Multimedia Books

An owl attacks a mother bat one night, as the owl attacked a baby bat named Stellaluna was knocked out of her mother's grip and landed in a nest of baby birds. She must conform to the birds' ways and not hang upside down and starts to eat bugs. However, she then gets the chance to show her fellow bird "siblings" what life is like as a bat and the birds and Stellaluna learn about self-acceptance and accepting others. The genre is picture book and reading level is ages 4-8.
First and foremost it's a picture book that has information about bats and teaches it in the most interesting and appealing way for young readers to understand. The illustrations are very realistic and go fantastic with the words on the page. Genre: Fiction-Picture Book. Reading Level: Ages 4-8

Completed by Z on 5/12/08

Stellaluna by Janell Cannon is about a bat named Stellaluna. When she was barely born she was with her mother. Then an owl struck Stellaluna's mother. Stellaluna went down faster and faster until she hit a branch, hung up side down and covered herself. The next day she fell down in a nest. She never knew the nest. She met some birds named Pip, Flitter and Flap. Mama Bird came and let her stay. She also brought a green grasshopper for Stellaluna to eat so she won't be hungry. Stellaluna got in trouble by Mama Bird because she was hanging upside down with Pip, Flap and Flitter. Mama Bird said that if she doesn't behave she will not live in the nest. The next day it was time to learn how to fly. When Stellaluna flew she was full of happiness. When she landed she was trying to stand on the branch. Then she did it. It took her a lot of time but she got it. She flew a lot with Pip, Flitter and Flap. Then the birds went home. Stellaluna was hanging by her wings, too tired to soar. There came a bat hanging upside down. A lot of bats came. Bats were asking her questions. Someone wanted to see her. It was her mother! She was so happy. Stellaluna was hungry. Her mother said they would fly at night to find fruit. They found mangoes. When she was done she was upside down with Flitter, Pip, and Flap. At night they couldn't see. Quickly they were falling down but Stellaluna caught their hands wrapping them closely like they were sisters and brothers.

It doesn't matter if you're different. You can still be friends. Stellaluna and the birds ate different things. They fly at different times. They were different but Stellaluna still saved them. Stellaluna taught the birds how to hang upside down. I liked the way that Stellaluna was a bat and she still saved the birds when they weren't brothers and sisters.

By Jose

This book was in excellent condition. I gave it as a gift. Also I received it very quickly.

This was worth the purchase. My daughter has been in love with Stellaluna since the moment she discovered it at the library. She asked for this book for Easter in lieu of an Easter basket. It's a beautifully illustrated storybook. The story itself is wonderful; being both educational on a rudimentary level concerning the nature of fruit bats and so forth and for the moral of the story which is really about being true to oneself and living your life according to who you really are. We highly recommened this children's book.

This is one of the greatest childrens books I have read for a mostly unpopular animal. (A bat) It was warm, humorous, and delightful. A must read for all ages.

The Definitive Guide to Actionscript by Colin Moock is a must have for anyone serious about Actionscript. Moock explains object oriented programming with ease. There are many samples and examples making this book easily accessible to a wide range of programmatic abilities. This book is a great learning resource and also serves as a reference for developers.

i dont need to say more, I even pre orderd the second edition allready

It's all good... lot's of info, examples, details, etc etc...
I do have to comment though that everything you find in this book is EASILY found and sometimes in a way more deep and detailed manner in the Macromedia Flash Help section and in www.macromedia.com Flash support section... I would not consider this an essential book even though one feels secure to have it close...

Nice book, found it pretty pleasant at first, but it was too easy to digest (six, seven hours and you can toss it over your shoulder). The real answers I need (mostly dealing with movie clip behaviours) are only vaguely explained or absent and I found the book more of a frustration than otherwise from about 1 week onwards.

Having said this, there doesn't appear to be any other title for Flash that caters to those whose programming knowledge exceeds their experience as a graphical design user.

Finally, an actionscript guide that is superb in its production! My hat is off to Colin and Gary for this detail-oriented volume that has cleared the smoke out of my head and has made a programmer out of an artist.

Bravo!!!

