No comments about 150 year calendar,: With corresponding English and Hebrew dates including holidays, Sidras and Haftoras. Contains also a Hebrew festival calendar for 2000 years.

1 comments about Sunset Western Garden Annual 2000 (Western Garden Annual).

1. I have all the garden annuals since 1994. The 2000 annual includes a computer cd and the same great collection of Sunset magazine articles. I like the annuals better than tearing apart my Sunset magazines, and no ads no travel and cooking. If you are a Sunset Magazine saver you will want this book. I use my annuals as a resource book of ideas.

No comments about PLAYGIRL MAGAZINE February 2000 Ingo Rademacher Issue (The BIG Issue - Free Calendar - Massive Men For Every Month!).

2 comments about 2000 Herbal Almanac (Llewellyn's Herbal Almanac).

1. As a practicing Wiccan of several years, I enjoyed the folklore and ritual ideas presented in this book. But, as an undergraduate forestry major, I have to point out that the authors had no idea what they were doing as far as giving the plants their correct scientific names. Do yourselves a favor and use this book as a supplement to a legitimate herbal encyclopedia.



2. I actually have looked this over a few times in person before I boughtit, so I can understand some dissapointment - there is little or no magickal herb stuff in here (and that is what my first impression was too, being put out by Llewellyn and all!) This "almanac" (which it is not really) is mostly healing, beauty and health, growing, cultivation, cooking with, using, etc., with herbs. No calendars or correspondences. I think it is great for an addition to a health or cooking herbal library, but would not stand well on its own. I found a lot of useful gardening and other misc. tips for many common herbs and good ideas and recipes for herbal remedies, recipes, and beverages (the info/recipes on making various herbal syrups was worth the price alone IMHO).

No comments about The comprehensive Hebrew calendar;: Its structure, history, and one hundred years of corresponding dates: 5660-5760, 1900-2000.

No comments about Cal 99 We'Moon Calendar.

5 comments about Edward Gorey the Utter Zoo Alphabet: 2000 Deluxe Engagement Book.

1. As if the cleverly worded lymerics weren't enough, Gorey's illustrations are whimsical and expressive. Together the art and the poetry will have you laughing out loud. The only problem is deciding whether or not to share the humor with friends. I can't bring myself to use the pages as postcards.



2. This book might have been a book from a small English town's zoo at the turn of the century, but now it has been misplaced to the 20th century. Delicious!



3. Hard to find, great book, nicely done. Better quality than I expected. Can't wait to use it!



4. this book is really hard to find but it is worth it! I think its great for all the Edward Gorey fans out there! The poetry and pictures are fabulous and all my friends loved it!



5. "The Ombledroom, the Posby, the Quingawaga, and the Raitch are but a few of the strangely engaging creatures that inhabit the world of Edward Gorey's Utter Zoo Alphabet. Taken from Gorey's book of the same title, these twenty-six dark, delightful drawings, one for each letter of the alphabet, lure you, as only Edward Gorey's work can, into an animal kingdom never before encountered in the ordinary world. 26 black-and-white reproductions.
   
   "Pomegranate's books of postcards contain thirty top-quality reproductions bound together in a handy collection. Easy to remove and produced on heavy card stock, these stunning postcards are a delight to the sender and receiver. Note: postcards are oversized and may require additional postage. ISBN: 0-7649-0712-3; size 4 3/4 x 6 7/8"."--© Pomegranate

No comments about Tolkien Calendar: 1999.

No comments about The Story of Clocks and Calendars : Marking a Millennium.

5 comments about A Child's Calendar.

1. A Child's Calendar, a Caldecott award winner, by John Updike is a specialized poetry book that includes twelve lyric poems each describing unique characteristics of each month in the year for children to gain meaning and understanding of each individual month. Eleven of the twelve poems are written in four and five stanzas. The twelfth poem is written in six stanzas. Each stanza is structured in quatrains, containing four lines with the rhyming occurring in only two of the lines. The rhyming occurs in lines two and four of each stanza. Illustrations by Trina Schart Hyman add visual images to help the children better understand some of the characteristics and activities occurring in each month.



2. I propose that we invent an entirely new category of children's literature. In my life I've had the pleasure of discovering, usually through complete accident, fabulous picture books that use poetry to convey seasons. Tasha Tudor's, "A Time To Keep" was the first of these and remains a favorite (if only because it is intricately tied into my own childhood). The second such book was Charlotte Zolotow's breathtaking, "Seasons: A Book of Poems". Words cannot convey how much I enjoyed that book. And now, lo and behold, I've found a third leg to this unlikely triumvirate. And who could have dreamed it would have sprung from the pen of writer extraordinaire John Updike? In "A Child's Calendar", Updike's 1965 poems have been given a lively update, all thanks to illustrator Trina Schart Hyman. The result is a book that truly embraces diversity, change, and how kids react to the natural ebb and flow of the seasons. It is one of the loveliest books for children I've ever had the pleasure to page through.
   
