Senses Books

I LOVE "Goodnight Kisses" by the same author. This left me disappointed with the cheap mirror at the end of the book. But, hey, it's a baby book and my baby seems to like it just fine.

We bought this in a discount bin when my daughter was about 4 months old. Now she is 14 months old, and although the book is getting a bit dog-eared and I've taped torn pages, she will pull all the other books off the shelf to get to it. It isn't even necessary for me to read it to her for her to want to flip through it. She loves it! I've just ordered 4 more of Barney Saltzberg's books on here, to give Peekaboo Kisses a much-needed break.

We were given this book when I had my first child. He LOVED it. He would kiss all the animals over and over, opening each flap to do so. Pretty soon he was doing this all on his own! It was adorable. Now my daughter LOVES it too. She also will sit on the floor and open each flap to give each animal a kiss. We have read this so much it is held together with a lot of tape. Highly recommend to anyone with small children or even as a great baby shower gift. How can you go wrong with a book about kisses!

My 13 month old LOVES this book. I can't even say the word "peekaboo" unless I am planning to read her this book because she gets so excited just mentioning it.

My son is 10 months and we started reading him Peek-a-boo kisses (and other books) around 2 months. This was the first book he went and opened himself and brought to me to read. Now he grabs for it every day. He loves to flip through all the pages back and forth, over and over. He strokes all the animals in turn. The book is holding up well, no tears yet and he gets pretty rough. My only complaint is the mirror on the last page could be of better quality.

I bought this book for my niece who is 16 months. She too can be a quiet and a loud baby at times. This is a great book for toddlers because of the bright colors and length of story.

Both our girls love this book. Our 4 yr old loves reading it to her 18 month old sister too.

My daughter loved the Yummy/Yucky book, and now enjoys the Quiet/Loud book as well (of course she likes the Loud better than the Quiet). Fun illustrations and simple concepts would be appreciated by almost any child.

A friend just bought this book for my son. It is the first book he has ever brought over to me to read. I read the quiet parts in a whisper and then read the loud parts...well, loud. He loves it. He also wants to go get my shoes when I read "Mommy's shoes are LOUD." It is pretty funny. Great book! Also would recommend Chicka Chicka Boom Boom.

My 16 month old daughter absolutely loves this book. She will bring the book to me at least twice a day to read to her. The toddler in the book series is just so cute and adorable that I even enjoy turning every page. This book will also be a great for younger babies since there is a lot of color contrast in the pictures.

"Every person is born into life as a blank page - and every person leaves life as a full book" (p. xi). This sentiment from the preface of Christina Baldwin's new book sums up the overall theme of this wonderful look at the power, creativity, and uses of story.

Broken into ten chapters, this book is chock-full of amazing insights. Nearly every page contains at least one nugget of wisdom. Baldwin focuses on how story connects us, the art of storycatching, why we make stories, creating a story of the self, and finding our place in the order of things. Along the way, she addresses healing, the spiritual, power in organizations, personal growth and power, and ever so much more.

This book speaks to the heart and soul of what makes us human: the ability to tell stories, both orally and in writing, and to share wisdom, make sense of our lives, and move through our time on earth with meaning. "Story is a search for community that allows us to share, build, and learn from each other... We choose whether we want to live in hopefulness or despair. Storycatchers choose hopefulness, knowing that story has the power to change our lives" (p. 236).

The writing here is lyrical and sure, her prose evocative. She's annotated it and included a reading group guide. Baldwin writes with a deep knowledge and wisdom most of us can only dream of being able to describe, and she does it with the grace of an angel. This is a book that should become a classic. Highly recommended to readers, writers, thinkers, and dreamers everywhere. ~Lori L. Lake, Midwest Book Review

I've always believed that each life has a very important story, even those that at first glance don't seem glamorous or adventurous. In fact, my favorite memoirs, biographies, and oral histories tend to be more about real people who never consciously realized the importance of their lives.

Perhaps that is why I have always kept a journal. I am ever writing and editing the story that is my life. Trying to figure out how my experiences have made me the way I am. Looking to create the story that I want to be told to my grandchildren.

For those who haven't yet found the power of personal story, Storycatcher is the answer. In each chapter the author shares accounts of individual and family experiences. Then, at the end of these sections, she includes a number of questions to get the reader started on his or her story.

