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Sons of the City
An Hour to Kill
Death in Vineyard Waters (Martha's Vineyard Mysteries (Avon Books))
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Bye, Bye, Love
Exit Wounds
Shutter Island LP
Dealing in Murder
After All These Years
Dance Hall of the Dead
The Ritual Bath: The First Peter Decker and Rina Lazarus Novel
Blue Blood: A Debutante Dropout Mystery (Debutante Dropout Mysteries)
The Good Girl's Guide to Murder: A Debutante Dropout Mystery
Way Past Legal
Hear No Evil
After the Rain
A Vineyard Killing (Martha's Vineyard Mysteries (Avon Books))
The Executioner's Game
Mr. Paradise
The Burglar on the Prowl
Vineyard Fear (Martha's Vineyard Mysteries (Avon Books))
The Samurai's Daughter
The Seventh Sinner
Mind of the Maker
A Hoe Lot of Trouble (Nina Quinn Mysteries)

Just Me and My Mom (A Little Critter Book)

Average customer rating:

very disappointing
My Mom
Love this book still
Just Me and My Mom- Fabulous!
Just Me and My Mom

Just Me and My Mom (A Little Critter Book)

Manufacturer: Random House Books for Young Readers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Just Me and My Dad (Look-Look)
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ASIN: 030712584X
Release Date: 2001-10-09

Book Description

Mercer Mayer's popular Little Critter enjoys a special day in the city with his mother. Little Critter means well, but he gets himself in trouble all along the way. His mother is oh so patient when Critter loses the train tickets, picks up a dinosaur egg in the natural history museum, and misbehaves at lunch. In spite of his difficulties, Little Critter falls asleep happily on the train going home, exhausted from the big outing with his mother.

Customer Reviews:

very disappointing.......2007-03-02

We have several other critter books that our daughter just loves. This one however was very disappointing. This book has the little critter acting up and mis-behaving. This is very different from our other Mercer Mayer books where misfortune befalls our hero becuase he is a little boy being clumsy or because he is being 'helpful'. Reading a book which encourages the child to run away from his mom in crowded places, ignore rules and break things is not funny - it is just stupid. After two reads, we traded in our copy at the local used book store.

My Mom.......2006-02-12

When I was three or four years old, I saw this book in the window of a book store and asked my mother to buy it for me. Fifteen years later, the book still brings me incredible joy. Beyond the events in the story itself, it represents the connection between a child and his mother; she is analogous to the giving tree in the Shel Silverstein book. She created me, and with that creation, created the incredible world as I am now able to see it through the eyes and mind that she created. Despite any and all of one's faults (losing a train ticket, making a mess in the museum and the fancy restaurant), mother still lives with unconditional love and dedication to the child (smiling off the faults, buying more train tickets, eating a hot dog from a vendor instead of the fancy restaurant). A wonderful book, truly makes one appreciate the world and its female creator.

Love this book still.......2006-01-02

This is not much of a review, but as an arly 20-something I still give accounts of this book to others as being one of my all time favorites. It's a must read.

Just Me and My Mom- Fabulous!.......2005-09-21

This book is cute, just like all the other Little Critter books. We like to find where the frog is on every page!

Just Me and My Mom.......2003-10-01

This book is about a kid who goes with his mom to town and he lost the ticket on the train so his mom had to pay more. They got there and it was really busy. They go to a museum and he gets in trouble. He was tired on the way home. I would recommend this to a five-year-old. This was a book about getting in trouble a lot.

Average customer rating:

It's Like This, Cat
Very Nice but....
I Recommend
I can understand why it has a newbery award
I can understand why it has a newbery award

It's Like This, Cat (Trophy Newbery)
Emily Cheney Neville
Manufacturer: HarperTrophy
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Up a Road Slowly
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M.C. Higgins, the Great

ASIN: 0064400735

Book Description

My father is always talking about how a dog can be very educational for a boy. This is one reason I got a cat.

Dave Mitchell and his father yell at each other a lot, and whenever the fighting starts, Dave's mother gets an asthma attack. That's when Dave storms out of the house. Then Dave meets Tom, a strange boy who helps him rescue Cat. It isn't long before Cat introduces Dave to Mary, a wonderful girl from Coney Island. Slowly Dave comes to see the complexities in people's lives and to understand himself and his family a little better.

