Boards Books

Nikki McClure's partial alphabet book perfectly encapsulates my experience of being a mother and an artist. You start off with a grand scheme, and only part of it ever comes to fruition before the baby wakes up, snacks need to be offered, etc etc etc. It's a lovely little bon-bon of a book, with very sweet images.

At 2 months old, my daughter loves this book more than any other. The high contrast, primarily black and white images appeal to her - she'll stare at the same page for a minute or two (no other book in our baby library can claim that!) and seems to have a definite preference for certain images. Very cool little book! I hope there is an O-Z sequel coming soon. Nikki - are you listening?

A huge fan! Happy to see childrens books. They are thoughtful and so beautiful. The first time I read it I was so dissapointed it ended at N.
I wanted to see more pictures... a sequel perhaps!?

THE alphabet papercut book. This is a board book that shows letters of the alphabet, each one with an adventure showing a baby exploring some part of the world. If you need a gift for children -Awake to Nap- is highly recommended. The artist created the papercuts while her son was napping. Nikki McClure comes from a background as one of the more prominent visual artists involved with record labels in the early nineties. The blurbs describing her work as emboding the 'fiercely independent fire that fueled the passion and creativity of that time period' are sustantial. This little book is a real find.

I bought this book because I am a fan of Nikki McClure's art. I attempt to purchase her calendar every year but sometimes I'm too slow and miss it This year I got smart and ordered it a couple of months ago along with this book.
I was expecting the book to be more for me, however, my 1 year old adores it. She signs "again" when we're done reading and I have to start over again, and again...
The art work is lovely and the words are very soothing. My daughter especially loves the "K- Kale Kiss" and kisses the book at this part.
Well done. I'm also sad when it ends (like I'm guessing my daughter is) if only life hadn't gotten so busy we might have the whole alphabet. But I guess we'll settle for, "Awake to Nap" and keep reading it again, and again...

A wonderful way to enhance your child's vocabulary by browsing through this clever and colorful picture book together. Filled with delightful pictures of children riding on things that that they are familiar with, it provides a fun way to converse with your toddler.

This book was a lot of fun for my nephews. They really liked the bright colors and the different types of transportation.
I would recommend the book for anyone that has a small child that likes to "read" their own books.

This book is a great addition to any new or new again mother, grandmother, great grandmothers, aunts, baby sitters, or anyone else who has a toy box!! This is a book that is easy for toddlers to grasp and mine chewed but stays in great shape! I take it everywhere, with the bright colors and the perfect size, my daughter can look at babies all day! Even my kindergarten age daughter loves to read it becasue it is a great accomplishment to say she finished a book and she is learning concepts too! I obviously love this book and I know you will too!

Author, Sandra McGinty, is a mom, and you can tell. This book is both colorful and sturdy; perfect for a toddler! They can't tear it up! Which means they can enjoy it for a very long time, and as they learn to read simple words, it will continue to be a prized children's book. I love that it shows a variety of ethnic origins and it is written in a simple, playful, loving style. It's a fun book and one that can withstand a busy toddler.

This is a cute book. A friend gave it to my 3-year-old son as a gift and he loves "reading" it. He loves the photos of the babies and toddlers in it. He especially likes the page where the little boy is driving a car. I would recommend this book highly.

I like this book. My infant likes to feel the different textures. I had one like it when my girls were small that was better but I can't find it. I do like this book and feel that it is important for any baby to know different textures. This is a great BUY!

Ordered these books for my 11 mo. old granddaughter.
They are great and I think she will love them,
as her favorite game is Peek-A-Boo!

Although my two year old is not really into 'baby' books anymore, she still loves the occasional touch-and-feel book, and this has been one of her favorites.

My 18 month old son loves, loves, loves this book! We read it at least once during the day, if not more! He enjoys stroking and kissing the various textures on the animals, and the high-contrast illustrations really hold his attention. It just makes for a sweet story-time when we go through the book kissing all of the animals, and then at the end, we add a big kiss for Mama!

