Animal Books

My two daughters have loved this story ever since they were old enough to tell me so. Preschool and Kindergarten love when I read this story to their class. It is simple, sweet and teaches the days of the week.

We've read this so many times together that my 2 year old daughter 'reads' herself to sleep every night with this book. The illustrations are lovely and Cookie is totally adorable.

Cookie's Week is an all time favorite! Every year, every kid loves Cookie's Week. The kids love to ego read with me . . . "it went everywhere". It's a great gift for kids!

This tale about a kitten's misadventures delightfully brings one through the days of the week with simple text that preschool age children will quickly identify with. dePaoloa's pictures are an excellent match to the text. Those of us raised in a culture where the Genesis creation story is prevalent will quickly recognize the humor of Cookie's lack of a rest day.
The only thing that disappointed me was the size of the book, believe it or not. It measures approximately 7 x 7 inches which makes it slightly smaller than I would wish for when reading to a large group of preschoolers. For snugglier situations such as a bedtime story this would not be an issue.

Sorry to be the naysayer here, but this book -- while chock full of cute kitty watercolors (which is the sole strength of the book), has an extremely threadbare story. So, it teaches the days of the week? Whoop-de-do! Stop the presses, because an author came up with the novel idea of teaching the days of the week via a children's story!

While Cookie the Kitty is mischievous, and honors the shabbos, he is not very creative in how he wrecks the house. One gets the idea that the author never owned a cat before. No shredding toilet paper, no kitty litter and turds all over the laundry room floor, no hairballs under the dining room table, no clawed up la-z-boy upholstery.

What a POLITE kitty!

This book contains many "recipes" for making concrete containers and concrete art. The book contains many full color photographs to guide you through each project step by step. The instructions are thorough and easy to follow. I've already made the hypertufa planters and stepping stones. The author also included numerous photos (and website links) of other artists' works. I found this book to be very inspiring.

This book is filled with inspiring ideas and recipes. I am excited to get started - Only problem is that it is always raining on the days I can work!

I can't say enough how thorough Ms. Warner-Hunter's books are - they are step-by-step, material suggested, inspirational, and illustrated (photographic)! As an artist, this book was helpful in clarifying issues I had with materials: and, as a teacher, I believe even a middle or high schooler could follow this manual. Lark books are fabulous and this one of the best!

Super book with detailed information on creation from beginning to end! Super for beginners and seasoned artists.

Start with her first one, Making Concrete Garden Ornaments, then try this one to expand you skills. An excellent way to get a feel for this art form!

Crickwing is a very artistic beetle. Everyone calls him that because his wing got twisted in a fight with a frog. If you get mad easily, Crickwing knows how you feel.
When the army ants attack, Crickwing uses his artistic talent to scare them away. If you like bugs, this book is for you.

Important life lessons about how a person with mobility challenges or other physical challenges might feel marginalized and try to find a special niche in life. Crickwing uses his crafting abilities to save the day. A lovely, deep story about an ancient insect. Perhaps a little too mature for 6 year olds, but they love the story and beautiful illustrations. I expect the "lessons" to sink in over many readings. Janell Cannon is truly gifted.

This is a wonderfully told story concerning being a bully. The art work is absolutely the best and is quite eye catching. I have found this book quite useful is talking to children about being a bully and being bullied. The author is qutie on the mark, and while showing a dry humor, certainly gets the seriousness of the situation across in a very good lesson. The detailed illustrations would all be able to stand a lone a works of art. I could recommend this one for primary school counsellors and parents who may have a child with this particular problem. Recommend this one highly.

The story is about a cockroach that has a crocked wing and is always being picked on. To keep his mind off his problems he always makes beautiful art work out of his food. He decides to pick on things smaller than him after a bit. He picks on the ants. When the ants are in trouble he decides to help them out in a neat way!



What did you like or not like about the book?

