Park Books

I can't say enough good things about this series of board books ("Busy Park," "Busy Garden," etc.) by Rebecca Finn. My daughter has loved them since we started reading them to her at about nine months old. She is now two and they still entertain her in the car when we bring them along. Each colorful two-page spread has something for little fingers to manipulate (for example, "Busy Park" has a tab that slides up to make animals appear in a tree, a dial that turns to make fish swim around in a pond, a tab with clouds on it that reveals a rainbow underneath when it is pulled out, etc.).

The opportunities for language input that these books provide for babies and toddlers is fabulous. As a parent and former speech therapist I am always on the lookout for stimulating books for the birth-to-three age group, and these are perfect. They are rich in age-appropriate vocabulary without being too visually complex. The simple, rhyming text refers to one of the main aspects of a scene (e.g., the animals that appear in a big tree), but it is easy to expand the language input by talking about other features (such as a boy and girl looking at the animals, their mom pushing a stroller down a path, a bird in another little tree, etc.). The everyday relevance of the pictures/vocab, the melodic text, and the fun of trying to work the tabs, dials, etc. make these books truly engaging for a small child.

These books are also much more sturdy than any other board books I have seen that contain flaps/tabs (in our case this has been a very good thing since they have been read and played with over and over again!). The moveable parts are made out of the same sturdy board book material as the rest of the book, so they stand up to the abuse doled out from even the youngest hands. I can't ask for more from a board book -- fun, entertaining, durable, and a great teaching tool too! I plan to buy books from this series as gifts for all the babies and toddlers I know.

We bought this book for our two year old daughter on a whim in the bookstore. Since we brought it home two weeks ago, she insists on having it at the table with her when she eats, clutching it when she sleeps, and taking it with her EVERYWHERE she goes!

The thing she likes most about the book is the fact that she can move the pieces (very easily) by herself. The concept is simple and the illustrations show pictures of things she can identify herself. In essence, as a two year old, she can read the book herself.

It's also not so annoying as other books, so you don't mind reading it over and over (and over!). Highly recommended. The moving pieces, combined with the cute and colorful illustrations make this well worth the money!

"The Lost World" is one of the best books I have ever read. I think the characters such as Sarah Harding, Ian Malcolm, and Jack Thorne are very strong, and they seem like people you could actually meet once you get into the book. The point of the book is to continue "Jurassic Park", because of the ways Crichton comments about John Hammond's dreams. They never quite come true , though. The Lost World is his "dirty little secret", where the dinosaurs were actually bred, and sent to Isla Nublar. It is much different than the original, and I think it has much more action, unlike Malcolm's droning in "Jurassic Park", which could be exceptionally boring. "The Lost World" is ultimately my favorite book, and I would advise others to read it as well.

The Lost World is one of the best books ever.It has everithing you can ask from a book.You may not take my suggestion seriosly, but it's really worth a try.

Aside from many years as the hiking columnist for the LA Times, John McKinney's main claim to fame is scouting out the route for the California Coastal Trail, a Mexico to Oregon Trail, which will hopefully be completed within the next 20 years or so. California does have some dramatic coast, and state beaches and parks preserve over a third of it. Still, with all the development along the coast any final route for the Coastal Trail will include some less than stellar urban settings. The great benefit of this book is that McKinney provides a comprehensive list and description of the best California Coastal areas and trails.

Most of the hikes described in this book are 5 miles or less, and longer routes usually include shorter alternative destinations. The maps are for the most part adequate and McKinney also devotes considerable space to the local history of each area. Using this guide, one could literally day hike the best of the Coastal Trail over the course of one or two summers skipping only the less scenic and difficult to access points. For this reason alone the book is worth the purchase price. But McKinney also includes walks in inland wildlands including Henry Cowell and Big Basin Redwoods, Limekiln State Park, the Ventana Wilderness, and Redwood National Park. In all it is a stellar introduction to California's wonderful coast. This is by far McKinney's best guidebook.

