As a mother, I really like it when a book has something meaningful to say. Some books are frivolous; they teach no lessons because they're just for the fun of it. The book "If You Were My Bunny" is both fun and meaningful. This book is about the relationship between mothers and their children, and in this slim story, five animal moms tell their respective animal babies how very precious they are. My two-year-old daughter loves this book so much, she requests it every night. The songs which accompany the text (lyrics are sung to the tune of familiar lullabies) have become her bedtime songs. The lyrics are so sweet, I'm no longer allowed to sing "the old words". The sentiment of this book is wonderful, and the songs are catchy. I would recommend, however, looking at the last page before your first read - this way, you'll know what tune to use for each of the five animal's songs. The illustrations are superbly done, and just right for the 2-4 age group. It's so important to read to your kids, and when they love a book as much as my daughter loves this one, you can look forward to a special time together.

I am so glad we bought this book! It's been in our bedtime story rotation for about a year now and our two 4 year olds still request it over and over. The structure of the book presents an opportunity for the parent to both read sweet, sleepy stories and sing soft lullabies. My children now sing them with me and are ready for bed when we're done. The illustrations are beautiful.

i am buying it for the second time , we lost the 1st one and our son , who is 2 and a half, asks to read it all the time.He even sings some of the songs in it to himself at bed time.

Having taken over 10 years of French lessons through elementary and secondary school, I learned the grammar and had a decent vocabulary. However, after 5 years off of French lessons while attending university, I found myself struggling to form even simple sentences.

I bought this book because of its many (many!) exercises and complete "answer key" for instant feedback. It is organized almost exactly the way I learned it in school which I find very helpful. This book would be very difficult, however, for people with absolutely no background in French. It truly is for the intermediate level.

The book does not have much help for people with poor vocabulary skills in French, but it will drill the grammar into you, if you're diligent about regularly doing the exercises. That being said, if you own a dictionary and a verb conjugation book, the combination of those plus "The Ultimate French Review and Practice" would be a ***** combination.

And easy to follow--I've been away from the formal study of French for several years, and this book really has helped me to dust off my grammar. Great for someone who already knows some French, and refreshing not to have to start with level one, as in most books. The exercises have lots of repetition but don't get dull.

I bought this book to relearn all the grammar I used to know. Having had six years of French (last class was ten years ago), I needed something that would take me through grammar lessons fairly quickly. This book does that.

This is a handbook on grammar and conjugations. It follows a simple pattern for presenting material--it provides short lessons with examples, and then gives 8-12 practice exercises (with answers in the back of book), and so on.

This book emphasizes grammar over vocabulary, but translations are provided for the words that are used in examples and exercises. Translations also appear for idiomatic phrases.

I learned of this book by researching the materials used in upper level French composition classes at various universities. This one came up several times as a companion to the literature that students were required to obtain.

Here are the contents of Ultimate French Review and Practice:

Part I, Verbs--Basic Forms and Uses: 1. Present tense, 2. Present tense of irregular verbs, 3. Negative sentences, 4. Interrogative sentences, 5. Imperative, 6. Passe compose, 7. Imperfect; imperfect versus passe compose, 8. Reflexive verbs, 9. Future and conditional; conditional sentences, 10. Pluperperfect, future perfect, and past conditional; conditional sentences, 11. Passe simple, 12. Present participles; uses of the infinitive.

Part II, Nouns and Their Modifiers Pronouns: 13. Nouns: gender, number, and articles; uses of articles, 14. Stress pronouns; subject-verb agreement, 15. Possessive and demonstrative adjectives and pronouns, 16. Interrogative adjectives and pronouns, 17. Adjectives; comparative and superlative, 18. Object pronouns.

Part III, Other Elements of the Sentence: 19. Numbers; time; dates, 20. Adverbs, 21. Negative and indefinites, 22. Prepositions; prepositions with geographical names.

Part IV, Verbs in Two-Clause Sentences: 23. Relative clauses, 24. The present subjunctive, 25. The past subjunctive; literary subjunctives, 26. The subjunctive (continued).

Part V, Idiomatic Usage: 27. The passive voice and substitutes for the passive, 28. Important idioms and proverbs.