Customer Reviews:

It's Like This, Cat.......2007-01-18

It was cool. This is probably the best book I ever read. One reason I liked this book is that I like cats. My favorite part was when Dave goes over to Kate's house and notices that a cat is hissing at a mother with kittens. Dave asks Kate to take him home, and although she is slow in letting him have Cat, she finally agrees.

This book is better than most books and Cat doesn't die like the many animal characters in others books. I recommend that you read this book!

Very Nice but...........2007-01-05

Made me extremely sad that the author had to kill off a kitten, AND in a terrible way as well.

What was the point? There were so many other alternatives for ending this book....!

I Recommend.......2006-12-15

I wonder what the target-age-group limit is on Newbery Award winners. This particular Neville title seems to be more of a young-adult book than anything else. It's about supporting character Tom, and his journey from a rough youth to a responsibly engaged man. But when the story of Tom feels like taking a break, other things pop up for us to read about. Main character Dave gets himself a girlfriend (but we never discover what becomes of the relationship), a crazy lady inherits a million bucks, red lizards are studied through research, Jewish holidays are celebrated, and Dave's cat goes around acting like a cat. I've always been a fan of such delightfully random events.

I had two major misconceptions of this novel before reading it. First, I thought the book would be about Dave telling Cat all his problems in tasteful soliloquy fashion, just to get adolecent problems off his chest. I also thought Cat was going to die after I discovered that the author's cat had passed away a year before the publication date. Well, Dave doesn't tell Cat about his problems, and a little kitten gets killed instead of Dave's cat.

I had fun reading this well-written, laid-back novel, and I'd recommend it to people of all ages. Even during the most dramatic of scenes, the book doesn't seem to shake its nice, calm mood.

I can understand why it has a newbery award.......2006-12-10

It was marvelous, spectacular, genius, excellent, ete. One of my favorite books Ive ever read. I can connect to the book a lot because I used to live in New York and the setting is in New York, I knew almost all the streets this book was talking about. This book is very good with explaining things and putting it in details, If I could I would read it again.

I can understand why it has a newbery award.......2006-12-01

It was marvelous, spectacular, genius, excellent, etc. One of my favorite books I've ever read can connect to the book a lot because I used to live in New York and the setting is in New York. I knew almost all the streets this book was talking about. This book is very good with explaining things and putting in details. If I could I would read it again.

Average customer rating:

Jocks and homophobia
A trip down memory lane
I never wanted this book to end!
You can't go home...or can you?
It Wasn't a Burning Lifeboat

The Book of Joe
Jonathan Tropper
Manufacturer: Delacorte Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Plan B
Everything Changes
Joe College
The Wishbones
Bush Falls

ASIN: 0385337418
Release Date: 2004-03-30

Book Description

Right after high school, Joe Goffman left sleepy Bush Falls, Conneticut and never looked back. Then he wrote a novel savaging everything in town, a novel that became a national bestseller and a huge hit movie. Fifteen years later, Joe is struggling to avoid the sophomore slump with his next novel when he gets a call: his father's had a stroke, so it's back to Bush Falls for the town's most famous pariah. His brother avoids him, his former classmates beat him up, and the members of the book club just hurl their copies of Bush Falls at his house. But with the help of some old friends, Joe discovers that coming home isn't all bad—and that maybe the best things in life are second chances.

Fans of Nick Hornby and Jennifer Weiner will love this book, by turns howlingly funny, fiercely intelligent, and achingly poignant. As evidenced by The Book of Joe's success in both the foreign and movie markets, Jonathan Tropper has created a compelling, incredibly resonant story.

Download Description

Right after high school, Joe Goffman left sleepy Bush Falls, Connecticut, and never looked back. Then he wrote a novel savaging everything in town, a novel that became a national bestseller and a huge hit movie. Fifteen years later, Joe is struggling to avoid the sophomore slump with his next novel when he gets a call: his father's had a stroke, so it's back to Bush Falls for the town's most famous pariah. His brother avoids him, his former classmates beat him up, and the members of the book club just hurl their copies of Bush Falls at his house. But with the help of some old friends, Joe discovers that coming home isn't all bad—and that maybe the best things in life are second chances.

Fans of Nick Hornby and Jennifer Weiner will love this book, by turns howlingly funny, fiercely intelligent, and achingly poignant. As evidenced by The Book of Joe's success in both the foreign and movie markets, Jonathan Tropper has created a compelling, incredibly resonant story.

