A great idea and a very well made book in terms ...
593100
A great idea and a very well made book in terms of organization and visual feeling.
Only two things are missing to have 5 stars:

1) I don't know if behind some association between a component kanji and another component kanji there is a always an historical true reason. Sometimes (let me say roughly 35-30% of the proposed associations) the idea that should help in the memorization process it seems a little bit forced and not always the best you can find starting from the original component kanji. The curators say in the introduction that this book is a sort of summary of the best ideas that real Japanese learners use to memorize composed kanjis. Maybe. It could be useful to reserve a space to take your personal note to remember each compound better. This require more space on the page so a larger format.

2) Honestly speaking, who is learning a new language like Japanese need to see carefully how the kanji are written not only in the main entry but also in the examples reported in the page. Here the editor choice has been really unhappy. They probably preferred to maintain the book little in dimension reducing too much the font dimension too. This is crucial because I have to use a lens to read the examples. Moreover they used a dark grey font on light gray background in the examples that create a low contrast unreadable sentence. Only the key fonts are written in black (on grey background) but this is still not a good choice. Finally the colored diagrams where the association are made on each page uses white on pink (or lilla or cyan) background that are almost unreadable in lower light. Also in this case a better choice would be to use black only fonts using bold or italic to differenciate key meaning of the entry from the additional explanatory notes. Also the reference number (uppercase) set close to some kanji to reference other entries in the book are written in color on colored background and are almost unreadable.  To solve all there problems it is required probably more space. Again wrong format for the book.

For the rest the book is graphically very well shaped and is a pleasure to flow through the pages.

So in conclusion. A great idea to be revised in successive editions with some rooms for personal annotations and on a larger format to have more readable fonts. I suggest the book to everyone who intend to find some shortcut to memorize group of kanji which have some common part.
1474360
Really well done and something that needed to be written. I look forward to working with the authors on spreading the message of the book.
3487587
I like the idea of this book very much. I found this book as a recommendation because I had bought the "Awkward Moments Children's Bible". By comparison, this book feels pretty "low rent" in terms of illustrations and overall professionalism. I mean, I like the concept very much, and I would definitely recommend it, it's just not the best quality...
2374690
I found this book very fascinating and really enjoyed the idea behind the book. It's a very interesting idea and the moral dilemma that arises gave me something to think about throughout the day.
I enjoyed the sites and descriptions that Brown provides but the reason that I didn't give it the glorious five star rating is because of the in-depth descriptions at the wrong times.  I do enjoy a description of where the characters are and all of the fascinating architecture but some descriptions were provided in areas of the book where something really exciting was happening and then there's a page about the architecture/history that almost had me skimming just to find out what happened!

Overall a very good book and interesting premise. I am/would recommend it.
1757030
A thoughtful book that puts the meat on the bones of dinosaurs. There are myriad beautiful and sometimes whimsical, or even amusing, paintings and drawings of dinosaurs going about their daily life... a life that includes much more than chasing prey or being chased. The last segment of the book explores how contemporary creatures might be reconstructed if aliens from the future tackled them with all the same tools and information we have as we reconstruct dinosaurs. Overall, a very charming, beautiful, interesting little book.

Other than wishing it were longer, I only have one real qualm with this book- many of the wonderful illustrations bridge across the whole spread, and since the book is perfect bound, that means a lot of detail and information is lost in the binding. I almost wish the book was coil bound so it would lay flat, because now I'm torn between protecting the spine and trying not to let it bother me, or crushing each spread flat to see the art but ultimately more or less destroying the book.
904328
This is a really great concept. At first, I didn't think I would like it because I'm not a big fan of parody books. However, this book is really well written. It could actually be another Harry Potter book. It's written from the view point of Austin, an American boy, who is in England with his father who is a diplomat. His father was looking for schools for him and he received an invitation to Hogworts School of Magic and Mystery. While there he is just a first year, although they call him a second year due to his age and/or abilities. He is being tutored by none other than Hermione.

He see Harry Plotter, "The one who lived" a number of times and all in all it's a great book. I don't want to give too much away as then it would be a spoiler, but it really is worth the read. It's funny in some parts and quite enjoyable.

