Product Description
A survey of the many kinds of shoes in the world concludes that the best of all are the perfect natural shoes that are your feet. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Shoes
We read SHOES again and again to our daughters.They were delighted with each page of the book, the all time favorite always being 'shoes to turn a double flip in'.Family favorite and a great gift for new little ones. ... Read more

Product Description
Its Halloween night and the street is filled with every sort of character imaginable. But where are they going?Come join the bats, witches, ghosts, and goblins as they march down the street to a great big Halloween party.Full of fun and surprises, the bouncy rhythm and exuberant pictures will make readers want to pick up a hat and try something new.Amazon.com Review
All sizes and shapes of hats--"Floppy hats and sloppy hats, / silly hats and frilly hats"--are put to good use on Halloween night. Elizabeth Winthrop's happy paean to hats begins as three children rummage through an attic to find the perfect costumes for trick-or-treating. Once on the streets, the three revelers see all sorts of getups, including "Hats for fancy race-car drivers, / hats with air for deep-sea divers." All the neighborhood kids, it seems, are headed for the same party, where they play a hat-switching game that results in some very silly costumes indeed. Sue Truesdell's lively illustrations, reminiscent of James Stevenson's work, steal the show as she depicts kids jumping in leaf piles, collecting candy, falling down, and living it up. The sweet, comical details from wide-eyed cats to a tiny Halloween paper ghost taped to a window are what makes this nonscary Halloween book a standout. (Ages 4 to 8) --Karin Snelson ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A fun read for Halloween
"Halloween Hats" is a short yet fun read which follows a group of children as they get ready to go trick or treating, all decked out in their favorite costumes, and yes, hats! The illustrations are colorful and vivid, and complement the simple text. My kindergartener loved the last couple of pictures where the children are all involved in a game of grab someone else's hat which resulted in lots of giggles and squeals as we both enjoyed the illustrations. It's a simple yet fun Halloween read which makes for great reading aloud. ... Read more

Product Description
William's former housekeeper gives him a magic token that takes him and Jason back to Sir Simon's Castle in the Middle Ages where they face an army of dangerous rats in the final battle for the castle. Reprint. AB. PW. H. K. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (23)

not in the greatest shape
The book took a little longer to arrive than expected and wasn't in "good" condition

Good second 'castle' book
This is a good sequel book of Castle in the Attic.In this book William returns to the castle and the land round about it with his best friend.He learns you don't have to do what is 'cool and popular' to truly be brave.

Stories for Children Magazine 4 Star Review
REVIEWED BY: Wayne Walker

This book, along with its companion The Castle in the Attic, was recommended to us by a friend.William is now turning twelve.His best friend Jason has grown a foot taller but William is still small.In the town where they live, it is a "right of passage" for all boys who become twelve to "jump the trains."Jason does.William is not sure that he wants to do it, but how can he prove himself to Jason?The opportunity comes when his former housekeeper, Mrs. Phillips, send him the magic token that enables him to go back to Sir Simon's castle in the Middle Ages.This time he takes Jason with him.Together they face a dangerous army of rats with their gigantic leader, so it is up to William to defeat the rats in the final battle for the castle.William was once a hero in the kingdom, but can he repeat his feat? Personally, I did not care as much for this book as The Castle in the Attic.I did not think that the plot was as tight.And the language was much worse.Both boys use the word "blast" as an interjection around half a dozen times.The dictionary shows that it is a euphemism for the "d" word.I appreciate children's authors who use euphemisms instead of outright cursing, but such words still show a paucity of vocabulary.Worse yet, at least three times the phrases "for God's sake" and "in God's name" are used as exclamations.Any way you slice it, that is using the Lord's name in vain.Luckily, we did this as a bedtime read aloud, so I was able to exercise some judicious editing.In spite of these objections, I still think that this is a good story.Find out if William ever does jump the train.

Curious mother checks out this Yearling title paperback.....
Sorely disappointed that this book is considered age-appropriate for ages 9 to 12.I can appreciate the fantasy genre.However, half-human walking rodents marching in mass, eating everything in sight, including flesh from humans until the point of death seems past the point of fantasy genre for the intended audience age.I also thought the medieval terminology necessary for the plot and setting of the story will require the age group of 9 to 12 to have a very extensive vocabulary to totally understand the book.I cannot imagine a teacher of this age group requiring this particular book as a possible read.There are too many other quality reading available.

High hopes
Can anything be as wondrous and surprising as Castle in the Attic?This sequel was satisfying, though. ... Read more

Product Description
A little girl finds so many things to do before she is ready for bed that she is the last of her family to fall asleep. ... Read more

Product Description
William has just received the best present of his life. It's an old, real-looking stone and wooden model of a castle, with a drawbridge, moat, and a about the castle. And sure enough, when he picks up the tiny silver knight, it comes alive in his hand!

finger-high knight to guard the gates. It's the mysterious castle his housekeeper has told him about, and even though William is sad she's leaving, now the castle is his!

