Elephants Books

We received this book years ago at, of all things, a "white elephant" gift exchange our sunday school class of young parents had. The couple that gave the book did so because they didn't approve of the theme for their own toddlers. Our 3 children LOVED the book, and we still break out in song from time to time when the time seems right. I look forward to reading it to my grandchildren one day.

This book is just adorable! My husband and 12 year old son laughed so hard when they read it. I don't think they write childrens' books like this anymore because our society has become so oversensitive about such issues as "animal abuse" and "corporeal punishment". This naughty elephant never hurts the small cars again because he is punished with big cars and doesn't want to get hurt again himself. Very cute illustrations!

Forget the kids - I fell in love with this book for the first time at age 35! I "discovered" it on the discards table at my library. Intrigued by the rather lengthy title (which is an apropos summary of the story), I read the book on the spot and wouldn't let anyone else touch it! Delighted, I shared it with my co-workers, who thought it equally as delightful and tried to get me to part with it. Combine simplistic illustrations, a silly story, with a hint of a plot twist and you've got this zany yet charming story that will tickle funny bones of kids no matter their age!

A rolicking rhyme that you cannot forget and logic that any preschooler will understand make this a *perfect* picturebook. The negotiations between the elephant and the car dealer are hilarious and subversive. How could this be out of print? Bring it back!

I Love this book. My mother just found my copy and memories came flooding back. I would have her read it every night. And then read it over again. And again. I loved the song. I can't believe I still have it. I can't believe others knew. How I love to smash small cars....

The Meanwhile Adventures is hilarious. My 10 year old son was getting a cramp and tears were rolling down our eyes with the nonsense and wit of this book. The author, who is Irish, suggests you read the glossary so you understand some of the local terms - do it! The definitions are a riot!!!!
You can picture Roddy sitting in front of you, animatedly telling the story - it's a hoot.

My 10 year old daughter, who HATES to read, enjoyed reading the "Meanwhile Adventures", "Rover Saves Christmas", and "The Giggle Treatment". My son, age 8, burned through them quickly too. They quote from the books. The humor is "different", but it is good for kids to read all types of books. Thanks R. Doyle! Write more!

I gave this book to my nine year old daughter for Christmas. She read it in two days and was thrilled to have gotten this as a gift.

Forget what I have to say, seeing as how I am far from being a kid. Let me tell you what my 8-yr-old hard-sell granddaughter had to say after I read her the first five sentences, "Really? It says that? Can I read it?"
Then, as she read, "This is great! I never read anything like this."
She carried that book with her, laughing, quoting from it, until she finished it the next day, then started over, more laughter, and then eagerly sharing it with her BFFs. Her review went something like this.
"This guy really knows that it is a kid reading the book..."
"How does he think this stuff up? I love the little girl, the one who can only say 'Who are you?' but everyone loves her so much they know exactly what she means, even if she means 'turn left after this corner'..."
And on and on. She will wear the print off the page with her eyes by the time she is finished with this book.
You can't ask much more from a book that a child love it and wants to share it and gets more from each reading (meaning they are reaching, it's not easy.)

"Who are you?" "Batteries included." I hope you have time to read this book because you will never put it down.

The Meanwhile Adventures is a funny , but exciting story. This book takes you to a silly family that does some amusing things.

The message is that a funny family like this can be a little bit of trouble sometimes.

I think this book is one of the funniest stories Roddy Doyle has ever written.

Is is a truly well written book about common business acitivities. I think it is particularly helpful for young people just getting started in the corporate world. It should be a must read for college students. I can't wait for her next one!

I couldn't put this book down! Life Lessons In The Jungle is a "must" read for anyone trying to climb the corporate ladder and also for anyone self-employed. The lessons learnt in this book apply to situations and decisions all of us face on a daily basis! A terrific book, one that I would highly recommend to all my friends and business associates!

This book is so true! I liked the characters, and even though they argued a lot, I have to admit I recognized them in the people I work with. A great story, with lots of good lessons and not just how to solve problems, either. And as promised a fast read. I saw somewhere (her website?) that there's more coming. I hope so, I can't wait!

I'm looking to move up into management within my company and have used the book on a project I'm working on right now. My boss loved my work. It got me recognized. I owe it to the lessons I learned from this book, and can't wait for the next one she promised in the series.

While there are many books dealing with the art of decision making, "Elephant" is so graphically written that most anyone can relate to the animal types used to tell the story and provide the lessons. The steps are well illustrated and logical, and the story line keeps you engaged. Clear gnd direct. All seminars should be this much fun!

To most non-Hindus, this elephant faced God can be quite perplexing. This is THE source to learn the history, the lore, chants, offering, and so much more regarding the Hindu deity, Ganesha. Hindus will find a better love and understand of this ancient God. Also included in the back, a section for those wishing to convert as well as Vegetarian info. The book is literally PACKED with topics. A must read for Hindus and Hindu seekers!

