Dr. Fisher's Life on the Ark: Green Alligators, Bushman, and Other "Hare-Raising" Tales from America's Most Popular Zoo and Around the World

Customer Reviews:

It's Like Meeting Someone Really Interesting.......2006-07-16

I love this book.

None of the stories contained in this book are more than a few pages long, but each one is as fascinating and memorable as the last. Dr. Fisher's penchant for brevity may leave some readers wanting more details, but the the good doctor gives us just enough to get his stories across. His simplistic approach to storytelling gives the book an almost intimate feeling.

The writing style may not be for everyone, but I felt like the pacing fit perfectly with the anecdotal nature of the stories. The whole book feels like you're sitting down with Dr. Fisher and he's just rattling off story after story about things that happened to him once. In some ways, it's the casual way that he talks about remarkable things (from taking care of Patton's dog to delivering a baby cow in the middle of a ferocious storm to tracking down escaped gorillas) that makes this book so interestings.

Many of the stories are funny. Some of them are sad. All of them are fascinating.

Green polar bears, and long-necked flamingos.......2005-05-25

Every kid who grew up in Chicago in the 70s remembers Dr. Lester Fisher from his "Ark in the Park" segments on the Ray Rayner Show. Now, Dr. Fisher has written an interesting and anecdotal book about his years as head veterinarian and director at Lincoln Park Zoo.

Here are his tales of gorillas getting out of their cages and being coaxed back in with snakes, of which they are afraid; of the polar bear whose fur turned green, and the polar bear who ate too many marshmallows; of the leopard who ate his own mate; of Prince Phillip visiting the zoo and getting ape waste thrown at him (and taking it very kindly); of the flamingo who flew away; of the chimpanzees who had "tea parties" - two of whom, Keo and June, are still living at the zoo. Fisher also talks about his appearances on TV, including the Halloween show in which he tried to pass his black cat off as a "Scottish wild cat." He ends the book with a long description of his African travels.

The book is well-written and easy to read, and would be enjoyable for anyone interested in the inner workings of a major zoo. The photos are excellent - notice the spectacled bear and the gorillas. Chicagoans, of course, will enjoy this book even more. I wish he had included maps of the old and new zoo configurations, so I could see how things changed over the years, but that's a minor quibble from a long-time visitor.

To sum up: You'll read about green alligators and long-necked geese, some humpty backed camels and some chimpanzees, some cats and rats and elephants, but sure as you're born, you'll enjoy this book even with no unicorns!

especially for animal lovers.......2004-09-09

Dr. Fisher's Life On The Ark is the autobiographical story of Lester E. Fisher and his adventures (and misadventures) arising from his responsibilities of being the director of the famous Lincoln Park Zoo. From the ups and downs of training at veterinary school, to safari adventures at Africa and around the world, to establishing a successful track record and legacy in gorilla breeding and much more, Dr. Fisher's Life On The Ark is a story of one man's real-life animal escapades, and his work to preserve and promote awareness while transforming one of the oldest, most-visted, and last free zoos in America. Highly recommended reading -- especially for animal lovers!

Behind the scenes at Lincoln Park Zoo.......2004-07-22

As a child, and still as an adult, I have always enjoyed seeing how things worked behind the scenes. Especially famous things, like theaters, bike factories, commercial bakeries. So it was really great to read this book and find out how it was to run a veterinary clinic, to be a zoo vet, and to get behind-the-scenes stories about life at the world famous Lincoln Park Zoo, especially from its 30-year director, Dr. Lester E. Fisher. Zoos are amazing places, and incredible things happen at them that the casual, or even the frequent, visitor will never see or hear about. Animal escapes, animal births and deaths, the movement of wild animals. This book is full of interesting, funny, and scary episodes of life in the zoo world. To top it off, we get to go on African wild animal photo safaris with Dr. Fisher in the latter portions of the book, and these trips give rise to a whole different kind of crazy and interesting happenings. This book will provide pleasure to all those who love zoos and animals, and also to those who simply enjoy engaging stories about the world and its inhabitants, human and otherwise.

A delightful memoir of a life with animals.......2004-07-09

For anyone who loves animals, remembers "Zoo Parade" broadcasts from the Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago, or supports preserving endangered species, Dr. Lester Fisher's new book is a delightful read.

