Magic Tree House Boxed Set 1, Books 1-4: Dinosaurs Before Dark, The Knight at Dawn, Mummies in the Morning, and Pirates Past Noon

Book Description

Get ready for a world of adventure with the first four titles in the beloved Magic Tree House series!

Jack and his little sister Annie are just two regular kids from Frog Creek, Pennsylvania. Then they discover a mysterious tree house packed with all sorts of books...and their lives are never the same! Soon they are traveling through time and space in the magic tree house and having amazing adventures. Whether it's watching baby dinosaurs hatch, finding a secret passage in a castle, helping a ghost queen in an Egyptian pyramid, or finding pirate treasure readers won't want to miss a single story!

Customer Reviews:

I have not yet received this product.......2007-09-23

I was accidently sent another book in my mailing package. I sent that one back with a note that it was the wrong product. i have not yet received the Magic Tree House book set.

My daughter loves these books.......2007-08-09

My daugther just could not put down these books after she had received them. She finished 12 books in less than a week! I am going to get the rest of this series for her soon.

Great for 1st-3rd Graders.......2007-07-28

While the writing isn't great, the stories are certainly entertaining, and are great reading for 1st-3rd Graders. The stories follow two siblings, Jack and Annie, who are magically transported to various places, and the various settings set the stage for some very fascinating, to the young reader, tales they will come to treasure.

my son loves these books!.......2007-07-07

I've been reading to my son since he was two weeks old. He just had his fourth birthday, and I gave him this Magic Tree House box set. I thought he'd get bored pretty quick since there aren't illustrations on every page, but I was wrong. We read the first book in an afternoon, and he wanted to move straight on to the next one. We've since finished the first four and I've ordered the next box set, and while we wait we're re-reading the first four. Fantastic books!

Good starter book series.......2007-05-12

Good books to help me and my grandchildren communicate. We started a book discussion club. Great quality time.

Ten Little Fingers (Board Books for Babies)

Average customer rating:

Very cute book!
Loves It
Board Books
couold be better
Ten Little Fingers

Ten Little Fingers (Board Books for Babies)
Annie Kubler
Manufacturer: Child's Play International
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Board book

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ASIN: 0859536106

Product Description

This award winning series has been specifically designed for babies. A great introduction to books through well-known nursery songs and interactive text. By Annie Kubler. Ages: birth - 2 years Manufacturer: Marlon Creations

Customer Reviews:

Very cute book!.......2007-09-17

This is a very cute book! I'm 8 months pregnant and my husband has been reading this book to my belly for the past few months. The baby already loves it but i'm sure she'll love it even more when she can hold daddy's hands with her own 10 little fingers!

Loves It.......2007-08-27

My little absolutely loves these books. I have to read one or more of the everyday.

Board Books.......2007-06-08

Ten Little Fingers by Annie Kubler is one of a series of books that is a perfect fit for very little ones. The rhythm and rhyme draws their attention and the illustrations are big blobs of color, sharply delineated from each other. You can start with an infant who is old enough to focus and they will be enthralled by the colors. The size of the book is good for holding open with one hand as you hold the baby in the other arm.

couold be better.......2007-06-01

This is a finger play for babies and toddlers. I bought it to have at home for when my granddaughters visit. The book is cute enough, but there is just not "enough" meat to this book to justify a whole book for one finger play. I do like that the musical notes are provided, so that I can play the song on the piano. Just wish there were a couple other songs/finger plays.

Ten Little Fingers.......2007-05-14

The shipping fee is about same as the book price itself. That will end up about double price of a children book.

Average customer rating:

I don't like the new translation at all
a teacher
Fit for a Princess
heartbreaking, tender
Boring, a waste of my time

The Little Prince

Manufacturer: Harvest Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0156012197

Amazon.com

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry first published The Little Prince in 1943, only a year before his Lockheed P-38 vanished over the Mediterranean during a reconnaissance mission. More than a half century later, this fable of love and loneliness has lost none of its power. The narrator is a downed pilot in the Sahara Desert, frantically trying to repair his wrecked plane. His efforts are interrupted one day by the apparition of a little, well, prince, who asks him to draw a sheep. "In the face of an overpowering mystery, you don't dare disobey," the narrator recalls. "Absurd as it seemed, a thousand miles from all inhabited regions and in danger of death, I took a scrap of paper and a pen out of my pocket." And so begins their dialogue, which stretches the narrator's imagination in all sorts of surprising, childlike directions.