William can't wait to play with it--he's certain there's something magical
Sir Simon tells William a mighty story of wild sorcery, wizards, and magic. And suddenly William is off on a fantastic quest to another land and another time--where a fiery dragon and an evil wizard are waiting to do battle . . . .
... Read more

Customer Reviews (90)

worst book in the world!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This was the worst book I have ever read in my entire life! I was forced to read it for school. It was complicated and very boring. I would not recommend this book to anyone!! Please don't waste your time and money to read this book!! Read something else!!

good for a young reader
just got this book since i read it when i was younger and loved it.i will reread it one of these days, but i bet its pretty lame 15 years later, oh well.

Audio Version
Fun book.Young boy, 10, is given a toy castle by his nanny who is leaving to go back to England.The boy, William, is very upset that Mrs. Phillips is leaving.When he discovers that the castle, or more accurately, the Silver Knight that comes with it, is enchanted, he devises a plan to keep her with him.And thus begins a very satisfying tale of fantasy and heroism.

I listened to the audio version of this book - read by the author along with an entire cast.I can't say it was the best audio book I've ever listened to.As often is the case, the reading by the author, while interesting, wasn't great.And it wasn't just the author.I often kept thinking to myself that I wish I had opted to read this one instead of listening to it.

a fun adventure
Except for being very much like The Indian in the Cupboard
the book has a sword and sorcery type theme.
The adventure is fun and the characters arebelievable.
I liked the book and thought it was fun reading.
The diagram of the castle was also educational;
pretty small for a Keep. Most real castles were much larger than this.

Stories for Children Magazine 5 Star Review
REVIEWED BY: Wayne Walker

This book was recommended to us by a friend.Ten-year-old William, whose parents both work, is losing his beloved governess, Mrs. Phillips, who is moving back to England.As a going-away present, she gives him an old, real-looking model of a castle made out of stone and wood and a finger-high lead knight to guard it.William is certain that there must be something magical about it, and sure enough, when he holds the tiny knight, it comes alive in his hand.Sir Simon tells William that a sorcerer had used magic to steal his kingdom and turn him into lead.In fact, just before he became completely leaden, he grabbed part of the sorcerer's necklace which can make things small.William uses it to make Mrs. Phillips small so he can keep her, but after he sees how sad she is, he agrees to be made small so that he can help Sir Simon defeat the sorcerer and get the other part of the necklace that can make Mrs. Phillips normal sized again.Those who do not like books with any "magic" in them will want to avoid this one, but otherwise, besides a reference or two to drinking ale, there is nothing objectionable in this book, and there are several good character traits represented, including loyalty to friends, overcoming fears, and being sorry enough for one's mistakes to do whatever is needed to correct them.Both twelve-year-old Jeremy, to whom I read it aloud before bedtime, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.There is a sequel, The Battle for the Castle.
... Read more

Product Description
1910. Pownal, Vermont. At 12, Grace and her best friend Arthur must leave school and go to work as a “doffers” on their mothers’ looms in the mill. Grace’s mother is the best worker, fast and powerful, and Grace desperately wants to help her. But she’s left handed and doffing is a right-handed job. Grace’s every mistake costs her mother, and the family. She only feels capable on Sundays, when she and Arthur receive special lessons from their teacher. Together they write a secret letter to the Child Labor Board about underage children working in Pownal. A few weeks later a man with a camera shows up. It is the famous reformer Lewis Hine, undercover, collecting evidence for the Child Labor Board. Grace’s brief acquaintance with Hine and the photos he takes of her are a gift that changes her sense of herself, her future, and her family’s future.


From the Hardcover edition. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

Instant Classic
I have to admit when I started this book I wasn't sure if I could finish it. Grace is a poor child of the early 1900's and speaks that way which is something thats kind of a turn off for me. But I'm glad I made my way through the beginning because as soon as the story unfolds, it becomes harder and harder to put down. I rooted for Grace and Arthur to make it out of the mill and to be able to make a real life for themselves as the smart children they were and the intelligent adults they could become if given the chance. The author paints a vivid portrayal of a time when children really were put to work in dangerous situations just to ensure the survivial of their families.

I think this is a book every middle school child should read. Not only to help them appreciate their education but also the life they are able to live thanks to the sacrafices of people like Lewis Hine who cared enough to help bring this issue of child labor to public attention. And also people like Grace, who was fictional but had many, many real life counterparts that shared her struggle. I hope this book becomes a classic.

