Last Days of Summer

Amazon.com

In and of itself, the epistolary novel is nothing new; indeed, Ring Lardner wrote You Know Me Al, his classic diamond saga, as a series of letters home from fictional White Sox hurler Jack Keefe more than 80 years ago. With Last Days of Summer, Kluger has virtually reinvented the genre in his picaresque coming-of-age fable of future sportswriter Joey Margolis and his improbable relationship with Giants rookie sensation, Charlie Banks.

The place is Brooklyn, the time is the early '40s, and young baseball fanatic Joey needs a hero badly in his life. How that hero becomes Charlie--and ultimately Joey himself--forms the dimensions of the novel's field, but it's the way the game is played that's so remarkable. The story's told not through conventional narrative but by way of Joey's abstract scrapbook: letters, postcards, news clippings, box scores, report cards, matchbook covers, dispatches from FDR, telegrams, even an invitation to Joey's own Bar Mitzvah and the gift list from the affair.

Delightful throughout, Summer develops a deeper traction when Charlie goes off to war, then turns poignant in its seemingly preordained aftermath. It is a triumph of style, to be sure, but a triumph of style without loss of substance. --Jeff Silverman

Book Description

The hilarious and heart–warming story about a down–and–out kid who finds inspiration in his favourite baseball hero.

In Brooklyn, 1940, a wisecracking, baseball loving twelve–year–old boy, Joey Margolis, is in desperate need of a hero. His rich father has recently divorced his mother, leaving her all but penniless, and she is forced to move herself and her son to an Italian dominated part of Brooklyn, where he's the only Jew in the area. Constant abuse from other boys in the neighbourhood prompts Joey to send letters to Charlie Banks, an up–and–coming star with the New York Giants, asking for a home run so he can tell everyone that it was for him. Joey uses every trick in the book to get what he wants and the friendship that comes out of their simple correspondence will change them both forever.

This improbable friendship is woven together through letters, postcards, notes, telegrams, newspaper clippings, report cards and ticket stubs, and includes a colourful cast of supporting characters.

o The joys and sorrows growing up will always have an audience and this novel sheds light on all the complexity of those difficult times, with humour and joy.

Customer Reviews:

beautifully written.......2007-10-01

read this book on a bicycle trip this summer, and it was one of the great highlights!ecommended in a bookstore in montana,it was totally engrossing,couldn't wait to read it everyday.when it rained for 6 days straight, iwas more bummed about not having a chance to read than the pounding i took from the weather...hopefully you'll check out more books by this author, i know i will.ver easy to read,funny,smart,moving and for people who really don't care about baseball. a great highlight of an incredible summer!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Heartwarming and touching.......2007-08-28

This is a great story about coming of age in difficult times. The story will make you laugh out loud in part, and break your heart in others.

The main characters are a kid named Joey Margolis and a baseball player named Charlie Banks. The story of their relationship is told in the epistolary style, through correspondence and newspaper clippings. The style is jarring at first, but once the reader gets used to it, Kluger really makes it work. By using this style, Kluger is able to flesh out Joey and Charlie without having to get into a lot of backstory. I thought that I knew both characters as well as I know some of my friends by the end.

This book is one of the truest as far as describing the relationship between a boy and his idol. Their relationship starts out on a contentious note, with Joey and Charlie sending profane and very rude notes to each other. Slowly, each realizes the pressures the other faces and sees the good. They become friends, hanging out, going to places together, playing juvenile pranks on "grownups", etc. By the end of the book, Charlie and Joey are the best of friends.

This is one of my all time favorite books, and after reading it, most people will feel the same.

Last Days of Summer.......2007-08-08

Last Days Of Summer is a hilarious, heartwarming and touching story about a smartass kid named Joey Margolis and a blue-collar Rookie baseball player named Charlie Banks. The entire story is told through letters, newspaper articles, and telegrams as well as other means of written communication. The relationship between the two starts out as something more along the lines of hate but quickly buds into something more, Charlie becomes the father that is missing from Joey's life in an extremely unconventional way, and Joey allows Charlie to show a more gentler, loving side of himself that his long-time on and off again girlfriend Hazel McKay has never seen before. It takes place during WWII and follows the times accurately. It's a quick witty read that had me laughing and crying. I breezed through it in two days and periodically open it up just to laugh some more.

Not Enough Words for "Wonderful".......2007-06-05

It was, well, wonderful! A beautiful story set in the 1940's about an unlikely relationship between a 13-year-old precocious boy and a cocky famous baseball player. The storytelling is unconventional in that the book is comprised of a series of letters, report cards, transcriptions of counseling sessions, secret note exchanges, and newspaper clippings. At first I was unsure of how well I would like this style, but I was soon completely engulfed and was turning from page to page without noticing the time.

