Customer Reviews (1)

penguin outlook
the pictures do justice to the species of penguins shown.As an avid collecter, the pictues display some of the most fun moments in a penguins life ... Read more

Product Description
Part of a series of wallcharts designed for displaying at home or at school with illustrations accompanied by captions and complete with a hanging rail at each end. This wallchart looks at pond and river life. ... Read more

Product Description
FOR USE IN SCHOOLS AND LIBRARIES ONLY. Someone is always awake in the forest and someone else is always asleep, some are alert in daytime and sleep at night while others are alert at night, and are sleepyheads during the day. A flip book between day and night. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

Forest Bright
Loved the graphics although when our daughter read the book to her children she felt that the book was very sad. But I loved the book and keep a copy here at Grandma's house.

more than meets the eye
This book has wonderfully detailed and realistic nature illustrations, an unusual dual-book design (you flip over the book to read day, then night, and see different animals become active), *and* lots of I Spy-type fun besides.In addition to the animals you can hunt out in their hideyholes, numbers hide in the images on each page.My nearly-three-year-old and I both love this book.

Lifelike Animals, Wonderful for a Variety of Ages
We originally checked this book out from our library and loved it so much.Our son is 15 months and he gets very excited to 'read' it.He wants to know what each animal is.As he grows, the concept of nocturnal animals will be learned.The learn to count aspect is subtle and, thankfully, does not take over the whole story but is available when your child is ready for it.This book is beautiful, educational, and essential.

Unique counting book!
Reviewed by Cayden (age 3-1/2), Max (age 19-months) Aures and Mom for Reader Views (4/08)

"Forest Bright, Forest Night" is part of the "Simply Nature" series and is a great introduction to forest animals.The first half of the book explores different animals that you see in the forest during the daytime such as deer, woodpeckers, and squirrels. The second half of the book introduces us to a variety of nocturnal animals such as owls, skunks, and opossums.In the corner of each page there is a number corresponding to the number of that animal on the page.There are also "hidden" numbers on each page etched in various trees and rocks or formed by plants or animals.

Cayden:"I want to count the animals!"

Cayden:"Look, a deer!And there is a bear, no two of them!"
Max:"Two!Rrraaarrr!!"

Cayden:"I like finding the hidden numbers!It is fun!That is my favorite part.I like counting though too."

Cayden:"I like this book a lot mom."

Parent's comments:

"Forest Bright, Forest Night" was definitely a hit with my children!Besides reading the text there are so many other fun things that you can do with this book from counting and naming the animals to finding the hidden numbers and hidden animals.It is also a great introduction to teaching children about how some animals sleep during the night whereas other animals are out and about during that time.The illustrations are great and definitely held both of my children's interest.Any child who enjoys counting and animals will love this book!

lots to look at...great intro to different animals
I think I like this book more than my kids, but they do like it too. It not only has some unusual animals(not just your typical dog, cat, cow etc), it also teaches numbers.It starts by showing 10 different animals that you might see during the day and it's night time counterpart is also somewhere in the picture (easy to spot, but interestingly illustrated).Plus, there is also the fun of finding the actual number somewhere in the illustration, like in the lines of tree bark, or in ripples in the water.Not very wordy, and really well illustrated.It's especially nice if you live near wooded areas and get to see these animals. ... Read more

Product Description
This book ofvisual realisations of individual masterpieces of Celtic illuminated art is the first in a new series. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

The Scottish Lowlands' Gaelic heritage.
The Book of Deer is one of the most neglected Scottish historical resources...It is an important piece of evidence in the search for Lowland Gaelic... so too is it the earliest known Scottish Gaelic. It appears to have been written in response to the Norman plantations of the period, since although Gaelic had been written down in Ireland from an early stage most of the land contracts were oral, unlike the Anglo-Normans who wished to colonise the Scottish lowlands. Thus it is a good counterweight against much of the later historical revisionism in Scotland- most people in North East Scotland are unaware of the book or the fact Gaidhlig had been spoken in the Lowlands.

The text of this book alone is worth five stars, but I'm afraid the pictures are not very interesting, which is why I've taken a star off. By the way I believe PBE is co-author, not sole author of this work. This work has gone some of the way towards making this book better known.

This book describes the ninth century Book of Deer.
The original Book of Deer described as "one of the principal antiquities of Scotland" is a ninth century Celtic/Pictish Gospel illuminated manuscript, preserved in the Library of Cambridge UniversityUK. It was copied and illustrated by unknown monks in the Celtic monasteryof Deer near Aberdeen. The illustrations have a childlike quality, and suchcolour as remains is washes mainly now in pastel colours. Strangely forwhat was intended to be an important ceremonial book there are obviouserrors in the Knotwork borders. The text is in rather bad Latin with laterScottish Gaelic additions. It differs markedly from the later Book of Kellswhich still has sophisticated, extremely detailed initials, illustrations,and title pages still in vibrant colour. It also differs clearly from itsintricate and elaborate Pagan predecessors such as the GundestrupCauldron.

This book has three photographic plates, the front cover plateand its reverse, mirror imaged, showing the poor preservation and obviousfading of the original. It also has modern line drawn accuraterepresentations of all the drawings, illustrations, and initials, by RoyEllsworth, from it namesake. These contain much more detail than theequivalent photographic plates due to fading of the original from theoriginal probably black inks to dark and sometimes light brown. Thesemodern illustrations show the colour washes as crosshatched shading. Theyshow almost lost details, hopefully, in the same line strength as theoriginal had in the ninth century.

The illustrations from the Book ofKells appear reproduced in numerous places from one of my T Shirts, toembroidery, WWW sites and numerous other places. This would be impossiblefrom either the photographs or the accurate line drawings. This booktherefore also contains simplified, and slightly corrected, drawings of theillustrations to demonstrate construction methods. "To allow anexploration of one's own colour arrangements".

The colourful historyof the book from a description of the foundation of the monastery at Deer,to its rediscovery in the library of Cambridge University, including itsassociation with the historical Scottish King MacBeth, is by the notedCeltic scholar Peter Berresford Ellis. He also gives detailed descriptionsof all the illustrations comparing them with both earlier, and later Celtictreasures. He is of the opinion that the rather strange depiction of legsand feet, of the apostles might be an echo of the squatting position inwhich Celtic Gods are often portrayed. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (1)

An excellent guide

This book is an excellent guide to the 500 mammal species that live in mainland Southeast Asia. Every species is described in detail with key identification features, ecology, habitat, distribution, and status. There are 72 high-quality color plates and 422 very good distribution maps. 74 excellent line drawings illustrate animal tracks and other technical details.

There are still discoveries to be made in the area. For example, Charles Francis was part of the team that found a lactating male bat; from "The New York Times":

"Scientists casting their nets in the dense forest canopies of Malaysia have discovered the first example of a wild male mammal that lactates. The species is a Dayak fruit bat, a large and poorly understood creature with an 18-inch wingspan, a dog-like face and, it turns out, a touch of androgyny. When the researchers captured a group of the bats in a wide-ranging effort to survey animals that inhabit the Malaysian canopy, they were dumbfounded to see that the eight adult male Dayaks in the net all had visibly swollen breasts that produced milk upon being gently squeezed.

"'They looked like perfectly good males with large testes, but from the other end I could see they also had well-developed breasts,' said Dr. Charles M. Francis, a research associate with the Wildlife Conservation Society..."

Francis is an expert in birds and in the bats of this area, but also has a keen interest in mammals. He has included interesting essays on finding and studying mammals and on conservation.

This book is a great resource for a general reader like myself who enjoys learning about animals, in my arm chair, and when I'm really lucky, on the ground. This book is a great resource for either purpose.

Robert C. Ross 2008 ... Read more

Product Description
For this adventure, Riley has been invited to join his Uncle Max (a world-famous scientist), Aunt Martha and Cousin Alice on an incredible South African safari to study the relationship between predator and prey animals. Accompanied by local guides, they encounter cheetahs, lions, elephants, wild dogs, baboons, giraffes and a rare black rhino recently wounded by a poacher! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

Perfect blend of fiction and fact!
If you trying to make a transition to non-fiction for your young one,nothing could beat this book.Real photographycomplement thebeautiful illustrations along with a funstoryline which is sure to appeal to your young one.Without sounding preaching or boring, it teaches the young ones to respect nature and the varied life that goes along with it..

I also love the local art depicted in the footnotes.

Great book for parents to give kids
If you're going on a safari and you you have small children - it's unlikely that you're packing them and taking them with you.So this book was great to help the kids (and us) see what we would experience on safari.Upon return, I see how much the book really does mirror what happens on a typical vacation/safari.

Also, educational for kids.

Writers Notes 2005 Book Award Winner
Uncle Max takes Riley on a child's dream tour-a South African safari. Smart cartoon figures overlay outback snapshots, including interesting facts and figures. We like that the story flows through each page, while the illustrations aren't overburdened with educational information. A handy glossary tells us what we need to know, and there's even a pullout passport in the back.

