Interactive Books

Art and Design in Photoshop An other well written book by Steve Caplin on Photoshop. This book is full of ideas on how to create good designs and the use of fonts. It makes you itch to try some of the ideas but is also entertaining and informative.

There are plenty of beginner guides to Photoshop, and even a few dozen decent intermediate books. But, sooner or later, you reach a point when you're asking yourself, "What's next?" This book provides the answer. It's filled with techniques and ideas that will have anyone who's mastered the basics of Photoshop creating works of art. If you want to go beyond the simple tools of correction, compositing, and image repair, start here.

This book is really good and useful.
Then, it could be difficult to read for a beginner, because it states more of "how to work with Photoshop" than "how to use Photoshop".

If you have a good feedback of Photoshop, this book is fantastic to read.
The author show you many design tips and secret that you can re use to your own. But he does'nt swamp you with over-detailed et boring explanations 'à la kelby'
The companion CD contain all the files and the fonts used in the book..

Steve Caplin.. you are great !!!

Steve Caplin displays yet another example of the endless possibilities of Photoshop.Packed with practical examples of realistic projects for those looking to sharpen their skills or just stuck on where to begin a layout. This book has it. A great companion to "How to Cheat in Photoshop".
A work of art in and of itself.
Mr Caplin, you've done it again!

This is an Awesome workbook for Parent's and pre-teens. My son is almost 12 and it really helped us work thru some of the pre-teen issues that come up.

This is a wonderful workbook in which adolescents with AS can explore and embrace their own unique needs. The worksheets and concepts are very clear and pave the way for the adolescent with AS to gain critical insight into themselves and then problem solve, and plan accordingly. I HIGHLY recommend this book. The concepts and strategies can be easily adapted for use with all ages.

This excellent book is clear, well thought out,and easy to use. Those challenged by AS are presented with opportunities for self exploration and an understanding of what AS is and how it might be effecting their lives. They are encouraged, validated, and this interactive workbook helps THEM come out with solutions!!! As a parent I can't recommend this book enough! I can see it being adapted for use with many ages.

My daughter, age 9, already knew a lot about Asperger's Syndrome, so introducing her to it wasn't an issue. She enjoys working in the workbook with me. Throughout the workbook, the child focuses on strengths and weaknesses, what the child can do and what they may need help with, etc. The child builds goals and plans for certain situations. We have not made it all the way through, some of the things are to make a homework schedule, etc., and we bought the book over the summer, so we are waiting for school to start before completing it. I really like that it helps me to be involved in her planning and tasks and gives us time to talk about things in a structured way, instead of her just venting about her problems. We are talking and working in a more productive way now, and hopefully as she works toward some of her goals she will see the benefits. My daughter is very high functioning, but I believe that it would be helpful to a wide range of children.

Easy to read to the youngest of babies, this book is fantastic for learning colors and naming simple objects. The rhyming schemes are fun and the unique art with glittery items on each page is entertaining. I own the whole series and my almost-two-year-old son has LOVED them since he was about six months old.

As with the other three books, my daughter and I love this one. I had checked this out of the library when she was nine months old and now at 18 months, she still loves looking through it. This book is very bright and colorful. The text is simple so it isn't too long for the always on the go toddler.

This book came in a set of the other 3 Baby Dazzlers titles. My 2 year old loves the simple and enthusiastic rhymes, bright colors, and glittery accents on every page. Each book has a baby with a different skin color, which is always nice! Children's book of the month club offers all four books in a set for really cheap! I recommend all four

My daughter loves any book that sparkles. This series is super cute, but very simple. Better for "baby" than "preschoolers".

If you like books that sparkle (and ones that are written more for preschoolers), check out the "sparkle n shimmer" series (Love, Valentine's Day, Happy Easter, Glorious Grandmas, etc.)

My girls and I loved this book. Great for 4 years old to about 2nd grade. Crafts, drawings, paintings are all very easy to make even for a non-crafty person like myself. Would buy it again and again.

