Animal Books

My kids always loved this, so I bought it for my niece's little girl. She loves it too.

This is a wonderful story! My mom brought it back from Australia for my daughter and ever since it has been one of her favorites and a bed-time staple! It tells the story of Koala Lou who enters a Bush Olympics competition to win her mother's affection. She trains really hard, but she doesn't win. In the end, her mother lets her know that she loves her, win or lose, just because she exists, exactly how I love my daughter. I would recommend this to anyone.

Koala Lou is another great Australian wildlife character picture book. First published back in 1988 in Australia this classic has more than stood the test of time. Since then generation after generation of grandparents, parents and friends of the parents of an only child have purchased this educational tale given to a child before the first sibling arrives to explain to them the fact that the new arrival will no doubt get most of the attention they used to get but that doesn't mean that they are loved any less. Possum Magic (Voyager Books) is probably the most famous of Mem Fox's work in Australia but the great universal message of Koala Lou has probably made it more famous around the world. I know many people here in Australia who have sent this to their friends overseas having a second kid as it combines great pictures of Australian animals to teach them about the wildlife here as well as the living the future vicariously through Lou lesson.

The basic plot of Koala Lou is that when Koala Lou is born everybody (all the other Australian animals) adore her as she is soft and round. Her mother tells her over and again every day Koala Lou I Do Love You. As the years pass she gets older the natural fussing over her by other animals decreases, during this time her mother has just given birth to at least five other joeys (baby koalas) so naturally the majority of her attention is spent on Lou's younger siblings. Lou misses the attention and wants her mother to love her again pinning for her to tell her she loves her like she used to. Lou comes up with a plan to enter the Bush Olympics as her mother will no doubt love her again when she is a sporting champion. Of course not everything goes according to plan and the affection from her mother has never demised as Lou believes. The ending is granted, very predictable but you wouldn't get the message you are looking for if it wasn't.

This is a good book not only for the child but to have those friends and relatives who are no doubt going to fuss over a new baby read as well, just to remind them to not ignore existing children when their are new arrivals.

Other great Australian wildlife fiction picture book classics for kids by Mem Fox you should check out are Possum Magic and Hunwick's Egg. By other authors Sebastian Lives in a Hat by Thelma Catterwell or Wombat Stew by Marcia Vaughan and the entire Steve Parish story book collection by Rebecca Johnson such as The Cranky Crocodile are also great reads. Olga the Brolga and Edward the Emu although not the best stories have some greatest illustrations of Australian wildlife you will ever see.

As others have noted here before, this book is delightful! It's a great read for a child whose family is growing and may feel uncertain about where she fits into her mother's life and love. I bought this book years ago simply because I love the illustrations by Pamela Lofts, but when my sister found out she was pregnant with her second child I knew it would be a great story to share with her first son. Lofts' color pencil artwork is reason enough to buy this book--pair that with the work of master storyteller Mem Fox and you can't lose.

I had this book back when I was in college and studying to be a teacher. Recently my daughter started Kindergarten and her teacher read this book to all of the parents at back to school night. It brought tears to my eyes and I went home and ordered a new copy for my daughter. Mem Fox is one of my favorite children's authors and this book is a very touching story about a little Koala who is looking for her mother's continued love and affection.

My 5 year old son & 18 month old daugher adore this book. They each have the opportunity to play with a different room at the same time - no pushing or shoving to get closest to the book as they sit in a circle around the opened book/house. The only thing I wish it came with was something to hold all the small pieces, like a plastic bag with a slide lock on the back cover (I got the idea to make my own too late). We've lost many of the pieces, but this book still hasn't lost it's charm. My kids love to put Maisey to bed at night in her bed & it even helped with my son's nightime routine when he was potty training b/c it has a bathroom complete with a toilet & toilet paper.

This book/playhouse is great and so cute but too detailed for my two year old. I should have paid attention to the age suggestion. If you have a 4 year old +, it would be very entertaining and fun.

I would have bitten my little finger off to have this as a child. I love this, very surprising with all the attention to detail and the sheer amount of things to look at and do in this toy/book. I've paid more for plain books. I immediately went on line to purchase a couple more, because I was so afraid that things would get ruined or lost and then I wouldn't be able to purchase it any more, and I want my daughter to have it for a while (19 months old now, and she's just still a little too rough with the paper). Really fun !

