Alison Newman

Advantages: Nice story with a little message to convey!
Disadvantages: I suppose none!

...The cruel (or not so cruel) reality of life is that, when a child finds a little defenceless (or sometimes not so defenceless) animal, he will tend to either: 1- Start screaming for no apparent reason upon his discovery of an odd looking thing that moves (this silly phobia is more often than not the result of the mother or father being frightened or disgusted by the said creature) 2- Do his best to dissect it there and then, with the first instrument that comes to hand; failing that, he will use his own fingers and nails. 3- Take it home and care (or pretend to care) for it and treat it like a doll or a pet. Thankfully, in Mole and the Baby Bird, Mole opts for the latter of the three. ************************************** The Book was written by Marjorie Newman and illustrated by Patrick Benson. Amazon sell... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Will leave a lasting memory
Disadvantages: "Mole was sad"

...’t. Newman has the gift of conveying the maximum amount of meaning into the minimum amount of words, something many writers strive for and will never achieve. The fact that this story is written for 4-8 year olds doesn’t make it any less of a great piece of writing – in fact, the fact that it appealed to my nephew who made me read it three times in a row, and equally to my cynical, worldly wise husband made me appreciate just how good it is. It’s an adult message, which the best of children’s writing can often convey better than adult writing does. It’s not just a story of a mole and a bird, but a story of love and loss – with themes including: making others happy by allowing them to be free to be themselves, the responsibility involved in looking after animals, the pain of losing something you love, and of respecting wild things and the natural... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful

Advantages: Excellent insight into the authors thoughts and feelings in her relationship with harvey milk
Disadvantages: very biased towards gay people-not very welcoming to curious bystanders

...i have many books by Leslea Newman so when this one came out i went out to buy it straight away! The jacket was bright and eye-catching (designed by Newman's lover, Yohah Ralph) and the blurb on the back cover promised an exciting read! The book was extremely funny and tongue in cheek and proved to be a exciting read. The story is about the authors long distance relationship with her ex-lover, Harvey Milk and reproduces some of the letters they send to each other. They overcome their past differences at the start of the book, as Newman stopped talking to him when she realised she could surpress her gay feelings no more. She then, with the aid of her present lover rekindles their friendship. The book documents their lives and culminates in a meeting of the two couples, Newman with Ralph and Milk with his wife, Lindsay... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful