Book Description

The Okomi stories are based upon real events and natural chimp behavior in the wild as observed by Jane Goodall.Dr. Goodall discovered that chimpanzee babies and their mothers play little games, such as tickling each other, that bonded them closely together. The Okomi books are based on these observations, telling simple stories covering issues of fear, playfulness, laughter, surprise, and new experiences. Young children and their parents will find the stories engaging, comforting, and even instructive, while encouraging an interest in animals and nature.

In this story, Mama proudly shows up with baby Okomi. His arrival is exciting news among the chimpanzees! Then his big, powerful Dada comes. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

A warm and gentle story for beginning readers
Collaboratively written by Helen and Clive Dorman under the auspices of The Jane Goodall Institute, Okomi: The New Baby is the first in a series about the relationship between a chimpanzee infant and its mother. A warm and gentle story for beginning readers, with thoughtful color illustrations by Tony Hutchings, and a deep sympathy for humans' primate relatives. Also highly recommended are the three other titles in this outstanding series for very young readers, Okomi And The Tickling Game; Okomi: Plays In The Leaves; and Okomi Climbs A Tree. ... Read more

Book Description

Early learning has never been more alive...or lively!Dramatically illustrated and die-cut, with engaging texts, the Know It Alls(tm) series provides a first scientific look at our planet.From the mountain gorilla that eats up to 45 pounds of food a day to "tidy" chimpanzees that groom each other's fur, this book doesn't monkey around with the facts!Look for other titles in this exciting series:Bugs!

ISBN# 0-7681-0094-1 Dinosaurs!

ISBN# 0-7681-0067-4 Sharks!

ISBN# 0-7681-0125-5 Snakes!

ISBN# 0-7681-0107-7

Wildcats!

ISBN# 0-7681-0095-X Wolves!

ISBN# 0-7681-0126-3 Butterflies!

ISBN# 0-7681-0131-X Spiders!

ISBN# 0-7681-0128-X Whales!

ISBN# 0-7681-0127-1 ... Read more

Reviews (1)

charming
This books offers a ton of interesting facts about apes, with great pictures and even maps. There is a particular focus on apes' family groups, eating habits and babies. Written at about a primary school level. ... Read more

Book Description

Brrr ... ing!
There's the school bell!
It's the first day back at school for Arthur and Violet and all of their friends. Time for riding the school bus, going to class, and best of all, eating snacks and playing games at recess.

But this year the first day is full of surprises. The bus ride to school is an unexpected adventure, and Arthur's friend, Norman, almost loses his lunch box. Just when things settle down, Arthur finds his snack has disappeared from his lunch box. What will happen next on this exciting first day of school?

Beginning readers heading back to school will enjoy the humor in Lillian Hoban's tenth I Can Read Book about these much loved characters. ... Read more

Book Description

After a long day at the fair George is frustrated. It seems he is always too small! But when George falls asleep and wakes up BIG, he discovers being too large can be difficult, too, and maybe he's the right size after all. The adventures of Curious George continue in an all-new series beginning in fall 1998 with eight new stories. Written and illustrated in the style of Margret and H. A. Rey, the books appear in paperback (8 x 8") and hardcover editions and feature the art of Vipah Interactive, the animators of HMI's Curious George CD-ROMs. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Pathetic imitation of Classic Curious George
I accidentally bought this book in a boxed set, along with 9 other titles by Vipah Interactive. They are all TERRIBLE. The original Curious George was a fun-loving monkey, who enjoyed life. Sure, he did silly things, and suffered the consequences, but he had a ball. THIS George is curious, but meek, and constantly being punished and berated for his misdeeds. Here, George, who felt too small all day at the amusement park, dreams that he's very big - and finds out that he can't do anything then, either. The lesson of "George's Dream" is that you should be content just the way you are, which is a *terrible* lesson for growing children. This is lousy book. ... Read more

Book Description

The Okomi stories are based upon real events and natural chimp behavior in the wild as observed by Jane Goodall.Dr. Goodall discovered that chimpanzee babies and their mothers play little games, such as tickling each other, that bonded them closely together. The Okomi books are based on these observations, telling simple stories covering issues of fear, playfulness, laughter, surprise, and new experiences. Young children and their parents will find the stories engaging, comforting, and even instructive, while encouraging an interest in animals and nature.

In this story, Okomi has just awakened. He is still sleepy when Mama tickles his foot! Ooo! Then she tickles his tummy! Then Okomi has an idea. ... Read more

Book Description

Jess and George are two chimps who live on neighboring islands, and they think it would be a great idea to get together for banana milkshakes and coconut cake. But they have a problem--hungry sharks are swimming between the islands, and there’s no way for George and Jess to get around them! No matter what they try, from flying with banana-tree leaf wings to digging a tunnel under the water, George and Jess keep hearing the chant of the hungry sharks: "Yummy, yummy! Food for my tummy!" Finally, Jess and George realize that all they need to do is sit down and think about the problem, and it solves itself! ... Read more

Book Description

Who needs a ladder when you've got a giraffe with an extending neck?

