Birthdays Books

This calendar was exactly what I was looking for. Its long and large enough to write several birthdays on each space. The photos are beautiful and the paper its made of is good quality.

I LOVE my birthday calendar! It was shipped quickly and arrived in excellent condition. The photographs are beautiful, and I am thrilled to have it on my wall. I have been looking for a birthday calendar for a long time, and this is exactly what I had hoped I would find.

I wasn't as happy with this product as i thought i would be, The concept is great but their just isn't enough writing room.

Excellent finish to an terrific series. Must for all ring fans... This book has collection of 3 stories spaced at different time period in the ring universe. These stories fill the gaps and answers which previous books left out. Once again koji suzuki re-defines horror by taking you into depths of unkown...

enjoy..........

Recently, I worked my way through Koji Suzuki's "Ring" series and by the time I made it to "Birthday", the fourth and final book in the series, I had pretty much run out of steam. "Birthday" is made up of three short (50-100 page) stories that take place before, during and after the events of the "Ring" trilogy. The first story, "Floating Coffin", tells of what happened to Mai Takano after she went missing in the middle of "Spiral", the second book in the trilogy. The second story, "Lemon Heart" tells of Sadako's time with the theatre troupe she joined at age 18. These events are alluded to in "Ring", although this story is told as a flashback occuring in the middle of "Spiral". The final story, "Happy Birthday", is set after the events of "Loop" and provides the conclusion to the series.

After reading the entire "Ring" trilogy, I found these stories to be unnecessary. They didn't add anything to my understanding of the "Ring" universe, and they felt like scenes that had been deleted from the first three novels. In my opinion, this book is essentially just a grab for cash on the part of the author and has only minimal merit. I would only recommend it to people who feel the need to read everything that has ever been written about the "Ring", and even then, it will probably disappoint.

It's almost pointless to even mention the Ring films at this point, as they bare almost no resemblance to the story anymore by just book 2 (unless you count Rasen, but by the end of that it doesn't count anymore at all in the film universe). Ring 0: Birthday was loosely based on the second story in this book, Lemon Heart. The rest of the book is new.

This is an anthology based around three central characters in the trilogy (all female) and themes of birth relating to the storyline.

1. Floating Coffin
Plot: This, the first story, takes place in the middle of book 2, Spiral. We get a glimpse of Mai Takano, and what exactly happens when she gives birth to Sadako and dies.

Review: Of the three stories, this was by far my least favorite. It has no real relevance to progressing the story or showing anything. This one was a little bit of a bore. However, the next stories made me completely forget about this one's lack of interest.

2. Lemon Heart
Plot: Toyama, a middle-aged man, is approached by a detective that is looking for information on Yamamura Sadako. Toyama is one of the only survivors from a theater troupe that Sadako was in shortly before she disappeared. Toyama recounts being in love with her, and in the end of the story gets a surprise visit from a familiar face.

Review: My favorite of the three. Great story that sheds some more light on how Sadako was in life, and introduces some foreshadowing and dramatic irony that we know will lead to events that take place in "Ring" and "Spiral".

3. Happy Birthday
Plot: Reiko, still pregnant, is brought to New Mexico and informed of what exactly happened to Kaoru. She takes a look into the Loop world to see how he manages to get rid of Sadako and save the world, leading up to the birth of his child.

Review: Another great story. I sort of hoped it would be longer, as it was the conclusion to the entire series and I felt at first that it was much too short to be the ending. However, looking back, I see how the entire anthology was the ending. Although only one has a story that ends it, the others sort of bring the legend and story of Sadako to a full circle.

All in all, great anthology that is a must-read for fans of the first three books.

5 stars / 5

This was a really good book, and despite what another review says, this shows that youy don't have be a storm-blown house or a circus man in a balloon to defeat the Wicked Witch of the East - (I have still yet to find, order and get "How the Wizard Came to Oz"). The Wicked Witch of the East decrees that Birthdays are now a crime, and because this happens on the same day as Meezie & Tweeze's birthday, Glinda (who is NOT a Pre-teen, as she is described as a WOMAN in the story on most likely pg 5 of the story & not 10) helps them by taking them to her friend Old Tree, who then suggests the little Windbag. With him, a plan is then worked out to be-rid Oz of the Wicked Witch - and it works!! But then, something amazing happens and a miracle occurs . . . allowing Meezie and Tweeze to celebrate their birthday today.
One of the other reviews says that this story contradicts Baum's version; I say that we only see Oz through the Munchkins' view, as in "the Wonderful Wizard" we see it through Dorothy's point of view. But there are a few little things that are a tiny bit different, like the view of the landscape, Toto not being drawn and different Munchkins greeting Dorothy, but it doesn't really matter. The pictures by David Hohn look like that of Charles Santore, made from water-colouring (possibly both water-paint and/or water-pencil). The Munchkins' heads are slightly bigger than normal heads, and Dorothy looks like Charles Santore's version, but in a different dress, but I really like her house.
Even though the details of this book are in 44 pages, the Endpapers, Parent's Introduction, copyright and title pages don't count, so the story goes for 40 pages.
Someday, by 2010, hopefully when I have finally gotten into the Movie business, I would like to put this little story into the 'Oz-Prequel' I have planned.
Now, I would like to say that my review on "L. Frank Baum's the Wonderful Wizard of Oz with illustratiosn by Barry Moser" was cut short: the title was supposed to be "Barry Moser's (almost slightly) Gothic Oz", and I mentioend 2 sites where you could see 5 of his pictures and another site where you could read about "Forty-Seven Days to Oz", in which Barry Moser writes about how he made the illustrations for his 1986 Pennyroyal Press Edition, but Amazon.com cut them out. I also ordered "the Wonderful Wizard of Oz - Troll Illustrated Classics", but it was out-of-print so I couldn't get it, but I'll try on another site: Biblio-Quest.
Maybe next time then . . .

