Shoes Books

I have all of the Princess School books and all of them are great! I liked If the Shoe Fits because it tells about 4 friends who are princesses and are just like other girls. I love it!!!!!!!

This book is so good. I'm 12, almost 13, but I like reading fantasy books. I found this book in my school computer lab and started reading it. I hope to read the others. It looks like a book for 6 years old, but it's not. It's great for all ages!

This book is about a girl, Cinderella, who has to deal with her evil stepsisters and stepmother while attending a school, called Princess School. Her two stepsisters attend the school and try to make her life and her classmates' a living hell. Luckily, she meets 3 other girls, Snow, Rapunzel, and Rose, who are the only nice girls from her class. They help her get through her classes while Ella must do all the dirty work at home. Plus, I love the ending!

This was an awesome book. Like most people, i wish Ella was brunette. I guess disney made her blonde in the movie. My favorite character is Rose, though. They didn't have a whole ton of her. I've read the first three books, but I've started the fourth. When i picked it up, i though i was too old to read it, but i was wrong. It's great for all ages!

I've read every book in the series and am impatient for 'Thorn in Her Side'. This one is my favourite because Rapunzel's my favourite out of the four girls, and it has a lot of Val/Rapunzel moments. :-)

I'm 16 and loved this book. My sister (age 10) was reading it and the title caught yy eye so I picked it up. It's really cute and it stresses great values such as indiviuality and friendship. I found that this book made the princesses more like real girls and gives them the opportunity to relate to them better. It was good and I recommend it really for anyone who is a princess at heart.

Wow! I could have written all of these reviews myself!! I also read this as a library book when a teen-ager. Over and over and over. I LOVED IT!! After I got married, and even after having children, I would go back and check it out again occasionally and enjoy the magic once more. I also considered 'losing' it and paying the replacement fine. Then came the very tragic day that I went back to the library to find that 'Sawdust in His Shoes' had become a collectible and was no longer available for checkout, but had been archived?! I was horrified! I shared my sorrow with my four younger sisters, and they very kindly went together and bought me my very own copy on ebay, which they presented to me at Christmas that year. I am quite endebted to my dear sisters for allowing me the privilege and joy of sharing this wonderfully magic story with my own children!
A truly captivating tale of love, loss, family, enemies, friendship, kindness, unkindness, courage, trust, hope, people, animals, decisions, betrayal, forgiveness, and even a touch of romance. This is a story that boys, girls, men, and women will enjoy equally. You will laugh and cry - sometimes at the same time. One of the few books I have read that reaches deep into my heart and gives me a hug. This story should, indeed, be reprinted, as it is virtually impossible to find clean stories for teen-agers anymore.

I can still remember going to the library as a child and checking out Sawdust in His Shoes. I have no idea how many times I read it, but I remember wishing I could keep it out long enough to type the book so I could keep it. Now I find it's available as a used, out-of-print edition that will be too costly for me for some time. When I can afford it, I will buy it. The story is about Joe, a rebellious teen, part of a family of equestrians at a circus, who is brought to a farm. I can no longer remember the storyline, except the farmwoman who wants to understand him, and make him feel part of the family, and her children he, in the beginning, has trouble relating to. In the end, it's a brown horse Joe trains to become a rosinback that provides him a way to return to the circus life he used to lead. It might remind some of the movie, April Love. For me, it was a feel-good book to read, and I, like so many others, would wish it were printed again. This book would certainly be purchased by a great many bibliophiles who had read it and would love to read it again, or those who would like to experience it for the first time.

I still remember that hushed argument in the library, in which my mother assured me this was one of the best books ever. I was highly doubtful, because this book was not "my" genre. I had already discovered the great fantasy books of Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, and Madeline L'Engle and was complaining about a summer with no GOOD books to read. Mother recommended this story of a lost young circus performer on the run from an orphanage and hiding with a generous farm family. My first thought was BORING! But I relented just to shut mom up. Now, 20 years later, I still check this book out of the same public library at least once or twice a year. I have been hoping to find my own copy and am hoping the renaissance of young readers that has seemed to spring up will get this book into reprint. It would be a shame to lose such wonderful story. I cheered, I cried, I didn't care that it was not fantasy.

