Easter Books

This is a book that tells the story of Jesus as though he were just a very good man. While inspiring and feel good human stories are valuble in their own right, I think it is misleading to to advertise this as a retelling of the story of Jesus. The core of Jesus' teaching is that He was the Son of God, and any story that does not acknowlege this is not an accurate retelling of the message. I think that my biggest complaint is that this book is advertised as a "retelling drawn from the Gospels" and therefore raises the expectation that it will be faithfull to the Messianic message. However, it's downplaying of Christ's divinity becomes obvious only as you read it, and frankly, I was offended by the dishonesty.

Whether or not it was intended as such, this book is a subtle attack on the fundamental teachings of Christianity. While there was obviously a sincere effort to focus on what Jesus taught about love, the ommissions rendered the story incomplete and the message about love distorted. An example is at the passover supper where, in the Gospels, Jesus prophesies Judas' betrayal. In this story, Jesus says "For soon, I fear, one of you will betray me," and no mention is made of Jesus' statements directly to Judas. The effect is to suggest that Jesus just made a very good guess, not to mention the implicit contradiction with His teaching that we are to fear nothing but God.

I am sorry to be so critical, but this book has very subtle theological distortions and should not be read to Christian children.

A wonderful, accessible retelling of the story of Holy Week for elementary-aged children. It is especially rare and special in that it is not based on the doctrine of substitutionary atonement ("Jesus died for our sins"), which is not synonymous with Christianity. It doesn't explicitly deny that belief, but places its emphasis on Jesus's charge to his followers to find redemption through love and forgiveness, no matter how difficult that may be.
For those who want their children to have an understanding of the Crucifixion in the context of Jesus's life and teaching, and who want the lesson that they take away from the story to be positive and constructive, this is a great find.

I see lots of children's stories from our church library, Sunday school, from the Christian bookstores etc. I found this book of all places at the public library. I find it refreshing because its artwork is not the typical cartoony style I usually see. The crucifixion is a serious subject and the artwork reflects that. My 6-yr-old son is a visual learner, and he's attracted to comic books, the art you see in Yu-gi-OH cards, Avitar etc so he's bored with alot of the mild-looking cartoony material he sees in Sunday school, etc. This was different.

Contrary to a prior review, the "off-camera" resurrection was quite effective with my son. I read it to him, and we imagined what Jesus looked like. We added sound effects. In fact, it struck up a 30 minute conversation on Jesus, heaven, the angels, the resurrection etc. I'm buying a copy and adding it to our library!

First, the good: the artwork is excellent, and the comparison to Van Gogh is apt (though my wife thinks it more like Cezanne, FWIW). Very affecting and effective.

The text also has strong points, with its focus on Jesus' message of love and forgiveness. Which leads me to the negative, alas--the focus is exclusive.

Specifically, this exclusive focus effectively makes the narrative incomprehensible--in light of the text, why did Jesus have to die? The text explicitly downplays any messianic aspects of Jesus (he does not ride into Jerusalem, nor does he make any statements about his person). This has the unintentional effect of making the temple leadership unspeakably vile, motivated solely by a grasping jealousy and hatred.

The Resurrection is also downplayed, with the risen Jesus never depicted (a shining, "off-camera" aura appears to the disciples instead). And while the text says "yet he still lived," it also says on the last page "In his love, Jesus lived on." The combined effect of the text and the art is that the Resurrection was a spiritual apparation of Jesus, not a physical reality.

If nothing else, the book is an instructive example of the impossibility of creating a convincing, stripped-down Jesus palatable to a hyper-sensitive secular worldview. A noble effort, but one inevitably doomed to fail.

I bought this book on eBay as I love Halloween and Children's Halloween Poetry. This copy was discarded from a public library, the due date sticker indicated it had only been borrowed three times!
The drawings are HORRIFIC with fangs, ungodly expressions, etc. A previous reviewer said it's for the "Goosebump" crowd. Well, I don't think this is for them or any child. As a retired Children's Librarian I would have sent the book back and gotten something more appropriate such as: "It's Halloween" by Jack Prelutsky. I remember once watching the movie "The Pit and the Pendulum" and having nightmares for weeks afterwards! Okay, maybe I'm squeamish but this book in my opinion will give your child nightmares and I think that's why it was disguarded after only having been borrowed 3 times!

