Animal Books

This is one of my family's favorite books! The rhyming is fun and easy for pre-schoolers to catch on to. My kids felt like they were a big part of the story by reciting the sounds of each animal - it also helped them by letting them feel like they were reading along with me. We've added a little of ourselves to the story too... I tickle them with the turkeys; we crow like the roosters; and we snap like the gators with our arms! The pictures aren't all that but for us... it's all about making it fun!

Some children's books are fun to read. Others are not. This one is fun and easy to read and my children really like it, and have liked it for a long time.

This book was such a disappointment given the promising title. There are two typos in my book and the fuzzy pictures are a poor attraction for kids I know who enjoy bright colors and sharp pictures. I loved the concept but the performance was weak.

We borrowed this book from the library, just something randomly picked, and my 22 month old daughter only wanted to read this one book for the whole week! and even after having it for 3 weeks she still wanted this book more than any others, and she loves books. so i ordered her one. we have had it for a few months now and it is still her favourite book. there are so many animals which i think makes it extremely interesting for many toddlers, and the rhyming, lilting way its written is very soothing. the illustions are just gorgeous--beautiful water colors in very bright and wonderful colors. A great book for a gift to a new mommy (i have several on hand now).

My son received this when he was born. He is now almost 3 and it is the one book that he consistently asks to read every night! I give it as a baby gift all the time now.

Mortimer is a mouse, living in a dark hole under the stairs. In his opinion, his hole is "too cold, too cramped, too creepy." One night, as he's sneaking around the big house looking for crumbs that the human family may have left behind, Mortimer finds what he thinks will be a perfect new home for him -- the stable in a Nativity scene. The excited mouse struggles to drag all the Nativity figures out of this stable, and he nestles himself down in the manger. The next day, as he's out prowling for crumbs, he comes back to find that someone has put the figures back into the stable! Annoyed, he drags them out again, and so it goes for several days, until one evening, Mortimer overhears the human father reading the Christmas story to his children, about how there was no room for them in the inn. The little Mouse realizes that the statue he has been dragging out of the manger each day is a statue of baby Jesus. Touched by the story, Mortimer decides that he wants to make room for the baby Jesus, and carefully puts all the figures back in their places. And in the end, Mortimer own prayer is granted. He finds a home that is just right for him!

So cute!!!! The story is so fun to read and my twin girls age 6 loved to listen to it. We all loved the pictures. This will be a favorite Christmas treasure for years!!

Mortimer's Christmas is a wonderful story about giving unselfishly and the birth of Jesus and it is told in a way even the younger children can enjoy. I read this during a Preschool Story Time at our library and several parents and grandparents asked where they could get copies. The illustations were great and the story moved along quickly. Karma Wilson has found a way to share the true meaning Christmas with the little ones.

My preschoolers sat quietly and eagerly waited to hear the whole story. An awesome story that brings in the real meaning of Christmas.

This is perhaps the most powerful story about the Nativity outside of the New Testament. Kudos to Karma for the way she crafted a simple yet elegant story about one of the most important events in history. And the art? Jane is splendid. This is an all-star team who have created one of the most wonderful children's books I've ever come across. I now have a gift for everyone I know with small children. Keep 'em coming!

My 4 years old love this book. You can find activities to do with your child, is very easy for them to understand.

All the books in the "If you give...." series are wonderful. My 2 year old granddaughter had four individual books (and often chooses them when picking a story for me to read to her); but my "out of town" granddaughter, who is 2 1/2, was not aware of them. I was going for a visit; so I bought Mouse Cookies, a collection of four of the books. What a fun surprise when she found a CD and many recipes that went along with the stories. I would recommend this book for 2-6 year olds - the characters are endearing to adults and kids and the stories are so much fun and encourage "memory" too. I play games with my 26 month old granddaughter when we go for a walk, by asking her, "If you give a mouse or pig or moose something, what will s/he want next?" She stops and thinks and usually comes up with the answer or will ask what it is. So much fun.