I first watched "Zoo Parade" growing up in Cleveland and when I moved to Chicago, made a beeline for the Lincoln Park Zoo, one of the country's remaining free urban zoos. Dr. Les Fisher brought the zoo up to contemporary standards of animal care and pioneered the breeding of gorillas. His book not only talks about his years as a part-time vet working with the famed Marlin Perkins, but also about his own 30 years as Zoo Director. Of particular interest are his stories about the photographic safaris he led with his wife Wendy for wildlife lovers and zoo supporters throughout Africa.

It's a refreshing and charming memoir that celebrates man's best efforts to preserve and honor the world's wild creatures.

Carpentry for Children
Average customer rating:

"A good book" by David Stull, age 14

Carpentry for Children
Lester R. Walker
Manufacturer: Overlook TP
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0879519908

Customer Reviews:

"A good book" by David Stull, age 14.......1998-07-12

Carpentry for Children, by Les Walker is an incredible book with enlightening and challenging projects that will delight children for hours upon hours

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Domestic Violence Goes Extreme
When Dad Killed Mom
Could've been better.
Great
Good reading for older teens

When Dad Killed Mom
Julius Lester
Manufacturer: Silver Whistle Paperbacks
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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The First Part Last
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It Happened to Nancy: By an Anonymous Teenager, A True Story from Her Diary

ASIN: 0152046984

Book Description

Jenna and Jeremy knew their parents' marriage was in trouble. But no one could have predicted what would come next. Now with Mom dead and Dad in jail, Jenna and Jeremy must re-create a family of their own. But each guards a secret that could send their fragile new lives into a tailspin.
Newbery Honor winner Julius Lester paints a dramatic portrait of a family forced to confront the unimaginable.
Reader's guide included.

Customer Reviews:

Domestic Violence Goes Extreme.......2007-02-09

Twelve-year-old Jeremy and fourteen-year-old Jenna lived a pretty normal life with their parents. Their father was a psychologist and Jenna was always his favorite. Their mother was an artist and Jeremy was her special pet. Recently it seemed that there was a lot of tension in the house, especially between Jenna and her mother. They two of them were constantly fighting about everything, and it seemed like Jenna's father was always taking her side and making things worse. Jeremy and Jenna both thought their parents would probably get divorced, like all of the other kids they knew. But then one day they are pulled out of class and told that their father killed their mother. He shot her twice at a coffee shop and then went home.

Now Jeremy and Jenna don't know what to think. Jeremy hates his father and never wants to see him again, while Jenna still feels like she should have some loyalty toward him because of the relationship they used to have. She goes to live with her father's ex-wife who has remained over the course of the years a very close family friend. Jeremy lives at his mother's studio, surrounded by her artwork.

One afternoon while going through some of his mother's things, Jeremy finds her diary, which goes a long way toward explaining what was going on in his parents' marriage. Meanwhile, Jenna finds out from her father's ex-wife that her father wasn't always completely truthful with her.

Both kids have to decide what to do with their new knowledge, especially since their father's trial is approaching. Should they stand up for the man who killed their mother, or should they turn their backs on their only remaining parent?

I liked the mystery of the family's dynamics, and the way the kids saw little by little what had been going on between their parents leading up to the murder. I liked being able to read the different points of view, to see how Jenna and Jeremy separately were working through their grief. The character of the father was utterly unsympathetic--he was creepy and manipulative, and I couldn't believe that either of his children would ever consider testifying in his defence.

When Dad Killed Mom.......2006-01-09

This book is about how two children are dealing with the fact that their father murdered their mother. "My mother is dead. Dad killed her," is how the book begins. Lester goes back and forth on why Jeremy and his older sister, eighth-grader Jenna, think their father might have killed their mom. Throughout the book you look for clues to why their father, who was a psychologist, killed his wife, Rachel. Jeremy finds information in his mother's diary and thinks of possible reason why. The diary gave clues that their dad may have been cheating on his wife and she found out and was going to divorcee him. The author also shows the children's individual struggles to deal with the aftermath of their mom's death such as their challenges at school, how they have become distant with each other, and how they are ever going to forgive or even talk to their father, all the while trying to find out how he killed her and if their dad was going to stay in jail the rest of his life. The courtroom scene at the father's trial leads to other problems and conflicts in the preceding chapters. Julius Lester did a great job with this book and I would recommend it to everyone in junior high and high school.

Could've been better........2005-11-02

I thought that the book was only OKAY, because there were some parts that I believed were gross and kind of sexual. The book was about a teenage girl and her younger brother who have to deal with their dad killing their mother. The book switches from Jenna's (the girl) point of view to Jack's point of view(the boy). In my eyes Jenna was a mean little brat to her mom, although Jack seemed to love his mom and respect her. Jenna was into GIRLS and their bodies. Jack loved to paint just like his mom, so when she died he took over her studio and went there to paint and to think of her in the hard times he endured.

