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As in Roald Dahl's Jamesand the Giant Peach, Polly Horvath tells the story of anabandoned child who is sent to live with two distant relatives in a big,lonely house. The magic in Horvath's story, however, lies not in talkingbugs but in the hearts and minds of its characters. Thirteen-year-oldRatchet Clark, a girl with a deformity on her shoulder blade herbreezily cruel, self-absorbed mother calls "That Thing," isunceremoniously kicked out for the summer while her mom attends toimportant things, like how to gain entry into the prestigious Pensacolacountry club. Mom drops Ratchet off at her great second-cousins'enormous, turreted house in Maine, a remote seaside estate surrounded byoily blueberry bogs and bears.

What starts out as a fairly grim proposition transforms as Ratchetbefriends the endearing, downright hilarious 91-year-old twins AuntTilly and Aunt Penpen who are "as different as chalk and cheese" andlearns the ways of rural Maine. When another unwanted teenage girl namedHarper ("obnoxious, but strangely compelling") enters the scene, thehousehold dynamic changes yet again. Though fairytale-like in itssetting and its charm, do not be fooled. Suicide, decapitation, wretchedmothers, and a sprinkling of profanity pepper this poignant,philosophical, darkly humorous novel that dips into subjects fromtechnology to love to death. In Horvath's capable hands, readers areleft believing in the best of human nature as she switches effortlesslyfrom the sublime to the ridiculous and back again. Wild stories,brilliant dialogue, and vats of compassion distinguish Newbery Honorauthor Horvath's latest offering. (Ages 12 and older) --Karin Snelson ... Read more

Reviews (12)

Horvath Has A Wonderful Sense of Humour
When Ratchet's neglectful mother ships her off to her great aunts' house for the summer, she isn't sure what to expect. Especially when the great aunts, PenPen and Tilly, are twins who haven't gone farther than the post office from their mansion in the boonies of Maine since they were teenagers.

When Harper, an obnoxious but lovable teen, is accidentally dropped off because her guardian thought their house was an orphanage, yet another humorous and heart warming twist.

Rich with dry humour and sparkling wit, full of eccentric characters, The Canning Season will make you laugh out loud, or chuckle quietly to yourself at the absurdity of the situations in the book. The characters take silly things completely seriously and the combination of events throughout the course of the novel are guaranteed to make you smile.

Don't be turned off by the childish looking cover. This is a hilarious novel that everyone will enjoy, from old ladies just like PenPen and Tilly to their teenage grandchildren.

Ignore the Harmless Language
Ratchet suddenly finds herself cooped up in a house with two spinster aunts for the summer, unable to reach the outside world, unless someone calls, she learns to drive, or, worse, she walks out in the forest. But as the summer dwindles away, Ratchet bonds with her "Aunts" and a girl who we may as well call an orphan, Harper. The surrounding colorful characters make the book an interesting read. There are, I believe, two major swear words. Oh, and Tilly and Penpen(Ratchet's Aunts) may die at anytime.
Polly Horvath does it again with this creative storyline. Dare I say that it is better than Everything on a Waffle.
Recommend: Olive's Ocean

I bit surprised
I have to agree with the person who spoke of the profanity. I am also a Polly Horvath fan. I loved the characters and the plot, but the language and topics of some of the conversations shocked me. I kept thinking I was misreading the text. I was relieved when a librarian friend of mine shared her thoughts on the book with me. She could not believe the rave reviews the book had received, based on the content and language. Thank goodness I read it so I knew not to place it on my classroom bookshelf.

A Walk on the Weird Side
Polly Horvath's National Book Award-Winning story "The Canning Season" details a preteen girl's formative summer in Maine with her two eccentric aunts. Ideally, this coming-of-age tale should captivate readers, yet it left me feeling as if I had missed the boat.
Horvath tries hard to create quirky characters and memorable events that express the story vividly to the reader. Unfortunately, she tries much TOO hard, and the characterizations, wacky circumstances and bizarre dialogue weigh the story down...the plot loses steam about halfway through and never recovers.
Reading The Canning Season will make you feel like the author is keeping secrets from you. This is suspenseful at first, then anticlimactic, as you realize the book's secrets and outcomes aren't really that exciting.
Horvath's best move in this book is placing readers convincingly inside the psyche of a young girl. It's a shame that so many other elements of the story don't measure up. I managed to finish it because of my adult patience and diligence, but I doubt a younger reader would be enticed to read even halfway through. It's just too weird, with no payoff to readers for enduring all the quirkiness!

Instant classic for children!
Worthy of every award out there, this National Book Award winner is an instant classic! The book is a great look at a heartwarming and lots of times, silly relationship between a young girl and the two crazy aunts that she's sent to spend the summer with. The book is full of emotion; most of it will make you laugh hysterically.

