Last year my son was just over a year old when we began reading this book to him. He liked it then but now he really enjoys telling us the names of all the various animals and things he recognizes. He also likes pointing out the main characters, "Gordie" and "Grampy" (which coincidentally is what he calls my dad)! We read it roughly 6 times per day or more. My husband and I are going to take him to see his own "grampy and grammy's" pumpkin patch too so he can experience first hand how a little baby pumpkin grows into a jack o'lantern. If our two year old learns the virtue of patience in the process, it will be an added bonus!The author,Nancy Skarmeas, also has a series of books about many Christian holidays including Valentine's Day, Easter and Christmas. Her writing style in My Jack O'Lantern as well as the other books is child-friendly, factual and but not "preachy"!In short, love the book and the author!

Scholarly, to the point and well written for readers of any background. Morgenthaler makes her points, backs them up with concrete data, examples and evidence on everything she says. WE serves as an excellent roadmap for anyone either starting out or already experienced in this often poorly executed area. An excellent read.

I had heard and owned a tape in the latge 80's / early 90's when this first came out, and have not had a chance to listen to it for the past 15 years or so(Lost the tape).It was everything that it used to be and it brought me back to those days of youth. I enjoy listening to this over and over again ....

This album will rip your heart out. Like "Nebraska" it is deep and thoughtful, perhaps not as "dark." It reminds me so much of Dylan at his best - listen to the harmonica.Much of it is "derivative;" the melodies go back to earlier stuff.I would, however, like to take this opportunity to say thanks to his backup - Max, Nils, Stevie and the rest of E-Street.

I am a huge Bruce fan and I was looking forward to this album. However, it's not the new Nebraska. I don't know why Bruce has started singing in that weird Dylan-on-helium voice, but it's irritating to listen to and distracts from the lyrics, which are a disappointment on this album. Buy Ghost of Tom Joad if you want to hear Bruce using profanity, including the f word, on "My Best Was Never Good Enough", yet another whiny song about his divorce, or for the song "Youngstown" which is one of the best that Bruce has written in the past few years. Otherwise, buy Nebraska and pretend this album never happened.

I've been a Bruce Springsteen fan for most of my life, but I really can't get into this album. Folks, it's not his best album (that would be either Born in the USA or Darkness on the Edge of Town) nor is it a classic. Youngstown is a great song, but the rest of this album isn't that great. One review said that this album was "the best driving music ever made". Trust me, if you listened to this album while driving, you'd fall asleep at the wheel.If you want a great acoustic album by The Boss, check out Nebraska, one of the best ever made. The Ghost of Tom Joad pales in comparison.I've heard a lot of comparisons between The Ghost of Tom Joad and The Boss's latest album, Devils and Dust. For the sake of Bruce fans everywhere, let's hope those comparisons are false.