The Ladderless Window-Cleaning Company certainly doesn't. They don't need a pail, either, because they have a pelican with a bucket-sized beak. With a monkey to do the washing and Billy as their manager, this business is destined for success. Now they have their big break -- a chance to clean all 677 windows of Hampshire House, owned by the richest man in all of England! That's exciting enough, but along the way there are surprises and adventures beyond their window-washing dreams.

Reviews (3)

Terrific...
I found this book while I was doing a classroom project about books that would get kids to enjoy art. Honestly, I can think of no better book. Kids will love Willy. The pictures are absolutely beautiful, and there are explanations of the sources of each of the paintings Willy renders in the back. What more could you want?

Humorous Chimp-Painting Transformations!
If a thousand monkeys sat at a thousand typewriters, could they ever recreate Shakespeare? That's the obvious premise for this book. This surface joke contains a more serious purpose, to encourage you to look more closely and think more about an artist's purpose and effects. After the laughter settles down, there's a wonderful opportunity to study these cartoons for their fine-art roots, and to learn about great paintings. I have seen no finer book for introducing children to paintings. Adults who would like to extend beyond a simple understanding of some important paintings will find this book rewarding as well.

"Willy likes painting and looking at pictures. He knows that every picture tells a story."

Willy is a chimp and appears to have visited many of the world's great art museums, because he knows their contents very well. The book is a series of chimp-based paintings. One or more chimps are in each image, often simply replacing where a human model would have been placed. That creates the first level of humor.

At the second level of humor, each image is also based on a famous painting. For example, the chimp painting of The Kind Women is based on The Gleaners by Millet.

At the third level of humor, the painting is further transformed by changing the sequence a little. For example, The Kind Women has the chimp women actually painting in the foreground with brushes rather than picking up the loose grains.

At the fourth level of humor, the works are renamed and subtitled. For example, The Kind Women (instead of The Gleaners) has a subtitle "I had been getting a bit bored with painting all that grass." This is based on the idea of the women in the painting helping Willy finish the painting.

At the fifth level of humor, each work also has one or more fragments of other paintings juxtaposed onto the composition of the primary transformation. For example, Lots and Lots and Lots of Dots is inevitably based on Seurat's Sunday Afternoon on La Grande Jatte but also contains part of the cobblestone pavement in the center of Caillebotte's Paris, A Rainy Day. So, these are a little like jigsaw puzzles, fitting different works into the same image in unexpected and humorous ways.

At the end of the book are small images of the paintings that the chimp images are drawn from, so that you can match up the works, even if you don't already know them. This is a good excuse to look at some great art.

Here are my favorite images from the book:

The Birthday Suit: "Quick, cover yourself up!" The primary inspiration is The Birth of Venus by Botticelli.

My Best Ever Sand Castle: "I had an odd feeling that the castle was trying to warn me of something." The primary source is The Tower of Babel by Peter Brueghel the Elder.

Lots and Lots and Lots of Dots (see above)

The Kind Women (see above)

Coming to Life: "I was just finishing the painting when I heard a small voice say, 'Give us a hand.'" The primary model for the painting is Creation of Adam by Buonarroti.

The Mysterious Smile: "Can you solve this mystery?" The main reference is to Mona Lisa by da Vinci.

The Fruitful Fishing Trip: "We hadn't caught anything all day and were on our way home when we cast our net for the last time." This painting is based on The Herring Net by Homer.

My only complaint about the book is that fitting in the secondary images did not always elevate the overall impression. In other words, the humor aimed unnecessarily too low at times.

I am in awe of Mr. Browne for conceiving of and well executing this work, though. It is a remarkable accomplishment, and one that I hope will find its way into many homes.

After you finish enjoying this book, you might want to do what my youngest child did. She took actual paintings and created her own studies of them, and we hung her studies next to the originals. Having done this at age 5, she definitely captured the key elements of composition, color, and emotion in a way that made these paintings hers forever. She was proud that we wanted to display her work as well. After doing that, you might want to ask your child if he or she wants to take a crack at creating her or his own chimp paintings. That would be a worthy challenge that would drive the lessons home much deeper. You could use the paintings at the end of the book as the models to draw from.

See the potential all around you, and integrate it into your own life!

Great fun
Willy the Chimpanzee unveils a gallery of his own paintings, and introduces the famous artworks that inspired each one. An art lover's delight. ... Read more

Book Description

Monkey must find a way to count his coconuts quickly.His jungle friends (a tapir, a jaguar, a boa and a sloth) suggest various counting methods and he learns to count in sets.

The story text appears in English.The numbers appear in both English and Spanish.

A keyword vocabulary page at the end of the book has number s in both languages to aid in learning. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

My kids love the artwork!
Bright colorful critters layered over a lush, almost airbrushed background made it fun for my kids to read this book. We're big on illustrations at my house, and this book's characters were friendly and enjoyable. My daughter, at 6, just enjoyed the pictures for what they are, but my 9 year old son (who is a bit older than this book's demographic) enjoyed looking closely to try and see how the artist created the unique look.

The story itself is fun, as well. The bulk of the story is in English, but the numbers are presented in Spanish as well. With an ever growing number of Hispanics in our small community, I welcome opportunities for my kids to learn a bit of their language.

