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"When I was quite young and quite small for my size, I met an old man in the Desert of Drize." The old man looks like a cross between a cartoon granddad and a swami; he sits on top of a cactus, and tells his young listener that the best way to get over any sadness is to imagine all the ways you could be worse off. "Suppose, just suppose, you were poor Herbie Hart, who has taken his Throm-dim-bu-lator apart!"This has a more hurried, formulaic feel than the best Seuss, and it seems to showcase a less acute grasp of child psychology than usual. (Does it really make a child feel better to think of poor Harry Haddow, who, "try as he will, can't make a shadow," or Gucky Gown, "who lives by himself ninety miles out of town"?) But the illustrations alone make this morality tale a minor classic. (Ages 4 to 8) --Richard Farr ... Read more

Reviews (11)

Everyone Should own This!
Adults as well as children appreciate this book. The message that we should all consider how lucky we are is delivered in classical Seuss style with rhymes and nonsensical words - but is still a powerful message that most of us need to hear now and then. I consider this one of his best works because it not only delivers a good message, reading it is delightful entertainment. Read it aloud to both young and old.

One of my favorite Seuss books.
When one mentions 'Dr. Seuss' the cat in the hat, Green Eggs and Ham and of course, the Grinch who Stole Christmas come to mind, yet this has always been considered a classic. Why you are asking, just why is that? Is it because it is good, or bombastic? Why is this book considered a classic? Could it be it's marvelous jokes, or it's enjoyable little mischevious pokes, at the world around. Is it because it is so implausible, in fact applausible, in it's own right? Could it be that it is more fun to read at night? Why isn't it here or there? Why isn't it anywhere? The content of the book at charge, is amazingly hysterical, the enjoyment was large. If I had to choose one book by Seuss, this would be the only one to NOT say, vamous. It is philisophical, optical, practical, and factual. It can be enjoyable for 3-year-old Sally or 30-year-old Sam! After reading such a great book, I personally took a second look, at how lucky I really am.

Did I Ever Tell You How Lucky You Are
This was, by far, my favorite book growing up. I loved trying to figure out how to say the strange words and eventually, I could almost recite the entire book from memory. I still can the first few pages. I don't know that I was helped psycologically, but it sure was and is a fun book!

and you think YOU have it bad...!!
Theodore Seuss Guisel is, of course, one of the best known children's authors today. Though he left us in 1994, his legacy lives on and his books are still produced, bought and loved as much now as anytime in the past. When we think of him, we immediately think of "The Cat in the Hat" or "How the Grinch Stole Christmas", but we can easily forget some of his wonderful, lesser-known works. "When I was quite young and quite small for my size I met an old man in the Desert of Drize..." So begins "Did I Ever Tell You..." where the narrator finds an old man sitting atop a prickly cactus in the middle of the desert. The man tells the boy narrator that whenever HE feels like his life isn't going well, he reminds himself how lucky he really IS. He could be, for example, a construction worker on the impossibly rickety Bunglebung Bridge, where workers are toiling over the water to finish the impossibly crooked structure. Yes, things could be far worse!! You could be a Poogle-Horn Player who has to honk away on your complex, tuba-like Poogle-Horn while descending a flight of stairs... on a two story unicycle, no less!! The absurdness of people less fortunate splash across each page, Seuss-like, as Mr. Bix wakes up at 6 in the morning to find that his Borfin has schlumpped over, or Mr. Potter who has to dot i's and cross t's on endless, miles-long spools of paper! Yes, things could be far worse than they are, Ducky, so count yourself lucky! Published in 1973, "Have I Ever Told You..." is a wonderfully funny book with some subtle messages. Written during a period of time when parents were still forever admonishing their children, "you're so lucky to be able to eat those Brussels sprouts!! Why, there's children starving in Africa..." the book can be seen as a lesson in morality and thankfulness OR as satire of those very parents who encourage children to think of those less fortunate than them when they crank about life's inequities. Satire or morality play, "Have I Ever Told You..." is classical Seuss at his best. The illustrations are properly absurd and colorful, splashing across the page in Seuss's perennial style. There's humans assembling bridges as well as odd creatures getting stuck in 4-way traffic jams. The illustrations are uncluttered and the text is easy to read, making it an excellent choice for beginning to intermediate readers. A wonderfully fun book, and highly recommended!!

Stick to the book and don't bother with this one...
What is the point of the "video of the book" if all it does is repeat the pictures in the book? What passes as animation here is practically non existent -- a slow succession of static images in which only the occasional detail is animated (and only in the most basic of fashions at that). John Cleese's narration is fine, but the rest is inexcusably cheap and pointless. ... Read more

Book Description

Illus. in color. "The Great Birthday Bird guides us on a birthday trip. The multicolored excursion is a festive one."--School Library Journal. ... Read more

Reviews (11)

An Awesome Book about Birthdays for kids of all ages!!!!!
I have loved this book since I was old enough to look at the pictures. It brings back great memories of my childhood and my family and all the birthdays we have celebrated together. This book is a classic and an excellent, different present for anyone who's having a birthday!! I have been searching for this book to give to my children for years.....now I have finally found it. Classic in all the Seuss ways, exciting, fun and thought inspiring, I recommend it for all of your friends and loved ones having a birthday! Start a tradition!!!!!! They will thank you, if not now, later in life!!!!! Just imagine celebrating your birthday the way they do in the book!!!!!! What a blast!!!!!!!!!!!! :-)

Truly a classic
There was a rule in my family: you didn't officially turn a year older until "The Birthday Bird" (as we called it) was read to you. This tradition continued with my brother and me, even in college. This is a great feel-good book. As usual, Dr Seuss chooses an important, serious "theme" - having kids understand that they are important just because they "are" - and adorns it with tongue-twisters, great characters, and the outrageous celebrations of the Katroo Happy Birthday Associ-i-ation. Start a tradition in your family and have the Birthday Bird come to YOUR house each year.

Worlds Best Affirmation!
I remember this book vividly from my childhood, and made sure to buy it and read it to my children. There is enough positive, personal affirmation power in this book to give a kid a dearly needed boost of importance and remind them that they have a right to be here, a purpose, and that the world is glad that they are here.
I also recommend If I Ran the Circus -and- If I Ran the Family !

Forget Birthday Cards
After one reads and delights in Dr. Seuss' book, Happy Birthday to You!, one will see the giving of birthday cards in a much colder and more sterile light. This book should be given to anyone celebrating a birthday who could use a snack from a Hippo-Heimers back (and, quite frankly, who could not). It is a book for all ages through the ages, entirely timeless in its zany approach to that special day. It will have you shouting "I am I" which is the purpose of birthdays and even better is having someone with whom to share one's birthday to shout "We are we". A delightful book which should replace birthday cards and be attached to any gift or even be the gift itself.

