Product Description

Little Joe isn't afraid of the water, but he can't swim. He only splashes around. This makes him sad because everyone in his family swims easily and well -- and Joe longs to.

One day, a very small frog from a nearby pond hops over and right into the pool. Joe watches him swim back and forth, kicking hard with his strong back legs. Joe's brother and sister try to grab Frog or chase him out. Joe's dad brings a net to scoop up Frog. Even Joe's mother joins in. Joe just watches. But when his family grows tired of the chase, Joe manages to rescue the tiny frog. Then he looks at the pool. If he imitates the frog, will he finally be able to swim? This charming story, simply told by a much-loved author, will encourage small children who long to swim, and delight all those who already can. Jane Browne's full-color paintings catch perfectly the small drama of Joe and Frog's adventure. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Frog
My grandson was devastated when the book he adores, "Frog" disappeared from the shelves of his library. As it is out of print, my daughter could not replace it. So I was very happy to find it on Amazon. I'm sure he'll be thrilled to bits when he receives it for his birthday.

Nice Little Book That Makes for a Pleasant Read - a review of "Frog"
The plot has been outlined above and below so I won't reiterate; but will add that the part that I appreciate and emphasize to my children is that fact that Joe saves the frog (almost befriends him in children's minds) not by splashing about or by trying to capture him in a net, but by being quiet and slow and gentle.Frog, you see, is "very tired, and very, very scared" and Little Joe saves him by "[V]ery carefully" moving "his hand up under Frog's feet until Frog was sitting on his palm, and he lifted Frog very gently out of the water."

I like the compassion the family shows for the creature, as well as the fact that gentleness is demonstrated to be more effective than force.[I don't know if all children are this way, but we seem to spend a lot of time warning our children to be gentle with the cat, frog, dog... etc.]Nice to have this teaching 'seconded' by the author.

Four Stars.[B+] Excellent artwork.Good Read-aloud.Could be used as a book for an advanced first or second grader except for the fact that this is one of "those books" that uses the occasional 'funny-peculiar' shaped font.[My 6 yo had problems with those words, at least.]

An uplifting and beautifully illustrated tale
"Frog" combines an easy-to-read text by Susan Cooper with wonderful illustrations by Jane Browne. The book tells the story of Joe, a little boy who can't swim, even though other members of his family are skillful swimmers. This makes Joe sad. However, Joe's situation takes an unexpected turn when a small frog from a nearby pond becomes trapped in Joe's swimming pool.

This is a moving story that's told with charm and compassion. Both Joe and "Frog" are wonderful characters with whom I could really identify. The full-color illustrations really complement their story well; Browne does a particularly nice job of capturing the play of light in water. And together with Cooper she creates a very satisfying conclusion to the mildly suspenseful story. A sweet and uplifting book, "Frog" is a winner. ... Read more

Product Description
This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

Product Description
Only a child can find the way to bring Saint George back to the play.

The Boy works for the Magician, and he wants more than anything to learn magic. But the Magician always says, "Not yet, Boy. Not till the time is right." So the Boy has to be content with polishing the Magician's wand, taking care of the rabbits the Magician pulls out of hats, and doing his favorite job: operating the puppets for the play Saint George and the Dragon, which the Magician always performs as part of his act.

Until one day the Saint George puppet disappears, and the angry Magician hurls the Boy into the strange Land of Story to find Saint George. His quest is full of adventures with oddly familiar people, from the Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe to the Giant at the top of Jack's beanstalk. But the Boy's last adventure is the most amazing of all -- and changes his life forever. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

My 6 year old and I loved this
I just finished reading this to my son and can't wait to find others by this author.It was exciting but not super scary.A very creative way of reminiscing about long forgotten fairy tales.Relatively short for a "chapter book", it took us about 3 nights to get through it.I just wish it lasted longer, it was so enjoyable.

Interesting read
I was looking for something short and light for relaxation read and found this in reach. It's about a Boy who works as a puppet-master for a magician, who in turn, lost "St. George" one of their main puppets and was cursed by the Magician to find him in the Land of Story. He went high and low through familiar nursery rhymes just to find this puppet. He paid visits to Red Riding hood, Jack with his beanstalk as well as the old woman who lives in a shoe, which then created havoc in the realm by warnings and changing the stories itself.

