Book Description

It was missing a piece.
And it was not happy.
So it set off in search
of its missing piece.
And as it rolled
it sang this song -

Oh I'm lookin' for my missin' piece
I'm lookin' for my missin' piece
Hi-dee-ho, here I go,
Lookin' for my missin' piece.

What it finds on its search for the missing piece is simply and touchingly told in this fable that gently probes the nature of quest and fulfillment.

Reviews (21)

Silverstein's Guidebook for Being a Person.
Once, when I was a very young boy, I had the privilege of experiencing Shel Silverstein reading this guidebook to personhood at the Chicago Public Library. At the time, I appreciated it as a story about a Pac-Man figure, (Which was my primary focus at the time), who couldn't find "a missing piece." As I have grown now, in age, intellect, character, loss, and all other forms of life experience, I understand so much more what he was really trying to say to us. He was speaking, in very clear terms about all that is good and beautiful about realizing the worth of one's self, in a simple manner that we will understand well into senescence as well as we understood it in our youth. In summation...purchase this book, share it with those that you love, and most importantly, understand it for yourself. Peace be with you.

Simple yet so meaningful
Shel Silverstein can say more with a few words and a few lines than someone with all of the vocabulary and artistic mediums of the universe. This simple book carries a beautiful message about the search for fullfillment. Don't let the label of "children's book" turn you away... The Missing Piece and it's sequel The Missing Piece Meets The Big O are brilliant books dealing with this journey we call life. Enchanting and moving.

amazing work!
wow....a master piece! Little words but ton of ideas to write about (i'm writing an essay for my children literature course.)

Delightful Fable
A stunningly simple but poignant fable for adults and children, teaching the joy of independence and partnership in all our relations in a way that enlightens without preaching.

The Missing Piece
Shel Silverstein has done it again! Every book I have read of his has intrigued me. This is a great story about a lonely circle that is missing a piece. He is sad because of this and searches for his piece. He searches high and low. He does not realize that he is happy without his piece....You should find out why by reading The Missing Piece. It demonstrates well that u can be happy without having everything you want. You just need to find it in yourself. ... Read more

Book Description

A stunning young adult novel by Rodman Philbrick that tells the heartwrenching story of two ³special ed² boys who pair up to form a unique and empowering friendship.Two boys‹a slow learner stuck in the body of a teenage giant and a tiny Einstein in leg braces‹forge a unique friendship when they pair up to create one formidable human force. Made into the film, The Mighty. ... Read more

Reviews (280)

My review of Freak The Mighty (...)
I thought that the story ,''Freak The Mighty was a very good book ,aswell as a very good movie.In my opinion , the story of ''Freak The Mighty'',was aninteresting ,exciting,funny ,and somewhat sad story. Minus the fact that this story was somewhat sad ,''Freak The Mighty'' contained all of the qualities that I would like to find in a story.When I had first began to read this story ,I figured that it would be a pretty good story .But I never would have guessed that it would be this good of a story.

''Freak The Mighty'' was about two boys ,named Maxwell and Kevin ,also known as Max and Freak . Max and Freak were in the seventh grade .Max was a very big boy who was not very bright .And Freak was a very small boy who was as some would say ,''A genius''.Freak was a crippled boy who lived with his mother,and Max lived with his grandparents ,who he called ,''Grim and Gram''. Max lived with his grandparents because ,his father who everyone called ,''Killer Kane'',killed his mother ,and then went to prison.Max and Freak had one thing in common , and that was the fact that the both of them were different from others.Soon they became friends ,and were compared to a knight and his horse . (spoiler) .

THIS CONCLUDES MY REVIEW OF FREAK THE MIGHTY

Freak the Mighty
Adventure,humor and a litle bit of tear jerking is all in this wonderful young-adult novel, Freak the Mighty.

It's the tale of two competele different boys whos come together for one important porpose, to help the innocent.Max Kane is a huge teenager who is constantly tripping over his own feet, literaly. Max's is haunted by his mass-murderer father, Killer Kane. His father killed his mother when he was a young baby and now he lives with his grandparents.

On the other hand you have Freak. A boy who has never really been out in the world without being stepped on, literaly, the guy is like 3 feet tall. Freak has this problem that does'nt let him walk without a walker or leg brases.

When they are at this festival, Freak can't see anything, so Max's just puts him up on his shoulders and freak starts to like it so he satys up there.

Wanna know the rest........................................................................................................................................................................................................................... read the book.
favorite part page 47 paragraph 2
saddest part page 127 paragraph 3

Best Book Alive
Freak the Mighty is an awsome book. It has a bunch of humorous and sad scenes. The part of it that I especially liked was when Max had the squirt gun full of soap, vinegar, and curry powder and he made Killer Kane think his eyes were burning up. Freak the Mighty has a really cool dictionary that Freak wrote. If I were to rank the book, I would give it four stars because it is very tradedous but adventourous. If you like action books, then this is the book for you. Freak the Mighty is one of the best books I have ever read, so I encourage you to read it.

The Mighty Truth
Freak The Mighty is a book about two boys who go on many adventures together. The first one of the two is Max or Mighty. He is a very tall bulky individual who is not the smartest person in the3 world. He doesn't like to read too much because he cannot read well. He is discouraged. The other is Freak. He is very smart but he has a problem because he is very small. He has some kind of illness that stopped him from growing much and his legs are of no use to him. He rides on the shoulders of Mighty who is a giant. One day Mighty was in his room when he realized that ther was a boy next door moving in(Freak). he sees that the boy has something he lost some toy in the tree and cant reach it so mighty goes and helps him they become very good freiends aftern a wile and they go on adventures through the town . they out run a local gang and they meet up with a long lost relative that isnt the mosthospitable they get through that barley and after that they will be divided.
I really enjoyed this book it had alot of ploty twists that kept on accuring they go on thrilling adventurers. i would recomend this book very much

Freak the mighty
Awesome, its of da heezy fo shezy.It was very funny how dey dissed dat little remedial Blade an he tried to act a fool but got caught by the police.This book is to hot fo T.V its off the heezy u betta go cop that book fo its sold out. ... Read more

Book Description

•Noah, who quite by accident was best man at the wedding of Ethan's grandmother and Nadia's grandfather

•Nadia, a hybrid with a halo of red hair, a dog that's a genius, and a fondness for baby turtles

•Ethan, the silent second son of one of Epiphany's oldest families, who discovers he likes halos

•Julian, the strangest person on the school bus, who starts everything by inviting the others to a tea party

How did Mrs. Olinski, returning to teaching ten years after being paralyzed in an automobile accident, choose these four to be her sixth-grade Academic Bowl team? And how did this unlikely foursome become even unlikelier champions, in far more than just the state middle school competition? The View From Saturday is a rich and rewarding journey that answers these questions and raises many more. ... Read more

Reviews (217)

Great Book!
:

E.L. Konigsburg has come up with a great book again! The View From Saturday is a great book for middle-schoolers. Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing Division published it in 1996. A View From Saturday is a great book because it teaches and is great to read. Noah, Nadia, Ethan, and Julian are four sixth-graders each with a different story that changed their lives. Noah ends up being best man at Ethan's grandmother's and Nadia's grandfather's wedding. Nadia has the greatest time of her life saving turtles from strong winds and high waves. Ethan is on the bus and realizes that he must help Julian, a new kid, fit in at school. Julian is tortured by school bullies and realizes that something is in him and the other three. This is a great book. The point of view changes from one student to the other as they tell their stories. By simply reading the chapter titles you can see whose point of view it is. If there's no chapter title, then the point of view does not change. I recommend this book to anyone who likes to read books that make sense in the end.