Don't be fooled by the price. This is a great resource.

This well done book fills in the gaps that field guides and bird identification books create. It is a logically laid out, valuable tutorial on each bird family. While the chapters are not highly detailed with species-level information, you get a general flavor of each family of birds. I highly recommend this work to birders and to those who are interested in learning more about our beautiful, feathered friends.

I am not a bird expert; I am a homeschooling mother who is interested enough in birds to feed them and provide nesting boxes in our yard. I enjoy watching birds and this has lead to a curiosity about what they are doing and why.

This hardback version is wonderful and will grace our family library shelves for years. The paper stock is heavy and fine. There are beautiful and detailed watercolor illustrations and very detailed explanations of bird life and behavior. This book picks up where the bird identification books leave off and is more comprehensive than other books I have read about bird identification and behavior.

The index is easy to use for quick referencing about specific birds. There is loads of information here, probably everything you'd want to know about birds. Amazon has over 50 sample pages for you to view, including the detailed table of contents, so I won't repeat that information inside of my review. The information is detailed but not intimidating for amateurs such as myself.

As a homeschooling mother this has already come in handy for discussions about the activities of our chimney swifts and Eastern Bluebirds that have taken up residence in our yard and home.

Even if you are an amateur birdwatcher, I encourage you to buy a bird identification book and then this book, rather than others on the market. Once you see this hefty volume and all the information it contains you will see the price is worth it! This is a reference volume that will be used for years.

I bought THE SIBLEY GUIDE TO BIRD LIFE AND BEHAVIOR for myself for Christmas. I wanted Sibley's Guide because I am an avid birdwatcher, interested in books, articles, films, etc. about birds. I had read glowing reviews about this book (here and elsewhere) and thought it must be the best bird book ever. Also, several reviewers noted that like JJ Audubon, Mr. Sibley was a gifted artist who depicted birds rather beautifully.

Sibley's Guide is a beautiful book bird watchers will want to add to their collection (hardcover, please). Those who already know the difference between Bewick's Wren and a Carolina Wren may appreciate Sibley's Guide more than those who can't tell a White Throated Sparrow from a pigeon. However, sooner or later every bird enthusiast needs to understand the ecology of birds, and this is the strength of the Sibley Guide.

I've been a bird lover since I was a child, and lucky enough to have parents and grandparents who were bird fanciers (my dad was an ecologist, my grandmother raised tamed birds). As a result, I know a great deal about birds and their environments. Sibley's book appeals to me because its central message is that all living things are connected and that the environment matters. One should never take the continuing presence of birds in the back yard as a given as their habitats are threatened.

The Sibley Guide is not as well suited for fieldwork as the Smithsonian's Handbook, BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA (regional versions), or THE AUDUBON BACK YARD BIRDWATCHER. For example, on p. 440, the Sibley guide has an illustration titled "Troglodytid diversity" which shows the very small Winter Wren and the very large Cactus Wren. The Smithsonian handbook contains separate entries for each of these birds (and many other wrens) and each entry has a separate map showing the individual bird's range. You will immediately know from the Smithsonian Guide that the Winter Wren has an Eastern and Northern range while the Cactus Wren is more likely to be found along the Southwest border and in Northern Mexico.

In contrast, Sibley's book contains a paragraph on "habitats" in the "wren" section and it says Winter Wrens can be found in the Pacific Northwest old-growth forests and the Cactus Wrens can be found in the Chihuahuan Desert. In an earlier part of the guide Sibley has described these areas with lovely maps. You can figure out the approximate ranges of each bird with a bit of page flipping, but you may not quickly deduce that the Winter Wren is also found on the East Coast.

The Sibley Guide is nifty because it groups birds based on DNA results and discusses them as well as their general ranges, habitats, food and foraging behavior, and various aspects of breeding. The Sibley Guide promotes a deeper understanding of the ecology of birds. You will not want to take the Sibley Guide to the field for birdwatching, however.

