Book Description

WORD SMART

The words you use say a lot about you. Some words say that you are smart, persuasive, and informed. Others say that you don't know what you're talking about. Knowing which words to use and how to use them are keys to getting the most from your mind and to communicating effectively.

Based on the best-selling book, Word Smarton cassette will help you learn the words you absolutely need to know. To find these words, the Princeton Review researched the vocabularies of educated adults. It analyzed newspapers like the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal, books from best-sellers to the classics, and standardized tests like the SAT and GRE. The words included in this interactive program are those that appear most frequently and are often misused or misunderstood.

Here's what Word Smart includes:

Book Description

If you're an Odyssey veteran, then sit back and relive a bit of history.If you've only recently started listening to the series, these early shows will be a real treat.This collector's album includes: Whit's Flop, Life of the Party, Connie Comes to Town, Recollections, Gifts for Madge and Guy, The Day After Christmas and many others.

Reviews (2)

A great collection of family-friendly shows for everyone
This is where it all began. The first 12 episodes of Focus on the Family's Adventures in Odyssey series, which is still going strong today. Featuring the voice of Hal Smith (best known as Otis Campbell from the Andy Griffith shows) as Mr. Whittaker, the show can entertain adults and kids alike, using the theater of the mind rather than of the eye.

The shows also teach encouraging morals, such as contentedness, and self-esteem (among others) from a Christian perspective. You should check these out, and give the other titles a chance as well!

Great!
These tapes are terrific! If you have kids, they are fantastic to play in the car on a long trip. The kids love them and so do Mom and Dad. It keeps everyone from fussing and fighting and they will listen to them over and over. They never get tired of them ... Read more

Book Description

This classic reissue from the Wee Sing collection offers holiday songs and fingerplays guaranteed to provide hours of parent-child interaction. Every child's favorite seasonal song can be found in this jolly compilation, from "Here We Come A-Caroling" to "The First Noel" to "Here Comes Santa Claus," and the one-hour CD or cassette can be used to follow along with the book or on its own. No Christmas would be complete without this Yuletide treasure! ... Read more

Reviews (2)

The Only Wee Sing tape I still listen to.
What a great compilation of holiday songs. When I was two, my Mom bought Wee Sing and Play, Wee Sing Nursery Rhymes and Lullabies, Wee Sing Silly Songs, and a gazillion other tapes in the Wee Sing series, including this one. I still have all of them. I'd have to say that this one is my favorite. I'm 22 now, and Wee Sing For Christmas is the only Wee Sing tape I still listen to. Unlike many of the other Wee Sing tapes, with this one, adults join in on the chorus on most of the numbers making it sound almost like a choir. Some of the songs are sung only by adults. All of the well loved Christmas songs are on here, there's songs about caroling, Jesus's birth, and finally Santa Claus. You are sure to find your favorites here. Even if you're into your sixties and don't have any children, buy yourself a copy. But beware! Wee Sing for Christmas is only for the young, and the Young at Heart.

good collection
This is a good collection of many Christmas songs. I'm not particularly fond of the tape, not liking the arrangements and children's voices all that much. But the music book that accompanies the tape is well worth having--useful season after season, with 58 different songs. Secular songs like Here Comes Santa Claus, Up on the housetop, We Wish You a Merry Christmas, Jolly Old St. Nicholas, Deck the Halls, Here We Come A-Caroling, O Christmas Tree, and of course Jingle Bells. More traditional songs, too, like the Twelve Days of Christmas, The First Noel, Joy to the World, We Three Kings, O Come, All Ye faithful, Silent Night. And some children's favorites like The Little Drummer boy, Children, Go Where I send Thee and Go Tell It on the Mountain. There are also some unfamiliar songs, like 'Twas in the Moon of Wintertime (a Huron Indian carol which is beautiful) and Three Great Kings (fingerplay) and Must Be Santa.
I recommend getting this, for the season, the mood and the kids to have their own Christmas music. ... Read more

Book Description

When Charlie Bucket finds himself the proud winner of a Golden Ticket in a chocolate bar, he knows he has the greatest treat in the world in store for him. Join Charlie on his fantastic world-famous adventures in Willy Wonka's miraculous chocolate factory, where he sees strawberry-juice water pistols, luminous lollipops, a chocolate river, and rainbow drops -- and has the time of his life.

Performed by Eric Idle.

Reviews (254)

Obedience Counts
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is a great book by Roald Dahl. In this story Charlie Bucket is the main character. He is a poor boy that lives in a shabby house. Charlie and four other children (Mike, Veruca, Violet, and Augustus) all win a tour of Mr. Wonka's secret chocolate factory. Each of the children had found a golden ticket in a Wonka bar. Once they were inside the factory each kid, one by one, got into trouble, except Charlie. Some were so bad they were changed for life! But Charlie obeyed Mr. Wonka and got a big surprise.

I like this book because it has lots of excitement, action, and humor on every page. My favorite part is the end when Charlie's grandparents, who have not been out of bed in years, are put into Mr. Wonka's great glass elevator screaming and howling. The funny thing about it was they did not know they were going to live with Mr. Wonka in his chocolate factory!

People can learn to obey from this book. Four children disobeyed Mr. Wonka and got hurt, but Charlie obeyed and got a reward. I recommend this book for kids age six to eleven. It is also fun and exciting so you will definitely want to read Charlie and the Chocolate Factory!

A delectably delicious book....
This book is so delicious I just want to eat it! "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" might be in many people's eyes a story about morality but to me, it's a story about children and their love of all things sweet, sticky and delicious. Charlie Bucket is the delightful boy (who is so poor all he gets to eat is cabbage soup) who finds a golden ticket in a chocolate bar he buys with money he finds in the street. This ticket entitles him and a companion to enter the wonderful world of Mr. Willy Wonka, the most famous and mysterious chocolate maker that the universe has ever known. Other competition winners include such heinous but wonderfully over the top characters like Augustus Gloop, the greediest boy in the world, and Veruca Salt, a spoilt brat whose father buys 10,000 chocolate bars so she can win a golden ticket. These greedy children and their frightful companions get their come-uppance in various hilarious ways that will have you spluttering with laughter with every page that you turn. Dahl's most famous creation in this book though are the Oompa-Loompas, a race of small people that Mr. Wonka has saved from extinction in the days when he traveled the world. This is a glorious, glorious book, filled with amazing characters, incredible sweets such as the everlasting gobstopper for the child with limited pocket money, and the chewing gum that that is a whole three course meal in itself. Your mouth will be watering throughout the story, and the river of chocolate will make you drool a waterfall. A scrumptious book for everyone no matter what their age.