My daughter loves this book. It is a great activity book and keeps her entertained for long periods of time, due to the "playhouse" pop ups. So very cute too. It even comes with a paperdoll Maisy that she can move around from "room" to room. The details are great too...drawers and doors open and there is even a toilet seat. This is a great buy for children who love Maisy!!

All the children I work with love this book(pre-school age). They are engaged for extended periods of time in pretend play. Also a wonderful educational tool in which to elicit important vocabulary.

A key book(toy) to that should be in every a child's home.

This is an amazingly detailed book with many examples of the evidences of our four-footed friends sharing this space with us. The author shares stories from tracking experiences, many, many photos of homes, marks on trees, scat, tracks and anything else that helps identify what was there before you. Our hikes are much more interesting now as we look at the damaged bark of trees and marks on the paths. Our friends are impressed with the knowledge we share that we have learned from this book. We highly recommend it!

I very much enjoyed this book. The author goes into painstaking detail of many many animals (probably some you've never heard of). Not only are the tracks explained, but the possible gaits of each animal, along with the most likely ones are given great attention. There are even sections given to animal scat, what each animal eats, what claw marks might look like and one of my favorites: how to identify predators and prey from kill sites.

This book will remain the standard to the lay person and advanced tracker for quite some time (or at least until wild animals all have GPS embedded in them).

Kudos!

This book has very clear pictures and descriptions. It is a great guide to help you identify tracks and scat when you are in the mountains. It is a great resource to use when you see tracks or scat and want to know what animal left them.

Great book - very thorough collection of mammal tracks and more. Very much worth the money.

This book has great photos of scat, prints, and other animal sign. I was able to use it to definitively identify otter scat on my property. Information is grouped by type of sign, so all the scat pictures are together, for example, and those are subdivided by how they look (pellets, amorphous, etc.). For many animals there are several examples of scat showing what you might see if the animal had been eating berries, or meat, or whatever. In addition to the photographs are drawings and scale data, and other information about animals and their habits. Though as you can tell, I mostly use it for scat identification.

This book is amazing! It is absolutely beautiful. The pages and drawings are breathtaking. My 2 year old son (just turned two) loves it and asks us to read it again and again.

I think the letters are perfectly easy to read and he now knows most of his alphabet. He knew several letters before but after having this book for only a week, he has learned almost all his letters and can call them by name.

He loves the "Shhhh" part at the end, in anticipation for the "Suprise- Happy Birthday!" All the different bugs keep his interest as well.

The book is written in a style that sounds so lyrical and flows beautifully. I would completely recommend this book for preschool learning and for simple enjoyment of hearing a nice story.

I received this book as a baby gift when my daughter was born. It was my favorite book to read her as an infant, she seemed mesmerized by the bright pictures even when she was only a few months old. The illustrations are bright and beautiful. Now as a toddler, she still loves to read it, making the "shhhh" motion and clapping and giggling at the "suprise" at the end. We own the board book version and even so our pages show a lot of wear. I think this book is so wonderful for babies that I have purchased several copies as baby gifts as well.

I will note, if you're looking for the perfect ABC book to teach your preschooler his/her alphabet, this probably isn't the book you want. The letters are a little curly-que and only capitol letters are shown. However, it a great book for introduction to the alphabet and is very entertaining for children. I also recommend purchasing the board book version on its own (not as part of the set). The board book is much sturdier and the books in the set are a bit more abbreviated in their illustrations--which to me are the best part of this series. Of course the hardcover version has paper pages, which is impractical for a toddler to whom this book is well-suited.

Wonderful book and highly recommended!

i bought this for my 14 month old daughter and she loves it!! although she is a fan of the miss spider tv show too. her big brother, 6 years old reads it to her which i love to see. it is colorful and not too big so i can take it in my bag when we go out and she can hold it herself. nicole

My kids love this engaging abc book. Its artwork is beautiful, and its bug theme is fun. My son learned the whole upper case alphabet (at the age of 3) just from having this book read to him (he wanted it again and again).

Even after almost three years, I still love to read and re-read these books to my girls. David Kirk's artwork is rich and deeply textured and the words are not your usual fare ("K" is for "Katydid"), roll of the tongue, and, in my experience, pique children's interest -- I particularly love introducing my girls to "hummingbirds hide inside irises" and "jumping june bugs kiss katydids" His books are where poetry meets art for the under five set. Added plus: I get a break from chanting "Brown, Bear"! For this alone I am grateful.