I bought this book for my daughter when she was just a few months old. Now that she is two she still periodically drags it out for me to read to her. Each page features a different adult animal and baby animal kissing with a touch and feel component to the page. After I read the simple text on each page I lavish my own kisses on my daughter which makes her laugh. This book gives you a great excuse (like you really need one) to kiss your own little one.

A fun book for little ones. They enjoy the cat and trying to find him.

This book is really cute. It has an actual photo of baby cat Nicky that is repeated in neat ways and my daughter has fun discovering how he is incorporated into the artwork. The book teaches numbers in a clear and fun way and the rhymes on each page are really catchy. Overall the book is just really fun and one of my daughter's absolute favorites!

Nicky, you, your counting book and jazz lullabies cd are number one with me and my three little nephews. Thanks for helping me during my first babysitting effort with them! We acted out your 123 book with swinging, sliding, counting, and bopping amidst lots of fun and laughing. Then, we relaxed with your wonderful selection of jazz lullabies that calmed us all many times throughout the day.

Although we are a little past childbearing years, grown-up children from our and friends' families are having babies of their own. What can we give them that is beautiful, worthwhile, AND distinctive? Carol Friedman's latest additions to her "Nicky the Jazz Cat" collection are absolutely perfect gifts for a spectrum of occasions - showers, birthdays, holidays, or "just because." Created as a prequel to the award-winning "Nicky the Jazz Cat" originals, "Nicky's Jazz Lullabies" and the introductory counting book "Baby Cat Nicky 123" are just as charmingly and thoughtfully conceived for very young children. Three preschool teacher friends have raved about the suitability and creativity of these new items. The colors and graphic design, the perky appeal of the kitten, and the clever use of simple rhymed wording in "Baby Cat Nicky 123" promise repeat readings. The tender, gentle nature of the musical selections rendered by distinguished jazz artists on "Nicky's Jazz Lullabies" assures that wee listeners' dreams will indeed be sweet. Carol Friedman deserves a place in the pantheon of contemporary children's literary VIPs for sharing memories of a beloved pet as well as honoring jazz artists who have contributed so generously to America's unique musical genre.
Marilyn and Warren Clark

On behalf of the jazz cats in our home (a quartet), Baby Nicky deserves snuggles and pets for showing little ones how much fun counting to ten can be when it's lively and colorful. Nicky's sleek black coat and inquisitive yellow eyes look very cool with the lavender, pink, and aqua color scheme. His "mom" Carol Friedman helps him encourage kids to practice those numbers many times over through her irresistible book that's just their size. Baby Nicky meows, plays, jumps, peeps, hides, rides, slides, leads everyone into a circle to sing, steps out and swings, hops to the top, jams and be bops, skips, runs, and claps. And then, he's ready for a catnap to his favorite CD, Nicky's Jazz Lullabies (also available on Amazon). He and his young friends can drift off to warm and soothing ballads, musical nursery rhymes, and children's songs by some of the finest jazz artists ever. Baby Cat Nicky 123 lays all-important groundwork for Nicky the Jazz Cat's later learning adventures with some terrific jazz mentors, leading to his own success as a multi-instrumentalist and singer. After all, music is all about counting! This is a really innovative, well-woven concept for little ones, with delightful artwork, text, and music!
It's purr-fect in every way!
Warren (Chet, Lily, Maynard, and Ginger's dad)

I didn't know that there were other books like this one until coming to Amazon. Now I'll have to get the others, too! My kids love this book! The bright sparkly paper really attracts their attention. And the text and lenghth is just right for the toddler age set. The round faced, smiling girl in the book always make my kids smile right back at her.

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.

Along with the other three books in the series, my 18 month old daughter has this one. She likes all four, but this one is probably my favorite. This book; along with the others, is so colorful and bright that it captures my daughters attention. The text is simple so it's just enough for her to sit through. I highly recommend all four books.

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

This book as well as Helen Stehpens other books are fantastic. They are the best books we've got to read to our baby. They have great colors and short and simple tales. My 6 1/2 month old pulls this one out of her toy chest among all her other toys.

This book is very cute and lots of fun. My son never quite got into sitting down and reading it together as an infant, but he loves to play with it on his own now as a toddler.

