Boys Books

What Dads Can't Do is the perfect Father's Day gift. We first got this book as a gift for our preschooler from his teacher. My husband read it, loved it, and kept it! So I ordered another one for my kids. The story reminds us what it really means to love our kids.

I love these What ?? Can't Do books and so does my 18 month old. He actually brings them to me to read to him.

The illustrations are great and the words are so true and endearing. I have almost all the books in the series.

If you think of your kids thinking of you like this... it's a whole new relationship.

I so enjoy the humor in each of these books! Your children will like the pictures of the "goofy" characters. You will enjoy the subtle adult humor when reading to your children.

What Dads Can't Do is written from a preschooler's admiring perspective of a dad's helpful habits. Any father will be delighted to think that perhaps some of that self-sacrifice is perceived in positive ways by the tykester set. This book would make a wonderful gift from a preschooler to her or his father for Father's Day. The humorous, warm watercolors of Stegosaurus-type dinosaurs make the messages tickle your laughter button even more than would usually occur with these dry one-liners.

"There are lots of things/ that regular people can do/ but dads can't."

" . . . can't cross the street without holding hands."

"Dads can push, but they can't swing."

"Dads can't pitch a baseball very hard or hit one very far."

"When dads play hide-and-seek they always get found, but they have a hard time finding you."

"They aren't very good wrestlers."

"Dads lose at checkers/ and cards/ and almost every other game."

"Dads aren't good at sleeping late. They can't comb their hair or shave by themselves."

"Dads like to go camping but they need lots of help setting up the tent." "And cooking."

As you can see, the manly virtues being praised here are inclusiveness and helpfulness. When dad operates like mom, then he "can't" do something . . . but that's really all right.

My favorites in the book include:

"Dads seem to have trouble holding on to their money." This is combined with an illustration of a dad buying a child a toy in a store.

"Dads like to go fishing, but they don't like to go alone. And they need extra practice baiting the hook."

"Dads can't read a book by themselves."

"Sometimes they leave a night-light on because they're a little scared of the dark."

"And most of all, whatever happens, a dad never ever stops loving you."

The book is written in such a way that this book can be seen as being about a dad who's married to a wonderful mom, one who's divorced and whose children are visiting, or to a single dad who's raising children by himself. I liked that feature very much.

The book is also appealing because it will make a dad feel good whenever he does one of these things. He knows that his son or daughter will appreciate his consideration from having read this book. So having this book available in your house is a little bit like making every day Father's Day!

After you finish the book, dad, you can develop even more closeness by asking your wee ones what else dad can't do. I'm sure they'll come up with some dillies to amuse one and all.

Find more ways to help . . . because you never stand higher in the world's estimation than when you stoop to aid another.

This was a very emotionally engrossing book. Each night, I made it a point to read at least an hour at bedtime because the story made me appreciate life all the more, making for a perfect ending to a long day. Mr. Pok's childhood years under the Pol Pot Regime were just incredibly brutal. Just the mere thoughts of the traumatic events he had to endure would make the strongest of men cringe and tremble. Mr. Pok should be commended and applauded for overcoming such tremendous odds and for being so generous in sharing his heart-wrenching story. I highly recommend this book in the utmost sincerity. It is truly a testiment to Mr Pok's determination, courage, and inner strength. I would also like to give a shot out to my Goddaughter who is currently living in Cambodia. ¡Hola Belleza

This true story is a gripping account of the tenacity of the human instinct for survival. Rattana Pok lets the reader feel in detailed descriptions the fears of a child in the plight of finding food, resorting to cunning, to outsmart and outwit the Pol Pot regime soldiers with their AK-47's. Death of starvation is always around the corner as well as the Khmer Rouge soldiers with their animal behavior to kill yet another victim. The heart rendering suffering of his family and the loss of his father and his brothers gives the rest of the family the strength and bond to survive the terrible cruelty of the Pol Pot regime. It is surprising that Rattana Pok retained a normal sense of perspective concerning different races and regimes.
This book is a must read. We were unable to put it down.
Les Foster and Karla Uiterwijk