Book Review
Noah, Nadia, Ethan and Julian started out as sixth grade classmates, but evolved into The Souls. Each Year,Mrs. Olinsky, the sixth grade teacher chooses as four person academic bowl team. This team competes in the grade and if they win they go on to compete in other competitions. Together this team accomplished wonderful things, such as winning the sixth, seventh, and eighth grade competitions. Nobody knew why they were chosen, and Mrs. Olinsky, the teacher, doesnt exactly know why she chose them either. So, fate brought them together to create a wonderful friendship that will last a lifetime and this shows through an extraordinary story of sucess of a team, calss, school and friends. In my opinion Noah is the most interesting character in this story. He likes to write in calligraphy, and enjoys spending time with relatives. At times he also complains about his family. Noah tells the long story of how he was the best man at the wedding of his grandparents' friends. I enjoyed reading about each of the diverse characters. The View from Saturday can appeal to a wide spread of people because of the interesting plot and way it is written. Many people have loved reading this book as you can see because it has won many awards, and I think E.L. Knonigsburg is a fantastidc author.

Teaspoons and afternoons
As you may know, the Newbery Award is the highest honor a children's book can garner in the United States. Newbery winners are a touch and go lot, and a lot of kids avoid them like the plague. I've always been particularly interested in those award winning books that appeal to kids just as much as they appeal to the adults that shower them with praise, moolah, and awards. For instance, many adults felt that the book "A Single Shard" was well written, while a host of kids looked on it as dulldy dull dull. Both children and adults have agreed that "Holes" and "The Tale of Despereaux" are great books that are fun to read. Then you come to "The View From Saturday". Honestly, I thought this was a fabulous book. It was the rare children's novella that took the great risk of offering wisdom to its readers. It dares to make you think about life, the world, and how one interacts with other people. I can tell you a million reasons to love it, but I honestly haven't a clue if kids would enjoy it. Therein lies the mystery.

"The View From Saturday" follows the lives of four sixth grade quiz bowl champs and their paraplegic coach/teacher. Alternating their final quiz bowl championship match with short stories about the different journeys each kid has had to make, the book is adept at distinguishing between each individual in the group. We begin by listening to a story told by Noah. Noah reminded me of nothing so much as the spaz boy in the spelling bee documentary "Spellbound". A bit of a nerd, but pleased with his own inventive thoughts and ideas, Noah becomes the best man at a geriatric wedding. Then we hear Nadia's story about staying with her divorced father and newly remarried grandfather (hence the Noah connection) in Florida. This flows nicely into Ethan's story. His grandmother married Nadia's grandfather, and he overcomes his reluctance to interact easily with others with the help of his new friend Julian. Julian is the least troubled of the bunch, a boy of Indian heritage who is coming to America after living on a cruise ship. Together, the four band together into a group called The Souls. They are selected by Mrs. Olinski (though for a long time she doesn't know why) as her newest Quiz Bowl team and work effortlessly together in a group as friends and teammates.

A synopsis of this tale really doesn't do it justice. Konigsburg is an adept writer and she knows exactly how to balance a story with both emotion and humor. I was particularly taken with Nadia's tale about living in Florida. Somehow, the author was able to conjure up feelings of being ignored and abandoned perfectly. As Nadia feels an (in my opinion) entirely justified sense of self-pity, we as readers understand what she's going through perfectly. Little triumphs are measured with small defeats. One of the things this book dares to say, and says so well, is how awfully mean people can be. That's a pretty loaded idea. Books today enjoy showing a mean person and then revealing the back story to their crimes. Here, we understand that sometimes a person's just mean to be mean, and it makes them unsuitable as friends as a result.

Then there's Konigsburg's usual jabs at adults in positions of authority. In this particular case she's aimed her sights at people who naturally expect themselves to be smarter than children, yet constantly make mistakes regarding multiculturalism, grammar, pronunciation, etc. And she doesn't drill this idea home by ever putting the adults in situations where they spar with the kids. Instead, they tend to spar with Mrs. Olinski, assuming that because she is a) Just a teacher and b) Confined to a wheelchair she must therefore be less worthy of intelligent human discourse. The result is usually both funny and profound.

Funny and profound is a good way to describe this entire offering, actually. It has its oddities, that's for sure. You have kids in this book saying sentences like, "Oh, that is too bad. Dad is picking me up before supper, and he will be disappointed if I do not eat with him". Not a contraction in sight. Do sixth graders actually act like the ones in this book? Probably not. Will you be amused by them anyway? Probably so. Will actual living breathing sixth graders be amused, intrigued, and challenged by this book? I have absolutely no idea. Maybe yes, maybe no. Whether or not they will, the book is fabulous, fun, and wise beyond its years. It's like a little dose of Zen religion without hokey mysticism or flowery prose. This book respects you, it respects your opinions, and it respects your sense of self-worth. If you have any desire to read something that accomplishes all this and more, pick it up for a glance.

Quotables
E.L. Konigsburg uses descriptive nouns and vivid modifiers to paint a vivid picture of the characters in your head in The View from Saturday. First you get to know the charcter. She does this by painting the vivid picture and you feel like you know the character personally. You also feel like you are a "Soul." She does this by making you feel like you are there during their conversations, and there while they win the Champion Bowl. Also seeing the vivid picture makes you feel like you are watching them. You feel you are watching them because you really can picture the conflicts between the Noah and Nadia . So in conclusion, this book really shows that character desciption delivers an emotional message. You should definitly read this book.

unique and intriguing
First off, the book is about four SIXTH graders. I note this because some of the reviews on Amazon erroneously say the characters are in seventh grade. Anyway, these four sixth graders go onto defeat the seventh, then eighth graders in their schools, and eventually take the regional trivia bowl championship.

The four children "can spell and define puberty but have not yet gone through it." Given this, I can accept the tea parties and some of the other pastimes they engage in in "The View." Also, they are NOT presented as perfect without any character flaws or problems. The "Souls' as they call themselves are exceptionally intelligent and compassionate, but they - at least for Ethan and Nadia - do not make the "right" decisions instantly. Nadia, for example, wavers between helping some stranded baby turtles, or holding on to her grudge against her grandfather and father.

This book also has some wonderful imagery. For example, ELK compares painting Nadia without her freckles to brushing the cinnamon off cinnamon toast.