My 15 month old daughter loves to look at books, and this one is her favorite. The parts to touch are big, and fluffy and easy to see. This is the second copy of this book we have bought. She has almost wore out the first one. Not because it has a bad binding, but because she has played with it so much, it's wearing out. We keep the old copy in her diaper bag, so she has it while she is in the nursery at church. We have some of the other touch and feel books from the same company, and this one is by far the best.

This and Zoo's Who? have been among my 1-yr old's favorites for a few months now. She loves to feel the various textures, she's learning the animals, and the large format is fun for her to manipulate. The graphics are simple and colorful and hold her attention, and there's not too much on the page for her to absorb. I like this a skosh better than Zoo's Who because it's easy to make all the farm animal noises to accompany the pictures, which makes her laugh, and which she tries to mimic. Much better than the DK touch-n-feel books.

We received this book as a shower gift. My girlfriends had everyone bring a book to start our twins book collection. And can I share with you how much they both love it! The book was such a BIG hit, I actually had to buy a new one already. Sarah & Zachary, now 13 1/2 months actually fight over the book. When it's quiet and we can't find them watching BABY EINSTEIN videos or playing, we can always find them pulling books from their bookshelf.

We also bought Who's Zoo too by the same author! Also a big hit with the duo. They still fight over books but they both have one now. These books are great for little hands to feel different textures. Each page has a short paragraph with bold pictures to touch. Books are one of the best gifts for a child!

When my mom got this book for my daughter, I did not think much of it. One day I read it to my 6 month old daughter and it is now her favorite book. We read it every night. It is really the only book that we have that she gets excited over. Now that she is a little older (8 Months), she now pets the animals in the book and always gets really excited when it comes out. It is her favorite one. The pictures are fun for her to look at and she loves to copy us petting the animals in the book.

This book holds the attention of my one year old son. He really enjoys touching all of the animals while we read.

I got this book for my son when he was six months old. He loved it right away! He still plays with it 6 months later! He loves feeling the different textures and looking at all the bright colors! This book is well worth the money.

This and Quack! Quack! have been among my 1-yr old's favorites for a few months now. She loves to feel the various textures, she's learning the animals, and the large format is fun for her to manipulate. The graphics are simple and colorful and hold her attention, and there's not too much on the page for her to absorb. Much better than the DK touch-n-feel books.

It is larger than other board books and pictures are great. My son prefers this one and also another Roger Priddy book, also has sound; "Bright Baby Touch, Feel and Listen: Puppy (Bright Baby)" . Boths are very good.

I had been looking for books to hold my 8 month-old's attention. The plain old board books didn't seem to do it. Enter the Roger Priddy books! They are really different. Our 8 month-old loves this book - it's larger than many board books and has large, beautiful photos of animals. Each animal has a texture she can reach out and touch. She gets really excited when she feels the fur, etc. I also like it because the "touch and feel" area is larger than most books I've seen. She reaches out for Roger Priddy books and prefers them over her whole basket full of toys! We also have Puppy Love, and I would also recommend the cloth books. We have Squishy Turtle and Snowy Bear and Friends, and are about to order the other 2 cloth books. You can go to www.priddybooks.com to see the insides of these books (I don't see interiors on Amazon). They're just adorable and the best toy OR book purchase I've made yet.

I have read this story to all 4 of my children almost every night for 10 years. Every one of my children loved it and my oldest now recalls it with fond memories. I purchased a copy to keep to read to my grandchildren one day.

My 18-month old daughter loves this book. We read this book every night before bed. It's a book that she can relate to, as she sees images that are similar to her and her world. I also like the fact that they include the African American father role. I highly recommend this book.

This is one of the sweetest little bedtime books for babies. It is short, with colorful pictures, and a nice rhythmical rhyme. It is one of a series featuring African-American families. But, like any good book, it is written for all colors! I applud the authors and publisher. If you cannot purchase it, find it in your library. This is a good book to introduce your baby to the world of reading!

