Toes Books

This adorable little book is chock full of everything a child will love - tactiles, rhymes, animals, bugs and counting! It isn't annoying in the slightest and it never gets old no matter how many kids have grabbed it off the shelf and plopped down in my lap. I have to admit that when I first read it, I was horrified - it was a nail-biter all the way to the end....where did they go? were they mauled by the duck? the fish? the frog or turtles?! Then, we get to the end *sigh* - all better.

*NOTE to 10 Little Ladybug fans - there is a condensed version which is awesome for the car titled, what else? "Five Little Ladybugs"! So cute - your child will love this and you wont mind reading it over and over and over and....

I use this book in my work with infants and toddlers. The babies love it! They are drawn to it and love to touch the ladybugs. It is a pattern story, with the counting the repetitive focus. Best is the illustrations and the raised ladybug. Ladybugs go down in number with each turn of the page. This book also comes in a variety of sizes. I now buy this for baby gifts as well.

I bought this book for my grandson who was almost 2 at the time. We were going to visit, and I took it to him. The two of us read that book probably 25 times in the 3 days we were in their home. He LOVED that book! We'd read it, then we had to kiss all the ladybugs. . .then we'd read it again, then we'd kiss all the other critters. We had the best time. I would highly recommend this book to any grandparent who likes to read to their grandchildren, especially if they enjoy interactive books. This book is FUN. My grandson LOVES being read to and we've read a lot of books. But this particular book, like "5 Little Monkeys" is a HUGE hit!

Review by Sherry North, Author, Because You Are My Baby

This is a wonderfully designed book. The touchable ladybugs make it engaging for toddlers, while preschoolers will appreciate the clever story. At first it seems like the book has a dark side - with various creatures gobbling up the ladybugs - but the sweet twist ending shows all the ladybugs are safe after all.

I have two preschoolers, and after multiple readings, the ladybugs show no signs of coming off, and the pages have not torn. Well done!

My daughter has loved this book since she was 4 months old. Everytime we read it together, she tries to "pick off" the ladybugs from the page. the story is sweet and introduces other animals and has beautiful illustrations. If I need to get her attention, all I need to do is pick up the book and begin reading it. She stops what she's doing and crawls over ASAP. I highly recommend this. We also have 8 Silly Monkeys which is cute as well.

this is a great interactive book. my 2.5 year old loves the challenge question after every animal 'can you do it??' our fav is the donkey kick. the book is huge. i did not know that. probably the reason why it is so expensive....but well worth it....definitely two thumbs up!!!!

I don't think I've ever quite understood the whole Eric Carle thing. Still, I have to hand it him that his paintins are incredible and the books are simple enough one can force a dozen school lessons from them. This particular one gives repetition to the "I can" phrase as kids imitate the movements of various animals--that's a fun side effect.

Our 20 month old and 3 year old boys love this Eric Carle gem. It combines beautiful pictures of animals with simple rhythmic text showing body parts and actions -- turning heads, bending necks, raising shoulders, arching backs and others. Best of all, it allows active participation by imitating what is on the page. We have purchased quite a few books but this one is magic.

My 18 month old son loves this book! He watched me do the movements as I read it and now he does them on his own when I read the book! Very cute and interactive.

In this book, various animals and children move parts of their body and encourage other children to do so.

Eric Carle is truly a master of this kind of text. Each spread follows the same repetitive structure - "I'm a $ANIMAL and I can $VERB my $BODYPART - can you? I can do it!" - which makes it very suitable both for young children learning to speak and older children figuring out how to read.

The only part I don't like is at the end, when the little boy says to his parrot (in a neat turnaround) "I am I, and I can wiggle my toe". It doesn't sound very idiomatic to me - I would say, in normal speech "I am me", or perhaps (in the form followed in the rest of the book) "I am a child" or "I am a person" or "I am a human".

