Product Description
This issue of Jet features Kim Fields as sassy lady in 'Living Single'. Also features survey of minorities resenting Whites and each other. ... Read more

Product Description
With their eldest son nearly to the age when he will be drafted into military service, Reinhardt and Lillian Vogt decide to immigrate to America, the land of liberty, with their three sons and Reinhardt's adopted brother, Eli. But when tragedy strikes during the voyage, Lillian and Eli are forced into an agreement neither desires. Determined to fulfill his obligation to Reinhardt, Eli plans to see Lillian and her sons safely settled on their Kansas homestead--and he's equally determined that the boys will be reared in the Mennonite faith. What he doesn't expect is his growing affection for Lillian--and the deep desire to be part of a family. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (30)

Great Book!
This is agreat book about a young Mennonite woman who comes to America with her husband and three sons.While on the ship, her husband and one son die. Due to Mennonite custom, she then marries her husband's step brother. Their marriage is one of convenience. During the story, they slowly fall in love. I would definitely recommend this book to others.

One of the best books I've read in a long time
I came on here to look this book up and see if there was another book after this one.I sure hope there is.I too would like to find out how the eldest son makes out.You know it's a good book when people write and say they can't wait to read ones after it.

Like another reviewer said...I just could not put this book down.My library sends me books through the mail,and I've read other Amish books before,but just am unsure if it was by this same Author.I usually just read the books and send them back.When I send this one back,I'll defiantly be asking for more of Kim's books!

This Is Kim's Best
I've read several (not all yet, but I'm working toward that goal!) of Kim Sawyer's books & I've decided this is the best so far. I suffered loss, sang with joy, grieved, exulted and sighed with satisfaction all through the reading of this book. The characters came to life for me and I hated to say goodbye when I reached the last page.

Here's a simple statement/line from the story that impacted me: "The cloud is gone, blown away by the wind of faith." Oh, what a simple, yet profound declaration! It encompassed so much of what I read and was something I think we all long to see in our own lives....that faith will blow away the clouds that have been keeping us down.

I highly recommend this book!!!!!

Historical romance brings pioneer Kansas to life
Fields of Grace by Kim Vogel Sawyer is a gentle love story with Mennonites in 1872 Kansas. Lillian and Reinhardt Vogt must leave their home in the steppes of Russia to protect their son, Henrik, from forced military service. Traveling with them is Reinhardt's foster brother Eli Bornholdt, who will use his farming know-how to help them prosper in their new home in Kansas. But two tragedies aboard their ship forces Lillian to radically change her view of the future and will challenge the faith of the entire family. Sawyer creates a realistic and moving story of facing your worst nightmare and living through it. Her portrayal of pioneer Kansas makes the grassy plains come to life. She keeps the conflict for the most part within the family instead of external. They have to overcome their own struggles and fights while the outside world rarely intrudes, which was probably very true for families who would have been so incredibly isolated during this time in history. A small complaint: the woman on the front cover doesn't look anything like Lillian who is 38, and this young woman is barely twenty. Sometimes the characters seem to change their feelings 180 degrees too quickly, but for the most part Sawyer does an admirable job showing how God works good through all circumstances for those who believe in Him.

Fields of Grace by Kim Vogel Sawyer
Reinhardt and Lillian Vogt are living a peaceful life in their Mennonite village in Russia, but their oldest son is soon to be of age to be drafted into the military.War goes against the Mennonite faith, so Reinhardt and Lillian do the only thing they can do to protect their family.They leave everything they know and love and head to America to start over to keep their family safe.Reinhardt's adopted brother Eli accompanies the family with hopes of working his own land.

When the unthinkable happens on the voyage across the ocean, Lillian and Eli join together in a marriage of convenience so Eli can accompany Lillian and her family to Kansas and help them get settled.This new family faces many trials and amid the trials, love blooms between Eli and Lillian.

One of the most interesting aspects of this story is the Mennonite history that is involved.The concept of this story is based on the history of the author's ancestors, which makes the story much more interesting.Overall, this is an enjoyable love story, although, there was a bit too much of a roller coaster between Eli and Lillian.I really enjoyed the bond that formed between Lillian's sons and Eli.Those moments were very heartwarming.

