Arts Books

This is a great Book! We used this book in a sign language class I took. It is easy to read and understand. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn to talk to the deaf or hard of hearing.

This book covers numerous "word groupings" in 17 chapters. Some of these groupings include, "Days of the Week & Time"; "School & Education"; "Descriptions,Thoughts& Emotions"; "The body& Health"; "Mealtime& Food"; "Home&Clothing"; "Numbers,Math Terms,Quantity &Money"; "Pronouns,People&Relationships"; "Actions"; as well as many more.
I especially like this book for the photographic illustrations. So far this is the only ASL book I have found with photographic illustrations.

With each word there are specific instructions for the proper hand shape, position, and movement to go with each sign as well as a visual reminder for memory. At the bottom of each page there is a photographic guide as a visual reminder of all the proper hand shapes that are used in all the signs for that particular page.

I would highly recommend this book for any with the desire to learn Sign Language.

This book was a required text for a Sign Language I course. The pictures are very clear, it gives good description of hand shape, location and movement. I really like that it gives a hint of how to visualize each sign, it makes it much easier to remember.

The book "Talking With Your Hands, Listening With Your Eyes" is a great book for people wanting to start learning sign language. The photographs of the signs are very clear. I especially like the additional material throughout the book about Deaf Culture and history. I recommend this book and enjoyed reading it even though I have been a student of sign language for 5 years.

Love the book, first borrowed it from my local library. The binding does tend to crack with much use, so I broke my book's binding and put all the pages in clear cover sheets in a 3 ring binder. Cost a little more but it was worth it because now I don't have to worry about destroying it and my book will last a lot longer. I found this book the most helpful in explaining how to do the signs as well as illustrating them in very clear photos. I highly recommend!!!

To be precise, this is a perfectly fascinating book. I've been a Tintin affionado for decades, along with my children and now my grandchildren, and had no real understanding of how Herge's work intersected with 20th century history. Learning this in detail, and getting a notion of how the stories and their portrayal evolved, have greatly increased my already great appreciation for Herge's genius.

If you are a Tin Tin fan then you will love this book. I have to confess that I have not read the whole thing but what I have read is insightful and interesting. It gives excellent information about each Tin Tin story as well as a unique insight into Hergés life. I high recommend this book for any serious Tin Tin devote.

My kides are a little geeky and are enthralled by any of the series. It is good clasis sci fi for them. Suggested if you kids like adventure kid stories and sci fi.

This book has used the extensive archive of Herge, to which the author was granted unlimited access. The book is certainly enlightening and offers great insight into Herge's mind. The author rightly presents each Tintin adventure in its proper historical context, and exposes fascinating parallels of the adventures with Herge's own life. Most of the illustrations are juxtapositions of Tintin frames and concepts against the source material from Herge's archive of newspaper clips and books. Some comparisons are very convincing. Some comparisons are stretched, for example, the alleged inspiration for the carnival costumes of Les Joyeux Turlurons in Tintin and the Picaros. Groucho Marx amongst the crowd ogling at a blonde? I don't know about that... Please note that some of these comparisons are extracted by the author, who tried to read into Herge's mind. We will never know for sure what inspired Herge.

The criticism of the stories occasionally is uneven. The author knocks Flight 714 for stretching reality with its extraterrestrials and flying saucers. How about the Shooting Star, where a meteorite the size of an island drops out of the sky? Giant popping mushrooms and mutant arthropods, I don't know about that...

The text sometimes is dry, and sometimes too esoteric and only relevant to readers of the English editions of Tintin. I have read all Tintin books in French, so I could not care less about the subtleties of the English translations of French names. For other readers, this trivia may be interesting. Finally, the book ends abruptly, without as much as one paragraph of an epilogue, a reflection on the total Herge oeuvre.

Why the small print? The print is so tiny you almost need a magnifying glass. This is not a physics paper, it is a book about comics, and in comics readability is paramount.

Overall, this book undoubtedly was well researched. It definitely was worth the money. I came out with a renewed appreciation of Tintin and Herge. I wish the author was a more compelling writer.

A strange book! The information and illustrations in it is great, but there are curious qualities to it. The writer is a native speaker of English, but from errors in sentence structure and some obvious mistakes in word usage, this publication was translated from French. There are curious recurring preoccupations and repetitions, almost suggesting that each chapter appeared separately, possibly in a magazine. For example, the comparison of Herge's work and that of his studio with that of Raphael and his assistant Giulio Romano occurs at least three times! The reproduction of pictorial archival material from Herge's collections and elsewhere alongside panels from the books is fascinating. But Farr often dedicates a lot of space to discussion of the source of a particular image or set of images -- and then there's no illustration. At other times there are illustrations that are scarcely mentioned in the text.