This book is also, obviously good to encourage kids to move during a rainy-day storytime, or to let them move if they always are fidgeting during storytime.

Sandra Boynton's books are a must have for anyone with small children or babies. This collection is perfect for someone starting to collect books for their child. Even a newborn will listen to several of these books in a row.

These books are GREAT for babies, and older children enjoy them, too. I got them for my grand daughter's first birthday, and they were a hit! They are imaginative, appealing, engaging, and fun!

My 18 month old baby girls love Boynton books! Buying 4 at once saves money!

We love, love, love Sandra Boynton and all the silliness she brings to children's books. My children adore her books. Her ability to bring humor out in books for kids at such a young age is incredible. I started reading these books to my kids when they were just babies, and they were probably the first books that they got a real belly laugh from. Eventually, they came to reciting the vereses with me, and we have read these books thousands of times. You will enjoy the box set and the pricing that goes with it. Trust me, you will want all four of these books for your collection, and the savings of getting all four together can't be beat! As opposed to some box sets that have a dud or two in them, you will NOT find this to be the case with these books. You will love them all.

We are working on collection all of Sandra Boynton's books because they are so cute and so much fun to read. The ones we don't own yet we check out of the library often because my daughter (now 19 months old) just LOVES to hear them over and over again and has since she was born! I find her "reading" (saying parts from memory) the books on her own too. Out of this group of 4 books Opposites is currently her favorite (the one she asks me to read most) but she (and I) love them all!

Wonderful book if you like vintage stories, especially of large innovative families.

There are a number of books related to this one, as well as movies connected as remakes of the books.

Belles on Their Toes, Cheaper by the Dozen, etc. are refreshing insights of life in the early 1900's.

especially for a sequel!

I found this book a couple years after I came across the first one as a teenager. It's a good continuation of the story and lets you know what happened, and how this amazing family all chipped in to make things work after their terrible tragedy.

This book continues the true story of the Gilbreth children or the sequel to Cheaper by the Dozen.
The story continues after the father died. The mother is now the soul supporter of her family. There is a graet saying in the book that says,"Mother wasn't afraid anymore because the worst had happend."
The mother carried on her husbands works. She held conferences and taught the scince of time saving. She became a very strong woman.
It was a long hard haul but ahe successfully continued her husbands work. The children successfully ran the household.
This story is humorus and very touching. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

I can't believe I didn't know this book existed till very recently; I would have bought and read it a whole lot sooner had I known, having read the first book about five or six times. It's in the same funny spirit as the first, though the focus has shifted from the antics of the entire family to the mother's struggle to take care of her eleven children after her husband died. And the funny moments aren't as frequent as in the first book, since the children are older. It also seems like the younger children got the short end of the stick--less time was given to writing about their own humourous childhood anecdotes and stories, since time passes really quickly after Anne gets married. The only other thing in this book I wasn't keen on was how some of it was dated. Some of it, like Mrs. Gilbreth trying to find reasons for the oldest two not to smoke and then instantly retracting each reason, or the youngest boys teaching Jane how to be popular and get dates by not being her true self, is to be expected, given not only the era in which that happened but also when the book was published, but there are a few slang words and references that the modern reader might not understand or find as funny or relevant as someone who was a contemporary of the family might. We all know what a sheik is, but who uses the term "wet smack" anymore, for example? Still, overall it's a sweet fun way to wrap up the story of this funny family.

The tonics are very helpful and easy to use. I would reccomend this book to anyone who likes to tinker in their yard and enjoys the reward of agreen lush lawn.

I have been looking at all the local bookstores for this book. It has been a big help for both my lawn and my garden.

I purchased this book for my husband after he saw this on PBS. He loves taking care of our lawn so this was right up his alley. We've had the book a year and we constantly get compliments on our lawn from all of our neighbors or guests we have over.

