The Many Adventures of Pengey Penguin

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The Many Adventures of Pengey Penguin

I LOVED this book! What a great story to read to my nephew!!

Adventure & Survival

A charming tale, sure to capture the reader's hearts from the very first page.

Pengey's Adventures

The Many Adventures of Pengey Penguin
John Burns
Manufacturer: San Francisco Story Works
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Fiction | Birds | Animals | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
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My Penguin Osbert

My Season with Penguins: An Antarctic Journal (Robert F. Sibert Honor Books)

The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane

Antarctic Antics: A Book of Penguin Poems

Mr. Popper's Penguins

ASIN: 0977422704
Release Date: 2005-11-01

Product Description

On a night alive with the lights of the Aurora Australis, a distant and abandoned weather station holds the only hope for a young emperor penguin who lies close to death on the most remote ice sheet in Antartica. His name is Pengey Penguin. Even though he was abandoned under the most unusual circumstances, he grew to be an adventurous spirit, undaunted by his troubles and driven by unwavering devotion to his principles and the love of Wendy, the human who saved him from certain death by starvation. Now it should be thoroughly understood that Pengey is not very tall and he is certainly not very strong, but he is very quick, extremely smart, exceedingly polite and very well mannered. This is his story, or at least how it all began. He already likes you, and it's his greatest wish that you'll like him, all his friends, and his bedtime story, too.

Customer Reviews:

The Many Adventures of Pengey Penguin .......2007-04-12

Bought a copy for my granddaughter who had it read to her several times and enjoyed it so much she has since donated the book to her school library. I will replace hers with my copy since she is still a firstgrader!

I LOVED this book! What a great story to read to my nephew!!.......2007-03-14

So I just moved and my new roommate had this book sitting on the coffee table. Given that we're both single and in our 30's I had to ask what was up with the kid's book (hoping that I wasn't inadvertently offending him if it was the reading level he was at ;)) and he said the author was a friend of his and that it was a really cute book.

So, knowing nothing more than that I picked it up to read w/my Sunday coffee and couldn't put it down! What a delightful book -- even for the adult who will read it to a child (which makes all the difference when it comes to story time for exhausted parents at the end of a long day). This book belongs in the same category as the childhood classics like Beatrix Potter books, the Chronicles of Narnia, The Velveteen Rabbit, Madeline and Alice In Wonderland.

What a treasure! I can't wait to read it to my 18 month old nephew!! I really really hope there are sequels full of more fun Pengey adventures coming soon!

Adventure & Survival.......2007-02-03

After watching March of the Penguins I became fascinated with all things Penguin, especially the lovable baby emperor penguins. John Burns' book is delightful in this regard as it introduces us to a baby penguin who faces the challenge of survival in the Antartica and in places like an airport.

Pengey Penguin is quite the little character and spends some time swimming in the airport aquarium, escaping from a hungry seal and surviving being sold to a mad scientist who lives in an ominous castle on the outskirts of the city.

The mood is almost like a cartoon with Pengey, the other animals and the evil characters being the cartoon and loving humans being real. The book reads like a movie and for that reason it will appeal to adults and children. The only scene that may cause some concern for children under 5 -7 is the one with the mad scientist, but Pengey escapes unharmed.

Pengey displays bravery, survival skills, friendship, strength in adversity, creative thinking, loyalty, tenacity, kindness, love and a desire to meet goals. The book itself has a beautiful durable sapphire blue cloth binding with gold letters. The arrangement of the text allows for the book to be read more easily and the author cleverly weaves in details about real penguins. This book is the first in a trilogy with additional stories set for release in 2007 and 2009. It will be fun to follow the adventures of this adorable penguin. The pictures throughout really give this book a cute personality.

~The Rebecca Review

A charming tale, sure to capture the reader's hearts from the very first page........2006-11-06

"The Many Adventures of Pengey Penguin" is a delightfully entertaining novel for readers age 5 to 95. Pengey is an inquisitive, orphaned young emperor penguin, who is rescued from the brink of death near an abandoned weather station. Courage, curiosity, and plucky determination all power his penguin heart, and he speaks his mind openly; soon, all his talents will be tested to the utmost for the sake of not only himself, but also his animal and human friends. A charming tale, sure to capture the reader's hearts from the very first page.

