Book Description

See all your favorite Scooby characters in this sticker book, including Scooby-Doo, Shaggy, Daphne, Velma, and Fred. There are more than 60 stickers of the Mystery Inc. gang and the ghastly ghouls they unmask. Have a hauntingly good time! ... Read more

Book Description

By skillfully weaving his own prose with Shakespeare's language, Leon Garfield has refashioned nine of the Elizabethan playwright's dramas into stories, capturing all the richness of the characters, plot, mood, and setting. This format will delight both those who know the great dramatist's works and those who are new to them. Plays included are: Much Ado About Nothing, Julius Caesar, Antony and Cleopatra, Measure for Measure, As You Like It, Cymbeline, King Richard the Third, The Comedy of Errors, and The Winter's Tale. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

A Child's Portrait of Shakespeare by Lois Burdett
I purchased this book because I was attracted to it and I intended to put it away until I could pull together an interesting unit study on Shakespeare. However, my two boys (7 and 9) could not stand to go to bed without me reading it to them first!! They were instantly attracted to artworks and writing done by kids their age and wouldn't let me pass a single page without reading everything! They enjoyed finding the spelling errors and I was certainly surprised at how many they caught, as I am sure they would've made many of the same ones. My boys asked, after reading the book, if we could study Shakespeare for school THIS week! Yikes, I have got some quick planning to do. This is a wonderfully inspiring leaping off point for a trip into the world of Shakespeare. At the end of the book, one of my sons said it well, "Hey mom, he wrote drama and he lived drama, too!" I think they got it.

Outstanding way To Learn About Shakespeare's Life
How many people really know the details of Shakespeare's life! Find out in this well-done, rhyming text filled with kids illustrations and "letters" and "documents". For example: one child crafts Shakespeare's will...very interesting! Lois Burdett is a genius! Perfect for teaching about Shakespeare - for kids and adults! Buy It! ... Read more

Book Description

This second edition presents a fresh look at A Midsummer Night's Dream in accordance with the latest work of the Shakespeare and Schools Project, the National Curriculum for English and developments at GCSE and A level. Cambridge School Shakespeare considers the play as theatre and the text as script, enabling pupils to inhabit the imaginative world of the play in an accessible, meaningful and creative way. Cambridge School Shakespeare encourages students to participate actively in examining the plays, to work in groups as well as individually, to treat the play as a script to be re-created, and to explore the theatrical/dramatic qualities of the text. The editorial comments cater for pupils of all ages and abilities, providing clear, helpful guidelines for school study. The format of the plays is also designed to help all teachers, whether experienced or inexperienced. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Excellent for lunatics,lovers and poets!
If you love this play and are thrillled by the stage history and staging minutiae, the this book will send you reeling! The historical reasearch is encyclopediac and captivating. Your rude sea will grow civil with its song.

Delightfully entertaining and a magical humerous romance
I thought that the book was fantastic and delight. I couldn't put it down. I loved every minute of the book. ... Read more

Book Description

"Dance with me, Daddy!"What father could resist?Willy Welch celebrates the simple joys of parenthood. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

KIds will love this book, mine does.
My 8 year old son and I just listened to Willy Welch read thisbook to a room full of kids of all ages. Even the smallest kids werelistening to him. This a book that is on my Christmas list for other kids in my family. ... Read more

Book Description

With insights into a timeless cast of characters-including superheroes such as Superman and Wonder Woman and villains such as Solomon Grundy and The Shade - Justice League: The Animated Series Guide is a super-cool resource for fans of the popular series. ... Read more

Book Description

Troy Billings is seventeen, 296 pounds, friendless, utterly miserable,and about to step off a New York subway platform in front of an oncoming train. Until hemeets Curt MacCrae, an emaciated, semi-homeless, high school dropout guitar genius,the stuff of which Lower East Side punk rock legends are made. Never mind that Troy’sdad thinks Curt’s a drug addict and Troy’s brother thinks Troy’s the biggest (literally)loser in Manhattan. Soon, Curt’s recruited Troy as his new drummer—even though Troycan’t play the drums. Together, Curt and Troy will change the world of punk, and Troy’sown life, forever. ... Read more

Reviews (18)

Fun with Fat Kid
From the first sentence of "Fat kid" I was hooked.
KL Going gives us sights, sounds, smells, and a vivid telling of a tale of two mismatched friends and their adventure to form a band and play a successful gig. The first person telling took me into Troy's (the fat kid) mind and heart and allowed me to peer into his world. Living the good and the bad experiences in the tumultious weeks spent with him.