Great.......2005-09-20

This book was very moving and a real page turner...I couldn't put it down! A must read.

Good reading for older teens.......2005-05-06

In the book "When Dad Killed Mom," Jeremy and Jenna go through a hard time when they learn that their father killed their mother in the middle of the road in broad daylight. The entire town knows, and everyone is talking about what will happen next. Will their dad go to jail? And if he does, where will the kids go? This story is told alternating from Jeremy's to Jenna's point of view, so the tone changes. This is one of the best books I've ever read, but since some of the subject matter is mature, I would reccomend it for older teens. Great book, five stars.

Average customer rating:

Honest and Inspiring
This is a must-read for every student who struggles in schoo

Author: A True Story
Helen Lester
Manufacturer: Houghton Mifflin/Walter Lorraine Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0395827442

Book Description

So begins the story of Helen Lester, author of Tacky the Penguin and many other popular books for children. By sharing her struggles as a child and later as a successful author, she demonstrates that hurdles are part of the process. She even gives writing tips, such as keeping a "fizzle box." Helen Lester uses her unique ability to laugh at her mistakes to create both a guide for young writers and an amusing personal story of the disappointments and triumphs of a writer's life.

Customer Reviews:

Honest and Inspiring.......2007-08-12

This is Helen Lester's true story of how she became a writer--from struggling in grade school to becoming a published author (many times). It's inspiring because it shows that writing is not simple--even for those gifted with the pen, but that it takes time and effort and a lot of rewrites. I would recommend it to anyone trying to show a child that writing does not always come easily, but that even the toughest writing struggles can be overcome with perseverance. It also explains the illustrator's job and how good illustrations help sell stories. Helen Lester's fiction books are hysterical and this companion "biography" is a must if you are a fan of her works.

This is a must-read for every student who struggles in schoo.......1999-11-20

This enchanting book must be read to every class of learning disabled students, and should be in every elementary classroom as well. Ms. Lester shows, with amusement and the touching words of a small child, that writing can be fun-for anyone! Even if writing is a struggle, it can be enjoyed. This book will make students with problems know it's okay to be different, and that they can still go on to a productive, happy life. That is so important, as so many adults are scarred by the unhappy times they spent in schools, attempting to learn what was for them, almost impossible. I feel almost all students would enjoy this book. Thank you to Mrs. Lester for saying what so many needed to hear.

Average customer rating:

Richie's Picks: CUPID
Stupid: a tale of banality and ennui
Love it!
Courtesy of Teens Read Too

Cupid: A Tale of Love and Desire
Julius Lester
Manufacturer: Harcourt Children's Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 015202056X

Book Description

This is the story of Cupid--the god responsible for heartache, sleepless nights, and all those silly love songs--finally getting his comeuppance. When the god of love falls in love himself, things are bound to get interesting. And when he crosses his mama, Venus, in the process . . . Well, things could get downright messy.

The much-lauded author of Pharaoh's Daughter and When Dad Killed Mom brings his renowned storytelling skills to one of the world's most famous tales. In doing so he weaves a romantic, hilarious drama brought to life with a bold new voice that's loaded with sly wisdom. Julius Lester's retelling is sure to draw new readers to classic mythology while satisfying old fans as well.

Customer Reviews:

Richie's Picks: CUPID.......2007-04-06

"Every day around the time people's shadows snuck beneath their feet to get out of the sun, the tall wooden doors to the palace grounds swung open, and Psyche came out to take her daily walk. Men, women, children, and all the creatures stopped what they were doing to look at her. Birds flying by would see Psyche, stop flapping their wings, and fall to the ground. Ants would be toting crumbs which, to them, were as big as China. They could not see anything of Psyche except a sixteenth of an inch of her big toenail, but that was enough for them to be so overcome by her beauty that they dropped their crumbs and just stared."

"Had it been another day
I might have looked the other way
And I'd have never been aware
But as it is I'll dream of her tonight"
-- Lennon and McCartney, I've Just Seen a Face

Julius Lester's irreverent, storyteller's version of the tale of Cupid and Psyche for adolescents is a telling that is in equal parts thoroughly entertaining and exceptionally meaningful to readers young and old. As he states in his author note:

"The experience of love is the most central and profound of our lives. Yet we are given no instruction in the ways of love. Popular music and movies are our primary sources for what we think love is and should be, and as entertaining as these media are, the views of love they present are more often expressions of sentimentality instead of representations of the very hard realities of what it means to be human and what the act of loving presents us with."

