Showing posts with label animal stories. Show all posts
Showing posts with label animal stories. Show all posts

Purchase Cheap Watership Down Review

Watership Down

Are you looking to buy Watership Down? here is the right place to find the great deals. we can offer discounts of up to 90% on Watership Down. check out the link below:

>> Click Here to See Compare Prices and Get the Great Deals

Watership Down Review

When I went off for my first semester of college my father gave me $100 with which to buy textbooks, which certainly dates me. After buying everything for my classes I had enough money left over to buy a hard cover copy of "Watership Down" by Richard Adams for $6.95, which for people who love books is certainly a great way of representing the ravages of inflation over the years. I decided to read a chapter of "Watership Down" each night before going to bed, thereby marking the beginning of my obsession with reading a chapter of something each day that has nothing to do with school. When my dorm roommate became as hooked on the story as much as I was he and I would read chapters aloud. Fifty days I got to the book's epilogue with the same sort of sadness that it was all over that I experienced getting to the end of the "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy.
Living in the Sandleford Warren with its Chief Rabbit and Owsla maintaining a comfortable social order, Hazel and his little brother Fiver are content enough. But Fiver has the gift of prophecy, and when he warns that the warren has to be abandoned right away or they are all going to die, Hazel and a small circle of friends believe him and leave despite the fact that have no idea where they are going. Fiver envisions a great high place where they can be happy and safe, but there are a series of imposing obstacles to overcome, from not only humans and predators, but other wild rabbits as well. Consequently the basic story of "Watership Down" is the ancient quest for home, although in this case it is a new home that represents a wild rabbit's idea of utopia.
The greatness of "Watership Down" rests on the sense of realism that Adams brings to his story wild rabbits. Adams studied Lapine life in R. M. Lockley's "The Private Life of the Rabbit" in order to keep his rabbits real. But beyond the way rabbits live in nature Adams provides them with a history and a culture, represented not only in the stories they tell of El-ahrairah (the Prince with a Thousand Enemies), but their beliefs in Frith the lord sun, and their simple games such as bob-stones. When confronted with sticky situations they are able to use their ingenuity to come up with surprising solutions that are still within the realm of possibility for real rabbits. I always liked the way Hazel, Blackberry and the others have to work out these puzzles, straining for a leap of intuition and cognitive insight that seems just beyond the reach of their relatively simple minds. So while these rabbits are capable of doing more than others of their kind, Adams keeps their efforts remarkable rather than magical.
We also pick up a few choice words from the language of the rabbits (e.g., "silflay" is to go above ground to feed, "homba is a fox), which ends up paying off with one of my favorite moments in the book when Bigway utters a simple but effective curse. The lesson of the story is clearly that bigger does not mean better, for Hazel is neither the strongest nor the smartest of the rabbits that he leads, but he had the best qualities of leadership. Each of the rabbits that join Hazel on the quest to find Watership Down and build a new life there offers something to the ground, and the distinctive personalities that Adams creates for each of them adds to the novel as well.
Of all the books that I have that I like to pick up from time to time and read again my favorite parts, "Watership Down" is the oldest. As a children's story is it simply one that is too good for most children, but without the deep allegorical elements that afflict so many other great children's stories. Perhaps that is why this novel has become so beloved, because it speaks to the child in all of us and the simple virtues that we all want the world to embody. Having read the book again from start to finish, I was not surprised to find that it is still as good as I thought it was when I first read it many years ago.

Watership Down Overview



Want to learn more information about Watership Down?

>> Click Here to See All Customer Reviews & Ratings Now
Read More...

38% Off Discounts: Special Prices for Animal-Speak: The Spiritual & Magical Powers of Creatures Great & Small Review

Animal-Speak: The Spiritual and Magical Powers of Creatures Great and Small

Are you looking to buy Animal-Speak: The Spiritual & Magical Powers of Creatures Great & Small? here is the right place to find the great deals. we can offer discounts of up to 90% on Animal-Speak: The Spiritual & Magical Powers of Creatures Great & Small. check out the link below:

>> Click Here to See Compare Prices and Get the Lowest Price Offers

Animal-Speak: The Spiritual & Magical Powers of Creatures Great & Small Review

Animal Speak by Ted Andrews
Spirit Guides and Totems
I discovered this book on a trip through the White Mountains of Arizona, where I was born. After reading the book I have purchased several more copies as gifts and had them sent direct from Amazon. For anyone interested in Native American culture, shamanism, connecting with and understanding the creatures that share the Earth with us, this is a "must have" book. Animals speak about the events and emotions in our lives. For a writer the book brings a wealth of background character information.
Have you ever dreamt about an animal, a panther, a snake, a bear or a hawk? Did you wonder why the dream seemed important. Have you ever glanced out the door or window to see a spider casually weaving an intricate web or a raccoon or dog glancing back at you? What does a totem mean and do the inhabitants of this modern civilization have personal totems? Do you have pictures of a particular animal scattered throughout your house? I have many pictures of panthers and jaguars in the rooms in which I spend my time because I feel connected to the jaguar of South American history, especially the Mayans. Why?
My answers were in this book, but even without questions I have found Animal Speak is loaded with wonderful information about so many different creatures. Plus, it is a delight to discover what the underlying emotions may be when someone tells you that they like (or hate) dolphins, woodpeckers, ants, bees or perhaps a coyote which is actually linked to the dog.
For the mystic the answer is yes we have totems. The animals (perhaps pets) in a totem can change as they bring messages that are to warn, protect, comfort, guide, remind or whatever is needed.

