Animal Books

Sam and her friend Jen are doing a school project in
an old ghost town. They see a horse and when Jen starts thinking
it's a horse that her family lost. She sort of goes crazy trying to catch the mare. I think the fire and ice palominos sound pretty cool.
Very exciting book. better than I thought it would be.

This story is a good one. I liked reading this, especially in a cozy environment. Not my favorite, but I think many readers will enjoy this story. A bit suspenseful, easy to visualize. Makes a great holiday gift!

This was actually the first Phantom Stallion book I read. I won it from our libary when I was ten and I didn't really care for it at that time. I re read it a few months ago and loved it!! This one is a great book if you like mysteries along with horses. It's one of my favorite.

This book was wonderfull!I could not believe that
Sam could make such hard desicion.This book is great
for anyone who LOVES horses or any other animal.I
want everyone to trie out all of the books in the
series.

I have read the first thirteen of the Phantom Stallion series, and Golden Ghost is one of my favorites. Like all the Phantom Stallion books, a lot of different story lines are presented throughout the book. You get to know not only the human characters, but also the horses, each of which have their own personality as well. I highly recommend the Phantom Stallion series for any horse lover!

A fun and thoughtful book, Gullboy makes great reading for anyone who wants to spend the time getting to know the characters of a novel enough to care (or not) about what happens to them. It's fast paced, crammed with delightfully complex characters, and asks the reader to consider his own capacity (and likely lack thereof) for the kind of unconditional love shown to Franco by his father. As the words on the final pages pass, the author trusts the reader enough to imagine for themselves the consequences of the last tragic incidents of the story. It's easy to do because we already know these characters and the world that they inhabit. When you're done reading, you'll wish to visit Coney Island, wonder at what's going on in posh Trump Tower, and reconsider the way in which you treat the people you know who are living inconceivable lives around you.

I picked up this book after reading about it Vanity Fair. I'm glad I did. What a great read! Entertaining. Funny. Poignant. With memorable characters. And artful writing too.

"Gullboy" tells the story of a young guy living on Coney Island named Ernesto Zanpa. Zanpa is kind of drifting through life as a Brooklyn beach bum when the story begins. He marries a woman named Venus who he knows from "dating" as a local prostitute, a woman who seems much smarter and more ambitious than he does, but one with the morals of a hungry seagull. When, early in the story, Ernesto begins to raise the gullboy, his love of the easy life is broken by the need to look after the kid.

The story then follows what happens to these three: Ernesto, Venus and the gullboy, as their ambitions heat up and fire off in different directions, along with those of the other characters, like a crate of fireworks tossed onto a bonfire.

The story seems to be "about" lots of things, including family, morality, "normality," and responsibility for others, but, to me, at least, the biggest theme seems to be Ambition, and how, on the one hand, it can drive people to accomplish great things, but also, when taken too far, how ridiculous ambition can make you look, not to mention selfish, lonely and ruined. Still, for all of that, this is one of the funniest novels I've ever read. Rubinstein obviously loves his characters, the more rotten their hearts are, the more he seems to enjoy them. It's lowbrow. It's highminded. It's a friggin' work of art, full of lines like this one: "Beauty may be only skin deep, he thought, but then that's where all the nerve endings are."

Give this book to the workaholic in your life, but first you'll want to read it yourself.

If you like novels that spawn conversation and create intrigue, this is the book for you. Every detail of Gullboy seems carefully chosen to carry a particular meaning (although the members of my reading group didn't always agree as to what that meaning was - but that was the fun of it). I appreciated that no detail seemed arbitrary in the world of this novel, right down to the choice of Coney Island, Brooklyn (famous for it's sideshows and amusement parks, etc.) as a setting where one senses anything might happen -- a place where you go to suspend your disbelief and enjoy the ride on an author's imagination.

No one protaganist dominates the narrative. Instead, the story is shared by a character ensemble that seems familiar yet bizarre, dark, and endlessly interesting. The plot skillfully braids these characters' lives, switching back and forth in a way that heightens the story's tension until you find you can't sleep till you've learned how it all turns out.

Though I don't think it's literally spelled out anywhere in the book, I found the novel made deft use of the Seven Deadly Sins, with each character representing the embodiment of the classic definition of one of those sins, namely Avarice, Envy, Wrath, Lust, Gluttony, Sloth and Pride (though I should mention not everyone in my group agreed with this point, but as I said, that's part of what makes Gullboy such an interesting read).

A satisfying, stimulating novel you'll want to chat about.

