Infants Books

We got one of these books for my daughter when she was born, she is now 5. She loves to 'read the book about me'. So, when our son came along we had to buy one for him as well.

I ordered this for my new grandbaby and we were so pleased we ordered more. Five of my daughter's friends are pregnant so we ordered copies for all!

I have purchased this book for each of my three grandchildren. They enjoy hearing the story of when they were a baby with their picture on each page. I think it's a great keepsake.

My mom gave us two copies of this book when my second son was born -- I filled out one for each of my sons, and they both love to read about themselves and each other as babies. I'm going to buy another one for our new baby girl!

I absolutely love this book! It is such a great idea to have a baby book that your baby can actually look at and enjoy! My son loves to look at his face in all of the drawings and I like that it is fun and easy to fill in. I like this book so much I am purchasing "When You Were One" by the same author.

I was looking for a book on bioethics as I was writing an assingment for graduate school. I thought that this book would be anti-NICU but it really wasn't. I take issue with one review that gathers ALL NICU personel into one lump in taking care of these tiniest of tinies. I agree though, that just because we can, doesn't mean we should..HOWEVER, that being said, I am a NICU nurse not because I want to heroically save every tiny person that is born into this world, but to help these little ones in their greatest time of need. Don't fool yourselves into thinking that doctors and nurses make all the decisions for these preemies. Parents who refuse to let go do exist! Parents who have struggled to get pregnant and then want everything done...do exist. Parents who believe that because they are in the UNITED STATEs we can cure anything do exist. So while, we do go to extremes at times...it is never without thought, deliberation and might I add prayer. No one wants a baby to suffer..no one wants a parent or sibling to suffer ..that is never the intent of NICU care... say what you want...we do good things...and faced with the dilemma of NICU care or not..when it is an emergency..there is not a parent in the world who would not say "do something." This is quite different from those who know ahead of time that the infant will not make it...has a major lethal defect or is too little to live well...then I believe that perinatal hospice is the way to go...In the short 10 years or so since some of these children were born..there is no longer the secrecy of treatment..parents are well aware of each step along the way...given a chance for informed consent..and can and DO make decision in their childrens care....that being said..I thought the book was good, objective for its time, and through..and I WOULD and have recommended it for read in my own NICU.

This book was in the new book section of our local library. While my 3 year old was feeding books, one at a time, into the book return, my 1 year old pulled it off the shelf. I picked it up and while the boys were enjoying the library collection of books and puzzles I started reading a passage here and a passage there. Within 24 hours I had read the entire thing (including the acknowledgements). That is how compelling this book is. The writing is so sensitive and brilliant and the subject matter is so eye-opening. I am going to buy a copy for my doctor, my midwife, and everyone I know who works in the health field. Can I buy this book by the case?

I think this book is right on and makes everyone think. Families should have the final say in medical care for anyone in their family when they are unable to. For some people out here medicine has gone to far. Doctors should not have the ability to force medical care and sometimes expermential treatment on anyone.

Sometime life is about quality not quanity.

I was a premature baby myself. I was born in the early 1960s, when NICUs were just getting started. I was six weeks premature and weighed five pounds. That's about four times more than many of the babies profiled in the book. Today, of course, a 32-week preemie like myself is hardly worth mentioning. I have no after-effects except possibly my tendency to lung infections.

This book profiles a number of "miracle babies" who were saved after being born very prematurely (at 22-26 weeks gestation) or who were very sick at birth and saved by dramatic surgical intervention and high-tech care. The point made is that for many of these babies, "success" as measured by the NICU staff, usually defined as a living baby who goes home, is quite different from what the babies' parents experience. The doctors and nurses don't have to deal with life-long care for children who are blind, deaf, retarded, autistic, or have cerebral palsy. The NICU staff also don't have to deal with family strain, resentful siblings, bankruptcy, and divorce resulting from the constant pressure of dealing with a severely handicapped child. The parents do. Yes, there are some babies who grow up to be happy and normal. But the percentage of lucky babies is smaller than most people imagine.