Everyone will love it
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is brilliant. Roald Dahl's language is eccentric and refreshing. This book is about a boy named Charlie Bucket who lives with his poor family right near a the greatest chocolate factory in the world. When the owner of the chocolate factory, Willy Wonka, sends out five golden tickets, the whole world erupts in chaos. No one has been allowed in the great factory for years, and everyone knows that Wonka is a magician with magic. The story will make anyone hungry for a good candy bar and is easily amusing. I would recomment that everyone read this book at least once, though it was directed towards kids in grades 2-6.

Author Study
Charlie is in a family that is very poor. He lives in a small cottage with his grandparents and parets. He also lives by a great chocolate factory. Charlie is so poor that he only gets one Willy Wonka bar a year. No one has seen anbody or anthing go in or out of the chocolate factory.
One day in the newspaper it said that the chocolate factory was opening up. There were five golden tickets on Willy Wonka bars to get into the factory in the whole world. The prize is you get to go into the factory and bring any person of their choice. You have to read the book to see if he gets a golden ticket.
It was a good book to us because even if you saw the movie the book changed so you didn't know what was coming.

Snozzberries galore...
There's plenty that adults can learn from children's books. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is such a book. Not only is it a great read, it says something about greed, gluttony, and the dangers of the fantastic.

The story is probably familiar to many (thanks to the 1971 film adaptation), but the basic plot is this: Willy Wonka, a reclusive, famous (almost Howard Huges-like) owner of the largest candy factory in the world wraps five golden tickets in candy bars and distributes them to the world. No one has been in or out of Wonka's factory in years, but these tickets allow the ticket finders access to it for one day, as well as a lifetime supply of world-famous Wonka candy. Four tickets are quickly found by families who have the money and the means to do so (one of the finder's father even stops production in his factory so that his voluminous workers can unwrap the thousands of candy bars he's purchased in hope of finding one of the tickets). This is discouraging to Charlie Bucket, who comes from a destitute family who eat mostly watery cabbage and boiled potatoes. Charlie only gets one chocolate bar a year for his birthday - his father's job screwing on the tops of toothpaste tubes doesn't bring much income. Charlie's luck changes when he finds a dollar bill in the snow (after his father loses his job in the toothpaste factory the family begins to starve, and Charlie conserves energy by walking slowly, which helps him find the dollar). Luck leads to luck, as Charlie buys two candy bars and the second one contains a golden ticket. Charlie's 95 year-old (wow!) grandfather agrees to accompany Charlie. So, Along with four other spoiled brats and their families, Charlie and Grandpa Joe tour the Wonka factory. Inside, the factory is filled with amazing things, and the spoiled brats show their worst side and also expose the dangerous side of the fantastic. A river of chocolate is great until you fall into it. Trained squirrels are great unless they mistake you for a bad nut and through you in the chute. Chewing gum that tastes and nourishes as though it were an entire three course meal is great as long as the forumla is right and doesn't turn you into a giant blueberry. Being allowed into the Wonka factory is an amazing experience unless you're a spoiled brat who needs to grab, chew, eat, or touch everything you see. In this case being a brat brings dire consequences. The reward for not being a brat is something unbelievable, but the "losers" still get a lifetime supply of candy and chocolate.

Fans of the film (which is mistitled "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" because Charlie is really supposed to be the hero here) will notice some great differences in the story. The famous "Oompa Loompa" song is not in the book, but they do sing, but they sing longer and more detailed songs than in the movie. One of the songs goes on about the evils of television:

The most important thing we've learned
So far as children are concerned,
Is never, never, NEVER let
Them near your television set -
Or better still, just don't install
The idiotic thing at all.

They do not sing "Oompa Oompa Ommpity Doo, I've got another problem for you" such as in the movie. They also give credit where credit is due: the brattiness of the kids is also blamed on the parents. So in a way the story also becomes a lesson in parenting. The Oompa Loompas sing:

For though she's spoiled, and dreadfully so,
A girl can't spoil herself, you know.

Alas! you needn't look so far
To find out who these sinners are.
They are (and this is very sad)
Her loving parents, MUM and DAD.

In this way the Oompa Loompas almost serve the purpose of a Greek chorus. Whenever of the brats "gets it" they sing about the tragedy and probable causes of the event. This book is a very enjoyable read for any age. If you're an adult, don't deprive yourself of great children's books such as this one. If you're a kid, don't deprive your parents of your great books such as this one. Make them read it. Force them to read it. You know you want to. ... Read more

Book Description

Dear Listener,

The word carnivorous means meat eating and this carnivorous volume contains such a distressing story that consuming any of its contents would be far more stomach-turning than even the most imbalanced meal.

It would be best if I didn't mention any of the unnerving ingredients of this story, particularly, an unruly crowd, a wooden plank, and Chabo the Wolf Baby. I also shouldn't mention the features of the interactive CD, which include:

Perplexing word games
Photos from The Lemony Snicket Archives
Art from The Brett Helquist gallery

Sadly for me, I continue to research the lives of the Baudelaire orphans, but your time might be filled with something more palatable. With all due respect,

Lemony Snicket

Performed by Tim Curry

Reviews (123)

Dark Humor, Misfortune, Despair, and False Hope
Unfortunately, for the Baudelaire orphans bad luck seems to follow them wherever they go like a nefarious, gloomy, gray cloud. Their many attempts of escaping the vile, and filthy Count Olaf have been hopeless since he always seems to track them down.
In the ninth installment of A Series of Unfortunate Events Lemony Snicket once again creates a dreadful scenario filled with dark humor, suspense, mystery, and a shred of small hope, if that is even possible. The Baudelaire orphans find themselves forced to disguise themselves in freak costumes and submerge themselves into different identities. Instead of clearing up the mystery that encircles the anagram of V.F.D. they find themselves with more questions than answers. So very close to finding the solution they were until, once again, they lost their chance.
This book, as well as the series are a good read for anybody who wants to have a good time, laugh, or in very rare cases...cry. There's a feeling of impotence as one believes that maybe, just maybe the Baudelaire's might have a happy experience for once but then you find out that this is as unbelievable as ants that can talk. Lemony Snicket's literary voice is unique and worthy of recognition as he creates a ghastly storyline that hasn't been seen before. Seriously, when was the last time you read a book with a sad beginning, middle, and end? I am a mere fourteen years old yet I really delight in hearing his mind perplexing stories with great vocabulary words, and strange yet funny baby talk. These book are great for any age.

