Reviews Written By: A33GRILQNOD4M3provided by Amazon.com |
 | ||
 | The Little White Horse | |
 | "Don't miss this forgotten classic!" | 2009-05-26 |
| Orphan Maria Merryweather leaves her home in London after her father's death. She, her governess, and her dog travel to live with Maria's uncle. As part of her new life she is introduced to her family crest, the lion and the unicorn. She soon discovers a family mystery. The more she learns about her family's past, the greater her desire becomes to right the wrongs her family committed. The answer to the family mystery lies in the family motto "The brave soul and the pure spirit shall with a merry and loving heart inherit the kingdom together." The Little White Horse is an amazing classic with lots of symbolism and deep themes including forgiveness, repentance, atonement, intergenerational relationships, heritage, identity, fear, courage, purity, love, vanity, pride, gratitude, and humility. You don't want to miss out on such a beautiful, meaningful book. It's one of those "forgotten classics" which need to be remembered. | ||
 | A Little Princess (Unabridged Classics) | |
| "True nobility lies in our choices" | 2009-05-26 |
| A fabulous book emphasizing that true nobility lies in our choices. This book teaches the importance of gratitude, keeping a cheerful disposition, having charity, serving others, imagination, and always remembering who you really are. | ||
 | The Great Gilly Hopkins | |
 | "Great for discussion with teens and adults...Disturbing for younger children" | 2009-05-26 |
| The main character of this book is Gilly a foster child who has been moved around a lot. She struggles with fears, anger, and feeling alone and unloved. She lies, steals, bullies other kids, is prejudiced, and uses profanity. She learns to eventually trust and love her foster family before being removed to live with her grandmother. At the end of the book, she finally meets her biological mother only to find that her mother does not love her and is not interested in living with her. This is a great book for discussion but it may be disturbing for kids reading it on their own. I think it is most appropriate for kids over 13. Kids ages 11-12 may or may not be okay reading it due to its themes, but I think the profanity is inappropriate for children. Kids 10 and under will probably be disturbed by the themes unless they have a troubled past. My 10 year old was very uncomfortable after she read it on her own. She did feel better after we discussed it. I wish that she had read it at an older age and that we had read it together and discussed it throughout. I personally enjoyed the book and think it is a good book to discuss with youth 13 and older. It's a wonderful book for developing empathy and understanding how anger and fear affect people. It shows the affects that out-of-wedlock pregnancies can have on the children born and how the lack of good parenting affects young children. It also teaches how to love those who are deeply wounded. It's a good jumping off point for discussing how to deal with tough situations (when life isn't fair). | ||
 | Democracy in America, Volume 2 (Vintage Classics) | |
| "More Needed Than Ever" | 2008-02-19 |
| Written over 150 years ago, Democracy In America is even more important and compelling today than it was then. This past fall, I had the opportunity to teach a Government class for my college. My class studied the second volume of this invaluable classic. It was such a pleasure to study it through a mentor's eyes. It truly came alive for me in a way that it never had before as I prepared to teach it. Despite his young age, Tocqueville was a master at understanding human nature. Volume II is filled with both compliments for American culture and cautionary advice for us as citizens. It's amazing how accurate his predictions and warnings were. We are falling into the very snares and excesses about which he cautioned. I wish that all Americans would take the time to read this insightful volume. If we would simply heed Tocqueville's admonitions, we would be well on our way to rebuilding our great American culture and securing our liberty. "When the taste for physical gratifications among them has grown more rapidly than their education . . . the time will come when men are carried away and lose all self-restraint . . . . It is not necessary to do violence to such a people in order to strip them of the rights they enjoy; they themselves willingly loosen their hold. . . . they neglect their chief business which is to remain their own masters." ~Alexis de Tocqueville | ||
 | Esperanza Rising | |
| "Great for Discussion" | 2008-02-17 |
| An inspiring story of struggle, hardship, and hope, Esperanza Rising gave me and my children much to discuss. This is a great work of historical fiction for children based on the life of the author's grandmother.