The Little Prince describes his journey from planet to planet, each tiny world populated by a single adult. It's a wonderfully inventive sequence, which evokes not only the great fairy tales but also such monuments of postmodern whimsy as Italo Calvino's Invisible Cities. And despite his tone of gentle bemusement, Saint-Exupéry pulls off some fine satiric touches, too. There's the king, for example, who commands the Little Prince to function as a one-man (or one-boy) judiciary:

I have good reason to believe that there is an old rat living somewhere on my planet. I hear him at night. You could judge that old rat. From time to time you will condemn him to death. That way his life will depend on your justice. But you'll pardon him each time for economy's sake. There's only one rat.

The author pokes similar fun at a businessman, a geographer, and a lamplighter, all of whom signify some futile aspect of adult existence. Yet his tale is ultimately a tender one--a heartfelt exposition of sadness and solitude, which never turns into Peter Pan-style treacle. Such delicacy of tone can present real headaches for a translator, and in her 1943 translation, Katherine Woods sometimes wandered off the mark, giving the text a slightly wooden or didactic accent. Happily, Richard Howard (who did a fine nip-and-tuck job on Stendhal's The Charterhouse of Parma in 1999) has streamlined and simplified to wonderful effect. The result is a new and improved version of an indestructible classic, which also restores the original artwork to full color. "Trying to be witty," we're told at one point, "leads to lying, more or less." But Saint-Exupéry's drawings offer a handy rebuttal: they're fresh, funny, and like the book itself, rigorously truthful. --James Marcus

Book Description

Few stories are as widely read and as universally cherished by children and adults alike as The Little Prince. Richard Howard's new translation of the beloved classic-published to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's birth-beautifully reflects Saint-Exupéry's unique and gifted style. Howard, an acclaimed poet and one of the preeminent translators of our time, has excelled in bringing the English text as close as possible to the French, in language, style, and most important, spirit. The artwork in this new edition has been restored to match in detail and in color Saint-Exupéry's original artwork. By combining the new translation with restored original art, Harcourt is proud to introduce the definitive English-language edition of

Customer Reviews:

I don't like the new translation at all.......2007-10-11

I love the style in which this book was originally translated from French to English. There was a genuine, child-like quality to it that rang true to the books character and that of it's charming little prince. The new translation took me by surprise as I was not aware that it had been re-translated and sadly, the surprise was not a happy one. It just doesn't feel like the same book to me, and tragically, the original translation appears to be out of print now. Why in God's name did they feel the need to fix something that was in no way broken? Ghaaaa! Child-like and genuine has been replaced by rigid and sterile. The Little Prince would weep. :(

a teacher.......2007-09-23

This is a wonderful story and a great book I was able to share with my students. The only drawback with the book is that the pages are not in color, but the extremely low price allowed me to purchase the books for my students out of my own pocket.

Fit for a Princess .......2007-09-15

I purchased this as a gift for my 7-year-old niece, who lives in a city distant from me. I'm told by her, and her parents, that it is a beautiful edition.

I can add nothing to the comments about this wonderful story, which speaks to the hearts of both children and adults.

So far as I know, it was a hit with my niece and her parents.

heartbreaking, tender.......2007-08-16

As I begin this review I think that there must be tons of reviews out already since it's just a classic. Does anybody still need a summary and opinion? Well, maybe you do. Maybe you're like me who knew about the book, has met many people who love it and could never bring yourself to read it. Well, for you, I will write this review.

He story is a fable: a stranded pilot meets The Little Prince who shares with him his discoveries about the people and things he has met on his journey away from home. The Little Prince is like a child in many ways as he is open, curious, and accepting. But he is wise, too, knowing about what's truly important in life: friendship, responsibility for your friends, and enjoying things for what they are without trying to make them into something that you want.

When parts of the book were read to me in middle school I immediately despised it. A little prince fussing over a pretentious rose, how stupid was that?! I had to turn 38 to be able to read this book about love and friendship and life because I couldn't allow myself to be vulnerable to its message before now. I'm grown-up enough now to mourn the lack of responsibility I've shown towards the people I've tamed. And even harder for me: I'm grown-up enough now to mourn the lack of responsibility that people who tamed me have shown towards me. And I'm working on accepting the fact that I need to let go and try again to do better every day.

Boring, a waste of my time.......2007-08-09

I would rate this book with zero stars but I was unable to do so. Unfortunately I was forced to purchase this book for a class. It was a major waste of money in my opinion. If I had children I would NEVER submit them to this book. I found no point to the story at all. I wish I could get my money back as well as the time I wasted on reading it.

Average customer rating:

Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane
Maybe not for kids? A bit depressing...
Great Story!!
This Book Will Deepen You
A great read for anyone with a heart

The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane
Kate Dicamillo
Manufacturer: Candlewick
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0763625892
Release Date: 2006-02-14

Book Description

A timeless tale by the incomparable Kate DiCamillo, complete with stunning full-color plates by Bagram Ibatoulline, honors the enduring power of love.

"Someone will come for you, but first you must open your heart. . . ."