An unforgettable story about a forgotten era
For the sake of full disclosure: I did have an agenda in selecting the CD of "Counting on Grace" for our last family road trip. I hoped that a story about the tragedy of child labor might convince my 10-year-old that she's really not being worked to death by having to clean her room. That being said, our whole family was captivated by the story. The author avoids all the traps that she could have fallen into, such as creating characters who are angelic or evil caricatures, or milking a series of tragedies just to catch the reader's sympathy and calling it "realism". Grace's life is hard - almost unimaginable to our modern sensibilities - but she still has people who care for her, moments of fun, and even reasons to hope. And despite the drudgery of millwork, she keeps us eager to find out what happens next.

If you share this story with your children, be sure to go farther. Find a book of Lewis Hines' child labor photos, or go to the Library of Congress website, which has 5,000 of them. Listen to the author's NPR interview, where she talks about her research and discovered the family history of Addie Card, the girl in the photo. And take away from your reading experience a sense of just how much we have to be thankful for.

The ending is satisfying enough to provide some closure, though the author states in her interview that she has some ideas of how the story could continue. Ms. Winthrop, if you're reading this, please give us a sequel - you know you want to!

Outstanding for Readers of All Ages
An outstanding book that I picked up in the children's section of my local library. The haunting photo on the book jacket drew my attention, and I just had to read the story.

It turns out that the photograph is rather famous; it was taken by Edward Hines and still resides in a museum. He had taken pictures of immigrants arriving at Ellis Island, and became curious about what happened to them after arriving in the U.S. He "followed" them to the towns they settled in and discovered the issues of child labor laws that were not enforced. He used subterfuge to get access to some of the mills, and took photographs of the children who worked there for long hours in terrible conditions. Because of his efforts, social change eventually came.

The author's story is the account of fictional characters (other than Mr. Hines, who visits their town and mill). It is well written, from the viewpoint of a young girl who describes what life is like for her and her friends and family. I ached for Grace as she struggled to please her parents and do well in the mill, and ached for her to find the better life that she longer for

one of the best young adult novels I've ever read: beautiful, powerful, utter delight
Twelve-year-old Grace, daughter of immigrant parents from Canada, is a bouncing, energetic, vivacious rural Vermonter. Grace is torn between her teacher's desire for her to make a better life through education and her mother's desire for her to work in the mills to support her family. Highly intelligent Grace is eager to grow up and go to work, but discovers that, being left handed, she is less capable than the other workers. One day, Lewis Hine, a photographer, comes to secretly investigate the mill and takes Grace's picture. This fantastically well-written book (completely in Grace's voice) is one of the best young adult novels I've ever read. Grace's world is very real, from the detailed descriptions of the mill to the characters that surround her and determine her destiny. The historical tale (set in 1910) makes us, as Lewis Hine's photographs do, look directly into the eyes of the child labor issue. Grace, in her excitement and need to work in the mills to provide for her family, but her even deeper need to do more with her life. Grace--as all young teenagers do--must face her domineering mother's expectations for her life and to become her own person. A beautiful, funny, clever, well-characterized, poignant, and powerful novel. Grade: A

Counting on Grace
Although identified as a children's book, "Counting on Grace" is a book that should reward readers of all ages. The author, with great skill and sensitivity, weaves a fictional account of a young girl who is forced to work in the local cotton mill with historical fact about the documentation of these conditions. especially by the renown photographer of working children, Lewis Hines. With three grandchildren exactly the age of Grace, I found this gripping story provided a rare look at how some children were forced to enter the adult world, with its difficulties and dangers, and were summarily deprived of their childhood and education. This is a unique look at mill towns and the people and families who struggled there at the turn of the 20th century. I highly recommend "Counting on Grace" for readers whatever their age. ... Read more

Product Description
Centered on a young girl who inexplicably stops speaking, December is a riveting and insightful portrait of a family in crisis.

Nine months after eleven-year-old Isabelle suddenly fell silent, her parents, Wilson and Ruth, are at their wits' end. And what began as self-protection has spiraled beyond Isabelle's control; she has become trapped in her silence, horrified by the pain she is causing and terrified of losing her old self to this cold young girl she barely recognizes. Isabelle must confront her overwhelming anger and love for her family, a cast of charming yet dangerous characters, and her own fears, before finally finding her voice. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (12)

Shattered Silence
I agree with the other U.S. reviewers who felt this story lacked insight.Although well written, it lagged in places.Isabelle, 11 has stopped speaking in early 2006.She has become an elective mute.(The story is identified as being set in the early 2000's.References to historical events also pinpoint the story's time frame.Since Christmas falls on a Monday in the story, it was easy to figure out that the story was set in 2006 and not 2000).

Desperate, Isabelle's potty-mouthed parents, Ruth and Wilson consult with 5 different psychiatrists and nobody has made any inroads into Isabelle's elective mutism.Nothing draws her out.Even a mother-daughter art class (mothers on one side, daughters on the other side of a glass partition in a museum) fails to engage the girl.