Horvath writes so well about the relationships among the characters and the different events that surround their summer together. Every reader will be impressed by the depth and insight that is found-reminiscent of Roald Dahl. ... Read more

Book Description

Eight going on nine, Rose Wilder is beginning to settle into her new life in Missouri, the Land of the Big Red Apple. Her father is building their farmhouse and she dreams of the day they’ll have their own bright crop to harvest. But before that can happen, she has a fierce ice storm to contend with and her first real Christmas in the Ozarks to enjoy.

A Dual Main Selection of Children's Book-of-the-Month Club ... Read more

Reviews (6)

I love it!
In the Land of the Big Red Apple is a GREAT book! Rose begins to adjust to her new home in Missouri at Rocky Ridge Farm. She gets a new donkey named Spookendyke for her ninth birthday, a huge ice storm hits, she gets to celebrate her first real Christmas in the Ozarks, and her parents bulid a new house.

I have the whole series...
I love THE LAURA INGALLS YEARS and the ROSE YEARS. In the later ROSE books, Rose is a little more fiesty and romantical...it builds up as the series goes along, so this is more for pre-teens and teens later on. Otherwise it is very wholesome and fun; Rose is interesting, and has many ideas about the world! I have all the LAURA YEARS books except THE FIRST FOUR YEARS and all the ROSE books except ON THE BANKS OF THE BAYOU (my fave) and BACHELOR GIRL (haven't read that yet).
...

I found this series to be very disappointing...
I found this entire series of books to be disappointing. The writing was average but what really bothered me most is how the stories lacked the sweet innocence of the original series. On doing some research I discovered that parts of the books were based on Rose's diaries. Unfortunately, she was not a happy soul and these books suffer from her same pessimism. The listed author for this book (MacBride) died before the last few books were published. The books were still published under his name and HarperCollins claimed that he wrote the manuscript before dying yet one of the last books in this series contains several chapters (almost verbatim) from a story that Rose wrote herself for an adult audience. The story is totally out of character with the series. Rose and her friend sneak out for several nights to meet a traveling salesman. He eventually makes a pass at her...

This series is okay as light reading for adolescents but if you are looking for a piece of americana, and/or a wholesome book for your child or self this is not the best choice. It grossly fails to live up to the original series of books. The Caroline series is a better choice.

Rose is cool
The girl was quite a firecracker. Again, just as charming as Little House, but the storytelling is a bit more complex and more reflective of who Rose was. This series truly equals the charm and storytelling of Laura's story. Kudos to those who thought to bring this series to print.

well detailed, one of the best in collection,a masterpiece
I liked this book very much.It deserves a 5 star rating because it tells a wonderful story of how Rocky Ridge farm started.Anyone interested in Little House would love the Rocky Ridge years and this book! ... Read more

Book Description

Who lives at Maple Hill Farm?

Two dogs, five horses, a pig, some geese, lots of chickens, a few cows, a few goats, several sheep, and four special cats -- these are the animals at Maple Hill Farm.

With simple text that is both affectionate and wry, and irresistible illustrations that burst with personality, Alice and Martin Provensen bring their barnyard friends to life for the delight of animal lovers both young and old. ... Read more

Reviews (14)

my childhood as a book!
This was my all-time-favorite book growing up as a child--I literally read it until it was falling apart at the seams. I loved the wry humor of it and they way that it didn't "talk down" to kids, like a lot of other children's books in the seventies (as I remember them, anyway). When my mother and I learned it was going out of print (this was probably the late eighties), my mom bought all the copies she could find, and kept them in her closet to give to the young children her nieces and nephews kept having. And I think there is still the last copy hidded away in that closet for my as-yet-unborn child. I searched for it here on a lark, and I am so happy to see it back in print for a whole other generation to enjoy!! I definitely be buying copies for all the children of my friends!

I LOVE THIS BOOK!!
I checked this book out so many times from the school library when I was little, that the librarian asked my parents to buy me a copy so that other kids could have a chance to check it out. The cats , by far, were my favorite part, especially MAX! If you know a child that likes animals, this is the book to get them!! It's fun, has great pictures, great humor, and is just my all around favorite book of my childhood!

My favorite book for 20 something years.....now my son's too
I was 3 years or so when my mom starting reading me this book. It's one of the most memorable events of my childhood. Now my book is falling apart but my son, who is almost 4, can say every line with me. It is so charming and funny. Tonight I sat down to try and find a replacement for my old book and was delighted to find it on Amazon. All my friends want it for their children too. I hope Alice and Martin know who much it means to all of us. Thanks and keep it for generations

Fondest Childhood Memories-Mine and Passed Down
This is the most memorable book of my childhood and adult life. I read it countless times as a child, and kept it safe until I was able to share this wonderful creation with my niece, Phylicia, and nephew, Mark. As a child, living in the country, books were all I had, and this one kept me content for hours. In turn, Fee and Mark grew to love it as it covered every animal they had been exposed to in their short lives. It gave them insight into the animal's personalities, how to treat them, how to care for them. They got to imagine having these types of pets of their own, and it made for many creative days for the three of us, reading and learning together.

