Japanese Celebrations: Cherry Blossoms, Lanterns And Stars!

Book Description

The people of Japan love to celebrate! In fact, they love it so much they have a day of celebration, whether it's a change in season, a religious observance, or just a special moment in life, every month of the year. Brimming with ancient traditions, exotic decorations, and delicious, seasonal foods, Japanese Celebrations will take you on a month-by-month tour of some of Japan's best-loved festivals.
Beautifully illustrated and full of fascinating facts about Japanese holidays and celebrations, this 48-page picture book offers a vivid picture of some of Japan's most festive events including New Year's, Children's Day, Cherry Blossom Season, Harvest Moon Viewing, Christmas in Japan and many more.
With simple but informative text and illustrations that explain the significance of the dress, decoration, food, gifts and activities associated with these events, Japanese Celebrations promises to delight and educate young readers and parents alike.

Customer Reviews:

Charming presentation of Japanese festivities........2007-07-20

With great drawings, this light text proceeds through the seasons of Japan explaining the holidays. References to food, culture and customs are made throughout. Great way to learn about Japanese celebrations.

Japanese Celebrations: Cherry Blossoms, Lanterns and Stars!.......2007-05-07

A beautiful book. Betty Reynolds is an American who was a keen observer while living in Japan. Her illustrations are wonderful and she covers the whole year and includes a lot of Japanese words (with pronunciations and explanations). There is so much information packed into a very easy to read and beautiful format. I highly recommend any of Betty Reynolds' bookds to anyone who wants to understand Japanese culture or who is studying Japanese.

Disappointed when I recieved ONLY a 16 page book.......2007-03-17

The book that I ordered was SUPPOSED to have 48 PAGES. The book that I recieved in the mail ONLY has 16 PAGES. I have emailed the seller and I have not heard from them. They sold me a book that is NOT supposed to be sold, it says so on the in side the cover. I called Barns and Noble and they said that it is a copy for book stores to review before they buy many copies. I paid for a incomplete book!!!!! Very disappointed!

IF I had gotten the whole 48 page book, I believe that it would have been a really great book to teach students about the many different holidays that are celebrated in Japan. That is what I was going to use it for but since all of the pages were not there I could not use the book. I'm sure that if I had the full 48 page book I would have given it five stars and a better review.

The Cherry Blossom Festival: Sakura Celebration

Average customer rating:

4.5 Stars
History of the Cherry Blossom Festival.
I have not seen this book, this is what I've read about it

The Cherry Blossom Festival: Sakura Celebration
Ann McClellan
Manufacturer: Bunker Hill Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Japan | Asia | History | Subjects | Books

General | Gardening & Horticulture | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

Japanese Gardens | Gardening & Horticulture | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

Ornamental Plants | Gardening & Horticulture | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

Trees | Gardening & Horticulture | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

Holidays | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 1593730403

Book Description

The most significant of the more than 175 varieties of Japanese ornamental trees featured, along with a discussion of Japanese garden design, and cultivation tips for home gardeners.

Customer Reviews:

4.5 Stars.......2006-10-01

This is an excellent book if you would like to get an overview and history of Washington DC's Cherry Blossom Festival. There's some really good historical photographs and drawings and it was enjoyable to read about the development, meaning, symbolism, etc. of the Cherry Blossom Festival. I would rate this book 4.5 stars only because while there are some great photos of the spectacular trees there aren't nearly as many as there should be. This is a great book if you are new to Washington and/or looking for a gift.

History of the Cherry Blossom Festival........2005-04-09

The book is very detailed and wonderfully illustrated. It starts with the traditions and roots of Cherry Blossom Festivals from Japan. Then it explians how the cherry blossom trees came to Washington and how the US picked up the traditions of the Cherry Blossom Festival. It ends with a chapter about how to care for cherry blossoms and how they exist, not only in cities of Japan and Washington, D.C., but also in other parts of the US, such as New York and Ohio, Missouri and California. Lovely book.
Funny enough, the book was printed in China.

I have not seen this book, this is what I've read about it.......2005-03-24

Lots of illustrations and facts about the role of the cherry blossom tree in diplomacy and landscapes. Info on the trees' cultivation, how the U.S. got the trees, places outside of Washington, DC to see them.

The author has worked at the Smithsonian and is a resident of D.C.

