Baby Books

The photographs in this book are wonderful. The bunny is so happy, fits in well and seems content to be travelling unlike most buns. However the book is over way too soon. Only major parts of the country are shown. I would love to see this reissued with photographs of more states.

I am the real life "aunt" of Cottonpaw and hope to allay the fears of "Disturbed." This bunny is loved and protected by not only my brother but everyone in our extended family. I would like all potential readers to know that Cottonpaw is a well-loved and well-treated rabbit whose book and visits are a delight.

I've read the book and seen the Buns video and it is very obvious the author loves his rabbit and treats him as a member of the family. David Love started off taking his rabbit on vacations with his family and while on a vacation got the idea for the book. He noticed that Buns was already in many of the pictures that he was taking so why not make a book? A clever idea that kids love. To suggest Love is a cruel rabbit exploiter is ridiculous! It would be nice if everyone gave their pets as much love and attention. Hey, he even takes his pet to work with him each day! Buy the book and maybe Buns will come to your town and autograph it (take a bite from a page) one day.

"Buns Travels Across America" is a wonderful book, filled with fantastic photographs of historic sites across the United States. My daughter has now become interested in geography because Buns visited so many places! I also saw the "Buns" live presentation at my daughter's school. The owner treated Buns very gently. It is very obvious that this is a much-loved rabbit, not only by thousands of schoolchildren, but also by it's owners! Now we are all awaiting the "Buns" sequel.....

After meeting Buns on the Discovery Channel, I had to begin the search for his book. It took six months and a new computer system, but I was able to have "Buns Travels Across America". I also purchased copies of this book for my niece and nephew who are ages 3 and 6 for Christmas presents. This book was worth the wait. It came autographed (bunny bite missing) and with a paw print. The pictures are worth a thousand words. My daughter (age 4) and I spend a lot of time discussing each place and why that place is important. I would recommend this book to any family with toddlers who will be traveling. The opportunities to see through "Buns" eyes is great. Buns is coming to our school!!! Yea !!! We can't wait to meet him - and his person too. Five Stars Plus.

My seven month old son loves this board book, and wants it read to him several times a day. The bright colors are eye-catching without being garish, and his attention is captured by almost every page. It's also fun for the reader to exercise a little creativity with the animal sounds.

This is one of our favorite books, along with 'Can You Hop?'. We have a ton of books but babies are picky about which ones they like!

We borrowed this book from the library for our 7 month old son and he loves it every night at bedtime, so we're buying a copy. It's adorable - the pictures are simple, but not bland; the animals are all very characterful. And it's fun for the adult reader to make the sounds of the various animals singing the penguin a song before he gets into bed.

I got this book from the library for my daughter (15 months) and she *loves* it! Now we have to return it so I'm going to buy a copy. She's memorized all the animal sounds and reads it to herself now - it's so funny! Her favorite is the gorilla who roars and the hissing snake.
The pictures are so simple and I love the penguin.

As with Lawston's other baby pleasing book, "Can You Hop," "Can You Sing" is a wonderful blend of bright, cheery, yet simple illustrations and amusing animal sounds. The eye-catching colors have held our 11-month old infant's attention since we first read the book to her when she was 6 months old. I think that the key to this book's success is its simplicity. Babies can focus on this book because the illustrations are not too complex and confusing for such young eyes (and brains). Even better, this book lends itself to creative story-reading. Parents and babies can point to eyes, mouths, feet, etc. and the book is also a great tool for teaching colors. Additionally, it is great fun (for parents and babies) to make the animal noises. This truly is a wonderful book that keeps a small baby's attention. This is a hard feat to duplicate and the only other book that comes close is, as mentioned previously, "Can You Hop" by the same author.

Capyboppy was one of the first books I read as a child and even now as an adult, there is a copy of it on my bookshelf.

This is the charming and true story of the Peet Family and their adventures with a capybara that comes to live with them. It is very funny in many parts and quite sad in others but I think Peet was being completely honest in the telling of this story.

It is a wonderful book for small children as it teaches a gentle lesson about wild animals and what can happen when we try to make pets of them.