I have learn so much from this book and I also realise so many of us never new why is Ganesha so loved. Whenever I want to lift my mood I just take this book and start reading and before you know it you are feeling so refresh. This book is great for the Hindus and non-Hindus.

If Ganesh has found you (as he found me) this is the book for you. All the info that you are seeking is delightfully compiled by this very insightful edition. From ancient mythology to puja to the Milk Miracle, if you're seeking the Remover of Obstacles, relax, you've found it in this book. It is hard to imagine a better, more comprehensive book on the Beautiful One than this one. Thank you Subramuniyaswami.

With a multitude of variations of the legends surrounding Ganesa, there is no such thing as a all-encompasing work on Ganesa. Sivaya Subramumiyaswami has, however, written a book (including many excellent illustrations) so full of information on all aspects of Ganesha, including, among many others, various aspects of Ganesa, his nature, the different roles Ganesa plays in Hindu communities around the world, various forms of worship of Ganesa and detailed explenation of the iconography, that any reader could be excused for believing that they have found that all-encompasing work. Not only does the book become a most valuable source regarding Ganesa, but it also gives a hint as to how deities are worshiped in the multi faceted Hindu tradition, as every member of the Hindu pantheon (facets of the God-head) has as many legends, with variations, and various traditions attached to him or her. This is a book that will greatly enhance the understanding of the Hindu tradition for a beginner and, as well, provide much information for anyone studying aspects of Hinduism in greater detail.

This is one of the works that i would recommend to any serious beginner in Hindu spiritual culture. It is also good for pratitioners. The book presents Ganapathy worship, in a typical south indian style, especially people of Tamil origin. As one of the temple priest described, it is the heart of practises recommended to devotees of Lord Vigneswara. Written by a sage, saint, swami satguru is a sivachariar. Although an advaiti, he puts down and incorporates all ritualistic practises in theistic way for everyday use. The book has puja methods and also mantras for japa for every day use. There are other things that could be added in this book, i think swamiji has consciously left a scope for expanding the present book. The book also a has a list of important vinayagar temples across the world.

The book is a must for every ganapathy and saiva agama practionner.

Fans of the prior Diamond In The Window and other stories will find a new adventure revolving around Eleanor, Eddie and Georgie and their new friend Andy. And Uncle Krishna is back, too, adding his magic to the appearance of a mysterious circus with strange people and events. Langton is at her best in exploring the peculiar forms of magic Eleanor and her sibling are particularly vulnerable to, and The Mysterious Circus doesn't disappoint.

Fans of the prior Diamond In The Window and other stories will find a new adventure revolving around Eleanor, Eddie and Georgie and their new friend Andy. And Uncle Krishna is back, too, adding his magic to the appearance of a mysterious circus with strange people and events. Langton is at her best in exploring the peculiar forms of magic Eleanor and her sibling are particularly vulnerable to, and The Mysterious Circus doesn't disappoint.

Fans of the prior Diamond In The Window and other stories will find a new adventure revolving around Eleanor, Eddie and Georgie and their new friend Andy. And Uncle Krishna is back, too, adding his magic to the appearance of a mysterious circus with strange people and events. Langton is at her best in exploring the peculiar forms of magic Eleanor and her sibling are particularly vulnerable to, and The Mysterious Circus doesn't disappoint.

The Mysterious Circus (Hall Family Chronicles)
This is a great book for all ages. If you begin with 'The Diamond in the Window" as I did as a teen, you will have a great introduction to the Hall Family. If you haven't read it, you will have no problems in getting to know them in this book as new developments in their personalities come forward.
Jane Langton has a great talent for interweaving Transcendental logic through her books while spinning magic into the small lives of the Hall children while keeping notice of their normal childhood faults. In this, the reader is introduced to a simple and accepting attitude toward themselves as well as others.
I especially recommend this book for children from age 10 and up. It would be nice for such an influence to be introduced to them through their own personal revelation while reading it. The 'Diamond in the Window' influenced me as a young teen and now that I'm a grandmother and reading the rest of the Hall Family Chronicles that I missed before, I've realized that I still adhere to the humanitarian viewpoints introduced to me earlier in my life from reading books such as these.

This book is yet another in Jane Langton's wonderful, imaginative and quirkily funny series about the Hall family. The children (the main focus of the book) are realistic & believable. Same with the adults. The plot centers around the creation of a circus using a combination of magic and the skills of a group of ordinary children who become extra - ordinary through their own efforts and self-realization. All this happens during an attempt to 'Disney-fy' a local park by a peculiar and sinister-but amusing villainess. Very enjoyable read.