A boy's adventure!

This scholarly tale of 9-year-old Riley on "Safari in South Africa," with his cousin Alice, aunt Martha, and uncle Max take census of the different breeds of animals.

Riley learns the eco system is the responsibility of everyone and every creature in the world must do its part for the world to continue to survive and have balance. Poachers, predators, and developers however tip the scales of the eco system and cause the animal population to become endangered.

With each animal they encounter, some fun and interesting facts are revealed regarding their behaviors, eating styles, and play.

The authors evoke the help of several zoologist, conservationist, and educators in the animal fields for references and include next to the fun facts illustrations of the references.

This tale has awesome illustrations, set on the background of actual safari scenes and with real pictures of safari wildlife. You too will feel as if you were on this adventure.

The Adventures of Riley in South Africa is one of a series of - Riley's tales. This book contains information on accessing the Internet so kids can continue more adventures, and a passport book with a stamp of South Africa, so when they read a different book they can collect the stamps.

Children will absolutely love this book and learn from it.

**A portion of the proceeds will go to the Wildlife Conservation, Smithsonian Institute: Educational Mission and the World Wildlife Fund.

Safari in South Africa
This book is wonderful!I would recommend it to anyone with young children. ... Read more

Product Description
This novelty cat bag contains a book with the complete text of "The Paw Thing", a pencil patterned with paw prints, an instant win bookmark and six trading cards. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

One for cat lovers
If you have a heart for cats this book is an excellent read for both children and adults. is the first of a series of four, but is a complete story in itself.It is an illustrated long short-story which can be read in one sitting if you have a fair amount of time.

Singenpoo is definitely a working cat who's job it is to catch mice in a takeaway chicken shop.But life is not being kind to her.Mac, her owner, swears she won't be fed properly until she does her job.

This story is written with considerable humor and charm, and, typical of all Jennings' writing, its ending is definitely a surprise.

One for cat lovers
If you have a heart for cats this book is an excellent read for both children and adults. is the first of a series of four, but is a complete story in itself.It is an illustrated long short-story which can be read in one sitting if you have a fair amount of time.

Singenpoo is definitely a working cat who's job it is to catch mice in a takeaway chicken shop.But life is not being kind to her.Mac, her owner, swears she won't be fed properly until she does her job.

This story is written with considerable humor and charm, and, typical of all Jennings' writing, its ending is definitely a surprise.

Paw Cat!
Paul Jennings' "The Paw Thing" is a short children's story of 50 pages or so, with illustrations by Kevin McEwan (who did the original covers and illustrations for many Paul Jennings books). It was originally just a one off, but went on to become a 4 story series some years later. I first read this story when I was nine, and though I got through it, it was never my favorite. I like it a little better now though.

The story is basically about three characters, Mac, the owner of "Major Mac's Take-Away Chicken" (a fast food place in the vein of KFC), the boy who works part time there, and Singenpoo, the restaurant cat that wouldn't catch mice, a cat who Mac suspects can read. The plot, though simple, has its twists and turns, and will keep the kids interested.

I think one of the reasons why I never liked this book so much when I was younger is because of the illustrations. Don't get me wrong, I think Keith McEwan is a great artist, and defines Paul Jennings stories the way, say, Roget Dean's album art defines the rock group Yes. Trouble is, I think at times there are just a few too many illustrations. It seems that on every page, for every movement, there's a picture. The reader doesn't even get time to imagine anything, if that makes sense, as it's already there. The other reason I didn't think I liked it when I was younger is because of how vivid everything was, and being an unhygenic fast food places, it's a kind of gross vivid. I'm pretty sure I lost my appetite once or twice reading this book when I was 9. But really, looking back, they're just minor niggles.

Worth a look I suppose, but if you're just starting to get into 1980s Paul Jennings have a look at "Unreal" or "Unbelievable" first. ... Read more

Product Description
Providing a new way of seeing reptiles in the round, transforming the natural world, so that you can see detail hidden from the naked eye. This book has a built-in mirror viewer which reveals details such as the way in which a snake delivers its venomous poison. ... Read more

Product Description
Provides a new way of seeing insects in the round, transforming the natural world, so that details hidden from the naked eye are clearly visible. This book with built-in mirror viewer shows intricate scales such as a butterfly wing and the "trip wires" that triggger a fly-trap. ... Read more

Product Description
The 13 images in this calendar include the sweeping vistas and views of nature that have made Adams one of the foremost landscape photographers. They include familiar prints and rarer ones of the California coast, Yosemite valley, New Mexico and Glacier bay, Alaska. ... Read more

