Customer Reviews:
The Frugal Gourmet Celebrates Christmas.......2002-08-04
This is the first recipe book I ever sat down and read from cover to cover. It has become one of my Christmas traditions, and one I share with friends and family by giving it as a gift.
Jeff Smith shares a lot of his personal feelings about the significance of Christmas, and his writing is obviously based on historical research. In a charming progression, he takes us through the events of the first Christmas and designates a feast including a special dish for each of the characters involved, from the Christ child Himself, to the angels, to even the beasts.
The Frugal Gourmet Celebrates Christmas.......2002-08-04
This is the first recipe book I ever sat down and read from cover to cover. It has become one of my Christmas traditions, and one I share with friends and family by giving it as a gift.
Jeff Smith shares a lot of his personal feelings about the significance of Christmas, and his writing is obviously based on historical research. In a charming progression, he takes us through the events of the first Christmas and designates a feast including a special dish for each of the characters involved, from the Christ child Himself, to the angels, to even the beasts.
A great Christmas cookbook -- Not just your standard meals.......1998-12-22
This book takes you through the history and traditions of Christmas, with full meals illustrated. My favorites - The crown roast of pork, with sausage stuffing. Favorite side dishes include brussels sprouts with balsamic vinegar and baked onions. A great read, and a must-have for the holidays.
Customer Reviews:
One of the few very interesting nonfiction books.......2005-12-28
I got this book at Disneyland yesterday. It was SO great! I'm glad I bought this instead of a stuffed Sally doll. It was very interesting, and I'm very pleased to see storyboards and the very informative contents of the book, especially the poem of The Nightmare Before Christmas. However, I wish I could've read more of the poem Tim Burton wrote. Then I could compare it to the original poem of The Night Before Christmas. Tim Burton is an exceedingly creative man, and I'm glad he makes stop-motion animation, because I'm SO sick of all the stupid computer animated movies that studios make nowadays. Tim Burton follows his own ideas, and this movie inspired me to be a stop-motion animator when I grow up, alongside with a career as an author.
-Jo W.
This Book Is So Cool!.......2005-09-25
If you've ever seen Tim Burton's truly excellent stop-motion animation film The Nightmare Before Christmas, then you've probably wondered, "How was all this done?" This book can answer that. Inside you'll find the stories behind the screenplay, the music, the process of stop-motion animation itself, and see some of Burton's original sketches that gave inspiration to one of the most imaginative and outright magnificent movies in the last fifteen years. If you love The Nightmare Before Christmas, then you'll go nuts over this book.
A must have in your personal library.......2005-08-30
If you're interested in knowing more about Tim Burton's movie The Nightmare Before Christmas, this book is a great buy. It has all the details about the making of the movie and the characters plus loads of great pictures. A must have for every Nightmare Before Christmas enthusiast.
Very illustrative..........2005-07-11
This book is definitely very illustrative about the process of creation of a film of the caliber of `The nightmare before Christmas'. With a foreword by Tim Burton, the book includes everything related with the making of this stop-motion animation classic. This book is more a documentary about the making of the film; it is divided in three sections (described below) and takes you through the whole process of creation of the movie. It is an interesting document indeed for people wanting to know about the creative process of making a movie of this kind. A perfect companion for the film!
The Film
The first part of the book focuses on the story ans the lyrics of the movie songs, beautifully illustrated with pictures from the movie, designs and Burton's sketches. Some movie facts are also given in this part of the book.
The Art
The original poem by Burton in which the movie is based on is presented in the firt part of the section. Most of Burton's sketches and character designs are here. The design of the sets, the characters and storyboards are well explained and presented in this section of the book with beautiful pictures, colored sketches and original drawings by Tim.
The Vision
In this section we get to meet all the people involved in making this film possible, and a little background on her profiles and how they were selected to partake on this project. Tim Burton, Henry Selick, Danny Elfman, Caroline Thompson, Kathleen Gavin and Denise Di Novi participate with comments and thought about the project.
GREAT, BUT WOULD HAVE LIKED TO SEE MORE.......2005-04-05
I bought this book wanting to know more about the making of the movie, but didn't get as much as I'd hoped for. It does include many sketches from Tim Burton, but hardly an from others who worked on the film. Yes, it does include lyrics to the songs featured in the film, all except for the one I was hoping for ( I can't remember the name, but it's the last song in the movie sung by Jack & Sally... "if you don't mind, I'd like to join you by your side, Where we can gaze upon the stars, And sit together, Now and Forever..")