Best Children's book ever
I have loved this book ever since I can remember. It has positively ruined me for my birthday every year, I do absolutely nothing I don't want to do. I eat cake for breakfast if I want, and I never go to work that day. What a positive and creative book this is, it totally convinced me that everyone is worth spoiling rotten at least one day a year. And the pictures are so emotive and beautiful - that last image of the child bundled up safely on the flying platter is so comforting. Both my sons love the book and request it read often. The copy from my childhood is missing both covers now and some of the pages are separated, but we still love it! ... Read more

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Three time Newbery honor author Nancy Farmer's epic fantasy, The Sea of Trolls, is gigantic in every way. There are big Vikings and bigger trolls. There are big themes--hope, despair, life and death. At a substantial 450+ pages, the sheer size of this hefty tome is impressive. But, like all of Farmer's fine work, the large scale has room for enormous quantities of heart and humor. At the center of this massive adventure is a small Saxon boy named Jack, who's never been much good at anything until the Bard of his medieval village makes him an apprentice. Then, just as Jack is learning to tap into and control his power, he is kidnapped (along with his little sister, Lucy) and taken to the court of King Ivar the Boneless and his half troll queen Frith. When one of Jack's amateur spells causes the evil queen's beautiful hair to fall out, he is forced to undertake a dangerous quest across the Sea of Trolls to make things right, or suffer the consequences--the sacrifice of his beloved sister to Frith's patron goddess, Freya. Along the way Jack faces everything from giant golden troll-bears to man-eating spiders, yet each frightening encounter brings wisdom and understanding to the budding young Bard. No quester who enters these pages with Jack will go away unsatisfied. Farmer's skillful melding of history, mythology, and humor, is reminiscent of both Tamora Pierce and Terry Pratchett's medieval fantasies, and will no doubt be HUGELY enjoyed by fantasy readers of all ages. --Jennifer Hubert ... Read more

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Stop everything! If at least one copy of each of these classics is notin a prominent place on your bookshelf, your home and your progeny's childhoodis incomplete. Winnie-the-Pooh and his friends--blustery old Owl, bouncy Tigger,clever Christopher Robin, glum Eeyore, and the rest--have been a staple ofchildren's literature for over 70 years in A.A. Milne's Winnie-the-Pooh and The House at Pooh Corner. AndMilne's immortal collections of children's verse, When We Were Very Young andNow We Are Six, havesoothed many a savage beast at bedtime with such incomparable delights as "If IWere King" and "Us Two." All four of these classics, complete with Ernest H.Shepard's original illustrations, are gathered here in a handsome boxed set.These hardcover editions will most certainly be a cherished legacy to be handeddown for generations to come. After all, as Rabbit says solemnly one day,"Without Pooh, the adventure would be impossible." (Ages 3 to 103) --EmilieCoulter ... Read more

Reviews (1)

THE Classic
How could anyone pass up a set of the classic stories of a boy and his stuffed friends. With the original illustrations (not the Disney-fied stuff), these are the books I remember my father reading to me when I was "very young." Many kids today may be familiar with a few of these stories from the Disney shorts (combined later into a feature length version and on video). Most kids also know Winnie the Pooh because of Disney (who even brought out a line of "classic Pooh" products based on the original toys and illustrations). These stories were beautiful to begin with - precisely why Walt brought them to the big screen.

Filled with childhood honesty and simplicity, these were the tales Milne told his own child, Christopher Robin, inspired by the boys' stuffed toys and the animals that lived nearby. Do your kids a favor and start by reading the original stories, to them and with them, as they were originally written. As a set, its a wonderful keepsake to pass on to generations. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Surely among the most lovable of all Dr. Seuss creations, Horton the Elephant represents kindness, trustworthiness, and perseverance--all wrapped up, thank goodness, in a comical and even absurd package. Horton hears a cry for help from a speck of dust, and spends much of the book trying to protect the infinitesimal creatures who live on it from the derision and trickery of other animals, who think their elephant friend has gone quite nutty. But worse is in store: an eagle carries away the clover in which Horton has placed the life-bearing speck, and "let that small clover drop somewhere inside / of a great patch of clovers a hundred miles wide!" Horton wins in the end, after persuading the "Who's" to make as much noise as possible and prove their existence. This classic is not only fun, but a great way to introduce thoughtful children to essentially philosophical questions.How, after all, are we so sure there aren't invisible civilizations floating by on every mote? (Ages 4 to 8) --Richard Farr ... Read more

Reviews (34)

On the 15th of May, in the Jungle of Nool...
My favorite Dr Seuss book as a child, and now a favorite of my kids.

There are so many messages in this book, but they are never forced upon the reader. You are free to read it as a gentle story, a discussion of politics, a moral tale about the role of the individual in a community, or simply some of the catchiest poetry ever written. And who couldn't love Horton, hate Vlad, and cheer at the young kangaroo's last "me too"?

The fabulous story deserves to be in the center of any family's children's collection...and should be in with the grown-up books too.

Even one little voice can tip the scale
A great book with a lot of positive lessons.

Horton, an elephant, is the only animal who can hear sounds of life on a little speck of dust. Other animals think he is crazy and want to destroy the speck. But Horton sticks up for the inhabitants of the little village on the dust speck. He urges them to scream as loud as possible to prove their existence.

There are a lot of lessons in the story. It teaches kindness and determination; it teaches to care about others, even if they are as small as creatures on a speck of dust. But for me, the most important lesson is that EVEN ONE LITTLE VOICE CAN TIP THE SCALE! Upon Horton's request, all the inhabitants on the dust speck start crying out as loud as they can. But Horton's friends still cannot hear their little voices. The inhabitants of the dust speck were all screaming together ... all but one. Only when that one little voice was added to the "chorus", animals were finally able to hear them crying out. And so is in our lives: each voice, each good deed, counts, and each good deed can finally tip the scale for good in the world. The book teaches that if you want the world to be a better place, as small as you may be (just one person out of millions?), YOUR "VOICE" COUNTS!!!

Perhaps his best one
People are valuable no matter how small. No matter how powerless and no matter how little influence they have.

A good message and written as a moving story that even little kids can follow along with even if they can't grasp the entirety of the message.

I don't know if Dr. Suess meant this story to be a pro life message, but it certainly works for that cause. He makes a compelling arguement for one, in this case Horton, to fight against the odds and disfavor of the group for the cause of a single insignificant and unknown person.

I highly recommend this book.

Seuss at the top of his game
The best (in my opinion, of course) Dr. Seuss book. It has all of the music of his other writings, but (unlike some of his books) a compelling story as well. And what better message for your child to learn than "People are people, no matter how small."?

"Big" enough for kids to understand!
If you've never read this story, you and any children you read it to, are really in for a treat!

This is one of those children's stories that introduce really huge concepts and really important things to think about - wrapped in a wonderful tale.

It's a "big" story - an elephant with a big heart and his willingness to sacrifice for others.

