Bruno Books

This was a well-researched, informative and entertaining read. The author's point may not be a new one, but he has done a fresh and original take on it, and we can't say it often enough: that the oppression of human beings in the name of God is a horror and an abomination, and it never seems to stop. The fact that Yanow's characters are lively, and the style so accessible, will hopefully encourage people who aren't keen on history to read it and think. The one thing that bothered me somewhat was the anachronistic dialogue (Guidotti and other characters sometimes sounded like Mafia goons), but perhaps that's the price you pay when you're trying to appeal to a big cross-section. Overall, a terrific book.

A lively glimpse of the early conflict between scientific thought and discoveries versus the tightly held dogma of Western religion. Written in a highly accessible and entertaining style, the historical characters of this book become alive as we delve into their power struggles, intellectual challenges and courage. A fascinating read for people with diverse interests and in various walks of life.

This book is hard to put down! The reader quickly becomes involved with its complex, yet earthy characters. We come to understand the thoughts of Giadano Bruno ("The Nolan"), a philosopher who challenges contemporary church doctrine, and the adventures of Guidadi, a devoted servant and friend, who travels throughout Europe searching for evidence to save "The Nolan" from being burned at the stake as a heretic. A fascinating look at the struggle to resolve entrenched church doctrine with evolving modern-day scientific beliefs.

Cudos to THE NOLAN! I found this book a real page-turner. Not just a dull drama about the inquisition, but a book with a heart. Story revolved around a down-to-earth likable narrator on the trail of information which might save the philosopher, Giordano Bruno, from burning as a heratic. It has all the mystery of NAME OF THE ROSE, but makes you question religous and philosophical beliefs along the way. Absolute fun!..Especially following Guidadi (the narrator)as he journies through major cities in the Renaissance world tracing The Nolan's steps.

February 17,2000 is the 400th anniversary of Giordano Bruno's burning at the stake as a heretic by the Catholic Church in Rome. He said that the Earth turned and that as it turned it circled the Sun (Copernicus' `heresy'). He also said that the Universe was infinite with many peopled worlds etc. His ideas threatened the Church then. Now we know that some of his ideas were true. Bruno was a martyr for truth, and for freedom of thought and expression. Though flawed and difficult, he was a man ahead of his time who paid dearly for rights we take for granted. We should remember and honor him in this anniversary year. A good start would be to read Yanow's excellent historic novel about Bruno: The Nolan:... It's thoroughly researched, well written and a good story. I've just finished it and highly recommend it.

The photo sessions in this book seem as if you are intruding on very personal encounters. It's intimate and sensual. Most of the men are fit and gorgeous, but don't expect Belami boys here. These are men...not boys. The groups scenes ranged from hot to fun, but my only criticism would be that it seemed the photographer needed to put himself in the mix. And he's not as young and pretty as his models. It came across as ego, but hey, the guy's earned it, right? Perfect coffee table book.

I recently purchased this book from Amazon after seeing it at a book store. Awesome pictures that seem a bit more graphic than Vol.1. No complaints here on that. A good deal of photgraphs seem to center on a certain interest that caught my attention. Highly recommend both volumes sitting on the coffee table. Amazon has the best price too that I have found.

Tom Bianchi continues where he left off in ON THE COUCH, VOLUME 1, so much so that if you showed me a page from either book, I would be hard put to tell you from which volume the photograph came. The men remain god-like, and the photography again is perfect. Perhaps the artist will combine the two volumes into one lavish coffee table book sometime soon. Oh, we have some variety here-- a little bondage, some leather, and we go from a threesome in the previous edition to four in the floor here. The men this time around come from Brazil, Chicago, Canada, Australia and San Francisco; and at least one model makes a repeat appearance. There are some handsome men here. I recommend Darren of the Beautiful Feet for one.

Mr. Bianchi states in his introduction that he wants gay men to be comfortable with their sexuality. He further says that this work FROM THE COUCH is his Sistine Chapel-- maybe a bit of a stretch--although this photographer is certainly not short on talent.

For the artist's next book, I'd love to see a series on men who have B bodies or maybe a couple of C pluses thrown in for good measure. Something tells me that a lot of men occasionally would enjoy seeing pictures of men who look a little more like they do as opposed to so many gods from Mount Olympus. It's a little like having only chocolate truffles at every meal.