My 18 month old son and I both love this book. I think he can really relate to the illustrations for several reasons. First of all, the characters, like his family and himself, are black people. Secondly, the book shows the family doing things that we do as a family such as reading, singing, giving the baby a bath, and giving the baby a good night kiss. This book reflects a normal, two parent family who have a lot of love for their child. What could be healthier?

Even though my daughter is only 15 months old, this is definitely one of her favorite books and has been since she was old enough to pick her own books out. The story is simple and short, teaching healthy family values. The pictures are bright, colorful and genuine. Each page has just a few lines which are all a young child can handle. And the book itself is constructed of sturdy hardboard, making it easy for her to turn the pages, just like in the story. She makes me read this story every night and appears to listen intently each time. I highly recommend it for even the youngest infants.

An excellent study of world-wide corporate "Best Practices" and real life. This book starts out with a review of best practices in use today, and a critique of them. It is fascinating to see the variations in thought and practice throughout the world. We are all trying to solve the same problem of transparency, corporate direction, and management oversight, but there are many different solutions.

Carter and Lorsch have studied corporations worldwide, and have been on many boards. Their background and research make for good reading, while their recommendations are quite insightful.

Very feasible practices and real life suggestions for an increasingly complex and risky job.
Since 1989's "Pawns or Potentates", this is the best book about director's activities.
I recommend this book: very focused and structured contribution for actual corporate board members around the world.

Back To The Drawing Board: Designing Corporate Boards For A Complex World addresses what expert professional consultant Colin B. Carter and Harvard Business School professor Jay W. Lorsch see as the greatest challenge facing corporate boards today -- that many national and international corporate boards are composed of member with limited knowledge of the companies they must be responsible for, and too little time to make even the most crucial decisions. Recommending a major corporate board of directors redesign based on experience and a "what works" approach, Back To The Drawing Board offers methodologies that can be customized for each unique corporate board of directors to the benefit and bottom-line profitability of the corporation and all who serve it. Back To The Drawing Board is a strongly recommended revolutionary analysis with emphasis on practical needs and reasonable expectations.

Back to the Drawing Board will be of most value to those who have never sat on a Fortune 500 board or been present during the meetings of one. Much of the current concern about boards reflects a lack of understanding of how they operate. By reading this book, you will get a good sense of what the average and better boards are doing . . . and what their continuing problems are. A unique resource in the book is a survey of 150 CEOs around the world concerning their perceptions of how to improve boards. Although the total is too small to be statistically meaningful, the directional evidence will help many to see what the most glaring issues are.

A second audience for this book will be independent chairs of boards and chairpeople/CEOs who want to improve the effectiveness of the boards.

A third audience for the book will be neophyte directors getting ready for their first meeting.

A fourth audience for the book will be those who want to improve governance practices through legislation and regulation.

As a management consultant who is often asked to speak with public boards about shareholder perceptions of company management, strategy and performance, I found the material accurately reflected my experiences. Boards are overwhelmed, overscheduled, undereducated and often uncoordinated in addressing key concerns of the enterprise and its stakeholders. I had no disagreement with any of the descriptive materials that begin the book. They are valuable addition to the literature. If the book stopped there, it would have been an excellent book.

The prescriptions though that the book makes fall short of what is needed when you get past the idea of building a board and processes to fit the tasks appropriate for that board.

Here are some of the enormous issues relating to effective monitoring of a company's performance (the minimum standard for the board) that the book fails to adequate address:

Is the CFO capable of knowing whether the company is under control and operating honestly and ethically? Most CFOs are chosen for their legerdemain with accounting to make the EPS work out.

Is the CFO telling the board what is really going on in the company? Most CFOs would be fired by the CEO if they did.

Notice that until recently no director in the company needed to know anything about finance or accounting. With Sarbannes-Oxley, one person does. Big deal! Most companies could use several ex-CFOs on their board to deal with these issues.

What do the shareholders (and potential shareholders) think of the company's management, strategy, alternatives and performance? The authors suggest talking to security analysts. That's a waste of time. They just want to sell the company something. As a back-up the author suggest looking at the expensive economic analysis programs (such as sold by BCG, where Mr. Carter works). For a lot less money, you can just talk to shareholders and get regular reports on this. Many firms will do this for you at a very modest cost. In most organizations, the CEO knows less than anyone else about what is going on. Well, the board knows even less than the CEO. You have to get direct information from those you are supposed to serve, both institutional portfolio managers and individual investors.