"Love is careless in its choosing - sweeping over cross a baby
Love descends on those defenseless
Idiot love will spark the fusion
Inspirations have I none - just to touch the flaming dove
All I have is my love of love - and love is not loving"
-- David Bowie, Soul Love

In a version for today's readers, Psyche and Cupid are characters with whom we can relate. The first thing we hear out of Psyche's mouth is her telling her father that she doesn't appreciate his deciding what she can do and when she can do it. Meanwhile, Cupid, a hunk with wings, is totally under the thumb of his mom Venus. But that, of course, begins to change after jealous Mom sends Cupid to deal with the problem of Psyche's attracting all of that attention and, Cupid gets an eyeful of what has been making the birds fall out of the sky:

"Cupid still could not move, which is not an uncommon response in the presence of beauty. Even gods and goddesses are not exempt from beauty's forbidding and terrifying power. Let there be no mistake: Cupid was afraid. Perhaps more than any of the deities on Olympus, he was the one always in control of himself. Let the other deities entrap themselves in human emotions, but he knew better. And so it was until he saw Psyche.

"Now standing there, looking at her, for the first time in his eternal life Cupid faced a choice: maintain control and leave Psyche, or submit to his desire for her and never be wholly in control of his life ever again. (And for him, ever was not a figure of speech.)

"There come moments in each of our journeys when we can no longer continue our lives as they are. But neither can we see what we will become. We either go forward, with no idea of where we are going or what we are doing, or we remain as we are -- and begin to die, though we do not realize that is the choice we have made. This is why love is such a fearful undertaking, and why, for so many women especially, the wedding day is fraught with terror and tears. Why do people voluntarily agree to relinquish a degree of control over their lives and pledge themselves to take into consideration the needs, desires, and shortcomings of another for the rest of their lives?"

Julius Lester has spent much of his writing career taking on the responsibility for passing along stories that have been previously conveyed down through the generations. A couple of years ago, in his autobiographic, ON WRITING FOR CHILDREN & OTHER PEOPLE, he explained:

"Traditional folktales taught the adults and children of a group how to live, what kinds of behavior to emulate, and what kinds to avoid so they could be reasonably assured of having a life approved by the deities. Folktales recorded the psychic history of a group by evoking the past, affirming the present, and showing the way to the future.

"Such tales did not have individual authors. Though they may have been created by especially gifted people within the group, tales were only passed from one generation to the next because they fulfilled a need of the group. Today the oral tradition has been replaced by mass media and children's books have become the conservators of the oral tradition.

"This is, of course, a paradox. Stories from the oral tradition cease to be oral once they are written down. When confined to the page they become literature, the product of a single mind, one person's skill with words and silence. Traditional stories, however, come from a community and are shaped and reshaped by all who tell them and hear them. Literature exists on the page where it cannot be changed. Stories are elastic and are created anew on the tongue of each teller.

"The nature of our society is inimical to storytelling because we no longer live in cohesive communities. We no longer educate each other with stories in which our joys and sorrows are refashioned into an art that serves as a mirror for the entire community. The question becomes then: How can one fit the marvelous elasticity of a story onto the page without injuring the story? It is possible only if one refuses to regard the page as the story's final destination, an exalted end. The page is merely the means to return stories to the mouths and tongues of anyone who wishes to tell them."

As he has previously done with other retellings, the author succeeds in differentiating between the story and the storyteller by creating a lively and memorable personality for his storytelling narrator. Through frequent asides, imagery, and allusions, the voice of the storyteller makes us aware as readers that there is someone from our own time telling us this traditional story, someone who is interjecting a lot of humor, relevance, and wisdom into that telling. Through his employing this voice, Julius Lester makes this a tale for today.

Teens with attitudes about the irrelevance of Greek and Roman gods to their high-tech Twenty-first Century lives will find themselves doing a serious one-eighty in their thinking if and when they are fortunate enough to be turned on to this outstanding story and guide to the meaning of the verb 'to love.'

Stupid: a tale of banality and ennui.......2007-03-24

Great idea, poorly written. I purchased to possibly use in a class on Fantasy Lit, but the writing style was so self-conscious that the book now collects dust.

