Big Books

I love this book, it is realy fun, as well as having funny clay modeled sets around the boards. TOOOOOOOTALY
WORTH IT !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Buzz and Flutter's Electronic Game Book has entertained all of my grandkids for years-from my oldest to my youngest. They truly enjoy the colorful pictures and the gamepieces, yet I know that they are getting some educational knowledge. This book will definetly emtertain any kids from age 3 to 12.

My son saw this book at a friend's house months ago and has been asking about it ever since. We ordered it for his birthday and he just LOVES it.

This is the best and most lasting present that my son has ever received. He was given this book as a gift a year ago and now, five years old, he still has not tired of these wonderful board games. He asks me or his father to play these games with him nearly every day -- and that's the ultimate endorsement of a toy by a child, I'd say. You would have to see how thrilled my son gets, how he laughs, as he plays these games; my words can't convey his utter delight. The illustrations are lively and colorful and absolutely stunning; they look a bit like the amazing high-tech animation seen in the recent movies "Antz" and "A Bug's Life." These games not only amuse but teach as well. Playing these games, my son has learned counting, taking turns, game strategy, sportsmanship, and lots more. The fact that the three game pieces attach by velcro to the book makes this book portable, packable, and terrific for car and plane trips. Now this is the gift I choose most frequently when looking for a gift for other little children. As a parent, I highly recommend it!

My four year old son received this for Christmas from his grandmother and loved it; no surprise there. However, my nine year old daughter thoroughly enjoys playing the games with him! A great book for siblings on a rainy day (or instead of TV!). Also makes a great gift for young children when trying to avoid the dreaded toy store.

As a Dr. Seuss fan from far too many years ago, I absolutely love the book. Nice big easy flaps to open and bright colors along with Seuss' best lines.

Although advertised for the toddler and preschool set, my son adored this book even at 9 months old. He is now one year old and is by no means tired of it. He can stay on one page for at least fifteen minutes flipping the flaps open and closing them again. I imagine that when he is old enough to understand letters and numbers and opposites he will still be as engrossed with it. I think the good size of the book and the very colorful illustrations add to the appeal.

This book is probably the best value and choice for children under 3 among the Dr. Seuss offerings. This book draws on five of the best Dr. Seuss books for young learners in abridged and more interactive fashion to make it exciting and interesting to very young children.

You get basic counting, letter identification, prereading training, introduction to rhyming, and the alphabet all in one fun book with great flaps that the smallest fingers will lovingly turn open. Any child can get a great educational start on important basics here, and graduate to working with the complete five books to provide this information in more depth.

The first two page spread is from The Cat in the Hat and covers all the numbers up to 20. Each flap has a number of Seussian animals or objects behind it. The order of the numbers is scrambled across the two pages so your child can also learn to look for numbers in order, as a way of reinforcing counting skills.

The second two page spread is from Mr. Brown Can Moo! Can You? The child is encouraged to make the appropriate animal sounds. These sounds are printed out, and this spread provides experience and skill in letter and word identification, and oral reading.

The third two page spread is from There's a Wocket in My Pocket! This section is good for beginning readers because the animals behind the flapped items rhyme with the flapped items (like wocket and pocket). Your child can then learn a few sounds for consonants by seeing and hearing how changing one letter changes the sound and meaning of the whole word. With the clue of the flap item, this section also helps with basic word decoding.

The fourth two page spread is from One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish. This section features a full rhyming scheme. "From there to here, from here to there, funny things are everywhere." This rhyming futher reinforces letter identification to help with word decoding. By making this section easier to memorize, your child may well start to "read" this section to you before the other ones.

The fifth two-page spread is from Dr. Seuss's ABC and has all 26 letters in it. Again, they are not in exact order, so your child can also learn the alphabetic order by working with this. The Cat in the Hat returns as the host for this adventure. Having had so many examples of the importance of letter identification in the immediately prior three sections, this is a good place to introduce the whole alphabet.

Most children will probably want to do this book from front to back every time. That may seem like a lot for you to read with them, but the learning experience is very good that way. I urge you to follow through with that approach if your child likes it. With over 70 flaps to turn over, there's plenty of interactivity to keep boredom at bay.

If you find your child is doing much better on some sections than others, you might move onto the rest of that book at that point. Most children will find some material easier than others. Since this is all somewhat related, you can build on strengths that way to help open up any minor blocks to learning that you may be seeing.

Flap away!

All kids should have this book, there is no doubt in my mind. I wish all children's books were this well- crafted. And if you're a teacher, don't even dream about missing this one. Also nice to add to your collection are: Aesop for Children (Winter), Grimm's complete fairy tales (Grimm), Great Children's stories (Richardson), The Butterfly (Singh). There are many other great children's books out there, but these were the ones I enjoyed the most. Oh, and I almost forgot the two classics that no children should ever be deprived of: The Little Prince (Exupery) and Charlotte's Web (White).

My daughter absolutely adores this book! It takes all the things that make Dr. Seuss so GREAT without all the long, tongue-twisting stories for parents to read! I PROMISE you will like this AS MUCH or MORE than your child does! There are so many flaps it keeps my daugher entertained for up to 30 minutes at a time--THAT is AMAZING! No other book we own can do that!

The first 2 pages are from THE CAT IN THE HAT (counting); pages 3 and 4 are from MR BROWN CAN MOO! CAN YOU? (animals); the 5th and 6th pages are from THERE'S A WOCKET IN MY POCKET! (fun creatures lurking about); the next 2 pages are from ONE FISH, TWO FISH, RED FISH, BLUE FISH (opposites); and the last two pages are from DR. SEUSS'S ABC. All the bright colors not only make the book visually appealing but serve as yet another training tool!

Lift-the-flaps is the rage these days because most books I think are so hard for children to turn the pages but the flaps are small like their hands and fingers! PERFECT, PERFECT, PERFECT! 10 STARS! THE CAT IN THE HATS' GREAT BIG FLAP BOOK is a MUST OWN! You will not be disappointed! Trust me!

It is quite unfortunate that the maladroit public school system has failed to have this as a required reading. Thomas Paine has obtained immortality with these words in the minds of true conservative Constitutionalists-that of which has been obscured by both the Republicrats and Demopulicans. Having not read this in high school, I am glad I did. In a time when America is in an aberration from her fundamental principles I find myself genuflecting to her Constitution for insight-for that I am ridiculed, receive derision, and considered a conspiracy theorist and unpatriotic. Lamentation is among those of us who see the force that is reverting this country to a fusion between Fascism and Communism-a new hybrid of government. Fortunately, this is a REPUBLIC and we can fire back through political intervention and fiscal boycotts. We find it facile to intervene where we must, but that ability is shifting to arduousness with laws such as the Patriot Act-which makes docile dissent an act of terrorism. What Paine wrote in this pamphlet is very well applicable to our relationship to the Federal Government in the present. For me, this book gave me the boon to spread the message of what America was founded upon, the Constitution.

There are those men/women that are born from the process of reproduction that go beyond the mere existence of flesh and truly lubricate their being into the gears of this Machine we call life. From the conception of their ornate thoughts to the inoculation of their fluid into our being, at times we can overlook them in the present, but in the future, we revere them for their message. How many of these individuals have we murdered, assassinated, tortured, ostracized or allowed their message to become senescent in society? The recoil can at times prove that we are indeed merely in duress by the masses, but there are those of us that see the profundity in the present. Thomas Paine was not one who was ostracized or murdered for his ideologies, but it calls forth a siren in the present that is commensurate to Ron Paul's The Revolution: A Manifesto.

If I am not mistaken, I am sure I can be indicted for an act of terrorism, have Storm Troopers breach my home without warrant, be shipped to Guantanamo Bay for torture and denied rights to Due Process, all for exercising my right to free speech by writing this review; and, not to mention, for saying that the Federal Government is subordinate to the Constitution and must yield to the States; States yield to Counties; Counties to Cities; Cities to Communities; and Communities to Families-that is "the REPUBLIC for which we stand!"

Common sense was at the right place at the right time, written by the right person. It created an inflection point that changed the world!

Most major changes in life are cause by events called inflection points. An inflection point is an event that changes how you view the world, who you are, or your life in general.

Think 9-11. People in the United States felt safer before that day. After 9-11 we realized our vulnerability to terrorists. There are many inflection points in our history.

Tomas Paine's Common Sense created a major inflection point in history!

In early 1776 Thomas Paine published a 46 page pamphlet called Common Sense. It helped inspire the writing of the Declaration of Independence and motivated a nation to start a revolution.

The book was written for the common man and was estimated to have sold 120,000 copies within three months of publication and 500,000 copies within a year. It is worth noting that this was in the United States when there were only 3 million people--and many couldn't read!

John Adams and others had been arguing for the United States to become an independent nation. The release of Paine's Common Sense was the inflection point that caused the nation to become independent.

Thomas Paine used his Critical Thinking skills to determine that the time was right to inspire the people to take action. He argued convincingly that the young nation had to make a choice for independence now--not later. Paine explained that within fifty years the personal interests of individuals who would acquire status and money by then would resist such a change. And, the colonies would be more established and would resist such a change.

"A long habit of not thinking a thing wrong gives it a superficial appearance of being right." ~Thomas Paine


The Re-Discovery of Common Sense: A Guide to: The Lost Art of Critical Thinking

This book was originally written as a pamphlet in 1776. It was crucial in advancing the thought and spirit of the American Revolution to the masses. I found this book to be amazing in how forward thinking the author was. Declaring "The cause of America is in a great measure the cause of all mankind". He spends the first part of the book logically explaining that Monarchy is wrong and having heirs to a throne is ridiculous. He uses the bible as part of his argument that kings and kingdoms are man made and the origin is corrupt so they should be done away with. He goes on to explain how a fair practice of representation in government could take place in the colonies after independance. He writes that America had no logical need to submit to Great Britain's dominion any longer and that after the treatment America received, she had every right to independance. Paine predicts that America would emerge as a powerful nation with its natural resources and location. He says that the pride of kings results in wars. He states that in a monarchy the King is law, in a democracy Law is king. This book is a wonderful trip into logic and reason concerning Americas independance, I enjoyed it. Thomas Paine's vision of America came true, and you can read that vision in this book.

"Men read by way of revenge."

A forerunner of both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, Common Sense should properly be regarded (at least in a historical, though not a legal, sense) as one of the founding documents of this nation.

Paine makes the case for independence in strong moral terms, clearly based on the Enlightenment political theories of John Locke. The list he gives of the Crown's abuses should already be familiar to the reader from the Declaration (Jefferson did not give sufficient credit to Paine for his obvious influence on that document), though Paine's recounting is somewhat more detailed, as he could treat the topic at greater length in his pamphlet.

Paine also offers suggestions in some detail about a Constitutional Congress and the drafting of such a document, and based on the course of subsequent events it seems that the other Founders took Paine's suggestions to heart.

And of course, few other books in history (and particularly non-fiction works, since art can have a power that plain argument does not) have so effectively rallied public opinion.

Read this book. You will be surprised, even if your expectations were already high, and you will certainly be inspired.

This was a required reading for a graduate humanities class. John Keane's biography succinctly showed that Tom Paine (1737-1809) was the consummate revolutionary and a daring adventurer. Not only was he an important figure in the American Revolution, but he also traveled to France in 1791 to give that revolution a push. Paine traveled from England, just in time to stoke the flames of the revolution with his pamphlet Common Sense, in January 1776. To call Common Sense a sensation in the colonies is actually a bit of an understatement. It was an unparallel sensation and monumental work of Enlightenment rhetoric that quickly fanned the flames of rebellion throughout the colonies. In four months, over 120,000 copies were printed in the colonies--over 500,000 copies by years end. No other pamphlet printed in seventeenth century America came close to its success. Most importantly, Common Sense served to get the colonial patriots to drop their fear of open rebellion, and also emboldened those delegates who favored declaring independence from Britain. The delegates now had the confidence that a large segment of the colonists would support rebellion. Similar to the Declaration of Independence, the philosophical ideas in Common Sense are primarily from the English philosopher, John Locke (1632-1704). The most moving quote from the pamphlet became quite prophetic, when one considers the impact it ultimately had on the delegates in the congress, the drafting of the Declaration of Independence, and on the world. "We have it in our power to begin the world over again."

As a graduate student in philosophy and history, I heartily recommend this timeless classic to anyone who is interested in political philosophy, and history.

BRAUTIGAN AT HIS BEST, in his use of humor IN an ABSURDIST NEO NINETENTH NERVOUS CENTURY VENTURE INTO THE TWENTETH CENTURY COINAGE SQUALOUR,in an ARCADIANIAN LIKE GARBAGE HEEP HANG OUT FOR SQUATTERS, everwhere 1950s ARSONIST guierilla condederate idealist/relic, confronts conspires aghast in stumble bumble berry bush brambble,ICON AS HELL STALLION MELON DEAD DRUNK eXpire hearFIRE TILT TIRE echo, footsteps leading back past fast,TREAD MUTATED SURREAL.ABSOLUTE ABOMINATION THE GHOHSTS OF THE PASS MERGE WITH THE REGRET OF THE NEAR AND DIRECT PRESENT IN FOLKLORE, LEGEND IN PROISE by the ocean in BIG sur,

Where to begin? Despite the foreshadowing of brautigan's abandoning of modern American society (He's out in the mountains of Idaho as we speak, putting his mack on some female hikers or else shivering alone in a bear's cave), this book also is funny. I like it. There's some aligators in there and that made me laugh because i think that aligators are funny.

Brautigan's excellent novel is definately worth the quick read, and then worth a second read to catch all his language play. Having grown up near Big Sur, this book was particularly funny as I believe Lee Mellon is still in residence there.

Brautigan's description of drugs, drinks, frogs and the commas of Ecclesiastes are all done in a straight forward style that made me laugh out loud.

One of my favorite paragraphs: "He broke the seal on the bottle, unscrewed the cap and poured a big slug of whiskey into his mouth. He swallowed it down with a hairy gulp. Strange, for as I said before: he was bald." A great read.

If there's one thing the world lacks, it's a good supply of well-written, funny-as-heck books. Luckily, aside from A Confederacy Of Dunces, we have this little gem. The characters are drunks, druggies, skanks, prostitutes & nutzoids. The pace is brisk and the imagry vivid. Most of it seemed to be part of my own life, but just where do you find weed that's so potent that 4 people smoking 5 joints stay high for well over 2 hours?! If you want to spend a day or night having a good laugh over a great book, pick this one up. You'll laugh out loud. And as Martha Stewart says...."It's a good thing".

If you read nothing else by Richard Brautigan, read "A Confederate General From Big Sur." Mere words are inadequate to properly describe this book, and the majesty contained within. Brautigan, master of the simile, is at his finest as he spins an off-beat tale containing (though not restricted to): frogs, dynamite, prostitutes, booze, and a man named Lee Mellon. Forsaking all possessions and the amenities of "civilized" life (a notion nearly inconceivable these days), Lee Mellon and the narrator, Jesse, embark upon an adventure in a place called Big Sur. An adventure not only in the physial sense, but in the metaphysical as well. Reading Brautigan in the context of our times, it is hard to imagine how the audience of the 1960's embraced his work. While his works may, to us, appear strange at times, we have grown accustomed to such eccentricities. But in the 60's it was fresh and new. One can only speculate if we have somehow missed out on some aspect of Brautigan by having read his books 30 years after they were written. But the mere fact that his work stands the test of time is a testament not only to his books, but to the man himself. But, alas, i stray from the topic of this missive. You want my review? It's a damn good book. Now go and read it.

Michael and Elizabeth have written something that has been needed for years, a game plan on how to treat your customers to keep them coming back. I read it cover to cover in one sitting. Follow their advice and update your tired worn out sales approach, followup on everything, and track your progress.

I bought 12 additional copies to send to the directors of training for my franchise, business partners and my suppliers and vendors. Hope they learn as much as I did. Thanks again for a great read. Also check out their live events. The best money you will ever spend.

I have been in sales for 10 years selling everything from life insurance to consulting to food.

Many people's livelihood is reliant upon selling a product or a service. The world of sales has changed and old techniques and old "truths" are not true anymore. People who haven't realized this yet need to take heed to what a lost sale really is and to the words I am saying now:

"If you wan't to succeed and it requires that you sell a product or a service to do it, this book is required reading. For years people have known something was being done wrong in sales, Elizabeth and Michael are the one's to finally say it and correct it!"

Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R29HI4133SL4Z4 For those of us who value our clients and want to create lifelong returns on those relationships (as opposed to quick sales), this well-written book is a breath of fresh air.

In this video review, I touch upon one of my favorite points of the book, the call to think bigger about who we are and what we offer clients. In my lingo I call it your "medicine", that special gift you offer the world and how your business can be the vehicle.

Thinking about the bigger impact is a key part of creating a great business and The Contrarian Effect shows us how. Thanks Michael Port and Elizabeth Marshall for stepping up the integrity in how we approach sales.

Face it, we all sell to some extent and I've always felt the key to being successful in sales is to NOT sell out. My convictions on this matter didn't always settle well especially when I was asked to do "dog and pony shows" back in the print, radio and ad agency days. It's true, my foray in advertising and marketing started in sales. But I could never embrace the worn out, salesy approach. That just wasn't me. I choose to connect with my clients and treat them as real people. Guess what? It worked and it still does today.

Little did I know, doing what I believed to be the right thing was actually not the norm. I'm glad and I'm proud to be a contrarian. Are you?

Michael Port and Elizabeth Marshall team up to share insights into typical sales tactics and they skillfully illustrate why the old school ways are not necessarily the best approach.

Consumers are savvier than ever. They demand more. They expect more and they deserve more than a stale sales pitch and antiquated, canned attempts at "the close".

The new marketing model is all about relationships and meeting the ever demanding expectations of today's consumer.

Two of the most important tips I hope readers take to heart are:

1. Identify and target specific groups of individuals rather than the mass market.

This may seem like a no-brainer to most contrarians but I am amazed to hear people today say "I want to speak to those who are even remotely interested in my product or service." This broad approach to marketing, advertising and sales is not cost effective. With this approach the messages created are often watered down and don't connect with people who may actually want what you're selling. Why don't more people understand the narrower the target the more qualified the consumer and coincidentally the more likely people are to buy from you?

2. Collaborate with strategic partners who share the same target market.

Collaboration is the key to your success on the new business playing field. Gone are the days of bitter competition, back biting sales strategies and unauthentic attempts to make the sale. These out of date techniques hinder rather than help both sales and the economy. Odd as it may seem there is more than enough business to go around. In fact, I regularly collaborate with other professional copywriters. We have a referral network and we send business to each other based on our specialties and who we like to work with. It's a win-win situation.

Another vital component to being a contrarian is following the Contrarian Primer. Port and Marshall created a list of 9 fundamental contrarian traits (this chapter alone is well worth the small investment in the book). I'll list them here but please note the book elaborates in the importance of each.

1. Build relationships and make connections
2. Respect your customers and honor their wishes
3. Target specific groups of individuals and the people with whom you do your best work
4. Make relevant and timely offers
5. Increase your likability factor
6. Practice radical transparency
7. Establish yourself as a trusted advisor
8. Collaborate with strategic partners to leverage your efforts
9. Think bigger about who you are and what you offer your clients

I dare you to invest in a copy of the book today. Read it, apply the principles and be contrarian! By being your authentic best the rest will follow - and yes, that does mean increased sales for you.

It might go against everything you've been taught, but the old way of making ales (the cold calling, the closing techniques, the meet-my-target-or-else mentality) don't work as well as they did in an interconnected, customer-is-king world.

This book is a manifesto for a new and - I believe - more effective way of making sales - by building relationships, building a reputation as a trusted adviser, and by sending relevant, targeted offers.

It's a method I advise my clients to use: newsletters, for example, which the authors recommend, are a great way of accomplishing all this.

The book will be a shock for those who believe in the old way of making sales; it serves as a pocket-sized reminder for those who know that they new ways work better.

Or about living in Africa, or living in the past, or some sort of troubles (modern or historical). It's so nice to just see a family doing what families *do*. (They even recycle!)

My nieces ask me to read this book to them often. It's a very fast book, suitable both for very young children and for slightly older ones. We love looking at various details - like the fact that "five kinds of beans" includes JELLY beans, or the fact that the baby sits on a lap at dinner. It's just a quick, sweet book.