There are many nice moments in this story that make it easy to keep reading.The writing is very good and flows well from start to finish.The journey to grace was a long one, but it was well worth it and this book is well worth reading.I found Fields of Grace to be a relaxing book and enjoyed it very much.
... Read more

Product Description
A collection of eyewitness accounts by Cambodian survivors of Pol Pot's genocidal Khmer Rouge regime in the 1970s. Each witness was a child at the time of Cambodia's holocaust, and each tells of families torn apart, struggles to survive, and the ultimate triumph of the human spirit.Amazon.com Review
Dith Pran, the Cambodian photojournalist portrayed by HaingS. Ngor in The Killing Fields, compiled this collection ofeyewitness accounts to the genocide perpetrated by Pol Pot's regimefrom 1975 to 1979. All of the survivors who recount their stories herewere children when the Khmer Rouge took power, and the horrific imagesfrom a time when an estimated third of the Cambodian population diedof disease, starvation, and execution remain fixed in their minds tothis day.

The bleakness of evil made commonplace permeates thesetestaments. "There was a man who was friends with a woman, andthey had a friendly chat under a tree," one womanwrites. "Pol Pot saw them and accused them of having anaffair... Pol Pot tied them up on a cross and then told everyone towatch the couple being questioned and hit. The lady was pregnant andwas hit until she lost the baby and died. The man was also beaten todeath." As Cambodians struggle to rebuild their lives and nation,books such as this make sure that they--and we--will never forget thedepths from which they have been forced to rise. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (13)

Jeremiah 17:9
This book contains 29 essays in easy to understand language by people who were children during Pol Pot's genocidal Khmer Rouge regime from 1975 to 1979. The testimonies written by these survivors tell of extreme suffering and their will to survive. Their piercing accounts are absolutely heart wrenching, but one that needs to be told. If you are not familiar with this human tragedy, I highly recommend educating yourself about this topic. The systematic suffering, humiliation, and death of 2,000,000 Cambodians must not be forgotten.

Human life wasn't even worth a bullet
These children's memoirs give a human face to the unacceptable genocide committed by the Red Khmer in Cambodia in the name of a Western totalitarian ideology (Marxism - Leninism), which the top cadres `learned' in western universities (Paris).

As Dith Pran explains in his introduction, children were at the heart of the Red Khmer's fanatical ideological policies. The Red Khmer mounted an all out attack on family life. Children didn't belong anymore to their parents, but to the Red Khmer's ruling organization. Children were deprived of real knowledge of their natural parents.
The aim of the ideologues was to indoctrinate completely all `clean' newborn members of the population in order to build a `Brave New World'.
But the top of the Party themselves contradicted these unnatural and inhuman policies. Ieng Sary (Pol Pot's brother-in-law) put his sons at the helm of the province he controlled, while Ta Mok put all his siblings in high positions in his province. Nepotism at the top was rampant!

As one of the children remarks, the victory of the Red Khmer was positively greeted by the majority of the population, because people wanted `peace at any price'. But afterwards, of course not at any price.
The Red Khmer regime turned into a butchery, an endless slaughtering (clubbing to death, not shooting, because gunshots would have sown panic among the victims in waiting), a genocide through outright executions, overwork, exhaustion, starvation and illnesses. Whole families (women, children and babies) were killed because the rulers feared `revenge'.

But ultimately, the most cynical aspect of this atrocious story is the fact that this regime was supported by the West, because the Red Khmer were an enemy of Vietnam, which was an ally of the USSR. In fact, the Red Khmer mass murderers could escape to an ally of the West, Thailand.

One needs a strong stomach to digest these memories of an ideological and partisan genocide. They are a must read for all those who want to understand who we are and of what mankind is capable of doing when it disposes of unlimited powers.

How did the world let this happen?
This is one of the most powerful books I have read. The writing may not be the greatest. After all it is not a novel; it is a composition of the stories of Cambodians that have survived horrendous atrocities. Before we blame the U.S. we must realize thatThe U.N. and the rest of the world failed to take action as well. Would the public have supported sending troops into a situation similar to Vietnam? Is Burma the next killing field? We still ignore similar circumstances that are occurring as I type this review.

Children of Cambodia's Killing Fields: Memoirs by Survivors
This book of memoirs is deeply moving with one eulogy to a mother which I will never forget.It brought me to tears and crying out loud.Books such as these should be read by our youth before they enlist in the armed services.Naive Americans such as Jessica Lynch might not be so swept up by the manipulative promises of military recruiters if they became more informed before they enlist.

