Animal Books

We read this book in our friends' apartment in Paris. It is the most wonderful and comprehensive book for cheese lovers and foodies. Looked through many book stores in Paris and were told it is out of print.
Most spectacular find at Amazon. Thanks.

This is great. Shows cheeses at different ages which is one of the most interesting points and makes this very unique as a reference book. If your in the business its a must have.

I collect field guides and what attracts me to some is the clever layout and design. This volume is in a class by itself and unlike some guides, the text was so informative that i could not put it dowm.
Should receive 6 stars out of 5.

Living in France, I am always making the acquaintance of cheeses I had never before known existed. I always scurry to find this book, and look up the tasty morcel I've just consumed. It's great for learning the basics about various cheeses -- and, as noted by other reviewers -- the photos are divine, but it's not the sort of book one takes into the bath to pore over for hours at a time. Put it on your shelf next to your dictionary and thesaurus; it's that useful!

As mentioned in previous reviews, this book does a great job of referencing hundreds of cheeses from France, providing photographs, descriptions, and wine recommendations. In these areas, it does a fantastic job. I've learned a lot reading it and I can't wait to take it with me on my next trip to France.

I wish the book gave more guidance on the tastes of the different cheeses and how you might select them. For example, if I like Brie and wanted to try a different nice mellow soft cheese, what might be recommended? This book isn't organized to help answer questions like that.

Overall, an important book for anybody serious about cheese.

This is a wonderful adition to your nature, and science, library. It has beautiful illustrations, and a lot of practical information. It holds many of the take-along guides in one volume, which is a plus. My children use it constantly, to help with their nature journals, and just to investigate further all the wonders to be found in their backyard. A must have for ages 4 and up.

My older children (3 and 4yrs old)LOVE this book. We use it at least once a week in our pre-school, and I have found my son looking at all the pictures and describing them to his older sister! It is a great book. Short descriptions of animals, homes, and habits, but long enough to get a feel for the animal/bug! It also has some great activities inside. Awesome book!

This is an excellent book for young children. I haave purchased copies for each of my grandchildren at the age of 8 or above. It provides all kinds of information and pictures of animals, insects and plants. My grandchildren love it and it encourages them to learn more.

My kids absolutely love this book! Not only does it let them know about all the bugs/animals they come accross but it also has blank pages where they can write about their experience with them and/or add pictures and draw. It also has numerous project ideas in it, which added to tons of family fun.

We had purchased this book a year ago for our 4 year old granddaughter and she loved the book. So we purchase another one from Amazon for our other 4 year old granddaughter. It is a very good book!

This book is amazing!! I bought it about two weeks before my parents bought me a bearded dragon. It told me everything i need to know. It tells you everything about making terrariums and what to feed them. It also has sections on breeding and general information on the different species. This is a must buy if you are planning to raise a bearded dragon.

I bought this book when my parents bought me a baby bearded dragon. this has everything you need to know about raising dragons. it tells you all the feeding instructions and it also has an extensive list of diseases and ailments and there respective symptoms. it tells you all about how to create a good terrarium. it also has information on breeding and overall care of the dragons. this is an amazing book and i would recommend it to anyone that is looking to buy a bearded dragon.

what do you expect...this book was written by a man who breeds bearded dragons and it is a book about bearded dragons. It is a wonderful book and tells you everything you need to know about keeping a bearded dragon whether you are breeding them or not. I personally own a 1 year old dragon, and this has been like the bible to me. Whenever something is wrong i consult this book and it will always have the answer you need. All the other books are written by herpotologists who have never actually owned, bred, or loved a bearded dragon. This book is amazingly helpful and comes from a person who knows what he is doing. I would recommend it to anyone who is planning on owning and loving a bearded dragon.

This is a very through book on the care and maintenance of Bearded Dragons. It is excellent for the beginer lizard keeper. I highly recommend this book if you want to take good care of your Bearded Dragon(s).It contains information on their diet, vivarium design, and other very useful information. It is one of the most reliable reptile books I have read.

I don't like this book at all, the authors only writes about keeping the bearded dragons in big outdoor vivariums, and not about having just 1-3 bearded dragons as pets.

Very little information about feeding, housing and everything you really want to know. The authors also doesn't seem to think about the bearded dragons as pets, to cuddle with and have fun with, but only as something you can breed.

I almonst never read or look in this book, and I regret that I bought it.

I rekommend Liz Palikas book "Your Bearded Dragon's Life" and the book "The guide to a owning a BD" by David Zoffer and Tom Mazorlig instead!