The book has lots of ideas for artsy ideas... like cutting/pasting and fingerpainting, but that's it... I was expecting more actual activities rather than art projects. It will be fun when my 2 year old gets a little older!

I purchased for my Church preschool and a friend. They have wonderful ideas for art projects. Lots of cute fingerprint ideas. Have used this book ALOT for my kids. Had to get the Church it's own copy so I could have mine back.

Has simple instructions for kids to learn how to draw. You will not be disappointed with this book!

This is a great book for young children. It is packed with easy step by step instructions and full of great ideas. It uses basic shapes, colorful and fun for the little ones. They will love what they can create. Love it. Good for keeping them busy in the summer.

I got a number of these books for my 4-year old nephew for his birthday, and he has absolutely loved reading them.

I purchased this book for my son (almost 4) and he loves it. He asks me to read this every night and also requested that I prepare the snacks from the book (they're actually healthy snacks and could help to influence picky eaters). This was a very good choice.

My son is 2 1/2 and love Blues Clues, so this book was a win. It is interactive: lifts & flaps, and searches for "blues clues." Very colorful and exciting for a young child.

Blue is having a snack party. All her friends are bringing snacks. We discover what each is by lifting flaps that show the ingredients and recipe with the finished dish underneath. These are healthy snacks made by Steve, Mr. Salt and Mrs. Pepper, Mailbox, Tickety Tock, Shovel & Pail, and Magenta. In the meantime we help Steve solve Blue's Clues to discover what snack Blue will bring. A final picture of everyone with their snacks suggests the upcoming party will be festive indeed.

A nice addition to the Blue's books.

It seems like technologies start off very small, mill around for a while, and then explode. I remember attending a communications conference ten years or so ago and first learning about the move of broadband to the individual home. There were all kinds of things being talked about from cable modems to DSL. Then I went home and tried to get one. The people at the cable company and the phone company had no idea what I was talking about.

Now, as I sit in my home in a small town in very Nevada, I have at least five different choices of providers of broadband services. And the penetration seems to be growing so fast the reporting organizations can't keep track. This book reports that about 25% of U.S. homes have broadband. One web site says that the penetration jumped 1.36% last month alone to reach 58.6%. At any case it is exploding.

This book is a collection of articles put together by two professors at Harvard Business School. The articles cover almost every aspect of broadband services from what's happening technically, to the social aspects of broadband everywhere, to specifics on things like the next 'killer apps,' malicious threats, legal structure, and more. It reflects the current thinking on what's going to happen.

The Broadband Explosion is an anthology of essays written by a variety of authors contemplating far-reaching questions about what repercussions the rise in broadband connection will have on modern society and business. From evaluating how Wi-Fi and Voice Over IP technologies will play out, to speculating on what will be the next- generation "killer apps", to forecasting how the structure of the industry will shift, questioning whether governments should invest in a broadband infrastructure, and evaluating possible new security threats, The Broadband Explosion is a haven for deep thought, budding ideas, and dire warnings. A handful of diagrams illustrate this forward-looking compendium recommended for business and government leaders striving to plan for an increasingly connected future.

The Broadband Explosion is an anthology of essays written by a variety of authors contemplating far-reaching questions about what repercussions the rise in broadband connection will have on modern society and business. From evaluating how Wi-Fi and Voice Over IP technologies will play out, to speculating on what will be the next- generation "killer apps", to forecasting how the structure of the industry will shift, questioning whether governments should invest in a broadband infrastructure, and evaluating possible new security threats, The Broadband Explosion is a haven for deep thought, budding ideas, and dire warnings. A handful of diagrams illustrate this forward-looking compendium recommended for business and government leaders striving to plan for an increasingly connected future.

Most of us techno-geeks live and breathe in the world of broadband, and it's become an invisible "given" in our lives. But often it's good to step back and look at the broader picture of the industry... This book does just that: The Broadband Explosion - Leading Thinkers on the Promise of a Truly Interactive World edited by Robert D. Austin and Stephen P. Bradley.

