Baby Books

I feel that this book is a very well written book. It has pictures that follow the plot of the book and this helps younger children. I know that many children would relate well to this book because they do not like to see their toys locked up in a box. When I read this book it reminded me of when I was younger and I had a bear that got put in a box and I went and got it! So I feel that this is a good book to read to younger children from toddlers to third graders.

One day, Bramwell Brown remembers his friend Old Bear who was put away in the attic. Bramwell and the other stuffed animals decide to get him back.

What follows is a series of failed attempts to reach the attic until finally one succeeds and the toys are united.

I like this story because it does show the process of thinking through a problem as well as perseverance (even when Duck thinks there is no hope). As with many children's books there are a few logic problems, but overall it reads very well.

Look for the other Little Bear stories as well.

"I knew it was going to be a special day." said Bramwell Bear to himself. -Duck, Rabbit, Little Bear, and Bramwell Bear struggle to capture their long lost, and forgotten friend, Old Bear. Old Bear has been stored in the attic for a while because the children played roughly with him.

Old Bear's friends are really caring friends, especially Little Bear, my favorite character. Little Bear climbs from the airplane into the attic and recovers Old Bear. -True friendship.

I remember reading this book plenty of times 11 years ago, and always treasuring it. If you like cute books with good illustrations and a group of brave, loving stuffed animals, you should read this book!

From the first day I brought this book home, my daughter has loved it. "Old Bear" was one of the first phrases she said. This book teaches that by trying new ideas and working together, you can accomplish anything. It's a wonderful life lesson for toddlers, with captivating drawings and warm, loveable characters. I would highly recommend this book, along with any others by Jane Hissey, to all parents.

Every morning our eighteen month old daughter starts the day by exclaiming 'Old Bear!' - the cue that one of us must read it with her without further ado. If it's not left in her cot at night, she often says, 'Oh dear, Old Bear?'. In short this book really wins the toddler vote. Our toddler learnt how to wobble by reading this. She also learnt the meaning of 'sad'. Old bear is a story of lasting friendship, teamwork among stuffed toys, and a daring airborne rescue bid. Contrary to one review, the pictures are not 'sugary-sweet', Our very discerning daughter loves them, and actually, so do I. We have found that we've read the book so often that the words are imprinted in our memories - but amazingly we don't mind. All together now: 'One day the toys were sitting by the window when they remembered their friend Old Bear...'

I purchased this book because I teach Spanish to children ages 3-6. It's a perfect book for learning animals and colors. The illustrations are simple and easy to understand. There aren't too many words and the repetitiveness aids learning. Kids are familiar with this book and love it. I recommend it if you teach little ones Spanish or if you speak Spanish to your young children.

by baby of 9mo loves this book. it is a great way to integrate some spanish into his life. the colorful illustrations captivate him and the rhythmic words keep his attention.

A must have for your bilingual children's library.

I love this book, it is one of my favorites. My daughther learned the names of the animals and colors. I highly recommend it.

Excellent resource trade book. Good translation of Brown Bear, Brown Bear.

My five year old son loved Over the Ocean in a Coral Reef so much we kept checking it out of the library. I finally purchased the book and also purchased Over in the Jungle. Both books are beautifully written but especially beautifully illustrated. I especially like the information in the back of the books about the animals depicted in the story. We have read the stories over and over none of us ever tire of reading them, nor looking at the beautiful illustrations.

Having collected all of Marianne Berkes books this is by far the best! We thought nothing could top her "Ocean" book but...this does! The wording is something the children do readily respond too! Mental pictures take over and the children become very animated in the telling of the story and take on the differnet animal sounds and postures.
This book is a winner for all who take the time to introduce children to their world far removed from the everyday life. You can see their imaginations expanding as the story unfolds! The illustrations and colors by Jeanette Canyon draw the cildren to Marianne Berkes' books, like bees to honey.