Some readers may not like the "choppiness" of the writing because many things will have to be inferred between letters, but it makes the story so personal to hear it directly from the characters. Obviously, there are no physical descriptions of the characters (because that wouldn't be included in actual letters) or an omniscient narrator telling the reader what the characters are thinking. But the characters are still able to develop and change as their experiences change. The author does a fantastic job of documenting this personal growth through the letters they write to each other.

Sure, the ending may be predictable, but it's about the journey, not the destination. You'll laugh at loud and shed some tears. You'll become attached to the characters, and if you're like me, you'll breeze through the book because there aren't any defined chapters, and the letters are all less than two pages, so you'll lose track of time. I was fortunate enough to find this gem in the bargain bin of a local bookstore. I wish had bought more so I could give them away as gifts. This is certainly my new favorite book. (A title I don't give away lightly.)

When baseball was king in Brooklyn.......2007-06-05

It's always a delight to me to find a book by an author of whom I had never heard, buy it, and then enjoy it tremendously. So it was with this book, which I bought on a whim, and read quickly from cover to cover. The author has a good handle on the vioce of a young boy, and his insertion of various newspaper clippings adds to the feeling of reality. This is a sort of "coming of age" book, and it will make you laugh and cry in turn. I don't want to give away the plot, but I could see the ending coming from a long way off. Even so, that didn't make it any less heartbreaking to read. I know that everyone who reads this book will enjoy it, as I have.

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'Dead Days of Summer': Finest of a fine series
No Dead Days Here
best yet
A Death On Demand Mystery
A Nice Entry in the Series

Dead Days of Summer (Death on Demand)
Carolyn Hart
Manufacturer: Avon
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

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ASIN: 0060724048
Release Date: 2007-03-27

Book Description

Annie Darling, owner of the Death on Demand mystery bookstore, is understandably upset. It isn't like her p.i. husband Max to abruptly disappear—and homicide is definitely not his style. But when his car is found abandoned on a remote road with a brutally slain, once-beautiful young woman nearby and the murder weapon stashed in the trunk, Annie's worst fears seem justified.

The police have Max all but tried and convicted—except for Chief Billy Cameron, whose unshakable belief in his friend's innocence prompts his removal from the case. And as a media circus descends on tiny Broward's Rock, Annie will have to place her own life in jeopardy to clear her husband's name. But time is running out—and she has only one slim chance to unmask a killer who just may have committed the perfect crime.

Customer Reviews:

'Dead Days of Summer': Finest of a fine series.......2007-07-29

This is Carolyn Hart's 17th mystery in the Death on Demand series alone. She can't turn them out fast enough for me. I loved it, all the way through.

I had only two problems with the book: (1)I really relate to Max Darling -- what loving husband wouldn't? -- and he is incapacitated and powerless virtually the entire book. (2)For more than a hundred pages I believed I knew the identity of the murderer; I was wrong.

What a fine read. And when is No. 18 coming out?

No Dead Days Here.......2007-06-06

Dead Days of Summer
Carolyn Hart

If you like murder mysteries or the author Sue Grafton, you will love Carolyn Hart's Dead Days of Summer. The book is one is a long series called Death on Demand. I have no idea where this book fits into the whole picture, but I never once felt that I was left out of the loop because I had not read any of the others. The book does not have a strong Christian base, but it does speak of the Lord, church, belief, and faith. There is even a character who quotes scripture. As a Christian you would not feel weird, or wrong reading this book.

The story opens up on the slow side, and introduces you to a lot of characters right off the bat. This is definitely one that you have to pay attention to from page one or you could get lost in the mix of all the mayhem.

Annie Darling is the main character. The story revolves around her and her husband Max. Annie is the owner of a mystery book store called Death on Demand. Max is a private detective, but cannot call himself one because of the laws of the island that they live on. Broward Rock is the name of the island that they live on. It is one of the islands off of South Carolina.

Annie and Max had lunch together and are walking back to their offices, Annie insists that Max go to the office today and maybe someone will come in. Annie goes to her bookstore and immediately picks up where she left off on planning Max's surprise birthday party. Her mother-in-law Laurel is helping with the planning. It is almost close of business time when Max calls and says that he has a client and will be home later and call if it is going to be real late.

The client that hires Max is a beautiful woman who says that she is looking for her brother who disappeared the previous year. She shows Max pictures of him, and a note that states that he is seen most nights at a place called Dooley's Mine, which is a sleazy bar, that not many people would be caught dead at. They plan to meet there later that evening to scope the place out and see if he is there.

