Boards Books

I purchased this book when my child was six months old. He loved looking at the faces. I would act out the faces too as we went through the book. My son is now three and we occasionally look through the book. He still enjoys seeing the "happy" baby and the "messy" baby.

Our baby loves staring at the pictures of other babies in this book, even though he is just barely 4 months old. He loves reaching out to try and touch them. I think as he gets older, he'll really enjoy learning about the different emotions shown. I like how the book is tabbed so you can easily go to your baby's favorite page.

My 9-month-old son loves looking at this book and having me talk about the pictures.

It is a very nice and colorful book, my baby loves it! She gets so excited when she sees the babies and their expressions. I would recommend this book for the little ones :)

My son LOVES this book. When he was very little he loved to look at the faces and now he has memorized the the emotion on each page. It's so cute to hear him "read" the book, going through saying, "Happy Baby, Angry Baby," etc. His favorite is Messy Baby!

ISBN 1570640777 - Barney's been around for a while now, and his first set of fans are now just about old enough to have their own kids - and pass on their childhood love of the big purple guy. This definitively moves Barney from a cute TV character to a childhood icon and makes him a great friend to learn from.

In short rhymes, Barney introduces young readers to Barney Says (not to be confused with Simon Says, because Barney doesn't start each "order" with "Barney says..."). Readers are told to tap their nose, march their feet and more, learning the parts of their body in a fun and interactive way.

The photographs by Dennis Fuller show Barney and four young children (not the same four on each page, oddly) on a gray background, leaving only the action to draw your attention. Since the idea is to do, as much as to read, it's a nice touch that the photos aren't too detailed. Also nice is that the children are a somewhat racially diverse group. Best of all, of course, your child can be a Barney fan without being a couch potato!

Let me begin with the fact that I am not a huge Barney fan. We do not spend TV on him. But, I love this book!

We bought our first copy for my oldest son 11 years ago. During the years and three more children, we have had to buy 3 or 4 replacement copies. The easy and fun way of learning body parts is wonderful.

My 17 month old twin girls love this book! They learned nose, toes, ears, and other body parts from this book. It is fun for them to play the game with Barney. And my favorite is that one of my daughters gives me a big hug when we get to the last page where Barney gives hugs.

My 15-month old has never watched the Barney show, but he loves this book! After reading it only a couple of times and doing the hand motions with him, he started doing some of them by himself! He loves to look at the pictures of the children doing the motions (pat your head, tap your nose, now bend down and touch your toes...). There's a different motion on each page.

My 20 month old and I LOVE this book. It teaches different parts of the body and my son knows the book by heart. Very good book. Would recommend it to anyone.

After reading it a few times to my son, I was surprised to hear him reciting the rhyme text back to me. We enjoy reading it together. The text is very simple but is perfect for a toddler. We learn names of different fruits, vegetables, and animals, as well as different ways of traveling. As all the Barefoot books he has, he loves it.

this book has vivid color. when you read to your kid. they love it too.

The illustrations are absolutely fantastic! they are beyond vivid its truly a feast for the eyes!
The story is simple and cause the illustrations are so perfectly done for a toddler it's very self-explanatory, Bear is traveling through the entire story on different means of transportation he goes to an island on a boat, to the market on bike, to a grand ball in a carriage and through the story the little boy is trying to keep up with bear but he just keeps missing "the boat" so to say. It's a very fun rhyming journey to introduce to little ones! This is our favorite of Stella Blackstone's Bear series its by far her best book!

We recently got this book out of our public library and I must say that it is a big hit with all of us. We (my son, my husband, and I) absolutely love the pictures and the text. I think this is a wonderful book that will get lots of mileage.

Beautiful and Bold Pictures, Clever Rhymes. My son just loves this book and I enjoy reading it to him. Check out the other Bear books. They are all winners.

My little girl just turned 1 and she loves these books. She can easily hold them herself and turn the pages. The pictures are bright and engaging and the thick board pages stand up to her torture time after time. I also recommend the animals book just like this.

My 8 month-old daughter loves the Usborne touchy-feely book collection. She was very happy to add this one to her collection.

