Pet Books

This book received many great reviews in education journals. My students love this book and it is very popular. I highly recommend it - who can pass up this puppy?

We saw this book featured on our local news station's "Success by 6" children's reading program and loved it! I ordered it as a gift for my two year-old niece but had a very hard time parting with it when it came. The illustrations are fabulous, the accompanying "stories" are charming, anyone who loves dogs will thoroughly enjoy this book. It exceeded my expectations.

My daughter and I are beginning our forever-long study of poetry and I found this unexpected and beautiful book about dogs (her favorite animal). The language and style of Once I Ate a Pie flows with such an obvious love and mastery of word usage and consideration of subject. The poems are blank verse but the word choice is juicy and deliberate. Really stunning paintings compliment each piece. I found myself brought to tears at least twice and really humbled by the talent of the authors.

** If you happen to check it out, Mr. Beefy is my favorite ;).

This is my grandson's favorite book. Is wonderful and a lot of fun. He has always had Pugs.

This book makes me feel like a kid at heart. It's great fun to read it giving each animal it's own voice since you can really sense the different personalities from each drawing and story. I also think it's a good lesson for children because, let's face it, some of these dogs are totally neurotic! I think it's a good way to show kids that everyone, including animals, have their own little personalities and behaviors and some of them are a little odd!

If more people took the time to educate themselves about horses and horsemanship in general and Xenophone's book in particular, perhaps we not see so many "show horses" of various popular breeds so physically manipulated by in breeding for only one or two specific traits rather than breeding for the whole horse. What was true in Ancient Greece is truer still today - without good feet, balance in the body and common sense a horse is worthless. Bravo to Amazon for bringing us this excellent book dirt cheap!

The material in this book is thousands of years old but amazing in how modern the approach is to horsemanship. Most of Xenophon's advice is timely even today. It shows how little has changed over the centuries.

This is a must if you are passionate about horses. It is so clear and to the essential point that it is a pleasure to read.

Xenophon covers several aspects of horsemanship, from grooming, leading, and choosing a horse, to mounting, riding, and training a war mount. Very, very interesting to see what is still applicable today. While this isn't a "training" or even a "horse care book," its a great historical reference from those interested in how horses we cared for and trained 2000 years ago. However, for those looking for a story or a book to teach riding skills, I suggest you look elsewhere. Those interested in dressage will find this worth-while, as it is considered the oldest text on the subject.

Xenophon's philosophy and many techniques, though tailored for the development of a war-horse, demonstrate the ageless capacity for human empathy toward the horse. The horse centered work makes the goal of a harmonious partnership attainable. The book interweaves aspects of barn management, riding technique, and early human psychological insights. The translation keeps this work relevant and vibrant. The overriding theme is one of responsibility for the education and wellbeing of the horse. It is, if nothing else, a comfort to read that some horses in the ancient world were treated humanely in the training process...even if under the unfortunate auspices of a warrior culture. Kurt Hartle, Reydon,Suffolk. UK

What a boring book! Seriously, get a plot! I wouldn't recommend this book to people who like realistic, exciting books. This just made me go to sleep. If you're a preteen girl like me, I wouldn't advise to read this book.

Rascal was my favorite book when I was young. I don't have children, but I have since bought countless copies of Rascal for young friends, and have read the book aloud to youngsters on several occasions, part of summer "reading clubs" to keep kids busy when school is out. Rascal is always a big favorite. Any child (or adult) who loves animals, and has ever raised or thought about raising a young wild animal as a domestic pet, will love this book. The stories about the adventures of young Stirling and his smart, inquisitive pets, Rascal the racoon and Poe the crow, have broad appeal to all ages.

I am an adult who received this delightful book as a birthday present. In 1918, when he was eleven years old, Sterling North rescued a baby raccoon and tamed him into a pet. This book covers the year that he spent with Rascal. What struck me about this book was the vivid, evocative, and emotional language that North uses to bring to life his eccentric family, the small town in which he lived, and the woods and natural settings where he and Rascal had their greatest adventures. Compared to today's youngsters, North, who writes movingly of having lost his mother, had to be incredibly handy, self-reliant, and hard-working. Although obviously kids would love this book (it won the Newberry Award), it isn't dumbed down at all. For anyone who ever dreamed of riding their bike at top speed with a raccoon on the handlebars.