Max never calls and Annie freaks out. She goes to Max's place of business and finds and intruder. She then calls the police. Nothing is making sense, and just as a precaution a missing persons is released, just on a hunch because there is not enough evidence to go on. Annie calls all of their friends and they all start looking for Max. The friends that she calls are a mystery writer, and ex-military woman, an ex-editor, an ex-reporter, an actress, a newspaper man, and others.

The next morning they find a woman who has been murdered, and Max's car just outside the cabin that she has been murdered in. They don't find Max though. Annie knows from gut instinct that this is the person who hired Max. When they don't find Max, the search is on even harder. One of the friends Emma, who is the author, hires a great attorney for them, since it now looks like Max is wanted for murder.

Later on the same day that they find the dead woman, they find Max. He wakes up, confused, sick, and covered in blood. When the police find him they take him into custody for the murder of Vanessa Taylor, who is the woman that they found dead in the cabin. Max has never heard of Vanessa Taylor, and cannot remember anything that has happened. The police chief ends up having to put Max under arrest for the murder of the woman. While he is in the cell, Annie enters the jail and they talk. She vows to find who set him up, and get to the bottom of all of this mess.

Annie, her mother-in-law and her friends do just that. The majority of the book is them sleuthing around and getting information. They follow leads and end up unraveling the whole set up. Max is freed and life goes on as usual.

The book on the whole is good. It takes a long time for the story to develop and get into the action. If you are into meat and grit from page one this one will leave you wanting. If you have patience and don't mind a long build up and climax, then this is the book for you. Ms. Hart has wonderful characters and many of them. She also finds a way to keep them all tied to the story, even if it is just a sentence in the middle of the book. That is a definite gift, and I am glad that she does not leave the reader wondering what happened to so and so even if they were a minor character. Not a bad read at all, life as usual...until the next Death on Demand book.

best yet.......2007-04-29

this is by far to me the best of the best Hart always peaks your interest from the very first sentence..but this one tops them all..you have to read it clear though..wow!!!

A Death On Demand Mystery.......2007-04-20

This book is the best of the series that I have read. Ms. Heart is an excellent cozy mystery writer. I have all of her books in my library and have read them all. My favorite was a Henrie O mystery "Dead Man's Island".

A Nice Entry in the Series.......2006-12-30

I had grown disenchanted with the Darlings and their friends and family on Broward's Rock. Out of habit, however, I read "Dead Days of Summer" and enjoyed it. I felt that Max and Annie were more *human* in this book, with Annie facing the strain of the speculation that Max may have been (a) unfaithful, and (b) responsible for a death, and with Max struggling with limitations that are not surmontable in spite his incredible wealth. Indeed most of the characters seemed more real (well, with the exception of Laurel... but really, Laurel is nothing short of otherworldly!)

The Last Day of Summer: Photographs by Jock Sturges

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The Real Deal
Not All Nude, But All Wonderful
You'll be moved
Jock Sturges first, not best book, does have some nice work in it
Sturges' Continuing Family Relationship - As we grow up

The Last Day of Summer: Photographs by Jock Sturges

Manufacturer: Aperture
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0893815381
Release Date: 2005-06-15

Book Description

The photographs of Jock Sturges are the record of people he cherishes: mothers and daughters, friends, children. Before his 8 x 10 camera, they show their relationship not only to one another, but also of the inner self to the world. Magical in their detail, these images are a collaboration of trust and admiration between artist and subject. Jayne Anne Phillips's compelling prose both illuminates the photographs and explores the unending sensuality and complexity of the bond between mother and child.

Whether photographing on naturist beaches in the south of France, in the communes of northern California, or in the affluent, East Coast summer resort of Block Island, Jock Sturges is at home with his subjects. Many of them are families with whom he has deep ties and whom he photographs as they are, clothed or nude, revealing the iconography of family affection. Each summer Sturges returns to visit the friends whose uninhibited grace, warmth, and beauty he so lyrically captures. He is now making pictures of girls and boys whose parents he first photographed as children.

In 1990 the Federal Bureau of Investigation entered Jock Sturges's San Francisco studio and seized his work, implying violation of child pornography laws. Citizens, artists, and the media responded with outrage. With The Last Day of Summer, Aperture accords to Jock Sturges's humane and lovely vision the dignity and respect it so richly deserves.

Customer Reviews:

The Real Deal.......2007-09-01

Jock Sturges will probably stand as one of the great photographers of the 20th and 21st centuries....someday. His work with the friends and strangers who populate summer beaches and cottages where clothing is optional, year after year, testifies to his respect for his subjects and his affirming humanity. In current American culture, where hypersexuality is the marketing tool of choice, and merchants exploit every normal insecurity about appearance to sell endless crap to yearning multitudes, Sturges's pictures show us how beautiful we are, in all our shapes, sizes and ages, in nothing but the skin we are born with.

