Birthdays Books

This is a three-generation book - I, my Japanese mother, and my daughter think this book is a treasure. The story of being separated from loved ones by distance is one many of us can relate to, but Rosemary Wells outdoes herself with her stunning artwork created with richly-colored Japanese papers, stamps, and gold ink. Simple sweet story and fabulous artwork.

My daughter has had this book since she was 5; she's 8 now and still loves it. She is just as excited to give it away for a gift as she is to read it to her Japanese Grandma!

"Yoko's Paper Cranes" is another nice entry featuring Rosemary Well's anthropomorphic kitty character Yoko.

In this story, readers learn about Yoko's history as an immigrant from Japan. Yoko has a strong relationship with her grandparents and while she was in Japan, she and her grandfather enjoyed feeding the cranes out at the pond. Yoko learns about how the cranes fly away every year. When she is living in America, it comes time for her Grandpa's birthday, but she has no money to buy a present. She remembers the cranes and since it's winter in Japan, she creates origami cranes to send.

"Yoko's Paper Cranes" features soft, pastelish illustrations. According to the back cover page information, the artwork was created using "origami and washi papers, gold leaf, rubber stamps and paint." It's a pleasing combination that makes for illustrations that may appear somewhat simple at first glance, but are rich with life and warmth.

This story is a great story for parents or librarians to read for kids, or for anyone to read on their own. It's also a nice look into Japanese and Japanese-American culture that is not anyway insulting or insensitive.

I am an American citizen who has been living in Japan for the past 18 months and I was delighted when a friend sent this book to my daughter for her 4th birthday. I have been a fan of Rosemary Wells for years and this book did not disappoint me. Wells has created a delightful visual experience for the young reader through the use of traditional Japanese washi papers combined with her own bright and whimsical watercolors. Wells has also managed to show the special relationship that exists between a child and their grandparents and how traditions are passed down through generations. (In this case, Yoko's grandfather teaches her to fold paper cranes.) My own daughter is thousands of miles away from her grandparents in the United States, and I think that this book has shown her that love can cross all those miles.
As a parent and preschool teacher, I would recommend this book as a teaching tool about Japanese culture -- Wells has even included folding instructions for the paper crane. What a wonderful literacy link activity!

This book is charming and exquisitely illustrated. Elements of origami and Japanese printmaking enrich it visually, while the story is beautifully simple and affecting. It is one of my three-year old daughter's favorites, and my personal favorite among her many books. The story and pictures can be used as a starting point to explore the ideas of separation, travel, gift-giving, the seasons in nature, bird migration, and they even show the reader how to make paper cranes! It is superb.

When the book first came out, I was too young to get the impact that it might have on people. All I knew at that point in time was that I found it "cool" to be able to tell my friends that I had a book written about me. However, now that I'm 15, I read it every once and a while, and it makes more sense to me that this book really does have meaning to kids, as well as helping them learn about accepting people and their families. Even when I meet new kids my age, and I have to try and explain my family situation, I would still rather give them a copy of the book and let them read it. Really, its a complicated issue and I am still finding reasons to be proud.

A wonderfully simplistic book about 2 moms and their son. It tells about how this family lives their life just like any other family, with friends, chores and problems! The small twist in the story still makes my two year old laugh every time we read it together. PS-I bought a copy for my child's daycare!

We have this book and love it. As a two-mom lesbian family, this simple story of a boy and his family is wonderful and really helpful for our 3 yr old son. It tells a story of everyday life and Evan just happens to have two moms.

Real photos of the Evan, his 2 moms, and their dog make this the favorite book of my 4 year old--and it has been for 2 years now! The 2-mom-family is so natural in the story that it makes a great book for a child to bring to pre-school during "family studies month." All the kids in my son's class loved the book, and any positive message on family diversity is seconday to the story and subtle enough to be effective. This is still the best of all the gay/lesbian family kids' books I've found in my 4 year search.

I didn't like this book because it gives kids the message that homosexuality is ok. It influences them too much on the issue. I think someone should just give kids the facts of homosexuality, and not their own opinions. Kids should decide for themselves whether it is right or wrong, and know more about NATURAL things in life (such as hetorosexual relationships), and morals. I also would not reccommend this book for Christian children because Christianity teaches the homosexuality is a sin and this book teaches that it is just fine.