As someone who grew up in the Brighton Beach/Coney Island area, I was enthralled by this comic, heart-warming novel. Similar in tone to "A Confederacy of Dunces," and "Birdy," first time novelist Rubenstein has a literary tour de force here. By all means suspension of belief is required, but thoroughly enjoy your walk along the boardwalk in this Coney Island of the mind and imagination.

This book is a hoot! Reading it, you feel like you're there for all kinds of insane-but-all-too-true goings on (well, true but for the gullboy, I should say). I mean, you're not just trapped in the head of one character in this book -- instead you get the sense of seeing things for yourself as they happen, almost like watching a movie -- if you read it you'll see how visual it is. I found this review online after reading the novel. FWIW, I think it gives a good summary of the story:

From RUMINATOR magazine Oct./Nov. 2005 by Julia Carlis

I've never actually been to Coney Island, but I certainly have an impression of the place, cobbled together from Kevin Smith's Dogma, childhood visits to the Jersey shore, and its own icons-saltwater taffy, skee-ball, peeling paint and pop culture dating from the '30s, and a somewhat desperate nostalgia for a better time, when it was part melting-pot and part refuge from the city.

Wade Rubenstein's debut novel, Gullboy, is set mostly on Coney Island, and it's strongly evocative of that nostalgia. Its characters are either stuck in an idealized past, looking for a better, fuzzily imagined future, or both. And everyone in this Chabonesque tale of genetic miracles, shyster lawyers and Internet pornography is searching for a better self, mostly without knowing who, or sometimes what, that could possibly be.

Ernesto Zanpa begins the tale as an erstwhile, seldom-employed chef. He soon marries his hooker girlfriend, Venus, partly because he thinks marriage will provide his life meaning (and partly because he's run out of money to pay her.) Despite the free, professional-quality sex, though, Ernesto doesn't find what he's looking for; into his troubled marriage comes a strange baby-half seagull, half human-that Ernesto finds one night in his front yard. Despite the wings and the beak, Ernesto sees something of his beloved father in the bird-baby, so he takes him in and names him Franco, Jr.

Spurred by the child's presence, Ernesto strikes out on some new ventures he never otherwise would have attempted; a restaurant passed down from Manny, his benefactor, takes off. And while business is flying high, Ernesto becomes obsessed with getting Franco to fly, literally, to celebrate his uniqueness. (For his part, Franco wants nothing more than to be normal, even finding a girlfriend at the local library.) These wildly different objectives for Franco's identity-whether to be normal or exceptional-form the human heart of Gullboy. To Rubenstein's credit, he skillfully plays them against both other identity objectives (such as Venus's horror, and then embrace, of an Internet porn career) and the background of the Coney Island boardwalk, whose freak shows both celebrate and mock the unusual-a lyrical, evocative variation of the forces working on Franco, and an indication that this is a novelist to keep an eye on. -Julia Carlis

I remember reading all of the Beverly Cleary books as a child, and now I've bought these to read to my children. All of Cleary's books are literary gems, easy to read, and keep kids entertained with plots that they can relate to.

I clearly recall the 1950's style illustrations by Louis Darling in the books I used to read, which have since been replaced in these modern editions. At first I was dubious about the change because the Darling illustrations were so charming, but upon seeing these new illustrations and relating them to the content (which has NOT changed), it's clear that the new illustrator made a real effort to stay close to the original drawings. Additionally, Cleary's words in relation to the new, 'modern' illustrations, suprisingly still apply very well (aside from the 1950's prices and brand names). Regardless, it's easy to envision Henry, Beezus, and Ramona as children living in 2008 or 1950. What does that tell me about Beverly Cleary's books? They're absolutely timeless, and I hope that future generations continue to read and enjoy them as I have.

This is the second-to-last book in the "Henry Huggins" series (if you count "Ribsy," the solo story of his dog, and set aside the Ramona and Beezus books...)

In this volume, once again Henry shows his determination and pluck as he sets a goal and works hard, very hard, to attain it. Actually, he pursues two goals: to save enough money from his new paper route so that he can buy a sleeping bag, and to build a clubhouse with his friends Robert and Murph. Henry learns to balance work and play, and wins the respect of the adults in his world. He also has to contend with the ever-annoying Ramona, as well as her sister Beezus (whose feelings he hurts when he agrees to make the clubhouse a "no girls allowed" zone).