I had one of the Bright Baby books (colors) in my daughter's "library." I liked it so much better than most of what she had because it was one object per page with a big, real picture. Many of her other books had multiple pictures per page which made it hard to focus on one image or they had cartoonish pictures that weren't always a good representation of what they were supposed to be. Based on the ease and clarity of the Bright Baby Colors book, I ordered the First Words and the Animals books. I am not disappointed. With these books, there's one picture per page for my daughter to point to and for me to tell her what it is. I can tell that she's recognizing these pictures a lot easier and a lot quicker than images in other books. They are definitely a great tool for fun learning.

We were given this book in the hospital when my daughter was born as a gift from a community literacy project. Now, at 7 months, it is one of her favorites. The format is perfect for a young baby with only one word and its corresponding picture per page. The beautiful photographs are set against a colorful background and the pages hold my daughter's attention much longer than most of the books specified for her age. The other bonus is its sturdy construction. Since my daughter loves to explore her books with her mouth, her other board books quickly become worn around the edges. Not this one. The durable material of which it is made is holding up beautifully. Highly recommend!

My 14-month-old loves this book. It's easy to hold and loaded with great photos. I think reading these books to her has helped her learn many new words in the past two months. Wonderful!

This is one of those books designed for the fidgety story-time goer.

It's full of instructions - clap your hands, tell me your age, I'll tickle you if you tickle me, find something red, that sort of thing.

Great fun for kids to get to move around instead of sitting through a story, this might be a good way to end storytime!

But, because of those good points, board book format might not be the best way to go. The pictures are too small for moving around - you have to sit close to really see them - and some of the instructions are really too hard for the younger rip-up-books crowd anyway. You might be better off waiting a year or two and getting a normal edition instead.

Great book for kids of many ages. My two year old grandson LOVES it....but so do my first graders. It's a great book to read when the class needs to get up and move around...it has become a class favorite! I had never seen it until a colleague who joined our staff this year shared it with me. It will be a book I'll be giving to LOTS of people in the future!

I originally bought this for my 9 month old, but my 2 year old gets more out of it right now. It's a fun, active, educational book. Because my girls are so young I just wish there was a cd so that we could play it since it's hard to use my hands to hold the book and act out the activities at the same time.

I have read this book to various ages (preschool 3 yrs old through 1st grade). As my children have grown,I have always read this book to their class. A 1st grade teacher asked where I got it and I am getting her a copy as her end of school gift. It holds the kids attention with the simple words, fun actions and sing-song type way that it is written. You cannot go wrong adding this to your personal library - it comes in paperback too!

Our son (age 2 now, about 18 months when he first started really being able to play along) enjoyed this book so much at a friend's house that we had to buy one of our own, and we've given it as a gift to others, too. The pictures are fun and imaginative, and the simple rhyme is cute, but the real magic is in watching kids follow the book's instructions - turn around, find something red, growl like a lion, etc. They get to practice following directions, hone their motor skills, burn off some energy, and have a sense of accomplishment about doing all the actions - and, of course, the kids just think they're having fun! We love this book!

The Eensy-Weensy Spider One of my granddaughter's all-time favorite books. Decided to get copies for two of my great-nephews, too.

Fantastic book for kids of all ages! I love it as much as my three-year-old grandchildren do, and every time we get this book out, they want me to read it several times. The fabulous colorful pictures are fun for the kids and for me, and are detailed enough to give us lots to talk about on each page, but not so detailed as to overwhelm young eyes. The only problem I have with Eensy-Weensy Spider is that I find it running through my mind at odd times, including when I wake in the middle of the night!

I love this book! The "expanded" version of the song is so much fun to sing! The kids in my class love it.

We LOVE this book. I used a few of the verses in this book to reinforce some sign language word we were teaching our daughter, and it helped her learn how to use "please" and "bed/sleepy". I totally don't know any toddler/children's rhymes, so this book has even helped me learn! We can sing along in the car now, even if I don't have the book!

This book is one of my sons favorites. (17 months) The illustrations are great and the authors make a cute little day-long adventure for the eensy weensy spider. The book is actually pretty long so it works well for a bedtime story. I would also suggest "The Lady with the Alligator Purse" and "Miss Mary Mack" by the same two authors. All three of these books are illustrated from a unique point of view that I think children like because they get to see things from a semi-birds view rather than their usual worms eye view.

A well put together effort. Surfing history has followed the icons of each era and the breaks they rode. Thru time, surfing has always respected the legends who scratched for the outside and rode big. Way to go guys, the most representative collection of surfing lore that I've seen. Thanks.