"A beautifully crafted book of enormous heart, humility, wit, honesty, and vulnerability. You want to call your friends at 3:00 AM and read whole passages out loud. You want to press it into the hands of strangers. You cannot stop thinking about it because it has rearranged your very molecules. You know that kind of book? This is that kind of book. The Book of Joe is utterly magnificent. I wish I'd written it myself."
    AUGUSTEN BURROUGHS, AUTHOR OF RUNNING WITH SCISSORS

"The Book of Joe is an elegiac, wickedly observant look at a small town and its secrets. In Jonathan Tropper's highly readable novel, the problem isn't that you can't go home again, it's that eventually you have to, whether you like it or not."
    TOM PERROTTA, AUTHOR OF ELECTION AND LITTLE CHILDREN

Customer Reviews:

Jocks and homophobia.......2007-06-22

An autobiographical (or at least a first-person narrated) novel about a novelist who has written an autobiographical novel, and returns to his home town where everybody is so upset at having been written about that they physically assault him on multiple occasions, and throw copies of his book (which they have presumably bought many copies of) at him. Joe's father, a jock zombie, is dying from a stroke, and memories surface of his mother's suicide and of homophobia during his high school days seventeen years previously, which drove his friend Sam to suicide.

Joe hooks up with his former high school sweetheart Carly, with Sam's mother, Lucy, with his gay friend, Wayne, and with his anti-jock nephew, Jared. Tropper tends to make predictable jokes, some of which derive from Freudian interpretations of the relationships, although Joe's heterosexuality is emphasized, even as he lovingly (if that's the right word) cares for Wayne, who is dying of AIDS. The villains are associated with the high school basketball team, who are all vicious homophobes, although there is an absence of ethnic enmity, and this state championship team, within three hours of New York City, is apparently all-white.

I liked this the best of the three Troppers I have read so far, mainly, I think, because it was more strongly and plausibly plotted than "Everything Changes" and "Plan B."

A trip down memory lane.......2007-04-21

This book is truly the trip down memory lane that has been to long overdue for all of us. Tropper rates in an elite class of contemporary writers. I certainly recommend this book for fans of Augusten Burroughs.

I never wanted this book to end!.......2007-02-25

Jonathan Tropper is fast becoming one of my favorite authors. I read Everything Changes and really liked it, so I picked up this one. I could never put it down, but even as I drunk up the pages, I kept hoping it would never end! Tropper's characters are full of life, humor, and promise, and you find yourself wanting to jump into the book with them! This book made me laugh, but most importantly, it made me think about how I define my own life. Definitely a must read. I'm looking forward to more from Tropper!

You can't go home...or can you?.......2006-04-10

Tropper is a witty, highly quotable author. This is the first book I've read by him and I will be definitley checking out his other work. The Book Of Joe is about a 30 something author who has successfully penned an autobiographical novel based on his small hometown and thoroughly trashing many of it's inhabitants. Suddenly called home for a family crisis he has to confront and attempt to reconnect with all those who were left behind with very mixed results. along the way the inhabitants of Bush Falls behave in ways that totally validate his impressions but also provide a few surprises of their own. From his close friend who is dying of AIDS, his brother whose marriage to a HS sweetheart is on the rocks, his old girlfriend and several others who played big roles in his teen years, the characters are richly drawn and feel very real. This is a very entertaining book and the author's witty one liners are truly memorable.

It Wasn't a Burning Lifeboat.......2006-04-04

Mostly, I don't care for novels written about writers. Often they are loosely autobiographical and a sign that the novelist has exhausted every story idea from his/her own life so writes about a writer. The burnibg lifeboat begins to sink. Next, they write a book about writing. Adios, scribe.

THE BOOK OF JOE is a novel about a writer. Jonathan Tropper did a masterful job of actually writing about a writer and I didn't for one second, suspect that he was writing about himself.

I began reading JOE in the Asiana departure lounge at SEATAC airport and finished it as the 777 crossed Japan and began its descent into Seoul. What a great way to endure 12 hours in a cramped airline seat with my seatmate's leg and arm invading my personal space. I forgot to be clausterphobic and miserable as I ingested Tropper's masterful use of metaphors and dramatic crescendos to puntuate a great story about the characters who swim in the life and mind of an author.

The sad thing is that there are few English book shops in Seoul so I doubt if I'll find anoth Tropper novel to read on the trip home. EVERYTHING CHANGES will be waiting in my mailbox thanks to Amazon.