This book is a gem. I check it out of our library at least twice a year. I wish I owned it or one just like it! Our library doesn't seem to mind that it is a spendy out of print book, so I keep borrowing it. Someday I hope it gets reprinted, it is exciting and thoughtful and hopeful. I enjoy it anew each time I read it.

This book was one of my favorites as a child. I've been looking for a copy for years. I wish it would be reprinted.

An excellent book! It is so rare to find a book on a controversy in history and not have it be biased towards the conclusion the author wants you to believe. The people behind this book spend as much time trying to debunk their own evidence as they do the evidence of others! What a breath of fresh air.
The authors belong to an organizarion (TIGHAR) which research topics related to antique aircraft (and their pilots.) Their biggest project for years has been the Earhart project. Members from around the globe have spent years examining archives and conducting archaeological surveys trying to find out what really happened. This book presents their evidence and was more engaging to me than any fictional mystery book.

Those persistent TIGHARs are back with more suggestive but inconclusive research about what happened to Amelia Earhart, who disappeared in 1937 -- somewhere.
Every so often, somebody shows up in Hawaii with a kooky theory about Earhart, ranging from shot by the Japanese as a spy to still alive and keeping house in New Jersey.
The International Group for Historical Aircraft Recovery is far from kooky.
For one thing, they appear to have managed the trick of being zealous without becoming zealots. As lead author Thomas King puts it, "Most people have more pressing things to do" than hunt for a lost airplane that, given the odds, would more likely than not be under three miles of water.
The TIGHARs work, for free, in their spare time, on the assumption that, despite the geographical odds, Earhart and her navigator Fred Noonan didn't just run out of gas and sink under the ocean. They think Earhart missed her target but may have crash landed on an intermittently inhabited (but in 1937 empty) island named Nikumaroro, where Earhart and Noonan might have either survived for a while or been eaten by crabs.
It's "a mystery that can't be put down," King says.
But hard to pin down.
Since the publication of "Amelia Earhart's Shoes" in 2001, the TIGHARs have run down more physical evidence, including things that look a lot like panels from a Lockheed Electra, but nothing definitive yet. The revised, 2005 edition is preferred over the first edition.
The story of the hunt also reveals a great deal of fascinating information about the South Pacific, which is big, mostly empty and weird.

Who says historical research and science have to be boring? In Amelia Earhart's Shoes, Dr. Tom King and others take us on a winding (sometimes loopy, even!) journey that tries to answer the question: What happened to famed aviatrix Amelia Earhart and renowned navigator Fred Noonan in 1937 after they vanished during her around-the-world flight attempt?

Amelia Earhart's Shoes does not pretend to solve the mystery - it does show that by applying the scientific method to a popular event, you can strip away all the myths and fables and assumptions and come up with relatively simple explanations that can be tested to see if they are true or false. That the scientific method may upset a few of those legendary apple carts along the way is proof that it works - something is either true or not true, provable or not provable. In Earhart's case, the truth may turn out to be much more mundane than some of the more colorful "solutions" to her disappearance would have us believe.

There is a lot of information in Shoes, but it is presented in an easy to read, almost chatty style (think ghost stories around the campfire while making s'mores) that keeps you turning the pages to see what the heck is going to happen next. The International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery (TIGHAR) has now been to the South Pacific eight times to try and prove or disprove their hypothesis that Earhart and Noonan missed their destination, tiny Howland Island, and landed on another deserted island, only to die (or perhaps be completely missed) before the frantic searchers could get to them.

Amelia Earhart's Shoes is a great read that should be on the bookshelf of everyone interested in what really did happen out there in the vastness of the Pacific Ocean almost 70 years ago.

I saw one of the people involved in this project speak at EAA's big national air show in Oshkosh, WI last summer. It was the most popular lecture session I attended while I was there. Interested, I picked up this book expecting a thorough but dry, academic read.

Was I ever wrong! This book is not only fascinating, it's funny! It's written with some dry humor that made me want to keep reading more. And the authors lay out a strong argument, to boot. It does make one wonder...

"Amelia Earhart's Shoes: Is the Mystery Solved?", Udated 2004 Ed., Thomas F. King, et al., AltaMira Press, NY 2001, ISBN: 0-7591-0131-0, PB 374 pgs., plus 23 pg. Notes, 9 pg. Biblio., 20 pg. Index, & 104 B & W photos, illus. or maps., 6" x 9".

This is an academic work by a contingent of skilled scientific experts whose writings & basic investigative work was coordinated, in part & on behalf of TIGHAR (Int. Group of Historical Aircraft Recovery) & updated 2004. The 27 chapters describe a forensic approach to solve the mystery of aviatrix AE's disappearance enroute 2,223 miles to Howland Isle from Lae, New Guinea, July 2, 1937.

The book's format & length makes for difficult reading: -- it is based on best available scientific evidences & hypotheses of multiple disciplines of archeology, geophysics, aeronautics, anthropology, and review of both private & governmental archival information in addition to tabulating their search findings on tiny remote South Pacific Phoenix Isle "Gardner", but renamed Nikumaroro, or "Niku". Author was a principle TIGHAR investigator taking part in expeditions to Niku, & he writes with authority, -- having "been there, done that!"

Inclusion of more than 100 photos, illustrations, maps, etc., makes the reading more easily understood & tolerable: -- for it is not a book one picks up and being enchanted 'reads from cover to cover' without pause. For readers who want an up-to-date analysis of AE's disappearance this book is best read after the reader is thoroughly familiar with AE's character, avocations, skills, life experiences's and accolades by the press, politicians & the powerful, -- for Amelia was a complex person living in exciting, changing times on the cutting edge of new technologies.

Many of the chapters begin with stanzas of word parodies to be sung to certain melodies, attributable to TIGHAR but not author King. The parodies I found to be highly irregular, unsettling & not in best taste, so downgraded book from 5* to 4*.

What is the actual implication of this fictitious work? Isn't there a serious, profound and truthful lessons in this love story so down-to-earth but yet so complex?

Marianela, a love story published in 1878 portrays a relationship between a blind man and his guide-- not beautiful a woman, whom he imagines attractive. Loving him she worries that once the man recovers his eyesight realizes she is not as pretty as he thinks her to be.

The author wisely crafts an interesting symbolism between the capacity to see, which is always spiritual and emotional, and on the other hand the human eyesight which can be inadequate, restrictive and misleading.

The implication that runs through the whole story is that adversity is a blessing in disguise, since blindness forces him to be humble enough to perceive the beauty she and others manifest. Once he recovers his eyesight and sees her for the first time with his human eyes, he rejects her.

Wasn't he in possession of real sight while blind than when he was able to recover his sight and to humanly see? Isn't Perez Galdos message, that the capacity to see and understand is mental, emotional and not necessarily physical?

Finally I can say this classic must be understood as a lesson on the spiritual superiority over the evidence presented by the human senses. This emotionally complex story has a symbolism, it will teach a lesson to whoever is receptive enough to its deeper meaning.

I am a young "Anglo-American" (white) girl living in a Texas/Mexican border town with a 98% hispanic community, and am on my way to learning the language fluently. I read this book in my Spanish class, and nearly died from the beauty of this book! It has helped me along with recognizing and comprehending Spanish along with leaving me a satisfied reader. Someday when I speak fluent Spanish, I will read this to my daughter and am sure it will be her favorite bed-time story. :-)

Seeing as though I couldn't get the real Marianela quickly, this one suited quite well, perhaps even better. I had to write a paper on it and the simplified language made mush easier to understand.