sometimes the carnival is no fun at all..........
Justin Pergolini
Room 22

I am a fifth grade student at Waldron Mercy Academy(JP).The book I am reviewing is THE CARNIVOUROUS CARNIVAL by LEMONY SNICKET.PLEASE RUN FOR YOUR LIFE.THIS REVIEW IS DANGOURUS AND MUST BE ERASED. You could not possibly want to hear the horrible events in this book...that is what Lemony Snicket whould say if he was typing this. Unlike Lemony Snicket this book is one of the best books I've ever read. Trouble has struck again for the Bualdeluares. Our story begins with the Bauldeluares in the trunk of Count Olafs long black car. The Bauldelaures are three orphans named Violet,Klaus,and Sunny whose parents died in a horrible fire. Count Olaf is a greedy man who has followed the Bauldelaures everywhere they go trying to steal the orphan's fortune and has faked his own death and blamed the poor Bauldelueres for the murder. The Bualdelueres have left their recent ''home'' at Hemlich Hospital, which I am sorry to say is no more, and found a small glimmer of light in its library of records.............

The Bualdelaures arrive at Calarigi Carnival (which I am sorry to say is no more either) where they hear of a fortuneteller who is telling Olaf where the orphans are all the time. The Bauldelaures disguise themselves as freaks to get a job at the carnivals house of freaks. It's horrible there as the Bualdelares are treated harshly on stage. They are in even more danger when Count Olaf announces the next big attraction at the carnival:feeding some lions one freak a day that is randomly selected from a hat. But that night the Bualdelares find out a little secret about the fortuneteller...

But I am afraid that tragedy strikes again for the Bauldelares and this dark road is very long indeed...........

one of th best
The Carnivorous Carnival is definently one of the best Lemony Snicket books i have ever read. This time the kids hitch a ride in the back off Count Olafs car to the Hinterlands. I the story the kids desquise themselves from him as freaks. Sunny dresses up as a wolf baby and Violet and Klaus dress as a two headed person. throughout the story the kids end up finding out something they really want to know but dont find out if it is 100% true. the end of this story is the most sad of them all. so i think that yu should read the book to find out what turns out to happen in the end.

One of the best of the series
I really love the Series of Unfortunate Events. This one is one of my favorites of the series along with the Wide Window (3), The Austere Academy (5), and the Hostile Hospital (8).
These books are very good. I was very suprised by many things in this book.
Read them!

responce to literture
In the book The Series of Unfortunate Events The Carnivorous Carnival there are three children's names are Klaus, Sunny, and Violet. They are three children who are very unlucky and get into stuff they shouldn't get in to. Olaf captured the kids and what's to get the Baudelaire fortune. Violet, sunny, and Klaus find disguises and put them on. They dressed up like a two headed person and a bay wolf. Olaf finds out who they really are and tries to put them in a pit of hungry lions. Violet tries to escape but does it work read the book to find out. This book is very interesting and I think every one should read it. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Wow! What an incredible collection!
Looking for ideas for things to do with your baby or toddler? Look no further. This is an awesome collection of songs, fingerplays, bouncing games, nursery rhymes, and lullabies. It comes with a CD/cassette and book that contains the complete text as well as directions for how to do each game or fingerplay, with separate instructions for baby and toddler. Of course, all the traditionals are here- "Pat-A-Cake", "Ride a Little Pony", "This Little Piggy", "Head, Shoulders, Knees, Toes", etc.- but there are many, many more that I had never heard of before and that have quickly become favorites with my baby. There are songs and rhymes for bathtime, for bouncing, for teaching baby the parts of the body, clothing, animal names and sounds, etc. etc. This is a truly amazing resource for encouraging your baby's language development and motor skills, as well as parent-child bonding. There are enough games to occupy your baby all day long!
Once it's bedtime, there are about 15 or so beautifully sung lullabies, all of which I have since learned by heart and sing to my baby all the time. Again, the lullabies include both traditionals like "Brahms Lullaby", "Rock a Bye Baby", "Hush Little Baby" as well as many I've never heard of before (e.g., "White Sheep", "Mother Goose's Lullaby", "Raisins and Almonds")
I've purchased several other infant development books, but this is the only one that gets consistent use every day. Best of all, it's a true bargain for the amount of material you get.

A true delight!
This audiocassette of songs and finger plays for little ones is absolutely precious. The voices of the young singers captivate my 18 month old twins, and are equally engaging for parents. The enclosed book with lyrics and hand motions to the songs is a terrific bonus. We have such fun acting out the songs together and encouraging our boys to imitate our hand gestures. I recommend it highly for interactive play with babies and toddlers. This would make a great shower gift! ... Read more

Book Description

General FictionLarge Print EditionIt was a dark and stormy night when Meg Murry, her brother Charles Wallace and her mother came down to the kitchen for a midnight snack and were upset by the arrival of a most disturbing stranger. The unearthly stranger spoke to them and told them there was such a thing as a tesseracta wrinkle in time . . .A Wrinkle in Timewinner of the Newbery Medal in 1963tells of the adventures of Meg, Charles Wallace and Calvin OKeefe as they search for Megs father, a scientist who disappeared while trying to solve the tesseract problem . . .  ... Read more

Reviews (787)

Space Travel at It's Best
"A Wrinkle in Time " tells the story of Meg and Charles Wallace who, with their friend Calvin, decide to look for their missing father. They meet three mysterious alien women who aid them in their search by giving them interesting powers. With the help of their new alien friends, the children enter a tesseract, a short way of traveling between worlds. They go to a world terrorized by the evil It. Their father is on this world and the children devise a plan to safely leave with him. Their plan goes terribly wrong.

This book has lots of action and it' s characters are children whose reactions are very realistic in their situations. If you like science fiction and love to read about time travel, you will love this book.

An outstanding Sci-fi!
Do you know those books where you accidentally yell out loud to a character to run or hide because you're so tied into the book? Well if you do, this book is definitely one of those. The book started me off confused with Mrs. Whatsit and her involvement in the book, but soon enough the unique characters of the three children and the odd supernatural women made me want to read more.

I loved how Madeleine L'Engle wrote about the aliens and their planets. Most people believe that aliens are much smarter and stronger that us, but she described them different than us, but with a reasonable intelligence level. It makes sense that she made Earth a clouded planet because compared to Ixchel, our planet is full of hate and evil. The only downside of the book for me was the ending. I expected a showdown between good and evil in the last heart stopping scene, but the book came to an ending with the usual 'love is the best power of all."

