5 comments about Why Christmas Trees Aren't Perfect.

1. 
   A simple answer to the question in the book title -- because in imperfection you find beauty and grace and wonder. The this story is full of such things.
   
   This book is one of our family favorites -- a classic we return to and will carry with us in memories. Reading this book together gives us the chance to stop in a very busy season and wonder about things bigger and more important than wrapping and running. The message that defines perfection is a life lesson we all need.
   
   I will be purchasing this book to give to my children's families as they marry and begin their own Christmas traditions.



2. I wanted a Christmas tree book to read to my kids when we went to cut down our tree. I had never heard of this book, but I chose it from the library because it was about a Christmas tree. It is a wonderful heartwarming story. It has everything my fou-year-old (and me) loves. It has animals, a queen and castle, and a touching ending. I am going to purchase one for our family to make it a tradition on the day we go get our tree and I will likely purchase a few more as gifts as well.



3. This book has a great message for young and old alike! This is a book for anyone who has performed acts of service and wondered, "Does it count for anything?" And the answer is yes. Every act of kindness has a lasting impact on the giver as well as the receiver.
   
   This story is beautifully told and illustrated. This book is a great addition to any home library--it is the kind of book you want to own not just borrow from the public library.
   
   Also recomended:Christmas Gifts, Christmas Voices--another poignant story about the rewards of giving...



4. The little book impresses children (and adults) with the true spirit of Christmas, giving of one's self. The illustrations are beautiful and the text well written. It has become one of my favorite Christmas stories.



5. This is a heart warming story about a small Christmas tree that is not perfect, because it shares from the heart.
   This story was read to my child at school, and it was liked so much that she wanted one for Christmas.

4 comments about Scooby-Doo and Santa's Bake Shop: A Scratch-N-Sniff Christmas Story (Cartoon Network Scooby-Doo).

1. Scooby Doo and his friends are invited by Santa Clause to the North Pole where they are told of Santa's missing sack of presents. Of course, the gang sents out to find the missing sack, where all clues lead to Santa's Bake shop, a very tempting bakery for all who love sweets. In the end, the story does a good job convincing kids that too much candy can get the better of you! My 4 1/2 year old, who is big on sweets, loves this book and its attractive scratch and sniff stickers which keeps kids involved throughout the story. I highly recommend this one!



2. Although the book is very cute - you have to put your own stickers in the book...which wouldn't be difficult IF the stickers matched the pictures or had a shape that matched to put the sticker on. Rarely did the pictures even match so I went through the book several times trying to find where I should put the stickers. On 3 occasions the stickers were too big for the spot so you either put it on correctly and let it hang over the side of the page or you put it on the page and it didn't line up to the picture. One sticker was so big it covered Shaggy and Scooby's entire faces. The story didn't even match the stickers in one place. It talked about following footprints yet the stickers were handprints!! The only thing I liked were the intense smells but even those were limited. The majority of the stickers (15) were chocolate. Being about a candy shop you'd assume they would have a huge variety of smells but they had only about 5 total. There were 2 full pages of stickers so you'd think they'd have at least 1 cool different smell per page. There were even stickers left over so I just put them in the book for fun because they had no purpose...they weren't even replacement stickers - they were just there. I was very dissapointed with this book.



3. My daughter loves the book, she is a huge scooby-doo fan, but it wasn't quite what I expected. The scratch and sniff stickers you have to apply yourself. Although my daughter enjoyed sticking them everywhere, there wasn't always a spot for them. They are too big for a lot of the places they are supposed to go and they end up either hanging off the page or blocking part of the characters.
   
   I think the stickers urk me more than they do her. She doesn't seem to mind at all (She is 3 years old) and has no problem sticking a chocolate cake sticker up in a tree on a totally different page and she doesn't care that the candycane sticker hangs out of the book.
   
   The story is cute - but the stickers are annoying



4. This is a cute story that tells kids too much candy is not a good thing. The scratch and sniff stickers actually smell and my 3 year old loves them! All the other reviews that are irritated with the stickers not fitting "correctly" need to remember this is a book for kids, and they could care less!!!

1 comments about Christmas Surprise! (Deluxe Coloring Book).