This is the book you must have if you are even casually interested in wild mushrooms. I am replacing a copy that some cretin stole from me. It is a reader's digest version of the big book by David Arora that is also indispensable. Great photographs and very good descriptions of the most commonly encountered species. A nice touch of humor to make it more than just a reference. Don't miss this one!

A handy guide that easily fits in a fanny pack or raincoat pocket. Chock full of colorful pictures and interesting anecdotes along with David's easy to use identification key. For the beginning explorer to the veteran who doesn't want to lug the tome Mushrooms Demystified in the field, this book is a great buy.

If anyone wants to learn about wild mushroom hunting/eating, this the best book one can get! After you read it, spend a little extra for mushrooms demystified. It's the answer to the answer.

I bought this book as a birthday gift for my fiance. We have been together over 2 years and are getting married in about 100 days.

I thought that this book would be very sweet if I filled out everything up to the wedding/marriage part. However, I think that this book might be a bit hokey if just bought and given to someone blank. However, if you're willing to start filling it out, it gives your companion an interesting way to look at memories and will encourage him/her to fill it out further.

I would not suggest getting this book if you are only dating or if you are newly dating: it defines and confines your relationship too much. But this is a great book if you are a couple who are not always together. My fiance lives in England, and we often enjoy sharing memories of our courtship, our vacations, etc. This is a perfect way for your partner to hear your voice and cherish memories when he/she is alone, or when you are unavailable.

A good gift for someone/a couple who is romantic, nostalgic, and interested in a little project or creativity.

This is great! I was looking for something unique for my husband for our upcoming Anniversary (on Valentines Day). I wanted to do something more than a box of chocolates. I can't wait to present my beloved with this nice-looking journal, all filled out with the many wonderful memories and stories of our courtship, wedding, early years and now middle years together. The prompts on each page really helped get my memories flowing, so it was easy to fill out. What a great way to say I LOVE YOU!

I have several friends getting married this Spring so I've been looking for inexpensive yet nice, thoughtful gifts. This book really fits the bill. I'm buying one for all the showers I'm going to. It's a wonderful way to show your support for the couple's future together. It's a lovely, touching book that shows you care.

Black and white was never so gray, and gray was never so vibrant as it streams across the pages of David Anthony Durham's new historical novel, "Walk Through Darkness."

While contemporary activists seek slave reparations, Durham explores the complexities of slavery from a modern black man's perspective. It's not a rant, but a contemplative journey in which good is always tainted, bad is never pure, and black and white blend to gray.

The desperate condition of African-Americans before and after the Civil War is Durham recurring theme.

In "Gabriel's Story," the protagonist is a 15-year-old African-American boy in the empty middle of the continent after the Civil War, caught between youth and manhood, naiveté and wisdom, family and flight. It was a classical bildungsroman - a novel about the moral and psychological growth of the main character -- told in masterful prose reminiscent of Cormac McCarthy.

In "Walk Through Darkness," Durham retraces his literary steps in a different landscape and a different time: That troubled slice of America between Virginia and Pennsylvania where slavery and abolition collided in the anxious twilight before the Civil War.

William's story also traces through complex historic and cultural issues. If you were expecting Durham, by virtue of being an African-American, to oversimplify an issue that split America down the middle, you've been reading too many racial polemics. We glimpse extraordinarily humane slave owners, mercenary blacks who gleefully profit from trapping runaways, and a wide array of men and women who are unexpectedly - and refreshingly - conflicted about human bondage.

As he did with his first book, Gabriel's Story, Durham has provided readers with a book that works on many levels. First of all it's a hell of a story. This is an exciting adventure, an intelligent page-turner. Interesting, well-drawn characters, who, like people in "real life," can act in unpredicted ways. These characters rank with those created by Charles Frazier in "Cold Mountain."
If you've ever grappled with imagining the lives of slaves in 19th century America, their struggles and the response of whites to them, reading "Walk Through Darkness" will help.
The story concerns a slave, William, escaping a cruel master and his search for his pregnant lover. Durham intersperses this tale with relentless pursuit of the protaganist by a tracker.
While spinning this fascinating yarn, Durham offers a hard look at a time and place not so distant and the attitudes that pervaded American life.
This is Durham's second book, following the fantastic "Gabriel's Story". He is two for two, having hit both out of the ballpark.