The books main character is a cockroach. I really don't like roaches at all but the book portrays this roach as lovable and sympathetic.



The book is marvelous. It is extremely readable for young (3 - 6) year olds, and the artwork is beautiful, with vivid colors and expressive characters. Best of all, the story line is appropriate, with a message that is easily understood.

Crickwing is a cockroach who is grumpy because a toad have him a crooked wing and it aches. Crickwing likes to play with his food before eating it, but several nights in a row, his meal is stolen from him by large critters like lizards or monkeys before he gets a chance to dig in. Crickwing vents his frustration by torturing leaf cutter ants, but he gets in deep trouble, finding himself elected by the leaf cutter ants as the peace offering for the army ants. The story has a number of points that some kids, especially young ones, may find rather scary. But other kids may enjoy the tension. At the end of the story are some feature articles that provide more factual information about cockroaches and ants. The book has about 1600 words.

Windchaser is a fabulous book for kids who would love to fly. The story involves a boy who lost his father and a flyer who has lost something special to him. A young criminal bound for Australia has a parallel storyline as we watch how Dinotopia opens up new opportunities for them both.

Dinotopia is the place I would go to live in a "New York minute"...no crime to speak of, no bad language, friendly people who actually think of others before themselves are the norm, and playing with dinosaurs makes all characters understand what's really important in life. Boys will especially love this one from start to finish.

Wind Chaser


This book was great because it was about two kids that meet each other in a ship. And one kid which name is Hugh saved the other kid which name is Raymond from being thrown into the deep sea. Because the ship was taking some dangerous man to another place. But the criminals took over the ship when a big storm was taking place. But Hugh steeled things that are why he was in that ship. So he had to be taken to another place to put him in prison. And Raymond was in that ship because he was the surgeons' ships son. But one of the criminals killed his dad and he was about to be killed to but Hugh saved him. He told Raymond to jump into the sea. And than a dolphin came along and saved both boys by taking them to a land. In that land the two boys saw what they had never seen. There were people working with dinosaurs'. Every body got along with the dinosaurs. The people there did not use money to buy things instead they exchanged things. The boys learned many things in that land and had lot of adventures.

It was one of my favorite books. It had action with a twist. I liked how the dinosaurs and people made friends.

Raymond's father died trying trying to stop the prisoners from taking over the ship and fell overboard into a watery grave. Raymond was devastated for a long time. When he found Windchaser and talked to him, he discovered Windchaser lost someone too. They became great friends.

Hugh saw a rock in front of the boat and made Raymond jump overboard and saved his life. Hugh was older and was the best pick-pocket in London because he was very poor. When they got on the island they began to get hungry. Then they saw a fruit that looked like an apple. Hugh became a good friend to Raymond and everyone in Dinotopia.

It was one of my favorite books. It had action with a twist. I liked how the dinosaurs and people made friends.

Raymond's father died trying trying to stop the prisoners from taking over the ship and fell overboard into a watery grave. Raymond was devastated for a long time. When he found Windchaser and talked to him, he discovered Windchaser lost someone too. They became great friends.

Hugh saw a rock in front of the boat and made Raymond jump overboard and saved his life. Hugh was older and was the best pick-pocket in London because he was very poor. When they got on the island they began to get hungry. Then they saw a fruit that looked like an apple. Hugh became a good friend to Raymond and everyone in Dinotopia.

I loved this book. it was well written and it was a very fun to read. Dintopia Windchaser is a fun fast paced action adventure book. for any kid who has ever wished for a book with Dinosaurs, action and adventure this is their book. the book has a great life lesson. The power of friendship. the book is about two friends who get stranded on a island and learn how to fit in. when they are there they become very close friends and meet some new friends who help them on their journey. on their journey they faced very serious problems. but their friendship pull them through.

my mom read it to me and i liked it alot.
it mad me laugh.
i like charlie becuz that is my name.