The Mom's Choice Awards® honors excellence in family-friendly media, products and services. An esteemed panel of judges includes education, media and other experts as well as parents, children, librarians, performing artists, producers, medical and business professionals, authors, scientists and others. A sampling of the panel members includes: Dr. Twila C. Liggett, Ten-time Emmy-winner, professor and founder of Reading Rainbow; Julie Aigner-Clark, Creator of Baby Einstein and The Safe Side Project; Jodee Blanco, New York Times Best-Selling Author; LeAnn Thieman, Motivational speaker and coauthor of seven Chicken Soup For The Soul books; Tara Paterson, Certified Parent Coach, and founder of The Just For Mom Foundation(tm) and the Mom's Choice Awards®. Parents and educators look for the Mom's Choice Awards® seal in selecting quality materials and products for children and families. This book has been honored by this distinguished award.

Rhythm, rhyme, nature, and counting mean this book offers something in the content areas of language arts, music, science, and math. But there's more! Author Marianne Berkes made sure her young readers would also experience many movement possibilities. As a children's physical activity specialist (author: A Running Start: How Play, Physical Activity and Free Time Create a Successful Child), I couldn't be more pleased with this inclusion! And if all that isn't reason enough to buy this book, Jeanette Canyon's incredible illustrations will help children fall in love with art.

Having worked professionally with children for many years, I've been privy to countless children's books. For the youngest children, I find routinely that vibrancy of imagery coupled with simplicity of the educational message is the best received.

'Over in the Jungle' is the best of both worlds. Plus it introduces a topic that is and will have more traction for the next generations: world climate/environment.

I could see this becoming a regular staple in young children's reading collections.

This book was one of my children's favorite books to be read to. They learned the same valuable lessons "Owly" did. After they learned them both my kids and I used the most valuable lesson in the book and applied this to our daily lives. So we all knew the answer to "How much do you love me?" And most every time we all would give the exact answer that Owly got. We used this communication until the boys moved out of the house. These memories I'll cherish forever.

This book is my childhood, It's an amazing beautiful story, that I still quote when telling someone how much I love them.

This is a great book. I would recomend it to anyone young or old

MY BOYS ARE NOW 19 AND 15 AND I USED TO READ THEM THIS BOOK WHEN THEY WERE SMALL. ONE IS NOW IN AWAY IN COLLEGE, THE OTHER IS, WELL, 15. BUT WHENEVER WE SAY GOODNIGHT OR SO LONG WE WOULD SAY I LOVE YOU-----AS MANY STARS AS THERE ARE IN THE SKY, ETC. I AM NOW PREPARING FOR ANOTHER BABY AND I WANT TO SHARE THE SAME JOY THAT WE GET NOW. IT IS AN EXCELLENT BOOKS. HOLD ON TO THESE STORIES AND TREASURE YOUR CHILDREN. ENJOY, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS BOOK.

Owly is two years old and he wants to know how high, how deep, how far, how much about EVERYTHING! His mother patiently helps him to discover the answers to his numerous questions by seeking the facts himself. He goes off to count exactly how many waves there are in the ocean and finds there are so many he can't count them all. Similar experiments yield similar fruit. The endearing story eventually reaffirms his mother's deep love for him as well. I think this book's message is very sweet and comforting and I think this is a good story. However, I'm not as excited about the illustrations. David Wiesner is one of my very favorite illustrators of children's literature and well deserving of the Caldecott Award he recieved for his book called Tuesday. The pictures in this book while sweet are very much on the dull side. Look at the cover picture and that is essentally all you will see for the rest of the book's 16 illustrations. All of the illustrations are very, very similar. We see baby Owly and his mother (cute brown owls) sitting on a black tree branch with a round white moon and round white stars, or yellowish streaks indicating sunrise, or pale greenish blue indicating daylight. We see Owly take flight in two pictures. We see him sitting on the shore in one. We see the two owls cuddling. The colors are all pale washes in the yellow-blue range. Wiesner has given the two owls cute expressions. I would never say that this fine artist has created bad illustrations. Never! But these are dull and take the book from the realm of 5 stars to that of 3. You will never find that this book creates anything but positive memories...but that is only IF it creates a memory at all.

