Friday November 21, 2008
Children's Books: Authors & Illustrators, A-Z
Displayed below are the top selling items for today, Friday November 21, 2008 along with the review customers have voted "most useful".
To find top selling items in for a specific category, use the menu on the left or click here to see all categories.
- Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
- If You Give a Cat a Cupcake (If You Give... Books) by Laura Numeroff
- The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
- Harold and the Purple Crayon 50th Anniversary Edition (Purple Crayon Books)
- Untitled Paolini : Inheritance, Book III (Inheritance) by Christopher Paolini
- The Very Hungry Caterpillar board book by Eric Carle
- Harry Potter Schoolbooks Box Set : From the Library of Hogwarts by J.K. Rowling
- Inkdeath by Cornelia Funke
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Book 7) by J. K. Rowling
- Goodnight Moon (Board Book) by Margaret Wise Brown
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Where the Wild Things Are
by Maurice Sendak
(based on 365 customer reviews)
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(Hardcover)
Edition: 25th Anniversary
Author: Maurice Sendak
Publisher: Harper Collins
Price: $12.21
You save: $5.74 (32%) off the list price!
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Most useful review as voted by customers:
147 out of 162 people found the following review helpful.
Review Date: 7/14/00
Another Classic to Pass Along...get the HARDCOVER!
This book, written in 1963, has been in our family for near to 30 years in its original hardcover edition!It's been passed down, from my oldest at 32 to my youngest, now 8. Each child had their own reasons for loving it, and my tattered (but still good enough for grandkids) copy carries scribbles and memories from each of my sons.
Max is so mad at his mother one evening, when she puts him in his room, he sails off for a year, venturing out where the wild things are - huge, strange looking creatures with terrible eyes and terrible claws, who dance by the light of the moon.
Max handles them all, shouting "BE STILL" until they are so frightened, they agree he's the most wild thing of all.
He goes home in time to eat the supper (the cause of his anger), which is still warm.
The illustrations, colored sketches by Maurice Sendak, invite the imagination of children who might just like a good tale.
For kids who are beginning to express their anger (from 2 to 5), this book is a safe expression of just how *mad* a child can get, and how they can control those wild feelings!
The words are few, and some pages are filled with nothing but Max and the Wild Things, after "the wild rumpus begins."
If you like this book, get it in hardcover. It will be read so many times, you'll be glad you did!
Click here to see more reviews for: Where the Wild Things Are
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If You Give a Cat a Cupcake (If You Give... Books)
by Laura Numeroff
(based on 12 customer reviews)
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(Hardcover)
Author: Laura Numeroff
Publisher: Laura Geringer
Price: $10.19
You save: $6.80 (40%) off the list price!
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Most useful review as voted by customers:
15 out of 19 people found the following review helpful.
Review Date: 10/3/08
Not as Good as Mouse/Cookie
We love the "If You Give..." books at our house. Our 2 1/2 year old will sit through "Mouse Cookies & More" which has "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie", "If You Give a Pig a Pancake", "If You Give a Moose a Muffin" & "If You Take a Mouse to School" all in one, and then she'll want to read it all over again.
We were very excited to get a new "If You Give..." book, especially one about a cat (our daughter's favorite animal); but I found this story to be less charming than the others. Some of the transitions felt forced; for example, Cat goes to the gym and then suddenly wants to go to the park - I didn't get the connection so the book just didn't flow as well as the others I've read.
This is not to say my little girl isn't completely captivated by the book. We've had it less than a day and have read it through several times (we had to stop because of dinner and bedtime or we'd probably still be reading it!).
So, overall the story is cute and sweet, just like the others, but "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie" is still my favorite.
Click here to see more reviews for: If You Give a Cat a Cupcake (If You Give... Books)
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The Graveyard Book
by Neil Gaiman (based on 41 customer reviews)
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(Hardcover)
Author: Neil Gaiman
Publisher: HarperCollins
Price: $10.79
You save: $7.20 (40%) off the list price!
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Most useful review as voted by customers:
90 out of 99 people found the following review helpful.
Review Date: 10/4/08
The gravity of the situation
I've noticed that there's been an increased interest in the macabre in children's literature lately. Sometimes when I've had a glass or two of wine and I'm in a contemplative mood I try weaving together a postulation that ties the current love of violent movies into this rise in children's literary darkness. Is the violence of the world today trickling down into our entertainment? Hogwash and poppycock and other words of scoff and denial, says sober I. But I've certainly seen a distinct rise in the Gothic and otherworldly over the last few years, and one wonders if it's because kids want more of that kind of stuff or publishers are merely getting less squeamish. All that aside, generally I'll read a May Bird book or an Everlost title and they'll be fun examinations of the hereafter, but not the kind of things that touch my heart. Great writing doesn't have to transcend its genre. It just has to be emotionally honest with the reader. And The Graveyard Book is one of the most emotionally honest books I've yet to have read this year. Smart and focused, touching and wry, it takes the story of a boy raised by ghosts and extends it beyond the restrictive borders of the setting. Great stuff.