Pablo, a rich blind boy is madly in love with poor Marianela. Things go smooth until renowned Doctor Teodoro Golfín offers to cure up Pablo's eyes. Marianela, who thinks she is ugly is afraid that when he starts seeing, he'll see how ugly(on the surface) she really is. Her fears are confirmed when he falls for his beautiful cousin Florentina, who doesn't treat Marianela too well. She is so attached to Pablo that if she doesn't look beautiful for him, she won't be any use to him. A very destructive point of view which she sticks to. It's a tragic ending but it's common in most Spanish-language stories.

I must admit that this book didn't pick my interest when I started reading it in My Spanish AP class in high school. Now after reading it I have to say that this book is wonderfully written and very educational.
Marianela is a girl who lives in The Mines of Socartes, she is the guide of a rich boy who suffers fom blindness Pablo. I loved Marianela's character since the first pages, she is so full of life, so innocent. All her life she lived out of the pity of others but it didn't matter to her. Pablo "said" he loved her and she lived in this illusion where she thought that she would finally be loved and not criticized by her looks.
Then, everything changed when Teodoro Golfin, a miracle doctor gave Pablo his sight. That's when everything changed. When Pablo saw what Marianela really looked like, he just started treating her horribly. Where did all his love go? I have to say that by the end of the book I hated Pablo with a passion. How can someone be so cynical as to tell a person how beautiful she is without really seeing the exterior appearance and then being disgusted by what he sees when he looks at how that person really looks? Sadly that's what happens with Pablo and it would have been better if he had stay blind.
This book bring some things that are really important. True beauty is on the inside, never judge someone by their exterior appearace because you might be surprised. True beauty is not something that you can see or touch, beauty has to be felt.
I highly recomend this book, it will touch your heart I promise

I gave this book to my then 18 month old for Christmas last year....it is ONE of the BEST books ever...it has, and continues to be a favorite. There is so much dialogue you could create just around the fabulous artwork and animals depicted int he book. This is a gem in our VERY, VERY large book collection...a total must for all book-lover-parents out there!

We love this book. We borrowed it at the library and my 2 yr old son kept asking for it, so I eventually bought it. He loves to finish the last phrase on each page "how do you do" and always points out all the different vehicles, shapes, animals, etc. I've bought this book for friends as well and they love it too.

Great book, my 11 month old has loved this book since I started reading it to her a few months ago. It is colorful and the rhyming keeps her interested.

Perfect for the toddler set. My 2 year old always asks for "Boo baby." The illustrations are colorful and captivating for young readers and the story is sweet (and easily repeated 3-4 times per bedtime!)

This is a darling book with the cutest illustrated baby. The rhymes are simple, with the cute baby offering a sing-songy refrain that kids just love. I first started reading this book to my daughter when she was only a few months old. She's 3 now and it's her favorite book because the baby travels in a shoe, and what little girl doesn't love shoes? I highly recommend this book for someone looking for something unique and special. It's also a great gift because the chances of the recipient already having it are slim. I've given this book too many times now to count, and it is always cherished.

Tennis Shoes Among the Seven Churches by Chris Heimerdinger a new book that I just read. It tells the adventure of fifteen year old Harry Hawkins and his soon to be sister Megan Sorenson who go on an adventure into Frost Cave. This cave takes them back in time. During this adventure they meet a boy named Jessie who has no parents or relatives so they take him with them, they almost get eaten by a pack of heinas, they get to watch a gladiator fight, and they got reunited with some old friends. The obsticals that they have to go through makes this book an excellcnt book. At the begining of the story Harrys sister gets hurt in a motorcycle accident and while she is in the hospital she mentioned the name of an old friend that she met when she went into the cave when she was younger, his name was Marcos. When Harry, Megan, and Jessie are traveling, Megan and Jessie got kidnapped. The purpose of the story is to entertain people and the charcterization in the story is excellent because it is developed well through the story. Harry is a boy worried about his happines and when he finds who he is looking for he knows his sisters happines will improve. Overall I think Tennis Shoes Among the Seven Churches is a great book. I think this book is a great addition to literature.