Looking at this book and comparing it to Harry Potter wouldn't be fair. First of all because after reading both books the overall excitement of Harry Potter way beyond that of A Wrinkle in Time mostly because of the size of the book. I t would also not be fair because Harry Potter, when I was reading it, was the best book of all time and the excitement in the writing was just incomparable. If you're looking for a good Sci-fi book though to read on your free time you will love it. Then again, I guess what I am trying to get to you is that if I were to choose to read the fifth Harry Potter book or all four of the Wrinkle in Time books (I think they are about the same amount of pages) I would definitely choose Harry Potter.

Hope this helps,
Travis Robinson

Really good!!
I read this a long time ago, but it's still really good! Read it! Anyway, that's not my real point.

Would all those people who are complaining about the "lack of scientific substance" stop?!?!?! This isn't supposed to be a scientific journal! It's a NOVEL! What do novels do? Tell stories! NOT give scientific facts.

So, with that aside, I recommend this book to everyone.

Have fun reading!

A Wrinkle in Time
A Wrinkle in Time is a fantastic Sci-Fi young adults book. It is about discovery of one's self and accepting yourself as you are.

The story follows Meg, her brilliant brother Charles Wallace, and her new friend Calvin as they journey through space and behind an evil cloud to find Meg's father. They are assisted by Mrs. Whatsit, Mrs. Who, and Mrs. Which, who show the children that they can do anything with the talents (and weaknesses) they have.

The reason it didn't receive 5 stars is because the story fell flat in certain places and many times it seemed rushed. Also, my favorite is A Swiftly Tilting Planet, and comparing this book to that one, this book falls short, but only just a little bit.

Challenging and thought-provoking for all ages
This is one of those amazing kids books that can be read on all different levels by people of all different ages. Is it the story of a bunch of spunky kids out to save their father? Or is it one big metaphysical metaphor?

When gawky Meg, "new" Charles Wallace, and popular Calvin O'Keefe get whisked off across the universe to rescue Meg and Charles Wallace's father, they have no idea that they are part of the greater battle between good and evil.

The amazing thing is that this book does not talk down to kids. It is chock full of graduate-level science, religion, and philosophy. Classical poets and thinkers are quoted without a second thought. A relatively obscure sonnet from Shakespeare serves as an important plot point. But although it challenges, it also rewards. It is never difficult to read or understand.

I have always thought that this book would be a great starting point for a discussion if read alongside Lois Lowry's "The Giver." Both are about dystopias where there is no such thing as individuality and privacy. How are the two worlds different, and how are they the same? "Aberations" are dealt with in surprisingly similar ways. What is the role of "love" in both books? What does Meg mean when she screams "Like and equal are not the same thing" and how does that relate to the snobiness that Jonah's "parents" show towards some professions?

Everyone over the age of 10 should read this book. Grown-ups should not consider it a "kids book," because it can be read on so many different levels. It is a classic, thought-provoking book that will be read again and again. ... Read more

Book Description

Bedtime Stories Clarissa Pinkola Estes As a child growing up in a family of cantadoras (keepers of the old stories), Clarissa Pinkola Estés learned first-hand how a story told at bedtime can soothe away the troubles of the day, and prepare the way for another night’s dreams to follow.Now a beloved cantadora herself, Estés shares this treasured family tradition with you on Bedtime Stories, her own special collection oftales to relax and ease you into sleep. Join this world-renowned Jungian analyst and bestselling author as she explores: How to use stories as healing companions that open an "aperture" into the divine world of our dreams; the meaning of archetypal figures like Mother Night and the Sandman, and themes such as renewal, enchantment, and transformation; original tellings by Dr. Estés of her bedside favorites, including Sleeping Beauty, the Mouse and the Lion, and more. ... Read more

Book Description

One of the oldest and best ways to teach kids languages, updated for the 21st century

Grownups have been using simple songs to teach young children the rudiments of languages since long before people danced sur le pont d'Avignon. Now the Let's Sing and Learn series, CD Editions brings that tried-and-true method up-to-date for today's modern kid. Each book/CD set contains collection of 20 original songs that combine catchy melodies with simple, cleverly-disguised lessoning vocabulary and expression.

Written by accomplished songwriter-linguists, the songs cover a variety of subjects, including greetings, colors, counting, the alphabet, the days of the month, relationships, and more. And most importantly, the songs are easy to learn and fun to sing, making them the perfect medium for introducing children, ages three to six, to the words, accents, and rhythms of other languages.

Each book/CD set includes:

• 20 original tunes covering an array of everyday subjects
• A CD recording of the songs that provides a model of proper pronunciation and rhythm
• Simple musical scores that parents and teachers can use to accompany young learners
• English translations for each song and suggested actions

Download Description

"The team of Koko, the brilliant Siamese cat, and Qwilleran, the reporter with the perceptive moustache, is back in action--with an adorable female Siamese, Yum Yum, added to the household.When Qwilleran decides to do a feature story on Junktown, he gets more than he bargained for. Not the dope den he anticipated, Junktown is a haven for antique dealers and collectors--as strange a lot as the crafty reporter has ever encountered. When a mysterious fall ends the career--and the life--of one of Junktown's leading citizens, Qwilleran is convinced it was no accident. But, as usual, it takes Koko to prove he's right." ... Read more

Reviews (12)

Another great book from Lilian Jackson Braun!
This is the third of "The Cat Who ..." series. Really a good read. I like the character development, the clues, and the way everything comes together at the end. Koko and Yum Yum are both great cats (even though only Koko seems to be a good detective) and if you read the books in order you find Jim (Qwill) becoming a better person for his friendship with the cats.

In Which Qwilleran, Koko, and Yum Yum. . .
. . .move to "Junktown" in order to do a series of articles on the subject of antiques -- yet another topic on which Qwill knows nothing!

This book is especially nice in that it introduces us to Mrs. Cobb, a character who will make an appearance in several other books -- as will her famous cooking!

As this is a murder mystery, there is, of course, the obligatory murders -- but the plot is tightly written and the characters are interesting. In the end, of course, Qwill, Koko, and Yum Yum save the day -- and help Junktown to a new burst of popularity and prosperity.

3rd in the cat who...series
Another cute murder mystery with Qwilleran, the middle-aged news writer for the Daily Fluxion and his Siamese cats Koko and Yum-Yum. The setting takes place in Junktown, a decaying town known for its unusual junk (antique) shops and seedy living. Captivated by the unusual way-of-life, Qwilleran decides to move into town and starts writing stories for the Christmas feature. He becomes friendly with many of the shop-owners especially "the Dragon" and "the 3 Weird Sisters". He soon discovers that Andy's death was not accidental. With the help of his two mischievous cats, Qwilleran solves the mystery in Junktown.

if you are a Cat Who fan if you are not then 3 or 4
Jim Qwilleran, Qwill to his friends, has decided to ease his cash flow problem by winning the prize offered by The Daily Fluxion for the best story of the year. Qwill is a feature writer for the paper but his doubts that anything on his usual beat of interior design will achieve this goal so he pitches the idea of a heart touching story about Christmas in Junktown. His editor agrees and then Qwill finds out that the junk in Junktown is not narcotics but instead refers to the low end of the antique trade.