I found ON THE COUCH, VOL. 1. electrifying and visually satisfying. ON THE COUCH, VOL. 2, is as brilliant as Vol. 1. The pictures are stories, the models are real, and the sensuality of the work leaps from the pages. THIS, LIKE VOL.1 IS AN ABSOLUTE MUST HAVE!..It will be a wonderful addition to your collection.

I remain an avid Bianchi fan, and this color photographic collection, Volume Two, goes one step further than Volume One. It is beautiful, but it is what some might call "pornographic," as Bianchi has taken his photography up another notch. The collection is definitely not child's fair or a coffee table book, but it is a mature adult look at gay male sexuality for the bedroom bookcase. All of Bianchi's fotos are stunning and highly charged, erotic visual treats. I loved the leather couch and Tom's decorating choices so much that I now own a couch just like in the book. Weird huh? Now I can psychologically enhance the fantasies Bianchi has created. If only the men came with the couch!

I wandered through the kid's section of a book store and stumbled upon this book. It was the beautiful imagery on the cover that first caught my eye. I flipped through to see that these wonderful images are carried throughout as well. I turned back to the beginning and read the tale of Ignis as he tries to find himself and his flame and fell in love with this little dragon. His journey to find his flame is fun to read and fitting for the age this book targets (4-8). Simply put, I found the tale endearing and the artwork captivating to explore. Very enjoyable indeed!

I have read this book and really enjoyed it. I have also read this book to a grade 1 class and they really enjoyed it. I feel that this book is great for all ages. I love the story-line and the fabulous illustrations. This will be a great addition to any collection.

One of the most delightful books I have ever come across!

No other book I have ever seen has illustrations that bring dragons to life like this one. As an artist, I had searched everywhere to find examples of expresive, interesting dragons that had a benevolent and inquisitive nature, and at the same time retained their reptilian appearance. The fact that the drawings are accompanied by such a well written story is a bonus!

This is my daughter's most-requested book, and it is so enjoyable I truly don't mind reading it five days in a row. I can't say that for any other book we own. The illustrations are beautiful, the text is very inspired, and I like the theme of perseverance. Ignis's personality seems so real, as does the little girl Cara's. With two children, I've bought or borrowed countless children's books, and this goes at the top of my favorites list. I wish Gina Wilson and P.J. Lynch would team up for another story.

"Ignis" is fabulous dragon book. The inspirational story is all the better due to the enchanting, beautifully drawn illustrations on each page. I love reading this book to my 5-year old son as much as he loves to hear it. This is a must read and must have book for all dragon lovers: both young and old. I highly recommend the purchase.

This is a book which deserves a wide reading in the social sciences for its brazen and determined effort to deeply problematize the notion of the "social."

At the same time, as I read the first few chapters, I had a sense of deja vu. The program Latour is putting forth--at least initially-- appears not so different from that of Fredrik Barth -- not Barth's early transactionalist stuff, but his later work on the anthropology of knowledge. Specifically,

Barth, F.
1992 Towards greater naturalism in conceptualizing societies. In Conceptualizing Society. Kuper, A., eds. Pp. 17--33. : Routledge.

and

Barth, F.
1993 Balinese worlds. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

put forth a very similar approach to the "social." Barth himself is a great admirer of Latour (see his praise for Laboratory Life and Science in Action in his 2002 piece in Current Anthropology) but Latour--at least here--doesn't seem to be reading Barth....

Latour is also taking great pains to distance himself from Bourdieu's reflexive sociology, and from critics who would label ANT as postmodernist. Highly recommended if you're interested in this sort of thing.

A very good tutorial given by Latour. Not difficult to follow even for readers with no background in sociology.

Perhaps it has a lot to do with the book being written in English (or at least it appears to have been, there is no translator listed), but this is by far the most lucid thing I've read by Latour. In a way it's a radical break, he finally embraces his troubled intellectual child Actor Network Theory, stops expecting its meaning to magically emerge from the context and sets forth exploring what it actually is and how it can work.

This book is a "paradoxical" endeavour on a number of counts, and I'm drawing here on the Greek etymology of the word meaning `beyond received opinion.' While on the surface it purports to be an introduction to a particular research methodology--presumably for the benefit of social science PhD students--appealing to common sense, at the same time it is also a philosophical tour de force, engaging with metaphysical and ontological issues of the highest order.