I received this book free or at a discounted price in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion. All opinions are of my own and truthful.
1199659
A very interesting book that makes it's point very well.
654313
This is such a great idea for a book, I can't believe someone hasn't thought of it before now. LeRoy does the idea justice, as the book is thoroughly-researched (he spoke to just about everyone who is anyone) and informed. And, unlike many people who attempt books on rock music, LeRoy is a fine writer. An excellent book for anyone who is interested in popular music...and for anyone who just likes a good read!
4856514
The book itself was fantastic. Great quality, great info, nothing wrong that I can find. My only star is because the book is kind of useless except for finding Koroks. I never once needed to open the book. I don't care about Koroks either so I kinda regret buying the book, honestly. But it's a really well made book and you can definitely see the effort they put into it.
334863
This is a great idea. I really enjoyed all the recipes and the short stories are wonderful. I enjoyed this book immensely and look forward to trying some of the recipes.
1320024
So why the stars? it's an idea book, a thoughtful book. I design a lot of my Crocheted items and this book brings my head into a place where there are possibilities I never thought of before. The items are dazzling, as the cover says and do-able by your average crochet buff. The written instructions come with the schematics and that is number one for me. I vastly prefer the diagrams.

The only beef I have is the Lacey Capelet on page 78 is either ill-fitting, or poorly blocked. I believe this pattern has potential, but perhaps not in this yarn choice. I do use some Noro yarn, but not often. I love their designs, but not always the yarn. It can be scratchy. That's an opinion and I urge you to make a small project and see for yourself.

I made a version of the Bobbled Hat, but with far fewer bobbles, this is one of the reasons I don't follow patterns to a T. I loved the colors, the feel of the hat, but there was so much going on, that you could not appreciate the stitches. Most of the items are very approachable and there is not a lot of food for the very experienced crochet enthusiast, but most crochet books lack in this area. I would purchase this for the advanced beginner to intermediate enthusiast who wants to work with good yarn, on reachable projects.

For newer crocheters there is the, Strawberry Lace Scarf, Bobbled Mitts, Swirl Tam (needs more thought), and Shell Scarf, to name a few. Overall this lovely book looks best right where everyone can see it and you in a creation that is made from it, or adapted from it. Do not be afraid to change yarns, as long as they are the same weight and have fun. I think this is a very fun idea book and wonderful to have in actual paper. I love my Kindle Fire, but some books were meant for a hardcover and paper.
1404305
A great concept, very well executed. I understand that book 2 is out now, and I will certainly be reading it, too. Recommended!
2264696
A wonderful idea and fairly well-executed. A wealth of historical names thrown in that could have been fleshed out more. I don't know enough about the Burgundians to know if there are errors. The only blooper I spotted was when an Englishman claiming to recognize only seven birds tacked on that of course he's recognize a chickadee. I can't think why since they don't have them in the British Isles. Everything else flowed well enough especially the idea of the unicorn heading for home.
3778587
Great idea, with a great message..my family and I really loved reading it!
2059458
Spriggles is a wonderful book and a great idea! My children both love it, laughing at the illustrations and begging me to lift the flap so we can say the motivational phrases together. It's become one of their favorite  bedtime books. The cool part is now they've taken to running around the  house repeating the phrases, telling each other "Don't say can't,  ant" and "Keep on trying, lion." It's proof that teaching  positive, encouraging, motivational ideas to your children can be fun....and  that it works! As a bonus, it's helped their vocabulary, teaching them new  words and new animals. They love going to the encyclopedia to find out more  about some of the animals that are in the book. I heartily recommend  Spriggles to all parents. These days children need all the encouragement  and motivation they can get and Spriggles is a great way to help supply it.
201170
This is really a great idea for a book, combining a bit of history from WWII with modern day. When Major Jim Wilson retires, he is bored, without a job and ready for something new. When that something falls into his lap, he enlists the help of two fellow military men. The three think they are going to look for and recover submarines used in WWII for a museum. Of course nothing is as it seems and when the trio actually find the mysterious submarines they uncover not only a conspiracy from the past but find themselves in the center of one in the present. The author does a great job writing an entertaining book that borders somewhere between fiction and fact. well done.
4534455
A very interesting book and some good ideas. I bought this book as a gift...but most artists will find their own visual way to personalize their book. I don't like to draw that much attention to my sketchbooks, my sketchbook work are very personal...I think all artists should explore all the possibilities to visually express themselves and some of the ideas in this book can be very useful.