Another reviewer made a good point about Ruth and Wilson acting as enablers.Isabelle's behavior, which Ruth chronicles early in the book sounds like she may be on the autism spectrum.At 2, Isabelle mutely watched her peers at play; at 4 she refused to let Ruth leave her alone in preschool until April of that year and by 5, she had a meltdown when a teacher made a joking comment which was taken literally.

I found Isabelle an unappealling character and plain didn't like her.In fact, I disliked most of the characters in this book, save for a kind doorman named Brian, Isabelle's latest psychiatrist, Ruth's eccentric brother Jimmy and Wilson's mother in New England.

I didn't like the ending and the f-bombs got old fast.I also disliked the way Isabelle ended her siege of silence.Read "The Weight of Silence"The Weight of Silence (Superior Collection) instead.That is a much better book about a girl who is electively mute.

No "there" there.
A well written novel without insight.Isabelle has stopped speaking.Her parents have sent her to five psychiatrists.They have no insight into themselves or into her.One begins to feel by page 150 of this rather short (235 pages) book that the author doesn't have any insight either; by the end of the book, this theory is unfortunately confirmed.If you want a well-written psychological mystery with no resolution at all -- and I can't think of anyone who does -- this is the book for you.

I put on the Characters Shoes!
I enjoyed this book for many reasons!It is well written and she takes you down many paths, that much like life, work or don't.I felt as if I were spying on these people!

However I was impressed with her story of the girls silence.My daughter has Selective Mutism and is frequently placed in situations where she wants to talk but can not.I felt like this author completely understood my daughter, in ways even I do not, and captured the paraylsis of it!The story is not about why is silent - the story is about that she IS silent - brilliant!And her ability to capture the parents frustration over this condition yet immense desire to solve it - it is literally like stepping into someone's shoes and experincing their life with this problem.I am flummoxed how she could understand this condition so well.Bravo!A beautiful story that captures a perplexing tussle with life!

Disagree with other reviewers
I agree that this book is initially very engaging...BUT, I was terribly disappointed in the ending!What a letdown; it ruined the rest of the book for me!I won't be reading any more of this author's books.

donzi
The product that I purchased arrived exactly in the condition that it was represented as.I was very pleased with my purchase! ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (49)

Woman in White
Have already reviewed this purchase.Read the book already.Arrived in fine shape.

An unexpected treasure
I cannot believe that after all these years of devouring, collecting and sorting historical novels, The Winthrop Woman represents my first try with an Anya Seton book! Katherine has hovered at the edge of my TBR pile for years but it was my new-found interest in Colonial New England that finally pushed me to pick this one up. I think my initial reluctance to try Seton was tied to my perception of her as belonging to the old-school of historical fiction populated by Georgette Heyersand Jean Plaidys. Don't get me wrong - I love those venerable old ladies but I wasn't sure I had the patience for a lot of classic 1950s historical prose, full of dashing men, retiring heroines and faux-old-fashioned dialogue.

While Winthrop Woman had its share of "Oh fiddles" and other exclamations that didn't entirely ring true, I was pleasantly surprised by the depth of historical detail and multi-dimensional characterizations. This book is old-fashioned in the sense that it follows a main character from childhood through death and through everything in between. I appreciated the novel's sense of space and time - the luxury of getting to sink into the full narrative of someone's life. It was quite an experience to see beautiful, rebellious Elizabeth Fones change into Bess Winthrop, a wife and a mother who braves the journey to Colonial Massachusetts and shifts into the responsible housewife Mrs. Feake and finally into the much-maligned but happy Elizabeth Hallet. I think Seton did a brilliant job of portraying those small changes over time. She gives Elizabeth a soul capable of appreciating nature and seeking out spiritual fulfillment - two aspects of life that are rarely explored in fictional female characters.

I felt completely confident in the colonial world Seton created and especially enjoyed the brief glimpses into secondary characters' thoughts and points of view. Rather than viewing it as a break from Elizabeth's perspective, I found that it enhanced my understanding of her time and character.
Unfortunately, Seton made the odd choice of slipping out of Elizabeth's point of view at a key moment in the narrative - when she's fighting for her happiness and the right to marry the man she loves. From there on out, Elizabeth completely loses substance as a character and the narrative loses steam. I understand that Seton is setting up Elizabeth's inevitable decline towards illness and depth but it muted the power of Elizabeth's long sought-after freedom.

Seton's command of the religious and political battle of that time are second to none and she manages to make each character into a real person when they could be simply a mess of Johns, Harrys, Elizabeths and Annes. I was a bit suspicious of her timeline involving the divorce of Robert Feake and the marriage to Will Hallet - it seemed carefully calculated not to offend Fifties-style morality and to avoid making Elizabeth seem anything less than blameless and relatable. My final nitpick was with the descriptions of religious rapture and the sense of spiritual completion Elizabeth felt in nature - particularly passages toward the end of the book. They felt a bit overwritten and unrealistic but I appreciate what Seton was trying to accomplish with the examination of those emotions.

