Town Mouse, Country Mouse

Book Description

A story filled with suspense and humor, this classic tale of a town mouse and a country mouse takes a new twist in the imaginative and talented hands of Jan Brett. She introduces two engaging mouse couples eager to get away from their everyday lives. But when they agree to swap homes, they find unexpected adventures around every corner. Lush green scenes alternate with the elegant details of a fine Victorian townhouse to make a sumptuous and stunning picture book.

Customer Reviews:

Classic story comes off wonderfully!.......2007-08-29

This book was an absolute delight! The story of the town mouse and the country mouse is a classic and a goodie, and Jan Brett did a fantastic job retelling it! Rather than having one mouse per, she made her characters into couples! This adds a suggestion of sweet romance that will have the little girls swooning and the boys, of course, gagging (but what can be expected?)

The story goes into surprisingly complex reasons for why the mice move. The way they switch is charming. Post-move, however, they have their various misadventures, and Brett is quick to let us know how the proper mouse couple could have handled the situation. The dialogue is clever and cute, as well as the descriptive prose. As usual, much of the story is said with pictures, but when writing there is a great amount of detail and forshadowing. Best writing from Brett I have seen!

Cute, detailed, and a great length for a long-time read, and the final punchline is clever and hilarious. Plenty of lessons and entertainment right here!

frightened children.......2007-07-29

What is this impulse to scare kids? The mice in the story are threatened at every turn, from a variety of predators. It's creepy.

PEEKING ENCOURAGED.......2004-04-18

Children often hear "No peeking!" A clever book designer encourages them to peek in this story of two mice cousins who temporarily trade residences.

Cleverly placed peepholes encourage youngsters to peek and see what new adventure awaits each mouse before turning the page.

Not only is this a fun book, but there's also a moral to the story: There's no place like home!

Classic tale with beautiful illustrations.......2003-11-19

This book tells the "grass-is-always-greener" story of the city mouse and the country mouse. One day, the city mouse wakes up and decide he is unhappy with his lot in life. He and his wife pack a picnic lunch and go off for a holiday in the country. There they meet the country mouse, who is enthralled by the smell of city cheese, and the mice decide to do a house swap. However, they each find that they don't have the skills and knowledge necessary for survival in the other's environment. Attacked by cats and besodden in a thunderstorm, they rethink the arrangement and return home. Very young children may find some of the predators a bit scary, but older children should be able to handle the tension and enjoy the humor as well. The book has about 1100 words.

SWITCHING PLACES =).......2002-11-29

A good moral book. I agree! It talks about how these mouse familys switch places to see how eachother lives and to see what it is like to live like eachother! A GOOD BOOK!

Average customer rating:

Room One: A Mystery or Two
An interesting mystery in a small town
Another Great one from Andrew Clements
Katie's Review
Satisfying mystery

Room One: A Mystery or Two
Andrew Clements
Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0689866860

Book Description

Ted Hammond loves a good mystery, and in the spring of his fifth-grade year, he's working on a big one. How can his school in the little town of Plattsford stay open next year if there are going to be only five students? Out here on the Great Plains in western Nebraska, everyone understands that if you lose the school, you lose the town.

But the mystery that has Ted's full attention at the moment is about that face, the face he sees in the upper window of the Andersons' house as he rides past on his paper route. The Andersons moved away two years ago, and their old farmhouse is empty, boarded up tight. At least it's supposed to be.

A shrinking school in a dying town. A face in the window of an empty house. At first these facts don't seem to be related. But Ted Hammond learns that in a very small town, there's no such thing as an isolated event. And the solution of one mystery is often the beginning of another.

Customer Reviews:

Room One: A Mystery or Two.......2007-09-12

So it's time for silent reading in my fifth grade class and my students LOVE silent reading time. Most of them can't get enough of the books they're reading and can't wait to talk about them. But there's always the few who spend the entire silent reading time in the school library or at my personal library or trying to sneak away to the bathroom. They spend more time fidgeting than they do reading. How do you get those children to read? Well, one thing I have found that works is to put an Andrew Clements book in their hands.

Clements' books are simple and readable and according to most of my fifth graders, cool. Frindle, The Landry News, and Lunch Money are not filled with elementary student clichés. The characters aren't cheesy and my students don't find themselves saying "Come on, we're not like that" as is the case with many other books written for them. Clements' characters act and talk like real elementary students and are usually faced with real problems and this is an important part of his appeal. Room One is no exception.

One day while sixth grader Ted Hammond is delivering papers, he notices a mysterious face in an upstairs window of an old home, the Anderson's home. What spikes Ted's curiosity is that no one has lived in the Anderson house for two years. The house has sat empty and the windows have been boarded up. With nothing else going on in his small rural Nebraska town of Plattsford, Ted sets out to investigate.

I liked this book. I really did. It doesn't matter that I picked it up half-wanting, half-expecting a good mystery and didn't get one. Clements made me care about Ted, and April, and her family, and Mrs. Mitchell to the point where it didn't matter if the "mystery" to this story was solved for the reader less than halfway through the book. It's still a good story, and in the end, that's what children really want to read.