Shenandoah Apple Blossom Festival (VA) (Images of America)

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Shenandoah Apple Blossom Festival (VA) (Images of America)
Helen Lee Fletcher
Manufacturer: Arcadia Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Book Description

For many cities and small towns across the South, agriculture has served, traditionally, as a backbone in shaping a community's economic and social identity. These annual harvests have provided both an environment of work

and play for its citizens, allowing people to meet, labor, and celebrate a year's bountiful output. As our nation moved into the twentieth century, many of these events were formalized by town governments and committees into largescale fairs and festivals, bringing adults and children from the surrounding areas into town to join in the celebrations. Winchester, with its long history in the apple-growing industry, chose to honor the beauty and bounty of the apple blossom, beginning in the year 1924 and continuing to the present, and has seen their festival grow in size, extravagance, and national acclaim. In this volume of over 150 images, many never before published, you will

experience the festivities from its inception to the present, seeing the early floats, parades of children and firemen, the massive colorful and inventive pageants, and the men and women devoted to making the festival a success. Not simply a pictorial history, Shenandoah Apple Blossom Festival captures the spirit, optimism, and general excitement of the festival, which has kept the event popular for over 70 years with a wide variety of people: from the common person to those “stars” who served as grand marshals, such as Bob

Hope, James Cagney, Ed Sullivan, and Bing Crosby.

The Berry Blossom Festival (Strawberry Shortcake)

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The Berry Blossom Festival (Strawberry Shortcake)
Megan E. Bryant
Manufacturer: Grosset & Dunlap
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Board book

General | Literature | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

Picture Books | Ages 4-8 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

General | Ages 4-8 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

All 4-for-3 Deals | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books
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ASIN: 0448445557
Release Date: 2007-08-16

Book Description

Spring has sprung early in Strawberryland, and Strawberry Shortcake hurries to plant her berry patch. But one night, a late frost comes to Strawberryland! Strawberry and her friends spend the night trying to save the plants from the frost, but only time will tell if they were successful. When Strawberry finds the strawberry plants abloom with sweet white flowers, it calls for a celebration—a Berry Blossom Festival for all of her friends!

Average customer rating:

Another book on the way from this author
Western States Arts Foundation Book Award Winner
Pleasant Reading
incredibly well written, original.
Loved It!

The Blossom Festival
Lawrence Coates
Manufacturer: University of Nevada Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Literary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Family Saga | Genre Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Historical | Genre Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Book Description

The Blossom Festival is a richly panoramic chronicle of rural life in the Santa Clara Valley during the decades before World War II. Against the lush backdrop of literally millions of fruit trees unfold the personal dramas of a fascinating cast of characters. This wonderful and leisurely read is an honest rendering of the complex relationships between parents and children in the changing context of a rich region of California that is leaving behind its agricultural past to become Silicon Valley.

Customer Reviews:

Another book on the way from this author.......2003-02-03

"The Master of Monterey" is coming in April 2004. You can pre-order it now.

Western States Arts Foundation Book Award Winner.......2000-06-21

This book has won the fiction category for the year 2000.

Pleasant Reading.......2000-02-20

I thought the author did a wonderful job of developing his characters. My only dissapointment is that the ending felt a bit rushed, especially given the thorough treatment of events throughout the rest of the novel.

incredibly well written, original........1999-11-18

Reading The Blossom Festival is almost meditative. It is niether exciting nor sad, but un-put-down-ably interesting in its characterization, historical content and detail. L. Coates is a remarkable technician.

Loved It!.......1999-09-14

I enjoyed this book so much! Couldn't put it down. I felt like I completely understood the characters, feeling the emotions right along with them. Anxiously awaiting another Lawrence Coates novel!

Average customer rating:

The Cherry Blossom Festival
Janine Scott
Manufacturer: ETA/Cuisenaire
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: 0740637886

Crowning the Nice Girl: Gender, Ethnicity, and Culture in Hawai'i's Cherry Blossom Festical

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Crowning the Nice Girl: Gender, Ethnicity, and Culture in Hawai'i's Cherry Blossom Festical
Christine Reiko Yano
Manufacturer: University of Hawaii Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Popular Culture | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Customs & Traditions | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

General | Women's Studies | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
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Just Americans: How Japanese Americans Won a War at Home and Abroad

ASIN: 0824830075

Book Description

After World War II, Japanese Americans in Hawai`i sought to carve a positive niche of public citizenship in the community. In 1953 members of the Honolulu Japanese Junior Chamber of Commerce and their wives created a beauty contest, the Cherry Blossom Festival (CBF) Queen Pageant, which quickly became an annual spectacle for the growing urban population of Honolulu. Crowning the Nice Girl analyzes the pageant through its decades of development to the present within multiple frameworks of gender, class, and race/ethnicity. Drawing on extensive archival research; interviews with CBF queens, contestants, and organizers; and participant observation in the Fiftieth Annual Festival as a volunteer, Christine Yano paints a complex portrait of not only a beauty pageant, but also a community.