Excellent
This is a good introduction for anyone who wants to learn about life under the Khmer Rouge.The stories may be different, but they all provide a vivid detail of children struggling to survive Pol Pot's regime. ... Read more

Product Description
Filled with the hard-won wit and wisdom of veteran writer and Boston mom Kim Foley MacKinnon, Boston Baby is the go-to-guide Greater Boston parents have been longing for. Boston Baby is jam packed with the resources and information local parents need-from where to begin when you bring your bundle of joy home, to surviving a New England winter with a toddler as wild as the weather, to finding (and getting into!) the perfect preschool for your budding genius. With hot tips from Boston parenting experts and essential details on museums, theatres, classes, and play spaces, Boston Baby is an indispensable addition to your diaper bag. So gather up the kids, grab this trusty field guide, and discover all the city has to offer you and your family! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Great resource
Good resource.Actually gives recognition (albeit a small nod) that there is a world outside of Boston proper and Cambridge and lists some "beyond Boston" resources for us 'burbanites.Some recommendations to make the book even better (unless it is in there and I missed it) would be resources on places with nursing rooms/lounges in downtown, tips for navigating the city, etc.It's good for telling about what to do, but it would be even better with info about how to do it....

A Great Resource!
There's so much jammed into this one book that it is invaluable for a parent in Boston. Lots of ideas for things to do. Although I've lived here for over 20 years, there's lots in here that I didn't know about. Definitely worth a buy.

Life is better
I just got this book yesterday and let me say life is better with it in hand.In the throws of winter ice I needed a little something tohelp me see my bigger world and this book is it!I especially love the restaurant list and suggestions of things to do inside while I wait for the temp to go above 35.It's a bargain.Get it! ... Read more

Product Description
Based on data from 6 states and 11 districts, this essential resource helps educators understand the issues raised by NCLB and its implications for educating all children. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (3)

"Color of Heaven"
In this concluding volume to the Color of Earth trilogy, Kim Dong Hwa takes the relationship between Ehwa and her mother to a new level, for the little girl is now seventeen and a blossoming woman.The women find they have more in common than they thought, as they wait and yearn for their lovers who are far away, wondering when they will return.Nevertheless, Ehwa still has some crucial lessons to learn from her parent.But Hwa must bring the series to a close, and he does so with Ehwa's betrothal to Duksam, and their beautiful wedding.Her mother says goodbye to the daughter she's had in her home for so long, and while her lover now returns to her for good, she finds herself once again looking out from her home, waiting, this time for the return of her daughter who she now misses greatly.Kim Dong Hwa's artwork and scenery continue to astound, while The Color of Heaven does an incredible job of revealing facets of Korean culture rendered in such a beautiful way.

Originally written on August 8th, 2009 ©Alex C. Telander.

Originally published in the Sacramento Book Review.

For over 500 book reviews and exclusive author interviews, go to [...]

A poetic finish with no surprises...
Having read the first the first two books of this trilogy in fairly quick succession, I eagerly awaited the arrival of the third.Like Osamu Tezuka, Kim Dong Hwa creates in grayscale a beautiful scenic backdrop in which his sparsely (by comparison) drawn characters play.His commitment to the realism of rural Korea is a testament of his devotion to them (some of them are, after all, his family).There is a strong pastoral but poetic voice that echoes throughout which has the tendency to become rather redundant and thick, making the reading tedious at times.

The Color of Heaven is Kim's strongest work in the trilogy artistically speaking.He contrasts the general brightness of the first two books with some beautiful, effective shading in the third.

The story itself is weak and though there was little action in The Color of Earth and The Color of Water, readers will find themselves wading through pages about a main character whose primary objective is waiting.

Make no mistake, this book is worth the completion of the trilogy, but if you're expecting the deft plot twists and moral ambiguity of Osamu Tezuka's work, you will be disappointed.It's a light and airy love song, written by a Korean, about Koreans, to Koreans.And while the author/illustrator's love for his female forebears is commendable, the ending is much too easy to be the kind of realism he painted at the beginning.

Unforgettable
After discovering that his boss was trying to buy Ewha's hand in marriage and then retaliating against the old man on his dearly beloved's behalf, the farmer's assistant Duksam is going to have to flee town. He shows up late at night in the inn, angry men hot on his tail, and tells Ewha that he plans to travel to Mokpo and make his fortune as a sailor. When he has enough money to support Ewha as his wife, he will return for her.