Today the treatment of ever-teenier preemies has become an industry in itself. The price to society has mounted steadily. Yes, it's only money. But when a million dollars is spent keeping a single preemie alive, that million dollars has to come from somewhere. If you cut doctor visits from 20 minutes to 15 minutes or reduce the number of nurses on a hospital floor, which are some of the standard cost-cutting measures, it takes a very, very long time to reach a million dollars. The cost of neonatal intensive care is one of the major reasons why health care is so expensive in developed countries, and particularly in the U.S. Health care in the U.S. is trapped in a spiral of diminishing returns as costs climb ever higher. My husband and I spend a very substantial chunk of our incomes on health insurance for us and our son. Are we getting our money's worth? I don't think so.

It is long past time for doctors to begin thinking about the place medicine should have in society, particularly high-tech medicine. High-tech medicine in general has surprisingly small benefits compared to its appalling costs. (For some specific examples of this, such as cardiac bypass surgery, see Nortin Hadler's book, "The Last Well Person.") There are plenty of countries around the world who have public health as good as, or in some cases even better than, the U.S., but pay a lot less for it. Having someone there to hold your hand when you are sick, which is the sort of touch usually eliminated for cost-cutting reasons in U.S. hospitals, is actually cheaper than high-tech medicine and is frequently more effective.

This book should be required reading for all expectant parents, who deserve to know about the hell that could be in store for them should their baby be born sick or early and receive the full panoply of high-tech treatment. Doctors and nurses who work in an NICU, a labor and delivery unit, or who deal with obstetrics should also read it.

As a mother to two preemies, born at 25 weeks gestation, I found Ms. Guyer's book to be an accurate portrayal life in the NNICU and life after the NNICU. The majority of preemies do end up disabled. The outcomes presented in this book are accurate portrayals of the vast majority of children who are born with Extremely Low Birth Weights. All parents-to-be, especially those who are at risk of delivering prematurely should read this book. It should be required reading for every medical student and resident.

I got this book for my son and daughter-in-law for their first baby. They use it for a reference for all things to do with their new son and my beautiful first grandchild.

I loved this book! I liked how the author doesn't focus this book to moms, but refers to "parents" in everything she writes (with the obvious exception of breastfeeding). Her advice is good, practical, and non-judgemental. She discusses issues such as cloth vs. disposable and breast vs. bottle without pushing a particular point of view. She covers important topics many new parents don't think of, like wills and insurance coverage. This is an excellent guide for new parents and non-traditional couples (singles and gays).

Me and my wife are having out first baby in March. I bought this book after reading previous reviews. This book was very helpfull in pointing out the basics on every aspect of having a baby. It really gives you information on every subject and provided me and my wife with a list of decisions we needed to make. I would highly recommend this book for first time parents who want a non biased approach on baby care.

I am a 69 year old grandmother who would have greatly appreciated this book when I was raising my children. After reading the book I gave a copy to my daughter who has two small children. Pointing out the importance of the safety aspect of baby products without leading parents to spent beyond their budget should be high on the priority list for new parents. This book is a common sense, easy to read book covering most aspects of raising a baby.

Ms. Blocker's book goes beyond basics in the friendliest format I've ever seen. This is the book I send all my friends who are expecting whether for the first or fifth time. Even after 5 of my own, I learned from it and found it simple to locate anything I wanted to look up. Her solid advice on pre-birth clothing and supply buying, on what to look for in pre-owned items (practical!) and on almost everything else is fresh and accurate. Only one wish: more about breastfeeding, especially for working women. Ms. Blocker's high degree of professionalism and practical experience shine through on every page -- it's like having a conversation with a knowledgeable, favorite friend who's the best mom you know. Her "Practical Parenting" sidebars add a special touch to this book not found in other 'raising baby' manuals. This isn't 'how to', it's 'why to' and 'have you considered' and 'maybe you might want to think about...' She doesn't give orders, only bright, sensible suggestions. Buy -- enjoy -- apply what she says. You can't go wrong!

I snagged this at our library on a whim but it has quickly become a favorite of mine! Our 2-yr-old loves it too. We have an older child as well so I especially enjoy the inclusion of a doting sibling in the story. What a delightful portrayal of the first year of life, discovering family relationships and physical development.

I also love how the passage of time is marked with seasons rather than cut-and-dried numbered months for each stage. This allows you to enjoy the natural progression without getting hung up on the standard age for each milestone. Both of our children are healthy, but our first was "early" and our second was "late" with most of these "firsts" and it's easy to become a little anxious at times because it's impossible not to compare and contrast with others! How great not to add that stress into a children's storybook!