A very sweet and very simple book. Nice to see a family of color in a book for a change.... so my daughter gets a nice variety. My daughter's teacher requested books for the classroom as her Christmas Gift this year... so that should be a selling point! So sweet that the teacher wanted it! :)

My son actually pick this book out by himself in a bookstore when he was 18 months old. He fell in LOVE with it. We had to read it every morning. We loss it transit and I finally remember to get it from Amazon this summer. At 2 1/2 it is still his favorite book. He loves the counting and the actvities reminds him of when "Granny-Gran" comes to visit. Thank you so much for this book.

A sweet 1-10 counting book that has a nice rhyme scheme and builds its story by counting to ten, not once, but twice. The art designs feature a black extended family, however, this is not central to the story. What is emphasized is the feeling of family warmth and cooperation throughout as everyone pitches in to create the feast for ten. Children can also count the items in each picture that correspond to the poem. Well done.

This book has been around for a long time, but it continues to be a favorite in my classroom. It's one of those simple books that sparks so many different curriculum paths! Counting, number groupings, nutrition, cooperation, family activities, word choices, story writing, and more. It has also initiated collage art projects, quilt making, and paper mache vegetables! FEAST FOR 10 is a goldmine. I see that it's coming out in a board book soon, too. We have both the hardcover and several paperbacks in my class.

I loved this book as a great intro to different kinds of birds that we actually see in our parks. But I think the story, as simple as it is, didn't capture my son.

I especially like this book as it can be read on at least two levels. The initial story is catchy with the rhyming words and plot. The older child can also enjoy learning about the various types of birds depicted in the story. It gives a mother or a teacher much to discuss with the child.

This book, along with TOP CAT by the same author, are my kids' favorite books (ages 6,4 and 2). And I love them, too! I never tire of reading them out loud, although both of my older children can recite the book and "read" it themselves now. We checked it out from the library and kept renewing it over and over because the kids loved it so much. We finally bought our own copy and I know the kids are going to fight over who gets to take it with them when they move out 15 or so years from now. :) It is a delightful story and I love how Ms. Ehlert labels everything. I especially like the details provided at the end regarding the birds shown throughout the book.

Another favorite of my 3 1/2 year-old daughter, along with "Top Cat" by the same author. Hmmm...is it possible that Top Cat or his little brother is the cat in "Feathers for Lunch"?

That aside, the pictures in this wonderful book allow a child a good first look at several North American birds, and the text introduces your child to their birdsong. All the birds are "drawn" (I believe they are actually designed by paper cut), to actual life-size.

This is a wonderful little book for children to learn some common American birds and their calls. The story is about a cat trying to catch a bird for lunch but the bell on the collar keeps giving him away, hence "feathers for lunch" but the illustrations are almost all birds such as the Northern Cardinal, Blue Jay, Morning Dove, House Wren, Northern Flicker, etc... My little boy actually likes Ehlert's "Top Cat" better, but this story has seen many readings. My boy can tell the difference between several birds that he sees in his backyard. Recommended for the little birders.

This book is one of a kind. I've looked at various travel books through the years, and usually have to buy one if I'm going to a part of the country I haven't visited before. Susan Kraus' book is simply amazing, in that it provides information on all the top Big 12 towns that is not available in other guide books, Plus, it highlights locally owned businesses. This is important to me because I like to mingle with local folks when I travel. If you are a sports fan and go to games, or if you're like me and just like to travel to cities in TX and surrounding states, this book will provide you with anything you'll need to know.

Susan Kraus provides all you need to know to have a great time in the college towns of the Big 12: where to eat and where to stay, what to do and what to see. She ignores the over-publicized "chain bracelet" stops in favor of what is locally owned and grown. Kraus has written an energetic, fun, fact-filled travel guide well worth the sticker price. Read and travel!

I live in Topeka, and know many of the Big 12 towns. But I have consulted Kraus' book before trips and found that Susan Kraus has discovered more than I have about where to eat and what to do in these great college towns. Whether you're attending a sporting event, or just traveling through, Game Day Guide is a great resource. Really, the book is an "any day" guide to the best the Big 12 towns have to offer.