The only problem I have with this book is that if I sit down to read it to my 3 year old I have to read all four stories. :D She loves this book, and wants to read it all the time. The stories are adorable, and I love the illustrations and all the extras included in this book. It definitely gets a huge thumbs up from us.

This book is great, stories, activities. It is really several books in one and the Amazon price is great.

These stories are so cute, but this collection with songs and recipes is perfect. My 5-year old son received this for Christmas and he loves it.

Excellent. Having come from the 'nat.' horsemanship clinicianss, I found I was ready to know even more. Through the help of a new instructor who is 4th generation N. Calif. ranch (used to the vaquero ways) and who became appreciative of the Masters, I am starting a whole new exposure. It is wonderful! She rec'd this book and will add more as I go along. I am halfway into this book and already am realizing how much we can learn from our horses if we just slow down and pay attention to them and each one of their particular personalities and behaviours. It is teaching me even more respect. This instructor appreciates Ray Hunt but also the Masters and I'm not sure but I think she considers Ray Hunt up there in that category as well as Tom Dorrance (who was a neighbor when she was younger and a person whom she learned from as well.). I reccommend this book to every horse lover and rider. It to me is right up there in the classics for an adult just like the Black Stallion, Walter Farley books were right up there when I was a child. It is not as exciting as the Walter Farley books because it is not fiction, but it is a very worthy read. ~ Copperhorse 4 Fun

This is Colonel Podhajsky's story of his life, told in context of his relationships with his horses. Sometimes people tend to think that some of the currently popular "natural horsemandship" principles are either new, or apply only to western riding. However, Colonel Podhajsky talks in terms of true partnership and understanding with your horse from the perspective of classical European Dressage, and of course pre-dates the current popular "methods." Don't get me wrong, I am a fan of Pat and Linda Parelli, and feel that they, and others who are popular today, have done a lot to improve the lot of horses. They have also found a way to help the rest of us learn how to achieve the sort of relationships with our horses that Colonel Podhajsky describes in this book. This book is the story of a true master in every sense of the word. Don't miss it!!

This inspirational book is truly a classic, as are all of Podhajsky's writings. A timeless, enlightening book which should be read not only by dressage enthusiasts, but by all who are interested in the partnership between horse and rider.

Confused by all the hoopla around the "Natural Horsemanship" gurus these days? Find out what is the real thing by reading Alois Podhajsky's "My Horses, My Teachers." In fact, this book could be a sourcebook in Human Relationship, or Self-Help categories as well as any equine category. AP writes passionately about his relationships with his own gurus, the many horses who were lucky enough to cross paths with this kind, gentle, patient master of horsemanship. Reading this book one feels as if these stories are being told face to face with this beacon of horsemasters, sitting in his living room on comfortable couches. This is a must read for ANY horse enthusiast!

This is a intriguing book. An insight into to the man who managed to keep the Spanish Riding School going during World War II and convinve Patton to save the breeder stock at the end of the war. He speaks of the horses that he has riden and trained and what they have taught him! I have enjoyed the book, but some may find it a bit too intellectual. Those who ride, love horses or are interested in the behavior of horses will find this an most intersting and entertaining read!

This is one of my all time favorite picture books for all ages. Peter Spiers beautiful illustrations need no words to tell this story. The possibilities for interacting with a child are endless as you wander through the familiar and find the surprising! My granddaughter is 2 years old and loves animals. What could be a better birthday gift?

The happy and humorous tone of this book will make it appealing to any child, whatever the family's religion.

The only text is at the beginning and it is a charming translation of a poem that summarizes the story of Noah. The poem is delightful in and of itself- Spier did a great job of translating.

The illustrations are then left without text, which is very refreshing, since there are so few picture books nowadays. I enjoy leisurely paging through this book with my young daughter, talking about the pictures in and of themselves, as pieces of art and as pictures that tell a story. I feel that the pressure is off in terms of trying to finish a sentence or a story when there is no text there.

In addition, this book is appropriate for Muslim families as well, since the illustrations (and beginning poem) are sufficiently vague as to accommodate for the small differences in the telling of the story in the Qu'ran and the Bible.

