Books about Frasier from Amazon.com

Inspired by Debra Frasier's enormously popular On the Day You Were Born, this charming photo journal invites families to celebrate the arrival of their loved one into the natural world. A star-spangled blue sky, crossed by a swath of sunshine yellow with gold birds, introduces the reader to "the very first day you arrived." Baby's picture and name go right in the middle of all the cheery yellow. Turn the page: "You were born on the round planet Earth. Was it day, or was it night?" is printed with another space for a picture and a line to write the date and time of birth against the backdrop of more starry sky with that old blue and green globe plopped in the middle and a figure of a child frolicking across the ocean. On another page, the jubilant child dances across a beach: "On the day you were born waves washed the beaches clean for your footprints. How little were your fingers? How tiny were your toes?"

By adding eight photographs and filling in a few details, parents can create a very special journal for their child, rejoicing together in all the natural wonders of the universe. Here is an ideal gift for the new parents with a vibrant connection to nature. --Emilie Coulter.
Price: $4.59 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Sniffling and coughing through a week at home with a cold, Sage (one who shows wisdom, experience, judgment") misunderstands one of Mrs. Page's vocabulary words in the homework assignment, and the resulting embarrassment in front of her fifth-grade class leaves her "devastated: wasted, ravaged. Ruined: destroyed. Finished: brought to an end." Miss Alaineus is not, as Sage determined in her "defective and delirious" mind, "the woman on green spaghetti boxes whose hair is the color of uncooked pasta and turns into spaghetti at the ends." Sage slumps home after the vocabulary bee fiasco, to her mom's comforting, if seemingly impossible words: "There's gold in every mistake." Fortunately, and as always, mothers know best.

Debra Frasier (author-illustrator of On the Day You Were Born) has created a masterpiece of clever wordplay in her hilarious and poignant story of the exquisite pain of schoolgirl mortification. One sentence using vocabulary words from A to Z runs along the bottom or side of each page ("Obliterate me, send me to oblivion--no one could outdo my stupidity"). Not just for word-worms, virtually any kid will identify with the occasionally confusing world of learning, and be reassured by the happy conclusion. Frasier's youthful artwork was inspired by her daughter's fifth-grade desk. "No fancy art supplies; just markers, notebook paper, pencils, glue, and scissors." The result is eminently inviting for grade-school children. (Ages 8 to 12) --Emilie Coulter.
Price: $0.42 [Notify me when price goes down.]

"My mother says you can ask the ocean to bring you something If you look, she says, you might find it." So begins the child narrator in Debra Frasier's Out of the Ocean, a loving tribute to the sea. For over 35 years, Frasier's family lived just north of Vero Beach, Florida, in a house overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. During that time, she combed the shore, took many pictures, and finally wrote this beachy paean. Close-up photographs of sand allow readers to see every raspy grain, and cut-paper collages splash across the sandy, shell-strewn background to form incoming surf or dune plants such as periwinkle and hibiscus. As readers walk along the shore with the author, we find beach glass, flotsam, a little jetsam, pelican feathers, black skate egg pouches, and other shore-side marvels. The little girl asks the ocean to show her treasures like these, but her mother asks for things that are too big to carry home--water, the sun, the moon, the sound of waves. A glossary in the back provides more information on shells, finding messages in bottles, and egg pouches, and plants and trees, in addition to things too big to carry home. If you've ever wanted to introduce the ocean to a child who's never seen it, this book captures the dreamy sights, smells, sounds, and textures. (Ages 4 to 8) --Karin Snelson.
Price: $2.00 [Notify me when price goes down.]

When Lorenzo de' Medici seized control of the Florentine Republic in 1512, he summarily fired the Secretary to the Second Chancery of the Signoria and set in motion a fundamental change in the way we think about politics. The person who held the aforementioned office with the tongue-twisting title was none other than Niccolò Machiavelli, who, suddenly finding himself out of a job after 14 years of patriotic service, followed the career trajectory of many modern politicians into punditry. Unable to become an on-air political analyst for a television network, he only wrote a book. But what a book The Prince is. Its essential contribution to modern political thought lies in Machiavelli's assertion of the then revolutionary idea that theological and moral imperatives have no place in the political arena. "It must be understood," Machiavelli avers, "that a prince ... cannot observe all of those virtues for which men are reputed good, because it is often necessary to act against mercy, against faith, against humanity, against frankness, against religion, in order to preserve the state." With just a little imagination, readers can discern parallels between a 16th-century principality and a 20th-century presidency. --Tim Hogan.
Price: $16.38 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Criminal profiler Ivy Dunlap is an expert at unraveling the psyches of the most dangerous men alive. She understands the killer instinct But even Ivy has her limits. And the Madonna Murderer will test them...