Esperanza, the daughter of a wealthy landowner, and her mother must leave their home in Mexico and start over as farm workers in California after the death of her father. Set in the early 1930's, this book gives you a feel for the struggles of the Great Depression as well as California History . Filled with Spanish phrases and words, it's a great introduction to learning Spanish and shows many cultural aspects as well. This book is rich with ideas for great discussions on empathy, economics, labor unions, race relations, prejudice, rights, family, choices, hope, attitude, work, pride, and kindness. Make sure you keep tissues by as you read. I don't usually cry when reading, but this book brought my tears to the surface again and again making it difficult to read aloud to my kids. It's a sweet book about hard work, love, and hope. | ||
 | Esperanza Rising | |
| "Great for Discussion" | 2008-02-17 |
| An inspiring story of struggle, hardship, and hope, Esperanza Rising gave me and my children much to discuss. This is a great work of historical fiction for children based on the life of the author's grandmother.
Esperanza, the daughter of a wealthy landowner, and her mother must leave their home in Mexico and start over as farm workers in California after the death of her father. Set in the early 1930's, this book gives you a feel for the struggles of the Great Depression as well as California History . Filled with Spanish phrases and words, it's a great introduction to learning Spanish and shows many cultural aspects as well. This book is rich with ideas for great discussions on empathy, economics, labor unions, race relations, prejudice, rights, family, choices, hope, attitude, work, pride, and kindness. Make sure you keep tissues by as you read. I don't usually cry when reading, but this book brought my tears to the surface again and again making it difficult to read aloud to my kids. It's a sweet book about hard work, love, and hope. | ||
 | The Hobbit | |
| "A Great Adventure For Old and Young" | 2008-02-17 |
| A master of language, Tolkien certainly worked his magic on my four children, ages two to nine. They sat with rapt attention as I read The Hobbit aloud to them. After an hour of reading, they begged for more stories about Gandalf, Bilbo, and the dwarves.
Bilbo's adventures serve as the field experience his education was lacking. On the road with the dwarves, he develops his talents spurred on by Gandalf's confidence in him. His courage, character, and creativity grow throughout the book as Bilbo faces trolls, spiders, elves, and finally the dragon. In the end, Gandalf observes that Bilbo has truly become a new hobbit through his adventures. | ||
 | The Picture of Dorian Gray (Modern Library (Paperback)) | |
| "Great For Comparisons" | 2008-02-17 |
| The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde is definitely a disturbing book. I think there is great worth in reading it, particularly when paired with a book such as Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe or Les Miserables by Victor Hugo. Contrasting Dorian's sordid downfall with with the heroic ascension of Uncle Tom or Jean Valjean is particularly beneficial.
The Picture of Dorian Gray begins with Dorian, a young and handsome gentleman who is involved with philanthropy, sitting for a portrait while his new friend, Lord Henry, a sarcastic and hedonistic man of society, watches on. Dorian is described as being "unspotted from the world" and his beauty inspires the artist to his very best work. Lord Henry exclaims how lovely the portrait has turned out, but laments that it is too bad that the picture will stay young forever, whereas Dorian will eventually age and lose his youth and beauty. A vexed Dorian makes a wish that he will stay timeless and the picture will age instead of him. Taking Lord Henry as a mentor, Dorian sets out to apply Lord Henry's selfish and narcissistic worldview into nearly every facet of his life. In time, Dorian realizes that his wish has magically come true. He remains beautiful, while his painting takes on all the consequences of his wicked actions. As the debased Dorian sins more and more, the picture becomes more hideous and tortures Dorian's soul. Despite being filled with Wilde's signature wit, this is a haunting story showing the consequence of selfish character and the downfall of the soul due to despicable and hideous behaviors. Dorian loses his inner beauty long before he realizes that his soul's ugliness will destroy him. It's interesting to note that he chooses a French novel as his own Core Book, a personal classic which guided him throughout his life. In comparison, Uncle Tom and Jean Valjean both chose the Bible as their Core book. Near the end of the book, Dorian laments, "You poisoned me with a book once. I should not forgive that. Harry, promise me that you will never lend that book to any one. It does harm." Wilde clearly shows that books exert an amazing influence over our lives. We must be wise in our choice of what we read. As Thoreau once said, "Read the best books first, or you may not have the chance to read them at all." I would only add to that, "Read the best books most often, for they will color your soul." | ||
 | The Hobbit | |
| "A Great Adventure For Old and Young" | 2008-02-17 |
| A master of language, Tolkien certainly worked his magic on my four children, ages two to nine. They sat with rapt attention as I read The Hobbit aloud to them. After an hour of reading, they begged for more stories about Gandalf, Bilbo, and the dwarves.
