bookpagedev

Children's & YA

Desert mystique

Review by bookpagedev

The unmistakable mystique of the desert is captured in Egyptology, a fun, fact-filled tour of ancient Egypt from the publishers of the best-selling book Dragonology. Set in 1926, this clever volume is presented in the form of a diary written by a feisty fictional figure named Miss Emily Sands. Hoping to find the tomb of the god Osiris, Miss Sands an enthusiastic amateur Egyptologist led an expedition up the crocodile-filled Nile River, only to disappear with her party once they reached the desert. Fortunately, her journal survived. Miss Sands’ record of her adventures is a fascinating travelogue filled with incisive observations and wonderfully detailed imagery, as well as local anecdotes and legends that young history buffs will love. Removable maps, postcards and special souvenirs, including a swatch of "mummy cloth" and a copy of King Tut’s mummy mask, lend the narrative an air of authenticity. There’s also a complete game of Senet, a form of checkers played in Egypt, that comes with a playing board, dice and instructions. The book’s seductive gold cover, encrusted with three red gems and the raised image of a Horus hawk, is sure to lure readers. With magical illustrations by Nick Harris, Ian Andrew and Helen Ward, Egyptology delivers the essence of that land the blazing sun, the boundless desert and (best of all!) the endless attraction of the unknown.

The unmistakable mystique of the desert is captured in Egyptology, a fun, fact-filled tour of ancient Egypt from the publishers of the best-selling book Dragonology. Set in 1926, this clever volume is presented in the form of a diary written by a feisty fictional…

Children's & YA

Absorbing atlas for kids

Review by bookpagedev

While adults may think geography is a dull subject probably from all those times they’ve wrestled with maps while driving down the interstate kids love this stuff. After all, geography is more than blue lines on the pages of an atlas. It’s about the land, the people who live there, the things they do, what they eat, what they wear, how they talk and much more. And who better to elucidate geography than National Geographic? Our Fifty States by Mark H. Bockenhauer and Stephen F. Cunha is an absorbing look at the U.S.A., and as you might expect, it’s fabulously illustrated, with photographs, maps and charts that young readers will love. Dividing the country by region, Bockenhauer and Cunha cover each state with a short essay highlighting its accomplishments, history and challenges. There’s also a "state-at-a-glance" box, listing quick facts, and a map with points of interest. For the youngster with an interest in the world around him, Our Fifty States is a great introduction to this great country.

While adults may think geography is a dull subject probably from all those times they've wrestled with maps while driving down the interstate kids love this stuff. After all, geography is more than blue lines on the pages of an atlas. It's about the…

Children's & YA

Making learning fun

Review by bookpagedev

Holding a kid’s attention when you’re trying to teach them something is all a matter of presentation, and the publishers of The World Almanac for Kids 2005 have the technique down cold. They do it with a combination of hip, colorful graphics and a keen insight into what youngsters are into these days. The almanac is divided into chapters that interest young readers, from space to sports, art to animals. You’ll find plenty of right-this-minute cultural references, like rappers and sports stars, politicians and actresses, along with tons of information and facts. Each subject is dealt with in a few short, succinct paragraphs, accompanied by striking, colorful visuals. There’s even a chapter on putting together a term paper, which you could probably do using only this book. The World Almanac for Kids 2005 is the kind of book kids or adults can read for hours, with every page containing a new surprise.

Holding a kid's attention when you're trying to teach them something is all a matter of presentation, and the publishers of The World Almanac for Kids 2005 have the technique down cold. They do it with a combination of hip, colorful graphics and a…

Children's & YA

Believe it . . . or not!

Review by bookpagedev

One of our favorite Calvin & Hobbes cartoons has the pair philosophizing on the cause and effect of "bug barf." We like the cartoon because it reminds us of what being a child is like. Let’s face it kids love gross stuff! Maybe that explains the popularity of the Ripley’s Believe It Or Not comic strip; while it’s filled with amazing facts, odd happenings and strange creatures, there are a lot of items that are just plain, well, yucky. That’s why kids, especially boys of a certain age, will absolutely love the latest edition of Ripley’s Believe It Or Not. The book is packed from cover to cover with a mind-bending assortment of weirdness, all in stomach-churning color. From the woman who grows copper on her skin to the grotesque antics of creatures great and small, Ripley’s is guaranteed to evoke more "ewwws" per hour than any book you’re likely to encounter. Your kids won’t be able to put it down and we promise not to tell if a few parents also find themselves strangely fascinated by this collection of the odd, the repulsive and the utterly unbelievable.