Somebody's got to be honest here -- the movie that Stu made with all of his techniques is simply godawful on nearly every level. In fact, his emphasis on "rebel" technique might very well have you redirecting your creativity in all the wrong ways. Films are about good STORIES.

That being said, for the discerning reader, there is an enormous amount of useful information in this book and it will really get you technically up to speed fast. For that the "guide" really does deserve five stars. But what we have here is also a recipe book for making the most cliche-ridden Hollywood imitations, which is the furthest thing from what movies need in right now.

Great book for the beginner & advanced pro. Gives you many suggestions on how to get the shot finished with out spending a lot of money. Many movie clips included on the DVD for examples in support of the text. But what I found is that this book is just fun to read. There is a no holds bared, if you want to make a movie then just do it, "I hate green screen" attitude that encourages everyone they CAN make movies. There is technical stuff on setting up shots & After Effect is the only post software used, but you can skip over or breeze by these on your first read because you'll be using this book as a primer as you make movies of all kinds..."just do it!".

Great resource if you are an intermediate videographer. Most of the techniques would be above a newbies head. If you use Adobe After Effects, you'll find some great ideas.

Not for the beginner but very practical info that will make a difference in your video production. If you don't have After Effects then it will depress you.

This is a fantastic book and a fun read. I think I read it twice in the week that it arrived. The included DVD is a nice treat as well as it's pretty cool to see Stu's movie and all of the effects and techniques discussed in the book 'in action.'

If I have one complaint about the book it's that it doesn't come with a DV Camera as after reading, you'll want to run out and make your movie.

Amazing book very easy to read, follow along, comprend, and a must have for quick fun beginners guide. Provides refrences to other helpful software and throughly explained how-to's.

I have never felt compelled to write a review for any product I've ever purchased, but this is different!! I've been a home recording artist since the mid-eighties. Started with a Tascam 4 track cassette recorder, then to their 8 track version and then to Yamaha's AW4416 DAW. So I have a basic understanding for recording, but was never a techie at it. All I wanted was to lay my tracks and sound down.

I recently purchased Pro Tools Mbox2. For two straight weeks I muddled through what the hell all of the drop downs boxes, buttons and options meant. The manual explains each function in technical terms, but not how each is used in the context of recording and the big picture. I wanted to return the dam thing!!

I then began looking into different books and saw the positive reviews that "Pro Tools for Musicians and Songwriters" had and thought I'd give it a try... THIS BOOK IS FRIGGIN AWESOME!!!!! I felt like the author was sitting right there with me showing me exactly what all of the features were for and how to use them. Right from the very beginning of laying your tracks down to the finish product and a whole bunch of everything else in the middle!!!

DigiDesign, should include this book with every sales of Pro Tools. It's just that good!!!! ...and now I love Pro Tools!!!

I had a difficult time understanding how to begin working with ProTools until I bought this book. It's a great step by step tutorial that works through all the basic concepts and produces a finished music composition as an end result. I refer to it often as I write and record. Now when I refer to the ProTools manual for detailed info, I have a much better grasp on what I'm reading.

I needed a book to get more out of Pro Tools; I don't want to be an engineer savant - just record my guitar and vocal tracks and add a touch of MIDI here and there.

Some books were terribly daunting, some so simple that they were of no use.

It's true - this book is laid out to work as lessons with tracks that can be downloaded from a website. But even if you're working on your own projects - the explanations here are simple enough, you should be able to apply them to your needs. Or heck, go through the lessons - if you wanna learn, put in the time.

Even without yet going through all the lessons, I've found two or three great tips that have made my mixes (and CPU usage) much improved; and for that alone it was worth the money I paid. Big clear pictures, the Table of Contents takes you where you need to go, and the author even makes herself available via her web blog, if you have a question.

A friend who has ProTools sat at my house and picked up the book and just flipped through some chapters and saw some relevant tips he took home with him to California (I'm in Utah). I'd bet he's bought a copy by now.

Will it detail every configuration of every plug-in - no. Is it "For Dummies" - no.

This is a five-star reviewed book - it's not for everybody, but if you're starting out and need some good clean answers, start here!

