The image for the COVER IS RACIST and SEXIST!
344905
While this book is a very important historical work and the necessity to read it, especially by young people, grows each year, I must say something about this cover. Why, oh, why would you put such a sexualized picture of a young black woman on the cover? It is not only racist but incredibly sexist. This book is about the battles of Harriet Jacobs to overcome sexual advances from her white male owner and her harrowing escape. Please, please use a different image that does not continue to violate the bodies of women of color, specifically black women, who were victimized not only physically but psychologically by the white male gaze under slavery.
3702257
Very disappointed. The cover of this cookbook is extremely misleading. This cookbook might be of benefit to novice home cooks or chefs but not for an experienced educated home cook like myself. The recipes are not authentic in the sense that they use authentic, local ingredients from the ethnic cuisine from which they are based. It seems as if the cookbook author chose some recipes from foreign cuisines that are not meant to be spicy and tinkered with them to sell her cookbook. The cookbook cover states, "hot and spicy dishes from around the world." This isn't really the case as most of the Equatorial countries where spicy reigns are completely left out of this cookbook. The author only lists and describes six of the mildest chilies available which, for a true chile-head, is laughable. Obviously with a title such as "Hotter Than Hell" the publishing house ought to know they are marketing this to chile afficiandos for whom authenticity is required. Further, the majority of the author's recipes are regional Mexican or Southwestern which is her claim to fame. I feel this is very misleading when the cover states "from around the world." Amazon carries much better ethnic cookbooks for the chile afficiando. This one goes in the trash.
4553238
I came across this book in the library: I am so glad I didn't buy it.  I am tempted to report this book at the library so it is taken off the shelf because it smacks of stereotyping, warped opinions and resentfulness masquerading as facts.  Here are some honest questions: is it acceptable to blame cheating etc on the women themselves in this day and age, i.e., victim blaming whilst conveniently taking no responsibility whatsoever when there are no excuses for cheating?  How many women who suffer in their relationships and maladjusted guys who might have grown from reading something will come across this?  You have depicted your version of the terrible state of those single black women but there is likely to be some mirroring between them and the black men who have raised and grown up with them, so, what does it say about yours? What's 'with' the sad black woman looking on as other people are together?  The cover image is telling. Is the idea that black women are unhappy and alienated something the author finds enjoyable?  If so, perhaps they should look inside themself and ask why... I do not know any black women who have the caricature of a character the authors describe and before I am accused of being an example for the apparent crime of voicing an opinion, I happen to be an introverted MA student: one who has no problems in this area but also one who has had enough of abuse and untruths.  This book is a huge, great big personal rant with little, if anything, to back it up.  Factors such as the self-hatred of some black men which may be taken out on women, historical 'divide and rule'  tactics, other damaging effects of slavery and what the related ideologies did to those communities were not considered or any data which suggests the problem is not as severe as the authors suggest.  The contributors could do with educating themselves in these areas and bear in mind what these women have already been through as the most marginalised in society and how we are at the bottom of 'the pile'. The book is an attack in a public context, further humiliating black women before others in an acceptable way, in a sense kicking those who are 'down' and making money doing so instead of bringing constructive awareness and healing.  We have already experienced the worst of it all; anyone informed should know better.
2580741
The intellectual bankruptcy of this latest and silliest entry in the Christian Victimization sweepstakes is revealed on its cover: The symbol that best represents this sacred holiday is ... a gaudily decorated tree?!!

Meanwhile "liberal" is purposely conflated with "secularist" to engender maximum outrage. Add in a few baseless accusations punctuated *liberally* with scare words from the Victims' Lexicon ("plot", "ban"), et voila -- instant jeremiad.

Feh.
4541916
I ordered this book as a gift for my father, who can't seem to say no to any jury summons!  However, one look at the cover told me I'd made a mistake.  Sloppily put together and poorly illustrated, it appears to have  been typed at home, then published at Kinko's.  Ms. Dix, please consult an  editor next time, and use the spellcheck!  Prejudice is not a verb!  You  cannot BE "prejudice," unless you are actually claiming to be  prejudice personified.  While there are a few genuinely funny lines, these  were outnumbered 50 to 1 by trite, outdated "humor".  Repeated  references to the O.J. trial might have worked a few years ago, but this  book was published in 1999!  The only positive thing I have to say is that  I am now truly inspired to pursue my own career in writing!
2898738
Looking at the cover, I expected the contents of the book to be lively and colorful.  Turns out that the entire inside is black and white pictures.  Well, purple and white to be exact with some green text thrown in.  It is hard to see contrast or detail in the pictures, so it's not engaging at all.  Some pictures I can't even tell what I'm looking at.  And nothing looks gross or "yucky" in black and white.  I purchased this as a gift for a young child, but I won't be giving it to him.  I was instantly bored and turned off.