California's coastline is long and holds many historic towns and beaches of all kinds: here to describe the best spots between Oregon and Mexico is the comprehensive CALIFORNIA'S COASTAL PARKS: A DAY HIKER'S GUIDE. From family walks and hikes to beaches and off-beat day treks, over a hundred walks cover a range of regions and activity levels and come with maps, trailhead directions, and descriptions of the hike.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

This is a book for people who listen when Katahdin calls and you answer by visiting, camping or living near this majestic mountain! A great read and I HIGHLY RECOMMEND!!!

In 1947, when Ed Werler and his wife Mary Jane, along with their two dogs, Pepper and Mickey, arrived in Maine from Connecticut, they knew that this is where they wanted to be.
Although his goal was to own or operate a sporting camp in Maine, he took a job as a fire tower watchman on Daicey Mountain so that he could be closer to the area he wanted to live in.

As it turned out, he never did own a sporting camp, and it was years before he got the chance to operate one, and that was for only one season.

While the reality differed somewhat from the dream, as often happens, Ed was able to raise his family in one of the most beautiful places on the planet - the Katahdin area of Maine.

The Call of Katahdin: Life in Werler's Woods is the story of the almost thirteen years that Ed and MJ Werler were to spend in this area, from 1947 to 1960, when he accepted a position as Park Manager at Two Lights State Park in Cape Elizabeth and moved south.

Told in a simple, clear and compelling story-telling manner, Werler's account is a 176 page chronicle of his life here, from his summers on Daicey Mountain, his winters in Stacyville, and his move from Daicey Mountain to the park service as a Park Ranger for Baxter State Park, including a move to Smith Pond in the fall of 1956.

His stories of Katahdin area places and people who he had come to know, his record of a simpler but harder time, and his tales of the North Woods in general should appeal to anyone.

As a student of history, I loved it. As someone who may have been born and raised in the Katahdin area, perhaps even related to some of the characters contained in this book, I think you'll enjoy it.

RL Stine has done it again with this book series. Rotten School books are an excellent choice for all kids. Especially if you are trying to get them interested in chapter books. My kids love this!!

My son is almost 10 years old and "devours" the Rotten School series. He can't wait for # 16 to be published in January 08. I pay a fortune in shipping charges to order them from Lebanon, but it's (he's) worth it.

Camp is for the Camper is the perfect personal assistant for camp counselors who want to learn more about the youth who come to camps, who want to organize themselves to be an effective leader at summer camp and who want to solve typical camper issues. The book fits easily into a backpack and can go almost everywhere the counselor goes.

Being a camp counselor is a tremendous experience, yet it can be stressful if they are not well prepared to deal with the many and varied behaviors of campers. Camp is for the Camper gives counselors quick, easy options to address many regular situations.

Catalina Island Camps bought a copy for each counselor and I can see how they will refer to it many times to help get ideas about how to best meet the needs of individual campers and their whole cabin group.

Often it hardest for a counselor to come ask a supervisor for help because they don't want to look as if they can't do their job. Of course, we train counselors to ask for help, but many still don't ask and since we know they want to do well, they will probably turn to this book for ideas and solutions.

The book reiterates many of the things we talk about in staff orientation, but we always wonder if counselors really took it to heart. For many counselors, reading a similiar message written by ACA professionals will give them a second chance to understand many critical issues to the success of our camp.

Along with the Camp is for the Camper Online course, this is a powerful training tool for every camp counselor in every camp across the country.

If you are a counselor, you will find it very useful. If you are a director, buy it for your staff!

This book offers suggestions for almost any situation that may arise with a camper. It not only offers help with dealing with one, but how to prevent it in the first place. Another useful feature is the inclusion of a "psychological roadmap" of each age group, their needs, and how to help them get the most of the camp experience. It's a great supplement to any Staff Manual. Order a copy for each of your staff!

Sometimes we only have a few moments to read when on camp-outs. It needs to be handy, packable, and satisfying. This little companion book is packed with helpful hints, fun poems, and short stories - to read alone or to share with others. You don't need a bookmark, because they're all a joy to re-visit. I started mine on a trip, then came home to finish the book by reading a few pages every night. Enjoyable for any age.

