All God's Critters Got a Place in the Choir [Hardcover]

Laurel Thatcher Ulrich (Author), Emma Lou Thayne (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Aspen Books (February 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1562362267
• ISBN-13: 978-1562362263
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #618,041 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars All the "Choir" Will Enjoy This Book, March 30, 2000

By 

"jremy" (southern california) - See all my reviews

This review is from: All God's Critters Got a Place in the Choir (Hardcover)

I wholeheartedly enjoyed reading this book and I feel that mostLDS women will also. It is not a heavy doctrinal treatise or a how-totype book, but rather a collection of reflections of life as an LDS woman.

The book is divided into six sections of widely varied themes. For example,"Progenitors and Pancakes" includes seven works about families and "Inner Music" contains six essays and one poem about personal identity.

The individual essays and poems have a wide variety of topics such as recipes, jet lag, visiting teaching, and snoring. I particularly enjoyed Thayne's essay "On the Side of Life".

As a fellow quilter, I loved Ulrich's essay "Patchwork" which discusses her mania for old things, and explains the way in which she collected the bits and pieces of her education as she raised her family. She recalls that it took her five years to complete a one-year M.A., and nine to finish her Ph.D!

An interesting feature of this collection are four "dialogues by fax" which are actual off-the-cuff faxed conversations between the two authors. At first I thought that the inclusion of these conversations was somewhat strange, but as I read each of them, I was delighted with their spontaneity. Ulrich and Thayne discuss weather, children, writing and more without the formal strictures of an essay or poem. Thayne writes, "I love conversing with you this way about whatever moves or amuses, chafes, or captivates us." These dialogues contribute a great deal to the warm and personal tone of this book. The result is a cohesive and entertaining collection that all in the "choir" will enjoy.