Reacuring Nightmares
This was my absolute favorite book as a young girl. I must have spent thousands of hours just looking over each characteristic of each animal. I used to have the same nightmare over and over as a child. It involved a mean, bad..., billy goat with red eyes. I haven't looked at this book for 5 minuets and 11 years. I just realized where my nightmares came from. It has been a phsycological breakthrough. Sam the Billy Goat. As I went on reading the book, now a full grown adult, there is some questions that raised about the evil characteristics of some of the animals. All I can say is beware...childrens books are powerful...ex: Where the Wild things are...enough rambling... ... Read more

Book Description

Where there's smoke, there's fire--at least that's what they say. . . .
... Read more

Reviews (3)

Help! They're chasing me!
My daughter checked this book out of the library and made me read it to her over and over again. I didn't see the appeal of this book! But she loved it. So for Fire Safety week with my preschoolers, we read this book. They loved it! My god, they made me read it over and over and over again. They followed me around the room and made me read it. I still don't see the appeal. But kids love this book. Each Mrs. is on the proceeding page, they tell the story of a fire in an apartment building. It takes a bit of explaining for 4 yr olds to get the concept of a flaming cake, but they got it. They even counted the candles. The old lady is represented by about 30 candles---thanks to the author for that one!

Fire! Fire! Said Mrs. McGuire
The rhyme and story in this book are so much fun to read, they would keep young children asking to read it over and over. However, I do not feel I can use it in my classroom because of one illustration. A sexy blond is using her body to get what she wants from firemen-very inappropriate for young children! Bill Martin, please bring back your original version of this wonderful book.

owned this book when i was little
I owned this book when i was a little girl and now that i have a son, i want him to be able to read it and know that females are not just a second class citizen and that they can hold positions that men are able to hold. This book also shows that you should not believe everything you see, there is probably something else going on if you dont see the whole picture. ... Read more

Reviews (38)

I just love this book!! And Polly, too!!!
I love all Louisa May Alcott's books. I already read Little Women, Little Men, Jo's boys and I mean to read all the other books by Louisa May Alcott. Her books are so charming. An Old Fashioned Girl is about this girl named Polly who gives joy to everybody around her. She is so sensible and hopeful. It seems like the sun is fallowing her wherever she goes. Wherever she goes, she brightens up the place and brings joy, hope and love to everyone. I love Polly for it and I would like to be like her. Everybody knows Little Women, but not many people know Polly. But I think An Old Fashioned Girl is just as good and will bring happiness to everyone who reads it. I would recommend this book to every girls.

Hands down, Alcott's best
Polly, a poor, old-fashioned girl from the country, comes up tothe city for a long visit with her friend Fanny. Over the basicframework of country mouse/city mouse, Alcott embroiders extensively, adding the themes of peer pressure, societal pressure, riches and their relation to happiness, the rights and proper roles of women, love, 'proper' behaviour vs. right behaviour, and vice-versa. But the story reads like a story, not a dissertation on philosophy. Polly is very human, and her family, though less-well drawn, is collectively a very human family. Tom, Fanny's brother, is the star of the book. "An Old-Fashioned Girl" is filled with humourous incidents, the number of which increases as one grows older. I first read this book when I was seven. I loved it then, when I only got a small part of it. I love it even more now. Those readers who dislike Alcott's moralizing will not love this book, but they will find it better than, say, "Little Men." Ignore the character of Grandma, through whom Alcott voices most of her morals, and concentrate on Polly and Tom, and even the most cantankerous reader would surely, if grudgingly, admit that this book isn't half bad.

Old-fashioned but still good
Louisa May Alcott is best known for her classic coming-of-age novel "Little Women." But she tackles an entirely different part of growing up in "An Old Fashioned Girl," the story of a country mouse living with a wealthy urban family in late 19th-century America.

Polly Milton travels to stay with her aunt and uncle in the city, for the first time, but she immediately sticks out because of her outdated clothing and lack of fussiness. Her cousin Fan Shaw (also about fourteen) is already dressed like a young woman, and hangs out with a gang of shallow, trendy girls. Polly befriends old ladies, sings Scottish airs, and reads books on history. Can she fit in? What's more... does she really want to?

Fast forward about five or six years: The Shaw family learns that Polly is returning to the city, intending to give music lessons to help support her brother. Time hasn't really changed Polly -- she's still sweet-natured, moral and pleasant to everyone. But the Shaw family is in serious financial trouble -- and Polly will help out the only way she knows how.

In the late 1800s, "Girl" was written in two separate halves, which might explain why the second half is so much better than the first. The first isn't bad, but it suffers from a sort of prissiness. Virtually every story centers on Polly's moral struggles, with no break. Her story is far more engaging when she learns confidence and strength, not when she's wavering about peer pressure.