Once again, Beverly Cleary gives a glimpse into the world of children that is both entertaining and emotionally honest. The innocent, white-picket fence world of the Kennedy-era early '60s may be a far cry from what life is like now, but these stories are still fun to read and pleasantly free of a lot of the violence and other baggage that define more modern kid's fiction. Wholesome and all-American, also funny and human, these are timeless stories that can help open the world of literature to inquiring young minds. (ReadThatAgain children's book reviews)

Looking for books that will challenge an 8 year old boy that is a good reader but doesn't like fiction. The Henry Huggins series is just the ticket. Although the stories are somewhat dated, nevertheless they are well written. The stories have humor in them and they contain object lessons for their readers. I can say that a boy for sure will find them interesting.

I think Beverly Cleary did a good job writing Henry and the Club House. Henry and the Club House is part of a series of books. This book is about a 11 year old boy who has a paper route. But, some times he forgets his paper route. One day he forgets his route and his mother has to do it. He has lots of problems but his biggest problem his Ramona. Ramona is a four year old girl. Every day Ramona is upto something. Henry has to get an idea to get rid of Ramona. In Henry and the Club House Henry has to deal with Ramona and a clubhouse that he is working on with his two friends Robert and Murph. I think every one from 7-11 should read this book.

Another fine Henry Huggins book...and sadly we only have two left about Henry before we have exhausted this series. We simply love these books, my daughter is anxiously waiting until we get to the library tomorrow to pick up Henry and the Paper Route and we'll top off the series with Ribsy. Like other Henry Huggins books, this one is divided into chapters (7 to be exact) and each chapter is practically a short story in and of itself...the chapters build up to an overall theme/goal for Henry. In this particular book, it's building a clubhouse and buying a sleeping bag so he and his friends can sleep in the clubhouse.

The chapters start out with Henry forgetting about his paper route and winding up riding through town in a bathtub, then Henry and Ribsy making the acquaintance of the new neighborhood dog, we follow them on Halloween night, on a day of collection for his newspaper route, through his building of the clubhouse (with a strict No Girls policy) and his run in with Beezus and Ramona as a result (hilarious), Henry's clever "solution" to Ramona's pestering, and how he wound up with a little shadow! Overall the stories are clever and humorous in a way that I think kids genuinely appreciate and relate to!

Where does he find materials for his clubhouse? How does it turn out? What's up with that huge stuffed owl? What's it like to ride through town in a bathtub? How hard is a paper route? Will Henry ever get that sleeping bag? If you want to know you simply must read Henry and the Clubhouse, you won't be disappointed! These stories were written in the 1950's and 60's, so money matters are a bit off, but the rest is charming and the overall themes, humor, and childhood joys, frustrations and embarrassments have held up so wonderfully over the years...these books are great for girls and boys! I give this one an A+, another fine Henry Huggins adventure!

The previous reviewer provides a great overview of this book. What I can say is that this book had my entire family on the edge of its seat. We truly had no idea what was coming next, and simply found it nearly impossible to put down. Alan Snow has created a wonderful, imaginative, and witty cast of characters that are simply amazing. The story takes us in places that even those well-versed in childrens literature will find unusual and delightful. If you are looking for the unexpected and imaginative, I highly recommend this book.

This book is not targeted for my age range (adult), but it is excellent! So very imaginative!! I can't wait to see how it ends, or how the "Volume 2" will be!!

Illustrations by the author are excellent also, the scenes are just as he describes them.

This should hold any kids attention, even ones who don't like to read...

I love this book because every little part of it is very interesting and you are hooked to it the whole time. It has a little mystery, some action, and the author is good at descriptions. This book reminds me of the books by Roald Dahl. I recommend this book to people of all ages.

Monsters are not monsters at all in this great read. I enjoyed reading this as a bedtime story. It was a little tough to stop and display the illustrations to kids on a bunk bed, but the pictures are just too good and meant to be shared.

If you ask me, HERE BE MONSTERS! is no classic, not even a keeper. I tried reading this book to some kids, and they weren't even interested an iota. Even some English children visiting San Francisco turned their nose up at it, seeing it for what it is, a goodhumored attempt to capture some of the late Roald Dahl's popularity by marrying his "children come first" philosophy to the epic fantasy saga plot of Philip Pullman or whoever the latest upstart is. That's where the big money is, you see. I will say that three of the children (ages 4-7) enjoyed Snow's cross hatched drawings of the many inventivce creatures who populate his underground kingdom. Where I see sloppy sub-par Tenniel drawings, children see the many-shadowed intimations of adulthood drawing around them like night shades. I expect that Snow will bewitch some readers, especially those with visual acuity, while turning off some with his witless puns ("I'm a BIG CHEESE") and the incredibly longwinded storytelling--five hundred pages, and this is just volume one! Does he farm out the drawings to others? How does he get all his work done?