There is no option for Qwill but to try and make the best of the situation. He soon becomes immersed in the characters of Junktown even locating a new apartment there for himself and his two Siamese cats. Qwill keeps hearing of a tragic death that occured in the community a few weeks before, a death that seems odd to him but that everyone around him keeps insisting must have been accidental. As more tragic accidents and odd occurences that place Qwill becomes more convinced that Junktown is no as crime free as his neighbors would like to believe. As always Qwill, with the help of his cats, solve the mysteries.

This, the third entry into the Cat Who series, was orginally published in 1968 which becomes evident whenever prices are mentioned. Other than that the story holds up well and could be enjoyed even by some one who is not familiar with the series. For fans of the series please note that it is not set in the familiar Moose County of the later books but is instead located in a "large Mid-western city'. As is common for this series some old familiar characters make repeat appearances if only in passing.

Boringgggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggg............
This book was the worst one ever written. If you thought that the person was posed with cats you'll hate this person even more. She should get a life and not spend her time writting kiddie books about cats. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

Great story!
This is fantastic telling of Homer's Odyssey. Bodkin regales us of Homer's adventures, beginning with a scene inside the wooden horse of Troy, through confronting the Cyclops, battles with cannibals, and his long awaited return to Ithaca. Bodkin gives each character a distinct voice and develops moods and transitions with his guitar in the background. The changes in voices are so intricate that when I first listened to the tape, I thought Bodkin had put the recording together by blending several independently recorded tracks. But if you listen closely, you can hear coughs in the background, evidence that this was a recording of a live performance, and Bodkin managed to create all of the rich sounds found on the tape while reciting in front of a live audience.

I managed to escape reading the Odyssey while I was in school. On the one hand, that's too bad, because now, having heard this story, I realize what a tremendous influence the story has had on all literature that followed, and how much I have missed over the years by not having any familiarity with the Odyssey. But on the other hand, it was fitting to have my first experience with Homer to be this one- -this story was meant to be shared orally, rather than read. And Bodkin is a master storyteller, who has made the tale come alive. Now that I've heard the story properly, I think I'm ready to study it more thoroughly with a book.

Hear the Odyssey
Your English teacher was wrong: Homer did not write the Odyssey. He sang it. Actually, scholars are still debating whether the blind mythic poet called Homer ever existed at all, but they do generally agree on two things: the Odyssey is one of the greatest stories surviving from Graecian antiquity, and it was originally meant to be sung, not read. Ancient bards, called rhapsodists, wandered through the hoods of ancient Greece, chanting their stories to all who would listen. Hundreds of generations later, we're still listening. Just two months ago, I listened to Odds Bodkin's rendition of the 2500-year epic on my car CD-player.

Homer's Odyssey depicts the 10-year wanderings of Odysseus, as he tries to go home after he and the Greeks successfully sacked the city of Troy. Bodkin's version pares down these 10-year wanderings to a 4-hour audio presentation, but many of the signature adventures are retained (Included are: the Lotus-Eaters; Polyphemus; the Lystrigonians; Circe; Scylla & Charybdis; Calypso; Princess Nausicaa; plenty of storms and waves, crashes and crushes, and a lot more).

What I don't like about this recording is that Bodkin has about three different voices that he uses for scores of characters; after a while, things start sounding familiar... Also, his attempts at female voices are a misfire; they all sound like Ms. Piggy with a sore throat.

What elevates this recording beyond puppet-show drama, I think, are three things: Bodkin's enthusiasm, the musical track, and his sense of story. The soundtrack, a combination of 12-string guitar and harp, is soothing, mystical, rejuvenating, otherworldly; it could be sold separately. And, while most of the drama is shallow, I still have to admit there are moments when I was truly moved by this story.

Know this -- Bodkin's version of the Odyssey is an adaptation, meaning he may skim here and embellish there, but he has full poetic license to do so, because he is adapting the work for children (and adults who love a good story), and for listening. As for the critics who bash this because it's not "true to the original," they, I would say, are missing the point.

Some people just like to hear a good yarn. If you're in the mood for a funny and talented storyteller to make an ancient story sing again, check this out.

The Odyssey Suite
This is a retelling of Homer's great story by an actor/storyteller, and lasts just over four hours. By way of contrast, Ian McKellen's reading of Fagles's translation of The Odyssey clocks in at 13 hours, 10 minutes. One would think, then, that this version must leave lots out. Well, yes and no. It covers all the main adventures Odysseus has, nor does it hurry over them. (In fact, the Trojan horse sequence, which is just alluded to briefly by Homer, starts the story here and is given an expansive treatment, much of which actually comes from later writers.)

So, Odds Bodkin tells Odysseus's story in full in four hours. Then what does he leave out? He leaves out Homer's expansive way of telling a story by means of repeated heroic epithets and extended dialogs. He leaves out the gods, mostly: their part of the story is brief indeed. All the careful planning that went into the defeat of the suitors is left out as well. It leaves out the adventures of Telemachus. All Odysseus's entertaining fabrications during his travels, these have been excised. And, as this version is intended for children, it leaves out the gruesome scenes at the end where the unfaithful servants are killed.

You might say that it leaves out most of the matter that locates the story in a certain heroic pre-classical culture. Yet some flavor of that culture remains, and the well-known incidents in the story are certainly given their due. Thus we have, in addition to the Trojan Horse, Scylla and Charibdis, the visit to the Underworld, the cattle of Helios, the Sirens, the Isle of the Lotus Eaters, the Cyclops, the misadventures on Circe's isle, and the long languishing on Calypso's isle. And it finishes up with a bang as Odysseus strings his mighty bow and lets fly an arrow through all the aligned ax-heads, then, revealed, turns in wrath upon the suitors who have been besieging his wife.

This is certainly an entertaining version, and an excellent way to learn the story ' for child or grownup. Odds Bodkin is good at voices, so he can differentiate his characters well. This adds to the fun as he mixes accents and verbal mannerisms (Polyphemus reminded me of the Cookie Monster) in an energetic and colorful telling. It also helps that there is a more-or-less continuous musical background. Celtic harp and 12-string guitar are rarely obtrusive, but rather provide push to the narration.