As in "Little Women," Alcott's writing is still pretty readable for modern readers, although most people will not know what a "pannier" is. She also writes a good understated love story, in Polly's gradual interest in her cousin Tom. You'll know that these two really need to get together, but it's going to take them awhile. So sit back and enjoy the ride.

Polly may put you off at first with her air of vague goody-two-shoes-ness, but she improves over the course of the book. Somewhat more realistic are the spoiled little brat Maud, the grumpy Tom, and the pretty but air-headed Fan. Grandmother isn't quite so engaging; she seems like an idealized older person who exists just to dispense wisdom. How about some personal quirks for the old lady?

Louisa May Alcott managed to wrap a lesson about peer pressure around a real story. Fans of her work will love "An Old Fashioned Girl," even with its few moralistic flaws.

Great!
This book is great for any Louisa May Alcott Fan. Even today, some of the situations that Polly goes through are valid and interesting. Though 130 years old, the characters and themes are still applicable with a slight stretch of the imagination and some thought. The plot is not thrilling, but bounces along at a steady pace and is enjoyable. As always with older books, the language is sometime a little difficult to decode when they talk about things from the period. I throughly enjoyed this book. It's another Louisa May Alcott great!

My Favorite of her work
I have owned all her works and this is my favorite. Even though it was written in the 1800's, it still has sound judgements. Riches can come and go, but how you live your life and how you influence others with your care, love and concern mean the most. Polly has her own struggles with life's lessons but with help from older women and remembering what her parents, especially her mother, taught her, she struggles through.
The beginning of the book finds her a young teenage friend of Fan Shaw who had come down to the country the year before visiting some friends of the family. There is Fan, 2yrs older, Tom who is Polly's age, Maude the little sister of about 6, Mrs. Shaw an invailid and Mr. Shaw a man of wealth, plus Madame who is Mr. Shaw's Mother. At the end, Polly and her friends are all adults except Maud who is a teenager. Fan learns a lot from Polly and Polly learns from all who come into her life. It is a Must read in my opinion for any girl or woman. ... Read more

Book Description

Every page features an internal wheel that changes both words and pictures before a young reader's eyes.

Take a silly vacation with Junior Junior the pig is so excited about his trip to the big city! He's got his camera, his bus ticket, and he's all set to see the sights. But when Junior loses his new glasses, suddenly the city looks strange. Without his glasses, Junior can't tell a window from a waffle, a construction cone from a candy corn, or a bagel from a bird's nest. Luckily, just before Junior heads home, he finds his glasses in the most unlikely and hilarious of places! Junior in the City is a silly story that will have children laughing out loud as they turn the pages and spin the wheels. ... Read more

Book Description

Ragweed is determined to see the world. He leaves his family and cozy country home and sets off by train for the big city. What wonders await him: music, excitement, new friends...and cunning, carnivorous cats! Silversides is the purring president of F.E.A.R. (Felines Enraged About Rodents), a group dedicated to keeping cats on top, people in the middle, and mice on the bottom. Can Ragweed and his motley yet musical crew of city nice--Clutch, Dipstick, Lugnut, and Blinker--band together to fight their feline foe? ... Read more

Reviews (13)

Ragweed
Ragweed by Avi is a great book about a country mouse. He travels to a city called Amperville where he finds new friends and enemies. He and his fellow city mice must avoid two cats (Silversides and Graybar) and their club F.E.A.R. Ragweed meets a band called the Be-Flat Tires and Blinker, who was originally an experimental mouse. I liked this book because it had great pictures so you knew what the mice and cats looked like. It was also good because it had a nice storyline and nice characters. Avi and Brian Floca did a great job.

The runaway mouse
In the story Ragweed is by the author Avi. It is about a mouse which decides to explore the New World. He wants to see the lights, people, and excitment. He ended up in a city called Amperville. He thought it was a nice town until he figured that many cats live there and are in search for mice. With Ragweed, Blinker, and Clutch they build a new club named Cafe Independent. Read the exciting and adventurous story of Ragweed on his suicide run for the city. If I was in confusing in reading a book, I would recommand this book. It is very well written and high vocabulary. The story was well planned out and I am sure it took a lot of time for the author to think of such a story. The illustrations are incredibly magnificent and helped in the understanding of the bood. This book will fill you with thrills and suspence.

A FANASTIC BOOK !!!!!!!!!!!
Courage, adventure, determination: If you like these qualities in a book, then you will definitely love Ragweed. By the time you stop reading, you'll be waist deep in the characters own problems.
Ragweed, the main character, is always in trouble. Imagine a run down town filled with mice. Pretty simple, but then put in a group of angry cats, who will take any chance to abolish all mice in the town. F.E.A.R. (Felines Enraged About Rodents). Then things start to get a little harder.
Ragweed, is a simple country mouse, wants to travel the world to see what's beyond his small brook home. So he says good bye to his family and starts his journey. He hops aboard the next train to wherever it goes. Little does he know what's ahead of him.