I thoroughly enjoyed this opportunity to spend several hundred pages in the world of Colonial New England and would urge anyone on the fence about Anya Seton's novels to give her another try. In this instance, they really don't make historical novels the way they used to and everyone deserves a big, sprawling biographical novel every now and then!

The Winthrop Woman
The "woman" in this book is Elizabeth Winthop,a real historical person who was born in England in 1601.She was the niece of John Winthrop, the first governor and one of the principal establishers of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. She was also his daughter-in-law through her first marriage to Harry Winthrop, John's second son.Elizabeth was a rebel against the strict and often harsh conventions imposed upon women of that day, particular in respect to the rules of the Puritan colonists who came to the New World to practice the freedom of their religion which was denied to them in their native England.Her attitudes and often rash actions caused her undue hardships, forced her and her family to move several times,often stealthily and with great loss. She was denied fullment of her first love but with her third marriage she eventually found not only love but peace and contentment.

Anya Seton has cleverly woven a fascinating plot into actual historical events, using real historical persons. In this book she shows the struggles of the early settlers of this country, the exploitation and maltreatment of the native Americans and the consequences of these attitudes, the lack of religious tolerance of those who left their native lands because of the same intolerance, and the complete dominance of men over women who they regarded as unable to think or act for themselves in an intelligent way.As a lover of historical novels, I would recommend this book as a way of learning history in a more entertaining way than by means of a history textbook. Alma Winters, Author, ONCE UPON A TIME TALES

Great reading!
I love historical fiction and this is a book which met my high expectations. Complex characters, great imagery, action, and great attention to detail (with considerable reseach done with regard to the times and facts). Excellent writing. My review could never do the author or book its' due.

family
have always enjoyed Anya Seton as a author and just recently found this book was a great historical novel about family members , Anya based her books on researched factsthe Winthrop Woman and Katherine ... Read more

Product Description
Emily's summers at her grandparents' farm were always special and unchanging, but nothing seems the same the summer her best friend comes to visit. ... Read more

Product Description
Hollis Clayton is in trouble. His wife has decamped for the summer, leaving him to pursue his increasingly overwhelming compulsions: drinking; spying on neighbors; worrying about the fate of an abducted local girl; avoiding his editor, who is on the verge of rejecting his new collection of stories; and confronting as obliquely as possible the recent death of his young son. Meanwhile, he is spending more time with Jack Daniels and a stubbornly persistent stray dog than with anyone else, including his girlfriend Marissa, who has either abandoned him or been abandoned by him, he’s not sure which.

A tender and comic portrait of suburban despair, Fireworks details the events of one strange summer in which a man’s troubled soul hangs in the balance. In her perceptive exploration of Hollis’s disintegrating life, Elizabeth Winthrop gives us an unforgettably powerful portrait of an anguished man, one who is both endearingly flawed and vividly real. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (10)

It was a nonstory.
About nothing but not in the Seinfeldway. I must be like Larry and just don't get it.What a struggle to read.Kept it up in hopes something would happen, anything.Never did.Don't recommend.

A male lead skillfully written by a woman
It's not often that a story told from a man's point of view is written by a woman, but Fireworks by Elizabeth Hartley Winthrop never trips up enough in the voice of its main character to make the reader question that fact.

Hollis Clayton is a writer living in the New England town of Baybury, and he's had better summers. With his wife leaving town to "think about things," the recent loss of their young son and his own mother leaving him at an early age, Hollis has justifiable abandonment issues. He is irritably needy. Some readers might feel sorry for him in spite of his extramarital affair and poor professional behavior.

Hollis is lonely, his spirit virtually dead. He has an intimate relationship with Jack Daniel's ("Jack" is mentioned more often than any other character). Perhaps he doesn't bother to contemplate suicide because he doesn't have the time, what with all his obsessions to keep him busy. He is frequently distracted from his own pity party with such activities as binoculared spying on neighbors, fretting over a missing-person billboard, going through attic boxes, and clipping the hedges every day within an inch of their lives.

The story is told in a way that asks us to be interested in the outcome of his marriage but may not be told in a way for us to care. Hollis' wife, Claire, is the least-described character in the book, and we never meet her formally. She will appear in flashbacks, but not enough to fully develop her character. The relationship between Hollis and Claire is not described to evoke the feeling that these two were blissfully happy once and absolutely belong together.

Through first-person narration, we get inside Hollis' head, and get to know him very well. Hollis is very self-disclosing, telling the reader what his quirks are and demonstrating his many compulsions. It is the thoughts that traverse Hollis' brain that give us a rich detail into his personality as well as his overactive imagination.

