Animal Books

Jane Goodall needs no introduction, she cares for nature, earth and all the creatures on it. Some critize her seemingly unorthodox methods and her supposed "cult of personality." However, reading this book made me fascinated by our closest living relatives and how they are really so similiar to ourselves. It made me remember that we too are animals, but we are intelligent and the dominaters of the earth. But with that role, we have to protect the voiceless. Both scientific and thoughtful, the narrative of this book is good for any science class, home library or bedside stand. The most interesting parts for me were the chapters about alpha-male battles, the emotions of chimpanzees and the conclusion which discusses how we must be stewards of the earth.

I am going to read the rest of this amazing woman's books.

Jane is amazing!

*****/***** for Through a Window

To anyone old enough to remember the first field reports from a brash girl named Jane, who chose to live alone with a troop of chimps in Tanzania, way back in the 60s, it has to be a little boggling to realize that she has kept at it for 47 years (as of this writing). Oh, sure, we've seen the TV specials and the magazine stories, and some of us may have read her account of the first decade, IN THE SHADOW OF MAN. But, we do have our lives to attend to, and Goodall's ongoing work easily fades into the background noise. In our long struggle to understand the locus of humanity in nature, there is surely no work more crucial than this. Goodall's discoveries about our closest genetic cousins have uncontestably shown us our place. We are not much different than chimps, merely more so. A young woman, too naive in the ways of science to "know" that animals don't have personalities, saw them clearly. Her honest reporting, championed by her mentor Louis Leakey, overturned a system that harkened back to Descartes (who, we must remember, kicked his dogs often to demonstrate that their mechanical reaction bore no likeness to human pain). After Goodall, animals are "its" no more, they are "whos." THROUGH A WINDOW, is the story of the evolution of one girl's dream into a research center, with dozens of assistants, who have tracked and documented a chimpanzee society through the years. It is the report of political change, as different chimp leaders come to prominence, of family loyalty and discord, and of the look in chimpanzee eyes searching our own for ... understanding? It is equally a reminder that her happiest times remain the hours she steals to spend a day alone with the friends she knows so well: the aging matriarch who was a chimp babe in arms in 1960, and her grandson now moving toward dominance of the troop; older siblings teaching youngsters to fashion tools to 'fish' for termites; the deposed leader racked out in a leafy hammock - remembering his glory days? Coupled with work done by others, partly inspired by Goodall - such as the teaching of American Sign Language to captive chimps, who in turn, TEACH THEIR OWN CHILDREN TO SIGN, manipulating their babies hands into words while pointing at objects - the idea that anyone presumes to defend vivisecting these fellow earthlings is incomprehensible. There is far more going on in chimpanzee heads than was, for instance, in the severely mentally handicapped humans I houseparented years ago. Our staff spent years trying to teach some of our clients a single hand sign, and when they did occasionally manage it, it was seldom clear if there was understanding attached. Chimps create their own sentences, even invent combinations to describe novel experiences. Yet no one (these days, at least) suggests it is ethical to give AIDs to developmentally disabled children to see what happens, or to lock them in isolation chambers where they slowly go mad. It is no wonder that Goodall's work in the late 90s began to focus more and more on ending all captive experiments on the creatures she knows so well. (See my review of her later work, BRUTAL KINSHIP, Aperture Foundation, 199, which focuses on that effort.) THROUGH A WINDOW is an inspiring look at the joy, satisfaction, heartbreak and struggle of one scientist who has changed our world.

Ever since reading Jane Goodall's book "Reason For Hope" (which is another highly-recommended one on my list), I have called her "Our Lady of Hope"; she truly has paved the way for a brighter future in her study of the animals and plants. And with her optimism and positive outlook, how could I not be floored by her work?

This book takes you on an emotional roller-coaster; tenderness (Flo's natural mothering instincts and her care for her children and her daughter, Fifi, imitating her mother), sadness (Flo's death and her son, Flint, pining away before dying; the short, tragic life of the unfortunate, long-suffering Gilka), horror (Passion and Pom savagely killing and eating their own community's newborns; the brutal warfare in the mid-70s), and amazement (at how very much like humans that animals are).

This book is simply a gem. And the images are marvelous: sometimes grim, sometimes tender, but seldom dull.

When I picked up this book it was because I randomly chose it from a pile of recommendations a friend gave me. I had no desire to read it, and the only reason I actually went through with it was that a) I would have to give the book back someday and b) she always recommends good-to-decent books. And despite the obvious reputation that Goodall has, I still had no desire to read it. Having recently picked up (and put down) Rachel Carson's The Edge of the Sea, I was in no mind to read another nature-based book. That gives you a good indication of my mindset going into this.

