Tracks Books

All "Who Pooped" books are a lot alike. Need a wider variety of animals in the entire set. Children love these books. They are very informative of natural processes of nature and of all life. The added bits of knowledge are great. Books aren't too graphic. Perfect for the young scientist

Great book, so cute, I just love this book, my daughter loved this book at 3 and still does at 5, she even plays a "who sat on me game".

At last, a truly useful book about identifying animal tracks.

It offers something I've never seen before, and yet which is priceless. It presents animal tracks in full size, thanks to a series of four fold-out pages. It's a simple idea, but I've never seen it used in any other book about wildlife. Maybe that's just me.

Most books on animal life and nature can be slipped into a shirt pocket; the result is a picture of moose footprints that are a postage stamp in size and mouse footprints in postage stamp size. This book, thanks to its generous size, presents footprints as seen in real life. Believe me, the difference is worth it.

The writing is concise, clear and informative without being pedantic; Aronsky writes, "When you learn to recognize and read animal tracks you are learning an ancient language of shapes and patterns." Ancient, yes; but also modern. When you learn to read animal tracks, you also begin to observe often subtle details which grow into one of life's real skills in dealing with people.

It's not just a book for hikers, campers and outdoor types. The section on canine tracks shows the tracks of dogs, as in every city; plus the tracks of coyotes, which now range throughout North America and into the heart of almost every urban environment.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I recall reports of coyotes in Central Park, in New York City. Coyotes are smart enough to be there, and to stay out of sight; it makes the ability to identify coyote and dog tracks interesting even for high-rise residents of Fifth Avenue.

'Wily Coyote' is no longer confined to the Southwest; he may never be able to catch the Roadrunner, but he's expanded his range across the nation. He certainly has no desire to confront you; BUT, 'Canine Tracks' will help you to know if he's visiting. In my neighborhood, coyotes mean cats stay indoors or on the roof at night. It's nice to know whether it's safe for cats and small dogs to be out at night.

In brief, a fabulous book. Someone should have thought of this "life size" idea a hundred years ago. You'd think Hugh Hefner, who invented the centerfold, would have figured out the impact of "life size" for his magazine. Instead, it's here in a book that is really useful.

Aronsky is an original and gifted artist. This book is a gem.

Wilma Rudolph is like a regular six-year old child, but has polio. She tries to fight polio, but thinks her exercises aren't helping at all. But later on something happens, she wants to start playing basketball. "How can i do this if my leg is twisted?" Wilma said.
Later, she qualfied for the 1960 Olympics in three events, the 100, 200, and a relay race. Wilma had set a world record, but the people in charge of the validating made it offical. Because of that, her achievement doesn't always appear in record books. If you want to know more about Wilma, you should read the book.

Winning The Dust Bowl is an impressive collection of Native America writer Carter Revard's poetry and prose memorializing Oklahoma Dust Bowl era bootleggers and bankrobbers, Oxford proctors and punters, American Indian Movement activists and agitators; all interwoven and augmented with his own life experiences on the Osage reservation in rural Oklahoma, his academic success as a Rhodes Scholar, Yale Ph.D., and tenure as a professor of medieval literature. Winning The Dust Bowl is both a compelling memoir and a compendium of superb poetry that can be very highly recommended for students of American literature, Native American culture, as well as an heroic and erudite reconciliation of disparate influences and heritages in the life of an exemplary scholar.

This man was one of the great track & field coaches of his time. His book provides good information for the beginning athlete, communicated in a simple, easily understood manner. The book is brief, however it touches on the full spectrum of basic techniques and considerations for a track & field athlete. It is particularly useful for high school level runners. As one of his athletes during his last years as a coach at Oregon State University, I treasure the copy of this book that I purchased years ago.

I met this book volunteering in my daughter's 3rd grade class. I was so impressed with how this lays out clear examples of various writing topics that I bought a book for at home. This book will last her into high school and beyond. I highly recommend it.

The author offers more than just ideas on how to find markets and sell your work, she also gives her own experiences in the field. Some might find this discouraging, but I appreciated the honesty about the struggles any freelance writer is likely to face.

This book is really good. It differs from the other Nancy Drew stories. In most Nancy Drew mysteries, it is clear who the "bad guy" is, but the mystery itself takes other forms. In The Wrong Track, it's Nancy Drew's job to find out who the theif is, not just track them down. In a way, I like the other Nancy Drew mysteries better, but this is still a great read and I reccomend it.

Short stories are my favorite because they capture slices of time, strong impressions, feelings and sensations or important striking events which leave the reader totally satisfied. Although the twenty stories in this volume are each *only* 5 - 7 pages in length, they are all sparkling jewels. They are written with crystalline clarity, have thoroughly well developed characters, and express feelings and emotions with which the reader can readily identify. Each story conveys some truth about humanity. Each is a gem which provides amazing insight into human behavior making the story a fascinating and enjoyable reading experience. The author very cleverly conceals and reveals details which often provide a surprise ending or unexpected twist leaving the reader quite blown away by the brilliance of the writing.

Here are brief reviews [with no spoilers] of five outstanding stories from the book.

1) In "The Party" the author contrasts two very different generations providing unique insights into human compassion and also insensitivity. The yuppie daughter is having a dinner party for some exclusive guests but then her mother who is retired and elderly shows up at the door, unannounced. The story has a serious lesson for us all ...

2) In the story "David", there is a twist at the end that is totally unexpected. We learn of a 40-something single secretary who works in an accounting firm whose partners are mostly Orthodox Jews. On a whim, she has her fortune told and hears some startling news about her love life. Afterwards she receives an invitation to accompany one of the married junior partners of the firm on a business trip. Needless to say, the story becomes very intriguing after this point ...

3) In another story entitled, "A Current Account" a happily married woman whose husband is ill, in the hospital makes a startling discovery which causes a crushing surprise ending ... The story is so good, it could have been written by O'Henry.

4) "A Fairy Tale" is another delightful read. A young girl who enjoys listening to family stories told by her Aunt and Mother is captivated by the story about how Uncle Schmuel got married. to his wife. She has learned it is especially important to listen when they lower their voices because that is when the best parts of the stories are told. Marriages were arranged in the old days in villages in Poland between consenting families. The custom was, the eldest daughter was required to marry before the second or third. Schmuel was introduced to a petite dark-haired beauty. Afterwards, an agreement was reached to marry the eldest daughter. In the past, Schmuel had been reluctant to marry, refusing all previous matches. This time, his mother strongly urged him not to reject this lovely young lady from a prominent family. Schmuel agreed but events turned out very differently than he or his parents expected. Good fortune none-the-less followed him

5) "1643" is another shining example which is equivalent to any story written by such past masters as O'Henry, Mark Twain, or Guy DeMaupassant. Fran and Ian have a big fight over attending the tenth anniversary of their friend Eric and his wife. Of their many friends, Eric had remained single the longest but when he married it was to a beautiful wealthy socialite. After the marriage, the friends seldom got together, since they travelled in different social circles so the invitation came out of the blue. Ian wanted to attend but Fran did not. The author deftly ties together Fran's interest in art, a vision she had one night when she arouse from a sound sleep, and a very startling surprise ending. Truly, this story is an artistic masterpiece. All the stories are wonderful and highly recommended. Each one captures a slice of life and conveys some timely truth in a most fascinating manner. Two other highly recommended and equally compelling books of short stories are the following Miles of Experience by Boris Zubry and The Earth and the Sky: Stories by Debbie Lee Wesselmann.
Erika Borsos [pepper flower]