( L ) Books

A Wrinkle in Time

Madeleine L'Engle

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 73 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

A Piece of Literature in Time 4 out of 5 stars.
1 of 2 people found this review helpful.

A Wrinkle in Time, by Madeleine L'Engle, is a book that I've read twice but completely loved. It is a story that has very advanced concepts for the early 1960's but is something that anyone could like. Meg Murry is a normal teenage girl: she has braces and looks normal. She doesn't do that well in school but is smart at home. On the other hand, her brother, Charles Wallace, is an all around genius. His age is five and understands most things a five year old couldn't. Meg and Charles Wallace meet a boy named Calvin, who is a friendly boy around Meg's age, around two years older, and all three of them hit it off, Meg a little slower than Charles Wallace. On a stormy night, a bizarre lady comes in and tells them random things.
Over the course of the book, Meg, Calvin, and Charles Wallace are all pulled into a fantasy world with different galaxies, "wrinkling", and different planets. This is all for Mr. Murry, who went missing a few years prior to this point in time. Overall, it was a satisfying book.

Editorial Review:

It was a dark and stormy night; Meg Murry, her small brother Charles Wallace, and her mother had come down to the kitchen for a midnight snack when they were upset by the arrival of a most disturbing stranger.

"Wild nights are my glory," the unearthly stranger told them. "I just got caught in a downdraft and blown off course. Let me sit down for a moment, and then I'll be on my way. Speaking of ways, by the way, there is such a thing as a tesseract."

A tesseract (in case the reader doesn't know) is a wrinkle in time. To tell more would rob the reader of the enjoyment of Miss L'Engle's unusual book. A Wrinkle in Time, winner of the Newbery Medal in 1963, is the story of the adventures in space and time of Meg, Charles Wallace, and Calvin O'Keefe (athlete, student, and one of the most popular boys in high school). They are in search of Meg's father, a scientist who disappeared while engaged in secret work for the government on the tesseract problem.

The Frog and Toad Collection Box Set (I Can Read Book 2)

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 15 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Great stories! 5 out of 5 stars.
17 of 18 people found this review helpful.

The collection consists of 3 books - Frog and Toad All Year, Frog and Toad Are Friends, and Frog and Toad Together. My 8 year old nephew who has reading difficulties loves these books. He now shows an interest in reading. Please keep up with the stories Mr. Lobel!

Simple language and values for all 4 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

I bought a our first Arnold Lobel book based on the drawings and the layout. It looked appropriate for my son who is 5. It became a favourite on the first reading and we have bought and read many more since. This collection is full of playful, original stories that bring to mind television shows like Little Bear and Franklin.

These stories have fueled hours of laughter and delight. I recommend them highly along with other Lobel books like Mouse Tales and Mouse soup; they are the perfect length for bed time. The topics and themes about everyday conundrums, serendipity and friendship are entertaining, thought provoking, and a gentle and amusing way to suggest to young minds what it means to be a good friend.

Editorial Review:

Frog and Toad are always there for each other -- just as best friends should be. From sledding in winter to eating ice cream on hot summer days, these two friends have fun together the whole year round!

The Wrinkle in Time Quintet Boxed Set (A Wrinkle in Time, A Wind in the Door, A Swiftly Tilting Planet, Many Waters, An Acceptable Time)

Madeleine L'Engle

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 11 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

The Time Quintet consists of A Wrinkle in Time, A Wind in the Door, A Swiftly Tilting Planet, Many Waters, and An Acceptable Time. The digest box set features the art of Taeeun Yoo.
A Wrinkle in Time is one of the most significant novels of our time. This fabulous, ground-breaking science-fiction and fantasy story is the first of five in the Time Quintet series about the Murry family.
A Wind in the Door—When Charles Wallace falls ill, Meg, Calvin, and their teacher, Mr. Jenkins, must travel inside C.W. to make him well, and save the universe from the evil Echthros.
A Swiftly Tilting Planet—The Murry and O’Keefe families enlist the help of the unicorn, Gaudior, to save the world from imminent nuclear war.
Many Waters—Meg Murry, now in college, time travels with her twin brothers, Sandy and Dennys, to a desert oasis that is embroiled in war.
An Acceptable Time—While spending time with her grandparents, Alex and Kate Murry, Polly O’Keefe wanders into a time 3,000 years before her own.

The Chronicles of Narnia

C. S. Lewis

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1016 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Just what I ordered 4 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

I was looking for a set of the Chronicles of Narnia for my 10 year old grandson. This was what I wanted. thank you

First time reading through 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

Yes, this is my first time reading through the chronicles of Narnia. This book was very exciting. Every page after page, I felt if I was really there from the first to the last page of the book. This is one of the most exciting books that I have ever read. I would encourge all of the adults plus children to read because you don't have to be young to enjoy this book you can be old as a parent or a grand parent and still feel excited about reading a novel like this.
It comes to my attention that this book is not in the order that the author has wrote it in but I have to say it makes an excitable story to read. This would make perfect birthday/christmas presnt for anyone who loves to read.