Still, we have to be grateful for all the data given here. I remember an old Tibetan lama looking at "Tintin in Tibet" with my children, and pointing out corners he knew in the panoramic picture of Katmandu, being puzzled by the Abominable Snowman, and laughing at the pictures showing levitation. In the '60's I camped all through through Yugoslavia; my young kids were reading "King Ottakar's Scepter" and constantly pointed out details in the landscape that matched the book. Herge did his homework, and it's great to have the sources laid out.

Despite its flaws, this book is a keeper.

The author's descriptive prose reeks of imagination, humor, and insight.

She comprehends human motivation, and she is equally in touch with her own feelings. And while she DOES describe human behavior in the most unflinching manner, she also demonstrates empathy, compassion, and the ability to rise above it all with laughter and good will... the numerous hilarious pranks, notwithstanding. Don't miss this.

Miss Guedel's book is a wonderful,honest and insightful memoir of the Disney animation studio of the 1970's.Her portraits of many of the talented artists are both humorous and revealing in ways that avoid trivialization and cheap sentimentality.She is a gifted author and one can only hope for a sequel book which chronicles her time with the Don Bluth studio.This book is a must have for any serious scholar of traditional Disney 2d animation history.

An amazing, archetypal hero's odyssey,
I could not put it down.
I attended BHHS and knew Heidi and many of the other players, and can attest to the veracity of all she writes.
Any Producers out there, here is a fantastic opportunity!

Heidi was my step-cousin but we lost touch after Helen Parrish (her step-mother and my aunt) died. While reconnecting with Helen's two children last year, one (Choddy) showed me a copy of Heidi's book and I promptly bought a copy and read it.

I visited Helen and John Guedel occasionally, although I lived in Atlanta at the time. I remember Heidi as being perennially sullen and aloof but this book details "the rest of the story". Clearly I would've been considerably more sympathetic had I known the hardships she suffered during her earlier childhood.

This is a great story and well told, undoubtedly a catharsis for Heidi but a great read, too. I was disappointed at not learning how her life evolved following her departure from Disney. Guess I'll have to wait for the sequel.

I'm going back east for another reunion with Helen's children this week and to see my last living aunt on the Parrish side, Kathy, whom I haven't seen in 35 years. Thinking about it reminded me to share my thoughts on Heidi's book.

Read it...I think you'll enjoy it even if you weren't there.

OH_MY_GOD. This author posts on a site called Internet Infidels, and believe me she STILL pulls no punches. She still posts under her real name. I wouldn't if I were her. I'm sure the outraged religious fundamentalists will come here next and try to pan her book. WOW.....After following some of her posts, I looked up Heidi Guedel's profile on the Internet Infidels site and it led me here to Amazon and her book. I've just finished it. Now I understand...... and I can't stop laughing.

After you learn about her childhood, and her sanity-saving ability to turn even the worst human behavior and circumstances into humor (much like Groucho Marx did, and she met Groucho, by the way, because her father produced the Groucho TV show) you get to ride the waves of laughter along with her as she turns Disney Studios upside-down by stamping "BULL$**T" on the company memos they posted in the hallways, and putting fake puddles of spilled beer on stacks of priceless animation drawings just to watch a rather pompous artist implode. There are many more pranks and scandalous tales about some famous artists in the animation business, including one who recently won an Academy Award for 3-D special effects.

And far from poking fun only at everyone else, she bares her own soul and exposes her own legendary boo-boos - like accidentally putting a stack of drawings by famous Disney animator Ollie Johnston on the roof of her car and driving off without it. She returns in the middle of the night, realizing what she must have done, and finds one drawing left on the street in front of the studio, with a tire mark across it. What she does about it next is so poignantly funny..... but I won't spoil it for you. Read this book. It is so special and so REAL.

Even if I'm not working in vfx, so I haven't a great experience, I think this book should be in every comps shelf: very simple, well written, it deals with the math under every (even the simplest) operation you can do in your compositing package (it's quite software-indipendent). It explains several wonderful tricks too.
Globally, very useful in my opinion.