It is quite possible to read it in a few days, as it is written in a colourful style peppered with amusing metaphors and examples, but it is more likely that a number of reads are required to fully experience what this book has to offer (unless you are an ANT enthusiast already). In the end it is a thought experiment and it will either work for you or it won't. You will either come away hating actor-network-theory for the rest of your life or you will have a conversion experience and you will never be able to look at baboons and the map of the London Underground quite the same way again.

In many ways this book reminds me of Heidegger's Being and Time, but the differences might be more important than the similarities. For one Latour completes the book as promised in the introduction, in contrast to Heidegger. But also Latour is a lot more specific and optimistic about the outcomes of his `deconstruction' of traditional sociology, as opposed to Heidegger's pessimistic and rather vague conclusions stemming from his destruction of traditional metaphysics.

In this sense Latour's Reassembling the Social is not so much an introduction to a theory as a guide or handbook to practical living. However the practical or empirical metaphysics he proposes for (re)assembling a better world is far from being a quick-fix solution: it asks for a tireless, on-going effort to collect and rearrange the world, morsel by morsel, just like an ant.

Given our experiences in late-modernity outrun our pre-developed concepts especially in innovation Latour claims that sociologists should themselves be part of innovation experiences. He portrays a new type of sociology (the one including objects) by which one can describe rather than prescribe. Latour initiates the difference between ANT and Sociology of Social(SOS), claiming that the latter chooses its tools from repertoire of agreed-upon criteria (pre-developed concepts) while in ANT we must follow the traces left by the actors. What is left we shall name as a society of actors and works. ANT analyst must himself participate and experinece the phenomena in a "here-and-now" perceptual sense and then conceptualize what he has experienced. In Latour's argument all things including human and non-human are mediators by which action is not merely transfered but also transformed to a new state. Both the actor and its associated action undergo a metamorphosis process in each mode of action. Consequently we have Five sources of Uncertainty:
1.Groups may form and depart for tyrrany of distance and proximity is removed
2.Action may be done by others and we can not fully anticipate in advance the nature of agencies and the outcome
3. Things have agency no matter how much man has the power to control
4. In the realm of things matter of fact prevails whereas in the combination of "things and human" matter of fact trasforms to matter of concern. In other words in the new relam i.e. "socio-technical realm" matter of scientific facts combines with the matter of cognitive concern.
5. Writing down experienced accounts
Hence, It's a call of Heraclitus aphorism i.e. "you can not step in the same river twice" along with Existentialism philosophy. Both you and the river change during the course of action. But you must expereince this change to percieve it. It could not be described completely by merely using pre-developed concepts. Your experience precedes your pre-developed concepts about the river and your reflection when crossing the river. Latour sometimes complicate his arguments by using difficult expressions, terminologies and long Gallic statements, but his words are very insightful, and his message is invaluable after-the-fact.
One issue which I didn't find in this book was responsibility and "responsible reflection". In other words Latour doesn't open the question about self-responsibility of actors that ANT analyst should follow. ANT analyst is not permitted to give advice to actors. He can only observe and expereince. This is ironically a matter of concern not a matter of fact that might be considered in his future arguments, given that Engineers and Scientists, for example, from ANT perspective are actors which should only watched not advised responsibly. To sum up ANT is to follow the "Dislocation of Action" and "opening eyes to see who is acting within any site; where the consequence of this action may travel; where are the likely sources that provoke action and actors"; "how sequence and consequence of sites change the nature of action" and the like. The Network we could envisage through resolving questions as such shall be mapping out and named as Society. Hence, late modernity is an entity that must be reassembled through ANT lens.

On the one hand this is an intelligent auto-biographical novel that is well-written entertaining and easy to read and on the other hand it is a description of an individual's experience of being on the receiving end of psychoanalysis. It is interesting and enjoyable whether you want to read about a colonial childhood in 1930s Algeria or an adult's experience of psychoanalysis in 1960s Paris. The afterword by Bruno Bettelheim is useful additional material on the latter.

In this forceful and disturbing novel, a woman discovers slowly the real (psychic) reason of her illness: an irresistible continuing loss of blood.
During her psychoanalysis, she succeeds in demolishing the thick wall that separates her from the extremely painful truth and the origin of her disorder: the fear of a child. The story unveils masterly the reasons of this fear.