I bought this together with Mama Mama and I found it to be a great book for daddy to read to our son and as he got older to learn about animals in nature where the daddies help care for the babies--just like with humans (wink (o;) He especially loved the wolf--howling at the moon together with daddy. It also worked out that my father in law was "Papa" not grandpa so this could very well be a nice gift for a new daddy or grandpa. Very tender and excellent illustrations of the animals in good board book format for those rough toddler years.

But a great addition to it, nonetheless. The pictures were awesome, but the rhymes were pretty forced. My kids always pick the pair (Mama, Mama and Papa, Papa)together!

This book delights my 1 year old son. You can read this book in about 3 minutes. We just keep reading it over and over again-he loves the repitition. Each time we read it, I add something to it--like counting how many animals are on the page, or making that animal's sounds, etc. There is one page that has a Papa monkey and the baby, and for some reason every time we get to it, the picture makes my son laugh. I know the words by heart now, and if at any point I just say, "Papa Papa", he will stop whatever he is doing and look at me. It makes him happy, and that makes me happy. So I recommend this book. I just ordered "Mama Mama" hoping it will be as good as this one.

This book is just so cute. It's an affirmation that a child and his or her papa can make over and over again attesting to the warmth, love and protection that only a father can give to his child. Goes very well with it's partner book, Mama, Mama. The refs to Attachment Parenting are obvious and I highly recommend this book to anyone who parents by instinct.

This book embraces the caring and lasting bond between father and child (just as Marzollo's "Mama Mama" does for mother and child.) I would definatley recommend this book and highly recommend getting it's companion, "Mama Mama." They are an amazing duo that will instill in your child the cherished relationship between parents and children.

My daughter is over thirty years old. But when she got "Peter's Chair" at 18 months, she asked that it be read to her - over and over - so much that she could open the book, turn the pages, and "read" it to herself. She did it almost verbatim except came up with the word "crocogator" when she saw Peter's favorite play animal. The story is about Peter's acceptance of the fact that his new sister was with the family to stay. Ezra Jack Keats's books are all good, but this is my favorite to give to any child who has a new sibling.

One of my favorite author...love all of Keats books. Great for children who have a new sibling in the home.

I don't know what ken32 is talking about but Peter's Chair has nothing to do with gender difference. It is about a boy, Peter, who is disgruntled at the change that is occuring around the house for his new baby sister Susie. Peter sees that his baby items are being painted over in pink, which is the color that will identify if the baby is going to be a girl. Babies don't care what color their furniture is.
But Peter feeling that everything he has is going to be given to his sister, takes his childhood chair and runs away from home. But he realizes that he isn't a little boy anymore. He is a boy but not a baby. He has to accept change in the household when a sibling is born. Peter is not seen as a spoiled brat. He just doesn't want to have to give in to Susie. Peter learns a valuable lesson and is willing to help his family any way he can.
Ezra Jack Keats, rest in peace, is a good storyteller. His stories are centered around the urban areas. He doesn't paint a negative view of the city. He rather illustrates it as a community of supporting and close-knit citizens. His books dispel the media misconception of the dying city.

This story is about Peter who has a new baby sister. He is very jealous and doesn't want to share his things. Peter finally gives her his old chair that is too small for him. We liked this story because Peter learns to be a good big brother. You should read this story because the pictures are really nice.

This is a wonderful story with delightful illustrations about a young boy who is feeling displaced because he has a baby sister on the way. He is upset to see his old layette painted pink for baby Susie and his infant toys passed down to her.

The one thing that has escaped the fate of the pink paint is his old toddler chair. Peter stashes his chair away and later sets up a clever trap to fool everyone into thinking he is hiding behind the curtains. Peter tries to reclaim his old seat, but he has long outgrown it.

