A great first look into Kwanzaa
923837
I ordered this book to go along with a holiday activity I do with my boys (2 1/2 and 5yrs) to learn about different traditions around the holidays.  This book was a great first look into the Kwanzaa holiday for this age group.  It was detailed just enough to keep the 5 yr old engaged and ask questions but simple enough to not overwhelm the 2 1/2 yr old.  The illustrations are wonderful and really add to the story entertainment factor.  They took it to Grammie and Grampies to share so that means it was a success! :)
2569772
This is a very useful introduction to the Portuguese culture and the sport of capoeira. It's a fun learn-to-read book, because it uses a mix of simple and more challenging words. It would be a great fit for any family or school library.

I completely identified with Marina's struggles, the temptation to give up and the great exhilaration that comes with hard-won success.

The illustrations also convey a sly humor that kids will appreciate.
718996
I was reluctant to buy this book at first because I purchased Shewey's "Steelhead Flies" book some years back.  I was afraid that there would be an abundance of repeat material, and too much overlap.  I'm happy to say that my fears were unfounded and I have thouroughly enjoyed this book.

Shewey does a good job of providing some history of the material used for tying these styles, and I believe it is a nice addition to the fly recipes and techniques he describes (the techniques are one area where there is some overlap with his other book, but they are an essential part of the book).  The picture quality is great, and this book (especially in hardcover) could look just as good on a coffee table as on a tying bench. I especially enjoyed seeing different tyers' interprations of the same pattern, and the little variation each one makes.

Although Shewey does a good job of explaining the different techniques needed to tie spay and dee flies, to make the most of this book you really need to have some prior tying experience.  I don't see that as an issue though, since the complete novice fly tyer typically won't be attempting to tie in this style in the first place.

I would recommend this book to anyone looking to get a start on tying these style of flies, or any fly tyer that finds them fascinating as I do.
2575464
Having never read a book of the numismatic variety, this book was a noticeable diversion from the books I typically read. But I found it to be a great first book to pick up for someone who doesn't really know anything about coin collecting, trading or selling.

The book gave a great overview, including many pictures, of various coin errors, what to look for, how to identify them, and what they may be worth. It also included a information on a number of websites to visit, how to sell coins, organizations you can join if you want to get into coin collecting, and a variety of other publications that are avialable for the coin enthusiast.

For anyone who is already pretty familiar with the topic, or is an avid coin collector, this book may not be that beneficial, as numismatists most likely already know a lot of this information. But for a beginner or just the curious, it's a great first book to pick up on the topic.
1029833
I've gotten so used to playing with friends' copies of the original Bohnanza game that when I saw this one, with all of the card art replaced with fan-submitted bean portraits, I jumped at the chance to get a copy of my own. This set is really colorful and fun (albeit some of the bean art is really, really bizarre and occasionally gross), but I have two complaints - one, the names of the beans aren't written anywhere on the card, there's just a tiny portrait in one top corner to help figure out which cards go with which suites. This is fine for players who are very familiar with the game and know the bean varieties by heart, but not so great for using with new players. Second, the total number of each kind of bean has been omitted from the cards as well, which makes it much harder to figure out if the beans you're using are rare or common. I ended up correcting both problems with a black marker, but I wasn't happy that I had to write on the cards to make them usable.
4629398
I purchased this book for a couple of reasons. First, because I wanted to introduce my kids to other cultures and second, because this book is fully illustrated by artists from the author's home town of Camaroon and provides local jobs to these people. My children enjoyed the book and it prompted discussion about many topics ranging from the snack Mambo carried to school to what he called his teacher. It was a great opportunity to talk about how our American cultrure differs from others, however the emotions of the first day of school are common to all children, regardless of culture. A great book for my family to enjoy!
1267393
This is my first deck and I highly recommend it for beginners or those with children. The pictures are based, of course, on the illustrations by Sir J Tenniel from the original Alice books. If you've read Alice in  Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass (and you really should), you'll  gain a far better insight into the cards as well. A lovely deck that may be  too precious to use for public readings. Excellent for personal use!
2264812
Great for first timers who are interested in learning more about wine
1986797
This book would have been the best introduction piece for me when I began studying African politics. The breadth and pure number of relevant case analysis used in this work is amazing. Mr. Reno, who is a highly regarded professor of conflict issues, tackles the institutions of governance, economy, security, and civil society in post independence Africa. The chapters cover cases from all over Africa and introduces the reader to relationships between African states and foreign entities including investors, NGO's, and IGO's. I recommend this reading to any westerner who wants to begin their journey to understanding the contemporary history of Africa. This book is easily tackled by the college freshman or casual reader. I would suggest having Wikipedia handy as there are some assumptions of knowledge by the author, however there is nothing too discouraging.
794865
This book was a pleasure to read, and I loved the photos.  I am preparing my starter now, and hope to be making my own wonderful bread from it soon.  I purchased this book after visiting Tartine while in San Francisco. The bread was amazing. No, there aren't lots of bread recipes, but the premise is that once you learn the technique, you can develop on your own.  There are certainly enough recipes to get started on.
2274324
This book (by Miles, not Watson) is a great place to start to learn the important points in Zappa history.  It shows most of the famous pictures of Zappa throughout the years.  The small, story-like presentation makes for  fast reading and its fun to skip around.  The book in no way attempts to  analyse the modern day composer, just quotes or interviews.  There is no  Watson, Poodle Play here, just fun!  Other books would better suit the  long-time Zappaphile!
4264240
This book is a great way to introduce the world to kids.  I'm not a teacher, but I'd guess it's at about a third grade reading level.  The text is broken up with brightly colored pictures, so the book does not look intimidating even to a younger child.  There is one map per continent, which shows climate, political boundaries, and landmarks (like major rivers and cities).

