Pet Books

My nephew Wyatt Condon who is now 9 loved these books when he was in second grade. Now my youngest son Ramon who is 7 and in the second grade now loves them. He loves the stories, the illustrations and they are easy to read but not too babyish for children in 1st to 2nd grade. Henry and Mudge books are loved and enjoyed by both of these cousins.

My 1st grader just loves Henry and Mudge books. They are "chapter" books-- and not "baby" books. But, they are easy to read. (Easier than Magic Tree House, for example.) Plus, this series appeals to both boys and girls (but especially boys).

Note: you might want to purchase Henry And Mudge First Book before this book or with this book. It introduces the characters used in the rest of the series.

Enjoy!
P. Gould, co-author of Feeding the Kids: The Flexible, No-Battles, Healthy Eating System for the Whole Family

The recipes were good but not great and there was a lack of real variety.

Me and my wife bought this book for our two dogs. We enjoyed making several of the treats. Although, our pets don't know the difference between the treats we made vs. store bought treats, it doesn't matter. It's a fun activity for the family to enjoy either way -- if you have the time.

This book is good for personal use only. Many of the recipies I may not even use due to the extravagant work or ingredients. It's not a book to purchase if you are trying to start a bakery for pets, though.

I have an aged pet that has cancer. I bought this book to make homemade treats for her in an effort to help her overall health. I found the recipes to be easy to make and found most all the ingredients at my local grocery story. She loved the treats and ate them up fast.

If you are a pet owner that is concerned about the type of products used in petfood and pet treats and want to do something about it, this is the book for you.

I think a lot of the recipes in this book are great, as do my dogs. But there is one very important problem with this book. There are some ingredients that dogs should not ingest, and some of those are included in these recipes! Raisins being one of them. :(

For someone who is just learning about homeopathy in general, this book not only gave me a good introductory understanding of homeopathy overall for pets and people, but also gave me some great tips and helpful knowledge that I was able to put to use right away with my sick cat. I was able to find the best way to treat my cat with homeopathy with the help of this book and my vet.

It's good for reference. A little difficult to self diagnois your pet and not always easy to find the treatment for a specific problem in the book.

AFTER REVIEWING OTHER BOOKS & BUYING ANOTHER BOOK (that was poorly written) I WAS RELIEVED TO READ THIS. HOMEOPATHIC CARE FOR CATS & DOGS GETS RIGHT TO THE HEART OF THE MATTER. INDEX IS GREAT, NICE LISTING OF HOMEOPATHIC SUPPLIERS THERE PHONE, FAX & WEB SITES ( I had wondered where to get supplies but that answered it for me.) YOU ONLY RECEIVE NEEDED INFORMATION. NICE GUIDE FOLLOWS WITH EASY TO FIND REMEDIES. INCLUDES INFO ON HOW TO DECIDE YOUR ANIMAL NEEDS HOMEOPATHY OR IS IT TIME TO SEE THE VETERINARIAN. IT'S NICE TO KNOW YOUR LIMITS. I PROMISE YOU WILL LOVE THIS BOOK.

I purchased this book along with 3 others to educate myself as to various diets and medical care of my pets. I found this one so far to list anything about heartworms in cats. I live in Oklahoma and we have a lot of mosquitoes and have had 2 dogs that contracted heartworm but we've never had a cat contract it and we've had cats live to be 14, 16, and 20 years. I had my suspicions about the necessity of giving heartworm medication to a cat and Dr. Hamilton pretty well answered my questions about it in two sentences on page 332, "This is a serious disease that primarily affects dogs (it is rare in cats, despite claims by the preventive manufacturers)." and, "I do not recommend their use (preventives) in cats, as the incidence does not warrant the drug use in my opinion." Overall, I found it's a very professional yet understandable book for those of us who wish to take care of our beloved pets through more natural means.

I'm not wild about this book. While I'm sure there's some good information in here, I haven't found it yet. What I have found are opinions that I find difficult to swallow.

For example:

Don't vaccinate your pets. Hmm. I understand there might be reasons to stay away from vaccinating pets, as there are for not vaccinating children. However, I also understand that if I want to board my dog, or take him to the local dog park, or take him to the groomer, or have my vet come within ten feet of him, I need some evidence that this dog has, in fact, been vaccinated. I don't see a practical way around this in this book.