"A deeply engrossing read, Hush delivers a creepy villain, a chilling plot, and two remarkable investigators." (Lisa Gardner).
Price: $3.85 [Notify me when price goes down.]

The USA Today bestselling author delivers a terrifying follow-up to the acclaimed Pale Immortal. Haunted by both the town of Tuonela and the betrayal of Evan Stroud, medical examiner Rachel Burton tries to leave, but is brought back by the skinned body found in the woods. Others are coming to Tuonela, drawn to the legend of the Pale Immortal, the so-called vampire whose exhumed body is now on display. And others will die. As Evan succumbs to madness, those around him will suspect the worst of him. But nothing he is rumored to be will compare to the one who has been awakened....
Price: $1.00 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Located in Ogunquit, Maine, Arrows is a country restaurant owned by Clark Fraiser and Mark Gaier, who are also its chefs. The Arrows Cookbook, written by the pair, offers 150 recipes from the dining spot, contemporary food like Plank-Roasted Salmon with Rosemary-Mustard Vinaigrette, Baby Bok Choy with Chives and Smoked Ham, and Grilled Sea Scallops with Chile Pepper Sauce. These attractive, uncomplicated dishes are suitable for company or "dressier" weeknight cooking. What sets the book apart from similar works is its attention to the "backyard" garden that supplies the restaurant with over 250 varieties of fresh seasonal produce. The authors' garden smarts yields useful advice, including "How to Build Herb Boxes," "14 Easy Seeds," and "Heirloom Gardening."

The authors make a larger point. "You don't have to believe in the cosmic wisdom of cooking from the garden," they say. "It's enough that your garden will make you smarter about food." Cooking seasonally from the garden "has kept our culinary experimentation firmly rooted," they add, "and will do the same for you." The message is born out by the book's organization, which presents dishes--soup to desserts--season by the season. The winter section, for example, begins with a brief description of Arrows's cold-weather life ("Hardy herbs like sage, rosemary, and thyme are still thriving in our garden beds at Thanksgiving...") then offers appropriate fare including Maine Shrimp Dumplings with Cilantro, Boiled Dinner Our Way (a particularly good version of the traditional dish), and Kale, Swiss Cheese, and Bacon Casserole. "Winter" desserts consist of the tempting likes of Steamed Pumpkin Pudding with Vanilla Crème Anglaise and Chocolate Carrot Cake with Chocolate-Sour Cream Frosting. As both cooking and gardening guide, the book occupies a special--and engaging--spot. With color photos plus line drawings that particularly capture Arrows' special spirit. --Arthur Boehm.
Price: $13.00 [Notify me when price goes down.]

The Art of War is the Swiss army knife of military theory--pop out a different tool for any situation Folded into this small package are compact views on resourcefulness, momentum, cunning, the profit motive, flexibility, integrity, secrecy, speed, positioning, surprise, deception, manipulation, responsibility, and practicality Thomas Cleary's translation keeps the package tight, with crisp language and short sections. Commentaries from the Chinese tradition trail Sun-tzu's words, elaborating and picking up on puzzling lines. Take the solitary passage: "Do not eat food for their soldiers." Elsewhere, Sun-tzu has told us to plunder the enemy's stores, but now we're not supposed to eat the food? The Tang dynasty commentator Du Mu solves the puzzle nicely, "If the enemy suddenly abandons their food supplies, they should be tested first before eating, lest they be poisoned." Most passages, however, are the pinnacle of succinct clarity: "Lure them in with the prospect of gain, take them by confusion" or "Invincibility is in oneself, vulnerability is in the opponent." Sun-tzu's maxims are widely applicable beyond the military because they speak directly to the exigencies of survival. Your new tools will serve you well, but don't flaunt them. Remember Sun-tzu's advice: "Though effective, appear to be ineffective." --Brian Bruya.
Price: $13.04 [Notify me when price goes down.]