This book helps me and my husband make decisions on where we want to eat, drink, explore and budget for when we are at home in Lawrence, KS, or traveling. These are the places full of local flavor and local drinks. Susan Kraus gives some sound advice on shopping, lodging and recreation, and some of her comments are quite witty. Good read. Good practical guide for residents of towns of the Big 12 and athletic fans. Pick it up you'll find something in there for you, including chapters on each of the universities of the Big 12 Conference.

This book provided me with very useful and unique information about Norman that I could not find from any other sources. A Game Day Guide To Towns of the Big 12 is incredibly well thought out and provides you with exactly the information you would want to know when visiting a town in which you are not familiar. It caters to all ages and interests as I was looking for restaurants and nightlife and my mother was interested in the description and historical background of OU. I would recommend this book to friends and families and sports fans alike!

I was thinking about investing in this Wireless ISP in Lawrence Kanasas, and WOW! this book made all the difference.

Since I have invested the company's value has more than doubled and we are looking forward to spectacular future growth.

Thanks Amazon, for helping me to make that big decision.

Living Your Life! The energy wasted by most of us while wrestling with a big decision and the valuable time lost, are troubling conditions addressed by the terrific ideas in this book. I particularly liked the authors giving hearty approval to the simple solutions of reviewing a decision with someone you trust, and writing pros and cons and priorities out on paper. This may seem obvious to those who readily open up to others or who automatically grab a pencil to write out options, but for those for whom these actions are unusual this book provides direction, encouragement and comfort.

The decision making steps in Get Off the Fence! are straight forward and the authors have serious real-world credentials. I learned a lot about myself (and other people) from this book. I highly recommend it.

This book changed my life...for the best it has ever been! Thanks to the authors. This is something everyone should read. Good luck!

I appreciate that statement made very early in this book: "Difficult choices define your life." It is in the opening chapter of the book which contextualizes the 10 + 1 Steps.

I also found value in a distinction the Makoff's make about a "decoy decision" which is not the "big" decision (or the Big Duck) instead it just LOOKS like the Big Duck. It is an energy sapper, it misses the core issue... and it can appear genuine.

This distinction could have been fleshed out: perhaps there is room for another book in the series.

I also found a lot of benefit in the simplicity of the process itself coupled with the real-life examples. What was missing for me, however, was examples from outside the personal realm.

I was hoping for some choices which were in the area of big career changes, making professional choices, making choices about ending or finalizing a partnership or quitting a job, etc.

Overall, great for Decision Making 101 which made me hungry for Decision Making 102.

I agree with comments below. This is an adorable story with fantastic vocabulary. It is too bad that this book is not easier to find in the USA. FYI: it is available in hardcover, paperback as well as a board book for younger children - be aware of what you are ordering

Both my 5 and 3 year old love this book. And as well as the Gruffalo's Child!

We first encountered this book while visiting relatives, and ordered it from the UK via Amazon immediately upon our return home. My 3 year old son chooses his stories every night, and he ALWAYS includes this one. I'm not sure he fully understands the wit of the little mouse who outwits his predators, even one he thought was imaginary, but I appreciate a book that holds up for parents even when they must read it nightly. My boy laughs out loud every time the Gruffalo turns up. A terrific find.

Our whole family loves this book. VERY fun to read aloud. We read it over and over and never get tired of it.

Great illustrations, too. This book is a winner!

It's surprising to me that this book is not better known here in the US; it's the quintessential picture book, and won several awards in Britain. Compared to most of the insipid picture books out there today (i.e., the ones where you think to yourself, I COULD HAVE WRITTEN THIS), this book really sparkles. It's fun to read aloud (i.e., it rhymes), has nice pictures (albeit not Caldecott material), an interesting and clever twist, and a moral: brains can beat brawn. And unlike some of the fine picture books that appeal to me, as a parent, this one passes the most important test: it's beloved by my toddler too. It's a constant choice for a bedtime story. If there were a Caldecott for picture book text as well as illustrations (and there really ought to be!), this book would win hands down. If you're looking for a great picture book (and one your child will remember into adulthood as a favorite), look no further.