Anyway, to us, The Odyssey is a story, not a guide for living, but it is one of the central stories of our culture. And here we get that story (without undergoing trial by recitation), which is all that most of us want, really.

Strip-mining the Spirit
Talent and vision do not always travel together. The actor-storyteller performing this theatrically unfaithful adaptation of "The Odyssey" is technically gifted, but you and yours will receive in the end an over-orchestrated and hyperbolic insult to your intelligence and to the narrative, spiritual and psychological richness of Homer's great tale. The voices chosen for so many of the characters completely miss the mark. I enjoy dramatic chutzpah, and I don't insist on purity of text, but the incredibly vulgar and low-brow characterizations of Polyphemus, of Odysseus' shipmates, and of the suitors not only wear thin, they absolutely contradict these richly ambiguous characters' contributions to the story. The actor has little feeling for his feminine characters, producing shrill, breathy or whiny voices for the most part that are grossly inaccurate in the given (and important, I would think)contexts of these characters'personalities. And then, and worst of all, we have the belittling, undignified, sneering portrayal of the various divinites. One needn't be a latter-day Olympian to expect a sense of respect for one of the world's great spiritual and philosophical heritages, particularly from an artist who is mining one of its greatest and deepest legacies. This performance out-Disneys Disney in its dumbing-down of the divine.

If you want to introduce your children, or anyone else's children to Homer, consider Padraic Colum's beautifully written "The Children's Homer," available through amazon, and written in short segments that work very well for evening, bedtime, or even car trip readings. You don't need 37 or 137 or even 7 voices to hold a listener's attention: you just need to trust the tale and respect your listeners' imaginations, two qualities lacking from this audio assault. As my son said when he heard a brief portion of the over-the-top performance on this cassette, "Dad, this is embarrassing." True enough.

A wonderful performance of a classic journey
This is storytelling at its very best. While those unfamiliar with the Iliad and the Odyssey might need a bit of explanation regarding how Odysseus came to be inside the Trojan Horse at the start of the tape, the quality of the performance will rapidly grab the attention of the listener. Purists should be aware that this is a performance of the Odyssey, not a simple dramatic reading of the text. We found it a great way to introduce the classics to our children in a format that was enjoyable for the entire family. That said, parents should recognize that there is some violent content in the story which might not be appropriate for younger kids. ... Read more

Book Description

The first volume of The Lord of the Rings trilogy, revised and with a new foreword and an index by Professor Tolkien. The trilogy recounts the War of the Ring, in which the Third Age of Middle-earth came. This volume opens with the discovery of the Nature of the Ring. "Destined to outlast our time." -- New York Herald Tribune ... Read more

Reviews (714)

Finally a "real" unabridged recording of LOTR
I am not one who usually buys books-on-tape (or CD as in this case) but I have long wanted to obtain the Lord of the Rings so as to hear this incredible story over and over. After having read it several times, my book is in tatters and so I searched for an unabridged audio recording. Many of those that I have seen claim to be "unabridged" but the fact is that they are not complete! They give parts of the books in full but leave out many sections or chapters. This set by Rob Inglis is COMPLETE!!! It is very well read with no drastic voicing of characters. Characters are easily distinguished and thoroughly enjoyable. This set is not full of sound effects and music, so if you are looking for that this is not for you. However, I personally prefer the fact that this is not an over-production and is rather quite focussed on what I wanted in the first place, the characters and the story. Inglis does a marvelous job and I am very happy with this set. Again, not to harp on it but, this is a "complete" package well worth the money!!!

A grand beginning to the supreme fantasy of our time
There is, as Simon Cowell says, "no question or doubt" (or "no question a doubt", danged if I know from his accent) that this is one of the greatest works of Western literature the world has yet seen. That was beautifully proven with the movies. Now, after reading the tedious "The Hobbit" and witnessing Peter Jackson's timeless adaptation, I was finally ready to pick up Part One of LOTR. I'm glad I didn't wait another second. Tolkien's first brainchild is timeless, a flawless blend of rousing adventure, memorable (and often quirky) characters, hypnotic fantasy, good vs. evil, and social commentary. If you are willing enough to read the lenghtly introduction, don't be fooled by Tolkien's explanation that this is just a book for your basic reading pleasure. It can be read on so many thematic levels it's unbelievable. There is a chapter in the book that was cut from the movie. The chapter "In The House of Tom Bombadil" provides a pause in the increasing tension of the novel (the hobbits have had a close encounter with death from a terrible enemy) and introduces us to Tom Bombadil and his lovely wife. In the book, the pause works, but it was best left out of the movie, where the pace was much quicker. That brings me to another point of the book: the pace. Tolkien did not write this to satisfy children. This is fantasy for those with very long attention spans. He goes into long, at times tedious, detail of what the Fellowship had for breakfast, if one of them ate more than the other, etc. And the romance between Aragorn and Arwen is not present in the book as it is in the movie. No matter. Both the movie and book are excellent and stand as perfection in their genre. Buy both immediately.

Brillance from the Grandmaster of Fantasy
The Fellowship of the Ring is beautiful and rich in texture, character development, and writing style, and in my opinion transcends the realm of "book" and "fantasy", becoming true literature and a classic. The book should not be confused with the movie, as the two are aimed at different audiences with different expectations. Fellowship is without a doubt dated. As some reviewers have pointed out, Tolkien may spend 80 pages walking down a road, or 2 pages in a song. He may spend pages developing a character's style, then mere paragraphs describing an action scene. Tolkien wrote to a British audience back in the 30s and 40s who didn't mind this and actually expected it. An audience who were not as rushed as we are today, who did not expect the instant gratification TV and computers bring and were used to pure imagination to visualize action scenes. An audience who had 2 or 3 hours a night to become absorbed in a book and who were willing to put forth the sustained effort to delve into complex character development. The movie in turn is geared towards maximum action and gratification in a short time period. There's nothing wrong with that; in fact I think the movie is brilliant, a visual feast. But that is not, nor can it be, the aim of the book. The point of this book is to close yourself off to the real world and lose yourself entirely in Tolkien's fantasy. If a sentence has to be reread a couple of times, or only 20 pages are read in an hour or two, than so be it. This is not a novel to be rushed.

Not a fantasy fan
I am not a fantasy fan but wanted to read this anyways- I didn enjoy it but it was just a bit slow at points. It took sometime getting through it but made me appreciate the movies that much more. Probably wouldn't have gotten through the book if I hadn't watched the movie first.

best book ever
"The Lord of the Rings" is the greatest piece of literature the world has ever seen and will ever see. Nothing can replace it.