The watercolor artwork is glowing and gorgeous - it makes you want to just sit and almost breathe it in - it could be framed for a nursery!

The text and changes in font size are expertly done to provide details yet highlight the basics for younger listeners. This would make a lovely baby shower gift. We've now run out of renewals at the library so it's going straight to her wish list so we can have it forever!

Captivating illustrations celebrate the first year of baby's life. Moments after birth, smiles and all the joyous experiences of discovery and accomplishment are revealed in sweet prose and illustrations on each breathtaking page. This book will gently tug at the heartstrings of anyone who has ever loved a baby.

This book is so sweet and beautifully illustrated; It was on a shelf at our local library in the "New Books" section. I picked it up to read to my 20 month old daughter and proceeded to burst into tears! This could have been written about her; all of baby's 1st year milestones are recorded in harmony with nature. It is a simple and charming story. I will buy this book and save it for my little girl - so she can read about herself when she is grown!

The book had beautiful illustrations and a wonderful storyline. It is a wonderful way to celebate a baby's first birthday.

I had four children over a period of ten years, when, frankly, it wasn't fashionable. Realising now that I and my wife have "done our bit" to raise the census count now, we tend to look back very rarely on that period when they were all crawling about or demanding room service...

It's rather sad that while that period is going on, you rarely find people who will barge into the house and actually tell you the truth - that in all this haze of nappies, late nights, worry, and occasional delight, that this period is unreplaceable, precious, and if you look out of the corner of your eye, more than wonderful. Babies are one thing, I guess according to one set of people, but a parallel reality grants them quite incredible powers - they are magical creatures, impossible, fantastic, wise, full of joy and splendour.

This book made me look in precisely that direction - towards the rather long time ago of my own tinies, and I was immensely moved by the memories I had put away of my babies learning every little ordinary thing. And the art is just right and it's all magic.

I had to look the other way, my eyes were rather wet when I finally looked away, and of course I bought it. I'm not sure why, because my babies are now quite big, but I caught my girls reading it, and perhaps it's going to be for their babies, one day in the far distance!

I loved the Owners Manual Book I received as a shower gift with my first child SO much that I shared it with many other parents... so many that I lost track of who and where it ended up. When a friend had a baby I went online to purchase the book for her and found this Starter Kit... which includes the book and so much more. I loved it so much I bought one for myself when my second child was born. It's so funny and actually helpful too. The growth chart with stickers is a great idea!!! Buy this for any first time parents - they will love it!!!

The info in this book is not only helpful, but also written in a very user friendly way. Everything is well organized and is straight to the point. I enjoyed reading this book cover to cover (unlike other baby books that were given to me that I found too wordy). I recommend this book for anyone that is having a hard time getting their mate to read baby books. The book also includes charts that can be used to track your baby's progress. The other things in this keepsake box are not necessary, but are very nice to have. The instructional poster is not only useful, but also a great conversational piece in the nursery.

I gave this to expectant parents who just love it. Every evening the husband sits down and reads it.....really enjoys the format fo the manual.

Finally a baby gift with the father in mind. A gift all men can relate too.

I don't know crap about kids. I'm even more clueless about what to get soon-to-be-parents. When a hipster friend of mine with great taste recommended this kit I thought, "Thank God, my baby-gifting needs are taken care of for the foreseeable future". . . and it was so.

I have purchased not one, not two, but SEVEN of these kits over the last 18 months (geez people). The book is very wry, the bonus items clever and useful, what more do you want? Everyone gets a kick out of this thing. My penpal in Oshkosh, my DJ friend in San Francisco, it's a winner.

Hi, when I heard about this book, I said I worked so hard with parenting links on my online Baby to Toddler store, when this book would be also a great resource too. Every new parent should have it by their computer-side! The thing is, new parenting sites happen all the time, so don't be complacent, buy the Next Addition(s) too, if you can*! or visit regularly the Publisher's website to see the New sites to be Listed in the next addition!
* My experience it sells pretty quickly! ...

If you have a baby, or need to purchase baby items, or need information about babies, then this is the RESOURCE to get it from. Gretchen Nalley has carefully placed all the websites that pretains to babies, from baby gifts, to parenting to care of baby and everything in between. A quick reference guide to take you to where you need to be without having to search and search. Thank you Gretchen for a job well-done!

