A wonderfully succinct overview of the blue whale and it's habits.

The clear, sweet prose makes delivery of the content easy, and the very fine, soft illustrations demand repeated veiwing. My Preschool and Kindergarten ESL students found it highly engaging.

If there's a better science and read-aloud book around I'd really like to know about it. TEN stars.

Follow this book up with the superb "Is a Blue Whale the Biggest Thing There Is?" by Robert E. Wells. Wells' book uses the whales' size as a starting point for exploring the size of the universe and other very big things (the second step involves putting a hundred blue whales in a really big jar). Read my review of Wells' book if you like.

I'm a whale researcher who has spent much of the last 12 years studying blue whales in the North Pacific. I'm also a mom who loves children's literature. Rarely do I see a book that is so accurate factually while it is captivating and magical! The illustrations are beautiful. I highly recommend it to anyone who has children who are facinated by whales.

The author and illustrator of this book do a masterful job of conveying a contemporary feminist spiritual message without becoming preachy or pedantic, thus making the story very appealing to children of all ages. The text rolls off the tongue with a poetic fluidity and the paintings are so engaging that you will find yourself reading this book to your little ones again and again.

This fabulous version of the creation story/myth has my almost three-year-old mezmerized. Big Momma, part goddess, part buddha (as admitted by the illustrator) single-handedly makes the world (although her dishes and laundry do pile up in the process). Her daily accomplishments mirror the Genesis story of creation but with a Root-endowed Southern drawl. If you are able to appreciate the gender change, this is a lovely, refreshing version of creation your child is sure to love. It is well-written and beautifully illustrated.

I ordered this book some time ago and find that it has been a continuous sourse of information. The details of individual microscopes are excellent and will inspire any collector or anyone interested in microscopy. My only true critisism (minor) is in the layout, the book is divided into sections due to the additions of different collections which upsets the cronological arrangement. Over all a magnificent work, I would be lost without it.

The Billings Microscope Collection is a very straight-forward reference book with hundreds of photographs of antique and vintage microscopes. The Billings Collection catalogs the fascinating history of the light microscope and the many innovations and improvements given to this most important optical device. I can't imagine that this fantastic reference book will stay out of print forever considering america's now insatiable appetite for all things old. However, and thankfully the catalog is only an historical reference and not a price guide. If you never met a microscope you didn't love, then this is the book for you.

There is something so incredible about black cocker spaniels.

I laughed and cried as I read your beautiful book. I keep it out on a table and often pick it up and go through it again and again. Your words go right to my heart.

Thank you for this wonderful tribute to a very special dog.

Biscuits for Bunter: A Dog's Diary is the story of a unique dog. Bunter is a black cocker spaniel whose life in Cambridge, MA and Maine is full of adventures. He lives with Cat and M and M, his mister and missus and is quite articulate about his daily comings and goings. His experiences with food, other dogs, humans, boats, lobsters, and wasps are delightful.

Bunter's final days are poignant and moving. All in all, this is a lovely book sure to interest all those who have loved a pet.

Our Earth is the Blue and Green Ark adrift in the dark. This alphabet book is poetic, rich in imagry and ideas for conservation, respect for life and the environment. The lyric language, imaginative illustrations and striking juxtaposition of content worthy of further reflection will intrigue most readers and touch many more with a reverence for nature.

Winner of the English Association's English 4-11 Award for the Best Children's Picture Book of 1999 - Non-Fiction Key Stage 2. We considered the scope and imaginative power of this work to be quite exceptional. Brian Patten takes each letter of the alphabet, presented by Sian Bailey as a work of art, in the fashion of the key letter of a medieval manuscript, and explores fascinating aspects of our planet from the origins of the earth to the development of the child in the womb. In free verse and with the help of 11 gifted artists he evokes images of the creatures in the oceans, on land and in the sky, of features of the earth like rain forests and volcanoes, of the planets and the stars in the heavens and of the technological achievements of human beings. This exploration in poetic language of such wide ranging phenomena make the book a wonderful celebration of our world for the new millennium. It also reinforces the notion that non-fiction can make a strong appeal to the imagination and can be the beginning of the reader's further investigation of concepts and topics. Further help here comes in the form of an exceptionally fine glossary with a scholarly flavour. Readers of different ages will be inspired by this highly original and informative book and will return to it again and again.

My Advanced Art teacher was thrilled with this pop up and wanted to know where I got it in order to use it as a teaching tool. It appeals to both the young and old by educating the reader about art through a fun and artsy pop-up tour.

A delightful foldout book of art masterpieces exhibited in an entertaining and tongue-in-check layout.

