Bill and Pete (Paperstar)

Customer Reviews:

Bill and Pete--by: Tomie dePaola.......2003-03-11

Bill and Pete is an imaginative, somewhat quirky tale of two true friends. This book describes friendship in how it should be, that no matter how different two people are, sometimes the opposites make the best friends. The idea that a crocodile (Bill) and his toothbrush (Pete), became best friends is a little bit odd, but it exercises the imaginations of the children reading it. The illustrations, though simple, get the point across perfectly. My favorite character was Bill, allthough I also liked Mama. I would recommend this book to anyone.

Silliness and adventure!.......2001-07-31

This is my five year-old daughter's favorite book. It's the right mix of silliness (a bird for a toothbrush?!) and adventure. We love it.

Don't forget to pack your toothbrush!.......2000-04-26

William Everett Crocodile is having trouble learning to spell his name at school, until his best friend (and toothbrush!) Pete rechristens him "Bill". Exotic locations and a warm humerous story make this book and it's sequel, "Bill and Pete Go Down the Nile" two of our favorite preschool picture books. Unfortunately, the third book, "Bill and Pete to the Rescue" is a bit rambling and not in the same class.

Grown ups will love it too!.......1999-05-28

De Paulo's humor is so dry, yet so innocent, that kids and adults will laugh together. This is one our kids outgrew long before we tired of it.

Nature's Predators: Life and Survival in the Wild Snakes ¥ Birds or Prey ¥ Crocodiles ¥ Sharks (The Illustrated Wildlife Encyclopedia)

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Nature's Predators: Life and Survival in the Wild Snakes ¥ Birds or Prey ¥ Crocodiles ¥ Sharks (The Illustrated Wildlife Encyclopedia)
Barbara Taylor , Robin Kerrod , and Michael Bright
Manufacturer: Lorenz Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Zoology | Science, Nature & How It Works | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

General | Ages 9-12 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

Children's | Encyclopedias | Reference | Subjects | Books

Veterinary | Encyclopedias | Reference | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1842151886

Rainbow Bird: An Aboriginal Folktale from Northern Australia

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Rainbow Bird: An Aboriginal Folktale from Northern Australia
Eric Maddern
Manufacturer: Little Brown & Co (Juv)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: School & Library Binding

Picture Books | Ages 4-8 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

General | Ages 4-8 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0316543144

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Not a Typical Formuliac Book
Study in nurture
A MODERN DAY SCHEHERAZADE...
"I think to be driven to want to kill must be such a terrible burden."
Dull and implausible

The Crocodile Bird
Ruth Rendell
Manufacturer: Dell
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

British Detectives | Mystery | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books

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Tree of Hands
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One Across, Two Down

ASIN: 0440218659
Release Date: 1994-10-10

Book Description

A mother and a daughter live quietly in the rustic gatehouse of Shrove House, an isolated British estate. Their life seems perfectly ordinary except that daughter Liza has been kept isolated from the outside world for all of her sixteen years. And that he has seen her beautiful mother commit murder... more than once. Now, as the police come searching for a missing man, Liza's sheltered, strange world begins to fall apart. Piece by piece she will reveal her mother's tale of betrayal, desire, and obsession. Step-by-step we discover how much like mother, like daughter she is.

Customer Reviews:

Not a Typical Formuliac Book.......2006-12-05

When I read the back cover of the book, it really did not seem that interesting to me. I started reading the book because I had heard good things about Ruth Rendell, and wanted to "check out" the author. I was very pleasantly surprised.

First of all, Ruth Rendell is an excellent writer. I have read so many books that are really so-so when it comes to the author's ability to construct complex and descriptive prose. This is not one of them. There is amazing character development, and although the book tells the story of a very unusual life, I felt the author was able to tell the story in such a way as to make the reader understand the lifestyle.

Secondly, this book is a departure from so many tales that are really interchangable. The story was unique, and interesting. I could summarize the book, but doing so would not do justice to the storyline. A summary simply cannot encapsulate the story. The story is in the telling, not the tale.

Lastly, I could not anticipate with certainty how the book would end. More than once I thought to myself, "Ok, I can see where this is going. . .," and I was wrong. It is refreshing to truly wonder HOW the events will unfold, instead of wondering WHEN the events will unfold.