My first Peter Spier book. Not saccharine, wonderful details (including Noah mucking out the ark). Great to have a child read to YOU.

This is an excellent picture book - my three year old really loves it. My only "complaint" is that it takes a long time to go through all the pictures and talk about each one making it less than ideal right before bed unless you want to spend 20 minutes on just one book! Seriously though - the book is just wonderful and allows parents to go into whatever level of detail regarding the Noah story as they feel is appropriate for the age of their child. It is a softcover and the pages and cover are not of the highest quality - it would be lovely to have in hardcover with larger pages.

This book really does not need any words. It is so well illustrated that you can understand every part of the story. His detailing is stunning. Every time we read this book, we find new details. This is the best book of Noah's ark story!

This is a huge book packed with information and gorgeous photography. There is plenty of science contained in these glossy pages from how the planets in our solar system formed, to the breakup and movement of our land masses to their current day positions, ocean currents, weather, ecology, glacial periods, and so much more. Most of the first half of the book is devoted to these subjects. The second half of the book gets into ocean life, from the smallest to the largest, how they live, feed, defend themselves. The pictures are breathtaking. This is a great educational book for all family members. Trust me, this one won't just sit around on your coffee table.

I recently sent this book to my younger sister who has inspirations of becoming an oceanographer. The book is so colorful and educational I think I want to become an oceanographer now!

This book is not a typical "coffee table" book. Although full of beautiful photographs, there is equal emphasis on educational text. Instead of being a book containing only full-page photos of ocean life, each page is a collage of wonderful photos and short articles that you will want to read. The publisher of this book (DK), offers a variety of books in this format (travel, etc), and the layout of this book is similar. That is not to knock the photos at all - they are great and some are full-page, but this book isn't page after page of full-page photos as some others are.

That said, this is an excellent educational text with so much interesting information to offer. (It made me want to read the book cover-to-cover, which would probably keep me busy for at least a few days!)

The four main sections of the book include:

Introduction
Ocean Environments
Ocean Life
Atlas of the Oceans

The Introduction section takes a scientific look at the earth. A sampling of the topics of this section include "The Evolution of the Oceans", "Tectonics and the Ocean Floor", "Hurricanes", and "El Nino and La Nina". Mixed in with the photos are a number of color drawings and graphs to help the reader understand the concepts.

The section on Ocean Environments includes articles on specific places like San Francisco Bay and Hardanger Fjord as well as general information on habitats such as Salt Marshes, Mangrove Swamps and Rocky Sea Beds. The pages are full of photos of the areas as well as typical species found there.

The largest section is on Ocean Life and focuses on the variety of creatures found in the sea. Exhibited within these pages are a number of amazing photos of plants and animals that I had not seen before (though I'm not an expert on this subject) including creatures such as the Glass Squid, the Blue-Ringed Octopus and the Goblin Shark. I thoroughly enjoyed the short paragraph articles describing unique aspects of the species shown as well as the longer texts on topics like "Echinoderms" that includes anatomy, reproduction, feeding and defense sub-articles.

The last section is Atlas of the Oceans and includes maps of the different oceans and text describing them.

Again, the focus of this book is learning, not just amazing photography, and it does an excellent job of offering a smorgasbord of articles on different topics. If you really want to learn about the ocean and its inhabitants while paging through fantastic photographs, you will thoroughly enjoy this book!

NOT 500 pages and if I had paused to read the item description properly I wouldn't have bought this book! Way too good a price to be true, it is not another edition of the wonderful Cousteau-forwarded book, but a perfectly respectable DK full-color children's book with many very nice color photos. Probably very worth $7.99 and I was just far too greedy to read the fine print.

I had been looking for a comprehensive ocean book for a while, and more or less found it here. A complete overview of the ocean: physical features, marine life, fishing, exploration - this book covers it all. Great photography and short pieces of information on hundreds of the ocean's species will immerse even the most casual terrestrial browser.