I bought this book for my 5 year old son. He is a die hard dinosaur fan. He loves it. The pictures in it are magnificent! The information is in laymens terms. You don't have to be a scientist to understand the content. There are tons of dinosaur pictures. Definately one of my sons favorite dino books!

I bought this book for my son, and he LOVES it. It has so much information and great pictures it keeps him busy for hours!

See all my reviews of dinosaur books.

"National Geographic Dinosaurs" is aimed perfectly at the new student (aged 8-12). It's illustrations are vivid and the information is well-pitched. The only problem is this book was originally published in 1999 so feathers don't appear on dinosaurs like Therizinosaurus or the dromeosaurs. This edition was reprinted in 2006, and unfortunately there are still no feathers.


At almost 200 pages in length, there are thicker books. However, with 120 pages dedicated to dinosaur profiles, there are enough dinosaurs to satisfy the new student.

Typically, there are a series of chapters that provide a context, followed by the dinosaur profiles. "Nat Geo Dinosaurs" contextual chapters include 'What is a Dinosaur?'; 'The Age of the Dinosaurs' - info on the Mesezoic era and other creatures - marine and flying; 'Dinosaur Sites'- key fossil sites; 'Discovering Dinosaurs'; 'Reconstructing Dinosaurs'; 'Dinosaur biology and behaviour'; 'How they Lived' - maternal instincts, hunting and fighting, arms and armor, diet, size and weight, movement; 'Classification' with flowcharts. Overall, these chapters hold-up reasonably well with other similar books, especially the classification pages. After the profiles there are chapters on extinction and dinosaur films.

The book then goes into genus profiles (usually of one page per dinosaur, sometimes two) of the bird-hipped dinosaurs for 50 pages then the lizard-hipped dinosaurs for another 60 pages. Each of these pages contains a Fact File with a grid showing the size of the dinosaur against a 6 foot man. Included in the Fact File is: Genus; Classification; Length; Weight; (When it) Lived; and where it was found (with a world map). Also included is a colour illustration of the dinosaur in a profile pose. The information is generally 3 to 4 paragraphs long and is very basic science. Normally there is information on distinguishing features and some comparison with cousins. Unfortunately, single dinosaurs are not covered in detail; it is only the genus - so if you are looking on the Tyrannosaurus page, you wont find anything on each of the tyrannosaurs (like Albertosaurus or Tarbosaurus). What you get is pretty much T.rex disguised as a generalised tyrannosaur.

Where I really think the book falls down is in it's interpretations of dinosaur behaviour and adaptations. There is quite a lot of information presented as fact when it is pure speculation. Also, there isn't any balance in arguments. For example, the profile on Carnotaurus states when mentioning its short snout 'that it could have got twisted and bent, particularly in struggles with large animals' suggsting that 'Cartnotaurus did not often attack animals of the same size or larger than itself, as its skull could not withstand such forces'. This is only providing one side of the argument (and the weaker side at that). There is currently strong debate about the diet of Carnotaurus due to the argument of how strong its jaws actually were, and whether it hunted in packs. I prefer information that is more balanced like the more accurate "The Kingfisher Illustrated Dinosaur Encyclopedia" by David Burnie. The information in "Nat Geo Dinosaur", however, is way more realistic than Gee and Rays "A Field Guide to Dinosaurs", but not as adequate as Parker's "Dinosaurus" which has individual species profiled.

Overall, I do "The Kingfisher Illustrated Dinosaur Encyclopedia" by David Burnie over this book due to its superior information, and perhaps "A Field Guide to Dinosaurs" by Gee as the illustrations are more up to date.

We bought this for my five year old nephew who LOVES dinosaurs. He can read pretty well on his own and has enjoyed flipping through this book, reading and looking at the pictures. My husband also thought this book was awesome and wished he had had more time before Christmas to read this book before wrapping it up for our nephew!

I bought this for my grandchildren for Christmas and they loved looking through it. Beautiful pic's and fun to read together.

I bought this book for my wife and daughter's and they enjoyed it very much, the way it was written and layed out.

Fabulous book, I've bought it several times, makes a great gift for my horse loving friends and for myself.

This book is a great book! The best one I have ever read. It makes you laugh, cry, everything. It was just an all around great book! I am really happy that GaWaNi Pony Boy made this amazing book about the connection of women and horses. Its nice to finally find a book and be able to read it and see that finally their are other women out there that understand the same relationships and love for horses as I do, I couldnt put it down. I HIGHLY reccomend this book to an one who LOVES horses!!