1. As a mom it has been so fun to introduce my little boy to Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. I grew up watching Rudy every Christmas and it continues to be a tradition. This coloring book is an excellent example of how a coloring book should be! The illustrations are just like the animated feature. In fact, many of the pictures are taken directly from "scenes" from the cartoon.
   The quality of the book is great; strong pages, illustrations that pop out and just beg to be colored, captions on the bottom of each page also turns this into an on the spot reading time, which is always a good thing. Another added bonus is the puzzles, games and other activities sure to please little (and big) inquisitive minds.
   Plenty of hours of fun were spent coloring Rudolph, Santa, Clarice, the Island of Misfit Toys, and more.

5 comments about A Holiday Memory (Heartland Special Edition).

1. I am absolutely in love with the Heartland series, however, this particular book was a bit of a rude awakening. Not much time was spent in explaining the horses and Amy's time with them, and it was by far the most melodramatic and confusing story yet. I am sure this one is simply one glitch in the Heartland's numerous fascinating stories. I love the rest of 'em, just not quite this one!
   
   
   Keep readin', writin' and learnin' about horses! They teach us everything!
   
   P.S. Rescue Remedy (r) works on humans and dogs, too, not just horses! I use the Natural Remedy methods at my barn in Duvall, WA.
   
   Love,
   Anna



2. This one was really really good! It gives you an idea of what Amy's mom was really like. It is sad when Sundance gets the colic, but it is really sad knowing amy's mom didn't live that much longer after when the story is based. You can really see how much Amy has improved with the horses since her moms death. A must for Heartland and horse fans.



3. Hi! I wanted to tell the people that haven't read this book yet that I found it kind of disapointing and boring. I think the only part I really liked was at the end when she got something. I can't tell what it was, though! I also want to say that the whole book was kind of sad. I hated the part were Sundance got colic. My horse got colic, and he was almost about to die, but he just made it! Whenever I read this, that part makes me cry. I like the other books better. But Lauren Brooke, WRITE MORE!!!



4. Heartland is sssssssssoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo boring i just couldnt read ANY of it! Thats why i gave it one star thought i should of put none...but oh well



5. Very good and sad because Amy's moteher dies and Amy is left to carry on her mothers gift

2 comments about It's Christmas (Mulberry Read-Alones).

1. My three sons, now teenagers, (and I,) were fortunate to have been introduced to this book by their first-grade teacher...and it brought us together for some very enjoyable reading! These poems are just downright funny, in the most innocent and slightly ornery way! My oldest son became an instant fan of Jack Prelutsky, and was even inspired to make up his own poems! Marylin Hafner's illustrations are just right to complement Prelutsky's poems--she captures the essence of each poem! You (uh, and your children!) will most assuredly enjoy this book!



2. Great poems for Christmas. Fun to read aloud with one child or a group of children. I used it in my classroom for many years. I bought this copy to donate to the library at my church.

5 comments about Snowmen at Christmas.

1. I bought the book because of the beautiful illustrations. I loved all the "lights" (kind of reminded me of a Thomas Kincaid painting). But then found out later about the hidden pictures. All 3 kids, ages 3, 5, and 7 love to look for them. Some are real easy to find for the 3 year old and some are tougher for the 7 year old.



2. This illustrations in this one were quite simple and yet very eye catching. The children, without exception, enjoyed looking at, reading and having this one read to them. A little boy builds a snowman, and that night, has a dream. The snowmen and their families have quite a life of their own in the dream. The text, which is set in rhyme, is quite catching and the cildren enjoy it..which is a very good indorsement for any children's book. The text goes quite well with the well executed illustrations which makes this an easy book to read to a group of the little ones. Recommend this one highly.



3. I love the concept of her snowmen books--that they do things and live a life when we're asleep or not looking. I also own Snowmen at Night, and enjoy both with my children. They love looking at the detailed illustrations and find it funny that snowmen eat and drink and dance, etc. Great book for our Christmas collection.



4. My kids and I love to read "Snowmen at Night" and we were equally happy with "Snowmen at Christmas". It is perfect for reading aloud to kids of all ages. The pictures are beautiful and the story is magical.