To be fair, the "look inside this book" feature does show what you get, but it's even less impressive in person.  The inside content is absolutely nothing like the cover.  I guess it is really an "encyclopedia"...
4436324
I am deeply dismayed by some of the language in this text that borders on racist and is most definitely not appropriate academic literature for 2016. My professor provided me with 2 chapters worth of reading, so this review only has specific information on Chapters 1 and 6, but it is more than enough. Let me elaborate.

On page 10 of Chapter 1 a rather innocuous yet telling sentence includes the words "America's essential cultural fiber and spirit" and continues on with a quote that COMPLETELY dismisses the mass genocide of the indigenous peoples of the Americas and the fact that they were living on and populating the land long before the Unites States came into being.

Then we arrive at page 13 of Chapter 1, under the heading of the "Decline of Family and Community Values" and an entire paragraph of intolerant, Puritanical, and judgmental language whereby the single parent family and children born out of wedlock are blamed for society's ills and described as immoral and responsible for the destruction of "civility and human decency." It reads like a misguided pseudo-Christian diatribe on some crazed blog, or a Fox News commentary.

Moving on to Chapter 6 we are treated to an archaic description of race and ethnicity (p 157) that has been resoundingly debunked, and the ridiculous claim that Tiger woods has "several racial strains (p 160)."

Next we are treated to racist and white-privileged speak on page 162 that speaks of "America's cultural identity and set of common values."; if by common values you mean the dominant white culture's exclusionary and discriminatory common values, well then I suppose that could be true! However, the false and hubristic assertion that if people of color and other ethnicities would just get with the program and stop resisting assimilation via acceptance of the melting pot theory - the answer to all the conflicts and controversies don't you know - we could go back to that glorious time when all (white) people were happy and didn't have to be uncomfortable with or face their white privilege. How heavy the burden of political correctness!

But the icing on the cake has to be the assertion on page 164 that "Americans are not deeply divided by disputes over race, gender, and cultural issues." Oh quite the contrary! We are made up of a "single nation dominated by a set of middle-class values that is moving toward a consensus on such matters as welfare, immigration, and family values." Really? Really?!?! Is that why Donald Trump has become a viable option for President of the United States? Hmm. Okay. Sure.

This text is a disgrace and it should not be used any longer. There are young, impressionable minds who will read this and believe it to be true, without having the benefit of the experience that a person of color living in real America would have.
4523568
This book is offensively racist against white people! Its ridiculous! Its filth like this that keeps America divided.  Unless like me this is required reading for a class, stay a million miles away, especially if you are white. This book will upset you, guaranteed!  This book blames everything on white people and the author is a racist liberal.
4045802
alot of racist undertones. I couldn't believe I was reading a book written this century! It says blacks are evil on one page! Horrible gobbledy gook thrown in with "some" good advice on satanic doors and how to find them and close them. i'm just shocked at the awful racist content.
2183190
This magazine is nothing more that politically correct garbage. I am reviewing the June 2014 issue, which is now in my trash can. That's right, NOT the recycle bin as highlights suggests in the front of the magazine. It's in my trash can.

First of all, I have nothing against seeing different races than my own in children's literature. But this magazine seems to accomplish it in such a way that it seems forced and not at all done in a way that just flows naturally. It became a game to me while reading it. "And what will our next nationality be?? Turn the page to find out!" Poem 1, white family. Story 1, Tex and Indi (no American white sounding Dick and Jane here-and I say this not because I WANT Dick and Jane but because it sounds like they went out of their way to pick names that DONT sound too American) multiple races portrayed. Story 2, Spanish, including a boy named Pablo, and many sentences in Spanish. Now, I have nothing against Spanish, but guess what? This is America! We speak English. I don't appreciate a magazine aiming language integration at my preschool age and younger children. Poem 2, white child. That's Silly page, every ethnicity you can possibly imagine represented. Story 3, African American family. Exercise action rhyme page, African American child. Activity page 2, Spanish father and son. The rest of the magazine is various animals. Now when you add this all up, you can see that High Five magazine has gone out of their way to make sure there is equal representation of all races, with extra consideration to making sure there are less whites than anything else. And that is where I get the "forced" feeling. It's like it's not okay to be white any more, we should be ashamed. I read many, many books and stories to my five children and I read about all nationalities and teach them about lots of cultures. But while doing that, I don't put down their own culture. This is what I felt when reading high five.