It starts with three murders. There were supposed to be four. The man Jack was one of the best, maybe THE best, and how hard is it to kill a toddler anyway? But on that particular night the little boy went for a midnight toddle out the front door while the murderer was busy and straight into the nearby graveyard. Saved and protected by the denizens of that particular abode (the ghosts and the far more corporeal if mysterious Silas), the little boy is called Bod, short for Nobody because no one knows his name. As he grows older, Bod learns the secrets of the graveyard, though he has to be careful. The man (or is it "men"?) who killed his family could come back for him. Best to stay quiet and out of sight. Yet as Bod grows older it becomes clear that hiding may not be the best way to confront his enemies. And what's more, Bod must come to grips with what it means to grow up.
Can I level with you? You know Coraline? Mr. Gaiman's previous foray into middle grade children's literature. Come close now, I don't want to speak too loudly. Uh... I didn't much care for it. WAIT! Come back, come back, I didn't mean it! Well, maybe I did a tad. It was a nice book. A sufficient story. But it was very much (new category alert) an adult-author-to-children's-author-first-timer-title. Gaiman appeared to be finding his sealegs with Coraline. He took the old Alice in Wonderland trope which adult authors naturally gravitate to on their first tries (see: Un Lun Dun, Summerland, The King in the Window, etc.). Throw in some rats, bees, and buttons, and voila! Instant success. But Coraline for all its readability and charm didn't get me here [thumps chest:]. I didn't feel emotionally close to the material. Now why it should be that I'd feel closer emotionally to a book filled with a plethora of ghosts, ghouls, night-gaunts, and Hounds of God, I can only chalk up to The Graveyard Book's strong vision.
My husband likes to say that the whole reason Buffy the Vampire Slayer worked as a television show was that it was a natural metaphor for the high school (and eventually college) experience. Likewise, The Graveyard Book has this strong,strange, wonderful metaphor about kids growing up, learning about the wider world, and exploring beyond the safe boundaries of their homes. There's so much you can read into this book. I mean, aren't all adults just ghosts to kids anyway? Those funny talking people whose time has passed but that may provide some shelter and wisdom against the wider, crueler world. Plus Mr. Gaiman also includes characters in Bod's world that kids will wish they had in their own. Silas, a man who may be a vampire (though the word is never said) is every child's fantasy; A mysterious/magical guardian/friend who will tell you the truth when your parents will not.
One thing I particularly liked about the book was the fact that Bod makes quite a few careless or thoughtless mistakes and yet you don't feel particularly inclined to throttle him because of them. Too often in a work of fiction a person isn't properly put into the head of their protagonist. So when that character walks off and does something stupid there's the sense (sometimes faint, sometimes not) that they deserved it and you're not going to stick around and read about somebody that dumb, are you? But even when Bod is at his most intolerable, his most childishly selfish and single-minded, you can understand and sympathize with him. Bod is no brat, a fact that implies right there that he is someone worth rooting for. We see our own young selves in Bod, and we root for him as a result. And as Bod reaches each stage in his growth, he encounters experiences and personalities that help him to reach maturity. That's a lot to put on the plate of a l'il ole fantasy novel, particularly one that's appropriate for younger kids.
And it is appropriate too. Don't let the fact that the first sentence in the book ("There was a hand in the darkness, and it held a knife") put you off. The murder of Bod's family is swift, immediate, and off-screen. What remains is just a great fantasy novel that has the potential to appeal to both boy and girl readers. Kid wants a ghost story? Check. Kid wants a fantasy novel set in another world appropriate for Harry Potter fans? Check. Kid wants a "good book". That's my favorite request. When the eleven-year-old comes up to my desk and begs for "a good book" I can just show them the cover and the title of this puppy and feel zero guilt when their little eyes light up. A good book it is.
I guess that if I have any objections at all to the title it has something to do with the villains. They're a bit sketchy, which I suppose is the point, but we live in an era where children's fantasy novels spend oodles of time defining their antagonists' motivations and histories. Gaiman's more interested in his hero, which is natural, but the villains' raison d'être is just a bit too vague for the average reader. Honestly, if it weren't for the fact that Bod's family is slaughtered at the start of this tale you wouldn't necessarily know whether or not to believe that these people are as nasty as we've been told.
