Love, Ruby Lavender

Book Description

When Ruby's grandmother, Miss Eula goes to visit her new grandbaby in Hawaii, Ruby is sure that she will have a lonely, empty, horrible summer without her in boring old Halleluia, Mississippi. What happens instead? She makes a new friend, saves the school play, writes plenty of letters to her favorite (and only) grandmother . . . and finally learns to stop blaming herself for her grandfather's death. Not too bad, for a nine-year-old.

Winner of numerous awards and included on seventeen state reading lists, Love, Ruby Lavender is now republished in paperback with the original cover art by Marla Frazee.

Customer Reviews:

Chicken Thieves.......2007-05-30

Love, Ruby Lavender by Deborah Wiles is about a girl with fire-red hair named Ruby Lavender. The plot mostly revolves around Ruby and her grandmother, whom she calls "Miss Eula." Ruby lives in Halleluia, Mississippi.
The book begins when Ruby Lavender and Miss Eula drive over to a chicken farm. They plan to just snag a few chickens for keeping. They just drive away with three chickens just as the owner of the farm sees them driving away with the chickens, whom they later name Ivy, Bemmie, and Bess. The chickens become a big part of the story.
Miss Eula and Ruby do not like to use regular mail when writing to each other. They use a knothole in a big, old oak tree that is perfect for climbing. Ruby and Miss Eula write their notes on bright, pink paper and stuff it into the knothole. Every time they walk past the tree, they check their special mailbox for letters.
When Ruby's grandfather dies, Miss Eula and Ruby paint Miss Eula's house shell-shock pink. Ruby lives with her mother, but is closer to Miss Eula than anyone else in the family. Her grandfather loved gardening, so now Miss Eula and Ruby tend to the garden. Miss Eula and Ruby are very close, and so when Miss Eula has to go to Hawaii to visit Ruby's aunt and uncle who are expecting a baby soon, she feels as if the world is going to blow up. Ruby is hiding in her other Aunt's store when Miss Eula gets on the bus to go to the airport. She does not want to see her leave.
Now with Miss Eula whisked away to Hawaii, only Ruby is there to tend to the chickens and work in the gardens. But when the new teacher's niece, Dove, comes to visit until the beginning of school, Ruby's summer gets just a little bit more interesting. Maybe Ruby will survive Miss Eula's going away.
When you are reading this book, you will be amazed about how realistic the book is. You'll think that nine-year-old Ruby is telling the story to you. Deborah Wiles has really out done herself!

the best book i've EVER read.......2007-03-02

This book I think is the best book ever. Deborah Wiles is a great author. and I can say by only reading one of her books. I now want to read more of her books. also if there was ever a sequal I would read in a millisecond. This book caught my heart in the storyline. It made want to keep reading more. this is also a multigenre book. There are letters, and newspaper articles as well as a normal non-fiction story type of writing. i would suggest this book to anyone. Hands down. So heres some advice to you read the book LOVE RUBY LAVENDER.

CHANDLER 13

I Love Ruby Lavender.......2006-12-09

As I read Deborah Wile's Love, Ruby Lavender, I laughed and cried all at the same time. This simple, yet complex story about a little girl who faces the harsh reality of death, the challenges of friendship, and the joy of quite possibly the world's best, most-loving grandmother had me hooked from the beginning. One of the coolest parts of this book is the way Ms. Wiles weaves letters from Ruby to her grandmother throughout the story. Ruby writes with such spunk, honesty, and wit that I was disappointed I couldn't write her a letter myself! If you read this book, you will love Ruby Lavender!

Love, Ruby Lavendar ROCKS!.......2006-11-21

Love, Ruby Lavendar is an excellent book to read. It has some funny parts and sad parts. For example toward the end of the book one of Ruby's chickens follows her to the school house and wrecks the auditions for the town play. When her chicken does this, it freaks out Melba Jane (one of the characters) and she bumps a ladder with blue paint at the top making it fall. right on her head. Her hair is blue so they have to cut it all off. Also one of the sad parts is Ruby's grandmother leaves for Hawaii and after she leaves Ruby is left alone with her mom who is gone most of the time. Also after Melba gets her hair cut off she gets really mad and throws a rock through the chicken house window and kills two un-born chicks, but one survives. Personaly I think Ruby is the best characer in the book. Also her grandma (miss Eula) is one of the amazing characers. The book has a special that you will love.