Pengey's Adventures.......2006-10-17

I just finished reading "The Many Adventures of Pengey Penguin". The thing I liked best about this book was the relationship between the three main characters. They were each different types of birds that had to learn to work together to survive on their trip. They helped each other out of dangerous areas and had fun along the way. I think most people would enjoy this book.

The Chick and the Duckling (Aladdin Books)

Average customer rating:

just started to read?
The Chick and the Duckling
Scooty scoot scoot
Great for Early Childhood students.
A lesson to learn by imitating!

The Chick and the Duckling (Aladdin Books)
Mirra Ginsburg
Manufacturer: Aladdin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 068971226X

Book Description

As Duckling sets off to explore the world, Chick is close behind, mimicking each of his actions with a perky "Me too." But when Duckling decides to go for a swim, his friend is in for a surprise.

This charming tale, with brightly colored illustrations by Jose Aruego and Ariane Dewey, will delight small children who are also discovering the world around them.

Customer Reviews:

just started to read?.......2007-02-17

This is a great book for those k and 1st graders who have just begun down the reading path. After having read this book with my six year old at home, i decided to type it up in script form. This is about 1 page long when typed up. It has two reading parts. We enjoyed reading this like a play. She enjoyed it so much she brought it to school and this has kept her class busy during inside recess(feb.). They are making costumes, etc. all on their own. Who knew such a simple, simple book would bring so much joy and imagination to reading.

The Chick and the Duckling.......2007-02-12

Wonderful picture book for the children to use their imagination telling the story. We use this book at Preschool. We also act it out with puppets.

Scooty scoot scoot.......2004-07-27

It probably would have made more sense to name this book, "The Duckling and the Chick" rather than the other way around, but I guess there's no accounting for taste. In this world there are picture books written for every worry, hope, fear, and joy a child could conceive of. One of the more realistic dramas children face is the appearance of a new sibling. Now, there are some great picture books out there on the subject. There's "Ginger" by Charlotte Voake and "Julius, the Baby of the World" by Kevin Henkes, but long before either of these modern classics were written there was "The Chick and the Duckling". It's a kind of sibling-worship tale taken to its logical extreme and illustrated by the incredible Jose and Ariane Aruego.

One day a duckling hatches out of its shell with a triumphant, "I am out!". Immediately following out of its own shell is a small chick who is quick to add, "Me too". For every action the duckling takes, the chick is right behind to copy. If the duckling wishes to find a worm, the chick finds the same one. If the duckling wants to catch a butterfly, the chick catches one too. Finally the duckling announces its intention of going for a swim. Quicker than you can say, "Me too", the chick (having forgotten, I guess, that chicks are not waterfowl) sinks to the bottom of the pond. Patiently the duckling retrieves the sodden ball of yellow fuzz before announcing, "I'm going for another swim". "Not me", replies the wiser and now butterfly-distracted chick.

This book could probably be a good way of letting younger siblings know to give their older adored brothers and sisters a little breathing space now and again. After all, they don't want to end up like a half-drowned chicken, do they? What is interesting in this story is that the duckling at no point shows even the slightest annoyance with its close yellow shadow. The duck even goes so far as to rescue its oppressor, leading to a happy ending for one and all. If the book strikes a familiar cord with you, it may be because this pairing of Russian author V. Suteyev and the Aruego illustrators is not a new one. An equally interesting and delightful creation is their intriguing, "Mushroom in the Rain", which I highly recommend. Illustrator Jose Aruego also created the slightly better known, "Leo the Late Bloomer", a book which has been comforting the slow learners of the world for years and years. In this particular outing, the Aruegos have not imbued this book with as much color or originality as "Leo". Just the same, there is a great deal of life and humor to the pictures. From the bright and colorful pink, yellow, and orange flowers that cluster in the fields to the pink, purple, and orange butterflies that dot the skies, the book is awash in movement, energy, and color.

A classic to its bones, "The Chick and the Duckling" remains in the readers' mind long after the tale has ended. A delightful way to teach kids about space, siblings, and getting along with others. Fine frolicsome reading.

Great for Early Childhood students........1999-05-16

This book is great for showing how chicks and ducks are the same, and different, in an entertaining way. It is an emergent reader book, that uses repetition and predictability to help young readers along. My Kindergarten class really loves this book. I've seen it in Big Book format, but can't find it here. Oh, well! Buy this one if you don't have it.