Editorial Review:

The Chronicles of Narnia, by C.S. Lewis, is one of the very few sets of books that should be read three times: in childhood, early adulthood, and late in life. In brief, four children travel repeatedly to a world in which they are far more than mere children and everything is far more than it seems. Richly told, populated with fascinating characters, perfectly realized in detail of world and pacing of plot, and profoundly allegorical, the story is infused throughout with the timeless issues of good and evil, faith and hope. This boxed set edition includes all seven volumes.

The Story of Ferdinand

Munro Leaf

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 76 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

What else can be said about the fabulous Ferdinand? Published more than 50 years ago (and one of the bestselling children's books of all time), this simple story of peace and contentment has withstood the test of many generations. Ferdinand is a little bull who much prefers sitting quietly under a cork tree-- just smelling the flowers--to jumping around, snorting, and butting heads with other bulls. This cow is no coward--he simply has his pacifist priorities clear. As Ferdinand grows big and strong, his temperament remains mellow, until the day he meets with the wrong end of a bee. In a show of bovine irony, the one day Ferdinand is most definitely not sitting quietly under the cork tree (due to a frightful sting), is the selfsame day that five men come to choose the "biggest, fastest, roughest bull" for the bullfights in Madrid.

Ferdinand's day in the arena gives readers not only an education in the historical tradition of bullfighting, but also a lesson in nonviolent tranquility. Robert Lawson's black-and-white drawings are evocative and detailed, with especially sweet renditions of Ferdinand, the serene bull hero. The Story of Ferdinand closes with one of the happiest endings in the history of happy endings--readers of all ages will drift off to a peaceful sleep, dreaming of sweet-smelling flowers and contented cows.

Days with Frog and Toad

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 19 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

The five simple chapters in Arnold Lobel's Days with Frog and Toad say more about the rewards of friendship than any adult tome ever could. Frog and Toad, the amiable amphibian duo, fly kites, clean house, and tell ghost stories together. And, in a surprisingly sophisticated, yet perfectly easy-to-grasp, segment, they even learn about the value of being alone. Frog is ever-so-slightly more sagacious than Toad; his gentle and supportive way with his chum shows that personal variances don't have to get in the way of friendship. On the contrary: vive la différence! Arnold Lobel's illustrations in warm frog and toad tones create the perfect atmosphere for this wise and touching early reader, an ALA Notable Children's Book.

Lobel has created four "Frog and Toad" stories for the "I Can Read" books, an immensely popular series with large type, abundant illustrations, and ample spacing that first launched with Else Holmelund Minarik's Little Bear. Fans of the foot-flapping friends won't want to miss Frog and Toad Are Friends (a Caldecott Honor book); Frog and Toad Together (a Newbery Honor book); and Frog and Toad All Year (an ALA Notable Children's Book). Children will be overjoyed to spend an evening--or days on end--with these affectionate friends. (Ages 4 to 8). --Emilie Coulter

Pippi Longstocking (Puffin Modern Classics)

Astrid Lindgren

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 50 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Good Fun 4 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

My children and I loved the stories. Watch out for the last story however. The generous Pippi shares guns with her friends. I had to explain to my six year old that this is from a different time in a different country and that she should never ever touch a gun.

Editorial Review:

Pippi is an irrepressible, irreverent, and irrefutably delightful girl who lives alone (with a monkey) in her wacky house, Villa Villekulla. When she's not dancing with the burglars who were just trying to rob her house, she's attempting to learn the "pluttification" tables at school; fighting Adolf, the strongest man in the world at the circus; or playing tag with police officers. Pippi's high-spirited, good-natured hijinks cause as much trouble as fun, but a more generous child you won't find anywhere.

Astrid Lindgren has created a unique and lovable character, inspiring generations of children to want to be Pippi. More than anything, Pippi makes reading a pleasure; no child will welcome the end of the book, and many will return to Pippi Longstocking again and again. Simply put, Pippi is irresistible. (Ages 9 to 12)

The Willoughbys

Lois Lowry

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 22 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Whether readers are familiar with classic literature or not, they will soon have their own example of classic parody to point to 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

Lois Lowry is nothing if not versatile. From serious, Newbery Award-winning fare such as NUMBER THE STARS and THE GIVER to brilliantly funny family comedy in the Anastasia Krupnik series, Lowry has successfully explored many different genres and moods in her fruitful career. Now, in THE WILLOUGHBYS, she demonstrates her range once more. Specifically, this book exhibits her extensive knowledge of the history of children's literature and playfully re-purposes those occupants of the bookstore's "Classics" shelf into a clever parody.

At the center of the tale are the four Willoughby children: bossy eldest son Tim, twins Barnaby and Barnaby (nicknamed A and B) and youngest sister Jane, who is convinced that her plain, ordinary name might be one of the reasons her parents seem to keep forgetting about her. The Willoughbys are a thoroughly old-fashioned bunch, engaging in just the kinds of wholesome activities that populate the pages of their favorite old children's stories.