In this little run down town, he manages to have a little bit of luck on his side. The fist time he encounters F.E.A.R., deadliest worker, Silversides, the president of F.E.A.R., he is lucky enough to stumble onto a mouse's home, who pulls him in just in time. Later he finds out that the name of this mouse is Clutch. He also finds other friends: Dipstick, Lugnut and a timed little mouse called Blinker.

One funny thing that I have noticed from the beginning of Ragweed when he first comes to town is that most of the characters is that all the mice's names are car parts.
If I were to give this book a rating I would give it a ten out of ten. It has everything a book needs: friendship, bravery, determination, adventure, as well as some comedy. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes any kind of animal story at all.

betestes book ever!
This was a amazing book! I loved it! Iam 10 and I read "Erith's birthday" so I read "ragweed" It was Awsome! though i was very sad once i read "poppy"

really good!
this was the first book of the dimwood forest series that i read a few years ago. Ragweed was so good that i read it over and over without getting sick of it! it was my all-time favorite book for about 2 years. AVI writes really well and the plot of the story is a good one too. Oh and don't forget to look at the illustrations! they're sooooo cute! ... Read more

Book Description

Reviews (1)

Too many issues, too little time!
Ethel F. Smothers' The Hard Times Jar is the story of Emma and her poor, migrant working family who do not have access to Emma's one true love: books.Although the theme resounds with readers and depicts the experiences of some children today, major issues such as discrimination and segregation, which are briefly mentioned when Emma enters an all white school, are not dealt with thoroughly.The author's use of descriptive language does, however, allow the reader to connect to Emma's longing for books and provides the reader with an opportunity to appreciate what is so easily taken for granted. ... Read more

Book Description

Caroline watches eagerly as buildings spring up overnight and more and more families move into the growing town of Brookfield, Wisconsin. There are all sorts of exciting, new things for Caroline to do! She gets to march in her first Independence Day parade, a circus comes to town, and there are new faces in school almost every week. But Mother keeps saying that she wants to move to a larger farm. Will Caroline have to say good-bye to the little town of Brookfield? The adventures of the little girl who would grow up to be Ma Ingalls in the Little House books continues.

Reviews (11)

Continues Caroline's adventures!
This book continues the childhood adventures of Caroline Quiner, Laura Ingalls Wilder's mother. Caroline is in a Fourth of July parade and has fun with her new friend. But her mother says they may have to move. Will Caroline have to leave Brookfield?

The little town of Brookfield grows
In this book, Brookfield grows into a regular town. The school is overcrowded, Caroline goes to a Maple Folice, and a circus comes to town. Caroline sees white bears at the circus! She never saw white bears before, and she thought she saw two white bears when it was really her brother and a friend in their underwear in a tree! Caroline and her family, at the end, had to move to a place called Concord...

A GREAT book
Little Town at the Crossroads is a great book! Caroline, age six, is excited as she watches the town of Brookfield grow and grow. She gets to see a circus that comes to town and marches in her first Independence Day parade. But then her family finds out that they might have to move to another farm. Will Caroline have to leave Brookfield?

A great book!
I'm currently reading this book and its great from what ive read! Id reccomend this book to anyone! Its very enjoyable book and i cant put it down! Take my advice and read this book! Im sure you'll love it!

Little Town at the Crossroads
Title:Little Town at the Crossroads Author:Maria D. Wilkes Little Town at the Crossroads is a great book for grades 3-6. I recommend this book because I enjoyed and I couldn't put it down. Children and adults alike will love this book. ... Read more

Book Description

On a day perfect for apple picking, the bunny family heads to Long Hill Orchard. Mr. Miller takes them to the trees on his wobbly farm wagon and tells them all sorts of fun facts about fall's favorite fruit. Nancy Elizabeth Wallace has painstakingly glued in place simple cut-paper shapes to give her illustrations their bold colors and three-dimensional quality. Her story includes a recipe, an apple-print project, apple sayings, and an apple song for parents and children to share. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

A picture book with facts and activities rolled into one
This is a great picture book with interesting cutout paper illustrations. It is a story of a (rabbit) family that goes apple picking in the fall. This is a New England tradition that I have enjoyed so the book is especially appealing to me. The family goes picking apples and the farmer goes along. The farmer explains some factual things such as how many seeds are usually in the apples and how they grow the trees from rootstock.

Each member of the family wants a different type of apple for a different purpose. The family cooks applesauce and the recipe is included. There is a song with music notations and directions for doing an apple printing craft.

This family enjoys learning about the apples and there are some factual pictures such as how the apple tree is grafted onto a root and a labeling of the parts of a bisected apple. I especially like how the story illustrates the children and parents as being interested in learning about the apples.

This is a fun storybook, a good mixture of story and facts with a few activities! This would make a great book for preschool or Kindergarten teaches, perfect for reading in the autumn or combining with a real trip to pick apples!