All too often biographical stories and memoirs relating to tragic times have ideological bents and paint with only black and white. This makes for good propaganda, but fails to truly create a picture of what occurred and fails to expose the banality of the evil of the events. Rattana Pok has avoided this in his memoir. He survived the Cambodian killings fields and managed to make it to the United States. The descriptions are clear and compelling; he does a good job of re-creating the times and memorializing what transpired. They were terrible times: a quarter of the population was killed or starved to death; children soldiers ran lives. But the events were uneven. Mr. Pok did not have to do slave labor the entire time period. Families and friends assisted each other. And for the most part he avoids disparaging commentary, which often undercuts the evil in the events. The book is highly recommended, and I have read other memoirs of the times.

This book is an eye opener, the descriptions of this young mans journey through the terror of the Pol Pot regime will leave you yearning to learn more of the atrocities of this evil dictator and possibly how to avoid them in the future. Be prepared to have your heart strings pulled in many directions. I highly recommend this book.

Not many books can touch your soul as grippingly as this book can. When Slaves Became Masters takes you through one of the most horrific period of recent times through the eyes of a young boy. The cultural discription told by the author is both enriching and educational. Never have I been so engrossed in a book.

This wonderful tale of the witches boy named Lump, is one of the best children's books that I have ever read. Though at times the story becomes a bit too dark and the vocabulary too difficult for the young ones. Hey, who am I kidding, at times the vocabulary was tough for me. That being said I read this book over about a month to my 8 year old daughter before bed and as we got into the second hundred pages we both began to look forward to bedtime. Like the other reviewers, I found the retelling of several fairy tales to be the books greatest strength but the characters of Lump, Ysul the bear and Falance the cat are characters that won't soon be forgotten. With the spate of fantasy movies being made these days, I hope some filmmaaker options this wonderful book as a movie, done right it could be a "classic" as well.

I rented this book from the library and it is a really good book. I like how they touched upon other fairy tales. It was a good read and hard to put down - I needed to know what will happen next...Will Lump change and be a better person - will he find love - will he forgive his mother - will he forgive himself.

Great book, I think its up there with Wicked, just marketed toward a younger audience. Don't be put off by the cover, which I don't realy think fits this great book. Read it, I could not put it down!

THERE WERE PARTS IN THE STORY THAT WERE SO ENLIGHTENING I HAD TO GO BACK AND READ AGAIN ESPECIALLY THE EXPLANATION OF WHAT WITCHCRAFT REALLY IS...I WILL TREASURE THIS STORY AND CANT WAIT TO READ IT TO MY SON.........

I SHALL NEVER LOOK FOR THE FAE DANCE

This Fairy Tale not only describes its own story it also incorporates many other classic fairy tales from Little Red Riding Hood to Pinocchio, each one with an added twist. Lump is the witch's boy. Abandoned at birth and taken in by a misunderstood witch. He grows up in a world of magic. He is taught by an enslaved djin and nursed by a bear. He grows up with very wrong views about people and the world. Lump thinks he is handsome but truth be told he is not handsome at all. When he finds out and is made fun of and harassed he wishes everyone who had hurt him would burn. When Lumps actions with the humans turn horribly wrong the witch and the boy must flee the sacred woods they had once enjoyed.
Thus Lump is sent on a journey through many worlds and many places. After losing what he truly loves, he hides himself behind a mask of gold and surrounds himself with riches and blames everything on his mother. After abusing life he is cast from the world only to be given a second chance in which he finds himself and the people who truly love him.
Michael Gruber writes about very strong emotions and creates very strong characters. His book has many twists and turns and you never know what's around the next bend.
I would recommend this book. Although it is a bit slow in the beginning it begins to get more and more interesting, and slowly but surely it lures you in. My favorite part of this book is how he incorporated all the other fairy tales and gave them his own twist.