But in the meantime, she will have to become like her mother--and wait at home for the one she loves, constantly looking toward the entrance to town in the hopes that her man will be walking through the gate toward her. Much of The Color of Heaven, the third and final volume of Kim Dong Hwa's path-breaking Colors Trilogy, documents this bittersweet waiting game. Mother and daughter spend many a break during the busy day and respite during the quiet night ruminating and expounding upon their desires and the nature of the male portion of the species.

It can get a bit tiresome in places; take this manhwa literally and you might assume that the only thing women talk about amongst each other is men. While this is a perspective of the world that flatters the male ego, it has no relationship to reality. However, inasmuch as the setting, pre-industrialized, agrarian Korea, was intensely patriarchal, the nostalgic, pseudo-poetic way in which mother and daughter discuss human relationships does indirectly explicate the ways in which social selfhood are conferred only upon women who are attached to a man, either as daughter or wife.

Furthermore, those with interest in Korean culture will appreciate the final portions of The Color of Heaven. Duksam does, needless to say, return to Ewha, and their marriage ceremony--not to mention their first conjugal night together--is depicted in languid, loving detail. Though quite frank in its sexuality, it is not pornographic, and the suggestive visual metaphors, such as a mortar and pestle, for example, used by Kim at the end of the book is reminiscent of a less permissive era of Japanese manga.

One of the keenest pleasures of this book, as with the previous two volumes, is its exquisitely beautiful artwork. Pitch-perfect traditional style and content merge seamlessly with the modern conventions of sequential art storytelling. It's like a Korean costume drama in two-dimensions...save that costume dramas on television typically depict the lives of the privileged, while the protagonist of the Colors Trilogy is a girl of very modest means and ambitions. Nevertheless, the wedding ceremony with its traditional dress is glorious, and much improved image reproduction in this First Second edition means that it can be enjoyed without distraction.


The Color of Heaven is without peer in the English language graphic novel market. Nowhere else is there such a sustained view of Korean tradition and agrarian life. For its uniqueness alone, it is a must read, and for the magnitude of its achievement, it is unforgettable. Highly recommended.


-- Casey Brienza ... Read more

Product Description

Have you ever noticed that trees dot the landscape of Scripture? From the TREE OF LIFE in the Garden of Eden to the TREE OF CRUCIFIXION at Calvary, trees are repeatedly mentioned in the Bible; yet, despite their prominence, not much is known about them. There is no question that biblical trees enhance the scenic backdrop behind the historical and prophetic events recorded in God's Word, but is this their only purpose? Is it possible that these trees represent something more, something SPIRITUAL?

In this ground-breaking Bible study, we will embark on a fascinating and unforgettable journey through the Old Testament and take a close up look at several biblical trees in their scriptural context:
***We will visit the lush, green paradise of the Garden of Eden and analyze the role that the TREE OF LIFE once played in the life of man, then relive man's fateful decision to eat from the TREE OF THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOOD AND EVIL.
***We will walk with the Israelites through the dry desert region of Sinai and watch as they gather wood from ACACIA TREES, cover it with gold, and use it to build a tabernacle for God in the desert wasteland.
***We will experience firsthand the Israelites' rebellion in the MEADOW OF ACACIAS, only to see them, a short time later, reaffirm their faith in God and enjoy an astounding God-given victory over the CITY OF PALMS.
***We will observe joyful worshipers waving PALM FRONDS at the harvest festival known as Sukkot and catch a glimpse of a glorious harvest celebration that will occur at the end of the Great Tribulation.
***We will gaze with wonder upon the magnificent CEDAR and stone temple that King Solomon built in Jerusalem and examine the intricate PALM TREE carvings etched on its walls and doors.
***We will observe Israeli priests using CEDAR WOOD to ceremonially cleanse lepers who have been healed from their disease.
***And, we will witness the God-ordained rise of the Assyrian empire, the mighty nation that, according to God, was once a CEDAR in Lebanon, only to see God, years later, wield His ax of judgment and cut the conceited CEDAR TREE down.

We need not travel far on this spiritual trek to discover that biblical trees truly do have something to say--each tree speaks of one or more sacred truths that God wants all people to consider and embrace. When we do, God promises to give us joy, peace, and fulfillment, not only in this life, BUT in the life to come!

Are you ready to study Scripture in a fun and innovative way?
Are you ready to learn something new and life-changing?
Then, through the power of the Holy Spirit, let the TREES of the Bible be your guide.