I bought this book as a gift for my youngest daughter who shares the love of horses with me. The photos are gorgeous. The essays of these horse women are beautifully written, full of imagery and delve into the spirit of women's connection with these magnificent animals. I highly recommend this book to collect and cherish.

It's about time, GaWaNi has done it again. I laughed, I cried and felt deeply for many of the women in this incredible book. I first heard about it when I saw him on Larry King Live with Bo Derek, Terry Ventura and Chaia King (the latter two are actually in the book) and thought it might be an interesting read.....I have this on my coffee table and come back to it time and time again. What's nice about the format of this book is you can read one or two of the essays, and come back to it later - a very convenient read, and nice to go with whatever mood I happen to be in - (and ladies, we know we have many) you will find a story to go with every one!
I've had several friends try to make off with it - but told them to get their own! Beautiful artwork and a gorgeous layout make this pleasing to the eye, and the thoughts and words will move your heart.
I heard a rumor that he's put out another one, can't wait!

This is a great heartwarming story for families at Christmas. I can't recommend it enough!

It strengthened the Christmas atmosphere in my classroom. My grade two and three students were intrigued by the introduction of Olive and a new team of reindeer. The use of humour combined with suspense and adventure captured the attention of every child in the classroom. It had everyone reading!!! A teacher`s dream. A story for children and adults of the twenty first century. Keep it up Michael

I have this book and I love it. It's a fun book for all ages. The story is unique and cute and I wouldn't be surprised to see it made into a movie someday like Rudolf.

This is a beautiful little book with a captivating heroine. "Olive" is written in a style which will appeal to children and adults alike, and the illustrations are delightful. It is time for a new Christmas story, and my hat's off to Michael Christie for producing one that I'm sure will become a classic. My nieces in England loved it!

My 7 year old son and I just finished reading Olive, the Orphan Reindeer. What a delightful story. Each year we read The Night Before Christmas, The Christmas Carol, or Rudolph The Red Nose Reindeer, it was nice to discover a new title to add to our holiday reading. The press release stated that this book was geared toward the age group 9-12. My 7 year old read this book with ease and understanding. I agree with Michael, this book is for anyone who believe in Christmas.

Good Job, Are there other books available by this author?

My 2 1/2 year old toddler loves this book since she was less than a year old. The rhyming captures her attention when she was younger, and now she loves to count with us. It's catchy, and cute with wonderful illustration; fun read for mom and dad too. The board book ironically has lasted through her teething phase, so it will need to be replaced for her little sister.

My almost-three year-old can't go to sleep without having this book read to him at least twice. Not only does it teach you numbers and how to count, it shows you not to be afraid of silly monsters! The rhymes are clever and the illustrations so fun and detailed you'll find something new to point out almost every time--and it's always good for a laugh. This is one of the few books that I can stand to read to my son as often as he wants to hear it.

After reading this board book edition and then comparing the board book to the paper edition that has been much loved, I verified that the current board book edition is incomplete. Thus, I would recommend purchasing the paperback edition as the board book edition stops short and is not fulfilling in its prose. This incomplete board book printed edition is especially irritating when reading to intelligent children who have memorized the complete story and expect that the adult regurgitate it completely.

Me and my 2 1/2 year old boy just LOVED this book. He is very much into numbers and has been counting for a few months, so I got this book for him. It's one of the few books he sits for through the whole story. He especially loves the page for "four" ;).

It is also good for his older brother, who is in kindergarden and learning how to read / spell the number words.

Our toddler loved this book for months-- and I never tired of reading it. The pictures are terrific, the rhyme fun and it also helps encourage counting and number sense skills. We give it a thumbs-up!

K.T.S

As soren suddenly realises that Ezylrybe is missing. so he and the band go leave and search for him. this book is very exciting because Soren and The band go searching for Ezylrybe and go searching everywhere for him.

Ezylryb had been missing for months. Soren along with the rest of the weather chawgo out into a storm. While they are out in the storm Soren's friend Martin is sucked into the hurricane but he is luckly saved by a sea gull. The chaw waits out the storm on the Peninsula of the Spirit Woods while they are there Soren sees the ghosts of his parents. The ghosts warn Soren to stay away from an owl called Metal Beak. The chaw goes back to the Great Ga'Hoole tree the next day. Soren asks the smith Bubo about Metal Beak. Bubo tells Soren to go to the Rogue Smith of Silverveil. Soren and his group of friends go to her her and she tells them that Metal Beak lives in a castle on the boarder of Ambala and Kuneer. The gruop go to the castle and find out that there was aa devils triangl some wheer that could harm all the animals in Ambala.