One of our favorite Calvin & Hobbes cartoons has the pair philosophizing on the cause and effect of "bug barf." We like the cartoon because it reminds us of what being a child is like. Let's face it kids love gross stuff! Maybe that…

Children's & YAPicture Book

A classic collection

Review by bookpagedev

Your Favorite Seuss: A Baker’s Dozen by the One and Only Dr. Seuss is a colorful compilation of timeless tales that young readers will treasure for years to come. Perfect for holiday gift-giving, this big, bold volume spans the esteemed author’s 53-year career and contains 13 classic pieces. From Green Eggs and Ham and How the Grinch Stole Christmas! to Yertle the Turtle and Horton Hears a Who!, these selections are signature Seuss effusive, exclamatory stories, marked by symmetrical stanzas, reliable rhythms and freshly coined phrases, all produced by a writer whose way with words was as rare as his cast of characters. Saucer-eyed, splay-footed, fuzzy specimens that defy taxonomic classification, these creatures Sneetches, Nerkles and Preeps, to be precise were the products of Seuss’ personal surrealism. Multicolored hybrids, spirited and sprightly, they’re out-of-this-world, yet unmistakably of it. Who can resist the lure of the Lorax? Your Favorite Seuss is seasoned with original sketches, photographs and other memorabilia, as well as biographical information on the author, a Springfield, Massachusetts, native whose real name was Theodor Seuss Geisel (that’s Dr. Seuss to you!). Introductory essays contributed by the likes of Stan and Jan Berenstain, actor John Lithgow, and folk singer Pete Seeger complement each unforgettable tale, making Your Favorite Seuss a grand retrospective of an American original.

Your Favorite Seuss: A Baker's Dozen by the One and Only Dr. Seuss is a colorful compilation of timeless tales that young readers will treasure for years to come. Perfect for holiday gift-giving, this big, bold volume spans the esteemed author's 53-year career and…

Inspirational Fiction

Sci-fi gets religion

Review by bookpagedev

Collin Boyd stepped off the Metro bus on his way to work, and across the street he saw himself strolling down the sidewalk. So begins Relentless, author Robin Parrish’s entry into the thriller/sci-fi genre and the first in a planned trilogy.

After that mind-bending sight, Collin realizes he is no longer Collin Boyd. He is now Grant Borrows, although he has no idea who Grant Borrows is, and someone else is living his old life. A motorcycle-riding assassin with a totally cool sword stalks him with cat-and-mouse glee while Grant spends his time leaping from one frying pan into the next. Parrish writes with the verve and attitude of a New York City cab driver, plunging ahead with barely a glance at oncoming traffic, slinging you from side to side with near misses and narrow escapes before delivering you, safe, to your destination. There’s a reason this novel is called Relentless. Mike Parker is a former pastor who writes from Murfreesboro, Tennessee.

Collin Boyd stepped off the Metro bus on his way to work, and across the street he saw himself strolling down the sidewalk. So begins Relentless, author Robin Parrish's entry into the thriller/sci-fi genre and the first in a planned trilogy.

After that…
Inspirational Fiction

A nose for news

Review by bookpagedev

The local newscast is the bread ‘n’ butter for most television stations, and the news anchors are hometown heroes in our celebrity-obsessed society. But can you really tell the whole story in a 30-second sound bite? When does news become entertainment? And what is a conscious-stricken reporter supposed to do about it anyway? That is the premise for author Rene Gutteridge’s laugh-out-loud funny send-up of TV news, Scoop.

Ray Duffey truly believes he is doing his community a service by reporting the news. At least, he did, before the channel’s drive for ratings shifted the focus from what is important to what is sensational. But when Ray encounters his boss’ new assistant, Hayden Hazard, a fresh-faced slip of a girl who innocently expresses her faith in public, out loud, on purpose Ray finds his own faith in himself and his profession restored.

Mike Parker is a former pastor who writes from Murfreesboro, Tennessee.

The local newscast is the bread 'n' butter for most television stations, and the news anchors are hometown heroes in our celebrity-obsessed society. But can you really tell the whole story in a 30-second sound bite? When does news become entertainment? And what is a…
Inspirational Fiction

Can this marriage be saved?

