Elephants Books

This book is neither interesting for my kids or for me. I thought it would make counting fun. But it doesn't. This book is quite dull.

My third grade teacher had the whole class memorize the entire book, and we said it in this rhythmic way and felt very cool. I still remember parts of it years later, and just remember how magical it was to feel transported to the kings on the elephants marching through the jungle on a wild wet night. We did all sorts of crafts and activities around it and our teacher really taught us how fun books and ideas and imagery can be. So I love this book and remember it being very fun when I was in third grade. I also remember great illustrations.

This book is a fast favorite at our house. The verse itself is very similar to Dr. Seuss -- lots of license with words and a bouncy rhyme. The pictures are lovely.

With regard to an earlier reviewer's comments, this is NOT a counting book. Instead, it's a tale of kings and elephants (natch!) riding through the jungle who spread their happy song to various animals along the way. Toddlers appreciate the rhyme, while older kids (4-6) will enjoy the creative language.

My husband made up a song to go with the words - this is one of our family's favorites! A very sing-songy read with made up words and a short but sweet narrative. Get this book and try to make up a tune to go with the poetry. This is not a counting book. If you like imagination and poetry, you'll love this.

This narrative was perhaps the first poem my children learned--and both they and I love it.

"Seventeen kings and fourty-two elephants

Going on a journey on a wild wet night"

meet all sorts of wonderful creatures in their travels through the lush jungle inhabitting these pages. There are white-toothed crocodiles, green-eyed dragons, small crabs, ponderous hippoptomums, dancing "to the music that the marchers made," not to mention tigers, cranes, pelicans, peacocks, and twangling trillicans. They go off into the night as raindrops glisten on the elephants' backs and the deep dark jungle devours their tracks. Altogether a delightful journey into word play and magical illustrations. Alyssa A. Lappen

2107 Curious Word Origins, Sayings, & Expressions / 0-88365-845-3

I picked up this book second-hand, but I didn't get a chance to get around to it until I had my wisdom teeth taken out. Banished to bed by a well-meaning family (it honestly didn't hurt!), I finally got a chance to browse through this large tome.

2107 Curious Word Origins is a fun read, and an even more fun "skim". The expressions are dealt with in plain, straightforward English prose, with the author carefully and engagingly outlining the origins and usage of each unusual word or phrase. Some of the phrases are a bit out-of-date to my ears (or perhaps I live in the wrong area of the country) - "hog on ice" was certainly something I'd never heard before. But other words (juggernaut) were very familiar - so familiar that I was startled to realize that I'd never even bothered to wonder where they had come from before!

It was interesting to see the evolution of common words and terms, and while most of this can probably be found online, you're unlikely to find them all compiled together in an easily browsed source. I will admit that this probably isn't a cover-to-cover read, but it is useful for looking up terms and fun for browsing on a lazy afternoon. I recommend this book, if only because it is so unique and the price on Amazon is so cheap.

I'm terribly fond of this collection as both a useful resource and an entertaining read. The information contained herein is useful, informative, and written in an engaging, accessible style. If you've ever wondered about the origins of curious expressions or words, here is the place to look.

What a fun book! We often pull this one off the shelf when we use an expression and wonder where it comes from. It is a book that invites browsing, and is hard to close once you are into it. We've learned all sorts of great stuff from this book, and since language does not develop in a void, what we have gleaned from this book has led us to research and learning about other areas as well.

You know those books that use too many of these. . . 1888 (ci) [belg.] having to do with or related to: (types of) {relative to}. . . Kinda hard to follow with all that jargon. Simple phrases aren't in there. Index doesn't really organize the words or phrases well. It is almost written like a dictionary but not in alphabetical order. The book didn't focus on phrases as much as it did single words like "cannibal" and "catacomb" and so on.