Sadder, but wiser, he accepts his new sister and even gives her a prized gift. This is a wonderful classic!

The summer after the snowy adventures in WINTER HOLIDAY and the D's learning to sail in COOT CLUB, the three sets of children (the Swallows, the Amazons, and the D's) converge on the lake again for their vacation. (By the chronology of the series, it's summer of 1932.)

However, there's complications. Only one boat, so they can't all sail. Camping is difficult because Mrs. Blackett is distracted with redecorating, and also because it's an especially dry summer there and the locals are paranoid of fires.

Making the best of it, they hear rumors of gold in them thar hills from a local miner, and decide to prospect themselves while Uncle Jim is on his way back from a failed mining expedition in South America. They soon find a lanky stranger, dubbed "Squashy Hat," seems to be prospecting himself, and they view him as a dangerous competitor.

The kids face all sorts of challenges, from camping near a farm whose owner won't let them cook for themselves and insists they sleep near the house....to dealing with the pigeons of the title that keep them in touch with the Amazon's mum....to finding the possible gold mine....to very real dangers, including a cave-in in an abandoned mine to a runaway brush fire.

All the usual delights of the S&A series are here...the joys of camping and exploring, added to the information about pigeons (and Dick's invention of an alarm) and information about prospecting and mining (which few kids are likely to try today, but you never know if there's a junior metallurgist lurking in your brood). Also some environmental content in the snarky view of tourists who carelessly start a fire that nearly kills the heroes.

Good fun, might inspire your younguns. Heck, it's inspired this adult to investigate a gold mine said to be nearby....

Next in the series: WE DIDN'T MEAN TO GO TO SEA.

The Swallows, Amazons and D's have regrouped and are now looking for gold in the high hills west of Mrs. Blackett's farm. But with the drought drying up all the water from possible camp sites, fires occuring all the time and a rival gold miner on the high hills it isn't going to be easy. Another masterpeice from Authur Ransome and I recommend it for any child who's dreamed of having adventures.

This was the first of Ransome's "Swallows & Amazons" series that I ever read, and it's still my favorite. We find the Swallows (the four Walkers), the Amazons (Captain Nancy Blackett and sister-Mate Peggy), and the D's (Dick and Dorothea Callum) headquartering at Beckfoot, the old Blackett house, while impatiently waiting for Captain Flint (the Amazons' Uncle Jim) to return from South America. "His mine wasn't any good," says Nancy, and she decides to fill in the time by searching for gold up on the high fells above the lake, following hints given by Slater Bob, a local miner. Complicating the program is the distance from Beckfoot to the target area and the fact that the Lake Country is seeing its driest summer in memory--and the presence of the mysterious lanky man the explorers call "Squashy Hat," who seems to be looking for the same thing they are. The book takes its title from the three homing pigeons the Blacketts own and resolve to use to keep Mrs. Blackett informed of their adventures while they camp nearer to the moors. The countryside is splendidly drawn, the children are unique individuals well sketched, their adventures and inventions are so thoroughly described that an American child could probably duplicate them, and there are thrills galore when the fells catch fire. What's more, the eight actually find...but that would be telling! Read it for yourself and find out.

Like most children's books of its period, this one is equally enjoyable by adults and would make a splendid family read-aloud. Highly recommended.

Undoubtedly the best of Arthur Ransome's 10 book Swallows and Amazons series. Suspense, intruige and natural disasters keep children and adults alike on their toes throughout. The plausibility of the story adds an exciting dimension to the plot. Ransome's superb ability to develop distinct personalities for his characters is one of the most enjoyable aspects of his writing, and Pigeon Post is perhaps his best example of this.

In this sixth `S & A' adventure, summer has come once more, and the Swallows are back in the Lake District, together with the two D's, on another holiday with their boating friends, the Amazon pirates. This time, the children desert the lake and take instead to the High Topps, prospecting for gold.

