Fiction Books - Page 4

The Absolutely Essential Eloise

Kay Thompson

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 113 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

ooh I just love Eloise! 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

Awesome book! Totally loved it--my three year old finds her fascinating. "Why does she want to pour a pitcher of water down the mail chute, mommy?" She's a naughty girl but such a wonderfully creative and self reliant one! I think she is a great role model for my little girls!

not what I want my child to emulate. 2 out of 5 stars.
1 of 4 people found this review helpful.

interesting to read as an adult. Wouldn't want to read to a young child.

Editorial Review:

Here is everything you need to know about Eloise (the enormously famous little girl who lives at the Plaza Hotel) because in the front of this book we have printed the original Eloise story & pictures and in the back of it there are sketches that nobody has seen before by Mr. Hilary Knight (the Artist) and photographs of Miss Kay Thompson when she was young and fabulous rawther like Eloise and absolutely loads of information that you simply cawn't cawn't cawn't get anywhere else. Here's the thing: whether you are just about to fall in love with Eloise or you already adore her you ought to have this book. (Charge it please and thank you very much.)

Catwings

Ursula Leguin

List Price: $15.99 By: Scholastic Amazon Marketplace: 21 new & used starting at $0.01

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Subjects -> Children's Books -> Animals -> Cats -> Fiction

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 45 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Cats 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

Great book for any cat lover

author of "Hobo Finds A Home"

Catwings 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

The 4 volume set of Catwings is an excellent collection of books. It makes a great gift. Even if your child reads well on their own, these books are marvelous for a family "read aloud" time. If you do not have that time, shut off the TV and make the time...it is well worth it!

Catwings (4 Volume Set) 4 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

This tender series is sure to please children of all ages, especially cat-lovers. In addition the illustrations are so sweet. It is a shame that they are not more widely read than they are. The fact that the cats have wings adds an exotic element to the stories.

Great story 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

Not only does Le Guin's story have such an original feel, in spite of being the basic plot line of just about every stray dog story ever written, Schindler's illustrations tug at the heartstrings. The cats look just like... real cats with wings. Schindler's realistic style is what makes Catwings seem almost believable. My kids ask me repeatedly if there *could* be cats with wings somewhere that "we just don't know about yet." The dust jacket states that Schindler used the woods around his home near Philadelphia as the backdrop for his interpretation of Le Guin's story, so children of the eastern woods will recognize familiar trees and birds.

I used this as a bedtime story with the kids and one of the parts I appreciated was when the children find the kittens in the alley and squeeze then. I've always had trouble explaining to my little boy how you can't squeeze the cat because it hurts him. I think this story helped explain to my son how frightening children can be to young animals and why it is important to treat them with kindness and handle them gently.

Editorial Review:

Four young cats with wings leave the city slums in search of a safe place to live, finally meeting two children with kind hands.

The Superclass

David J. Rothkopf

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 26 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Alternative Title: "I'm Great! I'm in with the IN Crowd" 1 out of 5 stars.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful.

This book takes a LOT of time to say very little. In summary, here's what the author takes several hundred pages to tell us:

a) The world is ruled by an informal group of about 6,000 people;

b) I [the author] am one of them! Aren't I special?

c) I know who the others are---but I'm not going to tell you!

d) They all get together once each year in Davos;

e) Davos is quaint, and has good restaurants, but inadequate lodging; and,

f) Oh, did I forget to tell you? I'M one of the Davos world elite! I AM special!