We learn that size of one's body doesn't matter - it's the size of one's heart that really counts. ... Read more

Book Description

Unabridged BBC Dramatization of the abridged The Lord of the Rings
Thirteen CDs, 13 hours

In ancient times the Rings of Power were crafted by the Elven-smiths, and Sauron, The Dark Lord, forged the One Ring, filling it with his own power so that he could rule all others. But the One Ring was taken from him, and though he sought it throughout Middle-earth, it remained lost to him. After many ages it fell, by chance, into the hands of the hobbit, Bilbo Baggins.

From his fastness in the Dark Tower of Mordor, Sauron's power spread far and wide. He gathered all the Great Rings to him, but ever he searched far and wide for the One Ring that would complete his dominion.

On his eleventy-first birthday Bilbo disappeared, bequeathing to his young cousin Frodo the Ruling Ring and a perilous quest -- to journey across Middle-earth, deep into the shadow of the Dark Lord, and destroy the Ring by casting it into the Cracks of Doom.

The Lord of the Rings tells of the great quest undertaken by Frodo and the Fellowship of the Ring: Gandalf the Wizard, the hobbits Merry, Pippin, and Sam, Gimli the Dwarf, Legolas the Elf, Boromir of Gondor, and a tall, mysterious stranger called Strider.

This outstanding BBC radio version of "The Lord of the Rings" includes Ian Holm as Frodo, Michael Hordern as Gandalf, Robert Stephens as Aragorn, and John Le Mesurier as Bilbo. ... Read more

Reviews (108)

A superb dramatisation on CD at last !
I bought the audio-cassette edition of this years ago, before the days of CD and online shopping, and I've long been hoping that it would one day be released on CD. It really is a magnificent achievement - the thought, planning, respect and sheer professionalism that have gone into creating this is simply remarkable. What a contrast to the execrable Mind's Eye edition ! The BBC version is not a complete reading of the book, but rather a (judiciously) abridged and compact dramatisation. Having said that, it's still very long. It's like listening to a really good, long (13 hours!) film of LOTR with your eyes closed. The atmosphere and feeling of the book has been captured wonderfully, with great, stirring performances from internationally-known and respected actors like Ian Holm, Michael Horden and Robert Stephens. The music and songs are haunting and dramatic, and the sound effects are so authentic that you really feel like you're there with the Company on its quest to destroy the ring. Even the packaging is of the highest quality, another thing the people that made the Mind's Eye version should take note of. The CDs come in a very nicely designed box with artwork, maps, and other information. Quite a few people have been asking which CD edition to buy - if you want an amateurish, cartoon-style version this isn't for you. If, however, you are looking for excitement, intelligence, humour, a sense of wonder, and faithfulness to the spirit of Tolkien's masterpiece, then the BBC edition shouldn't disappoint.

Yes! You should hear this, even if you've seen the movie!
I have owned a copy of this remarkable BBC radio dramatization of the Lord of the Rings for probably 15 years, and still remember its appearance on National Public Radio over twenty years ago. I read the books thirty years ago. I have loved the movies.

I feel I'm qualified to answer the question: "Is hearing this worth it?" "Do I really need to own this?"

You need this. The books are wonderful (and unlike all other versions are of course "unabridged"). However, how often can you read them? The movies are wonderful, however again how often can you find the time to commit to watch them. Plus, everything is "invisioned" for you. This is a work of imagination! Shouldn't you use your own imagination?
This radio drama sits in the pleasant middle ground. You can use your mind to see what your ears hear. This is a portable experience, you can take it with you, and multi-task while you're experiencing it.

Artistically, this production is as wonderful as the movie production, and has a more quiet charm. You have high quality actors in top form (Michael Hordern, Robert Stephans, Ian Holm to name a few). You have quieter music (chamber strings and harp mostly) You have more of Tolkien's own lyrics and poetry. You also have more of Tolkien's original plot, the Scouring of the Shire is not in the movie.

I will restate what other reviews have said: "Stay away from the Mind's Eye version!" Unfortunately, only the BBC really knows how to turn out high quality, aurally detailed radio drama. (Well, so does ZBS media, but that's another story.)

Great,But " Unabridged'?
I have been a fan Of The Lord Of The Rings for 25 years( I read the Hobbit and Trilogy 3 times in College and re-read it all again last year when I heard about the movies, I also have the box set that sells here (price)) and this is my first audio book of any type. This is a BBC dramitization( this is what is "UNABRIDGED") not a word for word reading of the novels. After getting use to listening to the dramatic acting style involved in this I found it very enjoyable. It does not contain everthing in the trilogy. It does, I here the movies coming out do also, leave out Tom Bombadil and the Barrowdowns section and other smaller parts of the books.I did have a good time listening to it. I took almost two weeks, primarily in the car driving to work and around town and it looks good on the bookcase. Ian Holm doesn't read it, he plays Frodo. It will be interesting to see how he plays Bilbo differently in the movies. There are another dozen or so main actors in it and a narrator.

Superb Audio Adaptation of Tolkien's Classic
I admit it. I'm a Tolkien addict. I've read the LOTR books at least 4 times, seen all the Peter Jackson films, and I have listened to this radio adaptation more times than I can count. In fact, as good as the films are (and they are, for the most part, very good) this radio version is in many ways superior. True enough, it lacks the stunning visuals of Jackson's films, but this leaves listeners free to imagine the fantastic creatures and landscapes of Middle Earth for themselves--to create theater for the mind.

One of the many strengths of this production is its extended running time--13 1-hour episodes for the radio series versus three 3-hour movies. This allows for greater character development and, more importantly, greater fidelity to what Tolkien actually wrote. The producers rearrange, compress, and eliminate certain events to make for a smoother narrative flow on radio, but they do not omit anything essential to the plot and, unlike Jackson, they DO NOT add anything to the book. Jackson adds an extended bloody battle with Wargs and a dream sequence to "The Two Towers" that are not in the original. As a result, he has to change the ending of the film, and, in my opinion, lessens its emotional impact. The producers of the radio version wisely avoid this kind of tinkering.

The producers of the radio version use more of Tolkien's original dialogue, which has a much higher and more exalted sound to it than most of Jackson's phrases. Ian Holm's radio Frodo is much more robust than Elijah Wood's film version, seeming to discover a nobility and courage that not even he knew he had. Wood's responses to crises for Frodo seem to be limited to screaming, passing out, and falling on his backside. The radio version treats Merry (Richard O'Callaghan) and Pippin (John McAndrew) with the respect and affection they deserve, rather than simply using them for comic relief, as Jackson seems to do. Other standout cast members in the radio production include William Nighy as Sam and Peter Woodthorpe as Gollum, both superior to Sean Astin and Andy Serkis, their film counterparts. Michael Hordern gives Ian McKellen a run for his money as the radio voice of Gandalf. Only Robert Stephens, the radio voice of Aragorn, comes up short compared to the movie's Viggo Mortensen. Unlike the movie's conflicted and self-doubting Aragorn, Tolkien and the radio version portray Strider as absolutely sure of his identity and destiny, and give him an air of supreme self-confidence. Unfortunately in Stephens's performance, what is meant to sound like regal self-assurance and a kingly air of command come out dangerously close to pomposity and arrogance. Mortensen's more restrained, quiet Aragorn who rises to greatness as a result of his trials, is a welcome improvement.