I enjoyed reading this story and found myself laughing out loud often. I think we've all known a Troy in our lives. Here we get to walk with him and get his thoughts on the situations he finds himself in. Including the whirlwind his new friend Curt takes him on. All the while wondering if Curt is for real, after all, who could like the fat kid?
We all do Troy, we all do.

I recommend this story to anyone interested in a fun uplifting tale about life, music, and personal triumph. 5 stars.

What a Fantastic Read
I just finished reading Fat Kid Rules the World and am still laughing. I love Troy Billings great sense of humor (even as he ponders suicide)! Yet I feel the overwhelming sadness underneath his armor coat. Troy and his unlikely friend Curt teach the reader much about acceptance and tolerance of those who seem "different" from ourselves. Through K.L. Going's characters we learn that on the inside we are all pretty much the same. As I can attest, Fat Kid appeals to adults as well as to young adults. Going's writing style flows easily and is very conducive to either short or long reading sessions (short sessions only if you have the will power to stop at the end of a chapter).

Excellent!
I loved this book! I fell in love with the characters. I actually laughed out loud and cried.

checkers 1
Yes! Yes! Yes! Finally there is a book that interests me in rock and a hard life. K.L. Going is going to go far with this book. Troy is a troubled fat kid with no friends. Curt is an awesome guitar player and becomes friends with Troy. Troy then learns to play the drums and they form a band(there is twice as much exciting events). This book is awesome. It is very suspenseful, exciting, and it has the talk of a teenager. Like they swear and they smoke but its all part of a real life rock band, and it is a life of a teenager. There better be a sequel. 5 STARS!!!

Nirvana + One Fat Kid =
The ultimate love letter to a rocker long dead. Remembering reading a myriad of different reviews for this book when it first came out, I can recall some of the strongest criticism of it at the time. "Oh the book's too adoring of Kurt Cobain". "Oh the book spends too much time idealizing a dead drugged out rocker". "Oh the book can't be good because it's subject is so grimy". I'm paraphrasing of course, but these were the general comments directed at K.L. Going's first young adult novel. So I picked it up and read it and found that I relearned something that I need to constantly be reminded of time and again. Sometimes reviewers haven't a clue about really well written and worthwhile material. With that statement in mind (and me perfectly aware that I'm going to follow it up with, bum bum ba dum, a review) I present to you a book that I felt was deeply moving, touching, and downright hilarious.

We open with our hero, Troy Billings, contemplating whether or not his suicide in front of a subway train will be amusing to the passersby. Troy is, after all, gargantuan. He's seventeen, six feet tall, and about three hundred pounds. He's lived his life in the face of constant ridicule and for once he's contemplating ending it there and then. His life is spared, however, by a chance meeting with a dirty grungy krustypunk kid sitting on the ground. This kid, as it turns out, is Curt MacCrae, local dropout rock god. An unlikely friendship blooms between these two, and Curt becomes absolutely 100 percent convinced that Troy is the drummer for him. Troy, of course, hasn't touched drums since the seventh grade, but Curt is oblivious to the problem. As the book follows these characters, Curt saves Troy's life in a myriad of different ways and Troy, ultimately, finds a way to save Curt's.

This is the ultimate anti-b.s. book. Troy says exactly what he's thinking without fooling either himself or the reader. No fool, Troy is constantly aware that people find him peculiar to look at. To the book's credit, when Troy is convinced that something is going to fail he sometimes does. And Troy is capable of some magnificent failures in this story. At the same time, he's witty and urbane. And [attractive]. This guy is like any other seventeen year-old boy, and he's really got a thing for the wrists of attractive waitresses. The book uses slang without sounding dated or affected, and there's enough good natured profanity to lure kids into reading it. Curt is also the perfect spaz foil to Troy's oversized self. A sneaky slimy but ultimately fantastic friend to T (as he likes to call Troy) Curt is what Kurt Cobain could have become if he'd just befriended someone like the T-man at age twenty. You never doubt Curt's love for his new friend, even though his steadfast acceptance of Troy and all of Troy's fears is somewhat difficult to understand. Troy himself doesn't understand it fully, but it's everything he's ever wanted. This is the story of the unpopular fat kid getting picked by the popular punk at school and how it changes both their lives.