As a photographer, I am amazed at Sturges's ability to convince people to simply offer themselves up to his visual instincts. He returns to the same venues again and again, and becomes part of the places himself, rather than an intruder, and the people in his photographs see the work that results. Seeing themselves as he sees them, they appear to trust him completely. He steals no souls, but rather, affirms the conviction that we have souls in the first place. When asked to suggest a present for my own 16 year old daughter, a young woman with endless interests and curiosity, including photography, I could think of no better work to show her at this point in her life.

Not All Nude, But All Wonderful.......2006-07-24

This is what children, young people growing up, and parents with children look like: people in bathing suits, jeans, everyday attire, as well as nude. There are photographs on the beach, in a tree, on a tricycle (one of the best as a photographic design, in my opinion), in hammocks, standing...a whole range of locales and postures.

While it astounds me that anyone could think this wonderful collection is child pornography, I *can* see the concern. There's no doubt in my mind that a genuine pedophile would be attracted to this, and for all the most unfortunate reasons. Still, this is an accurate and sensitive representation of something that seems almost vanished from the world--the innocence of people comfortable with themselves, their bodies, and with each other. Alas, this is our loss.

This collection of touching, humorous, and occasionally beautiful photographs is our gain.

You'll be moved.......2006-02-22

If you are after pictures for the sexual excitement, look somewhere else. Yes there are naked women and men, young women and men, and even boys and girls of adolescent age, but you'd have to have a pretty sick mind to find them sexually exciting.

Rather on the contrary this are works of art with some of the best printing you'll see in your life (I'd love to see the originals, as I suspect as good as the book edition is, it still doesn't make it justice), with that simple beauty and simple "laiser faire" that is simply breathtaking.

Jock Sturges first, not best book, does have some nice work in it.......2005-10-07

Mr. Sturges first photography book, it shows the style his fans all know and love but as a first effort has a less polished feel to it. I was surprised to see some pictures taken in Rhode Island, the later books seem to consist of France, California and Oregon with no East Coast U.S.
As always with Mr. Sturges books the subject matter is mostly nude but there are several clothed photos here as well, more than will be found in later books. The style is all well done,(many very nice images), the book is certainly worth owning but doesn't seem quite the quality of the books from "Radiant Identities" onward.

Sturges' Continuing Family Relationship - As we grow up.......2005-08-09

A superb example of natural people doing what comes naturally captured in a wholesome way. Through Jock Sturges' images, we see what we see around us every day - families growing older. His nudes are prime examples of beauty - of which Jock captures with a particular reverence. The subjects represent whole body acceptance - something our society lacks today. The book is well done, and the images crisp and of excellent tone.

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A great story of pretend play

On a Summer Day (Lois Lenski Books)
Lois Lenski
Manufacturer: Random House Books for Young Readers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0375827307
Release Date: 2005-05-24

Book Description

Play, play, on a summer day.

Summer means the outdoors to kids everywhere. The days are long and full of summertime fun such as swimming and afternoon picnics. This classic 1953 picture book is back with bright colors after being out of print for decades.

Customer Reviews:

A great story of pretend play.......2007-03-14

This book is a wonderful story of pretend play. It is about a sister and brother who play outside in the yard for the day. They pretend to be on a train, be in school, go to church, go grocery shopping. They pretend to be different animals, climb trees, swing on a swing. The pictures show the children making a "train", a "school", a "church", a "grocery store" out of everyday objects -- boxes and dolls and cans and such. I enjoyed reading about children being imaginative and creative and making their own fun and toys. It is a great example for children of what fun they can have not watching TV! It is also nice to see a brother and sister playing so well together. There is a little song included at the beginning of the book that you can sing with your child. The story is very happy and fun.

Average customer rating:

Decent Debut
Kate Pepper is great
Enjoyable.
Countdown Begins for the Righteous
Upsetting the parents in "Five Days In Summer"

Five Days in Summer
Kate Pepper
Manufacturer: Onyx
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0451411404
Release Date: 2004-07-06

Book Description

Before the long drive home from vacation, Emily Parker made a quick run to the grocery store...and disappeared. But as her husband and a retired FBI profiler scour the Cape for her, Emily's thoughts are not on her own safety. Kept helpless in a madman's lair, she watches him prepare a five-day countdown that will bring him to his real victim-her seven-year-old son...