Animal-Speak: The Spiritual & Magical Powers of Creatures Great & Small Overview



Want to learn more information about Animal-Speak: The Spiritual & Magical Powers of Creatures Great & Small?

>> Click Here to See All Customer Reviews & Ratings Now
Read More...

Buy Cheap Muu. Beee. ¡Así fue / Moo, Baa, La La La, Spanish Edition Review

Muu. Beee. ¡Así fue / Moo, Baa, La La La, Spanish Edition

Are you looking to buy Muu. Beee. ¡Así fue / Moo, Baa, La La La, Spanish Edition? here is the right place to find the great deals. we can offer discounts of up to 90% on Muu. Beee. ¡Así fue / Moo, Baa, La La La, Spanish Edition. check out the link below:

>> Click Here to See Compare Prices and Get the Great Deals

Muu. Beee. ¡Así fue / Moo, Baa, La La La, Spanish Edition Review

The English _Moo, Baa, La-la-la_ was the first Sandra Boynton book I ever saw, and I instantly fell in love. I bought it long before I had anyone to whom to read it, and quickly developed the ability to recite it from memory (to sell people on a new favorite author).
When my little nephew was born, I began reading to him from every book I had that he might appreciate. This is what I do with all tiny children, but in his case EVERY child-related thing in his home was electronic, and I was concerned for his development. I began by reading to him the lone Spanish-language board book I had at the time, _Recién Nacido_ (which I also highly recommend).
The first time I read this book to him, in English, he was seated on my lap and facing the book, but ... the moment I let out a good loud "MOO," he nearly gave himself whiplash trying to see where that strange noise had come from! The animal noises fascinated him to the point that this became the one book he wouldn't explore alone; he just turned it over and over, apparently seeking the button to push for the sound effects. Despite the puzzlement, this quickly became one of a group of favorites he would pull out of the basket during every visit.
When I found the Spanish translation, our nephew was out of the country, with an indefinite return date. I bought it anyway, waiting for the chance to show him. When he returned, age 2 1/2, after nearly a year away, he scarcely recognized us and was very upset. I went home, got the Spanish and English of this book, and went over to see if we could get re-acquainted this way. He immediately sat down to look and giggled now at the animals themselves, which he recognized after a year on the farm. "¡Vaca!" "¡Caballo!" Both versions became great favorites, and often he chose to pick up the one right after the other.
Other translations of charming books, especially the rhyming ones, too often fall short. _Muú, Beee, Así fue_ does not disappoint. Fear not to stock up on copies of this one in *both* languages, to share as often as possible with other families and spread the joy around.

Muu. Beee. ¡Así fue / Moo, Baa, La La La, Spanish Edition Overview



Want to learn more information about Muu. Beee. ¡Así fue / Moo, Baa, La La La, Spanish Edition?

>> Click Here to See All Customer Reviews & Ratings Now
Read More...

36% Off Discounts: Best Buy for Dreams of Joy: A Novel (Random House Large Print) Review

Dreams of Joy: A Novel (Random House Large Print)

Are you looking to buy Dreams of Joy: A Novel (Random House Large Print)? here is the right place to find the great deals. we can offer discounts of up to 90% on Dreams of Joy: A Novel (Random House Large Print). check out the link below:

>> Click Here to See Compare Prices and Get the Cheapest Deals

Dreams of Joy: A Novel (Random House Large Print) Review


"Dreams of Joy" by Lisa See continues the story of sisters Pearl and May, and of Joy, the daughter they share. The story began in "Shanghai Girls" which I very recently read, so the story was fresh in my mind. Pearl and May were once rich and pampered young women who modeled for an artist who painted calendars and ads in 1930s China. The story of how the sisters came to America in the 1930s was riveting and I wasn't ready for their tale to end, so I was happy to learn that Lisa See was already at work on a sequel and "Dreams of Joy" is it.
Told in alternating first-person narratives by Joy and Pearl, we first meet nineteen year old Joy, who recently discovered a huge secret about her past and decides to go to the People's Republic of China to find her birth father and to help Chairman Mao's Communist cause. Pearl is hot on her trail to China, returning to places once familiar now quite changed. The alternating points of view are an effective way to show how both idealistic, Joy, and cynical Pearl, adjust to their new environments. At first, Joys is quite enamored with the new Communist ideal of sharing and equality. Pearl, on the other hand, can easily see the cracks, fissures and hypocrisies in the new regime.
As Mao's "Great Leap Forward" begins to bring famine and death, the novel includes descriptions of suffering as horrible as any zombie movie I've ever seen. These passages are shattering and difficult to read. But the novel is also full of fascinating bits of arcane information, such as that the Maoists thought that bras were oppressive and confiscated them. Also, that returning Chinese scientists had to sign a confession admitting that the Chinese moon was larger than the American moon.
I expect this newest Lisa See novel will be quite popular. See has written several interesting and bestselling historical novels and certainly fans of "Shanghai Girls" will be avid to read this sequel. See does not disappoint.

Dreams of Joy: A Novel (Random House Large Print) Overview



Want to learn more information about Dreams of Joy: A Novel (Random House Large Print)?

>> Click Here to See All Customer Reviews & Ratings Now
Read More...