There are a lot of neat tips and tricks you can try using household items like dish soap, spices, baking soda, etc. I forget all of the things, but my husband is always using up something or other of mine for our lawn now. Some of the formulas definitely work for us, others I'm not as sure. But either way, my husband is having a ball trying all of these "recipes".

I'd recommend this book to someone looking to improve their lawn and who also likes to work on their lawn and try new things for it. Most of the tips are inexpensive and not too much time or trouble.

The product arrived promptly at my door in top condition following "one click" on my computer screen... which is just a hard to beat arrangement... Thanks Amazon

I'm totally impressed. Let me first admit that I'm lazy when it comes to lawn care. This summer, my lawn finally got to the point where I was embarassed about it. Unfortunately, I thought, it was already early August and there was no way I would have a good looking yard this year. Fortunately, a friend (my buddy "Marmaduke") told me about Jerry Baker's tonics, so I bought the book and his video. Within three and a half weeks, my lawn was looking just as good as the guys who spend most of their free time working on their lawns. In particular, I used Jerry's "Drought Buster" tonic to get my grass green again.

I'm very pleased with this product and believe that my yard will look totally FANTASTIC my the end of this month and even better next year!

Beautiful book, good quality.Thanks god. some of the pop up books I bought from Amazon that have really bad quality.Pop up with the glue stick around and paper is not strong enough that get easily broken. This is a good one. Very enjoy it myself not only my daughter.

This book is so cute and it pops up just like the picture shows. My mother loves Victorian stuff and she's getting this for Christmas. A sweet gift for any age.

I have purchased 2 of these doll houses. I have one at my house for my grandchildren to play with when they come over and I bought one for my oldest granddaughter we love it and it is easy to keep because it becomes a book when you are finished playing with it. I store it on my bookshelf.

I purchased this item for both my Granddaughter and Goddaughter since I am very much into the doll's house world, hoping to create a love for this from an early age. Both of them absolutely love their dollhouse with the family and have endless hours of real enjoyment. This is a purchase well worth the money spent.

I bought this as a gift for my granddaughter,but couldn't resist a peek, its great!

buy another day in paradise and read it


then buy steel toes and read it



just do it you wont regret it

Another Day in Paradise was so full of agony I couldn't put it down, this book was different. It was almost like it was full of distant hope, a glimmer of a chance. Read the first book, get hooked on the character, then read this one. You will not be disappointed, my only complaint was that it left me hungry for more. Mister Little, if your reading this please give me more. I need it like Bobby needed his "ritual to get right."

Picking up almost immediately at the point that _Another Day In Paradise_ left off, Bobby Prine is killing time in a hard-core Indiana youth facility, trying to avoid the next race riot that will either kill him or send him packing to adult prison. On the razor's edge, he determines that only escape will save him from the fate that awaits him in either correctional facility. With a couple of friends, he does manage to flee... the crew makes their way to New York and then Boston, hooking up with a variety of other crime gangs, some of whom are very dubious partners. Prine's small crew manages to fund themselves through a moderately successful set of crimes, ranging from check-kiting to hijacking.

But a truly big score awaits: a Boston museum is displaying a collection of rare coins that a major collector desperately wants -- and he's willing to pay as much as $600K. Realizing that the competing gangs may double-cross his group, Prine tries to set up a triple-cross. But an increasingly serious drug habit and some girlfriend problems have helped cloud his mind. As the violence escalates, the reader feels just as trapped as Prine: can he survive long enough to realize one final, big score? And clean himself up in the bargain?

Little is straight out of the Eddie Bunker school of crime writers: guys who know exactly what they're talking about and wrap you into a near-psychopathic experience. You'll feel the anger, the addiction, the joy and rgaing pain that Prine experiences. Because this is raw, moving and -- ultimately -- stunning material.

p.s., As I understand it, Little passed away recently (heart attack). What a tragedy... he had so much to offer us. Luckily, we have this book and the previous one - and his memory will live as long as these books are around. And that will be quite some time.