This was a book that has a lot of action packed story. You should read it to find out about a young boy named Harrison Ford Hawkins Who goes back in time to meet his old friend, and to save his sister. This book keeps you on your toes, you should read this amazing book.

I started reading the Tennis Shoes series a while ago and got hooked onto every one. I finished the latest published book and am anxiously waiting for part two of The Seven Churches book.

When I first heard that the main character was going to be Harry Hawkins in this book I thought for sure that this book and The Lost Scrolls wouldn't be as good as the first for with Jim Hawkins as the main character. To my suprise it was just as good as all of the other Tennis Shoes books (which is really really good.) I can't wait to read Heimerdinger's next book.

I own all seven of the Tennis Shoes books and love and cherish each of them. I read this book for my book report and couldn't wait for the next report to start the next one, "The Lost Scrolls"! I am unhappy he titled this book, "The Seven Churches" because the Seven Churches are mentioned ONCE in the h\whole story. It should be "The Lost Scrolls Part 1". All in all I rate this book 100 out of 5 stars! Must read this series!

Why Struggle? Life is too short to wear tight shoes, so true! As we go through our daily routine of life we must stop and ask the question WHY STRUGGLE! Barbara J. Faison has captured some of life's reason as to why we shouldn't struggle because we all should be grateful for each day GOD gives us! As a daily affirmation to yourself, I employ you to get and read WHY STRUGGLE? We don't have to struggle if we take that much needed step and excerise our minds, our hearts and our souls to become a better you....a healthier you.... a total you! Barbara, Why Struggle? is truly a blessing and we need more inspirationals and daily affirmations such as this one! If you are ever in doubt that you can't make it just pick up WHY STRUGGLE? and realize that you really don't have too STRUGGLE! Wishing the best in all that you do Barbara J. Faison. May God continue to BLESS YOU ON YOUR JOURNEY'S END!

In Why Struggle?: Life Is Too Short To Wear Tight Shoes, Barbara Faison encourages her reader to accept their lives for the unpredictable journeys they are, to slow down, to watch a child, and to create an adventure of their own. Faison's insightful suggestions are food for thought to nourish the spirit and call our attention to life as a celebration. Why Struggle? is a "reader friendly" and highly recommended compendium of words of wisdom on self-discovery, acceptance, forgiveness, and other principles essential to leading a successful, rewarding, balanced life.

I met her and felt the warmth. The entire time I was reading this little book, I just kept saying, she's right! If you don't believe that you have it in you to be happy, buy this book.

An extremely short read that packs a lot of punch. Why Struggle is a book that is small enough to keep in your purse or back pocket and carry around each and every day. The text is easy to read and easy to comprehend and forces you to take a critical look at yourself in bite sized pieces. Ms. Faison touches upon the most important parts of the human psyche: To Live, To Love, To Learn, To Grow and To Share. Each page has an exercise to perform that helps the reader reach further into themselves to discover more about what makes them a better person in society.
There were several "ah ha" moments in this books for me, things that I just hadn't thought about in that way the information is presented. Naturally curious as I am, this only makes me want to share this book with friends. I liken the discovery of the action filled book with a beautifully wrapped present that one can't wait to open. An Example that I found to be pertinent to my life is the affirmation "I speak with power and Purpose". Sometimes its necessary to be quiet. To quote from this book: There are many times no response is required. Be cautious with your words and save your comments for those who will value what you say. The exercise: Give your next conversation your undivided attention. Turn your body to the person, look them in the eyes and open your ears to their words. Pause for 3 seconds before responding. If a response in not required, say nothing. For a person who is always eager to share an opinion, whether solicited or not, this is pertinent to my life and something that I will carry forth with me. This book is filled with epitaphs that are compact enough to be retained indefinitely.
Take this book with you, in your mind or on your physical person, you can't go wrong with it. A perfect gift for those in your circle of friends.