I am one of the unfortunate ones who had their kids too early for this book, if only it had been around when they were younger. But that hasn't stopped me from buying this book - I have given it as gifts! The time saved in not having to search the web for the websites & information that is in this book is invaluable for parents that already find their time at a minimun with the demands of a new baby.

This is a must have!

Never has a book been more useful! This directory is a parent's dream. Have you ever looked up "baby" in the yellow pages? There sure isn't much there. My only regret after buying The Baby Web is that it wasn't available with my first two kids! I love it, and the pictures are adorable! No new parent should be without The Baby Web (I keep mine in my purse!).

Everyone knows that the Internet is a great resource for information and a great alternative to traditional catalog shopping. Unfortunately, weeding through literally millions of sites can be both time-consuming and frustrating. Since time is a precious commodity when you have young children, getting someone else to do the weeding is a welcome shortcut, and that is what this book delivers. Think of this book as the yellow pages for baby websites.  The 1,200 sites are listed by category and also in an alphabetical index. Categories include: Announcements, Baby Care Products, Baby Gear, Baby Names, Bedding & Furniture, Clothing, Food & Feeding Supplies, Gifts and Gift Baskets, Health & Safety, Parenting Advice, Pregnancy & Breastfeeding, and Toys. Many of my favorite sites were listed, and some new ones that I have since bookmarked.  This book is a great starting point for a new parent or someone new to the web, but it is also a good resource for anyone interested in finding new websites for parenting tips and products on the Internet.  There are a couple of sites that I probably would not have included if I were making a list since they offered only one or two items or were intended for dealers rather than consumers, but out of 1,200 sites that's a pretty good track record.  You will need access to the World Wide Web and a basic understanding of navigating the web to get the full benefit of the book, although many of the sites listed also include a customer service phone number.  --Reviewed by Teresa Burgess

This baby book was simply delightful. It has the cutest illustrations,and very unique content. A must buy for any African, or African-American home.

My sister brought this book as a shower gift back in 1999. I just had my second child in January 2003 and was so delighted to find the same book still available at Amazon.com. I did not want any other book for my baby but this one. It is so unique and the only one I've seen geared towards African-Americans. There's also a little lullaby inside that I sing to my kids. A friend is having twins and I just ordered 2 more Baby's Roots books that I know she will cherish as well. I recommend this book because it will be a "unique" treasure ones children will have when they get older and look back at their childhood.

The Baby's Roots memory book was a baby shower gift from a friend. I liked it so much that I returned other memory books that I had purchased for my baby. The soft colors, graphics and especially the African American pictures of sweet little babies are what made this book so attractive. I wish there were a series of other baby products by Debbie Bell Jarratt with similar designs (such as baby keepsake boxes, photo albums, etc.) I'll give it as a gift to other mother's to be.

I purchased Debbie's book for myself five (5) years ago and loved creating and recording facts/pics for my daughter. The book will serve as a time capsule of information that highlights her heritage and family. I have given three of these books as gifts to expecting mothers. Believe me, it's not your typical baby book.

Thanks Debbie.

Ciao!

Trinice Speight-Moses
Willingboro, NJ

I have been searching for this book since the birth of my daughter 5 months ago. I received this book for my son three years ago and I have enjoyed it from the start. I think everyone who has achild or know someone with a child would really enjoy this book for years to come. It brings so much joy to take out the book and going through the sayings and quotes with my son. I am looking forward to doing the same with my daughter.

What a delight to share in the love and the pain as the families of these preemie-babies struggle with the issues of our time. What a wonder to have a peek, not inside the womb, but outside, as these babies continue development that is normally hidden from the world.

There is nothing weak in the love of parents who spend weeks at their baby's bedside, reaching through tubes and machines to assure a little one he/she is loved. There is nothing callous in a doctor spelling out the almost insurmountable obstacles a baby must overcome in order to survive.

Intensive care neonatal units are places few of us will ever see. Healthy children are a blessing most of us take for granted. Yet this book takes us into the lives of several families, with all the drama of repeated life-and-death crisis. This book lets us feel the pain, and the joy; the frustration and the wonder. It confronts us with the questions. It does not preach, yet dependency on God breathes from its pages. These infants, so astonishingly small, are precious and wonderfully made.

This is a book you'll want on your shelf. You'll find your eyes overflowing at times. You'll find yourself sharing pain too deep for words. You'll also find yourselves lifted with a sense of wonder at the Majesty of God's handiwork.