The study begins with the subject of beauty pageants in general and Asian American beauty pageants in particular, interrogating the issues they raise, embedding them within their histories, and examining them as part of a global culture that has taken its model from the Miss America contest. Chapter Two weaves a complex picture of the specific historical and contemporary contexts of the CBF Queen Pageant in its infancy by approaching the pageant from different perspectives, including that of its organizer, the Honolulu Japanese Junior Chamber of Commerce. Chapter Three examines the early development of the CBF in the 1950s and 1960s, its glory years. Yano pays close attention to the place of the CBF in light of internal divisions within the Japanese American community, interethnic relations in Hawai`i, tourism, Nikkei communities in the continental United States, and relations with Japan. She follows the pageant throughout the decades into the 1990s, adding corresponding "herstories"—extensive narratives drawn from interviews with CBF queens. Each narrative is preceded by a commentary that points up the themes of the interview and the changing place of Japanese American women and the CBF in terms of race/ethnicity, gender, and identity. The work concludes by framing issues of race, ethnicity, spectacle, and community within the intertwined themes of niceness and banality.

In tying the Cherry Blossom Festival Queen Pageant to images of community, Crowning the Nice Girl demonstrates the ways in which public events such as festivals and beauty contests are central to performances of identity, culture, social class, and politics. It will be of special interest to students and scholars working in anthropology, sociology, history, ethnic studies, and women's studies.

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Dolly and Ike Cherry Blossom Time
Richard Wallace Carr
Manufacturer: Dicmar Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Ages 4-8 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0933165099

Product Description

Dolly and Ike introduce young readers to the history of our Japanese friendship and the gift of the cherry trees to Washington, DC. Explore with them the National Cherry Blossom Festival with parades, pageants, kite flying and exhibits celebrating the springtime blooming of the cherry blossom trees and commemorating the planting of the original gift of trees.

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Kidnapped At the Capital (Volume 2)

Manufacturer: Scholastic
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 0439684498

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MAINE POTATO BLOSSOM FESTIVAL
Maine
Manufacturer: Chamber Of Commerce
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OYPX2W

Book Description

Tremaine Valiarde and a small, brave band of heroes ventured into a wondrous new realm on their desperate mission to save Ile-Rien from the conquering Gardier. Now, as a relentless enemy creates chaos and destruction -- with the fate of the magical city of Lodun hanging in the balance -- the last hope of a land besieged may rest on the far side of a secret portal.

But the doorway leads to a mysterious ruin hidden behind the awesome Gate of Gods -- and to perils that dwarf anything Tremaine and her allies could have possibly imagined. . . .

Download Description

Known for her lush, intricate worlds and complex characters, acclaimed author Martha Wells has delighted readers with her extraordinary fantasy novels of daring and wit. With The Wizard Hunters and The Ships of Air, she launched her most ambitious undertaking yet -- the Fall of Ile-Rien trilogy, which returned to the beloved setting of the Nebula Award-nominated The Death of the Necromancer. And now the stunning conclusion to the epic quest to save Ile-Rien ...

Searching for a way to stop the dread Gardier from conquering Ile-Rien, Tremaine Valiarde discovered a new world filled with perils and potential allies. Now aided by her mercurial, mysterious father, Nicholas, and a brave band of heroes, she fights to recover the magical city of Lodun and the chance for hope. But the enemy is relentless, and amid turmoil and danger, only the discovery of a secret portal holds any hope of saving what is left of Ile-Rien. But the ancient portal leads to a mysterious ruin hidden behind the awesome Gate of Gods -- a realm of wonder and danger beyond any they have ever imagined ...

Customer Reviews:

Solid, unique, fun to read with characters that breathe.......2007-09-06

Another strong book from one of the best fantasy writers working today. Her prose just hums along, and the world she's created here, as in other novels, is highly unique and possesses its own, singular feel. The action is well paced and while the plot does become a bit confused near the climax (as one reviewer put it, "all those circles!") this is a thoroughly enjoyable read that pulls you along and leaves you highly satisfied at the end.