"We are the story-making creatures," says Christina Baldwin, and she goes on to inspire readers to locate, articulate, and celebrate their story-making process. Storycatcher is deeply informed by her rich experience as a writer and a teacher of writing. She weaves personal story into collective story seamlessly and beautifully--pointing the way for writers of all stripes. Whether your interest is essay, memoir, novel, genealogy, short story or poetry, there are prompts a plenty. Above all, this book is a companion--the best kind--wise, kind, honest and fun. What a gift to all readers and writers!

I learned of this book through a professor's suggestion and thought that I would put it on a reading list for a later time. Having always been drawn to the power of story, I found myself ordering it and opening the pages earlier than planned. Baldwin's genuine storytelling ability left me smiling throughout the day and hopeful about the benefits story can create in connecting strangers, friends, and enemies alike.

If you've ever sat down at a kitchen table in awe of the stories that are told around it- this book is for you. You will see that storycatching is more than just a pleasurable experience, it has potential to change hearts and minds.

In one section, Baldwin talks about her experience with posing a question about an individual's first memory of coffee while standing in a long line at a coffee shop. The discussion this created was wonderful- so next time you are standing in a long line trying to pass the time, I would encourage you to take her suggestion. Pose a question and you will be amazed at the results.

This is one of the best reads of the year- prepare to be inspired.

In a world of advice and new-fangled approaches to timeworn ways, it has been very refreshing for me, and many thousands of others, to remember the ancient, simple way: telling stories. We can begin by revealing our own story to ourselves. Then we can share our story in community so as to find common ground with others.

Christina Baldwin has led the way of story since publishing her first book on journaling thirty years ago. One to One: Self-Understanding through Journal Writing was followed by Life's Companion: Journal Writing as a Spiritual Quest. (You will find a review of the latter book on this site.) Calling the Circle: The First and Future Culture describes the way of council for us to use in whatever context we meet with others. This is the methodology Christina and partner Ann Linnea have shared around the world through their business PeerSpirit, Inc. Christina's fourth book published in 2002, The Seven Whispers: A Spiritual Practice for Times Like These, invites people into a dialogue with soul.

All of these approaches to story have led to the richness of this offering: Storycatcher. The very word invites us to step into our stories and to see ourselves and our story through the "spiral of experience." The spiral is engaged when "something happens to shake up the status quo of our lives." Other tools for storycatchers are charts that describe what "story space" is and "Setting the Space."

Our lives are filled with stories--television commercials, newscasts and e-mail chains are stories. Coworkers share stories on Monday morning. As Christina points out, "Story is both the great revealer and concealer." Her theme throughout the book is authentic stories. It takes courage to tell them, but sharing our wisdom is what we need for survival. And storycatching is "a skill we can remember and practice and encourage in each other." While an intentional circle may be possible, stories can also be told spontaneously around the dinner table when someone poses a question for reflection and sharing.

All of the charts, tools and prompts come from Christina's own poignant and powerful story in relation to her experiences as a young writer; her family, especially her brother Carl; and world events like the Cuban Missile Crisis. Reading of her own beginnings as well as answering the questions she poses at the end of each chapter, will help you remember what's important to you. You may write those thoughts down and appreciate your own insight as you reflect on your life's story.

As storycatchers, we are practitioners of the heart of language. "In serving as the heart of language, story imparts four distinct gifts." They are: "1) story creates context; 2) context highlights relationship, 3) context and relationship change behavior and lead to holistic and connected action; and 4) connected action becomes a force for restoring/restorying the world."

In the second half of the book, Christina includes the stories of others. A young woman in Africa, a grandmother in Arizona, a visionary Danish friend, two Episcopalian priests. Each has something in his or her life that resonates with our own. The gift is that resonance, but it is also the vision--how they took their stories into the world.

Christina has identified four activities required to work with self-story: linking (to another's story), editing (through therapy or journal writing), disorienting (what could be a "sudden reversal in circumstances") and revisioning (a foundation for our life's work).

The Arizona grandmother Christina writes about is Kit Wilson, a psychotherapist who is an alcoholic and has a family history of addiction. Kit works with her family stories through journaling and time away to grieve and commune with the spirit of her dead mother. As Kit says, "I am contributing to my lineage backwards and forwards, through the personal work I've done to heal myself." The compassion she began to feel for and from her mother is personal work that will help her in her practice. It is also of great benefit to family members such as her grandson, also an alcoholic. In the section titled "Writing and Talking in the Seven Generations," Christina includes a list of what storycatching in the family line requires, including saying what is without drama and being ready to forgive.