I'm glad I was wrong. I enjoyed this book much more than I would have imagined - it's a fascinating read. I say that having had virtually no prior interest in chimpanzee's nor Jane Goodall. I doubt I would have read this book on my own, since there are a million books begging to be read every time I open my eyes. Sometimes you need to go where you don't necessarily want in order to find a jewel.

The title of this book refers to the window that Goodall gets when she observes the chimps over the years. Through this window she gets an idea of how we, humans, have evolved from where we were to where we are. It gives her a glimpse of the similarities - sometimes uncanny - between chimps and humans. This window often leads to observations you can never expect. Goodall's observations and her way with words fully draw you into the narrative.

Goodall writes anecdotally, attempting to illustrate her point with examples of behavior she observes in the field. These instances make the book much easier to read than a pure scientific approach. Through the text you grow to like (and dislike) some of the chimps in the narrative, as well as easily finding yourself drawn into the various elements of (nearly human) chimp behavior.

The thing I find most surprising is that the stories which transpire between the "actors" are just as dramatic as a work of fiction. They say that fact is stranger than fiction. I don't know if I agree, but it can undoubtedly be interesting. It's certainly a surprise how similar the chimps are to us - or maybe it's not, which I guess is one of the points of the book.

If I have to take on the other POV, which I usually force myself to do in an effort to be fair, I suppose I have to say that despite all she has seen, she does at times force the issue that chimps are better than people. One thing I worried about was that Goodall would constantly laud how amazing the animals are and how we humans could learn from them. For the most part, she doesn't do this. From time to time she seems to be on the verge, but she balances it out with fair observations on both sides of the fence.

In all, it is a riveting book that is well-balanced and, to be sure, well researched. Goodall's years of experience no doubt come through with this book, and her ease behind the keyboard is surprising. I did not find this clunky in the normal vein of science texts at all. In fact, it was a smooth read, almost to a word. Granted, it may not be everyone's cup of tea, but the subject matter discussed in Through A Window is sure to entertain most people who pick it up. Excellent book and highly recommended.

Jane Goodall's contributions to our knowledge of chimpanzees has been remarkable. Because she first arrived in Africa completely untrained as an observer of animal behavior, she was able to bring a humanist's instincts to her work; her natural ability to see details and connections, as well as her affection for her subjects, culminated in published results that rocked the scientific community. THROUGH A WINDOW picks up her observations where IN THE SHADOW OF MAN left off. Here, she follows the lives mostly of the children of the original group. She has organized her chapters by theme: Mothers and Daughters, Sons and Mothers, War, Power, Love, and more. Within these chapters, she explores the specific lives of the Gombe chimps and their relationships with their relatives and group members. By tackling specific topics of behavior, she is able to fully integrate the range of her experiences, from first observations to those made thirty years later. As Goodall is quick to point out, what she assumed at first did not necessarily prove to hold fast over time.

No less fascinating than IN THE SHADOW OF MAN, this book is extraordinary for its insight into chimpanzee personalities, relationships, and culture. If you have never before read Goodall's books, you will be surprised by the strong echoes of human behavior in these wild and highly individual chimpanzees. Goodall has made enormous contributions to our understanding of non-human primates, and should be widely read.

If there is a horse crazy youngster in your life, this book will enthrall them for hours. It is the true story of Vivi Malloy, who was shadowed by photographer Jill Krementz, and her show pony Penny. Vivi cares for her own pony at home, so readers get to see what goes into caring for a pony and learning to ride at a show level. When Vivi goes to a show, the reader is there, from the schooling ring to the awarding of ribbons. Vivi also outgrows Penny during this book, and has to move on to a larger pony and say goodbye to Penny. Many people in the horse show world read this book over and over when they were growing up (I was one of them!) and have now passed it on to their own children.

I read this book as a child so often that my copy fell apart. It was out of print for a while, but now it's back and it's wonderful! There is an update on the family and the horses. If you have a child or were a child that loves horses, you must have this book!

As a little girl growing up, I lived my life through the pages of this book and wished that I was as lucky as young Vivi Malloy. I would check this book out of the library as much as I could because it was the closest that I got to owning a horse (until my dream came true when I was 13). Despite being out of print, I was so happy when I found a copy of this book on eBay. For those who are still searching for this book, have no worry because it is finally back in print with an update on Vivi, Penny, and a few other people that are mentioned. George Morris lends a hand by writing a foreword to the newest edition. One statement he makes is so true when it comes to today's horse owners: "We also see Vivi grooming and exercising her pony Ready Penny, mucking out Penny's stall, and observing and learning from the pony's veterinarian and farrier. Such hands-on participation was all part of a rider's life in those days (but unfortunately less so today), and this book reminds us that it takes more than winning blue ribbons to become a complete horseman or horsewoman."