As it says in Isaiah 55:12--For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the TREES OF THE FIELD shall clap their hands (KJV, emphasis mine).

THE TREES OF THE FIELD BIBLE STUDY can be used for individual study, small groups, and as home school curriculum! A Leader's Guide is included at the back of the book. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Awesome
God so wants us to experience His love and salvation that He repeats the theme over and over again in the bible. In this bible study you find He does it through trees. God is so gracious to remind us that ordinary things become extraordinary in His hands, that our thorny and hard (and stubborn) personalities are covered with His glory (gold). This is an awesome bible study! ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (3)

"Color of Water"
In the second book of the trilogy, The Color of Water, after The Color of Earth, Ehwa is now a growing girl and boys are on her mind all the time, but readers can see the beautiful woman she will become.And yet she still has a lot to learn about life, the world, and more importantly, men and what they can be like.Fortunately she has her mother to educate her on the ways of the world and the ways of men and their desires.Ehwa is a naïve young girl, but a fast learner.With the expression "third time's the charm," Ehwa has high hopes for this third, new boy in her life, Duksam.Friction grows between Ehwa and her mother, as the girl is always wanting to go out and find Duksam, while ignoring her duties and chores.Ehwa has also attracted the eye of an old man who will do everything he can to get her.There is also jealousy growing between Ehwa and her mother, who receives infrequent visits from her "picture man."Kim Dong Hwa continues his beautiful artwork and wonderful poetic words that combine simile through nature to educate Ehwa and readers about love and life.Readers will be left anxiously waiting for the conclusion of the trilogy, The Color of Heaven.

Originally written on July 18th, 2009 ©Alex C. Telander.

For over 500 book reviews and exclusive author interviews, go to [..]

The Color of Water
I received free copies of this series for my middle school library. Thank goodness I looked through the books before making them available to my middle school students. In my opinion, this series is DEFINITELY not appropriate for ages 9-12 as stated in Amazon's review. Before you buy this book for your children who like graphic novels, you should be aware of some of the dialogue:
Then do you wanna do it yourself?
How?
Put your hand on your stomach.
Then let your hand pass your bellybutton and continue going down.
Like this?
A little bit more. Keep going.
I feel like I'm touching a small forest.
The forest rests atop a small swollen hill and any place my hand touches gets hot.

I have to admit I haven't read the whole book, but please check this book out before giving it to your children.

Brilliant

kim Dong Hwa has crafted a remarkable trilogy.The Color of Earth, Water and Heaven are a symbolic, poetic, and charming story of Ehwa's coming to womanhood.

It is not graphic.It is not crude.Rather, it unfolds (in the Color of Water) like a delicate flower coming to bloom.Hwa uses flower imagery effectively throughout the books.The art, while understated at times, is truly an extension of the story.Sometimes complex, sometimes simple, Hwa illustrates with a soft touch I appreciate.

In the 2nd volume, three young women experience different levels of the quest for womanhood.One is envied for her upcoming marriage until it is unveiled that her husband is 9 years old.Another, explores the world of boyhood/manhood.Ehwa gradually realizes that the young wrestler she meets is her future husband and must mature in love while her mother experiences her own romance/affair.

This series has been compared to A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.I heartily agree with that and even go further to suggest that this is destined to be a classic, in any language.

Tim Lasiuta
... Read more

Product Description
Here is all you need to solve practically every fuel problem you might face in the field! Concise, comprehensive, and compact, this manual covers the entire range of fuel performance problems encountered during testing, storage, transportation, delivery, and combustion. Using a hands-on, practical approach and actual field examples to demonstrate concepts, leading petroleum industry expert Kim B. Peyton takes you step-by-step through: effective troubleshooting tactics; test methods and test results; the most common sources of fuel problems; chemical additive problems; safety and hazard management; In addtion, a unique roundup chapter draws together hard-to-find information on chemical storage tanks, fuel filters, flowmeters, metals, plastics, and more. Long-needed by professionals in every area of the petroleum industryNfrom refinery engineers to research chemists to technical service personnel and terminal managersNthe Fuel Field Manual quickly takes you from problem to resolution, saving you time and money. ... Read more

Product Description
This comprehensive sourcebook and field guide is designed for expert and amateur birdwatchers alike, as well as students and nature lovers. Presented is scientific and field information based on years of bird-watching experience and conscientious study of birds and their behavior, all lavishly illustrated. Also discussed are issues such as climate, habitat, and conservation, which are essential to the discussion of birds in an urban environment like Singapore. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (7)

Beautiful coming of age story
I loved loved loved this graphic novel.Everything about it was beautiful.Ehwa is a young girl who is slowly discovering what it means to be a woman and have a woman's body.Set in a timeless Korea, she lives with her widowed mother in their inn.I can't wait to read the next in the series because this was really wonderful.There are so many wonderful scenes that I could have pickedto show you, but I love the melancholy nature of the drawing above.

