Elephants Books

A beautifully illustrated book that would be a terrific gift to give to a grandchild!

It was on a summer weekend that my sister came to visit me that we soon realized this was an occasion to celebrate our sisterhood. Our lives had gone in two such very different directions that we sometimes struggled to find common interest or even common experience. We were more a case of opposites attract, in this case, sibling bond. For the bond between sisters is a real one, and strong, and enduring. Despite all.

By weekend's end, my sister surprised me with a gift: the breathtakingly beautiful book, "A Book for My Sister," by Pamela Winterbourne, published by Laughing Elephant Books. Here were the words, along with the visual representation, of our sibling ties. Part of a series (there are similar books for daughters, mothers, fathers, friends), it appears at first much like a picture book for children. The words are few, the pictures large and colorful. But then, why not? Some things are said best in few words, and we all know how many words a picture contains. A thousand and more ...

Pamela Winterbourne is a portrait photographer by trade, and it was during a photo session with her young daughter that she recalled herself at a young age, along with her sister. From this flash of memory came this book, a kind of letter to her sister about how important she was to her. The art images are selected by Wellerna Poltarnees, and they capture what perhaps the words only hint at, bringing to show such classic artists as Mary Cassatt, Frederick Bosley, Robert Reid, William Adolphe Bouguereau, John Singer Sargent, and a long and lustrous list of others.

"You know me, in some ways, better than I know myself," Winterbourne writes. "And we have both been enriched by our various interests and experiences... I feel safe in your esteem, which allows me to share my dreams and aspirations..."

And so I embraced warm and long - my sister. Who gave me this book so that I might remember not only a special weekend of renewing our bond across time and space and varied life experience, but also to remind me that in all the world, regardless of how diverting our paths, I will always find in her, my sister's heart, a safe and lasting oasis.

I don't know where to begin. This helped me have a profoundly greater understanding of the world around me and myself, and was easy to follow.

Eloquent. Moving. This book is very special.

it's 1980, not 1908

and there is already 4 or so listings for the same book.

just a PSA.

wonderful! i received the book in a number of days, in perfect condition! thanks so much.

As soon as I got this book I read it to my five-month-old baby, and she loved it! The pictures were so colorful and the book was just small enough that she could grab it and hold it. I think that this book would be great for toddlers and preschoolers, too, because they are just starting to understand the meaning to the words that people say, just as the characters in this book are doing. This book is great for parents to read to their children.

This is a kid's historical book about the legends surrounding the Denver railroads. My son loved this book!

Jane Davis Smith crafts a tale worthy of her contemporaries in young people's fiction, the story of Chang Phoouk is reimagined to include a mystic property that is all the rage with the Harry Potter crowd these days without falling prey to that franchise's more negative elements. This may be the only children's book to include the story of a magical albino elephant and his adventures in America. Jane Davis Smith is able to breathe creative life into this true story and the slightly abstracted look of the book's interior artwork is sure to delight those easily enraptured by bright splashes of color, whether they be small children or even the elderly (for whom this book holds a special charm). The book offers a perspective on "magic" that does not delve into the occult realm of sorcery, but rather centers around the innocent character of Chang Phoouk, who can be seen not as some demon or foreign deity, but rather as the outlet of one child's brilliant imagination- invested with only the power and wonder of the truly young mind. Highly reccomended for nature lovers and those who hold family values above the "flavor-of-the-week" sorcery trends prevailing in young people's fiction these days.

I was skeptical when my mother gave this book to my 13 month old daughter because it was intended for an older audience, but this soon became one of her favorites. The A is for ... , B is for ... is written in a clever rhyme/poem that my daughter loves to hear. The illustrations are absolutely beautiful. The textures and patterns remind me of Edouard Vuillard. And they are packed with details that a young child loves to see--a small cat in the snow, children holding dolls and books, people wearing hats. Reading alphabet books can frankly be a bit tedius for parents, but not this one--I'm happy to read it several times a day because my daughter requests it all the time.

"The period between 1880 and the First World War was the great era of the picture postcard. Inexpensive postal rates and high-quality, high-speed printing methods encouraged the growth of this craze, which swept the world and brought countless thousands of postcards into existence. Christmas was naturally a popular postcard subject, and here we reproduce thirty very different and interesting antique postcards from our large collection."--Laughing Elephant