From the personal, Christina takes us to the impersonal state of the workplace. But, as she points out, it isn't a place without story. People work there after all, and the organization or institution also has a story. Christina describes the work of Toke Paludan Møller, a Danish man she met through her work with From the Four Directions, and who is "a spiritual warrior for story space." Toke has favorite questions for his work in an organization, and Christina includes a list of them. When Toke works with a group of people, he thinks about three levels of story: "the individual story, the organizational story, and the species story." Christina and Toke, among others, are part of a vision called the Art of Hosting, where a team of hosts volunteer to hold the space for the three levels of story. What results "is a community of people who are practicing the power of conversation to change the world."

From the story of the self that begins with our birth story, we continue through a process of remembering, speaking, writing about our own lives. We decide "what we want our lives to include and what kind of a legacy we want to leave behind, and then we are challenged to act on this story--to become who we say we are." Can we as storycatchers change the world? From my own experience and from the stories Christina shares, her vision and her dedication, I know we can.

Your story begins with a question: How might you help story survive?

by Mary Ann Moore
for Story Circle Book Reviews
www.storycirclebookreviewsorg
reviewing books by, for, and about women

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.

Full of good ideas, provokations, insights, this is another great book from Clancy et al. I'd recommend a full set of their books to anyone, not a dud among them.

For more of a similar vein try:
- Marketing and the Bottom Line (ISBN: 0273661949)
- Marketing Payback (ISBN: 0273688847)

The binding is falling apart and I've highlighted so many pages that my copy seems to glow in the dark, but there's no mistaking the value of this book. Counterintuitive Marketing continues to be THE best marketing book available today, bar none. Why? Because while it debunks many of the myths surrounding the marketing industry with crystal clarity, it also gives specific details on how to make your marketing better. This is not an armchair read (although it moves pretty quickly). If you're serious about marketing or if you aren't getting the performance you or your bosses are expecting, then read this book. It's an eye opener.

The first half of Kevin Clancy's recent book, Counter-Intuitive Marketing, is the best marketing book I've read. Period. The second half will fly a thousand feet over the head of most marketing practitioners, and can only be enjoyed by dyed-in-the-wool marketing researchers. It doesn't matter. The bottom line is these counter-intuitive concepts will probably change the way you plan and implement your marketing programs. I enthusiastically recommend this book to everyone involved with business-to-business marketing and advertising.

Bob Lamons
Columnist
Marketing News Magazine

Counterintuitive marketing was an amazing book. I learned more about marketing and the decision-making tools that are available today from this book than I did in my MBA classes. If you are a serious marketing person, you need to read this book.

It's not BS--this is the way the smartest people in marketing make decisions. People who cling to outdated ways of thinking and are afraid of change probably won't like this book. The only way to make better decisions about marketing is to take the time to understand your customers. This requires research.

People who skim a few chapters, will miss important ideas. For instance, the authors explain how to use focus groups correctly--as a starting point in the research process. They never say don't use them, they say don't use them to make multi-million dollar decisions. That anyone in this day and age is basing a critical decision on the opinions of 6-8 people is crazy.

This book is the future of marketing. Anyone who says otherwise just doesn't get it.

I just read Clancy and Krieg's Counterintuitive Marketing and it was amazing. Loaded with content, solid research and practical advice. It teaches stuff about marketing I never learned in my NYU MBA program. I strongly recommend it. Then I read the screed (AKA review) by "Chanali from Asia." Who is this guy and has he worked for even a day in the real
world?

Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/RFRZFWR2LEKGA

I am a friend of Jan Dynes the author of the novel Refraction, she recommended that I get this book for my daughter who was floundering about, aimless and uninspired her Senior year of high school. Something in this book triggered her to engage in her studies and bring a D average up to a B plus in 6 weeks. Next thing I knew she was writing colleges for applications and then got accepted at Cal Tech. Before this book I would have bet on her being a drop-out. I highly suggest all high school and college students read this book! It works miracles.

Thomas Edison once noted that "Many of life's failures are men who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up." Charles Clayton gives his readers a robust tool for the road to success in his book, "The Re-Discovery of Common Sense: A Guide to: The Lost Art of Critical Thinking." As I near the end of my current career and look forward to my next one, I have found a very valuable tool in Clayton's book. His writings recall to mind many of the concepts I learned in my early years, reinforcing their validity. And he provides new thoughts as well. This is the book I wish I had read decades ago; and yes, this is the book I wish I had written. A job well done, Mr. Clayton!

Jan Dynes author of Refraction recommended this book to me, for my son and I bought it at the L.A. Book Festival with the workbook. My somewhat directionless son actually enjoyed the way the material was presented and read each page and did each step and he is a changed kid. A big thank you to Chuck Clayton and books that mold and make a difference!