A lesson to learn by imitating!.......1998-11-09

I really enjoyed reading this story to my students and working with activities that went along with the book. For example miming the action words in the book, drawing, and writing a book report. This is wonderful story about a chick and a duck who hatch at the same time and become friends. The chick imitates the duck until the duck goes for a swim. However, the chick attempts to swim, but can't and is rescued by the duck. The Chick realizes that it is ok not to do everything the duck does. The duck can go for a swim with out him. The moral of the story, sometimes it is perfectly ok to imitate, but at other times be yourself, do your own things and have your own ideas.

There's a Frog in My Throat: 440 Animal Sayings a Little Bird Told Me

Average customer rating:

Audience would determin best fit
nice ESL teaching tool
My preschooler loves this book
Super
Wonderful reference book

There's a Frog in My Throat: 440 Animal Sayings a Little Bird Told Me
Loreen Leedy , and Pat Street
Manufacturer: Holiday House
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0823418197

Book Description

440 Animal Sayings a Little Bird Told Me. An amusing and informative collection of animal sayings.

Customer Reviews:

Audience would determin best fit.......2007-08-05

My son asked for this book after seeing it at school. I think it must have been more entertaining in the hands of the librarian than in mine. He seemed to really really want it and because he was an advanced reader we try to follow-up with anything he deems challenging. But, the larger text meant to be very creative and artistic can be hard to read and the smaller text is just too small. Switching between text makes it difficult for young readers and perhaps "older" readings who are trying to read and "show the pictures".

BUT, the audience of this book may NEVER have been a young 5 1/2 year old reader (reading 1st grade level books) - and for that you can't fault a very unique, educational even for adults, and humorously illustrated book.

I think if I were a pre-school or Elem. teacher, it'd be an awesome book to have around - especially for the kids who are getting board with A,B,Cs and want to look at cool illustrations.

nice ESL teaching tool.......2007-06-27

This is a good way to introduce common idioms to young ESL students. Many of the sayings in here we don't use any more, but still, they are part of our culture, so it's not a waste of time to go through them. The pictures are really lively and fun.

My preschooler loves this book.......2005-05-15

We have spent countless hours reading this book and discussing all the different idioms. She remembers the phrases from the pictures (she doesn't read yet) and sometimes uses them correctly in conversation later. It's fun and it's educational. What more could you want?

Super.......2004-03-08

This is great book for exposing children to idioms. I first present some of the expressions to my students and have them try to explain them. Afterward, they have fun going back and finding the actual meaning. We usually do this around the time that we read Amelia Bedelia. The children illustrate an expression of their own choosing and the rest of us try to guess what the expression is. There are many extension activities to do along with this fun book. It is a great way to immerse chioldren inour language and get them excited about it. Lots of fun!

Wonderful reference book.......2004-01-16

This is a wonderful book for researching what idioms mean. It has delightful pictures and very clear explanations.
It would be very useful for children in third and fourth grade or for use with people learning English. Even though I have a master's degree and I am an avid reader, I found some idioms that I have never heard before. I am planning to give some copies to some third grade teachers that I know. Also, I bought a copy for my granddaughter.

Average customer rating:

Familiar Fable
The Little Red Hen
Timeless Classic
Traditional telling of a classic tale with a more positive ending
The Little Red Hen

The Little Red Hen
Paul Galdone
Manufacturer: Clarion Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0899193498

Product Description

Galdone's dynamic, amusing pictures add much humor to the familiar tale of the industrious hen and lazy cat, dog, and mouse.

Customer Reviews:

Familiar Fable.......2007-07-25

This fable tells about the lazy animals who did not want to help the hen. They let her do all the work, but did not do a thing themselves. Then at the end when the hen reaps of the fruit of her labor, all of a sudden they want to share in that fruit. However, the hen gets it all to herself and they get nothing.

The Little Red Hen.......2007-07-14

This version is a classic one. The story and illustrations are very inviting for any child. I love the classic moral of the story too.

Timeless Classic.......2007-05-30

I purchased this book for my children and did it bring back memories! I had it read to me when I was little. So the story line is cute and teaches a valuable lesson with the moral the lazy cat, dog, and mouse do not get the snack. All of my children from 2-6 love this story, it never grows old.

Traditional telling of a classic tale with a more positive ending .......2006-10-23

Her ability to cook empowers this little red hen to motivate her housemates. Help me with some of the housework if you want cake. A final illustration shows all the animals working, sweeping and dusting!