Most of the book is a pictoral reference on the movie, and though I certainly would have loved to see more, it was still a good buy. It's just too bad I didn't get to read anything on the making of the film, or Burton's thoughts on its production.
Customer Reviews:
To many characters.......2004-01-17
The first couple of pages promised a nice cozy mystery novel and a sleuth, Louise Eldridge, who would be fun to spend an afternoon with. Not so. Way to many characters are thrown into the mix, and the victim seems not to have even one redeeming quality. The newly elected First Lady is silly, the dialogue is forced and plot withers like a vine after the first frost.
Fun read.......2004-01-04
Great literature--no. But this was an immensely fun romp and skewer of the gardening world and thinly veiled references to garden figures we know and either love or hate. As a professional gardener, I laughed out loud more than once at her references to the both insular and welcoming world of horticulture. First I'd heard of Ann Ripley and I'll definitely dip into her other titles!:) Enjoy!
Not a cozy........2003-11-14
I was so looking forward to a nice Christmas cozy mystery. Further, I love gardening books, so this book seemed perfect. Unfortunately, this author betrays her reader by injectng her politics (which never further the plot.) She makes a not-so-vieled reference to President Bush as "the dynastic son" whom the current fictional president was "able to shake" "out of the White House".
Further, she makes it clear throughout the book that Republicans are unconcerned with the environment and that questioning the validity of global warming (see www.junkscience.com for some hard science on this) shocks the heroine into silence.
I just wanted a nice cozy mystery.
---Marty
P.S. The writing is dull and the dialogue is flat.
A Charming Who-Done-It.......2003-10-04
Louise Eldridge is aggravated when sexy home & garden queen, Bunny Bainfield, sweeps up all of the great ratings for her show "Bunny in the Garden," thanks to her style of wearing low-cut tops, and short shorts, while filming her show; while Louise works hard to keep her home and garden show on the air. Louise can't stand to see someone like Bunny raking in the money for exploitation of a great hobby, but when Louise realizes that she and Bunny have both received invitations to the First Lady's Christmas Conference on native plants, she realizes that someone must hate Bunny even more than she does, for Bunny is poisoned, and ends up dead. Louise soon begins uncovering secrets about the many suspects, and Bunny herself, and knows that it's up to her to solve the mystery, before the killer strikes again.
This is my first Ann Ripley mystery, and I must admit, I am not disappointed. Louise is a fun character, who keeps you interested in reading on, to see what will happen next. Adding the enjoyable world of home and gardening to the mystery is just an added plus. A charming who-done-it in which all mystery lovers will enjoy.
Erika Sorocco
Charming and Warm.......2003-07-05
Bunny Bainfield, like her namesake, is a gardener's nemesis. More specifically, a nemsis to the professional gardening industry including academia, publishing, TV, distributors, and designers. Bunny's talent for self promotion, lack of scruples, and comfort with flaunting her sexuality add up to a formidable competitor who is beginning to dominate the gardening industry. She seems unstoppable, even acheiving a relationship with the new First Lady based on a mutual interest in native plants. Unfortunately for Bunny, she meets up with an enemy unwilling to stop at anything, including poisioning Bunny at a state dinner.
Louise Eldridge is a gardener of a milder type, with a gardening program on Public Television and a warm and loving family. Louise has dabbled in murder investigations in the past, and jumps right into this case. As part of the investigation, Louise finds herself questioning old friends and new, and seeing her relationship with her peers change as suspicion and unease with the police begins to rise. Ultimately, Louise comes face to face with the killer, and finds herself questioning her own preconceptions.
"The Christmas Garden Affair" is made special by the intertwining relationships between people in the somewhat insular gardening trade. Louise Eldridge is a delightful heroine, and even non-gardeners will find the dicussions about native plants interesting. I recommend this book for anyone that enjoys cozy mysteries, female sleuths, and / or gardening.
