that every kid will love. I can't give this book enough praise. makes a great gift.

This incredibly charming book has fabulous illustrations that will remind some of a 1950s kids book BUT kids won't find it old-fashioned at all! It is a fabulous journey w/ Jimmy Zangwow. I've given it for birthday presents... complete w/ a box of Moon pies from Cracker Barrel. My three year old little girl adores it... as does her 8 year boy cousin! Don't miss it!

It is an absolutely fabulous book! My son has been asking to read this book every night for the past month. We have flown to the moon, Mars and the Milky Way. We have become good friend with the Grimble Grinder, an of course gotten more than our share of moon pie. Yes, it is always shared with the Mars men. This book is on our all time favorites list!

I read a lot about the Michael Jackson case and most of the time, everything written about it is superficial and redundant: reporters repeating the same lines over and over without thiking about it. I was pretty convinced about Michael's guilt. With the information broadcasted by the media, all pointed out to that conclusion. I was naive to think that we were well informed. This book, to my surprise, brings up new facts that were brought in the trial, facts that, you would think, everybody should know. As I read the lines, I just couldn't believe it! How come nobody mentionned it? To prevent from revealing interesting details from the book, I won't divulge it here, but I can say that now: Michael Jackson won that trial because facts proved his innocence.

I must say, that before I bought this book I was a little apprehensive. A media person commenting on the case. I figured it would just be another book bashing MJ. Much to my surprise the book gave a non-biased point of view of the actual occurances inside that courtroom. I have watched and read the cases in many criminal trials. NEVER have I seen the media, law enforcement, the D.A., and such an immoral, resprehensible group of people (the Arvizos), go to such lengths to destroy another person all for the sake of money.
What was done to Michael Jackson I would never wish on my worst enemy. I was so sad and so angry at the lies that were being told. At how this family tricked their way into his home, how they ransacked his home, and how they grifted money from several celebrities. What hurt me the most was that his mother had to sit through every vile detail that was made about his personal life and alleged relationship with the Arvizo boy. After reading this book, you will understand why the jury found MJ NOT GUILTY on all criminal and misdemeanor charges.
I must commend Aphrodite Jones for having the courage to write this book. Everyone in the media shunned her and refused to publish it. They only wanted to hear the negative. They didn't care about the real facts. Remember Ms. Jones is one of those media people who was "out to get Michael Jackson" also. But after sitting through the trial, and listening to the testimony she had a change of heart. What you saw on CourtTV was a biased, slanted point of view. After reading this book, I believe many people will change their negative opinions of Michael Jackson.

Wonderful. That's the only word I can use to describe this book. If you want to know why it's wonderful, BUY IT!!! It's definitely worth the money!!

And one last thing... MICHAEL JACKSON IS 100% INNOCENT!

I trust this author. She went into the court room a full fledged believer in the accusations and left dumb found. A few years later wrote this book.
Mr. Jackson is an easy target for indictments. He wears more make-up than the Avon lady and he dresses like Captain Crunch. He is not your average "Joe".
I don't know for sure that he didn't do these terrible things. Nobody does really except for him-- and of course the accusers.
What I do know, is he has been very loving to those who know him well and to those who don't, and enormously generous giving over 300 million dollars to charities around the world.
Lets face it your gonna believe what you wanna believe. But if you are really in search of the truth behind all the speculations and sensationalisms that have surrounded this famous case pick this up. My heart broke for him, and yours will too.

A book to own for an MJ fan, it is full of anecdotes and it tells the truth with reliable sources: the woman who attended the trial herself!! It's a mine of information, really worth your money.

This is a book that was read to my older brother my sisten and lastely me. I have read this to my children and I was happy to find it still in print for my Grandson. It was out of print for some time but it's back. Hardcover, great colors, the origional illustrations still intact. This is an absolutly wonderful book, I was glad to stumble across it on Amazon.

As a boy I had studiously avoided Lindgren's more famous creation Pippi Longstocking, partly because it was about a GIRL ("The horror! The horror!"), but also because it struck me at the time as just too silly. "Mio, My Son" is neither, but I had never heard of it before stumbling upon it in the list of chapter books reprinted by Purple House Press, which specializes in reprinting OOP children's classics. Since they had started by reprinting no less than FIVE of my favorite books from my childhood, all long out of print until they came along, I was inclined to trust their judgment sight unseen. "Mio, My Son" at least, did not disappoint.

Perhaps because it began as a short story of Andy and the genie, which Lindgren later expanded into the current novel, "Mio, My Son" starts rather slowly. I know that I began to wonder when "something" was going to "happen" after Mio arrived in Farawayland, but be patient. Lindgren is slowly drawing you into her world, making you care for characters that shortly will be plunged into terrible danger in the rousing climax. The charming illustrations by Ilon Wikland nicely complement the story. After this I am looking forward to reading PHP's other Astrid Lindgren title The Brothers Lionheart with greater interest.