Once, in a house on Egypt Street, there lived a china rabbit named Edward Tulane. The rabbit was very pleased with himself, and for good reason: he was owned by a girl named Abilene, who treated him with the utmost care and adored him completely.

And then, one day, he was lost.

Kate DiCamillo takes us on an extraordinary journey, from the depths of the ocean to the net of a fisherman, from the top of a garbage heap to the fireside of a hoboes' camp, from the bedside of an ailing child to the bustling streets of Memphis. And along the way, we are shown a true miracle — that even a heart of the most breakable kind can learn to love, to lose, and to love again.

Customer Reviews:

Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane.......2007-09-23

This book was a request from my 9-yr-old granddaughter which I read before sending. I was delighted to find that it was a well-written and beautifully illustrated story that hooked me from Page 1. Edward Tulane is a non-feeling, sort of snobby, stuffed rabbit, who in a series of adventures and after being passed from home to home through no fault of his own, finds his heart...and love... and finally understands that even in the worst of circumstances there is always hope.

Maybe not for kids? A bit depressing..........2007-09-16

The story was beautifully written but chapter by chapter I became more and more depressed. Actually, I wanted to put it down and just not read it after a while, but I continued. After such a dreadfully painfull and heart-breaking story I would have liked more than one page for a happy ending. Would I recommend it? With some hesitation... Would I read it again? No...

Great Story!!.......2007-09-12

I love this story. It is an interesting tale of one pompous rabbit's journey in learning to love. Very sweet and teaches that there are good and sometimes not so good people in all walks of life.

This Book Will Deepen You.......2007-08-18

At first I thought this book was a sappy emotional rollercoaster. Good grief, win, lose, win, lose, win, lose...what is the point?

The trick is, I was getting hurt and hardened just like the main character. I was sucked right in to the author's evil scheme.

By the end of the book, I was ready for the same victory as Edward.

I'll tell you what happened at the end.

I was crying and laughing and had to re-read the last page because I couldn't believe it.

My wife looked over from her chair and said, "Are you crying?"

I said, "Yes. Promise me you will read this book, and not just skip to the end."

"Before I go to bed?" she said. It is 10:45pm.

"No, but you have to read this book. It's incredible."

So there you go. Check it out. She is reading it now, and I'm going to go lie down and look out the window at the stars and name the constellations!

A great read for anyone with a heart.......2007-08-07

"Edward Tulane" is a parable about learning to love, learning compassion, and then learning to love even knowing that it could lead to being hurt. DiCamillo is a marvelous story-teller, excercising tremendous control of the story. "Edward Tulane" reads like the layers of an onion being carefully and deliberately peeled back as Edward grows in his ability to love. A wonderful book to read with your late-toddler to pre-teen child, but also a great read for anyone with a heart.

Average customer rating:

Positively Brilliant
Another enjoyable Artemis adventure
The Lost Colony by Eoin Colfer
Artemis Fowl: The Lost Colony
Keep them coming!

The Lost Colony (Artemis Fowl, Book 5)
Eoin Colfer
Manufacturer: Miramax
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Perfect Paperback

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ASIN: 0786849568
Release Date: 2006-09-12

Book Description

Ten thousand years ago, humans and fairies fought a great battle for the magical island of Ireland. When it became clear to the fairy families that they could never win, they decided to move their civilization underground and keep themselves hidden from the humans. All the fairy families agreed on this, except the eighth family, the demons. The demons planned to lift their small island out of time until they had regrouped and were ready to wage war on the humans once more. However, the time spell went wrong, and the island of Hybras was catapulted into Limbo, where it has remained for ten thousand years. Now the tainted time spell is deteriorating and demons are being sucked back into the present space and time. The fairy council is concerned about this and is monitoring any materializations. But when the spells deterioration accelerates, the materializations become unpredictable. Even the fairy scientists cannot figure out where the next demon will pop up. But someone can. Artemis Fowl, teenage criminal mastermind, has solved temporal equations that no normal human should be intelligent enough to understand. So when a confused and frightened demon pops up in a Sicilian theater, Artemis Fowl is there to meet him. Unfortunately, he is not the only one. A second, mysterious party has also solved the temporal equations, and has managed to abduct the demon before Artemis can secure him. Once again, Artemis will have to pair up with his old comrade, Captain Holly Short, to track down the missing demon and rescue him, before the time spell dissolves completely and the lost demon colony returns violently to Earth.