Carthage: L'histoire, sa trace et son echo : [exposition] les Musees de la ville de Paris, Musee du Petit Palais, 9 mars-2 juillet 1995

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Carthage: L'histoire, sa trace et son echo : [exposition] les Musees de la ville de Paris, Musee du Petit Palais, 9 mars-2 juillet 1995

Manufacturer: Ministere des affaires etrangeres
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

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ASIN: 287900196X

Average customer rating:

A beautiful book!
Powerfully Evocative and Compelling.....
A profoundly moving and hopeful book

Stars in the Darkness
Barbara M. Joosse
Manufacturer: Chronicle Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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

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ASIN: 0811821684

Amazon.com

In the haunting yet buoyant picture book by bestselling, award-winning author Barbara M. Joosse and award-winning illustrator R. Gregory Christie, a young boy tells of his brother Richard's entrance into the world of "gang bangers." Richard has always made his little brother feel safe and loved, until he starts "walkin' that walk, like he's King Stuff." The boy watches warily: "Richard thinks I'm a little kid, but I'm not as little as he thinks. I know what I know." Finally, the boy and his mother take action, galvanizing the neighborhood to walk the streets at night, advocating peace.

Christie's striking paintings of the family and neighborhood are strong, eye-catching companions to Joosse's powerful story. Readers will feel great hope for the protagonist, as, even in a dark hour of his young life, he sees the flashlights carried by his neighbors as "stars crackin' the darkness," an image repeated from the beginning. Joosse's message is aimed directly at "the little sisters and brothers... the stars in the darkness." An author's note and list of gang prevention resources are included, making this more than just an urban storybook--it can serve as a real resource for children at risk for joining a gang. (Ages 5 to 9) --Emilie Coulter

Book Description

In the imagination of a young inner-city boy, police sirens sound like howling wolves, streetlights look like stars, and shots fired by neighborhood gangs sound like those stars cracking the darkness. But when his older brother joins a gang, he can no longer pretend. With the help of his mother, he comes up with a plan to save his brother and unite his neighbors in a stand for peace. The realistic yet uplifting words of best-selling author Barbara M. Joosse combine with powerful illustrations by award-winning artist R. Gregory Christie in this hope-filled story. One young boy's courage can make a difference.

Customer Reviews:

A beautiful book!.......2003-09-03

This book is worth buying twice just to support the author. Fantastic writing, illustrating, everything. As soon as I picked it up I was instantly drawn to its pages and once I began I couldn't put it down-and it's a book for kids! In any case, it's a book all pre-schoolers will cherish. It's about love and family and sticking together to overcome adversity. I can't wait for Barbara Joosse's next book. She's doing something great. And as always, I leave you with my favorite picks: most creative, The Butterfly: A Fable (Singh); most engaging, The Alchemist (Coelho); most interesting, Life of Pi (Martel); most enlightening, 9-11 (Chomsky); most thrilling, The Lovely Bones: A Novel (Sebold); and finally, the most creative, engaging, interesting, enlightening and thrilling book of all, The Little Prince (Saint-Exupery). These are the books I'd recommend to my family, friends, students, and wife. There are many more, trust me, but these are the first that come to mind (for having left an impact slight or proud as it may be). If you have any questions, queries, or comments, or maybe even a title you think I should add to my list, please feel free to e-mail me. I'm always open to a good recommendation. Thanks for reading my brief but hopefully helpful review. Happy reading. Donald S. Buckland

