intelligently written and beautifully illustrated
923679
This book exceeded my expectations on every level. It is written by an serious author who clearly researched his subject and has not allowed himself to be corrupted by revisionist history or political correctness. The photographs are large and beautifully reproduced;every detail the author refers to is plainly visible. The text is reserved and restrained, but contains a wealth of information and detail.
Everything about this book is exceptional, from the quality of the writing to the quality of the paper. It even has a ribbon bookmark. When is the last time you saw one of those?
3121253
As beautifully illustrated as it is written, this book tells the story of a people through stories, anecdotes and documents both familiar and entirely undiscovered.  Laurino is a lovely writer who manages to cover an enormous span of time and content with grace and even humor.  Worth reading cover to cover or dipping into sections where surprises are found every other page.  Bellisima!
747999
What a fun, beautiful and intelligent book. I'm so glad this exists!
5978
What a wonderful little book. The cover illustration is beautiful as is the interior illustrations (few as they may be). The writing is excellent and I was hooked from the first page. I recommend this book. I bought the paperback edition.
3137658
I found this children's Bible quite by accident at my local one-stop-shopping-center grocery store.  It is BEAUTIFUL -- both the language and the illustrations.  It truly captures the mystery and beauty of an actual translation, while making it understandable and enticing to its intended audience.  In addition to retelling more passages of the Bible than I've seen in any other story Bible, this book has an appendix containing a map, an index of places, and an index of people.  It is a wonderful, intelligent introduction to The Book.
2312782
This is a beautifully written,educational book for all ages. The illustrations are delightful and the text is thought provoking while holding the interest of children and adults alike ( generating a lot of smiles ). I highly recommend this book to all.
Martha O'Haver
2411547
Beautifully illustrated and well-written, in-depth and personalized writing style pulls the reader into the text in a gentle way.  I felt like a participant more than a reader.  Every Pagan, Wiccan,or  Druid should have this in their collection.  This book is unique in so many ways; almost interactive.  Very enjoyable.
3026664
This lovely little book for children was composed in English by a native Lebanese writer who came to the United States as an adult.  The book not only presents factual information about almonds and how they are grown but is also a personal memory warmly shared.

The first sentences ("Grandma lived in a two story stone house with a red brick roof build centuries ago.  It stands with majesty on the top of a hill facing the Mediterranean Sea") draw us right in.  Nine miniature reproductions in color of oil paintings done by the author's cousin, Jawad Wakim, add beauty to the book.

The abundance of "white space" provides a pleasing visual layout, and the informative text never overwhelms.

I can imagine an older elementary child (9 to 12) reading this book to a younger sibling.  Highly recommended.
870638
Well I have to applaud Simone and the illustrator on creating a very visually appealing book. You can see so much thought has been put into the layout of the book and the illustrations really draw you into the story. From an illustrators point of view I have to say that the pictures really compliment the story beautifully. The story itself is a delightful read, keeping you enticed the whole way through. An excellent piece of story telling and a lovely tribute to the relationship between grandmother and grand daughter. It was lovely to read out as well, with lots of different expressions to play with. I think any child would enjoy this and grown ups will love reading it to their children. A great read for the whole family to enjoy together.
1222061
An engaging and charming story written with smart rhymes and colorful illustrations that are sure to please Lil Ones and Big Ones too!
The message of kindness, no bullying, is a strong one that is much needed. The writing well crafted. Short words punctuated with an occasional longer one have a nice cadence and are sure to resonate, especially when read aloud with a child.
A perfect gift. I loved it!
4029965
Beautifully Illustrated. More than I expected.
4349617
I bought this for my four year old daughter and she loves it. The writing is clear and age appropriate. The illustrations are well-rendered, imaginative and appealing. The book itself is well made - I got a used former library edition, and it was in excellent shape.  I will be looking for other works by this author. There is also a nice postscript covering some additional detail of Mary Anning's life inside the back cover that provides some 'grownup' context for further reference. Overall, excellent book.
3287074
This book is not only wonderfully written and extraordinarily illustrated, it has a lesson that none can learn too young.  The concept itself is innovative and masterfully implemented.  Younger children hear the first part of the story read to them and older children can read it themselves.  Andre is put into a situation where he must choose but the child gets to choose what Andre will do.  Then the story finishes along the path driven by the choice.  Children actually see that different choices have different consequences and they learn to make better choices.  I have three copies for my grandchildren.
1043056
I loved this book.  It is a story of a young rabbit who goes on a journey with a coyote to find his father.  It is also a story of a young boy who goes with a coyote (the word is also used to describe someone who smuggles people across the border, for a price) to find his father.  Using animals as the main characters allows for this serious tale to be told to children.  The story is not overtly harsh or graphic, and it is delivered in such a way that the adult reading the story really has a choice on how they want to approach the topic of immigration (or if they want to at all).  At the end of the story, the author goes into some details about immigration, and offers some statistics and websites for further information.  I was so pleasantly surprised with this book.  Its pictures are lovely (a nice mixture of collage and paint), and its story is solid, but it is above all, intelligent and sincere.  Id rate this book a 5 because it tackles a subject that might be difficult to explain to a child, but that is important for a child to understand.
989957
This past weekend, our 3-1/2 year old daughter's grandparents came into town.  Her Nonna told her a bedtime story about Rapunzel, a story she had not heard before.  She was enchanted.  Needless to say, Nonna went out the next day to buy a book and she came home with Paul Zelinsky's beautiful book.
I can't comment on the accuracy and literary side of the book - I'm not an expert on the original tale.  However, the writing is wonderful; the story is an easy read with younger children.  But clearly, the illustrations are what set this book apart.  Many children's books use child-like pictures - but each page of this book is a new and different work of art.  Detail and texturing worthy of an art gallery make this a pleasure to view as well as read.  Highly recommended.
3653742
Not only this book is perfect for our family, it is also extremely well illustrated and well written. I am in love with it. Sensitive, creative, beautiful and educating.
2585765
This is a gorgeous book--the illustrations are just marvelous. The writing is also fantastic which is unfortunately not always the case in kids nature books. There is great use of metaphor and simile. The book also gives examples of the children learning about history and biology/ecology from their explorations of the creek. This is a fantastic book for educating both kids who have lots of exposure to nature and kids bringing nature to kids who don't have a lot of access to it. It gives great examples of the kids learning from both talking with their parents and looking up things they don't know--basically teaches how to learn. It also depicts a nice sibling relationship. My 3 year old is completely enthralled by it and I think it could easily be used with older kids as well. I am surprised this book hasn't won some type of children's lit award.