While most of us may not obsess to the same degree, the details of his thoughts feel unique and original, yet familiar and universal. They are thoughts we've all had but never put them into words ourselves. If you don't empathize with him at first, he may grow on you.

Hollis' life seems hopeless at times, and his behavior often does not help the situations he's in. One of the underlying questions throughout the story is: Who is going to save this poor clod from himself and help him experience something other than loneliness and grief?

We get a much better feel for the other characters in the story than we do his wife. The most engaging moments are the different turning points he experiences with these other characters, including a stray dog. One theme I walk away with is that redemption and the source of the realization that life is worth living and living well can come from unexpected places.


Reviewed by Margaret Andrews for Curled Up With A Good Book

Deeply Moving
Elizabeth Hartley Winthrop knows how to write.That sounds like a simple sort of compliment, but it is not.In a world filled with tabloids and pulp fiction, Elizabeth Winthrop reminds us that true authors have a skill that transcends time.When reading Fireworks you are reminded of classic works of literature such as those written by Kate Chopin, Faulkner, Hemingway.A great American novel, Fireworks is deeply moving, intense, and sometimes disturbing.I was amazed at how wonderfully Ms. Winthrop portrays an older man; her skill is here apparent.I am looking forward to reading more from this young author in the future and I look forward to a mass awakening to the charms and insight of this author.

A 5-star lesson in good writing and good storytelling
Hollis Clayton is sinking into the throes of desperation. Two years after the death of his son, while his wife has left for the summer, he is avoiding his editor, and becoming increasingly obsessed with the routine of children at play, a stray dog, and his glass of Jack Daniel's Tennessee whiskey.

This is a haunting story of the way one man faces the loss of a child and the potential loss of a marriage. He is a lesson in contradictions: he maintains his hedge meticulously, but let's his personal appearance go. He desperately needs and loves his wife, yet has an affair. And as he puzzles his life out, he obsesses about a local missing person's case.

I'll admit, when I started this book I had no idea where the author was going. I was intrigued, but lost. But as she flipped back and forth in time, I began to see a pattern develop in which all these seemingly unconnected pieces fall into place. Her voice and tone are perfect and make Hollis' despair tangible.

There are entire passages about children and human nature that I have marked and continue to revisit because they are spot on--things that I know, but could never put into words. I also greatly enjoyed the fact that Hollis is a teller of "non-stories" and his story is composed of non-story after non-story, which all come together to be a very telling story.

I wouldn't often highly recommend a novel about a man who is cheating on his wife and drowns his pain in Jack Daniel's, but this book is just far too good, in a haunting way, to pass up.

Armchair Interviews says: Need a good read that makes you think, and rejoice in words well-written, try this one.

Fireworks
I read this book in one day. What a wonderful, sad little man who you can't help but love. A great book. Can't wait for this author to write another. Loved it!! ... Read more

Product Description
Granny and her grandchild take a nighttime trip to the zoo, where the animals have prepared a fabulous party and Granny dances the night away. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Dancing granny rocks!
We got this book from Amazon as it is not sold in shops in our country.My two year old just loves this book and can now recite the whole thing!A favourite for us all!

A zany and entertaining picture book
Dancing Granny is a zany and entertaining picture book by Elizabeth Winthrop about a special bond between a grandmother and her grandchild. On a visit to the zoo, the Granny is asked "may I have this dance?" and celebrates with an eager bear, six silly monkeys, and others for a fun-filled time. Joyous and colorful illustrations by Salvatore Murdocca beautifully showcase the singsong rhyming verse which characterizes this delightful and original story of fun and nonsense. ... Read more

Product Description
Tired of being told what to do by everyone else in the family, Julia tries different ways of bossing them. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Fun parent and child book.
We had some great laughs reading this book with our 7 year old son Joël.He immediately identified with Julia and as parents we saw quite a bit of Julia in him. We have a baby as well so Joël laughed out loud as we readJulia's attempts at bossing her baby brother around. This is a fun, wellwritten and illustrated book that is sure to bring warm chuckles to parentsand great laughs to children. Although it does so in a 'fun' way, thisdelightful book nurtures mutual understanding between parent and child andsheds a playful light on the frustration little children feel with"being bossed around by everyone." It's as much a 'parenting'book as it is a fun child's story. ... Read more

Product Description
At the opening of this moving and ultimately hopeful story, Sarah's mother is ill. During her treatment she seems to get sicker and sicker. She's often in the hospital, and at home she needs to rest. Sarah's world is turned upside down. After a long time, her mother starts feeling better. But Sarah still has one more difficult discovery to make: Her mom can't promise that she'll never get sick again. She can make other promises, though, and those special promises are enough for now. Warm, graceful watercolors add a light touch to this life-affirming picture book, perfect for any child whose family is touched by serious illness. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Good, but not great
This book would be helpful to parents whose children are most disturbed by hair loss associated with cancer.In my opinion, it minimized other issues and was not as hopeful in tone as I would have liked.

exactly on target for kids 3-9
My 9-year old son brought this book home from school, saying he had found a book for people like me (going through breast cancer chemotherapy). I read it to my other kids (ages 7 and 3). They especially liked that Sarah got angry about her mother's illness. The book deals frankly with the ever-changing range of emotions that kids go through when their mom is sick. All three of my kids could identify with Sarah at one point or another in the book, and I could certainly identify with the mother! After reading it, both of my sons offered me THEIR baseball caps to add to my hat collection!