Peet's illustrations are also outstanding.

I own the entire Bill Peet collection of children's book that he has written/illustrated. I started reading them to my son when he was 3 years old, and am thrilled to report that he loves them as much as I do. Capyboppy is based on Bill Peet's true life experience with this lovable rodent, and while his illustrations and storyline are wonderful, this is my least favorite book in the collection. It is a little heartbreaking at the end and I came away feeling quite sad. There are many funny antics and true compassion throughout the story, and it's is a natural progression of nature that's shown, so if you are able to handle a little "sadness", you will love this book. And if anything, the pictures are wonderful to look at.

I have been working professionally on capybaras since 1981 and this book is a beautiful portrait of what a capybara is like. The drawings, the details of the capybara's behavior are exactly what I would have expected a capybara would be as a pet. The story is also very nice, very well written and fun. Excellent book.

This book was my favorite as a child. Capyboppy is so cute and loveable what child wouldn't like him? Every time we went to the library, I'd beg my dad to check it out and read it to me. Even as an adult in my twenties, this book is just as entertaining as ever and I still think of myself as my dad's little capybarra. I'm so glad copies of it are still avaliable so I will finally be able to have my own copy and one day read it to my children.

Capy's got feelings. He's a ham. He knows how to have fun. He loves the other members of the family. The cats think he's a giant mouse and he takes advantage. When he grows up the family is faced with a dilemma. It's a charming story and the illustrations are delightful. My 6 year old daughter laughs with every page no matter how many times we read it. A sure hit with any kid who loves animals.

The poem is an old favorite. The illustrations fit the time of the work. My 5- and 3- year olds enjoyed it as well.

NOTE: This review is on the Raintree Childrens Books 1985 Edition. Amazon, bless their hearts, has mixed up their Casey books and mixed all kinds of different reviews of different versions of this book. There is a very big difference you know!

This particular edition and rendition of the poem Casey at the Bat, first published in 1888 by Ernest Lawrence Thayer, has been illustrated by KEN BACHAUS. It is probably one of the finest versions of this poem or ballad in print. Most reading this review are probably quite familiar with the story as told in the poem, so needless to say, it is about as an American of a poem as you can get. It is one of those that have been memorized by school children for several generations now. Movies and cartoons have been made of it and the poem has been published in uncountable anthologies, as well as stands a lone works.

What makes this work so unique is the art work by Ken Bachaus. The artist has captured the mood of the poem perfectly. Facial expressions of players are an absolute delight as is the body language and background settings. Vivid watercolor like paintings fit the words to the text perfectly. Bachaus' use of his brush to show motion is quite unique and perfectly executed. (this technique is actually quite difficult to pull off and the artist has mastered it). Details of uniforms, skin texture, equipment and, well, dirt, is rather amazing.

I cannot think of a better version of this beloved story to read to the young ones. Not only do they get the words of a wonderful, truly American poem, but they are exposed to some wonderful art work at the same time.

If you purchase this work, be sure you check it out closely as there seems to be a terrible mix up here. Note that Publishers Weekly has gotten it wrong (no surprise here), and School Library Journal is even further off. They don't even address the correct artist. And while I am at it; where on earth did they come up with "Aristotelean catharsis" on a review for a book like this? I sat through over a dozen classes in classical literature in college, and for the life of me never made the connection between Aristotle and Casey...Duh on me, I suppose. Anyway, I think it is suppose to be (Thank you for allowing me to rant)

Don Blankenship
The Ozarks

Thayer's classic ballad, `Casey at the Bat,' is greatly enhanced by Patricia Polacco's brilliantly achieved, big-hearted illustrations. Ms. Polacco captures emotion, action, and character through wittily exaggerated, slightly loopy pictures, and through lots of uncrowded background shenanigans. It's very cinematic: She effectively isolates action through extreme close-ups, and extends time through a montage of events occurring within a single picture. Like the auteur she is, she even adds some opening and closing story elements (while leaving the poem intact) that augment the poem's appeal to the younger reader.