Ron goes over the very concepts of compositing that are essential to know in the computer graphics feild. I have bought several copies of this book as the disappear from my desk (no longer kept in public view)

This book is exceptional and a must for anyone pursuing this area of interest. The only disappointment I had in purchasing this item is that it is supposed to come with a CD, and the CD was never shipped to me. What's up, Amazon?

That can I say about Mr Brinkman. Well he's one of the God's of compositing and VFX. Mad about the math behind Node based compositing software, which incidentally is a good thing. This is not meant to be a 'Shake' bible as it is supposed to be non software specific. However it uses 'Shake' language and node naming. This is not a criticism as 'Shake' is the meccano kit of compositing. Understand the mode and the math behind it and you can do anything. I would also assume that this will still be relevant when shake is 'reborn'.

This is also essential for other composing software where the math is hidden. If you've ever considered what happens inside that 'magic button' after you've clicked.

I also think that Steve Wright's 'Digital Compositing for Film and Video, Second Edition' is a must too. Another great book from a great man of VFX.

Having not been personally taught by Mr. Brinkman and Mr Wright these books prove to be the next best thing.

This book is a in depth study of the techniques and technologies involved in the art of compositing. Not sooo technical that no one will understand it, but technical enough that it even explains in detail the algorithms and math used for antialiasing, blurs, the transfer operators like multiply, screen overlay., etc... I am a professional cg artist and highly recommend this book.

I must admit, I'm not as crazy about this book like everyone else seems to be. I gave it four stars for the beautiful photos, and descriptions.
But I think some things could be improved. The index lists everything by page number, which is fine if you're just leisurely looking through the book. But if you're looking for one particular outfit, it would be much more convenient to have an alphebetical listing. I wouldn't mind seeing the price guide broken down to include each individual accessory, since many people put together a complete set, piece by piece. But the thing that REALLY bugs me is that she almost always adds the word 'doll' after their names. For example, 'On weekends, Ken doll liked to take Barbie doll for a drive...', or 'Francie doll was excited about...'. Very annoying, to me, anyway. But, overall, it's a very good book to have.

To say something about this book is so so easy - this is THE Barbie collection book. Great photos, great describtions of all the outfits year by year.
You don't need any other book besides this

Great book - a must for any Barbie collector-great pictures with accessories that originally went with each outfit- easy to look up values-great fun to wander through!!

A great reference book with great photos and descriptions to keep track of your dolls clothes and your investment.

For any serious collector of vintage Barbie doll, this book is the best resource available. I have many other books on early Barbie and her fashions, but this volume is the one that I consistently use. It is an accurate, comprehensive chronology of Barbie doll, her family and friends from 1959 through 1967. The photographs alone are worth purchasing the book. The colors are vibrant and crisp. Each fashion is pictured with all of its original components. This is of great value to the collector in putting together an outfit. I keep this book by my computer for reference when making vintage Barbie doll purchases or bidding on online auctions. I cannot imagine collecting Barbie doll items without it!

Every public and school library should have a copy of this excellent resource. The research that Judy Freeman did to create this compendium of quality read aloud books is well worth the investment.

Ever wished you could keep up all the great children's books and pick the best ones to read aloud and recommend to your students? Need inspiration to liven up your lessons on library skills? Looking for more effective ways to collaborate with teachers? This book has it all!

Targeted at grades K - 6, the first 100+ pages include wide-ranging information about children's books and ways to use them. Topics include: how to be a great school librarian, evaluating children's books, read aloud and booktalking suggestions, fun library learning games, storytelling, creative drama, reader's theater, etc.

The next 600 pages contain wonderful annotated read-aloud lists divided by Easy Fiction/Picture books, Fiction, Folk & Fairy Tales, Myths and Legends, Poetry, Nonsense and Language Oriented non-fiction, Biography, and Non-fiction. In addition to standard information (author, summary, etc.) each of the 1,705 annotations includes grade level, related titles, subjects, and a "Germ." "Germs" are small, practical, do-able ideas to interject into lesson plans including ideas for sharing the books with children and incorporating comprehension, creativity, library skills, and cross-curricular ties, etc. Pick one book on the list and turn it into a great lesson plan!

The final 200 pages include a professional bibliography and 3 handy indices: Author/Illustrator Index, Title Index, and the index I find most helpful - the Subject Index including grade level of each book. Subject you can think of is covered - from Aardvarks to Bullying to Hispanic Americans to Zoos!