Globalization - yes- but 'nationalism' now more so 4 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

The world is ruled by an elite class , the superclass consisting in roughly six- thousand people, overwhelmingly male. This Superclass includes not only the Big Business elite, but heads of State, and even religious leaders like the Pope, and crime - bosses. These people, the one in a million who influence many millions are part of a global structure in which they trade and deal with each other.
They are the few who influence the many.
Rothkopf takes a tour around the world with them, speaks privately and interviews many. He goes to their famous meeting grounds, perhaps most famously, Davos and learns how they operate with global and not national concerns in mine.
In the course of the exploration Rothkopf provides a great deal of information, and insight. He provides portraits of figures most of us have never heard anything about, no matter how powerful they be.
All this is fine, but my sense is the central thesis is somewhat exaggerated and mistaken. Another world- affairs analyst Fred Kagan has recently written about how old national rivalries are as alive as ever, how competition between states still rules the world. The picture of these Davos people does not exactly expunge that of the Chinese now staging their grand show in Beijing. Old- style nationalism and national pride is helping drive them to leadership in the world. There are forces at work in history beyond those which Rothkopf attributes as being in the hands of elite.
One can learn much from this book, but it only tells a small part of the whole story of how the world moves and decides.

Eloise At Christmastime

Kay Thompson

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 21 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Christmas at the Plaza 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

Now that the Plaza Hotel has closed for renovations and will never be quite the same again, is all the more reason to buy this book about a little girl named Eloise who lived at the Plaza in its glory days.Eloise makes friends of the hotel staff and in spite of her dear nanny who is supposed to be in charge, Eloise manages to have many adventures within the Plaza during the festive Christmas season. The surprise ending is delightful. A book for all ages, but especially nice for someone who grew up in the 1950's.

This Book Would Make Almost Anyone Happy 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

Celebrate Christmas (no, not "holiday" folks, CHRISTMAS) year-round with New York's favorite poor litle rich girl, Eloise! Inside this book we not only get to re-visit the ball of energy that is Eloise, but we're treated to an always more-insightful-than-it-seems view of life and society, circa 1950, as the Plaza Hotel girds itself top to bottom for that most festive of celebratory occasions. Eloise is in high form here, and so is Nanny. The usual cast of characters is back and it's a rawthur cheerful read that has made me smile since I was knee-high to a grasshopper.

Editorial Review:

Yes

Here she is at Christmastime

Complete with tinsel and holly

Singing fa la la la lolly

And over the roar of the jingle bells

You can hear hear hear her say

It's absolutely Christmas

But I don't mind a bit

I give everyone a present

For that's the thing of it

So when it's everly Christmastime

And you're under your Christmas trees

Simply tinkle a bell and have a trinkle

And remember

Me

Eloise

All-Of-A-Kind Family

Sydney Taylor

Amazon Price: $15.30 List Price: $15.30 In stock soon. Order now to get in line. First come, first served. By: Topeka Bindery Amazon Marketplace: 1 new & used starting at $6.00

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 90 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

The Author's Daughter 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

All-of-a-Kind Family was a turning point in the history of Judaic children's literature - the first mainstream book with Jewish characters! In memory of author Sydney Taylor, the Association of Jewish Libraries gives out the Sydney Taylor Book Award each year to the best in Judaic children's literature. See lists of winners at www.sydneytaylorbookaward.org.

Also, you can hear an interview with Jo Taylor Marshall, the daughter of Sydney Taylor, on The Book of Life podcast's October 2007 episode "Catch Me a Classic!" Jo shares memories of the real people who became the characters in the series. Tune in at www.bookoflifepodcast.com!

Editorial Review:

Meet the All-of-a-Kind  Family -- Ella, Henny, Sarah, Charlotte, and Gertie -- who live with their parents in New York City at the turn of the century.

Together they share adventures that find them searching for hidden buttons while dusting Mama's front parlor and visiting with the peddlers in Papa's shop on rainy days. The girls enjoy doing everything together, especially when it involves holidays and surprises.

But no one could have prepared them for the biggest surprise of all!


From the Trade Paperback edition.

The Children of Noisy Village

Astrid Lindgren

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

A Bridge Over Changing Times 5 out of 5 stars.
9 of 10 people found this review helpful.