Best book for Kindergarten
As a teacher who yearly goes to the library to get books about insects, specifically bees, this is the best book ever on the subject! (The bee is our school mascot.) For two reasons:
It takes a complicated subject, how honey is produced, and makes it simple enough for 5 year olds to understand; and the handcut collage artwork is something five year olds can handle in an art unit on collage. More, please, Ms. Wallace!

Apples, Apples, Apples
This is an amazingly illustrated book. The pictures are very captivating to young children.
The book not only offers a story, but great apple activities as well.
As a childcare provider, I highly recommend this book!

A delightful and entertaining picturebook story
In A Taste Of Honey, Lily Bear asks her father a great many questions and in doing so a jar of honey is traced back to Mike's Market, the honey farm, the beekeeper, the honeycomb, and ultimately to the bees themselves! Author and illustrator Nancy Wallace uses brightly colored diagrams and sidebars in this delightful and entertaining picturebook story for youngsters 4 to 8 showing all the steps of making honey from beehive to dining table in clear, simple, and engaging detail.

A picture story and nonfiction in one book!
This appealing book of pictures created using papercutouts tells The story of the bunny family's outing to the apple orchard. All the aspects of picking your own apples are presented. They get to ride out to the orchard on a wagon pulled by a tractor, have to choose which varieties to pick, and the farmer weighs the apples in the end. Information about apples is presented through the apple farmer. At home applesauce is made (recipe included), an apple craft is featured and an apple song is included as well. Should be perfect for before or after your next trip to the orchard or anytime of year. I think little ones will enjoy it as much as I did! ... Read more

Book Description

Mrs. Jane Tabby cannot explain why all four of her kittens were born with wings. But when life on the city streets becomes too dangerous, it is clear that her dream for her children might some day come true. They can fly away from the city slums of their birth. And one day, they do. But not even their mother could have foreseen the hazards of country living. ... Read more

Reviews (17)

Catwings
Catwings
In the story Catwings Harriet, James, Thelma, Roger have to leave their home.
When they were trying to find their now home Roger got hurt by an owl.

I like Catwings because cats can fly. I like the story it's funny. One thing I learned was if cats have wings do not pull on them.

If you were a cat and kids were grabbing you and pulling on your wings and you can't fly anymore. this would be a big problem for a catwing.

This book is so good because cats can fly and the happy ending.

When Roger is better two kids come and find the cats , feed them and take care of them.

SEARCHING FOR KIND HANDS
This delightful tale of four winged felines is a read-in-one-sitting treat--great to read aloud as well. A sweet fantasy, CATWINGS relates the adventures of tabby siblings whose mother advised them to leave the city slums for their health--not to mention her second honeymoon... Whimsy and humor combine to create an enchanting piece, which reveals the similarities between two sympathetic (i.e. mutually dependent) species. Purrfect for kids under 10 and all cat lovers. Beats Puss in Boots paws down! It's the Cat's Whiskers--and now with Wings!

Catwings
This is about the book CATWINGS. There are four cats: James, Roger, Harriet, and Thelma. They all have wings. Their mom, Janet, has always wondered why her kittens have wings and she does not. This book is fantasy fiction.
The book has cats with wings I don't think it would be true.

In one part of the book Harriet was getting chased by a dog, but her wings got her out. During the book you never know what would happened like, when there was an owl just sitting there watching them, you can find out the rest.

I like this book because I love cats. I recommend this book to people who enjoy cats, or like fictional books.

cute story
I loved this book as a kid and still think it's a great, cute little story. The four winged kittens in this book grow up in the city but fly off in order to find some place better. The illustrations are lovely, and cat lovers will enjoy the story.

Great children's book about leaving home
This is a delightful children's book about cats that can fly. Born wild in the city, their wingless mother encourages them to fly away from the urban dangers in search of a different and better life. Of course, dangers in the country are not absent, only different. The tale of their adventures is one that kept my children entertained, and they insisted that it be purchased. After their high praise, I read the book and enjoyed it as much as they did. My children especially loved the happy ending. ... Read more

Book Description

Spirit of the Western Frontier

Fifteen-year-old Caroline is leaving her Concord home for the first time to live with her aunt and uncle in Milwaukee, where she will attend Milwaukee Female College. At first, Caroline is frightened by the big, bustling city, and she finds school more challenging than she expected. But she soon begins to enjoy all the excitement Milwaukee has to offer. As the school year comes to a close, Caroline wonders if living in the city is the life for her.

Little City by the Lake is the sixth book in The Caroline Years, an ongoing series about another girl from America's favorite pioneer family.

Reviews (2)

Best of the Little House Series
This is such an enjoyable read, definitely the best of the "Caroline years," and maybe even my favorite of the whole Little House series. Unlike many of the hard-time pioneering stories, this one takes a bit of a lighter turn as Caroline goes to live in the "big" city with her aunt and uncle. The city is filled with many new sights and "modern conveniences"--even indoor plumbing--and new experiences such as dances, restaurants, and an all-girls school where Caroline studies to be a teacher. I can't wait for another book in the series to be published, so I can see what happens next!

