5 comments about Peter and the Starcatchers.

1. fun! fun! and more fun! if you have ever wondered where Peter learned to fly, how Captain Hook really lost his hand, or where Tinkerbell came from - look no further than this book. the answers are all here, in this first of the Starcatchers series. though i have no idea what is in store from the rest of the books, i will definitely be reading them in the very near future.
   
   the story naturally centers on Peter, who is an ordinary orphan on a ship headed for Rundoon with several other orphan boys, a very special girl named Molly, and a mostly unpleasant crew. as expected, there are pirates and treasure and a deserted island, but there are also talking animals, mermaids and a little bit of magic. the story of Peter, Molly and the orphans really sucked me in and had me laughing and cheering them on. i felt like i was a kid again, or at least that i was on an extended Disney theme park ride!
   
   the writing is simple, as the book is intended for grades 5-9, but that didn't stop me from enjoying this as an adult. there was a slight bit of predictability in the conflict, but there were also moments that took me completely by surprise, so it was all in good fun.
   
   the audiobook was read by Jim Dale, who also narrated the Harry Potter series (although i didn't listen to those) and he had such excellent voices and narration that it really brought the story to life! i'd recommend this for anyone with children, or any adult that is looking for an exciting, lighthearted read.



2. I read this book to my 7-year old daughter, and we both enjoyed it. The book is well-written and the story is intriguing. It is created as a prequel to the Peter Pan story; however, that connection is loose and the story is good apart from it. There are some events that are weird and some that were slightly disturbing for a young reader. Overall, we liked it enough to begin reading the next book in the series.



3. 
   
   This book is great for young readers and teenagers. This book is about a boy named Peter who is an orphan heading to King Zargoth III's castle. Peter and his little gang of orphan boys are going along also. The boys are leaving a place they call home to become slaves to King Zargoth III.The boys board a ship named the Never Land. The ship is secretly carrying the greatest treasure alive. Peter meets a nice young girl named Molly. Molly keeps lots of secrets. Peter gets a cabin on the ship with his gang. The "grub" is terrible on the ship, so the gang sends Peter on a mission to find tastier food. While searching for food, he finds a floating rat. Peter later discovers that a magic source called starstuff gave the rat the power to fly. After Peter and his gang meet Black Stache, the pirate, the Never Land crashes into a reef. If you want to find out if Peter and his gang of orphans survive, you need to read this book.



4. This is a fantastic series made all the better by Jim Dale's reading (also read the Harry Potter series). I listen to many audiobooks, but Jim Dale is one of the absolute best. The story itself is very fun to listen to with your family - we were all laughing out loud.



5. This is one of those middle-grade books that is as enjoyable to read for adults as it is for kids. Not only does the book answer all of those nagging questions about how Peter Pan is able to fly, why he doesn't grow up and how he and the lost boys came to live on the island of Neverland, but it is full of action, great characters, and absolutely hilarious. I highly recommend this for 4-8th grade readers and it would be a great read-aloud as well. Can't wait to read the rest of the series.

1 comments about Disney Princess Collection (Disney Storybook Collections).

1. We bought this book for our 3 yr old daughter and is now her favorite bedtime book. She liked it so much that we bought another for her friend turning three.

5 comments about Disney's FamilyFun Crafts: 500 Creative Activities for You and Your Kids.

1. i LOVE this book. there are tons of crafts to do with children of ALL ages. If you can't find something in this book to do, theres a problem. Simple easy crafts from a-z. This is a book I will NOT get rid of for years to come!!!



2. Family Fun really does have one of the best databases of innovative and fun crafts for kids around. As an arts director at a girl scout camp, I read a lot of these books and this is one of the better ones. All the crafts in this book feature color photographs, and almost all leave lots of room for young crafters to use their own creativity (rather than blindly following instructions.) Most supplies used are things that can be cheaply procured/ that you probably have already-- lots use recycled objects(milk jugs, egg cartons) and a lot use paper, yarn and other inexpensive supplies. There are crafts for varied age and skill levels, and a lot can be adapted to differing age and skill levels.
   
   The only downside to this book is that virtually every craft is also available on the familyfun website, but there is something to be said for having all 500 projects at the tips of your fingertips-- my niece and nephew are often inspired simply by leafing through the pages. Also, the directions in here are frequently more extensive than the ones listed online, and are better organized.