He says vaccinations weaken the species by allowing weaker animals to survive. My neutered dogs aren't contributing to the gene pool anyway, so I don't understand this argument.

Then there's the thing about feeding your dog only raw meat, because dogs in the wild don't have someone cooking for them. Okay, fine. Dogs in the wild don't have veterinarians, nor do they sleep on a human's couch. If we're going to take this thought to its logical conclusion, we shouldn't have pets at all. And if we should have pets, why on earth would I want to risk their getting infected with E. coli? Or does this raw meat thing assume that I kill it myself rather than buy it?

He says that a lot of meanness in dogs comes from the rabies vaccine. He cites no studies, offers no data, just says that from what he's seen, this is true. I'm sure I don't see anywhere near as many dogs as the author, but come on, I have yet to see a dog made mean by vaccines. Show me a reproducible study.

There may be some valuable information in this book, but it's colored by these unsupported "facts", so it's hard to tell what's good information and what's not. There are better books on the subject. Buy one of them.

I enjoy this book for the reason that it is simple and fun. Kid's have a natural connection with animals and Martha is a lovable family dog that has a special gift that helps her communicate with her family. I recently purchased it for a few friends who have toddlers. They all love it.
I understand this book is part of a series. I have not read the others, but do recommend this one highly for toddlers and young readers.

From the moment we took 'Martha Blah Blah" off the library shelf, my children were in love. A dog who relies on alphabet soup letters to communicate? Hysterical! The illustrations are homey and comical; they are delivered in comic-book fashion, and the characters' lines are continuations of the text, rather than repetitions. The plot is unusual. The lead character has a wry sense of humor. And since the dog is always the hero, it's a hit with kids of all ages.

This was the first Martha book we encountered, and we immediately sought out more. From there we moved on to Susan Meddaugh's other books, all of which have unusual premises and plots. She is a very enjoyable author, and we love to recommend her books.

We must have taken 'Martha Blah Blah' out of the library 16 times before I gave in and bought a copy. You might as well save yourself the wear and tear on the library card and buy it now!

Martha still speaks ater eating alphabet soup, and everything is fine until the new owner of the soup company decides to save money by eliminating half the letters. No one can understand what Martha is saying anymore. Footnotes let you know Martha's intents, and eventually she solves the problem in an amusing way. Kids enjoy these Martha stories.

Martha Blah Blah is about a dog who can speak when she eats alphabet soup. With her new-found language, Martha has adventures, helps people and animals and learns new things. She does have a dilemma, but she overcomes it to save the day. The illustrations in this book enhance the story. The illustrator uses large watercolor images that are humorous and does a good job of showing what is going on in the story. The author uses words that make the book easy to understand and employs a large font so that they are easy to read. The author also includes footnotes in some parts of the book, which can draw the attention away from the illustrations to the footnotes. Without the footnotes, however, one would not be able to decipher what Martha is saying when she loses her voice. Even though the footnotes draw attention away from the illustrations one can have fun trying and decipher what Martha is saying and then the answer is at the bottom of the page. In a small way, the footnotes make one think while reading the book. I believe that this book is entertaining and sparks the imagination. Like most children' books, it has a happy ending, which makes the story even more likable. Overall, I think that Martha Blah Blah is an excellent children's book that deserves to be read.

I was lucky enough to come across this book while searching for a birthday gift for a little friend of mine. I was intrigued by the title, picked it up, and then had to read the ENTIRE thing. What a fabulous book!

The words are clearly printed on a white background, the pictures are large and colorful, and the humor in what Martha says will keep readers of all ages entertained.

Not only does the story deal with standing up for what you need, but I found that I could use this in my practice as a speech-language pathologist. Martha, when she eats alphabet soup, gains the ability to speak because all the letters go into her brain instead of to her stomach. But when some letters are left out, she has trouble communicating. When she gets all her letters, she can communicate just fine. A lesson! Wow!

I've read a lot of children's books, and this is a gem. Don't miss it.

This book covers the basics from shelter and feeding to hoof trimming and deworming, but everything is kept brief for the novice goat owner. Easy to read for goat owners of any age. For the more serious goat owner one of the Storey's Guides such as Storey's Guide to Raising Meat Goats (Storey's Guides to Raising) or Storey's Guide to Raising Dairy Goats: Breeds, Care, Dairying
would be a better choice.