In summary, I would highly recommend this book. ... Read more

Book Description

Approx. 2 hours
2 cassettes

From the best-selling author of Because of Winn-Dixie comes the moving story of an eleven-year-old-boy, Rob Horton, who finds a caged tiger in the woods behind the hotel where he lives with his father.With the help of his new friend, Sistine Bailey, Rob must decide what to do with his discovery and at the same time come to terms with his past. ... Read more

Reviews (22)

Book Review:The Tiger Rising
Tiger Rising, by Kate DiCamillo, is about a girl named Sistine who has just moved to a town in Florida, and meets a boy named Rob. Rob doesn't have to go to school for a while because he has a rash on his leg. One day he is out in the woods and he finds a tiger. The owner of the Kentucky Star Motel, where he is living, pays him to feed the tiger. Rob shows Sistine and she thinks he should let it go. In the end Rob ends up letting his emotions out of his "suitcase" that have been closed up for years. This book is about Rob finding himself. I thought it was a great book. I loved how Kate DiCamillo created the characters. They weren't really described very much, but you could picture them in your head. I really enjoyed reading this book. I'm sure you will to.

almost as good as the first one
The book The Tiger Rising is an excellent book.It is about how this kid named Rob finds a tiger in a cage in the woods who meets someone and becomes best freinds.One of the friends wants to free the tiger. This book
is recommended for grades 3rd to 5th.The characters have a lot of emotion. The author's style makes the book more interesting.This book is good for people who like characters that are always changing their minds about something. The Tiger Rising has characters that are very willing to save something.This book's author has many books relating to The Tiger Rising.

AGAIN AND AGAIN
Kate DiCamillo has done it again. Along the same lines as "Because of Winn-Dixie" this story gets deep into the heart of it's main character.

As a media specialist, I highly recommend ALL of DiCamillo's books. Buy them, check them out at a library, borrow them. Whatever you have to do...just read them. WONDERFUL!

Tiger Rising
Rob Horton, a young, brave boy who is about to find something amazing in his life. As he lives in the "Kentucky Star Motel" with his dad, and he finds a tiger in the back of the Motel. A new person comes to his scool, called Sistine, and they both become best friends. Together they go and visit the tiger after school everyday. Whenone day they let the tiger out of his cage and the tiger runs to the motel. When they hear screams and shoots of a gun they knew what happened. The best friends learn what its like to lose something close to them, and how to get through it.
"Tiger Rising" is a great book of family, bravery, and friendship. Dicamillo keeps you reading this book. Dicamilo also has you visualize whats happening in the book. I learned what it was like to lose something close to you. From this book I also learned what frindship really is.
"Tiger Rising" is an exciting, page-turning book. I would recomend this book to anyone who likes an exciting, page-turning book. Also to someone who like's when they can visualize whats happening in in the story. And a story with friendship and family.

The Tiger Rising
Title of Book: The Tiger Rising
By: Kate DiCamillo
Reviewed by: R. Gabayeron
Period: 5

The book The Tiger Rising is about a young boy named Rob Horton getting used to his surroundings after this mother died. Everyday on the school bus, his two brothers always tease him. Their names are Billy and Norton Threemonger. One day before the bus arrived, Rob went out into the woods and discovered a tiger locked in a cage. On that same day, there was a new girl named Sistine Bailey. At school, Rob was called into the office because the principal was concerned about something he had on his legs. The principal told him that his parents thought what was on his leg was contagious. He gave Rob a note to give to his father. Rob's father disagreed with what was on the note. While Rob wasn't at school, he did a lot of woodcarvings and helped his father. When his father didn't need any help, Rob helped Willie May, the housekeeper. Rob told Sistine Bailey about the tiger, and she wanted to free him. Rob wasn't sure it was the right thing to do. Beauchamp, the owner of the motel (where Rob lives) gives him the keys to the cage to feed the tiger everyday. Later on, Rob asks Willie May if he should free the tiger and she told him about her bird and when she let it free. Her bird died and it reminded Rob when his dad shot a bird. When Rob and Sistine freed the tiger, it ended up dying because Rob's father wanted to protect him. They had a funeral for the tiger, and everyone had some words to say. Sistine said a poem about him. Rob went back to school with Sistine and they became best friends.

I thought the book was okay because Rob and Sistine freed the tiger, but it died. "It ain't our tiger to let go," said Rob. This showed that Rob didn't touch things that weren't his. In one part of the book, Rob was scared to let the tiger out because he thought it might eat him. Sistine told Rob that it wouldn't eat them unless it was hungry. At the end, Rob let the tiger out because he wanted it to be free.

"You want to get introduced proper?" said Beauchamp. Beauchamp, the owner of the motel, asked Rob to feed the tiger everyday. Rob asked him if he was going to free the tiger. Beauchamp said he might sell it or just kill it and make a coat out of the skin. The owner didn't seem to care about the tiger. Beauchamp told Rob to keep the tiger a secret, but he told Sistine and Willie May.

My favorite part of the book was when Beauchamp gave Rob the keys to the cage of the tiger. This was my favorite part because Rob told Sistine that he got the keys. Sistine was so excited and then they freed the tiger. The sad part was when the tiger died and they gave it a funeral. Everyone loved the tiger very much. Rob's father was sorry to kill the tiger. He just wanted to protect his son. ... Read more

Book Description

Published four years after her phenomenally successful first novel, The Outsiders, That Was Then, This Is Now confirmed S. E. Hinton's place in the canon of young adult literature. Returning to the same working-class landscape, Hinton paints a deeply-felt portrait of best friends Bryon and Mark, as they grow up and grow apart. Puffin is proud to publish this award-winning classic for a new generation of readers.A mature, disciplined novel which excites a response in the readerhard to forget. --The New York TimesBrutal, harsh, yet always credibleone of the best. --Publishers Weekly ... Read more

Reviews (171)

That Was Then This Is Now
A friend of yours is killed because of your life style. Do you continue to live like that or change?
Mark and Bryon are like brothers. They grow up together hustling pool and street fighting. A friend Charlie dies during a street fight, Bryon then turns his life around. Mark sells drugs and is turned in by Bryon. Mark then goes to prison. Mark and Bryon who onced loved each other hate each other in the end. The book That Was Then This Is Now is a realistic fiction story. I would recommend this book to anyone who has read The Outsiders. It's a spin off of this wonderful novel. This book however, is slow moving. It has excitement, but it is slow to reaching its climax. It is a story based off of choices. It relates to everyone; we all have a choice how we choose to live our lives. I enjoyed the book, but not as well as The Outsiders.

The Best Book In The World
What will Bryon do now that he's found out about Mark's secret, how will he handle this?"
The name of this book is That Was Then, This Is Now and the author of the book is S.E. Hinton. This book takes place back in the 70's and 80's, back when there were socials and greasers. This book is about a boy named Bryon and his friend Mark who grew up together like brothers. Now Bryon and Mark are starting to grow apart from each other Bryon has a new girlfriend, which he spends more time with now, and does not really, spend as much time with Mark. Until one day, Bryon finds out a shocking secret about Mark, and faces difficult decisions that will change his life forever.
That Was Then, This Is Now is one of the greatest books in the world, because it is so dramatic and intriguing. In this book, the author talks about real life incidents that happen to teenagers when they get in bad crowds. This book is very encouraging to many teenagers, because of its realistic features. The author includes different incidents that teenagers face once they grow up and go to high school; it has a good moral because it shows readers what they should not do. You should read this book because, once you read it, you will imagine that you are the protagonist, facing everything. In this book, a teenager faces very difficult decisions, which he does not really know how to solve.