Best Buy for Chickens, Mules and Two Old Fools Review

Chickens, Mules and Two Old Fools

Are you looking to buy Chickens, Mules and Two Old Fools? here is the right place to find the great deals. we can offer discounts of up to 90% on Chickens, Mules and Two Old Fools. check out the link below:

>> Click Here to See Compare Prices and Get the Cheapest Deals

Chickens, Mules and Two Old Fools Review

If you're looking to experience sunny Spain, and maybe even life in a tiny village tucked in the Alpujarra Mountains, and without leaving home, then CHICKENS, MULES AND TWO OLD FOOLS is the book for you.
Approaching retirement, Vicky and her husband, Joe, one day decide to pack up their bags and leave their comfortable Sussex, England home and settle in the village El Hoya, Spain. It is not long before they come to learn village life is full of surprises and quirky mishaps, and with hilarious culture clashes at every turn. When Vicky and Joe unintentionally find themselves chicken farmers, Vicky says:
"Oh, Please! Our Spanish neighbours already thought we were insane, sitting on the yellow sofa gazing at our flock, letting them hop onto our laps, talking to them."
Whether saved by a mule or sitting at a party table in the middle of the road celebrating a neighbour's birthday (and blocking traffic), CHICKENS ... not only paints a warm, humorous and colourful picture of rural Spain, but also tells of how two zany Brits came to fit right in. Light-hearted and full of sunshine. A thoroughly enjoyable read.

Chickens, Mules and Two Old Fools Overview

If Joe and Vicky had known what relocating to a tiny mountain village in Andalucia would be like, they might have hesitated... They have no idea of the culture shock in store. No idea they'll become reluctant chicken farmers and own the most dangerous cockerel in Spain. No idea they'll help capture a vulture or be rescued by a mule. Will they stay, or return to the relative sanity of England?Awarded the HarperCollins Authonomy 'Gold Star'.The Telegraph-- "a colourful glimpse of Andalucían life. And a psychopathic chicken or two...charming...funny"

Want to learn more information about Chickens, Mules and Two Old Fools?

>> Click Here to See All Customer Reviews & Ratings Now
Read More...

34% Off Discounts: Best Price The Complete Maus: A Survivor's Tale Review

The Complete Maus: A Survivor's Tale

Are you looking to buy The Complete Maus: A Survivor's Tale? here is the right place to find the great deals. we can offer discounts of up to 90% on The Complete Maus: A Survivor's Tale. check out the link below:

>> Click Here to See Compare Prices and Get the Great Deals

The Complete Maus: A Survivor's Tale Review

Browsing through the reviews and comments about Maus, I saw that there was some question as to whether the hardcover edition comprised Parts I and II. This is understandable because the product is listed in Amazon as "The Complete Maus: A Survivor's Tale (No 1)," which seems contradictory.
When I was considering purchasing it, I looked at the number of pages that were listed for the edition and guessed that it included both parts of the story. So I bought it, it arrived fine, and I am now writing to confirm that yes, this edition includes I and II.
Amazon should look into this and remove the "(No 1)" from the listing's title.

The Complete Maus: A Survivor's Tale Overview

On the occasion of the twenty-fifth anniversary of its first publication, here is the definitive edition of the book acclaimed as "the most affecting and successful narrative ever done about the Holocaust" (Wall Street Journal) and "the first masterpiece in comic book history" (The New Yorker).The Pulitzer Prize-winning Maus tells the story of Vladek Spiegelman, a Jewish survivor of Hitler's Europe, and his son, a cartoonist coming to terms with his father's story. Maus approaches the unspeakable through the diminutive. Its form, the cartoon (the Nazis are cats, the Jews mice), shocks us out of any lingering sense of familiarity and succeeds in "drawing us closer to the bleak heart of the Holocaust" (The New York Times).Maus is a haunting tale within a tale. Vladek's harrowing story of survival is woven into the author's account of his tortured relationship with his aging father. Against the backdrop of guilt brought by survival, they stage a normal life of small arguments and unhappy visits. This astonishing retelling of our century's grisliest news is a story of survival, not only of Vladek but of the children who survive even the survivors. Maus studies the bloody pawprints of history and tracks its meaning for all of us.

Want to learn more information about The Complete Maus: A Survivor's Tale?

>> Click Here to See All Customer Reviews & Ratings Now
Read More...

38% Off Discounts: Special Prices for A Sick Day for Amos McGee Review

A Sick Day for Amos McGee

Are you looking to buy A Sick Day for Amos McGee? here is the right place to find the great deals. we can offer discounts of up to 90% on A Sick Day for Amos McGee. check out the link below:

>> Click Here to See Compare Prices and Get the Best Offers

A Sick Day for Amos McGee Review

Sometimes children's book reviewers bandy about the term "classic" like it was a verbal shuttlecock. There's nothing that raises the savvy readers' eyebrows faster than to see some wordsmith drooling profusely over "a new classic" or a book merely "destined to become a classic". Even worse is when they start calling a book "old-fashioned". Nine times out of then what they're talking about is the fact that the book parrots some picture book title of the past. That's the crazy thing about A Sick Day for Amos McGee. It doesn't parrot anyone, and when you read it you feel like you've know the book your whole life. Could have been written last year, ten years ago, or fifty. Doesn't matter because the word "timeless" may as well be stamped all over each and every doggone page. If you want to give a child a book that will remain with them always (and lead to decades of folks growing up and desperately trying to relocate it with the children's librarians of the future) this is the one that you want. Marvelous.
Each morning it's the same. Amos McGee gets out of bed, puts on his uniform, and goes to his job as zookeeper in the City Zoo. Amos takes his job very seriously. He always makes sure to play chess with the elephant, run races with the tortoise, sit quietly with the penguin, blow the rhino's runny nose, and tell stories to the owl at dusk. Then one day Amos wakes up sick and has to stay in bed. The animals, bereft of his presence, decide something must be done. So they pick themselves up and take the bus to Amos's house to keep him company for a change. And after everyone helps him out, Amos reads them all a story and each one of them tucks in for the night.
It's strange to think that author Philip Stead wrote both this and last year's Creamed Tuna Fish and Peas on Toast. Not that the latter was a bad book or anything, mind you, but that was a case where the protagonist had to be a perpetual crankypants. The character of Amos simply couldn't be more different. He's like a cross between your favorite grandpa and Mr. Rogers. I read through this book several times to get down the cadence of Mr. Stead's wordplay too. He's prone to terms like "amble". He parallels Amos's activities in the first half with similar activities with the animals are taking care of him in the second. He knows when to leave sections wordless. And at the end, the "goodnight" section sort of makes this an ideal bedtime book for small fry. Practically invokes Goodnight Moon it does.
There's definitely a Sebastian Meschenmoser quality to this book (a statement that is going to be understood by approximately three people out there). Meschenmoser is a German illustrator who has written titles like Learning to Fly and Waiting for Winter. Erin Stead's style is similar partly because there is a common humanity to every animal she draws. It's not just the anthropomorphic details, like a penguin in socks (an animal Meschenmoser shares an affection for). It's deeper than that. Look at this cover and then stare deep into that elephant's eyes. There are layers to that elephant. That elephant has seen things in its day and has come out the wiser for it. It could tell you stories that would curl your hair or make you laugh till it hurt. That's what I see when I look at a Stead animal. I see a creature that has had a rich full life, and all because of how she has chosen to put pencil/woodblock to paper. Amos McGee himself could not be any better. You love him from the moment he stretches in his pajamas. Everyone here, from the owl to the tortoise is someone you believe in.
Add onto all that the little tiny details as well. How Amos and the penguin sit and stand together, ankles turned inward. The fate of the penguin's red balloon. Where Mr. McGee's teddy bear is at any given time. The portrait of the penguin in the home. The rabbit reading a newspaper on the bus. And then there's the penultimate spread where the animals gather around Amos as he gets ready to go to bed. His left foot rest gently against the rhino's nose, his left hand on the elephant's trunk. Very simple, natural, affectionate touches. You notice them, but you don't. That's the charm.
So there's the content. Now look at the actual art and design. According to the bookflap, Erin creates her illustrations by hand using woodblock printing techniques and pencil." That's impressive in and of itself, but I think the use of color is fascinating. Ms. Stead is sparing. On the one hand, you're never able to identify the book's exact year. On the other, you know in the back of your brain that if the publisher wanted to use all the colors of the rainbow, they could. You could also read the book several times before you noticed the elaborate flower design that ties the horizon in place behind the runny nosed rhino. Little touches, but necessary.
Husband and wife author/illustrator teams emerge once in a while, but they don't always have the golden touch. That the Steads not only have it but are also willing to use it as a force for good instead of evil is gratifying. It's also gratifying to think that maybe we'll see them do more books in the future. I'd like that. I'd like that very much, and I'm wagering that a whole generation of children reading and loving this book are going to like it as well. Here, I'll make it simple for you: Need to buy a picture book for a kid between the ages of four and eight? Buy this one. There you go. Problem solved.
For ages 4-8.

A Sick Day for Amos McGee Overview



Want to learn more information about A Sick Day for Amos McGee?

>> Click Here to See All Customer Reviews & Ratings Now
Read More...

Best Price Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? Review

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See

Are you looking to buy Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? here is the right place to find the great deals. we can offer discounts of up to 90% on Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See. check out the link below:

>> Click Here to See Compare Prices and Get the Cheapest Deals

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See Review

I am a Kindergarten teacher in Connecticut, and have been using this book for many years. I have the Big Book, a regular-size Paperback version, and four small hardcover ones that I use with an original tape of Bill Martin reading the story. These books are much loved, and I decided to replenish my library with new ones, only to discover that for some reason known only to himself, Bill Martin decided to change the format. In the original version, the pictures helped give clues to the words, which emergent readers need: i.e "Brown bear, brown bear What do you see?" was on the page with the picture of the brown bear. The words "I see a red bird looking at me." and then "Red bird, red bird, what do you see?" were on the page with the picture of the red bird. In this newer, revised version, the page that contains part of the picture of the brown bear has "I see a red bird looking at me." on it. When you turn to the next page, with the picture of the red bird, you see the words, "Red bird, red bird, what do you see?" but then, on the same page you get the words "I see a yellow duck looking at me." No picture clue given. I don't like this version, and it's now impossible for me to obtain a copy of the original version. I think they must be out of print. So I'm holding on to mine for dear life! They're worth their weight in gold!

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See Overview



Want to learn more information about Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?

>> Click Here to See All Customer Reviews & Ratings Now
Read More...

20% Off Discounts: Special Prices for Cute Overload 2012 Page-a-Day Calendar Review

Cute Overload 2012 Page-a-Day Calendar

Are you looking to buy Cute Overload 2012 Page-a-Day Calendar? here is the right place to find the great deals. we can offer discounts of up to 90% on Cute Overload 2012 Page-a-Day Calendar. check out the link below:

>> Click Here to See Compare Prices and Get the Best Offers

Cute Overload 2012 Page-a-Day Calendar Review

I ordered this daily calendar for my daughter and it is so absolutely adorable I will be ordering another for myself. Each day has it's own adorable comical animal picture. A real treat!