"You Think It's Easy Being the Tooth Fairy" the 21st century version of the story of the Tooth Fairy. Using familiar fantasy themes, Ms. Bell-Rehwoldt has captured the imagination of today's child. This is no ordinary Tooth Fairy! This Tooth Fairy uses gizmos and gadgets, she flys through the air on a tooth shaped boogy board, she is athletic and she has ATTITUDE! Well written with fabulous illustrations, the book will entertain both parents and children alike!

This is a beautiful, delightful book! Children will love the story and illustrations by Sheri Bell-Rehwoldt and David Slonim. The tooth fairy is a sassy, fun-loving, James Bond type of girl. I love her purple outfit with the floss belt and her riotous mop of red hair! The illustrations in this book are so adorable, they are the perfect match to a very clever story. I bought this book for my son, but I am keeping it for me. :)

My Daughter loved this book and so did I!! It is must buy!!! especially for little ones who are loosing their teeth!!! Great pictures and very funny!

This is a wonderful, very well written story of the tooth fairy. It is humorous and contains great illustrations. It is quite imaginative and stands above some other books about teeth and the tooth fairy. A very nice book.

Reviewed by Samuel Peralta (age 7) for Reader Views (9/08)

In "You Think It's Easy Being the Tooth Fairy?," the tooth fairy shows kids how hard she works to get her job done. She invents a tooth-o-finder to help her find the teeth she has to pickup, and she uses spy-o-binoculars to get around the houses without getting caught. I liked the book because she tells kids what they should and should not do when leaving their teeth for the tooth fairy. For example, she wants a clean tooth without any spit or blood on it. I also liked the pictures and enjoyed her jokes. She was funny. If you want to have fun learning about the tooth fairy this is a great book.

With his debut novel, American Odyssey, Brian Gelinas has succeeded in giving us a meaningful journey across America but never going far from his hometown of Athol, Massachusetts. Or my hometown of Prescott, Arkansas, for that matter. Brian has produced believable characters in Hunter Leroux, Billy Prescott and Wade Canter. The dialogue is believable and straight from the mouths of young and confused boys who are staring into the crevasse that separates the hopeless limbo of being a nobody in a dead end town from a purposeful manhood, facing life on one's own terms. For a moment the limbo wins; the boys don't know what to do other than run.

This book grabbed me in the heart because I understood where the boys were coming from and where they were headed. There were countless times in my own life I felt that I was or still am running from home when, in fact and just like Hunter and his friends, I was simply running from myself. Because of this I felt myself wishing someone else in the book could step in to stop them. As in real life there were loved ones who tried to talk sense to the young stallions, but Hunter chose not to listen to his brother or his girl cousin and settle himself. Gelinas's book as also filled with ironies as through most of the book Hunter and Billy are running from a crime that Wade committed yet they didn't know it. It is also ironic that what they were seeking, to see the buffalo on the plains of the Dakotas, was simply a distinctly American metaphor or youth.

And just as Homer's Odyssey ends back home where it begins thus does Hunter Leroux's own odyssey. And even though Hunter is alone to face the consequences of his run, he finds that he is not the only one in his town who struggled with his pervasive hopelessness. He finds that he really had no enemies other than himself in the first place.

And this is the point where Hunter's journey is only now set to begin.

American Odyssey is a well written story. The depth of the characters will make you feel as if you really know these kids. The book will capture your attention from the first word to the last.

The author is able to bring out of the reader true and raw emotions for the characters. I look forward to reading more from this author in the future.

this is a great novel that I would highly suggest to read. They say you can't judge a book by its cover??? This is movie material from cover to cover.

AMERICAN ODYSSEY, the first novel by newspaper journalist Brian M. Gelinas, is a "road" novel as the title suggests, a gritty tale of teen fugitives.

Hunter and Wade, both seventeen, run away to avoid a looming court date while Billy comes along partly out of hero worship and partly out of boredom. The trio plans to rob and steal their way across America, their final destination being South Dakota. The stifling confines of a small New England town, where one's future is either a dead-end job or a life of crime, spur the boys to jump a train, arming themselves with a pistol and several knives.