As for little Arthur, he was okay, with gumption to spare--but I hate gumption. Long ago there was a great novel for young people called THE GAMMAGE CUP by Carol Kendall--anyone remember this book? It had everything that HERE BE MONSTERS has and more (well, it didn't have MONSTERS' exclamation point, but it didn't need one) (indeed Grandma always said, never trust a book that tries to excite you with an exclamation mark)--only THE GAMMAGE CUP was a shapely 160 pages, so wouldn't make much of a splash in today's steroid driven market where the longer the better. In the meantime, I know a few kids who will be looking forward to the next installment of RATBRIDGE, and one of them has taken up drawing all by himself, after Snow, saying, "Kevin, look at Snow's people, the way they start out by being tic tac toe puzzles, then next time you look they have arms and legs and faces."

This is such a fun book. Hilda is making a mess of the jungle with her dancing and the other animals are trying to get her to take up new hobbies. The book rhymes and is fun to read. I bought this for my 2 year old and she loves it. Karma Wilson writes several books we enjoy, including her Bear series.

my 2 year old loves this book. she knows it almost by heart. very fun to read!

My daughters (3 and 4) LOVE this book and so do I. It has been one of our favorites for over a year. We also like others by this author.

My 18 month old daughter and I first heard this book at Story Time in the Library and we checked it out that day. We fell in love with it and I had to purchase it immediately to add to our collection. My daughter LOVES the sound effects and begs to have me read the "dancing" book to her. The book just flows and is so much fun to read, and the pictures adorable and brightly colored. This has become one of our favorite books!

I love this book! The illustrations are beautiful and cheerful. The rhyming text is fun, and the message is positive.

This is a perfect compliment to Horses of Proud Spirit. Horse Lover or not, this will have a place in your heart!Wow......the stories of these horses and donkeys are amazing! Kuddos to Proud Spirit Rescue and dedicating your life to giving horses a respectful retirement and being there with them to the end.

I got this book for my mom, who LOVES horses. I got her the first one and she loved it, even though it made her cry every time she read a story. So, I figured I'd make her cry again and get her this one, and Yes, she loved it and yes, she cried.

A truly remarkable book from one of the best authors of today. Heartfelt, inspiring and brimming with compassion and love, Melanie's writing reflects her deepest emotion, bringing the sounds of trotting, galloping horses right out of the page. With her we cry and laugh while gaining a deeper respect for the animals that share our planet. Superb in every respect. The purest love is what a person gives to something or someone simply for the joy of sharing it.

Another great book by Melanie. Hoof Prints is as colorful as the first, with new true stories about the great horses and people of Proud Spirit. I laughed and I cried. After I finished the book, I went out to the barn and hugged all my horses. We give it 2 hoofs up!

This is not only a great collection of stories about horse rescues; it speaks of the love and respect for animals that is the driving force behind all those who devote their time and resources to rescue and rehabilitaiton.

you cannot go wrong w/ david carter "bug" books. i buy every one i can and my kids are getting too old for them. GREAT gifts

when are you going to mail this book ? or email me a phone # so i can talk to some one abouit this book.

I was happy to find the Bugs pop-up book, because my own children loved them, and now I am buying them for grandchildren. The books are fun and a delight for children, but probably too fragile for children under 3. The pop-ups are creative and clever, and there is a bit of a story line to the books, too.

My 16 month old son has only recently begun to sit still for books, but this was the first one that he paid rapt attention to, beginning to end. He brings it over for me to read it to him frequently. He has learned which way to pull the different flaps and tabs (they are different on different pages). Perhaps it's not the sturdiest of books, but for amount of pulling and yanking it has had, it has lasted far better than several other pop-up type books we have. We read it all the time, and he still hasn't tired of it. I will be getting him some others in the "bugs" series (he loves Chanukah Bugs, too), since they hold his attention so well! The bugs are cute, also.

I bought this book for my two 1/2 yr old. She loved all popup style books. But this book you have to be careful with. Each page had a different style of pull out, pop up. But the paper is very thin and tears easily. Not for a child to look through them selfs. Even as an adult I have to be very gentle with it.

As a mom and daycare provider, I have to say that these Howie books are great. These quickly became the kid's favorite books to read. This book is a big favorite with my girls and they laugh so hard at Howie trying to fit in at a tea party!

I really enjoyed this children's book. The art work was excellent. All children make mistakes. I thought the way the book handled Howie's mistakes was an excellent teaching tool for young minds. Children who read at this level are so impressionable. This book gets my highest approval!

As a first grade teacher, I see this as a enjoyable book for my beginning readers. The children will love reading about all the trouble Howie gets into. It may remind them of the trouble they themselves cause. It is good for children to see love and forgiveness in action. I can't wait for the new school year to start so that I can share this series with them and see their delight.