While adult readers will be unable to do other than admire the children's enthusiasm (sufficiently infectious to draw most young readers into it wholesale), they will probably have a feeling of impending disaster from quite early on, in this book. The Amazons' impetuous natures, combined with the others' general inexperience and limited knowledge of mining and its chemistry, lead them all (except, perhaps, the more sensible Susan!) into more scrapes, as well as rather more dangerous situations, than usual.

This leads to a different (but no less absorbing) desire to keep reading this tale than that likely to affect the more naïve younger reader. Both young and old are, nevertheless, likely to spend much of the time on tenterhooks during this book, as the young prospectors explore old mine workings, try their hand at charcoal burning and build and operate a blast furnace in their camp, out on the tinder-dry fells! For once, one can only feel something of a sense of relief that times have changed since 1936, when this was written! One can't help feeling - and being grateful for the fact - that modern children would not be terribly interested in repeating some of the activities undertaken here.

In summary, then, "Pigeon Post" is every bit as exciting (and at times far more nerve-wracking) and educational as the other books in this series: another winner from Arthur Ransome.

The Principal's New Clothes by Stephanie Calmenson is a children's book that is extremely hilarious. Mr. Bundy, and elementary principal, is the best dresser in town. All of a sudden theese strangers show up and tell Mr. Bundy, "We can make the best suit for you. You will love it!" But this is not an oridany suit, this suit can only be seen by people who are good at their job. When Mr. Bundy finally gets to view his new suit, he can't see anything at all. This worries Mr. Bundy. What will happen next in this story?

This book made me smile while reading it. The way that the author really paints a picture in your mind is amazing. All of the descriptive words are wonderful as well as the language is just right for kids reading it. Although this book is fast paced it's very easy to keep up with it. The Principal's New Clothes is a easy and fun book to read. I reccomend it to anyone who wants a smile on their face. I know for a fact that children would definitely love it. I suggest you go check it out today!

What would you do if your principal was going to be tricked, but you didn't say anything? This happens many times in The Principal's New Clothes by: Stephanie Calmenson. The Story is about a principal who is a sharp dresser, but to fake designers come along and trick him into something embarrassing.
It is a great book for a young because it will make them laugh. The story takes place in a present time at a regular school. The story is silly, yet it has a valuable meaning; you should never lie it may hurt someone.
The author writes in a style that kids can connect t. It is a good topic for kids. What kids wouldn't want to see the principal in their underwear?

I like this book because there are lots of funny parts in it. The principal gets new clothes that are invisible. He doesn't know they're invisible! At the end, the kids all throw him some of their clothes, but not all of them, like hats and jackets.

I am Daisy, a third grade student in California, and I am posting this under my teacher's account and supervision.

This book is very funny and it rocks. They wear fancy clothes and they make fancy clothes. The kids were taking out their extra clothes and giving it to the principal. It was so funny.

As the title implies, this book is a modernized version of Hans Christian Anderson's classic tale, The Emperor's New Clothes. The general plot remains the same: the principal (the Emperor, in the original) has a new outfit made by tricksters who convince him that the material is special, and that it can only be seen by intelligent people. The principal sends various liaisons to check on the progress of his suit, and, knowing the "amazing properties" of the non-existent fabric, they are ashamed that they can't see it, and so they lie, telling the principal that it's a wonderful suit. When he finally sees it (and pays for it), he thoroughly believes that other people can see it and his ego won't allow him to admit that he doesn't. He wears it (to a school assembly) and the charade goes on until a kindergartener reveals the truth.

Despite the well-known origins, this book takes on flair of its own because of the modern-day setting (a school, which works because of course this is a children's book) and the wonderful illustrations. I especially liked the artist's interpretation of the various word images: when the text says that Mr. Bundy is the sharpest dresser in town, the art shows a smooth-looking guy in showy prints. In other words, it's a kid's idea of well dressed, and it looks great on the page, though it would probably be terrifying in real life.