My own son is nearly out of high school and will no longer sit on my lap to let me read to him. Imagine! The rascal! But I have two boys, children of my cousin, and a niece, who are beginning to appreciate my reading talents. Their mothers have not been slow to recognize my utility on that front.
Astrid Lindgren was famous in America, years ago, for her Pippi Longstocking books. I think those are still common in bookstores. As an ex-boy reading to a boy, I enjoyed Lindgren's Rasmus books much more, and I loved the "Noisy Village" series. Lindgren's children's books are deliciously old-fashioned and rustic. Rasmus is the Huckleberry Finn of Sweden, and the five children of Noisy Village might remind English readers of Tom Sawyer and Little Women melded together. I read all these books in Swedish, and I'm just becoming acquainted with them in English for my young relatives. The translation is good - not quite as idiomatically piquant as the original, but attractively brash and blunt. Boys will enjoy the stories as much as girls. The target age for hearing these stories is about four to six, and quick-to-read children will be able to handle them at seven.
Life in a village in oldtime Sweden was little different from life in rural areas of the Upper Midwest before TV. Parents also may feel the pull of that good-natured, fundamentally decent community. There are no tickets to the past, however, except in books.

Editorial Review:

A charming story about the everyday life of six children living on the three neighboring farms that everybody calls "noisy village" because of its "high spirits." Line illustrations.

Gossip Girl #11: Don't You Forget About Me: A Gossip Girl Novel (Gossip Girl)

Cecily von Ziegesar

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 18 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

A bittersweet end to an era 5 out of 5 stars.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful.

When you first graduate, you're on top of the world, thinking about the future. But even the people of the Upper East Side know that, within a few short months, they'll be reminiscing about the people and experiences they'll be leaving behind - or not. Now, with ten short days left until everyone heads off to their respective colleges, it's time to party like there's no tomorrow, and soak up as many memories as possible before everyone goes their separate ways.

After spending the last month aboard a gorgeous boat with her hot other half, Nate Archibald, Blair Waldorf is convinced that their relationship is one that will last. And now, with just ten days before she heads off to Yale with the love of her life, and her frenemy, Serena van der Woodsen, Blair can't help but find herself on top of the world. The only thing making her shiver in her Marc Jacobs flats is the sappy love letter she found in the glove compartment of Nate's car. The writer? Serena van der Woodsen herself. Sure, Blair made sure to dispose of the evidence before Nate laid his gorgeous green eyes upon it. But, knowing Serena, there's always a possibility that she'll find a way to Nate before Blair has a chance to destroy anything between the two of them. Luckily, she's able to keep herself busy by buying all of the necessities she and Nate will need to live happily-ever-after in a quaint cottage she has created in her mind.

Nate Archibald had the time of his life sailing about with Blair for one blissful month; but now that he's back on dry land, he can't help but think about Serena van der Woodsen. Like Blair, he and Serena have so much history, and he's reluctant to throw it all away. But he has to push thoughts of romance aside as he faces his domineering father who has just discovered that Nate will not be attending Yale in the fall. Instead, he'll be going where no normal teenager would go - back to high school. After bailing on his promised assistance at Coach Michaels's home, Nate managed to get himself into even more hot water, and now he has to find a way to let Blair in on his plans - or, rather, lack thereof. Maybe he is better off with Serena - at least she'd take his news in stride.

It took years to realize, but Serena van der Woodsen finally knows that Nate Archibald is the one and only guy for her. But after he takes off with Blair, the only thing she has left to do is promote her first feature film Breakfast At Fred's, which is garnering rave reviews from every critic in the country. When the two lovebirds return, however, Serena can't help but feel that Nate is sending her messages of the romantic variety. Unfortunately, she has no idea whether or not he has received her forbidden letter, and doesn't know how to react. The fact that she's contemplating deferring Yale for a year doesn't set her mind at ease much either. Looks like someone had better make some decisions - stat!