After reading the story as it is written, follow along with Heather Forest's Little Red Hen from the album, Sing me a Story. End on that final illustration with her words, "Sharing the work makes working fun."

Different versions may use different characters. This one uses the traditional Dog, Cat, Mouse.

The Little Red Hen.......2006-07-02

I love this book! The children loved it and the story emphasizes cooperation. I work with preschoolers and have used the audio tape as well as a flannel board.

La mujer que brillaba aún más que el sol / The Woman Who Outshone the Sun

Average customer rating:

A staple for children's gifts
Beautiful Book
beautiful story with strong female protagonist
A beautiful tale of forgiveness and respect

La mujer que brillaba aún más que el sol / The Woman Who Outshone the Sun
Martinez
Manufacturer: Children's Book Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 089239126X

Customer Reviews:

A staple for children's gifts.......2005-10-31

I don't know how many copies of this book I've purchased over the years to give away as gifts for all the children I've encountered through family and friends. It's a wonderful story that breathes tolerance, humility, and respect and appreciation for one's differences. This is one of my favorite books! It's visually stimulating and speaks so much to the tradition of oral storytelling in Mexican culture. I also love the fact that the Lucia is gorgeous, and brown with deep black hair. It's empowering for little girls of color to see a strong protagonist of color---my students love her and connect with her character.

Beautiful Book.......2003-08-25

This is a powerful and beautiful retelling of this story. This book is written in Spanish and in English and anyone interested in Latino storytelling will buy this book for their collection. I also highly recommend DRUM, CHAVI, DRUM! by Cuban author, Mayra L. Dole, and TRINOS CHOICE, by Chicana author Diane Bertrand.

beautiful story with strong female protagonist.......2000-09-22

Unlike the usual simpering heroine, Lucia is strong, mysterious, natural, and good. Children who are different from others--foreign, language difficulty, intelligence higher or lower--will appreciate how this stranger bounced back from hurt.

A beautiful tale of forgiveness and respect.......2000-06-16

This retelling of the Legend of Lucia Zenteno is beautifully illustrated with vibrant colors and imagination. The text is given in English and Spanish. It is the story of Lucia who has the most beautiful long hair. It is so beautiful that the river that runs throught the town falls in love with her, and when the people of the town, because of their fear, drive her away, the river and all its inhabitants leave with her. The town has to learn humility and they try to get her to return. A wonderful book with a strong female hero.

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Information not found elsewhere about 99 bird species

Folklore of Birds
Laura Martin
Manufacturer: Globe Pequot
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Reference | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 1564408728

Customer Reviews:

Information not found elsewhere about 99 bird species.......2001-09-29

A nice companion volume to _Wildflower Folklore_ by the same author, and it follows the same format. A physical description of each bird is accompanied by a realistic line drawing of it, and then the folklore comes along. These comments might include name origins or unusual habits or wives' tales or stories of the species told by native people. It's these details that make this volume (and others by Laura C. Martin) unique. It's not a guidebook per se: rather, it's a supplement to standard bird books; one that will tell you what the others won't. Trail guides and naturalists who like to personalize their tours will find this work a valuable addition to their collections.

Average customer rating:

why another retelling?
A wonderful version of a classic tale

Luba and the Wren (Picture Puffins)

Manufacturer: Putnam Juvenile
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0698119223

Book Description

When Luba helps a frightened wren, it promises to grant all of her wishes. "I am content, I have no wish," Luba says-at first. Then Luba's parents convince her to ask for a bigger house. After that, they want an estate, and later, they ask for a palace. With the granting of each wish Luba hopes her parents will be satisfied, but instead they only want more. Where will it end? This Russian version of The Fisherman and His Wife masterfully illustrates the rewards of simplicity and the dangers of greed.

"Polacco's freely brushed watercolors are bright with decorative borders, richly patterned clothing, and exotic onion domes." (Booklist)

Customer Reviews:

why another retelling?.......2005-08-03

Patricia Polacco is an extremely talented author but I don't completely understand where she was coming from with this one. The classic story of the Fisherman and His Wife here receives a new treatment where Luba, previously "full of joy and free from care as all children should be", saves the life of a little enchanted wren and is pressured by her parents to request more and more gifts in return. In the traditional story the fish, tired of granting wishes to the never-satisfied wife, states that the couple will get what they deserve and it turns out to be their original house. This story has a slightly different ending where the parents ask to be "as Gods" and the wren grants their wish saying to Luba, "Go then, my child... it is already done". She returns to find them with their original humble dwelling and station in life returned to them, yet content with their lot, as they embrace their daughter warmly. I'm not sure how the parents being happy at last (although it's a nice touch) constitutes their wish being granted. Overall I'd say to stick with the original when you choose to share this story with your children.