These spooky tales of Halloween night
Are guaranteed to delight

Nineteen tales of fright and fear
Shall be enjoyed throughout the year

These tales are simply great fun
They have something for everyone.

RATING:A-

When reading this to a third grade class, they didn't want me to stop reading. The poems are fun and the illustrations were beautifully done. I highly recommend for personal libraries for children and teachers.

Seymour Simon's 1991 book gives an excellent and terse overview of the important ideas about earthquakes. With key terms defined simply but accurately, all accentuated by large color photographic depictions of the effects of earthquakes, Simon explains the pertinent information: what causes earthquakes, what happens during an earthquake, and the different types of earthquakes.

The book can be read from cover to cover, or bit by bit; each two-page spread stands fairly solidly on its own. The impact of the damage earthquakes can inflict is immediately apparent when the book opens with a stunning photograph of the way an earthquake turned "railroad tracks into twisted ribbons of steel." The most amazing photo in the book shows the way a wooden fence was "broken and offset eight feet" by the 1906 San Francisco earthquake.

Simon takes what could be a very frightening concept for a young child and explains it in such a way as to make earthquakes more logical and less arbitrary. The final page of the book might be the best place for a nervous child to start reading, as Simon gives some suggestions of what to do during an earthquake. The book closes with the calming reassurance that the chances of being hurt in an earthquake are very slim.

This book does not include a great deal of detail, but I think it does a good job of what it is intended to do: introduce a child to the subject of earthquakes. The photographs are my favorite part.

Children living in areas where natural disasters, such as earthquakes, do not occur may not fully understand the true destructive powers of this earth-shaking phenomenon. This book does its best to render earthquakes understandable. To do so, it incorporates full pages of color photographs of destroyed buildings and houses. Having been published in 1991 originally, the book may have originally served as an answer to those children wishing to know more about the notorious 1989 San Francisco quake. I myself was 11 at the time, and curious about this bizarre force of nature. This book does much to show a variety of different quakes from around the world, and its large graphs are very helpful as well. Yet something about the presentation is displeasing to the eye. Full page pictures have no border and seemingly slip off the page. They tend to show houses destroyed by quakes without giving much thought to showing the earthquake-resistant houses being built at the time. Also, there isn't a single footnote or credit at the end of the book. Seymour Simon is notorious for his steadfast refusal to cite his sources in his non-fiction books. There is no denying that this is an interesting topic. I especially liked the informative section in the back that tells the reader how best to survive an earthquake on their own. And this book would read well in class, though perhaps students should look at it personally themselves to better understand the graphs and maps included. However, I urge those wanting a complete earthquake source to search out better cited non-fiction books, if they can.

This is a very good beginning book on the subject for children. It begins with scientific information about how earthquakes occur, and then goes through what may happen during an earthquake, such as buildings falling down, fires, gas leaks, etc. It goes into further particulars, such as how it feels to be in an earthquake, and what safety measures to take.

The illustrations are very simple, and not especially appealing, but they do help illustrate the points well.

All in all, a good book for children ages 8 -12 who live in earthquake prone areas, especially.

I highly recommend this book. It's a very fresh, diverse, and multicultural approach to Christianity and moral ethics in general. It's very easy reading in lay person's terms.

The Episcopal church in the twentieth century took advantage of the general availability of publishing to good advantage, compiling through several auspices different collections and teaching series, the latest of which was only completed a few years ago. There have been 'unofficial' collections of teaching texts, such as the Anglican Studies Series by Morehouse press, put out in the 1980s, as well as an earlier teaching series. However, each generation approaches things anew; the New Church Teaching Series, published by Cowley Publications (a company operated as part of the ministry of the Society of St. John the Evangelist - SSJE - one of the religious/monastic communities in the Episcopal church, based in the Boston area) is the most recent series, and in its thirteen volumes, explores in depth and breadth the theology, history, liturgy, ethics, mission and more of the modern Anglican vision in America.