Never owned a horse, but got very intersted in horses in my early 20's and read TONS of books. 'A Very Young Rider' was one of my favorites. I own the book and several of the other 'very young' ones. Am amazed these books are out of print! :( Got curious reading these reviews about what happend to Vivi and did an internet search. Here is a wonderful story:
http://www.soresishowstables.com/press/ChronicleOfTheHorse-19May05.pdf

I am 38 years old and got this book for Christmas at about 10 years old. I, too, had a pony that I showed and loved dearly. I even started to wear my long, blonde hair in braids with lucky polkadot ribbons when I showed English. I ran home from school every day, waiting to get close enough to hear her whinny for me...I cried along with Vivi as I outgrew my precious pony, Boots, and moved on to a bigger horse. It still brings bittersweet tears to my eyes when I thumb through it! My dust cover is torn and worn and I was looking for a replacement book when I came upon this thread. This book, and all in the series, were wonderful stories of real-life people with real stories and experiences. With so much garbage thrown at our kids these days, it would be a shame to see this series disappear.

This is a cute story about duck detectives out to solve the case of the pilfered vegetables.

This is a well crafted book that even reads like the old show. I found it was easy to mimic Jack Webb's presentation. What is also cute is the incorporation of old children's fables for extra characters.

The artwork is fun and my girl liked to say the tag line "Dum de dum dum"

You can't go wrong with this one. I have had to read it couple times every day so far.

My son brought this book home from school. We read it over and over again. It was actually lots of fun to read! We loved it so much we're ordering our own copy!

I read this book to my five year old son tonight with my "Dragnet" voice and we laughed as the catchy Dum De Dum Dum was read. I decided to read it to my 8 year old daughter as well and she also loved the book and said we have to get it. I came back to my son's room down the hall where he should have been going off to sleep, and noticed at 8:53 the he was still up listening to me read the book to his sister, he liked it that much and now I am ordering it from Amazon this instant! Dum De Dum Dum Dum!

This was one of the funniest kids books I have ever read! It was hilarious and downright entertaining. It had my children and I excited about turning the page. I even called my 15 year old sister, read it to her and she loved it! Ms. Palatini should make this a series. I would buy every one!

Let's say you're a parent that loves nothing more in the entire world than to sit down and watch a little "Dragnet" on the telly. Now let's say you're that same parent, but you'd like to instill the wonders of Jack Webb in your little one. Enter Margie Palatini and Richard Egielski's, "The Web Files". More "dum de dum dum"s than you could shake a fist at.

Bill and Web (partners) are working the barnyard shift when they hear trouble ah-brewing. Someone's been pirating a peck of purple peppers (ready for pickeling). It's off to confront he usual suspects, when our heroes get a lead. In the end, you can rest assured that the dastardly villain will have met his just desserts and our brave ducktectives can work another day.

There are people who will buy this book, read it over and over, and love every minute of it. They'll revel in the exceedingly terrible puns that crop up with frightening regularity. They'll soak up the detective atmosphere (a combination of "Dragnet" and Ed McBain). They'll never get bored with this puppy, and that's all right. There really are some nice things in this book. Egielski's adept illustrations compliment the rising action, best displayed in a scene in which a variety of fairy tale characters hound the police precinct with tales of woe. I was especially taken with the third degree our heroes give a distraught Little Boy Blue.

As for myself, the aforementioned scenes are gold. But the puns.... lordy begordy the puns. Admittedly I have a low pun tolerance. If you can read the following sentence without twitching, then this is undoubtedly a good book to get: "A lot of squawking going on down in the coop area, Ducktective Web. Looks like fowl play. Report says feathers are flying. Chief says we should check out the chicks." You get the idea. I, personally, had problems with that sentence, but that's just me. Other people will adore this book. It does have some nice touches here and there and is chock full of enough movies and cop shows to bring a chuckle every other page. If you like a good rousing yarn and don't mind slightly painful text, this is the perfect book for a dark and rainy night. Hint: Have your kids hum the "Dragnet" closing music when the book's villain is tried and convicted. The book supplies all the "Dum de dum dum"s itself.

Although this is a fun book, I much perfer Stanley's _How Do You Feel_ book. _What Do You Say_ is for the young toddler and very simple.

This is a very cute book, perfect for my 8 month old. It's not so basic that she'll tire of it as she gets bigger. The book introduces her to various types of animals and the types of noise they make. You'll have fun reading it out loud, since you can change the way the animal sounds. My husband gets into it and makes some great animal sounds that just crack her up.