Customer Reviews:

Positively Brilliant.......2007-10-07

Out of the entire Artemis Fowl series, this is easily my third or second favorite!
Well, assuming you've read the title to my review and assuming you've acknowledged this first sentence, you must realize just how great I believe this series is.
For starters, the concept in itself is brilliant. The stories are centered around the main character Artemis Fowl, a young (once evil) genius slowly growing a concience (I greatly apologize to everyone for spelling that last word wrong.) His partner is the young boy's bodygaurd, Butler, and his only real friend at first. He soon discovers a fairy civilization living beneath the surface of the earth where he makes friends with Holly Short, the newly annionted member of sector eight, Mulch Diggums, dirt eater extaordinare, and Foaly, the genius with four legs and a serious case of paranioa. Toghether they team up in order to save an entire species from extinction while preventing war between the human world and theirs.
Eoin Colfer knows exactly what he is doing. The Lost Colony, although a little monotonous at first, quickly became a fast paced nail biting ride in which he flawlessly combines magic and science into one great story. In fact, I only have a few complaints. First, the beginning was a little boring. Second, the ending surprise (in which Artemis finds out he is a big brother) is unecissary and did not particularly arouse curiosity for the next book. Still, these are negligible compared to the wonderful writing Colfer has done. Great job, 4.8 stars.

Another enjoyable Artemis adventure.......2007-09-26

I found certain aspects somewhat predictable, but it's nice that Artemis has met another genius to contend with. Can't wait for the next one!

The Lost Colony by Eoin Colfer.......2007-09-10

As usual Eoin Colfer takes us into the world of the Elves with our No1 criminal Artemis Fowl.But is the young lady who appears in this book to be his nemesis or love interest.You wont find out till the end.

Artemis Fowl: The Lost Colony.......2007-08-31

I enjoyed this book as much as the other books. I couldn't put the book down. I would recommend this book to anyone to read.

Keep them coming!.......2007-08-23

This last adventure was just as intriguing as the other ones, yet the climax really surprised me. I genuinely recommend this book, as well as the rest of the Artemis' series. To be honest, I started reading them a couple of years ago, to cover the space between Harry Potter's books. After the second one, I just got fascinated with the plot and the characters. Harry, you do have quite and adversary there!

Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister: A Novel

Average customer rating:

Imaginative but Long
Ok
Blah Blah Boring
Fresh take on a classic tale
entertaining

Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister: A Novel
Gregory Maguire
Manufacturer: Harper Paperbacks
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0060987529

Amazon.com

Gregory Maguire's chilling, wonderful retelling of Cinderella is a study in contrasts. Love and hate, beauty and ugliness, cruelty and charity--each idea is stripped of its ethical trappings, smashed up against its opposite number, and laid bare for our examination. Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister begins in 17th-century Holland, where the two Fisher sisters and their mother have fled to escape a hostile England. Maguire's characters are at once more human and more fanciful than their fairy-tale originals. Plain but smart Iris and her sister, Ruth, a hulking simpleton, are dazed and terrified as their mother, Margarethe, urges them into the strange Dutch streets. Within days, purposeful Margarethe has secured the family a place in the home of an aspiring painter, where for a short time, they find happiness.

But this is Cinderella, after all, and tragedy is inevitable. When a wealthy tulip speculator commissions the painter to capture his blindingly lovely daughter, Clara, on canvas, Margarethe jumps at the chance to better their lot. "Give me room to cast my eel spear, and let follow what may," she crows, and the Fisher family abandons the artist for the upper-crust Van den Meers.

When Van den Meer's wife dies during childbirth, the stage is set for Margarethe to take over the household and for Clara to adopt the role of "Cinderling" in order to survive. What follows is a changeling adventure, and of course a ball, a handsome prince, a lost slipper, and what might even be a fairy godmother. In a single magic night, the exquisite and the ugly swirl around in a heated mix:

Everything about this moment hovers, trembles, all their sweet, unreasonable hopes on view before anything has had the chance to go wrong. A stepsister spins on black and white tiles, in glass slippers and a gold gown, and two stepsisters watch with unrelieved admiration. The light pours in, strengthening in its golden hue as the sun sinks and the evening approaches. Clara is as otherworldly as the Donkeywoman, the Girl-Boy. Extreme beauty is an affliction...

But beyond these familiar elements, Maguire's second novel becomes something else altogether--a morality play, a psychological study, a feminist manifesto, or perhaps a plain explanation of what it is to be human. Villains turn out to be heroes, and heroes disappoint. The story's narrator wryly observes, "In the lives of children, pumpkins can turn into coaches, mice and rats into human beings. When we grow up, we learn that it's far more common for human beings to turn into rats." --Therese Littleton

Book Description

Is this new land a place where magics really happen?

From Gregory Maguire, the acclaimed author of Wicked, comes his much–anticipated second novel, a brilliant and provocative retelling of the timeless Cinderella tale.

In the lives of children, pumpkins can turn into coaches, mice and rats into human beings.... When we grow up, we learn that it's far more common for human beings to turn into rats....