Sometimes we only have a few moments to read when on camp-outs. It needs to be handy, pack-able, and satisfying. This little companion book is packed with helpful hints, fun poems, and short stories - to read alone or to share with others. You don't need a bookmark, because they're all a joy to re-visit. I started mine on a trip, then came home to finish the book by reading a few pages every night! Enjoyable for any age

I borrowed this book from the Library and after reading it, just had to have it. It has so much information contained in it, that I want to spend more time delving into all that it has.
So many wonderful listings of websites pertaining to everything you could possibly think of in regards to camping, Rving, and all that pertains to that.
YOU WILL LIKE THIS BOOK AND THINK IT INDESPENSIBLE AFTER YOU READ IT. I highly suggest getting this for what seems to be almost all the information you would every need for camping and all that is related to it.

There is no more concise summary and guidebook for the internet user...on the road in an RV or off the road at home. It is extremely clear, well-organized and a "quick learn" for those who want to try out further exporation of the internet. In its relatively small format it explains everything from types of computers, hardware, software, terminology, to those mysterious "letters" related to computing we wonder about. Camping On the Internet by Eyrich is an absolute must for those who are full-timers in their RVs. Whether you just want to learn from scratch or whether you want to build your own website for pleasure or business, this is THE book. The author, Loren Eyrich, has spent many years traveling in an RV and publishing a small newspaper "on the road", using his computer. This is a user-friendly book. As a fairly competent computer user, I found it wonderfully refreshing and highly useful; it also helped me build my own web site.

Tony Hill's Canadian Politics: Riding by Riding is a travel book, a demographic study and a recent political history of Canada all in one. After extensive travels through Canada, the result is a unique perspective explaining not only broad cultural, historical, and social changes but specifics- car factory locations in Quebec, apple valleys in Nova Scotia, deserts in British Columbia, the Tomato Capital of Canada, and the Polar Bear Capital of the World, etc. Often he provides personal ancedotes or very wry observations which spice up the prose.

The demographic information is important as possibly no other democratic country has been more affected by immigration over the past generation as has Canada. Riding by Riding identifies Chinese, South Asian (Indian and Pakistani), Chinese, French, British,Scandinavian, and other enclaves within country.

An up-to-date political history of each province is in the book's front and the introduction contains a more comprehensive 25-year history of the five federal political parties. Most helpful is the What Is Politics? section: a readible primer of Canadian political terms and fundemental political differences between Canada and the United States.

But the real political history is contained with each riding description. For example, the Mount Royal riding contains a brief description of its longtime MP, Pierre Trudeau. However, sometimes the history is in an unexpected place. A discussion of the 1983 Progressive Conservative leadership review convention which ultimately led to the Prime Ministership of Brian Mulroney is in the Winnipeg Centre section as this was the actual location of the convention.

By going through the country, riding by riding, we learn about the country's movers and shakers as well as the backbenchers and we learn about how national electorial sweeps in 1984 and 1993 went through the political landscape like a tsunami. Mr. Hill's conclusion: Canadians tend to vote governments out, rather than vote governments in. As a result, he is very cautious in predicting future elections or events.

In all, Canadian Politics: Riding by Riding takes its subject and peels away its many layers. Mr. Hill appreciates Canada's complexities and writes about them with affection and understanding. He is one American too knowledgable to be interviewed on "Talking to Americans".

As someone who is active in politics and has lived or visited all parts of Canada, I can honestly say that Tony Hill gives a fair, well balanced, and complete analysis of Canada's 301 electoral districts. This analysis does not only include historical information, but also social and economic demographic information in a very qualitative fashion. This is a must read for anyone interested in Canadian politics!

CANYONLANDS contains 26 panoramic photographs. These can be folded out to a length of 90 centimeters. The following is my review of a smaller version of this book, by the same author. The smaller book, also called CANYONLANDS, contains photos selected from the larger book.

The photographer, Reiner Sahm, was careful to take the pictures at a time of day that works best for desert landscapes, namely, near sunset. Also, the photographer was careful to exclude tourists from most of the photos.

The great virtue of this book is that it contains scenery that is not much known or not much published. For example, we see Goblin Valley in Utah. Goblin Valley is easy to reach by way of a newly paved road. The road leads right up to a parking lot, and from the lot one can amble down into the valley and mingle among the "goblins." Various parts of Goblin Valley can be seen in the comedic science fiction movie, VISION QUEST. One criticism for the book under review, is that the picture does not show a representative goblin. In other words, from Reiner Sahm's photograph, the reader cannot really tell what is unique about this park. Goblin Valley is reasonably close to Moab. As long as you are visiting Goblin Valley, one should stop at nearby Hanksville, and go inside a supermarket carved out of the inside of a mountain.