I was hoping to get all the way through the book without hitting any snags or plot devices. For the most part, this book's pretty snag free. Sadly, though the book was written by a woman, the women portrayed in the story are few and far between. They pretty much end up being either waitresses or groupies. Hopefully Going's next book will give her gender a little more breathing room. Also, after reading through this tale I did end up wishing that Going had left it up to the reader to understand why Troy gained weight after his mother's death without explaining it, but it ties in nicely with the ways in which Troy's dad and brother also dealt with the tragedy. I loved how Troy could detect fear or emotional distress while watching others eat. And I just liked Troy. He's a likable guy, which is a huge bonus if you're going to read a book like this. If you didn't like either Troy or Curt you'd have a rough time getting through the story. Fortunately, Going is a skilled enough writer that you can read Troy's many worries and fears about his size without finding him whiny or oppressive. He has a sardonic sense of humor that saves him every time. I was disappointed by the ending of the book, though. Up until then, I had been pleased to see that Going wasn't making anything easy for her characters. Unfortunately the finale (and I won't give it away) seems a bit too pat. Too neat. And, in a way, too easy. I didn't want an unhappy ending, mind you, but I didn't like the way in which Troy instantly becomes close to his father and brother after years of estrangement.

One last note on Going's writing. This is a woman who knows how to write a good musical sequence. I haven't read such poetic descriptions of rock since Emma Bull's lively, "War of the Oaks". This is a woman who knows how to make the pages wail with sound and color. When Troy feels elated at his first concert, you stand right there feeling elated with him. The book's all right. It's perhaps not the best teen novel out there these days, but it's a pretty good one just the same. I suggest you try it on for size. Even if you can't stand rock or Nirvana, this tale has the ability to take you out of yourself and into the head of a three hundred pound boy. It's an experience to enjoy. ... Read more

Amazon.com

"Clop" a rhythm like a pony! Take the musical tree elevator! MeetQuentin Quarter Note! With this lively, toe-tapping, time-keeping interactive book, aspiring young musicians pull tabs, flip flaps, and tickle the ivories of a real battery-run electronic keyboard (three SR1130 batteries included). Soon everyone will be reading music! Friendly critters introduce each of the basic musical elements: rhythm, notes, time signatures, the staff, scales, sharps and flats, and key signatures. Fabulous images ensure that the learning will be lifelong--a plump elephant sits on a note to make it flatter. Rock-'n'-rolling "Beetles" teach an easy way to remember the order of notes on a staff: "Even Groovy Bats Drink Fly-juice." The amount of color, creatures, and information on each page may be a trifle overwhelming, but it leaves no doubt that there will be something new to discover with every reading.

Kate Petty and Jennie Maizels have created several books designed to make scary subjects less intimidating: The Amazing Pop-Up Multiplication Book and The Amazing Pop-Up Grammar Book. Their imaginative paper mechanics and goofy animal antics make their books a hit with reluctant learners and avid scholars alike. (Ages 6 to 10) --Emilie Coulter ... Read more

Reviews (3)

The Amazing Pop-Up Music Book
This is a wonderful book for all ages. Each page is a delight with its dancing characters and fun tabs to pull. The information is easy for children to assimilate. I especially enjoyed the real keyboard. And the last page is eye popping. My sister, a piano teacher, covets my copy. I may have to get her one for her birthday.

Can't make the keyboard work
The keyboard feature in the copy I bought from Amazon.com does not work. I can't tell whether this is because the batteries are dead or not included, because I CANNOT FIGURE OUT HOW TO OPEN UP THE BATTERY COMPARTMENT! The instructions on the back say to use a screwdriver to remove the battery cover, but there are no screws visible and I cannot figure out what else I might possibly be able to move with a screwdriver. This might be a very neat book to have IF you can get the keyboard to work, but I really can't tell.

Music simplified and entertainingly illustrated.
This book is a feast for the eyes as well as a playground for the fingers. When we picked up this book my 8 year old daughter could'nt put it down. She was engaged by all of the colorful pictures and enamored by the pull tab activities that literally fill each page. Basic music principles are covered on each page. You'll be surprised at just how far this book takes your child on the road to understanding music. There is a musical keyboard built in to the book so new concepts can be imediately used. I wish I had this book as a kid. It sure beats any piano book I ever sat in front of and crossed my eyes at! Bravo! ... Read more

Reviews (3)

The Penguin Quartet
Please, Please bring this book back into print!It is a wonderful tribute to New York - the perfect introduction to the magic of NYC for any child.Wonderful characters, beautiful illustrations.My nephews love this book.