This ninth volume, 'Ethics after Easter' by Stephen Holmgren, looks at the issues of ethics and morality in an Anglican fashion. The first question Holmgren addresses is what are called to do from our Baptimal covenant? How now should we live? There are questions in this of worship, of theology and of spirituality, but Holmgren specifically addresses the question from the standpoint of moral theology - a high-sounding phrase that really focuses upon the basic question of our vision of God, and how God would want us to live.

There is much discernment to be done, by the individual and by the community. Holmgren addresses topics such as social justice, war and peace, sin, love, and other key issues. He sets out various approaches to ethics - do we look at the issue from the standpoint of human civil laws, or from the standpoint of God's desires for us, or both? Drawing from this, there are three ethical approaches - natural law, the historicist view, and the 'positivist' view, the one where we make a choice based on our own and communal discernment. None of these are guaranteed to give a right or wrong answer (indeed, all may lead to the wrong answer!), and rarely are any used in exclusion of the others.

Holmgren looks the issues of sin, love, law, justification, sanctification and many other 'theological' concepts in application to daily life and work, as well as broader planning and communal living and decision-making. At the end of each chapter, Holmgren sets forth axiomatic statements that build a framework (axioms are basic 'truths' widely accepted as being true, relevant and applicable generally). The system of twenty-two axioms are set out in the conclusion/appendix.

Stephen Holmgren is an Episcopal priest in Wisconsin, having also served in Tennessee. He is a professor of ethics and moral theology at Nashota House, one of the Episcopal seminaries in the church. He also is active in the area of medical ethics, and is a regular conference leader and speaker.

Each of the texts is relatively short (only two of the volumes exceed 200 pages), the print and text of each easy to read, designed not for scholars but for the regular church-goer, but not condescending either - the authors operate on the assumption that the readers are genuinely interested in deepening their faith and practice. Each volume concludes with questions for use in discussion group settings, and with annotated lists of further readings recommended.

I've truly tried to appreciate this book. I really have. I've actually plowed my way through it on two different occasions. But with all due respect to its author, the book is just soooo boring, soooo tedious, and soooo simplistic that it's difficult to work up any enthusiasm for it. This is a shame, because Christian ethics is both an intrinsically exciting field and an excruciatingly important one for those of us who struggle to respond to the world as loyal members of a community of faith.

Perhaps one of the reasons this book is so dissatisfying is that it struggles so hard to play it safe. Author Holmgren provides a very traditional account of moral knowledge derived from reason and from revelation, nods to the very obvious fact that agreement on moral principles doesn't entail agreement about practice, and points out the equally obvious fact that principles are general and moral dilemmas are concrete and situational and that casuistry is the discipline of trying to apply the one to the other. All this is as predictable (and as stimulating) as the Baltimore Catechism. Holmgren only begins to enter into interesting waters when he reflects on the tension between the human desire for the good and human fallenness, but he quickly pulls back by offering the reader a deadly account of the seven deadly vices. Reading his book, one would never suspect that Christian ethics is an incredibly rich, incredibly complex, incredibly diverse, and incredibly rewarding area of investigation that draws on anthropology, psychology, sociology, and philosophy as well as scripture and tradition. There's a certain quaintness to the book that makes it seem as if it written in the mid-nineteenth century before moral theologians such as Rowan Williams, John Macquarrie, Gene Outka or Stanley Hauerwas were born!

I appreciate that the volumes in the New Church's Teaching Series, of which Holmgren's book is one, are intended as popular introductions to lay Anglicans. But the new series, with the notable exception of Margaret Guenther's beautiful book on prayer, tends, like Holmgren's book, to be simplistic, boring, and patronising. My guess is that they are bought and read by Anglicans more out of a sense of duty than joyful eagerness. That's a genuine pity, because the Anglican spiritual, theological, and moral tradition is a beautiful and insightful one. How in the world can the Episcopal Church hope to excite its members about their faith when it feeds them such pablum?!