We all have heard the story of Cinderella, the beautiful child cast out to slave among the ashes. But what of her stepsisters, the homely pair exiled into ignominy by the fame of their lovely sibling? What fate befell those untouched by beauty . . . and what curses accompanied Cinderella's exquisite looks?

Extreme beauty is an affliction

Set against the rich backdrop of seventeenth–century Holland, Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister tells the story of Iris, an unlikely heroine who finds herself swept from the lowly streets of Haarlem to a strange world of wealth, artifice, and ambition. Iris's path quickly becomes intertwined with that of Clara, the mysterious and unnaturally beautiful girl destined to become her sister.

Clara was the prettiest child, but was her life the prettiest tale?

While Clara retreats to the cinders of the family hearth, burning all memories of her past, Iris seeks out the shadowy secrets of her new household––and the treacherous truth of her former life.

God and Satan snarling at each other like dogs.... Imps and fairy godmotbers trying to undo each other's work. How we try to pin the world between opposite extremes!

Far more than a mere fairy–tale, Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister is a novel of beauty and betrayal, illusion and understanding, reminding us that deception can be unearthed––and love unveiled––in the most unexpected of places.

Customer Reviews:

Imaginative but Long.......2007-08-17

Maguire does a nice job of painting the sisters as woeful humans and Cinderella as this spoiled little girl, but the book runs too long. It was imaginative of him to design such a twist to the original piece, though. Props for creativity.

Ok.......2007-08-15

I guess this book was just not my style. I liked the fact that the ugly stepsisters were made to seem kind, and human, which we all know was not the original story line. But this book was very slow moving, and in the end not all that satisfying. I did read the whole book, as some parts held my interest. Other parts of the book I found myself daydreaming.

Blah Blah Boring.......2007-07-15

Ugly Stepsister was the reading choice of my book club and it was roundly disliked. The choice was based on the much better received Wicked, which I have not read.

The book was extremely slow to start. Although the characters were interesting, the writing itself was flat and uninspiring. It took me four weeks just to get through the first 100+ pages. By the date of the book club, seven weeks after I started the book, I still hadn't finished. In fact, the only reason I finished it was that I'd promised my fellow club members I would.

Our next book club read is Middle Sex (or Middlesex), which I hope is a better read. I can't imagine it will be much less entertaining. Thank goodness Harry Potter is being delivered next week so I can get the memory of Ugly Stepsister out of my head!

Fresh take on a classic tale.......2007-07-10

This was a different take on the cinderella story. It was a little too gloomy and different from the original for me. Still it was an intriguing work.

entertaining.......2007-06-26

When I read Wicked, I changed my mind about the classic good guy bad buy image in books/movies. This was no different. It was delightful to discover the 'evil step sisters' were not that bad at all... that Cinderella was not as she appears in the classic Disney movie is refreshing. I enjoyed this book from page one.

Average customer rating:

nice book!
A keeper for the home library
One of the most fascinating books
Chasing dreams
Just Okay

The Alchemist - Gift Edition
Paulo Coelho
Manufacturer: HarperOne
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0060887966
Release Date: 2006-04-25

Amazon.com

Like the one-time bestseller Jonathan Livingston Seagull, The Alchemist presents a simple fable, based on simple truths and places it in a highly unique situation. And though we may sniff a bestselling formula, it is certainly not a new one: even the ancient tribal storytellers knew that this is the most successful method of entertaining an audience while slipping in a lesson or two. Brazilian storyteller Paulo Coehlo introduces Santiago, an Andalusian shepherd boy who one night dreams of a distant treasure in the Egyptian pyramids. And so he's off: leaving Spain to literally follow his dream.

Along the way he meets many spiritual messengers, who come in unassuming forms such as a camel driver and a well-read Englishman. In one of the Englishman's books, Santiago first learns about the alchemists--men who believed that if a metal were heated for many years, it would free itself of all its individual properties, and what was left would be the "Soul of the World." Of course he does eventually meet an alchemist, and the ensuing student-teacher relationship clarifies much of the boy's misguided agenda, while also emboldening him to stay true to his dreams. "My heart is afraid that it will have to suffer," the boy confides to the alchemist one night as they look up at a moonless night.

"Tell your heart that the fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself," the alchemist replies. "And that no heart has ever suffered when it goes in search of its dreams, because every second of the search is a second's encounter with God and with eternity." --Gail Hudson

Book Description

Paulo Coelho's enchanting novel has inspired a devoted following around the world, and this tenth anniversary edition, with a new introduction from the author, will only increase that following. This story, dazzling in its powerful simplicity and inspiring wisdom, is about an Andalusian shepherd boy named Santiago who travels from his homeland in Spain to the Egyptian desert in search of a treasure buried in the Pyramids. Along the way he meets a Gypsy woman, a man who calls himself king, and an alchemist, all of whom point Santiago in the direction of his quest. No one knows what the treasure is, or if Santiago will be able to surmount the obstacles along the way. But what starts out as a journey to find worldly goods turns into a discovery of the treasures found within. Lush, evocative, and deeply humane, the story of Santiago is an eternal testament to the transforming power of our dreams and the importance of listening to our hearts.