Contents:
The Promise of Broadband: The Broadband Explosion; Broadband and Collaboration; Broadband Deployment - From Vision to Reality; Valuation Bubbles and Broadband Deployment
Creating Value in a Broadband World: Disruption, Disintegration, and the Impact of New Telecommunications Technologies; Internet2 - The Promise of Truly Advanced Broadband; Broadband and Hyperdifferentiation - Creating Value by Being Really Different; eChoupal - Revolutionizing Supply Chains in Rural India
Capturing the Value of Wireless Broadband: i-mode - Value Chain Strategy in the Wireless Ecosystem; Wi-Fi - Complement or Substitute for 3G?; Wireless Local Area Networks - Why Integration Is Inevitable; Widespread Adoption of Wireless Enterprise Solutions
Policy and the Broadband Future: The Inevitability of Broadband; Protecting Telecommunications Infrastructure from Malicious Threats; Open Spectrum - The Great Wireless Hope; The Balkanization of the Broadband Internet

Explosion is a series of essays from people who make their living thinking about and working with internet and broadband technology. While not a "hands-on" type book that explains how to do something, it's valuable in that it allows you to take a step back and ponder the opportunities and issues surrounding high-speed, ubiquitous access to the internet. For instance, Balkanization examines how the Internet is impacted by nationalistic attempts to control and filter content that by design flows without restraint. Protecting is important for understanding just how precarious our network infrastructure is, and how the interweaving of multiple infrastructures can cause a minor incident to have truly global impact. But it's not all gloom and doom. eChoupal is an excellent case study of how free access to information eliminated an inefficient and often corrupt middle layer between producer and market, and allowed family farmers to make decisions based on global market conditions. Very interesting stuff...

The book does suffer from the same thing that many compilations exhibit... differing levels of writing and communication skills. Granted, these are all highly educated people who know their areas. But some chapters are focused on practical application of the technology, while other chapters seem to go off on graphs and charts measuring mathematical formulas for buying decisions. And sometimes the content seems only marginally related to broadband technology as they build up to their premise. But even with that, the gems are well worth the occasional rocks that seemed to crop up.

If you're ready to ponder the question of "so where does this all lead?", you'll find plenty of material here to direct your musings...

This is a very nice pop up book with spooky illustrations. My children want it read to them over and over again. Definitely worth the money. However, my toddler has ripped the pop ups several times, probably better for kids over 3.

I love this Halloween pop-up book as well as the other "Bugs In a Box" books. If you don't know what to be for Halloween-buy this book. There are many spooky pop-ups, such as Dracubug, Frankenbug(shouldn't there be a glow-in-the-dark feature in this book?), and for the finale-there's a free surprise on the last page. I won't ruin the surprise for you, but when you get the prize, it will help you decide what to be for Halloween(you'll be able to look "buggy", too!).

My 14 month old loves this book. He is a big fan of other pop up books but these pop ups and moving flaps are creative & new made-up bugs, not the ordinary animals he sees in all his other books. We also like the "spooky" theme.

My 14 month old son loves the book. It has great pop ups and flaps of creative made up bugs. It's great to see funky bugs rather than the usual barn animals etc. The spooky theme is also fun and different.

Kiri is very excited when she gets a origami kit from her aunt as a birthday gift. She tries right away to make a butterfly with the kit. After several tries she gets fustrated with it and almost gives up. As she practices she gets better and better. Instructions are included on how to make your ouw butterfly. Remember it's not easy and you will have to work on it just like Kiri but it will be really neat in the end.

The story has a great lesson. The lesson I learned from this story is that practice makes perfect and to never give up.
This book would be neat to share in the classroom or at a storytime while learning about origami and or Asian countries.

-SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL:
"A Japanese American child receives an origami kit for her birthday. The brightly colored papers are "as thin as butterfly wings" and she handles them with care and reverence, spreading them out "like a rainbow." Kiri pores over the diagrams in the instruction book and tries to "Fold crisply" and "Crease sharply!" The steps become more complicated and when the delicate sheet tears, she cries in frustration. Afraid of ripping another piece, she puts the papers away. As time passes, Kiri enjoys other artistic pursuits, like painting and chalk drawing, but she is still intrigued by the art of origami and continues to practice her folds on notebook paper. When her watercolors run together on make a soggy hole in the center of her picture, she finds another use for the origami papers. she cuts out flower shapes and as she glues them on her painting, "The colors began to dance." Feeling emboldened, she selects a sheet of yellow paper and sucessfully folds a butterfly. Falwell's cut-and-torn paper collages are the perfect medium for the story. Kiri's disappointments are realistically captured, as is her creative spirit. Instructions on how to make an origami butterfly are included.
-BOOKLIST:
"Colorful and bright, this story of frustration and determination will appeal to children who have experienced both . . . . The cut-and-torn paper collages are just the right medium for this story, and Falwell uses her papers to good effect-sometimes very simply, sometimes in elaborate ways-to capture both the enthusiasm of the child and the enthusiasm apparent in Kiri's art. A final page offers instructions for making an origami butterfly; as with Kiri, it may take children awhile to master the project, but they should enjoy practicing."
MORNING NEWS:
"Butterflies gives young readers the feeling of having a book in a book with Kiri's own story of her birthday treasure. More practically, readers can try out origami using some of the instructions included in the story. Author/illustrator Cathryn Falwell cleverly spreads the joy through Kiri's own words as she calls out the instructions from her book, "'Fold crisply. Crease sharply.' the book said." Kids, try the step-by-step picture instructions at the end of the book to make your own origami butterfly. It looks easy enough even for grown-ups. -THE DALLAS

Butterflies For Kiri by author/illustrator Cathryn Falwell is the story of Kiri, a young girl who is struggling to learn the art of origami, paper folding to craft a beautiful butterfly from a square sheet of colored paper. Her first tries tear the paper, yet with inspiration, determination and perseverance, Kiri is able to achieve her goal. Instructions for young people to fold their own butterflies are included in this charming, full-color picture book.

My children and I were delighted to find this new book by one of our favorite author illustrators. Kiri struggles with learning a new skill the same way my little perfectionist 7-yr-old daughter does. The way Kiri explores her own creative expression while continuing to patiently practice the folding of the origami is really beautiful. When both of these parts come together at the end of the story, Kiri's imagination dances free. My daughter found a kindred spirit in Kiri. The illustrations are gorgeous. My younger children also enjoyed this book.

I started this series probably 15 years ago, maybe more. I remember being so wrapped up in this interactive adventure that I couldn't wait to get my hands on the next installment. Well, while cleaning off my shelves a few days ago I stumbled across these gems and I tell you, I got overwhelmed with the same feelings.

You are Lone Wolf, the last of the Kai Warriors in the land of Sommerlund. Throughout your adventures (the are 28 books and 4 "World of Lone Wolf" books) you will face monsters big and small, wizards, magicians, puzzles, riddles, and everything else your imagination can think of.

This book is just like your standard "Choose Your Own Adventure" book except that it is more interactive. Not only do you choose your path, but you also choose your skills, equipment, and whether or not you want to battle enemies. This book employs an interesting combat system in which you pick a number from the "Random Number Table" at the end of the book by closing your eyes and poking the page with your eraser (see my shared photo). I highly recommend getting ahold of a 10-sided die to use instead, because after a few books one can learn where the higher number areas are.

I had the first 15 books of the series when I was younger and now that I've reread them, I am scrounging ebay and used Amazon books to locate the next ones. Unfortunately all of these books are out of print. If you are looking for these books, I highly recommend getting the UK editions of books 12-20 because the US editions are abridged and are missing huge sections. Additionally, there are many "broken links" since they were edited so when it says to turn to page XX it takes you to the wrong place. Also, good luck finding books 21-28 as they were ONLY printed in the UK. They are very rare and if you have them, hold on to them!