A wonderful version of a classic tale.......2000-06-15

Polacco's book is a time honored theme, this retelling from the Ukraine. When Luba saves the Wren's life her parents insist she return to ask for a favor. The parents never seem to be satisfied and send Luba back time and time again. In the end the parents are returned to the happy couple they were when they started.This book can be successfully compared with any of the many available versions of the Fisherman and His Wife but also contains elements from The Stonecutter -- another tale available in several versions. Sometimes those with seemingly little power/wealth think other situations would make them a different person or happier. And when they do obtain power their humility is lost. Satisfaction seldom comes when one has not earned that power or wealth. Polacco's wonderously beautiful watercolors brings this theme into the full vision of readers. A delightfully new twist on a classic tale.

At Swim-Two-Birds (John F. Byrne Irish Literature Series)

Average customer rating:

A good cure for insomnia
Modernist Fantasy Psychedelia Novel
Well timed, perfectly ridiculous.
Just read it aloud
t'a gr'a agam dhuit! Irish Storyteller

At Swim-Two-Birds (John F. Byrne Irish Literature Series)
Flann O'Brien
Manufacturer: Dalkey Archive Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Irish | World Literature | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 156478181X

Amazon.com Reviews

In a 1938 letter to a literary agent, Flann O'Brien described his first novel as "a very queer affair, unbearably queer perhaps." The book in question was At Swim-Two-Birds--and if we take queer to mean diabolically eccentric, then truer words were never spoken. The author, whose real name was Brian O'Nolan, had successfully stirred Gaelic legend, pulp fiction, and grimy Dublin realism into a hilarious cocktail. His mastery of modernist collage would have been an ample accomplishment itself. But O'Brien was also blessed with the writer's equivalent of perfect pitch, and in At Swim-Two-Birds he squeezes the maximum beauty and banality out of the English language. All he lacks is a tragic register, but he makes up for this deficit with a sense of comedy so acute that even James Joyce couldn't resist blurbing his fellow Dubliner's creation: "A really funny book."

O'Brien labored mightily to make At Swim-Two-Birds summary-proof. But here, anyway, are the bare bones: the narrator, a university student, is writing a novel, which keeps morphing from mock-heroics to middlebrow naturalism. Meanwhile, one of his characters, Dermot Trellis, is himself writing a Western--an Irish Western--whose cowpunching protagonists will eventually throw off their fictional shackles and attempt to murder their creator. (Talk about the death of the author!) There's enough structural shenanigans here to keep an entire industry of critics afloat. Still, what matters most is the pungency of O'Brien's prose. His dialogue is agreeably grungy, his parodies delicious, and the narrator speaks in the sort of Jesuitical dialect that we associate with Samuel Beckett:

That same afternoon I was sitting on a stool in an intoxicated condition in Grogan's licensed premises. Adjacent stools bore the forms of Brinsley and Kelly, my two true friends. The three of us were occupied in putting glasses of stout into the interior of our bodies and expressing by fine disputation the resulting sense of physical and mental well-being. In my thigh pocket I had eleven and eightpence in a weighty pendulum of mixed coins.

Snippets, alas, do little justice to At Swim-Two-Birds, which relies heavily on cumulative chaos for its effect. Graham Greene, an early fan, compared its comic charge to "the kind of glee one experiences when people smash china on the stage." A half century after its initial appearance, O'Brien's masterpiece remains a gleeful read--a marvelous, inventive, and (last but not least) really funny book. --James Marcus

Book Description

Along with one or two books by James Joyce, Flann O'Brien's At Swim-Two-Birds is the most famous (and infamous) of Irish novels published in the twentieth century. Or to put it as Dylan Thomas did: "It establishes Mr. O'Brien in the forefront of contemporary writing. . . . This is just the book to give your sister if she's a loud, dirty, boozy girl!"

The story of an Irish college student whohalf to amuse himself and half to avoid workwrites an irreverent novel about the figures of Irish myth and legend in which characters come to life and riot against their author, At Swim is a wildly comic send-up of Irish literature and culture which had a major influence on writers coming after O'Brien, including Anthony Burgess, Gilbert Sorrentino, and William H. Gass (who has written an introduction for this edition).