No kidding, Eddie's first [Another Day in Paradise] is fantastic. Having said that, I think his latest is even better. The voice is more refined, where it's still all tough, but with more focus. And I found a lot more hope in this one. Rock on, Eddie!

The late great Eddie Little follows his born-to-lose autobiographical character Bobby Prine to prison and on to further escapades with Syd, Ben, and Billy Bones from Another Day in Paradise. If you liked the former you'll find this a respectable follow-up. Little sketches out his underworld characters, not as fully developed as in Another Day in Paradise, which is the superior book, but still draws you in until you start to care about his adopted family of thieves and junkies. As before, he pulls no punches and makes no excuses for his characters behaviour; it's an unflinching, unapologetic revelation of their world. He demonstrates how their addictions, fears, insecurities, and violent coping mechanisms, constantly undermine their intentions, even their better ones. What I liked about Little's writing was this ability to articulate the root causes of crime and addiction: abuse, ignorance, and the eternal cycle of violence, without his characters being victims of anything other than their own choices. He gets in his licks, makes a few points about thrill seeking and the dangers of addiction, but always with his eyes wide open, and with redemption just out of reach, for Bobby Prine, and it most unfortunately seems, for Eddie Little himself.

Some very smart folks have been thinking deep thoughts about human evolution, and Walter's book appears (to this lay person) to chronicle the latest and greatest theories of how we became who and what we are. I experienced repeated "wow" moments during my reading of this book, because the ideas presented (elegantly by Walter) concerning the development of the human body, brain, character, culture, etc. are not only clever, insightful and plausibly correct, but also profound, beautiful, and mind-blowing.

Thumbs, Toes, and Tears And Other Traits That Make Us Human explores links between appendages and the human emotions of love, laughter and tears. Six behaviors and physical traits set humans apart from the rest of the animal kingdom: THUMBS, TOES AND TEARS examines these traits and explores their influence and impact on human characteristics and development processes. An excellent, fine survey for not only high school and college science students, but for the general lending library.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

Then buy this incredible book by Chip Walter because it's the real SECRET! Very few people have time to really BE SMART. (why do you think Cliff Notes were invented) Most of us just want other people to THINK WE'RE SMART! Women want men who sound and look smart (get with it, why do think Marilyn Monroe married Arthur Miller). Being smart does not mean you have to be boring or talk too much. Arm yourself with this witty knowlege that is anything but boring. Be prepared to drop little juicy tidbits of knowlege into every conversation. DO NOT, repeat, DO NOT get it at the library, or borrow it. You need to have this ready to read before speed dating, before an impromtu opportunity to chat up the boss on the elevator and not sound like a blithering idiot. You need this book, looking a bit beat up, under your arm at the coffee shop. That gorgeous hunk,or babe, in line behind you is just looking for a reason to start a conversation with you and this is it! You will be armed with dazzling bits of new trivia that is both scintillating and clever. People will be impressed, your self esteem with go up (without having to pay for a $10,000.00 seminar in Fiji). You will get the dates, the pay raise, and your mom will be so proud of you! What are you waiting for, everyone is looking for the SECRET and pssssst, it's right here babe.

How do toes rate a spot in the title? As Chip Walker says "The same big toe made thumbs - and the tools they fashioned - possible, which led to the evolution of language, arguably the greatest tool of all." Mind you, he said this after spending 200 pages justifying it.

The big toes of apes are toward the side, rather like thumbs, and are used for grasping branches while climbing. Humans' big toes are in the front and support our striding walk. As Walter points out, this doesn't necessarily involve major genetic change; a small change in a regulatory gene, such as a Hox gene, could have made most of the difference.

Once our ancestors were walking upright, their hands were free to make and use tools, to carry food and tools, and to gesture to others while walking. This new posture led to changes in the shape of the neck. This increased the range of vocal sounds our ancestors could make. After further evolution, each of us is born with the capacity to make all of the sounds in all of human language.