But Hunter is preoccupied by his past; the long road trip allows him time to think and write in his journal. Wade turns out to be a criminal without a conscience, just as Hunter was warned before they left. And Billy's arrested development leaves him unable to cope with the disappointments and dangerous twists during their illicit journey. Blue, a girl runaway who sees something innocent and trustworthy in Hunter and Billy, never warms to Wade, which creates a schism between her male companions. The four of them continue their trek westward until they finally reach the Indian reservations.

Secrets pose a recurring motif in the novel, their power to compel one to act and their power to unravel the best-laid plans. Hunter's cousin holds a secret that could have prevented Hunter from hating his hometown rival, a hatred that leads to his trouble with the police. Billy's secret goodbye note to his grandmother makes the boys known fugitives before they get far on their journey. And Wade's secret regarding their first robbery leads to the downfall of the runaways. But even an innocuous secret, like Hunter and Blue's affair, has devastating repercussions in this fast-paced thriller.

AMERICAN ODYSSEY is a cautionary tale with a dire warning about avoiding problems or keeping secrets. Pain in life is unavoidable. It can be delayed but not permanently avoided. Secrets may prevent immediate confrontations or hard feelings -- but secrets resurface. Problems avoided come full circle, often in more unmanageable shapes and forms. While the narrator asks for compassion for troubled youth at the novel's end, it is the unstated message of this story that is the most powerful: avoiding consequences and responsibility can be more damaging in the long run than the immediate pain of facing up to bad choices.

This is a powerful story, extremely well-written, with a plot that has no holes or implausibility. It provides a sense of place recognizable from other New England writers, such as Stephen King and Robert Cormier, albeit with lighter overtones. There is redemption in AMERICAN ODYSSEY, but it is costly, requiring the reader to experience Hunter's growth pains as he faces issues he sought to avoid by running away in the first place.

A must-read. Five stars!

Reviewed by: Mark Frye, author and reviewer

Who wouldn't want to hop a train, meet their soulmate and end up in a faraway place that seems like heaven? Mr. Gelinas has the ability to take his readers along for the ride -- joining four teen runaways -- from a small Massachusetts town to the Black Hills of South Dakota. The dialogue is incredible, the description is amazing, and you'll always be wondering what's around the next corner. Join Hunter, Wade, Billy and Blue for an adventure that you won't ever want to end.

When I bought my 14-year-old daughter this illustrated, annotated edition for her English class, I never dreamed I would hear her laugh out loud as she read it. Lucy laughed and cried her way through with Huck and Jim and Tom, wrote a nice essay, and shocked her teacher by being the only student in 10 years to answer 199 out of 200 questions correctly on the objective test! This book is proof that annotated books are worth their weight in gold when young students read the classics we love.

I purchased this book for my son, a high school student who was assigned HUCKLEBERRY FINN in an American Studies class, and promptly fell in love with it. The commentary is delightful, and the many illustrations (many taken from the original edition,) photographs, prints, cartoons, and maps give a real sense of time and place. Homey details that might not be familiar to the modern reader are explained in some detail, as are customs of the time. The author includes material from Twain's notes and details about his life, always in a manner that illuminates the passage.

HUCKLEBERRY FINN frequently turns up on lists of banned books, and it's interesting to read of the controversy that dogged this story from the beginning. The particulars of readers' outraged sensibilities might change, but the response this book has always engendered suggests the timelessness of Twain's targets: ignorance, cruelty, hypocracy, racism. The story is a clear-eyed yet subversive look at a society in transition, and a relentless skewering of treasured myths concerning childhood. These themes remain as troubling today as they were in the 1840s, the supposed setting of the novel.

This book is an excellent resource for students and teachers, as well as for those of us who love Mark Twain's stories. The book itself is beautiful, with high quality paper and binding. A worthy addition to every library!

Mark Twain at his best...great pictures and annotation...that are first rate. Due to time restraints, I have only skimmed the book. What I have read is great. It is a Norton book...always-great editions. If weight means anything, then this is a heavy-duty book. I look forward to reading the entire book after graduation in the spring. In addition, it even looks good on the shelf....