In short, if you want a real Tolkien experience, read the books, listen to this audio version, and see the movies, in that order. You can listen to the audio version while doing the dishes or driving to work. Doing those things while reading the book or watching the movie could be dangerous :-).

a Herculean task, somewhat disappointing
I would first like to say that it was a wonderful idea for the BBC to make a radio production out of LOTR, and to hire a cast of well-respected actors to get the job done. This collection earns a star for even coming into being. Unfortunately, the task of bringing out one of the greatest stories of our age carries high expectations with it, and judged by those expectations, the BBC Radio LOTR falls short.
It's a joy to hear the whole story told with much less concern for time and compression than usual-- as 13 hours of total CD length suggest. The previous best LOTR effort in any medium, Ralph Bakshi's movie, stopped halfway through the story at 2 and a half hours, which any fan of LOTR knows is woefully inadequate. A great casting move was snatching Peter Woodthorpe, the voice of Gollum in Bakshi's film, to play the same role here. Woodthorpe is superior to Andy Serkis (Gollum in Peter Jackson's LOTR films)in his tortured characterization of the Ring's greatest slave. Elements of backstory are nicely woven into the tale, like Gollum's capture by Sauron's agents in Mordor. The sound production is also well done-- the listener gets a definite sense of what is going on in the foreground as opposed to the background, for example, and the strings in the score add a welcome mournful element to the progression of the story. The tale itself is of course excellent-- it's difficult to truly fail to be at all entertaining when your task is to retell the Lord of the Rings.
But I have many criticisms to consider-- ones that make the BBC LOTR a 2 star effort beyond its foundations. For one, it may be 13 hours, but this is still spare compared with how long it takes to read the story aloud from the book. (over 100 hours as far as I can tell through experience) This is forgivable in a medium like film, which demands that people sit and pay attention for hours on end at one sitting, but is tough to excuse in a radio show that consists of one hour installments. Why not tell the whole thing, simply broken into more 'episodes'? I don't understand this aversion to doing it right-- Lord of the Rings has a large and rabid enough following that any effort to tell the story in more detail is one of the few sure successes in show business. This edition omits the Barrow Wights, Tom Bombadil, and a few other notable, important events for absolutely no good reason.
The flow of the story also has problems. One of the greatest elements of the Lord of the Rings series is Tolkien's beautiful descriptive language. Every region of Middle Earth is brought to life in amazing fashion as you read. The makers of this edition inexplicably saw fit to keep text narrative to a minimum, and leave the description to stilted and awkward lines spouted by the characters. Example: "As I lie here, I realize that these orc arrows have paid me for my treachery." This is doubly bad, because one of the few weak points in the books is the dialogue, which can get heavy-handed and too grandiose. Therefore, the BBC has removed a great asset and saddled a weaker aspect of the story with even greater clumsiness.
The dialogue is a problem in general. I expected more from these actors, who all seem to be overdoing their lines. Perhaps they feel out of place without cameras able to capture their mannerisms, but in any case they try to make up for the lack of visual element by overacting. Many of the lines, even simple back-and-forth between the characters, are read like grand and important pronouncements from a scroll. Although the times are dangerous and the task of destroying the Ring is the greatest of their age, I don't think Tolkien thought of these characters as heroic automatons cognizant of the fact that their every word is important for future generations. It would have been much more convincing and enjoyable if these actors had read the characters as real people doing the best they can under very tough circumstances. There is no sense of the pressure on them, of their longing for simple contentment, of real pain or joy that a listener could identify with. It's all sterile, booming proclamations-- like something out of the Iliad. Try to imagine any of these characters waking up with a hangover and wondering what's for breakfast: you won't be able to. Even the excellent Woodthorpe, who gave a measured performance in Bakshi's LOTR, hams up the snivelling and gibbering of Gollum a bit. No matter what fame LOTR has risen to, it is first and foremost a story--not every line has to be played like another piece of a grand and timeless composition.
Gandalf is particularly disappointing. One of the most entertaining aspects of his character in the books is his world-weary and cranky edge. He is down to earth in a way that makes him the wisest of his Order and his other important colleagues, yet here he especially is prone to making every line a grave intonation, and to read as if he is a prophet of pity and doom. The listener is left to wonder: how did such a solemn and unapproachable sage befriend these ale-swilling and relaxed hobbits? Aside from these flaws, several of the minor voice characterizations are simply awful-- the orcs, for example, sound like groups of drunken English barflies, rather than the twisted and vicious psychopaths that they are.
Diehard Tolkien fans will undoubtedly want this as a piece of their collection, but personally I hope someday we receive a better effort at a radio reading. ... Read more

Book Description

The second volume of The Lord of the Rings trilogy relates a tale of the eternal battle between good and evil. "The author has intimate access to an epic tradition of Germanic history, civilized by the gentler genius of modern England." -- New York Times ... Read more

Reviews (311)

At Last.
The magnificence of Rob Inglis' dramatization, both with respect to its place in the Tolkien Legend and in comparision to the present state of the spoken theatre, is quite simply ineffible. Here presented is THE ONLY completely unabriged reading of the Lord of the Rings to be found, and to commuters like me, it represents a long awaited opportunity to become aquianted with the work of a genius without fear of losing precious shards of his masterpiece to the whim of an editor. Worth every moment of the 20 hour listening time, from the endearing character voices to the hearty singing of songs and chanting of poetry that is sure to linger in your mind throughout the day. A purely wonderful experience for both Tolkien Veterans and the uninitiated alike.

This masterpiece is well worth the time!
The Two Towers
Book Review
J. R. R. Tolkien's The Two Towers is a fantastic book. It is the kind of fantasy that every person would enjoy. There is every kind of event, so even the pickiest person would be able to find something they like. The second book in a three part series, The Two Towers continues the story of the Ring. The reader meets many new characters, including the Ents and the Riders of Rohan. The Two Towers is about the quest to destroy the Ring of Power. If the dark lord Sauron gets the Ring, all of Middle-earth will be destroyed. The broken fellowship now insists of three groups: Legolas, Aragorn and Gimli, Merry and Pippen, and Frodo and Sam. The novel starts with the death of Boromir, who was taken over by the Ring. Legolas, Aragorn, and Gimli immediately set out to find Merry and Pippen. Merry and Pippen have been captured by the enemy and must be rescued. This
begins The Two Towers, with many more adventures to come. The Two Towers is a must-read for anyone who likes fantasy and adventure. There are no weaknesses. I enjoyed reading the novel very much. The beginning starts out slow, but things speed up quickly. Anyone who likes fantasy will enjoy it because every page in this masterpiece is very well written. The Two Towers is definitely a great book.