Walter brings up the hypothesis that language began with gestures and only later was connected with speech. This may sound far-fetched to some, but humans communicate with gestures and speech together, so it would have been easy for gesture-language to give rise to speech-language.

From toes to speech covers the first half of the book. This is in 3 sections: "Toes", "Thumbs", and "Pharynx". Then come "Laughter", "Tears", and "The Language of Lips". 4 of these are obvious, but "Pharynx" deals with language and with the nature of consciousness, and "Lips" covers a wide range of topics, including kissing, pheromones, and why women prefer big, strong men.
There is also a short, mostly speculative section about current topics, such as why men are better at math and women at language.

There is much here that is well established, but there is also much that is hypothetical or even speculative. For example, the importance of big toes for upright walking is well established, while the question of whether men are better at math and women at language is still being debated. Fortunately, Walter points out the uncertainties frequently. We read "says", "thinks", "believes" and so on. Too often, science writers report unverified results and researchers' interpretations as if they were established facts. Walter lets a few such items slip by, but he's generally more careful.

Thumbs, Toes, and Tears covers a lot of territory that doesn't leave a lot of room for in-depth analysis. The goal is for the reader to see that all the many pieces fit together into one picture. We know the pieces must because WE are the picture. Walter himself describes the main fun of the book: "I do hope that the science in the book can help curious mainstream readers learn something interesting and thought-provoking about themselves. I want them to have those `Ah-ha' moments.' (Walter, W.J., Jr., personal communication.) I had several of those moments myself, and I am a fairly advanced reader.

There is a final chapter, "Cyber sapiens", about our species' bionic future, which should stimulate a lot of thinking. Walter doesn't go into the area I find more exciting: genetic engineering. For a few thousand years men have been genetically modifying crops, livestock, and pets using techniques that have been in nature for hundreds of million years. Now a few labs are working out how to create new genes. There's not much to say yet, but it's worth thinking about how both bionics and genetic engineering will affect society. Will the new technology be available, or will the super-rich make of their descendants a new Master Race of ubermenschen?

It is not a criticism to say that much of the material is uncertain; it is one of the strengths of the book. Science starts with speculation, with scientists asking questions. Questions lead to testable hypotheses and testing sorts out the ideas that work from those that don't. Eventually there is solid, established theory. Walter gives a look at the beginnings of a science of the human mind. perhaps some of the younger readers will be inspired to join this quest.

"Thumbs, Toes and Tears" surveys six general traits the author, Chip Walter, consideres uniquely human - a big toe, opposable thumb, larynx for speech plus three acts deeply intertwined with our past - laughing, crying and kissing. Included in the discussions are more mysterious aspects - our unique memory system, our intuitiveness, our ability to communicate by all sorts of visual and sensory systems and consciousness, that dark veil that tells us what we thing without telling us who we are.

Beyond the prose, examples, humor, facts and insights the reader is still startled to learn just how much we have discovered about ourselves and our brains - the real hero of the story. Each of these human attributes is presented with an overview, background and evolutionary history of the trait from its origins to modern times. What fascinates repeatedly are the ways in which one area overlaps or affects the next. Big toes lead to upright posture that in turns frees our hands for such things as tool making and unconscious movements that express our thoughts. Bipedalism allowed the voice box to straighten and produce noises that developed into language.

Thumbs, for example, were integral for tool-making. This stimulated the brain and accelerated the growth of communication. The author considers language the most important skill we acquired since it created culture. As profound as these are to our current current state, the last three are just as intrinsic. Can one imagine a culture without crying, laughter or kissing? We would think it alien and non-human.

Walter was at times too quick to introduce purpose into evolution. There is no purpose - women did not (as he assert) have kids to "help the race". They had no idea about a "human race" much less thought that having children would preserve it. In the same way, the toe did not develop for walking (how could "it" know?) - it was the end result of a series of complex forces that reinforced each other. The book is chock full of interesting facts presented in terms most laymen can comprehend. The differences between the male and female brain explained our actions - why men excel at Math and females in English.