Sequel to The Outsiders is outstanding
This book, which has some of the same characters from The Outsiders, such as Ponyboy Curtis, is a great read. I read this book in practically one sitting it was so good. I don't think this book is as good as the first one, but it still is a great book. The main characters, such as Byron, Cathy, Mark, and M&M, really kept me captivated and kept me wanted to read on. This book deals woith some serious issues, such as drugs, fighting, and betrayal between friends. I honestly couldn't believe it when Byron told on his almost brother, Mark for what he did. In the end, Mark, Byron's former soul brother, ends up in jail. The books end is so sad, with Byron not really caring about anyone, and Mark hating him while he's in jail. It is for all these interesting plot twists, and captivating chracter conflicts that make this this book so interesting that you don't want to stop reading it. This book is a must-have, for anyone looking for a great read.

...
That was then, this is now is a great story. It has an ending that is unpridictable and in my opinion not very well written though.

Great book
I liked reading the book, That Was Then This Is Now by S.E. Hinton.This story was about two teenagers named Bryon and Mark. Bryon wants to think of a future for himself. As for Mark,he lives like whatever happens,happens and is waiting for more thrills in life. They go to a pool hall everyday and play pool,but they have an outstanding tab for the coco-cola they drink. So the bar tender told them to get the money or they would get hurt. And another inciddent was when they were almost beaten up by a lot of Black people because Bryon broke this girl's heart and he wanted to get back at Bryon. This would be a good book for anyone(...). ... Read more

Book Description

Sometimes life can change in an instant

Martha Boyle and Olive Barstow could have been friends, but they weren't. Weeks after a tragic accident, all that is left are eerie connections between the two girls, former classmates who both kept the same secret without knowing it. Now, even while on vacation at the ocean, Martha can't stop thinking about Olive. Things only get more complicated when Martha begins to like Jimmy Manning, a neighbor boy she used to despise. What is going on? Can life for Martha be the same ever again?

Reviews (45)

Olive's Ocean
Olive's Ocean is one of the best books I have ever read.I could relate to it very well.It's about a girl named Martha who goes to New England to spend time with her Godbee (grandmother).While she's there, she starts crushing on Jimmy Manning, but realizes that he doesn't really care about other people's feelings, just his camera.She's also trying to spend as much time with her Godbee as she can, because she knows that this may be the last summer she has with her.When all of this is happening, she is also learning to cope with the loss of a girl who went to her school, but was killed when she was hit by a car.Martha has a hard time getting her hands around the whole situation.
One of the characters in the book is Martha, she's the main character.She's dealing with the hardships, and good times of growing up.There's also Godbee.Martha loves Godbee, and learns a lot from her.She really enjoys spending time with her.Godbee is a very peaceful kind of a person, who loves life and loves being near the ocean.She also enjoys spending time with her family.Then there's Jimmy Manning.Jimmy Manning is the boy that Martha had the crush on in the beginning of the book, but definitely not in the second half of the book.He's making a movie, and uses Martha in it, Martha realizes that he's only using her in the movie though.There's also Tate,Tate is Jimmy Manning's younger brother.Tate is Martha's age, and can sometimes be a little jealous of Jimmy Manning.
I would definitely recommend this book because you can really relate to all the characters in the book, and it teaches you about life and how you should be happy for what you have.You also realize what it's like to be a teenager and what one has to go through.I liked it because I could relate to it.Every summer around the fourth of July my grandparents get a cottage on the ocean, we all go out there to the beach and hang out.After that, we go to the farm where all my relatives are.We all have a lot of fun and enjoy spending time together.This reminds me a lot of when Martha goes and visits Godbee.There were lots of surprises with what happened with Jimmy Manning and staying at the ocean that surprised me.I enjoyed reading about them.I also liked the style of writing, it was very easy to understand at my age and it flowed very easily which I liked.I think that girls would enjoy this book more because it's from their point of view, and girls would understand Martha more I think.It's a very good realistic fiction book, which is my favorite genre so I also enjoyed that.I would definitely recommend it.

Was this REALLY Kevin Henkes???
I didn't know that Kevin Henkes wrote books like this. The style is very different, yet I found the moral to be quite interesting, but as I read in one reviewer's rating, I agree that the character depth was very poor and that there were some "things" in the book not suggested for kids under 11.

The book starts out with Martha Boyle revieving a page from Olive Barstow's journal, which spoke of how Olive--a timid, unnoticed child--wished to become friends with Martha, be a writer, and see the ocean. The problem is, Olive has died from a bycicle wreck, and now Martha wishes to turn back the time and regret it. The book talks about how Martha gets to do things like write and see the ocean and how Olive never had the chance to experience some of the issues a 12-year-old goes through.

I was dissapointed that the author mentioned very little of Olive in parts of the book. Sometimes, I even forgot about her!! They focused so much on Martha, Olive was sometimes forgotten. The book "could have happened" without Olive's exsistence, it just would have had a different ending (I won't tell why!!!). Also, I HATED the three-paged chapters. The book has, I think, 67 chapters, yet some chapters aren't even a page long! I hated how the book was broken up with little chapters; it messed up your thought. It is also slow-moving and, I will say, the reccomended age should be OVER 11 years old, due to some bad words and behavoir that young children shouldn't be exposed to (such as, at only 12 years old, Martha falls in love with a boy named Jimmy Manning, and sometimes that was the entire focus of the story. Jimmy also films a love scene with Martha in his video. If I was the author, I would have left that out, or made Martha 17!)

The book has a good moral about life and death, and is a good TEEN reader.

Got a Good Book? well here's one
Olive's Ocean was a great book.I usually don't like to read, but I was hooked on the book and couldn't put it down.I loved it so much; I really grew attached to the relationship between Olive and Martha. It was a very strong and emotional book that took place in the present and so many devastating things happened.The author was extremely creative with how he ended the book.I discovered many clever happeneings in this book; it just changed how I thought about simple things.Another thing is it made me realize to be thankful for what you have now and in front of you, because in just one second, things could be gone.I found the book satisfying and delightful, the way it ended just sent a sigh and smile to me.I truly recommend this book if you like to read a book just for fun, not adventurous, not mystery, just something nice and sweet to enjoy on a Sunday morning.

A Girl Like Me
In the novel Olive's Ocean, a series of young thoughts, childish dreams, a search for love, and beautiful images of one's mind eye are among the ideas explored in this well written, intriguing story. Written by Kevin Henkes, this book begins with the introduction to the main character Martha and to a major idea in the story concerning the death of Martha's peer Olive, a outcast from school who Martha barely knew but who seemed to have taken special notice of her. After receiving a letter from the dead Olive Barstow containing proof of her admiration of Martha, we follow Martha to a trip to her grandmother's house by the sea, and through her young, vivid mind filled with exciting aspirations and insightful thoughts. We watch Martha confess her longing to be a writer, her longing to find love and hold onto it, her longing to repay Olive for noticing the person she truly was, and her search for the strength within herself.

I found this story to be beautifully simple, homey, and a definite feel good novel. As a teenage girl, I found myself easily connecting to many of the themes and ideas in the story and even to Martha's character. I enjoyed seeing some my own thoughts through the eyes of another girl like me. I would recommend this novel to women looking to reminisce back to their days of searching for their place in the big world around us, or to younger girls looking for a story filled with things to connect to. The author's wonderful insight into the life of the main character and the mind imagery of the story are truly worth experiencing.