Not what I expected (very big and bulky book). I reccomend Heavens To Betsy & Other Curious Sayings but since the republishing of it (2002) it seems it has changed. Oh well

I came across this book at a local bookstore that had a selection of books for word lovers. I perused it while I drank my frappacino, and soon was convinced I had to take it home with me. It is the most intriguing book I have ever read. It is formatted like a dictionary, but for everyone who loves word origin and other trivia, you will come back to it time and again. It is an example of useless knowledge at its best. The history of the word "omelette" is absolutely fascinating, and the evolution in the pronunciation of "one" intrigues me. They still can't decide where "hobo" comes from.

I should mention one minute drawback--the man who first wrote these books (and his son continues the tradition) lived at the beginning of the twentieth century, so the book isn't as "hip" as the title would seem to indicate. If you aren't already interested in words, this won't get you going.

This small book and fast read is a wonderful companion voume to thicker biographs about Alexander. You won't get a full accounting of Alexander' campaigns here- that's not the point, but you will get a concise account about how these objects that we use to reconstruct what history might have looked like are found, dated, and then mulled over by experts.
This book is more about the essence of Alexander, and what was important to him and the men who followed him, than the nuts and bolts of his overall story.... I thought it was very entertaining.
JJ

Professor Holt must be a stimulating, admired lecturer in his subject, for this book brings a wealth of knowledge together from a large variety of sources. Primary sources are the medallions themselves, of course. As for myself, this is the first time I have been fascinated with numismatics enough to stay with the whole book (which is easily absorbed in a day). Never again will I briefly skim over exhibits and pictures of ancient coins! Dr. Holt has made me a bit of an expert on many aspects of this subject, and he invites us to delve further with extensive, annotated footnotes on each page. He is certainly a dedicated scholar with deep and wide knowledge of his field, able to clearly present his interpretation while giving a balanced analysis of various theories. Each of his conclusions is supported by strong references to the literature.

That is exactly what I thought when I was assigned this book in Dr. Holt's class, but I was later proved wrong. As stated before he definitely has a knack for communicating with those not in this academic circle. Although I have had the privilege to have a class with Dr. Holt this does not in any way taint my recommendation. I encourage others to read other works by Dr. Holt especially his latest "Into the land of Bones"

Where should I begin? Above all, Holt supposedly invented a mysterious story, but there is no real mystery in it. In fact since the coins were found researchers have come to understand that those coins had been imprinted in memory of the battle between Alexander the Great and Porus, the Emperor of India. It is only the place and time which we think are of secondary importance could not have been determined precisely. In the introduction to his book Holt assumes himself to be Sherlock Holmes, but the solution he suggests at the end of the book is far away from reminding the persuasive arguments of the famous detective and only serves to surprise the reader because of its speculative quality. The majority of the book deals with many ideas which had been previously proposed and refuted by other studies, and apparently re-refutes all of those. When we reach the final part, we encounter the very principal elements of "Sherlock" Holt's solution; the first of these is about the imperfect apperance and imprint of these coins and Holt explains this unusual event by the rushed minting of these coins on a return journey from the Indian expedition, under exteremely difficult conditions caused by muson rains! The historian meticulously discarded a great many arguments throughout the book yet he surprised us by bringing forth this meteorological solution towards explaning the bad apparences of the coins. Perhaps this can justify a reader who may come to propose that the man who was in charge of the minting process was having a bad day! Or even because he did not received the merits he deserved from Alexander. Even more surprising is the explanation which concerns the other side of the coin showing the Alexander holding a thunderbolt. We can't understand why Holt discards the perfectly reasonable, simple yet adequate solution which is in accord with the traditional Alexander narratives deifying him- especially the one which deals Apelles' portrait of Alexander-. Instead he insists on seeing particularly a reference to the the rainy night on which Alexander won a victory against the Indian King Porus. Yes, there are many events in history about rainmaker army leaders. But, for God's sake, Alexander and his troop already knew India's disastrous air and field conditions. While, they advanced to the interior parts of India, they always encountered with such stormes, muds...So, if storm and rain had been an unexpected incident, maybe Alexander's powers which brings rain would have been good and miracolous news. And even after that battle, during the journey to the Babil, Macedonian army suffered from bad meteorological conditions. According to Holt's argument, one may think, Alexander, just after the battle, having been minted that coins, maybe has also seen responsible for that terrible field conditions! But, this time, his men, could not mint properly those coins, because of very same musons(in last chapter, the sentence which concludes with footnote 25!)
Thus Holt's theory -searching the "textual" help to that night- extends to the assumption that these coins were minted in memory of "a dark and stormy night" and these coins function as a narrative picture of the whole war. But this sounds rather weird or impractical because Alexander gifted each of these coins, which allegedly individually represents a particular scene of the war, to his men which means the coins would never come together to form such a picture: One of the generals saves the one with elephant, other has Alexander with thunderbolt and maybe other one has the one with a chariot? As a matter of fact Holt himself was not persuaded by his suggestion that he claimed that these imperfect coins were indeed a turning point in the history of numismatic by this aspect.