I get great pleasure reading good children's books. "Don't Bug Me" is a sweet, humorous, thoughtful book, and I enjoyed it thoroughly. Parents will enjoy this as much as their kids. Although it is about Bugs, that proverbially school project, (and we all had one like it), I found there is allot more to it. As I read about Megan and her brother, Alexander, and their sibling rivalry, it reminded me of my own childhood. I especially enjoyed the friendship that grew between Megan and Charlie. I was impressed by the author's ability to demonstrate a healthy way to solve a disagreement between Megan and her parents. It is very subtle lesson, kids might miss it, but it is very constructive.
And the bug storyline is so clever, honest, thoughtful and funny, who knew there was so much to know about bugs! The entire family can enjoy the story together.

This book is about Megan trying to collect bugs for her project. She is being "bugged" by that and a boy at school named Charlie who is causing trouble for her. Oh yeah and her brother Alexander who buries her bugs really "bugs" her too. In this novel Belinda, Megan's friend believes that Charlie likes Megan, but is that true? You'll have to fid out in this high-speed funny book. The book really got me glued to the pages, I hope it also will do the same thing for anyone else who reads this great book.

I really liked this book. I didn't like I would like it, because I think bugs are ikky. But Megan and Charlie and Alexander were such cool chraratrers that I kept reading even tho when Takmika caught the roach it made me shudder. I liked how Charlie told Alexander why we should study bugs. I liked how Alexander told Charlie that bugs were ok and why he liked them. We can learn from bugs and we can learn from each other. I liked Charlie's present to Megan at the end. I wonder if Megan and Chalrile will be freinds when they get older? Oh yeah, I liked it when everybgdy was trhowing soup around at lucnh trying to get the bug out of Rita's soup.

I think that every one should read don't bug me even sixth graders. I read it in 2 days that is how much i liked it. so make sure you read Don't Bug Me!! By Pam Zollman My favorite part is here is the part....

Belinda laughed."You named it?"
"I name all my bugs," Tamika said
"So how are you going to kill it?" i asked.
"in the freezer,"she said "Ijust can't do it any other way."
Please help my friend out and buy this book. believe me you will laugh..

Even for people with no interest in animal rights or law, this book is absolutely riveting if you have any interest at all is psychology or how animals think. It highlights some of the most shocking examples of animal intelligence, but also shows how they differ from us and what kinds of abilities they lack. Being able to compare the various animals from bees to dolphins makes this a thoroughly interesting read, and Wise's writing style is compelling. Highly recommended!

Wow, this book was really fascinating. I was so glad I purchased it! I'll admit, I had my inhibitions about it. The book, I knew, was about judging animal's cognitive abilities in order to grant them 'personhood' and rights so I figured the author was a more elitist type who would look down on the more 'unintelligent' animals. I was pleasantly mistaken. I have a lot of admiration for the author. He is definitely an ardent animal rights advocate and he actually practices what he preaches. I strongly admire his goal to gain 'personhood' for nonhuman animals. You will see when you first start the book that his stance on scrutinizing the status of animals in society via their intellectual capabilities is the most appropriate way to gain rights for animals at the present time.

So onto the book: it explores the cognitive abilities honeybees, dogs, parrots, dolphins, elephants, orangutans, and gorillas. I had always wanted to read these kinds of books. I have known about Alex and Koko but books about them have been difficult to find! I found myself really drawn into it. Some of the intellectual feats of the animals just have you going 'wow'... they will boggle your mind. One thing to note is that not all of the information is cut and dry. Some of the concepts and tests of the mental abilities are complex. Wise goes through Piaget's child development stages and you have to recall the stages to grasp some of the abilities he describes in regards to the different animals.