An awesome combination of jazz and penguins!
I love this book because it has two of my favorite things: jazz and penguins.The illustrations are adorable, and you can find something newin them every time.The pages are simply bursting with color.The plotline is clever and attention-keeping.This book deserves an A+ without adoubt!

Jazz for Juniors...and Flightless Birds
Herbie, Max, Charlie and Miles Penguin find happiness and tasty fish in New York City, playing the coolest jazz around. This story has something for everyone: funny penguins and silly scenes for kids, jazz jokes and parenting puns for the old(er) folks reading the story at bedtime. Colorfulillustrations and an album of the quartet's snapshots of their visit to NewYork round out the package. Pure fun. ... Read more

Book Description

Reviews (2)

From ballet to book
"Coppelia" is a fantasy story retold by ballerina Margot Fonteyn, with paintings by Steve Johnson and Lou Fancher. The story concerns Dr. Coppelius, a European dollmaker who is also an alchemist. Coppelius creates a remarkably lifelike doll who becomes involved in an unusual love triangle.

The paintings by Johnson and Fancher are an ideal complement to this story of love and magic. The photographic reproductions of the paintings are excellent; you can actually see the texture of the paint on the canvas. The art wonderfully captures a quaint European village; the artists include such details as half-timbering and ornamental stonework on the dollmaker's house.

According to a supplemental note, ballerina/author Fonteyn actually danced in the ballet version of this story; that fact gives the book an added touch if interest.

Coppélia
Margot Fonteyn's rendition of the French ballet Coppélia is wonderful. It is the story of a young man named Franz who is enamoured by a beautiful girl who sits by the window in the house of the mysterious dollmaker, Dr. Coppélius. This of course makes his betrothed, the fiery Swanilda very displeased. However, things are not as they appear to be. The story has an excellent flow to it and the illustrations have an impressionist feel to them---one can actually see the brush strokes---and are very lovely. This book makes a great bedtime story and I highly recommend it to children who like ballet or those who have yet to discover its charm. ... Read more

Book Description

Given the lead role in the school play, Sister Bear is sure she'll forget her lines. Despite Brother's teasing, she follows Mama's advice and practices until she's perfect. On the night of the performance, it's Brother who ends up with stage fright and who is rescued by his sympathetic sister. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Get Stage Fright
This book is about brother and sister bear. They are in a school play and brother is scared before they go on and sister keeps telling him to calm down it will be all right and finally when it comes to her turn she's the one who is scared. This book relates alot to my life. I took dance for 11 years and every year I'd be fine for a while but then right before I went on stage I'd get scared. After I was on stage everything was fine again. This book helped me learn how to deal with my stage fright before I knew how to and this book I'm sure has and will continue to help other children as well.

Sister and Brother are in a Medieval play.
Brother, Sister, and Freddy are submitted to a play that parodies "Rumpelsiltzkin". Brother is playing the woodsman who finds names for the Queen. Sister plays the miller's daughter who becomes queen. And Fred plays Rumpelsiltzkin.

But Sister has a case of laryngitis, meaning that she's afraid to go on stage. And Brother remembers his last line clearly (which Sister doesn't care about). But when the play come, Sister remembers everything, and Brother almost forgets his last line. ... Read more

Book Description

Reviews (1)

Worth buying
Not just a blase book, this has articles from different journalists like Ronin Ro, SH Fernando Jr etc and is a good study on aspects of Hip Hop. Sort of book that people might overlook but that would be an error. Interesting. ... Read more

Reviews (13)

Sublime Experiments in Mutation
I see this as a play about the power of hatred and pain versus the power of awe and wonder. In each individual there is a struggle between the two, particularly Beatrice, the mother of Tillie (aka Matilda) and Ruth. The love and trauma of family is especially harsh because the effects are the deepest. In this play, about a mother and her two daughters, the spectre of family life is exposed as dangerous and hurtful, despite a natural inclination against such negativity. In that confusing place resides the plays sublime nature, whereyouthful spiritual proclivity battles angst filled self hating adulthood. Simply written, possible to be read in an hour, "The Effects" are moving.