Great
I have enjoyed Olive's Ocean by Kevin Henkes so much. This is a great book for everyone to read because I think itdeals witholder people too,not just little kids. The book is about a girl named Martha who feels really bad because a girl named Olive Barstow, died of a hit and run. Martha feels bad because her and her friends made fun of Olive because she was different, she didn't talk to anyone she just stared at them most of the time. So when Olive died Martha felt so bad, that her parents thought it wouldbe a good time for a vacation to Godbee's. Her brother Vince went away to find his old friends the Manning boys. To make it short and simple it's about a girl named Martha andeverything she does relates to Olive, the girl who died. I would recommend this book because it'sa very good book to read for fun it doesn't matter how old you are you can still read this book. I bet if you read this book you will fall in love with this book. ... Read more

Amazon.com

If you read this very popular book just before bed, and the light is still on in the hallway, you can make the rainbow scales glitter on the page, and realize why the Rainbow Fish was so proud of his beautiful decoration. Sometimes, though, being too proud of outside beauty can blind a fish, or a child (or even, heaven forbid, a parent) to the beauty people hold inside. That's the lesson of this simple tale, imported from Switzerland. It's a useful one for future sneaker and designer clothing shoppers, for rainbow fish--and for quieter, plainer minnows, too. ... Read more

Reviews (116)

A Wonderful Book About Sharing
Although some would argue that this book teaches people to buy friends, I do not see it in this light. The book simply encourages children to give of themselves to others. As the rainbow fish shares his scales, he feels good about giving a part of himself to make others happy. I don't see how giving oneself to others qualifies as buying friends. My three-year-old son absolutely LOVES this book. He memorized the whole storyline in about a week. He loves to tell me the story as we flip the pages. The illustrations are colorful and exciting for a three-year-old. I would recommend this book as the basis for a discussion on sharing, not on buying friends, but sharing of yourself. This oldfashioned concept is threatened in our ME world.

Bad message for children.
My cousins, who live in a socialist European country, recently visited us in the U.S., and gave this book to my children as a gift. I love my cousins but think this is a horrible book. The message is clear: if you are better than anyone else, or rise above your peers in any way, no one will like you, and you will be lonely and miserable, as well as the target of envy and sometimes hatred. However, if you bring yourself down to their level, or pay them off, you will be most popular! The book reflects the mentality of the socialist, and demonstrates altruism at its worst. Everyone must be the same, and no one can excel at anything or in any way. The rainbow fish teaches children that it is good to strip yourself raw for the benefit of others, who were never your true friends to begin with, but only wanted something from you and based their acceptance of you on what you could provide for them. You know, kind of like that bad friend in school who loves you when you're down and out, but can't stand it when you lose weight and are looking good or happy or successful. Once the rainbow fish has taken off and given away all its beautiful scales, it is no longer the prettiest fish. The other fish, who each got a scale, are not elevated, but rather, they're all dragged down to the lowest common denominator. One scale each. Not enough to make anyone prettier than anyone else -- no one can really shine. It's not about sharing and love, but more like emotional bribery. I give this book one star, only because I have to, and the illustrations are pretty. Steer clear.

Under the sea
A great children's author (who, for the sake of her privacy, shall remain nameless) once commented that "The Rainbow Fish", was the third in the triumvirate of picture book mediocrity. The first two being, of course, "Love You Forever" and "The Giving Tree". I don't feel like explaining why this statement is not only brilliant but sublime, so instead I'm going to review this seemingly innocent little picture book. Here we have a very dull book with a very poor message. In my humble opinion, it hardly deserves much notice.

Originally a Swiss picture book (who knew?), "Rainbow Fish" tells the tale of a little sparkly fellow below the sea. The Rainbow Fish glitters and glides in the ocean's depths, ignoring the calls of the other fish to come out and play. One day a little fish asks for one of his shiny scales. The Rainbow Fish is not exactly polite in his refusal, but for some reason this is the comment that causes all the other fish to make him a social pariah. The Rainbow Fish is a little upset by this and asks the advice of a wise old octopus. Unfortunately the octopus is of the opinion that Rainbow Fish should give away the very things that make him special. His shiny scales. Once he has given a scale to all the other fishes he'll look exactly like everyone else and be happy. He does and then is. The end.

I suppose if you looked at this book from a religious context it might make a little more sense. But even then the moral would still run along the lines of give-up-your-worldly-possessions-and-everybody-will-like-you. Hm. What makes this book so offensive to some readers is the simple fact that it's is preaching a kind of same = good mentality. Tis better to meld with the crowd than to hold onto that which makes you an individual and unique, it sayeth. Then there are the illustrations to contend with. In an interesting marketing technique, the shiny scales Rainbow Fish sports are small hologram-ish cut-outs that line his body. Little kids will, presumably, see the shiny things on the cover of the book and immediately grab it. But how stand the rest of the illustrations? Certainly the colors in this tale are luminous and lovely. Pfister has developed a lovely watercolor technique wherein the blended shades of the scenes work perfectly within the context of the story. Unfortunately, the actual illustrations themselves are fairly hum drum. Don't expect the breathtaking loveliness of Eric Carle's "Mister Seahorse" or even the originality of a similar seaside tale, Irene Haas's, "The Maggie B.". Characters here never change expression (except that once in a while their little fishy mouths curl either up or down as appropriate). As a gimmick, the shiny scales work well. Just don't pay much attention to anything else in this tale.

The best advice I can give regarding "The Rainbow Fish" is to recommend Leo Lionni's classic picture book, "Swimmy". Like The Rainbow Fish, Swimmy's a little guppy who's different from everyone else. But rather than, oh say, changing his scale color to blend in, Swimmy uses his unique position in society to help those around him while remaining true to himself. A powerful statement that "The Rainbow Fish" sorely lacks. I'm not saying this is the worst picture book ever written, mind you. Just a mediocre one. With all the wonderful picture books out there, why not grab the best and leave the rest? Or, if we're going to take the advice of the Rainbow Fish to heart, do what everyone else is doing and strive for mediocrity. Hey, it worked for him!

Celebration of Appeasement and Mediocrity
We own this book only because my wife ordered it from a book club. Had we looked at the book, we never would have bought it. My two-year old has not seen it, nor will he. He has enough good books. And this book is bad. The book is so bad, destructive, immoral, and wrong that I have trouble figuring out where to start. Well, let's start with the "moral(s)" of the book, which can be summed up as follows: (1) being special is evil, and worthy of hatred; (2) if you do not give your possessions away to others on their demand and pursuant to their coercion, you will be rightfully hated; (3) you will be happy only if you are mediocre; (4) you need to bribe people to be your friends. And the message here is not about sharing. Notice, the Rainbow Fish does not "share" his scales (sharing would imply that his friends were going to give the scales back when they are done.) No, the Rainbow Fish is compelled (by emotional coercion) to give away that which makes him special. What part of this story is supposed to be edifying? It is garbage.