No repeats of the due praise by previous reviewers. If you have never read Huck Finn before, do not start here, the annotations would make it difficult to read with a curious eye to the margin notes breaking up the flow, like watching a DVD movie with the director comments turned on. But do come back when your done a non-annotated version (or even audio); travel down the river again with the annotations by your side, here as lengthy as the book over again, a whole new magical worlds awaits in the margins; you will discover the hidden depths and meanings of one of the most important literary works about America ever written. An amazing book lovingly produced.

Mark Twain opined that a classic is a book everyone wants to own but nobody reads!
However if you want to read Twain's best book with a full
critical apparatus, an introduction over 100 pages and excellent
illustrations this is the volume for you!
Anyone teaching Huckleberry Finn in high school or college should make use of Michael Patrick Hearn's well researched notes
which make this volume required reading.
I have read all of the Norton Annotated Classics and found this one (along with the Sherlock Holmes volume) the best.
Huckleberry Finn deals with the tragedy of 19th century slavery as Finn helps the black slave Jim escape down the mighty Mississippi river. In Huck's odyssey down the river he also travels from boyhood to manhood.
Twain's use of dialects is amazing as is his dissection of prebellum southern/southwest society rife with violence, bigotry, child abuse and cruelty.
Norton is to be commended for their series of classics opening up new ground for all students of Mark Twain. Excellent!

Relating modern-era history to children often prove to be be a challenge. Anthony and the Magic Picture Frame, written by Michael S. Class, attempts to fill this void by bringing the child into history, literally.

Anthony is you average twelve year old boy, with one difference, Anthony has a magic picture frame. Anthony's picture frame allows him to step back in time and witness history first-hand. Anthony and the Magic Picture Frame is a narrative journal of Anthony's activities and provides detailed descriptions of what he saw, heard and lived through.

Anthony and the Magic Picture Frame brings history to life for middle-years and older children. Wonderfully illustrated with archival photographs your child can see and read about important events and how these events shape our lives today. The photographs and brilliantly altered to include Anthony, in period garb, right in the middle of the action. Be warned, however, that many of these photographs are graphic. The photographs are real and are well-used but they are made so much more real by the presence of this little boy in each of them, sometimes in the middle of a battlefield. If you have a highly sensitive child you may wish to save this book for when they are of an age to see children in distressing situations.

Anthony and the Magic Picture Frame has a place in the library of all Americans who want to give their children an accurate and detailed education in current-era American history. Best suited for children twelve and older, Anthony and the Magic Picture Frame will provide years worth of lessons or serve as a fantastic stand-alone resource.

Michael S. Class has created an amazing piece of literature that touches on the importance of how history and the present weave together. As he explores particular historical events and how they have impacted the way society functions today, Michael has taken it a step further. His visual interpretation of Anthony is a creative masterpiece. The illustrations capture the imagination of both the young and the old while the text inspires people to think about their own past. Anthony and the Magic Picture Frame is a solid piece of literature and a wonderful piece of art. This book will introduce children to history in a new, lively and exciting manner. Michael is bringing back an education that creates children who are deep thinkers and life-long learners. Don't waste another second. This is a gift for all.
Cherie McIntosh, Deena Cook
P & P Publishing LLC
[...]

This book will inspire interest in the great stories and famous photographs of history. The photos are very creative and tell a lot about the time period just through the expressions of the author's son, who is nearly seamlessly inserted into historical photographs.

Younger children will enjoy just looking at the large photographs (this book is coffee table size) and older children and adults will enjoy the well written text. I have used it with 8 and 12 year old homeschooled boys as a book to read aloud.

The chapters and topics can be read in any order. The subjects cover the Civil War, when the first photographs were taken, to the polio vaccine in the 1950s. Many of the photographs will be familiar to people born in the early to mid 1900s, and so the idea of developing the story and conversations behind the images is especially appealing.