A GREAT read for all types of readers!
The Two Towers is a stellar sequel to the Lord of the Rings series. Set in a land of spectacular, grandiose adventure, the Fellowship of the Ring has been split up, with Boromir's death, the capture of Merry and Pippin, and the departure of Frodo and Sam, on their way to decimate the One Ring created by Sauron, the Dark Lord. Tolkien's story of Middle-Earth is bamboozling in how a writer can accomplish so much in such a small package, with so much adventure, emotion, and tragedy! While Gandalf is lost since Moria, Aragorn, Gimli, and Legolas are looking for the captured Merry and Pippin.

Saruman is still after the Ring, Sauron is also searching for his own creation of evil. Will they find it, read and find out!

Alright, so what is Middle-Earth? Middle-Earth is a magical place with wizards, Men, Elves, Dwarves, and Hobbits. Wait, hold on, What are hobbits?

Hobbits, more formally named as halflings, are gentle folk, about as tall as your waist, and have a taste for comfort. It just so happens that Frodo, Sam, Merry, and Pippin are hobbits, hobbits with a mission. Okay, back to the subject.

Middle-Earth is a land in peril, unbeknownst to most hobbits, but known to some. Sauron has found the Ring, and plans to catch it. If he does, the entire world of Middle-Earth will be under his evil rule. This is why the Fellowship is their only hope of winning against Sauron. And the fate of the Fellowship lies in the hands of their leader, Frodo Baggins, the Ringbearer.

That is the story of Middle-Earth. But now to my review. This book is an absolute ten out of ten. I mean it is a book for readers of all kinds! Out of the myriad of books I have read, Tolkiens are the best!

Liked the first one better
I am not a fantasy fan but wanted to read this anyways- It took sometime getting through it. For some reason I liked the first one better

Lord of the Rings the Two Towers
The second book of J.R.R. Tolkien's three piece story. It has a lot of action and suspense. The book has basically two different stories intwined togather. One of the stories is the becoming of a king. The other story is about the small hobbit who has to save the world by destroying the magical ring of power. Aragorn and his fellow friends are trying to tarck down their other friends who were captured by some orcs. The two hobbits that were captured gathered up some tree-like creatures and destroyed one of the two towers it was called Isengard. While the small hobbit named Frodo is led on by an evil being named Gollum who leads Frodo it to a trap near the end. This book is a real page turner. You may never want to put this one down. There is so much developement within each of the characters that you feel like you have known them for a long time. I would reccomend this book to somebody of any age who likes action-packed fanstasy stories. ... Read more

Reviews (15)

Wonderfully Rhymed in Spanish
As a child I loved to read Dr. Seuss in english, with its witty and funny rhymes so I was delighted to find a translation in spanish for my daughter to read and further delighted when the translation was so well done that it was as fun and witty as the original version. The story is a perfect example of how resisting to try new things is sometimes downright silly. It is one of our favorites to read at any time during the day!

Love it!!
The translator did a great job keeping the fun in
the reading of this book.
My 20 month old baby love it. We used to read the
english version before, and since we found the spanish
version and that is the lenguage we choose to speak
at home, we have "Juan Ramon" visits every evening and
a great laugh from my boy.

¡Me gusta mucho este libro!
After I had read this book to my nieces and nephews, my nine-year-old nephew picked up "Corre, perro, corre" by P.D. Eastman and read it all the way through in English, including "me gusta," which he had not heard prior to hearing this book. Reading is a great language teacher!

I asked the kids why the main character's name is Juan Ramón instead of Sam, and my nephew said immediately, "Well, it has to rhyme with jamón, of course."

I had purchased this book for my students, but it was obvious I was going to have to get another for my nieces and nephews! At least I have no problem knowing what to get them for birthdays and Christmas gifts! (They certainly don't need any more toys!)

You will hear it all day long!
I love this funny and musical version of the english favourite. My son loves it and can even finish the rhymes by now. Even my husband who does not speak spanish (yet!) loves repeating the simple sentences that make this book so much fun. A must in our family bed every morning, a great way to start the day!

My Daughter¿s Favorite!
This book became my daughter's favorite since the first time I read it to her. She's three and a half years old, and I have been reading this book to her at least twice a day since I got it, a week ago. The rhymes are beautiful and my daughter has memorized some of them, which she keeps repeating during the day. Excellent book! ... Read more

Book Description

Did you ever walk through a wall? Drink a glass of blocks? Have you ever played with a lemonade doll, or put on milk for socks? This latest addition to the Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science series introduces the youngest readers to an important science concept: the differences between solids, liquids, and gases. Any child who wants to know why he can't walk through a wall will enjoy Kathleen Zoehfeld's simple text and Paul Meisel's playful illustrations.

... Read more

Reviews (1)

wonderful science/literature connection
this is an excellent literature connection for young children studying the concept of matter. it works well with the foss science module, "solids and liquids" for students in grades one and two. ... Read more

Book Description

Talk about a change of plans! Ms. Frizzle and her class are on the Magic School Bus headed for a museum. They have been studying how the body turns food into energy, and now they are going to see an exhibit on the human body. Things seem fine until they stop for lunch. A strange mishap causes the bus to shrink and then be swallowed! Ms. Frizzle's class is suddenly inside a real human body! ... Read more

Reviews (5)

Fifth Food Group: Magic School Buses
Joanna Cole and Bruce Degen outdo themselves in "The Magic School Bus: Inside the Human Body." It is their most ambitious collaboration yet, and it definitely doesn't disappoint.

As is the custom, the third book in this science series (written in 1989) picks up where the second story left off. Ms. Frizzle is showing her students a filmstrip about the human body. "We're going to learn all about ourselves," she says. Then she announces the next field trip - the class is heading to the museum to "see an exhibit about how our bodies get energy from the food we eat." However, anyone who has even an inkling as to the kind of person Ms. Frizzle is should know that things rarely, if ever, go according to plan. A field trip is never just a field trip when you're taking a ride aboard her magic school bus.

The Friz and her students stop at a park for lunch before arriving at the museum. Afterward, everyone goes back to the bus . . . except for Arnold! He's still sitting at a picnic table, daydreaming and eating a bag of Cheesie-Weesies. And before the class realizes what is happening, the bus shrinks to the size of a Cheesie-Weesie . . . where it is promptly downed in one gulp by Arnold!

"I thought we were going to the museum," says one student.

"There's been a slight change of plans," explains Ms. Frizzle. "We're being digested instead."

Why visit an exhibit about the human body when you have a magic school bus and a teacher like Ms. Frizzle who can take you directly to the source?

If "At the Waterworks" was like priming the pump, and "Inside the Earth" was like getting the ball rolling, "Inside the Human Body" is like plowing full-steam ahead. Cole and Degen have firmly established themselves as a literacy force to be reckoned with; this is proven in the confidence of the writing and the boldness of the illustrations. There is so much going on in this story that you almost need a scorecard to keep track of it all. It seems as though Cole and Degen are bound and determined to one-up themselves with every book they come out with.