Review by bookpagedev

If you believe everything you hear on the news, marriage is on the decline, divorce is on the rise and relationships are considered disposable commodities on the same level as paper plates and plastic spoons. But even when affection grows cold, cutting the tie that binds can be an excruciating experience. Popular pastor, speaker and best-selling author T.D. Jakes mines the emotions of a couple on the cusp of divorce in his latest contemporary novel, Not Easily Broken. Dave and Clarice Johnson make an attractive, intelligent, upwardly mobile couple, both successful in their own realms. Yet something is missing from their marriage. An incapacitating auto accident, coupled with a beautiful rehab nurse, only serves to exacerbate their wounded relationship. Jakes pulls no punches as he explores the ramifications of allowing your love to grow cold, and your heart to grow hard.

Mike Parker is a former pastor who writes from Murfreesboro, Tennessee.

If you believe everything you hear on the news, marriage is on the decline, divorce is on the rise and relationships are considered disposable commodities on the same level as paper plates and plastic spoons. But even when affection grows cold, cutting the tie that…
Short StoriesInspirational Fiction

Short stories resurrected

Review by bookpagedev

As editor of The Best Christian Short Stories, Vol. 1, it fell to best-selling author Bret Lott to find stories that treated the biblical command to bear witness with dignity and aplomb. Lott contributed a story of his own and came up with 10 others that illustrated his point by authors such as Larry Woiwode, Erin McGraw, Homer Hickam and James Calvin Schaap. In Schaap’s Exodus, a father drives from Iowa to Arizona to deliver his daughter from an unhappy marriage, and ends up learning something about himself. Hickam’s Dosie of Killakeet Island finds a small island community rallying around one of their own after tragedy strikes. These are honest stories about people with challenging lives just like us. Mike Parker is a former pastor who writes from Murfreesboro, Tennessee.

As editor of The Best Christian Short Stories, Vol. 1, it fell to best-selling author Bret Lott to find stories that treated the biblical command to bear witness with dignity and aplomb. Lott contributed a story of his own and came up with 10 others…
Animals

In focus

Review by bookpagedev

Mammals of North America is the latest entry in the Kaufman Focus Guides series, launched to much acclaim last year with Kenn Kaufman’s Birds of North America. This innovative nature series uses digitally enhanced photographs, rather than drawings, to help users identify each entry. The new guide, Mammals of North America, limits its scope to those wild mammals known to occur on our continent, and the result is a perfect gift for campers and avid outdoorsmen. With keys for recognizing every animal from the elk to the marmot, this user-friendly guide also includes a map of the area in which each animal is likely to live, as well as the size and appearance of the animals’ tracks. “For the most part, mammals are what we have in mind when we think about the thrill of seeing wild animals,” Kaufman writes. “Let a fox or deer cross the path, let even a chipmunk approach the group, and it will become the center of attention. The mammal trumps everything else.” Amy Scribner is a writer in Olympia, Washington.

Mammals of North America is the latest entry in the Kaufman Focus Guides series, launched to much acclaim last year with Kenn Kaufman's Birds of North America. This innovative nature series uses digitally enhanced photographs, rather than drawings, to help users identify each entry. The…
Sports

Revisiting an old ballgame

Review by bookpagedev

October 3, 1951, is a landmark date in baseball history. It’s the day the New York Giants’ Bobby Thomson hit a walk-off home run against the Brooklyn Dodgers in the third game of a post-season playoff series, handing the Giants the National League pennant and sending their longtime rivals to bitter defeat. That the Giants subsequently lost the World Series to the New York Yankees has become somewhat of an ironic historical asterisk, mainly because both local and national attention on the Dodgers-Giants match up was huge, fueled by an enthusiastic media. Joshua Prager’s The Echoing Green offers a wide-ranging account of the main event rendered with uncommonly high levels of surrounding detail.

Prager specifically charts the lives and careers of the principals Thomson and Ralph Branca, the Dodgers’ pitcher who served up the fateful pitch and also provides an interesting rundown on some of their teammates as well as the season-long battle for first place, as the Giants charged hard to make up lost ground against a Dodgers squad that seemed predestined for the league championship. He also expends a great deal of ink relating a tantalizing subplot involving the Giants’ colorful manager, Leo Durocher, and his elaborate scheme to steal opponents’ pitching signs at the Giants’ home field.