Walk Through Darkness is a powerful tale of the trials and tribulations of slavery in early American history and how the forces of love, truth and redemption can at times work to right the wrongs of that hateful period.

In his novel, David Anthony Durham tells a story of William, a fugitive slave, who places his life in danger to find his pregnant wife and deliver her to freedom. With little knowledge of his surroundings and only occasional help from random strangers, William travels from down South to Philadelphia. During his travels, William encounters many hardships, which force him to grow into a stronger man. First, he is tricked, then captured, by a group of slave traders and prepared for sale. Forced to endure the cramped quarters and debasing actions of his captors, he begins to lose hope of his goal, only to be freed through a violent uprising, which results in the death of his captors. On the run again, William reaches Baltimore and stows away upon a trading ship, only to be found and once again returned to shackles. It is here, while befriended by the ship's Captain, that William begins to learn the larger lessons of life. With one more chance to reach his goal, he is given the opportunity to escape, and through a stroke of luck, finally ends up in Philadelphia. Hungry, tired and lost, William succumbs to yellow fever and would have died had it not been for the help of a stranger. This Samaritan only asks that he understand her altruistic ways and her desire to help him become a free man. Fully recovered, he discovers his wife's whereabouts and makes plans to rescue her from her surroundings.

Throughout William's journey, we follow a parallel story of a Scottish tracker, Andrew Morrison, who is hired to find, capture, and bring William back to his master in one piece. While his motives are unclear at first, it becomes obvious that Morrison's past history within America has created a man who is at odds with his identity and is wrestling with his quest for redemption. With his trusted hound at his side, Morrison eventually ends up in Philadelphia to find and capture the fugitive slave.

The book ends with a suspenseful account of the various forces that are working for and against William in his quest for freedom. With violence an everyday possibility, many lives are ruined because of their participation in helping an innocent person seek his dream. However, even with powerful currents working against him, William ends up on his way to freedom through the help of many of those who were opposed to the evil of slavery that flowed through American veins.

Walking Through Darkness is a heavy read that yields an enormous amount of satisfaction. It is clear that David Anthony Durham has become a literary force to reckon with and is among the new cadre of African American writers like Paul Beatty, Guy Johnson, and Colson Whitehead, who have brought new stories into the mainstream literary world, without sacrificing their integrity. Once again, Durham has used his deft literary brush to create a tale complete with vivid pictures of life and death during this most turbulent time in American history.

This book is entertaining and well written, both for adults and children. Contains some great tips on how to make eyes, noses, hair etc. for puppets and how to animate the finished products. However, if you are looking for a book on how to make muppet-style puppets or stuffed animal style puppets, this is not the one. Most of the puppets described in the book are 'wooden spoon' or sock puppets - cute, nice for kid's projects but not professional looking. To its credit, this book does contain lots of ideas and insights which could make it a good accompanying book to some other more definitive puppet making book.

This book helps kids transform neat puppets into extraordinary ones. There are great ideas for developing characters, as well. Worth its weight in gold.

This book has so many great ideas using many easy to find objects. It even includes a little packet with 2 pairs of eyes, some faux fur, a few feathers and other sundries. The day this book arrived, my daughter and I made 3 puppets. In the next several days we made many more out of socks, oven mitts and other things that were just laying around the house. If you hate to throw things away, you'll love this. After reading the book, you'll start looking at your trash with new eyes. Old paper towel rolls, band-aid tins, fabric scraps, plastic spoons, small plastic bottles you might throw out, sponges, pot scrubbers, erasers--all these things can be transformed into puppets.

My only quibble is that the suggested reading level is ages 4-8. My nearly five-year-old can't do these projects alone, (I also use a hot glue gun, so it's too hot for her) so I've ended up letting her direct what goes where on the puppets. I think a six year-old working with less dangerous adhesives could do many of the projects himself, and I think kids even older than the age range would find the projects fun, especially if they have little siblings or an opportunity to teach younger kids. (Like helping out at Sunday school).