My 2 year old son has a speech delay and his therapist sometimes uses an animal theme to get him to make speech sounds. The book, What Do You Say? is such a treat for him as it encourages him to make tons of animal sounds. He can even sit by himself with the book and "read" it aloud. It's music to my ears! My 4 year old daughter also finds it very enjoyable and uses her index finger to follow the words as she says them aloud. The format of the book helps kids make the most of their pre-reading skills. I just love it!

What a fun book! Animal sounds are a perfect way to help your child's speech development and this book is full of animal sounds. My son loves reading this together. This is one of our staples for daily reading. I loved this book so well, that we checked out What Do You Do from our local library. I did not like that one as well, but perhaps that will change as my son matures and can better connect that cows make milk and birds build nests, etc.

My daughter waves when she sees this book. That's because the last pages ask, "What do you say to a fish? Hello little fish." The book is simple and repetitive... just right for wiggly, emergent readers like my 15 month old daughter. Buy this book for you and all of your friends who have little ones in their lives.

I loved this book and so did my son. it's really nice when your trying to teach your toddler colors. the pages are very bright

This is such a cute story. SHORT with simple text and great images. The rabbit hops into various tubs of colors and even mixes a few. Cute story that keeps my kids interested. My 2 year old is learning about colors and my 4 year old finds the mixing of those colors to create new ones to be very interesting. Really has triggered their imaginations and creativity. Fun little book. It gets requested here often.

I used this book to teach primary, secondary and color mixing to my K-2 art students. They love it and it's a great alternative to the color wheel!

Excellent book for children learning colour combinations. I also painted small pails and made felts to retell the story. The children at Preschool think this is magic.

Wonderful book to help children learn their colors and explore art. I would highly recommend this book.

This is a neat book about animals and how they move. The book is amusing and imaginative, and informative on a level that the 2-4 year old crowd can handle. The book is not at all scary, and quite popular with animal lovers. It has about 60 words.

I originally bought this for a friend's child. When I had my son this year I had to buy it for him. My husband and I love this book and will walk around the house saying, "Who Hops?..... no they don't!!" This is such a cute book with fun illustrations and a nice rhythm to the story.

I got this book for my 2 year old daughter and she LOVES it! She really enjoys "reading" it herself. The illustrations are simple and very bright and colorful. The repetitive nature of it, makes it easier for her to "read" and remember. GREAT JOB - Katie Davis !

This is a MUST HAVE book for any toddler.

The colors are bright and the illustrations are funny. This alone keeps my son's attention. The repitions make it easy for my son to remember and help me "read" the book.

Sometimes we play this as a game at the park. My son will start 'hopping' like a bunny and I'll tell him to hop like a kangaroo, horse and fish. He'll stop and say "nooooo, fish hop". I think it's fun and so does he.

I loved using "Who Hops" in my first grade classroom where the children delighted at the silly pictures and the simple text was perfect for their emerging reading skills. Now that I am a mother of a one year old I have fallen in love with this book all over again. My little guy thrills at the bold bright illustrations and the text is fast paced enough to hold his attention through several readings. This book is an all time favorite of mine and a must for any little person's library!

My 18-month old carries this book around with him during the day. The photos keep him busy and he loves turning the pages.

There really isn't a story to the book. Just animal noises. Fun to read and I've heard him practicing the noises when he looks at the book himself.

Cute book. I'm glad I bought it.

My 7 month old grandson loves this book! The real photographs are extremely appealing. There is just enough text for his attention span. He loves to turn the pages and looks at each picture intently. He has dogs (both real and stuffed) of his own and has really been interested in the dog in the picture. The size of the book is perfect for his hands. We have only had this book 3 days, and he wants to read it over and over; I think I've read it about 25 times already!

My 17 month old loves ducks, so she loves this book. It is sturdy and has real life pictures that are great.

My niece just started talking and she knows her animal sounds. Quack! is one of her favorites, so this book is a big hit!

I am a librarian for my church library. I'm always looking for a good book at a reasonable price. Amazon.com helps me meet my budget. We opened the use of the church library this October to the day care located in out church. "Who says Quack?" is a great addition to the children's portion of our library! The pictures are cute (I am a sucker for duckies) and the size is easy for small hands to hold. It probably will hold up to some teeth chewing on the cover, not to my joy though. I would have preferred the pudgy book to have been a little larger for ease in processing for library identification. It would have been nice to see more inside the book before purchasing too. I cannot complain about shipping; the book arrived in a reasonable time span.

Another weird book by Munsch.