A few things I thoroughly enjoyed about the book . . . The Red Prairie Learning Center was fascinating to read about. The idea of a town, so against consolidating with surrounding communities that they've forced themselves to become what they have (a one room school with four 4th graders, one 6th grader, and four 8th graders) was an extremely interesting setting. I loved Mrs. Mitchell's character. She has many wonderful traits that only a teacher would be able to recognize. It didn't surprise me one bit to discover that Clements himself was a teacher at one point in time. No stereotypes here.

As long as you don't set your expectations too high, you'll find Room One a quick, easy, and entertaining read. The epilogue fills in the rest of the story nicely and provides adequate closure to the story surrounding April and her family. Having read most of Clements' other stories, seeing "A Mystery or Two" across this cover excited me some at the thought of a departure from his normal work, but please don't make the same mistake. This isn't so much a mystery as it is another fun (but somewhat serious), school story from Andrew Clements. And that's just fine by me.

An interesting mystery in a small town.......2007-07-22

Room One proved to me that I should never underestimate the power of Andrew Clements' writing. When I found out that this was a mystery in a small town and not a story set in a school, I thought that I might not enjoy it as much as Frindle or School Story before it. But I was wrong.

Room One is a wonderfully written, quasi-mystery. The main character is Ted Hammond. Ted is a likable, bright kid in an interesting small town in Nebraska. Ted is a Boy Scout, the town paper boy and a mystery lover to boot. When he sees a face in the window of the old Anderson house, he gets wrapped up in a real-life mystery of his own.

Clements' economy of words and clarity of description serve to keep this story suspenseful, believable and enjoyable all at the same time. I couldn't put the book down and was pleasingly satisfied with the outcome. The epilogue was also perfectly suited to the book.

I recommend this book to Clements fans and mystery fans alike. While not a skull and crossbones mystery, it is an interesting story about an average Joe taking on some detective work. If you are looking for a Nancy Drew, here-are-the-clues, figure-it-out type mystery then this book is not for you.

Another Great one from Andrew Clements.......2007-05-30

This is a great book for kids of all ages. From it's hooking beginning to the very end, this is a great book through and through. I certainly don't want to give the ending away or any of the other great parts to it, but I do want to say that it is very well-written and enjoyable book!

Katie's Review.......2007-05-22

I liked this book because it was a mystery and mysteries are my favorite books to read. I also liked it because it is by my favorite author, Andrew Clements. I think this book was one of his best because the boy tries to help people.

There's a boy named Ted and he delivers the newspaper to people. While he was delivering the papers he sees this girl in a window in a house that's been abandoned for about two years. So he goes to investigate the next day and he doesn't see any movement until he gets outside where the girl is waiting for him. What happens next? Read the book to find out.

I recommend this book to anyone because it's an outstanding book. I think anyone who likes Andrew Clements should read this book at least once.

Satisfying mystery.......2007-02-23

Ted Hammond is one of only nine students in his one room school and the only 6th grader in Plattsford, Nebraska. The farming community is shrinking and the school is going to close because of the small enrollment. The loss of the school will be the final blow to the town.

Ted loves to read mysteries and the town librarian Mrs. Coughlin has introduced him to interlibrary loan. He reads 2-3 mysteries a week and excels at solving them before the last chapter.

One morning while delivering newspapers he think he sees a face in the window of an abandoned farmhouse on his route. Using the detective skills he has learned, Ted sets out to solve the mystery. While assembling clues, he discovers a family camping in the old house. Alexa a girl about his age asks him to keep her family's presence in the house a secret. He reluctantly agrees then devotes himself to their welfare by bringing them food.

Clements always writes with amazing candor and feeling about the adults in children's lives. He is clear eyed about the sometimes edgy relationship between teachers and their students. Ted confides in his teacher, Mrs. Mitchell about the family which puts her into an ethical dilemma. She does not want to break a promise to a student but she knows she must report the family.

This low key 162 page story is rounded out by an epilogue that tells "the rest of the story" in a conclusion that is very satisfying for the family and Ted's town.

There is much about Andrew Clements that impresses me. His website quotes him, "It is a privilege to write for children."

Average customer rating:

Great kids book!
Great Book for Teaching Circular Ending
Reversible in black and white
Intro to M.C. Escher
Very clever!

Round Trip

Manufacturer: HarperTrophy
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0688099866
Release Date: 1990-10-26

Book Description

"A visual stunner....The format is wonderfully inventive--once the traveler arrives in the city, the book is flipped over and read back to the beginning, with the black-and-white pictures taking on new meanings....Sure to delight and fascinate."--Publishers Weekly.

Customer Reviews:

Great kids book!.......2006-03-11

I am a preschool teacher and this book was a real hit with my 3 to 6 year olds it really sparks their imagination. On child said I really like that the pictures are in black and white because you could imagine what the colors are. They loved guessing what the pictures were when they were upside down.