I really enjoyed this book, it told me things I'd forgotten and needed to be reminded of and also enlightened me to some new philosophy. I would have to recommend it to my high school students as a good start on their entering the work place.

Years ago I ate on the food exchange system (which is what the pyramid is) and maintained my weight and felt very healthy. It is very easy to do once you know how. I had slipped away from that kind of eating and gained a lot of weight so I bought this book to refresh my memory of it and update. I am very glad I did as this book is very helpful and has ideas on how to implement it. I haven't tried any of the recipes yet but they sound very good. If you're interested in eating on a food exchange system which I think is a very healthy lifelong way to eat, to help you with more delicious recipes the New Better Homes & Gardens cookbook notes the exchanges (based on the pyramid) in the nutrition section of each recipe. My Mom always cooked from these cookbooks. Another good book to help with portion size is The Portion Plan by Linda Gassenheimer which has wonderful hand visuals for portion sizes. Good luck!

She makes this book easy to read & easy to follow. She breaks down the complex pyramid and makes it simple to undertand just how much of what you should be eating. An easy way yo get a good balance into your lifestyle. No quick fads, no "no this or that". Real life, real food with all the trimmings. Just the right amounts.
The only way to lose weight and keep it off. Great book! Can't wait for her new one to come out in March!

This book was given to me as a gift, and what a wonderful one it was. Zied's book was easy and fun to read. This is definitly not another fad diet book! While reading I felt like one of my friends was explaining the new guidlines and cheering me on to change my eating habits. She makes it so simple to make changes in your everyday routine and they are easy to remember. The recipes are easy, quick, and great tasting. There is no need to ever "diet" after reading this book.

The common sense approach to nutrition and healthy eating habits in this book are wonderful. The author is able to give the reader alot of information on dietary guidlines as well as nutrition information- but doesnt make it overwhelming. I love the recipes and think the chicken meatballs are fabulous !!!

I felt that the author was writing in a very personal manner. She made it easy reading and definitly was not a preacher but a teacher. I would recommend it to anyone who wants to understand the basic importance of eating healthy.

Brooke Stephens is a valued member in the African American community, her contributions are culturally constructive, professionally progressive, and economically empowering.

We support her because her goal is to empower us.

BTW, those who gave Brooke's book a rating of 4 or more, we clicked `yes' for the question "Was this review helpful to you?" Even in this little way we empower one another.

While some of the information in this book is outdated, it gives the new investor some good knowledge to build on.

I have read this book and found it be be very insightful and informative. I would highly recommend this resource to those taking a looking at their financdial status and making corrective changes. This is a timely work. This resource is packed with information from cover to cover. I appreciate all that the author intended to do and accomplish with this work. Take the time to sit down and read this book for encouragment to do better financial management and control of your personal financial destiny.

This book should be read by every african-american. While I was reading I thought she was talking about me. We seem to spend more money on unnecessary things and worry and complain about how we are going to pay those high interest credit cards. I now look at life and living a whole lot different. I have passed the book on to other family members in hopes that it changes their lives like it has changed mine.

I read this book about three years ago when I was deeply in debt always borrowing from one credit card to pay another credit card. After reading this book I stopped making Tommy Hilfiger, Perry Ellis and Ralph Lauren so rich and started paying myself and it has paid off in ways I could not imagine. I don't have ten credit cards anymore and I don't bounce checks anymore either, but instead I am reading Black Enterprise and the Wall Street Journal looking for the best investment opportunities.

Our young son loves this story and wants to hear it over and over again. The pictures are cute and it's an all around great book.

My 14 month old Loves his puppy book. He likes feeling the different textures and giggles at the puppies!

Sturdy construction even for a teething baby...

I just love ALL the books in this series. My children just loved them when they were little, and if you've ever had babies you know how valuable a good book is -- you get to sit down for a while! They were fun for me to read and really fun for them to explore. In fact, I've already packed them away in their hope chests for when they grow up and have children.
Now, whenver I know anyone who has had a baby, these books (as many as I can find) are my gift.
Julie Clark Robinson, author of Live in the Moment

I got this book as a hand-me-down from a friend, whose 4-year-old and 2-year-old boys had failed to destroy it. That alone says a lot about the durability of this book, and its tactile pieces. My son, who is 16 months, loves this book. He likes to touch all the different tactile pieces: the furry puppy chest (my son's favorite), the silky dog ears, the fuzzy slipper, the rubber ball (my least favorite), and the leathery puppy noses (my favorite). The pictures are adorable. There aren't many words per page, so the book might lose its appeal for older, more experienced readers. But it's great for younger kids (under 4).