Marie Cardinal evocates fiercely her violent psychic battle with her unconscious in order to force it to reveal its secrets, her fear to (re)discover forgotten painful, but crucial, incidents or the psychic violence needed to open the doors of the subconscious.

Her book is also a profound meditation on the impact of a `colossal' religion on people's lives (interdiction of divorce) and on the female condition and female psychology.

A formidable and shocking book.
A must read.

This book is one of the best novels I've ever read. Cardinal's struggle to find herself in the mysterious depths of the unconscious is not just a story about psychoanalysis, it's a book about the ordinary processes that occur in our minds when we experience things we cannot handle growing up. It's about forgetting and remembering. It's about making discoveries and letting things go. Reading her story will make you think about how fragile our understandings of ourselves really are. I admire this book not just for its honest and captivating prose. I think it accurately portrays some of the most valuable ideas behind Freud's psychoanalytic theory.

"...a beautiful and terrifying story in honor of all people.... Van Vactor and Goodheart's decision to publish Cardinal in an elegant translation opens the door to a world rich in language and thought that we should be grateful to share." --The Philadelphia Inquirer.

"...a profligate yet impeccably controlled work.... "...chilling set pieces are shrewdly paced to create primitive, almost horror-story suspense. "One apt work that kept occurring to me as I read was 'gorgeous.' ... Miss Cardinal bowls over her audience with dazzling verbal artistry and emotion-stirring tours de force." --The New York Times Book Review

"Words can be guides too, escape routes marked on tattered old maps, and here the novel and the analysis come together since both are journeys towards a language that is sane and shared, visibly free of the worst of the darkness." Michael Wood, The Sunday Times (London)

"...a beautiful and terrifying story in honor of all people.... Van Vactor and Goodheart's decision to publish Cardinal in an elegant translation opens the door to a world rich in language and thought that we should be grateful to share." --The Philadelphia Inquirer.

"...a profligate yet impeccably controlled work.... "...chilling set pieces are shrewdly paced to create primitive, almost horror-story suspense. "One apt work that kept occurring to me as I read was 'gorgeous.' ... Miss Cardinal bowls over her audience with dazzling verbal artistry and emotion-stirring tours de force." --The New York Times Book Review

"Words can be guides too, escape routes marked on tattered old maps, and here the novel and the analysis come together since both are journeys towards a language that is sane and shared, visibly free of the worst of the darkness." Michael Wood, The Sunday Times (London)

Bruno Bernard - "Bernard of Hollywood", as his sobriquet ran - was one of classic Hollywood's greatest glamour and pin-up photographers. His specialty was "cheesecake" photography, of which he was the grand master, but he photographed untold legions of the loveliest of vintage Hollywood's actresses. Marilyn Monroe? Jayne Mansfield? Joan Collins? Lili St. Cyr? Anita Ekberg? Mamie Van Doren? Eartha Kitt? Candy Barr? Monique Van Vooren? They're all here, along with many, many others.

Susan Bernard, his daughter, has assembled hundreds of his best images into a truly dazzling work. Only Taschen, the German publisher renowned for its ultra-high-quality books on all sorts of unusual subjects, could truly have done justice to the project, and so they have, in a gorgeous oversize format crammed with full-page photography on high-quality paper, accompanied by extensive texts in English, French and German.

One of the most idiotic things I've done in the last five years is to sell off my first copy of this book. I needed to raise money, but that was no excuse. Works of art like this should never, ever be disposed of once you bring them into your collection, come hell or high water. Thankfully, I was able to get ahold of another copy this summer - and even more thankfully, for pretty close to the original list price. That's a minor prodigy in itself; because this book is in such high demand, sellers are naturally going to ask a corresponding premium. As well they should. This book is worth every single cent you may pay for it.

No one...and I mean NO ONE...who claims to be a fan of classic glamour photography or old-time Hollywood can be taken seriously as such without this book in their library. I'm serious. If you're reading this review, you're interested enough to buy this book - so do it today.

The photographs of Bruno Bernard are historic treasures documenting a period of Americana when purity and innocence masked the prurient. As teenagers when my friends and I joined the military after Pearl Harbor, we considered ourselves to be tough men; our images of naughtiness were induced by the pin-up.