Great Book for Teaching Circular Ending.......2006-03-03

This book is an excellent visual and text example of circular endings. I use it in both my reading and writing workshops. Very neat concept when you flip the book upside down to see new pictures and text.

Reversible in black and white.......2005-09-18

"Round Trip" is a book with a surprise! Each black and white scene tells half of a story and then the book can be turned upside down to tell the second half. Drawings work either right side up or upside down and are visual delights. We read it over and over.

Intro to M.C. Escher.......2004-02-16

I remember this book! That's what I thought to myself as I picked up this sly little piece of black and white elegance. When I was a child I remember seeing this book in some form or context. Literal minded child that I was, I was always a little perturbed by the content. In this book, deceptively simple black and white photographs tell the story of a car trip to the city and then back home to the suburbs again. To read this book, the teller reads it first one way to the city, then turns the entire book upside down to tell the story going back to home again.

To accomplish this trick, author/illustrator Ann Jonas utilizes her skills as a graphic designer to create pictures that use negative space adroitly. This book is like a series of industrial M.C. Escher prints. Jonas's book resembles her husband Donald Crews similar storyline in "Freight Train". In both books, the focus is on moving through a landscape. You never see people in either story. But while the focus of "Freight Train" is to concentrate on the speed of a single object, this book looks squarely at the scenery. Any child that has ever been forced to spend hours in the back of a car on the highway will recognize the sights seen along the road. Sheep, lakes, and forest trails abound. Though Jonas's technical wizardry almost steals the show, there is a lot to be said for the beauty of the images themselves.

Kids who have read this book more than once may find themselves having some difficulty seeing a single picture one way and not another. I myself had to strain to make an image of smoky factories not appear to be a farmhouse upside down. I don't see this as a book that children will necessarily scream for at night. At the same time, it is just the kind of book that a child 20 years down the road might pick up in a local library, flip through absently, and say to themselves, "I remember this book!".

Very clever!.......2000-07-29

My son saw this one on Reading Rainbow and he was so fascinated by the pictures that we went right out and bought it. It is very cleverly done, and all my kids really like this one.

Basically, every picture tells TWO stories. You read the book through, then turn it over and read it upside down. A bridge with water running under it and cars driving over it become, when upside down, a fence with electric poles and wires running alongside and stars in the sky above! It's really a wonderful little book.

Only 4 stars because the story isn't interesting enough to read twice, although the pictures are great fun to look at over and over again.

Dreams in the Golden Country: The Diary of Zipporah Feldman, a Jewish Immigrant Girl, New York City, 1903 (Dear America)
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the golden country

Gabby

Life's Roads as a Jewish Girl

Dreams in the Golden Country, But is it really golden?

Molly's Review for Dreams in the Golden Country

Dreams in the Golden Country: The Diary of Zipporah Feldman, a Jewish Immigrant Girl, New York City, 1903 (Dear America)
Kathryn Lasky
Manufacturer: Scholastic Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0590029738

Customer Reviews:

the golden country.......2007-03-06

I thought the book was awsome. I couldn't put it down there was no part that was boring. I recccomend this book to every one. i read it so fast and i want to read it again

Gabby.......2006-11-08

Have you ever wondered how long and painful a trip across the Atlantic, would be? Leaving your home, your customs, your whole life, all left in the waves. In the book, Dreams in a Golden Country by Kathryn Lasky, a girl named Zipporah Feldman, mostly known as Zippy struggles to adjust to the American way of life. Zippy would not even have had to come to America, but in her small town in Russia Jews were being persecuted. Zippy has a father who decided to come to America first, who is becoming more American everyday. Zippy has a mother who refuses to leave her old ways, and two sisters, one named Tovah who is obsessed with politics, and the other, Miriam who falls in love with a Catholic firefighter. Zippy has to start in 1st grade, since she had never gone to an American school before, but she eventually gets to the grade she should be in. Zippy is the only family member who was allowed to go to school. I like this book because you get to see the easy and difficult times in an immigrant girl's life during the 1800's. I recommend this book to someone who like stories in diary entry form.

Life's Roads as a Jewish Girl.......2006-03-08

Life's Roads as a Jewish Girl

Zipporah Feldman (Zippy) comes to America with her Jewish family. They came from Zarichka. This book was the diary of Zipporah. After coming to America they all have found some sort of dream in this new country. What was it about America that makes you like this, having big hopes and dreams. Her beloved sister has gone away with the guy she loves, who is not a Jewish boy. Mama gets mad ands pretends top mourn over her daughter like she is dead. The family has fallen apart. Zippy is sad. Something happened to one of her friends. She wants to fly an airplane like the first two brothers did. Or be an actress. She had dreams to look up to.

I really liked this book. Because it was a diary. It was interesting and I liked it a lot. Because she wrote in it almost all the time, it was like a story of her life. Another good diary book that I enjoyed was The Diary of Patrick Seamus Flaherty. I like diary books because they are like a life story and very interesting. These books are different diary's and people. But both are excellent books to read!