Note: The publisher claims the reading level as 6-12; IMHO it's better classified towards the younger end of that scale, ESPECIALLY for boys. The Purple House reprint of Mio, My Son is worth picking up even if you own an older edition because of the smooth new English translation by Jill Morgan (the publisher herself?).

I had forgotten about this book until someone just asked me to name my favorite book. I read this book again and again as a child and found it absolutely entrancing. I highly recommend it to anyone who dreams of living in a fantasty world of their own.

I am so happy to find this book in English so that I can share it to my little American friends. In Germany, where I was born in 1983, Astrid Lindgren is a 'must-have' in every children's bookshelf. I grew up with beautiful characters like Mio and Madita, Michel and Ronja. I think the other reviews speak for themselves, I just wanted to add one more thing from self experience:
I think these bed-time fitted books (chapter length chosen for a 15 to 30 min reading session) are what made me dream as fantastic as I still do.
Astrid Lindgren knew the secret of how to catch on to children's interest, and how to pack messages of value in understandable words for them...

From E.A. Solinas' review: "It's never really dark or genuinely thrilling..."

Absolutely no offense intended, but try saying that if you're an 8-year-old girl who loves horses and fairy tales! This book has haunted me for years. I checked it out time and time again from my school library, and tried to find it as an adult, but I couldn't remember the title, the main character's name OR the author. All I remembered was ..."a horse called Miramis"... but that was somehow enough to track it down on a lost books site.

I remember the story as being mystical and full of entrancing descriptions. The story of a journey to destiny is timeless, and really captured me back then. I'm just thrilled to have found it again, and can't wait to get another copy.

I read this first about a gazillion years ago, in my early teens. I was, in fact, addicted to the novels of Victoria Holt for several years and probably read most of those available at the time. This one stuck in my mind, and when I had the urge to read Holt again, it was the first one I looked for.

I must say that Holt is not a great writer. Her narrative is often clumsy, with exposition that is often so obvious it makes my head hurt. However, in spite of that, and in spite of stretches of text which move very slowly, I thoroughly enjoyed rereading this book. Possibly it has to do with the memory of my youth, but I think it's more than that. I think that in spite of her technical shortcomings, Holt does manage to capture the genuine quality of a good gothic. There is mystery and danger here, and a heroine who, though egregiously manipulated by external forces is never feckless. And there is fade-to-black sex, which is sort of refreshing in a genre which has become dominated by heaving bosoms and raging manhoods loosely bound together by a bit of plotishness.

Gothics are a very specific taste, so I'm not going to assume that everyone who loves romances will love this novel. Rather, I'd say that if you enjoy stories about love against the odds, dusted with some darkness and mystery, then you may well enjoy On the Night of the Seventh Moon.

I first read this book probably fifteen years ago. It has been my favorite Victoria Holt book ever since--and yes, I have read all 32 books she penned under that name. To tell anything about this would be to give too much away so I'll just say this: The romance was breathtaking; the action was, in a way, believable; and the intrigue was shocking. For those of you who need a basic description, here's what the back of the book says:

On the Night of the Seventh Moon, according to ancient Black Forest legend, Loke, the God of Mischief, was abroad in the world. It was a night for festivity and joyful celebration. It was a night for singing and dancing. And it was a night for love.

Helena Trant was enchanted by everything she found in the Black Forest--its people, its mysterious castles, its legends and lore. Especially its legends of love.

Until, one day, she started to live one of them and the enchantment turned suddenly into a terrifying nightmare....

I love it when an author can write a story about two people in love and keep the story clean without explicit sex. This author knows how to write a love story that will keep you reading from one page to the next until the end. I'm very impressed with her work on other novels as well as this one.

This is my absolute favorite novel by Victoria Holt. I cannot praise it any more than anyone else has.

But I must correct the amazon description of "However, Holt creates elaborate characters and sets the narrative in the fabled and romantic Black Forest of the Austro-Hungarian Empire at the time of the Napoleonic Wars."

The book is set in the Black Forest, yes, but the Black Forest is in Germany(and technically was in Bavaria, which was a kingdom within the German Empire after the unification of 1870), and the book was set in the Victoria era.

I have read some Holt novels I didn't even feel were worth bothering to review because of my lukewarm attitude toward them. This is far from the case with On the Night of the Seventh Moon. If you don't like filthy romance books full of corny, eyerolling garbage like Stephanie Laurens seems to insist on dishing out, complete with their relentless bludgeonings of copulation scenes and weak plots, I urge you to pick this book up instead.

From the beginning I was mesmerized by Holt's characters and rich, complex weaving of romance and the evildoers who would keep Helena and Max apart for a decade until they find each other again. In fact, everything about this book had me so enthralled that I couldn't put it down until the very end. Holt has the ability to write adventurous romantic novels that don't make you want to throw up when you read them, and that's something most authors can't lay claim to. If you like your books clean and well-written, Seventh Moon is destined to become one of your favorites, and I would never steer you wrong about that. I know you will really enjoy this particular novel, because it is just that outstanding.