After dabbling with being gay for a bit of time, Dan Humphrey is beginning to wonder if, much to his family and friend's surprise, he is actually straight. If the overwhelming feelings he's experiencing towards Vanessa Abrams - again! - is any indication, we may just be able to chalk the whole incident up to confusion. After gallivanting around Prague for the summer, Jenny Humphrey can't wait to pack up her things and head off to Waverly Academy. But first she'll have to find a way to gain entrance to the hottest party of the summer for one last blowout before she bids adieu to the Big Apple. Vanessa Abrams has had her share of summer jobs over the past few months; but the one thing she wants is Dan. Maybe, with a few well-placed hints, she'll be able to win him back - once and for all.

Cecily von Ziegesar has kept us all on the edge-of-our-seats for the past few years, digesting more and more gossip to discover what, exactly, would happen with some of our Upper East Siders. DON'T YOU FORGET ABOUT ME finally puts our minds to rest - slightly. As always, Blair seems to be living in her own little bubble, refusing to come to terms with any of the new revelations which have rocked her world over the past few months. Serena has reverted back to the solemn, slightly depressed girl who we were introduced to in the debut GOSSIP GIRL. And Nate seems to be - gasp! - finally maturing, at least a little bit. The ping-pong relationship between Dan and Vanessa is, once again, in full force; but it's welcome, after the turmoil that has taken place between the two of them in the past couple of books. And Jenny's minor appearance certainly drops a ray of sunshine into the story, and gets us ready for a new adventure - accompanying her to Waverly Academy. The hints that are dropped regarding a new set of characters coming into the picture make for a slightly exciting bit of info. Yet saying farewell to the people we know and love is still difficult, and tragic, in it's own way. A bittersweet end to an era.

Erika Sorocco
Freelance Reviewer

Editorial Review:

Don't You Forget About Me continues the #1 New York Times bestselling series about the provocative lives of New York City's most prestigious private school young adults. Sharp wit, intriguing characters, and high stakes melodrama drive the action of this addictive series that have made Gossip Girl the lit world's coveted "it" girl.

A-List #10, The: California Dreaming: An A-List Novel (A-List)

Zoey Dean

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Total reviews: 187 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

The ninth novel, Beautiful Stranger, in the New York Times bestselling series takes readers behind the scenes of the intoxicating world of Hollywood glitterati. Anna decides to take an end-of-summer getaway-to get away from her drama-filled LA life. So she packs her Louis Vuitton, grabs her close friend Sam, and heads to the Big Apple. Between trips to the Met and shopping at Bendel's, the girls are living the A-List life on Anna's home turf. But their trip isn't exactly a vacation. Sam is here to spy on Eduardo and decode his recent strange ­behavior. Will what she discovers send her hopping on the next private jet back to Beverly Hills? And who is the ­beautiful stranger who appears on Anna's Upper East Side doorstep? Anna begins to wonder whether she wants to head back west again-especially since Ben seems to have moved on . . . with someone who isn't a stranger at all. When it comes to the A-List, there's drama coast to coast.

The A-List #10: Title to Come plot description to come.

Seedfolks (Joanna Colter Books)

Paul Fleischman

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 91 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Good Stories, but Too Disconnected 3 out of 5 stars.
2 of 3 people found this review helpful.

It all started with one little girl. Kim's father died before she was even born, and she is afraid that he might not know her as he looks down from heaven. So she decides to do something to make him recognize her and to make him proud. He was a farmer back in Vietnam, so she takes a handful of bean seeds to a trash-covered vacant lot near her inner-city apartment and plants them. When he looks down and sees them, he will know she is his daughter.

Someone looks down from a window and is intrigued by this girl who keeps visiting the vacant lot in secret. Upon investigation she sees what is going on and decides to clear a little patch of land for a tiny garden of her own. Others observe and like the idea, and soon the vacant lot is covered with a patchwork of gardens from all sorts of people living nearby. Someone is able to bully the city into moving the trash off of this land. People who usually avoid eye contact at all cost are suddenly meeting neighbors and relating to one another. Through this garden project, a neighborhood of strangers becomes a real community.