Dreams in the Golden Country, But is it really golden?.......2006-03-08

Zippoah is a jewish girl coming to America to meet her Father in New York City. They come to New York City from A small village in Russia. They come for a new life away from all the attacks that are going on in Russia. Zipporah starts a diary of what is going on in the new country she is in. SHe Starts school, Makes firends, and new ideas come to her family that they would have never dreamed of thinking about in Russia. Some thoughts are good & some are bad & some frighten her mother. Her mother is a person who likes to stick to old customs but she starts to add some new ones once she is more comfortable with the New country she is in.
Her father is a very nice man who played the violin very well and was a photographer. Zipporah has two sisters Meriam & Tovah. Tovah is a more seriouse and political person she is also the oldest of the three. Mariam is a very romantic girl, she is the middle child. Mariam ends up falling in love with a cathlic boy and her mother is furious when she finds out that they got secretly married.In Zipporah, or Zippy as her firends call her, has to learn how to read & write in english. At School Zipporah recites poems and learns many new things at school. Zippora's life gets better at some points and bad at some points. But let me ask you how would you feel in her shoes?

Molly's Review for Dreams in the Golden Country.......2005-05-10

Dreams of the Golden Country
By Kathryn Lasky

(Publication: 1998 by Scholastic Inc.) (188 pages) (Genre: Historical fiction)

In summary the book Dreams in the Golden Country was an extremely good book. The book takes place in New York City, 1903. In the book there is a Yetish Jewish family and they live in Russia. The dad of the Feldman family immigrated into the United to States to earn money and buy a place for the family when they came. He worked in a sweatshop factory and had bought an apartment that was shared with an elderly border. When the family immigrated over months later they found that the "papa" they knew and loved had changed. He had cut off this side locks, stopped playing the violin, and did not celebrate any Jewish holidays anymore. Sara, the mom was very upset along with the three children, Zipporah, the youngest, Miriam, the middle child and Tovah the oldest. They were not all impressed with the small unlit apartment either but they had to deal with. As the book went on Zipporah who is keeping the journal is going through school and working hard to learn English along with the rest of the family. The times are pretty smooth until they start to fall apart when Miriam runs away and gets married to a non Jew and the family pretends she's dead. Then more problems come as mama is pregnant and a close friend dies. Times eventually get smooth again and the family resolves their problems and starts their "real" life in America.
I was attracted to this book by the part of the title "Golden Country" it made me wonder what the author was talking about, also the fact that is was a diary.
The main character of the book is Zipporah who is the writer of the journal. Her two friends Blu and Yitzy are immigrant also that have been in America longer than Zippy and her family. The Feldman family, papa, mama, Tovah, and Miriam. The conflict in the book is how the family has to manage being in a new country and not knowing the language there.
My opinion about this book is that the author made a real situation interesting. She made it seem like you were in the book. Very descriptive and hard to put down. I believe the author achieved the purpose of writing this book. The book was powerful, strong, and good and I would recommend this book to anyone that likes a truly amazing story. I would rate this book as a pretty easy read.
The lesson that is taught in this book is that even though life's journey is the most difficult ride you'll ever be on you have to be yourself and stay true to your friends, family and the true you. You also need to appreciate what you have and not take anything for granted.

Average customer rating:

A nice man and I...
A Must Read for Literature Students & Scholars

The Country and the City
Raymond Williams
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Keywords: A Vocabulary of Culture and Society
Culture and Society 1780-1950
Culture and Materialism (Radical Thinkers)
Marxism and Literature (Marxist Introductions)
The Machine in the Garden: Technology and the Pastoral Ideal in America

ASIN: 0195198107

Book Description

As a brilliant survey of English literature in terms of changing attitudes towards country and city, Williams' highly-acclaimed study reveals the shifting images and associations between these two traditional poles of life throughout the major developmental periods of English culture.

Customer Reviews:

A nice man and I..........2005-08-06

Really like this book. As a rural dwelling, rural upbrought, bumpkin, who nevertheless has had habitual social intercourse with city folk, and cities themselves, it plunged me, through its meditations on history and literature, deeply into the images, signs and languages that have subconsciously impregnated all our imaginations and at which we instinctively grope when trying to make sense of those most fundamental of divisions, rural/urban, modern/tradition, nature/civilisation. Being less versed in English lit than Williams-meister, I found it a bit difficult to keep up at times, but it also whetted by appetite for getting down to some serious literature consumption myself.

If you read it, you won't think about the "countryside" in quite the same way again...which is to say, you'll actaully think about the countryside as a changing cultural notion, rather than not think about it, which has got to be alright.

Wack this on the old bookshelve, and surprise your friends with your hidden marxist-critical-intellectual side. It worked for me.

