Animals Books

this book is my favorite, ive read it 3 times becaue i cant let any of that wonder book escape my mind because i want to remember it forever.if you are thinking about buying this book, BUY IT!!!!!!!!!!! you will love it and catch yourself wanting to read it over and over again.

this book is my favorite, ive read it 3 times becaue i cant let any of that wonder book escape my mind because i want to remember it forever.if you are thinking about buying this book, BUY IT!!!!!!!!!!! you will love it and catch yourself wanting to read it over and over again.

No Small Thing
By: Natale Ghent

Twelve-year-old Nathaniel and his sisters, Cid and Queenie, find an ad for a free pony, and they just can't believe their luck when their single mom says yes they can get it. But how will they afford to take care of it and where will they keep it? Well Nat has money he's been saving in a box his dad gave him. He has $95.36 from his paper route. He uses that money to feed and clean Smokey. But when they are on the way home from getting Smokey, (Queenie's riding) they get attacked by a big dog, which spooks Smokey and Queenie falls off and breaks her collarbone. They were all scared. But they make it through it, all the fighting and tears and form a special bond. -Smokey. Well one day the barn Smokey stays at, catches fire. It destroys the barn completely, so where will they keep Smokey? Nat sells him. It hurts to sell Smokey, but he knows it's the right thing to do.

i really liked this book at first i thought it was going to be about some sappy horse story but it wasn't it was a tale of the hardships the characters face and in the middle of it all is the horse the end

I absolutly love this book. It is a MUST read! If you want to find out more about this book take a look at the other reviews on this page.


I LOVED IT!!!!! I LOVED IT!!!!! I LOVED IT!!!!!

from a fellow horses lover

I recently sent this book to my younger sister who has inspirations of becoming an oceanographer. The book is so colorful and educational I think I want to become an oceanographer now!

I had been looking for a comprehensive ocean book for a while, and more or less found it here. A complete overview of the ocean: physical features, marine life, fishing, exploration - this book covers it all. Great photography and short pieces of information on hundreds of the ocean's species will immerse even the most casual terrestrial browser.

The species featured in this book are well distributed - representing all classes of animals and plants, and all zones and ocean communities, from the coastal to deep sea ecosystem. Their mini synopsis of species is proceeded by a helpful overview of the general category that covers them (such as mollusks: their basic anatomy, movement mechanics, feeding and life cycles for the entire group) before telling you about, let's say, the octopus. The bulk of the book is on ocean biota, with a smaller sections on ocean environments and an atlas of the oceans.

Perhaps the biggest gap I see in the book is that it covers fisheries and other human impacts (trash, pollution, warming, acidification) only minimally and sporadically. The human impacts are highlighted for only a few key species, instead of treating it as an separate issue in its own right that affects, directly or indirectly, all forms of marine life. Indeed, the subtitle for the book, "the world's last wilderness revealed," is misleading and biased. It's akin a travel brochure selling an overrun tourist destination like Waikiki as exotic and pristine ("come and watch the natives surf!" I read once somewhere) - given our massive interference with most of the ocean, the term "wilderness" simply does not apply, except perhaps for the Antarctic region, for now.

But what the book does cover, it covers it well, being both engaging and informative. Over 500 pages serve as a good introduction to our waterworld.

This book not only has beautiful photography but a wealth of information. Ocean is a beautiful encyclopedia.

This book is not a typical "coffee table" book. Although full of beautiful photographs, there is equal emphasis on educational text. Instead of being a book containing only full-page photos of ocean life, each page is a collage of wonderful photos and short articles that you will want to read. The publisher of this book (DK), offers a variety of books in this format (travel, etc), and the layout of this book is similar. That is not to knock the photos at all - they are great and some are full-page, but this book isn't page after page of full-page photos as some others are.

That said, this is an excellent educational text with so much interesting information to offer. (It made me want to read the book cover-to-cover, which would probably keep me busy for at least a few days!)

The four main sections of the book include:

Introduction
Ocean Environments
Ocean Life
Atlas of the Oceans

The Introduction section takes a scientific look at the earth. A sampling of the topics of this section include "The Evolution of the Oceans", "Tectonics and the Ocean Floor", "Hurricanes", and "El Nino and La Nina". Mixed in with the photos are a number of color drawings and graphs to help the reader understand the concepts.

The section on Ocean Environments includes articles on specific places like San Francisco Bay and Hardanger Fjord as well as general information on habitats such as Salt Marshes, Mangrove Swamps and Rocky Sea Beds. The pages are full of photos of the areas as well as typical species found there.

The largest section is on Ocean Life and focuses on the variety of creatures found in the sea. Exhibited within these pages are a number of amazing photos of plants and animals that I had not seen before (though I'm not an expert on this subject) including creatures such as the Glass Squid, the Blue-Ringed Octopus and the Goblin Shark. I thoroughly enjoyed the short paragraph articles describing unique aspects of the species shown as well as the longer texts on topics like "Echinoderms" that includes anatomy, reproduction, feeding and defense sub-articles.

The last section is Atlas of the Oceans and includes maps of the different oceans and text describing them.

Again, the focus of this book is learning, not just amazing photography, and it does an excellent job of offering a smorgasbord of articles on different topics. If you really want to learn about the ocean and its inhabitants while paging through fantastic photographs, you will thoroughly enjoy this book!

NOT 500 pages and if I had paused to read the item description properly I wouldn't have bought this book! Way too good a price to be true, it is not another edition of the wonderful Cousteau-forwarded book, but a perfectly respectable DK full-color children's book with many very nice color photos. Probably very worth $7.99 and I was just far too greedy to read the fine print.

A fun book for kids, with some deeper insight as well.

"When you go beyond Zebra,
Who knows...? There's no telling
What wonderful things
You might find yourself spelling!"

Actually got this for my new tat, but I love this art

This book introduced "paradigm shifting" into my intellectual vocabulary before I even knew what such a thing was.

Many, many, many years ago (Nixon was President, I think) I read this and was changed. I can remember the the images, the textures, the smells (Ah! The ditto machine and its purple perfume!) and all my surroundings. I was sitting in the elementary school library, facing northwest toward the door. Lured by the title and the premise, I had taken the volume to my assigned seat ("Library" was a class back then, as it should have been) and quickly devoured it.

The concept - that our 26-letter alphabet was an arbitrary collection and not a universal constant on a par with gravity - had never entered my cartoon-addled mind. It sparked an awareness of similar cultural and philosophical constrictions that I have expanded and retained to this day.

Hats off to the Dr.!

Loved this book as a child. Fast-forward thirty-some years, I am a computational linguist with a fascination for exotic writing systems. Coincidence? In think not.

This was my favorite book as a kid & still is. I now have ownership of our family's 'ancient' copy (copyright date 1955, Mom's written inscription: Christmas 1962 for my oldest brother who was age 6). I recently read it to my 6 year old son and he also was taken with this book. I am getting a new copy for him for Christmas as the original is pretty fragile now. This book belongs in every family's collection along with The Lorax, The Sneeches, Bartholomew Cubbins, Horton and the rest of the classic/original Seuss stories.

We bought this one used from a library and it was worth looking for. A different look for Mercer Mayer -- and a hilarious, surprise-on-every-page story. We like the Typhoonigator the best, especially when he gets full to bursting and then... SPLATTERS slime on the next page. That's a real hoot. This one makes us all laugh -- I love that!

I loved this book, with all the illustrations. I could just sit for hours reading and looking at the pictures of monsters. I plan on reading it to my child someday....

THE OTHER REVIEWERS ARE RIGHT ON. I NEVER LIKED 'WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE' AS A KID & WASN'T TOO INTERESTED IN TRYING ANY OF MAYERS OTHER BOOKS. I'M SO GLAD I RECONSIDERED. WE LOVE THIS BOOK! PRONOUNING SOME OF THE MONSTERS' NAMES TAKES A LITTLE GETTING USED TO, BUT OUR TODDLER LOVES IT SO MUCH, THAT THE NAMES JUST ROLL OFF OUR TONGUES NOW.

Although now in my mid thirties, I still remember the story and illustrations from this book -- my childhood favorite. Now that my friends' children are almost to reading age, I plan to give this book for birthdays and holidays so that others can enjoy the whymsical tale with ornate illustrations.

One of the all time greats. But I was disappointed after ordering a new hardcover copy. It is smaller than the original printing, with the result that the binding cuts across monster faces. Very lame. I am sending it back and ordering a used copy from the original printing.

I've said it in other reviews and I'll say it again--I love everything by Mary Ann Hoberman that I've read. This book is great for reading aloud, is fun and engaging, and has a great message for children (and adults, for that matter)!

My daughter is 14 yr. and this is still her all time favorite book from her childhood. It is beautifully written. When read aloud, the rhymes are truly lyrical. I also love the underlying message re. the life enriching qualities of friendship and sharing. Illustrations are gorgeous, unique and really hold a child's attention. I just ordered three copies to give to friends with younger children.

I got this book from the library for my 2 year old and he absolutely adores it. He asks me to read it all of the time! I have to force him to pick a different book to read (for my sanity). The illustrations are very colorful and just grab his attention. There is a nice rhyme to the story that makes is pleasant to read aloud. This is one that we will definitely be purchasing!

The illustrations are what really sold me on this book and the story is wonderful too. It is one of those rare kids books (much like Maria Kalmans) that combines beautiful art with a sweet story. It is quirky and dear.

This is a great book for children. It teaches sharing and how to make friends. I like this book becuase Oliver learns about how to treat others. He doesn't know what life is like, becuase he has always lived by himself and never talks to any of the people in his town. He has one of everything in his house. He doesn't know that his house was only made for one person until he makes a friend and invites her to his home. Peggoty Small tells Oliver that his home was made for one person and she couldn't live with him.
My favorite character was Peggoty Small. I like her becuase she told Oliver Toliver what she tought. She wasn't afriad to tell him about her feelings, she just told him flat out what she thought. Even though she hurt Oliver's feelings, she old him anyways because she thought he should know the truth. This book teaches kids how to make friends, and how to share what you have with others.

Paws and Reflect: A Special Bond Between Man and Dog co-authored by Neil Plakcy and Sharon Sakson is an excellent anthology that will even appeal to cat lovers. Heck, even if you aren't owned by any pets, you'll still love this collection of short stories that honors that loyal, loving bond shared between these ostracized men and their four-footed bestest friends. The 25 humble tales range from heart-tickling to heartbreaking, entertaining and uplifting. As someone who's worked nearly 20 years in animal rescue, I tend to get a little bitter at times. I keep this book close to my bedside for those days when I need my faith in mankind restored.

The collection of stories is told in first person narrative from several names I recognize from previous readings - like Steve Berman and Victor J. Banis. The stories are as diverse as the men who contributed them, and arranged under the chapters: Dogs of Our Childhood, Dogs Who Make Connections, What We Learn from Our Dogs, Making the World a Better Place for Dogs and Exasperating Dogs.

There are so many special moments collected here: Charles Busch's poignant and nostalgic "The Guardian Shepherd," Steve Berman's mystical and meaningful "Shi Happens," Victor J. Banis' heartwarming and heartbreaking "The Girls," Jay Quinn's amusing and affecting "Travis" and Kevin Anderson's comical and candid "The Dog Who Outed Me."

Contributing authors are: Charles Busch, Jonathon Caouette, Matthew Phillips, J. R. G. DeMarco, Donald Hardy, Steve Berman, Lev Raphael, Andy Zeffer, Jeffery Ricker, Michael T. Wallerstein, G. Russell Overton, Victor J. Banis, Jack Morton, Hal Campbell, Ron Nyswaner, Randall McCormick, Jay Quinn, Randy Allgaier, David Mizejewski, Justin Rudd, Kevin Anderson, Edward Albee, Alistair McCartney, Brian McCormick and Stephen Kwielchek.

A romantic series of short stores of love affairs between gay men and their dogs. Some are real tear jerkers, others quite funny, but all are endearing and a joy to read.

You don't need to be anything more than a dog lover to love this book. Its not about gender its about the dogs and the people they let love them.

I was worried that this would be someone's doctoral dissertation, but it's not. It is immensely readable--I have trouble putting it down. I was reading it in a casual restaurant when I read a passage about a terrier attacking a St. Bernard that made me laugh out loud. When I was a teen, we had a chihuahua who would bark and growl menacingly at the St. Bernard from across the street. When the St. Bernard had had enough of this, she'd just bend down and give our Rusty a big wet sloppy kiss that would drench tiny Rusty which would very effectively shut him up.

Beneath the main concept of gay men and their relationships with their dogs, there's also a subtle secondary story of gay men living happy, successful--and totally normal--lives. I'm recommending this book to all my friends.

I bought Paws and Reflect for my partner for Valentine's Day. He loved it and put it on my reading stack. And I'm so glad that he did. As the proud owner of a sweet one year old dachshund, we just recently decided to get his new baby half-sister, who is now five weeks old. We were a bit skittish about introducing a new dog into our household. Through stories both humorous and touching, Paws and Reflect has made me more aware of our bond with our current boy and made me excited about welcoming a new little girl into our family.