Product Description
For centuries, elephants have been a source of wonder, fear, and fascination to man. While depiction of the elephant in art, sculpture and literature goes far back in time, this anthology focuses on the nineteenth century when the British Empire was on the ascendant in India, Burma and Sri Lanka, and colonial rulers began using the elephant in war and for transport, even as they were hunting it. This comprehensive collection includes excellent descriptions of these intelligent and sagacious animals in the wild, with rare insight into elephant behavior, anatomy and haunts, as well as the odd apocryphal story about them: is there really an elephant graveyard in Sri Lanka? Do elephants have extraordinary memories? Did a man-eating elephant actually exist? The book contains accounts by leading elephant-men--from Champion and sanderson to Samuel Baker and Symington--all from works no longer readily available. With fascinating photographs and drawings, this is an informative and delightful collection. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

The Great Indian Elephant Book
This anthology is broad in its treatment of the Indian Elephant as a game animal, during the colonial era. The first section is largely on the early observations made by hunters about the Elephant, its behavior and habitat.

If you like stories about hunting, the next section is the best. It begins with " Shikar as a Part of Life "by J.G. Elliott, an excellent account of the sporting life pursued by the British in India. Three stories on marauding rogue elephants stand out - " The Mad Elephant of Mandla", " Charged by a Rogue Elephant" & "Peer Bux, the Terror of Hunsur". They convey the terror and havoc that rogue elephants cause. They make exciting reading and are reminiscent of the tales by Jim Corbett.

The rest of the accounts in this book, that include pieces from Sri Lanka and Burma, almost seem indistinguishable from one another, a cavalcade of hunters pursuing their elephants. In fact some of it is revolting, hunters shooting indiscriminately at herds of elephants, wounding their quarries ant not following them up etc.

In fact my one criticism of the book, is that in his attempt to capture a broad range of stories, the editor has included quite a lot of mediocre writing.

This book also gives you an interesting look in at the lives led by the British Sportsmen in India. One cannot but be amazed at the abundance of wild animals, during this period, in South East Asia, and yet be saddened by their plight today. ... Read more

Product Description
Presents descriptions of East Coast shells with drawings suitable for coloring. ... Read more

Product Description
A fill-in scrapbook, illustrated with bold, colorful graphics, invites children to record in words, drawings, and photographs their experiences with and feelings about their pets. ... Read more

Product Description
This handsome engagement calendar with its spacious and new horizontal design includes weekly spreads with ample space for appointments, miniature reference calendars of the preceding, present, and following months, and fifty-three magnificent photos.The month-at-a-glance section and spiral binding complete the practical, yet elegant, appeal of this beautiful 2000 edition. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

Deadly
I only have one world for this book.DEADLY!

Terribly outdated and dangerous.
I cannot fault the intent of Vriends since I do not know him personally, but this book has caused me as a hedgehog rescuer no end of difficulty.This book -- and others -- recommend things that are terrible for hedgehogs.Cedar shavings, as another reviewer noted, are recommended by this book.The aromatic oils from cedar shavings can cause respiratory failure in hedgehogs and other complications.It gets worse from there.

The novice hedgehog owner is not going to pick up on these inaccuracies or errors, and that means that because of this book, hedgehogs are going to receive poor care.If you want a better book, try Dawn Wrobel's The Hedgehog: Owner's Guide to a Happy Healthy Pet OR try doing some research on the Internet instead, where the information is frequently peer-reviewed and kept more up-to-date than in a static publication.

This book almost killed my hedgehog!Don't buy this book!
This is a good book for anyone who is planning on reading other books on hedgehogs besides this one.It provides basic information that is neccesary to know.However it stops there.There is nothing extraordinaryabout this book.Plus some of the information is wrong.By following thedirections in this book, I almost killed my hedgehog.

Nicely presented but not all correct!
The more I got into the book, the less it reminded me of the prickly critters I have grown to love. Much of his information is incorrect (the usage of cedar shavings, the 'nausea' sections, etc) and the rest seems tobe based off of his observation of African Pygmies in the WILD. Appearantlyour domesticated pets behave a little differently. An alright book ingeneral, but you need to discern the good from the bad and that may not betoo obvious for the new hedgehog afficionado.

This is charming book,esppecially for anyone likes hedgehogs
This is one of the most fasanating books I have ever read.If you are considering a hedgehog or already own one you must perchis this book.It covers evrything from taming,to raising your own hedgehogs, and evenletting them go in your own backyard. ... Read more