I have only read the first book and want the second one. The book was wild and suspenseful, it was sometimes even spooky, I LOVED it!!!!!!!!!!!!

I really love these seires an am waiting until the 3,4,5,6,7,8...and so on ...hope fully she does continua but...sadly it like ends on the third which sucks since you sooo want to read more!!!! :'(
but i rate higher then 5 STARS!!!!
she ia TOTALLY THE BEST!!!

I read this book a long time ago, and have been searching for it forever!!!! I LOVED IT! I could never put it down. It was so powerful I could hardly see the pages when I cried from reading the sad parts. You have no excuse to not read this book.

I really enjoyed this book but is was written like I write books and im only 13. I wish it were a little higher in reading level but i look forward to reading the next books. I really liked this one.

I think all of the phantom rider books are the best. (#'s 1,2,3). I cried in the first one because it was so sad, and it touched my heart. I love horses myself, so this book would be great for a horse lover. Remember to bring a tissue, though!

My 5 year old daughter checked this out of the library, and I was so proud of her! Our family has adopted a dog and three cats (that look very similar to the three cats in the story), and we are animal lovers and advocates. I was touched that she chose this story. James is a cat who was abandoned or lost, and he lived in the woods behind someone's house. He struggled to survive for a long time, until the family realized that he had no home, took him in and gave him lots of love. It also hits close to home because my mother in law just took in a black and white cat who was living in her yard for some time. He was recently hurt by an animal, so she took him to the vet and then he became an "inside cat" in her home. Just like James!

I work with children who have been abused and have been in the foster care system. All my clients have related very well to this story and seem to connect with the pain the cat has endured. This book has been helpful in the healing journey!

A wonderful story of human kindness. It is the perfect childrens' book as it is written in simple and easy to follow text yet the story is so touching that you can't help but get caught up in it. I bought this book for my 3rd grader who has read it over and over.

This title was selected to help the children in our 1st and [...] elementary school acknowledge Animal Cruelty Awareness Month. It was a success! The children easily connected and could sypathize with James the cat. It is a wonderful addition to our library.

This is a great story to show things are not always as they seem. The people thought that James had a home, because he had a collar on. It wasn't until he was attacked by a dog that they took a better look at the problem. They took the tight collar off and went to the vet to get help for him. They try to find his owner, but no steps forward. It's cute how he got his name. It is a happy story, he fits in well with their other two cats and has a great home for the rest of his life.

God's Messengers is supposed to be a daily meditation. Forget it. You start reading until you are finished with the entire book. I read this two months ago but forgot to write a review until tonight. I had a dream I could not understand a few days ago. When I was looking for another book on one of my shelves (Oddly enough - Earl Mindel's Vitamin Bible!) I saw G-d's Messengers. I took it off the shelf and then I the book opened to the page that had the answer to the dream. G-d bless beautiful wild animals, pets, and animals in shelters. This book is divine inspiration.

Expand your horizons and be blessed, don't wait until you loose an animal friend before reading this MUST HAVE book

... will find this book an interesting read. I found it purely by accident, and am really glad I did -The stories are captivating, and I can relate to most of them. I read Laurie Conrad's "The Spiritual Life of Animals and Plants" last year, and was completely mesmerized by her free-flowing, personable style. I think anyone who has read her beautiful work will also very much enjoy "God's Messengers".

I love GOD'S MESSENGERS!!! I especially loved the story written by Richard Simmons which is about his mother Shirley and her two Dalmations. I never knew Richard had a spiritual bent to his outgoing public personality. Dalmations also played an important part of my life as I grew up and as with Richard's mother my emotional and physical health was better because of our dogs. We have most of Richard's exercise tapes. Now we know a different deeper side to Richard Simmons. GOD'S MESSENGERS: WHAT ANIMALS TEACH US ABOUT THE DIVINE is a must read for those who want a feel good book filled with thought provoking wonderful stories. There are many great stories but I also really liked the story about Gonzo.

This is a heartwarming book full of many stories about how humans can learn a lot from animals. It is uplifting, will make you laugh and will also make you cry. It is a great coffee table book, I display it in my office and it has diverted many intense business conversations into those about our pets, their unconditional love and their devotion.

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.

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.

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!

Yes, even more accolades for Lulu! My two-year-old daughter absolutely ADORES this book! Captivating illustrations and a charming storyline combine to create a book that is repeatedly requested at bedtime. My daughter enjoys the storyline so much that she even acts out the plot during the day, pretending to be either Lulu or Lulu's mommy chasing down the bear, the alligator and the tiger. If you do get the book, be sure to track down the hardcover version; it's well worth the price!