This is a book of examples and exercises so don't expect to look up a particular function or problem that you are having, the Table on Contents is not up to that job. Again this is a book of simple examples and exercises directed to beginners that need to be lead completely from scratch but I found the text too drawn out and confusing with such items as references to a real bus to illustrate a mixer. The items that I was interested in were noted in the text that they would be covered later but no reference as to where in the text they would be covered. Obviously not a book for me, I have read and seen better.

I am a 3d professional artist for a long time, I have to say I have read hundreds of books, watched hours of training videos, read pages of internet tutorials anything related to 3d animation. No other training material comes even close to things I have learned reading this book. It is a treasure that you have to keep somewhere close to your desk as a reference, whether you are modeling a character head, building blend shapes or rigging . I have used the techniques successfully in many projects. I thank Jason Osipa for writing this book and for teaching me how to build superior 3D characters. This is my second SS book, I also have the first edition. This 2nd edition is a lot different then the first.

I hate to say this, but didn't learn much more than which I had already been able to get from online tutorials and forums.

Stop Staring: Facial Modeling and Animation Done RightThis book is a very good resource for computer animators.

Have you ever worked with a facial rig that was based on a set of sliders in the viewport? Many of the most popular free rigs use that method these days. Well guess what -- it's sometimes called "the Osipa method," and it was popularized by the first edition of this book.

As a novice character rigger, this book opened my eyes to an entirely new way of looking at facial modeling, rigging, and animation. I can not recommend it highly enough. These days when I create a character, I always have two books within quick reach: The Art of Rigging (by CG Toolkit, only available from their website) and Stop Staring.

I am a professional 3D character artist and I own a previos version of this book.
I am using Jason Osipa's method of facial set-up for all my characters, for animated film and games. Not only it is the system that's easy to use and understand, but it produces very attractive and believable facial expressions. I would recommend this book to anyone who ever touches digital characters, but especially to 3D modelers and riggers.

I was given this book by a friend years ago when struggling with seemingly everything. Many of the concepts at that time flew over my head but through the years, they return in poignant, aha-like flashes. The idea of having a warrior's heart-able to withstand great joy and great pain and accepting both as reasonable in life-is the concept that stands out most. I love this book and just bought another copy for a friend looking to be more present in her life. I recommend it for anyone who is truly serious about living life openly and honestly, not just being herded along.

Dispite Chogyam Trongpa's controversial lifestyle, this is the best Spiritual book I have ever read. I agree with the sentiment that I would like to have this book if stranded on an island.

Quoted from the back cover -- "In this practical guide to enlightened living, Chogyam Trungpa offers an inspiring vision for our time, based on the figure of the sacred warrior. In ancient times, the warrior learned to master the challenges of life, both on and off the battlefield. He acquired a sense of personal freedom and power -- not through violence or aggression, but through gentleness, courage, and self-knowledge."

In his view not only was individual enlightenment not mythical, but Shambhala Kingdom referred to an enlightened society that could actually be realized. The practice of Shambhala vision is to use mindfulness/awareness meditation as a way to connect with one's basic goodness and confidence, as well as with that of others and the world. Shambhala vision is described as a secular approach, rooted in meditation, but accessible to individuals of any, or no, religion. In Shambhala terms, it is possible, moment by moment, for individuals to establish enlightened society. source: wikipedia

also a must read Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism

Enjoyable read. Easy to relate with examples book provides. Author draws out ideas presented in the book pretty well. Reading is light but entertaining.

This was the most inspritional book I have ever read. I give as a gift to everybody I haven't already givin it too. BUY this book and if you don't like i will buy it from you!

This book makes a unique contribution to the quest for sanity and significance, for ourselves and our world. It stresses our essential goodness and authenticity. and charts out how we can achieve a standing beyond fear. We can re-focus from fear of death to the "Great Easern Sun vision," appreciating ourselves and our world: a very gentle approach. Written in an approachable and comfortable way, it can help us to reframe our lives, move us to a standing in bravery and tenderness, an orientation so vital to the planet now.

I have met Jeffrey Zeldman at WebBuilder 2002 in Las Vegas and he gave me a copy of this book. Although the audience of the book is "traditional" designers and my background is more of a technical one, I still found it extremely useful.

Zeldman writes in a very light tone, which makes reading the book very easy and enjoyable.

