I am a new puppy owner, and like most, I am ABSOLUTE gelatin in her paws. When I caught myself getting inordinately excited that my "baby" went up the three steps to the deck by herself at only seven weeks, I decided (to my infinite embarrassment) that I needed a puppy journal. After searching diligently for about a week, and rejecting all of the silly, cartoonish and cheaply-made wire-bound variety journals, I stumbled across this utter gem. The first thing that makes "The Puppy Baby Book" stand apart is the fact that it is an actual hard bound book. This really IS something that will withstand the test of time. The artwork is clean and understated so as not to take away from your photos or entries. It is done in subtle hues with a definite art deco sensibility. There are also several handy pockets inside for things like adoption papers, medical records and even your puppy's first rabies tag. I couldn't be happier with the exceptional style and quality of this book. I would particularly recommend it for pet owners with a sense of history and an appreciation of those classic breeds that were at the height of their popularity in the 20's and 30's (Boston Terriers, Greyhounds, Afghans, etc). Finally, Three cheers for this and all those other struggling independent publishers out there.

This unique book is a must for that puppy lover in all of us. This chronicle of your puppy's life will become a treasured keepsake to cherish for years to come.

If you have a special dog in your life, this book is for you. Its friendly, upbeat tone and beautiful illustrations help you to chronicle your puppy's first year. You will be guided toward jotting down many of the important moments in your puppy's life, from those memorable "firsts," to charting your puppy's growth spurts. There are places for special photos, even pockets for storing papers and that initial rabies tag. But more than that, this book also offers basic information such as what ought to be in your puppy's first aid kit, and helpful tips for training your puppy. It is a book to treasure. It would be a very thoughtful gift for anyone who is excited about owning a new puppy.

Lynne Kositsky tackled difficult subject matter in Rebecca's Flame -- and pulled it off in a way that is memorable and compelling. The controversial subject matter of the romance between Rebecca and Sean is sure to raise some eyebrows, but even though the novel is set in the 1800's, this is still a current issue in the Jewish community. Rebecca's decision on how to handle the situation is surprising and ultimately calls into question issues of faith and love.

I absolutely loved Rebecca's flame. I was irresistibly drawn in within the first ten pages, and I had the worst time putting it down. I just had to know what happened next. I thought that the characters weren't as well developed, in general, as in her other book, Candles, but I loved the character of Sean. Many characters, so-called "love interests" are not as well developed as the main character, but I got a real sense that Sean was a real person. Just like last time, Lynne Kositsky hits the nail on the head!

Compulsive reading, author has an incredible way of making history come alive for young people.

This book is THE book on County Donegal, Ireland. Buy it and you'll not regret it... Packie Manus Byrne is also a fine musician & music historian, and Mel Bay has just published his newest book ---- 85 Irish tunes that were virtually unknown to most of the world. Packie captures the simple beauty and ancient flavor of Donegal and it's songs. There is a companion CD that goes with the music book, but Amazon does not yet offer it. Why not???????????? We are waiting to order several copies.

ALL of Packie's books belong on your bookshelf, Ours rarely stay put, though, because you can pick them up and read them in bits as well as start to finish. He is a real storyteller, you want to know more! Amazon must offer A Dossan of Heather soon!

For someone who was born, although not raised in Donegal, and who has holidayed there frequently this book was a refreshing reminder of some of things I saw as a child and other things heard in stories told by Uncles and Grandparents. I was struck again by the self sufficiency of the people (making their own rope, thatching houses) and the neighbourly co-operation - and merrymaking. Even on emigration the experience of Packie Manus Byrne mirrors that of many other Irishmen and, as such, the book represents an important and entertaining piece of the social history of the common man. A very worthwhile read.

Packie Manus Byrne is a fine storyteller!His childhood in Donegal and his later travels make for a book that is hard to put down. This is a book that will be GREATLY appreciated by anyone interested in Ireland, music, or adventure. It is WONDERFUL!

"Patrick O'Kelly was a peddler of scarves and trinkets, with a habit of telling magnificent lies." So begins "The Ring of Truth". "Magnificent" may even be an understatement for him. He is supposed to have kissed the Blarney Stone once, that fabled and mystical rock that gives one the gift of gab, and by the way he carries on, it's believed that he managed to get a bit of that rock stuck in his teeth! He is such a fine artist of Blarney, that he easily boasts that he could out-fib the very king of the Leprechauns himself!!

Well, as any good Irish legend will tell you, be careful about what you say about the Fair Folk, for they have great ears for hearing and egos to boot!! It's hardly long before Patrick O'Kelly is swept off to the very land of the Faeries to meet the king of the leprechauns himself!