The "We Both Read" series works magic in persuading kids to read because both the parent and the child participate. I did not like this story, but it matters not at all. My son who hates to read, loves to share the reading task with me. I am always looking for me books in this series.

This is a very interesting idea that is called "We Both Read." Every opening contains a beautiful full-color painting by David Hohn, whose style is very attractive. The left-hand pages contain text for a parent to read to a child, and the right-hand pages contain cute verses for the child to read to the parent. All of the text is simple enough that the "parent" could as easily be an older friend or sibling. On the cover, it claims to be geared toward grades one and two. When I was seven, I was not a top reader, but I was enjoying far more sophisticated works than this. Still, it is a great learning aid for any child who loves Oz and has trouble reading.

The story takes place prior to Dorothy's first visit. The Witch of the East is still at large, and has made it illegal for the Munchkins to celebrate birthdays. This makes Meezie and Tweeze (two cute Munchkin twin children) very unhappy, as today is their birthday. So Meezie schemes with a breezy character named Windbag to overthrow the Witch by conjuring up a storm. It is obvious what happens next, but bear in mind the fact that, if you are reading this review, you probably are not five years old.

The plot is quite simplistic, but it is intended for very small children, so I can't hold that against it. On page ten, there is an illustration that looked at a glance to me like a little girl no older than nine. It turns out that this is supposed to be Glinda! Then I noticed the poppies on either side of her blonde head and realized that it is obviously Ozma. The author must have originally wrote about Ozma, got it illustrated, and then realized too late that Ozma would have been Tip at that time. So now Glinda is described with "golden hair" and depicted as a pre-teen. There is also an awkward conversation with Windbag in which he discloses the fact that he was responsible for bringing the Wicked Witch to Oz in the first place. He had blown her off course en route to France! And Dorothy's arrival contradicts Baum's version. Still, if one may theorize that Windbag was mistaken about the Witch's origin, and that Dorothy may have had an encounter with some different Munchkins after Tattypoo and the others left, this book is not too bad. And of course I can approve of anything that helps children learn to read. 2 stars.

THE BIRTHDAY BOOK is as simple as it sounds. Jan Yager has created a small journal with a calendar in which to keep track of loved ones' birthdays, an address book to store contact information, a space to record presents sent and received, and an additional section in the back for notes. There is even a list of each months' birthstones in case you would like to purchase somebody their birthstone as a gift. Somebody's birthday is one of the most important days of their year, and even in today's busy world, everybody deserves recognition for the day they came into the world. Dr. Yager's book is a cute and effective way of making sure you stay on top of the birthdays that matter to you. Not to mention it could make a great present.

Nothing like this has ever been written.

This book combines a book of days with an address book (that allows only 11/16" to write in 'name/address/phone/email', a birthday card/gift record, a holiday list (whose pages are the same as the b'day card/gift record), and a few pages for 'notes'. The typography is uninspired, the layout looks like an afterthought. For keeping track of birthdays (which is what I wanted to do in the first place), I recommend Sally Fox's 'Medieval Woman: Illuminated Book of Days'. Better production, higher quality, and (I believe) cheaper.