A list of some things Ms. Frizzle educates her class about would include: blood cells (red and white), blood vessels, digestion, germs, the heart, lungs, molecules, oxygen, plasma, the small intestine, etc. Do you know what villi are? You will after you read this book! Any idea what the cerebral cortex does? Ms. Frizzle will show you! Ever wondered why you sneeze? The answer resides in this story!

"Inside the Human Body" deserves just as much, if not more, a home on a person's bookshelf as does "At the Waterworks" and "Inside the Earth." Cole and Degen loaded their latest adventure to the bursting-point with information. You can see the growth author and illustrator have taken since their inaugural effort with "At the Waterworks." They prove that some things do, indeed, get better with age.

At the end of "Inside the Human Body" is a true-false test to help readers distinguish what things were true in the story and what things were made up. And, of course, Ms. Frizzle drops another clue as to where her next great adventure will take us. I'm pretty sure the class will think of their next field trip as out of this world!

It doesn't seem possible, but Cole and Degen managed to improve upon an already-winning formula. They are both in top form with "Inside the Human Body," a field trip that will take you from the brain to the small intestine and back again. Well, what are you waiting for? Hitch a ride on the magic school bus!

As Ms. Frizzle herself would say, "Seatbelts, everyone!"

My daughter loves Magic School Bus
My daughter is 3 1/2 years old. I got this book and wasn't sure if it would be to complicated for her. She loves it! I have ordered a few more Magic School Bus books and she can't get enough of them. She even drew a picture of her Daddy's red blood cells! It was hilarious. But best of all, she enjoys them so much. They are her favorite books and she is learning about science. I wish I had these when I was a kid.

Kid Tested
My son likes this book. It gives some good insights into germs and our bodies. he likes the entires Magic School Bus series - but this is one of his favorites. An easy read before bedtime - just the right length.

The Magic School Bus : Inside the Human Body
Very fun to read and educational. My daughter is 7 years old and she must have read it ten times. She only usually reads a book once!

Hilarious, fantastic, fascinating, inventive education!
I discovered these books when my son was 5 and we were in a trial year of homeschooling. Both of us were fascinated, by Ms. Frizzle, the magic shrinking bus, the fantastic field trips and funny Arnold.

The main text is good, the pictures are great and the comic book style conversations and binder paper reports on the sides of the pages are fabulous.

We both learned important things about the solar system, human body, water refineries, the earth and the ocean in a very fun, creative, imaginative and impressive way.

Read these books with any child you know, laughing and learning together! ... Read more

Amazon.com

"Faster than a speeding waistband... more powerful than boxer shorts..."It's Captain Underpants! Young readers will devour this fancy new boxed set ofthe first five paperbacks in the side-splitting, potty-humored (literally)Captain Underpants series. These books are award-winning--but really, who caresabout awards when you're reading about talking toilets and the perilous plot ofProfessor Poopypants? The "epic" collection includes The Adventures of CaptainUnderpants, CaptainUnderpants and the Attack of the Talking Toilets, Captain Underpants and the Invasion ofthe Incredibly Naughty Cafeteria Ladies from Outer Space, Captain Underpants and the PerilousPlot of Professor Poopypants, and Captain Underpants and the Wrath of theWicked Wedgie Woman. (Ages 5 to 12) ... Read more

Reviews (18)

My Son LOVED These Books!!!!
I have a 7 year old son who really only read when he was required to do so for school.
That was until he started reading the Captain Underpants books. HE LOVES THEM!!!! When he was told it was time to go to bed he said "can't I just stay up until I finish this book". The next morning the first thing he did was pick up the book and finished it.
Your kids (boys especially) will get a kick out of these books.
It is so great to hear your kids reading a book and laughing OUTLOUD!!!

Nevermind Harry Potter, Captain Underpants RULES!
Captain Underpants has been a blessing! My son would not read regardless of the title of the book. Until Captain Underpants! All boys love toilet humor! My only regret is that there are not more Captain Underpants books out yet. Dav Pilkey keep them coming!

MR. booger boy
Captain underpants and the big bad battle of the bionic booger boy part 1: the night of the nasty nostril nuggets is one of Dav's best books of the captain underpants series. My favorite character is Harold he's funnier and braver when the fighting the booger boy. My favorite part is when booger boy is snot bad and senses all over the teacher Mrs. Ribble she didn't seem to mind. Have a good laugh with this book its fun

These books are laugh-out-loud funny!
George Beard and Harold Hutchins have a little problem; they just can't help being themselves. And being themselves means pulling pranks at school, writing comic books that make fun of authority figures, and changing the lunch menu marquee to make rude comments.

Captain Underpants is a super-hero they made up in one of their comic books. Through a series of so-ridiculous-no-one-could-believe-it events, their school principal BECOMES Captain Underpants, and it's up to these two class clowns to make sure CU doesn't endanger himself. Incredibly bad puns abound. Each book has a copy of one of the boys' "Treehouse Comics." And there are plenty of gross jokes that grade-school kids love.

This is the sort of book that will get kids to read even if they otherwise hate reading. Enjoy!

I can' wait to get it
I can't wait to get this collection.These books are the best books ever I'm on the fourth book, but I've read the rest of the books though. I can't wait for the next book. I have a friend that likes these books. I wish they made some games,toys,and a show. Lots of boys like this book at my school. If you like crazy books then you should buy these books. But you should buy them at amazon.com. ... Read more

Book Description

Illus. in color. "Deliberately calculated to make its readers yawn. No one could resist those zillions of astonishing sleepyheads."--The New York Times. ... Read more

Reviews (26)

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz................
Shake myself awake again to tell my sleepy view... of Dr. Seuss's "Sleep Book," a childhood favorite that has survived all the insomniac years of growing up and turning a bit more vintage. So many of my childhood books have vanished somewhere along that winding time-route... somewhere on those many travels and address changes, moved from one previous life to another former life to another life begun today. Lost, but for this one. And when a family pet took a toothy chomp along the binding, no matter, I had to buy another. Children's book? Ah, for the child in all of us! For we all sleep, and we all dream. The first stretchy yawn is as delicious as the final one, and the overall feel of this Seussian masterpiece is cozy, and warm, and comforting. I remember well my fascination with the unique characters as a child, with all their quirky sleep routines. I found them fully as endearing when reading the book, over and over again, to my own children. With anticipation of grandchildren looming somewhere within the next decade... I look forward to sharing these cozy yawns with yet another generation. The book is a timeless classic.

One of the greatest childrens books ever...
Everyone has heard of The Cat in the Hat, but I can't believe that so few people have been lucky enough to experience Dr. Seuss's Sleep Book. I can't think of another bedtime story that doesn't pale in comparison to this one.. As a child, I read it so much that at one point actually had it memorized... To this day I can still recite most of it! "The news just came in from the County of Keck.." and by the time I get to the last few lines... I'm always ready to sleep! Definately belongs in the top ten books of all time.