This book gives a good overview of Web Design till 2001.
People who are interested in where the web is coming from will like this book. If your are looking for how web design is done today anno 2005 I would like to recommend Jeffrey Zeldman book "Designing with web standards".

Even though some of the content in this book is outdated (such is the nature of a book based on the internet, which evolves daily), it is still a mainstay in my collection. I would recommend this book to anyone even remotely interested in web design.

Jefferey Zeldman teaches basic, foundation building principles that you will use almost daily during your tenure as a web designer. If your looking for a book to hold you by the hand and teach you how to perform specific actions with step by step coding, this isn't your book. Instead, it touches upon ideas and methods. Zeldman covers topics from designing good navigation to fundamental steps in working with a potential client.

I gave this book 4 out of 5 stars. It would have received a perfect score if it wasn't for some outdated material. Purchase this book, it should be a part of any collection.

A thorough, comprehensive and usable book for people trying to migrate from traditional media into the (sometimes) scary world of new media.

Jeffrey Zeldman's unique voice permeates the entire book, holds your hand, and gently guides you through the ups & downs of working with the web. His examples are concise and to the point, his writing style (as always) humorous and friendly, and, most importantly, you get the feeling that he truly loves this medium, and would like nothing more than being able to help another person discover just what the fuss is all about.

Should be on the shelf of every designer - no matter what your level of experience is.

This book opened my eyes to issues such as accesibilty, css and xhtml, I now have a site that is fast to load and easy to update. I found this book to be an easy read,[ I am neither a graphic designer nor a trained web designer] I really like Zeldman's writng style and will use some of his points in my classes web design for photographers. The mix of code and ideas was great and for once I just read the book rather than being tempted into turning on my computer and starting work.

Sure the program comes with a PDF manual but having a printed reference can make learning so much easier. This is not a book on technique, it's a book on features, functionality and workflow. I primarily use Final Cut Express, thankfully most of the tutorials contained in the book are applicable. There's nothing terribly exciting about the book itself, the information is presented in a no-nonsense fashion. If your looking for anecdotal storytelling, humor and opinion you'd do well to consider another title. I keep it handy at all times, it's saved me a lot of time and frustration...well worth the money.

I like Lynda's personal publications best but anything bearing her title "H.O.T." is worth having. Very practical and useful. Norman Borge

When looking for a book on FCP, I just read the various reviews. Even though some others looked quite interesting, I chose this one and am glad I did. I wanted a specific type of instruction because I have some expert-level chops and ignorance at the same time. I'm new to video but am a professional recording engineer by trade. I'm fully conversant on the Mac and non-linear audio programs so I needed a book that got both completely simple (for video concepts new to me) and also provided some depth at the same time.

The type of instruction in this book is having the user execute step-by-step, starting at the most basic level but progressing into more complex stuff fairly quick.

I forget the wording but there's some Chinese proverb........something like
You tell me, I hear
You show me, I see
I do, I learn

That's me and this book suits my learning style nicely. I'm sure there are other books as good but I doubt that any are better, hard to see how you could go wrong with this one.

I consider myself to be a "seasoned user" of Final Cut Pro. I have been editing with FCP since the original release of version 1.0 and have worked on numerous documentaries, features, commercials and episodic television.

I learned about this book from the Apple website. This is the official textbook used for Apple Pro Certification (FCP Level One). So I decided that I would "forget" everything I already knew and begin with Lesson 1. I'm very happy I adopted that attitude because there are so many neat little tips that I picked up in the first few lessons. Now I wonder how I ever survived without them. Those tips have already saved me a lot of time. I have only completed one-third of the lessons thus far and I can already see an improvement in my productivity.

Every chapter of the book is a "hands-on" lesson. The files and media for each lesson are provided on a DVD-ROM (included). You will first copy those files to your hard drive and then open each lesson file and then follow the step-by-step instructions in the book.

I'm looking forward to getting my Level One certification with the help of this book, and I can't wait to continue onto the Advanced Level certification with the second book.

Please note this is essentially the same book as the the "Final Cut Pro HD" book. The DVD is the same and so are the exercises. I had a chance to compare both and noticed only only one minor detailed (a detail is now circled on a screen shot) and, of course, there could be some that I missed. Even so, the back cover of the HD book acknowledges...