My toddler loves any Touch and Feel book-he got his first for Easter last year and I think there's only 4 or 5 we don't have yet. They're sturdy and a great size for toddlers to read, we even throw a couple in the diaper bag when we're out. They're short enough to keep a toddler's attention and filled with bright photographs of familiar things and simple, easy to read concepts. Although as some people have mentioned on this or other books reviewed, they do have some repititous textures and ideas, but I think that most toddlers won't care about that-mine doesn't anyway-he loves them.
He loves "doggies" in general, so really enjoys this one a lot. He really likes the fluffy tummy, silky ear, and leathery noses, but enjoys the whole book. He loves any of them with animals, but this Puppy one is a favorite. I'd recommend this or most any other of the Touch and Feel series, especially if your toddler loves this kind of hands on reading experience like mine does!

I honestly don't know what to say about this book. It's written by a prominent Christian philosopher, Thomas Morris, who draws on Pascal's Pensees to give an analysis of faith, reason and the human condition. The writing is clear and conversational, the topics are profound, and some sections -- such as the discussion of skepticism -- are gems of lucidity. But boiled down to its essentials, the Pascal/Morris argument goes like this:

-- People without faith in God are unhappy and wretched, and spend most of their time covering up and denying their unhappiness and wretchedness;

-- Therefore, God must exist, because believing in Him makes people happy, if only because it ensures that they'll be cared for in the afterlife;

-- In fact, God must be the Christian God, the father of Jesus and one of the Trinity, since hoary old "miracles" and "prophecies" attest to the authority of the Bible.

That's Pascal's argument in a nutshell. Really. It's that flimsy. All the focus is on knocking down atheism as an untenable way of life. Once that's accomplished, a fairly doctrinaire form of Christianity is treated as the natural default position. No consideration is given to other religious options -- even though most religious traditions can boast "miracles" and "prophecies" of their own. No consideration is given to the possibility of forging an atheistic life of courage and decency. Bad faith reigns supreme: Pascal appeals to Christians looking for practical reasons to keep up Christian practice even though they suspect Christianity is false.

I love the Pensees, but their elegant aphorisms and sharp insights can obscure the absurdity of the total argument. The same is true of Morris's book. It's a good reminder that Christian philosophers should keep their philosophy separate from their Christianity.

this is a very insightful philosophical/theological book dealing with the plight of humanity in relation to faith in God and the meaning of life. There are a few things herein that will no doubt be disagreed with by many readers, but the many deep insights otherwise are well worth it.

This is a great book, which takes diverse sources such as Pascal and Woody Allen and probes the reasons why most of us waste our lives on trifles and baubles, distracting ourselves from our mortality and avoiding life's big questions. The book is part fun, part serious as it makes Pascal's inquiries into human nature very readable. The Christian and nonChristian alike should enjoy this study of how people waste their lives and how they can find meaning. Two great companions to this book, though more secular, are Viktor Frankl's Man's Search for Meaning and Erich Fromm's The Art of Loving.

Tom Morris is a gifted writer and philosopher. This book amplifies Pascal in ways you may not have thought about before, and it clearly intriques the critical mind about the possibility of the Truth behind Christianity. The leap from mind to faith doesn't seem all that large after reading this enticing book.

Making Sense Of It All is one the best books I have ever read on the topic of Christian philosophy and apologetics. This book is unique both in its organization and content. Morris utilizes some of the scientific, philosophical, and apologetic statements of the great Christian thinker Blaise Pascal (from Pascal's book Pensees) and shows how faith in Jesus Christ is the unique answer to mankind's deepest yearnings for meaning, purpose, significance, and life eternal. This book skillfully and successfully answers many of the existential objections that people give for not believing. Morris weaves together many of Pascal's brilliant insights into a significant and powerful Christian apologetic work.

Though covering a lot philosophical and theological ground, this book is remarkably readable and at places quite humorous. It addresses philosophical, theological, and apologetic issues with tremendous clarity and in an engaging style. This volume provides deep insight into why people living in today's world avoid thinking about ultimate issues. I only wish the book contained a bibliography and/or notes for further reading.

Thomas V. Morris has been called one of Christianity's finest contemporary philosophers (former Notre Dame professor). This book is indeed evidence of his first rate philosophical ability.