For those people with little or no investment experience, I think this is an appropriate book. It's fairly comprehensive but doesn't go into detail. I would keep it as a handy reference rather than as an investment guide (not enough investment advice).

I loved this book! It gave me a complete overview of different investment markets, and how to capitalize on them. This book taught me how important it is to understand that starting your investments today is one of the biggest factors to my financial security. I think this book is great for someone who wants a good foundation of the knowledge on Wall Street and other investment areas.

The book gives a good summary of different investment vehicles out there to beginner and somewhat experienced investors. However, the book does push the idea of investing through Dean Witter a little too much especially in the beginning chapters. Not bad as a reference book although the Motley Fool books are a little more amusing.

I received the book and it was in such poor condition - for a 'like new' book.
I returned the book and have never received a replacement.
I was promised a refund-never received. Do you really want to know what I think? - I doubt it. i am forced to give it 1 star which it does not in any way merit. I notified the seller immediately. Mailed it to them at my expense. Told me they never received it.
Sharon Rowe

I have finished reading this book and I intend to keep it to be pulled out occasionally and re-read some sections. I would recommend it to anyone wishing to keep God in the moment.

This marvelous book on prayer covers all aspects of integrating prayer and God into one's daily life--everything from using one's imagination to deepen prayer to converting work and action into prayer. It is metitative and poetically written, yet clear and easy to understand. Filled with depth and wisdom, it's a book to return to again and again.

I had borrowed the book from the library, but now will go out and buy a copy to pass around to relatives and friends (I like to do that with particularly worthwhile books).

Please IGNORE the previous one-star review from an utterly CLUELESS person--who was NOT even reviewing this book, but rating a particular seller of the book!

I bought this as a present for my grand-daughter. I plan to collect all of Mary Engelbreit's Classic Library. These are the books that many generations have shared for years only illustrated by one of my favorite contempory artist!

Marilla and Matthew Cuthbert have always been content with their lives. While neither of them ever married, the elderly brother and sister have always made the best of their situation, keeping one another company, and getting the chores done around the sprawling Green Gables, where they reside. But as Matthew nears sixty, Marilla can't help but feel that he needs someone to assist him with the daily chores that have begun to grow stressful on his aging bones. Taking this into consideration, they decide to bring an orphan boy into their home. An individual who will have the opportunity to leave the asylum they have spent much of their life in, and have a true place to call home, as long as they agree to lend a helping hand to both Marilla and Matthew. But upon reaching the train station, Matthew is darned to find out that the little boy they were expecting to take home is actually a little girl.

Red-haired and freckle-faced, eleven-year-old Anne Shirley has always been a talkative individual who has spent much time strengthening her imagination by indulging in daydreams and fantasies. Her number one daydream, of course, is to have a home, and a family to call her own; which is why she's thrilled at the prospect of living at the lush, beautiful Green Gables. When she realizes that Marilla and Matthew were expecting a boy, however, Anne can't help but feel as if her one true hope in life is quickly being taken from her. She can't imagine going back to the asylum where there was "no scope for the imagination," and leaving the wonderful food, delightful people, and beautiful property of Green Gables behind. Luckily, with a dose of her non-stop talking, Matthew and Marilla realize that they can't possibly live without the wonderful Anne Shirley, and decide to keep her. Little did they know, however, is that with little Anne Shirley in residence, Green Gables will never be the same!

No matter how many times I have been to the bookstore, I feel as if L.M. Montgomery's ANNE OF GREEN GABLES has been gazing at me, yet never, in all these years have I ever read the classic story. It wasn't until I discovered Mary Engelbreit's edition that I decided to delve in to the world of Green Gables. Now I don't know how I ever survived all these years without being introduced to the lovely Anne Shirley. From the moment she arrives on the scene, Anne is a captivating character who you can't pull your eyes away from. Her wild imagination, stubbornness, and strong-willed personality make her absolutely irresistible; and the fact that she is so determined to hold grudges, do well academically, and give back to the compassionate Marilla and Matthew only makes you love her more. The fact that Montgomery has managed to create an assortment of supporting characters who you can't help but adore - from Marilla to Matthew, and Diana to Gilbert Blythe - only adds another delightful dimension to the tale. An enchanting story no one should miss!

