Product Description
You don't need much in the way of experience or talent to transform a simple cake or cookie into a creative masterpiece.According to virtuoso pastry chef Gerhard Jenne, you just need a sense of humor and a steady hand.In this inspiring book (with vibrant photographs by Jonathan Lovekin) Gerhard transforms cake decorating from a tedious chore into a pursuit that is both fun and a real outlet for creative expression.He provides master recipes for five basic frostings, six cookie doughs, and six cake batters.Armed with these materials and Jenne's clearly illustrated instructions even novice bakers can stride into the kitchen and confidently take up the whisk.And what creations!Delectable cookies whose bright, bold designs make them even more tempting, cakes that brim with flavor ... and humor. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (15)

cookie book
Didn't like it much, wasn't what i expected.Not enough instructional pictures or interesting recipes.This is one i should've left in the pile...But maybe someone else will like it,i didn't.

This book makes a great gift.
This was a gift for my daughter. She loves it.

Disappointed...
I found the cover deceiving.I thought the book would be filled with fun designs and better instruction for the home baker attempting to improve their presentation skills.I was also not happy with the icing recipes I tried.I do not recommend this book.

The same book
If you purchase this book, it is no need to purchase the one titled Decorating Cakes and Cookies by the same author.It is the same book just a different cover.

Disappointing
After reading all of the reviews on this book I was left confused by the extreme selection of critiques. After seeing the beautiful carrot cakes on the cover I decided this could hardly be the work of a "sloppy" decorator and went ahead and ordered. What can I say, the cover most definitely does not reflect the level of work inside, which can only be described as ..well.. sloppy! My 12 year old daughter had produced better looking cookies than these!! I can't say anything about the recipes because quite frankly none of them inspired me to try. The only thing that interested me was the explanation on how to make checkerboard or pinwheel cookies, but I didn't need to buy a book just for that. So, if you're undecided about whether to purchase this book as I was, my advice is save your money! ... Read more

Product Description
Jenne, one of the most talented, innovative and fashionable of all European pastry chefs, provides 25 spectacular recipes that will enable you to make easy cakes and cookies.' ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Decorating cakes and cookies
I was frankly disappointed in this book. The decorated items were amateurish and rather sloppy in appearance.I purchased it because of the other reviews, but if I had looked at it beforehand, I would have passed on it.I haven't tried any of the recipes, so I can't comment on those.

Be aware --- this is the same book as
Wacky Cakes and Kooky Cookies is the same book - just a reprint.I had both books - as I thought they were different - and then after reading them - and then reading on line about the reprint - I sold for $7.00 this version.There are lots of versions on Amazon and Ebay for under $10.It is a fun book!

Great book for decorating ideas
I really have enjoyed this book.I love to make cakes, cookies, and desserts with themes.This book is filled with all sorts of great ideas, and each recipe comes with several pictures.This colorful book features beautiful gingerbread cats, happy sun cookies, and they make shortbread into eye catching flowers.They have many recipes featuring chocolate.Since this book is based out of Great Britian it features many recipes on sponge cakes.It also has a good amount of ideas for holidays.This book is a wonderful source of new ideas. ... Read more

Product Description
Young Samuel Johnson and his dachshund, Boswell, are trying to show initiative by trick-or-treating a full three days before Halloween which is how they come to witness strange goings-on at 666 Crowley Road. The Abernathys don't mean any harm by their flirtation with the underworld, but when they unknowingly call forth Satan himself, they create a gap in the universe. A gap in which a pair of enormous gates is visible. The gates to Hell. And there are some pretty terrifying beings just itching to get out...

Can one small boy defeat evil? Can he harness the power of science, faith, and love to save the world as we know it?

Bursting with imagination, The Gates is about the pull between good and evil, physics and fantasy. It is about a quirky and eccentric boy who is impossible not to love, and the unlikely cast of characters who give him the strength to stand up to a demonic power.

John Connolly manages to re-create the magical and scary world of childhood that we've all left behind but so love to visit. And for those of you who thought you knew everything you could about particle physics and the universe, think again. This novel makes anything seem possible. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (73)

The Gates
Absolutely terrible. I always have bought his books without previewing them and was not disappointed. I won't again. In Kindle I never found the footnotes.