Second problem: "school" obsession. Seeing as how this magazine is aimed at young children under five, there are an awful lot of references to "school". Well at this age, it's not school, it's daycare. I happen to homeschool my children. I don't mind reading them stories about school, but this magazine goes overboard. The Tex and Indi story? School. Poem about fish? School (no pun intended). Picture of far and near? School bus right in center. The Summer Box story? School. That's a large portion of the magazine! American children have a lot more in their lives besides just school! What about sibling relationships? Travel? Holidays? Learning new things? Birthdays! Pets! Seasons! Learning about animals? I can think of a million things my kids would be excited to read a story about! This magazine is LAME when it comes to a variety of stories. It's like they sat around saying "let's teach them about Spanish and school!"..I'm surprised there isn't a full page spread on the new food groups.

Lastly, my two youngest children didn't even enjoy the magazine. They couldn't relate to most of it! We don't speak Spanish, we don't go to school (they are 1 and 3!). They love to read, and I mean LOVE it. We read on average 5-10 books every single day. When they don't like something, that speaks volumes to me.

Another warning. In small print inside the first page you will find the following: sometimes we make our list of customer names available to other carefully screened companies whose products might be of interest to you. TRANSLATION....we sell your personal information. Something to think about!

I used to love highlights magazine as a child. This magazine is trash. I would never subscribe to it. I hope readers are able to see my review for what it is, just an honest review of what I saw, and not make this in to a debate about your beliefs versus mine. I'm not leaving this review for any reason other than to point out to parents what this magazine is like, in my opinion.
4102791
This is not a valid review because I did not see the book.  But just looking at the drab ugly cover makes you realize there is a lack of imagination.  What colors would you use to reproduce the same cover?  UPDATE  ok, so my sister said the photo of the cover wasn't so bad.  She said they were "preppie" colors.  I decided to see a full-sized version of the cover, so I bought the book.  DON'T BOTHER.  There is one really cute diagram of a garment, but I don't think the pleats would hold up this way in an actual garment.  I am sorry to disappoint Ms. Giannangeli and all her friends/relatives who wrote nasty things about me, but this book is not a useful addition to your reference material.  signed: this Kapustka character.
2241882
Ok. So this is not my first time saying this and it definitely won't be the last. White authors need to stop with the pale =ugly; pale= ill bred; pale=poor; etc etc. Its ugly and it has to stop.

There was a quote in the book along the lines of dark skinned apes and I KNOW the author knows the racial implications of THAT. like that was just ugly.

Im tired of reading books where the paler people (read: white folks) are oppressed bc of their skin tone. Its dumb. Its make you look racist and stupid bc you use the darker tones people as the oppressors. And the racial implications of THAT is just...

Anyways. I will NOT be reading anymore of this series or this authors books. Have a nice day !!
906767
Um, what??
See the images. This is obviously some sort of major cover mistake.
251735
This book is disgustingly written.  the Author has proven herself to be an idiotic racist. I would rate a zero if i could.
2298444
The only reason I looked into this book was because I saw the book at Borders and assumed that it might be amusing. I had a read through it in the caf, it didn't take long, and was rather disappointed with it. I gave it some thought and I came to the conclusion that the people who wrote the book must be rather racist themselves and the associated site confirmed it for me.

I have come away from both the book and the website with the impression that those who put it together feel that there are no acceptable activities, entertainments, foods, beverages, culture, likes and dislikes for white Westerners - ALL of them are trivial, stereotypical, vapid and irrelevant to anyone but themselves. They also seem to be suggesting that non-white people are incapable or uninterested in enjoying virtually any of the trappings of Western civilisation.

Heck! It is a wonder that the writer of this book hasn't suggested that electricity and clean drinking water are simply "stuff that white people like"!

This whole book is racist.
3745553
Yeah, like the rest of you, I hated the cover.  CreateSpace, which is listed as the publisher of this edition, is a division of Amazon.com.  Read it & weep, at: [...].  It looks like this division specializes in (among other things) taking texts that are old enough to be out of copyright and churning out new edition$.  So actually AMAZON is responsible for this execrable cover, and its totally inappropriate tween-sexytime version of the classic character.  Of course the hacks who threw this together didn't bother to read the book, but instead just applied 21st century "business model" to marketing it (when in doubt, remember the gutter mantra: "sex sells!")  All who are outraged by this should lay the blame on Amazon.  It's their fault and they are the ones who are in a position to fix it.
4686978
This person is ignorant, beyond belief. Thinks they understand immigration and so called "deficient cultures" without realizing that the culture in the United States, is one that makes profit because of the exploitation of other countries. Why do we have immigration in the first place? Well, first, American corporations explore others' natural resources forcing massive poverty so that this ignorant woman and I can have IPhones made in China and cars assembled in Mexico. This person is making a living out of hate speech. Talk about white privilege. If I could, I would give zero reviews.