I *LOVE* Love, Ruby Lavender!.......2006-08-26

This warm and fuzzy novel is one of the best I've read in a long time...superior to many of the adult novels I've been reading. Wiles is very wiley in her use of letters between Ruby and her grandmother, Miss Eula. How well we get to know and love them by snooping on their intimate thoughts to each other. Every young girl should read this book. I loved every single word. And I cried like a baby through the last four chapters, so taken with Wiles' skill as a storyteller.

Book Repair: A How-To-Do-It Manual (How-to-Do-It Manuals for Libraries, No. 107) (How to Do It Manuals for Librarians)

Average customer rating:

Well written, easy to use
A critically important acquisition for book collectors

Book Repair: A How-To-Do-It Manual (How-to-Do-It Manuals for Libraries, No. 107) (How to Do It Manuals for Librarians)
Kenneth Lavender
Manufacturer: Neal-Schuman Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Book Making & Binding | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

General | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

General | Education | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

General | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
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ASIN: 1555704085

Book Description

Lavender's highly acclaimed guide has been completely revised and expanded to offer up-to-date help.

Covering both basic book repair techniques and sound conservation practices, this completely revised step-by-step manual offers illustrated sections on cleaning, mending, hinge and spine repair, strengthening paperbacks, and more. Completely new chapters cover: wet and water-damaged books; mold and mildew; repair of book linings and pamphlet bindings; using acid-free materials to repair damaged books; lining paper objects; affordable repair tools and supplies and much more. A full discussion of when and how to make repairs, and alternative conservation practices that enable each librarian to develop procedures appropriate to his or her library are also provided. Here is the practical guidance you need to successfully perform archivally-sound repairs - even on a limited budget.

Customer Reviews:

Well written, easy to use.......2004-04-14

I've used this book quite a lot and I have to say that it is very user-friendly. The graphics are nicely done and everything is explained in detail. It is very practical for anyone who repairs rare/old/special books.

A critically important acquisition for book collectors.......2001-04-05

Now in an updated and expanded second edition, Kenneth Lavender's Book Repair is a complete course of instruction on all aspects of basic book repair and book conservation practices. A superbly presented "how to" manual, Book Repair offers illustrated sections on cleaning, mending, hinge and spine repair, strengthening paperbacks, and more. Newly added material covers wet and water-damaged books, mold and mildew, repair of book linings and pamphlet bindings, using acid-free materials to repair damaged books, lining paper objects, affordable repair tools and supples, and much more. Book Repair is an essential, critically important acquisition for book collectors, academic and public libraries staffs, as well as antiquarian and used bookstores in-house reference collections.

Essential Elements 2000: Comprehensive Band Method: B Flat Trumpet Book 1

Average customer rating:

Good for beginners, but....
Great for Beginners

Essential Elements 2000: Comprehensive Band Method: B Flat Trumpet Book 1
Tim Lautzenheiser , Paul Lavender , John Higgins , Tom C. Rhodes , Charles Menghini , and Don Bierschenk
Manufacturer: Hal Leonard Corporation
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Music | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

All 4-for-3 Deals | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books
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ASIN: 0634003208

Book Description

Now the best-selling band method is even better! The same great method that directors have come to trust now includes a CD AND a DVD. Features include: * BOOK: Same great Essential Elements 2000 method! * CD/CD-ROM FEATURES: Play-Along Tracks 1-58 (with a professional player for every instrument) * DVD FEATURES: Startup Video (learn the basics - 15 min.); ALL 185 Play-Along Tracks; More Duets and Trios; Music Listening Library * CD AND DVD EACH FEATURE: SmartMusic Software (practice, record, and e-mail a performance, plus on-screen assessment - includes Ex. 1-99 with special offer to continue); Finale NotePad Software; Tempo Adjustment Software (for Play-Along Tracks)

Customer Reviews:

Good for beginners, but...........2006-10-25

This is a pretty good book for beginners and has many of the essential elements necessary to begin playing trumpet, like fingerings, posture, and related basic material. That being said, more explanation of some techniques would be helpful, as well as suggestions about ways to practice, recordings to listen to, and maybe even some trumpet history. Though I recommend this book for beginners, a good supplement to it that includes all of the items listed above is: 'Sound the Trumpet: How to Blow Your Own Horn."

Great for Beginners.......2003-11-12

First off, this book is for TRUMPET.

The "Essential Elements 2000: A Comprehensive Band Method" is a great book for a young person who is learning an instrument for the first time. There is a fingering chart in the back of the book to make looking up fingerings quick and easy. The book starts off very basic with the parts of the instrument. The easiest notes to play and finger are presented first with exercises to practice them. This book comes with a play-along CD. This CD includes all solo exercises.

