Bear Feels Scared by Karma Wilson

Oh this is a perfect October book. I just love October weather and this book gathers all of that snuggle up close to me feeling. Karma Wilson and Jane Chapman are masters at their work. We have all of the Bear books and my daughters just loves Bear, he's an integral part of their love for reading, and an integral part of exploring their own emotions. Of all the October books, this is by far the best. Buy it today, snuggle up with your little bear, and make your children fall in love with reading.
jlw

The First Dog by Jan Brett

This book made the fav list. My youngest daughter found this at the Big Read in St.Louis for $1, and I praised her for finding one of those great classical books by Jan Brett. But then we read it and I wanted to cry inside. It just hits a dog lover right in the heart. We have read it at least three times a week since we brought it home. It just goes to show that the best books sometimes are cheap and used, and even a seven-year old can find them.

jlw

German Shepherds for Dummies by D. Caroline Coile, Ph.D.

I have recently brought home a German Shepherd puppy. And like anything I adventure into, I have to read about it. And I'm so glad I did. As a dog owner all my life I have always tended toward the small/medium gentle dogs. If we had a large dog, he lived outside and roamed the country-side as he wished. But now I live in town, and I want a German Shepherd in my house to alert me and protect me and my children. To keep a German Shepherd happy you have to understand the breed. Without giving him work to do, he will make his own work and destroy your house and your happiness. This book enlightened me to the heritage that my puppy has, his history, his inbred desires and is a tool for me to keep my GSD fulfilled, happy, and obedient. Regardless of the humiliation of actually buying a "Dummy" book for the first time, I am impressed, I am knowledgeable now and I am thankfull that I grabbed this book and read it front to back and then a few places over again. I recommend reading up on any breed of dog that you decide to bring home and the "for Dummies" series covers many of them.

jlw

The Bearded Dragon Manual by Phillippe de Vosjoli

Loved this book. Everything I need to know about a bearded dragon is referenced in this book. I have reread it's pages frequently and it has prepared me well for beardie ownership. For anyone looking to get a beardie this is a must read, they have special needs that many pet shops are not going to go into detail with you when you leave the store. Not following diet and light needs could be tortuous to your beardie, resulting in pain and often death. During my bearded dragon research I also found a great website, the owner of the site has gone to great lengths to make a diet chart that is extremely handy. http://www.beautifuldragons.503xtreme.com/ is launched by a dragon owner who made those very mistakes but learned from them and now shares her story and her research. I recommend exploration of the site and intense study of this manual before ownership of a dragon. With ownership comes responsibility and when you are responsible to your pets, you truly enjoy them fully.

jlw

The Leopard Gecko Manual by Philippe de Vosjoli

This is probably the best up to date literature available for the leopard gecko. It brings together the expertise of breeders and veterinary science and gives a well rounded education on caring for your own leopard gecko. This delicate lizard should not be an impulse buy and I recommend that this manual be read before anyone brings home a leopard gecko. They aren't just like any other gecko and to be a responsible pet owner, this is a must read.

jlw

Remedies for Vertigo by Walter Bargen

This is one of my few signed books. And I went through the trouble of getting it signed because the author is the first named poet laurette from Missouri. And this collection of poems is just as special to me. Walter has a "fire-light story" way about him, makes you want to cuddle up and read it at night, just before drifting off. He holds a good deal of philosophy in his work but so comfortingly discloses his philosophy that even if you don't quite catch the larger message you enjoy it all along the way besides. Walter Bargen is a good poet because first he is simply a great writer, secondly he is earthy and imaginative. I'm on a scout to collect his out of print works. A great read, beautiful poetry. Five Stars.

jlw

The Enchantress of Florence by Salman Rushdie

It's hard to explain this book. I find the words of Lisa Shea nearly perfect, found on the back cover..."A prodigious fever dream of a book..." And it is such a story that would unfold in some sort of tortured fever sleep. Let me begin by saying it is some of the most beautiful prose I have ever read. Truly the words sway in and out of eachother like a spring breeze through a blooming dogwood. The words themselves enchant you, enough that you don't mind being completely confused by the tangled story line or the characters that go by a minimum of five different names. In my harshest opinion I think the story had too many main characters with too many names, it went off on different tangents so often that it may take you seven pages to finish one scene. And because of the overload of characters, I found myself unattached to them all. I really had no stake in them, I didn't care what their outcome was as long as I could keep myself together long enough to make it to the end and complete this fevered adventure I had begun. All this considered, I did finish it! It was the prose that kept me involved, very beautiful, very practised and proficient. But once finished there was no feeling of completion or triumph, it was just finally over. Three stars.

jlw