"I left the pecans on a stump near the waterline, hoping Rascal would find them. And I paddled swiftly and desperately away from the placewhere we had parted." Rascal is a chapter of Sterling North's life, the time where he and his raccoon, Rascal, shared many adventures. On May of 1918, Sterling and his friend Oscar went fishing, and they found a little of four baby raccoons. Sterling caught a raccoon and named him Rascal. They became close friends and had lots of fun together. But in the end, Sterling released Rascal into the wild where he can live a ordinary raccoon's life. In my opinion, Rascal is a great book, fulled of warmth and humor, depicting the life of a boy and his raccoon.
One reason I like it so much is because of the relationship between Sterling and Rascal, and how Sterling treats Rascal not just as a pet but as in a very close friend. For example, when Rascal ate the sweet corn in their neighbor's field, the neighbors got very mad and some threatened to shoot Rascal the next time they see him in their field. They made Sterling promised to put Rascal on a leash and lock him in a cage. But everytime they ask Sterling have he locked Rascal up yet, he always reply with "Maybe tomorrow." but he never does. At last when he had to lock Rascal up, he felt so much pain, and recalled it as "putting a friend in prison".
Another reason why I'm so attached to this book is how cute the author depicted Rascal. When Sterling gave Rascal his first sugar lump, he sniffed it and played with it in his bowl of milk. In a few moments it melted, and Rascal looked for it everywhere. Then he looked at Sterling, his eyes seems to ask; who stole his sugar lump?
I like how Sterling always have interesting things coming up, one after another. It seems that some are good and bad. Such as when the biology teacher asked everyone in the class to bring their pet. Everyone loved Rascal, except for Slammy Stillman, who flung a rubberband in Rascal's face when it was his chance to pet him. Then Rascal yelped in pain and viciously bit in Slammy's hand. Then the teacher had to sendSterling and Rascal home because of it.
Overall, this book is a heartwarming story about a boy and his raccoon. I think this is one of the best literture in history which really attaches the reader.

I enjoyed this book when I was a boy and now my children love it too. Sterling North paints a delightful picture of rural Wisconsin in 1918. This novel should be required reading in middle school literature.

We bought this for our daughter who is three and just gets lost in the book. As I have not read it from cover to cover, I cannot comment to well on the thoroughness of the content. However, any questions we have had, like what is the difference between a seal and sea lion, have been answered, which leads me to believe that the content is good. Also, it is organized by species groups, which I find really instructional in terms of seeing relations and connections between seemingly unrelated animals. The illustrations and photos are gorgeous and the book really focuses on the diversity within animal species, which is great for my daughter's comprehension of the diversity of life forms as well as geography. The books also indicates where each animal falls in the continuum of endangered species, bringing another useful and provocative layer of information to the book.

I purchased this book for my 2 1/2 year old for Christmas. She loves looking at the pictures and asks questions about the animals. She will go get the book, which is almost as big as she is, and give it to me saying "Lets look at the pictures mommy". It is a great way to introduce the diversity of animals from around the world to a child. The images are both photos as well as beautifully illustrated artwork. The text portion I hope in the future will also become of interest to her once she becomes old enough. My husband and I have already found ourselves reading and learning as our daughter looks at the pictures.

I bought this as a Christmas present an artist, and it is a perfect reference book for her work. Thousands of great color illustrations, with fascinating facts to go with them. Highly recommended.

What a fantastic tome, all five pounds of it. Pages are packed with illustrated information in full color. The kids beg to look over the book, and ask for more information from the highlights. In addition, they're learning geography, as each page shows a world map with the habitat range.

Thirty years ago, a book of this caliber would have cost hundreds of dollars. Thank goodness that the world economy supports lower prices now.

We got this book when my daughter was between 2 and 2.5, and it quickly became one of her favorites. It is loaded with full color photos that kids love (although most pictures are color illustrations), and encourages them to learn their animals. She knows animals my 13 year old sister never even heard of. This isn't even a children's book. It is a real encyclopedia with real facts about the animals. I have a couple of complaints, though: 1) it is not as complete as I would like (I've noticed it's missing quite a few animals) and 2) it does not give all of the same info for all of the animals. Some are much more complete than others, and it doesn't much allow for comparisons. However, this seems to be the best animal encyclopedia out there, and we definitely enjoy it.

I was very surprised to see that many of the recipes call for corn. Dogs cannot digest corn and this is widely known. Before I was aware of this fact, I included mixed vegetables (which include corn) in my dog's recipes. Her poop would contain undigested corn. That's what made me Google corn for dogs. So, I was disapponted to see corn in the recipes - supposedly OK'd by a vet.