We love this book. The story is just the right length. It's fun to read and my daughter, age 4, often requests it. The pigs really make us giggle.

Just to add to the praises, this is really a cute book. My daughter (3 years old) loves this book. She has a baby doll (coincidentally named LuLu) so, when I ran across the book at the library, I thought we'd give it a whirl. Turns out my intuition was right. Not only was she captivated by the coincidental naming of the main character, the bright vibrant pictures but also the dialogue. She could "read it" from memory after I read it to her only a few short times. It is a really cute story that really assimilates with toddler bedtime. She especially likes the ending.

This book is a timeless tale with wonderful, comic illustrations. My daughter loved it. She likes knowing LuLu feels the same way she does.

This book was laying on a table at my local library when I picked up not knowing what a treasure it was. My daughter enjoys this book and laughs at Momma Chicken as she scares the bear, alligator and tiger out of Lulu's bedroom. Its so funny to see her laugh at these things and I feel it gives her confidence that her Momma will scare all the monsters away too. I am not giving the book 5 stars because the inside front and back cover illustrations do appear a little scary, even though it depicts the same characters inside the book, but my daughter doesn't seem to mind. :)

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

As an Akita fancier, I have heard this story before, but the author of this book takes appropriate literary license in order to put the reader into the story and explain the nature of the relationship between the professor, the Akita Inu and the young boy who meets them. Anyone who appreciates Akitas for any reason should make this book a must-read, if not a must-have!

Excellent book...highly recommend. My youngest son and I enjoyed reading this book together.

There is a statue of a dog in the Shibuya train station in Tokyo. It was first set in place in 1934 to commemorate the loyalty and devotion of an Akita who waited for his master for ten years. The master was a university teacher, who died unexpectedly at work. It was the Akita's habit to wait for his master's return from work then walk home together. Because he could not understand why his master did not return, he faithfully waited until he died in his place at the station, where the statue was erected in his honor. This is the dry version of a true story.

"What a good dog you are. What a fine dog you are. Hachi, you are the best dog in Japan." These are the words Professor Ueno speaks to his Akita everyday at the train station just before he departs for his teaching job at the university. And they are the last words Hachi ever hears the professor say. The dog waits until the station is closed and the train master encourages him to go outside the gate.

A little boy whom the professor befriends, Yasuo and his mother take the dog in, but Hachi is one of those rare one-master-only dogs. He escapes. No one knows where he goes during the day or night, but each afternoon at five minutes until three, Hachi reappears to wait until closing. This continues for ten years.

Meanwhile, people begin to notice Hachi. They pet him, worry about him, feed him, offer to take him, write newspaper stories about him, come from far and near just to see him. He becomes a symbol of the devoted, loyal dog, man's best friend. Through it all, Hachi remains calm, but most importantly, patient. He waits for his master.

Today, Hachi's story is told in Japanese schools all across the country. Each year he is honored during a special ceremony at the Shibuya train station at the foot of Hachi's statue. During his lifetime he was proclaimed Chuken Hachiko (Chuken=faithful dog, -iko, a term of respect), for people loved, respected, and honored him for this total loyalty. Still, this is the dry version.

In a historical novel a writer is allowed a certain freedom or license to get into the story and bring the reader with her. Leslea Newman and artist Machiyo Kodaira take the reader right there on that train station, right there beside Hachido, feeling his extraordinary devotion and dedication. Right there with each person who attends Hachiko. We are right there as Yasuo grows into a man and watch him meet a young woman. Early in the story the train master tells Yasuo that his promise to care for Hachi will bring him an unexpected happy result. And so it does. This is a story not to miss.

Being inside the story with Hachiko and all the people whose lives he touches and influences is the wet version. For there is no way you can escape deep emotion reading this story. The tears will come, but they are cleansing tears. Hachiko will win your heart.

Hachiko Waits
This book is very well written and the illustrations certainly add much. Anyone who appreciates the Akita should consider this required reading. While every breed book typically mentions (briefly) the story of Hachi, the dog who earned his own monument in Shibuya station, this book takes you inside the experience of the legend. A bit of literary license is used (and explained in the book) to make this story truly come alive in a personal way. I am an Akita owner and everyone in my house has read this book and been moved by this incredible story!

It was a truly sad story. I enjoyed the kindness and dedicated love of man,dog and family. It was an easy read even I as an adult truly enjoyed. It was beautiful, everyone should read it. I enjoyed it for another reason. They filmed some of this story for the movie in my hometown of Woonsocket,R.I. I was able to see some of the shoots and re-doing our original train station to resemble the one in the book. It was fantastic. Loved it!