Expanding on a story he first covered for the Wall Street Journal, Prager infuses his text with a solid, ’50s-focused sociological underpinning, charts the emotional roller coaster experienced by devoted fans and offers keen insight into the nature of the predominant print and radio reportage of the day. The writing style here is decidedly higher-toned than typical sportswriting, with inverted phrasings and a rarefied vocabulary ( puissant, lacuna, etc.) that risk putting off the casual reader. But clearly, Prager’s magnum opus is directed toward thoughtful, historically inclined baseball fans the ones who know why the Thomson round-tripper is one of the game’s most important moments, or who may even remember it happening. Martin Brady is a writer in Nashville.

October 3, 1951, is a landmark date in baseball history. It's the day the New York Giants' Bobby Thomson hit a walk-off home run against the Brooklyn Dodgers in the third game of a post-season playoff series, handing the Giants the National League pennant and…
Animals

Dinosaurs of the sea

Review by bookpagedev

What is it about sea turtles that make them so mysterious? Is it the laborious egg-laying process, in which thousands of females lumber up the beach to deposit their eggs? Is it their immense size? Their prehistoric roots? According to author James R. Spotila, the director of the Center for Biodiversity and Conservation at Drexel University, it is all of this and more. In Sea Turtles, he writes, “The seven species alive today are ancient reptiles living dinosaurs if you will swimming through our oceans just as they did one hundred million years ago.” Sea Turtles is a compelling look at these ancient creatures, which can live for decades and reach weights of up to 2,000 pounds. Spotila traces the history and life cycle of the sea turtle, as well as efforts to preserve the seven species, many of which have been hunted to the brink of extinction. Sea Turtles profiles several individuals and programs aimed at saving the turtle. Beautiful color photos and lyrical writing make this book a must-have for any nature enthusiast on your gift list. Amy Scribner is a writer in Olympia, Washington.

What is it about sea turtles that make them so mysterious? Is it the laborious egg-laying process, in which thousands of females lumber up the beach to deposit their eggs? Is it their immense size? Their prehistoric roots? According to author James R. Spotila, the…
History

Ancient history made vividly alive

Review by bookpagedev

Hadrian, Roman emperor from A.D. 117 to 138, looked back appreciatively on an earlier classical world. Although the Roman world had been greatly expanded by his time, Hadrian was keenly interested in the developments that occurred in Greece in the fifth and fourth centuries B.C. and that continued to evolve. He took several tours of his empire and was especially respectful of Athens and gave generously to the city. Oxford historian Robin Lane Fox gives readers a magnificently crafted overview from ancient Greece to Hadrian’s time in The Classical World: An Epic History from Homer to Hadrian, concentrating on political life and thought, literature, art and philosophy.

Fox particularly emphasizes the Athens of Pericles and Socrates, and the Rome of Julius Caesar and Augustus. He notes than an important part of the classical world was the creation and development of the writing of history, and he gives us incisive views of Herodotus, Thucydides, Polybius and Tacitus. Throughout, Fox focuses on three favorite themes of historians of antiquity freedom, justice and luxury. He shows how these were flexible concepts open to quite different interpretations and applied only to the aristocracy in virtually every society. Conquest and slavery were taken for granted as essential to economic growth and stability, and women had virtually no political rights, although a few were able to influence or change the direction of events.

It was Cleisthenes, an experienced elder statesman, who, in the summer of 508 B.C., made the first known proposal of democracy, the lasting example of Athenians to the world, Fox tells us. By our standards this democracy was limited, but it continued to develop, with only two interruptions, for 180 years.

In Fox’s hands, the seemingly never-ending stream of warfare, hypocrisy, tyranny, murder and other violence (and courage, too) of the classical world, explained in proper context, never becomes merely names and dates. The Classical World is a dazzling achievement, wonderfully erudite and joyfully readable. It is a marvelous introduction to its subject and the extensive bibliography is the ideal place to find additional sources for the many readers who will want to explore specific subjects in greater detail. Roger Bishop is a retired Nashville bookseller and a frequent contributor to BookPage.

Hadrian, Roman emperor from A.D. 117 to 138, looked back appreciatively on an earlier classical world. Although the Roman world had been greatly expanded by his time, Hadrian was keenly interested in the developments that occurred in Greece in the fifth and fourth centuries B.C.…

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