Book Description
Coming on the heels of the New York Times best-selling PEANUTS: A GOLDEN CELEBRATION, this is the 40th anniversary deluxe edition of America’s most popular TV Christmas special, featuring never-before-published original (digitized) animation art, the complete script, the behind-the-scenes making of the cartoon, and Vince Guaraldi’s original score and production notes.
Customer Reviews:
Christmas time is here... happiness and cheer..........2006-12-11
"Charlie Brown Christmas" is the crown jewel of Christmas specials. Heavy on holiday introspection, but with the dry wit and humor you'd come to expect from Charles Schulz's creations.
"A Charlie Brown Christmas: The Making of a Tradition" just expands that experience, by outlining how the famed special came to be -- the music, the animation, the voice acting, even the advertisement to get people to watch it. It's a charming, nostalgic little book, and a good accompaniment.
"A Charlie Brown Christmas" was spun up quickly, when Coca Cola wanted a Christmas special in less than a week -- and Charles Schulz's lovable loser Charlie Brown seemed to be the ticket. But the special was made very differently from other cartoons -- 2-D animation, no laugh track, uncutesy kids, and (horrors!) a jazz soundtrack. It was doomed to fail, they said.
Well, instead it became a booming hit, and has been running every December ever since. Lee Mendelson and Bill Melendez reminisce in here about the much-loved Charles Schulz, and about Vince Guaraldi, who made the distinctive piano soundtrack, and why it's so beloved -- it dares to approach holiday ennui and commercialization, then dashes it away with Linus' description of Christmas' meaning.
As for the "making of" portion, there are storyboards, musical scores, test photos, clips of television reviews, and rare photos like Melendez and Schulz doing the football gag. Finally, there is the entire script of the special, framed by colourful stills from the cartoon.
You couldn't wring this much information from most half-hour animated specials, no matter how much fun they were. But it's a bit different with "Charlie Brown Christmas." It was so completely unusual -- and has proved to be so timeless -- that a book on the making of it, and its effect, seems completely right.
It's a very conversational, reminiscent book. It feels like sitting in a room with Melendez and Mendelson, listening to them reminisce about "Sparky." And we also get input from other people involved in the project, such as Christopher Shea (Linus), who talks about his famous "Second Chapter of Luke" speech, as well as odd bits of trivia (the little girl playing Sally had to be fed her lines).
The Christmas special is more than able to stand on its own, but "Charlie Brown Christmas: The Making of a Tradition" is a wonderful accompaniment. Full of interesting tidbits and history.
What's not to love ?.......2006-12-04
This is the ultimate companion to the tv show. The art work is from the original show and the dialogue is a great bonus! The book is also packed with great trivia and information about the decisions "behind stage" that led to the creation of the ultimate Christmas Special.
Here comes Charlie Brown, that round-headed prophet.......2004-10-05
The world's most recognized cartoon character, ever in in our national consciousness, comes alive periodically on TV specials, movies, ads, but never more so during the season of Christmas. He stands before us as the plucky everyman to remind us of the most important message in Chrismas, that a babe wrapped in swaddling clothes lying in a manger invites us to visit and worship Him.
The background story of how it all came about is as entertaining and instructive as the show itself. The man who turned Charlie Brown and his friends into moving figures, Bill Melendez, says, "This little story and the way it's told is almost as simple and direct as Sparky's cartoon strip. The message is so gentle, there's nothing pompous about the story."
He recalls, "When I first looked at that part of the story, I told Sparky, 'We can't do this. It's too religious.' And he said to Bill , 'if we don't do it, who else can? We're the only ones who can do it.'"
A grateful nation watches it again and again. May the message sink in.
One of TVýs worthwhile traditions-Revisited.......2004-06-09
Lee Mendelson , one of the men behind all of the Peanuts cartoons, has created a tribute book for one of the most watched and appreciated Christmas specials. Inside you'll find the history of the cartoon, from its humble beginnings as an idea put forth by Coca-Cola looking for a Christmas special, to the inspired use of Vince Guaraldi's wonderful jazz, and the casting of "real" children as the voices, A CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS proved to be a series of fortuitous events. This is an enjoyable keepsake for fans of the show, but there is some obvious padding, I mean, 90 pages of illustrated script? The book is only 192 pages long. There are other extras, like the production sheets and Melendez's original backgrounds. They are welcome sights and it would have been nice to see more effort put into details like these. That being said I enjoyed the book, but would only recommend it if you get a break on the retail price.