The species featured in this book are well distributed - representing all classes of animals and plants, and all zones and ocean communities, from the coastal to deep sea ecosystem. Their mini synopsis of species is proceeded by a helpful overview of the general category that covers them (such as mollusks: their basic anatomy, movement mechanics, feeding and life cycles for the entire group) before telling you about, let's say, the octopus. The bulk of the book is on ocean biota, with a smaller sections on ocean environments and an atlas of the oceans.

Perhaps the biggest gap I see in the book is that it covers fisheries and other human impacts (trash, pollution, warming, acidification) only minimally and sporadically. The human impacts are highlighted for only a few key species, instead of treating it as an separate issue in its own right that affects, directly or indirectly, all forms of marine life. Indeed, the subtitle for the book, "the world's last wilderness revealed," is misleading and biased. It's akin a travel brochure selling an overrun tourist destination like Waikiki as exotic and pristine ("come and watch the natives surf!" I read once somewhere) - given our massive interference with most of the ocean, the term "wilderness" simply does not apply, except perhaps for the Antarctic region, for now.

But what the book does cover, it covers it well, being both engaging and informative. Over 500 pages serve as a good introduction to our waterworld.

Besides the aspects other reviewers have praised (pleasingly simple storyline, beautiful illustrations, positive image of nursing), this is also a great new sibling book. The book does not explicitly address the baby's arrival or any sibling rivalry issues, yet it portrays a family successfully juggling two children. The parents take turns with various child care tasks, and everybody's needs are met -- what a warm image of how a new baby can be worked into a family's routines. My daughter (almost 3) enjoyed this book from the library several months ago, and now that she is a sister-to-be, we're buying our own copy. I want to prepare her for the baby's arrival, but I'm wary of overdoing it with new baby books; this subtle sibling book is a welcome addition to our collection.

I bought this book for my daughter because I heard it contained positive breastfeeding imagery. There is one page where the mother nurses the baby in a rocking chair. It is absolutely beautiful, as is the entire book. I was pleased to see the rural setting that reminded me of my own childhood. A gorgeous book for anyone, whether interested in the nursing scene or not!

This is a beautiful book that deserves to be named a classic. As a breastfeeding advocate I love that there is a picture of a breastfeeding Mama and baby in the book. From that same standpoint I am a bit frustrated that this is considered a book aimed specifically at promoting breastfeeding. As to not mislead a potential buyer, there is only ONE nursing picture in the book. The book is not about breastfeeding at all. It is about a sweet little cat that sees lots of amazing things as he travels through the night. With that said, each time a baby is shown breastfeeding instead of bottle feeding, the world comes that much closer to understanding that feeding a baby = nursing a baby. So for that I am eternally grateful to the author. On the whole this book is wonderful and is a favorite of mine and my children.

This book allows lots of room for discussion about "what the cat saw." My almost 2 year-old son has had us read this book over and over, ever since we got it. He loves to see the normal everyday things in the book and talk about what is happening---the little girl getting a bath, the baby nursing, the cow drinking water, etc. A great book to cuddle up with.

The illustrations make this book as the text is very simple and quite repetitive- the humans are busy with the family, but the cat pays attention. The cat watches a rain storm, a hunting owl, the roosters, the nighttime= all the wonderful things that cats notice. Finally, in the morning the cat falls asleep and the little girl starts noticing things the other family members miss.

There is an older girl- maybe 6, and a baby boy so this would be a great story for someone who has a new baby sibling. My favorite human scene is when the mom gets up during the night to feed the baby brother and has a look of peace and contentment- every mother's favorite part of baby nights. I would have given the book 5 stars if the baby got to snuggle in bed with his mom- it would have seemed just a bit more real. I still recommend the book highly.

This was a story I came across on the Internet. This book is one to cherish for years. Excellent pictures with an indepth look at Owen & Mzee's life together. I can't wait to share with my kids one day!
Owen & Mzee: The True Story Of A Remarkable Friendship

This book has wide appeal, although probably aimed at children. As a retiree, I enjoyed the descriptions of the 130 year old tortoise and the young hippo. This carries the story of their meeting and bonding, but also carries it further telling how they developed their own ways of communicating.
The photos include a full-page and a smaller picture on each two-page spread. The text is good sized (for children, but also older eyes) and each page has ample white space.
A lovely book that will appeal to any animal lover. At the end of the book are pages with information about Kenya, the park where the animals live, and the tsunami of 2004 which brought the animals together.