This is one of two books I purchased for my dad who is a new goat owner. He has read this book completely and uses it as a reference on a regular basis.
He is very happy with the book.

This book gives me the basic information on raising my Nigerian Dwarf wether and doeling. Having raised horses, dogs, and more in my life time, these little kids are a unique species and need special information. This book is a great start.

The book was just what I was looking for ... I needed information on breeds and photos of the breeds, as well as caring for and raising goats. It had all of the information I needed.

Any who would own a goat must have THE GOAT HANDBOOK as a home reference: written by two DVMs, THE GOAT HANDBOOK covers everything from the initial purchase and housing to health and behavior, including care of pastures and meadows so goats stay healthy. Color photos peppered throughout add interest, but THE GOAT HANDBOOK is primarily an owner's care book and will appeal to any goat owner who needs a basic reference at hand.

Diane C. Donovan, Editor
California Bookwatch

Very helpful! The author, Sandy, knows a lot about the health of cats. I recommend it to anyone who loves their kitty cats.

This book is wonderful. It is just packed with information for keeping your cat healthy. Wonderfully written and illustrated with side notes filled with bursts of info that you will reflect back to over & over again. Most treatments, for common cat aliments, are all natural cures but it also lets you know when to call the vet & how to be a partner with your vet when your cat needs medical aid. Beautifully illustrated with rich photos of normal cats. Good book for anyone regardless of experience with cats. You will learn why you cat does what they do and what to do when it is a problem. Info ranges from kittenhood to litter box to calorie control to illness remedies - this book will never get dusty on a shelf, it has gained a permanent spot on the table by my chair.

I first found the web-site and bought the book; first for myself and then many friends. It's so very wonderfully written. Nothing 'in your face' that you have to do certain things. So easy to read and the photos are great. I've recently had a problem with a couple kitties and with the help of Sandy's book, things are SO much better.... Please get it and read it....and get some for your friends....

Whole Health for Happy Cats has become my cat bible. It lives in the kitchen with my `human' recipe books. Like them, it's covered in...ahem... `stuff', as I refer to it so often, particularly with regard to making nutritionally-balanced, cat-appropriate food.

My three cats are benefiting greatly from the info on nutrition and gentle holistic means for treating illness and disease. I'm also benefiting by saving a fortune on vet visits and expensive drugs that often just treat the symptom, not the cause. I feel so much more empowered knowing that I can treat common ailments myself, using items readily available from most health food stores. The book also explains when I should go to the vet without delay. The book is thoroughly researched using the latest information available. For this reason, it's far more useful than older books on the subject.

Without this book, I wouldn't have the confidence to make my animals' food myself. This book has all the information I need to know that the food I'm giving them is not only enjoyable for them to eat, but is nutritionally balanced, based on the latest research in cat nutrition. Given the tragic pet food contamination that killed thousands of cats and dogs, I can sleep at night knowing that my guys won't be the victims of less-than-optimum quality control and cat-inappropriate `filler' ingredients that are in so many commercial pet foods.

I particularly love the `mix and match' table which shows you how to nutritionally balance various types of meat with the other things cats' need.

For those who don't want to make their cats' meals, the book includes details on what to look for in commercial cat food, and what to avoid.

The book covers a whole raft of issues including diet, first aid, treating minor ailments, behavioural issues, reducing stress during vet visits, cat-toxic plants, how to introduce cats to each other to minimise hissing, spitting and flying fur, solving toilet troubles and how to resolve conflict in multi-cat households. There's even a recipe for safe, cat-appropriate tooth paste to maintain good teeth and gum health (I'm psyching myself up to try that out) and a gentle tummy soother.

The book is very easy to read, with lots of gorgeous photos, side bars, graphs and tables and interesting facts and figures. An absolute winner. I've given copies of this book to others and it's also in my public library.

My cats are healthy, lean, purring machines and they have this book and the author's extensive knowledge to thank for that. Every purrson should have a copy.