This book is simply great fun to read aloud; you'll find yourself wanting to memorize its evocative imagery and epic aspirations:

"Ten thousand eyes were on him as he rubbed his hands with dirt; Five thousand tongue applauded when he wiped them on his shirt. Then while the writhing pitcher ground the ball into his hip, Defiance flashed in Casey's eye, a sneer curled Casey's lip."

You and your youngsters will love the humor and the drama in this a classic rendition of Thayer's beloved poem. Infants and toddlers will enjoy the bright pictures, and all readers will appreciate the perfect teaming of Thayer and Polacco.

This is by far the best rendition/publication of this poem that I've ever seen. The combination of the real-life looking people, but have their legs look like pencils, is quite humerous. Our particular favorite is the smoke coming from Casey's ears when he has struck out twice. The pictures in this book greatly enhance the story. Especially when Casey is standing there examining his fingernails on the first strike. Pretty cute and funny stuff.

Grab this book for all the young ball players you know - it really tells a nice tale of always doing your best, no matter how good you get at whatever you do. It made my little guy pretty sad to read this book/poem, but it definitely opens the door to emphasizing the importance of always doing your best. Highly recommend!

I thought this was a wonderful book. I enjoyed Thayers use of poetry to exrpress the emotion in the story. The language used in the text is of very high quality and when read by an adult to a child, the child is able to thourghly understand. The illustrations play an important role with the text. They not only enrich the text, but they tell a story in itself. We can feel the emotion of the players and the crowd through Polacco's work. Overall I thought this was a wonderful book and reccomend it to a child of any age.

The first and one of the best in the series. The Cave of Time provides a keen sense of being in different worlds. The different passages from which to choose from succeed in keeping the reader in suspense. It's a shame that books like this that strike the imagination in young and old readers alike hardly get written anymore.

In 1979, Edward Packard, who is easily the best author of the entire gargantuan Choose-Your-Own-Adventure series, wrote and published this book, and with that one stroke he not only gave us all a classic adventure story but founded an entire new genre of fiction as well! The whole idea of the "interactive novel" did not even exist before the first Choose-Your-Own-Adventure, as far as I know. The instant the series became popular, almost thousands of imitators started up, most of which died while the series that was started by "The Cave of Time" just kept going and going, like the Energizer Bunny. Today, it is considered just part of a whole category of books. "The Cave of Time" itself is an imaginative story that takes its reader all through time, from the end of the entire universe to the days of Camelot and everything in between. The mechanism for the time travel is NOT the typical machine, but rather a system of tunnels that can transport you in different directions through time depending on which way the tunnel is heading. An original and intriguing idea. Since the early '90s, the CYOA series has sadly gone downhill, with practically all the books being about martial arts and sports--as if they suddenly think that little GIRLS never read their books! and the number of endings has shrunk and shrunk, until now it is often less than TEN per book! As a female who has been reading, collecting, and loving this series since she was 8, this is a major disappointment for me, and I'm sure it would be to anyone else out there who may remember the "good old days" of this series. But THIS book, with its subject matter that would appeal to ANYONE, both boys AND girls, and its whopping 40 endings, is the classic that started it all. This is the standard that interactive fiction for kids has been trying--and failing--to reach ever since. ...Notorious

I remember this gamebook series from childhood, though I was never particularly good at them. "The Cave of Time" starts out with the reader finding a cave and deciding whether or not to enter it. From there, the reader travels back in time to the Ice Age, colonial America, the Dark Ages--even traveling ahead in time. There is no one ending or quest to this book, so you're not in a mad dash to win. In fact, there is no "winning" in here, just 40 possible endings to certain situations--some good, some fatal. Younger readers who like gamebooks will probably like this book/series, though there's not a lot of action.

Its not really about anything you get to be the character in the book and you half to make the decions.It takes place in a cave in a castle a ranch and it was a long time ago alot of years ago .my favorite part of the book was when these two guards draged me out of the chamber and put two spears at my back and just about killed me.I dont no what kind of people would like this book but i do recomend it because its a short, easy, and fun book to read .