A Must Read for Literature Students & Scholars.......2000-06-19

Williams' *The Country and the City* is a classic study on the relationship between literature and society. His arguments are original and interesting, and formulate useful, if not necessary reading for later marxist criticisms. Some parts of the book are taken from one of Williams' earlier books entitled *The English Novel From Dickens to Lawrence*. Williams' writing is lucid and accessible, particularly in comparison to other critical texts. Students and Scholars of 19th and 20th literature, and individuals interested in rural/urban literature should definitely be familiar with this text.

Little Town in the Ozarks (Little House)

Average customer rating:

Little Town in the Ozarks is excellent!
Little Town in the Ozarks is excellent!
Just as charming as her Mama
Ozarks Adventure Story
They just get better

Little Town in the Ozarks (Little House)
Roger Lea Macbride
Manufacturer: HarperTrophy
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 006440580X

Book Description

The Little House books have captivated generations of readers with their story of the little pioneer girl Laura Ingalls growing up on the American frontier. Now the Little House story continues with The Rocky Ridge Years, books that tell the story of Laura and Almanzo Wilder's daughter, Rose.

The first four books in the Series, Little House on Rocky Ridge, Little Farm In The Ozarks, In The Land Of The Big Red Apple, and On The Other Side Of the Hill, describe the Wilders' covered-wagon journey to Missouri and their first three years in their new farmhouse,Little Town In The Ozarks continues their story, as hard times on the farm force Rose and her family to move to the town of Mansfield. Life in town is so different from living on Rocky Ridge Farm that Rose wonders if she will ever learn to like the hustle and bustle of town life.

Little Town In The Ozarks continues the story that Laura Ingalls Wilder began more than sixty years ago -- a story whose wonder and adventure have charmed millions of readers.

Customer Reviews:

Little Town in the Ozarks is excellent!.......2003-02-06

This book is just great. Rose is one of my favorite character. She like to read books and has a great appeal. I think every girl who are around 11~12 would find this book wonderful. So I give 5 stars to this book.

Little Town in the Ozarks is excellent!.......2003-02-06

Just as charming as her Mama.......2002-09-10

The girl was quite a firecracker. Again, just as charming as Little House, but the storytelling is a bit more complex and more reflective of who Rose was. This series truly equals the charm and storytelling of Laura's story. Kudos to those who thought to bring this series to print.

Ozarks Adventure Story.......2002-05-15

Little Town in the Ozarks is the fifth book in a series about Laura Ingalls Wilderýs daughter Rose. Rose has many fun, exciting, and scary adventures, such as getting Pneumonia and rolling down a hill in a barrel.
One of my favorite characters, is Nate who lives on a farm with his older brother, Abe, Abeýs wife, Effie, and Effieýs twin babies, James and Elza. I like him because he is nice , like when Rose gets sick, he comes to see her a lot.
I would recommend this book to anyone who likes to read about 12 year old girls who have lots of adventures and who love to read. One adventure is when a tree falls on their henhouse, after a big ice storm, and makes a big hole that the chickens escape out of, and then they have to find all of the hens and roosters.

They just get better.......2002-04-06

...I found this book quite enjoyable to read. Rose is growing up and I had a Feeling she would Fall in love with one of the Cooley boys. I was also delited to learn that Swiney had a real name.(Although it took some getting used to, I was used to knowing him as Swiney). I was also saddened when I read that Grandpa Wilder had died...

Town and Country in China: Identity and Perception (St. Antony's)

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Town and Country in China: Identity and Perception (St. Antony's)

Manufacturer: Palgrave Macmillan
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Asia | History | Subjects | Books

Human Geography | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0333945956

Book Description

Contemporary scholars place the rural-urban divide at the center of individual identity in China. This interdisciplinary collection traces the development and distinctions between urban and rural life and the effect on the Chinese sense of identity from the 16th century to the present day. It provides a daunting example of the influence that political ideology may exert on an individual's sense of place.

Average customer rating:

CAN ONE DOG ACCOMPLISH SO MUCH?
Because of Winn Dixie
A Gem!
An Okay Story, Overly Hyped
Becuse of Winnie Dixie

Because of Winn-Dixie
Kate Dicamillo
Manufacturer: Listening Library (Audio)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio CD

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Release Date: 2004-12-28

Amazon.com

Because of Winn-Dixie, a big, ugly, happy dog, 10-year-old Opal learns 10 things about her long-gone mother from her preacher father. Because of Winn-Dixie, Opal makes new friends among the somewhat unusual residents of her new hometown, Naomi, Florida. Because of Winn-Dixie, Opal begins to find her place in the world and let go of some of the sadness left by her mother's abandonment seven years earlier.

With her newly adopted, goofy pooch at her side, Opal explores her bittersweet world and learns to listen to other people's lives. This warm and winning book hosts an unforgettable cast of characters, including a librarian who fought off a bear with a copy of War and Peace, an ex-con pet-store clerk who plays sweet music to his animal charges, and the neighborhood "witch," a nearly blind woman who sees with her heart. Part Frankie (The Member of the Wedding), part Scout (To Kill a Mockingbird), Opal brings her own unique and wonderful voice to a story of friendship, loneliness, and acceptance. Opal's down-home charm and dead-on honesty will earn her friends and fans far beyond the confines of Naomi, Florida. (Ages 9 and older) --Emilie Coulter

Book Description

When 10-year-old India Opal Buloni moves to Naomi, Florida, with her father, she doesn't know what to expect -- least of all, that she'll adopt Winn-Dixie, a dog she names after the supermarket where they met.