Love it!.......2007-01-29

The book came on time and was in excellent condition! I am still reading the book, and I am very impressed by it. It is an cleverly written version of the Cupid and Psyche story! I highly recommend it!

Courtesy of Teens Read Too.......2006-12-24

Everybody knows who Cupid is, right? He's the chubby little guy in diapers, who shoots people with arrows and makes them fall in love. Or at least that's how we picture him. I assume he probably wore diapers at some point, but this isn't that story. If you've ever read or studied any mythology, you know that gods were believed to be a lot like people. They made mistakes, broke the rules, did stupid things, and weren't always nice. This IS that story.

Though he is the title character, this story doesn't start with him. It all begins with a beautiful girl named Psyche. Actually, she's more than beautiful. Words don't exist to describe her beauty. Ask the letters, because they tried. Psyche is so amazing to behold that all of the people in the kingdom stop what they're doing to catch a glimpse of her on her afternoon walk. Her father, the king, fearing the economic failure of his country, limits her walks. As with most of the best laid plans, this one backfires. People quit working entirely to hang out by the castle waiting for the next time Psyche leaves. Then people from other kingdoms start to relocate, all to see this incredible creature.

Now normally the affairs of humans don't interest the gods. However, Venus, the goddess of love and beauty, gets a little feisty when her temples are being neglected. When she finds out that there is a human who is possibly more beautiful than she is and is stealing her attention... Let's just say the goddess of love is not immune to jealousy. And, being a goddess, she is in a position to cause some trouble. Enter Cupid, son of Venus, sent down to stir up some trouble.

Cupid has never been in love. Cupid gets entertainment by making unlikely people fall in love, by making happy couples fall into hate, making people fall in love with people who are already in love with other people, and sometimes making people fall in love with things that aren't people at all. Cupid's really not all that great of a guy sometimes. Venus sends him to earth to take care of Psyche. Except Cupid falls in love with Psyche. That's when the real trouble starts.

This is a great story, and worth being retold in any case. This particular retelling had me laughing hysterically. The Story and the Narrator are constantly disagreeing over which points are important enough to include in the tale. They discuss and fight at random intervals, until the Story gets involved in hearing the Narrarator's version of itself. It's hilarious!

If mythology had been available in this form when I was studying it, I definitely wouldn't have gotten a "D."

Reviewed by: Carrie Spellman

Average customer rating:

Big Eyes
Prez in a Swinging Poetic Voice

No Eyes: Lester Young
David Meltzer
Manufacturer: Black Sparrow Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1574231294

Product Description

In 1959, at the age of fifty, tenor man Lester Young a lyrical player, his airy tone haunted by a breathy melancholy died alone in the Arvin Hotel in Manhattan. David Meltzer's latest book is a poetic meditation on the last year of Young's life, a year of joyful playing and self-willed dying, of creation and negation. But what do "eyes" and "no eyes" mean? In hipster's parlance: "To see or not to see, to be or not to be, to do or to die." As Meltzer explains, "No Eyes is a book about death, and Young sits in for a metaphor for the artist living and dying for and with his art."

Customer Reviews:

Big Eyes.......2002-09-25

I kind of trashed Meltzer's "Reading Jazz," so let me make it up here with a big thumbs up for a really fun collection. The poems in No Eyes are accessible and lyrical with a great feel for the music--they spread down the page like tasty sax tootles in a classic Young solo. I especially like how Meltzer balances the beauty of Lester's playing against the tragedy of his life. Snippets of song lyrics, conversation and Young's private slang weave through the poems to give a clever snapshot of the man behind the sax. And Meltzer's love for the music is clear from the downbeat. Big eyes for this one.

Prez in a Swinging Poetic Voice.......2000-12-01

David Meltzer's long meditative poem on jazz giant Lester "Prez" Young is a moving (both swinging and poignant) tribute to this unique tenor sax stylist. Based on the last year of Young's life, which he spent mostly in a hotel room in New York City, and on a photograph of the great jazzman printed in the New York Times that shows him sitting on his bed cradling his horn, Meltzer's poem reproduces Prez's jivy speech patterns and diction as a way of exploring the jazz master's music, his attitudes toward his audience, his imitators, his detractors, and his experience with racism in the military that has been blamed for his near mental breakdown and his increasingly reclusive nature. Meltzer also incorporates popular song titles and phrases into his poetic lines in order to delve into the jazzman's psyche, utilizing especially the song "All of Me" as a way of suggesting, for example, that when the police found his lifeless body in his hotel room they confiscated his few possessions but did not take "all" of him because his music lives on. Beautifully designed and printed, with photos of Young and musical motifs at the beginning of Meltzer's beat, bop-like meditations, this is a striking edition and the long poem is fully worthy of Black Sparrow's fine production. Meltzer's poem is one of the most convincing literary treatments of jazz ever conceived and created.