Though the ending is a little different than that of the original tale, most kids will like this ending better, and it could be used as a great jumping off point for discussions about honesty, conceit, and sharing.

I first read these books in 5th grade. It is by far the best set I have ever read. Although I can now recite most of the story from memory I still reread the Chronicles at least once a year, if not more. A true literary treasure to be enjoyed by all ages.

Lloyd Alexander's "Chronicles of Prydain" have become a classic staple of fantasy literature, a few rungs below "Lord of the Rings." In this volume, all six books in his series are brought together, showing all of Prydain's beauty, richness, humor and sorrow as one big book.

"The Book of Three" opens with Assistant Pig-Keeper Taran yearning for adventure -- and getting more than he bargains for when he chases the pig into the woods, and is nearly run down by a sinister horned rider. Soon he teams up with a wandering king-minstrel, a sharp-tongued princess and a furry creature called Gurgi to save Prydain from the power of the Horned King.

"The Black Cauldron" has Taran and the others setting out to destroy Arawn Deathlord's evil cauldron, which turns dead men into unkillable zombies. But other forces are after the cauldron, including three peculiar witches who insist on trading something for the cauldron. What is worse, the company faces treachery from someone in their own camp...

"The Castle of Llyr" ties up some loose ends from the first book, as Princess Eilonwy is sent to the isle of Mona to become a fine lady. But she has barely arrived when she is kidnapped by a minion of the evil enchantress Achren, her "aunt." Taran sets out to save her, but must team up with the young man who wishes to marry Eilonwy -- even though Taran is rapidly falling in love with her.

"Taran Wanderer" has Taran setting out to discover his past, since he feels he can't ask Eilonwy to marry him if he is lowborn. With only Gurgi at his side, he encounters evil wizards, malevolent bandits, and finally learns that his father just might be a shepherd... until a new revelation leads him to learn of his true worth.

"The High King" wraps up the saga, with Taran returning home. But no sooner has he arrived than he learns that noble Prince Gwydion has been half-killed -- and the magical sword Dyrnwyn has been stolen by Arawn Deathlord. Now the heroes set out one and for all to attack Arawn's stronghold and get back the sword -- but how can they defeat a deathless army and a shapeshifting enemy?

Finally, "The Foundling" fills in a few of the gaps with short stories that illustrate the backstory of the Prydain novels. Among the stories are the tragic history of Dyrnwyn, how the wizard Dallben was reared by the three witches (and where he got the Book of Three), and the love story of Eilonwy's parents.

Take two parts "Lord of the Rings," add a bit more humor and comedy, and stir in some Welsh mythology. That pretty much sums up the Prydain Chronicles, which is one of the rare series that is meant for kids, but is as rich an experience for adults. Even better, if they know the origins of the old legends and myths.

In a sense, the whole series is a coming-of-age story, where Taran learns wisdom, maturity, loss and love. Oh yeah, and that that Chinese curse about interesting times is quite correct. Princess Eilonwy and the bard-king Fflewddur Fflam add a bit of comic relief, but they are also strong characters in their own right, as is the fuzzy sidekick Gurgi, who goes from being an annoyance to a loyal and lovable friend.

"The Chronicles of Prydain" are fantasy at its best, mingling myth and legend with a fast-paced plot and endearingly quirky characters. Definitely not something to miss.

This is the best series I've ever read. I've bought all the books including the followups and plan on keeping them for my children to read latter. I too read them once a year and keep getting more and more out of them each time. You grow and live with the characters and fall into the trance of the story so well its hard to find your way back out. I love it !!!!! He should also follow up on Taran and Eilonwy's adventures as king and queen and start a new generation :)

This series is great. Parents should read it aloud to their kids, or teachers to their students. If you like fantasy these books are for you. Lloyd Alexander put together a fantastically amazing series. Taran the assistant pig keeper of Hen Wen the oracular pig dreams of being a hero. When Hen Wen escapes her pen due to the antagonist of the first book, the Horned King, he finds himself lost in the woods trying to find the pig. When Gwydion, the most powerful war leader in all of Prydain, finds Taran he asks him to go with him on his quest to destroy The Horned king the prize of Arawn death lord king of the underworld called Annuvin. Taran must escape danger in the spiral castle. He must help destroy the Horned King Arawn's prize. Then he must toil at the side of many heroes to escape destruction from the lord of Annuvin in the next books each with their own exciting new plot. A great read for anyone who can dream.