Right away, Opal knows she can tell Winn-Dixie anything -- like the fact that lately she's been thinking a lot about her mother, who left when Opal was three. And that her father, the preacher, won't talk about her mother at all. And that she's lonely. But with such an unusually friendly dog at her side, Opal soon find rself making more than a few unusual friends. And untimately, Opal and the preacher realize -- with a little help from Winn-Dixie, of course -- that while they've both tasted a bit of melancholy in their lives, they still have a whole lot to be thankful for.

Customer Reviews:

CAN ONE DOG ACCOMPLISH SO MUCH?.......2007-09-29

Ten-year-old Opal and her father, whom she calls "the preacher" have moved to a small Florida town where she feels lonely--both as a newcomer and as an only child. Abandoned by her mother as a little girl the narrator secretly cherishes a dream that her mama will walk back into her life someday--an improbable idea privately shared by her papa. But her luck changes suddenly when she claims a friendly stray dog as her own, after it causes considerable damage and ruckus in a grocery store,
whose actual name if that of the chain, Winn-Dixie.

Opal learns about life, friendship and personal expectations in her new hometown, where she makes the acquaintance of people in various age groups: elderly Miss Franny Block, spinster librarian; Gloria Dump--who is not at all a witch. There is also the misunderstood youth, Otis, at the pet shop, and even kids ranging from pinch-faced Amanda, the sassy Dewberry brothers, and tiny Sweetie Pie. All these characters provide Opal with opportunities to grow in understanding and compassion.

Yet, it is through her relationship with her father, the lonely preacher--who pulls himself like a turtle into his shell of isolation--that give up childish fantasies. During Opal's discovery of social grace and inner peace in these pages Winn Dixie himself smiles and wags his tail--winning hearts and praise all around town. Generous Opal eagerly gives her faithful canine companion the credit for her social success. With its extensive dialogue, digestible vocabulary and widely-spaced lines this book proves easy reading for elementary and middle school pupils, offering gentle insight into the challenges of being a preacher's kid or wife.

Because of Winn Dixie.......2007-07-18

Opal, is a young girl in a new area with know friends. Opal lives with her father, who in the book portrays a very loving father yet a little reclusive. Opal mother left them when she was younger because she hated the responsibilities of being a preacher's wife. Opal is very lonely until she finds a funny looking stray dog at the Winn Dixie grocery store in town. She names him after the store that she finds him in. After awhile she not finds a friend in Winn Dixie, she finds trust and kindness in others. This is a great book to teach the value of friendship and family.

A Gem!.......2007-06-27

DiCamillo's story is told in such a simple, yet incredibly engaging and touching way. With elements like the smiling dog, the runaway mother, the sweet/sad lozenges, etc., it could have come across as overly sentimental and "icky" -- but no. DiCamillo manages to downplay the sappiness and capture the reader's heart right from the get-go. Definitely deserving of the Newbery. Read it with a box of Kleenex handy. The movie is great too -- very true to the book.

An Okay Story, Overly Hyped.......2007-06-05

Everything that happens to Opal that summer she moves to a new town seems to be because of her new dog, Winn-Dixie. In fact, Winn-Dixie himself is someting of an accident to her. She found him, a stray, causing a scene in the grocery store and couldn't bear for him to go to the pound. Instead she took him home hoping her preacher father, raising her alone since her mother left them shortly after Opal's birth, would take pity on the dog and let him stay. Her father does, and Opal has her first friend in her new town.

Soon afterward, Winn-Dixie seems to help Opal to make friends all over the place. The librarian likes him and lets him come in to hear her stories with Opal. When Opal doesn't have enough money to buy a collar and leash, she brings Winn-Dixie to the pet store and he keeps her and the manager company while she sweeps the store in exchange for credit. An old woman whom some children say is a witch takes a liking to Winn-Dixie and Opal realizes that she is just lonely and coping with past memories. Perhaps most importantly of all, though, is that Winn-Dixie's presence gives Opal the courage to ask her father about her mother, and he helps her to understand a little better what might have happened between them.

I liked that the characters in this story were so vivid, and that each of them seemed to be fighting off some sort of loneliness or bad feeling, but they all found ways to deal with it. I also liked the relationship Opal had with her father, and the relationship that formed between him and Winn-Dixie. I would have liked to have seen further development of the friendship between Dunlap and Opal. I could see the start of something between them, but I wish I had been able to have seen more of how they would relate to each other.