Invaluable to the Peanuts fan.......2002-10-23
I have wondered, sometimes, what it would be like to go through a Christmas without knowing the wonderful, brilliant cartoon "A Charlie Brown Christmas" was going to be on the air. I've never lived in such a world, nor do I think I would want to.
This book is a look into the process of making what is inarguably one of the most-loved Holiday specials ever. Everything about the cartoon is in here -- from the journey to get it on the air to the dangerously abbreviated production time to the perils of casting real children to play the Peanuts gang -- the first time children played children in American animation, by the way, and some of them were too young to even read their lines.
And of course, the piece de resistance, the book includes the complete screenplay, written by the brilliant Charles M. Schulz himself. A sweet, humble man, I doubt he really knew at the time how wonderful his creation was or how important it would become to so many.
This is a fabulous book and seems to be designed as a companion to "Peanuts: A Golden Celebration," which was released a few years ago. Both of them are simply invaluable for anyone who loves Peanuts.
Book Description
In this first critical biography of Preston Sturges, Diane Jacobs brings to life the great comic filmmaker whose career Andrew Sarris described as "one of the most brilliant and bizarre bursts of creation in the history of the American cinema." Jacobs uses letters and manuscripts never before revealed, as well as interviews with people who knew Sturges--including three of his wives--to portray this fascinating, contradictory man. In addition to discussing his major films, she also examines heretofore unknown work and shows that Sturges was highly creative even near the end of his life, a time when many believed he had lost his touch.
Sturges secured his place in film history as the creator of such classic films as The Lady Eve, Sullivan's Travels, and The Palm Beach Story. In 1939 he became the first screenwriter to win the right to direct his own script--the result was the Oscar-winning The Great McGinty. Creator of Unfaithfully Yours, The Miracle of Morgan's Creek, and Hail the Conquering Hero, he was the third highest-paid man in the United States by the late 1940s. He owned a swank Hollywood restaurant and was known as an ebullient raconteur as well as a world-famous filmmaker. A little over a decade later, Sturges died in New York, impoverished and rejected by Hollywood.
The euphoria of success, the fitfulness of luck, the promise and poignancy of the American Dream--the themes of Sturges's work also marked the man. Diane Jacobs achieves a singular success in illuminating his extraordinary life.
Book Description
When a very special surprise visitor arrives at Dora's house on Christmas Eve, he needs help, and fast! Join Dora and friends on their magical Christmas adventure.
Customer Reviews:
Delightful Holiday Tale.......2006-11-15
A very special surprise visitor arrives at Dora's house on Christmas Eve. Can you guess who it is?
Just as Dora begins telling her baby brother and sister (and Boots!) a story about Santa, they hear a knock at the door. Turns out that Santa himself needs Dora's help!
Santa's reindeer have gotten colds and can't pull the sleigh to deliver gifts around the world. The man in the red suit is distressed that his Christmas surprises will be ruined!
Dora and her cousin Diego come to the rescue! Diego stays behind to take care of the reindeer (he even makes them special carrot soup!), while Dora, Boots, and her special backpack go with Santa to deliver the presents.
But who is pulling the sleigh? Why, eight of Dora's special star friends--including Supra, Ultra, Mega, Rocket, and Helada Star!
Colorfully illustrated, this tale follows Dora as she and her friends deliver presents all over the world--to the ocean dwellers, denizens of the mountaintops, small towns, big cities...even the rainforest!
Dora and company arrive home just as the sun begins to rise on Christmas day. They helped save Christmas!
But there's one more special present--one that a grateful Santa wants to give to Dora, Boots and a Diego.
Dora's Starry Christmas is a magical tale of a smart, resourceful girl who helps out Santa in his time of need. A great holiday story for bedtime--or anytime!
Average customer rating:
- Stickers don't fit
- Don't bother buying - too confusing
- A great addition for Scooby Doo fans and children!
|
Scooby-doo And Santa's Bake Shop Scratch-n-sniff (Scooby-Doo)
Jesse Leon McCann
Manufacturer: Scholastic Paperbacks
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ASIN: 0439209994 |
Customer Reviews:
Stickers don't fit.......2007-02-20
My daughter loves the book, she is a huge scooby-doo fan, but it wasn't quite what I expected. The scratch and sniff stickers you have to apply yourself. Although my daughter enjoyed sticking them everywhere, there wasn't always a spot for them. They are too big for a lot of the places they are supposed to go and they end up either hanging off the page or blocking part of the characters.