I received this book as a gift originally for my first child and then once i had another I got it as a gift from my Dad to compliment the first one. Then I had a third child and discovered the book was out of print and was lucky enough to find on Amazon. I had not used any of them until recently when I decided to start my middle child's book (as he was about to turn 3 and figured it'd be easy to catch up on). I completed his 3 yrs but when I went to put all the pages back in the book, it didn't fit. It is a post bound book and once I had scrapped the pages (there are 6 for EACH yr) they didn't fit back inside--and I added extra posts! nEedless to say, I was disappointed. I ended up buying 3 ring binders to use as covers but then as I was placing the pages inside the page protectors, I realized that I had cut down my 12 x 12 pgs to fit inside the book and now they kind of "float" around the 12 x 12 protectors-had to cut approx. 3/4" off the side to fit in book. Any then, I had to repunch the holes in the folders that coordinate with each yr so as to keep my story that I had written in the birthday memories section and the pocket that holds cards/invites/etc.. all together. Loved the "idea" of the book but the practicality of it is less than desireable. At least I know after only doing one child's first 3 yrs and can just do all the others on 12 x 12 paper and not cut them down first so they'll stay nicely in the pg protectors. But I had double the costs as I had to buy 3 new binders to accomodate the thickness of the pages.

I was so glad to find this scrapbook. The design is good for a boy or a girl (I have a boy) and other ones I had seen were to feminine. Now I just need to find the time to put something in it!

Fun Book for all you scrapbookers looking for Birthday ideas

Arthur Friedberg starts by giving an overview of the history of the Jews in the form of main events. After this overview he goes over the various coins and the images that they bore and their meanings. The book provides pictures of both sides of each coin and on the cover are two coin replica's (one of them is a widows mite). The book covers the tribute penny and the widow's mite with a good explanation about what these coins were. The coins discussed include the Maccabean peoriod all the way through to the Christian era. The coins of Greece, Persia and Rome are all discussed as well. Friedburg could have given what was inscribed on each coin and not just an explanation of the picture on the front and on the back. This is a good resource and at a very low price here at Amazon. The price on the back of the book is 14.95.

This is a good survey book for someone who wants a "quick and dirty" view of the subject. I've had mine for a few years and consult it when I don't need to go into detail. It's a great reference if you're preparing a Sunday School lesson. The copy coins shouldn't be dangerous as they don't look like the real thing.

For Friedman the two oldest recognizable subjects are money and the Bible (his order). This book is the result of the interest that so many have in the two and remains "as strong as it has ever been."

Friedman starts out with a brief history of the Holy Land which runs from 3000 BC through AD 138 or so. After a couple of maps and a few landscape pictures comes a section on coinage in the Bible. It is generally accepted that coins were first minted in Lydia (in modern Turkey) in the 7th century BC. King Astyages made his coins of electrolyte (a combination of gold and silver) found in the Sardis River. Yet it took another two generations for King Croesus to guarantee the amount of gold vis-a-vis silver in the coin. References to money before this time in the Bible refer to ingots or something else; they were not coins.

Persia and Greece both made coins that had an influence upon the Holy Land before the coming of Jesus. Many of these tell us much about when and why they were minted. Ptolemy (314-310 BC) minted coins that had a striking resemblance to Alexander the Great. They were inscribed "an Alexander coin of Ptolemy." By these Ptolemy sought to sell his people on the idea of his legitimacy and authenticity.

Friedberg goes on for a few centuries. Christains will be most interested in his explanatins of the Widow's Mite and the Thirty Pieces of Silver.

This book is great for people who want to make connections between the Bible and money. For those with more academic thoughts in mind, it is not so great. Mosherer is cited when it suits Friedberg. But the likes of Diana Edelman's article on tracking observance of the aniconic tradition is never mentioned.

I got this sign language board book to use with infants, but after seeing it I believe the book is more suited to children about three years old. The photos are cute, but the signing instructions are a little difficult to figure out if you're just learning American Sign Language. Words like "balloon," "clown," and "ice cream" are relatively easy for a young child to do, but "cards" and "gifts" seem harder. All in all, I recommend it because it really does capture the colorful fun of a birthday party (with numbers 1-5 included to count candles), it's just not particularly suited to a young infant.

... I am certified in ASL and can state with certainty that the signs are real ASL signs. The line drawings are not the best, I agree, but it is a nice way to read and sign with your child, even children under the age of 2. While some ADULTS may think some of the signs seem difficult for young children to produce (e.g., card or gift), trust me when I say even one year olds are able to learn and produce any sign. They may make approximations of the signs, just as they do when they try and say challenging words, such as "alligator," but there is no scientific reason to think a sign is too "difficult" to produce. Giving children, even babies, the means to communicate thoughts, ideas, or wants is such a gift, why hold them back because WE think we know what they can and cannot do. The reality is, when it comes to language learning, children have the upper hand on us adults. That said, I do feel the book is small, but the drawings are actually larger than some of the ones in Slier's books, which also have signs. Both author's books require that you do a little "deciphering" of the pictures, but these are still some of the only books that have the sign pictures right in there. Happy reading!

This is a lovely book with beautiful baby pictures and drawing of signs, BUT the book is written by a British author and the signs are from British Sign Language, not American Sign Language! I couldn't figure out why all of the signs were "wrong" until I discovered the origin of the book.

