How To Build Up A Full Collection Of Chalet School Books

The Chalet School series by Elinor Brent-Dyer seems to be one of the most popular school series. There were 62 books altogether which is why it is so difficult to collect the whole set. There were also additional books and newsletters. Recently new authors have written 'fill-in' books where they feel there should be extra information not provided by the author herself. Some of the books are extremely rare and some paperbacks, even reprints can sell for £30+ making some of the hardback first editions extremely valuable indeed.

If you have started a collection or would like to I have some tips for you. Firstly decide whether you wish to collect paperbacks, hardbacks or either and whether you want to get every title or just the actual series of books and not the newsletters, additional books and books by other authors. Once you have decided you will need to get together a list of these titles. Most of the more modern reprints carry a full list of titles in the front and you can also look these up on various websites. I have included a list at the end of the article (It includes all of the original books plus some additional ones. I know I have missed some of the additional ones out).

Now you need to know where to start looking for these books. EBay is an obvious choice but some of the rarer books are hard to find even on eBay and when they do appear it is easy to be outbid. However it is still worth looking and listing on the 'wants' pages of eBay. There are other websites that sell second hand books but they do tend to be more expensive. Therefore I would tend to look in second hand bookshops, bookfairs and at charity book sales. You can sometimes pick up the titles slightly cheaper and you can also ask the dealers to look out for copies for you and put them by for you. Girls Gone By publish some of the out of print titles in unabridged paperbacks and some new authors who have written 'fill-in' books. These go out of print very quickly but you can usually find copies on eBay for a while. These are ideal if you are looking to fill gaps in your collection and do not mind that the books are a different size to the originals. Other publishers of fill-in titles are Bettany Press and Troubador publishing.

If you want to, for example, read the whole series but also get a nice hardback collection, I would recommend buying any title you see that you do not own. It may take a long time to get every book in hardback and you can always sell the paperback on eBay once you find a hardback version. You can also do this with paperbacks if you want a particular cover style or if you want to replace some of your tattier copies with neater ones.

Full List of Titles

Original series by Elinor Brent-Dyer : The School at the Chalet, Jo of the Chalet School, The Princess of the Chalet School, The Head Girl of the Chalet School, Rivals of the Chalet School, Eustatia Goes to the Chalet School, The Chalet School and Jo, The Chalet School in Camp, The Exploits of the Chalet School, The Chalet School and the Lintons, A Rebel at the Chalet School, The New Houseat the Chalet School, Jo Returns to the Chalet School, The New Chalet School, A United Chalet School, The Chalet School in Exile, The Chalet School at War, The Highland Twins at the Chalet School, Lavender Leigh at the Chalet School, Gay Lambert at the Chalet School, Jo to the Rescue, The Mystery at the Chalet School, Tom Tackles the Chalet School, The Chalet School and Rosalie, Three go to the Chalet School, The Chalet School and the Island, Peggy of the Chalet School, Carola Storms the Chalet School, The Wrong Chalet School, Shocks for the Chalet School, The Chalet School in the Oberland, Bride Leads the Chalet School, Changes for the Chalet School, Jey Goes to the Oberland, The Chalet School and Barbara, The Chalet School Does it Again, A Chalet Girl From Kenya, Mary-Lou of the Chalet School, A Genius at the Chalet School, Chalet School Fete, A Problem for the Chalet School, The New Mistress at the Chalet School, Excitements at the Chalet School, The Coming of Age of the Chalet School, The Chalet School and Richenda, Trials for the Chalet School, Theodora and the Chalet School, Joey and Co in the Tirol, Ruey Richardson at the Chalet School, A Leader in the Chalet School, The Chalet School Wins the Trick, A Future Chalet School Girl, The Feud in the Chalet School, The Chalet School Triplets, The Chalet School Reunion, Jane and the Chalet School, Redheads at the Chalet School, Adrienne and the Chalet School, Summer Term at the Chalet School, Challebge for the Chalet School, Two Samsat theChalet School, Althea Joins the Chalet School, Prefects at the Chalet School

Related Books : The Chalet Book for Girls, The Second Chalet Book for Girls, The Third Chalet Book for Girls, The Chalet Girls Cookbook, Chalet School Newsletters, Friends of the Chalet School Annuals.

'Fill-in' titles : Visitors for the Chalet School by Helen McClelland, Gillian of the Chalet School by Carol Allan, The Chalet School and Robin by Caroline German, A Chalet School Headmistress by Helen Barber, New Beginnings at the Chalet School by Heather Paisley, Peace Comes to the Chalet School by Katherine Bruce, The Chalet School Librarian by Pat Willimott, Hilda Annersley Headmistress by Lesley Green.

Book Review for Valley of the Raven by Ken Ramirez

Valley of the Raven is a captivating novel set in the beautiful foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountain range. When teenagers Ty Dettin, his younger brother Seth, and their pal Tanner White set out for a typical dirt bike ride in the California Sierra Gold Country, they are unaware of the life-altering adventure lurking around the next bend. Tooling along in the spring sunshine, Ty and Tanner follow Seth onto an overgrown trail that leads to decrepit buildings, vestiges of the California gold rush days, when the land was ravaged for the sake of monetary riches. While poking around one of the shacks, the trio discovers a map buried beneath floorboards in a tin box.