3. I used this book as one of my main sources of ideas for arts and crafts projects while working at a summer camp, and it was a hit! The book contains a great range of projects for all age groups and interests. I especially liked the ideas for make-it-yourself paints, along with different freestyle drawing and painting ideas. There are also some wonderful ideas for holidays, gifts, and home decor, making this the perfect addition to a classroom, home, scout troop, or 4-H group. Another plus is that almost every project in the book comes with a bright, vivid photograph, allowing you to gain a better sense of what you're trying to make.



4. I bought this book for my daughter, who has two young kids, and she has found so many different things to do with her kids that she is amazed. This book has very good material to work with, easy instructions and plenty of ideas.



5. There are so many ideas in this book that I will be able to use in my daycare.

4 comments about A Guide to Pixie Hollow.

1. Cute introduction into the world of Fairies. If you like the movie or the book series and want a little back ground it is a nice run-down.



2. Our toddler loved this movie. The book offers a little backround story on the faries in the movie. The pictures are so cute. It's a sweet little book.



3. This is a little but incredible book with very beautiful and excellent color pictures of Tinker Bell and all of her friends in Pixie Hollow: Silvermist, Rosseta, Fawn, Iridessa, Terence, etc; in all of its pages you can know about many fairies and their marvelous talents; it's perfect to entretain you and your children, every page is so cute; A wonderful book from a wonderful movie!!



4. Perfect book for the little girl who loves fairies. The pictures are beautiful and make it fun to imagine the fairy world.

5 comments about Artemis Fowl: The Lost Colony.

1. Although some of these books in the series dont seem too bad....this one has magic, demons, wizards, spells, and all the things Christians do NOT want their kids to read. We believe in spiritual battles and its no wonder they are eminent in homes where books like these sneak their darkness in between the book covers...



2. Throughout the series, Artemis, a criminal mastermind teen, has been learning to be a good guy. In this book, that transformation is pretty much complete. Former LEP Captain Holly Short is called back into service in Foaly's new (and very well-funded) post in the secretive Section Eight. Demons, the Eighth Family of the Fairy People, have begun appearing on Earth, and Artemis Fowl seems to be able to predict when and where. But someone else, another genius child named Minerva Paradizo, has figured it out, too, and manages to capture a small imp named No. 1. Artemis agrees to help Holly and the Fairies rescue the imp before more humans find out about him and start searching for more -- which might lead them to the Fairy underground
   As the series evolves, Artemis has lost the last traces of his criminal bent, almost becoming the millennial version of a boy scout. He and the Fairies are now solidly on the same side and good friends. Even the violence has been dialed back a bit. With his brilliance, technology, family organization, and world-spanning adventuring, Artemis has become a sort of Tom Swift for the 21st century.
   
   Five books into the series the relationships and motivations are getting more complex, so it is best to start with the first book. Author Eoin Colfer seems to like putting Artemis up against other geniuses but Minerva, who doesn't really mean any harm, is no Opal Koboi (for the uninitiated, she's the maniacal villain from books 2 and 4). So with THE LOST COLONY the series returns to the pleasure of seeing Artemis, always in charge and unflappable, work out his complicated plans; he's not off-balance and one step behind, like in the fourth book.



3. artemis fowl books are so fast paced. nothing to slow the reader down. you just want to know what happens! so consequently--block out most of your day to try to finish it in one sitting! I always wanted to move on to the next book! good for kids/teens/especially adults w/vivid imaginations!



4. My reluctant reader sons and I have loved this series until this book. I questioned if it was even the same author. This book lost a lot of the fun of previous books.