We purchased this book for our four-year-old avid book lover. While the book gives way to much info to keep a four-year-old's attention (unless they really love books), the photos are amazing and it is easy to shorten the relatable information until the child is old enough to appreciate it. Great book for reading/looking through just before going to a zoo.

I got this book for my 4 year old niece. As an animal lover, I knew she would be charmed, but I didn't expect the adults to be so enthralled. Everyone who picks up this book gets caught up in the story and pictures. Thank you.

The story and pictures are terrific, and the story of these unusual friends is beautifully told. A super book to own.

Cute little story about a big dog and a little dog who like opposite things. It's pretty obvious that the Spanish was translated from English (as opposed to being originally written in Spanish), but with that said the Spanish seems well translated. Good book for the price.

I read this to my 4-year-old daughter only in Spanish the first few times and she LOVED it. The pictures and ideas convey the meaning of, (what is to her), a foreign language so well! As a barely-fluent speaker myself, the book introduced a few new fun vocabulary words. The context of the story very clearly depicted for her the meanings of the words "despacio" and "deprisa" which quickly turned into a game of running around the house in each of the two manners. Once she realized that the little words underneath were in English, she refused to hear the story in Spanish, but with patience on my part, that has changed slightly :0) The story is just plain really cute, too.

I have a non-profit corp. and took those books to the Dominican and they really enjoyed the book-I would recommend it for youngsters-6-10 Roger/Dominican Team for Dreams,Inc Florida

I know a handful of Spanish vocabulary and wanted to expose my infant son to the sounds and cadence of the language. This is a fun book although if you're a Spanish novice, some of the word tenses are a little tough to sound out. It is paperback though - I was hoping for a board book so he could turn the pages while we read. He loves it anyway.

Love it just wish it was a board book my one year old loves to flip the pages i know he's reading in his little head but the pages get crinkled so thats why i wish it was a board book.......easy and fun to read.

This book is very good.In this book it talks alot about
Jakes Indian heritage.Jake has to break or gentle a
beautiful paint horse on a Indian reservation.
Sam is right there by his side when he
does.As always Sam has her moment wi-
th the phantom (Zanzibar).




I would recomend this book to anyone.

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I didn't really like this story, but it has a nice plot. Nice finish, but a bit confusing for me.

I really enjoyed this book and have read it about three times! As I write I'm reading it,again. It's about a wild shoshone pony who loves her freedom. Jake attempts to tame her and ride her in the Superbowl Of Horsemanship. But can he tame the fillie's burning desire to remain free? Will he have enough stamina to endure the journey himself? Will a friendship be broken? And will best friends get hurt both physically and emotionally? Find out and read THE PHANTOM STALLION series, book #10 and others and feel a feeling you've never experianced before....SOARING.

Phantom Stallion #10 Red Feather Filly is another great book in a great series. I have enjoyed reading the first 11 books in this interesting and exciting series. I like this series because it has realistic characters and both wild and tame horses. I highly recommend this series for anyone who likes horses.

The best book in the phantom stallion series!!!!!!!! The Superbowl of Horsemanship is coming up and Sam and her friends are really excited. The race is coed and of course her best friend Jen has her race partner staked out, Ryan Slocum. Sam's race partner, Jake, plans to rope and ride a wild filly in the race for a manhood initation. But as the race nears the phantom stallion wants Star and succeeds in getting her. Now Jake is mad at her for letting Star get away. Then Sam goes out alone to find the filly, but Jake finds her first.
It's race day!!!!!!!!!! Sam and Jake are ready as they'll ever be. I won't go any farther. You'll have to find out what happens next.
This is really, really, the BEST book yet!!!!!!!!!!!!