Her characterization is for the most part outstanding, even the small clues and cues she gives regarding less-central characters. Yes, the character of Tremaine has been a bit of a mystery from the start and the emergence of the fact that she has a core of cold steel a la her father does raise some questions, but the book reads so well and unfolds so naturally they didn't occur to me until after I'd put it down. Despite a few (very) minor imperfections, all told this is top-notch fantasy and I'd highly recommend it to anyone. At the least, however, start with the first of this latest trilogy, The Wizard Hunters. If you can, go farther back. After reading Gate I tracked down the first book set in Il-Rien, The Element of Fire, (FYI it's on Well's website for printing free of charge) and my appreciation for how she has spun this series of stand-alone yet related stories grew.

Mission Accomplished?.......2007-01-20

In "The Gate of Gods," the third in the "Fall of Ile Rien" series, moody Tremaine Valiarde (perhaps the first bipolar SF heroine) and her squabbling companions continue to plumb the mysteries of the circles, discovered by the mysterious havoc-wreaking Gardier, that enable them to cross among worlds. With sword and sorcery, plus the equivalent of 1920s-era tech, as well as pluck and more than a little luck, the not so merry men (and women) finally figure out how the things work (readers may not be so lucky, as the rules seem to be in a constant state of flux), scoot between worlds (often just in time), discover more about the nature of the Syprian "gods," and are finally able to write "mission accomplished" to their adventures. Fans of the late-1960s TV midi-series "The Prisoner," which starred Patrick McGoohan, may smile with recognition as Tremaine's crew finally meets number 1. (Or not.) Anyhow, it's a delicious scene.

Well written and fun to read, the author dares to present a heroine who is truly "mad, bad, and dangerous to know." Or, as the old song puts it: Tremaine always is a headache but she never is a bore.

Notes and Asides: This is the end of the trilogy but not, I suspect, the ends of tales of Ile Rien. Start with volume 1, please or you will be majorly confused. I did, and I was still minorly confused. (Now let me think, Gerard is the sorcerer, Giliad is the . . . )

4 out of 5 aint bad.......2006-08-26

I have read all of Martha Wells' books and have enjoyed each of them a great deal. Her world building is always rich and original, her prose is sharp, her plots well paced and engaging, and her characters likeable...and that is a lot to like (far more than most fantasies I've read). There was a bit to much deus ex machina in the series (well...literally this time)...and as some reviewers said not a great deal of insight into the characters motivations...and after reading all of her books there is a...familiarity about the characters despite the very different backgrounds...but make no mistake, this is GOOD fantasy, and if it's not high literature, so be it...I'll still be eagerly awaiting her next work.

A world is saved but our characters don't grow much more.......2006-01-03

While I enjoyed the first two books in this series, I would have to say that this volume was a disappointment to me. The mystery behind the Gardier aggression, the fate of Arisilde and the future of Tremaine's and Ilias relationship is resolved in this novel, but despite that I ended the book feeling dissatisfied.

The pace of this book seemed more uneven and slower than the previous two novels, and at the end of it, while the war is finished, and Tremaine is no longer suicidal, I didn't feel like I had a real insight to Tremaine's character aside from some nasty episodes in her past that made her feel that society wasn't "worth it". On reflection this is a series I should have bought in paperback given my feeling of let down at the end, but it had some unique moments, especially in book 2 on "the Ravenna".

World building great, protagonist motivation mysterious.......2005-11-16

I've enjoyed all of Martha Wells novels, including the Fall of Ile-Rien series - although in some ways I've found this series the most disappointing of all of them. Some of the characters in the Fall can be found in the far more satisfying and intense "Death of a Necromancer"; the main protagonist in the Fall is in fact Nicholas Valiarde's daughter, Tremaine.

And Tremaine is my problem. Throughout this series, she is frequently upset, feeling that she serves no useful purpose in the war against the Gardier - she's not a sorceress, she's not a warrior, she does not have political clout - and her unease about her role is the same unease this reader feels.

In this, the final book of the series, where I might have had an ultimate revelation of what drives Tremaine, of why she feels she can insinuate herself with impunity at the highest levels of society and in the army/sorceror's league as the Rienish plot and struggle against their enemy - I am left with nothing but her snarling a great deal as she demands to go off on mission after mission through magical circles that bind the worlds. And yes, all her companions are aware that she's ruthless, like her father, as though it's an inherited trait, and not one borne out of circumstance.