I liked the characters in this story. They were all very vivid and their stories were well thought out. I also liked being able to see the different perspectives on this garden, and the different reasons people decided to plant things here.

I didn't like that each person's story was just dropped after it was told. I wanted the author to go back and write what the people were thinking. What did Kim think when her garden idea caught on? Was Sam able to stop the segregation he saw developing in the garden? I wanted some followup to each story.

Editorial Review:

A vacant lot, rat-infested and filled with garbage, looked like no place for a garden. Especially to a neighborhood of strangers where no one seems to care. Until one day, a young girl clears a small space and digs into the hard-packed soil to plant her precious bean seeds. Suddenly, the soil holds promise: To Curtis, who believes he can win back Lateesha's heart with a harvest of tomatoes; to Virgil's dad, who sees a fortune to be made from growing lettuce; and even to Maricela, sixteen and pregnant, wishing she were dead.

Thirteen very different voices -- old, young, Haitian, Hispanic, tough, haunted, and hopeful -- tell one amazing story about a garden that transforms a neighborhood.

Chosen as a state and citywide read in communities across the country:
Vermont
Racine, WI
Tampa, FL
Newburgh, NY
Boca Raton, FL

Town Mouse, Country Mouse

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 13 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

ONE OF THE BETTER VERSIONS OF THIS OLD, OLD STORY! 5 out of 5 stars.
5 of 5 people found this review helpful.

As near as we can tell, Aesop's Fables date back to at least the 6th Century B.C. I personally feel that many of these tales are even older and Aesop had probably recorded quite a number of old folk tales from the past. Be-that-as-it-may, this is a rewrite of one of my favorite of Aesop's Fables. This story has been told and retold in countless languages, in countless countries and it would be almost impossible to find and read them all. I will say though, that with this offering, Jan Brett has done the tradition proud and pretty well proved that what was good in the 6th Century B.C. is good today!

In this story, we have the Town Mouse and his wife and the Country Mouse and his wife that, after a chance meeting, decide to trade places. You all know the story, and if you don't, I don't want any spoilers here, so I will not give a blow by blow rundown on the adventures of these four in their new environment.

What sets this particular version apart from so many others though, is the art work. I cannot remember a children's book that was so well illustrated and to be frank, so interesting. The author alternates, page by page from Town Mouse back to Country Mouse. At the side of each illustration we have a sort of preview of what is going to happen next. This is not a "copy" of an upcoming page, but rather a general view of what might be. Once the child (and parent or grandparent catches on, this can be quite fun). But back to the art. The only way I can describe it would be Victorian. It is vivid, detailed, colorful and just down right interesting. The way the author has humanized the various critters does not come across as phony at all, and actually looks quite natural is a stage sort of way. I could safely say that most people could read and look at this book twenty or more times and each time find some detail they have never seen before with previous readings. Each page is a visual adventure; each page is an absolute delight. Now this does not mean this work does not have a strong and well written text. Far from it! The story flows well, is easy on the eye and the story is quite understandable to the targeted age group which would probably be kindergarten through third or fourth grade.

The obvious lesson learned from the story is to be happy with where you are, stop complaining and count yourself lucky you have what you have. What is nice about this work though, is that the adult reader can get much more mileage out of this than just the moral of the story. This is an ideal book to help children learn to really observe and look for details. It will be obvious after several readings, even to the little ones, that there is more to see if you just take the time to look. Absolute hours of discussion can be had just talking with the child about the different things seen on each and ever page.

This particular publication dates back to 1994. Let's hope it is with us many, many more years.

Editorial Review:

A story filled with suspense and humor, this classic tale of a town mouse and a country mouse takes a new twist in the imaginative and talented hands of Jan Brett. She introduces two engaging mouse couples eager to get away from their everyday lives. But when they agree to swap homes, they find unexpected adventures around every corner. Lush green scenes alternate with the elegant details of a fine Victorian townhouse to make a sumptuous and stunning picture book.