Carol Batrus captures the flavor of finding oneself in the oft difficult world of 20th and 21st Century America through living in Africa. By way of her travails she discovers,in no particular order, life, herself, a whole new culture, and a myriad of friends that make life as fulfilling as could be for one who persues it. Uplifting and inspriational. A terrific read.

Wow, what a story! This light little book packs quite a punch. Carol's account is uplifting, exhilarating and sprinkled with enough humor that this serious story does not weigh you down.

Reading about Carol's journey from The Big Apple to rural South Africa is almost like being on the voyage yourself. The sights and smells and sounds described are vivid, yet the detail is never overbearing.

Self-reflection. Seizing the moment. Challenging yourself to the farthest reaches of imagination. Being outside your comfort zone. Achievement. Sadness. Happiness. Fear and overcoming it. Seeing people without prejudice. - - - All of that and more will be found in these pages.

South Africa was far removed from everything businesswoman executive Carol Batrus knew: so what led her to move from her high-powered, successful job on Wall Street to the heart of Zululand to help the tribe's economic development? WHEN ELEPHANTS FLY: ONE WOMAN'S JOURNEY FROM WALL STREET TO ZULULAND is a moving memoir of her journey, which was to help the tribe economically without destroying the environment. Her decision and journey is inspiring and provides plenty of insights into South African and local environmental issues.

This book is an inspiration! I am an inveterate reader of travel literature. When I saw this book in my local independent book dealer I was intrigued by the subtitle--One womans journey from Wall street to Zululand!~ Once I picked it up I couldn't put it down. Carol is a marvelous story teller and her honesty and transparency are thoroughly disarming. She lets the reader into her life and into daily life in Zululand.
I learned so much that I decided to adopt it as a supplementary text in my University level class in the business school. Students need to learn that they can do well by doing good and that they can, as Carol Batrus does so graciously, overcome life's challenges. When I came the end of the book, I did not want it to end--so I read the acknowledgements page. There I discovered the name of a former student and colleague--who I immediately wrote and asked her to put me in touch with the author.
A few month's later Carol Batrus came and spoke with my class at the University and I discovered that she is as charming in life as in her book!

This book will be of interest to anyone going to a Third World Country. Whether one is a casual traveler or an NGO professional, Carol Batrus' experiences become lessons that will make the journey more effective. She shows that the steps needed to accomplish organizational priorities remain similar in large companies, family life, or in the bush. If her entertaining prose is motivational, you will be glad that she went first.

This is one of the first books I ever read on African hunting and it is still one of my all time favourites. Bell hunted when the hunting was unbelievable but he was also an expert rifle shot and bushman. If you enjoy hunting or Adrican hunting literature, this is a must have.

This being the first of Bell's three books it was also my first title on the subject of elephant hunting. A testament to it's quality would be that even today, twenty years after the purchase and roughly eighty years after it was written, I often revisit these pages. The chapters on hunting rifle, shooting angles, adventures in Uganda and previously undiscovered country in western and central Africa are classic Africana. I am not alone in my fascination as Walter Bell continues to be among the most recognizable names in big game hunting today a full one hundred years after his first safari. His accomplishments with the rifle continue to be the standard by which all others are compared. Considering the number of sportsman who visit the continent, this is quite an accomplishment. Unlike Karamojo Safari and Bell of Africa, this book is strictly a collection of articles that were written for a local outdoor magazine in Scotland. In them, Bell describes the equipment, hunting techniques and shooting angles he used to become the most successful elephant hunter of the era. Even though these chapters address a vast range of topics Bell never drifts far from the pure hunting experience he strives to describe. He lived the life of an elephant hunter during that brief point in history when it was still a feasible profession to take up. The sensations associated with leading a heavily ivory laden safari out of the deepest jungles of Africa must have been truly magnificent. Fortunate we are that Bell took the time to put down his rifles and pick up his pen.

Excellent book. Timeless, and very educational about not only elephant hunting but of many different tribes of Africa. I rate this book as highly as the Capstick books.

This is an excellent narration by the premiere elephant hunter of the early 20th Century. This extraordinary man presents adventures as simple matters of fact, as calmly as if he were recounting a normal day's work in some office. There is droll, and I believe "unintended" humor throughout the book. He gives a glimpse into the everyday life and perils of a short-lived profession that became a staple of early Hollywood adventure movies. Karamojo Bell was a master hunter who believed that the size of the bullet was not nearly as important as the placement of the shot. He hunted elephants with calibers that would only seem suitable for deer in today's hunting circles.