Missing the family
Charming book, but I thought it was missing some of the heart of earlier Caroline books. I thought the author did a great job with researching the period and capturing what it could have possibly been like to be a 15 year old in Milwaukee. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Maisy's Day at the Farm
If you are the parent of a young child, you probably know who Maisy is. She's a mouse with a duck, a squirrel, an elephant, and a crocodile for friends. Why the crocodile isn't trying to eat the others is beyond me, but that's life in Maisy's world.

Both of my daughters love the Maisy books; there's something about their simple stories and colorful pictures that even appeals to adults. The books are short and easy to read. But, the stories are never obnoxiously simplistic, like so many other books for small children.

Maisy's on the farm and someone has to feed all of the animals. Will Maisy be able to take care of all of her chorse and have breakfast? Will little black cat enjoy a bowl of milk? And just where did Maisy get that tractor? A fun book for small children (and even a few older ones).

My 10 month old loves this
We have many Maisy books at our house, but this one is especially cute! Maisy works on the farm milking cows, feeding chickens, etc. The pictures are adorable and my 10 month old likes us to make the farm animal sounds as we read it to him.

I highly recommend it!

Farm Fun
A classic Maisy book. Simple and gentle, Maisy feeds her friends on the farm. ... Read more

Book Description

Charlie's homework was to explore the people and places in his community. "What is my community?" he asked his mother. So they took a walk to find out. With the bounce and humor that have characterized all her popular books over the years, Judith Caseley once again proves that when it comes to the primary school world, there is very little that she doesn't know. Charlie and his mother take a walk that can be taken by anyone with a keen sense of fun -- and open eyes and an inquiring mind.

Book Description

The die-cut classics make superb lapbooks. 17" x 17"For children ages 3-8 years. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

What fun
My daughter has learned several animal sounds thanks to this book. She loves the bright pictures and the song. We read this one often.

What a great book!
This is a terriffic book for use in the music classroom, and at home. As a book that can be either sung or read: it is versatile. It's large size and colorful illustrations draw kids attention. I have personally found it to be very effective with my kindergarten through third grade students. I highly reccommend it to anyone looking for a good book for younger kids that can be sung or read! ... Read more

Book Description

A family.
A house.
A neighborhood.
A place to play.
A place to feel safe.

Little by little, baby Tracy grows. She and her neighbors begin to rescue their street. Together, children and adults plant grass and trees and bushes in the empty spaces. They paint murals over old graffiti. They stop the cars. Everything begins to blossom.

In Jeannie Baker's striking, natural collages, an urban community reclaims its land. A drab city street becomes a living, thriving neighborhood -- a place to call home.

Book Description

Meet Caroline Quiner, the little girl who would grow up to be Laura Ingalls Wilder's mother.

It's 1845 in the bustling frontier town of Brookfield, Wisconsin. Five-year-old Caroline lives in a frame house at the edge of town. Caroline's father was lost at sea the year before, and her close-knit family is struggling to cope without him. Each day brings Caroline new responsibilities and new adventures as she strives to help Mother all she can.

Little House in Brookfield is the first book in The Caroline Years, an ongoing series about another spirited girl from America's most beloved pioneer family.

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Reviews (16)

Good Start
I loved "Little House in Brookfield," talking about the struggles and the hardships as well as the joys and the triumphs of frontier farm life. I only wish Caroline could come to life. Was she really like that? I can understand as an adult, but to me, it seemed like (and I know it sounds stupid) it wasn't Caroline in the book, it was Ma. I liked it when Caroline showed a little spark with her sister. Other than that, the book was well-written and great. I LOVED Martha. She's awesome! Overall, this book is, though not as classic as Laura and Rose, one that is fun to read.

Before there was Laura Ingalls Wilder, there was Caroline.
A heart warming story of a little girl and her family living in the early 1800's without the father. Based on actual accounts from written diaries, the authour introduces us into the life of Caroline Lake Quiner Ingalls as a little girl. The family's hardships are illustrated as well as the secret feelings and emotions that a little girl feels when dealing with stained, worn hand-me-downs; shoes with holes that pinch your toes; forgotten birthdays; empty tummies and bitter cold. An enjoyable, consuming, well written book that will be enjoyed by readers of any age.

Shallow, but okay for light reading...
This whole series is rather thin and shallow. It offers a good glance into pre-statehood Wisconsin, but is completly fabricated because it is based on bits from letters. You can't tell how Caroline is as a character. It makes some good historical fiction reading, but that is all.

I love all the Little House books
This is a wonderful story about Caroline Quiner--Laura's ma. Starting in her young childhood, it offers an absorbing and substantial but child's-eye view of what being poor and without your father is like: lonliness, fear, patched clothing, cornmeal pudding for breakfast, penny-pinching. But there is also joy and hope, and the close-knit family laughs and loves as they raise crops and take care of their hens and hogs. I loved it!