There need to be more books like this one. An important topic like prematurity needs more attention.

Dail R. Cantrell was recently nominated for a Book of the Year award for Equal to the Task, one of the best books on the subject ever written. This book is a good companion.

My daughter spent 90 days in the NICU unit at our local children's hospital. It was the most difficult and most joyous time of our lives. Fortunately, our story had a happy ending and she came home without needing medication or reliance on medical equipment to eat or breathe.
I came across this book about two weeks into our NICU stay. It gave me hope in that it expressed many of the thoughts and feelings that our family was going through, and describing the unique intersection of parents, neonatologists and premature or critically ill newborns that make up the NICU. (It was also difficult to read with my child being hospitalized at the same time)
I really enjoyed a brief essay in the last chapter of the book about perseverence. Every parent of a child in NICU should read that last chapter. It was very affirming to me in light of how tiring (and rewarding)the experience of being present each day with your child in the hospital can become. The experience is emotionally draining, and a parent will experience hope and fear and discouragement, and many times will wonder where they will get the energy to interact with the medical staff, learn the medical terminology and interact with the different personalities of the nursing team, and be able to deal with the incredible emotions that are generated when they receive medical updates on their baby. Parents need a lot of affirmation.
I also recommend this book because the stories of the newborns are well written. You will laugh and cry and become attached to all the babies and their families. I bought a copy for the library at the childrens hospital where our daughter was treated. This book would be appropriate for parents of critically ill newborns or for those who love a good story. I wholeheartedly recommend it.

I thought this book was wonderful. It helps people who have never experienced life in the NICU get a glimpse of it. I have quadruplets and all 4 of my babies went through the NICU at Chidren's Hospital in Minneapolis. Dr. Ronald Hoekstra took care of my babies and he is as wonderful as the stories in this book make him sound. It is very difficult and hard to explain what life is like in the NICU and this book does a marlvous job of conveying that. I have given this book to many friends and family members to help them understand what I went through.

I loved this book. I often read and the gym on the exercise bike and my mind will wander. Not with this book! I was engrossed with the stories and tears came to my eyes often as these people of faith go through very challenging times. Although written to partially explain how the Christian faith of these parents and some of the staff helped them through their individual ordeals, it was not offensive. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the wonder of new life.

These designs are adorable. Wish I had found this book years ago. Highly recommended!!

This book is a joy of patterns that are new and different. Not the same old afgan type sweaters and blankets.

I couldn't decide which one to make first.

I was looking for a pattern for a little girl's crocheted dress, and found the perfect one and more in Candy Crochet. The designs are GORGEOUS. Some (ok most) crochet clothing seems cheesy, which is why I've stuck to blankets in the past, but these are some seriously wearable designs, and just amazingly beautiful. Plenty of designs for boys too. The instructions are excellent, and the photographs of the finished products are helpful.

I love this book! So many cute things for babies and toddlers--girls and boys! The first thing I made I used the yarn used/shown in the book, but I would suggest using more readily available, less expensive yarn when able. I had to order the shown yarn via the internet as it was the only place I could find it, and it was very costly.

I have made a number of items from this book - the granny square hat with earflaps and the matching vest, a cardigan (I think you call it a jacket in America), and two dresses. I always find Candi Jensen's patterns are completely accurate and reliable, and the finished item looks EXACTLY like the picture in the book. The guages are spot on and as I am in Australia, I can't always find her recommended yarn but have never had a problem with substituting - you just must make the time to do a couple of swatches to get the guage right. I would rate myself as an experienced crocheter, but I have used her patterns when teaching friends how to crochet and one friend made the cute little boys striped t-shirt and another friend made one of the simpler boy's vests and they also did very well and were thrilled with the results. So if you want a book that is easy to follow and offers plenty of patterns to choose from from beginners to advanced, this is the book for you. The selection of truly adorable outfits are outstanding, and the baby blankets are just fantastic. I have alot of crochet books for children and this is by far my favourite. Will suit you for both boys or girls - some of the best corchet patterns for boys I have seen, and the girls dresses are really pretty.

The authors use of diction in juxtaposition with his syntax creates a linguistic reality all religious people should worship. Amelie shines with luminous beauty creating a colorful rainbow in her novel, The Character of Rain, as the stunning end becomes more rewardfull than any pot of gold. I recommend all fall to their primitive desire to make sense of this world, and worship the rain, because it can be incredibly refreshing after many a dry book.