I would recommend this book for those just learning to count as well as those learning different groupings of numbers, such as counting by twos, threes, etc. In addition to the math and language lessons you can take away from "Counting Coconuts," it's just a good read. So the audience for this ranges quite a bit, I'd think. A two or three year old would enjoy looking at the pictures as the story is read to them, fours and fives will get the opportunity to master counting in two languages, and those six and up can practice counting in alternate ways.

Humorous counting book for the young
"Counting Coconuts" is a fun trip for younger readers to learn counting by units.Monkey wants to count his coconuts before eating them and wants a fast way to do it.So, he starts counting each of them.Then, one by one, other animals point out that it would be faster to count by twos, threes, fours, fives, or tens.Of course as he puts them in piles of two or three or more each time he spends more time.Before you know it he has spent all day trying to count the coconuts in faster ways.

The illustrations are bright, colorful, and appropriate to the text.With the whimsical expressions on the animals they should hold the attention of young readers.The storyline could be a good spring board for teaching that searching for the easiest or fastest way to do something can sometimes consume a lot more time than just doing it."Counting Coconuts" is a recommended read for young children of about five to eight years old. ... Read more

Book Description

With stunning, impressionistic illustrations, Dieter Wiesmller takes young readers on a delightful journey of discovery.Marco Monkey grew up in a land of steamy tropical rainforests.Polo Penguin had never left the frosty cold ice pack of Antarctica.But the two adventurers share a curiosity about the world around them that leads them on a globe-spanning expedition that explores both the wonders of the Earth around them and the very nature of friendship itself. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

Exotic Friends Living Worlds Apart.
THE ADVENTURES OF MARCO AND POLO is a beautiful lavishly illustrated story about a monkey named Marco and a penguin named Polo.Polo penguin awakes one morning to see smoke billowing over the horizon.The smoke turns out to come from a cruise ship that drops off a monkey name Marco. Marco carries a camera and has come to explore the most exotic country he could find.Polo Penguin shows him around, but things are too cold for Marco and he wants to return home.Marco tells Polo that his home is always warm and Polo becomes intrigued with the idea of a place that is always warm and sets off to visit Marco's home. An international animal cultural exchange takes place. The two quickly become friends, but are troubled by the fact that neither one enjoys the climate of the other's home.The final pages illustrate and describe what is done to reach a compromise.

THE ADVENTURES OF MARCO AND POLO is a beautifully illustrated book. Even if children don't like the story, they will love looking at the pictures and the book is worth purchasing for those alone. However, the story is slightly charming and will amuse young children.

One of my favorites
I like this book because it has beautiful illustrations, that show animals and places in the jungle and Antarctica. I like the story, because Marco and Polo do interesting things and they stay friends.

A Great Book!
This is a great book for children & adults alike.It has incredible pictures, humor and a little adventure.The message I got from it, was one of enduring friendship, despite differences.
I use it in my school library, reading it to classes who have been learning about habitats.Kids love it, and it is a pleasure to read aloud.

An illustrator
Impressive illustrations that anyone will appreciate. A very
nice story to go along with it. The person who has "an issue with the story's underlying message" in the book is oviously reading too far into it and should try to learn to enjoy it for what it is-an entertaining well written and beautifully
illustrated children's book. I highly recommend it.

Beautful illustrations but questionable message
My child and I both enjoy the lush illustrations in this book, but I have an issue with the story's underlying message.Although both Marco and Polo love to travel together and become good friends, they ultimately decide that the should each go back home and reside "where they belong".To me, the book implicitly advocates segregation, even though it exists here between a penguin and a monkey. ... Read more

Book Description

Go on location with Kathy and Tara Darling to study three species of lemurs in one of the last forests of Madagascar. These playful primates leap thirty feet in a bound, settle territorial disputes with stink fights, and sleep interlocked in purring"locomotive lines." In this unforgettable real-life adventure, readers get a face-to-face introduction to one of nature's most fascinating endangered animals. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Wonderful!
This book has wonderful photographs and wonderful text. A child could easily understand and learn a lot from this book. The beautiful pictures help us see the lemurs in their natural habitat and help you to recognize the different species of lemurs. The book is full of interesting facts that are written in a way to help you remember them for a long time. For example, I will always remember that sifakas never drink liquid, but get all of the water they need from their diet of leaves. I'll always remember how the ringtail lemurs engage in stink fights, by getting the scent (which the opposing lemur finds so offensive, but humans can't smell), all over their tail and lashing it out at the other lemur. Through the beautiful photographs and the wonderfully crafted writing even a child can come to better understand the world of lemurs. ... Read more

Book Description

In the new Animal Watch series, a distinguished ecologist and gifted natural history artist travel the globe to take readers into the natural habitats of the world most lovable and intriguing creatures. Captivating full-color artwork and photographs detail the unique aspect of each species. Extensive mapping allows readers to easily locate every habitat. ... Read more

Book Description

Exciting coverage of every aspect of small primate life and behavior with more than 180 dramatic photos. ... Read more