Contrary to the popular myth, sign languages are not universal. If you are looking to learn/use the sign language used in the United States, unfortunately, this book and the others written by the same author aren't what you are looking for.

As a good alternative, my favorite American Sign Langauge board books are written by Debby Slier (Word Signs: A First Book fo Sign Language and Animal Signs: A First Book of Sign Language.

Like so many kids books, this one shows pancakes, suckers, bubble gum, taffy, little crackers, cake, ice cream, potato chips - repeatedly.

We avoid commercial TV and its brainwashing effects on what we eat... Wwhat a disappointment when our favorite characters to advertise this junk to us - no thanks!

This long and growing series is terrific for all kids, but especially only children. Although Henry has no siblings and his best friends are his dog Mudge and his cousin Annie (also an only, apparently in a one-parent household), with the exception of the first book, the series does not dwell on his sibling-free status. It simply presents a well-adjusted kid enjoying a wide range activities. Henry is constructive with his time (but not so much as to be unrealistic; see "Henry and Mudge and the Long Weekend"), sociable, not prone to loneliness and never portrayed as pining for a little brother or sister. As the parent of an "only", I find the whole series great for subtly conveying an affirmative message without beating it over the head.
To be sure, Henry's is a somewhat idealized, white-kid, small-town life and the books are not entirely p.c. - the illustrations of the family car never seem to picture seat belts and Henry's diet apparently includes lots of hot dogs, potato chips and refined sugar. But as part of a wider reading program, Henry and Mudge provide a great series of simple chapter books to be read to youngsters or read by beginning readers.

My children love this book. My 2 year old wanted this for hisbedtime story every night for 2 weeks. It is still one of hisfavorites. His 4 year old sister loves all of the Henry & Mudge books, but she especially loves this one. She keeps asking if we can have a pinata at her party. I like it because it is short enough for the whole book to be a bedtime story.

The Kid's Pick-a-Party Book has loads of ideas for children's parties. The party age ranges are from toddler to teenager, and are identified in the table of contents for easy reference. We have used a number of ideas for different theme parties. The book focuses on a wide variety of party ideas, but doesn't address the typical party themes, like Valentine's Day, holidays, etc. It does have a ghosts and goblins party and we used some of those ideas for a Halloween party. It is well organized and has ideas for invitations, costumes, decorations, games, food, favors and more.

If you have younger or older children, this is the book for you! If you have no ideas where to start or need great ideas. This book is wonderful! I needed some different and neat ideas and I found them in this book. I just can't say enough about this book.

This book contains good ideas for all ages. You can use ideas from one type of party and just change the theme. Also good ideas for school parties, etc.

I liked the "twists" in this story - thinking one thing was going to happen, and it didn't. I thought the book was scarier than the Goosebumps.

My daughter reads all of of the books in this series and begs for more.

Let's Get This Party Haunted is the sixth (out of eight) in R.L. Stein's Mostly Ghostly series and we join Max (about to turn 12) practicing for the magic show he has planed for his upcoming birthday project...working with Quinten a new friend who shares his love of magic and hoping that he can get Traci (the most popular girl at school) to come to his party. He's got a bit of a problem though...he's got two other friends, Nicky and Tara and they just happen to be ghosts who always seem to get Max into more trouble then he could ever get in on his own.

Max's goal is to invite Traci (and her cool friends by proxy), pull off a spectacular party that will wow them and prove that he's not the weirdo everyone thinks he is. Unfortunately, Max seems to have the worst luck of any boy ever written about...he's got a horrible older brother, his father thinks he's worthless because he's smart instead of a jock (like his brother), a mom who is indifferent at best, a best friend who is NEVER then when he needs a buddy (he gets grounded on Max's birthday, typical), and two ghost friends who are always lousing up his plans.

Will Max pull off a great party? Will he impress Traci and her friends? Who is that boy in black who is still lurking about? Where did those specters come from? You'll have to read to find out...and this one has more twists and scares than usual, but still this series is leaving me unsatisfied due to the nature of Max's life...I just don't like the abuse that is heaped upon him by his brother and father, it just plays into a poor me, my life is so hard mentality that a lot of kids have. Additionally, each book seems to start out with Max loathing Nicky and Tara for all the problems they cause him and because they are kind of selfish and pushy and ending with Max declaring that they really are the best friends he could have...yet, the next volume puts him back at the loathing point. I guess I would just chalk it up to the kid drama...they do seem to do drama well, but it just irks me a bit.

Overall, it's so-so...there is a big revenge twist at the end that left me stunned as it was something I just don't see an adult doing...but probably something a kid would think up that an adult might do as revenge. I give it a C, it's got a few genuine creepy moments...but overall, it's just a boy whose life never goes quite right and it's kind of depressing to continue reading about it...luckily there are only two more books in this series.