Hal Leonard also offers (though not through Amazon) band sets for band directors. They are simple arrangements of music that correlate with the book. They are great for the first concert.

There is an older version of this book called "Essential Elements: A Comprehensive Band Method". The book is purple and has many of the same features as this one, but the CDs have to purchased separately.

Average customer rating:

great old book

Memory Lane

Another Elsa Beskow winner!!

Aunt Green, Aunt Brown and Aunt Lavender
Elsa Maartman Beskow
Manufacturer: Floris Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Fiction | Friendship | Social Situations | People & Places | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
Picture Books | Ages 4-8 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
General | Ages 9-12 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
General | Literature | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
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Around the Year

The Sun Egg

Children of the Forest

Woody, Hazel and Little Pip

Christopher's Harvest Time

ASIN: 0863153488

Book Description

"Once there was a little town, and in that town a little street and in that street a little yellow house, and in that little yellow house there lived three sisters: Aunt Green, Aunt Brown and Aunt Lavender. Though they must have had real names, all the children in the town used their nicknames for them because—sure as dandelions are yellow and bluebells blue—Aunt Green always wore a green dress, Aunt Brown always wore a brown dress, and Aunt Lavender always had a lilac dress."

A "NEW" book by Elsa Beskow! This is the first of the classic "Peter and Lotta" books. Filled with the characteristic humor and charm of all of Elsa Beskow's books, it tells how the two children come to meet the three colorful sisters known as Aunt Green, Aunt Brown, and Aunt Lavender. (Ages 5-8)

Customer Reviews:

great old book.......2007-06-27

I remember this book from my childhood. I think my Mom had a copy in Swedish or Danish and she would translate as she read it to us. Now I can read it myself in English and still think it's great. The colorful women are just as they should be. There is nothing more pleasing to a child than predictable nice stories with very pretty pictures. I can highly recommend it.

Memory Lane.......2007-06-27

This book is a trip down memory lane for my wife who just happens to be Swedish. She first heard this story from her grandmother back in Sweden as a little girl. In the Swedish version her name is actually mentioned as it was one of the aunts. It doesn't appear in the english version. No matter it is still great and she love's it. The illustrations are fantastic. I know kids today prefer animated/graphic novels, but not for her. She has hunted high and low for this book, so it was a great thrill to be able to purchase this book for her.

Another Elsa Beskow winner!! .......2006-11-07

I love Elsa Beskow books. They are so refreshing. Beautifully illustrated, with a story that has a dramatic plot line, and of course, a happy ending. This sweet story is the kick off to the other Peter & Lotta stories. I highly recommend it.

Lavender's Blue: A Book of Nursery Rhymes

Average customer rating:

A wonderful book!
Positively delightful!

Lavender's Blue: A Book of Nursery Rhymes

Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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

General | Ages 4-8 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0192782274

Book Description

A definitive collection of nursery rhymes, beautifully designed and illustrated by the influential artist Harold Jones. This facsimile has been lovingly produced to recreate the look and feel of the first editions of this much-loved book.

Customer Reviews:

A wonderful book!.......2007-01-25

My children, ages 22 and 18, grew up on this book, and I'm pleased to see it's still being published. It has all of the old nursery rhymes in it and delightful pictures. It has some finger plays as well. I will keep buying this for gifts!

Positively delightful!.......2006-06-03

What a wonderful book! The illustrations are charming, and the rhymes included practically constitute an exercise in cultural literacy. My 5yo daughter LOVES this book, and read the whole thing in two days as soon as I brought it home. She still pours over it.

A lovely addition to your family's library, particularly if you have young children! (and I am VERY picky!)

Benjamin Dilley's Lavender Lion, (A Jolly Roger Book)

Average customer rating:

wonderful book for kids

Benjamin Dilley's Lavender Lion, (A Jolly Roger Book)
Roger Bradfield
Manufacturer: Rand McNally
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

ASIN: B0006BW6BY

Customer Reviews:

wonderful book for kids.......2007-05-13

I received this book for Christmas back in 1971 or 72 and still have it in my personal library. I've read and re-read it more times than I can count over the years and my children now love it as well. The artwork is fantastic and storyline humorous for both kids and their parents. We also own Pickle Chiffon Pie and my comments are exactly the same!

It will be a great day when Roger Bradfield's books are once again made available.