O'Brien opened up a whole new world of possibilities for fiction as subsequent novelists have played with his zany ideas, chief among them being the idea that characters in fiction have earned the right to be "recycled"after all, they've proven their reliability as characters!not put out to pasture once their stories are finished.

Customer Reviews:

A good cure for insomnia.......2007-09-13

My friends thought it would be a great idea to start a book club. Our first assignment: At Swim-Two-Birds. Not knowing what to expect, we all found it quite odd that the book was so hard to come by. It was not readily available in any library or book store. After having ordered this book of the 100 All-Time Best Novels, we each set out to read the book with some difficulty.

I enjoy reading as a hobby, however, unless forced or tricked as the case may be, I would never have read this book after the first 20 or so pages. There is something to a manner of textbooks and technical manuals that causes me to suddenly fall into a deep slumber when attempting to read them with intent. This book falls into this category. I cannot read more than a few pages without suddenly feeling drugged to the point where my brain ceases all function and I collapse in a drooling heap.

I would not be so pretentious as to wax on about the literary genious of this book, as it seems so many others have done. While there have been some interesting points and even some chuckles to be had, for the most part this text is loathsome to read. I also have to point out that being Irish by birth, this review saddens me to write, but it is all true. I feel that I must warn others who may be deceived by the great reviews regarding this book.

Modernist Fantasy Psychedelia Novel.......2007-04-15

Out of all the novels I read in my modernist college course, I found this one among the two most enjoyable. Though I'm of Irish decent myself, I'm far enough removed from the mother country that many of Joyce's themes, motiffs, and dialogues were completely lost on me. Plus, Joyce is extremely difficult to read in my opinion, and sometimes pages took hours. I barely survived the sermon and kicked and screamed the whole way through.
Not so with Flann O'Brien. Though the style shifting was somewhat hard to follow, I found "At Swim-Two-Birds" much more accessible than the other great modernists, even easier to digest than Faulkner (I believe I grasped Faulkner easily because being a southerner myself, I understand his accent). I also enjoyed the book because I entered a career in literature through a love of mythology and the fantasy books that I grew up with, and Finn McCool and the Pooka were welcome characters. Also, I was in college and the psychedelic dreams-to-reality theme sparked my interest as well. Plus, O'brien's sentences are riotously funny and his rebellious parody is a blast. I think this might be better as a first book in an English 301, rather than a last, because if I had read it first I might have been more able to digest Joyce, and wouldn't be so afraid of him now.

Well timed, perfectly ridiculous........2006-07-08

ASTB is a story in a story in a story, starring a host of unlikeables and woven together by a surly, drunken master narrator.

If comedy is timing, then perhaps the meter of Mr. Nolan's prose is the key to his particular genius. A native speaker of Irish, he constructs sentences in ways that have the poetry of that language, and asserts such abrupt,hilarious, and logical sub-clauses that you sometimes find yourself laughing wildly and unexpectedly.

O'Brien's chief narrator, a drunk, lazy student, is the easiest character to understand and keep track of (his "biographical references" are the book's highlights). He has a rigorous jesuit brain, and a lazy, teenage body. He also has a fondness for consuming a great many "Pints of Plain", and observing the effects of these in himself and his acquantices with scientific curiosity.

I may be missing something, but in the final analysis I suspect that this book is not the masterpiece it could have been. That it was slashed by 1/3 by the author and one of his friends before publication may have rendered some of it more confusing than necessary. It's a pity he didn't take time to craft it tighter instead of just chopping out swathes of story. Maybe then I'd get what was going on a little better. Then again, maybe I wouldn't.

Should you buy it? Yes. It is an extremely clever postmodern piece of literature, and it will make you laugh. But don't try and read the whole thing in one sitting, or you'll find yourself irately meandering through some of the more surreal and apparently pointless dialogue. This stuff is best read slowly, as the point is not the plot, it's the scene and the poetry. If not for that, read it slowly for the simple reason that a story in a story in a story is just as confusing as it sounds.

Just read it aloud.......2006-07-03

If you are lucky enough to ever go to Dublin and have time to linger over a few pints you'll hear the same cadences , superbly illogical statements, bizarre juxtapositions and general love of life that O'Brien listened to and included in ASTB. Buy it and read it out loud with as much of an Irish brogue as you can manage.This book will have you laughing out loud at the sparkling wit and playful inventiveness of one of Ireland's greatest writers.

t'a gr'a agam dhuit! Irish Storyteller.......2006-04-06

Mary Whipple has a knack for recommending experimental and unusual stories and At Swim-Two-Birds is of them.