Some kind of weird voodoo magic
Dr Seuss' Sleep Book is amazing. I picked up a copy when my oldest child was about two years old, and it has always held her attention until she drifted off to sleep. My daughter is six now and, along with her two younger siblings, still loves this book.

Our favorite character is Snorter McPhail. The kids say he reminds them of their father... while I agree that he does bear a resemblance to my husband, I think I just like the concept of Snorter wearing a large bucket on his head, conducting a snoring orchestra - the "snore-a-snort band" - in a cave way out of town, all while he is asleep.

This book has some kind of weird voodoo magic that really does put kids (and sometimes grownups) to sleep. In the years that I've been reading the story to my children, they have almost never made it through the entire book before drifting off, and the few times they have made it through awake, they're extremely drowsy by the end. Dr. Seuss' Sleep Book has been read so often that the binding is starting to come loose, but we'll just keep reading it until it falls apart, then buy another copy.

Can it get any better?
I have not read all the Seuss books yet, but this book is a huge classic for me.
Each page is another world to enter into and dream about.
There is almost no plot, just one crazy, engrossing scene after another.
Not a great read-to book because your kid misses the visuals - but an amazing read-with book.

I have just read the copy from my youth, 30+ yrs ago, alongside my 3 and 5 yr old girls (in bed, as the book tells us to do) and they did not fidget once.

'Sleep' reminds me of the excellent 'Starbright' books that put images and scenes into the child's imagination. Those books are word only, this is basically pictures.

A Yawn is quite catching, you see, like a cough.
This is a fun bedtime book, starting with a little bug who yawns so wide you can look down his neck, and showing the yawn spreading throughout the land, and then everyone getting ready for bed and going to sleep, and other related sleepy trivia. The rythm is sleep, and yawn inducing. I honestly can't get through this book without yawning about every page. But, since a yawn is catching, my little ones are soon yawning so wide you can look down thier necks!

This is an excellent book to have as a part of your sleepytime routine for your child. Dr. Seuss certainly had a gift for silly, poetic stories which children all seem to love. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Yet more wisdom cast down from high atop Mt. Seuss, this cheerful trio of tales teaches some valuable lessons in humility--thanks to a sharp-eyed worm, a bragging bear and rabbit, a fuzzy-tailed bird, and a couple hundred turtles led by their foolish King Yertle.

Yertle's story leads off with his attempt to build a bigger kingdom on the backs of his loyal subjects (literally). King of everything he can see, Yertle orders his turtles to stack up under him to build a towering throne.("He made each turtle stand on another one's back and he piled them all up in a nine-turtle stack.") But a plain little turtle named Mack--stuck at the bottom--decides he's had enough. ("I know up on top you are seeing great sights, but down on the bottom we, too, should have rights!")

Following Yertle's downfall, a whiny girl-bird named Gertrude McFuzz wishes she had two feathers, just like Miss Lolla-Lee-Lou: "One droopy-droop feather. That's all that she had. And, oh! That one feather made Gertrude so sad." But even when Gertrude gets her wish--and then some--she finds that vanity has its price. Meanwhile, in "The Big Brag," a proud rabbit and an even-prouder bear duke it out in a battle of the senses, arguing over who's the best of the beasts, only to get their clever comeuppance from a wild-eyed little worm. (Ages 4 to 8) --Paul Hughes ... Read more

Reviews (14)

Dr. Seuss understands leadership
Yertle the turtle is a great book on leadership. It teaches you how NOT to be a leader. Yertle ordered the other turtles to pile up in order that he could be on top and be "king of all that I see." In the end the turtles collapsed and Yertle was back on earth with the rest of the turtles.

We see so many leaders that are like Yertle. Climbing all over others to get to the top. They often take the big fall much as Yertle did.

True leaders will develop those who work for them. The other "turtles" will elevate the leader to the top creating a sound foundation to allow the leader to stay at the top.

Don't be like Yertle.

To the store, the book's no bore, Dr. Seuss scores once more
Three great Dr. Seuss Stories in one book.

Yertle The Turtle presents what Dr. Seuss does so well -- Reaching kids with good morality tales that are fun and easy to commit to memory. The three lessons (Don't be greedy, be happy with how you look, and don't try to one-up each other)are well presented in a format that's fun and leads easily to discussion.

The art is fun, as always, and the poems clever. Dr. Seuss scored with this one, also.

tower of turtles!
I LOVE this book! Yertle is just soooooo selfish! He is King of all he can see! But he can't see very far! So he sits on turtles! Then they fall! Ouch, that must have hurt! Poor Yertle! But he deserved it! GREAT book!

lessons on greed, pride, and envy
The book of Proverbs (in 16:12 to be exact) states that "It is an abomination for kings to commit wicked acts, For a throne is established on righteousness." Yertle the Turtle (Who Dr. Seuss modeled on Hitler) commits just such an abomination...he fulfills his avaricious desires by abusing his fellow turtles. It is a fun story that packs a message.

The other stories are entertaining as well:

"The Rabbit, the Bear and the Zinniga-Zanniga" is about a wily rabbit who escapes from a hungry bear by the use of its wits.

"The Big Brag" has a particullarly funny ending. A little worm chastizes to the Bear and the Rabbit for having nothing better to do than sitting around and bragging about their capabilities.

"Gertrude McFuss" is about the insidiousness of envy. One feather...two feathers...we always seem to want more. This is interesting reading for those of us here in America which is absolutely driven by consumerism--which is really just envy wearing its "Sunday Best."

Yertle the Turtle is yet another jewel in the crown of the doctor...I recommend this book.

Another great book from Dr. Seuss...
My daughters are huge Seuss fans. My six year-old, in particular, loves the way Seuss puts words together with his irresistable blend of scansion and rhyme. His books can be read on several levels at least, and most of his stories contain some sort of lesson or other that a parent can use to initiate discussions about larger topics.

This book has three stories, one about an ambitious turtle, one about a vain bird, and one about two silly braggarts. All three are short, can be read easily, and raise questions about morals which young children can understand and explore. My favorite of the three is the first, Yertle the Turtle, and his insatiable quest to be the biggest and best, which leads to his eventual downfall.

This is not my absolute favorite of all Seuss's books, but it's a good one, and one I can recommend heartily for any parent and child. ... Read more

Book Description

Read by Phyllis Newman
Two cassettes / 1 hour 54 minutes

Henry, Jessie, Violet and Benny, four orphaned brothers and sisters, suddenly appear in a small town.No one knows who these young wanderers are or where they have come from.Frightened to live with a grandfather they have never met, the children make a home for themselves in an abandoned red boxcar they discover in the woods.Henry, the oldest, goes to town to earn money and buy food and supplies.

Ambitious and resourceful, the plucky children make a happy life themselves--until Violet gets too sick for her brothers and sister to care for her.