The Prydain Chronicles is a traditional fantasy in all senses of the word. It is simple and inspiring; it stands on a solid foundation of myths and legends (in this case, Welsh myths and legends); and it's not swarming with magic. The book actually has closure as it was written well before the plague of sequels and prequels the literary world is facing today.

The tale told is that of coming of age and the search for identity. At the tale's (or tales') outset, Taran, a young boy begins his adventuring career as he searches for the escaped oracular pig, and is quickly entangled in a quest to stop a war. As Taran matures, he learns that war and struggle does not hold as much attraction as he thought it did, eventually becoming one of the key people in the effort to prevent the world from descending into the clutches of Arawn, the lord of the Land of Death.

In effect, the books are quite similar to White's "The Once and Future King", although by the end of the quintet Taran is (quite thankfully) still young, although no longer a boy.

The narrative is clear, and most of the native names are included in the pronunciation key at the end of the book (unless this is not the same edition that I'm thinking of). As far as I know, there are no overly disagreeable scenes throughout the chronicles, and this "lack" does not spoil the quality. I quite easily can recommend this to children as easily as to adults.

Trends tips and trivia,wonderful Ideas and insight into names although I disagree with some of what Joal was saying this is number 10 on my top of the top baby names list. This guide might be helpful to some parents but they need to think for them selves too don't just listen to the book.

I'm an amateur writer, and I LOVE Puffy, Xena, Quentin, Uma! This is an excellent book that will help you come up with great, contemporary and hip names for modern characters. No more, should your contemporary characters be stuck with names like Justin, Lance, and Alex. Instead, your characters could be called: Gage, Ozmon, and Lizbet! Each chapter header comes complete with famous 'real people' who are using the names in question. I love it.

My only peeve with this book, is the low quality paper it is printed on. This paper is a very low grade, and seems only a few grades above toilet paper. Don't let this deter you, however. This is a great book. A must buy.

I must have looked at every single baby name book in the big downtown Seattle library. Though I was initially turned off by the name of the book, I am glad I did not judge this book by its cover. Great names, great descriptions. I even found the name for my baby in this book. And one year later, I still like my baby's name and think I'll keep it!

I was sitting down thumbing through the pages of another book and getting NOWHERE. I was having about as much fun as one has trying to BBQ in a rainstrom.

I needed a book that would work for me. I saw the title of this book a decided that it might be worth a good chuckle to atleast look at. This is the book!!! I love the way she has organized it. The little "Crib Notes" are a great eye-opener and a good chuckle. It saves you time, thought and the ever-so-friendly opinions from family and friends when you might be considering naming your child Elvira or Shaq.

Having grown up during the same time as her audience, Joal is in tune with the reader. She doesn't bother listing some names that haven't been used in 100 years just so she can have a book of 25,000+ names. She is smart and gives names that you might actually consider naming your child.

If you are looking to enjoy naming your baby, I highly recommend this book. If you are just looking for a name (like for the pet goldfish) then the book on the checkout stand (you know, the one by the National Enquirer) will work just fine.

That's what my wife and I did while trying to pick a name for our fourth and final child. We had a huge list of more traditional-style names, but had no luck choosing a name we both could agree on. So we threw the list away, got this book, and let our imagination run wild. Two days later, Zoe Piper was born! This book is fun to read and will bring back lots of memories for those of us in the 30-35 age range. Oh, the joys of feeling like a kid again! Joal, thanks for making a difficult task fun.