The Howie books are a delightful series for young readers. Howie brings a charming message of God's love and brings humor and adventure as well.

I just graduated from college with an elementary education degree. I read -Howie's Tea Party- and was found the entire Howie series charming and am enthusiastic about adding it to my classroom library for young readers.

Both enlightening and practical. This book is clearly written and makes points in way that Mark Rashid himself (I love his books) is not always able to. I think this comes from this author's more "traditional" horse training background, which so many of us share. (BTW: If you are into jumping then this book is definitely for you!)

I found this a wonderful complement to Mark's own books. It stands well on its own, too. I would recommend this as a first exposure to Mark Rashid's philosophies for anyone who wants to "get to the point" a little quicker than reading through all of Mark's books. But if you've already read all of Mark's books, you won't be disappointed either!

It is often good to see the insights and opinions of those whom have been affected by someone elses knowledge and abilities. In the Company of Horses: A Year on the Road With Horseman Mark Rashid puts you on the road and in the clinics with the eyes, ears and emotions of many of his students.

Of sharing true openness and self observation. Kathleen shows how being open minded to learning from not only Mark, horses and her students but also learning from herself and what she is really doing when she is working with a horse. Which shows that if you are not honest with yourself and what you are really doing, or not capable of doing while working with a horse, the horse will reveal it for you.
This book is hard to put down once you start reading it.

In the Company of Horses is such an inspiring story about not only finding your role as a horse trainer but also how to identify and work within your own psyche. There were so many ways that I could relate to what Kathleen had written about her own experiences, doubts, and insecurities. The inspiration comes when she helps the reader to realize their own potential for success- in life as well as with the horse.

After reading the first five pages of this book, I put my pen down as I knew I'd underline about 80 percent of what I was reading.

Chapter titles include 'Point of View', 'Softness', 'Mean Well' and within the chapters are well thought, priceless vignettes of self-discovery ranging from learning with Mark and horses, the life style of an on-the road clinicians, working with students and how this thoughtful style of consistent horsemanship changes self and permeates life.

This time through, I'm devouring it - skimming words, slowing down here and there, nodding in agreement, delighting in the aha-moments. As soon as I compete the book, I'll start my second reading - going slowly, savouring the Lindley's words and experiences along this horsemanship road that beckons and calls us just over the next hill.

I think this is a great satire on all the other boring ABC books. I love that x and y are "not important" and thrown out ( a yo-yo and a xylophone), and that z is for "the end". I will read this book to my kids tons and buy it for all of my relatives who anxiously read abc books to their 2 year old in hopes that their kids will someday get into an ivy league school.
I love A is for Salad. The animal drawings are all great too!

This is one of my favorite books to read to my students. (Very audience participation). I read the sentence in the book and they respond with "No, it's for ______" (and name the animal on the page). While they need help with some (Narwahl, Iguana) the first few times we read this book (sorry, you will have students demanding you read this over and over), eventually they learn the names (good science tie in). We have even used this book as a buddy project (with our 3rd grade buddies) and students have made their own illustrations modeled after the book.

My kindergartener saw this book at his school and begged me to buy it. They are just mastering the alphabet, and love "getting" the jokes. Unlike the School Library Journal reviewer, I think the joke helps children remember the correct sounds, and is not confusing. I help teach phonics every week in the kindergarten, and some children need more mnemonic devices to help link sounds to letters. Silly humor is a great way to do that.

I is for Pancakes.

L is for Hairdrier.

The images correspond to the actual letter (a lion blow drying his mane, for example). This may be the most clever and adorable alphabet book, EVER.

As the title makes obvious, Mike Lester's A Is for Salad is an unconventional alphabet book. The reader's participation will unmask this as a straightforward animal alphabet book cloaked in humor. Each letter receives its own page, with a hand-drawn letter and a fractured statement. "C" is for hot dog (eaten by a cat); "J" is for hats (worn by jellyfish); "T" is for polka-dotted underpants (worn by a tiger). The illustrations, done with rich colors and crosshatched lines, are somewhat dark in appearance and character; animals appear annoyed or embarrassed with their squinty eyes and nervous grins. The illustrations depict silly situations (a lion blow-drying his mane) and nearly naughty scenes (an elephant's behind exposed in the back flap of its pajamas). These illustrations combined with the unconventional outlook of the book make for an exceedingly devious and sly mood for the book. Children who have recently learned their ABC's will enjoy recognizing the correct letter and will take pride in "being in on the joke."