Another example of little known, but yet amazing, scenery is Kash-Katuwe Tent Rocks. This park contains black conical things, similar to those found in Crater Lake National Park in Oregon. The black things, chimneys about 30 feet tall, have black cones or hats made of stone.

Yet another little known and little photographed scene is Vermilion Cliffs (Pariah Canyon, the Wave). Although the scene is one of the most unique and amazing in America, you must hike around ten miles to get to it. Moreover, this area was only recently discovered, apparently in the early 1990s.

Reiner Sahm continues his excursion into scenes that are little published--we see Chesler Park. The image of Chesler Park is shown from the meadow side. Colorful spires rise directly from a grassy meadow. The hike from Elephant Hill to Chesler Park is one of the greatest in America. To provide some perspective, the single greatest hike in America is the eleven mile Kalalau Trail on Kauai.

Of course, Reiner Sahm could not resist Monument Valley. And so, this book does contains a photo of Monument Valley. Fortunately, we are spared the usual image of The Mittens, and instead we are shown a more remote part of Monument Valley (Hunts Mesa).

I am greatful for Reiner Sahm's hard work in seeking out a number of awesome spots, e.g., Vermilion Cliffs, Chesler Park, Goblin Valley, and Kasha-Katuwe, that have generally been ignored by other photographers.

This book contains thirteen panoramic photographs, each 20 inches long, and spanning the "gutter" of the book. The photographer, Reiner Sahm, was careful to take the pictures at a time of day that works best for desert landscapes, namely, near sunset. Also, the photographer was careful to exclude tourists from most of the photos.

The great virtue of this book is that it contains scenery that is not much known or not much published. For example, we see Goblin Valley in Utah. Goblin Valley is easy to reach by way of a newly paved road. The road leads right up to a parking lot, and from the lot one can amble down into the valley and mingle among the "goblins." Various parts of Goblin Valley can be seen in the comedic science fiction movie, VISION QUEST. One criticism for the book under review, is that the picture does not show a representative goblin. In other words, from Reiner Sahm's photograph, the reader cannot really tell what is unique about this park. Goblin Valley is reasonably close to Moab. As long as you are visiting Goblin Valley, one should stop at nearby Hanksville, and go inside a supermarket carved out of the inside of a mountain.

Another example of little known, but yet amazing, scenery is Kash-Katuwe Tent Rocks. This park contains black conical things, similar to those found in Crater Lake National Park in Oregon. The black things, chimneys about 30 feet tall, have black cones or hats made of stone.

Yet another little known and little photographed scene is Vermilion Cliffs (Pariah Canyon, the Wave). Although the scene is one of the most unique and amazing in America, you must hike around ten miles to get to it. Moreover, this area was only recently discovered, apparently in the early 1990s.

Reiner Sahm continues his excursion into scenes that are little published--we see Chesler Park. The image of Chesler Park is shown from the meadow side. Colorful spires rise directly from a grassy meadow. The hike from Elephant Hill to Chesler Park is one of the greatest in America. To provide some perspective, the single greatest hike in America is the eleven mile Kalalau Trail on Kauai.

Of course, Reiner Sahm could not resist Monument Valley. And so, this book does contains a photo of Monument Valley. Fortunately, we are spared the usual image of The Mittens, and instead we are shown a more remote part of Monument Valley (Hunts Mesa).

This book is a smaller version of another, larger book by Reiner Sahm. The larger book contains prints that, when folded out, are 90 cm long. The larger book contains 26 images in all, including all of those in the book being reviewed. Thus, anyone with a few extra dollars to spare should buy the larger book, called CANYONLANDS PANORAMIC PHOTOGRAPHY.

I am greatful for Reiner Sahm's hard work in seeking out a number of awesome spots, e.g., Vermilion Cliffs, Chesler Park, Goblin Valley, and Kasha-Katuwe, that have generally been ignored by other photographers.