This book has become a most valuable resource in my house, I have learned so much about proper cat care from Sandy Arora and treasure this book very much. I keep it handy with my cookbooks in the kitchen even :) This book helped me learn to take better care of my cats, they have made the smooth transition to an all raw diet, supplemented by other natural methods of keeping. My copy was always out on loan that I finally got a second copy!

This book is full of fascinating information, both for people who know about shamanism, and those who are just learning what it is. Gives a wonderful perspective on something we tend to take for granted (weather!), and opened my mind to a new way of thinking about our world, and how we might experience it. Very well written, too.

If you are like me and you are secretly or blatantly in love with the weather, then you will adore this book. Nan Moss writes with clarity and passion about her knowledge and experience of the various weather beings, angels, spirits and helpers. She brings you into intimate contact with them and then shows you how to go there for yourself. By the time you have finished reading this book, you will be asking yourself: How can I lightly touch, interact with and learn from these divine forces? And you will realize all the answers are in the book and inside you.

Here are some random chapter headings to show you what you have to look forward to:

"What is Weather? Emotion, Reciprocity and Change."
Nan Moss: "The climate and the weather have been master teachers of the principle of change in our world."

"The Sacred Nature of Storm."
Nan Moss: "We have it in our power to cultivate a perspective that is spacious."

"Healing With Weather."
Nan Moss: " . . honoring the weather brings balance and well-being."

Exciting and intriguing, don't you think?

This book is also filled with other people's stories and experiences. You will receive quite a variety of perspectives and methods, but in the end it will come down to your own perspective and method. However, I will bet that even if you are not on a shamanic path, the next time you are confronted with a graphic weather system, from achingly joyful blue skies to dense and determined pouring rain, you will find yourself out there dancing to it with your understanding, your acceptance and your love. Watch, now! See if you don't get a response back!

This book is very down to earth and easy to understand with thought provocing facts about the spirits of weather and our connection to Nature. After reading this book, you will never look at a cloud or a storm in the same way.

This is a terrific book on Southern reptiles and amphibians. The photographs are excellent and the range maps are very helpful. Amazon offers it at a very reasonable price. Highly recommended.

We wanted a book that would allow us to identify turtles and reptiles that live in our pond, and this book exceeded expectations. Good photos, habitat maps and detailed descriptions of every species. One of the best guides that we own.

This is an excellent book on herps in Georgia. I'm majoring in wildlife management in college and if this book was sold at the college, it would be while over >$120! Excellent book, current and up to date, color pictures for EVERY species, ranges for state (Georgia) and nation. What a BOOK!

This book is wonderfully written and layed out. Each species has a load of pictures to help accurately identify it. All information is useful with no filler material. Absolutely perfect.

Amphibians and Reptiles of Georgia is an excellent reference book, recommended for anyone with an interest in or appreciation for reptiles and amphibians generally, or anyone who wants to know more about the species that live in the state of Georgia. While it could be called a field guide, it is really too large for carrying into the field, although it does have a nice flex cover that might make it suitable for carrying in a backpack.

Upon first perusal I had the impression that over half the book was just about the salamanders. After taking more time I saw that the book had a roughly equal number of pages devoted to both reptiles and to amphibians, but there is no shortage of lovely photographs of salamanders. Most books about reptiles and amphibians spend a lot of time on snakes, with amphibians like salamanders included as an afterthought. Also, I live in the western part of the country, so I am used to having more lizards in a book like this, of which there is only a relatively small section in this book. That said, the book is very thorough, and it is the actual diversity of reptile and amphibian species within Georgia that determines how many pages are devoted to each group.

There are excellent range maps for each species, showing the counties where you can expect to find them. There is information on classification, habitat, reproduction, behavior and conservation status for each species as well.

If you want to identify a salamander or snake that you found in Georgia, this is the book for you. If you just want to look at beautiful photographs of salamanders, frogs, lizards, snakes and turtles, this is a great book for that too. If you want to know about the distribution and habits of Georgia's reptiles and amphibians, I can recommend the book for that as well. Basically it's just a great book for the lover of reptiles and amphibians, and I recommend it.

If you live in AZ and love the out doors, this is a great book for you to have as a reference or as a fun read.