Like any fine Celtic tale, the book is full of twists and turns and play on words, of which the title of the book is just one (I'll not give away the ending for fear of spoiling the fun for readers!). The ending is a fun surprise for readers, as well as for our brave hero, Patrick O'K. Himself! What will stick to readers' ribs most, however, are the illustrations.

Illustrated by Omar Rayyan, the book resembles now an illuminated manuscript, now a surrealistic painting. Faeries and other Fair Folk are mischievous creatures, to say the least, and to step into their world, however briefly, is to take a roller coaster ride into the ethereal and strange. Winged sprites flit too and fro, and the King has always about him a smile that is first playful and fun, and upon closer inspection, hinting at some darker purpose. Once Patrick has gone to their fair land, they are all about him, hiding here and there, yet the reader knows that they are invisible to everyone-another example of that mischievous, almost sinister magic they weave.

All in all, a tremendous book and perhaps too overlooked in the children's section. Though Irish in nature, it is not about St. Patrick's day, so there is no need to keep it mothballed until then! Bring out this treasure of a story and illustration and read it often!!

Teresa Bateman's Ring Of Truth is simply wonderful! I enjoyed reading this wild tale of "true" blarney. Delightful and entertaining---A great read.

Rich, complex and gorgeous illustrations provide the perfect compliment to the story of the braggart Patrick who is tricked by the Leprechaun King and must now tell only the truth. Obviously, this will be a decided disadvantage in the Blarney contest in which he is entered. Or will it? A thoroughly enjoyable tale which has the familiar feel of a truly great fairytale for the ages.

Jane Sullivan hits it big and hits it funny with STRAY HEARTS. In a fit of revenge, Kay Ramsey has a grooming service shave Up You into her cheating ex-fiance's prize purebred. The insult should have read Up Yours, but the artist ran out of dog. Her sentence to a veterinary clinic and her fear of animals keep the laughs coming and the chemistry sizzling between Kay and the resident vet. This book is a definite MUST READ. I can't wait for the next Jane Sullivan Novel.

I really enjoyed this book! Jane Sullivan has great skill at telling a story that makes you not want to keep reading until the last page and even then you wish that there was more (I can't wait to read her next book). There was a great mix of emotions both tears and laughs and plenty of romance too. I highly recommend this book to anybody who likes romantic comedy.

This book contains two complete novels, and I've so far only read STRAY HEARTS by Jane Sullivan, but I had to stop and write a review. Stray Hearts is about a woman, Kay, who is terrified of animals. When she catches her fiance with another woman, she hires a dog groomer to shave naughty words into the coats of his prize cocker spaniels. She gets caught, and the law comes down hard--she has to do volunteer work in an animal shelter.

The hero is the vet who runs the shelter, and he puts poor Kay to work scooping cat boxes! He's skeptical about her, and she's terrified of the animals. I won't tell you how they work it out, but I can assure you it's funny! A great, fast read, very well written, with lots of reasons to smile and sometimes laugh out loud. Especially fun if you like animals.

The simplicity and depth of these stories floored me. I have just started learning to speak Irish and I have found these stories to be both helpful and deeply moving.

Padraic Pearse was, foremost, headmaster of a boys' school in Dublin, but his summers were spent in his modest Connemara cottage writing stories about the Gaelic-speaking faction of that region.He always maintained that this place and its humble residents truly represented the real Ireland, that ancient, heroic ideal that existed in the tales of Cuchulainn and Finn Mac Cumhail. With his usual gentle touch, Pearse brings the joys, travails, and superstitions of the people of the Gaeltacht to vivid life, celebrating their simplicity without ever making them seem ordinary.All the stories are imaginative, but especially moving was "Iosagan," a tale of renewed faith and redemption.I absolutely recommend it, and any other work by the gifted Padraic Pearse.

This book, containing some of the short stories of Padraic Pearse, my current favorite writer, is essential. The story "Iosagan" takes my breath away, every single time I read it...and believe me, I've read it plenty! These stories are particularly good if you've just read or are planning to read his collected poems. This should be required reading for anyone interested in Ireland's political and/or literary history!

William Trevor has crafted yet another wee gem of a tale in "The Silence in the Garden", drawing upon class differences between the Protestant aristocracy and their Catholic neighbors and the bloody violence of the Irish civil war. Most of the tale is set in the 1930's, though events span decades from the early 1900's till the beginning of the 1970's. Sarah Pollexfen arrives on the estate during World War I as a governness to her affluent Rolleston cousins. Through her diaries we read of an unspeakable tragedy and quiet lives of desperation led by the Rolleston family.