Erika Sorocco
Freelance Reviewer

Don't be fooled by the promise of illustrations by Mary Engelbreit. This is one of my favorite childhood books, and I bought this edition expecting illustrations by Mary Engelbreit throughout the book. The only illustration is the front cover. Do not buy this book expecting an illustrated volume.

...This one caught my eye for several reasons. Michael Hague is a British illustrator who usually illustrates fairy tales and classics like Peter Pan. He's not my "all-time favorite" in terms of style, but he does a good, quality job.

What really got my attention was the table of contents. The book is divided into four sections, each one starting with one of the four resurrection accounts (note: the "sacred art" is not that great on some of the pictures - a little scary!). Then there are stories, hymns and poems grouped according to four themes: "A Time of Faith," "...Rebirth", "...Celebration," and "...Love."Stories include "The Selfish Giant" by Oscar Wilde, "The Maid of Emmaus," "The Boy Who Discovered Spring," "Why The Easter Bunny Lays Eggs," "Bramble and Buckwheat' by Ethel Pochocki (note: who also wrote "Once Upon A Time Saints," a book we had growing up), "The White Blackbird" by Padraic Colum (great author), and "The Rat-Catcher's Daughter." Lots of poems by William Blake, Rossetti, Hopkins, and Aileen Fisher. Well, I bought the book this Christmas...I remembered to bring it out this Easter. It's about the size of a kid's picture book, but thicker (133 pp), and the cover is beautiful! So are the title pages and contents. We started reading it on Easter afternoon (I always cry at "The Selfish Giant's" ending...note: my kids (age 7-down) really liked the "Selfish Giant!") I really liked the hymns and poems. And most of the illustrations were really good (like I said, the resurrection ones weren't that great). The kids have been looking through it over and over. Even though they can't read the stories, they love the pictures. Oh, there's also a section on Easter customs from around the world that I look forward to reading.

So we'll be looking forward to bringing out this book in our home as an Easter tradition, and I recommend it for other families who are in the market for the same kind of book.

I was hoping from its description that this book would offer a sort of Unitarian Universalist explanation of Easter and its symbols - one my young children would be able to understand and appreciate, without being scared. Unfortunately we started with the Oscar Wilde tale of the scary giant who eventually meets a boy with big holes in his wrists and immediately dies. Uh...what? Not good bedtime material. We tried some others that were more factual, but unfortunately they either completely blew the cover off the Easter bunny or read like dry essays. The illustrations are pretty, but I'm sending this one back.

The stunning illustrations will draw you and your children in to this book, where you'll find wonderful stories -- some of which have overtly spiritual themes, some which explain Easter traditions, and others which are just fun. The shorter poems can be read to younger children. I would have given this book 5 stars except that it quotes from the King James Version of the Bible - please, authors, give us more kids books that use age-appropriate versions of the Bible.

This could have been a wonderful read. The elements are there: an intriguing setting, an interesting story, a variety of characters. But somewhere along the way the author lost her way. None of the characters is compelling or memorable, and their relationships to one another are seldom developed. Often, instead of dialogue, we get a lecture that could have been part of the forum rather than part of a conversation. The editing of this book was practically non-existent; a paragraph would be followed by a paragraph that was totally unrelated to what was going on in previous one. Lara's thinking-out-loud became a redundant summary of the plot so far. When the killer was revealed it was like "huh? who is that?" I read this for a book club, and almost all of us said we wouldn't have finished the book if we were reading it on our own. A major disappointment.

Lara McClintoch, co-owner with her ex-husband Clive, of an upscale antiques store in Toronto, has been to some very exotic places but has never really gone on a vacation. Her best friend Moira Meller who is also Clive's girlfriend, convinces her to go on a real vacation to Easter Island also known as Ropa Nui. The island is famous for its Moai statues several feet high and facing inland several resting on a base known as an ahu.