Lavender's Midsummer Mix-Up (Flower Fairies Friends Chapter Book)

Average customer rating:

Lavender's Midsummer Mix-Up (Flower Fairies Friends Chapter Book)
Cicely Mary Barker
Manufacturer: Warne
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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

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

General | Ages 9-12 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

Ages 9-12 | Children's Books | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books

All 4-for-3 Deals | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books
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ASIN: 0723257736

Book Description

Lavender is busy getting all the Flower Fairy outfits washed and ready for the highlight of the Flower Fairy year— the Midsummer Party! After she's finished, she starts to play a fun game of hide and seek with all her fairy friends. Suddenly she hears children's voices nearby— and the Flower Fairies are in danger of being seen! Can Lavender manage to save the day and divert the children away from Fairyopolis? And can the Midsummer Party still take place?

Average customer rating:

The Santa Fe Trail
David Lavender
Manufacturer: Holiday House
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | History & Historical Fiction | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

General | Ages 9-12 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

General | Literature | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
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The Santa Fe Trail: Its History, Legends, and Lore

ASIN: 0823411532

365 Days of Celebration and Praise: Daily Devotions and Activities for Homeschooling Families

Average customer rating:

Thank you Julie Lavender!

365 Days of Celebration and Praise: Daily Devotions and Activities for Homeschooling Families
Julie Lavender
Manufacturer: Jossey-Bass
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

Devotionals | Spirituality | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

General | Christianity | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 0787968196

Book Description

"Finally, a simple, organized devotional guide especially designed to strengthen the Christian homeschooling family. Packed with creative activities, spiritual teaching ideas, interesting facts, and insightful Christian encouragement, 365 Days of Celebration and Praise is a practical, useful, and refreshing resource."
— Stacy McDonald, editor-in-chief, Homeschooling Today magazine

"Wow! Thank you, Julie Lavender, for doing all of this research for homeschooling mothers like me. 365 Days of Celebration and Praise is an information-filled resource that makes beginning a productive day of home-learning fun and easy."
— Lisa Whelchel, author, Creative Correction, The Facts of Life and Other Lessons My Father Taught Me, and So Youre Thinking About Homeschooling

Customer Reviews:

Thank you Julie Lavender!.......2004-06-12

We borrowed this book from the library and I can't believe what a wonderful resource it is! I am so excited to recieve my own copy and begin using it right away. Having such a relevant topic each day to introduce my children to, or to revisit with them, and have it already tied to scripture makes this one of my most looked for additions to our family library. Thank you Julie!

Lessons In Taxidermy (Punk Planet Books)

Average customer rating:

Fantastic story about the strength to survive
Not recommended
Sex-Kitten.net Review
a stunning, honest work
Poignant book about anguish

Lessons In Taxidermy (Punk Planet Books)
Bee Lavender
Manufacturer: Akashic Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Special Needs | Specific Groups | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Women | Specific Groups | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Memoirs | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Women Writers & Feminist Theory | Books & Reading | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Women Writers | Women's Studies | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 1888451793

Book Description

"Bee Lavender is a fantastic writer. Her work is deep and personal, and I don't think there are any places she's scared to go." -Michelle Tea, author of The Chelsea Whistle

"Bee's scrupulous, non-histrionic style is thrilling; it allows for some devastating emotional moments because the author comes by them honestly." -Ayun Halliday, author of No Touch Monkey

Diagnosed with cancer at age twelve and perilously pregnant at eighteen, surviving surgeries and violent accidents: sometimes you can't believe Bee Lavender is still alive; sometimes you think nothing could kill her. Lessons in Taxidermy is Lavender's fierce and expressive search for truth and an elusive sense of safety. This autobiographical tale is stark and resolved, but strangely euphoric, tying together moments and memories into a frantic, delicate, and often transcendently funny account of anguish and confusion, pain and poverty, isolation and illusion. While staying conscious of the particulars of her circumstances, Lavender frames her life in the context of history, traveling, landscape, and freak show culture. Lessons in Taxidermy is apocryphal, troubling, cathartic, and important.

Customer Reviews:

Fantastic story about the strength to survive.......2007-09-13

I had been wanting to read this book for a while, and when I finally received it, I read it in 2 days. Bee has had a lifelime of numerous debilitating illnesses and her story of one's strength and courage through it all moved me to tears. On so many occasions, Bee was ready to just lie down and let the diseases consume her but through some hidden strength, she has been able to survive. Several times I had to put the book down to wipe my eyes. The story is told in a frank and honest manner, a story that her mother encouraged her to write to tell a story of survival.

As if Bee's illnesses weren't enough of a cross to bear, she and several of her friends are involved in a horrific car accident that when told, left me sobbing.