I've read this book many times and think it's one of the best Choose Your Own Adventure Books ever written.

This is the best possible resource for parents of new baby girls who want to welcome them in a Jewish way. I found it extremely helpful. My wife and I felt somewhat confused, unsure of how to put a welcoming ceremony together for our new daughter, and this book took us through the process, step-by-step. It has an incredibly wide selection of readings, poems, blessings, prayers and songs from which to choose. Now we also give it as a baby gift to every new parent of baby girls we know.

There are few truly essential books for new Jewish parents; if you are blessed with a daughter then Cohen's book is surely one of them. It is at its core an indispensable how-to guide for planning a beautiful Simchat Brit Bat ceremony step by step. But it is also so much more. It places the texts and rituals in their liturgical context and helps the reader to understand why each selection is relevant. Cohen has also written a wondrously inclusive book that caters to a broad spectrum of Jewish practices from traditional to progressive. My wife and I used this book and little else to plan a lovely, meaningful ceremony for our daughter. We've never owned a book that was so quickly dog-eared and full of notes than Cohen's masterpiece. It is an extraordinary work.

I have twin girls, and this book helped my husband and me create a fabulous ceremony to welcome our daughters into the covenant. This book is great for anyone who is having a baby nameing outside of a Temple. Our guests loved the ceremony so much that they actually kept copies of the service.

This book was great for helping us plan our Bat Simcha. We purchased it even before our baby was born - before we knew the baby would be a girl. It provided many great ideas for creating either a Bat Simcha or a more personalized bris. We could not have planned such a meaningful ceremony without the help of this book.

The introduction opens with, "Mazal Tov, You've Had a Baby Girl!" Everybody is familiar with a bris, or brit milah circumcision ceremony -- and in current practice, a festive celebration, for healthy baby boys on their eighth day after birth. But what do you do when you have a daughter? What are they, chopped liver? Since the early 1970's, some Jewish parents have been celebrating their daughters in original ways (Ezrat Nashim published the first ceremonies in 1977, and the havurah and renewal movements wrote about theirs starting around 1973). Debra Nussbaum Cohen, a resident of Park Slope Brooklyn, and mother who has known the joy of birth and the pain of loss, has created this essential guide to new and traditional ceremonies with which to welcome your new daughter to the world, the covenant, and the Jewish people. It will be a welcome addition to your Jewish bookshelf and your life. Consider this: what you create today will be a "tradition" for your descendants! Cohen started collecting organic Simchat Bat ceremonies when she was pregnant with her first child. For your Simchat Bat ceremony and celebration, she includes readings, poems, specialized readings for adoptions, blessings, prayers (in Hebrew, English transliterations and translations), history, songs, and rituals. It is an inclusive book that has sample ceremonies also crafted for adherents to traditional Orthodoxy, traditional Sephardic rite, contemporary rites, contemporary Orthodox, humanism, and modren mikveh rites. Part One consists of about two dozen pages that introduce you to welcoming ceremonies and Jewish tradition, including the idea of covenant, brit milah, the custom of gomel, and that of a new father being called to the Torah to recite blessings, announce the birth, and pray for his wife's recovery. Part Two consists of about four dozen pages on seriously practical considerations for your ceremony. It includes chapters on how to involve your non-Jewish loved ones or spouse, if necessary (through acknowledgement and readings); what to do in cases of adoption and cross-cultural adoption (remember, Moses was an adopted child, and Mordechai was probably an adoptive parent); and gay and lesbian parenthood. Part Three focuses on planning the event, creating programs, sanctifying the space, and deciding when to have the Simchat Bat (eighth day, 30th day, etc.). Part Four contains over 150 pages of sample ceremonies, and hundreds of readings and elements from which you can pick and choose. It includes selections for welcoming, naming, prayers of thanksgiving, parental blessings, acrostics, psalms, readings for relatives and friends, blessings for wine and bread, and rituals for brit nerot (light), brit mikvah (immersion), brit rechitzah (footwashing/handwashing), brit tallit (enfolding her into the covenant), brit kehillah (community), brit melach, and brit havdalah (transitions). The book succeeds so well, one wishes all the babies were girls (or maybe some things can be borrowed for future boys).