...and therein lies only one facet of William Trevor's amazing gift. When I began this book, I thought I had stumbled upon a novel in a 'lighter' category by Trevor -- before I realized it, I was completely enmeshed in this story and its characters. Trevor's prose is incredibly crafted -- his attention to detail and his ability to develop his characters are almost without peer, but neither of these talents overshadows his story.

As in most of his marvelous writing, there are twists and turns awaiting the reader -- revelations completely unforseen and unimagined. As always, he brings the Irish character -- both individual and en masse -- to life completely and gently. Meticulous details are made known to us quietly, so that by midway through the this absorbing work, we almost feel that we are living among these people. He has the ability to allow us to know them without feeling we've been told about any of them -- more like we've gained the knowledge over time.

We see Sarah Polexfen come to the Irish island estate of Carriglas to serve as governess to the children of her relations, the Rollestons. Life there seems peaceful and detached -- but she senses there is something troubling under the surface, something of which she is not told and is unaware. Years later, when she returns to the island -- the children are grown, their father dead, the grandmother an aged matriarch -- events from the past begin to come clearer, verifying her earlier intuitions. The story is played out over a period from the early part of the 20th century, seeing the beginning of the 'troubles' in Ireland, to the early 1980s -- and the family looks much different in hindsight than when she first arrived.

There is a sweet sadness present in this story -- as in much of Trevor's writing -- but it never becomes maudlin. The events and dialogue are intelligent and, in their own way, endearing -- for we find ourselves growing to care about these characters, even the ones who are less than admirable. For in the end, they are only human, and humans have frailties and warts, and commit transgressions, no matter how admirable they may seem from a distance.

Every single work of William Trevor's fiction that I have read has been a great experience -- if you've never sipped from his cup, start here...start anywhere. His novels and short stories are equally amazing and well-written -- I cannot recommend his work as a whole highly enough.

This lovely novel is sort of William Trevor's take on a Henry James ghost story. A governess arrives at an enormous estate and discovers there is more than meets the eye. As always with Trevor, the prose is luminous and the characters are complex, deft and compelling. I recommend this, just as I would anything Trevor has written. He is the greatest prose writer of our time.

Soldier of Ireland is a fine story of Ireland's struggle for freedom, and the courage of Irishmen and women in the struggle.

I really enjoyed the family values in the story. The author is a great story teller. Looking forward to his next book.

Never realized how much the Irish struggled for independence until I read Soldier of Ireland. A great review of the history of the Irish and their determination to unite Ireland and to free her of foreign intervention.

I first saw this play at the Edinburgh Theatre Festival in Scotland, which was the loftiest goal that its authors and performers had set for it. The world quickly recognized how small they were really thinking to have produced such a masterpiece, and the show had a run on the West End and then came to Broadway.

This is one of the funniest plays I've seen/read since Noises Off. Although it takes some imagination when reading the text, one can easily see how utterly comic and tragic the production is. I love this play because it allows actors to stretch, because it doesn't rely on big sets and fancy costumes to engage the audience, and because it's funny as hell. A good read, and a definite must-see.

This play is genius. It is hysterical, touching and heartbreaking. However, one cannot grasp this from the text. I rated this five stars because the show itself is unbelieveable, and the show is the exact text of the book. Regardless, one must see the show to comprehend the genius inherent here.

I had the privilege to see this play performed at the Duke of York's Theatre on St. Martin's Lane in London this January. I was rolling in the aisles and laughing so hard that my stomach hurt. Marie Jones' masterful understanding of the rural Irish makes for an incredibly funny and deeply authentic portrayal of two Kerrymen who are hired as extras on a big-shot Hollywood filmset. For a good laugh and a stunning view of real Irish people, read it. Then see it, if at all possible. Excellent.

I definately plan on taking this map with me to Dublin. A couple of things you should know, however: It only covers Dublin city center... it DOES NOT cover much of the suburbs. It folds up in a way that allows you to open up it up just partially to the section that isolates the part you want. Why is this important? Because I don't want to be completely obviously a tourist with one of those huge conspicuous maps that tries to fly away in the wind. It's a very compact, very well labeled map that is a must have. Hope this helps!

All of the streetwise maps are fantastic. They're indestructible, they clearly show downtown areas without all the extra suburbs you don't need to see, they're indexed, they're a good size to tuck in a purse or bag, and they often show subway maps as well. Streetwise Dublin was my first and can't be beat, and now I buy a streetwise map for any city I go to. I highly recommend any of the streetwise maps.

One of the handiest maps you can get your hands on! Laminated to get you around Dublin on those "rare" rainy days and easy to read so you can find your way back home after a couple of pints. I've used it every time I've been to Dublin, and I'd recommend studying it a bit before you land!