The Edge of Reason is another hilarious episode from the chaotic life of Bridget Jones who follows closely the footsteps of Jane Austen's heroines. Now that she has - like Elizabeth Bennet - coupled up with Darcy, she - like Anne Elliott - lets her friends and self help books persuade her to take a course that will lose her the love of her life.

Mr. Darcy turns into a softened form of Captain Wentworth, ready to marry or rather - in this day and age - shack up with anybody who takes his fancy and who has an opinion of that is entirely her own.

Bridget stands by and watches, and, like Anne, is accosted by small children, keeps her head in a crisis, observes the blind love of Darcy's parents for one another, endures with pleasure how Darcy's father cannot remember women's first names, has a terrible fright when she thinks Darcy is married to someone else, receives a letter and watches as an injured woman falls in love with Benwick over books. Not quite the poetry that Jane Austen had in mind though, but more up-to-date literature. At the end she knows it is time to make choices of her own...

Towards the end the story takes a turn that stretches belief a little bit, but the last chapters make everything OK again.

This book makes quite enjoyable reading.

Habiendo leído 'Bridget Jones's diary' en inglés, decidí leer este libro, la traducción española y debo decir que me ha gustado muchísimo y todavia tiene tanta gracia como antes. Bridget describe su vida cotidiana en su diario, siempre con los mismos comentarios muy collejos y graciosos. Cuando leo este libro, siempre identificas con Bridget porque es un caracter muy normal y tiene las mismas dudas como todo el mundo. Me gusta las palabras que ha utilizado; mmmmm, uf, umf etc. Es muy gracioso y me ha gustado muchísimo. La traducción es perfecto y me encanta. Leídlo ahora mismo. Siento hacer tantos errores españoles.

"Brigitta" was the first story by Stifter I ever read, and I am sure it will always be one of my favourite stories. All of Stifter's stories are about how to live. Brigitta is the tale of a woman who finds a life of her own after her husband betrayed her and she threw him out.
Stifter is different from any other writer of the 19th century. His main interest is not in dramatic events but the everyday. Ordinary lives fill him with wonder and admiration. He will make you look at life in a different way.

Stifter is a master story teller, fully wothy of comparison with the best of Chekov,Turgenev, or Balzac.

Kafka once wrote that we should read only those books which can be "the axe for the frozen sea inside us." Stifter's "Brigitta" is definitely one such book.

I encountered this story several years ago in an undergraduate survey course on German literature. The elegance and beauty of this narrative masterpiece were immediately obvious to me. Anyone jaded about the worthiness of literature ought to at least read the opening pragraph of "Brigitta." It's one of the most astonishing to found and initiates the reader directly into the world this writer so touchingly describes. This story (along with other works by Mann and Kafka)inspired me to major in German. I've recommended it over the years to many good friends, all of whom shared my admiration of "Brigitta's" considerable merit. What a pity that Stifter and his works are not better known to American readers.

It's perhaps an uncomfortable truth that Stifter's deep concern with _goodness_, its fragility and easily corruptible nature - especially during childhood - may strike many among today's literary "school of resentment" as sanctimonious and, dare I say, offensive. I would also hazard to guess that Stifter's reception among a more mainstream literary public is hampered by his having come from the German-speaking orbit.

I have a two and a half year old daughter who reads this book along with me (with all the appropriate roars, honks, hisses etc) at least twice every night since I've bought the book. The storyline is simple with bright illustration and very engaging. It would appeal to any little one as they are usually fascinated with animals and love to mimic all the different sounds. I highly recommend this book to parents of young children.

We borrowed this book from the library and have had to renew it so many times we have lost count. My son, who is now 21 months old, loves to read it, and can tell you what all of the animal noises' are, so we enjoy many hours of reading it together. I expect my 4 month old daughter to enjoy it just as much when she is old enough.

The paintings in this calendar are inspirational as well as beautiful. The ethereal, mystical imagery is complemented by verse written by Nelson - Reed. The color and subjects are wonderful, I think suitable for framing. As a man, I seldom purchase feminine, or goddess related artwork or products - this calendar is a notable exception. Anyone buying this product will be pleased, and enjoy these images for years - like myth and legend, these paintings and the spirit that inspired them are timeless.

If you have been hearing the Goddess call you, Helen Nelson-Reed's Call of the Goddess 2001 calendar is an inspiring next step for your journey. Her fluid style of many light, translucent layers is captivating and fulfilling for those who enjoy symbolic art with many meanings to contemplate. This calendar is full of beautiful images which you will want to save and display for many years. It will help you keep track of time as you investigate your spirit.