   The book begins in January, and we meet a family of four. An interracial couple and their two sons live in the country, and sometimes the neighbor kids come by. The cold winter months freeze the earth so that, "The river is/ A frozen place/ Held still beneath/ The trees' black lace". With the arrival of spring, the family is out in the yard (with the toddler sometimes "helping" by plucking daffodils from the earth, bulbs and all) and "We still wear mittens/ Which we lose". Summer shows us various idyllic childhood scenes involving ponds to explore, roads to bike down, fireworks, and beachside adventures. Though, as Updike is quick to point out in August, "The trees are bored/With being green/ Some people leave/ The local scene". So autumn comes and school begins. There are costumes and changing leaves as, "Blue ghosts of smoke/ Float through the town". And then winter again and Christmas and a feeling of having gotten through quite an interesting year.
   
   It is difficult not to admire the pictures in this book. Hyman has done an exquisite job. I've adored her work over the years (check out "The Fortune Tellers" by Lloyd Alexander, if you can) and this book is a great example of what she's capable of. Her watercolors capture the spirit of the outdoors as well as the comfort and coziness of staying within. I loved the pictures that accompanied January's poem. Outside the kids stare, with sleds in hand, at the small town and the momentous grey/pink sky above (as seen on the book's cover). The other picture is from inside the home. You can see where the boots, removed after stomping about outside, lay with semi-melted snow still scattered on the rug. Hyman especially gives a great deal of attention to her lighting. That way, a spring morning looks nothing like a summer evening or the winter holiday season at night. The book makes you want to pack up your things, buy a house in the middle of nowhere (possibly in Michigan), and live with your nearest and dearest with all the beauties of nature about you. It's a book that makes you yearn for a time and place you've never known.
   
   And the poems. Ah, the poems. I don't think Mr. Updike needs me to compliment him any. He's already acquired his fair share of praise. So all I will say is that for those that love him, this book will not disappoint. For those who do not know him (or do not know him well), I'll just quote some lines of his describing November: "The stripped and shapely/ Maple grieves/ The loss of her/ Departed leaves. The ground is hard/ As hard as stone/ The year is old/ The birds are flown. And yet the world/ Nevertheless/ Displays a certain/ Loveliness - The beauty of/ The bone. Tall God/ Must see our souls/ This way, and nod".
   
   So there we have it. One of the nicest additions to the world of seasonal poetry books (accompanied by watercolors) for children. Children will find themselves oddly soothed by the poems and pictures. Grown-ups will be mildly surprised to find themselves feeling the same way.



3. A friend recommended this book for my grandbaby. What a beautiful second birthday gift for my lucky little girl. Most of us are familiar with John Updike. He is a contemporary, well known author from New England, Massachusetts to be exact. John Updike has written the poetry of each month. The poetry reaches into and grabs us all but particularly the child-the rhymes and rhythm so graceful. Trina Schart Hyman has drawn the illustrations. Trina Schart Hyman was from New Hampshire, right up the road from me. She was one of the most glorious illustrators and painters. It was not until Trina's daughter married a man of color that Trina realized her illustrations were all of white people. She has rectified that and these illustrations are magnificent.
   
   This is May in New England- John Updike has written:
   "New children may
   go out of doors
   Without their coats
   to candy stores
   
   The apple blossoms
   and the pear
   may float their blossoms
   through the air."
   
   Trina Schart Hyman has drawn a Vermont General Store with a sign that says Vermont Cheeses; Maple Products, Homestead Bacon- children are shopping in the store as we can see through the open doorway, a young boy is licking his ice cream on the steps as his dog watches hoping for a falling icy piece.
   
   The rest of the book is similar- from January through December, a poem for each month and a beautiful vivid illustration to match. What child would not love this book- I love this book! Each month shows the change of season in New England- you can almost feel the leaves crinkle and the soft snow on your eyelids.
   
   This children's book has won a Caldecott Honor. The front cover shows two children at the top of a big hill facing a little village. It is winter and they have a sled and and look like they are ready to go down... nnn the hill. This is a keeper book, one to be read over and over and loved by the child who owns it. Highly recommended. prisrob



4. I purchased this book for a child a few holidays ago, and before wrapping it I read every page to make sure it was appropriate. The reading transformed me. With each page I turned, I grew a little younger. The words and images peeled back the years, page after page, layer after layer. Memories rushed in of a younger self who looked at the world more intently and felt colors and images more deeply.
   
   Reading Updike's words is like sitting on your loving grandmother's lap listening to her tales of days gone by. Gazing at the illustrations is even better--so much to see!
   
   A week later I bought a copy for myself. Had to. I simply couldn't be without it anymore. I start each new month with a glance at what these two artists say about it, and with it comes a rush of childlike joy, appreciation and anticipation for what's to come. I've had the book for years, and never tire of it.
   
   One caveat: If you didn't grow up in a four-season enviroment, the book might not have the same appeal for you. The images are very New England-based, specifically, Vermont and New Hampshire.
   
   It would make a wonderful gift for any child, or adult for that matter. And I mean wonderful. The book is full of wonder.



5. I'd recommend John Updike's "A Child's Calendar". Many readers associate Updike with his award-winning "Rabbit" series, which is not about cute little bunnies. Nevertheless, Updike scores big with this lovely collection of poems for children. Each month has a beautiful illustration and a timely poem.
   
   Author of "Hobo Finds A Home", Editor,"Of A Predatory Heart"