5. My son borrowed this book from the library and I quickly fell in love with the beautiful pictures and wonderful story. I went right to my computer to order it for my preschool class. The book arrived quickly and was in great condition.

4 comments about Every Day Is Christmas.

1. Bradley Trevor Grieve never fails to give us a great book, with stunning pictures and a cute narrative and message to go along with them. This book is no exception. Definitely worth adding to your collection, if you are a BTG lover.



2. Loved the pictures and the message behind the book. Showed it to several people who loved it too. Purchasing some as gifts!



3. I love his books, I have them all. I have no complaints, a real joy to read. I do wish that he would come out with one that has color pictures...just once. :-)



4. We love books written by this author and the pictures are always wonderful. This book encourages the spirit of giving throughout the year.

5 comments about Starry, Starry Night: Three Holiday Stories.

1. In "Starry, Starry Night," Lurlene McDaniel has written three more wonderful stories that will without a doubt make you cry.

   The first story "Christmas Child," is about a fifteen year old girl named Melanie, and her mother is pregnant. Melanie is extremely excited to be an older sister, and has already finished painting the nursery and buying Christmas presents for the baby. Five days before Christmas, her mom goes into labor - and Jessica is born. But there's one problem, Jessica has a terminal illness that can't be fixed...she will die within a few days. Even though Jessica is only in the family's lives for a few days, she changes each of them forever.
   This story made me cry, it's a great one!

   "Last Dance" is my favorite of the 3 stories. Brenda gets a phone call from a Mrs. Drake, and she's asking her to go out with her son, Doug. Doug has cancer, and his wish is to go out with Brenda, because, according to him "She's the most beautiful girl in the world." Brenda really begins to fall for Doug, but, will it all work out in the end?

   "Kathy's Life" is the last story in the book, and my least favorite. Ellie has it all: the boyfriend, the popularity, and...oh yeah, the divorced parents. But when Ellie and Kathy are assigned to do an English project together, they both change, for better. Kathy is the live in nanny for a young couple's son, Christian. When Ellie and Kathy begin to talk, Ellie finds out a big secret, about why Kathy is the way she is.

   All the stories in this book are good, but Ellie's (Kathy's Life) story is pretty racy at first...it's pretty different than any other Lurlene McDaniel book in that sense.

   Overall grade: A-




2. This book is awesome. I sat down almost a whole day and just read this book. I love how it had three different stories in it. I loved all of them i really liked the baby one and i wish tha she would like write like what happens afterwards and so on. She is such a good author i wonder how she gets all these inspiration.



3. i read this book, and i thought that it was good! at the sad parts in the book, i cried, because they were very heartbreaking! if u don't have this book, i recommend getting it!
   P.S. read all of the other books by Lurlene McDaniel. they r very good!



4. I thought that this book was interesting, sad, and happy altogether. This book is around Christmas time, it has to do with babies and people dieing. It sounds like you wouldn't want to read it, but it really isn't that sad. Thats I recamend you to read this book.



5. Starry Starry Night is about a girl's mom who's pregnant. Her daughter and husband are really exited and ready for the baby to come, but when its time for her to have the baby, they find out that the baby won't live too long because only half of her brain developed. They try to donate her organs to other babies who needed it, but, once they all decided that it was right they found out they couldn't do it because once the baby had died her organs would be useless.
   My favorite part of the story is when they are waiting at the hospital because all of her friends were there to support her. You should not read this book if you don't like sad endings, because the ending is sad.

5 comments about Shall I Knit You a Hat?: A Christmas Yarn.

1. [This review was first published in the "Ephrata (Pa.) Review."]
   A blizzard is blowing in but Little Rabbit is ready. His mother has knit him a cozy hat. Little Rabbit worries about his friends, however. He suggests they should receive hats for Christmas too, an idea Mother Rabbit seconds. Little Rabbit designs headgear appropriate to horse, goose, cat, dog, squirrel and deer. The friends aren't sure what to make of the quirky hats--until they see just how toasty the custom designs keep them. This snug story of friendship and mother-child love encapsulates the Christmas message that giving begets joy.