Pharaoh's Daughter: A Novel of Ancient Egypt

Average customer rating:

References to nudity in this book
brea-lynn pharaoh's daughter
.*Pharoahs Daughter*.
What a Great Book!!!!
Home School Book Review -- Ancient Egypt

Pharaoh's Daughter: A Novel of Ancient Egypt
Julius Lester
Manufacturer: HarperTrophy
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0064409694
Release Date: 2002-02-05

Amazon.com

In his introduction to this engrossing novel of ancient Egypt, Julius Lester says, "It is difficult not to see Charlton Heston when one thinks of Moses." But not in this book. Lester's Moses is a bungling teenager, scared and confused as he tries to find the courage to decide who he is and what he believes in. Raised as the pampered grandson of Pharaoh, he enjoys the attentions of three mother figures: Yocheved, his birth mother, who constantly implores him to return to his own people; Almah, his older sister, who has left her traditions to dance naked as a priestess of the goddess Hathor; and Batya, Pharoah's daughter, who saved him from death when he was a baby. But now his anger at his unresolved split identity has goaded him into a terrible act of violence--an act that will have a vast impact on history.

Julius Lester, a distinguished African-American writer best known for his Newbery Honor Book To Be a Slave, startled the literary world in 1981 by converting to Judaism. In Pharaoh's Daughter he follows the time-honored Jewish tradition of Midrash--a way of exploring a sacred text through the use of one's imagination. Armed with an impressive knowledge of the Hebrew language and the history of ancient Egypt, he jolts us out of our expectations and brings a fresh and richly detailed perspective to the Exodus. As Moses flees with his father's blessing--"You must go and come back and teach us all to be free"--we can only hope that Julius Lester plans to tell the rest of the story. (Ages 12 and older) --Patty Campbell

Book Description

I saved my brother from the soldiers,
but the princess says he is hers now.
Abba and Ima will never trust me again.

In ancient Egypt, there lives a girl named Almah who will do anything to ensure the safety of her baby brother, Mosis.

She will leave her enslaved family and assume the role of Egyptian princess. She will change her identity if it means winning health and freedom for her brother.

Mosis, however, does not feel completely free. His identity has been changed against his will, and he longs to find himself. And when he does, he will do anything in his power to see that justice is served.

Customer Reviews:

References to nudity in this book.......2007-08-26

As an Adult, I didn't like this book at all. It seemed too mature for the ages suggested of 12 and up. There were numerous references to nudity in this book and at the end of the book there was more nudity but there was no warning in the jacket cover regarding this. It was mentioned by the author after the story, not in prelude. At the end of this book, it does not say anything about her brother and her family. This book will hurt women and girls a lot. Out of all the books that I had read, this is the worse one that I have read. This book made me sick to my stomach after I read it. Do not waster your money on getting this book and do not waster your time reading it. It is not worth it at all. I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone at all.

brea-lynn pharaoh's daughter.......2006-11-20

I like the book Pharaohs Daughter because it is about a young girl who is going through a tough time and then somthing life changing has happened to her. Part of the book was confusing because it switched to a different charecter half way through the book but then i got it after a while. i would reccomend this book to people because it is an educational book and it is a good read.

brea

.*Pharoahs Daughter*........2006-11-17

Pharaohs daughter was a good book. when I was reading this book I really couldn't stop reading it I really liked it I wanted it to go on forever. I like the part when Alamh meets the princess and wants her to live with her and be her younger sister. Also I like the part when mosis figures out what his real family is i think he made a good choice by going to Goshen . I think the author of this book is a realy good writer and has a good imagination. -CourtneyHowe

What a Great Book!!!!.......2006-11-02

I thought the Pharaoh's Daughter was a great book. It was entertaining and well written. I loved how there was two parts to the story, it made the book not get too boring. You should totally read this book!!!!!

Home School Book Review -- Ancient Egypt.......2006-07-11

The Bible does not name the sister of Moses who watched him while he hid in a basket on the Nile, but the Hebrew word used describes a woman of marriageable age. Could Moses have had another sister? Julius Lester uses the viewpoint of this imagined--but very possible--sister to tell the story of the Habiru (Hebrew) and Khemetian (Egyptian) peoples during the time of Mosis' (Moses') upbringing in the court of Ramesses II.