I first checked this out from our local library...it was so GREAT, I went out and bought one for my company. The book comes with a CD that has templates that you fill in the blanks...it also tells you in Layman's terms what the documents are, when/where/how/why to use them, provides clear examples, and steps on how to fill out the templates. I would highly recommend this and "How to Form Your Own Texas Corporation" (from the same author).

* NOTE: I have the 2nd Edition, which is no longer available, but there is a 3rd Edition.

The new version of this book is now being sold under a different title: "The Corporate Records Handbook". Don't buy this old version.

I've recently set up several corporate structures for small business ventures. In preparation, I took a couple of short classes at a local community college and read several books.

Most of the information in other books was very general. They would say something like, "you must do X to protect your corporate status," without telling you *how* to do it.

This is the only book I've found that clearly describes all the steps needed to properly set up and maintain your corporation. It does not cover choice of corporate structure or the actual incorporation process, but instead explains all the things you must do to maintain the legal and tax protections provided by your corporation once it is established. It also includes an extensive set of forms, all on CD-ROM. The forms are supplied in Rich Text Format, also known as rtf, and can be read by most word processors.

(Note to Macintosh users - although the book says that the CD-ROM is not "supported" on the Mac, I had no trouble opening and using the forms.)

I borrowed this from the library to check it out and now I own it. It covers everything you can think of needing. And it explains every form in detail ....the why and how.

I borrowed an older version of this book from the library and had to buy it. This is THE best book on corporate minutes I hve ever read...and I have read many! It is very specific. It has all the forms in print and on disk. It not only tells you how to fill in the forms but why! If you run a small corporation and don't want to pay a lawyer to do all you minutes, this book is a must!

Having worked as an attorney for six years out of California's Pelican Bay Prison, I can attest Ruiz' work tells it like it happens. A rare glimpse of the real depravity of prison and the complex make up of the inmates. Evil really does exist.

A reader could easily get a quarter of the way into this book, decide it's too graphic in its brutality, put it down and miss a wonderful opportunity. Not only can we non-Latinos see ourselves more clearly. We also see how neglect and misguided authority create the vengeful youth--of any race. As horrid as Jesus becomes, I never lost sympathy for him. That's an awesome accomplishment for a first-time novelist. The parable in this story is deep and valuable for those who persevere. Keep reading...

"Happy Birthday, Jesus" by Ronald Ruiz is a stunning first novel. I read it in 1994 when it was first released and was so deeply moved by Ruiz' power of writing a story with such difficult characters (and for me succeeding on every level) that I found myself touting this little book to all of my friends, giving it as gifts for birthdays and holidays, and fully expecting there to be many more solid novels from this talented new writer. I have re-read the book in the intervening years and continue to be impressed. When I was recently asked to compose a list of books to encourage a budding novelist I first remembered "Happy Birthday, Jesus" - and included it with "Beach Boy", "The God of Small Things", "Snow Falling on Cedars", "Cold Mountain", and "The Fan-Makers Inquisition" - adding "Blindness", "The Reader", and sundry other books that for me capture the readers imagination and make an indelible imprint. This book deserves more attention; I wonder what has happened to this author....

I am as student at UC Berkeley and we just finished reading this book just last week. I immensely enjoyed this book and I cannot stop speaking its praises among my friends. It was taught as an American Cultures class (a requirement for all Letters and Sciences students) and not only did we review all of the thematic elements and social issues that the novel covers, but we also got to meet the author! Ruiz spoke to our class and gave us his basic background and experience as a lawyer here in the Bay Area (he was the DA for a time) and I must admit that I was really impressed and honored that he was a fellow Latino. He has given me even more hope to become a writer.

You should pick up this novel wanting to learn not only more about the injustice in the criminal justice system and how it does not serve and rehabilitize those that it needs to, but also to learn how it is that monsters are created. Ruiz told us in his lecture in our class that "Monsters and created, not born, and I am a testament to that". He has defended and prosecuted so many monsters that he should know more than anyone how it is that they came to be in his hands.

This will be a book that I will never forget. Its an especially good read in the aftermath of Sept. 11.

There are many reasons offered trying to explain why people commit crimes, particularly those of particular savagery. Sometimes, there is in fact a physical reason, such as the brain tumor that drove Charles Whitman and his guns into the University of Texas tower in 1966. Abused children, studies say, often grow up to be violent, abusive adults. Innate tendencies-an inborn inability to empathize with other. Social immaturity-emotional ten-year-olds in adult bodies.

