Related Subjects: Author Index Reviews Page 1 2
Book reviews for "West,_Colin" sorted by average review score:

The Owl and the Pussycat (Warne Classics Series)
Published in Hardcover by Viking Press (1988)
Authors: Edward Lear, Paul Galdone, and Colin West
Amazon base price: $4.95
Used price: $26.60
Collectible price: $8.47
Average review score:

Buy the Edition illustrated by James Marshall
I love Edward Lear's story and James Marshall's illustrations are magical. I don't like the version with Jan Brett's illustrations. I've never liked Jan Brett's illustrations. I've spent hundreds of hours looking at children's books and I always pass over Jan Brett's books. Her illustrations just don't appeal to me. Her illustrations are distinctive and I can always recognize her work but I don't like them. There is just something missing--they don't have any life to them or something. I can't explain it. I have always loved James Marshall. His genius transcends understanding. His illustrations complement Ed Lear's beautiful tale perfectly.

beautiful illustrations
A very good illustrated version of the classic poem- the pictures are beautiful with a distinctly exotic flavour, great for all ages!

The Owl & the Pussycat Go Carribbean
This book is just so cool. Longing for a trip to the tropics? Read this version of the book to your little one and you can at least feel like you are there. The illustrations are really sweet. They have a lot of details so that kids kind find new things with each reading. My two-year old loves this book. It is a great twist on an old tale


I Don't Care! Said the Bear
Published in Library Binding by Bt Bound (1999)
Author: Colin West
Amazon base price: $10.45
Average review score:

4 1/2 * A One-Joke Note
There's not much plot to this book, but it's done extremely well. IT is made for reading aloud, with jumpy rhymes and repetition. "There's a moose on the loose!" Next page: "There's a moose on the loose and a bad-tempered goose!" And so on, until the bear also says "I don't care to a "pig who is big," "a snake from the lake," "a wolf from the north(what happened to the rhyme on that one?)," and a "teeny-weeny mouse." The latter gets our laissez-faire bear jumping back to his lair. As you can see, infectious fun. A good book for the small fry, read this one with drama! 16 pages, with simple pictures on each one.

My 8 year old still loves this book!!
The wonderful patterning of words and the rhyming text pull the young child's attention right into the story. The story is one the the child can memorize and begin repeating it as you read they really love the repetative aspects.

I really wish the author and the publisher would once again put this selection back into print.

The Best
I absolutly loved this book. It was the first Colin West book I ever read to my story time group. They laughed and enjoyed the book. I love the rhyming. The illustrations were colorful and wonderful. Simply a must for little children.


Buzz, Buzz, Buzz, Went Bumblebee
Published in School & Library Binding by Candlewick Press (1996)
Author: Colin West
Amazon base price: $9.99
Used price: $5.07
Average review score:

An unexpected winner
I don't know why, but this book is captivating to both my kids - my (almost) three year old girl liked it from about 6 months (and still does) and its all over if my 18 month old boy sees it: 3-4 read throughs minimum. The illustrations are bright and clear and yet there is enough detail (and, if you can imagine it, suspense!) to keep my older toddler interested.

A Great bedtime read.
A Great bedtime read for baby to age 3. Soon to replace the classic "goodnight moon". This rates high with the baby and the dog.


Through Yup'Ik Eyes: An Adopted Son Explores the Landscape of Family
Published in Hardcover by Alaska Northwest Books (2000)
Author: Colin Chisholm
Amazon base price: $16.77
List price: $23.95 (that's 30% off!)
Used price: $7.93
Collectible price: $23.29
Buy one from zShops for: $7.90
Average review score:

A Ground-Breaking Work
Colin Chisholm's Through Yup'ik Eyes is a truly remarkable and ground-breaking work.

The subject of Mr. Chisholm's book is his mother, and his love and respect for her shine through on every single page of this hauntingly written book. The fact that he devoted several years to his quest to learn about his mother's past is itself a remarkable undertaking. What he produced as a result of his travels and studies is a compelling look at a woman who wanted desperately to go "home," but was unable to do so. What makes Through Yup'ik Eyes so truly inspiring is that Mr. Chisholm did in fact find a way to take his mother home. Through his efforts, she was posthumously reunited with her relatives after so many painful years of being away.

We live in a changing world, and not the least of the changes are the new ways we are finding to define our identities. Mr. Chisholm succeeded in returning his mother to her beloved Alaska, but he also made a big stride in offering a definition of family. Rather than painting an entire group of people with one brush, what Mr. Chisholm offers is a deeply moving picture of one woman and her relationship to her son.

From Yup'ik Eyes
A humbling, chilling, sensitive, compassionate portrayal of a love toward a mother, and the search for the identity of a silent history, is truly extracted by the author about his experience as a child of a mother whom he wants strongly to understand.

To create a story about a culture one only has glimpses of as one is growing up because of some silence or resistence that brought the parent to carry is, in and of itself, a very difficult task to bear. Colin Chisholm in blending reality and fiction into a heart-felt document, unfolds the silent stories of many children who, like his mother, were taken away during the tuberculosis and influenza epidemic that killed so many of the Yup'ik Eskimo people at the turn of the 2oth century. In one sense Colin's mother was fortunate to be able to live; whereas so many people such as my grandparents, were not -- who knew and possibly saw Mrs. Chisholm being taken away at such a tender age, never to be seen again. A sensitive topic written with respect about a culture the author only knows a little of is truly an honorable effort. I commend Mr. Chisholm in telling part of my Yup'ik history in a way that brings out the love, the struggles, and the determination to survive that Yup'ik people faced, and continue to face.