The author uses ancient Egyptian and Hebrew words and names whenever possible to remove images of The Ten Commandments and Prince of Egypt from readers' minds. He asks us to consider that the story we've been told was from the view-point of the Hebrews, embittered by years of slavery; he asks us to consider the Egyptians anew.

The author attempts to give an historically accurate view of the New Kingdom of Egypt. In order to keep the story as authentic as possible, he has Mosis speak in an unusual way, attempting to create his "heavy of mouth and heavy of tongue" description from the Old Testament.

Stories are even more subtle than non-fiction and evoke even more emotion and can therefore be even more persuasive, especially to young minds that have not moved into the final stages of development, so this book should only be read by children who have entered the third and final stage of mental development (as discussed in _The Well-Trained Mind_.)

To Christian parents, this is a Biblical story told from a non-Biblical perspective. The point-of-view for most of the book is Mosis' sister, Almah, who embraces the gods and goddesses of Egypt, even becoming a priestess of Hathor. There is nudity in religious circumstances and lust is discussed briefly. Many characters argue in favor of many gods and the strongest believer in Ya (the Biblical God) is portrayed in a negative light.

Despite all the possible drawbacks, this book shines fresh light on the struggles Moses and his family must have gone through in his early life. It is also a great discussion starter. Have your mature thirteen or fourteen year old child read this along with a study on ancient Egypt, then discuss family relationships, different viewpoints (is one always right and one always wrong), can a god meet a woman's needs (or does she need a goddess to understand her), etc.

The author includes an author's note and a glossary in the back of the book. Read the glossary BEFORE you read the book; save the author's note for afterwards. In the author's note, Lester explains his purpose, some of the efforts he went through to be accurate historically, and the textual reasons he made some of the decisions he made. Very informative.

Summary: Mosis' part in the dialog may make this book seem poorly developed or for a younger age group at first--until you realize that Mosis is supposed to speak poorly and it is intentional. Instead, this is a great story told in an engaging way from a refreshing viewpoint which I recommend, but only for mature thirteen year olds and older. A sort of _The Red Tent_ for teenagers, without all the sexuality. This book touched me and I became misty-eyed towards the end.

Average customer rating:

The Musical Mind of Lester Willis Young
Good analysis

Lester Young (Jazz Perspectives)
Lewis Porter
Manufacturer: University of Michigan Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Lester Leaps In: The Life and Times of Lester "Pres" Young
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ASIN: 0472089226

Book Description

Praise for Lester Young:

". . . a schematic of unparalleled insight and detail."
---Down Beat

"A monumental work."
---Dizzy Gillespie

". . . a major contribution to jazz scholarship . . . for its illumination of Lester Young's music and for setting the biographical record straight."
---Dan Morgenstern

Several new biographies of Lester Young have been published in the years since Lewis Porter's Lester Young first appeared, but none have supplanted or even attempted the in-depth study that Porter brings to his subject's music. With the same care and scholarship that characterized his John Coltrane, Porter analyzes the music that made Lester Young "the most original tenor sax in jazz."

In addition to helping us understand Lester Young's playing and stylistic evolution, Porter's analysis demonstrates that Young's playing at the end of his career did not mark a serious decline over his earlier style, as many critics have claimed.

Customer Reviews:

The Musical Mind of Lester Willis Young.......2007-04-29

This is a great book if you want to try to understand Prez. There are tons of transcribed solos, and you can listen and read along--or even better--play along. All examples are in Bb transcription, so you can play along on your own Tenor Sax.

Take for example the solo he did with Count Basie on Lady, Be Good. It is something new, something he created, it sounds like a real breakthrough, like music has been pushed to a new level. Worthy of further study. Or dig how modern Prez sounds on I Didn't Know What Time It Was. You can see several different versions of many standards, done years apart, showing the evolving sound. For instance, Just You, Just Me, the earliest version is so classic, but the later version at a quicker tempo is an interesting comparison.

Besides the transcriptions and discography, the prose is good, too. I like the writing, as it seems like it was written by a musician, with a great understanding of the music, and also a musical way of writing.