In his fictional biography of a young man growing up in the early years of the 20th century to become a vicious killer, Ronald L. Ruiz doesn't posit any theories. Rather, he takes us into Jesus's world and lets us ponder for ourselves which factors in his life, had they been changed, might have prevented his plunge into darkness.

Orphaned as a toddler, Jesus is raised by his fanatically religious grandmother, his mother's mother, a woman who years for sainthood. She detests him, based on an ironic internecine bigotry that equates particular physical characteristics such as lighter complexion with superiority. There are other dynamics involved, of course, including her daughter's choice of a husband she deemed unsuitable. Her rage and contempt are expressed in physical and emotionally abusive punishment, including forcing the boy to lie in a "crib" for hours clad only in a diaper.

Stirred into this stew is religion: the tenets of a church with shepherds who depend on guilt and terror to keep the sheep in line. The endless sermons on sin and its eternal consequences, poured into the mind of a child already convinced of his unworthiness, lead Jesus to decide nothing he does really matters since he is already condemned.

In any case, the young Jesus grows up confronted by daily, unremitting oppression, a kind of Chinese water torture of humiliation, prejudice and contempt that fills him with seething rage. Eventually, that rage explodes in a moment of vicious violence, and sets him on a path from which there is really no escape.

Mr. Ruiz presents his protagonist's life with almost scientific detachment, which makes the impact of it all the more vivid. He neither condemns nor seeks sympathy for Jesus, allowing the reader to draw his or her own conclusions as to where-and whether-his descent might have been stopped. There is ample blame to go around in this dark tale of the destruction of a human soul, although a fair share of it must be assumed by a criminal justice system that is more criminal than just.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JESUS is an unrelenting look into the making of a killer, the history of a soul lost almost from the moment of birth. It is a frightening and at times painfully ironic lesson in the consequences of extremism and neglect and the crippling effects of bigotry no matter what the source. Mr. Ruiz does not ask for sympathy for his damaged protagonist, adding a plot thread that suggests such sympathy is as harmful in its way as the abuse Jesus suffers. This is not a rallying cry for reform but a revelation of truths too many would prefer to ignore: that the appearance of good isn't the same as its real existence, that the responsibility for each human life belongs to all of us, that morality lies not in what one thinks or says but what one does.

If you think black folks should be nice to white folks and white folks should be nice to black folks you would like Happy Birthday Martin Luther King by Jean Marzollo. It's about how he made the city be nice to black people. He was a pastor. My favorite was when he died and had a funeral. My favorite part was when he died and had a funeral. Check it out at your library today.

I am a fifth grader at North Hills Traditional Academy.

I like this book because it tells how Martin Luther King grew up. And it was sweet how he grew up.

I like the book because the pictures are colorful and the story is sweet.

The thing I really like about the book is that it tells sweet things about his personal life, not just his public life.

Mostly, I really like it because it tells how he grew up and about his friendship with a little white boy.

It's really clever because it shows what Martin Luther King was like when he was young.

It's a great book. I think you should read it. And I know that you will enjoy it.

Dr. King is a favorite hero among elementary school children. This book is the perfect way to introduce them to the life and philosophy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The language is simple and the illustrations are interesting. I've found that although students know the "Happy Birthday" song, they aren't aware that Stevie Wonder wrote the song as a tribute to Dr. King. We always end our read aloud by singing a chorus of the song.

"Happy Birthday, Martin Luther King" fills a need for effective picture books for young readers about this important American leader. The scratchboard illustrations, although unusual for this format, create a vibrancy that enhances the text.

This narrative revolves around the statement: "The Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., is famous because he helped our country change some of its laws." Then in simple language it goes on to explain some of the laws he helped change.

It goes on to say, "Poor people, rich people, white people, black people, and people from all around the world listened when Martin Luther King spoke." Of course, there is mention of his 1963 speech in Washington, D.C., where his "dream was that people everywhere would learn to live together without being mean to one another."

This is an excellent book to read aloud to younger students, although as a school librarian, I have seen it used effectively up to the 5th grade (like another reviewer here). Another good title that covers some of the same territory for young readers is "A Picture Book of Martin Luther King, Jr.," by David A. Adler.

I've been searching for a short read about Martin Luther King, Jr. that would excite my first grade students and keep them focused on the background of this great American. The illustrations are lovely and the size of the book is perfect for classroom storytime.