How is the company actually performing versus competitors with customers, potential customers, desirable distributors, vendors, and in attracting top talent? There's no mention of that subject in the book (expect indirectly in suggesting that Balanced Scorecard companies share those measures with their board).

I could go on, but you can see that the prescriptions here are ones that reflect an incomplete understanding of how to inform a board and make it effective. You need someone who knows how companies work who can set up direct access to the cutting edge information that CEOs often do not go out and acquire themselves. They usually focus on meeting the budget. That's how they get their bonuses.

If a board follows what the authors suggestion, they will definitely make a lot of helpful progress. That's good. But will they be adequately fulfilling their responsibilities to monitor the company on behalf of the shareholders? Usually not. Only where they have a great CEO in place who wants to share information with them will they know what they need to know.

It's very disappointing to me that top experts like Mr. Carter and Mr. Lorsch cannot come up with better prescriptions than these after the round of awful collapses in corporate governance we have just experienced. Investors deserve better.

Carter and Lorsch have noted that "around the world, scandals and company failures have provoked a storm of criticism and well-meaning reforms. In response, a variety of 'best practices' have emerged, but can such ad hoc adjustments fundamentally change the capacity of boards to provide good governance?"

I attended a Forum for Corporate Director's meeting featuring Professor Lorsch from Harvard Business School - it was an outstanding morning filled with additional insights, confirmations, and new ideas concerning corporate governance. This excellent book extended that rewarding experience and will likely be a constant reference in my corporate governance work. Carter and Lorsch have extensive research (included in appendices) behind their suggestions for change in corporate boards. In a refreshingly clear writing style, they expose the gap between theoretical board design and the practical results of board design. Further, they acknowledge that these gaps cannot be closed completely, nor can they be legislated out of existence. Instead, as always, we must rely on the women and men who sit on boards to have a deep understanding of their mission, the boards mission, a commitment to integrity, and knowledge of the workings of their executive suite.

Back to the Drawing Board is laid out in a logical manner, and approaches this complex issue of properly designing boards in an equally logical manner. The face, head on, the issue of increased time and energy that will be required of new board members. The clearly address the issue of independent directors and squarely address the advantages and disadvantages of independent directors versus executive directors. They also address the concerns of the executive director who, in many respects is required to sit in judgment of her boss. Perhaps most refreshing is the concern that we not throw the baby out with the bath water, that we not think that Sarbanes-Oxley is the complete answer, and that we not expect a "one size fits all" board structure. Rather, we must do the hard work of defining a particular board's role, redesign accordingly, and rethink the processes, practices and policies of our decision makers.

This book is a must read for anyone involved in corporate governance whether they are on a board, aspire to be on a board, consult to those responsible for corporate governance or are a member of the "c" suite. Thank you Mr. Carter (of the Boston Consulting Group) and Professor Lorsch (Harvard Business School) for this excellent work.

$43.00 for this used book! are you kidding me?

this is a really cute book that has "grown" with my children. my 12 mo old loves to look at the book and the length is perfect for his attention span. my 3 yr old talks about the pictures. my 5 yr old was so proud to read it all by himself.

but $43.00 for this book!!!!!!! that is insane.

My twelve month old loves this book. It's the only one he sits still enough to hear.

Very very simple - but sweet - nice illustrations. It's not a favorite of my 21 month old, but he does still enjoy it, and brings it to be read sometimes

I purchased this one and the others in the Bean series for my 9 month old. She loves the illustrations, they are bright and colorful. I've been reading them to her nightly and she is now anticipating the next page and can recognize, the baby, and Bean. I highly recommend.

My eight month old daughter is very spoiled when it comes to books. she has a ton of them. But the only ones she seems to enjoy are these books. She tries to find bean on each page and she loves it when bean leaps and plays peak-a-boo. These books are a lifesaver on long trips to Grandmas house.