I heard her speak and bought her book. She lives what she has written. Barbara has captured in a simple and straight forward manner, the how to "BE" your own person. This book is a quick read, but once read, it becomes a constant source for those "..tight shoes moments" we all have. I keep my copy on my desk and when I feel hassled or stressed out. I open my book and have a reality check with Barbara's "right on target" comments. After that, I do one of Barbara's thinking and action exercises. I find my attitude shifts back to "being Me" and I get right out of those "tight shoes." Barbara, thanks for your help. When's your next book coming out?

This was a great book, I had been keeping sporadic watch for the strips as they originally came out in the paper, but this puts them all together in one cohesive story. It brings you through all the emotions one goes through when one has breast cancer or otherwise (I had a lump in my breast which when biopsied was benign...whew!) and I was crying before I was halfway through the book. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone (it also has great references in the back of the book for support groups and alternatives) who might know of somebody (or themselves) who is going through a potential scare like this one.

A very good book for even teenagers too read. Well written. Would give too my own children and grandchildren

Having been with a close friend who as found a lump, opted for double masectomy, been declared 'in remission' only to have it recur, spread and ultimately overtake her, Batiuk really captures the whole experience--the good, the bad, the sad, and the infuriating (even the lab bungle reads as it happened to my friend).

If you've lost anyone to breast cancer, this will cut deeply. But it is worth it. It's a story that is true, and very well told. Keep the tissues nearby.

What an easy way to spread the word about breast csncer...and how a significant other male can offer patient loving support through this kind of crisis. If there is a woman in your life, buy this for both of you, you'll never regret it.

I read an article about this book in Heal magazine, the magazine for cancer survivors. I am a 1 year Non Hodgkins Lymphoma survivor. When I received the book, I couldn't put it down. I read it through in one sitting. This is a great story for everyone-cancer victims, survivors, caregivers and anyone who wants to learn just a little bit more about patient's emotions. You don't have to have breast cancer to read this. It gives people who don't have cancer a greater understanding of what we go through.
I cried after reading this story-not for me, but for all the Lisa's out there and especially for the husband she leaves behind. I found myself worrying about her husband and the wonderful way he took care of her.
What a sensitive, thoughtful and caring story!

It is said that a woman cannot have enough shoes or handbags. I heartily agree.

This is a wonderful book that should prove of interest to almost all women and men too! Packed with informative and colorful illustrations, we are taken on a journey detailing the history of footwear from Ancient Egypt to the present day. And what an interesting journey it is.

There is something for every shoe afficionado in this small but fun book. Perhaps the biggest lesson to be learned here is that if one waits long enough, any style of footwear will once again become popular and a "must have" piece of a woman's wardrobe.

Which reminds me, a local shoe store is having a sale this weekend....

LOVE the fact that there is pop culture included. More content than most. I love the section on Sex and the City!

You don't have to be Carrie Bradshaw to love this little book, beautiful and fascinating if you love shoes this book will give you lots of delightful insights into the way shoes have evolved. Lovely photographs and the writing is delicious. Make a wonderful stocking stuffer for the shoe-shopper in your life.

I am enjoying Shoes: What Every Woman Should Know so much that I have decided to order a few copies for my more stylish girlfriends as a Christmas gift. The book effectively describes how a woman's image is often shaped by her own shoes. Shoes described range from sexy -- I love the chapter on the stiletto -- to elegant and graceful, such as the chapter on shoes of the silver screen in the 40s.

The author, Stephanie Pedersen explains how shoes have been worn by women as a symbol of sensuality. Not only did I learn about the history of shoes from this stylish and reasonably priced book, but I learned about fashion, design and culture. Pedersen's artful descriptions coupled with the colorful images have really inspired me to consider my own shoe collection and what is says about me. After reading this book, I want to go on a little shoe shopping spree to add a few pairs to my own collection -- the book heps one to understand what shoes can say about one's image.

Now that shoes from the 20s, 30s and 40s are making a comeback in modern fashion, it is even more fun and interesting to read about how those styles were influenced by the trends, attitudes, movie stars and even dances of those decades. My favorite sections are "1923: The Charleston," "1939: Red Shoes," from the chapter "The Jazz Years." Also, "Shoes of the Silver Screen" from the Chapter on the Hollywood Years, and the section on Sex and the City from the Chapter, "The Designer Years."