Clearly, the author loves history. He treats his subject with honor and respect and tells the story of individuals using their own words and images. This is not just a cute and clever idea for a time machine; there are serious lessons to be learned and remarkable and heroic achievements to be celebrated.

The book has an excellent resource list including movies, music and places to visit to supplement the journey back through time. An unexpected added bonus!

Highly recommended. Great gift idea.

"Destiny is not a matter of chance, it is a matter of choice; it is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved." ~ William Jennings Bryan (1860-1925)

Imagine what it would be like to be a kid who jumps into a picture and lives some of the most exciting moments in history like walking on the moon or arriving in American ready to start a new life. In "Anthony and the Magic Pictures Frame," history comes alive in the mind of a child.

Here we find Anthony in digitally enhanced pictures so it looks like her really was walking on the moon or standing next to Charles Lindbergh and his airplane in 1927. The pictures are great because they show things you might not normally see like the inside of the plane. You might not see this unless you went to the National Air & Space Museum in Washington.

Here we also find Anthony interviewing Thomas Edison and standing with Lou Gehrig on opening day at Yankee Stadium in 1937. Throughout this book there is a sense of humor, but also profound moments and moments for reflection.

Suddenly history becomes far more interesting when it is told from this type of perspective. Even in the stories of harsh realities during the war, there is a sense of kindness as people help one another to survive. This is a book children and adults will love and it puts a smile on your face while you learn a lot about history.

~The Rebecca Review

Anthony And The Magic Picture Frame is an informative exploration for children into the history of America and the world. Anthony And The Magic Picture Frame offers young readers an incredible depiction and encouraging read for many of the great historical markers of America's history as twelve-year-old Anthony travels the world, and even to the moon. Included are the first lunar landing, Charles Lindbergh's first New-York to Paris flight, WWI and WWII, Edison's first electric lamp, and so much more specifically designed and deftly written in a child-friendly and educational format. Anthony And The Magic Picture Frame is very strongly recommended -- especially to all parents wishing for an accurate and expansive education of American history for their children.

This book is the best source of information anywhere regarding Paul's Boutique.

Highly recommended!

poured through it in a couple of days, fantastic read during probably the most 'heady' times of the Boys. enjoy!

LeRoy knocks it out of the park. This book is what all the other books in the series should be. It's packed full of interesting information about before, during and after the making of the album. It's a fun read. Quick and easy. No filler.

I am not much of a Beasties fan. Like some of their music but their voices can drive me nuts at times, truth be told. I don't even own Paul's Boutique. I only bought this book on a lark as I knew the recording techniques forged within this record was a turning point of sorts in music. When I received the text in the post, I picked it up then could not put it down until I finished the entire thing. After that I went directly back to page one and started again from the top.

The book begins in the late 80s and goes until '92 or so. Everyone the author discusses gets treated fairly, whether they deserve it or not. Delicious Vinyl is seen as a sort of west coast magnet for all things creative, though in truth they were a controversial label to say the least. Def Jam is somehow given a pass for not paying The Beasties over a million dollars in royalties after the author finds relevant quotes to show that Russell Simmons was just looking out for the group by stiffing them. The crazy thing is that everything seems so vivid, understandable and believable. It makes you long for those halcyon days when Joe Smith was CEO of Capitol Records but seemed more concerned with Magic Johnson's rebound average than any of his own recording acts. Of course, none of this makes any logical sense at all, but within the context of the book it is proven that some good things actually came out of this upside-down era in music.

Rather than blow the book by revealing some of the sorrid details within it, I will simply say that whether you dig the Beasties or not, Pauls Boutique is worth a read. It is a fascinating story. Perhaps even the great Bob Mack himself could not have told this story any better.

... and then I came here and read the unanimous 5-star reviews and agree with all of them.

There's not much I can add that wouldn't be redundant.

Except to say that "Paul's Boutique" -- one of my favorite albums -- has always kind of been shrouded in mystery. The album may be dense with information, but there's not a lot of background that I could find.

This book changes all that. It is as filled with names and details as the album is full of samples.