I found it to be an interesting read. It's been long since I've visit the nursery rhymes and this book dived you back to the old times, with a glitch. Nevertheless it is a children's book, I found myself enjoying the book as it brings the imagination to a full play with what we once know when we were kids. The plot is wonderful and cute. Characters are easy to follow through in the story. It is suitable for children who still in their roots to become an avid reader, or prying interests from a reluctant reader.

Compelling Read Aloud Book
My barely-six-year old and I loved reading this book together. He hated having to stop at the end of the chapters and wanted more and more. He described it as an "adventure."It was a great incentive to get bedtime moving ahead.

A delightful trip through the Land of Story
The other reviewers have already provided a synopsis of the plot, so I won't go into that.

Let me just say that this book would be perfect for those readers who enjoy traditional fairytales, but who are looking for a not-too-difficult chapter book. Fans of Junie B. Jones and the Magic Treehouse stories can handle it easily.

Knowing Susan Cooper's ties to Revels, it's easy to understand why she chose to use the St. George play as the framework for her story, however, it would have been helpful if she had given an explanation to the many American children who have never heard of St. George or the mummer's play referred to in the book. It isn't vital to have experienced the play in order to enjoy the book, but a little background as a preface or an afterword would have been nice--many of the children I work with enjoy knowing where the stories originate.

I enjoyed the illustrations as much as the story. Altogether this is a very satisfying book.

Intriguing Chapter Book to Grab Your Non-Reader
"When a magician's apprentice loses the puppet of Saint George, his master forces him to search for it in the Land of Story. The boy's quest through well-known nursery rhymes and folk tales, leads him to face many challenges and narrowly escape with his life."(summary by Texas Library Association)


Using the clue "Only a child can find the way/To bring Saint George back to the play," the Boy steps forward to save the day. Grade 2-4
... Read more

Product Description
An informative book for young writers interested in the pursuit of writing and the writing process presents a collection of Susan Cooper's inspirational speeches, spanning from 1976 to the present, on the theme of creative writing for children. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

The musings ofa highly intelligent mind
Susan Cooper is probably best known for writing the superb Dark Is Rising sequence of five children's novels, one of which garnered the Newbery Medaland another a Newbery Honor. This book, however, is not fiction but aboutfiction, at least primarily. The essays and speeches contained here discussexperiences from Cooper's own childhood (in World War II England), thepiercing nostalgia brought on by finding a new copy of a long-belovedthough mostly-forgotten storybook, the author's experiences with thetheater (and friendship with Jessica Tandy), and many other topics. Thetone is often introspective, but never arrogant, and the book can be readin segments or in a single sitting. Definitely worthwhile for anyone withthe slightest interest in children's literature . . . there is far morehere than one might expect. ... Read more

Product Description

What Happened to Willis?

E. J. and Willis Pugh aren't one of the more ordinary married couples in Black Cat Ridge, Texas. E. J. writes romance novels, Willis washes the dishes. Willis works on the cars, E. J. solves local homicides. But the latest murderous mystery strikes much too close to home when Willis himself vanishes.

E. J. isn't sure if her couch potato hubby's disappearance is some kind of mid-life crisis romp or something far, far worse. But she won't rest until she knows for certain the fate of her missing spouse-following Willis's tracks to a corpse, a lovelorn redneck turkey trucker...and a nasty mess of family secrets that could turn very deadly indeed.

Customer Reviews (4)

Was I Supposed to Root for Willis?
I agree with the reader from Star, except that I didn't find the rock as interesting as they did. The first section of the book, told from E.J.'s point of view, held my interest. However, it didn't feel like a mystery --there was more ruminating and grieving than detecting. The second part ofthe story is told from the viewpoint of E.J.'s husband, Willis, who hasbeen kidnapped. Willis has a serious case of Stockholm Syndrome, as heinexplicably helps and sympathizes with his kidnapper. The same kidnapperwho threatens to murder him and refuses to let him tell his wife he'salive. Willis lets numerous opportunities to seek help pass him by. When hedoes make attempts to escape/call home, they're usually at the dumbestpossible times! Willis' level of fixation on a rock comes across as morethan a mid-life crisis; he seems a tad demented. For much of the book he isalso so resentful of and inconsiderate toward his wife and children, that Ifound it hard to root for him. The solution to the murder mystery seems toarrive just because the book is nearing its end.