The story itself can be magical, even if the image reproduction occasionally breaks the spell
Although Dong Hwa Kim's protagonist in The Color of Earth, the first book of a nostalgic Korean manhwa trilogy,is a sweet-faced young girl, it's emphatically not for children. Behind the timeless provincialism of its rural Korean setting and the subtly allusive illustrations is a Freudian-laced tale of a young woman's coming of age and sexual awakening. So while the chapter about Ehwa's first menstruation is a common theme in children's literature, her discovery that all women have a secret "persimmon" between their legs might make even some adult readers vaguely uncomfortable.

Oddly, a short essay at the end of the volume calls this work "feminist." Alas, the essayist seems to have an impoverished notion of the word. A female protagonist alone does not make it feminist, and it seems doubtful that anyone in the West would consider, for example, a beautiful widowed mother and proprietress of a tavern who just smiles like a benevolent angel whenever her regulars make vulgar, sexist remarks about her a particularly liberating turn.

Fortunately, none of it is to be taken literally. Make no mistake: The Color of Earth is a folktale in sequential art form, resonating with the cross-cultural power of myth. This explains why Ehwa's maturation is so stereotyped, her romantic (but platonic) relationships with the young monk and later on with the rich kid seems so stilted and ritualistic. The painter's courtship of her mother is even more ritualized still, the strengthening bonds between them symbolized by the growing number of paintbrushes he leaves behind to be hung up with pride of place on Ehwa and her mother's wall. The characters are more archetypes than three-dimensional constructions and meant to be so.

This deliberate flatness goes for Kim's artwork as well. The style is at once nearly his own and evocative of the Korean peninsula's long artistic tradition, particularly in the use of simple but deliberate lines and expansive empty space when drawing panels with people as subjects, while conversely devoting tremendous effort and detail to panels with plant life or scenery. Intriguingly, some of the angles of the characters in their beautiful hanbok are strongly reminiscent of Goguryeo tomb paintings.

If there is any unequivocal criticism to level at First Second's maiden voyage into the realm of Korean manhwa, it is that, from the standpoint of production values, the publisher has gotten off to a bit of a rocky start. Although the book itself is a lovely, high-quality trade paperback featuring French flaps and rough-cut pages, the monochrome image reproduction of the interior pages ranges from troublingly pixilated to unacceptably blurry. Lines ought to be totally crisp to the naked eye, the gray tones exquisite, and they are not. The degree to which these issues will bother readers will certainly vary depending upon the person, but it may be enough to discourage some graphic novel connoisseurs from purchasing altogether. Fortunately, these problems are all resolvable, and I hold out hope that First Second will soon do so for subsequent releases. In the meantime, though, I recommend giving the first installment of Kim's trilogy a chance regardless: The story itself can be magical, even if the image reproduction occasionally breaks the spell.

-- Casey Brienza

Courtesy of Mother Daughter Book Club.com
The Color of Earth is the first in a trilogy of graphic novels about a young girl named Ehwa and her widowed mother who owns a tavern in a small Korean village. The story takes place in a time before that country was geographically split by war.

Author Kim Dong Hwa creates beautiful images that work with the narrative to tell this story of two generations of women. While the story may seem simple as it follows Ehwa from young girl to young adult, it is filled with rich symbolism that you will want to savor as you read. Flowers symbolize many things in the story, and the characters are often associating flowers with someone they love. Also, you get the sense that young Ehwa is beginning to bloom just as the flowers do.

As Ehwa grows, she is confused by the changes in her body, and the information she gets from friends about those changes only confuses her more. Mother and daughter don't talk about the changes before they occur, but Ehwa does turn to her mother to answer the questions she has. The narrative provides an interesting way to bring up topics like boys having wet dreams and girls starting their periods. The words are simple, but combined with the images they are powerful. While this book is targeted to a young adult audience and these concepts won't be new to most readers, it can be a jumping off point for further discussion.