The first chapter of the book is excellent, and fills you in on the fascinating history of shoes, with interesting bits of information such as the cultural attitudes in Asia and fashion trends in the late Middle ages, when Florence was the fashion capital of the world.

This is a book you will read again and again, and want to keep handy to refer to often to inspire you to consider shoes as a part of your own style, and certainly to show to all your friends. You will learn something about yourself from this book because it helps you to understand what your shoes say about you! Whatever image you want to convey from sexy to confident, graceful to elegant - this book will help you understand which shoe styles could help you make the precise statement you want about yourself and your sense of style and originality!

What is it about women and shoes??? Stephanie Pedersen's "Shoes: What Every Woman Should Know" is an awesome history of shoess from past to present. The photos are delicious, and I enjoyed reading about the history of shoes.

One of my favorite sections in the book was "Red Shoes", which was all about the sexual power of scarlet pumps. The adage "red shoes, no knickers may or may not be true, but I ain't tellin'!

If you have more than two pairs of shoes in your closet, you'll love this book!

Carla
www.CarlaLynneHall.com

Views from Our Shoes is a wonderful collection of stories. I enjoy it every time I read it, and take something new from it each time. The first time I read this book, it helped me understand myself better. It helps to know that there are other siblings who have the same range of emotions towards their special siblings that I have toward mine. The essays do not hold back any feelings, which is important for helping other individuals.

I would highly recommend this book to siblings and parents of children with special needs. I think that siblings, both younger and older would benefit from reading this book. Especially if they have never met any other siblings of individuals with special needs. This book would also benefit parents and help them understand the feelings of their "normal" child. Children with special needs can demand a lot of attention, and their siblings will often fade into the background willingly, and it is important for parents not to let their children do this. Even though siblings may put themselves on the back burner, it can create bad relationships among family members in the future. Views from Our Shoes would be a wonderful book for children and parents to read to help them relate to each other.

My daughter enjoys this book immensely. After reading only a few essays the first day she informed me that she was happy she had a brother with special needs. I wasn't worried much before the book but it helps to cement that idea and make it one she states outloud! She was also thrilled to find the guide in the back of the book on writing her own essay about her brother. While I do feel like a few disabilities are OVER used here and many left out, it's still a good book for kids in early elementary age. It opens my daughter's eyes to the fact that not everyone has the same disease or conditions. (My son has a genetic disease as well as a chromosomal disorder.)

Overall I was pleased with this book. There is a great range of sibling ages and conditions in the book. That being said, I was surprised that there was not at least one story that was specific to a child with spina bifida. There were several children with various rare conditions, kids with Downs, cerebral palsy, blindness, deafness, mental retardation, autism, etc, but no spina bifida kids. The closest they came is a child who has hydrocephalus.

The market for children coping with a disability is sadly lacking in resources- books like this one are rare- and I would still recommend it to a family who had siblings, cousins or friends with any disability, including spina bifida, but I am disappointed that it was not included.

Donald Meyer has compiled a wonderful book of essays from siblings of disabled children. My thirty year old son bought me this book for my birthday. Growing up, I too was one of these children and would have truly benefitted from anything that would have explained what happened to our family. As one of these sibs, I had to grapple with guilt, embarassment and also neglect from my parents due to the resources, both financial and emotional that were poured into my sister's handicap. My heart goes out to both parents and siblings of exceptional children. It is so much pain to bear for them and they feel even worse about complaining because they are "normal."

My 11 year old daughter read this book and even asked if she could read some of "her favorite essays" to us - she is the older sibling of our 2 year old little girl who was born 17 weeks early and she has cerebral palsy, blindness, deafness, is tube-fed and chronically ill. Her favorite stories were of the ones that she could most relate to - like the little boy who said he did not understand why his sibling was so ill when she was born. I think it made my daughter feel like it was okay for her to have bad and good emotions about her little sister. I think it validated them.