Subjects are thoroughly covered and the information is written in a friendly and interesting manner. If you have a question about the Sonoran Desert, you will most likely find the answer here. Among other surprises, this book offered my first look at the "creeping devil cactus" - how interesting! I'd never even heard of it before. "A Natural History of the Sonoran Desert" is a book you will turn to for detailed information that can be trusted as well as entertainment. Very nice photographs and illustrations. A great book for a nature lover, even if the Sonoran Desert holds no particular interest to them.

I grew up in the Sonoran Desert, in the ultra hot (and humid!) city of Yuma, Arizona. During my time there I visited the Californian and northern Baja Californian sections of this huge hyperarid land. I eventually moved to the less humid (if less hyperarid in terms of rainfall) city of Tucson, where I explored a considerable part of the eastern Arizonan part of the desert, as well as taking trips into the desert in southern Baja California and Sonora itself. This is a fascinating land and one with great surprises, such as a fauna of fish and aquatic insects, desert crusts of cyanobacteria, tropical birds, army and leaf-cutting ants and strange plants.

Now Steven J. Phillips and Patricia Comus of the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum have edited a neat guide to the area in "A Natural History of the Sonoran Desert". The various sections contain numerous bits of information, many of which were new to me despite about 25 years of wandering in the Sonoran Desert. The discussions of the structure and history of the desert are particularly informative. This book should be in the bookshelf, and indeed in the knapsack (despite its size), of all travelers in this fantastic desert.

I have to admit that I know five of the authors- namely Steve Prchal, Renee Lizotte, Gary Paul Nabhan, Carl A. Olson and Thomas Van Devender- excellent writers all- but I can also say that it is a worthwhile book based just on the work of writers whom I've never met and so I can claim some non-bias.

To add to this praise I have a few very minor quibbles. I wish that there had been more reference sections- certainly there are several books on the identification of desert plants, birds, mammals and fish! Also, as a jumping spider specialist I was disappointed that the quite readily seen red and black Apache jumping spider (Phidippus apacheanus), which appears to mimic velvet ants, was not mentioned (but then I am prejudiced!). Also not mentioned were the bright red velvet mites that emerge after desert rains (I get these brought to me all the time by people wanting to know what they are.) In addition, I could not find any reference in the index to tadpole shrimp- a very abundant inhabitant of desert temporary pools. I suppose that there was little room to add such in this already over 600 page work, but it is a pity, as I think they are of interest to the visitor. One other quibble is that I personally dislike the term "brown spider" as there are lots of "brown spiders"- including wolf spiders, some crab spiders, and many others. I prefer "violin spider" as being more specifically descriptive, although I could never get W. J. Gertsch to agree with me on this (I believe that he is the original source of this common name!)

Having said this, I will reiterate that anybody who wants to have some idea of what they are seeing in the Sonoran Desert has to have this book! They can find no better guide on the market!

This is the ideal book to take along on trips to the Sonora Desert. Whether it is the Cailfornian , including Baja, Arizonian(it actually covers five states) or Mexican portions of the vast and diverse Sonara Desert, the details and complexities of this eco system are truly amazing. This book is an indespensible guide to all facets of this immense gift, including the many plants and animals that inhabit this harsh yet bountiful environment. It is a book to read before, as well as after the trips to the desert. Since it is so diverse and vast , covering some 100, 000 sq.mi., the amount of information given is quite a bit but done in such a mannner that one can easily navigate the text to the desired area of interest Inevitably one will stray into an area of new found interest. The little known facts are a lay persons path to knowledge about what the heck they just saw or are about to see. The black and white illustrations for the plants and animals you will or did encounter are excellent and extremely helpful for identification. There is a section with color photographs as well to further illustrate the beauty of the Sonora Desert. With contributions by some thirty five different experts in their pespective field this book is the ultimate guide. Do not hesitate to buy this book if you are visting the Sonora Desert as it will prove to be a valuble reference tool that can be used over and over. Since there is so much to learn about the Sonora Desert and it's inhabitants, this book can be read anytime, anywhere since it is nearly impossible to experience it all. Recommended for the tourist, naturalist or anyone interested in learning more about the 2000 species of plants, 550 species of verbrates and thousands of unknown invertebrate species who make the Sonora Desert home. This is truly fascinating material that only nature can provide so don't hesitate to purchase this book.

we agree with all of the other reveiws.... a great discovery and a great resource....Glad we got it...