That said the book's a peach. I once heard someone postulate that maybe Neil Gaiman wrote it just so that he could play with the sentence "It takes a graveyard to raise a child." Unlikely. Fun, but unlikely. I mean, he does make a casual allusion that isn't far off from that phrase, but he never goes whole hog. This book doesn't feel like it was written to back up a joke. It feels like a book written by a parent with children growing up and moving out. It's a title that tips its hat to kids making their way in the world, their pasts behind them, their futures unknown. This is not yet another silly little fantasy novel, but something with weight and depth. The fact that it just happens to be loads of fun to boot is simply a nice bonus. Highly recommended.
Click here to see more reviews for: The Graveyard Book
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Harold and the Purple Crayon 50th Anniversary Edition (Purple Crayon Books)
(based on 151 customer reviews)
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(Paperback)
Publisher: HarperTrophy
Price: $6.99
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Most useful review as voted by customers:
342 out of 343 people found the following review helpful.
Review Date: 11/28/07
Love it !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I fell in love with this book. It showed me that all he needs in my life is the imagination to have an adventure. It is a book that is both calming and empowering . It allows us to dream and imagine. It certainly deserves your consideration. Another such volumes are Why Some Cats are Rascals, Book 1 and Where the Wild Things Are
Click here to see more reviews for: Harold and the Purple Crayon 50th Anniversary Edition (Purple Crayon Books)
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Untitled Paolini
Inheritance, Book III (Inheritance)
by Christopher Paolini (based on 386 customer reviews)
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(Hardcover)
Author: Christopher Paolini
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Price: $16.50
You save: $11.00 (40%) off the list price!
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Most useful review as voted by customers:
238 out of 279 people found the following review helpful.
Review Date: 9/21/08
A satisfying fantasy adventure tale
I enjoyed the first two books of this series, and was eager to read the third. I won't outline the plot, because you can find that elsewhere. I will just tell you what I think about this book.
It is an enjoyable read, and a worthy third installment to the series. I thought that Eragon was a very good story, and Eldest not quite as good, although Paolini's writing had improved. Brisingr is the best of the three. I fell back into the story right away, and I found myself caring about the characters, even worrying about their safety. This is what I look for in fiction: it made me want to pick up the book every chance I got. If it interferes with the rest of my life, it is a very good book. Brisingr is one of those books. I am thankful to my son that he recommended this series to me.
Some reviewers of Eldest were very critical of the fact that the plot is derivative of other epics, like The Lord Of The Rings or Star Wars. I didn't mind this in the least. It is the tale of a hero's journey, complete with absence, devestation and return. It is one of the oldest tales in storytelling. We already know the story, but it is the storytelling that makes it good or bad. Paolini is a good writer. Not as great as Tolkein or LeGuin, but good nevertheless. I was able to suspend my inner critic, and enjoy the read. I recommend that you do the same.
Click here to see more reviews for: Untitled Paolini
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The Very Hungry Caterpillar board book
by Eric Carle (based on 326 customer reviews)
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(Board book)
Author: Eric Carle
Publisher: Philomel
Price: $8.61
You save: $2.38 (22%) off the list price!
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Most useful review as voted by customers:
224 out of 224 people found the following review helpful.
Review Date: 11/28/07
Lovely
Eric Carle is the favorite author for me and my sister. His illustrations are lovely and just perfect for the stories. We enjoy reading his books again and again. It is a real joy for us.
This is very simple reading about a caterpillar who eats throughout the whole week. We love the brightly colored pictures on each page and repetitive phrases in this book. This book belongs to each household. We also like Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? and Why Some Cats are Rascals ( Book 3)
Click here to see more reviews for: The Very Hungry Caterpillar board book
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Harry Potter Schoolbooks Box Set
From the Library of Hogwarts
by J.K. Rowling
Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them, Quidditch Through The Ages (based on 459 customer reviews)
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(Hardcover)
Edition: 1st American Edition
Author: J.K. Rowling
Publisher: Arthur A. Levine Books
Price: $8.99
You save: $6.00 (40%) off the list price!
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Most useful review as voted by customers:
154 out of 159 people found the following review helpful.
Review Date: 3/14/01
Clever, funny, and completely integrated with the novels
J.K. Rowling has given us facsimile editions of two of Harry Potter's schoolbooks, all proceeds going to children's charities around the world. The books are only 64 pages each, but the print is very small and they are crammed with remarkably interesting information that fills out the background of Harry Potter's world. Headmaster Albus Dumbledore himself provides introductions to these special editions."Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them", by "Newt Scamander", describes all the magical creatures we have seen in the first four books of the series, plus many more. Harry's marginal notes (along with Ron Weasley's, since Ron's own copy apparently fell apart) remind us of many of his adventures. "Quidditch Through the Ages", by "Kennilworthy Whisp" shows how this magical sport (along with similar ones) has evolved, and also provides a history of magic broom technology with a good deal of supplementary material shedding light on wizard-Muggle relations throughout history.