5. My beef with the Artemis Fowl series is big, but simple: It's not easy to understand all of the elements of the cluttered story, and therefore, the story is not very memorable. I just feel like there are some fantastic elements in every book in the series, but seriously? Colfer should have lumped them all together in one hugely fast-paced book and been done with it, instead of cranking out entirely too many [desperate-looking] sequels. Just...give the characters the rest they and the readers deserve already instead of entangling our minds and sensibilities in these strange mazes of indecipherable stories! There really does come to be a time when it's pretty obvious this is just being done for money now (especially with the new reprinted fancy covers, graphic novels, etc.). Give it a rest! I was very glad to actually see a little bit of character development in Artemis in this one, as opposed to the usual endless action. Artemis and Holly are the only characters I can bother caring about, and I liked the focus on them in this story, and would like more. I also did enjoy meeting the female Artemis Fowl and am certainly intrigued by her appearance, although it would have been great if she'd been introduced in, oh, say the 2nd book, or even earlier on. I really would like to know if Colfer has an endgame planned out. This book ended on a ridiculously intriguing cliffhanger, and for once, I'm excited to read more. Overall, probably the best book in the series, but still, a pretty weak series with the potential to be so much more.
   
   Rating: 3.5/5

5 comments about Happily Ever After Stories (Disney Storybook Collections).

1. This book is wonderfull...excellent quality and nice stories...My children love it as much as the rest of the collection!



2. Love this book. My 3.5 y.o. daughter has really come to love the Disney Princesses. After the 50th time reading, seeing and hearing Cinderella in our house, these are a welcome addition to our collection. New stories with the characters that we know well. Some original stories, most adapted from "new adventure" stories of the various Disney princesses.
   
   19 stories in all. Each story takes about 10 minutes to read to my daughter. Book is 1" thick and is rather heavy, at almost 3lbs. Silver leaf edges makes for a beautiful gift. Photos in the table of contents make it easy for children to pick their story.
   
   Stories are written well and flow off the tongue easily. Also, I like that they're not overly cheesy (like this one: Beauties in Bloom (Pictureback(R))), moralistic stories. They're fluff, but they're decent fluff.
   
   Includes 200 stickers in the back of the book (most rather tiny). If you don't want your child defacing their book by putting stickers in it, I'd suggest cutting them out with an X-acto knife before giving the book to a child. The only negative I have about this book is I think the publisher could have made the sticker pages a tearout.
   
   Clean, easy-to read print. Good font and font size. Words and pictures don't overlap. Nice, colorful images represent the characters we've come to know and love. (Ever notice how some "Disney" stuff has character drawings that only vaguely look like the character from the movie? Well, these are done well.)
   
   I recently purchased this at Ross Dress 4 Less for 5.99 but would pay the $10.87 that Amazon is charging today (on the day of posting).



3. I bought this book for my princess-crazed daughter. She has three other Princess Storybook Collections and they are all very good.
   The only bad thing is that this one has some of the same stories that are in the other three, but there are some new ones as well. It also has at least one story that came from a (single) book that we own called "The Mixed Up Morning" with Snow White.
   Also be aware that this princess collection book (like the others) has some stories from the movie sequels like Cinderella II and The Little Mermaid II; so the story line itself isn't really new...
   It's very entertaining for both of us because we both love Disney princesses. If you don't have the other princess collections, this is a great place to start. And if you already own any of the others, just be prepared to re-read some of the same stories. The bottom line is: Yes I would recommend this book to any true Disney princess fan!



4. Wonderful collection! The table of contents has small pictures so it makes it easy to choose. We love this and the other collection books, too!



5. I love this book. My 6 year old likes to read this book at night before bed. Currently my daughter has 3 other books in the Disney Storybook Collection. The book offers great colorful pictures that keeps a child's attention. You know how hard that can be when your reading a book that can have alot of text. The pages are very nice and it has gold edges that make it great for anyones story book collection. This will be a book she will have for a long time. This is not a good book for a beginner but it is a good bedtime story to read to your child. Unless they are a bit older and enjoy the Disney stories.

5 comments about The Eternity Code (Artemis Fowl, Book 3).

1. Artemis Fowl is always fun. This is my favorite novel in the whole series - it has lots of tension and fresh ideas. The story zooms from a London seafood restaurant and a showdown with top criminals to Chicago mafia and the underground fairy world. I loved the scary cryogenics and unraveling the secrets of a tiny super computer. Jon Spiro is a nasty billionaire villain, but Artemis can still outsmart his enemy. If you enjoy snappy humor and the latest gadgets, you will love this book.



2. I'm a total Artemis Fowl fan ... so I may be a bit biased.
   I finished this book faster than I'd like to have. It was too good to put down.