A fun Halloween tale for all ages full of Hell demons and humor
The Gates: A Novel by John Connolly was adorable, hilarious, charming, intelligent, witty, and certainly enjoyable to read. A great book! I couldn't really tell that it was young adult, I found the humorous writing style to be similar, although less vulgar (perhaps because this is a YA book), than more adult-oriented authors such as Christopher Moore and Tom Holt.

I would absolutely recommend this to anyone who enjoys science, religion, evil bitch Hell gods, humor, and logical conclusions. All of the characters were entertaining and it made the book a very quick read.

The prose, despite being written for young adults, flows well as you read. The humor and storyline make the simplistic writing less obvious, allowing you to pay more attention to the story as it develops rather than the writing itself. This is a book that children and adults alike can enjoy. Darker themes, such as divorce and death, are prevalent in the book, but are dealt with in a way that is acceptable for a wide range of readers.

The Gates was full of some great stuff and is written in a light hearted manner than makes everything funny, even when Connolly is conveying complicated scientific processes.

Unexpected and Fun!4.5/5
Every once in a while, I like to have the crap scared out of me.(I normally use a different word but since this is more of a public forum with all ages possibly reading you can understand why I used the word I did.)

When I saw this in the bargain bin at a Borders I decided to give it a shot.I held onto it for a few months until October which is otherwise known (to me at least) as Halloween month.(Not that I dress up and celebrate all month ... but I digress.)

Within the first few minutes I realized this was not what I was expecting.It was witty and dark and funny.Now, I've had wit in my horror before, but not like this.Within the first disc I could not help comparing it to a series of books well known by another author unfortunately deceased too young.Maybe it was the narrator's excellent cadence and caricatures but I COULD say;

"John Connolly's 'The Gates' does for horror what Douglas Adams's 'Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy' did for science fiction."

Since I personally know people who might be describe as "Adams Purists", I won't say that.

I WILL say;

"John Connolly's 'The Gates' TRIES TO DO for horror what Douglas Adams's 'Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy' did for science fiction."

In my opinion, he succeeds ... smashingly.

And now I can continue on with my life and eventually lose this English-style of speaking ... typing ... whatever ...

For those who have listened to this audiobook I shall depart by saying; "End footnote".

Not what I thought it would be . . . .
First of all, I am a BIG John Connolly fan, but this book is so different from his other novels.I really liked his other works, but The Gates seemed to me to be a silly novel.It was more of a fairy tale than novel.I didn't like the writing, nor the all the footnotes.Just not my type of novel but I'm sure others will enjoy it.Hoping Mr. Connolly goes back to other type of writing!

J. Stroh

engaging and slyly educational
I'll admit, the first time I read this, I was a touch disappointed. I really liked "The Book of Lost Things" and found this to be a bit "fluffy" for my taste. The characters were sketchy (I thought). Samuel's two friends, in particular, hardly seemed to exist, they were so quickly drawn. I set it aside, and a few months later on a dull day, I picked it up and re-read it. This time I really enjoyed it, particularly the footnotes, which sneak in some fascinating scientific theories and research. My father, a professor of statistics and a fan of quantum physics, read it after me and absolutely loved it. I would give the book four stars, but he insists on five, and so -- why not? Five stars it is. ... Read more

Product Description
It's Froggy's mother's birthday, and Froggy wants to bake her birthday cake all by himself. He gathers the chocolate, the sugar, the eggs, the flour, and pretty soon, Froggy has all the ingredients he needs to make?a big mess! Jonathan London and Frank Remkiewicz have collaborated on the six previous Froggy books, and they've cooked up another winner here, sweetened with generous helpings of Froggy humor and charm. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (9)

The book was bent at the corner!!!
I ordered this book for my granchild but, when it arrived I was disappointed that the book was bent at the corner, like the packaging caught it. I was not too happy with the condition of the book. Thank you, I still love the Froggy books!

Great book!!
My older son brought this home from school to read and be tested on it and my younger son loved it so much that I had to buy him his own.We read it nearly every night.

My Daughter really liked Froggy
My 7 year old Daughter really like the story and colorful pictures, I think the "Froggy" line of books is a great series that most kids would love!