Powerfully Evocative and Compelling............2002-09-04

"Sometimes, Mama and me look down at the street and pretend it's not the city. We shut out eyes so only a crack is open, lookin' through our eyelshes, and pretend we live on the moon. The lights we see? They're stars, as many as the sky can hold. And sirens? That's wild wolves howlin' at the moon. If there's shots fired, we say it's the light of the stars crackin' the darkness..." So begins Barbara Joosse's nameless young narrator's story of the dangerous and tenuous life in the inner city. When his beloved brother, Richard, stops coming home at night, he and his mother realize he's become a gang banger. "We can't pretend no more," she says. "We gotta be strong now." His mother implores him, "Don't you be hanging' out with those bangers, Richard. Don't. Be somebody for this world." But Richard is caught up in the life, "walkin' that walk, like he's King Stuff." When Richard comes home injured and bandaged, Mama and Richard's little brother hatch a plan, a plan to take back the neighborhood. "We call 'em Peace Walks. Every night now, there's family on the street. We take turns walkin' the night. When it's my turn, I shut my eyes so only a slit is open, and I look through my eyelashes. I see streetlights, like before, but now I see flashlights, too. Stars crackin' the darkness." Ms Joosse's bittersweet picture book, geared to little brothers and sisters, "the stars in the darkness," is neither judgemental nor sentimental, but truthful and filled with hope. Her evocative text, rich in imagery and magic, is compelling, written in realistic language and complemented by Gregory Christie's powerfully bold and expressive illustrations. Together word and art paint a vivid portrait of life in the inner city, family love, and the courage and strength to try and make a difference. With an Author's Note about the real Richard, to enhance the story and help open important discussions, and a comprehensive list of resources on gang prevention, Stars In The Darkness is an inspiring narrative that shouldn't be missed, and definitely one of the best new books of 2002. Kudos to Joosse and Christie.

A profoundly moving and hopeful book.......2002-04-21

Author Joosse chooses a tough subject and writes about it in the most touching manner. The love of a family, a mother and a younger brother, are not enough to keep a boy from joining a gang. Even though Richard tries to hide his gang activities from them, the young narrator of the story tells us "I know what I know." The boy and his mother come up with a plan that involves their neighbors, making them true "stars in the darkness." Every parent and child will find in this powerful book a way to connect to the feelings, fears, and hopes of the families whose lives are affected by gangs.

Average customer rating:

Reviewing The Dream Bearer
A Great Book, You should read it!
Dream Keeper
courage from dreams

The Dream Bearer
Walter Dean Myers
Manufacturer: Amistad
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Crystal

ASIN: 0064472892
Release Date: 2004-09-07

Book Description

David Curry doesn't know what to make of his father, Reuben, whose violent out bursts and chilling nightmares torment his family. His older brother, Tyrone, says Reuben is crazy. But lately, even Tyrone isn't acting like himself.

Then David meets the mysterious Mr. Moses, who tells him that dreams might be the only things we have that are real. And it is Mr. Moses's gift of dreams that gives David a new way to see inside his father's troubled heart.

Customer Reviews:

Reviewing The Dream Bearer.......2006-02-02

The Dream Bearer was my first exposure to Walter Dean Meyers, and I will continue to read his work. In this novel, the main character, David, is the heart of his family. His older brother becomes involved with drugs, his father battles a mental illness, and his mother is scared for everyone. David meets an old, intriguing man and through their short conversations, David attempts to understand the actions of the people in his life. He realizes if he could imagine what people dream about, he could better attempt to understand their life. It is with this knowledge that he discovers how to relate to his father in a way no one in the world seems to understand.

This book is great for young readers and adults alike. The story grabs the your attention from the beginning and keeps you turning pages. Walter Dean Myers weaves his characters intricately together and portrays the message that what we dream may be just as real as the hours we are awake.

A Great Book, You should read it!.......2005-05-04

This book was really good. The details were good. I liked how the story took place. It's cool about the problems that were in this book, it made it exciting. I love Walter Dean Myers books!

Dream Keeper.......2005-03-02

There are some problems for a kid growing up in New York, especially for David! The Dream Bearer has received many reviews including ALA booklist and School Library Journal. The author, Walter Dean Myers has written many other books such as, Bad Boy: a Memoir, Handbook for Boys, and Patrol. He also won the 1994 ALA Margaret A. Edwards award and the 1994 ALAN award. The Dream Bearer is a book about a kid growing up in New York. The Dream Bearer is a meaningful book by an award winning author.
David lives with his mom, dad, and brother in an apartment in New York. His brother, Ty is leaving and coming home late. When the police come, David suspects he's doing drugs. When David and his best friend Loren go to the park, they meet an old man named Mr. Moses who claims he's a dream bearer. David's father, Reuben, who most people think is crazy, is angry when he hears about Mr. Moses. Then, Mr. Moses gets sick so David and Loren save him, but soon after, someone else needs saving.
The Dream Bearer has characters that are so believable. I liked that David was accepted to a private school because he's smart and he beat two other people with Loren in 2 on 2 because he's good at sports. It proves that you can be good at more than one thing. I also liked that David didn't think his dad was crazy when others do, it proves he's believing. David's mom is also very caring and nice. The characters in this book are terrific.
I also liked the setting of this book because it was so real and imaginable. The author describes how the Hudson River was dirty and gross. He also described that the city had old, run down buildings. I could really picture that! I could also tell it was real because he uses street names to describe where they are. I also liked how he described the park. I could really picture the setting.
I think The Dream Bearer is a good book because of the characters and setting. The author uses detail on the characters and setting so I can picture it. I would recommend this book to someone who wants a book that's not that funny or suspenseful, but still keeps your attention. This book has a very interesting cover and description that just screams "READ ME!" It is a little slow in the beginning, but gets better. This realistic fiction book's message is that you shouldn't judge people because they can be someone you'd never expect if you look hard enough, even in their dreams!