I cannot recommend a book more highly! It's not just for school librarians - teachers, homeschoolers, parents, and public librarians will also love it! I also recommend previous editions - Books Kids Will Sit Still For and More Books Kids Will Sit Still For - both have different hints on how to be a great librarian and annotated lists of older books. I use all three Judy Freeman's books almost daily to help me work with teachers and plan great library lessons.

I stumbled across this wonderful book while working my way through our library's books about books in search of more wonderful picture books to share with my toddler (who is nearly 19 months). It was mis-shelved in the local branch (took 4 tries for the librarian to find it) and since no one had noticed in the 6 months or so since the book came in, my friendly librarian slapped a due date sticker on it and let me check it out. I found myself immersed in it during the daughter's afternoon nap and checked to see if either of the previous volumes was available to check out. Alas no, although I found a cheap ex-library copy of the previous volume, More Books Kids Will Sit Still For: A Read-Aloud Guide (2nd Edition), which when it arrived looked like it had never been touched. I don't pretend to understand that - I think this is a treasure trove of ideas and books to share with young (and not so young) children. Although it's aimed at elementary educators, there's a huge amount to offer a parent or other caregiver...ideas for activities related to the books as well as related titles.

As the parent of a toddler, I confess that I prefer the overlapping mini-sections by age found in More Books Kids Will Sit Still For: A Read-Aloud Guide (2nd Edition) and Books Kids Will Sit Still For: A Read-Aloud Guide Second Edition (Books Kids Will Sit Still for) because it's easier to sift through a couple hundred titles than 800 for books short enough for a toddler to sit through, but that's more of a quibble, especially since the expanded entries offer so many ideas for making (or keeping) books interesting.

How does she do it? Another winner from Judy Freeman! More tips, annotations, bibliographies, storytelling, reader's theater etc.. The amount of material is superb and the format is clear and precise. She is marvelous at what she does and can help any media specialist or teacher sharpen their book skills.
A must buy for all elementary educators!

I've had the pleasure in the past week to read Judy Freeman's Newbery committee experience in her latest "Books Kids will sit still for 3" (c. 2006). She had to take the Librarian Oath, probably with a ceremonial blood letting to seal it, that she and the other members would never tell the secrets of the Committee dealings with the individual books. Ooooooh, that makes me want to be on the Committee even more!

I thought the listings alone in the book would be worth the book's weight in gold (which is substantial, with more than 900 pages), but it pales in comparison with the first 100+ pages of the book in which she shares her passion for reading, books, libraries, and children. What a treat! Reward yourselves soon by allowing time to read this.

Thanks, Judy! You made my day!

Liz Frame
Librarian
San Antonio Christian Elementary School

HE TELLS WHAT HOLLYWOOD IS ALLBOUT. HE WRITES GREAT AND TELLS WHAT HIS LIFES ALBOUT.

This book is a great journey of someone's life. Skip E. Lowe is a true show business character--as much a part of the town as the Holllywood Sign and the billboards of Angelyne. His life is filled with pathos and happiness. From cover to cover the book is a pure joy. You'll find yourself wondering who could possibly play Mr. Lowe in the movie that undoubtedly will come from this fabulous life memoir.

Okay, I'll admit it. I bought Skip E. Lowe's memoir with the idea that it would be a horrendous hack-job full of celebrity groveler and rampant name-dropping. Needless to say, I was floored when The Boy with the Betty Grable Legs turned out to be a compelling autobiography written with panache and a good deal of humility.

Lowe's book is difficult to put down. Lowe does well to balance his personal tragedies (Lowe seemed to attract molestation the way flowers attract bees) with his career as an entertainer. While his brief mention of his part in BLACK SHAMPOO is akin to Orson Welles skipping over CITIZEN KANE, Lowe's book manages to stand tall on its own shapely legs. (ISBN: 0964963582)

LOVE THIS BOOK IT TAKES YOU EVERY ALL OVER THE WORLD AND FEEL LIKE I WAS THERE.ITS SO GOOD LOVE IT THANKS FOR THE JOURNEY .. WHAT A LIFE.

I picked up Skip E. Lowe's book on the recommendation of a friend, but had no idea that I was in for such an amazing read. In addition to having some unforgettable stories to tell, he is able to share them with complete emotional honesty, which provides surprisingly human insight into this larger-than-life world in which he has lived. I recommend this as a "must read" to all who are interested in learning about the Golden Days of Hollywood, the truly fascinating character once known as Sammy Labella, and the ups and downs of an unconventional life. By relating his madcap adventures and the lessons he has learned, Skippy does the best job I've ever seen at creating a road map for the road less travelled.