Download Description

My Heart Is Afraid that it will have to suffer," the boy told the alchemist one night as they looked up at the moonless sky."Tell your heart that the fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself. And that no heart has ever suffered when it goes in search of its dreams."

Every few decades a book is published that changes the lives of its readers forever. The Alchemist is such a book. With over a million and a half copies sold around the world, The Alchemist has already established itself as a modern classic, universally admired. Paulo Coelho's charming fable, now available in English for the first time, will enchant and inspire an even wider audience of readers for generations to come.

The Alchemist is the magical story of Santiago, an Andalusian shepherd boy who yearns to travel in search of a worldly treasure as extravagant as any ever found. From his home in Spain he journeys to the markets of Tangiers and across the Egyptian desert to a fateful encounter with the alchemist.

The story of the treasures Santiago finds along the way teaches us, as only a few stories have done, about the essential wisdom of listening to our hearts, learning to read the omens strewn along life's path, and, above all, following our dreams.

Customer Reviews:

nice book!.......2007-10-11

I like this book very much. This is a real adventure with very interest philosophical thoughts. I was slightly disappointed with the book final. It will be more logical to expect that the real treasure could be a wisdom, a new knowledge, or sometihng like this. However, this is a very nice book; I am very happy that I bought it.

A keeper for the home library.......2007-09-11

This is a special book that makes an uplifting gift to someone wanting to seek their dream, but isn't sure to take that first step. I will read this again.

One of the most fascinating books.......2007-09-06

The Alchemist is an amazing book for anyone "searching for answers". It really reinforces the notion that it's all about the journey - not the destination. Well written and far more complex than the simple writing style might lead you to believe. This edition was a gift for a friend - it's beautiful to look at, as well.

Chasing dreams.......2007-08-23

A co-worker brought her copy of this book in one day for me to see. It was love at first sight and I knew I wanted my own copy. A month later, I bought one for myself on my birthday. I read it in two afternoons. It is a really good book. I would suggest it to anyone. It is very simple writing but the message is quite deep.

Just Okay.......2007-08-03

I liked THE ALCHEMIST, but didn't love it. It starts out very well, but it quickly gets bogged down by excessive symbolism and a lot of detail that didn't seem essential to the story.

The major point of this book is to pursue your life dreams, as opposed to making excuses for not doing so. I certainly support this message, but I felt that Coelho took 165 pages to convey a relatively straightforward point. This book is also heavily unrealistic in spots (the wind talks, the sun, etc.), which diminishes the power of its message, at least to me.

I read the most recent trade paperback edition of THE ALCHEMIST, and would suggest that you read the four-page introduction by Paulo Coelho before purchasing this novel. In that introduction, Coelho summarizes the main themes and ideas of THE ALCHEMIST in a crystal clear manner that I thought was more effective than the novel itself. If the message resonates with you, then by all means buy this book and enjoy it. Otherwise, you probably will not like it.

The Jesus Storybook Bible: Every Story Whispers His Name

Average customer rating:

Heavenly
Excellent
Showing the Centrality of Christ in the Scriptures to Children
An asset to devotion time.
Wonderful Children's Bible!

The Jesus Storybook Bible: Every Story Whispers His Name
Sally Lloyd-Jones
Manufacturer: ZonderKidz
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Picture Books | Ages 4-8 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0310708257

Book Description

Children ages 4 to 8 have a hard time grasping the concept of “God.” But it can be done through the person of Jesus. Told in a wonderfully inviting style, this Bible storybook shares many beloved Bible stories and reveals how the news and message of Jesus unfolds throughout Scripture, from the Old Testament all the way through the New Testament. Jesus in the Story helps readers love and appreciate Jesus and begin their own journey of faith. Beautiful 4-color artwork throughout.

Customer Reviews:

Heavenly.......2007-10-02

I ordered this book for my grandchildren after I heard a reading from the book on a radio program. My daughter loves the book--as do her children. She uses it for story time and devotional time. Clear presentation of the Gospel with each story.

Excellent.......2007-09-08

Instead of just stories this book brings out the "meaning" behind each, that it's all about Jesus.

Showing the Centrality of Christ in the Scriptures to Children.......2007-08-18

Is the Bible a book of stories? good morals? heroes? No, suggests Sally Lloyd-Jones. Influenced by New York pastor and author Timothy Keller, Lloyd-Jones takes the major movements in the Bible's plot line as well as the familiar Sunday School stories and shows children how the entire Bible points to one man, the God-Man: Jesus Christ.