Now I have a little something to say to someone named "alcar" who gave this wonderful book one star. You are an idiodic freak!!!!! No one can insult J.R.R. Tolkien. And yes, he wrote this. You must be pretty stupid not to know that the book came before the movie. The way you wrote your review, you made it seem like you thought the movie came before the book. WELL YOU COULDN'T BE MORE WRONG!!!!! The end credits of the movie clearly state "Based On The Book by J.R.R. Tolkien". You are an idiot. (please write another review so you can reply to me.) ... Read more

Book Description

Dear Listener,

Nobody in their right minds would listen to this particular book about the lives of Violet, Klaus and Sunny Baudelaire on purpose, because each dismal moment of their stay at the village of V.F.D. has been faithfully and dreadfully recorded on this CD.

I can think of no reason why anyone would want to listen to a book containing such unpleasant matters as migrating crows, an angry mob, a newspaper headline, the Duluxe Cell, and some very strange hats.

I also shouldn't mention the interactive features of the CD, which include:

A perplexing word game • Photos from The Lemony Snicket Archives • Art from The Brett Helquist gallery

It is my solemn and sacred occupation to research each detail of the Baudelaire children's lives and write them all down, but you may decide to do some other sacred and solemn thing, such as listening to another book instead.

Reviews (77)

My opinion of The Vile Village and other books by L.S.
I am an avid reader of almost 12 years. I stumbled across The Bad Beginning by Lemony Snicket (I hate that pen name though) and I loved it. I read up to the 7th book and cannot wait for the 8th. These books were refreshingly short and entertaining. A Series of Unfortunate Events tells the long and sad epic, throughout many books, of Violet, Klaus and Sunny Baudelaire whose parents have perished in a house fire and who are left alone with the evil Count Olaf. Each are well developed and unique characters whose abilities come in useful at every turn only to be squashed by the evil doings of Olaf and his troupe. The books get better and better as you go along and meet characters like:

~Isadora and Duncan Quagmire, two triplets who are also journalists and poets

~Esme Squalor, the fancy pinstriped financial advisor

~Vice Principal Nero, the self-proclaimed genius violinist

~Sir, whose head is invisible due to a constant cloud of smoke

~and many more!

Please, try this series out and you will love it. I thouroughly recommend any book in the series to readers of Harry Potter and other magical stories who want a short and simple laugh-out-loud adventure.

Misfortune follows the Baudelaires to their newest home.
Because none of their distant relatives will take them in out of fear of Count Olaf, the three Baudelaire orphans become part of a new program based on the saying "It takes a village to raise a child." Under this program, Violet, Klaus, and Sunny's newest guardians will be all the residents of an entire village. In the hopes of solving the mystery of "V.F.D.," the children choose a village by that name as their new home. But they are terribly disappointed. They are sent to live with a kind but timid man named Hector who loves to cook Mexican food and has a library of forbidden books. V.F.D. is run by the strict Council of Elders, who have made tens of thousands of ridiculous rules that the citizens of the village must follow or risk being burned at the stake. When the Baudelaires are falsely accused of murder and imprisoned, they must escape from the jail and find their friends the Quagmires, who are hidden somewhere in the village. This was another miserable, hilarious book in A Series of Unfortunate Events that is a must-read for all fans of the series.

The Vile Village
This book was very exciting,funny, and has many miserable characters.Atleast Violet, Klaus, and Sunny have someone who cares for them, even though that person is not much help.This is the best book I've ever read. I hope other people enjoy it, too.

Quoth the crows, "Squawk!"
This is the first book in the Series of Unfortunate Events that I really wish I had heard on tape. Many parts of this tale should be heard spoken aloud to be truly appreciated. As it was, I was resigned to instead reading the book while working out on a particularly nasty elliptical runner all the time pondering the sad fate of the Baudelaire orphans and their friends. In "The Vile Village", the plot not only thickens but congeals. Here at last are more clues about the mysterious VFD. Here the name "Snicket" has arrived within the text of these pages rather than as merely its author and narrator. Here the clues add up and up.

Taking the phrase, "It takes a village to raise a child", a little too seriously, the Baudelaire orphans have now been officially adopted by none other than an entire village. The orphans have chosen this particular location because of its fascinating name, VFD. As you might recall, these initials were part of the Quagmire triplets' last cryptic words to the Baudelaires before they were officially kidnapped by the loathsome Count Olaf. As it turns out, the town is actually named the Village of Fowl Devotees due to its enormous crow population. While there, the orphans are required to do the chores for all the townspeople and live with the kindly handyman, Hector. It isn't long before mysterious messages in the form of rhyming couplets start appearing, apparently from the Quagmires. It's up to the Baudelaires to find their friends and save their own skin before an angry mob torches them forthwith.

While the tension runs high in this particular Snicket outing, I found it strangely hopeful at the end. Obviously this was not the author's intention, but that's how I felt anyway. Though tensions run high in this tale, the angry mob is about as threatening as the witch hunters in "Monty Python and the Holy Grail". Personally I was delighted when I was able to figure out where the Quagmires were being hidden by page 143. Then I remembered that I am currently 26 years of age and this book was written, ostensibly, for kids. Still, I think I've also figured out what VFD stands for, and only time will show if I am right or wrong.

The story itself is just as you would like it to be. The orphans have a little more enjoyable down time here and (much to my relief) far better food than they've had in some time. One squiggle of a squabble I did have involved the crows perching continually in the Nevermore tree. Shouldn't they be ravens? Otherwise, I liked Count Olaf's latest disguise (hence my wish that I could hear the audio of this book) and I especially enjoyed the clues and mystery in the tale. The author has the difficult job of continually upping the ante, as it were, while keeping these stories invigorating and interesting. At the end of this book the Baudelaires are in the direst of straits, but I have little doubt that they'll eventually pull through. Call it a bolt of optimism from the blue, if you will.

Exciting and unfortunate!
This book held my attention from the beginning to the end. Once I finished a chapter I didn't want to stop there. I have read from the first through the ninth books in this series. I intend to read the rest as well. I hope Lemony Snicket, the author, never stops creating additions to this series. Everyone should at least start the "Unfortunate" series because I think once they do, they will enjoy all of them as much as I have. ... Read more

Book Description

Read by the author
2 hrs. 35 mins.
2 cassettes

Jack and Annie are back with four more adventures in one audiobook collection.

This time, Jack and Annie must race against time to find an ancient library before it's buried in ash, take on a book burning emperor, escape a Viking invasion, and witness the first Olympics in ancient Greece.