Wendy Nan Rees always seems to be in the forefront of 'what's cool' in the pet industry. I have her other three books which I love, but this book is really a step ahead.
From the Pumpkin & Veggie kibble recipe that anyone could put together easily (and even eat if you wanted), to the amazing Thanksgiving for All Turkey Loaf, Wendy has really formulated some winning foods that any pet lover would be happy to make, and feel comfortable giving to their pet.
I hope Ms. Rees continues to publish pet related books-her winning way of writing, the solid information she departs, and her great graphic style all combine to make her one of America's top pet lifestyle advisors.

This is the best book on the subject I have ever seen. Gave to a prominant attorney hre in La Vegas wit six dogs. He raved over it! Congratulations Wendy. Do some more.

I am impressed by the research and quality of this cookbook. It is a nice hardcover book which is better for keeping in the kitchen and wiping off if it gets food on it. It seems like the author did her homework here, some of the recipes look good enough for the owners to eat!

Penelope Smith's most recent book, "Animals in Spirit", is a beautiful, heartfelt, and sensitive guide to animals' perspectives on the death and dying process, as well their experiences in the spiritual dimension after leaving the physical body. In sharing her communications with her own animal companions, those of her clients, and in the wonderful contributions of experiences from many other animal communicators and their clients, Penelope addresses the experience of death from the animals' viewpoints, and also sensitively discusses the grief process for the animals' human companions. I especially loved the section on reincarnation, and the various ways that animals may choose to return to their people in a different body. This book made me laugh, cry, and rejoice at the variety and depth of animal wisdom concerning death. It opened my heart to deeper places of love and trust that love never dies, and to the knowledge that the energy of the connection with our animal friends is eternal.

I would highly recommend this book for anyone who has loved and lost an animal. There is a wonderful exercise for helping people to connect with the spirits of their animal friends who have died, as well as a beautiful grief and memorial ritual contributed by animal communicator Barbara Janelle. Throughout, the heartwarming communications from the animals to their human friends assures us that death is most often a natural transition for animals to a different state of being, without the fear and cultural baggage that we humans so often associate with it. In this, the animals are our teachers, as they show us how to accept the death process as a part of the eternal continuum of life.

My favorite passage in the book is at the very end, in a poetic inspiration that came through Penelope, which states, in part: "Flow with spirit, ever-changing in its guises. See the wildflowers bloom and die and give their seeds to the Earth. Nothing ever really dies or fades. Everything dissolves into unity and flows into another sea or shower or puff of air". As I experience the love and connection with my own animal friends, both in form and in spirit, I am so grateful for all that the animals have to teach us about love, life, and death.

This book is helping me cope with the loss of my cat. It explains so well why animals choose their passing, why they are here in our relationships, and best yet that they are still around us after passing.

I found this book brilliant to learn about what to look for in judging a dog for conformation , as it tests you as you go you really have to think and learn and imediately know your mistakes And its clearly written
will buy more as presents
robin

An Eye for A Dog is a good book that requires the reader to work very hard in order to get the maximum benefit from it: it should really be a DVD. It explains clearly and with excellant line drawings about dog structure and movement but the reader has to carry out excercises on just about every page in order to "get" the point that the author is making. The system works but it is rather like going back to school and requires effort. Additionally some of the authors comments are rather old fashioned in today's dog world and some of the breeds chosen as type examples are not generally popular ones, so that one tends to start to lose patience with the author. As said, this is a subject that today would be more user friendly if presented in DVD format with an accompanying booklet.

This was purchsed as a present for my sister in law. She was very impressed with it as she is a Judge for working dogs and this will help her a lot.

If you want to be a serious breeder, judge or handler this book is a must have. There are secrets in the show rings and whelping boxes that only the best and most successful breeders know. It doesn't come around often when a breeder will open up their head and give you a glimpse of what makes a great show dog. This book will show you with a ton of pictures and diagrams the subtle differences between beautiful and drop dead gorgeous. New and old alike can benefit from this book. People tell you to go and sit ring side and you still don't see? Next time take this book and go sit ring side and see just what they mean. Ever had a handler tell you to hold a leash or a head a certain way and you didn't know why? Next time you will with the help of this book. Check it out for yourself.
-S

This book is not that easy to follow if you haven't already studied about structura and gait. which bone and muscle do what? why is it that this breed has a longer pastern than the other? why would a dog need to be under or overangulated? etc. Anyway, you should acompany this book with some other about structure and gait analysis so that you can really understand the difference between the dogs illustrated in this book and also study the breeds standards. Definetely not for beginners.