But something is holding the kids back from becoming exactly like their storybook heroes and heroines --- their parents. If only their mom and dad would disappear, they could become "worthy," "winsome" and "deserving orphans," just like so many of the characters --- from Mary Lennox in THE SECRET GARDEN to Jane Eyre --- they emulate. So they hatch a plot to rid themselves of their parents once and for all. Little do they know, though, that their mom and dad (inspired by the story of Hansel and Gretel) might have an old-fashioned plot of their own in mind.

What follows is a glorious, tongue-in-cheek romp through the images and icons of classic stories --- from a baby abandoned on a doorstep to a no-nonsense nanny (who is nothing like Mary Poppins: "It almost gives me diabetes just to think of her: all those disgusting spoonfuls of sugar!") to a boy who pulls himself up by his bootstraps (whatever those are). Chock full of delightful asides from the narrator and genuine moments of dramatic irony and suspense, THE WILLOUGHBYS is --- if it's not oxymoronic to say so --- a thoroughly modern old-fashioned yarn. Lowry even manages to warp the traditional sentimental ending, as the Willoughbys reflect wistfully over their tragically lost parents (whose loss is somehow more comical than tragic).

Of course, the readers who will most appreciate the book's sense of play are those who themselves have knowledge of the stories the author references. But all will enjoy the snarky narrative, and no one should miss either the clever glossary or the hilarious summaries of the classic tales referenced in the novel (LITTLE WOMEN: "Meg is mature and sensible. Jo is literary and boyish. Amy is vain and foolish. Beth is saintly and dies."). Whether readers are familiar with classic literature or not, they will soon have their own example of classic parody to point to --- THE WILLOUGHBYS.

--- Reviewed by Norah Piehl

Editorial Review:

Abandoned by their ill-humored parents to the care of an odious nanny, Tim, the twins, Barnaby A and Barnaby B, and their sister, Jane, attempt to fulfill their roles as good oldfashioned children. Following the models set in lauded tales from A Christmas Carol to Mary Poppins, the four Willoughbys hope to attain their proscribed happy ending too, or at least a satisfyingly maudlin one. However, it is an unquestionably ruthless act that sets in motion the transformations that lead to their salvation and to happy endings for not only the four children, but their nanny, an abandoned baby, a candy magnate, and his long-lost son too. Replete with a tongue-in-cheek glossary and bibliography, this hilarious and decidedly old-fashioned parody pays playful homage to classic works of children's literature.

How to Behave and Why

Munro Leaf

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 27 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

It's hard to be good. Especially if you don't really know what "being good" means. Munro Leaf, beloved author of The Story of Ferdinand, decided to try his hand at defining good behavior in his 1946 classic How to Behave and Why. The two biggest questions to ask ourselves in life, he says, are "Are most of the people I know glad that I am here?" and "Am I glad that I am here, myself?" If you want to make good friends and keep them, he says, "You have to be HONEST. You have to be FAIR. You have to be STRONG and You have to be WISE." This strangely charming life primer, illustrated with endearing stick figures, goes on to explain why you have to be honest--how handy it is to be trusted, for instance, when you need to borrow money. And if you lie too much, "We can't believe ourselves or anyone else, because we don't really know what the truth is any more than a penguin and that is a stupid way to live." Specific reasons for not being a "lazy lump" or a liar or a cheat are outlined matter-of-factly, as are basic lessons in how to be well and strong. Originally published for the very young (it has an early-reader format with big type and pictures), Leaf's how-to-be-good guidebook will probably be shared among adults as a back-to-basics inspirational book with the same crossover appeal as Sandol Stoddard Warburg's I Like You. A satisfying reflection of a time when what was right and wrong seemed more black and white. (All ages) --Karin Snelson

Frog and Toad Are Friends (I Can Read Book 2)

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 47 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Frog and Toad agreed: it was a perfect day for a swim. And Frog was kind enough not to look at Toad in his bathing suit, per Toad's request. But when the swimming was over, a crowd had gathered to see Toad in his funny-looking suit, and neither Frog nor Toad could make them leave.

The endearing pair hop along through five enchanting stories, looking for lost buttons, greeting the spring, and waiting for mail. Their genuine care for each other makes Frog and Toad two of the finest amphibious role models around. Young readers will chuckle with Frog as they watch Toad's silly efforts to make up a story. And they will applaud Toad as he finally wakes up after hibernating all winter. The fifth story will warm the hearts of any would-be pen pal--or anyone who has ever known what it's like to have a true-blue (or green) friend.

Arnold Lobel's comfortable brown and green illustrations invite and delight every reader, setting the tone for warm, funny stories about friendship. A Caldecott Honor Book and finalist for the National Book Award for Children's Literature, this installment of Lobel's classic Frog and Toad series is another essential addition to any youngster's shelf. If you need even more of Frog and Toad, don't miss Frog and Toad Together, Frog and Toad All Year, and Days with Frog and Toad. (Ages 4 to 8) --Emilie Coulter