"This book was previously published under the title "Apple Pro Training Series: Final Cut Pro 4. If you previously purchased this book, there is no need to purchase this revision: All the project files and exercises in the previous edition can be used with Final Cut Pro HD."

Bottom-Line: Newbie or Pro? It doesn't matter! This is a GREAT book to own if you use FCP.

Until I purchased this book, I had owned FCP4 for six months. I had learned my way around the software well enough. I felt comfortable, but not necessarily proficient. In order to improve my editing time, I went ahead and ordered this book, also with the intent of getting my Apple certification, as this is the same text used in their classes. Normally, I am the type that I will skip sections that discuss things that I'm certain I know, but I went ahead and followed every step in the book.
What a difference! Each chapter takes approximately 30-45 minutes to complete, using video clips on the included DVD. After 3 days and 10 chapters, I was hardling touching my trackball. Not only had I learned quite a few shortcuts, but the book helped me understand the editing process itself a little better. I feel that this text is very well laid out, easy to understand, and can be done relatively quickly with a sharp learning curve. I highly recommend this to anyone new to Final Cut Pro. With a little time and effort, you'll be flying around the video editing, the soundtrack design and the Live Type titling package. And, after you have completed this book, go ahead and buy Apple Pro Training Series: Advanced Editing and Finishing Techniques in Final Cut Pro 4, you will not be disappointed.

Having bought TrueSpace2 with no prior knowledge of CGI, and being the world's worst artist, I was skeptical reading previous reviews. However I needn't have been.

The author gently takes the reader through from first principles to advanced modelling in a clear and concise manner, and in such a way that it gives you confidence to try something new.

I can't recommend this book highly enough.

Great book, it also taught TrueSpace in a matter of weeks instread of learning by exprimentation.

I started using TrueSpace back when version 2 was the newest release. I figured I could play around and build some small videos for myself. This book walked me through many of the functions and allowed me to apply what I have learned. Practically from the first page, the author walks your step by step in creating your own object. Now with version 6 available, I wish this author would write an update to keep us all in the know. Even now I still refer back to this book for missing tips and function that I don't use offen enough to remember. If you like to use TrueSpace and really want to develop something not only recognizable, but high-end I suggest you start with this book.

What are Amazon playing at! nowhere is the price displayed of this ite

Even though Caligari has recently released trueSpace 4, this book covering version 2 is a must have. The easy to follow and understand print will have you creating breathtaking graphics in no time at all. Caligari's trueSpace is truly outstanding only if you learn to use it properly. This book will do that for you.

There is reading material and there is cherishing material, this book is definitely placed in the latter category. Ms. Cooper is a master storyteller. She is fearless in her writing, unafraid to follow her OWN heart and her OWN rules. Ms. Cooper uses more twist and turn than a California highway. She tells stories with her own country grammar and country charm.

I simply enjoyed the stories. They were funny at times, dealing with real life situations.

J California Cooper was magnificient in this book. She talks about love, lost, lonliness, and happiness. She also tells how even though life is consistantly taking you through hard times. Theres always a rainbow at the end of your journey.

If you think this book is excellent, poignant, funny, truthful, etc. listen to the 'books on tape' version. The various narrators bring this excellent work to life. I borrowed it from the library (several times) and love it every time. Classic lines like when the guy tells his wife he's leaving to find the life he's missed he says 'that's it in a nutshell. She looked at me like I was the nut in the shell." Don't miss this book.

This is my favorite book in the world. J California Cooper is my favorite author in the world. The characters in her books have a triumph of the spirit. Her words invite you into the lives of the people in her stories. She captures your heart with real life lessons and common sense. Most of all, I love her honesty. Life is best served warm, with tears, smiles, and truth and she serves it up just right.
The best gift given is that which is a part of you. So, in that spirit, I've given this book away to so many people that I have lost count. Last October I had the pleasure of meeting Ms. Cooper at a book signing here in New Orleans and she was gracious enough to sign my copies of her books; (I own and have read them all). What a Blessing her words are! Read Homemade Love, and all of her books, and you too will become a fan for life.