I would have enjoyed this book much better if Tremaine had been a secondary character - and the main character had a more compelling reason to act and do as she did.

Amazon.com

Akiko on the Planet Smoo was first created as a comic book and teaching tool, but with plenty of spit and polish, Mark Crilley's flights of fancy have been transformed into a light, illustrated adventure novel in the topsy-turvy tradition of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Ten-year-old Akiko is embroiled in typical fourth-grade trials and tribulations when she gets a strange, silvery letter in the mail. The letter instructs her to be ready at 8:00 that night (with her toothbrush), but she is anything but prepared when a goofy-looking spaceship hovers outside her 17th-story apartment window and takes her to the planet Smoo.

Akiko soon learns from the spaceship's crew that she--of all humans on earth--has been chosen to rescue Prince Froptoppit from an evil, misguided kidnapper. Though she tries to persuade the King, Bip, and Bop that they have the wrong girl (she doesn't even want to be the leader of the girls' safety patrol at school), the friendly trio seems to think she'd be perfect for the job anyway. The quest is not easy. Akiko and a curious, old-fashioned cast of characters (including the scholarly Mr. Beeba; the warbly, incomprehensible Poog; the swashbuckling Spuckler; and Spuckler's rusty robot, Gax) encounter the dreaded Sky Pirates and later, engage in cartoonish, gladiator-style fights with robots and fire-breathing Jaggasaurs. And just like Dorothy in Oz, Akiko finds her courage and faces up to the Jaggasaur, shouting, "You should be ashamed of yourself! Who do you think you are, bullying a scrawny little man like that? Why don't you pick on someone your own size?" Young readers may learn that they have more courage than they think. The adventure ends happily, but the book draws to a close before Prince Froptoppit can be rescued. Stay tuned for continuing adventures? (Ages 8 to 12) --Karin Snelson

Book Description

When fourth grader Akiko finds a spacecraft hovering outside her window one night, she begins the adventure of a lifetime. She is whisked off to the planet Smoo to lead a team searching for the King of Smoo’s kidnapped son. Akiko the head of a rescue mission? She’s afraid to be on the school’s safety patrol! So begins the adventures of Akiko, wherein she meets her team — Spuckler Boach, Gax, Poog, and Mr. Beeba — and sets off on a journey across Smoo to find a prince and become a leader.

Customer Reviews:

Travel with Akiko on the Planet Smoo Adventure.......2006-12-15

If you love adventures then you will love this story. Its about a the a girl named Akiko who goes on a mission looking for a two headed dinosaur. This story is two thumbs up in my book of adventures. Read this book to explore your own imagination. This book relates to me because you must use your imagination when reading it.

Akiko On The Planet Smoo.......2005-05-06

I like the book Akiko On The Planet Smoo by Mark Crilley because it is very adventurres and funny and the charecters stoodout and there enimes were very exciting to face. The book was the best book I have ever read. I can't wait untill I read the next book. I HIGHLY recommend this book.

Akiko on the Planet Smoo(...).......2004-09-06

Akiko on the Planet Smoo has just the right amount of suspense and action-packed mystery. The characters are great. About the only thing I didn't like about it is that this is the first book, and the first book is always the shortest!

A Great Book to Read Aloud.......2003-10-06

My 5 year old daughter and I love to read these books together. The chapters are short, the story is silly fun, and it's quite easy to get into character (if you want to add that element of different voices to your story). All in all we're both happily hooked on Akiko!

A Favorite of 4th Graders!.......2003-04-19

I'm a fourth grade teacher who read this book -and the two following volumes- to my class and it was a tremendous hit (at the end of the year, kids actually bought their own copies and asked me to "autograph" them! ) I would recommend thiese books to anyone looking for a fun book for a 9 or 10 year old - the writing is very good, the illustrations are fun, and the books are filled with action and suspense - great for reluctant readers ~

Average customer rating:

Akiko on the Planet Smoo

Manufacturer: Sirius Entertainment
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000GYNGT2

Product Description

Signed and numbered edition 1st print hardcover, limited to 775 world wide signed by creator, artist and writer Mark Crilley

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Akiko on the Planet Smoo Vol. I #1
Mark Crilley
Manufacturer: SIRIUS Entertainment, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Akiko On The Planet Smoo: The Color Edition #1 Vol. 1 February 2000

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Akiko On The Planet Smoo: The Color Edition #1 Vol. 1 February 2000
Mark Crilley
Manufacturer: Sirius
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Comic

General | Comic Strips | Comics & Graphic Novels | Subjects | Books

General | Graphic Novels | Comics & Graphic Novels | Subjects | Books

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AKIKO ON THE PLANET SMOO
CRLLEY MARK
Manufacturer: YEARLING BOOK
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000PGRMG4

Book Description

In September 1995, Henri Nouwen embarked on a spiritual adventure.