This book isn't*hideous*, it's just sort of silly and pointless. Overall I thought it wasinsufficiently entertaining. It is, however, a quick read and the firstthird or so is fairly engrossing. I do tend to read less "cozy"mysteries, so perhaps I'm being somewhat harsher than a cozy fan would be.

Enchanted Rock is best part of story
The first half of this book was not half bad for its description of family life and mid-life crisis of the husband.E.J.'s, the wife, reaction to her missing husband, is pretty well written and seems true to life.The author loses me completely in Willis'story about his disappearance.When he has the chance to escape and doesn't; I completely lost interest.I detested the character of Rogene so much, it would have been alright with me for anything to have happened to her.Why Willis would want to help Tater and Rogene is completely baffling.And Tater is as much a criminal as the other bad guys in this book. E.J.'s cop friend Luna is also apparently stupid.She doesn't call for back-up when she goes to the turkey farm-truck stop.However, I gave this book a 3 because I did finish it and the story of the rock made up for the stupidity of the story. This rock sounds like a really interesting place to visit!

Good.
I did not consider this one to be as good as her first two.The first two I enjoyed very much!I could not put them down.Home Again, Home Again was good, but the switching back and forth between Willis' story and EJ's story put me off a little, especially since they were both written in the first person.It got to be confusing at times.Other than that, I would highly recommend the EJ Pugh series and I am eagerly waiting for her next book due out early next year.

A definite winner from the pen of Susan Rogers Cooper
In the small Texas town of Black Cat Ridge lives the Pugh family consisting of the rational and even-tempered Willis, romance novelist and part-time sleuth EJ, and their three children and three cats.Usually, it is EJ who lands in the middle of trouble as she investigates a homicide.However, this time in HOME AGAIN, HOME AGAIN it is Willis who finds himself in the midst of a situation that is more than he can handle alone. As the family patriarch nears his fortieth birthday, he wonders about the meaning of his life. Acting totally out of character, Willis insists on climbing Enchanted Rock. ..... Willis and his business partner go camping near Enchanted Rock, but Willis fails to return home.EJ wonders if her man had an accident or even deserted her.Instead Willis is being held hostage by the man who gave him a lift when his own vehicle broke down.A series of events lands Willis in a backwoods diner where he is forced to investigate the murder of the husband of the trucker's sweetheart. Willis makes no progress until E.J. arrives on the scene, placing both of their lives in jeopardy at the hands of a killer. .....Susan Rogers Cooper's third EJ Pugh mystery brings back old and familiar faces, while intertwining them into a riveting and original story line.The supporting characters are caricatures of good ole boys which adds a good deal of humor to this intriguing murder mystery.Ms. Cooper is a gifted writer whose vision of human nature transform magnificently into the printed word.This is a definite read for anyone who enjoys a lighthearted and colorful amateur detective tale. .....Harriet Klausner ... Read more

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A biography of one of the first leaders of the campaign for women's rights who helped organize the women's suffrage movement. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Everything to know about susan
This book is detailed in many ways. if they tell you a small part of her actions he goes in detail to make you feel you were there. If you are doing a project on Susan or just want to know about her struggles and courage for us women i recommend you to read this book. ... Read more

Product Description
Although the themes of women's complicity in and resistance to war have been part of literature from early times, they have not been fully integrated into conventional conceptions of the war narrative.Combining feminist literary criticism with the emerging field of feminist war theory, this collection explores the role of gender as an organizing principle in the war system and reveals how literature perpetuates the ancient myth of "arms and the man."

The volume shows how the gendered conception of war has both shaped literary texts and formed the literary canon.It identifies and interrogates the conventional war text, with its culturally determined split between warlike men and peaceful women, and it confirms that women's role in relation to war is much more complex and complicitous than such essentializing suggests.The contributors examine a wide range of familiar texts from fresh perspectives and bring new texts to light.Collectively, these essays range in time from the Trojan War to the nuclear age.

The contributors are June Jordan, Lorraine Helms, Patricia Francis Cholakian, Jane E. Schultz, Margaret R. Higonnet, James Longenbach, Laura Stempel Mumford, Sharon O'Brien, Jane Marcus, Sara Friedrichsmeyer, Susan Schweik, Carol J. Adams, Esther Fuchs, Barbara Freeman, Gillian Brown, Helen M. Cooper, Adrienne Auslander Munich, and Susan Merrill Squier. ... Read more

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When amateur sleuth and professional comedian Kimmey Kruse turns out to be the main suspect in an old flame's death, she learns that murder is no joke. By the author of Chasing Away the Devil. ... Read more

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Romance writer, suburban mom, and sometime sleuth E.J. Pugh is certainly not thrilled to have Michael Whitby for a neighbor. A convicted criminal, Whitby served his time in prison and now has moved to the quiet Texas community of Black Cat Ridge, the Pughs' hometown. Despite her fears, E.J. feels the townsfolk's campaign of harassment-which is affecting the ex-con's innocent family-is unnecessarily cruel and blatantly unfair. The local citizenry has decided that Whitby must go! And no method is too extreme if it removes him from the vicinity.

But a line is crossed on Halloween night when a dead body is discovered on the Whitby's front lawn. And now a morally outraged E.J. is on the trail of a killer, digging for dangerous secrets that might best be left interred-secrets that might possibly be buried in her own backyard. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

More of a critique on Child Molesters than a Mystery
I give this book 2 stars for being well written, but as a mystery the plot stinks.This book is mostly a social commentary. The author doesn't even try to develop the mystery here.Even the main character sounds bored and asks herself whether or not she even cares to find out who done it.

Not in My Backyard
First off, I have to say that I LOVE all the E.J. Pugh mysteries.Susan Rogers Cooper could write about making a grocery list, and as long as E.J. was the one making the list, it would be highly readable and entertaining,and surely funny.My only criticism of this book was that Cooper does notspend enough time putting E.J in her best element-her family.Theinteraction E.J. has with Willis, Vera, Luna, Grahm, Megan, and Bessie iswhat makes each of her books so special; to me the mystery plot is just anexcuse to get these wonderful characters together.I hope that future Pughbooks have more of this witty and real interaction than Not in My Backyarddid. ... Read more

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Angry at his brother for not taking him deep-sea fishing, Jethro stomps off, meets a jumbie, and enlists its help in changing his brother's mind. ... Read more

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Z is currently one of the more popular formal specification languages. Practical experience has shown, however, that the Z schema is insufficient to support the structuring of large specifications, and many attempts have been made to develop adequate extensions to it. One of the most promising avenues of research is the use of object orientation technology, which has great potential as a means of structuring large, complex software systems. This volume contains a collection of papers investigating different approaches for providing Z with an object oriented structuring mechanism. It evolved from a comparative study of ways in which object orientation has been combined with Z, which was carried out as part of the DTI/IED-funded ZIP Project. As a result of interest generated by the study last year at both the ZOOM Workshop in Oxford and the Sixth Annual Z User Meeting in York, it was revised and expanded into its present form. In each chapter a different approach is described and assessed. Among the topics covered are: Why an object oriented Z?; Example specifications in Z; Hall's style; Z expression of refinable objects; MooZ case studies; Object-Z: OOZE; Schuman and Pitt approach; Z++; ZEST; Specification in Fresco; Z and HOOD. Object Orientation in Z provides a unique comparative approach to this important area of research. It will be of interest to undergraduate and postgraduate students of formal methods and software systems design, as well as to commercial software researchers. ... Read more

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This basic social studies book exposes students to the diverse populations found in the classroom. It offers coverage of multi-cultural education and provides a list of available childrens literature for use in the classroom. ... Read more

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"Something far better than mere decoration; however, is requisite to make society at all agreeable," continued Mr. Ellsworth. "There is luxury enough among us, in eating and drinking, dressing and furniture, for instance; and yet what can well be more silly, more puerile, than the general tone of conversation at common parties among us? ... Read more

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An adventurous party among us, weary of the old paths, is now eagerly proclaiming theories and doctrines entirely novel on this important subject. The EMANCIPATION OF WOMAN is the name chosen by its advocates for this movement. They reject the idea of all subordination, even in the mildest form, with utter scorn. They claim for woman absolute social and political equality with man. And they seek to secure these points by conferring on the whole sex the right of the elective franchise, female suffrage being the first step in the unwieldy revolutions they aim at bringing about. These views are no longer confined to a small sect. ... Read more