This unabridged recording will delight any child who has fantasized about being on his or her own and overcoming every obstacle. ... Read more

Reviews (86)

What a wonderful book!
It is a book that my teacher make me to read it, it is hard for me at first,but not for now.
It was about four children, Benny, Henry, Violet and Jessie who lost their mom and dad, and they didn't go find their grandpa because they think he will be mean to them. They got only a little money, so Henry go out and work for the doctor. And when the doctor look at the news paper, it said that two boys and two girls was missing, whoever find them will get a lot of money. And he think that it was Henry and his brother and sisters.
One day, Violet was sick, so Henry ran to the doctor and tell him that his sister was very sick. The doctor go to their home and take Violet to his home.
Will the doctor call their grandpa and get the money? And why this story his to do with the boxcar? To find out, read it!

By Billy Hau

I found a passion for reading as a child - it began here..
Before I read the Boxcar Children, in Elementary School, our class would make frequent visits to the library where I would check out books regularly. With the same regularity, however, I would usually turn them in unfinished, or unread altogether. I picked up this book, recommended to me by a teacher in the 3rd grade, and became earnestly engrossed in literature for the first time; I read the book 4 times. The central characters in this book are 4 children of various age, who find what they need to survive without parents to guide their decisions. The young central characters and the vivid descriptions make it easy for young readers to empathize with the children and visualize each event vicariously. The wilderness, the boxcar, the confrontations, the simple yet clever comforts they create for themselves, and the uncertainty of their future are among those things that make this book an enthralling and memorable read. I remember getting a chill at the "finish". A great book and a joy to read.

I recommend The Boxcar Children to all young readers.

Gertrude Warner Museum
I also read this book as a child. I did not put it aside till I was finished. The copy I read was signed by Miss Warner as she had been my mother's teacher. I live in Putnam, CT where Miss Warner lived. The Gertrude Chandler Warner Museum has recently opened in an old boxcar. It has been renovated and sits very near the railroad station she lived near as a child. A google search will bring up some items on the museum. I never met Miss Warner but, by all accounts, she was a wonderful woman.

Fun to read for grown up kids!
When I was nine years old and in fourth grade (never mind how long ago that was) I found THE BOXCAR CHILDREN when the Bookmobile came to our school. I checked it out and started reading it, and couldn't put it down.

About two weeks ago I decided to read it again. I was still taken in and charmed by its ease of reading and its very well-written plot.

It's about four orphaned children who have to fend for themselves and they find and old boxcar in the woods and they use it for shelter and manage to survive -- surprisingly well. The ending is happy, but for the young reader, the plot can keep them on edge until the story is over.

Some might criticize this book as being "dated," but I have found that a good story will come through in spite of the chronological time in which it happenned. For myself, I found it fun and refreshing to read. Things STILL can turn out well.

I'll make a guess that parents who read this story to their children will enjoy it as much as the kids do!

Second Best Book I've Ever Read
This is a great book! Four orphans afraid of their grandfather settle down in an abandoned boxcar. Their names are: Benny, Violet, Jessie, and Henry. When Violet gets hurt they take her to the doctor and discover how kind their grandfather really is.

This book is of a series so if you like this one there are many more. These four chidren solve mysteries with their dog in future books. ... Read more

Reviews (17)

A memorable, exciting, educational book...and now abridged!
"What Do People Do All Day" is really a one-of-a-kind book. As a toddler and older child, I was enthralled by Scarry's colorful and highly detailed pictures and his fun characters, and I especially recall the sections on water treatment and electrical power generation. This book, unlike any other, certainly stimulated my early interest in a career. Speaking from experience, a kid can spend hours poring through this book, and he can remember details from it for years. Unfortunately, it seems that a few boneheads at the publisher don't share my exceptional feelings for the book and have abridged it, removing the two sections I have mentioned and more. Shame on them!

One of the best books of any kind
Like some other reviewers, I am disapointed the unabridged version is not available.

But, even abridged, this is one of the funniest and most absorbing books in print. This book is full of delightful cutaways showing the internals of houses, streets, and factories. Like most Richard Scarry books, this one explores and explains a world which is fun, colorful, comprehensible, and full of well meaning people.

Five stars is not enough.

Best Children's Book Ever
Wish I could give this 10 stars. I discovered this book as a preschooler in 1968. My mom would take me to the local library every week. I checked it out from the library and I was hooked. I wanted to check it out at every visit, so my mom had the library order a copy for me. I remember even before I could read the words, I completely understood the story from the illustrations. I still have that original edition. It is tatered but still intact. I bought another copy this year for my preschool sons. They absolutely love it as well as the other Scarry book I had as a child, Busy Busy World. The newer book is the abridged edition. The abridged edition has 63 pages as compared to the ~95 pages in the original. They removed 4 stories from the original: busy (stay at home) mom, water treatment plants, electricity and how we get it, and Sgt. Murphy the Busytown policman. Why? Somebody at the publisher must have had a lobotomy. Anyway, we keep the original up in a closet to read only with adult supervision. The new one is on the shelf, readily accesible to the kids.
This book (even the abridged edition) is an absolute classic.

Great pictures needs a bit of updating
I, like many other readers, remember and enjoyed this book as a child.
Now- with my own 3 year we are rediscovering the great pictures; the mechanics
of how things work and are built and what people do all day.

This is where I think it needs some updating. As a historic record
for the 1950's, it might be accurate. But what takes me one
tick down in the rating in re-reading this to my son is the overt
sexist roles. There are precisely 3 careers allowed for women in this
book- homemaker, nurse and secretary. I've taken to changing some of
the gender of the workers to make it a bit more realistic-

Don't get me wrong- the concept is great, the stories serve that
purpose of how things work- and my son loves this book- I just
get a bit tired trying not to perpetuate stereotpyes that didn't exist
when I was a child in the 1960's (at least in my family).

careers in Busytown examined
Set in Scarry's Busytown, this busy, colorful book is organized into eleven chapters that examine its citizens' jobs: Everyone is a worker; Building a new house; Mailing a letter; Firemen to the rescue; A visit to the hospital; The train trip; The story of seeds and how they grow; Wood and how we use it; Building a new road; A voyage on a ship; and, Where bread comes from.

Effective use of color and cross-sections can be confusing for very young kids, but is informative and enjoyable for the curious, and the funny pictures appeal to all. Also, everything is labelled, which is very nice for beginning readers. ... Read more

Book Description

Imagine it: a weekend without your parents; a weekend in a hotel with your best friends; a weekend in one of the biggest, loudest, craziest cities in the world. Jealous yet? Well, get ready to turn green with envy because Alice, Pam, Liz, and Gwen are headed to New York City for the weekend! Sure, it's a school trip and there'll be some educational stuff like museums and plays and visiting Ellis Island, but what the girls really can't wait for is everything they're going to do when their teachers go to bed. Bars, clubs, dancing, shopping, and boys...anything is possible. The city awaits them, and all they have to do to have the time of their lives is sneak past a few hotel clerks.

Alice can't wait to hit New York. A weekend with her friends is just what she needs right now. Sophomore year and driving lessons are a lot h