Kristen's clueless parents drive to the zoo instead of the hospital when her mom is in labor. Three times, they ignore their daughter's warnings that their son is another's, and three times they get whapped in the face by the not-a-people-baby.

Finally, Kristen has to save the day, which she does in a quick and admirable way (the illustrations in the zoo are funny in and of themselves, by the way). Everybody gets their own baby back, and we're told that everything is fine from then on... until Kristen's mom had twins. (Uh-oh.)

This book is so absurd, you can't not love it. I really recommend it to anybody having a second child. It's a wonderful change of pace from standard "new baby" books.

My 20 month old daughter loves it. I'm not sure that she connects it to her 2 month old brother, but she sure enjoys having us read it to her. She pulls it out again and again and screams along!

I read Alligator Baby. I liked this book because it has funny pictures. In the book I read that the "gorilla grabbed her mom's ear and the father's ear and they both yelled Aaaaaaahhhhhaaaaa!" This helped convince me that it was a good book.

I love Robert Munsch and this is one of his books that the kids in my 2nd grade class loved the most!

This is a good book for when bringing home baby. We bought it for our toddler as a fun way to explain that we are bringing him a baby brother from the hospital.

I HIGHLY recommend this book! I have read MANY books on animal communication and would rate this book NUMBER ONE! Unlike my previous attempts at animal communication, I had SUCCESS the very first time I worked with Jacquelin's detailed recommendations. This book will expand your knowledge, understanding and abilities. An exciting and most enjoyable read! THANK YOU, Jacquelin, for gifting the world with this awesome book!

I would recommend Jacquelin Smith's book for everyone -- whether or not you have an animal friend. She has realized her oneness with all life to the point where she can communicate with the animals. While I have not gotten there, I can see from her book that it is possible. She has such a reverence for all life that it jumps off the page and into your heart.

A well written, and most interesting book. If you are an animal lover, you will be most intrigued by what all animals really think, they are cer tainly not dumb, and this book makes me realise that they are just like children but in a different outer coating!!
So the protection that they should have by law , needs to match that of children . although this is my own point I have to say.!

A thoroughly enjoyable read, easy to pick up and put down at any time..
The more we can learn to communicate with animals, the less they will suffer, and soon may this happen.

AJD24

Jacquelin Smith revealed in her book what I've always believed. I've heard the animals, but not listened and now with what I learned from Jacquelin I am getting quiet with the animals and trying to really hear what they are telling me.
I believe that now I am understanding what my horses truly are telling me.
If for no other reason one reads this book, it's to help an animal lover become more connected with their animal friends.

This book has changed the way I look and feel about animals. Each chapter had me gripped - it makes so much sense. I am an animal behaviourist and knew that there was something missing. Jacquelin portrays what she does and how we all have the ability in such a way that makes you feel like she has been one of your friends for a long time. There is no ego involved, just a sense of true love for our animal friends. The more people can realise their potential to communicate the better this world will be - Thank you Jacquelin.

the type of reading material most grandparents search for to excite and encourage our youngsters' reading and interests.

I bought this book of poems while doing a them on Penguins. The children read Mr. Popper's Penguins and I used the Teachers printables for the unit. The poems were used during Writing to immerse the children in poems and cross theme with Penguins. This poem book and them can be used across all grades and guided reading levels. My 5 year old even loves it.

This book gives good basic information on penguins in a very fun format. The poems are catchy. I teach 3-6 year olds and I caught them repeating the phrases they liked the best. I highly recommend it for this age group.

I bought this book for my son since he is interested in penguins. Most penguin story books are promoted to toddlers or are penguin science books; not books for fictional reading for older children. Normally he doesn't choose to read but when he received this book for christmas, he immediately put down his other items and began to look through the book. Later that evening, before bedtime, he chose to read his book before going to sleep. He also liked that the book had poems; something he's been studying in school and hasn't seen how it could be fun to read. Now he likes them a little more. I'm glad it will help to promote more reading for him.

First of all, I love this book because I love penguins. However, as a piece of children's literature, it's so much more. This is an excellent example of how literature (poetry) and science can go hand and hand. There are some poems in this book that seem written just for fun, (e.g. "Be My Penguin"). However, most of the poems in this book are written about and around actual behaviors that penguins exhibit: from regurgiating their food to feed the young ("Regurgitate") to the motherly instincts of father penguins ("A Hatchling's Song" and "My Father's Feet") to poetic riddles about penguin predators (sea lion, killer whale). The book is charming, easy to read, and full of delightful penguin illustrations. A great gift for any child interesting in science or literature or anyone who (like me) just loves penguins.