Customer Reviews:

Decent Debut.......2007-03-26

FIVE DAYS IN SUMMER is an enjoyable suspense story, in the tradition of Mary Higgins Clark and Wendy Corsi Staub. The story involves a young mother getting kidnapped by a deranged serial killer, and the group of people racing against time to find her.

Kate Pepper is a good writer and the quality of the prose in the story is quite high. My major problem with this book was with the pacing, which was surprisingly languid in the middle. I didn't feel too much suspense in this novel until the very end. Also, there are too many major characters in FIVE DAYS IN SUMMER -- the beleaguered husband, the retired FBI profiler, the young female detective, and several others. All of them were interesting, but I felt like I barely got to know any of them, given the short length of the novel and the rapid shifts in viewpoint.

Overall, though, FIVE DAYS IN SUMMER was a decent debut with several surprising plot twists. If you're looking for entertaining procedural that you can finish in a few sittings, this is a good choice.

Kate Pepper is great.......2006-07-28

This is the 2nd Kate Pepper book I have read and I have thoroughly enjoyed here. Five Days in Summer keeps you on the edge of your seat. I couldn't put it down. Great read !!!!

Enjoyable........2006-07-11

This was an enjoyable read. I wish her books were a little longer since it goes so fast. I enjoyed this book, thought it was suspenseful and kept me reading so that I finished it in a day. If you enjoy suspense, you will enjoy this for a quick read.

Countdown Begins for the Righteous.......2006-01-15

A chilling and disturbing plot. The torture and mutilation of humans is vividly captured through the analytical thoughts of a retired behaviorial scientist, Dr Geary, who interprets his findings to the police whom he is helping in hunting down the perpetrator.

What sets this thriller apart from those in the genre is the sudden life and death claim on a typical American family set in the calm and solutide of Cape Cod. Here, time is suspended in space as vacationers take their hard earned break but is savagely turned into an hour sand glass with just 5 days to identify & track the perpetrator. Any normalcy is rudely cast aside for a typical American family thrown to live in a surreal world as the mother, Emily Parker, mysteriously disappears while out shopping at a supermarket.

Lots of red herrings planted so that the plot turns 180 degrees but cleverly steers readers back to think thru who we know so far could have done the hideous crime.

Upsetting the parents in "Five Days In Summer".......2005-09-06

For Emily Parker, mother of three, her life, unknown to her, began to unravel the moment she decided to go to the local grocery store. It was supposed to be simple enough as their last summer vacation before school starts winds down. She was leaving in the morning with the kids and returning home to New York as she wanted to leave the house stocked with food for her mom, Sarah. She never returns.

For Will, her husband, his carefully constructed life begins to unravel the moment his mother-in-law calls him late at night. Will knows what the death of a parent can do to a child having lost both of his when he was four due to a car crash. He also knows that Emily would not have just vanished. Before long he is on the road speeding south, to Cape Cod and his mother-in-law's home seeking answers.

It should have been the local police who found Emily's abandoned care in the parking lot of the grocery store full of groceries. Instead, it was her husband, Will and a retired FBI profiler, Dr. John Gary, who is writing a book on serial killer's by researching cold cases. The fact that Emily is missing reminds him of an earlier case he recently read and before long he finds others. His research has led him to an inescapable conclusion. They have five days to find Emily before there is another victim taken from the family. It will be a son.

Shifting in POV, this novel weaves a tale that is guaranteed to stress any parent. Full of interesting characters and constant misdirection by the author, Kate Pepper, readers are kept guessing as to the identity of the kidnapper/serial killer as the days click by. The result is tension filled read for the entire 304 page paperback novel that leads to a violent showdown between forces of the good and evil.

Kevin R. Tipple (c) 2005

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Canoe Days
Canoe Days Review
Dreamy!
Canoe Days is entrancing!
Canoe Days

Canoe Days
Gary Paulsen
Manufacturer: Dragonfly Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0440414415
Release Date: 2001-06-12

Book Description

Opening this book is like sitting down in a canoe, taking up a paddle, and gliding out into the summer beauty of a hidden lake. In this picture book that is as refreshing and inviting as a perfect canoe day, a fawn peeks out from the trees as ducklings fan out behind their mother. Butterflies pause and fish laze beneath the lily pads. Ruth Wright Paulsen’s sunlit paintings and Gary Paulsen’s poetic text capture all the peace and pleasure of a day when water and sky are one.

Customer Reviews:

Canoe Days .......2007-02-23

Canoe Days is an incredible book. It has detailed illustrations and vivid colors. Extensive description gives you the sensational feeling of canoeing.

The sentences get to the point despite being very descriptive. Many similes and metaphors are used and it accurately describes the surroundings. A picture is the background on every page, and the pictures are detailed and illustrated on a canvas. The colors in the pictures blend well. The sentences have lots of adjectives. The adjectives are so good they create a picture in your head.