Laura Ingalls Wilder's Mother
Imagine getting up every morning at the crack of dawn to a day full of chores and work. This is the life that Caroline Quiner knows. She is in charge of checking to see if the corn is ripe, feeding the chickens, collecting eggs, working on her sampler, and many other jobs. Although her life is full of hard work, she and her siblings Martha, Henry, Joseph, and Eliza still manage to have fun. They love playing games outside, especialy fox and geese, which they play in the snow.
Snow, however, is just the thing the Quiners are dreading. Many of their vetables were killed by an early frost, and their isn't much flour left in the house.The Quiners are determined to survive the winter though, and nothing is going to get them down!
I enjoyed reading this book because it was realistic and the description was great. It was interesting to read about Laura Ingalls Wilder's mother. If I could change one thing from the book, it would be to make it longer! ... Read more

Reviews (4)

great book!
This book is great. It is a nice story that also teaches children about migrant farm workers. I love reading it.

Radio Man/Don Radio
I really enjoyed this well-written story about migrant workers going from place to place to pick crops. Instead of being isolated, the young man in the story listens to the Spanish-speaking stations wherever he goes and the radio gives him a sense of connection to his friends. It reminds me of the power of the radio stations across Mexico, especially San Miguel de Allende, where a tourist lost all his money by dropping his wallet and within minutes someone found it and took it to the radio station. He cried when he got his money back--all of it.

Radio Man / Don Radio
Radio Man is a book that as a teacher, I can't wait to use in my classroom. So often, students do not understand what it is like to live the life of a migrant worker. Using Artur Dorros' story as a road map, one can bring to light and discuss with children many issues that afect the migrant workers. Why do they always move? Where do they live? What happens to their friends? Why do kids have to work? Questions such as this might arise as you read the book with your child. I feel it is a great book because it allows you to expose your children to a part of life that is not discussed very often but definitely afects the Latino population.

Excellent book
A touching story. Everytime I tell this story (I am a storyteller) when I visit schools, I get comments from the teachers and the students. A little fourth grader came up to me her eyes shinning with pride and a big smile and said: "I am one of them, I pick cucumbers and tomatoes in Ohio." Teachers, and even a principal, have come to me with tears in their eyes and said: "That was me, thank you for the story." It is a great book to share with students, to give a voice to the migrants who do so much for us, who pick the crops all over the United States so we can then enjoy them! ... Read more

Book Description

Meet Caroline Quiner, the little girl who would grow up to be Laura Ingalls Wilder's mother. Caroline and her family are leaving the little town of Brookfield and moving to a new house in a clearing among the big trees of Concord, Wisconsin. As the Quiners travel through the dense forest, Caroline is excited, but she is also a little bit afraid. Will she like her new home in Concord as much as her little house in Brookfield?

Little Clearing in the Woods is the third book in The Caroline Years, an ongoing series about another spirited girl from America's most beloved pioneer family.Caroline and her family must pack up their belongings and say good-bye to all their friends. They are leaving the little town of Brookfield and moving to a new house in the clearing among the big trees of Concord, Wisconsin. As the Quiners travel through the forest towards their new cabin, Caroline is excited, but she is also a little afraid. Will she love her new home in Concord as much as her little house in Brookfield? The adventures of the little girl who would grow up to be Ma Ingalls in the Little House books continue.

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Reviews (10)

I love Caroline!
In this book, Mother, Caroline, and Caroline's siblings are forced to move to Concord, Wisconsin. Caroline is now a big girl of eight, and eventually nine, years old. She has opinions and ideas of her own, from arguing with a boy who owns a shanty on the Quiners' property, to coming up with solutions to save the family from a hard winter. Caroline has truly grown from that almost one-dimensional character portrayed in Little House in Brookfield to an animated, idealistic girl. I can't wait for On Top of Concord Hill to come out!

Fond of It
I liked it because I found the story interesting, and I can't wait for the next one! Though it did lack conversation, and had a lot of non-conversations, I still loved it! I've read all the Little House books (Martha's, Charlotte's, Caroline's, Laura's and Rose's) except Bachelor Girl (the last Rose book), but I have it, and am going to read it. I am 13, but am reading all the books again!

endearing
An enchanting depiction of the Quiner family's move after loosing thier home, through the eyes of a little girl. The story brings all the senses to life and has the reader wanting more. It is best if followed in order of the series starting with Little House in Brookville.

This is an excellent book!
This book is wonderful! It is interasting, and it is fun to read. Caroline Quiner, the main character in this book, along with her mother, sisters, and brothers, have excellent adventures. This book is fantastic!

Excellent Book.
I have read almost every book in the Little House Series. I love them. All of the books are written well and contain all the facts that Laura stated herself. I am 14 and will continue to buy the new books. ... Read more