This is an excellent resource for families in a biblically illiterate age. I highly recommend this book to you. Another outstanding resource is David Helm's The Big Picture Story Bible.

An asset to devotion time........2007-08-13

My daughter and I use this book probably twice a week. The stories are short, but not too short. They all leave the door wide open for a discussion about Jesus. My daughter enjoys the stories as do I. Plenty of well-drawn pictures too. An asset to our devotion time.

Wonderful Children's Bible!.......2007-08-09

This book is amazing - it is humorous and interesting and the kids listened with great interest to all of the stories. Every single story mentions Christ and how He is tied into the "big picture" of the Bible - from the Old Testament to the New. We love this book!

Average customer rating:

Why must holy places be dark places?
through a glass, darkly
According to Lewis...
Till We Have Faces
Warrior Queens Don't Have to be Pretty

Till We Have Faces: A Myth Retold
C.S. Lewis
Manufacturer: Harcourt Brace & Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Classics | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0156904365

Book Description

This tale of two princesses - one beautiful and one unattractive - and of the struggle between sacred and profane love is Lewis’s reworking of the myth of Cupid and Psyche and one of his most enduring works.

Customer Reviews:

Why must holy places be dark places?.......2007-10-08

In his masterpiece address, "The Weight of Glory," Lewis says, "if our religion is something objective, then we must never avert our eyes from those elements in it which seem puzzling or repellent; for it will be precisely the puzzling or the repellent which conceals what we do not yet know and need to know."

Through the retelling of an ancient myth, Lewis deals with the uncomfortable issue of God's justice in light of what seems a very unjust world. Why have the gods always seemed indifferent to the afflictions of man? Why must holy places be dark places? Why can't the gods just answer us without all the guesswork and riddle?

You know that these questions bother you, just as they bothered the book's protagonist, a woman named Orual. The great thing about this work (among many) is if we are honest, we shall see ourselves in Orual. And while admittedly not answering all the questions that arise along these lines, the book, I fill does succeed in giving us a glimpse of at least that part of the problem that we can control and at some level understand.

The main issue that is dealt with in this book is perhaps the most puzzling aspect of faith. There are clearly those things that go far beyond our ability to control, and each of us shall leave this world in ignorance and most assuredly in wonder, why this, why that? But to his credit, Lewis does an amazing job of taking these tough questions and once again through myth, helping his readers to understand a bit more clearly perhaps, the most mysterious of all things, the human heart.

Once we understand (in some measure) our own hearts, perhaps we too will agree with another of the book's characters, The Fox, when asked by Orual, "are the gods not just?" He answers, "Oh no, child. What would become of us if they were?"

The Blackstone Audio of this book is excellent by the way. I read the book once and found (as I do with most of Lewis's works) that I enjoyed it even more upon the second reading. I hope you will enjoy it as well.

through a glass, darkly.......2007-08-30

Till We Have Faces: A Myth Retold is the most novelistic of the many books by C. S. Lewis. But don't expect it to satisfy on that level. All of Lewis' fiction is an allegorical exploration of man's relationship to God. Till We Have Faces deals particularly with the question of why God seems so distant.

The story is a carefully crafted version of the Greek myth of Psyche, a mortal woman who has a difficult romance with the god Eros. The point of view is that of a homely sister, Orual, who is consumed by unrecognized jealously at being ignored (as she supposes) by the gods. Over time, experience develops in her an independent spirit - a "face" of her own - that qualifies her to converse with God.

I enjoyed this book much more 30 years ago, when the pleasant narrative and the dream-fantasy sequences were enough to carry the allegory. But in my latest reading, the relatively weak characterization and the lack of real challenge in the protagonist's life detracts from the effect.

I respect C. S. Lewis highly as a clear-minded Christian theologian. But like princess Orual, his life experience was hardly rich enough to support the weight of his message.

According to Lewis..........2007-08-17

this book was his favorite of all of the books he wrote. I'm right there with him.

9th grade English class, the last day of discussion, from the back of the room, "I am so mad I didn't finish reading this before today's class!!"

I think that says it.

Till We Have Faces.......2007-08-09

I don't think there's much to say about this book. It's a solid retelling of the Eros and Psyche myth, but if you already know that story, then you already know what's going to happen (for the most part). It was a quick read and the ending was different.

My only problems with it were the names and some underlying ideas. I know that he's trying to portray a barbaric society, but, seriously, renaming Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty, UNGIT, of all things? Almost all the women's names sounded masculine to me, and vice versa. Also, CS Lewis seems to be trying to tell us that women aren't as good as men, though I guess that can be blamed on the time period in which he wrote.