courage from dreams.......2004-08-29

12 year-old David is a thinking boy who loves to shoot hoops with his friend. One day he strikes up a conversation with an ancient, strange gentleman who seems to know exactly what David is thinking, especially about his dreams. It is what Old Moses has to tell that steers David toward a better understanding of his family & his life.

Rebeccasreads highly recommends THE DREAM BEARER as a fascinating boys' read -- both magical & down-to-earth, scary & heartwarming, despairing & hopeful; about abusive fathers, changing older brothers, life in Harlem & in your dreams.

Average customer rating:

Both child and reader will love this book
Inside the kitchen of a real Chinese Restaurant in NY!
So tasty that two hours later, you will want to re-read it

Big Jimmy's Kum Kau Chinese Take Out

Manufacturer: HarperCollins
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0688160263
Release Date: 2001-12-24

Book Description

Even before Kum Kau Chinese Take Out opens, there's so much to do. The deliveryman arrives. The cooks clean the kitchen from top to bottom. Then chop, chop, chop, they slice and dice the fresh meat and vegetables. But when the customers arrive, Kum Kau really comes alive. Woks sizzle. Pots steam. The cooks whip up tantalizing dishes for hungry patrons. A young narrator shares a behind-the-scenes look at the hustle and bustle of a busy Chinese take-out restaurant. Then it's time for his favorite dinner.

Delectable tastes and savory smells will make mouths water as Caldecott Honor artist Ted Lewin takes us to a favorite Chinese restaurant in his Brooklyn neighborhood.

Customer Reviews:

Both child and reader will love this book.......2007-01-29

I bought this book because I had read another book illustrated by Ted Lewin and found him to be a remarkable artist.

This book captures the sights and sounds of New York City; the reader will feel he or she is right in the kitchen with the steaming woks.

Most importantly, both the adult reader and the child listening (or reading on the second to third grade level) will be interested. And if your child likes books reread many times, this book will hold up. Among other things, there are so many details and subtleties in the artwork that the adult will be looking at every nook and cranny of the pictures.

I think Ted Lewin as as good an artist as Normal Rockwell.

Inside the kitchen of a real Chinese Restaurant in NY!.......2004-10-05

I think this a wonderful book and a up close view of what it's like in the kitchen of a Chinese take out restaurant! The book starts out on a very early Saturday morning as the owner's son comes downstairs into the back room of the restaurant as the vegetables are arriving for the day. The cooks he calls his "Uncles" are getting the woks ready and begin chopping up the chicken, pork butt, spareribs, flank steak, vegetables, and getting the noodles and rice ready for the day. Then there is folding menus until the metal shutters open at 11 am. The boys whole family works in the restaurant even his Mother & Aunt who work the counter and the phones really fast and sometime at the same time!

The author also illustrates this beautiful book! The pictures seem s real, just like the photos he took and then drew the photos from these photos. The restaurants menu is on the inside and back page of the book and also shows the author with his take out bag!

This is a fantastic book, and even more so since it's based on a real Chinese restaurant Kum kau pronounced "Gum Kow" which in Chinese means golden globe in New York and I hope one day when our family visits New York that we can visit and get some food there! All the while knowing how much work went into our food! It's a wonderful look inside a restaurant kitchen, especially since we order it ... and it magically appears! The only thing that would make this book better would be if this family was actually real and not fictional!