This is a great book. The illustrations and words take you on a canoeing trip. The surrounding appear in your mind. Also the similes and metaphors add to the experience.

Canoe Days Review.......2007-02-22

Canoe Days, by Gary Paulsen, is a very inspirational story. The pictures by Ruth Wright Paulsen are also a big part of it too. I think this story sends a great message.
This book has words in its pictures. An example of this is that the fish look like they are swimming whenever it shoes them in the water. This book has very descriptive words. They describe the motion of the butterflies wings as swish. The author barely talks about the person, but more about the animals. They make it seem like they do, but they really describe the nature instead. The example of this is where the person is going down the creek in his boat, and the animals are around him and they talk about the animals.
This book is a classic. IT sends a great message. It had good words and pictures, it is very descriptive. IT is a nature based book. This story was great

Dreamy!.......2003-06-27

I love books that combine beautiful artwork with rich text. This is a winner in my mind! The words and pictures in this book make you feel like you're right there in the canoe, feeling and seeing all that the author describes. A dreamy little ride I'll enjoy taking again and again!

Canoe Days is entrancing!.......2000-07-02

Opening this book is like getting into a canoe, taking up a paddle & gliding out into the beauty of a small lake for a day of peace & pleasure where the water & sky are one. Where neighborly deer, heron, mallards, foxes & raccoons come down to the water. A wonderful gift!

Canoe Days.......1999-12-16

This book takes the reader on a canoe ride across a lake where many animals and types of fish are encountered. Paulens's word choices are excellent. It has excellent color illustrations and is highly recommended for 3rd and 4th graders.

Easy Summer Food: Simple Recipes For Sunny Days

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"Easy" recipes expand palate and simplify hard-to-make dishes
nice pictures

Easy Summer Food: Simple Recipes For Sunny Days
Julz Beresford , Maxine Clark , Clare Ferguson , Elsa Petersen-Schepelem , Louise Pickford , and Fran Warde
Manufacturer: Ryland Peters & Small
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1841728241

Book Description

Summer is about enjoying the outdoors, spending time with family and friends, and relaxing over good food. Whether you are having a picnic, a barbecue, entertaining, or cooking just for one, you will be inspired by the simple recipes featured in "Easy Summer Food". Start with Summer Appetizers, which range from Asparagus with Prosciutto to Summer Vegetables with Bagna Cauda. Dips and Breads - Tzatziki and Hummus, Focaccia with Olives, and Grilled Rosemary Flatbread - are ideal for any occasion. Tantalize your guests with Chicken Wings and Avocado Salsa, Grilled Corn with Chile Salt, and Zucchini Quiche with Sun-dried Tomatoes. Bring Pasta, Pizza, and Rice outdoors with Chile Tuna Tartare Pasta, Paella, and Pizza Napoletana. Finally, cap the meal off with Sweet Things and Drinks, such as Toasted Coconut Ice Cream, Grilled Summer Fruit Packages or a refreshing Fruit Frappe. This magnificent collection will help you make the most of summer's best.

Customer Reviews:

"Easy" recipes expand palate and simplify hard-to-make dishes.......2007-09-22

That the title has the word "easy" in is it certainly a misnomer. However, that fails to stop my love for this cookbook. Every recipe I've tried has been excellent, and once you get past the unknown words ("pappa al pomodoro," "bagna cauda," "aioli," "bocconcini," to name a few) you'll find you really enjoy this book. And, once I've done a recipe once or twice, it does become "easy."

For me, the recipes have actually helped me to begin experimenting with new foods and new side dishes. No more rice - I can make a couscous salad! And just because it says it is summer food doesn't mean you can't cook it the rest of the year. The bright, colorful images for every dish are utterly helpful. And the sections in the back that teach you how to make simple dips, drinks and homemade mayonnaises and pestos is worth its weight in gold.

While not a basic recipe book, for those who are trying to expand their palate, "Easy Summer Foods" creates "easy" recipes out of what I think were originally hard-to-make dishes. It's a nice addition to my recipe collection, and I'm eager to find more cookbooks in this series!

nice pictures.......2007-04-21

for an inexperienced person who hates to cook, this book was a bit much for me even though it says easy in the title. the pictures are gorgeous & it would be a great gift for a food lover.