As for the much praised popular style of the book, as I read the translation I am unable to comment adequately; however I did not see any extraordinary features that deserve credit. By the way, it seems to me, Mr. Holt's only field of interest -expect coins- Darwinist biology. He mentions him several times, curiously enough, but most of these are unnecessary element of the failed rhetorical construction.

This book is a delightful read. Like a good mystery, I was mystified by the clues as they were presented in the narration and wondered at times "so what?" But that only made the satifaction so much more pleasant when the meanings of the clues were revealed at the end and the medallions tell their story after thousands of years.

I bought this book as a gift for my parents, who are elderly and who enjoy watching birds and looking at pictures of birds.

But when I later went to visit them I got an unpleasant surprise: this book is HUGE. Ridiculously huge.

It's the biggest book I've ever seen. It's about the size of a computer tower laid on its side. Bigger than any unabridged dictionary.

As a result my parents never use it: it's simply too heavy for them to lift. I'm not joking around here. They're afraid of getting a hernia or hurting their back if they lift it.

So it just sits on the shelf gathering dust.

Actually, not on the shelf, since this book won't fit on any normal bookshelf. So they just stand it on the floor.

If you buy this, make sure the person you're getting it for is in excellent shape.

You've been warned.

This "baby elephant folio" is indeed a tiny but complete book of Audubon's "Birds of America." It is a perfect edition to give as a gift to friends and family who are Audubon aficionados. It is great quality and the price can't be beat; I purchased several.

This book is spectacular. The images are breathtaking, and the quality of their presentation is nothing short of superb. Wow!!!

Having recently read the biography of Audubon, I was very interested in seeing the actual drawings. The book I read had a few of them in black and white, but I wanted to see a larger sample in color. I decided to see if Amazon had anything and was very surprised to see that they offered all of the original drawings in color for a very small price. I realized the book would be smaller than the original life size drawings, but was a little surprised to find that the book was so small. That is my main problem with the book. Otherwise - WOW. To see these birds in all their glory in full color is just breathtaking. Furthermore, when you consider the original size, to have shrunk them down and still maintain the detail and the beauty is quite impressive. One can appreciate the drawings without having read about Audobon's struggle to create and then publish them, but I would suggest this book as a companion to a good biography of Audobon. Once you have both, his accomplishment can be fully appreciated.

Let me qualify my remarks by first saying that I have not even seen this version. I have no doubt that the printing is of the highest quality, but I have a serious reservation about the organization of this book. Audubon deliberately mixed his birds in a non-taxonomic order to maintain a freshness and an element of suprise. I recently acquired a large format copy published by Welcome Rain, which follows Audubon's original order. The effect is a delightful romp through nature, full of suprises, drama and movement. He never intended it to be a catalog with all his ducks in a row, it was to be an experience. I have seen an abridged, small format edition of his paintings arranged in the standard, dull taxonomic order of a typical field guide and the effect is nothing like seeing them in the order Audubon intended. Rearranging the plates for convenience of listers diminishes this work, and to a certain extent, is a disservice to the artist. While I am happy to see that his work remains in print and is being reproduced at very high standards, I would hope that it would be viewed as a symphony, not as a random collection of notes needing to be organized alphabetically.