So tasty that two hours later, you will want to re-read it.......2002-07-27

The award winning children's book illustrator loves to eat Buddha's Delight at the Kum Kau take out chinese restaurant in Brooklyn's Fort Greene/Myrtle Street neighborhood. Based on photos he took and sketches, he has created extremely realistic watercolors (worthy of a gallery show) that capture a day in the life of the take out restaurant through the eyes of the fictional son of the restaurant's owners. The inside front and back covers, alone, are worth buying the book for. They consist of the recreated takeout menus from the restaurant (with reasonable prices). The book opens with a young boy waking up on a Saturday to help out at the restaurant. As the shutters are still closed on the take out shop, the cooks receive deliveries, chop and dice, and chop some more. Menus get folded, water gets boiled, woks get washed. Customers arrive, and the whole family, cousins and uncles included, all help out. Interesting neighbors pop in, including a fire truck and its engine company crew, all ordering various favorite dishes. Who knew so much work went into the preparation of your child's take out Moo Goo Gai Pan? Later, it is evening, the neon lights comes on, and it's time for the family to order their own dinner for takeout and delivery... What will it be?? Read and find out. This is a must read for parents and their kids as they wait for their dinner to be delivered

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Where's the Love? Where are the Angels? In this Book

Angel City
Tony Johnston
Manufacturer: Philomel
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0399234055

Book Description

Old man Joseph never imagined a family could start this way. When he finds a baby abandoned on a lonely L.A. street, he vows to raise it as his own. He's an old farmer and knows nothing of parenting, even less about raising a Mexican baby.Yet Joseph keeps his promise and with time he realizes that even in the darkest barrio, there is a world to explore, songs and stories to be shared. Even in the darkest barrio, there is love.

Illustrated by Caldecott-Honor Medal winner Carol Byard and beautifully told by Tony Johnston, Angel City is a moving tribute to the strength of family no matter its form.

Customer Reviews:

Where's the Love? Where are the Angels? In this Book.......2007-03-17

Picture books can be a lot more than a sweet story for preschoolers that you read them at bedtime. Some picture books are not sweet, are not for little children and may not make for good bedtime tales. Angel City is one of those kinds of books: an amazing, profound and powerful read that doesn't quite fit the familiar mold. The reader gets that little chill that announces this book is something special just looking at the cover showing an old black man comforting a young Mexican child. Angel City is a stunning and unusual picture book that takes on some tough issues with a heart and poignancy that sings through the words. If you ever thought picture books were just kid stuff, this book might change your mind.

Tony Johnston is the author of over 100 books for children, and doesn't appear to be losing her touch for creating thought provoking stories. The text in this particular picture book is lyrical, the story told in poetic rather than straight narrative sentences. An old black man lives in the tough part of town where he finds a baby abandoned in a Dumpster. He takes in the tiny Mexican baby and raises the boy himself. The story follows both of them as Juan grows up. But this isn't a tale of rainbows and cheerful adventures. From the first page, Johnston is taking us on a tour of poverty stricken Los Angeles with its homeless and its gang wars. As the old man Joseph mutters when finding Juan: "Where's the love?" The question, spoken with a cynical edge, is nevertheless answered in the love that Joseph has for the boy. Johnston's themes are at once heart wrenching and inspiring--for even faced with all the hardships that life has set against them, people still find room to care and thrive in spite of it all. Joseph raises Juan with the help of his neighbors and learns about the Mexican culture and language so that he can provide the boy with them. But every day Joseph worries about the boy growing up in an environment full of guns and knives and other hurtful things. The story continues with a school age Juan befriending another young boy, Chucho. But then a stray bullet kills Chucho and 9-year-old Juan is left heartbroken over his friend who will never get to see his 10th birthday. The story ends with Joseph comforting Juan.

The choice to go with a poetic style appears to be a good one: had this story been told narrative style, the emotional energy may not have come through as clearly and the story might have become pedantic rather than poignant. The story itself is to be commended on tackling topics that are hard issues for even adults to deal with, and not succumbing to any kind of happily-ever-after mentality. Unfortunately, I did find the story lost its central thread when the narrative shifted away from Old Joseph to include Chucho. From the start, this has been Juan and Joseph's story, focused on their relationship as Juan grows from baby to toddler, to ten year old boy. The introduction of Chucho feels a bit jarring, as it takes the focus away from it's original core relationship for a few pages, and then readers are returned to Joseph and Juan once more. Given how central Joseph is to the story, to have the narrative lens suddenly exclude him for the few pages about Chucho seemed more abrupt than necessary. Despite this concern, the story is a powerful one, but not for the very young or the extremely sensitive. I put a full summary with this story so that parents will be aware of the nature of this book before they read it--and prepared to discuss the questions and concerns their children might have.