I have to believe that it was the publisher, and not the translator, who took the wonderful (and easily translatable)title of the French edition and turned it into something that sounds like the title of a police procedural (set in Seattle starring Andy Garcia, that you would avoid if you were to stumble past it on HBO), rather than the original and beautiful thing it is.

This is one of my favorite books. No summary will do it justice.

I went back to the re-read the French edition (currently known in America as "the freedom edition") and found that the important chapter about the character of rain appears two thirds of the way through the book and it is NOT central. The discussion of tubes at the beginning and end of the book (as related to the godlike infant/narrator and to her pet koi) are the meat of the story.

This is a pet peeve of mine (or more correctly, a black beast [bete noire] of mine). Why the prejudgement among American publishers that their readers will react violently against philosophy? Thank god they didn't spot the Kierkegaardian echoes in her "Stupeur et Tremblements" or they would have found something different than "Fear and Trembling" for the American edition. It's not just here and with Scholastic's change of the Philospher's Stone to the Sorcerer's Stone either; there is a general dumbing down of titles when they cross the Atlantic.

This wonderful book deserves its real title.

The translation of this book into English has been done extraordinarily well and there is seemingly no loss of nuance and feeling in the strangely compelling storyline.

The child protagonist is a mere tot when she starts to tell her story but in the beginning we are treated to her creation when she was a "tube" "a plant" "a vegetable" bought into life by sweet white chocolate and her Belgian Grandmother's hand. Now we all know the best chocolate comes from Belgian and whether the author meant us to realise this (somehow I think she did) we are drawn into the strange world of a child who has the mind of a little God but has the body of a baby girl. She can talk before she is two years old but for a long time she hides it from her family, but fluently speaks Japanese to her favourite Nanny Nishio-San whose simple outlook on life lets her accept without real question this anomaly.

At first the characters in the book are one dimensional, the "little God's" parents and older siblings nothing more than card-board cut-outs but slowly with the turning of each page, everyone gradually comes to life, the two Japanese Nanny's are my favourite characters, one good and loving toward the "little God", the other arrogant and contemptuous of her European ward, all in all a complex relationship between various people and various levels of the mind.

The book ends with the "little God" making a serious attempt to take her own life, she wants to die, and she wants to leave the world before she looses all her "Godhead," but she is saved and in being saved she is lost.

This is a kind of Paradise Lost for the modern world and I would highly recommend it but only for those readers who like to read strange books like myself.

"In the beginning was nothing, and this nothing had neither form not substance -it was nothing other than what it was." I read the opening sentence of Amélie Nothomb's, The Character of Rain (Métaphysique des Tubes), and was hooked. I was not disappointed. Using a Japanese belief that children are gods until age 3, at which time they fall and become human Nothomb constructs a brilliant study of infancy. Deeply autobiographical, like all her work, and deeply philosophical, like all her work, what amazed me most was how completely she captured or imagined the self-preoccupation that is early childhood. Any child will believe it is the center of the universe (and why not an infant must be watched and waited on), and yet the same child will experience "the fall," the recognition that he or she is not a god, is not the center of the universe. Nothomb's ability to recognize this essential problem of being a child and tease out of her own experience the joys and pains of existence in a way that is as imminently and entertainingly readable as it is philosophical is where her genius lies. I've never read anything like it.

In the beginning before there is an Amélie, God exists as a tube eating, breathing, and excreting. However, the creators are a bit unhappy that this baby behaves more like a vegetable so these parents nickname the tube "la Plante". However, two years later la Plante abruptly moves and cries. Then the Tube's Belgium grandma arrives with the most devastating poison known in the universe, white chocolate. The Tube tastes the sweetness and a new conscience has metamorphosed. Life in the tube has turned quite sweetly though the awakening of Amelie makes her realize that paradise will be lost.

This unusual autobiographical tale first is told in the third person until the pivotal moment in history, the infamous chocolate incident, when the plot is written as a first person narrative. Not everyone will want to read this metaphysical story, but those who do will find a clever, witty, and intelligent tale that even makes the earliest of days come across realistically. Except for the title, fans will appreciate Amelie Nothomb's work that does not miss a beat in the translation from the original French MÉTAPHYSIQUE DES TUBES.

Harriet Klausner