As reviewed by a 17 year old
Now generally I don't take to books that were written around the time my parents were born. In reality, I really don't take to books much at all. But The Effects of Gamma Rays On Man-In-The-Moon Marigolds seemed to make the boredom that I usually associate with reading cease, as I downed the entire two-act play during a class period.
This book was your not-so-simple story of a little girl's triumph in overcoming the realms of an emotionally abusive household. This little girl was named Tillie, and she was brought up in an old, converted vegetable store with her airhead sister Ruth and sadly entertaining mother Beatrice. They reside there with an elderly mute woman known as Nanny and try to survive in some sort of harmony.
Beatrice is insane. It is clearly stated in the book without the reader knowing how or why she became this way. Her daughter Ruth is desperately in need of attention and almost always selfish. This is a complete opposite of Tillie, the independent main character who finds an outlet from her family in science projects. This is an outlet that in turn becomes her greatest talent and creates the main moral in the story.
The Effects of Gamma Rays on Man-In-The-Moon Marigolds is not what I would consider a classic because I don't think it ever really got the acclaim or recognition it deserved. But it is still a story that will always provide entertainment whether you read it or see it. Because of this I would have to suggest that this book be read by intelligent young adults or adults themselves. This way the reader (or audience member) can understand the all of the humor expressed through Beatrice and the symbolism between the marigold and Tillie. I would have to give this book a total of four and a quarter stars. It is a great quick-read and I'm almost certain any theatre group would do it justice on stage. The author, Paul Zindel, is loved throughout the world and was the 2002 recipient of the Margaret A. Edwards award for his book "The Pigman."

Book in genral
So, I liked the book; I could relate to the characters, just because they seemed so real and not fake. Paul Zindel I believe Is an author with natural talent, and links real life into his books, to make his characters pop alive. The title alone got me interested in it. it took me an hour and a half to read it because it was so intreging I couldn't take my eyes off of it. I It really upset me when their mom killed their rabbit though. So it's filled with laughter and tears, murder (the rabbit), and lieing. Truley a surreal book.

The characters
So, I liked the book; I could relate to the characters, just because they seemed so real and not fake. Paul Zindel I believe Is an author with true talent, and links real life into his books, to make his characters come alive. The title alone got me interested in it. it took me an hour and a half to read it because it was so intreging I couldn't take my eyes off of it. I It really upset me when their mom killed their rabbit though. So it's filled with laughter and tears, murder (the rabbit), and lieing. Truley a surreal book.

A play of humane, compelling, sincere depth
The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds is a cute, catchy title. But the drama is anything but cute. It is a sensitively written play in a natural uncluttered style; the theme, plot and dialogue are not imbued with self-righteous, long-winded, cliched morality excesses.

The play revolves around three characters: 1) Beatrice Hunsdorfer, a bitter and acerbic woman 2) Ruth, her daughter, selfish and at times fractious and 3) Tille, another daughter, bright, responsible, a young girl with a flair for science.

The scene: a converted vegeatble store with an upper and lower landing. The room has the usual daily living necessities: couch, table, lamps, chairs, etc.

The two daughters have a home environment that would be considered less than homey and family oriented. Being a part of this family would be a real drab, for their is no warmth, compassion, positive human expressiveness, nothing. What replaces these vital family qualities are characteristics on the exact opposite side of the spectrum: bitterness, sarcasm, virulence and regret for past mistakes that have impeded the present condition of living.

The two daughters in this play have that glimmer of hope that only youthfulness can bestow. One daughter in particular, Tille, has found her glimmer of hope in science, specifically in her science project of atomic grown flowers: Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds. Atomic energy, an element commonly recognized for its destructiveness, is used in her project to aid in the growth of the flowers. When handled carefully, atomic energy can be used to create beautiful things, thus, bettering lives.

The parallel is this: as atomic energy can be harmful, so too can their mother with her permeating aura of negativity, regret and bitterness, how those dark, unwavering emotions can annihilate the bursting positive vitality and idealism that normally encompasses the spirits found in youths.

With all the atrocious words and spiteful actions committed by the three characters -- Ruth and Beatrice mostly -- the stark truth from a simple child's science project remains the same: "The Future: After radiation is better understood, a day will come when the power from exploding atoms will change the whole world we know. Some of the mutations will be good ones - wonderful things beyond our dreams...." Thus, with her mother and Ruth's malevolence and cruelities, with better understanding, will rise joy, strength, stability and the fruition of that which earlier was not deemed possible.

