Disney Books

I am also from Indiana and in my mid 60's and as I read about Chuck's life experiences as he grew up in the midwest, moved to California, and worked with Walt Disney; many memories of my own life experiences during those times came flooding back. I believe everyone who reads this book will be able to relate some of their own experiences to the many stories of this country kid from Indiana who rose to senior publicist with Disney in the movie capital of the world. It is one of the best books I have read.

The illustrations in this book of one of my favorite Disney films is by far one of the best. It reminds me of how Alice in Wonderland and Peter Pan were drawn earlier. I believe that this movie deserves to have a second chance just like Alice did. But this book will surely delight any reader who enjoys the classic Disney art style as I have and always will.

At first glance this child's book is so obviously targeted to young girls that love princesses and horses -- and fuzzy stickers! -- that it is easy to miss its more subtle features.

Girls can imagine the princesses having a wonderful life after their "happily-ever-after" movies end, as the story shows Belle, Cinderella and Snow White tending to their beloved horses and having fun with them. Belle fills Phillipe's stable with flowers, feeds him carrots and rides with him deep into the forest. Cinderella spends lots of time with Frou in the stable, has the Fairy Godmother turn his horseshoes into glass and competes with him in horse shows. Snow White feeds Astor apples, rides him into the forest to find Prince Charming's missing hat and puts a flower in his bridle.

Looking a little deeper, however, you notice that each horse is drawn in the style from their particular movie. Cinderella's Frou is the most cartoonish, with big eyes and a smiling mouth. Snow White's Astor is the most realistic, with delicate lines and little caricature. Belle's Philippe has Frou's big eyes, but his mouth is more realistic.

Also, the princesses' riding styles are true to their characters. While Cinderella and Snow White ride side-saddle in dresses, Belle wears pants and rides astride. Sure, she's wearing lovely gold riding pants, but still! A nice touch: when Cinderella competes in the horse show, her mouse friends cheer her on from the side grasses, while the prince, the king and the major domo do the same from the stands.

Philippe's fur is fuzzy to the touch on the cover, as are the nine stickers inside.

Well, if you love Disney's Aladdin, then this is a MUST-HAVE! It teaches you how to draw Jasmine, The Genie, Jafar, Abu, Iago, and of course, your beloved Aladdin! You'll learn more about the making of the movie, especially how they created such wondeful characters! Try to draw them by yourself, there'll be lots of fun - Buy it, and don't forget to have a look at the other books in the "Disney How To Draw" Series !!!

I've bought other Walter Foster books on how to draw Disney characters and they were all very good. This book is very helpful as well, with pencil sketches of all the characters, from Aladar to the raptors. Though I'm disappointed there weren't more pages and hints, it was very good. The drawings may seem a little wierd because the characters are CGI, but it's worth the buy.

This is a very cool book! It is very detailed with three to four steps for every character and it gives you a color giude for each character. What's cool about this book is that it gives you neat drawing tips all along the way on every page. I would recomend this to anyone, especially if you want to learn how to draw dinosaurs.

I received this book from my SIL. Here's a description, since Amazon provides minimal info on the book.

It is a Disney Winnie the Pooh book titled "Hundred-Acre Music Maker" published in 2002 by Publications International, LTD. ISBN 0-7853-6068-9.

Although the book is labelled "18months+" on the back cover, my 12 month old loves it. She gets excited when the music starts, and she loves flipping the pages.

Each 2-page section contains words to a short tune. You press the associated button (indicated by the symbols) to play the tune for that page. Just sing along!

There are 5 buttons on the top row that allow you to change the musical instrument.

On the far right, there are two buttons you can press at any time to play the tambourine and drums.

There are five 2-page sections in the book. That is, there are 5 tunes to play/sing-a-long.

I've uploaded two images since Amazon provided to image of the book. The first is the Front Cover. The second is the Back Cover, which shows the book's description; it shows you one of the five 2-page sections in the book.

This is a board book, so it is appropriate for little hands (and sturdy enough for a bit of baby chewing). The book is about 11 inches square. My 12 month old has no trouble flipping the pages on this book.

Cute story book that has 4 four piece puzzles. Book unfolds to create a "play-scene". The pieces for the 4 puzzles on the reverse side form a 16 piece larger puzzle.

Christopher Robin informs Roo that tomorrow is Mother's Day. Roo gets excited and exclaims he wants to give his Mama a surprise. Tigger overhears, and of course he loves surprises too! Next thing you know Pooh, Owl, Eeyore, Piglet, and Rabbit join with Christopher Robin, Tigger and Roo to throw a surprise party for Roo's Mama, Kanga.

At 32 pages, this delightful story portrays the excitement of giving. But more importantly, it also shows that who you are is much more important than what you have or what you are able to give.

This is Step Into Reading Level 2 book which means that it's geared towards pre-schoolers through Grade 1. For children who recognize some familiar words on sight and can sound out new words with help, I Love You, Mama! is just right for that level. Level 2 features basic vocabulary, short sentences and simple stories. However, this book from Random House is notably longer than its counterparts from Simon Says (who would categorize this book as Level 1).

My son asks me to read this book pretty often and is learning to sound out words himself. All in all, a great book for beginning readers.

David Whitley's excellent book is remarkable for many reasons, chief amid which is that he is supremely sensitive to the way Disney-made animated movies (and he usefully differentiates between later movies made by the Disney studios and those overseen by Walt Disney himself) have shaped our ways of seeing nature. He takes the trouble to observe not only what the movies present but precisely how they do so - and in the process reveals some fascinating insights into the ways we have seen and continue to conceive what `Nature' might be.

It's not a small point - as Whitley remarks, Bambi was in 1990 the third highest grossing movie of all time, having had a run of nearly 50 years at that point, and it has shaped attitudes in adults and in children alike. As those children became adults they carried their prejudices into a modern world that has been less than sympathetic towards nature in any guise.

Whitley's analysis is especially illuminating when he comes to look at Pocahontas and to untangle for us the cultural evasions that the movie embodies on both sides of the arguments about colonization. While the Europeans tended to see America as a place to gather wealth so they could return home, the attitudes of the Native Americans were hardly as simple or as naïve as they have been presented to us over the centuries, and so in Pocahontas we see an attitude critical of the colonists but also surprisingly unquestioning of the peoples they discovered. Gently, Whitley brings us into contact with our own blind-spots about what we imagine our history to be and how we tend to look at the natural world, shaping it in ways that say a great deal about our human capacities for delusion.

If we're to come to some realistic understanding about what our relationship to the natural world might be - and as we destroy more and more forest and ransack unspoiled land in our economic rapacity for raw materials it's a good question to pose - then we'll need such sensitive and intelligent assessments of our world as Whitley supplies.

Whitley's admirable close readings, his extensive and eye-opening research, and his lightness of touch when dealing with these movies reveal them in a whole new way. This is a book to own, to re-read, and to treasure.

Allan Hunter
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