The Ultimate Pin-Up is a coffee table collection of beautiful photographs--the colors are brilliant, the hair styles and clothing which drape the subjects who found their way to Hollywood or Las Vegas in the forties and fifties are significant representations of the American spirit post WWII; this being an era of US military might and rapid technological changes. Decades ago I felt these photographs were of loose women yet as I peruse the book I am amused by the sweetness and demurenss of the models and their poses.

The book is printed with high quality paper, the collection is heavy so it needs to rest on a table. It is fun to peruse; each page delights and tickles my memories of the days before the younger generation elected JFK to the White House.

This book makes me happy. Bernard of Hollywood will be remembered for his documenting history. Although the book is filed with the topic "Sex" I feel it should be referenced as "History". The images are certainly "Art". Smithsonian.

Bernard of Hollywood Pin-Ups is a fun and fast way to get started recapturing the look and feel of the '40's and '50's styled Pin-Up Photography. Of course, this book's instruction applies to anytime, but the examples shown are all Classic Pin-up. Each page comes with a short summary of the thought behind each full page Black & White photo and a small diagram showing lighting and camera position. A bio of Bernard of Hollywood and the philosophy behind his photographs completes the book. It's straight forward and to the point, a worth while addition to a Pin-Up book collection, and a simple instructive guide for beginning photographers.

This is truly the ultimate pin-up book. I have seen some of these photos over the years and it's satisfying to put a name to them. But what's really surprising is the vast quantity of output this man had. He was certainly prolific and there's no question as to why he was sought after by the rich and glamorous. He was a genius. These are amazing pictures and portraits of some of the most stunning women on the planet from the 40's and 50's. We'll never know another era like that. Beautiful clothes, costumes and jewelry adorn these women from a time when glamour was GLAMOUR. From starlets to cheesecake models to showgirls to stars---they're all here and captured in all their splendor. Even the stunning 50's stripper Lili St.Cyr is here in rare and incredible photos. Thanks to Susan Bernard (from "Faster Pussycat! Kill! Kill!") her fathers' work is receiving another round of applause and admiration. This book is embedded with legend. A MUST for auteurs of glamour photography and a MUST for nostalgia lovers. Recommended HIGHLY.

I loved this collection of pictures from the Perfect Couple book. If you can't find the book, this collection make a brilliant introduction. As they tear out easily, they can be sent to your friends as postcards, the back being already printed for such use.

The usual sumptuous Bel Ami/Bruno Gmunder production standards apply, and the colours, quality and content and superb.

' Bel Ami: Perfect Couples This volume follows hot on the heels of Frisky Memories, the summer best-seller. Perfect Couples shows the most attractive Bel Ami couples. Lovingly composed, this handy volume contains many previously unpublished photos of the great Bel Ami stars, as well as many new discoveries. A must for all Bel Ami fans.'

This Post Card Book follows hot on the heels of Frisky Memories, the summer best-seller. Perfect Couples shows the most attractive Bel Ami couples. Lovingly composed, this handy book contains many previously unpublished photos of the great Bel Ami stars, as well as many new discoveries. A must for all Bel Ami fans.

Do you like Bel Ami models? If so, this book is made for you. If you've never come across this photographer before you'll enjoy this introduction to his work.

This book is a thick one. It has buckets of beautiful pictures, and a barrowful of beautiful models, all in pairs with occasional group shots. All the models are named in the index at the rear, which means you can search for videos of your favourites. The range of young guys is outstanding, running from the sublimely youthful Filip Olivier to the bulky Dano Sulik. Of course, Johan Paulik puts in an appearance, as does Lukas Ridgestone. There are also some extremly desperate penises anxious to be seen, and some are simply to large to ignore! I can't beleive any lover of youthful men wouldn't want to fall into any of these pictures and be any of the boy's lover for a day.

A delightful book for your collection, and as all Bruno Gmunder books it is excellent value for money.

Somos Cubanos by Thoma Benno is a beautiful, large size, photography art book. Benno took these stunning photos of men while on a trip to Cuba. Set against the simplicity of everyday life and old world charm, these photos scream male sensuality. Printed on thick, high quality paper, these 60+ photos take us back in time when life was simple. Photos include singles, duos, portraits, semi nudes and nudes. Absolutely beautiful!

ARIBA ARIBA!! LUV THEM CUBANOS!

Somos Cubanos show erotic pics of young guys, brunet cubanos, very sensual, wonderful pictures, for men and women very specials.