3. I originally was skeptical about reading this series because I heard that it was a mixture of fantasy and science fiction, and those aren't my favorite genres. However,when my sister brought it back from the library I decided to try it. I literally couldn't put it down! The story was well written, it was very funny, and it was much better than the average dime-a-dozen fantasy or science fiction novel. I haven't yet read the first two but I will shortly hopefully, along with the later ones too, of course! I wholeheartedly give this book five stars. My only regret is that I didn't read Artemis Fowl and The Arctic Incident first.



4. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHh! Artemis Fowl 3 was off the hook. Beautifully written. My heart was on the verge of pounding out of my chest. Every page held descriptive words that described the situations even more. I loved this book reading a hundred pages in an hour! Eoin Colfer delivered another captivating Artemis Fowl book. This book was...AWESOME!!!



5. Action and suspense create this book. I felt a bit downhearted when Butler changed ( I won't tell you how, because it would ruin the story for you). I highly recommend reading this book.

5 comments about The Arctic Incident (Artemis Fowl, Book 2).

1. In the previous story of Artemis Fowl, we have a boy with a sick mother and a lost (presumed dead) father. The family happens to have a history of thievery, and Artemis takes advantage of his position in the most peculiar way: by going after Irish myths, which just so happen to contain a certain amount of truth. One of which is the existence of elves and "LEPrecon" gold. Things didn't go the way he had hoped, but in the end, Artemis was victorious.
   
   Story overview:
   
   Artemis is a year older and a little wiser. In fact, for a thirteen-year-old, his IQ has no equal, but he is still a child and the desire to find his father continues to burn. One day, while frustrating the school's psychologist, Artemis receives a call from Butler, his faithful body guard and closest friend. Artemis learns that his father was captured by the Russian Mafia and is being held for ransom.
   
   Thankfully for Artemis, several leagues underground, the LEPrecon is experiencing troubles of their own when goblins show up with outlawed weapons. Captain Holly Short suspects Artemis as their supplier, but soon discovers his innocence. The situation puts Artemis in a good position to offer aid to the LEPrecon in return for their help with his father.
   
   Things go from bad to worse as the true minds behind the attacks are discovered by Foaly--the intelligent centaur in charge of technology--but a little too late, as Foaly is setup to take the blame for the incident. With help from the dwarf, Mulch Diggums; Artemis; Commander Julius Root; and Butler, put away their differences to try and save the Lower Elements and Artemis's father.
   
   My thoughts:
   
   I was surprised that I actually liked this book better than the first one. The story took on an entirely different plot scheme from the last novel, and was even more exciting. Both are page turners and worthy of a good mention. I will for sure be putting the third novel on my list of must reads. As of now, a seventh book is scheduled to be released on July 20, 2010, so I have some catching up to do.
   
   Things to consider:
   
   There is very little I would consider questionable in this book. Safely share this with your twelve-year-old, teens, and even your peers. Enjoyable for all ages.
   
   James D. Maxon
   
   Author of, [...]
   
   Manga and speculative fiction reviewer:
   [...]



2. Story told well by Colfer and Donkin and the art and colouring by Rigano and Lamanna is excellent. Easier on the eye than the black and white graphic novels and the complicated jigsaw pictures of the manga series. Marvelous tool for visual learners.



3. No problem with the content, just the binding was sloppy. We returned the first book thinking it was just a bad copy but in both books some pages were bound so far into the pages it cut into the text. What looked like a security device was glued into the middle of a page in the first one and in the replacement book 2 pages were glued together obliterating the text on both pages where they stuck together. We will definitely not be buying any more books with "Turtleback School & Library Binding". We got a refund and will look for the book in a brick and mortar store so we can inspect the quality before we buy it.



4. Honestly, I am not a fan of this series, but I have to hand it to this book: it was much more satisfying than the first!



5. With tons of comparisons to Harry Potter when the series first came out, Artemis Fowl is a companion to Harry Potter only in that it features a young adult protagonist and magic to an extent. The rest of the series is vastly different, in a far more modern (perhaps even slightly futuristic) world with a surprisingly charismatic antihero. This reader was late to the Artemis Fowl bandwagon, and perhaps that is best as the rest of the series for several books waits ahead with the new book in the series (supossidly the second to last one) newly released.
   