The yellowed map appears authentic, providing a detailed sketch of a gold-filled cavern, signed by "Coop." Fueled with a desire to discover the gold, they set out to investigate.

In a strange and magical twist, the trio happens upon an elderly Native American woman, Nevar, who lives along the banks of a river in a remote and magnificent valley. She connects with them spiritually, most particularly with Ty, accompanied by her totem, the raven. Said raven, Kaji Taka, appears at all crucial points of the adventure, assisting and protecting the boys as they move closer to the awful truth of a pending scheme that threatens Six Hills and its pristine reservoir. Ty is touched by this encounter, haunted and somewhat frightened, but he cannot stop thinking about the old women and the strong urge to visit her again.

In a parallel effort to claim the gold of their ancestor, "Coop," recently released jailbird Curtis "Junior" Cooper and his brother Carl begin an expedition to mine the gold. Assisted by fellow ex-cons, Skinny, a chain-smoking expert underwater diver who watched his abusive father drown in the pond by his home when he was a child, and Steve "Eight-Pack" Hunt, a body-builder mechanic who resembles a big Swede, Junior and Carl plan to drain a pond that hides the gold-filled cavern.

Mr. Ramirez expertly weaves yet another theme through the novel, bringing us back in history to the life of Buffalo soldier, Clay "Coop" Cooper, a strong and upstanding black man who fought bravely for the American army, and with his meager savings purchased the land that includes the valley in which Nevar appears to them. He and his wife, a lovely Lakota woman named Maka, begin a life in the rich Sierra valley, and implement a plan to purchase as much of the land as possible, donating it to the people and forbidding it to be sold privately in the future. The diverse history of the Native American tribes, the Buffalo soldiers, and their plights are beautifully told by Mr. Ramirez, a teacher himself, through scenes in a classroom where his own teaching abilities become apparent.

When the boys and their friends discover the Coopers are planning something so dastardly the entire region is threatened, they push forward with great integrity and courage, in spite of the mind-numbing roadblocks that constantly impede them. Ty is drawn to a destiny ingrained in his part-Comanche genes, and moves forward on a path of sheer lunacy and utter heroism as he endangers his own life to save the land and people of Six Hills.

Mr. Ramirez has created a lyrical world that breathes with life. The boys' dialogue is natural and real. Their actions, fears, discussions, and reactions ring true, a testimony to the author's acute understanding of youth.

Aside from the engaging storyline, Mr. Ramirez's has painted enchanting descriptions of the countryside, as in this excerpt:

"As the sun crested over the surrounding granite peaks in the glorious morning scene reflected on the lake, its surface completely smooth, not a wave, not a ripple, a true mirror – Maka's Mirror. The sky and lake together burst into a flaming golden-orange, accented with large white clouds whose fiery bellies seemed almost metallic. A small flock of Canada geese circled the lake and then, with extended webbed feet and outstretched wings, skidded across the surface of the placid mountain water, their honking amplified by the stillness of the dawn. When they finally settled on the water, the wakes of disturbance rolled through the liquid canvas, sending splinters of color and sparkling reflections in every direction."

As the completely satisfying adventure escalates toward a pulse-pounding finish, Mr. Ramirez incorporates surprising, yet believable twists in his characters, all the while subtly sharing life lessons about responsibility, stewardship of the land, respect for people of all nationalities, and following one's destiny. The most important lesson deals with the insight that our natural world – with its sparkling streams, wildflowers, tall pines, and unspoiled wilderness – provides the true "riches" which transcend monetary wealth.

I highly recommend Valley of the Raven to readers of all ages. It will quench a deep universal thirst for adventure and heroism. My only question is this: will Mr. Ramirez grace us with a sequel?

The Power of Your Supermind: A Book Review

Vernon Howard authored an amazing number of books, booklets and other writings, all in that area of spirituality that goes by so many names, among them metaphysics, "the perennial philosophy," new thought and cosmic consciousness, just to name a few.

One of his best books is The Power of Your Supermind. It is second perhaps only to The Mystic Path to Cosmic Power as his clearest, most compelling work. In some ways, though, it outshines Cosmic Power, for example, in the wealth of practical exercises and suggestions it provides for getting in touch with (in Howard's words) "that ... remarkable part of you ... that is above and beyond conditioned human thought."

Howard has a special knack for stating timeless truths in fresh ways that hit the reader with sometimes startling newness. Often they are simply those things we knew all along -- or had encountered before in the pages of the world's great wisdom literature -- but that he is able to show to us in a new light.

I've always appreciated the insight from Lao-tse the Taoist that rules of morality arose from the loss of people's naturalness in the world, and are not really helpful at establishing goodness. Vernon Howard puts it this way: "Unawakened people are victims of their public virtues. I don't know anything more painful than trying to be 'good' people; they are so bad. ... But the self-unified man ... is good simply because it cannot occur to him to be anything else. Only an awakened man is truly moral."

Howard sums up the entire book nicely in the concluding chapter, "How to Have Everything Right through the Supermind." A person in a hurry could go directly to this chapter, make a committed effort to put into practice its suggestions, and find themselves achieving amazing progress on the spiritual/self-improvement path.

The Power of Your Supermind is published by Prentice Hall of Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey; ISBN # 0-13-686718-9.