The writing in this anthology is superb. The short vignettes by both well-known and (to me) unknown gay men touched on so many points of dog ownership. Both the positive and the negative bonds were addressed, without a sense of respect and veracity

Trisha Howell's children's books are always layered, with the sweetest stuff underneath the froth on top. Kids will love the "princess" and identify with her rebellion against changes outside her control ... doesn't that happen to every kid? And the sweet, humorous resolution will bring a smile to the face of every reader. Highly recommended.

My kids love this book!

This book is gorgeous! Trisha Howell did a wonderful job, writing a short meaningful children's story about 2 dogs that rings the importance of sharing and loving each other. All book lovers and parents: I highly recommend you get this book!

And by the way, the quality of this book is super. You should buy it just for the art!

Zev Saftlas, Author of Motivation That Works

The Princess and the Pekinese was a delightful book. My children loved the surprise of who a main character actually was. They performed a magical puppet show based on the book. I know when a book touches my children because it brings out wonderful creativity in drawings or activities they do afterwards, and this book definitely did.

Princess Lillian is a regal little Yorkie who is at the center of her family's love and attention. Then they get a new puppy, and she cannot stand the attention he gets -- or gives her. So she runs away. By the time she returns, she has learned to appreciate the blessings she has.

This is such a beautiful book, from the story to the illustrations. If you have ever had two (or more) dogs, you appreciate the complex relations between them. They truly have their own personalities, and their own objectives. The relationship between Princess Lillian and the Pekinese rings true.

For anyone -- dog lovers or just lovers, of all ages -- this book will touch your heart. And when you read what inspired Trisha to write this story, it will move you.

This is a Trisha Howell classic. Like all of her books, it presents life in its whimsical and glowing aspects. I have enjoyed reading it to several children.

THis story is classic. I use this book so much that I have to retire my old copy and replace it with a new one every couple of years. It is a fabulous vehicle for storywriting in the primary classroom.

I have been reading Pat Hutchins books to children for many years. They are wonderful!! Rosie's Walk is a great book for sound effects! As Rosie goes obliviously on her walk,the fox encounters all sorts of sound effect producing trials. Great fun!

We have the board book edition, and I have to admit, I didn't think my 2-year old was going to like it when I first flipped through it. There didn't seem to be much to it --- no eye-catching illustrations and not much text. Shows how much I know... My daughter loves it. The story is less about Rosie the hen and more about the fox --- what happens to it from page to page. It is truly a sequential story and shows cause-and-effect: on one page you see the fox leaping towards Rosie, who is walking past the pond. On the next page, you see the fox in the pond. Your toddler will make the connection on her own: "Uh-oh. Fox fall in water."

My absolute FAVORITE book as a child! Simple, clever, and humorous all at the same time. GREAT for children starting to read! A+

We fell for this after watching the scholastic dvd series. It's on the Chicka Chicka Boom Boom video and we're hooked - love the detailed pictures and watching where thefox is headed.

The book Sammy Keys and the Psycho Kitty Queen written by Wendelin Van Drannen is an exciting adventure! I would give this book 5 stars because it was a page turner and there were exciting events in every chapter. I just couldn't put this book down.
Join Sammy on a quest to find a mischievous cat killer. On the way she is chased down an alley by a man with a butcher knife and gets hosed down by a psycho kitty queen. If that isn't enough her archenemy Heather Ascota has the same birthday as her! Heather's brother gives Sammy a lucky horseshoe and Heather will do anything to get it back- even fight Sammy for it.
If you're looking for a story filled with adventure, laughs, and a psycho kitty queen, this is the book to pick!

Sammy Keyes and the Psycho Kitty Queen was written by Wendlin Van Draanen. It all started when Sammy found a dead cat in the dumpster. She thought a lot about the cats after she found another one in the garbage. After her own cat went missing, Sammy had to see what was going on.
This book was exciting and suspenseful because of all the action. I liked the ending because the problem was solved. Sometimes I find myself a lot like Sammy and I can picture myself as her in the book. The main problem was very unique, weird, and interesting because the author used dead cats. The characters seemed very real to me because the whole book was realistic fiction.
Wendling Van Draanen uses a deep voice throughout the book. Very few of the words she used were unknown to me. It was interesting that every time I came to an unusual word she described it. Unlike other authors, Wendling ended every chapter in a suspenseful way. I think she has a lot of creativity to come up with this great book.
Out of all the books I've read, this one is one of my favorites. I liked it because between the rising action there are many problems. Every time Sammy solved a problem, I thought the book was going to be over. I recommend this book because it's suspenseful, thrilling, and funny.
Sammy Keyes and the Psycho Kitty Queen might be a little weird at the beginning. You'll want to stop reading because a couple of cats died and there's a weird wrestler that doesn't take off his cat suit. There's a reason to all that, and you need to find out.