   This time the elaborate heist for a specific goal that Artemis had set up in the first novel has come to fruition in this sequel, the search for his missing father. Long declared dead by the rest of the world, Artemis refuses to give up hope that Fowl Sr is still alive and out there somewhere. Perhaps being held captive by enemies of the Fowl criminal empire. In this Fowl would be right, only this time it's the Russian Mafya, holding a ransom for Fowl. Knowing fully well of a trap being laid for him and his Father, Artemis plans on rescuing his father with his unstoppable tank like bodyguard Butler. Going on in a sub plot in the Fairy world, Goblins of the B'wa Kell are armed with weapons far more advanced and banned in the underground fairy world. Incapable of larger organization even at the smallest level (goblins are hideously stupid) the LEPrecon force smells a larger plot at hand and they would be right. Our favorite LEPrecon Captain Holly Short suspects her old nemesis Artemis Fowl is behind the plot at large, but would she be right? In this Colfer is a master at handling to separate sub plots without detracting from the first to give leeway to the other. Managing to set up several threads in different scenes, Colfer's writing is at its' simplest and highest here. Descriptions are evident enough to give us a clear picture of what is happening at large in the scene without overly elaborate prose, his dialogue is made for action and manages to keep the reader at the edge of the seat.
   
   This reader read the book in a manner of three days (allowing real life concerns to get in the way of reading of course). But over a weekend or even on a vacation the book goes by fast while still being full of mettle. Colfer brings back old favorites, Mulch Diggums, the centaur Foaly, even Captain Root gets in on the action, while also introducing new ones in the nemesis of Opal Koboi. In this one Fowl himself is far more humanistic and approachable, less the cold hearted, unrelatable villain that made the character hard to support in the first novel. In this one we see Artemis as a super bright, genius, desperate young man that he really is. A child at heart who is desperate for his family to return to some sense of normalcy. Forced to work together in harsh circumstances the characters are portrayed at their best. The one fault of the novel would perhaps be, the distant figure of Fowl Sr. We as readers have little idea what the man was like while he was with Artemis and while we obviously want the character to return as the protagonist does being he's his father, we know nothing of the man himself. What he was like, perhaps the novel could have been interspersed with flashbacks of Fowl Sr. Just to give the reader a better idea as to what the man himself is like. While the new villainess Opal is purported to be a genius akin to Fowl, it's hard to get a sense of her. Seeming more like a floating victim rather then the criminal mastermind we are supposed to believe she is. Though very clever and able to be one step ahead of the "heroes" she seems surprisingly uneven and appears at times to be surprisingly naive, hopefully this is Colfer showing a major weakness to who will undoubtedly be a major villain later.
   
   Colfer's Artemis Fowl, the second novel in the Artemis Fowl series is the most entertaining so far and this reader eagerly awaits more.

5 comments about Artemis Fowl (Artemis Fowl, Book 1).

1. Spoilers!
   This book is about a 12 year old criminal mastermind by the name of Artemis Fowl. For once we are actually on the side of the villain! Now, the book summary is a little bit misleading and sounds rather cheesy to me:
   "These aren't the fairies of bedtime stories. These fairies are armed and they're dangerous."
   This does not do the book justice in my opinion. I would never have read the book if the librarian hadn't recommended it. Many of the one star reviews go on and on about how there are so many typos. Well, in almost every book there are typos, and I found I didn't notice them unless I was actually looking for them. Plus, I see them in Harry Potter, Nancy Drew, and many other noteworthy books.
   I thought it was very nice to be rooting for the villain for once, and the fact that he wins in the end is even better. I love Butler the butler, and I thought how Eoin Colfer gave background info on every character was wonderful. I thought that he did a really good job describing the characters emotions and what motivates them. Artemis wants more money because he believes it will make him happier. Butler wants to be a good bodyguard, and Holly Short wants to please her commander and do a good job in LEPrecon, her job. Mulch (perhaps one of my top three favorite characters) just wants to escape prison, and he manages it!
   I have recommended this book to several of my friends and they love it, also I think adults would enjoy it as well, my mother did. I thought that the ending was very well done with Artemis sacrificing half the gold to have Holly heal his mother, who is very sick, and doesn't always recognize him. I also thought that Holly was a very well done character, and I enjoy seeing a girl portrayed as tough and smart. Overall a very good book, which has made it into my top ten books of all time.