I recommend The Color of Earth for mother-daughter book clubs with girls who are 13 or older. In addition to talking about maturing bodies, other points to discuss include first love, Buddhist monks, and life in a small village.

A Beautiful Story From Korea
The first in a trilogy, the graphic novel //The Color of Earth// is now available to English-speaking (and reading) audiences.While author and artist Dong Hwa Kim has published a number of graphic novels (//manwha// as they are called in Korea), including //My Sky// and //The Red Bicycle//, this trilogy represents a new foray for him.Ehwa is a young girl who doesn't have a father, and her only role model is a single mother who is mocked by men at the local tavern she owns and runs.In her early years, Ehwa looks down on her mother for allowing men to treat her this way, but as she grows into womanhood and becomes interested in boys, she begins to understand more clearly.Her mother knows that the men are harmless, but when they go too far, she is quick to stop them or stick up for herself.//The Color of Earth// explores the years of Ehwa becoming a teenager and her first simple relationships with boys, as well as her mother finding a new love in her life.The trilogy is continued in //The Color of Water//, and has become a bestseller in Korea among both men and women, for Kim has a talent for telling a beautiful story that spans genders and digs right into the heart of humanity.It is a story that will grow on you and become a classic, much like //A Tree Grows in Brooklyn//.

Reviewed by
Alex C. Telander

This is an enchanting and lovely book
This is a really lovely book.Very beautiful art work, and the story is very ..poetic maybe.The plot is pretty simple, but its so enchanting it doesn't really matter.Its a great escape too. ... Read more

Product Description
Examines types of bridging studies currently being performed to help facilitate the transition from laboratory studies to field studies in support of pesticide registration. ... Read more

Product Description
This superb detailed field guide covers the identification of all snakes, lizards, crocodilians and chelonians (turtles and tortoises) found in the east African countries of Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi. With species accounts describing appearance, habitat, distribution and natural history, with distribution maps and many colour photos, this is a complete reference book for anyone with an interest in the reptiles of this area. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

Maximum
This is the most perfect book for any snake or reptile fan.

More an Encyclopedia than a Field Guide
This book is amazingly detailed, giving in-depth information on ALL species of reptile known to occur in the five countries covered.
The photographs are of excellent quality (though where none was available, drawings would have been better than nothing) and the keys very user-friendly.
It is an absolute must for anyone interested in the herpetofauna of this region.
A word of warning though: despite the title this book is much too bulky and heavy to carry around on the field!
More likely, you will want to keep it at home (or in your car?) as a reference.

Wow!
This is a remarkable collection of information on a sorely needed region of herpetology. Not just for advanced hobbyists either...this book has WONDERFUL photographs and is a MUST have for any level of reptile enthusiast.

REFERENCE for east african herpetology !
A great book, with descriptions and photos of al known east african reptiles, including distribution maps.
Which i must say could have a little bet bigger and easier to read(country references).

If you are interested in finding the reptiles in the field or keeping them in captivity, you must own this book !

Excellent Reptile Resource and Field Guide
The long-awaited field guide to the diverse reptile populations of East Africa. This book was everything I expected it to be and more.Comprehensive listings, excellent photography and detailed information on habitat/distribution, natural history, conservation status etc.I can't say enough good things about this book, the list of authors should speak for themselves!;-)

No serious herper's library is complete without this book... ... Read more

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This book provides a comprehensive account of the crucial role automorphic $L$-functions play in number theory and in the Langlands program, especially the Langlands functoriality conjecture. There has been a recent major development in the Langlands functoriality conjecture by the use of automorphic $L$-functions, namely, by combining converse theorems of Cogdell and Piatetski-Shapiro with the Langlands-Shahidi method. This book provides a step-by-step introduction to these developments and explains how the Langlands functoriality conjecture implies solutions to several outstanding conjectures in number theory, such as the Ramanujan conjecture, Sato-Tate conjecture, and Artin's conjecture. It would be ideal for an introductory course in the Langlands program.Titles in this series are co-published with The Fields Institute for Research in Mathematical Sciences (Toronto, Ontario, Canada). ... Read more

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By John Cotter et al (Athenæum) Illustrated paperback.Report of archaeological excavation in Athenæum garden, site of the 18th-century prison designed by master builder Robert Smith. ... Read more