We say Maam and Sir instead of WHAT
I have ready many reviews on the Froggy books, but for me and my daughter, WE LOVE THEM!!!The main complaint I hear it that Froggy has bad manners.It's a book.It's my job to teach my daughter how to behave, not a fictional book.I do alter the book slightly.When Froggy's mom or dad calls his name they say F-R-O-O-O-O-G-G-G-Y-Y-Y and he answers W-W-H-H-A-A-A-T-T.We change that to Maam or Sir depending on who is calling him.My daughter thinks it's cute and sometimes I'll say FROGGY!!!and she says maam?!?If you have a child you can't handle, then don't buy the book but to everyone else, it's GREAT so I absolutely recommend it.

Cute!
My kids love the repetitive noise making throughout the book.Illustrations and stories of endearingly disaster prone Froggy are entertaining.These are always cute! ... Read more

Product Description
Jake's Granny is a fantastic cook, so when Great Aunt Elinor sent Granny a strange book full of magic recipes, she didn't think twice about trying them out. It's just as well Jake is around to help her out with the resulting chaos. ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (3)

Great Birthday Gift!
My [...] daughter received this book as a birthday present and it has quickly become a favorite.As a former elementary school teacher, I have a vast collection of picture books.This is a precious story and my daughter enjoyed picking out the classic characters that she recognized.A wonderful selection for any young reader.

Great pictures
I loved the artwork in this book.Makes a nice b-day present.

terrible book
This book has nothing to do with fairytales except for that you might be able to pick out a character here and there from the pictures in a "Where's Waldo?" sort of way. The story...well isn't even a story.It doesn't rhyme or make sense.I can't believe that this was published.I bought this for my daughter's 1st birthday and it was a major disappointment for me.I would not purchase it again.Infact it almost needs to visit the garbage can.A waste of money. ... Read more

Product Description
Set of six children's books in the Froggy series by Jonathan London.Titles include Froggy Bakes a Cake ~ Let's Go, Froggy! ~ Froggy's Baby Sister ~ Froggy's Halloween ~ Froggy Eats Out ~ Froggy Goes to School ... Read more

Product Description
It's not always easy being a kid -- or a frog! This little fellow struggles with all kinds of misadventures -- from trying to get on his winter snow clothes to going out to eat with his family to trick-or-treating -- but he never loses his cheerful ability to have a good time no matter what. With its peppy text and hilarious illustrations, it's no wonder that children love this popular series. This collection is a special opportunity to create your own Froggy library to encourage independent reading. Includes Froggy Bakes a Cake, Froggy Eats Out, Froggy Gets Dressed, Froggy Goes to Bed, Froggy Goes to School, Froggy Goes to the Doctor, Froggy Learns to Swim, Froggy Plays in the Band, Froggy Plays Soccer, Froggy Rides a Bike, Froggy's Baby Sister, Froggy's Best Christmas, Froggy's Day with Dad, Froggy's First Kiss, Froggy's Halloween, Froggy's Sleepover, & Let's Go Froggy! 32 pages each. ... Read more

Product Description
15 paperback editions of some of the best ever read-alouds! ... Read more

Product Description
Includes Froggy Bakes a Cake, Froggy Goes to the Doctor, Froggy Learns to Swim, Froggy Plays in the Band, Froggy Plays Soccer, and Froggy's First Kiss. ... Read more

Product Description
5 Book Set ... Read more

Product Description
It's Froggy's mother's birthday, and Froggy wants to bake her birthday cake all by himself. He gathers the chocolate, the sugar, the eggs, the flour, and pretty soon, Froggy has all the ingredients he needs to make a big mess! Jonathan London and Frank Remkiewicz have collaborated on the six previous Froggy books, and they've cooked up another winner here, sweetened with generous helpings of Froggy humor and charm. ... Read more

Product Description
Chocolate with Children Working in the kitchen with children can be a very rewarding experience! Chocolate with children is a love between a father and daughter.It represents the type of treats that we have made in our house. We use only real chocolate to make our confections. You can make these treats if you put your love and tender touch into each and every one! Having fun along the way is the greatest treat of all! May your lives always be rich with Joy Happiness Love and Chocolate? ... Read more