Im 11 years old and i still love little kids books. Emily plays a funny part in the book and i think that Lois Duncan did a great job!

I am a kindergarten teacher and year after year this is our favorite class book. Even children who don't have the attention span to listen to stories, are excited about this book. My classes ask me to read it over and over again.

When Emily blows out the candles on her birthday cake, she knows exactly what to wish for: the longest hair in the world. When her wish comes true, things get a little too hairy.

Be very careful what you wish for is the solemn moral of this hilarious story about a girl who wants to be the princess in a school play & the only way she can get the role is to have the longest hair in her class. Great fun!

A fairy tale story that centers on the old saying, 'be careful what you wish for, it just might come true.' When a little girl blows out her candles and wishes for the longest hair in the world in order to be picked for the lead in a play, she finds that wishes aren't what they're cracked up to. My wistful and imaginative little four year old truly enjoyed the narrator's reading of this book so much I've decided to buy the hardcover so she can follow along.

Here is the perfect gift for your favorite little girl who happens to be longing and yearning for long hair: Lois Duncan's astute "The Longest Hair in the World." Emily appears in the beginning of the book as a spunky redhead with a short haircut. But at her birthday party, mindful of the fact that only long-haired girls will be chosen to play princesses in an upcoming school play, Emily wishes for "the longest hair in the world."

Trouble and calamity ensues as Emily's wish comes true. It gets to the point where her father has to zip her through the local car wash in order to get her streaming locks shampooed! Finally, a year later on her next birthday, Emily makes a new wish--not the one you might think--and the book ends on a hilarious note.

Jon McIntosh's cartoony illustrations perfectly suit the zany tone and zippy pace of Duncan's text. He does an especially fine job depicting the growing burden Emily has in carrying around the longest hair in the world.

! The Wednesday Surprise !


Everything was dark and then all of a sudden

SUPRISE! If you like surprises I suggest you read this

book. This story takes place in a little girl, Anna's house.

The characters are Anna, Grandma, Dad, and Mom. Anna

and her grandma spent a long time on a surprise for

Anna's dad. Everyone helps get ready for dad's surprise

party except Anna's dad. This book is a good book for

people who like surprises and cliff hangers! Donald Carrick

has very colorful paintings to help the reader know what is

going on in the story. The message of this story is when

you work hard you can make things happen! I think this

book is for people from 7-12 years old. So how about you

go snuggle up and plan a surprise for someone!

Written By: Katherine G

This is a great book to read to children while asking them what they think the surprise is. There is a lot of visualization in this book that makes for thoughtful reading, as well as a delightful ending that leads to much discussion. A "requirement" for all libraries at home or school.

I am a reading specialist in a middle school with a large population of second language learners and I love reading this book to my reading students. They are always so surprised that the grandmother is learning to read. It shows them that you are never too old to learn!

Do you have a secret? Annie had a really big secret with Grandma who comes on the bus to Annie's home. In the book The Wednesday Surprise, written by Eve Bunting, Grandma cooks hot dogs, eats ice cream, and reads with Annie. Every Wednesday they have fun together. They want to have a birthday party for Annie's dad. First they want to read more books.
I liked this book because Annie read with Grandma. It is funny and sweet. I had fun reading this. The only part that I didn't care for is the length of the book.
The book, I think is a four star rating, because it was good but it was not wonderful.

Annas dad was working.He is a truk worker.He was going to come in time for his birthday.Anna and her grandma where making a BIG surprise.Do you think dad is going to like the surprise?I wonder what the surprise is going to be? I like this book because it remainds me of a surprise of my own life.I felt so happy when my teacher Miss.Aubry read this book. I recommend this book to everybody that likes surprises.

I was a little disappointed in this book. I would have expected simpler language use and shorter paragraphs per page. Our Caleb did not stay interested to hear the whole book.

Reviewed by Susan Langford for Reader Views (6/06)

The author's main point of the book is about hard work and determination with an up lifting tale of dreams fulfilled. I like the thought that children that have handicaps can still have dreams. I think any children's book that has a happy ending has fulfilled its purpose.

I think Mr. Villanueva has an ability to write, but when reading the book out loud to my nieces the wording didn't flow like most children's stories. The boy started to think to himself. I find that hard to read and wanted to rewrite it as I was reading the story.

I think the story was very uplifting and creative.