Volume 4 includes:
Magic Tree House #13: Vacation Under the Volcano
Magic Tree House #14: Day of the Dragon
Magic Tree House #15: Viking Ships at Sunrise
Magic Tree House #16: Hour of the Olympics ... Read more

Book Description

Dear Reader,

If you have just picked up this audio, then it is not too late to put it back down. Like the previous books in A Series of Unfortunate Events, there is nothing to be found in these pages but misery, despair, and discomfort, and you still have time to choose something else to read.

Within the chapters of this story, Violet, Klaus, and Sunny Baudelaire encounter a darkened staircase, a red herring, some friends in a dire situation, three mysterious initials, a liar with an evil scheme, a secret passageway, and parsley soda.

I have sworn to write down these tales of the Baudelaire orphans so the general public will know each terrible thing that has happened to them, but if you decide to read something else instead, you will save yourself from a heapful of horror and woe.

With all due respect,

Lemony Snicket

Reviews (97)

ups and downs
If you scare eaily,skip this book. The Ersatz Elevator is one of the books in a series of Unfortunate Events, Wich features count olaf as a villain.Count olaf is a really mean guy who does very nasty, mean things to the Baudelair orphans.
This book starts out with the three Baudelair orphans Violet, Klause and sonny in a penthouse at 667 Dark Ave, near where the baudelairs lived before there parents died. Many strange things happen during this story. There is a secret passage, a door man who helps Count Olaf, welding torches, an auction with unusual items, and an elevator shaft(but that's no surprise given the title of the book)
Despite the nasty, mean things that that count olaf does to the Baudelairs,there are some funny parts. For instance the penthouse is so large that when they went looking for Count Olaf they droped bread crums in each room so they new they had alredy been there.
Read this book to find out if Count Olaf will be caught and be put in jail, or get away again! There are loys of twists and turns and like the title, plenty of ups and downs.

The Elevator is Out
After "The Austere Academy", I wondered whether this series of books could get any better. They can and they did. In "The Ersatz Elevator", the sixth book in this series, the Baudelaire orphans move in with a non-relative in a penthouse apartment. While you might think that a penthouse apartment (which has something like 71 bedrooms) and kitchens, and sitting rooms, and on and on, would be a lovely place to live, you would be thinking wrong, because this is one of the books in "A Series of Unfortunate Events", and those of you that have read the previous books know that little good comes to pass concerning the Baudelaire orphans.

This time the problem is that Esme Squalor (the sixth most important financial advisor in the city) and her husband Jerome are way too hung up on what is "in". Esme must go to only the "in" restaurants; she must wear only "in" clothes, which includes the children, and on and on. Unfortunately, being "in" also means multiple compromises in terms of comfort. For example, the penthouse is on the top of a building with 66 stories, and elevators are "out". So the Squalors and the Baudelaires must walk up and down the 66 stories each time the go in to and out from the building. They certainly received sufficient exercise. Before I forget, orphans are also "in".

Of course, we know that Count Olaf must eventually show up, and he does. However, there is a mystery. We find that Count Olaf went up to the apartment and did not later leave the building. Therein lies the crux of the mystery for this story.

This story climaxes with the children running briefly into old friends, and then losing them again. They also nearly catch Count Olaf, again. In the end, the children are forced to find a new home once again. Unfortunately I am unable to tell you more, because Lemony Snicket, should he ever escape from his current predicament, would hunt me down and provide me with agony should I reveal the end of this Baudelaire tale. Suffice it to say that the Baudelaires have their best adventure yet, with even better to come.

This series has had its strong points and its weak points. In general this book is one of the better ones in the series, readily matching "The Austere Academy". In addition to the direct lessons provided in the book, the children once again are masters of their own fates, and are forced to get themselves out of their predicaments with minimal adult help. I also enjoyed the moral tale provided by Lemony Snicket regarding people that must always keep up with everyone else in style or fashion. For this last point alone the book is a must-read for every teenage child.

The violence in this story is a bit more muted than in some of the previous books, and I think that an 8 or 9 year old child should be able to handle the story well. Certainly Esme could generate a great deal of family discussion of status and whether status is sufficiently important to cause people pain or to break laws.

In keeping with the trend of the last book, this book continues to expose the children to new experiences and to challenge their abilities to take care of themselves. Once again, while there are certainly negative aspects to the story, the positive aspects outweigh the negatives. This book is easily a good successor to "The Austere Academy", and sets a standard for the next books in the series. I will tell you now that the next two books are just as good as or better than this book and "The Austere Academy", thus continuing the excellence of this unconventional children's series. 5 stars again!

The best book I ever read
This book is unlike any other book i've ever read.It is hard for me to say if I like Violet or Klaus more.Beacause they both really help geting away from danger (or Count Olaf).I recomend this book entirely.

book the sixth rules!
this book is the best yet.it has a new badie. some traped triplets.and v.f.d.

Perhaps my favorite of the entire series!
The sixth book of Unfortunate Events is probably the most enthralling of the lot because of the unbelievable creative and brilliant portrayal of its characters by Lemony Snicket.
Sunny is a real cutie and she is the greatest baby in the whole world as it's clearly portrayed in this book. My heart beat so hard when I was reading one of the fantastic encounters between the a villain and the 3 children. It was like reading a very fine mystery novel by the fireside-- only better! Wow! If you want to find out what it is I'm referring to, you'll have to read this book. It's undoubtably a rollercoaster of events here as you will find out. ... Read more

Book Description

Four cassettes, 6 hrs

Artemis Fowl is a one of the greatest criminal minds the world has ever seen. He is heir to the Fowl family empire—a centuries old clan of international underworld figures and con artists. He is arguably the most cunning Fowl of all. He is also twelve years old.

Artemis' interest in mythology and an obsession with the Internet leads him to discover proof of the existence of "The People"- otherwise known as fairies, sprites, leprechauns and trolls. He learns every fairy has a magical Book. If he can find the Book, it will lead him to "The People's" vast treasure of gold.
With his brutish sidekick, Butler, he sets his plans in motion. Artemis tricks a drunken old fairy woman into loaning him her Book, a tiny golden volume, for thirty minutes. He scans it with a digital camera and emails it to his Mac G6 computer. Back in his mansion in Ireland, he is the first human to decode the secrets of the fairies.

Artemis needs a leprechaun to help him with this plan. He and Butler hunt down Holly Short, a tough, female LEPrecon, part of a gung-ho Fairy commando unit, who is on a reconnaissance mission.
He kidnaps her, and a major battle begins. It's satyr against gnome, man against elf, and for the