The only gripe I had was that I pondered how the author would grant rights to different animals considering the circumstances. He makes an excellent case for why we should, the obstacles involved, but not how to do it... perhaps another book? Still all in all it was a superb, fascinating book. I really wish everyone would read it. :)

This is the book which introduced me to the world of animal intelligence and emotion. In Steven Wise's book, he dedicates chapters to an African Grey parrot, a pair of dolphins, an elephant matriarch, an orangutan, Koko the gorilla, Wise's own family dog, and even spends a chapter describing the intricate communication of honeybees. Wise is a lawyer, and so his goal in the book is to analyze whether or not these "nonhuman animals" (I love that wording!) fit the criteria to deserve rights under the law. Some of them do (by his estimation), and some of them don't... but Wise's writing style draws you in and his stories about the various animals he meets are fascinating (my favorite was Alex the parrot). Animal lovers will feel vindicated, and those who are unsure on the subject of animal rights may find themselves swayed by Wise's strong arguments. The writing is a little scientific at times, but the book is well worth the effort!

Steven M. Wise's "Drawing the Line" presents a compelling argument for recognizing the rights of "nonhuman" animals. As a lawyer who has taught at Harvard and has championed animal rights for over twenty years, Mr. Wise directs our attention in this book to some of the recent scientific studies pertaining to animal intelligence. The evidence strongly suggests that at least some species qualify for dignity rights and other legal protections.

Mr. Wise provides introductory chapters that succinctly defines the struggle for animal rights. The author compares the historic practice of slavery with today's plight of nonhuman animals. Deep-rooted socioeconomic practices conspired to keep slavery alive for most of human history; today, animal slavery is fueled by longstanding cultural and economic forces. Consequently Mr. Wise approaches the daunting task of animal liberation with eyes wide open. He has written this book as a strategic move to further our understanding and with the hope of advancing the struggle.

To that end, I would have to say that Mr. Wise has succeeded brilliantly. The author employs a sound methodology to persuade us of the merits of his case. Mr. Wise rank-orders the intelligence of nonhuman animals by utilizing Piaget's well-known theories pertaining to the study of early childhood development. Consequently most of the chapters in the book are devoted to the study of specific animals (such as Koko the gorilla) who might represent the innate abilities of their respective species. You will be intrigued with how Mr. Wise utilizes Piagetian measures such as mirror self-recognition tests in order to compare animal performances with human intelligence.

I think that nearly everyone who reads this book with an open mind will be persuaded that at least a few species do indeed display the characteristics of "practical autonomy" that should assure them of rights under the law. Mr. Wise visits with leading researchers to demonstrate the mental acuities of specific animals; in many cases, we come to appreciate the unique personalities of these remarkable animals. The power of Mr. Wise's writing is such that the notion of subjecting these animals to cruel scientific experiments and the like seems unthinkable, and liberation suddenly appears to be a quite reasonable and humane thing to do.

In short, I highly recommend this compassionate, original and thought-provoking book to everyone who cares about animals. While the legal system may not yet have recognized the validity of Mr. Wise' argument, this book will no doubt help the good lawyer secure a favorable ruling in the court of public opinion.

While Wise believes that all animals should be treated with compassion and kindness, he uses "pratical autonomy" in this book in order to use the legal system. Wise states that in order for courts to actually grant rights to animals there needs to be more than a philosophical reason. Because many humans lack full autonomy, including infants and the handicapped, Wise sets forth a pratical way of granting rights to nonhuman animals.

He goes through several species of aniamls and lists evidence for autonomy. I even thought he did not give enough credit to animals and "evidence" that I have read about it. However, this works for his case and skeptical readers. By putting animals in categories, although based on a human yardstick, Wise hopes to grant rights to certain animals.

This book is a "must have" in every dressage enthusiasts library. Another outstanding book by Ms. Loch.

I selected this book based on the reviews that have been posted. I was not disappointed in the least.

Finally a book on classical dressage that really tells you HOW to do it. Sylvia Loch is fantastic. I recommend this book to those who sometime feel like the real detail of how to apply the aids is missing from other dressage texts.