From Leroy's very well-reported account, we learn the backstory of the Dust Brothers and the mysterious Matt Dike (long rumored to be the main mastermind behind "Boutique") plus, a sampling of the late 80s L.A. scene from which this album emerged; we meet a host of side players like Mario C and Money Mark, and also the ill-fated exec Tim Carr (whose heart and mind, I'm convinced, where in the right place all along); there's the promotional wrangling that went on at Capitol before the release and after the record flopped; and also what was going on with the three main charcaters -- MCA, Ad Rock and Mike D -- who wanted to derail the locomotive of "License to Ill" and almost got crushed under the cattleguard.

The book tells the story of the album, and at first I thought it kind of scrimped on the background of the recording of the individual songs, but it closes with a finely detailed track-by-track examination that reveals a lot (but not nearly all) of the samples that helped make up one of the richest, coolest, bangingest records ever made.

THE BIG BURN is a fascinating and harrowing historic novel set in the midst of a forest fire that trashed Northern Idaho and Western Montana in 1910. It was a large forest fire. "How large?" you may ask. Okay--If there are 640 acres in a square mile and there were nearly three million acres affected by THE BIG BURN, then we're talking an area nearly 4700 square miles. Sonoma County, where I live, is one-third that size. If you consider the San Francisco Bay Area counties of Santa Cruz, Santa Clara, San Mateo, San Francisco, Marin, AND Sonoma together, then you've got a sense of the scale of the destruction. For those of you on the East Coast, we're talking Long Island, plus all of New York's boroughs, and the counties of Westchester, Rockland, Putnam, Orange, Dutchess, and Columbia.

"Field Notes: In the summer of 1910, rangers who were used to working in isolation suddenly found their forests filling with strangers. With new fires breaking out daily through July and older ones stubbornly resisting control, the Forest Service's District One had no choice but to hire more and more men to fight them. By the end of the month, there were almost three thousand firefighters scattered across the district's several forests...W.B. Greeley, would later write, 'It was a case of hiring anyone we could get. We cleaned out Skid Road in Spokane and Butte. A lot of temporaries were bums and hobos. In a bad fire year, the temporary is the weakest link in the chain'...They went into the burning forests wearing the clothes they'd been recruited in, and the ones wearing street shoes or snug wool suits would regret that. They worked for twenty-five cents an hour with board, thirty if they provided their own food..."

In THE BIG BURN we do meet a few scoundrels. But the main characters here are three young people--Jarrett, a local boy who leaves his harsh dad; Seth, a southern kid in a black regiment who is trying to live up to the memory of his dead father; and Lizbeth, a young woman originally from New England, who is falling in love with the land she's found herself homesteading with her young, widowed aunt. All three cross paths before finding themselves in the midst of Hell on Earth.

Perhaps the publisher is calling this an "ages 12 and up" to spare younger children potential nightmares from the vividly drawn scenes of towering flames bearing down on our heroes. But for any kid whose tastes run to disaster and survival, mixed into a coming of age story, THE BIG BURN is a riveting read.

Jeanette Ingold has pulled out all stops in her book called The Bug Burn. In this exciting tale of Idaho's wildfires in 1910, three young adults battle the forces of nature. Seth, Jaret, and Lizbeth each fight life in their own way, and overcome personal obstacles. Seth is an African American trying to fit-in in the army. Jaret is a rebel son as he goes looking for a job in firefighting after he got fired from his railroad job. Lizbeth is a niece who is trying to convince her aunt not to sell their homestead. I like this book because it is full of action and adventure, but educational at the same time. I would give it five out of five stars because I had a fun time reading it and learned a lot from it. I can't tell you the ending, but I can give you a little sneak peek. The strong wind blows many fires together, creating a giant blaze. That blaze charges forward, burning everything in its path. Eventually it comes to a city named Wallace, and everyone has to work together to try to stop it. Do they succeed? Read the book, The Big Burn, to find out.