Average customer rating:

The New Irish Cuisine

West of Ireland Summers: A Cookbook
Tamasin Day-Lewis
Manufacturer: George Weidenfeld & Nicholson
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0297818589

Book Description

Over 100 recipes combine with beautiful photography and vivid accounts of summers spent in the west Ireland. West of Ireland Summers a cookbook is a celebration of food. Tamsin Day-Lewis rekinles passion for cooking is evident in more than 100 mouthwatering dishes, some traditional Irish recipes, some recapturing thetasts of her childhood and others created by Tamsin herself.

Customer Reviews:

The New Irish Cuisine.......2000-08-09

When I was first in Ireland more than a decade ago, the country was by and large a culinary wasteland. That has changed dramatically in recent years, as young chefs across the country have started first-rate restaurants. Along with that welcome development have come a group of Irish cookbooks that are also world class. The two-volume set called Gourmet Ireland by the couple that run the Belfast restaurant called Roskoff were, until now, the best of those books. Tamasin Day-Lewis'West of Ireland Summers is, I think, even better than the "Gourmet" pair. I had the good fortune to have been given the book just before I left for three weeks in the West of Ireland (Co. Clare) and prepared meal after meal according to Day-Lewis' instruction. I was impressed, to say the least. I'm thinking especially of the mussel chowder that I made twice during our stay, and the braised lamb shanks. Fabulous! I had the advantage of testing her book while sitting in the very part of the country about which she writes, and had the added advantage of being able to buy the wonderfully fresh mussels, and scallops (with their roe), and oysters and crab and prawns and, of course, the lamb every day. But don't wait to get to the West of Ireland to buy and use this book. I left my copy in the house in Clare, but am just now ordering a copy to keep here in the U.S. Tamasin Day-Lewis is, I believe, a sister to the actor? That's not important at all. What is important is, for example, the seafood risotto recipe in her book. The best I've ever had.

Kit Saves the Day: A Summer Story, 1934 (American Girls Collection)

Average customer rating:

the book you can't set the book down.
...will leave readers determined to have an adventure similar to that of our young heroine - sans the danger!
A great addition to the Kit collection
An Exciting Book
A Wonderful Book

Kit Saves the Day: A Summer Story, 1934 (American Girls Collection)
Valerie Tripp
Manufacturer: American Girl
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Ages 9-12 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 1584850248

Customer Reviews:

the book you can't set the book down. .......2007-04-02

This story is so so so so so exciting. I just could not set the book down! First it is about how Kit thinks that she lives a dull life and she wants to do some thing that she would never forget and she did beacuse I don't think she will ever forget this ever! first she has this hobo come and spend the night at kits house for lots of nights and Kit has to do all the work for him and also for her. Then awhile later Kit and a few other boys are in a boxcar, a police thinks that they are all hobos the police takes them to......... JAIL! Will Kit get out and save the day or will they be stuck in jail for the rest of their lifes? Read this wounderful book and find out. You won't sst the book down.

...will leave readers determined to have an adventure similar to that of our young heroine - sans the danger!.......2006-09-29

Ten-year-old Kit Kittredge can't stand the fact that she never has the chance to experience any adventure or excitement. With her older brother, Charlie, away in Montana with the CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps), having all sorts of fun and adventurous times, Kit feels left out of the loop, and begins to realize that the Great Depression is seriously cramping her style. Especially when her parents demand that she help out in the garden, and with tons of different chores, when she could be upstairs, clacking away on her typewriter, creating the newspapers that she loves so much. So when a young hobo named Will appears on Kit's doorstep, with tales of the hobo jungle, and riding the rails, Kit feels that her life just got more boring. It seems that everyone is doing something exciting besides her. And when Will informs Kit that girls just a bit younger than Kit are seen riding the rails all the time, Kit begins to fume. What she wouldn't give to do something so daring. So when Kit convinces her parents to allow her and Stirling to visit the hobo jungle, with some snacks for Will and the other starving hobos, she has no idea what she will encounter. Soon she sees that the hobo jungle isn't as exciting as she thought, with people suffering, and children going hungry each and every night. But when an acquaintance of Will's dares her to hop the rails, Kit feels that it's her duty to take the dare, and hop the train, even though it's illegal. But then something unexpected happens. Something that makes Kit realize the error of her ways, and it's up to her to save the day before something terrible happens.

Not since the original American Girl, Samantha, have I felt that I could so easily relate to one of the characters from the AMERICAN GIRLS series. However, since I discovered Kit, I find that I always have that feeling. Kit is a girl who could easily win anyone's heart. With her chipper personality, kindness, bravery, and nose for news, she's a wonderful role model for the girls of today. The introduction of a new character to the Kit series, known as Will, makes KIT SAVES THE DAY even more interesting than previous books in this series, giving readers an up-close glance at how horrible the life of a hobo is, as well as showing us just how many tragedies the Depression truly caused. Will is an exciting character, whose bright outlook on life - even given his situation - is admirable; while his determination to make a better life for himself is something that everyone will respect. Valerie Tripp has woven another exciting tale about Kit's life that is sure to leave readers craving more, and determined to have an adventure similar to that of our young heroine - sans the danger!