How brave and honorable it is to learn that Colin is able to track down the side of his family he doesn't know, and in a culture that is seldom recognized or heard of. The yearning for meaning about family and the love for a mother whom Colin Chisholm pursued ends up in a stronger family relationship. Colin's mother would be so proud of a son that bravely conquered family ties.


Go Tell It to the Toucan
Published in Hardcover by Bantam Doubleday Dell Pub (Juv (1990)
Author: Colin West
Amazon base price: $8.95
Used price: $5.29
Collectible price: $9.99
Buy one from zShops for: $9.98
Average review score:

it a great story for small children, parents will enjoy it
This book helps children see the diversity of animals and how wonderful things can start just by one person. The pictures are very friendly and help explain the story.I was very impressed to see a story made just for fun.


Hello, Great Big Bullfrog!
Published in Library Binding by HarperCollins Children's Books (1988)
Author: Colin West
Amazon base price: $12.89
Used price: $20.00
Collectible price: $21.18
Average review score:

"big" bullfrog meets other "big" animals
We LOVE this story of the "big" bullfrog who discovers he is as big as he wants to be. The pictures are gorgeous. Our babies have eaten and torn this book as it was read to them until it is almost more scotch tape than anything else. We hope to find another copy of this book eventually, because we really enjoy it!


Islam and the West: Conflict, Co-Existence or Conversion
Published in Paperback by Paternoster Publishing (1998)
Author: Colin Chapman
Amazon base price: $12.59
List price: $17.99 (that's 30% off!)
Used price: $9.05
Buy one from zShops for: $12.08
Average review score:

A Great Survey of the Issues
My title says it all. Chapman reviews all of the major questions of Christian/Western-Islamic relations with knowledge and objectivity. Good sources. Clearly written. I would recommend it highly.


Ten Little Crocodiles
Published in Paperback by Candlewick Press (1995)
Author: Colin West
Amazon base price: $4.99
Used price: $1.90
Collectible price: $26.47
Average review score:

very funny and a good read for a young child
This is the cutest book. the antics they get into are very cute. and the ending where the alligator is so sad just is so comically sad you just feel bad for him.


Hawaii: The Ecotravellers' Wildlife Guide
Published in Paperback by Academic Press (01 April, 2000)
Authors: Doug Pratt, Les D. Beletsky, and Colin Newman
Amazon base price: $27.95
Used price: $16.20
Buy one from zShops for: $19.38
Average review score:

Good Guide
I like that this book because it actually rates hikes. I need an opinion when I am provided with such vast natural beauty to choose from as in Hawaii. He also tells you the best sights for spotting so apart from referencing wildlife, fauna and marine life as you come across you can seek it out. A good reference to use before and during your trip to the islands.

The best Hawaiian wildlife guide yet.
This is a natural history guide for someone who is really serious about gaining an in-depth understanding of Hawaii's natural environment, animals and plants. It's very complete and very well done (for the most part) and is the best one that I've seen about Hawai`i. Following the pattern of many other guidebooks, Beletsky's guide is divided into two sections. The first section (204 pages) is explanatory text while the second section (180 pages) consists of color drawings and photographs of Hawaii's flora and fauna.

The first half of the book is very comprehensive and is itself divided into basically two parts. Part "A" (6 chapters) covers ecotourism, Hawaii's natural history (including geography and climate), habitats, parks and preserves, getting around, environmental threats, conservation and how to use the book. Part "B" covers Hawaii's animals in just the right amount of detail (and in 6 more chapters). Each chapter explores a major animal group, such as "Amphibians and Reptiles," "Birds," "Mammals," etc. The chapters are well organized and they all include the same sections for each animal group. For example, the chapter on Mammals includes Mammals of Hawai`i, Characteristics of the Mammals, Family Profiles, and an "Environmental Close-up." Each of those sections then includes common subsections. It sounds tedious, but it actually works very well!

The second half of Beletsky's guide contains the color plates used for identifying all of the species described in the first half. They are beautifully done. Each animal has a brief description along with its names (common, Hawaiian and scientific), a habitat icon and a habitat description. There are also lots of interesting "factoids" in this guidebook.

One of the more interesting "environmental close-ups" is the one on spinner dolphins. They often travel with spotted dolphins and/or tuna in what is called a "mutualistic relationship" to protect themselves against sharks. Spinners feed during the night and spotteds feed during the day, so they trade off watching for sharks. They both like tuna schools around because the tuna are better than they are at sensing the presence of sharks; when the tuna take off, so do they!

While this is an excellent guidebook overall, I do have some complaints. The key to the habitat icons isn't anywhere near the color plates or in the index; it's way back on page 77 and very hard to find. Some of the sections are actually contributed by different people and I got tired of reading the same introductory comments about Hawaii's isolation and the evolution of endemic species over and over. The habitat pictures feel like they were just "thrown in" - they aren't captioned very well and they aren't matched to the habitat icons. The plant plates also feel "thrown in" - there isn't a matching chapter on plants in the first half of the book. Fixing those items would make it a "five out of five stars" book.


"Only Joking" Laughed the Lobster
Published in Paperback by Candlewick Press (1997)
Author: Colin West
Amazon base price: $3.29
Average review score:

A great story!
This is a great story! My husband, 21-month old son and I all read it together for the first time. We really enjoyed the colorful illustrations and the simple story line. My husband and I were so surprised by the ending that we couldn't stop laughing. Yes, it may be a little violent, but my son loves the book. It's an easy story to encourage your child to help you read by filling in the missing words. My son asks us to read the story over and over again. We all know the story by heart!


Related Subjects: Author Index Reviews Page 1 2

Reviews are from readers at Amazon.com. To add a review, follow the Amazon buy link above.