What I appreciated the most about Bee's story is that she never seemed to be looking for sympathy or pity. She told it like it happened and the story is all the more powerful because of her candor,

I highly recommend this book.

Not recommended.......2007-09-12

Let me start off by saying a friend lent this book to me knowing how much I treasure helpful, positive books about cancer. I'm not entirely sure if this is a true story or not, but the overly-dramatic writing made me feel like it was an attempt to minimize the struggle of those who truly have cancer. The events didn't seem to tie into the emotions in the story, unless of course the events, or the emotions, were over-exaggerated in a way that reminded me of an old college roommate I suffered through that had been diagnosed with histrionic disorder (where there drama surrounded even the smallest of things).

As far as a book to help those struggling through cancer, I would recommend highly No Place Like Home by Girard, which is very beautifully written and will give the reader more of a feeling of relating to the author.

Sex-Kitten.net Review.......2005-08-23

While some of the great work in Bee's life, such as her work as an activist & mentor, is not given the credit or attention it perhaps ought to, what the reader receives is the sense of soul about the author, the woman.

In a world of biographies which read like resumes or entries in a name-dropping contest, Bee's book has substance.

Best of all, this is not some cheesy Little Engine That Could story; Her life hasn't been simple, and neither is her writing.

The book is charming in an uncanny way, with lush words for empty moments, providing real depth for pits of despair. There are eccentric elements which endear... then again, that only makes the echos of the pits stronger...

There are moments so bereft of detail as to leave you as lingering as she... Other moments are so full of details as to be sharp & pointy things.

Certainly the freakish haunts. But her writing draws readers close, with taunt yet tender moments so intimate, it dares you to recoil at the horrific events.

Her words, as well as her life, enchant.

(Condensed Review)

a stunning, honest work.......2005-05-12

Reviewed by Steven Hansen for Small Spiral Notebook

Imagine your body being Murphy's Law official stomping grounds, or as the author explains it to the doctor who is astounded by the abnormally fast clotting properties of her blood, "Whatever should not happen will."

Set in the blue-collar environs of the rural Northwest, Lessons in Taxidermy is Bee Lavender's autobiographical account of her unaccountably bad luck with disease. The ailments come early (rotted teeth from a misguided diet of apple juice in lieu of mother's milk) and often (degenerative cysts growing in her jaw at nine-years-old; cancer by 12). These are only highlights of a terrible litany.

I was used to being alone within illness. The world recedes and other people are just phantoms, whether they are in the room or halfway across the world.

Deserving more than anyone of having herself a never-ending pity party, Lavender doesn't. Her matter-of-fact prose is as detached and spare as the persona her years of illness have sculpted, which makes the book, at times, seemingly lacking in emotional depth. However, this mirrors the tunnel vision that allowed her to cope. Amazingly, nowhere does Lavender speak - at any length at least - about becoming depressed. At an age when most kids were hanging upside down on monkey bars, her life was hanging by a thread, reduced to the simple antipodes of survival, life or death.

Through it all, Lavender manages to finish college, have a kid, get a job and a steady male companion (marriage must not be her bag). And, refreshingly, she doesn't treat these accomplishments as any huge, big deal. Her nonchalance resides in her longtime wish to just `be a normal girl, with regular skin and ordinary clothes, commonplace hobbies and predictable friends.' Even if she isn't.

My primary identity is found in my body, in the scars, in the injuries and injustice and disease and decay. My genetic code conveys the simple truth that I'm a freak: no other information about me is relevant.

...
The fact that I am alive is a daily revelation, but it is necessary to do more than just survive.

Despite the physical Grand Guignol that life has lavished upon her, Bee Lavender's story is a testament to guts, endurance and an indomitable will to not succumb to the maladies that are laying siege to her body. You think nobody knows the trouble you've seen? Read this, and stop whining.

Poignant book about anguish.......2005-04-10

I am stunned by this book and I suggest that everyone should read it. It's a tough and frightening book, but somehow quite uplifting. I feel disoriented and almost drunk after reading it. I somehow feel more vunurable to the possibilities that bad things like this could happen to me too, but also calm. She goes very low and deep into hell, but as the book goes along, she then seems to transcend it all and enjoy her strange life. At the end of the book I almost wanted to be her, and to have her perspective on life. This is a somewhat strange outcome of the book when you consider all the savage events that happen it it. I couldn't put it down. I read it in one long sitting while all of the things I was supposed to do yesterday went undone.

On the back of the book it says that it's "apocryphal, troubling, cathartic, and important". I agree with this 100%

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