'A book that will make you lobby hard for the end of the Cuban trade embargo....lots of gorgeous cubanos caught by the lens of the talented Benno Thoma.'

"The Bridge in the Jungle" is one of those strange books you don't know how to respond to at first. On one hand it's absolutely tragic and, on the other, it's filled with some of the funniest passages imaginable. More or less condensed into a twenty-four hour period, Traven describes how an Indian community bands together, sometimes with folly but often with strength, when a young boy disappears into the bush.

Throughout the story Traven gives an intimate account of peasant life in southern Mexico, nevering missing a detail of how the campesinos live, think and act. In fact the narrative is filled with so many astute observations that you feel, at times, Traven works better as an anthropologist than as a novelist.

But, unfortunately, some of these observations sound a little sentimental. It's the only work by Traven that seems to run in circles, at times even becoming boring. He praises the spiritualism of Indians one too many times and focusses on their diet rather than moving on with the plot.

He does, however, redeem himself with the character of Sleigh, an expat who's made the jungle his home. He's like a good-natured version of Kurtz -- wise, crazy, but harmless.

On top of all this, Traven makes his usual attacks against the oil industry and organized religion.

If you enjoyed any of his "jungle books," then gives this one a read.

I confess that I am a major afficionado of B. Traven. My politics have mellowed over the years but I enjoy Traven's political perspective. I believe B. Traven was an ararchist at heart. He attacked big government and big business as evil but saw the uncorrupted individual as nobel and good. In the rural Mexican Indian community he found, for himself, the most ideal form of government he had ever encountered. His Jungle Books were a tale of conflict between good and evil; peasant and capitalism. His book, The Bridge in the Jungle, is his ode to the Indian peasant community. He brings us into their midst throught his vagabond American who stumbles upon a small village at the time a tragedy is unfolding. A young boy has drowned and we witness their suffering and their coming together. We see the corruption of their society by misunderstood influences from the outside world. The example I remember best is the musician who, when asked to play something during the funeral march, comes up with "Yes We have no Bananas". Neither the musician nor anyone else except our American narrator comprehends the total inappropriateness of the song. All in all, a beautiful story of a disappearing society.

By chance I came upon Traven at the library when I noted that he had authored "Treasure of Sierra Madre," a film classic that I automatically associate with Hollywood's old Bogey.

Not knowing anything more than that I picked-up "The Bridge in the Jungle," and what I found most fascinating was finding a story that so honestly stripped away cultural biases and opened a window to another universe. It revealed the dignity of a community dealing with death of a young boy in an obscure jungle town in early nineteenth century Mexico, and it also provided a vivid account of a proud Aztec culture on the threshold of extinction.

I wish I could see more modern American writers, who, like Traven, would more readily examine how cultural biases skew our understanding and appreciation of the quiltwork of cultures that inhabit our amazing World.

This book was dedicated by Traven to the mothers of the world. It is a cold, crude and, at the same time, compasionate and tender view on a child's death and the terrible, extreme pain it produces on his mother. It also describes the quite particular, "uncontaminated" and honest reaction the event creates among a small Indian community in Chiapas. All this is told by Gales, the main character, an American adventurer that hardly tries to undertand what is actually going on and how he feels about it.

Although the plot is very simple, this novel has some passages of an extraordinary literary intensity. It is also full of irony and sometimes sarcasm too.

Well, it can be said The Bridge in the Jungle is a sad, tragic novel but it is beautifully written and that is what matters.

My son, who is 2 1/2, absolutely loves this book. We actually followed the plans in the back and helped him build his own toolbox and he loved it! He memorized all the different tools Bruno uses and enjoys shouting out their names as we read the book. He also loves Bruno the Baker. Fantastic series of a Beaver that is very creative.

A really cool book to share with your children if you are a carpenter. The price is sky high though! The author has republished this book under "Harvey" series. Still in print and looks to be the same thing.

My son, who just turned four, and had previously shown absolutely zero interest in shop tools, was fascinated by this book. He seemed to find the completion of the construction project especially satisfying. This book is really a sleeper and the main character is just adorable!

My 2 1/2 year old son has really enjoyed reading this book anytime. He likes tools and this has taught him what to use tools for. Everytime you read it you will notice something you missed before. The illistrations are adorable, detailed, and to the point. One of the better childrens books.