Good analysis.......2006-08-31

If you want to understand what the musical elements are in Lester's hugely influential style, read this book and listen to every recording you can afford to lay hands on.
Porter does a great job of transcribing and annotating several Young solos from different points in his career and explains with solid scholarship exactly what Young was doing and some of the whys. Porter is not among those who dismiss Lester's later work with the cliche about all the best stuff being before WWII. Instead he breaks Young's career into three periods and examines each fairly. There are some gaps in his discography, i.e.,the session with Oscar Peterson, but that may be due to the original publication date pre-dating the advent of CDs.
Charlie Parker's idol and cited as a major influence by nearly every jazz saxophonist to follow him, Lester Young was indeed the President of the Saxophone.

Average customer rating:

Great book to inform young readers about slavery.

To Be A Slave (Puffin Modern Classics)
Julius Lester , and Tom Feelings
Manufacturer: Puffin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0142403865

Book Description

What was it like to be a slave? Listen to the words and learn about the lives of countless slaves and ex-slaves, telling about their forced journey from Africa to the United States, their work in the fields and houses of their owners, and their passion for freedom. You will never look at life the same way again.

Customer Reviews:

Great book to inform young readers about slavery........2007-05-28

I've been reading about slavery for many years and this book is one of the greatest for young readers. Lester is able to convey what these people were feeling and thinking at the time and after slavery quite well. This is a great read!

Average customer rating:

The Snow Pony
Great Story
The Most Wonderful Book Ever!
Great
The Snow Pony

The Snow Pony
Alison Lester
Manufacturer: Houghton Mifflin/Walter Lorraine Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0618771255

Book Description

Three years of drought have reduced the Rileys' farm to a dirt patch
and strained the family to the breaking point. Dusty's only consolation
is her wild and beautiful horse, the Snow Pony. Together they
seem unstoppable. But when sudden violence erupts during a trip up
to the mountains, Dusty and her horse find themselves tested as
never before.

Customer Reviews:

The Snow Pony.......2007-03-16

I agree with Dressage Wanabe. This book is good, but not for very young readers. When Dusty's father begins to become an alcoholic and there are some scenes that I would rather not relive, they would signify that this book shouldn't be read by younger readers. Personally, if I had known one of those parts was in there, I would have skipped over it.

And yes, the beginning was a little slow. However, I liked this book. After a prolonged drought, Dusty and her family are in the pits of financial trouble. When Dusty begins competing on the Snow Pony, however, income begins to come back into the family account. Dusty's best friend Sally goes off to boarding school and they begin to slowly seperate, like two friends just drifting away. As things become worse in Dusty's life, including school, financial problems, her father drinking alcohol, ect., Dusty finds that her consolation is in a beautiful mare that only she can ride. Together, the two battle through tough times and end up overcoming one of the biggest challenges of them all.

I think this a good book. I gave it only four stars for some of the mature content, but besides that, mature readers should be able to enjoy this book. Especially if they like horses or reading about family difficulties. Or both!

Great Story.......2007-01-06

A wonderfully written story for anyone who loves horses. My daughter and I read this book together. We had to look up some of the Australian slang words and some of the "scenes" were a bit mature for a pre-teen (family strife involving an alcoholic dad and sexual fondling of a young girl). We picked this book up after reading Alison Lester's other horse book, The Quicksand Pony, which was also very enjoyable - and more appropriate for a younger reader. Although we both enjoyed The Snow Pony, I would recommend it only for the more mature reader.

The Most Wonderful Book Ever!.......2006-05-23

I thought the book was excellent, I could not put it down! There was an exciting part in every section of the book, I could not believe what happened in the middle of the book. The beginning of the book was kind of slow, but it will pick up, trust me. Anyways, about the book, there is a girl named Dusty, she has a brother, a dad, and a mom. Dusty's mom is in show jumping, she trains horses to show jump at their house. Her dad, Jack is a hard worker on their farm. Dusty, her dad, and her little brother go up to the cabin and see a beautiful horse and her mate. Dusty and her father watched them run in the snow, that's how dusty got the perfect horse. Dusty's mother trained the snow pony to jump and she could jump like no other horses in the world could. Well that's all that I'm going to say. Anyone who likes horses this is the book for you. Have fun reading, I'm sure you won't put this thrilling book down.

Great.......2004-06-14

I gotta tell you Dusty is an interesting charcter. She's alot like her father but is much stronger than him in ways of the heart and helps comfort her whole family during the tough times that come in the book while being a teenage girl. She is really inspiring how she never gives up on the snow pony and I must tell you if you want a heartwarming story but one where bonds are constantly being pushed then you'll love this book, you have my word on it.

The Snow Pony.......2003-03-23

I loved the book it had a few boring bits but it was still exciting.Its a fantastic book and probaly my favourite!!!!!

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