Erika Sorocco
Freelance Reviewer

A great addition to the Kit collection.......2005-10-01

In Kit Saves the Day, ten-year-old Kit Kittredge is longing for adventure. She's tired of the monotony of life at home: always having to do chores for the boarders at the boardinghouse her family has set up and never having any real excitement. Kit fantasizes about the lives hoboes live. After all, who wouldn't love to see all of the United States while having adventures hopping freight trains, and camp out at night under the stars, eating stew and sharing songs and stories with others, with no chores or work?
Then, Will, a young hobo, comes to stay at the Kittredges, and Kit finds herself with an oppurtunity to have an adventure. But when all is said and done, Kit realizes that her idyllic fantasies about hobo life were far from reality.
Kit is one of my favorites out of the American Girls collection, and this book was a great addition to her collection of stories. Kit learns and grows a lot in this story, and the plot of the story is engaging, and will teach readers a lot about the Great Depression. This book is perfect for girls in their pre-teen and early teenage years, especially those who are fans of the American Girls collection.

An Exciting Book.......2002-02-18

Kit Saves the Day is easily the best book in the Kit series. Kit's Aunt Millie is staying at Kit's house and she has put Kit to work planting and caring for a garden. Kit is doing her chores in the garden one day when a young boy named Will walks into her yard. Aunt Millie sees him and immediatly invites him to join them for supper. Will tells Kit and her friend Stirling about the 'hobo jungle'. When Will leaves, Kit notices that she and Stirling didn't give him any food for his journey! Kit knew that Will would need food, so she and Stirling walk to the hobo jungle. There, they see ragged people with holey clothes and shoes. Kit meets Will's friend Lester. Lester persuades Kit and Stirling to hop a frieght train! The train is stopped because hopping trains is against the law. The police take Kit, Stirling, and Will to jail! Can Kit make it out of jail and save the day? Read this exciting book to find out! You won't be able to put it down!

A Wonderful Book.......2001-12-01

Kit is sad this summer because her brother Charlie went off to college. One day a hobo named Will came to Kit's house. Will came from Texas. Kit's Mother invites Will to eat dinner with them that night. Will shows Kit and Stirling some hobo signs. Will tells them about the hobo stew. Kit wants to try the hobo stew. He also tells about the hobo jungle. That's where the hobos live. So the next day Kit and Stirling take food to the people who live at the hobo jungle . But while they are there, they learn about jumping rails. They do it and get sent to jail. Kit leans a very valuable lesson. I really liked this story. It shows how much we have to be thankful for. Kit won't be looking for adventure for a little while. This is one of my favorite Kit books ever!

Yesteryear's Child: Golden Days and Summer Nights

Average customer rating:

Good job Grandma!
Great Read
Snapshot of a girl growing up in a small town 100 years ago.

Yesteryear's Child: Golden Days and Summer Nights
Phoebe L. Westwood
Manufacturer: Heritage West Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Book Description

This captivating memoir of growing up in the first years of the twentieth century provides a window on a time past--a time before television and space travel, before radio, women's suffrage, and penicillin. Outdoor privies were being replaced by indoor plumbing; horse-drawn carriages shared the dusty roads with the first automobiles and the earliest telephone numbers were single digits. In the tradition of such personal memoirs as "Cheaper by the Dozen" and "I Remember Mama," this delightful tale will evoke memories in the old and wonder in the young.

Customer Reviews:

Good job Grandma!.......2003-10-11

This is the story of my great-grandmother for whom I was named. When I was a fifth grader I read the book and I enjoyed it. It was interesting to see that even though the years seperated us, we really have similarities.

Great Read.......1999-05-09

This book was great for info about the days gone by! If ever you wondered how they dealt with things then, this is perfect. I especially liked it because it took place where I live, Oroville California. ( a very small town.... )

Snapshot of a girl growing up in a small town 100 years ago........1998-05-14

This is abook well worth reading. It is about how life 100 years ago in small California town affected a girl who grew up from 1896-1914 when she left home to attend the University of California, Berkeley to major in science. Phoebe Westwood was a second generation Californian. Her family were basically English/Scottish.

The author talks about various subjects, food, work week for women, health, femanine hygiene, education, and much more.

In this book the voice of the young girl is never lost.

Yesteryear's Child is now on the suggested reading list for California schools in California History.

A must read for anyone interested in a woman's point of view about life 100 years ago.

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