I have had the pleasure of using Character Education Year 1 and finally through Amazon have found the second year. The activities provided in these books are enough to create entire units that are challenging to even the most difficult of students. I am a high school English teacher at a residential treatment facility, and for 3 years I have included character education as part of my curriculum. Thanks to the authors for such great ideas and insight!

As a homeschooling mom, I recommend this book for all home educators. Even though it is a secular program, it uses religious icons and has quotes from different religions and uses religious figures.
Over a two-year cycle, students are introduced to a deeper meaning of common words, such as loyalty, commitment and wisdom. Students are not simply told the meaning of these virtue words.They are immersed in them. Each day there is a new activity which will give them greater experience and a deeper understanding of the concept behind the word. Activities range from journal writing to a structured conversation with parents, from creating a poster about virtue to listing ways students can practice the virtue in their everyday lives. Excellent program for a unit study. Looking forward to teaching year 2.

This series of books is something much needed in schools today. (Even home schools!) It is a secular character based program. The big difference between this and the other character based programs that I've seen, is that despite its secular nature, it still uses religious icons from diverse cultures as examples. There are quotes from many religious figures throughout. There are lists of books and stories, to use to further illustrate the points in the different chapters. It seems to be a well thought out program. I would consider it a unit study format. This makes it appropriate for diverse groups. I would recommend this book for schools or home educators. This would be good in a religious or secular environment. With the similar quotes from different religions it may even help breed acceptance of other religions. ....

This four-book series is a goldmine for educators looking for practical ways to engage their students in substantive character education. The book's materials, developed and tested at one of our country's truly outstanding schools, merge solid academic content with character education. Together the books reflect a complete plan for engaging a school-community in the misson of character development. Central to the authors' [John Heidel and Marion Lyman-Mersereau] work and to the organization of the books is a school-wide, monlthly focus on a particular virtue, such as respect or courage. In this, the authors are addressing one of the core problems with our schools' efforts to respond to the current call for character education. Instead of psychobabble and talk of "inappropriate behavior" and "adjustment," their approach is a return to an older, richer language system of words, like "responsibility" and "cooperation," the language of character and human excellence.

Character formation has been described as what we do to help our young know the good, love the good adn do the good. These books address all dimensions of that description. The great power and benefit of Character Education is its appeal to the student's head, heart and hands.

This four-book series is a goldmine for educators looking for practical ways to engage their students in substantive character education. The book's materials, developed and tested at one of our country's truly outstanding schools, merge solid academic content with character education. Together the books reflect a complete plan for engaging a school-community in the misson of character development. Central to the authors' [John Heidel and Marion Lyman-Mersereau] work and to the organization of the books is a school-wide, monlthly focus on a particular virtue, such as respect or courage. In this, the authors are addressing one of the core problems with our schools' efforts to respond to the current call for character education. Instead of psychobabble and talk of "inappropriate behavior" and "adjustment," their approach is a return to an older, richer language system of words, like "responsibility" and "cooperation," the language of character and human excellence.

Character formation has been described as what we do to help our young know the good, love the good adn do the good. These books address all dimensions of that description. The great power and benefit of Character Education is its appeal to the student's head, heart and hands.

Great book. Great story. Great pictures. My son loves all of Syd Hoff's books.

This is my favorite childhood book. I am now 26 and was discussing favorite childhood books with my husband when he said he had never heard of Chester. I ordered the book, we read it together, and he's now a Chester fan too. Can't wait to share this with our future children!

In this book, I learned not to belive in what other people say. Chester was a wild horse, he lived with other horses out in the west. Chester wanted for someone to take care of him but the other horses said that it was better to be a wild horse. Then people with ropes came and Chester asked them if they could take him but they did not take him they took the other horses. So it is better to do what you want, not what other people say.

In this book, I learned not to belive in what other people say. Chester was a wild horse, he lived with other horses out in the west. Chester wanted for someone to take care of him but the other horses said that it was better to be a wild horse. Then people with ropes came and Chester asked them if they could take him but they did not take him they took the other horses. So it is better to do what you want, not what other people say.