Bilbo's adventures serve as the field experience his education was lacking. On the road with the dwarves, he develops his talents spurred on by Gandalf's confidence in him. His courage, character, and creativity grow throughout the book as Bilbo faces trolls, spiders, elves, and finally the dragon. In the end, Gandalf observes that Bilbo has truly become a new hobbit through his adventures. | ||
 | The Hobbit (Leatherette Collector's Edition) | |
| "A Great Adventure For Old and Young" | 2008-02-17 |
| A master of language, Tolkien certainly worked his magic on my four children, ages two to nine. They sat with rapt attention as I read The Hobbit aloud to them. After an hour of reading, they begged for more stories about Gandalf, Bilbo, and the dwarves.
Bilbo's adventures serve as the field experience his education was lacking. On the road with the dwarves, he develops his talents spurred on by Gandalf's confidence in him. His courage, character, and creativity grow throughout the book as Bilbo faces trolls, spiders, elves, and finally the dragon. In the end, Gandalf observes that Bilbo has truly become a new hobbit through his adventures. | ||
 | The Hobbit | |
| "A Great Adventure For Old and Young" | 2008-02-17 |
| A master of language, Tolkien certainly worked his magic on my four children, ages two to nine. They sat with rapt attention as I read The Hobbit aloud to them. After an hour of reading, they begged for more stories about Gandalf, Bilbo, and the dwarves.
Bilbo's adventures serve as the field experience his education was lacking. On the road with the dwarves, he develops his talents spurred on by Gandalf's confidence in him. His courage, character, and creativity grow throughout the book as Bilbo faces trolls, spiders, elves, and finally the dragon. In the end, Gandalf observes that Bilbo has truly become a new hobbit through his adventures. | ||
 | The Hobbit: or There and Back Again | |
| "A Great Adventure For Old and Young" | 2008-02-17 |
| A master of language, Tolkien certainly worked his magic on my four children, ages two to nine. They sat with rapt attention as I read The Hobbit aloud to them. After an hour of reading, they begged for more stories about Gandalf, Bilbo, and the dwarves.
Bilbo's adventures serve as the field experience his education was lacking. On the road with the dwarves, he develops his talents spurred on by Gandalf's confidence in him. His courage, character, and creativity grow throughout the book as Bilbo faces trolls, spiders, elves, and finally the dragon. In the end, Gandalf observes that Bilbo has truly become a new hobbit through his adventures. | ||
 | Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien, ISBN 1565116720 | |
| "A Great Adventure For Old and Young" | 2008-02-17 |
| A master of language, Tolkien certainly worked his magic on my four children, ages two to nine. They sat with rapt attention as I read The Hobbit aloud to them. After an hour of reading, they begged for more stories about Gandalf, Bilbo, and the dwarves.
Bilbo's adventures serve as the field experience his education was lacking. On the road with the dwarves, he develops his talents spurred on by Gandalf's confidence in him. His courage, character, and creativity grow throughout the book as Bilbo faces trolls, spiders, elves, and finally the dragon. In the end, Gandalf observes that Bilbo has truly become a new hobbit through his adventures. | ||
 | The Hobbit | |
| "A Great Adventure For Old and Young" | 2008-02-17 |
| A master of language, Tolkien certainly worked his magic on my four children, ages two to nine. They sat with rapt attention as I read The Hobbit aloud to them. After an hour of reading, they begged for more stories about Gandalf, Bilbo, and the dwarves.
Bilbo's adventures serve as the field experience his education was lacking. On the road with the dwarves, he develops his talents spurred on by Gandalf's confidence in him. His courage, character, and creativity grow throughout the book as Bilbo faces trolls, spiders, elves, and finally the dragon. In the end, Gandalf observes that Bilbo has truly become a new hobbit through his adventures. | ||
 | The Hobbit | |
| "A Great Adventure For Old and Young" | 2008-02-17 |
| A master of language, Tolkien certainly worked his magic on my four children, ages two to nine. They sat with rapt attention as I read The Hobbit aloud to them. After an hour of reading, they begged for more stories about Gandalf, Bilbo, and the dwarves.