Book Three, The Rescue, is one of my favorite books in the entire series. I couldn't stop reading and finished the book in one day. I would highly recommend this series to anyone who loves novels where good triumphs over evil.

Alexandra

I am really excited about this series! It is one of those books that you get a really satisfied feeling when you've finished it, but at the same time you are craving more. Before I picked up these books I thought practically nothing of owls. Now I know tons of facts I'd never thought of before,and have a whole new outlook about them. though this series is made up of 8 books, the books in this series are kinda short (especially the third one) but I still enjoy reading them. There were parts in the first book where I felt kinda bored, but as with all good series it takes a while for the plot to unfold. In some ways this book was kinda predictable (like I knew metal beak was soren's brother) but the mood also took on a mysterious air. One of my favorite things about this book is how well the characters are developed. Soren:leader Gylfie: practical, yet enjoys big words Digger: deep thinker Twilight: boastful yet true
In a way this series also reminded me of two other of my favorite series. First, the redwall series (except for the way mice and other rodents are now prey) and second, the warriors series. If you like animals and adventure, then all three series are definately for you

This was the best book I've ever read in my entire life, because it had a lot of action as well as being mixed with mystery. The characters made me feel as if I were a part of the story. I could envision myself actually flying with them or living with them. If you like owls and suspense this IS the book for you. Can't wait to read 4 & 5.

Laughed so much reading the first Tantamoq book that I started reading parts to my family--then we all realized this author reads better out loud anyway. Ordered the whole series from Amazon, but unfortunately they seem to be sold out of the 3rd in the series (another printing? hint hint). May have to go on to the 4th skipping the 3rd.

Cute adventure/mystery featuring the watchmaker turned amateur sleuth mouse, Hermux Tantamoq. Very lively story with plenty of action, suspense, and humor. This would be a great read-aloud. Although obviously the second book in the series, it wasn't too difficult to jump right in and follow Hermux on his adventures. I didn't feel like I was missing too much by not reading the first one yet. Recommended.

This was a cool book about the watch fixing mouse, Hermux Tantamoq! It is the second in a series about him, but it's just as good as the first book(which doesn't happen very much)and I loved it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It all starts when Mirrin Stentrill, puts on an artshow in the museum. When Mirrin was blind, she saw many visions and so when she recovered from her blindness, she decides to paint pictures of what she saw when she was blind. But it turns out that the pictures she paints are cats- a word no one likes to use in the city of mice and rodents. Then along comes Birch Tentintrotter, an old chipmunk, a friend of Hermux's father. He tells a secret to Hermux; a secret no one knows about, and about a map he had found in a library years ago. Birch believes that cats really did exist. To prove that, Hermux, Birch, and their friend, Linka Perflinger, set off on a journey to the Kingdom of Cats. On their journey, Hermux and his friends uncover the evidence that cats once had mice as slaves. Now, Hermux doesn't know if he's doing the right thing to find the whole truth about them.
Michael Hoeye describes all his characters and the scene very carefully and really well. I like the way he gives a personality to a character and he sticks with it. He doesn't mix Hermux and Mirrin's personality together. It's just Hermux. And it's just Mirrin.
I really enjoyed this book because of the great journey that Hermux and his friends went on. It was so exciting and I really loved how Michael Hoeye made me want to keep reading more and more!

Hermux Tantamoq, a distinguished mouse who lives in the heavily populated city of Pinchester, is sailing through life day in and day out, in his watchmaking shop, until one day, an old, weather worn chipmunk missing an ear stops by, says his name is Birch Tentintrotter, and he would like to speak to Mr. Tantamoq seinor. Hermux's father had passed away five months ago, and no friend of his from college would look like that old wreck!
Meanwhile, Hermux's friend Mirrin Stentril's first art show is causing tremendous uproar. She's been painting CATS!!! Everyone (the hamsters, mice, ferrets, squirrels etc.) knows they're not real, right? Well Hermux, Birch and aviatrix Linka Perflinger are out to prove those art critics wrong!
Michael Hoeye combines detail, vocabulary and suspense in this stunning sequel to Time Stops For No Mouse, proving never to overlook history, even if you are afraid.