The book Sammy Keys and the Psycho Kitty Queen written by Wendelin Van Drannen is an exciting adventure! I would give this book 5 stars because it was a page turner and there were exciting events in every chapter. I just couldn't put this book down.
Join Sammy on a quest to find a mischievous cat killer. On the way she is chased down an alley by a man with a butcher knife and gets hosed down by a psycho kitty queen. If that isn't enough her archenemy Heather Ascota has the same birthday as her! Heather's brother gives Sammy a lucky horseshoe and Heather will do anything to get it back- even fight Sammy for it.
If you're looking for a story filled with adventure, laughs, and a psycho kitty queen, this is the book to pick!

This book is written very well and the end is, as always pretty surprising. Now to the story...Sammy's life is a disaster: She lives in her Grams' apartment which is only for seniors, so she always has to sneak up the fire escape. Her mom left her for a career in Hollywood and then suddenly she shows up on Sammy's birthday. She came to tell Sammy that she isn't turning fourteen, she's turning 13 because her mom had made a fake birth certificate. Sammy is really upset but then she and her friend Holly find dead cats all over town in garbage cans and they start solving the mystery. At a new wrestling school, Slammin' Dave's,(where Sammy also learns some nice wrestling moves) there's a wrestler, El Gato who looks very scary since he always has a cat mask and costume on and never takes it off, so Sammy and Holly become very suspicious. In the end El Gato turns out to be someone totally different than they would have thougt. How they solve the mystery and find out who the cat killer was, will grab you and make you want to keep reading and reading. I really enjoyed the book and read it in only two days and I recommend it to anyone who likes mysteries. The characters are described good and likable except for Heather and her friends,Sammy enemies. The book is also a real page-turner and i would recommend the other Sammy Keyes books as well. I hope this review helped and that you enjoy the book as much as I did.

sammy keys and the psycho kitty queen was one of the best books I have ever read. If you haven't read it READ IT! I have read it over and over again and each time it gets better. Other sammy keys books are good but this one is the best. I cannot wait for the next book to come out.

This book is so amazing! Sometimes I read it to my 3-year-old son just so that I can be reminded of its message...He loves it, too, of course. This is one of his favorite books. The illustrations are fabulous and the writing is top-notch. I think everyone should read this book. It's definitely one of those books that's suitable for ALL audiences.

I'm an atheist, but the "God" part of this doesn't bother me enough to make me feel it deserves to lose a star. It's still a very good story about not being self-absorbed, and not having to be outwardly perfect. (I'm a Sidney. Sometimes we need to know we're OK, too, even if we're rumpled and running late.)

This ended up on my wish list after reading "Me, Myself, and Bob" and my mother sent it to me as a gift. I received it this week and I'm using it for my sermon tomorrow!

A great message for everyone couched in a simple children's tale - fantastic for Sunday morning use and perfect for every day!

May you always remember that God loves you!

I was babysitting my 3-year-old cousin when he brought this book for me to read to him. upon looking at it, I thought it was, well, a story about a two pigs named Norman and Sidney. As I was reading it, the word "God" appeared. So, to myself, I was like "I guess this is going to be a religious book" and kept reading. What I read was not a book teaching God's ways, but a book acting as a reminder that you are loved no matter what.
The story was about two pigs named Norman and Sidney who were neighbors, but had never met. They were complete opposites. Norman was the "good" pig who had the straightest tie of the crowd and arrived early to everything. Sidney was the "bad" pig who was always ten minutes late and always had toothpaste on his tie. They both recieve a letter from God asking to meet with him. God tells them both that he loves them equally, no matter who they are or how they live their life. Norman learns that he has nobody to impress because he's loved just as much as the next pig. Sidney is surprised that someone could love such a failure, but learns that God will always love him no matter what.
It is such a wonderful book with such a great message. I am not a very religious person and do not have a specific religious affiliation, but I strongly believe that it is so, so important to know that you are loved by someone. This book is beautiful and I want a copy for myself because everyone needs to know that they're beautiful when they are not feeling so good.
I recommend it for everyone of all ages, girl or boy. :)

This is a beautiful message for everyone about God's grace that adults and kids need to hear. God's love for us has nothing to do with how good we are or how hard we try. He just loves us. Isn't that great?!?!?!