This delightful story is a complete ego trip for little girls who find themselves the youngest in a family of several siblings. It features many adventures, adoring older children, adoring parents, and a little girl who is the apple of everyone's eye. It also -- a bit subtly -- features beloved family friends who are a same-sex couple. This goes over the heads of the little ones.

I loved Babar as a kid. However, I only knew about the first three books. I was happy to see there were more.

This is a sweet little story about the new addition to the family. We get to see Pom, Flora and Alexander have grown and welcome their new sister Isabelle. She is a special child, independent and adventuras much to her families chagrin.

There other the other characters; the old lady, Arthur, Zephir, and Boover and Picardee.

My girl loves this story and I still read it several times a week.

The book is built well and has a good cloth binding that stands well to a 4 year olds use and abuse.

I read this story to my 3 year old because I remember loving Babar as a child, but I will not read it to her again. The little girl in the story wanders off, accepts rides from strangers, plays in an adult's house all day without her parents knowing where she is, and then when she returns home they all have a good laugh about it. It is at best, teaching a dangerous message to impressionable young kids.

I just read this story to my four-year old daughter. It's a classic story from this author, nothing "wrong" with it, but you do need to watch out and may want to explain some parts. In the storyline, the girl elephant wanders off by herself and accepts a boatride from a stranger...then she knocks on the door of an unfamiliar house. Two male characters invite her inside and they all play together until they overhear a news alert that Babar is looking for his missing daughter, so they take her home. After reading it, I explained to my daughter that I didn't want her to wander off, accept boat rides from strangers or knock on unfamiliar doors and go inside a stranger's home. This story was written in a simpler era when concerns were a bit different than in today's world.

I just read this story to my four-year old daughter. It's a classic story from this author, nothing "wrong" with it, but you do need to watch out and may want to explain some parts. In the storyline, the girl elephant wanders off by herself and accepts a boatride from a stranger...then she knocks on the door of an unfamiliar house. Two male characters invite her inside and they all play together until they overhear a news alert that Babar is looking for his missing daughter, so they take her home. After reading it, I explained to my daughter that I didn't want her to wander off, accept boat rides from strangers or knock on unfamiliar doors and go inside a stranger's home. This story was written in a simpler era when concerns were a bit different than in today's world.

This book is great! It feels like you are really there at the circus with Mary-Kate and Ashley. It's so good, I read it in 1 hour! I give it 5 stars!

Some of my Mary-Kate and Ashley is great stuff...but some-awfully boring! The New Adventures of Mary-Kate & Ashley are practically unreadable.

When the circus comes to town, Mary-Kate & Ashley Olsen, 10 year olds who believe they are detectives, help search for a missing baby elephant. Cute. Easy read. One in a series for young readers.

This book was exciting. You had to follow each clue, and think really hard about each thing that happened

This book was exciting. You had to follow each clue, and think really hard about each thing that happened

This book contains a thorough history of the teaching of creative writing, from its beginnings as a rebellion against the classical study of philology (examining the structure of language in texts) to the workshop-oriented MFA programs where it flourishes today. It begins its study in the 1880's, when scholars lamented what they saw as the suffocating restraints of philology, which at the time was the only type of English study offered at the college level. These students and professors wanted to develop a curriculum focused on the actual content of literature instead of its discrete parts. Eventually, a focus on teaching students how to actually create literature was seen as a way of better understanding it, by studying it "from the inside." The question of whether writing can or should be taught or not is brought up repeatedly but never quite answered, though in the end Myers begrudgingly defends the idea of creative writing for the sake of understanding literature.

Also of note are the accounts of how working writers discovered that teaching writing was a useful way to make a living that was accommodating to their art. In fact, the title refers to this phenomenon. When Vladimir Nabokov was proposed for a teaching position at Harvard, a fellow professor said, "Are we next to appoint an elephant to be Professor of Zoology?"