I think that The Big Burn was a very precice and educational book. The main carachters were Jarett, a young man wanting to fight fires with his older brother; Seth, An afircan American young man trying to show his pride for his country by joining the army; and Lizbeth, a young women trying to stay and keep her aunt from selling their home. The setting is 1910's, in Idaho and Montana. They over come some goals, and others are crushed. This all adds up untill the climax were all the flames come together and

In light of the recent wildfires in Colorado and Arizona, THE BIG BURN is an interesting book, but it would certainly be noteworthy under any circumstances. The story follows two young men and a young woman as they encounter and combat the infamously ferocious Montana wildfires of 1910. Jeanette Ingold deftly switches perspectives throughout the tale to keep the reader interested in this well-crafted historical novel.

Jarrett, the brother of a forest ranger, is on a quest to prove himself to his gruff father; Lizbeth, living with her widowed aunt, wants to preserve her adopted Western home; and Seth, a young black soldier, is dedicated to serving his country and overcoming racial prejudice. Apart and together, they transcend traditional teenage roles and attempt to save their homes from the fires that ravaged the Montana and Idaho wilderness during the summer of 1910. Some of the plot developments may seem cliché (romance blooms where you'd probably expect --- close calls end with last-second rescues, etc.), but overall the adventure is unlike any other book available. This overlooked event in US history provides a wealth of excitement for a talented writer. The parallel stories of the three protagonists allow for several viewpoints of every episode; Ingold paints a comprehensive portrait of the true historical events of the period.

Ingold intersperses the chapters with "field notes" chronicling the wildfires and wilderness firefighting from an objective standpoint. These sections are actually where she writes best and they are a testament to the thorough research that went into writing the book. Both historically accurate and dramatically engaging, THE BIG BURN is a great choice for anyone who is interested in learning about the phenomena of forest fires while also reading a great story.

--- Reviewed by Lowell Putnam

Ingold tells the reader that if you talk with anyone in Idaho or Montana for long enough, the subject of the Big Burn will come up, and the person telling you about it will expect you to know all about it. After reading Ingold's well-researched book, any reader would be able to contribute to the subject. Set in 1910, when forest rangers were new, railroads were huge, and immigrants were still flooding the country, The Big Burn tells the story of the wild fires of the northwestern United States. Ingold gives us three main characters: Jarrett, Lisbeth and Seth. These teenagers each deal with the fire in their own way, and find that there is more to fighting fires than a little water or ditch digging. The three do meet in the tale (it is plausible), and each tell their view of the events in concurrent chapters. Ingold breaks in with facts and accounts of actual events, which makes the fictitious story feel all the more real.

Ingold has done her homework, and it shows in the story. Her afterword, acknowledgements, and list of suggested reading at the end all provide valuable information. The only problem I had with the book was a bit of charaterization--the relationships between the characters felt forced and unbelievable, particularly the budding romance between Jarrett and Lisbeth. On their own, the characters were strong, interesting, and contributed to the story. But when they came in contact with the others, even the minor characters became a bit forced in the relationships in which they were observing or participating. Otherwise this is a wonderful example of great historical fiction.

This series is great. It is in a timeless, classic style and gives forward, simple & clean boyhood adventures. My son loves them.

I adored the Billy and Blaze series when I was a kid. The stories are timeless and kids of all ages can appreciate the bond between a boy and his horse. Definitely a must read for any boy or girl who loves animals.

This series of books is fantastic. My five year old loves them as much as I did.

Purchased because my 4 1/2 year old grandsons (twins) enjoyed this book very much when we had borrowed the book from the library.

While women generally ride for pleasure to feel the wind and the movement of the horse beneath, a boys ride is different in that it is the power and speed of the ride that are most dear to him in these chariots of fire, the roar of the engine, the hoofs and the noise of the wheels that inspire their thrill. Boys tend to drive either their horses or their cars to see the height of their power, and whether the beauty of black or the silver shine of white, the joy of the command lies in the skill of the rider and the knowledge of his horse, or his engine, a sight that most can appreciate, understand, and admire.