This particular installment is a lot of fun. As a Magnakai warrior you must venture into the bowels of Tahou to find the next Lorestone. There are a couple of pretty good riddles in this adventure - the last few books were missing the high quality riddles that Lone Wolf readers should come to expect.

Finally, Joe Dever has authorized the free distribution and licensing of his Lone Wolf series which are available online. This resource has the unabridged editions which makes it great. I will not give out the URL as part of the reviewers agreement but with a little searching you should be able to find it. However, I am still a fan of reading the paper version instead of the online versions; but, it is still a nice resource since occasionally there are some publishing errors that the website has fixed.

the whole series is great

If you like sourcery's and sword fights, this is the book for you. I started reading when I was seven, and I've been hooked ever since. This was the first book I read, and I still have it in pretty good condition.

Lone Wolf is betrayed by those he trusted and is thrown head first into a dark abyss that spans time and space. This book logs his journey back to the realm in which he came from. Along the journey he finds one of the covented moonstones, and battles fiends that have never walked the face of Mangnamund

I started this series probably 15 years ago, maybe more. I remember being so wrapped up in this interactive adventure that I couldn't wait to get my hands on the next installment. Well, while cleaning off my shelves a few days ago I stumbled across these gems and I tell you, I got overwhelmed with the same feelings.

You are Lone Wolf, the last of the Kai Warriors in the land of Sommerlund. Throughout your adventures (the are 28 books and 4 "World of Lone Wolf" books) you will face monsters big and small, wizards, magicians, puzzles, riddles, and everything else your imagination can think of. This book starts as a mission to discover what has happened to the missing gold shipments that were supposed to be on the way to your homeland of Sommerlund. However, there is much more going on in this adventure that will test your Kai skills.

This book is just like your standard "Choose Your Own Adventure" book except that it is more interactive. Not only do you choose your path, but you also choose your skills, equipment, and whether or not you want to battle enemies. This book employs an interesting combat system in which you pick a number from the "Random Number Table" at the end of the book by closing your eyes and poking the page with your eraser (see my shared photo). I highly recommend getting ahold of a 10-sided die to use instead, because after a few books one can learn where the higher number areas are.

I had the first 15 books of the series when I was younger and now that I've reread them, I am scrounging ebay and used Amazon books to locate the next ones. Unfortunately all of these books are out of print. If you are looking for these books, I highly recommend getting the UK editions of books 12-20 because the US editions are abridged and are missing huge sections. Additionally, there are many "broken links" since they were edited so when it says to turn to page XX it takes you to the wrong place. Also, good luck finding books 21-28 as they were ONLY printed in the UK. They are very rare and if you have them, hold on to them!

Finally, Joe Dever has authorized the free distribution and licensing of his Lone Wolf series which are available online. This resource has the unabridged editions which makes it great. I will not give out the URL as part of the reviewers agreement but with a little searching you should be able to find it. However, I would rather read the paper version anyday but this is still a great resource.

As Lone Wolf, you are dispached by the king to investigate a missing shipment of gold...ok, where have we heard this before? But hold on-the plot thickens! You journey to Ruanon, a mining province, and discover that evil again is plotting to rear it's ugly head-in the shape of Lord Vashna-the long defeated and very powerful Darklord of Naar. The Acolytes of Vashna are attempting to ressurect him, and only YOU can stop them! Grab the book and pick up the fight!

The Lone Wolf books are divided to 4 groups, book1-5 is the kai series, book6-12 is the Magnakai,13-20 is the Grand Master series and 21+ are the New Order series... The Chasm of Doom is the best book in the Kai group.It is very challenging and requires your utmost caution and strategem.A must-have!!

This is the best book I think in the Lone Wolf series. You are Lone Wolf and you are out to find the king's gold that was stolen. The things that I like in this book are you are able to choose your suplies such as weapons, special abilities, backpack items, and Kai Disciplines. The Lone Wolf series is a good series to read on vacations, coming home from a trip, or just a book to chill out with...