I cannot adequately describe the beauty and accuracy with which she writes. Clarifying the aids, and the horse's biomechanics and perceptions with a truly classical constructive approach.

A truly helpful, different perspective with easy to understand content for all riders.

I've had this book for over a year and I didn't pick it out to read until recently. I had been focused on books directed at training young horses and I thought this book would be better suited for a future stage when my mare had at least mastered the basics under saddle. Boy, do I wish I had started this book sooner!
I found this book to be the perfect companion book to others I have on starting young horses. Primarily because it makes you think about what you, as a rider, are doing. It is all too easy to focus on the young horse, instead of yourself. But if you have picked up bad habits along the way, you'll be hindering your progress and frustrating your horse.
What I like most about this book, is that it gives you the horses perspective, how he feels about each movement and how you deliver the aids. It encourages you to breakdown each movement and think about what you are doing as a rider - are you asking correctly and using the aids effectively.
The first few chapters (literally the first half of the book) are excellent for training a young horse, or re-schooling an older one. The subsequent chapters build up through the levels, from Training Level to Grand Prix. I know this book will be well used.

Beautiful Book! My 4 year old daughter loves it since she saw it on "Between the Lions." Very educational and the illustrations are beautiful. I'd recommend it highly.

I purchased this book for my son and was amazed at the accuracy of the illustrations! It's gorgeous to look at, it has a wonderful story and it can be used as a reference book because the illustrator took the time to look up each aspect of the eggs! It's wonderful!! The story is great and I can't say enough about this book! If your child doesn't have this or any of this author's books in their budding library, I highly recommend it!

This book is a gem, the information it gives is wonderful, interesting to children, and most of all the illustrations are outstanding. Every page is truly a work of art.

Oh, what a lovely book this is for all ages. The luminous, highly detailed watercolors of many different kinds of eggs and what they hatch out to be belong in any nature-lover's art collection. Combine that with the delightfully descriptive poetry of eggs--gooey eggs, rubbery eggs, clever eggs, eggs that don't want to be eaten--and you have a sure winner.

This is a beautiful book. A little much for my 7-month-old; I would say minimum age is three. I bought this and the second book, A Seed is Sleepy. I would highly recommend both for their beautiful illustrations and verse.

This is a beautiful story and the illustrations are top-notch. Ella is a sweet little elephant who engages young readers. I recommend the whole series, particularly this one and Ella Sets the Stage. My six year old son returns to these books over and over again.

I really love the "Ella" series... The books are nice and sweet, and presents a marvelously imagined, self-contained world that will strongly appeal to little kids. It has a similar feel to the "Curious George" and "Babar" books, except without all the weird, disturbing undertones that make those classics a bit troublesome. A great choice for some fun books that you don't have to worry about. (ReadThatAgain)

This is a very cute story and I look forward to reading it to my daughter.

I have a five and a seven year old and they love everything ELLA. The best part is, so do I. This story, as well as ELLA TAKES THE CAKE is a gem. The message really resonates with both my children and me...I get teary at the end. So many children's books are just silly or entertaining. This one is both but also very literary. I love the allusion to the golden rule and the lesson about staying true to yourself. The illustrations are gorgeous, too! I highly reccommend this book.

Originally, my daughter borrowed this book from the library. She likes elephants and thought Ella was cute. We fell in love with Ella and her story, so we purchased our own copy...well Santa Claus did. My girls are 4 & 6, they both love the story.

Singer is a terrific researcher and is genuinely interested in Spira; however, I think Singer spends too many pages on Spira's background. Chapters 2-6 are excellent, though. Great information for new animal activists.

Being persuaded about animal rights for some time now, I have been looking for ideas on how to get active. This book provides lots of ideas and is an inspiring portrait of an attractive and committed person. It is also very readable - I read it early into the morning until I finished it.

Spira's activism was highly intelligent, practical, strategic and committed to the long term - he is a hero of the animal rights movement.