Bilbo's adventures serve as the field experience his education was lacking. On the road with the dwarves, he develops his talents spurred on by Gandalf's confidence in him. His courage, character, and creativity grow throughout the book as Bilbo faces trolls, spiders, elves, and finally the dragon. In the end, Gandalf observes that Bilbo has truly become a new hobbit through his adventures. | ||
 | The Hobbit | |
| "A Great Adventure For Old and Young" | 2008-02-17 |
| A master of language, Tolkien certainly worked his magic on my four children, ages two to nine. They sat with rapt attention as I read The Hobbit aloud to them. After an hour of reading, they begged for more stories about Gandalf, Bilbo, and the dwarves.
Bilbo's adventures serve as the field experience his education was lacking. On the road with the dwarves, he develops his talents spurred on by Gandalf's confidence in him. His courage, character, and creativity grow throughout the book as Bilbo faces trolls, spiders, elves, and finally the dragon. In the end, Gandalf observes that Bilbo has truly become a new hobbit through his adventures. | ||
 | Picture of Dorian Gray | |
| "Great For Comparisons" | 2008-02-17 |
| The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde is definitely a disturbing book. I think there is great worth in reading it, particularly when paired with a book such as Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe or Les Miserables by Victor Hugo. Contrasting Dorian's sordid downfall with with the heroic ascension of Uncle Tom or Jean Valjean is particularly beneficial.
The Picture of Dorian Gray begins with Dorian, a young and handsome gentleman who is involved with philanthropy, sitting for a portrait while his new friend, Lord Henry, a sarcastic and hedonistic man of society, watches on. Dorian is described as being "unspotted from the world" and his beauty inspires the artist to his very best work. Lord Henry exclaims how lovely the portrait has turned out, but laments that it is too bad that the picture will stay young forever, whereas Dorian will eventually age and lose his youth and beauty. A vexed Dorian makes a wish that he will stay timeless and the picture will age instead of him. Taking Lord Henry as a mentor, Dorian sets out to apply Lord Henry's selfish and narcissistic worldview into nearly every facet of his life. In time, Dorian realizes that his wish has magically come true. He remains beautiful, while his painting takes on all the consequences of his wicked actions. As the debased Dorian sins more and more, the picture becomes more hideous and tortures Dorian's soul. Despite being filled with Wilde's signature wit, this is a haunting story showing the consequence of selfish character and the downfall of the soul due to despicable and hideous behaviors. Dorian loses his inner beauty long before he realizes that his soul's ugliness will destroy him. It's interesting to note that he chooses a French novel as his own Core Book, a personal classic which guided him throughout his life. In comparison, Uncle Tom and Jean Valjean both chose the Bible as their Core book. Near the end of the book, Dorian laments, "You poisoned me with a book once. I should not forgive that. Harry, promise me that you will never lend that book to any one. It does harm." Wilde clearly shows that books exert an amazing influence over our lives. We must be wise in our choice of what we read. As Thoreau once said, "Read the best books first, or you may not have the chance to read them at all." I would only add to that, "Read the best books most often, for they will color your soul." | ||
 | The Hobbit | |
| "A Great Adventure For Old and Young" | 2008-02-17 |
| A master of language, Tolkien certainly worked his magic on my four children, ages two to nine. They sat with rapt attention as I read The Hobbit aloud to them. After an hour of reading, they begged for more stories about Gandalf, Bilbo, and the dwarves.