Myers tracks the development of writing instruction as it split into various branches: basic composition, journalism, literary criticism, and creative writing--the actual production of stories, poems, and essays--as we know it.

Best audience(s) for this book: teachers of any creative writing courses interested in the historical context of the subject, especially those at high school level and above. It certainly is comprehensive, which means something since it's packed into just 168 pages. Thoroughly researched, the book does well to place today's creative writing programs in the larger context of literary study. The writing is very dense and scholarly though, and at times can bog down in critical jargon and excessively long listing of names and places to provide evidence.

This book stands out as the only one tracing the history of the teaching of creative writing. Myers's research is very thorough, and his examination of the teaching of writing at Harvard was especially interesting to me. At times, though, the book plods along, fueled more by the devotion to facts of a historian than the keen eye of someone truly invested in creative writing. Ultimately, facts alone aren't enough--how can knowing this history shape the way creative writing is being taught now? I suppose this is a question Myers leaves to his readers, but I feel like it's one that needs to be answered.

The ending of the book felt very rushed to me. I'm most interested in how creative writing has evolved in the last 25 years, and I didn't feel like that chapter was as thorough as the others. It seems surprising to me, for instance, that Myers didn't once mention John Gardner. The book provides excellent insight into how English (both literature and writing) came to be taught in colleges and universities, and it shows in a way no other book has how creative writing split from composition, but by the end I was still left wanting more.

Despite (or perhaps because of) its controversial conclusions, The Elephants Teach is a must-read for anyone involved in teaching writing. This fascinating and detailed analysis of the rise and development of "Creative Writing" in America raises important questions about the purpose of teaching writing, and if the answers are sometimes uncomfortable they are nevertheless thought-provoking. Though he asserts that after the Second World War "Creative Writing programs became a machine for creating more creative writing programs" (146), Myers is not ready to pull the plug; instead, he gently urges breaching the wall separating creative writing and scholarship in order to improve both disciplines. In an illuminating passage, he quotes poet Robert Pinsky on how the distinction between creative writing and scholarship works to the detriment of both: "On one side there is 'an immense elaboration of the techniques of composition' accompanied by 'a fatal ignorance of the past'; on the other side an 'elaborate sophistication regarding poetic theory' that goes with 'a fatal ignorance of composition.' The consequence, he said, is 'rhetorical pedantry in the poets; and arid nihilism in the critics.' Technique had been divorced from theory--composition from the past--as each section of the English deparment sought to perfect its own specialty" (168). It is clear that Myers would like to see creativity and criticism, poetry and scholarship join hands, enabling the Academy to produce not just writing programs but writers.

As a teacher of writing, I found this book extremely interesting and clear. Myers provides a lucid, organized history of the evolution of the teaching of creative writing in this country. While the book will likely not appeal to a layperson, anyone who plans to teach creative writing or enroll in an expensive creative writing program has a stake in what Myers is saying. I am surprised by other reviewers' comments about Myers' view of creative writing (MFA) programs. Unlike other reviewers, I did not find Myers' remarks venomous or even especially harsh; rather, I found them even-handed and common-sensical.

I have a masters degree in writng and this book was assigned during the intro-to-the-writing-program course. It changed my perspective, entirely, about what I'd planned to do after graduating. It changed my opinion of writing programs and of masters degrees in writing. The book makes a valid point.

That said, the real world hasn't caught up to this little gem. We still need our degrees, unless we get lucky and publish something best selling, lavishly reviewed, become famous some other way, or some such thing.

But this notion that MFAs in Writing beget teachers in MFA programs in Writing is a powerful one. Academia is insular; we knew this already (this isn't my first advanced degree), but somehow that the most important element of my degree is that it's the qualification to teach in my own program is a powerful lesson. We teach writers to become teachers who teach writers to become teachers who teach writers to become teachers...

The item took a long time to arrive, not the "normal" AMAZON speed I am accustomed to. Ella was cute and as described - although very tiny.