I think the stickers urk me more than they do her. She doesn't seem to mind at all (She is 3 years old) and has no problem sticking a chocolate cake sticker up in a tree on a totally different page and she doesn't care that the candycane sticker hangs out of the book.
The story is cute - but the stickers are annoying
Don't bother buying - too confusing.......2005-09-20
Although the book is very cute - you have to put your own stickers in the book...which wouldn't be difficult IF the stickers matched the pictures or had a shape that matched to put the sticker on. Rarely did the pictures even match so I went through the book several times trying to find where I should put the stickers. On 3 occasions the stickers were too big for the spot so you either put it on correctly and let it hang over the side of the page or you put it on the page and it didn't line up to the picture. One sticker was so big it covered Shaggy and Scooby's entire faces. The story didn't even match the stickers in one place. It talked about following footprints yet the stickers were handprints!! The only thing I liked were the intense smells but even those were limited. The majority of the stickers (15) were chocolate. Being about a candy shop you'd assume they would have a huge variety of smells but they had only about 5 total. There were 2 full pages of stickers so you'd think they'd have at least 1 cool different smell per page. There were even stickers left over so I just put them in the book for fun because they had no purpose...they weren't even replacement stickers - they were just there. I was very dissapointed with this book.
A great addition for Scooby Doo fans and children!.......2000-10-19
Scooby Doo and his friends are invited by Santa Clause to the North Pole where they are told of Santa's missing sack of presents. Of course, the gang sents out to find the missing sack, where all clues lead to Santa's Bake shop, a very tempting bakery for all who love sweets. In the end, the story does a good job convincing kids that too much candy can get the better of you! My 4 1/2 year old, who is big on sweets, loves this book and its attractive scratch and sniff stickers which keeps kids involved throughout the story. I highly recommend this one!
Book Description
Celebrate the holidays in the O.C.It's the night before Chrismukkah and all through the mansions, not a creature is stirring except for Seth, Ryan, Marissa, and Summer. Catch the Chrismukkah spirit along with the gang.
Amazon.com
Unlike all the Whos,
who like Christmas a lot,
my boss on the mountain
absolutely,
positively,
most assuredly,
DOES NOT!!!!
Max the dog thinks his job--keeping an eye on his master, the Grinch--is a cinch. In rhyming verse, he describes how he supports his boss in his efforts to scare off Whos, play pranks, and steal Christmas, "lock, stock, and toy," from slumbering Whoville. And he recounts (and claims some credit for) the amazing transformation the Grinch goes through when he realizes he cannot kill the spirit of Christmas.
Based on Dr. Seuss's classic picture book, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, and the motion picture screenplay of the same name, this unusually shaped "pictureback" book provides a humorous perspective from a character readers don't usually hear from. (Ages 3 to 7) --Emilie Coulter
Book Description
Meet the Grinch's best friend--Max, the mangy mutt who has his paws full keeping his master in line.
Now, for the first time, Max reveals his side of the famous Christmas story, giving readers a rousing, rhyming dog's-eye view of the Grinch and his life on Mount Crumpit.
Customer Reviews:
The care and feeding of a grinch.......2000-12-05
I thought that the book was wonderful for little people and i would read it to my children all the time and i think the pictures where a good idea because children do not want to read anything with words in it and even if it does have words they do not read them anyway they may say they do but they do not so that is my point of view.
Books:
- The Full Cupboard of Life (No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, Book 5)
- The Jesus of Suburbia: Have We Tamed the Son of God to Fit Our Lifestyle?
- The Kid: What Happened After My Boyfriend and I Decided to Go Get Pregnant
- The Little Book That Beats the Market
- The Luck of the Draw: The Memoir of a World War II Submariner: From Savo Island to the Silent Service
- The Motel in America (The Road and American Culture)
- The Mysterious Benedict Society
- The Natural Soap Book: Making Herbal and Vegetable-Based Soaps
- The New American Story
- The Rise of the Creative Class: And How It's Transforming Work, Leisure, Community and Everyday Life
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