Czech this one out. I implore you. Mary has a tribal mind and so do I ;-) Do you?

Ravensong: A Natural And Fabulous History Of Ravens And Crows

Average customer rating:

Ravens and crows from a literary standpoint
Great illustrations!
well intentioned but useless
I admit I was irritated...
justice for ravens

Ravensong: A Natural And Fabulous History Of Ravens And Crows
Catharine Feher-Elston
Manufacturer: Tarcher
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1585423572
Release Date: 2004-12-29

Book Description

From the raven's role as trickster in Native American religion to its capacity to captivate ornithologists and biologists, the raven is an archetype in myth, dream, song, and ritual.

In this beautifully illustrated study, Catherine Feher-Elston looks at ravens and crows in the contexts of Native American folklore, history, and science. Through interviews with Native Americans of the Pacific Northwest and other native peoples, and drawing on the most recent ornithological research, Feher-Elston offers a well-rounded consideration of this enigmatic species, bringing to light its roles as messenger, symbol, harbinger, and totem.

Customer Reviews:

Ravens and crows from a literary standpoint.......2007-01-19

Not a book to read if you are seeking more science than legend.

Great illustrations!.......2006-11-05

This is a good book for people who want to learn about ravens and crows. For more knowledgable readers, there's not much new information, but it's a very nicely written book. The black and white illustrations are special, however, and the book makes a good addition to any bird library for that reason--they beautifully capture the 'crowness' of these magnificient birds.

well intentioned but useless.......2006-07-26

This is a book by someone who obviously loves corvids but is unequipped for realizing the task she set herself. The "fabulous" part of the book deals with old world history in two sentences, spending the rest of the space on folksy retellings of stories from Native American traditions. The "natural" part of the history is anecdotal, sentimentalized and inadequate. Other works serve far better for each of this one's stated purposes.

I admit I was irritated..........2006-06-06

when I first began reading this book. I expected that this book was going to be a mix of scientific report and anecdotal evidence illustrating the intelligence of ravens. I was wrong.

As I began to read through Feher-Elston's story, I was annoyed by her persistence in discussing religion and spirituality in connection with the raven. However, as I read on, I found myself more and more reluctant to set this book down. Before I knew it, I was reading on voraciously, completely consumed by the story.

Feher-Elston very successfully weaves together science, history, and spirituality, guiding the reader through many different and equally important perspectives on these birds. Through her exploration of the importance of Raven in Native American religion, the ghost dance, and creation stories, it feels as if one somehow begins to grasp the gravity of this bird through the wisdom of ages of man.

Folded into this story of history and legend, are the modern scientific truths of these birds. The author offers the reader the benefit of humanity's whole history of observations of these birds, and layers it with modern scientific knowledge. Through this book, the reader is left with a greater scientific and emotional understanding of the both the corvid, and of all of man's hopes and fears that it embodies.

justice for ravens.......2005-04-01

Several books have been published exploring the amazing intellignce of ravens, and ravens also appear in various books on mythology, but you can't do justice to ravens until you combine both perspectives, both their real lives and why they have appealed to the human imagination. This book finally puts everything together, the biology and the mythology, the raven psychology and the human psychology, and that's why it deserves to be called Ravensong, for it is a song, a tribute to the complete creature.

The Bossy Gallito/El Gallo de Bodas: A Traditional Cuban Folktale (Dual Language Edition)

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The Bossy Gallito/El Gallo de Bodas

The Bossy Gallito/El Gallo de Bodas: A Traditional Cuban Folktale (Dual Language Edition)
Lucia M. Gonzalez
Manufacturer: Scholastic
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 043906757X

Customer Reviews:

The Bossy Gallito/El Gallo de Bodas.......2000-10-03

This is a wonderful children's book. It is a classic Latin American folktale. It was fun to travel with the Bossy Gallito to his uncle's wedding. Along the way, of course, he runs into some trouble and, well, you just have to read the rest! Although this classic cummulative story was familiar to my students, its illustrations captivated my second-grader's attention. We absolutely enjoyed this book! Another plus is that the book is bilingual. What more could you ask for? (For a comparison, try the same title written by Alma Flor Ada.)

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