The artist's stunning work makes this book eye-catching and brings the words to life. Carole Byard has crafted some marvelous illustrations for other picture books; Working Cotton by Sherley Anne Williams and Cornrows by Camille Yarbrough are just two examples. Ms. Byard sharpens her skills against the powerful prose set down by Tony Johnston and the result is that the images and the text blend together smoothly, so that one supports the other. Each page has a full picture illustration that is lush with color and softly painted details. The warmth and hope communicated through these pictures transmute a very stark and often uncompromising environment into a human landscape of losses and loves that are universal to all readers.

I'd recommend this picture book for children 8 and up as a general age range--this is one of those books I feel is as much for adults as it is anyone. For those who enjoy this story and are looking for other books that deal with powerful and thought-provoking issues please take a look at The Harmonica, also written by Tony Johnston, and One Green Apple by Eve Bunting and Ted Lewin.

Happy Reading! ^_^ Shanshad

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Great book for bedtime
Off to Another World....

The Night Worker
Kate Banks
Manufacturer: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0374355207

Amazon.com

Every night, Alex's night-working father kisses him good night, then puts on his hard hat and goes out to work. One night Papa surprises his son with his very own hard hat and invites him along. The mysterious world they enter is very different from Alex's daytime life. The streets are populated with delivery people, street sweepers, and dog walkers. But most exciting of all is Papa's construction site, where the rattle and clang of heavy machinery means that a big building is going up. Alex watches as the bulldozers, cement mixers, and cranes do their jobs, and he even gets a chance to be a night worker himself for a brief, shining moment!

Seen through a small boy's eyes, the construction site with its "midnight mountain" of soil and excavators that "groan like a giant rolling over in bed," is a truly wondrous, memorable event. Georg Hallensleben's heavy outlines and thick, muted nighttime colors melt together like liquid crayons. Alex's pride and curiosity in his father's life--and his father's reciprocal desire to share his adult world with his son--is touching and sincere. This is a lovely book for families to read together as a touch-off point for discussions about just what mom and dad do when they head off to work every day. Kate Banks and Hallensleben have teamed up on several other notable and award-winning picture books, including And If the Moon Could Talk. (Ages 4 to 7) --Emilie Coulter

Book Description

Going to the job site with Dad

When darkness falls and bedtime comes, Papa tucks Alex in, then puts on his hard hat and goes to work. Papa is an engineer who works at night. "Take me with you," Alex says. "Not tonight," says Papa. But one night Papa has a surprise -- a hard hat for Alex! He takes Alex with him to the construction site, where excavators rumble and cement mixers hum. As his dream comes true, Alex gets to be a night worker just like Papa. Kate Banks's evocative text and Georg Hallensleben's colorful paintings combine to make a unique bedtime book that will delight all children, especially those who are fascinated by big machines.

Customer Reviews:

Great book for bedtime.......2007-01-23

My 3 year old son loves this book. I learned of this author / illustrator team reading "Close your eyes," another good bedtime book. I came across this one on Amazon and noted that it is one of relatively few books that focus on children and their fathers. Mom's feature prominently in most childrens' books. As a divorced fatherwho doesn't get to spend nearly enough time with his little boy, I wanted to find some that focus on kids spending time with Dad. The illustrations are simple but evocative, and the words seem to transport a child into the world of a busy city at night.

I highly recommend this, especially for fathers and sons.

Off to Another World...........2001-03-09

Every night, Papa kisses Alex good night, puts him to bed and then goes off to work. He's an engineer at a construction site and a night worker. While everyone else is home and in bed, sleeping, Papa is at work, doing his job. One special night, Papa gives Alex his own hard hat and together they go out into the night to Papa's job..... Kate Banks has written a gentle, endearing story full of imagery and magic that turns the quiet night into an unimagined busy place...full of street sweepers, delivery men, heavy machinery and cranes that dig holes, move earth, pour concrete and lift steel. Her simple easy to read text is complimented by Georg Hallensleben's wonderful, subdued artwork that will transport youngsters right to the job site, surrounding them with the sights, sounds and construction activity as the night workers go about their work. And as day begins to break, all is quiet and little Alex has gone to sleep, dreaming of becoming a night worker, too, when he grows up.

Average customer rating:

To the Post Office with Mama
Sue Farrell
Manufacturer: Annick Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1550373587

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