Great book and easy to read and follow. I built my first 22" over a couple days after reading the book. I'll make my bread for Thanksgiving in the oven!

This is a well written book, nicely illustrated and with a well thought out structure. It covers everything you should need to know on how to build an earth oven. The writing is clear and concise, while still conveying the obvious joy of someone who is genuinely inspired by their subject. I especially liked it because it contains a lot of technical detail illustrated with many examples and not much of the boring, preachy philosophical rambling that you find in so many books on hand building from natural materials. Not that there is anything wrong with philiosophising in its place, but I just wanted a book on how to build an earth oven and this is exactly what I got. I would also recommend, as a companion book, 'The Bread Builders: Hearth Loaves and Masonry Ovens' which is a more general and comprehensive book on masonry stoves and baking of bread.

This book is perfect for someone wanting to build an outdoor oven. It address every issue that you may encounter and provides many examples of the various styles and techniques. There are pages that tell you what kinds of materials are best for different applications, how to mix your mud, the various methods for insulating and how to use the completed oven.

I went to a major bookstore looking for information on wood fired ovens and got nothing......the book I bought at Amazon was just what I needed. Maybe next year we will have a wood fired oven in our back yard. Service was good and promt.

If you are looking to build an outdoors oven, you must read this book. Even if your goal is not an earth oven. Besides detailed information about the techniques to build an earth oven, Kiko describes very clearly the process of baking with wood and goes thru all the alternatives. His insight in using different types of materials is very valuable and his opinions are explained thoroughly.

The book is also very well written and engages you from the beginning.

As an aspiring cartoonist with my own cast of characters on my Captain Cockle website I found this book an excellent and yet simple guide to creating characters that leap out of the page. The inclusion of guest cartoonists, many of them very famous in their own fields, is a great idea and adds depth to the book. If you have a limited budget and are confused by the huge variety of "how to" books on cartooning, I would strongly recommend this one as an essential starting point.

This a great book for the beginning character artist. I often have a hard time drawing cartoon characters but this book always helps me out. Covers everything from personality to color, from exaggerated to semi-realistic. Highly recommend!

Nice book , a lot of ideas , examples. Very good choice for beginners. My students loved it.

This is a great book to take your drawings to the next step. I've been frustrated that my characters lacked that certain special 'something' to make them pop from regular ol' dry drawings to likable, engaging characters. This book illustrates simple examples of a line here, a curve there, to push it up a notch. I really enjoyed the suggestions, and this book has been very helpful. myspace/kris10cartoons

I am a student studying animation, and I purchased this book for my character design class. I really love this book, it is quite usefull, and my two roommates reference it as well! One is an illustrator, and one is a video game designer. Useful to anyone and everyone...

This is a great children's book. I have read a few of this author's books and I like this one the best.

Simple, yet profound. Many lessons can be learned from this story. The Dot is encouraging and uplifting and I recommend it to everyone.

I love how this book helps kids make their mark. I use this book in my class rooms and it goes great with my little ones who are just learning how to make art for the first time.

This is one of the greatest kids books ever! Especially for my son, who always thinks he has to be perfect. This book shows kids that everyone has their own talents; it might not be what you thought was perfect, but it can still be beautiful and amazing, unique and yours. I hope this book gives more children the courage to do their own thing and express themselves.

How do you teach a child confidence?
You could put their work on the refrigerator, frame it, or talk about it with others. In this story the teacher frames a small dot drawn by a child who claims she is unable to draw. The little girl is also asked to sign her work, which emphasizes value.

Society values signatures. We want the signed book, the signed football pendant, the autograph, etc. because we perceive it is more valuable. Children can relate to signatures. Children understand signatures mean something (whether it is a report card that needs signing, an illness note for school, or the need to sign a "take home" folder). Thus, immediately the little girl realizes when asked to sign her work that her dot, her creation, is also valuable.

This wonderful story teaches children about trying, about at least starting, at least making an effort, and then seeing where that start can take you... This lesson is taught through art in this storybook but reminded me of what we were always told in writing, "Write, just start.... "

Henry Ford said, "If you think you can... or if you think you can't... you're right." This simple story illustrates a message of positive "can do" type thinking.

I also especially like that the little girl passes on what she learns at the end of the story by asking a little boy to sign his work. Setting a good example and passing on your knowledge to help others is a lesson for all children!