2. I received this book today and I was not disappointed. It's a lovely sweet story with an 'it's better to give than to receive moral'. The illustrations are beautiful and unusual. I know this will be a favourite in our Christmas collection. A must have.



3. I was pleased by this book on two counts. As a knitter I loved the creative and fanciful designs of mother rabbit's hats. I could totally relate to her knitting frenzy during the Christmas holiday.
   
   Secondly, as a mother of three children, I was surprised at how enthralled my children were by the simple story. Well, my 10 year old son (Harry Potter fan that he is) was a little bored by the charming story, but both my 8 yo daughter and 6 yr old son loved the book and fought over who got to look at the pictures after I was finished reading the book out loud. They especially liked trying to figure out which hat was going to which animal when mother rabbit was knitting them. The illustrations are especially captivating and full of detail. Altogether I loved this book and it is sure to be a year-round favorite, not just at Christmas!



4. Reviewed by Patty Inglish
   
   A severe winter blizzard is coming for Christmas and it alarms the rabbit family to hear it on the TV nightly news. Mother Rabbit asks Little Rabbit if he would appreciate a hand-knit hat, and he agrees that it would be a wonderful gift for him. After receiving his warm and delightful gift, Little Rabbit suggests that all of their friends need hats as well.
   
   Mother Rabbit and Little Rabbit use their creativity to make practical warm gifts for all of their friends to protect them from the storm. They take the Little Rabbit designer hats to town on a sled and distribute them to the other citizens. The townsfolk look doubtfully in the mirror as they don the hats and caps, but thank the Rabbits anyway.
   
   When the snow begins to fly, Horse appreciates his blanket hat and Goose comes to love her neck-wrapping hat, while Deer sees the utility of his lovely antler-covering hat. Sophisticated cat falls in love with hers as well - it makes her look like a lion - and the townsfolk rush after the Rabbits to express profuse thanks.
   
   Back at their home hutch in the storm, the Rabbits have forgotten gifts for each other, but they are happy to have given freely of Little Rabbit's ideas and Mother rabbit's wool, and they celebrate Christmas with a nice warm carrot cake in front of the fire.
   
   If everyone gave something lovely and warm to someone else, no one would want for anything in the storm.
   
   Shall I Knit You a Hat? is a warm and colorful story for children, families, and adults during the holiday season. The story is enchanting and the illustrations are colorful whimsy that is very engaging. With a complete Rabbit hat pattern for infant through age 3 years included, needle artists will particularly love it.
   
   Armchair Interviews says: Special book for the holiday.



5. NICE COLORFUL & IMAGINATION-FULL ENJOYABLE EASY TO READ BOOK!(HATS-OFF!)
   THE PICTURES REALLY R VERY PRETTY & WE LIKE TO LOOK AT THE DIFFERENT SHAPES OF HATS ON THE ANIMALS! (MAKES THE BOYS LAUGH)

5 comments about Dick and Jane: A Christmas Story (Dick and Jane).

1. The book is nicely oversized. Very nice illustrations and colorful. I am very happy with my purchase.



2. As a pre-school teacher in my home for over 20 yrs., I am so happy to see the Dick and Jane books revived! They are the best tool for teaching upcoming young readers. I remember how much I looked forward to reading when I was first introduced to the family of Dick and Jane. If you didn't grow up with them, you don't know what you missed! The kids love the stories, and the pictures encourage them to use their imaginations. The pictures are beautifully done, too. Once they learn to read the simpler versions, your child will graduate to the harder and harder stories. One thing I would add: They make excellent birthday and Christmas gifts to any 4 or 5 year old!!!!



3. This is an absolutely wonderful book for now or the holidays. Would make a great gift for anyone who grew up with Dick and Jane and Spot....what a great memory from the past!



4. But did anyone else notice that the father was plucked completely out of the story? He appears on the very first page reading the newspaper, but that's it! He plays no role in the family's activities. hmmm. These aren't the Dick and Jane stories that I grew up with. In those stories the father was present and the family was complete. But that wasn't very PC was it?



5. 
   I purchased five Dick & Jane books for my six year old grand daughter. She was able to read them with ease. I know this will help her improve her current reading ability. They will also be a keepsake for years to come.
   RAB Sullivan County NY