Cute Overload 2012 Page-a-Day Calendar Overview



Want to learn more information about Cute Overload 2012 Page-a-Day Calendar?

>> Click Here to See All Customer Reviews & Ratings Now
Read More...

32% Off Discounts: Lowest Price The Mouse Tales CD Audio Collection Review

The Mouse Tales CD Audio Collection

Are you looking to buy The Mouse Tales CD Audio Collection? here is the right place to find the great deals. we can offer discounts of up to 90% on The Mouse Tales CD Audio Collection. check out the link below:

>> Click Here to See Compare Prices and Get the Great Deals

The Mouse Tales CD Audio Collection Review

I purchased this set for my grand daughter (3 1/2 yrs old)as she loves to listen to books on tape etc. However, do not make the mistake that I did -- this is a CD only so you need to purchase the books separately. She loves the tales and follows along in the book - the author is the narrator and has a wonderfully expressive voice.

The Mouse Tales CD Audio Collection Overview


Two classic stories by Arnold Lobel!

Mouse Tales: "Papa, please tell us a tale."

When Papa's seven little mouse boys ask for a bedtime story, Papa does even better than that—he tells seven stories, one for each boy!

Mouse Soup: Mouse is in a jam—soon he'll be weasel soup!

Weasel is ready for his dinner. And poor mouse is it. Just in time, he thinks up a clever and entertaining way to distract weasel from serving up mouse soup for supper.


Want to learn more information about The Mouse Tales CD Audio Collection?

>> Click Here to See All Customer Reviews & Ratings Now
Read More...

32% Off Discounts: Best Price Carnival of the Animals: Classical Music for Kids Review

Carnival of the Animals: Classical Music for Kids

Are you looking to buy Carnival of the Animals: Classical Music for Kids? here is the right place to find the great deals. we can offer discounts of up to 90% on Carnival of the Animals: Classical Music for Kids. check out the link below:

>> Click Here to See Compare Prices and Get the Best Offers

Carnival of the Animals: Classical Music for Kids Review

Completely enjoyed by our 2 year old and his parents. Pictures are absolutely beautiful. Having the CD is useful. Each of the 14 tracks has a beautifully illustrated 2 page spread, which makes it easy to follow the music - the book and music work very well together. The text, which is written in a perfectly simple and direct and short manner so as to render it very useful, helps the listener focus on different aspects of the music and appreciate the music by putting it in terms we could understand more easily (e.g. for the Lion's March - "the strings are playing the lion's marching tune as he walks...Sometimes he roars loudly. Can you hear the pianos playing the lion's roar?") Our toddler loves classical music but this is a great choice for any child or adult. The entire package - the CD, the format of the book, the pictures and the text - really make this a great way of experiencing the music and just a plain good old story.

Carnival of the Animals: Classical Music for Kids Overview

The animals are having a carnival, and the guests are arriving. There's the majestic lion, the braying mules, the dancing elephant, and the bouncy kangaroos. Even the fossils join in with a fast and rattly dance. Everyone is invited!Nearly 150 years ago, the composer Camille Saint-Saëns was asked by his pupils to write a musical joke for them. He wrote the Carnival of the Animals, a piece people enjoyed so much that it has now become one of Saint-Saëns's most famous works.This accessible commentary, in a picture-book format, helps children follow each section of Saint-Saëns's classic piece while they listen to the CD. Whimsical illustrations, a simple text, and evocative melodies create an ideal introduction for young children to the world of classical music.

Want to learn more information about Carnival of the Animals: Classical Music for Kids?

>> Click Here to See All Customer Reviews & Ratings Now
Read More...

Purchase Cheap First 100 Animals (First Words) Review

First 100 Animals (First Words)

Are you looking to buy First 100 Animals (First Words)? here is the right place to find the great deals. we can offer discounts of up to 90% on First 100 Animals (First Words). check out the link below:

>> Click Here to See Compare Prices and Get the Cheapest Deals

First 100 Animals (First Words) Review

This book is better than most animal books for kids because the animals actually look like what they look like in "real life." My 1 year old loves this book - we also have 100 First Words which I'd recommend as well.

First 100 Animals (First Words) Overview

Ideal for ages 2 and up Features 100 animal words for children to learn and build their vocabulary. Simple design in a large, colorful and sturdy format.

Want to learn more information about First 100 Animals (First Words)?

>> Click Here to See All Customer Reviews & Ratings Now
Read More...

60% Off Discounts: Lowest Price The Girl Who Fell from the Sky Review

The Girl Who Fell from the Sky

Are you looking to buy The Girl Who Fell from the Sky? here is the right place to find the great deals. we can offer discounts of up to 90% on The Girl Who Fell from the Sky. check out the link below:

>> Click Here to See Compare Prices and Get the Great Deals

The Girl Who Fell from the Sky Review

Rachel, the daughter of a Danish woman and African American G.I., grew up in Germany. With her light brown skin and blue eyes, Rachel did not see herself as anything but her parents' child. When tragedy strikes her family after moving to America, Rachel moves in with her paternal grandmother. In Portland, Rachel feels alienated from her family and schoolmates, unable to fit into categories of white or black, and she struggles with memories of her mother. Although told mostly from Rachel's point of view, the novel also follows Rachel's father, her mother's boss, and a young boy who witnessed the family tragedy as Rachel attempts to discover who she is beyond others' labels.
Durrow has created a unique story that combines a young woman's search for identity with a family's history of shame and secrets. The novel begins with Rachel narrating her move to Portland and is told in stark, simple prose. In Portland, Rachel becomes acutely aware of her lack of belonging. She is "light-skinned-ed;" she "talk[s]" white" and can't help but judge her grandmother for her lack of formal English. She fails to fall into pre-established categories.
Meanwhile, pieces of Rachel's parents' history are filled in. Both parents are filled with shame for their inability to protect their children, although their shame comes from different sources. Rachel's mother exemplifies a woman unable to to accept or actively reject that many Americans do not see her children as her own and see them only as a skin color.
The detachment of the first part of the novel distanced me as a reader and felt slow, but as Rachel grew, I grew closer to her and her story. The tragedy piles on thick at times, but the second half of the novel touchingly covers the nuances of Rachel's development: her feelings for her aunt's fiance Drew, her conflicts with her judgmental but well-meaning grandmother, and her relationship with a liberal white college boy. The novel skillfully explores the complexities of racial identity and relationships today.

The Girl Who Fell from the Sky Overview



Want to learn more information about The Girl Who Fell from the Sky?

>> Click Here to See All Customer Reviews & Ratings Now
Read More...

60% Off Discounts: Lowest Price Unbearable Lightness: A Story of Loss and Gain Review

Unbearable Lightness: A Story of Loss and Gain

Are you looking to buy Unbearable Lightness: A Story of Loss and Gain? here is the right place to find the great deals. we can offer discounts of up to 90% on Unbearable Lightness: A Story of Loss and Gain. check out the link below:

>> Click Here to See Compare Prices and Get the Best Offers

Unbearable Lightness: A Story of Loss and Gain Review

As the previous reviewer has pretty much summarised the entire book (!) I'll just say that this is an honest, moving and well written account of a dark time in Portia's life. It was hard to read how she brought herself close to death, keeping herself on a tiny allowance of calories and strenuous exercise (in high heels at times). I know Hollywood expects women to be thin, but I was saddened to read her accounts of costume fittings - where she was humiliated for being anything other than 'stick thin'.
I loved the story about meeting Ellen in 2001 at a concert, when Ellen invited her over to her house along with other guests. Portia thought she was just being polite, but it turned out that Ellen had only invited the other people over so she would have the excuse of a party to invite Portia. So Ellen was stuck with having to entertain all those people that night!
I think coming out as a lesbian in Hollywood is still a risky move (how many others are there? not many) and Portia is an inspiration to other women who are coming to terms with their sexuality and trying to live their life honestly. Well done Portia, from a fellow Aussie :)

Unbearable Lightness: A Story of Loss and Gain Overview



Want to learn more information about Unbearable Lightness: A Story of Loss and Gain?

>> Click Here to See All Customer Reviews & Ratings Now
Read More...

68% Off Discounts: Best Price The Postmistress Review

The Postmistress

Are you looking to buy The Postmistress? here is the right place to find the great deals. we can offer discounts of up to 90% on The Postmistress. check out the link below:

>> Click Here to See Compare Prices and Get the Lowest Price Offers

The Postmistress Review

In 1940, the lives of three women could not be more different as war rages in Europe. Iris James, postmistress of Franklin, Massachusetts, believes in order and details. She takes great pride in her work. All communications in the town come through her. The whole system works because of the neat efficient system and the trust. She keeps all the secrets of the residents, but one day, she breaks with everything she has ever believed, slipping a letter into her pocket. Emma Trask, wife of the town's doctor Will Fitch, listens to all the radio broadcasts from London with her husband. When a tragedy provokes a change in her husband and a determination to go over to Europe, Emma guards herself against the tides of war raging across a distant ocean. In London, Frankie Bard, works with Edward R. Murrow. Frankie listens to Murrow's story advice, yet her spirit chafes against the all the strictures and protocol imposed on her. Feisty, fearless and somewhat brash, she wants to get out the truth and stir her listeners to action. In 1941, Frankie rides the trains out of Germany, reporting on the war, listening to the voices of the so-called refugees. As she sees the war unfolding from a different perspective, her whole idea about the story itself changes.
In THE POSTMISTRESS, Sarah Blake looks at World War II through the eyes of three distinct women all connected through means of private and public media. In many ways, THE POSTMISTRESS itself follows Frankie's conception of a news story as story and herein lies the beauty of the novel. Sarah Blake's novel does not follow the traditional concepts of a novel. THE POSTMISTRESS tells the story of World War II through the edges, in the lives of the three women and the events of their lives, often events that even seem unrelated to the larger scene playing out in the world. Indeed, the emotional impact of the story builds as Frankie stops trying to tell the truth of the war and listens to the voices of those around her. The "truth" of the war often emerges in the edges, in those stories told and unspoken by the press and even the characters to some extent. Although Sarah Blake draws on the history and historical figures of the times, THE POSTMISTRESS is not a historical novel filled with date and details from the history books. The reader will not find all the horrific details of the Holocaust or the London Blitz and yet, in telling the story through the edges of war scene, THE POSTMISTRESS allows the reader's imagination to enter the story. With the copious amount of World War II history and fiction published, readers undoubtedly are more than familiar with the main story of the War, and yet, THE POSTMISTRESS brings a freshness to the story. For this reader, THE POSTMISTRESS, is one of the first to tell the story of the trains from a viewpoint that truly engages imagination and emotion in both the details of individuals, sometimes even the characters for whom only a name and place is known, who might have experienced the events. Like Frankie's approach to the story, less is sometimes more. Equally, the conflicts and struggles of Emma Fitch and Iris James bring a whole other emotional dimension and texture to the story.
THE POSTMISTRESS is a wonderful blend of popular women's fiction and literary fiction. The novel gains more emotional power and intellectual interest as it progresses. The first part reads more like light women's fiction as the author introduces the three women whose lives will touch one another's. Frankie's development, however, guides the heart of the story, developing the lens through which the richness of the other characters emerges. The beginning of the story actually gains more relevance and emotional depth in hindsight, as Frankie's less traditional concept of a news story begins to cast the novel itself within a different framework. THE POSTMISTRESS is a story of women's lives, of life, death and love during WWII, and by end, a story about the art of storytelling itself.