This is a play for people of all ages, a play with simple truths, a play about seeing, a guaranteed winner. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

James and the Giant Peach
This was a great book full of adventure. James had a great life with his parents until they were eaten by a rhinoceros and he was forced to live with his two aunts. His aunts were very mean to him and he was not happy at all with them. One day he met a man who gave him a magic bag of beans. He dropped the bag on his way to his house. The beans caused the Peach Tree to grow very large. James' aunts charged people to come and see the giant peach. James found a hole in the peach and climbed in. Inside the peach James found giant bugs that would soon become his friends. James and the bugs left for an exciting journey inside of the peach.
We thought this book was a great book that was very hard to put down. The whole book left us wondering what would happen next to James. It was full of adventure and would be great to use in the fourth grade for Language Arts, Math, Science, Social Studies, and Health.

Probably my favorite book!
This is the first novel I ever read. I still remember way back in second grade when I started reading this book. Oh boy, what a rush! All these images in my head. It's like getting high! This book is extremely interesting and fun to read. This is the perfect book to give to your child as his/her first book.

it was an interesting book
I just read the book called "James and the Giant Peach ".It is about a boy named James. Jameses parents died when James was little, so James had to move in with his aunts that he hates very much. Their names are Aunt Spiker and Aunt Sponge. James longs to go to the beach and have friends. James and his new friends Grasshopper, Ladybug, Centipede, Earthworm, Silkworm and Miss Spider will go on an adventure they will neaver forget. On their adventure they have to go through alot of terrible frights that they will have to face, like "Centipde falling off the giant Peach" What will they do and how? This book is written by Roald Dahl I have read other books by him and I think he could have added some funnier things to this book but it is still a very good book.If you want to find out what happens read this book.

An odd but interesting Book
Not the best but certainly one of Roald Dahl's better books it is an interesting and an addicting to read kind of book.it's certainly not and every day kind of book but is very enjoyable. I give it a 4 because of it's strange content. ... Read more

Book Description

Finding the courage to make amends

Ten-year-old Carrie O’Connor wants to be an actress. After starring as a singing tooth in her class play at a New York City school, she convinces her parents to let her audition for a summer theater production in the mountains of North Carolina. And not just any production – it is a play based on a beloved children’s book written by her own mother! By virtue of a plucky audition (and not, she makes certain, her relation to the book’s author), Carrie is invited to join the cast. But as Michael Madigan’s Curtain Call wends its way toward opening night, Carrie makes a blunder so big it threatens to topple the whole production.

Young readers will identify with this spunky young heroine as she finds a way to put things right – and makes some unexpected discoveries about her writer-mother’s past in the process.
... Read more

Reviews (2)

A Simple Gift
This book is about a 10 year old girl who wants to be an actress. Carry lives in New York City and attends New York City school. Her mother is a author and her father is a doctor. Carrie gets a part as a singing molar in her school play.
Carrie's mother, Kate McCarrity O'Connor's, has written 12 books, all of which are best sellers. One of them she wrote is called Michael Madigan's Curtain Call. This book is very special to Kate. It is written about a young boy named Michael Madigan and it tells about some of his unique life experiences.
Carrie talks her parents into letting her audition for a play in Brownsville, North Carolina, which is Kate's hometown.
Carrie auditions for several days. Carrie refuses to let anyone know who she is. She wants to get the part without her mother influencing the Broadway director L. Bennett Sanders. He, just like Kate, had left Brownsville several years earlier. Both him and Carrie's mother had returned in order to turn the book into a play. Carrie does get a part in the play and she is thrilled.
Carrie and the rest of the cast begin practicing every day. Each one had to learn their lines, and their routines. They really were able to see how hard the work is in the acting world. They changes from regular kids into true actors. However, Carrie almost ruins the entire production. Will Carrie be able to over come her problem? Read the book to see.
I liked the book. It has a great message within its pages. The characters appear to come to life. As one read the book they seem jump right off of the pages.
I felt that they plot was very well organized. I really enjoyed the way the book was arranged, especially the ending. I thought that the timing was perfect.
The message it brought out is about honesty. Carrie learns that it is best if she admits her mistake and takes the consequences. Carrie also learns that it is best if everyone works toward a resolution together. In the book the cast members also are exposed to hard work. They practice daily to prepare for the play. I believe kids when reading this book will be exposed to some aspects of the working world. Kids need this type of exposure to some extent so that the real world will not be such a shock.
I really think this book is similar to Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis. Both of these book are on my favorite list. There is a nice surprise in both of these books. While reading them I could not put them down until I had read every page.
I think that everyone will find A simple Gift by Nancy Ralph Patterson a wonderful asset to their classroom collection.