In this book, I learned not to belive in what other people say. Chester was a wild horse, he lived with other horses out in the west. Chester wanted for someone to take care of him but the other horses said that it was better to be a wild horse. Then people with ropes came and Chester asked them if they could take him but they did not take him they took the other horses. So it is better to do what you want, not what other people say.

Beautiful book....Fun and as always the author sends you on a search for an answer as you finish the book.. I am not sure who loves these books more, me or the children....

My daughter enjoyed having this book read to her and now enjoys reading it on her own. The hidden object on every page makes it engaging and hard to put down! Fun for all ages.

Arrived quickly and in great condition. This is a nicely written book with beautiful detailed pictures. The author does a wonderful job of giving the animals a voice. My 10 year old especially liked trying to find the hidden picture in every scene.

I was so crazy about finding the mouse that I was dreaming about them at night. Regarding the sixth name, look on the first page where the publishing co. is named. The man who loves birds is reading the newspaper. Turn the book upside down and at the top of the page is the name Alonzo. Now I have a question: on the second to last page (So Nugget stayed with Silky), where is the mouse? Is just his head peaking out? Would love to know more about this author. Where is he from? Perhaps in a better world he will write more books to entertain young minds.

Paul Adshead's books are my very favorite kids books, as an adult. I didn't discover this author until i was at a friend's house and had nothing to do...so i picked up the book on the coffee table, The Chicken That Could Swim. The author draws you into his world, and immediately you know if you have something very important in common, a hope for the future where animals would be at peace with man, and man at peace with the animals. Thank you Mr. Adshead for writing these books for very large kids also known as grown ups!

I had read several of Alistair Maclean's novels, and had an 8 year break when I got a hold of this. This novel is a prime exhibit of why I enjoy him so much. A mystery, revealing tid-bits here and there, leaving you guessing who the good guys are and who are the bad guys.

If you want to be on the edge of your seat for a while, this book will do it.

To recommand for all readers to buy, read, and re-read for n number of times. fantastic book

There are lots of surprising twists in this story including a final surprise in the last sentence. MacLean did a very good job when he wrote this book.

I'm not a fan of the circus and I hate clowns. Being a MacLean fan, but with my current mentality, I figured he had finally run out of ideas (at this point in his life). But the cover of the 1975 Fawcett Crest edition (see "customer images" for the paperback edition) was intriguing: a man falling off a high-wire, the bicycle tumbling after him. Is someone killing off circus people? I had to read.

It turns out that the circus plays as a backdrop for a secret CIA mission. Believe it or not, but the agenda in this tale is about an incredible circus performer recruited by the CIA to break into a prison (that the circus "moves" next to) to steal -- as the back of the book explains -- "a formula capable of annihilating the earth itself." Sure enough, MacLean was like the Crichton of the 70s and managed to weave an entertaining yarn around the idea of anti-matter (certainly not new in 1975).

MacLean refrains from delving too deeply into describing anti-matter or how this formula will end up being used. His somewhat amusing approach to it takes place as a discussion between semi-ignorant CIA agents and Bruno, the acquired circus performer, all of whom are frightened by the power of anti-particles.

As the title may suggest, the book is a slight deviant from other MacLean adventure tales, but I rank it up there among his best works. The book is full of extremely original death scenes that, despite being accustomed to MacLean's formulas, took me completely by surprise. There are more twists in the last chapter than there are in some of his better books, and MacLean pulls it off realistically, and without creating a convoluted mess.

Keep an eye out for Carter. While no first name is ever given, he is the doppelganger cameo of Chief Officer John Carter of MacLean's "The Golden Rendezvous." (MacLean has done this with other characters throughout his novels.)

Another great MacLean classic. In this book the hero is an American athlete, an immigrant from eastern Europe. He is recruited by the CIA and is to undertake and unimaginable mission. He, of course, succeeds, but not without the extreme difficulties that macLean's heroes always face. The story twists are awesome and the ending is both expected and surprising. A great read.