My children are in love with Caleb. Their favorite uncle is in a wheelchair, so they really got into the story. A great book for kids of all ages and parents alike. Highly recommended first offering from this creative and sensitive author!

Be careful what you wish for! Birthday wishes may just be a little more powerful than we give them credit for...

Caleb's Wish is a wonderful tale about holding on to one's dream despite whatever we might see as obstacles. Written by David Villanueva jr. and illustrated by Edmundo Sanchez, Caleb's Wish brings us a wonderful, freckle-faced 8-year-old boy in a wheelchair that wanted very much to fly. Caleb goes on a fun and exciting balloon trip where he is briefly caught in a tree, had a slight alligator scare, enjoyed a chimpanzee race, met a sneezing giraffe and had a close call with a zooming jet. Finally, aided by friendly ducks (and his powerful birthday wish) Caleb finds his way back to the birthday party that is still going strong in his back yard.

The last few pages are well designed for this age group with a maze, seek and count games and a word search. 40-pages are filled with a light-humor and the main character has a cheerful and dream-filled disposition. His faithful dog, Ozzy, is there with him throughout the tale - with the exception of the flight itself.

I can say with honesty, that I enjoyed reviewing this book...

ISBN#: 0-9771971-8-2
Author: David Villanueva jr.
Illustrator: Edmundo Sanchez
Publisher: A Better Be Write Publisher


~ Book Reviewer: Lillian Brummet - Co-author of the book Trash Talk, a guide for anyone concerned about his or her impact on the environment - Author of Towards Understanding, a collection of poetry. (http://www.sunshinecable.com/~drumit)

Author David Villanueva has wonderfully written a charming adventure about a boy in a wheelchair who wishes that he could fly. Not limited from his circumstances, the boy soars through the sky with the help of two magical balloons. The illustrations are sharp and colorful, and the words flow and are kid friendly. This is a book that parents should read to their children, as kids will enjoy the adventures of Caleb for years to come!

I love this little book and gave it as a gift to someone who could not find one like it.

I love my birthday book. Its small which makes it perfect for carrying around. Fast process and delivery.

I gave this to my mother as a stocking stuffer, after I had written in all the important birthdays and anniversaries. She loved it! It was exactly as I expected.

Handy size. Perfect for your desk space. Clever idea -- this will get you organized!

this little book is ok. I think it should be bigger. The space to write the names is too small. I will keep looking for a bigger book.

This is an excelent book about a nine year old girl who is turning ten in the season of birth (Spring). She faces a hard situation that may take someone's life. A sad but also happy book about life then in 1824 on a New Mexican ranch.

I think other people should read it because it's nice how her father gives her something valuable to her. Also because it's kind of fun how they repair the church. I think Josefina took good care of the goat, Sombrita. [Karla Cortez]

Josefina is glad that her birthday is coming up. 9 going on to 10 was a great age to be! She could go on top of the church to replaster the church and help Tia Magandla, the healer, also her god-mother! She saved a life and got a kid named Somberetia, little shadow. To find out more, read this book!

This is another one of the American Girls series about Josefina Montoya, a nine-year-old girl (almost ten!) living in the New Mexico of 1824. In this book, Josefina finds joy in the work around her father's rancho, particularly nursing a newborn baby goat that has lost its mother. When she spends the day with her aunt Magdalena, the town's healer, she begins to think that she would also like to become a healer. But, there are big responsibilities that come with such a career. Tia Magdalena says that if she is to become a healer she will know...and Josefina may be about to find out!

The final chapter of this wonderful book is a highly informative look at growing up in New Mexico in 1824. And, as always, Jean-Paul Tibbles' beautiful illustrations make a wonderful addition to the text.

This book certainly goes a long way towards maintaining the tradition of excellence that one associates with the American Girls books. My daughter loves the stories, while I like the lessons that the author gently weaves throughout the book. My daughter and I both highly recommend this book to you.

Josefina Montoya is a young girl living on a New Mexican ranch. She wants to be a healer like her godmother, Tia Magdalena. Tia Magdalena says she will have to wait though, to know if she is a healer. In the mean time, Josefina takes care of an orphaned baby goat, and has fun with her Puebloe Indian friend, Mariana. But one day when the girls are playing, Mariana gets a snakebite that could prove fatal, and this will be Josefina's test - can she be a healer? The next day, Josefina's tenth birthday is a celebration of bravery and second chances.