A must read for the children of all cancer patients
Promises is a wonderfully inspiring story of a young girl who is learning to cope with her mother's illness. This story is so incredibly well written, the reader can share in the young girls anguish as well as her triumph.This story is not only helpful to the children of cancer patients, it also sends a strong message to children not to make fun ofsomeone just because they look different.This story made me laugh, itmade me cry, and it made me realize just how trivial lifes little problemsreally are. ... Read more

Product Description
After proving to his classmates that he is tough, Eddie is no longer afraid to share his favorite toy--a dollhouse--with them. Illustrations. ... Read more

Product Description
After quarreling over a doll, two girls come to realize that people make the best friends. ... Read more

Product Description
Here are ‘shoes to skate in, shoes to skip in, shoes to turn a double flip in ’ . . . all worn by four tousle-headed active young children. ‘Illustrations keep all the action with the skippers, divers, and doers. Story hour groups will be checking out each other’s footwear after hearing this rollicking rhyming paean to shoes.’ —SLJ.

A Reading Rainbow Selection
Children's Books of 1986 (Library of Congress) ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Cute book
This book features a variety of children showing various rhymed type of shoes - too low, too high, shoes to buckle, shoes to tie - until the very end, the best shoes of all, your bare feet.

Very cute, cute illustrations, cute text, simple enough for the youngest child - love it.

One problem. For a book published in the late 80s, there's not much in the way of diversity in this book. In fact, there isn't a single child (or adult) in the book that I could point to and positively say "That kid isn't white".

That doesn't make the book bad, or racist - it just is very visible. Although I suppose it's possible all the kids are supposed to be part of the same family, that's not clear to me.

Wonderful Art and Text
Our 2 year old has loved this book for a long time now.The text is very cute and the artwork is just beautiful.Highly reccomended.

Shoes is a wonderful read aloud book for youngsters.
As a media specialist, I have thoroughly enjoyed using SHOES with my first graders and kindergarteners.The children love to take off their shoes and wiggle those toes.They also enjoy anticipating the next page.This book is a must for any elementary library and for the home. ... Read more

Product Description
When Harvey heard about the dog show,
he was very excited. Fred was not.
Harvey planned for months.
Fred hoped it would never come.

This man's best friend knows what's best
for his owner

Harvey entered Fred in every class-short dogs, dogs with spots, droopy-eared dogs, and more. By the end of the show, Harvey was miserable, they didn't even come close to winning in any of the categories, and Fred was so tired his tongue was hanging out. Still, Fred loved Harvey and wanted him to be happy, so he dragged him before the judges for the last event. Fred knew they would win this one . . .

The illustrations have an attitude all their own-both playfully aloof and alive with color-which perfectly complements the droll text to create a book that will have young readers laughing out loud with delight.
... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Great illustrations and story
Being a pug owner & seeing the cover I had to buy this book.
My 18m old does like the story though it can be a tad wordy for her still but lately she's handled the entire story.
She loves pointing out the dogs & looking at images.

Dog-lovin' children rejoice!
Got a dog-crazy kid who never stops asking when they can bring a furry friend home? Then get this book--it provides enough laughs to tide them over.

When the town of Bonesport puts on a dog show, Harvey is so excited, he registers his dog Fred for nearly every silly event (much to Fred's chagrin).Ulriksen draws Fred with the perfect, droopy, bored expression to match how underwhelmed he is by the whole spectacle.And Winthrop's tale takes on the dog's point of view when she shows how much Fred just wants to please Harvey.

When Harvey and Fred lose every event in which they entered (even Fred's ears aren't the droopiest), it's Fred who drags forlorn Harvey to the final event--and to victory!

Kids always enjoy repetitive elements in tales, and the judges whispering give us a chance to whisper our scores as well.Ulriksen also gets into the repeat game--try to spot the man carrying his too-big dog under his arm like a newspaper!The final look-alike event is hilarious, and I'm sure it will prompt you and your child to name all the dog owners you know who resemble their pets. And vice-versa.

This is a funny tale for dog-lovers and the story is as entertaining as the bright illustrations.

