RH Value Publishing

This is a smattering of poems, primarily of men
With only Elizabeth Barrett Browning to represent women

With sentences of dying, fighting and of loves lost
I wondered if the authors ever thought about the cost

Of praise heaped high, judged merely for your sex
Forgetting about Dickinson, Parker, Angelou and the rest

This is NOT Disney! Remember the cute little cricket who was Pinnochio's conscience? He sang that song, When You Wish Upon a Star (Spoiler alert!) In an early chapter, Pinnochio kills him by throwing a hammer at him! He later reappears as a ghost, but is not there when Pinnochio really needs him. This story is enough to make any child have nightmares! I realize that many (most?) fairy tale have been sanitized to be less graphic, and this one certainly fits that pattern. This is the ultimate show more morality tale about lying and disobeying your parents. A lengthening nose is the least thing to worry about! It was interesting reading, even thought I only gave it two stars. show less

As a child I read "What A Mess" and did not discover there were more books in this series until I was an adult visiting Hay On Wye. All of the picture books in this series tell great stories and the pictures are beyond cute and clever. NO matter your age these books are a definite must read.

A rich collection of lullabies, prose descriptions, quotes, and love songs for babies. A nice cross-section of poets and authors from Leo Tolstoy and D. H. Lawrence to Eugene Field, Lewis Carroll, and Elizabeth Barrett Browning. There are a number of sweet poems from Algernon Charles Swinburne, and sweet songs from Alfred, Lord Tennyson and W. B. Yeats. The illustrations come from Arthur Rackham, Jessie Willcox Smith, Maud Humphrey, and vintage photographs. A visual and lyrical delight.