Walter Dalrymple Maitland (W.D.M.) Bell(1880-1951) roamed Africa for a quarter of a century between 1897 and 1922. His main interest there was to collect ivory, and it was much easier back then, as safaris and safari outfitters were uncommon. The elephants and other African animals had no cause to fear men, and shots from the rifles were rare except those made by slave raiders. The best part was that there were plenty of elephants with tusk weighing 100 lbs or more on each side. Bell took full advantage of the situation.

Armed with low calibre rifles, he ventured into the elephant country on foot, and knowing the vital spots of the elephants, he drove the bullets right into their brain, heart or lungs causing instant death to the animals. The bullets were cheap, perhaps a box of 20 for a shilling. But the ivory collected from one elephant brought a luxury life, and Bell collected virtually tons of ivory during his wanderings in Africa, especially an area known as Karamojo (see Bell's 2nd book 'Karamojo Bell' published in 1949)

According to a biographer, Bell was 'arguably the greatest ivory hunter: Certainly the last'. Wanderings of an Elephant Hunter was Bell's first book, originally published by Macmillan in 1923. It contained several sketches and paintings prepared by Bell 'on the spot'. This reprint by Safari Press also reproduced all the illustrations and art works from the original edition, and to me it is much superior in quality than the ones published by Neville Spearman, London.
**For additional reading: please consult BELL OF AFRICA

This book captures one's attention quickly and pulls you into the soul of Africa. Through Marc, a main character, I was able to have my own safari in Africa. The knowledge portrayed through him and by the author really was captivating and well written. It sparks one's imagination and curiosity about a world so completely different than our own! It is as if your taken there and actually experience the dangers as well as the beauty! I have a whole new appreciation for Africa and her people, and I have never been there, but now want desperately to go! A love story mixed with danger and uncertainty in the wild are great ingredients of this, a great book! A must read! I look forward to Christy Carroll's next book with much anticipation!

I was given this book as a gift. Picked it up one day, and couldn't put it down. Loved the fact that the chapters are short and beckon you to go to the next to see what happens. As I read this book, I visualized it as if I was watching a movie. It has great feeling, appeal, is emotionally moving. I had to put it down before the end, afraid of what might happen to the characters. Anticipation was one of the factors that kept me reading. You want to get involved, and you wished and hoped for Julie all the way till the end. Left me wanting Christi's second book. This book is classy, no trash, a definite re-read. Hope you will love it as much as I did. I would love to see it as a movie.

This book makes you feel like you're in Africa and experiencing everything that happens in the book! There is a cool trailer at http://youtube.com/watch?v=z7GcAhRMd1c check it out.

I loved this book and couldn't put it down! Christy Carroll is a great writer. I fell in love with the characters and learned so much about beautiful Kenya. I was sorry when the book ended and I look forward to Carroll's next book.

This is a great book. It kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time I was reading it. It is very well written and the plot is very exciting. I want to travel to Africa after reading Amboseli Wimbo!! I can't wait for the next book by Christy Carroll.

I purchased this book a while ago for my 10 year old daughter when she was interested in dinosaurs. Now my 7 year old son is reading it and is enjoying it quite a bit. The writing style is entertaining and keeps your attention, but the books is filled with all kinds of useful information for anyone even remotely interested in fossils.

My 9yo got this when she was 8. She has wanted to be a paleontologist since she was about 5, and this book is dog-eared from reading it. It has held her attention well.

This is a GREAT book. My son loves it and it's very good for young people who are interested in the field of paleontology.

Well-written and illustrated book that will appeal to children who have an interest in rocks, and may be thinking of becoming a paleontologist.

This is a serious book for kids who are interested in paleontology. My son has devoured all the basic dinosaur books for kids, so this was good for going a step further. One great feature is the bibliography at the back; they suggest books to read, places to visit, classes to take, and even colleges to attend for paleontology, for those who want to work towards a career. Very inspirational.

Great book if you are into these types of plants. I read it cover to cover in 1 sitting :)

The greatest book - to this day - that was ever written about these great and unusual plants.

This group of plants is fascinating and well worth learning about. I have used this book so much that I need to purchase another copy of it. My copy is getting to be worn out. I highly recommend this book to any succulent collector. Gordon Rowley has outdone himself with this one.

I came accross this book completely by chance a few years ago, through an exotic plant dealer and was instantly smitten by the treasures hidden within. It is the ONLY book I have found dedicated to the unique group of plants that are the Caudaciformes and Pachycaul Succulents. It's informative and entertaining with exceptional fotographs. Every time I open it I find something new. EXCELLENT!!!!!!!!!!

I am a long time collector on the east coast of those magical caudiciforms. I have purchased them on the west coast. This author is the definitive master when it comes to the knowledge of these specific plants. I am proud to finally own a copy. This group is scultptural and not for the impatient. I have had many of my caudiciforms or pachys over 15 years.

This book is a treasure and a must have for the serious collector and anyone who admires this specialty.