Warrior Queens Don't Have to be Pretty.......2007-07-07

Lewis' tale is a reworking of the Psyche and Cupid mythology. I'm not familiar with that myth so reading this novel was a fresh experience. Psyche in NOT the main character in this tale. Instead Lewis has made Orual, the eldest of the three princesses of Glome, the heroine. I think this is a sensible choice because Orual certainly made a more sympathetic, accessible heroine than Psyche who seems too perfect. Psyche is extremely beautiful and graceful, a virtuous woman, and superior in almost every way than most women, including Orual. Orual is a rational, thinking woman who happens to be rather ugly. She is called a goblin by her brutish father, the King of Glome.

Orual is educated by a Greek slave named "the Fox." The Fox has immense influence on Orual and gives her fire to make her case or accusation against the gods. Orual's most joyous times were when her beloved Psyche, the Fox, and herself were together learning, studying, and observing nature. Those times were soon cut short.

Because of her undesirable face, Orual is fated to remain a virgin throughout her life. But she wouldn't complain all that much about that cruelty if it weren't for losing Psyche. The goddess Ungit (Venus), jealous of Psyche's beauty, demands that Psyche be sacrificed to the brute. Orual is in total despair over her beloved Psyche, whom she considers as a daughter. Orual is driven to do things that end up making life worse for Psyche. This drives her to writing this accusation against the gods.

Bardia, a captain of the guards, teaches Orual fighting and riding skills. Soon enough, Orual finds herself in love with the already-married Bardia. Orual decides to veil her face at all times after losing Psyche, and she finds that this veiling grants her more respect and a sort of power over people.

The fighting skills she has learned come in handy later when her father becomes incapacitated, and the throne is turned over to Orual. She quickly becomes the renowned, veiled Warrior Queen, deadly in combat and strategy. Her improvements to the kingdom are numerous, as she is wise and depends on loyal and faithful counselors, mainly the Fox and Bardia.

The ending is a bit bizarre, what with the visions Orual has and her accusation against the gods finally being heard by the assembly. However, the ending does tie up some loose-ends and gives the story the mythical quality of the original tale.

Lewis does an excellent job of portraying this story through the eyes of the sad but not pathetic Orual. She comes into her own in a big way, despite her aesthetic shortcomings, by becoming the "most wise, just, valiant, fortunate, and merciful" ruler of Glome.

Average customer rating:

Lovely Book
Beatrix Potter Complete Tales review
Charming!
Love the Beatrix Potter book
Bedtime reading turned into morningtime reading, too!

Beatrix Potter Complete Tales R/I
Beatrix Potter
Manufacturer: Warne
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Literature | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

General | Ages 4-8 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 072325804X

Book Description

This complete and unabridged collection contains all 23 of Beatrix Potter's Tales in one deluxe volume with all their original illustrations. The stories are arranged in the order in which they were first published so they may be read in their proper sequence. A special section at the end of this volume contains four additional works by Beatrix Potter that were not published during her lifetime. Beautifully reissued with a newly designed slipcase and jacket—a truly stunning gift.

Customer Reviews:

Lovely Book.......2007-10-07

Every home should have this book to read to their children! Adults will love the quality and the beauty of the artwork.

Beatrix Potter Complete Tales review.......2007-10-06

A wonderfull book, especially the introduction to each story makes it fantastic. This is the one collection of Beatrix Potter to own.

Charming!.......2007-09-23

I bought this book after watching the movie abotu the life of Beatrix Potter. The stories are so charming ! my daughter reads a little bit everyday and she just cannot get enough of the illustrations. It is a perfect way of getting some extra vocabulary in on a daily basis.

Love the Beatrix Potter book.......2007-08-28

You know I saw that movie Ms. Potter and learned all about Peter Rabbit and the other characters. I was so enchanted with the movie that I had to buy the book. It was very lovely to see them all bound in one beautiful book with a lovely book sleeve--- Very NICE!! This would make a wonderful gift for a new baby or a special Easter gift.

Bedtime reading turned into morningtime reading, too!.......2007-08-25

I purchased this single book collection of Beatrix Potter stories because our oldest, aged four, loves Peter Rabbit. We had planned to read one story per evening before bed but the great writing style and pictures of Ms. Potter so grabbed our four year old's attention that we ended up reading one at bed, at rising in the morning and before nap time. Even my husband would drop what he was busy with to come and listen to storytime! The adventures and the names Ms Potter came up with are charming and fun to say. One does have to know some Engligh terms and be able to explain those vocabulary on the quick but it sure is fun to hear your child increase his vocabulary with the neighbor kids! We have certainly gotten a hoot out of the appropriate word usage he has picked up from these stories and then will explain to his friends to help "teach" them. We've read through this book many times to our delight.

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