Becuse of Winnie Dixie.......2007-06-02

THE BOOK THAT I READ IS BECUSE OF WINNIE DIXIE IT WAS A GOOD BOOK.
IT WAS ABOUT A GIRL WHO GOES TO THE GROCERY STORE TO GO BUY TOMATOES AND OTHER VEGTABLES. THEN SUDDENLY SHE SEES EVERY THING FALLING. SHE DIDNT SEE ANYTHING AND PEOPLE ARE SAYING THAT A DOG IS MAKING ALL THE FRUITS AND VEGTABLES FALL BECAUSETHE DOG WAS RUNNING AROUND AND THEN THE GIRL OPAL SEES THE DOG AND THEN THE MANEGER CAME OUT AND YELLED WHO LET THE DOG IN THIS GROCERY STORE AND THE ALL THE WORKERS CAME AROUND THE MANEGER
AND THEN THE DOG RAN ON TOP OF THE MANEGER AND WAS LICKING THE MANEGER
THEN THE MANEGER SAID CALL THE POUND THEN OPAL SAID THAT IT WAS HER DOG BUT IT WASNT HEARS AND THEN SHE CALLED HIM SHE SAID COME HEAR WINNIE DIXIE
AND THEN HE CAME TO OPAL LIKE IT WAS HER DOG THEN SHE WENT WALKING HOME WITH WINNIE DIXIE .THE END

Bernelly & Harriet: The Country Mouse and the City Mouse

Average customer rating:

There's Just No Place Like Home.....
A Tale of Two Mice

Bernelly & Harriet: The Country Mouse and the City Mouse
Elizabeth Dahlie
Manufacturer: Little, Brown
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Picture Books | Ages 4-8 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

General | Ages 4-8 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
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City Mouse-country Mouse And Two More Mouse Tales From Aesop (An Easy-to-Read Folktale)

ASIN: 0316608114

Book Description

Bernelly is a country mouse who spends most of her time outdoors, teaching fly-fishing and tying beautiful flies. Harriet is a famous artist who lives and paints in her cozy apartment in the heart of the city. When a leaky boot sends Bernelly to the city for a new pair, Harriet tries to persuade her that city life is best. Bernelly has fun visiting museums, attending the ballet, and shopping in fancy stores, but insists that Harriet sample country life. Each mouse tries hard to enjoy the other's life, but each finally finds the most happiness right at home.

Customer Reviews:

There's Just No Place Like Home............2002-10-22

"Bernelly was a country mouse. She lived west of the city in a small village that had everthing a mouse could need-except a shoe shop. From spring through fall Bernelly was a fly-fishing instructor... And in winter she spent her time tying beautiful flies." But a leaky boot sends her to the city for new shoes and a visit with cousin Harriet. "Harriet was a famous artist, and her home was also her studio. In winter she painted glorious masterpieces... And in summer she traveled to exotic places that might inspire her." Harriet was thrilled to have Bernelly visit, and took her all over the city, sightseeing and shopping, and by the end of the week, Bernelly was exhausted. "It is just too crowded and noisy here. I miss being able to sit quietly by the river watching my beautiful trout." Harriet was intrigued with such a simple, quiet life. "Perhaps it will inspire me." But of course, country life was not the life for her. Harriet was bored with fishing and gardening, napping and "dinner parties with exciting tales of trout." She missed the "hustle and bustle of city life-the noise, the smells, the shopping!" and heads back to the city, where surprisingly, she finds country life did inspire her, in its own way.....Elizabeth Dahlie's modern retelling of an old, favorite fable is playful and entertaining. Her engaging text is only outdone by her charming and endearing illustrations, rendered in soft, pastel tones, and filled with marvelous eye-catching detail and humor. Perfect for youngsters 3-7, Bernelly & Harriet is a warm and captivating read aloud with a gentle message that won't be lost on little ones...there's no place like home.

A Tale of Two Mice.......2002-04-15

This is a delightful new version of the Country Mouse and the City Mouse.

Bernelly's an independent country mouse who loves her life. Her jaunty attire of red scarf and black boots suit her life style as a fly-fishing instructor. She spends her leisure time tying flies and reading. Her library has an eclectic group of books that include, THE KENYON REVIEW, HENRIETTA, and THE VILLAGE, which indicate that she's a well read young mouse. Of course, her favorite books are about fly-fishing. When Bernelly realizes that she needs new boots, she decides to visit her cousin Harriet for a shopping trip to the city. Harriet's a stylish city mouse who wears gold loop earrings, and has a distinctive flair for clothes. Her sophisticated life as a famous artist allows for exotic travel and shopping. She's delighted to have Bernelly visit and takes her all over town seeing the sights. Bernelly's a bit overwhelmed and home sick, and invites Harriet to visit the country. When the city cousin visits the country, she's not overwhelmed, she's a little bored with the fly-fishing, gardening and the slow pace of life. In spite of the fact that the two mice have different life styles, they seem to enjoy an affectionate relationship which adds a nice warmth to the story.