Pretty pictures, emotionally damaging story
I was relieved to see so many other bad reviews of this book, because I had thought I was crazy. I knew this was a very popular book (posters, puppets, etc.) so I bought it and was shocked at how bad the story was. When the Rainbow Fish chooses not to give his beautiful shining scales to another fish, all of the fish swim away and leave him "all alone". Thanks to a wise octopus, he discovers the only way to win friends and be the "happiest fish in the sea" is to give away his scales. I'm a teacher and a parent, and this is just a really bad lesson to be giving to a child, especially one under three years old who has little experience interacting with other people and forms ideas and expectations about the world based on books, tv, familial messages, etc. It is just beyond bad if your child is already sensitive and non-aggressive.

I changed the words to this book, but my daughter is almost three now and can pick out certain words (that she knows I'm not reading!) and asked me to read the "real" story. I explained that I wasn't crazy about the story, and promptly disposed of the book. I did not even consider donating it to the library or selling it to a used bookstore, because I don't want to be part of perpetuating this story! It is that bad.

Please do your children and society a favor and skip this book. Unless "give other kids all of your special, favorite things or else they'll all hate you and you'll be lonely and sad forever" is a moral lesson you want to teach your children, you'd be better off choosing one of the gazillion excellent children's books out there. Try anything by Richard Scarry, Byron Barton, Sandra Boynton, Eric Hill, Eric Carle, Dr. Seuss, etc. etc. etc................ ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Fun Stuff - Loved It!
I highly recommend this story.My friends and I all loved it and it reminds us of our group.I am so happy that it is going be a series of books because I am waiting to start on the next one.Definitely read this as it is a really fun book.

awesome read!
I LOVED this book, it was so great! I can't wait for the next one! ... Read more

Book Description

Reviews (67)

The Hundred Dresses
Wanda Petronski is a poor Polish child living with her father in Boggins Heights. She wears the same ill-fitting blue dress every day. One day Wanda tells the other girls that she has one hundred beautiful dresses in her closet. The other girls don't believe her because she wears the same dress every day. The girls make up the hundred dresses game to tease Wanda. Maddie decides one day that the hundred dresses game is wrong but she is afraid to stand up to the other girls. Then Wanda isn't at school for several days. When there is a contest at school nobody thinks about Wanda until her one hundred drawings of her dresses win the contest. All the other children are amazed at Wanda's drawings. The teacher tells them that Wanda has moved away and that they will have to forward her award to her new home. Maddie decides to write Wanda a letter apologizing for teasing her and send it to her new address. She never finds out if Wanda gets the letter but she learns a valuable lesson about the consequences of her actions. This is an older book but it teaches valuable lessons about teasing and prejudice. It also teaches children that there are consequences to their actions. This is a great book to have in your classroom or at home. This book is on reading lists for grades 4 - 6 but the lessons it teaches can be used for children of all ages. This book can be used in connection with language arts, social studies, and math.

It was fun to read!
The Hundred Dresses is about a girl named Wanda Protronski. Wanda is poor and has no mother. She lives up on Boggins Heights. Some girls make fun of her. The name of the mean girl that teases Wanda is Peggy. Peggy is pretty, neat, and very popular. Her best friend is Maddie. Maddie is messy, poor, and sort of popular. Almost all of her clothes are hand-me-down. Classroom 13 has a drawing contest and Wanda wins. Everyone thought that Peggy was going to win. Wanda leaves town and moves to the city. Peggy and Maddie try to get her to come back. This took place at the school's playground, classroom 13, and in Boggins Heights. I thought this was a wonderful book because it tells why you should be nice to people and not tease them. I recommend this book for 3rd-5th graders because it is a little to hard for lower grades and too easy for higher grades.

Missing the Point
(...)
An incredibly ugly depiction of a little Polish girl and her classmates making fun of her. Promotes the stereotypical "Dumb Pollack" without showing any betterment of the little girl's situation. I found this book very offensive. I had ordered it as a gift for a little girl, but this book is wildy inappropriate in that there is no moral resolution at the end. The tormenters get away with their harassment, and there is only suffering for the Polish girl. The only thing it would teach a child is that you can get away with being bigoted and rude to others. Too bad Amazon doesn't allow for a zero rating because this because deserves it. "

(...) Of course it is an ugly story; it is also realistic. Children do treat one another that way; adults do too. As another reviewer pointed out, although the little Polish girl is not stated explicitly to be Jewish, it is very much a Holocaust story; although she is definately not African-American, it is a Civil Rights story; although she is (probably) not a Lesbian, it is a gay-bashing story. It is the story of anyone who is put upon because she/he is or is percieved as 'different', and how this sort of thing can only go on when good people stand by and do nothing.

Of the two other little girls in the story, the one who makes fun of the poor Polish girl and the other who stands by and doesn't want to defend her (although she knows she should)--how do you think they feel at the end of the story? Will they do it again? And, what if later 'the shoe is on the other foot', and they find themselves victims?

Every child will be able to identify with each of the children in the story, and the story can be a starting point for discussions of prejudice, bullying, and many other important moral topics. The book doesn't give pat answers, nor does it tell us what to think--but it gives us an opportunity to think about these things.

Wanda Petronski's Success Story
This story about Wanda Petronski, an immigrant girl from a poor family ridiculed by her more popular, wealthier and American-born classmates is as relevant to children today as when it was first published. I read and re-read this book as a child; like Wanda, I was the only one in my class with a funny-sounding Eastern European last name. Fortunately, my situation was not as dire as hers, but I felt Wanda and I were kindred souls.

Estes' perceptive take on the effect of cliques of popular girls and the influence they wield was ahead of its time. The relationships between the girls echoes what we read today in books like "Odd Girl Out" and "Queen Bees and Wannabes." Peggy, an Alpha Girl if there ever was one, ridicules Wanda's foreigness and the shabby blue dress (her only dress) that she washes and irons each night to wear the next day. Maddie, Peggy's wannabe friend, is troubled by Peggy's insensitivity but is afraid to speak up. Maddie's afraid that Peggy might turn on her, too. Then, Wanda stops coming to school. The other children forget about Wanda, but Maddie still thinks about her and wonders what happened to her. She persuades Peggy to go visit Wanda's house on the wrong side of the tracks; the part of town where the poor people and "foreigners" live. Wanda has moved away to a larger city, but the experience of knowing Wanda has changed Maddie for the better. She's more independent and willing to question Peggy and the values she represents. She's more open and empathetic to the experiences of people from different and less fortunate backgrounds than her.

And what becomes of Wanda? In this book's wonderfully ingenious ending, Wanda takes her poverty and marginalization and turns to a creative end. Wanda, so poor that she only owns one dress, paints pictures of a hundred dresses and sends them back to the class at her old school. Wanda refuses to be victimized by her classmate's ridicule. Instead, she becomes an artist! I loved this ending as a child; it shows how children can overcome their problems with imagination and a respect for their own inner lives.

Louis Slobodkin's illustrations complement the story perfectly (he also collaborated with Estes on the Moffat books). His evocative artwork supplies just the right amount of detail and leaves the rest to the reader's imagination. This is a truly great work of children's literature and we should rejoice that it's still in print.