I stumbled across a glowing recommendation for this book within a blog entry posted by a fellow vegan. I was intrigued, given Peter Singer's name on the dust jacket -- his book on Animal Rights, which is written in such a memorably concise, levelheaded and rational fashion, ranks right up there as one of the penultimate reasons I decided to go vegan, myself.

That little sense of intrigue was more than well rewarded by what I found in this book. Henry Spira's story is downright inspiring (to such an extent, while reading this slim bio, the bad punster in me couldn't help toying with the subject's name: "Henry Spira's in-SPIRA-tional". If you're not groaning, you should be).

The practice of veganism can raise discomforting questions -- how does a compassionate individual with a strong sense of personal ethics grapple with a profoundly careless world in which cruelty is commonplace to the point of mundanity and concern for the disenfranchised may seem alien to the point of provoking fear, even open hostility in others? What happens when a compassion for the voiceless develops into an inured hostility toward those who are careless? How can an ethical individual work toward reducing unnecessary suffering while continuing to extend compassion even to those who create that selfsame unnecessary suffering?

Henry Spira responded to such open ended questions by focusing on action. How could he, as one individual, work to bring about the greatest cessation of animal suffering possible? His answer -- via a mastery of relentless focus, indefatiguable optimisim, careful planning and a ceaseless upwelling of drive -- made him a matchless force within the movement toward animal rights.

I noticed, as I reading this book, that Mr. Singer's writing style seemed a bit rough in some places. Initially, I chalked this up to the notion that philosophy and storytelling, though similiar, are fundamentally divergent if equally challenging forms of communication. The real reason for this narrational shakiness, however, is revealed towards the end of the book and works as a spurringly poignant denoument.

I'd recommend this book to anyone -- vegan or omnivore, activist or armchair guerrilla -- because, at heart, it is more than the story of one lesser known hero from the folds of the animal rights movement; it is a roadmap to dynamic compassion, the pinnacle win-win.

The story of Henry himself is amazing enough, but this wonderful book is even more than that. Weaved into the life story of Henry are the stories of so many other people.

There are those who are not as famous but nonethless critical to all the achievements, like the donors who supported Henry, like the volunteers who handled the daily work, like Henry's advisors who turned his idea into concrete actions, like the numerous individuals who gave followed his call to write letters or picket or take any other action.

Then there are also those sincere and good people who is not in the "movement". There is Senator Lombardi who gave Henry a fair hearing, and Roger Shelley from Revlon who believed there is a win-win solution, and Susan Fowler of 'Lab Animal' who interviewed Henry the anti-vivisectionist.

And then there are also those who are apparently on the side of the "movement" but cared more about themselves. There are the researchers who abuse money donated by people and industry, and there are groups who seem to care more about getting people's donation and their personal glory than helping victims.

And then there are people who seem to really believe that everything on earth are just for their personal gain. From the hideous boss of NMU to the cat-vivisectionist Aronson, from "tough" guy Frank Purdue to the more scheming Leon Hirsch.

There is such a rich spectrum of people in this book, it is worth reading even if you don't agree with anything else from Peter Singer.

There are also many hilarious stories. The visit of congressman Koch to the cat experiment lab, the "biological fluid collection units", and the story about the super comdom for the chicken-in-a-comdom ad.

This book is definitely worth reading, and not just once. Each time I turned the pages and got to the part where Henry told the author that he's got the cancer, my heart sank like a rock. Oh, no, not him, not so early, please. I really wish Henry is still with us today, the whole world might be a different place.

This book is truly amazing. It is a very exciting book to read, and the enthusiasm of Henry Spira can not help to rub off on your own life. Peter Singer has done an excellent job of giving the reader an easy to access look into the life of a man who inspired thousands of people to think more about all forms of suffering for all types of animals.

Thank you for such an amazing book! It is a must read for anyone involved in activism. It shares a lifetime of wisdom. Enjoy!