Dog Show, by Elizabeth Winthrop/Illustrated by Mark Ulrikse
As a life long dog lover and a fan of illustrations Mark Ulriksen has done for publications like the New Yorker and Bark - when I found out he had illustrated his first children's book (which is in fact a book for any age dog lover) I was all over it for the illustrations alone. I was THRILLED when the book arrived and found that not only are the illustrations amazing - but, Elizabeth Winthrop has written a heart warming story to keep you smiling from page to page. In short - you'll love this book at any age. Enjoy! ... Read more

Product Description
Miranda finds herself on the spot with her best friend and also with a new friend she meets while running. Sequel to "Marathon Miranda." ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Nice Book For Young Girls
"Suddenly there is so much going on in Miranda's life.first her grandfather and her elderly friend, Margaret, get together, and Miranda is scared of losing them both.Then Miranda's best friend and running companion, Phoebe, falls for an older guy, and she wants Miranda to help keep her secret!On top of that, Miranda is helping to save the beautiful church across the street, and she is busy attending community meetings while waiting for a final decision to be made.Miranda wonders if she can cope.She's Miranda in the middle!" (Taken from back of cover for lack of any other reviews"). ... Read more

Product Description
In this compelling, evocative novel set on a small island off the New England coast,Elizabeth Winthrop subtly examines our notions of home.

For Maggie Hammond, home means her beloved godmother, so when Nan dies, the Victorian house sheinhabited becomes merely a possession for Maggie to shed. Bur when she meets Sam, the islandnaturalist, and a dead body rolls up on her beach, she finds herself drawn deeper and deeper into thecomplex world of the island's winter community.

For Anna Craven, married to an abusive bully, home is fraught with danger and shrouded in secrets. AsAnna grows closer to Dennis Lacey, the newly arrived island doctor, gossip flies and the domesticproblems long hidden behind closed doors erupt into violence. The tightly knit group of year-roundersare forced to examine the erosive undertow of secrecy that threatens to destroy the island communitythey call home.

A beautifully observed novel in the tradition of Anne Tyler and Alice Hoffman, Island Justice setsMaggie's struggle to trust the pulls of her heart against the backdrop of a community intent on pursuingits own unique brand of justice. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (24)

Enjoyable, but thin in spots
I did enjoy the book, but as another reviewer said, the characters were not clearly drawn.I was half-way through the book before I cared about any one of the "cast" members.The ending was ambiguous and I think as readers we deserved something more definitive.I would like to try another of her books to see if those same things are true.

Island Justice by Elizatheth Winthrop
3 stars.An easy read.A nice story idea, but not a great book.

It was easy to become protective of the main character, as she goes from being widely independent to becoming lonely and questionable as she starts a new 'life' on an island; her god-mother left her a house on an island off the coast. It was easy to fall into the scenery.It was easy to feel you were waving, as Island neighbors do but....

I would have liked Ms. Winthrop to delve deeper into the art of "maggie" refinishing her furniture as a spiritual guide for 'refinishing her life', but this did not occur. I felt that this story could have spun off is so many positive direction, but Ms. Winthrop chose instead to spin it into 'dark secrets' of wife beating and child abuse.

The story was entertaining and filled a weekend with pages, to which that can never be a bad-thing.I am just not sure how deep I feel about this book, beyond a simple-entertainment factor.It left me feeling rather blah and "what??".

Isolated life in an isolated community
When her godmother dies, Maggie Hammond is surprised to learn that her godmother willed her house on an island off the New England coast to Maggie.She moves into the house just before winter sets in, with the intention of fixing it up and then selling it for the next summer season - but events, circumstances, and life in general on the island intervene.

Elizabeth Winthrop takes a woman who has been fiercely independent all of her life and places her in an isolated environment whose residents know that they must help each other if they are to survive and keep that environment as it is and as it has been for their lifetimes.That environment works its way into Maggie's soul, and as the book closes we hope that she has changed for the better.

Winthrop's book is an interesting lesson in group psychology, and one wonders what will become of Maggie Hammond two or three years down the road.

Telling is still no substitute for showing
One of the oldest cliches in writers' workshops is the expression "show don't tell." It means, in substance, that most good fiction reveals its characterization and plot by exposing the reader to the actions and dialogue of the book's players, rather than by telling us how those players felt and thought about everything. Sadly, this effort by Winthrop--author of a *riveting* short story called "The Golden Darters"--could have used a significantly heavier editorial hand in this department. The principal conflict in the book, that of the bombastic sherriff and his dog-training wife, is almost entirely revealed to us through long, dreary omniscient narratives about how it made the wife *feel* to be pushed around by her husband. If we can't see it for ourselves, who cares? Can't recommend this one--didn't even bother to finish it. The sad fact is that, in writing as with most other arenas of human endevor, cliches become cliches because they're true. Do yourself a favor and give this one a miss.

Island Introversion
What a fun read. Lovely island setting and fully-loaded cast of characters. The story builds effectively and captures a good range of personality types, a few quite creepy in an all-too human way. ... Read more