Nobody knows who carved them or how they were made but the Ropa Nui Moai congress meet on the island and accept Moira and Lora as members. A native who has visions says that one of the group will die shortly on a specific spot. This actually happens but Lara sees evidence that the member was murdered not accidentally killed by a horse. When the star of the Congress, who made a very important find to back up his belief that the native language came from Chile, is murdered, the police are forced to act. The daughter of another group member lies in a coma and nobody knows why. Lora thinks that all these events are linked and she goes his extraordinary lengths to prove her theory and save the remaining members of the group.

After reading THE MOAI MURDERS, readers will have a definite picture in the mind's eye what Easter Island actually looks like, what the natives are like and who people want to vacation there. Lyn Hamilton has written a colorful, exciting and totally absorbing amateur sleuth novel that will be enjoyed by readers who like a complicated and complex who-done-it and armchair travelers.

Harriet Klausner

Once again we are flown away to one of the most mysterious and fascinating places in the world. This time, Ms. Hamilton's part time "Sherlock Holmes" and full time antique dealer, Lara McClintoch, is on a vacation...from everything except murder. I should have written murders. Follow her through a history lesson that is painless, entertaining, and incredibly informative and try to outguess her. Betcha you can't.

Reading Ms. Hamilton's books should qualify us for Master's Degrees in History and Archaeology. Reading these "impossible to put down" books certainly qualifies us for being extremely well entertained.

The previous reviewer (who does not give his name) is a bigot whose mind has been made up and who refuses to be 'confused' by the facts. Thank God that Mr. Woodrow is a man of integrity and courage. He actually has admitted that he was wrong in his book "Babylon Mystery Religion" and he has been trying to set things straight. The previous reviewer needs to read this book carefully and do some serious soul-searching. I can heartily recommend all of Mr. Woodrow's books written since he repudiated his "Babylon Mystery Religion" tract a decade ago.

I noted with dismay that Mr. Woodrow is among the millions who naively "believe" in a translator, without seriously searching the Koine Greek Text from which our Bible has been translated! I am a bilingual person and I studied with great care much more than this 3day/night issue; and I can prove from the Greek N/T that there is NOT A SINGLE WORD in the entire N/T that would support a "first day of the week" theory! The Greek words for the "first" (protos) and "day" (himera) are not written there to support a "first day of the week" resurrection theory! This 3day/3night controversy has led to much division into Christ's body of believers for the past 1900 years; and this ought not to have happened IF the people "in charge" would have done their biblical "home work" with respect for the Greek text as well. Some in power only desire "high positions" rather than be honest in handling Christ's Words of truth! I read/write both Greek and Russian and I can tell you that their alphabet is almost identical! Therefore, if the people "in charge" would have learned at least the alphabet, they could have ascertained (with little help from Greek biblical lexicons/commentaries) the fact I just revealed above! It is SO OBVIOUS for a trained eye to see in ALL RELEVANT VERSES involving 3days/3nights issue that our Lord Jesus was raised from his grave immediately (and during twi-light time) "after the 3 days and 3 nights have duly expired", as HE ASCERTAINED WITH DIVINE AUTHORITY before the monitoring security services of the Hebrew temple! The point made in the Greek is CHRIST'S DIVINE AUTHORITY OVER DEATH, not necessarily "the time"; as in Greek grammar "time of action" is secondary concern before the "kind of action" principle. And, though in this case, since Jesus' divine authority over death and grave was paramount, it follows that He insisted on 3 days and 3 nights course...just because He wanted so, and He explained Himself why so! But, generally in Greek grammar, the "kind of action" principle is paramount, and the "time of action" is secondary!
Very sincerely,
Anthony Ianosel, Esq.

Ralph you lost it!!! The very sign of our savior you now deny! The whore church and her daughter use this Sunday sunrise to change the commandment of GOD! Only the elect will understand and KEEP the laws of God. First becaue we love him and then we love you (neighbor). Wake up and smell the coffee again. Satan is the real emeny. John6:44