The Postmistress Overview



Want to learn more information about The Postmistress?

>> Click Here to See All Customer Reviews & Ratings Now
Read More...

42% Off Discounts: Lowest Price Maus II: A Survivor's Tale: And Here My Troubles Began Review

Maus II: A Survivor's Tale: And Here My Troubles Began

Are you looking to buy Maus II: A Survivor's Tale: And Here My Troubles Began? here is the right place to find the great deals. we can offer discounts of up to 90% on Maus II: A Survivor's Tale: And Here My Troubles Began. check out the link below:

>> Click Here to See Compare Prices and Get the Cheapest Deals

Maus II: A Survivor's Tale: And Here My Troubles Began Review

The second part of Art Spiegelman's graphic novel Maus picks up where the first part left off. His father Vladek and mother Anja are captured and sent to Auschwitz. However, things aren't well at home. Mala, Vladek's second wife, exasparated at Vladek's tight-fisted controlling ways, leaves him. Artie and his wife Francoise rush over to help him out and during this time, Artie continues the interviews with his father and thence into Maus II.
The path of Artie understanding his father is smoother but at a cost. Following the success of Maus I, Spiegelman depicts a pile of dead Jewish bodies lying under the Artie's writing desk symbolizing how much the history his father has bled from that first volume has seeped into him. He is beginning to understand, but at the cost of emotionally and vicariously going through his father's experiences, for which he has sessions with Pavel, a Czech Jew psychiatrist and Holocaust survivor.
Artie gets more perspective during these sessions with Pavel. He tells Pavel that as a child, he constantly argued with his father, who said that anything he did was nothing compared to surviving Auschwitz. Pavel refers to the psychological concept of transference: "Maybe your father needed to show that he was always right--that he could always SURVIVE-because he felt GUILTY about surviving. ... and he took his guilt on YOU, where it was safe... on the REAL survivor." The argument stands to reason. Vladek survived the death of so much family and friends, as well as the millions he never knew.
We learn more of how Vladek survived Auschwitz. He teaches English to the Polish kapo, who expecting the Germans to lose the war, wants to get in good graces with the Americans. Vladek is thus given better food, a better fitting uniform, and the tip to stand at the far left of the line of prisoners during the labour call. Improved health increased chances of survival and a better mental state.
Vladek has enough chutzpah in his tight-fisted but survivalist ways to exchange used groceries for new ones(!) While in the car waiting for him, Artie and Francoise discuss Vladek. Francoise says: "I'd rather kill myself than live through ... everything Vladek went through. It's a miracle he survived." Artie responds with "In some ways he didn't survive," which is key to the book's theme. Yet drastic saving is one way Vladek survived the war and camps. On the way back from the grocery store, we discover Vladek's racism towards blacks, an example of the victim becoming a victimizer.
Maus is a must-read for a personal instead of abstract, statistical look at the Holocaust. It also brings up post-war genocide. Pavel's contention that people haven't changed rings poignantly. Despite the vow of "never again," genocide has repeatedly happened "yet again": e.g. the Cultural Revolution, the killing fields in Cambodia, the massacre in Rwanda, and the ethnic bloodshed in the former Yugoslavia. Perhaps for racial harmony to become a human instinct, all people need to feel the same way, but the relativistic world of the twentieth and twenty-first century to makes that dream virtually impossible. Pavel's statement that a newer and bigger Holocaust is needed to change people grimly prophesizes World War III, meaning that unless we change, we will all die.

Maus II: A Survivor's Tale: And Here My Troubles Began Overview



Want to learn more information about Maus II: A Survivor's Tale: And Here My Troubles Began?

>> Click Here to See All Customer Reviews & Ratings Now
Read More...

Best Buy for Where the Red Fern Grows Review

Where the Red Fern Grows

Are you looking to buy Where the Red Fern Grows? here is the right place to find the great deals. we can offer discounts of up to 90% on Where the Red Fern Grows. check out the link below:

>> Click Here to See Compare Prices and Get the Great Deals

Where the Red Fern Grows Review

Although it has been nearly two weeks since I finished listening to the tape of Where the Red Fern Grows, I am fighting to choke back the tears even now. I plan to order several copies for Christmas gifts.
Yes it is a wonderful epic adventure story about a boy and his dogs and their heroic devotion to each other. And yes, it is so well read that you live every moment right alongside Billy and Old Dan and Little Ann. But, like most great novels, it is much more.
I am a dog lover, a college teacher, and a retired field grade Army officer. I loved the book not only for the captivating story, but also for the slice of Americana that it captures and preserves. It is a time capsule of a way of life, of what made this nation great. The breadth, depth, and magnitude of the love, devotion, responsibility, integrity, courage, and tenacity of the characters is awesome. It was a simpler time, when modest, humble, ordinary people were heroes in their own right, but could not imagine being any other way.
If this story doesn't burst your heart with joy and then rip it out with painful agony, you are dead and worse.
If you think you're dead, it will awaken and electrify feelings you didn't know you had.
If you are looking for answers, you will find them all in this simple little tale of perfectly ordinary and unassuming heroes of epic stature.