Tube Thug

Having attended Pier Avenue School..across the street from Noll's surf shop, I have followed surfing since my first time out at Paddle Board Cove, or "The Cove" many moons ago. Excellent book and photos for those who really want to see the changes in board design along with the historical milestones of the surfing history.

Surfing has changed alot since Noll's and Jacob's shop on Pacific Coast Hiway. Most of the original guys are now in surfing heaven riding the milelong rollers.

I enjoyed the book and pick it up frequently to remind me of surfing in California during the 1960 and early 1970's. Yes, there was a time you could have a wave to yourself at Malibu, Rincon or Leo Carrillo State Beach..or "Secos"..or stop off at that place just south of County Line for a great hamburger, fries and a coke for about 2 bucks. How things have changed...And, where did I just come back from...surfing the northern Spanish coast...where I now live..truly "bitchin"

An amazing book for those who really are in love with surfing : boards of legends, men of legends, pictures that make you dream about.
Everything is in there !

Like the surfboards depicted in this beautifuly illastrated book Greg Noll, the art of the surfboard reveal a finely and lovingly prouuced marster piece.
A must have for anyone facinated by the surf culture of today and days gone by.
There are demonstrations on board shaping.
Plus insghtful discutions on past board makers and surfboard collectors.
What realy stands this book apart from the rest is its lavish photography.

the best coffee table book that you can get for a surfer and a shaper. Great stories and pictures. Looks good too!

The material covered in this book is worthwhile and useful. It is, however, written in 19th century linguistic style which can, and for the most part is, difficult to slog through.

This book is not really a book about "homemaking" in the sense of housekeeping. This is a deeply lovely book about what the experience of living in a happy home should be like. This book was written years ago, when people still had the idea that the home and the people in it should be a haven for each other, and a beacon to those in the world. This is a book that calls husbands and wives, siblings, sons and daughters, to a higher vision of a home. It reminds that all are part of this goal.

This is not just a book for moms, though, despite the picture on the cover. One of the most intimate nights my newlywed husband and I have experienced was when I read aloud to him the chapter on Husbands. Just thinking about how we can love each other better and the deep responsibility that is was very meaningful for us.

I highly recommend this book -- the language alone is lovely to read. The style of the book is peaceful and lyrical. This is not a typical self-help book; this is a peaceful, worshipful book.

A MUST for newlyweds, or anyone who wants to be intentional and biblical about their marriage and family life.

I am very much in love with this beautiful work. Many of the passages left me in tears. A call to arms for all Christians. My huband and I decided to give this book as wedding and baby shower gifts from now on. Stirring and well writen...read it, read it again, and again.

I think this book would be great for Newly Married couples. Dont let the girly looking cover fool you. Its packed full of examples on how to treat others. In the intro it said "the aim is to mark out duties and responsibilities of each member of the household..." I really enjoyed it and will have my children read it too.

This is probably one of the best books I have ever read. Despite the title, it is not just for housewives, it speaks intimately to each of the various roles within a home. To the husband, the wife, the parents, the children, brothers and sisters. Encouraging each member of the family to work together to make their home blessed retreat. Practical and poetic, it simultaneously presses my nose to the grindstone and sends my heart soaring with joy. A must read for the serious Christian family!

A very moving book. I knew Joel from a distance, all we would say is "Hi" to each other. Nothing more. Reading this book should be a school requirement. It does not get any better. What a fascinating man he was. He will be MISSED!

Who ever suspected Joel Siegel led such an interesting life? I couldn't believe all of the experiences he wrote about and the funny insights into his family. He included a chapter on Yiddish words which was informative and amusing. Of course throughout the book was the touching message to his son.

A man, approaching fatherhood late in life finds that he has cancer. What can he give his very young son that would impact the child's life. This book is Joel Siegel's legacy to his young son.

It could have been overly-sentimmental or morbid. Instead it is funny, profound, and deeply moving. Those of us who have faced the same eventuality that Joel Siegel has faced, will find great wisdom here, and solace.

The only quibble I have with the book, is that there are a few chapters that seem to have been added to flesh out the size of the book. A chapter on Yiddish phrases, for example, seems a bit "fluffy," though quite funny.

In all, a wonderful legacy for Dylan... and us all.