The author points our repeatedly that we are the fusion of both ancient, evolutionary forces that harken back millions of years and modern ones created by our culture at an ever-accelerating pace. In this sense, the author asserts we are more than our genes, greater than the mere end product of a long chain of chance changes over time. The final chapter, CYBER SAPIENTS, suggests that for the first time, humans will not only aid but jumpstart evolution. The former mechanism of evolution - glacially slow, minute changes over eons will be replaced by tinkering with DNA - instant evolution. Will we replace ourselves with robots? Does evolution require biology? What does it mean to be human when one cannot tell the difference between a machine and a "person"? Great book

ISBN 1570640777 - Barney's been around for a while now, and his first set of fans are now just about old enough to have their own kids - and pass on their childhood love of the big purple guy. This definitively moves Barney from a cute TV character to a childhood icon and makes him a great friend to learn from.

In short rhymes, Barney introduces young readers to Barney Says (not to be confused with Simon Says, because Barney doesn't start each "order" with "Barney says..."). Readers are told to tap their nose, march their feet and more, learning the parts of their body in a fun and interactive way.

The photographs by Dennis Fuller show Barney and four young children (not the same four on each page, oddly) on a gray background, leaving only the action to draw your attention. Since the idea is to do, as much as to read, it's a nice touch that the photos aren't too detailed. Also nice is that the children are a somewhat racially diverse group. Best of all, of course, your child can be a Barney fan without being a couch potato!

Let me begin with the fact that I am not a huge Barney fan. We do not spend TV on him. But, I love this book!

We bought our first copy for my oldest son 11 years ago. During the years and three more children, we have had to buy 3 or 4 replacement copies. The easy and fun way of learning body parts is wonderful.

My 17 month old twin girls love this book! They learned nose, toes, ears, and other body parts from this book. It is fun for them to play the game with Barney. And my favorite is that one of my daughters gives me a big hug when we get to the last page where Barney gives hugs.

My 15-month old has never watched the Barney show, but he loves this book! After reading it only a couple of times and doing the hand motions with him, he started doing some of them by himself! He loves to look at the pictures of the children doing the motions (pat your head, tap your nose, now bend down and touch your toes...). There's a different motion on each page.

My 20 month old and I LOVE this book. It teaches different parts of the body and my son knows the book by heart. Very good book. Would recommend it to anyone.

My daughter is 9 months old and she loves it. We've been reading it to her since she was just a cocuple days old and still aren't sick of it. In addition to that, my husband loves reading it to her. As a result, I am looking for more books like this.

My daughter is 10 mo old and loves this book. She likes to poke her fingers through the holes and also likes the sing-songy rythem of the book. I am happy with the purchase. We also bought 10 little ladybugs and she loves that one too.

I am a special education teacher and use this book with a variety of
kids. They never fail to love it and the repetition of the lines make it a
good beginning "reader". It is motivational to beginning readers. I have also bought copies for my grandchildren and save one for a special gift
when needed. Kids love it and the cute format! It also teaches the basic
concept of subtraction in a fun manner.
Leslie Arnott, Colorado Springs

This book is lots of fun to read. It's so easy to memorize that if you don't have the book in front of you and for example you're driving in the car, you can say the whole book while you're driving.

My daughter loves loves loves this adorable book! And as a nice added bonus, because doctor is mentioned repeatedly in the book, she no longer is afraid of the doctor! Apparently she thinks of the silly monkeys every time we go to the doctor now, and instead of hiding, she now talks to the doctor about all the silly monkeys! This is a fun book to read, we truly enjoy it and my husband and I take turns reading it to her. If it is still in one piece by the time our son is old enough to enjoy it, we'll be reading it to him as well. I highly recommend this book!