Children will enjoy this simple gift.
I truly enjoyed this book. In "A Simple Gift", 10-year-old Carrie decides she wants to be an actress after a successful part as a tooth in her class play. When she discovers that one of the children's books that her mother writes is going to be made into a play, she begs her parents to go to her mother's hometown in North Carolina to try out. She earns a part in the play, but through a bad decision, puts the play in jepardy. Carrie has to find a way to put things right. Along the way, she discovers that sometimes the simple gifts are the greatest gifts of all.

I think that this book flowed well and the author kept the story engaging. Young readers age 8-12 will identify with the main character Carrie. This is an excellent example of a contemporary story with some good old-fashioned values. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

A treasure chest of wonderful stories.
A book of encouraging stories and poems for our young generation to teach them everything from self-discipline, responsibility, honesty, loyalty etc. Read when George Washington was 14 year's old he wrote 110 best ways to act around people, he called it the "Rules of Civility". Read Walt Whitman's ode to Abe Lincoln, and my favourite by Frank Crane, entittled "Boy Wanted". Though the tittle of this book refers "for Young People" I think adults can without a doubt learn as well. I certainly have and I am in my fifth decade of my life. ... Read more

Book Description

Frank was a monster who wanted to dance. So he put on his hat, and his shoes made in France... and opened a jar and put ants in his pants! So begins this monstrously funny, deliciously disgusting, horrifyingly hilarious story of a monster who follows his dream. Keith Graves' wacky illustrations and laugh-out-loud text will tickle the funny bone and leave readers clamoring for an encore. ... Read more

Reviews (22)

A great (not so scary) story for Halloween
As you may have noticed from several other reviews, 4 years old is the 'magic age' for the audience of this fun and colorfully illustrated book. The rhyme-verse is easily memorized in only 10 or 15 readings (by most 4 year old patrons). Now my daughter loves to read the story to me (complete with "meows" and "boffo" comments). --> Good preschool training in word recognition and phonics (when she confused boffo with bravo we had the opportunity to discuss that you need to read more than the first letter...). Though the text is rather stylistic type, she has no problem in recognizing the letters.
She also has come up with some interesting questions like: why does his brain have orange polka dots... do our brains have polka dots and worms in them? Why does he have a zipper on his head? and other things that parents face daily from inquisitive 4 year olds....
The subjet matter is VERRRRY appropriate for this time of year (Halloween) but is funny and not scary to the little ones. If you can believe it, I have not been bored by the book and we have read it over 22 times in three weeks. (So it's ok for parents too...)
Heartfelt thanks to several listmania reviewers who recommended it!

Frank Was A Monster Who Wanted To Dance
I bought this book a month ago to read with our 4 year old son. The wonderful illustrations were the first thing to catch my eye -- after reading it, the writing is just as great as the illustrations! My son has asked my husband and I to read this book to him every night for the last three weeks -- adults and children will laugh out loud at the loveable Frank who only wants to dance as his body unexpectedly unzips, falls off, or drops to the floor. A great read any time of the year -- not just at Halloween!

GREAT book!!!
My two and 1/2 year old loves this book! I first saw it for sale in New Orleans, then later ordered it because I could not get the cute illustrations out of my mind. My son thinks it is wonderful. We have read it so much in the past few months that we are wearing out the pages. My son particularly likes to examine the picture of Frank's brain (on the floor) and ask about the blue/purple worms that are coming out of it! I hope to see many more books from Mr. Graves. He has a true gift. The illustrations are wonderful and the text is funny and entertaining. I enjoy this book as much as(or more than my son!

Frank Boogies
My 2 year old son absolutely loves this book. Believe it or not, he learned his body parts from watching Frank lose his. My son also is not afraid of monsters because of the lovable Frank. At first, some people may feel like this inappropriate for young children but the tone is funny and kids like the beat (no pun intended)

Love It
This book is simple and funny. It is my little boys favourite book. It is a great choice for the little monster-lover in your family and the illustrations are just so beautifully done, so much detail! I recommend it for boys ,in particular, aged 3-6, maybe 7. ... Read more

Book Description

Featuring more than 60 full-color, reusable stickers - including every Disney rogue from Captain Hook to Cruela De Vil - this book offers readers a huge range of creepy stickers and villainous facts. ... Read more