Where the Red Fern Grows Overview



Want to learn more information about Where the Red Fern Grows?

>> Click Here to See All Customer Reviews & Ratings Now
Read More...

Purchase Cheap Island of the Blue Dolphins Review

Island of the Blue Dolphins

Are you looking to buy Island of the Blue Dolphins? here is the right place to find the great deals. we can offer discounts of up to 90% on Island of the Blue Dolphins. check out the link below:

>> Click Here to See Compare Prices and Get the Best Offers

Island of the Blue Dolphins Review

As a child, my grade school librarian wore out from me asking to borrow so often. Later, as a private tutor, my students chose this again and again. "Island of the Blue Dolphins" lives up to its reputation as one of the greatest children's book ever.
Libraries are good for borrowing books, but some books should be on the shelf of any young reader. Scott O'Dell's magnificent "Island of the Blue Dolphins" is just that. Save your librarian some grief and buy a copy.
"The Island of the Blue Dolphins" is not the story of a foolish young girl who missed the boat when the island was being evacuated. Far from it. Karana was on the boat. Her playful little brother, Ramo, wasn't. He was only 6 years old and could never survive alone. She jumped off and headed to shore to save him. The boat left.
Every little girl or boy has been alone, frightened without a clear way of finding his or her way home. Often, the problem is fixed by turning the next corner, finding out it is the same neighborhood it has always been. In the case of "The Island of the Blue Dolphins," Karana's home never changes. Everyone she knows and loves, however, leaves.
For 18 years Karana took care of herself, and she grows from a preteen child into a woman just entering her 30s. This is that story, filled with adventures similar to "Robinson Crusoe," another true story set to fiction. Fans of "Swiss Family Robinson," will likewise enjoy this.
Karana's ingenuity to survive is surpassed by her tenacity and hope. Weathering hard circumstances, such wild dogs, storms and the constant need to find fresh food and good water. She uses what she learned from her parents and other villagers before the left, and what she learns by trial an error.
As exciting as "Treasure Island," only with a female protagonist, the book is more than a tale of heroics. Scott O'Dell's keen sense of description separates this from the rest of the bookshelf. Although sensitive that his reader is younger, he still manages to place to reader in the story, imagining the smell of sea or hearing the not-so-far off bark of wild dogs.
Like other classics as "Old Yeller" and "My Brother Sam Is Dead," not everything comes easily to Karana. There are somber times when people leave, when her brother dies, or when things look bleak. O'Dell tells the story as realistically as he can, which makes the happy times happier.
I fully recommend "Island of the Blue Dolphins," by Scott O'Dell. It won "The Newberry Medal for Best Children's Book" for good reason.
Anthony Trendl
editor, HungarianBookstore.com

Island of the Blue Dolphins Overview



Want to learn more information about Island of the Blue Dolphins?

>> Click Here to See All Customer Reviews & Ratings Now
Read More...

Special Prices for Dear Zoo: A Lift-the-Flap Book Review

Dear Zoo: A Lift-the-Flap Book

Are you looking to buy Dear Zoo: A Lift-the-Flap Book? here is the right place to find the great deals. we can offer discounts of up to 90% on Dear Zoo: A Lift-the-Flap Book. check out the link below:

>> Click Here to See Compare Prices and Get the Cheapest Deals

Dear Zoo: A Lift-the-Flap Book Review

My daughter has loved this book from the very beginning. She was fascinated by the animals revealed when I lifted the flaps, and then had a great time learning how to lift the flaps herself as she grew older. She's a year old now and brings it to me to read to her more than any other book that we have. She gets a kick out of the animal sounds we make when we lift the flaps, too. It's the only lift-the-flap book we have that she hasn't managed to tear off any flaps. I think this book has been instrumental in showing her how much fun books can be - I highly recommend it.

Dear Zoo: A Lift-the-Flap Book Overview



Want to learn more information about Dear Zoo: A Lift-the-Flap Book?

>> Click Here to See All Customer Reviews & Ratings Now
Read More...

Lowest Price Moo Baa La La La Review

Moo Baa La La La

Are you looking to buy Moo Baa La La La? here is the right place to find the great deals. we can offer discounts of up to 90% on Moo Baa La La La. check out the link below:

>> Click Here to See Compare Prices and Get the Great Deals

Moo Baa La La La Review

We got this book for our 4 year old daughter when she was 2, and it became her all-time favorite book. It helped her to increase her speech by saying fun things. We then introduced it to our 2nd daughter when she was 20 months old, and she also adores this book and it is the one she always gets every night and says "book" to have it read. We only say the first part of each page (i.e., "The pigs say...") and she always finishes the second part (i.e., "LaLaLa"). This is an absolute must have along with "But Not The Hippopotamus" by Boynton. These are GREAT gifts for baby showers or 1st birthdays.If you are considering ordering this - Go ahead and do it now! You WON'T be sorry that you did!

Moo Baa La La La Overview

Serious silliness for all ages. Artist Sandra Boynton is back and better than ever with completely redrawn versions of her multi-million selling board books. These whimsical and hilarious books, featuring nontraditional texts and her famous animal characters, have been printed on thick board pages, and are sure to educate and entertain children of all ages.

Want to learn more information about Moo Baa La La La?

>> Click Here to See All Customer Reviews & Ratings Now
Read More...