I've not followed many of the internet links yet, but I do plan to.

The most valuable parts of the book are the first two sections "What are People" and "People and Culture".  These are incredibly difficult issues to address with an early elementary school student, and I feel the book does a great job.  The other information in book would be possible to find elsewhere (although I doubt it would presented so beautifully), but I've found no other resource that attempts to address "What are People" at this level.  The origin of humanity is not mentioned, although the word species is used, and the book states that people "belong to a group of animals called primates, which includes apes and monkeys".  The wording allows for a pretty easy jump into either evolution or creationism if you want to go there, but doesn't leave you feeling like they forgot something if you just skip it all together.

Peoples of the World has the parts you'd expect from an academic work: table of contents, index, acknowledgments, even a couple of footnotes that refer you to other pages in the book.  Each picture has a caption.

Another plus for the book is that if focuses on the mission of introducing young children to the beauty and diversity of the world.  It does not delve into the conflicts or the horrors of the past, nor does it take sides.  It avoids controversial subjects simply by stating facts.  "Israel is a Jewish state which was created in 1948.  Many Arabs claim that Israel's land belongs to an Arabic people, the Palestinians." is a good example of how the book gives an opening if you wish to discuss the matter, but doesn't actually go into it.  It handles slavery the same way, stating when and where and who, but not delving into the subject.

I recommend this book for elementary school children.  It's not overwhelming for younger children, and contains lots of starting points for older children.
99395
Great start for someone interested in opening a cafe. ITS NOT THE END ALL BE ALL! This is not the only book you'll have to read. I also recommend the Restaurant Manager's Handbook for more in depth explanations, forms, etc. This book is awesome as an overview and an orientation. The tone is a bit like your cool aunt explaining to you how he runs her business in simple, conversational terms. I enjoyed it. She keeps it from being dry.
2429209
I've recently stated taking Hawaiian hula lessons and just love it, so I went on the lookout for any information I could find on this awesome dance and found this video. It's a lot of fun to watch and dance with. While it is no way replaces actual live in person classes, it is a good start.  I highly recommend the extra features. Very informative and entertaining. So if you want to get a start with hula, I'd say get this video.
223387
I wasn't familiar with the PIG series when I picked this up at the Borders closing down sale. As other reviewers have said, the fast trip through some of English Lit is well worth the ride- it is not comprehensive, but there are a lot of interesting bits in an easy-to-read form. The American Lit section is (as other reviewers have noted) pretty weak, but there are still good points there. Just skip the last section (Why they don't want you to read this) unless you are in the mood for an over-the-top rant.

The author is deeply familiar with Christian imagery, allegories and scripture, which makes a lot of English and some pieces of American literature 'click' for her and may be part of why she can assert that 'most great literature' was written by dead white males. There is amazing literature from other cultures but it less accessible without the comfort of familiar names and the shared cultural references that we have with English literature.

I am a fan of taking the classics, respecting them for what they are, and (especially) understanding them in their own context. However, there is also some merit to taking the classic texts and revisiting them thematically or in light of context (for example, I know of a couple of courses that look at literature in colonial eras, comparing the literature of the colonial power with the literature of the colony at a given time in their shared history).
1181697
A Settler's Year is a lovely introduction to the world of the mid-1800s settler through the four seasons.  Ernst's prose describes common scenes and experiences, from the homesickness to the hard work and elation of those who toiled and succeeded.  The writing is sprinkled with quotations from diaries of Wisconsin settlers, which appear both in the actual text and as pull-quotes besides the many photographs.

The images are a mixture of historical photos, often an individual or family, as well as modern ones taken by Heath at the Old World Wisconsin historic attraction.  I was initially skeptical of these latter photos but I don't think I've seen a book that captures as varied a set of settler activities as well as these photos.  While perhaps less authentic historically, a reader gets a broad exposure to tasks as varied as carding wool and slaughtering a pig.  Heath's photos are engaging and capture elements of life that settlers would not have bothered to photograph.  I particularly enjoyed the outdoors photos (p. 55 was my favorite), both of nature and the diverse buildings.

A Settler's Year is an excellent book for elementary school library collections.  The text is not overwhelming and the pictures tell a story of themselves.  It would be an excellent book to read-aloud in conjunction with fiction books like the adapted Little House chapter books (Laura Ingalls Wilder's text and Renee Graef's illustrations).  As a non-fiction book, it is an accessible start for a young researcher interested in immigrants making a new life in the American midwest in the 1800s.
1948084
Having seen Hari Walner on the HGTV show "Simply Quilts", I  purchased this book to take a stab at her machine trapunto technique.  I  have no quilting experience,was using a 27 year old sewing machine, and my  sewing skills were very rusty.  My first project(Sparkling Dahlia)was a  huge success thanks to the easy to follow instructions, illustrations, and  patterns contained in this book.
I found real inspiration in the  beautiful color photographs of the many quilts which incorporated the  machine trapunto technique in combination with a wide variety of other  quilting techniques.
I was pleased to see photographs and brief  biographies of the 21 quilters who contributed to the book.  It was also  nice to see Hari credit those who assisted her with her own  projects.
This book is not meant to be a beginning quilters  "Bible".  It is a wonderful book for anyone interested in adding  the machine trapunto technique to their sewing skills repertoire.