The book is full of projects that are easy to do right away, don't cost much money or require special trips to the craft store and let your child develop her imagination/creativity/emotional skills.

Hume is rightfully an important philosopher. Philosophy had been mainly a metaphysical/rationalistic field until Hume (in addition to Locke and Berkeley) came along. His basic philosophy is this: induction is the only principle by which we can have knowledge, but induction is fundamentally flawed. Thus, there is no belief of which we can be totally certain of. Hume even questions whether we can be as sure as Descartes was when he asserted "Cogito Ergo Sum". To Hume, one could consistently maintain that the "self" was just a bunch of thoughts in succession. Hume believed that there were no strict identities in nature, but only resemblences which the mind tends to treat as identities. He also treated ideas as imperfect images of our experiences.

The problem I have with Hume is on resemblence and his treatment of ideas. I agree with him that there are resemblences in nature which humans tend to treat as the same--but then what is this resemblence based on? The nominalists have to account for why resemblence is there in the first place. Perceived identity must have its basis in reality somehow. And his treatment of ideas is just plain wrong--our ideas are not just images, although they can include images.

I obviously can't give a complete criticism of Hume's philosophy in a review, so if anyone wants to discuss this with me just email me. But I definitely recommend this book to anyone interested in philosophy--any complete philosophical theory must challenge or incorporate Hume if it is to succeed.

This is a good edition of the first but fundamental book published by Hume in 3 volumes (1 and 2 in 1739; 3 in 1740) dedicated to the methodical study of knowledge, passions and moral, through experience and practical observation. It is with Hume that empiricism (following Locke and Berkeley) reaches its complete expression as a "modern" classical system, against previous dogmatic visions of philosophy. According to Kant, Hume awoke him from the dogmatic dream......
With Hume, english illustration comes to a definitive expression. Through his opus, empiricism is systematized and acquires a new dimension that expands its influence on all fields of philosophy. Previous conceptions about the theory of knowledge, ethics, politics, esthetics, and the philosophy of religion, all are transformed or renovated by Hume. In spite of his critics, Hume's system dwelled with different topics of modern interest: positivism, psychology, nominalism, critical skepticism, determinism, agnosticism, moral philosophy, political economy, etc.
No serious philosopher after Hume, has been able to avoid a careful look at his system. So if you are a student or scholar of the subject matter, I highly recommend this edition of Hume's seminal work.

This is a superb edition of one of the basic works in Western philosophy. Designed to be used by both casual and serious students of philosophy, this edition contains the text of Hume's Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding (EHU) and a series of other sections that provide background and further directions for studying Hume. Included are an excellent precis of the EHU, a first rate annotated bibliography concerning works by and about Hume, considerable background material on Hume, and excellent notes to the text of the EHU.

The EHU is a concise and charmingly written presentation of Hume's views of the nature and particularly the limitations of human knowledge. The EHU presents Humes basic concepts of human thought, human pattern recognition, and then proceeds to Hume's revolutionary analysis of the problem of induction. Hume exposes our limitations in establishing certain cause and effect relations. Hume's analysis of this problem and its corollaries leads to ultimate skepticism about our ability to know the external world with certainty and undermines much of the basis for religion. Hume presents his ideas in an attractive style that owes much to famous 18th century essayists like Addison.

A fundamental work and very readable work.

I love the way that this book follows on from "Legend". It relates to civil war, and sets things up nicely for the sequel (Quest for lost heros). The leading three characters are fantastic. The badies bring real intrest to the story also. The Dark templar are wicked, but I think the werebeasts known as the Joinings are an absulote master stroke!! The end battle delivers more excitment than that of Legend, espicially the final stand against the Joinings.

After this, read Quest for Lost Heros strait after.

A very gripping book it is impossible to put down and it moves the reader to tears at the end. I strongly reccomend this book to all those David Eddings readers as It is 100% better than his books. It is so much easier to read.....

Lets put it this way, I bought the book the first edition it came out. Till now, I still reread it. I read Waylander before it and I couldn't believe how good that was until I got knocked off by King Beyond the Gate. I hate to compare the book to books from other authors, but seriously, the book shines even in the presence of the 200 fantasy books in my collection.