Bilbo's adventures serve as the field experience his education was lacking. On the road with the dwarves, he develops his talents spurred on by Gandalf's confidence in him. His courage, character, and creativity grow throughout the book as Bilbo faces trolls, spiders, elves, and finally the dragon. In the end, Gandalf observes that Bilbo has truly become a new hobbit through his adventures. | ||
 | The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde, ISBN 1592248039 | |
| "Great For Comparisons" | 2008-02-17 |
| The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde is definitely a disturbing book. I think there is great worth in reading it, particularly when paired with a book such as Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe or Les Miserables by Victor Hugo. Contrasting Dorian's sordid downfall with with the heroic ascension of Uncle Tom or Jean Valjean is particularly beneficial. The Picture of Dorian Gray begins with Dorian, a young and handsome gentleman who is involved with philanthropy, sitting for a portrait while his new friend, Lord Henry, a sarcastic and hedonistic man of society, watches on. Dorian is described as being "unspotted from the world" and his beauty inspires the artist to his very best work. Lord Henry exclaims how lovely the portrait has turned out, but laments that it is too bad that the picture will stay young forever, whereas Dorian will eventually age and lose his youth and beauty. A vexed Dorian makes a wish that he will stay timeless and the picture will age instead of him. Taking Lord Henry as a mentor, Dorian sets out to apply Lord Henry's selfish and narcissistic worldview into nearly every facet of his life. In time, Dorian realizes that his wish has magically come true. He remains beautiful, while his painting takes on all the consequences of his wicked actions. As the debased Dorian sins more and more, the picture becomes more hideous and tortures Dorian's soul. Despite being filled with Wilde's signature wit, this is a haunting story showing the consequence of selfish character and the downfall of the soul due to despicable and hideous behaviors. Dorian loses his inner beauty long before he realizes that his soul's ugliness will destroy him. It's interesting to note that he chooses a French novel as his own Core Book, a personal classic which guided him throughout his life. In comparison, Uncle Tom and Jean Valjean both chose the Bible as their Core book. Near the end of the book, Dorian laments, "You poisoned me with a book once. I should not forgive that. Harry, promise me that you will never lend that book to any one. It does harm." Wilde clearly shows that books exert an amazing influence over our lives. We must be wise in our choice of what we read. As Thoreau once said, "Read the best books first, or you may not have the chance to read them at all." I would only add to that, "Read the best books most often, for they will color your soul." | ||
 | The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde, ISBN 1593080255 | |
| "Great For Comparisons" | 2008-02-17 |
| The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde is definitely a disturbing book. I think there is great worth in reading it, particularly when paired with a book such as Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe or Les Miserables by Victor Hugo. Contrasting Dorian's sordid downfall with with the heroic ascension of Uncle Tom or Jean Valjean is particularly beneficial. The Picture of Dorian Gray begins with Dorian, a young and handsome gentleman who is involved with philanthropy, sitting for a portrait while his new friend, Lord Henry, a sarcastic and hedonistic man of society, watches on. Dorian is described as being "unspotted from the world" and his beauty inspires the artist to his very best work. Lord Henry exclaims how lovely the portrait has turned out, but laments that it is too bad that the picture will stay young forever, whereas Dorian will eventually age and lose his youth and beauty. A vexed Dorian makes a wish that he will stay timeless and the picture will age instead of him. Taking Lord Henry as a mentor, Dorian sets out to apply Lord Henry's selfish and narcissistic worldview into nearly every facet of his life. In time, Dorian realizes that his wish has magically come true. He remains beautiful, while his painting takes on all the consequences of his wicked actions. As the debased Dorian sins more and more, the picture becomes more hideous and tortures Dorian's soul. Despite being filled with Wilde's signature wit, this is a haunting story showing the consequence of selfish character and the downfall of the soul due to despicable and hideous behaviors. Dorian loses his inner beauty long before he realizes that his soul's ugliness will destroy him. It's interesting to note that he chooses a French novel as his own Core Book, a personal classic which guided him throughout his life. In comparison, Uncle Tom and Jean Valjean both chose the Bible as their Core book. Near the end of the book, Dorian laments, "You poisoned me with a book once. I should not forgive that. Harry, promise me that you will never lend that book to any one. It does harm." Wilde clearly shows that books exert an amazing influence over our lives. We must be wise in our choice of what we read. As Thoreau once said, "Read the best books first, or you may not have the chance to read them at all." I would only add to that, "Read the best books most often, for they will color your soul." | ||
 | Snowball | |
| "Very Funny!" | 2007-03-10 |
| This is a great little book for kids learning to read. The plot is hilarious and the colorful pictures make kids (and adults) giggle. The rhyme is fun and the repetition helps kids learn the longer more challenging words. As a mom, I enjoy it and don't mind hearing my kids read it over and over. I wish all readers were as clever as this one! | ||
| © 2009 GoSale.com (S1) |