Customer Reviews:

Beloved.......2007-05-13

This book made me feel like the "Beloved", the "Prodigal Son". I have never read a book that made me feel so close to the author. This book made me closer to my God.

Proof Positive of Henri's Greatness.......2005-10-04

On page 51 in Henri's own words are his personal theology of salvation for the world. It is so good, that he was able to capture this simple idea and present for all who would take time to look. "Every one will be saved." "Anyone can find his own way to God." What a great idea. So let's just not mention John 14:6, "I am the way the truth and the life, no one comes to the father but by me," and how Henri's little theory is an utter contradiction to the Bible.

Poignant, Poetic, and Wise.......2005-03-16

This volume of journal entries from Henri Nouwen's final year is an amazing and wonderful read. If you have read other Nouwen books, this one offers more insight into the man behind the wise books, and his often painful human struggles. If you are new to Nouwen's writings, this book will introduce you to one of the greatest spiritual writers and teachers of the 20th century.
As he does in most of his books, Nouwen is able to reveal his own struggles as a tool for his readers, but also to explore some very deep, meaningful themes without getting dry and academic. Each of his books is a treasure, and this one ranks right up there with his best, in my opinion. I would highly recommend it!

Diary of a didactic traveler.......2003-08-25

Sabbatical Journey: The Diary of his Final Year was the last book written by Henri Nouwen. It's a chronicle of his sabbatical year which was intended to provide a restful time for prayer, writing and solitude. In actuality it became the most active period in Nouwen's life. Although he always made time for prayers and writing, there was little resolve for solitude; either people sought him or he invited their company. Not a week went by that he wasn't on a plane or train visiting family and friends, attending meetings and conferences, performing sacramental and ceremonial rites, always moving at a space age pace.

Nouwen's diary reads like a travel essay. There are several spiritual nuggets to be found on his non-travel days, but most entries are of his observations and experiences with an accompanying commentary. Unlike travel writers, he never describes a meal by describing the food; instead he gives an account of the dinner conversation, the topics, the mood, the intensity, and the background of every dinner guest.

Travel stories are peopled with diverse characters that reflect different cultures and backgrounds. Nouwen offers his readers a personal glimpse of over 600 people; all sparkle with individual personality and purpose.

Only a talented writer could elicit such strong empathy for the traveler who loses keys for the rental car, drops suitcases on the airport's escalator, and always packs more gifts than necessities. I enjoyed Sabbatical Journey as a well-written travel book with a spiritual perspective.

An astounding journey by an amazing man.......2001-07-30

This was my second Henry Nouwen book (the first was a book of selected writings edited by his friend Robert Jonas, with whom he stayed during part of the sabbatical described in this book), and I can assure you, this will not be my last Nouwen book. I have long been intrigued by this Catholic priest so often quoted by my Protestant pastors, and this book was recommended by one of them at a low point in my life.

Nouwen's spirituality and humanity come through so well through the pages of this journal. His reflections as he celebrates the Eucharist on a nearly daily basis are a source of spiritual food that sustains not only his community of friends (and he has many!) but his readers as well. He also writes about the tug of war he feels between wanting to write more, yet wanting to be available as a pastor for his friends, to preside over their weddings and baptisms and funerals. The anguish he feels over the death of Adam, a young disabled man who brought him to the Daybreak community he pastored for the last decade of his life, brought tears to my eyes. And he talks candidly about his hurts and disappointments, his anxieties and his fatigue, a haunting undercurrent, given the knowledge that three weeks after his final entry, he died of a massive coronary.

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Presbyterian Record, published by Presbyterian Record on March 1, 1999. The length of the article is 341 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Sabbatical journey: the diary of his final year.
Publication: Presbyterian Record (Magazine/Journal)
Date: March 1, 1999
Publisher: Presbyterian Record
Volume: 123 Issue: 3 Page: 45-6

Article Type: Book Review

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