2. Artemis Fowl (Artemis Fowl, Book 1)The Time Paradox (Artemis Fowl, Book 6)The Arctic Incident (Artemis Fowl, Book Two)The Eternity Code (Artemis Fowl, Book Three)The Opal Deception (Artemis Fowl, Book Four)The Lost Colony (Artemis Fowl, Book Five)Artemis Fowl: The Atlantis Complex



3. Ok, I have never seen so many reviews for one book (900?!?!?!) so I'll be brief:
   
   Good book. Worth the read- certainly suitable for young adults.
   I LOVED the sections that focused on the faeries.
   I don't really have to say more great stuff. I'm sure it's all been said.
   
   Couple issues I had:
   
   - It was clearly a series opener as there was a little lack of focus. There were other story lines being set up throughout this one.
   
   - I found myself torn and a bit confused as to who to route for. I struggled with Artemis' lack of morality. I wasn't ready to see him win in the end. Was I hoping he would get bamboozled by the faeries? Did I want him to win back the family fortune? Not really sure- I didn't warm up to him as much as perhaps others do.
   
   I'll read the next book because I'm hoping I'll get to know Arty better, but I found I was far more drawn to the other characters. Artemis was a bit too amoral and arrogant to win my affection the first time around. Though the couple times he cracked and acted like a real boy, I found it charming.



4. My nine year old son and I have read the entire series to each other at bedtime. This is a wonderful series--one of the best we have ever read. The series is a bit dark as other reviewers have suggested (there is a death of a major character in one of the subsequent books). But it is also laugh out loud funny, often in a scatological way particularly appealing to my nine year old. My daughter read this entire series when she was 13 and also loved it.



5. Last night I began reading Artemis Fowl because so many of my friends were saying they were rereading the series for the fifth or sixth time. I began to get excited as well, especially after finding out that it was about a 12 year old evil genius. I finished the book earlier today and found that the only thing I liked about it was the premise: it's very interesting, and has a lot of potential. Eoin Colfer, however, fails to deliver.
   
   I was not able to identify with (or even believe) any of the characters. It was only Artemis Fowl who managed to draw me in (and only because of the premise), and Colfer keeps him in the background, choosing instead to focus on less interesting characters like Holly and Root.
   
   The majority of the book is made up of dialogue attempting to be witty and failing miserably. Not only were the "jokes" not funny, but they were out of character as well, and inappropriate for the situation. The narrator even admits that the jokes are out of character, mentioning a few times how Artemis is surprised every time he cracks jokes. I have to ask: Why does Artemis crack jokes, then? There is no explanation for this--Artemis' being (supposedly) "out of character" is not significant to the plot at all. I believe that the writer merely added these instances where Artemis jokes "uncharacteristically" because he couldn't think of a better way to say that Artemis is not one to joke. Other writers have been able to add humor to grim situations very successfully--Colfer is not one of those writers.
   
   Other than this, every event in the story feels as if it happened much too easily. Artemis getting the Book, Artemis decoding the Gnomish, Artemis finding a way to survive. I know he's supposed to be a genius but, honestly, the ease with which he accomplishes these tasks is highly unbelievable. My friend explained this by saying, "It's a kid's book." Its being a children's book is not an excuse for bad writing.
   
   The only reason I gave this book two stars is because I liked the plot. It was exciting enough. It was just poorly executed.

5 comments about The Art of Pixar: 100 Collectible Postcards.

1. good quality, and vibrant images. its hard to decide which ones to send. . ..
   i want to be sent some like this, then i would have an excuse to put them up on my frig.



2. Any fan of Pixar films will love these, suitable for matting and framing these will cost you less than one Film Poster of any Pixar film or short.



3. Amazing, super high quality, gorgeous colours, thick postcard stock - this is a FIND for the postcard sender!



4. This is a set of really fantastic high quality cards. They are each so wonderful that you can't decide which one to use!



5. not a bad lot a good combo or shorts and flicks by pixar but i wish there were more shorts as they are harder to find :)