This book is a treasure in the fact that a man who has a young son (who should have been his grandson) at that age realizes that he may not be around to share all of these stories and this valuable insight to Dylan in person, and he put in print the things he would have told him (maybe) had he been a young father. The last twenty-five (27) years were a trial for him, as they were for me, as a divorced woman with a son the same age at the time of the divorce. You feel that you've just got to be there to see that son grown, then get on with your life.

He is funny. The Jewish jokes were okay, and the one he had Bobby Kennedy tell about the price of meat was okay, but this whole book is written in the joking way he thinks. Serious times about lowering the flag to half-mast on the UCLA campus the day JFK was assassinated. He was there when brother Bobby died and heard the shots. He and Dylan's mother lived in an area of New York where they were able to watch the Twin Towers burn on 9-11. This is history he passes down to his son in intimate terms.

He writes fondly "some of my best memories of my father are of him laughing while he and I watched TV. We didn't go to movies much; most families didn't in the early '50s." My sister Evelyn took me to my first movie about that time (before she ran off and eloped, ending up spending the rest of her life up North) and I marveled at the beauty and splendor of Tennessee Theater. I don't remember the movie, but I will never forget how I felt looking up at the mural on the interior dome. In the middle and later Fifties, I went to many movies there and even sang in a local talent show on that stage. It was no big deal.

As a film critic, he explains that movies are a fraud and goes into detail about how they are made. But, those he chose for viewing with Dylan were a varied and motlely group, not my choices at all. He tells how old he was when he saw them and how he felt. He dishes the dirt about some of the big movie stars. The index is full of big names. You think of one, he has met him or her and has a funny anecdote to share. TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD, I can understand why he would want to explain to his son what is happening and why. Since he is such a funny man, I guess he would choose the Marx brothers' films. I did enjoy Groucho on the t.v. game show!

Of course, he wants 'I Love Lucy' and 'The Honeymooners' to be available for Dylan to enjoy and share a few laughs. His remembrance of live t.v. in Los Angeles, 'Time for Beanie,' brought back memories of 'Your Startime' hosted by Bob Lobertini for me as I was one of his regulars, and later he had a 'Popeye' show in Nashville where I took my sons. He told them on the air that he and I had appeared on t.v. together in Knoxville; that was stretching it -- he was the star, I the adorer.

During the 1958 Winter/Spring, one of my best friends was the young Jewish usher, Joe Feldman, at the Tennessee Theater. I had moved to the YWCA to finish high school and, that Easter, he took me to eat Easter dinner at the S&W Cafeteria on Gay Street. I still have his senior picture from Young High School.

Dylan is a darling child and so much like Ken Young when he was younger. I sincerely hope they will share many good times as he grows up -- and away. That time will come before you know it.

There are no athiests in foxholes or in an oncologist's office. Siegel, an entertainment critic for ABC's GMA, faced a terminal illness, and created this story of his first 58 years of life. (He passed away on June 29, 2007 at the age of 63).

At the age of 54, Siegel became a father for the first time and learned that he had cancer. In "Lessons for Dylan," Siegel shares all the things he wants his son to know, in case he is not around to tell him, things about his family history and Jewish heritage, life's pleasures and disappointments, the challenges of growing up (at any age), and, most important, who his father is and what Joel values. As Joel and Rabbi Larry Rafael discussed, Joel wants his son to be normal (but not average).

Siegel was born in East Los Angeles in 1943. His Romanian Jewish grandmother survived the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in March 1911. (Her father banned her from going that day.) His father, a Levite, was an electrician, and he got the first African American and the first Mexican American into his local IBEW union. In 1965, Joel delivered a bag containing $800 in cash to a minister named Martin Luther King at a UCLA luncheon. ("Dr. King, I've come with dessert.") He ended up spending the Summer working for King. Siegel says he invented the names of several Baskin Robbins flavors, including German Chocolate Cake (my favorite) and Pralines and Cream. Siegel was nominated for a Tony Award for his work on a musical about Jackie Robinson. Siegel was a joke writer Senator Robert F. Kennedy in 1968, and witnessed Kennedy's assassination in the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles. He is co-founder (with Gene Wilder) and president of Gilda's Club, a non-profit support facility for cancer patients.