Both books provide many hints towards a better understanding of what's really going on in the "backstory" in the Harry Potter books. They may not suffice to keep Potter fans totally satisfied until the next book comes out, but they'll surely create a big demand for other "supplementary" materials.
Click here to see more reviews for: Harry Potter Schoolbooks Box Set
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Inkdeath
by Cornelia Funke (based on 25 customer reviews)
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(Hardcover)
Author: Cornelia Funke
Publisher: The Chicken House
Price: $14.99
You save: $10.00 (40%) off the list price!
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Most useful review as voted by customers:
51 out of 56 people found the following review helpful.
Review Date: 9/26/08
Funke is on a serious roll
I love the Inkheart trilogy, I seriously can't get enough of it! I must admit at first I was somewhat reluctant to read the conclusion to the trilogy, afraid it might be a letdown as most serie-enders are becoming, but it was as excellent as the first and second books (not to mention the breathtaking cover). Its excellently paced, descriptive, suspenseful, and keeps you flipping the pages, just salivating for the finish. I admit it started a little slow in my opinion, but it definitely picked up and kept my interest; I just couldn't put it down. I don't really want to give anything away, except that this is an amazing book, and you cannot miss out on it.
Click here to see more reviews for: Inkdeath
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Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Book 7)
by J. K. Rowling (based on 3236 customer reviews)
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(Hardcover)
Edition: 1st Edition, Book Seven (7)
Author: J. K. Rowling
Publisher: Arthur A. Levine Books
Price: $20.99
You save: $14.00 (40%) off the list price!
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Most useful review as voted by customers:
535 out of 660 people found the following review helpful.
Review Date: 7/21/07
A perfect ending to a glorious series
Before the release of the seventh and last book of the Harry Potter series, I re-read all the preceding volumes. Throughout, I followed how the author developed her grand theme of Right vs Wrong, the strong vs the weak and the evils of the misuse of power. How was Rowling to end this series? Obviously, the Apocalypse was at hand, and the heroic struggle between Harry Potter and the evil Voldemort would be the climax of the series. While we waited for the last book, rumors abounded. Fake spoilers floated over the internet like the soul-sucking Dementors, threatening to extinguish the enjoyment people would get from this final volume. So, no spoilers from this reviewer. All I will say is that "Deathly Hallows" lived up to my expectations and in fact, ended pretty much as I imagined it would. Rowling keeps true to her theme right to the end and to her artistic vision as well. There is plenty of action right from the get-go. This is by far the most exciting of the seven books, with duels, battles, fights, daring escapes and amazing twists of fortune. There are plenty of surprises and also many reasons to weep. The action sometimes is non-stop, but from time to time, there are welcome respites in the action, times for moments of tenderness or friendship between surprising pairings of characters. The sub-theme of the redeptive power of Love is evident in these idylls. J. K. Rowling is a master writer who has created an amazing work of art with the Harry Potter series and just as any master craftsman, she has chosen the perfect finish for a fine series of books. I look forward to new series with entire new worlds or...perhaps this is really the end. Some authors do write themselves out when they've said their say. I don't know. But I do know this author is one I enjoy reading and I hope we have many more new adventures to discover from her pen. Bravo! Joanna Daneman
Click here to see more reviews for: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Book 7)
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Goodnight Moon (Board Book)
by Margaret Wise Brown (based on 592 customer reviews)
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(Board book)
Author: Margaret Wise Brown
Publisher: HarperFestival
Price: $8.99
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Most useful review as voted by customers:
300 out of 301 people found the following review helpful.
Review Date: 5/23/07
Perfect Gift
Goodnight Moon" fulfills two very powerful needs to small children - to keep their mothers close to their sides as long as possible and to make closure on their day by telling each object goodnight. It is a poetic and soothing book helping babies and parents to calm down and go to bed. This charming story of a young rabbit's bedtime ritual invokes the kind of cozy quiet that invites the peaceful security of pleasant dreams. This book is a "must have" for any parent of a young child. Add to it "Why Some Cats are Rascals, Book 1" and you have a perfect birthday package. You might also want to cosider Corduroy , The Giving Tree, and Love You Forever
Click here to see more reviews for: Goodnight Moon (Board Book)
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