Great Second/Third Grade Fiction
Wanda, who has no mother and lives with her father, wears the same dress to school but claims she has 100 beautiful dresses in her closet at home. She is teased by other students. Wanda moves away and the truth behind her hundred dresses is revealed. Is it too late to make amends?
(...) ... Read more

Amazon.com

Oh, would that all bullying problems could be solved so easily! MeanJean is the reigning Recess Queen, pushing and smooshing, hammering andslammering the other kids whenever they cross her. And then one day a puny newgirl shows up on the playground and catches Mean Jean completely off-guard. Notonly is little Katie Sue not the least bit intimidated by the bully, sheactually asks her to jump rope with her. In no time flat, Jean and Katie Sue arebest buddies, and the playground is safe for all again.

Sure, it's simplistic, but there's a strong element of truth in this energeticrhyming story by Alexis O'Neill (Loud Emily). Bullies arepeople, too, and sometimes nothing is quite so effective as ingenuousdisarmament. Big, bold, funny acrylic and collage illustrations by LauraHuliska-Beith (The Book of BadIdeas) bounce right along with the text. (Ages 5 to 8) --EmilieCoulter ... Read more

Reviews (6)

Mean Jean the Recess Queen
My kids like this book, I think it is ok! It is the illustrations that really make it. As for sending a message about bullying....it isn't crystal clear!It's nice enough, my kids like it and that is what matters!Recommended for 4-7 year olds.

School Counselor
Wonderful resource when having difficulties with bullies. We will be using this one on our unit on bullies. Sometimes using your humor to disarm a bully is just what is needed.

Bully for Alexis O'Neill
Ms. O'Neill has taken on the (very current) topic of school yard bullies in a very good way. This book should be a hit with any parent whose children are in the early school years.

Hoppity, skippity, jumpity, ringity, zingity, YESSSSSS!
I recently read this book to a first grade class. The children loved the fabulous illustrations and the fun rhyming language in the story. Of the 4 books I read the girls seemed to all prefer The Recess Queen. I am going to look up other books by both the author and illustrator. They both have great style.

What Makes a Classic?
What makes a classic? Read "The Recess Queen" and you'll recognize it instantly. Alexis O'Neill's tale of a spunky heroine, a legendary bully, a playground filled with astounded children will please young and not so young readers for many years. Rollicking words keep a perfect beat in time with innovative book design and captivating mixed media illustrations. I expect this one will not stay on my classroom library shelf for long. There will be too many eager readers vying for a chance to read aloud. Who knew that reading could be so much fun? Who knows what a scary place a playground could be? Ask your child. She knows. It's all in "The Recess Queen." ... Read more

Amazon.com

British boy with catchy name and unusual powers, check. Wild hair, check. Students at boarding school, check. Owls and funny street names, check. Mysterious shape-shifting enemies out to get the affable boy protagonist, check. Jenny Nimmo's"Children of the Red King" series (starring Charlie Bone) has so many ofthe same trappings as the Harry Potter series that, unfortunately, comparison is unavoidable. Rowling's books clearly trump these simpler fantasies for younger readers--but the Charlie Bone books are finding their audience in those who need a boy-wizard fix and need it now.

Charlie Bone and the Invisible Boy, the third book in the author's planned quintet, begins when the magically "endowed" Charlie and his friend Emma discover a mostly invisible, strawberry jam-loving boy named Ollie Sparks imprisoned in the attic of the Hogwartsian Bloor's Academy. Ollie's plight is part of a seemingly amorphous Larger Evil Plot involving school authorities, a blue boa, and Charlie's three horrible great aunts. Charlie Bone and his friends are eager to fight wrongdoing with their combination of special powers, but obstacles in all shapes and sizes abound. Can the children rescue Ollie, Charlie's uncle, Ollie's older brother, and the other hapless victims...or are the enemies too plentiful and powerful? Despite the likeable Charlie and a plethora of magical happenings (raining frogs, sorcerers who escape paintings, etc.), reading this 408-page fantasy feels like a bit like running a marathon where the finish line feels farther away with every step.Thankfully, the ending is a happy one. (Ages 10 and older) --Karin Snelson ... Read more

Reviews (8)

Children of the Red King is the best book series despite hp
Ok, im going to star by saying The Invisible Boy is the best installment yet in the children of the red king series. first of all, don't even look at the summary of the book that amazon.com provided, none of it is true. NONE ZERO ZIP ZILCH! None of it so dont bother reading it. i mean, how could the yewbeam sisters try to marry amy bone unless they're lesbians? overall, this book is an amazing piece of work by jenny nimmo; if she was at bloors, she'd be in the drama department no question. However if you haven't read the first 2 books get reading because there is a slim chance you will understand the third book without reading the first two books. THIS BOOK ROX

The best so far!
In the third installment of the Children of the Red King series, a considerable amount of depth is assed, and Ms. Nimmo stakes out her own territory fiercely. This book was the best yet. Any doubt that additional depth was on its way should have been put to rest upon viewing the genealogical table (which, disappointingly, gave away a few endowments that I wasn't aware of, but it didn't affect the story).

The book is, in its basest form, about a boy who was made invisible by - who else - that wretched disaster of a magician, Ezekiel Bloor, and the efforts of Charlie and his faithful band of do-gooders to rescue him. But there is much more than an invisible boy for Charlie to worry about.

His best friend Benjamin has gone with his parents to Hong Kong, so Charlie has to find a way to keep Runner Bean occupied without Grandma Bone finding out about him. He is introduced to a new girl, Belle, who will be attending the academy, but not through the usual way - that is, not at the academy on the first day of classes. He is introduced to this girl, who is the most beautiful girl in the world and whose eyes constantly change color, at his own home by his horrific aunts and Grandma Bone. The manner of their introduction isn't lost on Charlie, and he is wary of her from the beginning.

His Uncle Patton leaves, mysteriously, speaking of "someone dangerous" that must be stopped from arriving, and Charlie finds himself without the comforting presence of his uncle, who has begun to serve as a very effective buffer between Charlie and the Yewbeams. When his Uncle finally returns, the manner of his return is such that Charlie feels compelled to revisit the painting of Skarpo the Sorcerer in the hopes that Skarpo can help his Uncle, but Charlie succeeds in doing two things: 1) adding mystery to the white wand he "stole" in book 2; and 2) unleashing a very unpleasant series of circumstances not only on Bloor's Academy but also on the people who live in the surrounding town.

As we are finding out, there is more to everything than meets the eye - even if some of it is rather obvious. And the universe is expanding, most satisfactorily. We can see possibilities for more books, and indeed it has been stated in at least one place that this is a projected series of five books.

I have only a few issues with the series in general, and the main one is: why does every book have to be centered around someone that the Bloors and/or Yewbeams are hiding or don't want to be found? And why does it make such little sense (to me at least - it's entirely possible that my tiny brain is missing something rather obvious) that the Bloors and/or Yewbeams don't want these kids found? Especially since this last book was action packed from beginning to end, and between Skarpo, Belle, Uncle Patton, and other minor subplots there was plenty around which to write a book. I hope that the next two books will use a more clever contrivance around which to center the story.

Last, AND THIS IS IMPORTANT FOR THOSE WHO THINK THESE BOOKS ARE POTTER RETREADS, I had an issue with what happened to Charlie at the end regarding a certain wand and a genealogical table (not the one in the beginning of the book).. I won't describe anything more, because I don't want to give the ending anyway. Anyway, this event seemed to be the most glaring Potter similarity yet, and I admit to actually gasping out loud when I read it. I assumed that Ms. Nimmo, as she is no stranger to children's entertainment, *must* have read Potter, and therefore I was dumbfounded, wondering why in the world she would do something like this. However, I wrote to Ms. Nimmo, and she confirmed that she has never read the Potter works, except when her publisher tells her to take a peek at certain parts. Given that she's never read the books, then, all of the Potter similarities are entirely accidental. This was an answer that pleased me greatly, for I have absolutely loved these books.