Only Siegel can make the story of his chemo sessions and a colostomy funny. Siegel candidly writes about the end of his marriage (his third) to Dylan's mother and the experience of having cancer. The famous ad man and partier Jerry Della Femina bought pot for Siegel during his chemotherapy. Siegel also shares great stories from show biz (featuring Orson Welles, Marlene Dietrich, Paul Newman, Brad Pitt, Stevie Wonder, all four Beatles, and more); lays out the History of the Jewish People in Four Jokes ("Why make trouble?"); and offers fatherly advice on sex ("ask your mother"), work, what to cook for Rosh Hashanah (recipes included), and a list of movies he would like to see with his son.

One of his letters:
Dear Dylan,
One day you might remember--maybe triggered by a photograph, or a sense memory of a texture or a color--the soft, grey cashmere sweater I bought for you for your second birthday. As an adult you may wonder, "What kind of schmuck buys a cashmere sweater for a two year-old boy?"

The answer is: A schmuck who tempts fate.

Being in a go club that sees many beginners I feel fairly qualified when I say this book will not help you improve rank until you are 15kyu (AGA/KGS) and really waiting until you are in the single-digit kyu range will give you the best rank improvement per time spent reading... I first read at 13kyu and was stretching. I re-read at 5kyu and got much more out of it. If I had to pick a perfect rank to read it at I'd say 7kyu.

All that said, the writing style is superior to every other go book I've seen and there may be merit in reading this without the goal of rank improvement. I suggest playing games between chapters - I've seen players overdo the styles and corrections the book discusses after reading half or all of it in one sitting. With other intermediate go books (such as Tesuji or Life & Death) it is not damaging to read it all in one sitting.

This book is well known in the GO community and I strongly recommend it.

This book is an endless source of information. As you get better at go, you get more and more out of it. When I first started playing, I learned little from the book but I did learn valueble basic tactics such as the net and the ladder and so forth. Later, I learned useful tesujis and opening strategies. After putting the book down for about 3 months, and as my skill increased, I went over it again and found more useful info including a generaly good attitude towards go.

I suggest this book to anyone who wants to keep playing go. It may not be useful at the time you get it, but keep skimming through and I gaurantee you will find useful information along the way.

I personally find this book very useful (at least for myself, but I believe as well for many of you guys). It is especially true if you read it the second and the third time. When I review my own game, I can find out a lot of mistakes which Kageyama has mentioned in the book. (Like forget to struggle to go ahead) There is a Go competition during summer, and I have just finished this book the third time. Some of the tesuji in the book is very useful.

I guess it will be good to learn the basic rule of the Go game and then play for a while. (may be a hundred game), then start reading this book. Then you can get the most out of it. (I believe Kageyama himself has suggested us to play for many games to get the feeling first. He mentioned player usually meet barrier at around 11-13kyu, 5-6kyu and 1-2kyu. So I guess if one train up to around 15kyu and then start reading this book, it will be very useful. And then review the book once a while. Get the fundamental idea in your mindset. And you will find Go even more interesting

Kageyama packs the book full of useful instruction, given in a chatty style with the occasional self-deprecating humour. While not a book for the absolute beginner, he surprises many readers by starting with ladders. But he shows that they are excellent training for reading (calculating) ability which also builds self-confidence during a game.

The book also covers strategic principles, typical endgame play (and a common mistake by handicap takers), josekis (corner openings).

Of course, in such a game full of complex possibilities, books can't solve everything. For example, I presume it requires experience way beyond his book to know whether a move is "proper" or "slack".

With his no-nonsense style, and quick wit, Toshiro Kageyama takes you thorugh 'the basics' of Good Go. Go, like mathematics, is a language (one of its many names is literally translated as 'handtalk'). Here, Kageyama is teaching us how to spell.

We are provided with easy-to-follow instruction and guided problems in chapters on Life and Death, Ladders (including spiral ladders); Territory and Spheres of Influence; How to study Joseki; Good Shape and Bad; Endgame Pointers; and my favorite, Tesuji (snap-backs and the like).

Kageyama also gives us a general feel for how the stones 'move' on the board, and the direction of play. These Lessons, and his writing style, combine with anecdotes from his professional career and television appearances to make this a wholly enjoyable book.

More on his style: The effect of Kageyama's writing is as if he's right there with you; very conversational. He will encourage and support, but he will also slap your hand if you are not paying attention. Make no mistake, his sole intention is that you express yourself, get better, and have fun along the way.

Beginners around 20 kyu and below:
You may want to concentrate on learning the alphabet, so to speak. But you should know that this book has some very simple 'words'. As soon as you feel comfortable playing on a 19x19 board, then find this book.