Carol Gurney is incredible. This book is amazing and I highly recommend it - as well as her courses. One understands that we can - and do - communicate with our animals, and they in turn, with us. Knowing and understanding this enriches our lives, as well as the lives of our animals in ways that are difficult to explain in words - although Carol has done a wonderful job in her book of explaining this. Read her book, go to her website and then go take some workshops with her. It could truly change your life - for the better.

The book completely changed the way I will forever look upon my pets! It changed the way I think about people!
Read it, attempt to perform the lessons within it's pages and then realize your pets are not in your life for nothing. They are your guardian angels... Read it IF you are a lover of pets and animals.

What a great read! How many times have you said to your pet, "Why are you looking at me like that? I know you're trying to tell me something, but I can't figure out what!" After reading Carol Gurney's gook, I find that it is easy to tap in to that look and hear the message that my dog is trying to tell me. Animals are so connected with us on such a deep level, and yet we must seem oblivious to them! As Carol said, "If I can do it, anybody can!" I have shared this book with friends and they are as blown away as I was! I now feel I have richer, closer relationships with my dog and horse than I ever imagined was possible. In fact, when I lunge my horse, sometimes all I have to do is think the word trot, walk or canter and picture it and she just automatically responds as if I have said it out loud. Wow! I think too many animals are ignored on this level - they are just waiting to be heard! This is the best animal commnication book I have seen. Set aside your skepticism and this book will open your life to a whole new layer of communication and connection with your pet.

This book is a great handbook for anyone who wants to learn how to communicate with animals. Carol is the founder of HeartTalk and blends story with techiques to help you learn animal communication. I've read many different communication books--Carol is one of the leaders in the world of animal communicators and I can recommend this book without hesitation. If you get a chance and are seriously interested in developing your skills don't miss her workshops.

What a fascinating subject... This book reminds me of another favorite, "Adam's Task: Calling Animals by Name," by Vicki Hearne, which also focuses on communicating with animals. It combines animal training with philosophy, linguistics, and literary criticism. The Atlantic Monthly called it "A fascinating and often surprising discussion of animal-human encounters." If you are an animal trainer-- or even just an animal lover-- it's definitely worth checking out.

This book is very helpful in learning about the natural horse in its enviornment, and then it is good at developing what has been learned and applying it to a real life paddock. People with horses should definatly get this book to better their horses lives.

Quality in depth instruction that helps owner to create a better living condition for their equine friend. Would recommend and have to anyone.

I read this book when a friend recommended it, but she said "You'll want to buy one for yourself, I bet!" She was correct. It is a book to follow in setting up your horse pastures in such a way as to stimulate "natural" horse keeping! It will be a book that I will want to refer to more than once, as my project develops. I think it is a "must have" book for people who keep their horses at home!

If not paradise, at least it gives more attention to the actual needs of the horse and explains why the track system might work better than stalls and pens. I am going to try it. There should be a way for people using this method to communicate with each other. You can ask the author questions but that is exorbitantly expensive!

Paddock Paradise is a book all horse owners should read. It's hard to change one's entire outlook on how horses should be kept, but it's worth it -- the way we have kept horses (stalled or confined to tiny paddocks) for so many years is light years from how they have evolved to live. Their feet suffer; their GI tracts suffer; their minds suffer.

Read the book and learn from it. Think about it. Maybe you will not make changes immediately or completely, but over time you may find yourself returning to it again and again and finally being won over. Your horse will thank you.

This is a very cool book. I would say that kids ages three to nine should read this book. This book is about a boy whos parents let him get a puppy. It has great pictures that illistrate how the boy takes care of his puppy. This book teaches kids that they should take care of there pets. They should always do things with their animals like walking and feeding it.

This story (about a boy who brings a puppy home) is told from the boy's point-of-view, but the illustrations are another matter!

The boy says, "I am teaching my puppy how to heel" and we see the boy wrapped in the leash... the puppy straining to break free and play. The boy says, "...he already knows how to fetch" and we see him throwing a stick. On the following page, an angry lady is chasing the puppy... who is running away from her with a lady's hat in his mouth!

The story ends on a sweet note.

I really love how the Little Critter books focus on events that are real to children, and focus so much on the family in such a positive, light way.

And my children love this book.

I thought this book was very cute. My daughter who is 3 loves it. She wanted us to read it every nite for the first week. I would highly recommend this book to anyone with small children. It portrays all the responsibilities that come along with having a puppy in a very amusing way.