This little doll looks exactly like the illustrations, is soft and cuddly (if you're a three year old!)

My daughter loves the Ella books so when I saw the doll it was a no brainer. When it arrived, it was a bit smaller than I had hoped it would be, but it turns out it's the perfect size for my 2 1/2 year old. She takes Ella everywhere with her and refers to her as her very best friend. I love it.

i am very disappointed as i had order this item for my daughter for xmas and it never arrived even after i called and was told to wait
to this day it has yet to still arrive and this was the worst experience i have had with Amazon so far

This doll is the perfect size; small enough to take with us to restaurants or the park, and big enough to cuddle with. A very cute rendition of the Ella in the book. My daughter really loves it.

This book is a ton of fun. Okay, it may not be the most concise but for what it is it is fun. It was written by the Brits though and so a few of the phrases I've never heard. If you are a know it all, crazy about etymology or you just enjoy oddball trivia books, this book is fun, very informative.

I love useless knowledge and this gives an ample supply and answers some of those impervious little questions.

I find these stories about expressions we use, like giving someone the whole nine yards, absolutely fascinating, and this book has hundreds of them, usefully organized. I even like paging through it for fifteen minutes before going to sleep, like having bite sized short stories. Great source for cocktail party conversation, and might make you seem very learned indeed.

This is not the kind of book that you can just sit down and read. It is absolutely mandatory that you have someone nearby that you can tap on the shoulder and ask if they know what a red herring is or a white elephant. And then minutes later you will be bothering them with another gem that you just have to share. And then you interrupt them yet again with another one. Definitely a fun, interactive book.

This book explores the origin of common phrases used in every day speech.

Those reading the book should be aware that not all of the derivations presented are uncontested, and that a couple of the explanations seem truncated.

For example, I would recommend that anyone who is interested in the origin of 'biting the bullet' needs to be aware that the underlying rumour was that the grease was made out of cow or pig fat. The cow is sacred to the Hindu and the pig is an unclean animal to the Muslim. Therefore whether Hindu or Muslim, they felt that they were being forced into a polluting practice. While it is possible that some of the cartridges were made with pig or bullock fat, the contractors had been instructed to use mutton.

The book itself is an entertaining and easy to read addition to a reference library on English language.

Recommended.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

I just finished the book and thoroughly enjoyed it. Joyce Poole blends delightful anecdotes of her interactions with elephants, her scientific findings, and her work to stem the tide of elephant poaching with the joys, heartbreaks, sacrifices, and harrowing experiences of a single woman living and working in Africa.

This book is mostly about Joyce Poole & her personal trials & tribulations. I did not learn anything new about elephants, but rather more about the lengths to which the author was driven to gain a prominent position in conservation bureaucracy;
for example, deeply resenting exclusion from all the globe-trotting conferencing going on around the plight of the elephant, & stung by the reason given that her research into elephant communications was irrelevant to conservation, she abandons the research, "betrays" her mentor -- Cynthia Moss -- & goes to count elephants in order to prove that the widespread slaughter of adults for their tusks leads to an overall decline in the group's reproductive rate. Wow. She provides a very good example of how money spent with good intentions is usually wasted on the recipients.

This is a well-written and wonderfully insightful glance into the lives of elephants. If you are interesting in learning more about the hidden lives of elephants this is the book. Her story was both enthralling and insightful. I salute her for her work in getting the elephant listed on the endangered list; trying to prevent the slide of elephants into possible extinction. I cried when the elephants gave her a welcoming ceremony when she returned from a long departure. Thanks. A must read for all!

I enjoyed this book very much! I learned alot about elephants and their habitat. I feel I got to know the elephants personally from the info and stories that Joyce gave on all of them. I feel this book will give a reader insight on the elephants,lives,loves and servival.

When I finished reading this book, it made me burst into tears...for such a long time, I've never read a book that was so touching and unforgettable. I love elephants so much and after reading this book. It bring me more courage to boycott those merchants who sell ivory......very impressive work and worthy of reading again and again...