NEw Charlie BOne
THe Newest Charlie BOne was great like all the others, except for the fact that the editorial review is completely wrong, there is no tree girl and the invisible boy is not Emma's Brother!!!!!!!!!!!! Perhaps we can look for the tree girl in THe Blue Boa which may be another name for the invisible boy, who knows??? Anyway a great site for finding new books (...)at amazon.

A Great Book!
the third book in the Children Of The Red King series is much better than #1 or #2. if you like jenny nimmo, i suggest reading Griffin's Castle, one of her older books. it is equally great!

Stellar!!
The third in the Children of the Red King series... Truly outdoes the first two... Charlie Bone faces many new challenges including helping an invisible boy.. coping with a very deceptive "young and pretty girl"... and being endowed with his strange power. This is the best one yet, I highly recomend it to all Harry Potter fans and any fans of magical tales. Two Thumbs Up! ... Read more

Amazon.com

"Here is the book that Romeo would have given Juliet; Charlie Brown would have given Snoopy; and you can give to some very special friend" proclaims the back cover of this small, whimsical book. Written in 1965 by Sandol Stoddard Warburg, it still makes the perfect present for your best friend. Not just any run-of-the-mill best friend, though. This book is for the kind of friend who yells for you when you get lost in Grand Central Station or pretends to save you when you pretend to be drowning. Or, as Warburg puts it, "You know how to be silly / That's why I like you / Boy are you ever silly / I never met anybody sillier than me / till I met you." I Like You is simple and quirky, uses words like "snurkle," and is laden with delightful Maurice Sendak-style pen-and-ink illustrations of alligators dancing, lively children, mirth, and general goofiness. Do you need new answers to the question "How do I like thee?" I Like You is a great help for counting the ways.(All Ages) ... Read more

Reviews (35)

I like 'I like you'
I was in a bad mood when my friend read me this book over the telephone, and when she was done reading I was crying. This book says sweetly and simply how good it is to like and to be liked. It celebrates feelings that we take for granted everyday through its simple text and illustrations. True friendship, in its many crazy and quirky forms, is a special and rare gift, and it certainly deserves more of our attention. I LIKE YOU is a small book with a big heart. I recommend this book as a gift to anyone who you really really like, including yourself.

Simple, innocent, and quite meaningful
I was looking for a gift for my girlfriend, something that wasn't too cliched or overdone. Somehow the recommendation system at Amazon pointed out this little gem. So, I bought it, figuring that if it turned out to be corny or too elementary, I'd just give it to one of my nieces.

As it turns out, this is an amazing book that manages to give a simple voice to strong, complex emotions, and all this in a funny, whimsical way.

My girlfriend was very surprised and absolutely loved it. We sat down right there and read it out loud together. To this day she will sometimes include quotes or excerpts from it when she writes me or we're talking on the phone.

For a purported "children's book," it has a powerful impact. Sometimes you laugh while you're reading it, sometimes you simply say "That is so true!" Given wisely to those whom you truly care about, it states beautiful truths in an innocent, meaningful, effective way.

A Wedding Hit!
A very good friend read this book at our wedding, and it was the most delightful thing ever. I can't tell you how many people came up to us (and to her) afterward asking about the book. It brought tears to my eyes and smiles and laughter to our wedding ceremony. I love this book.

My all-time favorite book
I first heard this book when I was a very little girl at summer camp. Two of the counselors read it to each other at a campfire, taking turns reading the lines. When I grew up, I became one of those counselors who frequently read it with a good friend at different campfires. It's held a place in my heart ever since.

We all made a rule that "I Like You" is not a book you can buy for yourself. You can only own it if someone else gives it to you, and I have given it to many of the most important people in my life. It's quite possibly the best gift I've ever found to give to someone.

This year at Christmastime I gave it to a special friend, and I read it out loud to him before he left. I told him it was one of my favorite books and I'd loved it since I was a child. After we read it, he said, "This means a lot for adults, too." Since then he is constantly throwing out "I like you"'s to me and quoting the book--it means a lot to both of us now. :)

Perfect
This little book is incredible, one of the best books I have ever purchased. I bought it for my boyfriend of 6 years and it was perfect at communicating how I felt when I was with him. The pictures aren't that fabulous, but the words are immaculate. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Encouraging book for kids trying to do the right thing
Cliques are tough on kids. The ones in cliques feel a false sense of empowerment and the ones outside can feel isolated and powerless.

This books breaks down playground dynamics for kids so they can see the why. If they understand the why maybe recesses won't seem so discouraging.

Wonderful book for kids to read to feel strong and hopeful.

Great Book
My mom bought me this book yesterday, and I thought it was so good that I finished it within 30 minutes. It really told me a lot about cliques, and friends. I've never been in one, and I wouldn't want to be in one, but I've always been excluded by them, and made fun of, so this was a great book. It told me that even though people in cliques act like they're cool, really they're just looking for a group of people to hang around with so they look tougher.

I think this is a great book for any kid/teenager who is either involved in cliques, or excluded by cliques. This is a great book for both, and a must read for anyone who has met up with cliques and phonies. ... Read more

Book Description

She was a perfect baby, and she had a perfect name. Chrysanthemum. When she was old enough to appreciate it, Chrysanthemum loved her name. And then she started school. "I'm named after my grandmother," said Victoria. "You're named after a flower." Chrysanthemum wilted. Life at school didn't improve. In fact, it got worse. Then the students were introduced to their music teacher, Mrs. Twinkle. Mrs. Delphinium Twinkle. And suddenly, Chrysanthemum blossomed.... ... Read more

Reviews (34)

Great for kids and grownups alike
Chrysanthemum loves her name- she whispers it to herself constantly. Her parents reinforce how unique and special she is, which is why they chose her "absolutely perfect" name. Chrysanthemum thinks her name is perfect, too- that is, until the day she enters Kindergarten and the kids make fun of her. From that day on, she is crestfallen every day she returns home from school, and it's up to her parents to bolster her confidence. Still, there's no hope for poor Chrysanthemum's broken spirit- until a substitute teacher with an equally unique name teaches the class, and makes all the girls wish they had a perfect name like Chrysanthemum, too. Kevin Henkes' books are great for kids, and equally enjoyable for adults(look for the subtle designs in the illustrations, like Chrysanthemum's Father reading child psychology books while her Mom comforts her)- it's the little attention to details that makes Henkes a favorite kids author.

"Chrysanthemum is Absolutely Perfect"
When Chrysanthemum was born, her parents thought that she was absolutely perfect and felt that her name must fit that. Chrysanthemum loved her name until she went to school and all her classmates teased her about it. One day, by the help of a teacher, Chrysanthemum and her classmates realize that her name is not all that bad. The text and illustrations in Chrysanthemum blend together to form a delightful book for both kids and adults. The story also explains a valuable lesson, and that is, to be nice to others, no matter how different the