I enjoyed the detail that Elizabeth Dahlie put into her illustrations. My favorite images are of Bernelly and Harriet walking hand in hand down a cobblestone city street where a flower pot reflects a house number--a delicious tea, served on blue and white china at Putney's Tea Shop-- shopping at an expensive shoe store--and, a mixed group of Bernelly's friends sharing a conversation at dinner. Each page of this enchanting book is filled with wonderful pictures.

A well done book that children will love.

Moving To A Small Town: A Guidebook To Moving From Urban To Rural America

Average customer rating:

Be careful what you wish for...
Where and HOW to fit in to a different world
Now We're Big Fish, Even if the Pond is Little
Ruin small towns
Don't move without reading this book!!

Moving To A Small Town: A Guidebook To Moving From Urban To Rural America
Wanda Urbanska , and Frank Levering
Manufacturer: Fireside
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Reference | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Reference Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
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The 100 Best Small Towns in America

ASIN: 0684802236

Book Description

Thinking about leaving the city? Or just wishing you could? You're not alone. America is undergoing a rural renaissance, as countless thousands seek a simpler life and a safe, comfortable community in which to start businesses, raise families, and eventually retire. But finding the town that's right for you isn't always easy. That's why Moving to a Small Town offers a systematic, user-friendly approach to help you locate a community with the ideal culture, climate, and career opportunities. Anecdotal, down-to-earth, and full of practical information, Moving to a Small Town takes you step-by-step through this sometimes complicated yet rewarding life transition, addressing how to scout a new location; plan the move; calculate the costs; recast your career, using new telecommunications technology; and make a place for yourself in a new community. Filled with charts, worksheets, and profiles of folks who've made the move (and love it), Moving to a Small Town is an inspirational guidebook dedicated to helping you pinpoint your ideal small town and make your life there work - permanently.

Customer Reviews:

Be careful what you wish for..........2006-08-22

I am a native San Franciscan & lifelong Californian - until I moved to a rural farm town in Kansas. My town boasts 800 people - which is a TRUE small town (anything over 1,000 pop. is not really a 'small' town, by rural folks' standards). I agree w/the criticisms of this book, and there's a lot she covers which I totally agree with. BUT - I've been in Kansas 8 years now, and I'm lonely, bored and broke as hell, even though I'm happily married with a large chunk of land, no neighbors and plenty of critters around. Most rural areas are BELOW the poverty level average for the country, and finding a decent job offering more than 8.50 an hour here is extremely difficult. And it's best if you are a christian and extremist republican, too (at least in this part of the Midwest).

PLEASE do not romanticize moving to the country, but take a good hard look at your emotional/socialogical needs first. This is EXTREMELY IMPORTANT. It's been proven that people do best living in an area of 'like-minded' people. We don't live in one, and we're paying the price now. I never considered this until hubby and I moved here, and now we are considered in the 'minority' and we pretty much don't speak of certain topics except with with each other. While we love our house and the quietness, the isolation and lack of good friends is taking its toll on us. Read this book at least 1 year before you actually commit to a new area.

I

Where and HOW to fit in to a different world.......2003-06-18

The authors are a couple who lived in Los Angeles and moved to a town in North Carolina that has a population of around 7,000. They are both career writers, but also bought an apple orchard. They discuss issues like: Are you right for small-town life? Scouting a new location; calculating the costs; making the move; recasting your career; and making a place for yourself in your new community.

MOVING TO A SMALL TOWN has been a godsend for my husband and me, as we are planning on moving from Santa Barbara, California, in the next year. (We'd like to buy a home, and it's not going to happen here!) For people who have lived in medium to large cities their whole lives, this book gives a serious introduction to what's different in small towns, like decreased anonymity and increased expectations for community involvement. We learned some helpful ideas for choosing where to live and some new ways to think about making a living. Much of this information can be used by someone thinking of moving to a larger city, as well--one still has to scout locations, think about work, and move. This book is a must for anyone thinking about relocating.

(and now that we finally have moved to a town of 8,500 -- a town very unlike Southern California towns, thank goodness! -- we love it even more than expected)

Kimberly Borrowdale - Under the Covers Book Reviews

Now We're Big Fish, Even if the Pond is Little.......2000-04-05

I was looking for a thoughtful guidebook on migrating back to small town life--but this wasn't it. The authors spend too much time smugly congratulating themselves just for having done what many do daily without trumpeting it about (returning home to help aging parents), and not enough on the issues the title would lead the reader to believe would be covered. In addition, I was surprised at the strong negative reaction I had to the authors themselves.

Ruin small towns.......1999-09-22

Move to a small town and help turn it into the place you moved from! Yes! Yet another book that seeks out unique places to live, encourages people to move there, which in turn helps to destroy what made them special in the first place. What happens when every place like this has been ruined?

Don't move without reading this book!!.......1999-05-29

As urbanites who returned to the man's family orchard, this writing team is fully aware of the pleasures and pitfalls of moving to a small town. Written with sensitivity, humor, and many examples and interviews with others who have done the same, this is a full-bodied book that MUST be read by anyone thinking of moving to a small town!

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