I look forward to reading another Ruth Rendell book.

Study in nurture.......2006-07-09

Through the main character's, young Liza's, story the readers learn the extent to which her mother, Eve, went to bring her up in an atmosphere that, while giving her a sound moral and intellectual basis and a preparation to work hard, very effectively isolated her from what Eve saw as an amoral and dangerous world. Both of them have lived practically alone in the country for the whole of Liza's life, with only one or two visitors in that span of time. And Eve had her own reasons to live and raise her daughter this way; reasons that the reader will discover together with an amazed and amazing Liza, the fruit of Eve's unfortunate clash with evil....in many ways. It is only when Liza finds herself totally alone in that world her mother had so successfully kept off, when she understands what her mother did, and finds that she can stand on her own two feet, as an independent person.

Because what education can do for a person, how it can be a basis from which to build independence, and a way to achieve the strength of mind and will necessary to live in the middle of the dangerous world, is really the theme of this story. Of course, the instance that the story provides is very extreme. As with other novels by this author, the extreme circumstances provide the reader with a clearer conclusion than we are bound to reach in our ordinary lives....or not. Thus, as usual, through a convoluted and fascinating story, Ruth Rendell places us in the middle of a moral dilema. Was Eve really right in brining her daughter up as she did? When we see young and innocent, but strong, independent and quick-witted, Liza find her way on her own in the big, big world, I think the author is giving us her opinion.

As usual, you should not expect from Ruth Rendell the ordinary whodonnit, even though her stories arguably belong in the "detective" genre. It is a genre that she transcends. And this is one of the best masterpieces of the great master, Ruth Rendell (who also writes as Barbara Vine).

A MODERN DAY SCHEHERAZADE..........2006-06-26

This is another taut, well-written psychological thriller by the queen of this genre. The author weaves a compelling tapestry of events and characters, and, as the story unfolds, the reader is held in its thrall. Fans of the author will find this spellbinding tale riveting.

Eve and Liza, mother and daughter, live in isolation in a remote location in the English countryside, where Eve acts as caretaker for Shrove House, a large estate, to which she has an extreme attachment. Liza has lived her entire life on the estate, removed from the outside world with little or no contact with other people. She was also home schooled by her mother. Consequently, Liza, removed from all normal congress with other people, has never known what it is to have a playmate nor was she aware of the existence of television or radio. The only people with whom she has ever come into contact, other than the occasional delivery person or estate worker, were the men, friends of Eve, who arrived at their home only to disappear later under mysterious circumstances.

The Shrove House estate is owned by Jonathan Tobias, a childhood friend of Eve's, and when he suddenly dies, the police question Eve concerning his death, as she is a suspect. Liza, now sixteen, begins to see her world crumble around her. Eve, fearing the worst, concocts a plan for Liza to leave home and go to stay with a friend of hers. Liza, however, who has, unbeknownst to Eve, formed an attachment to Sean, the new young groundskeeper for the estate, has her own plans. Thus, the story begins to unfold.

Unburdening herself to Sean and revealing her strange upbringing and the odd goings on in her mother's household, Liza proves herself to be a modern day Scheherazade. Holding the reader captive with the story of her life, which is set against the backdrop of her mother's obsession with Shrove House and the murders that take place there whenever anyone threatens to upset her mother's apple cart, Liza's story is, indeed, a beguiling one. While telling her tale, Liza finds herself discovering a world that she never knew existed. Liza eventually finds herself at a crossroad, and the path she takes will define the rest of her life.

"I think to be driven to want to kill must be such a terrible burden.".......2006-02-26

In one of her most "psychological" novels, Ruth Rendell focuses on Liza, a sixteen-year-old girl whose mother, Eve, orders her to flee alone from the only home she has ever known and her mother's "protection." Home schooled in the remote countryside, kept away from TV and radio, and with no friends of her own, Liza learns that her mother is about to be arrested for murder and that she herself may be considered an accessory if she is caught. Running to her boyfriend Sean, a young man hired to work on the estate where her mother works, Liza unfolds the story of Eve, her mother, through tales she likens to those of Scheherazade, keeping her boyfriend interested in the outcome of her own story by slowly unveiling the details of more than one murder.

As Liza recreates her earliest years and the disappearances of her mother's suitors, she is also exploring her own growing sense of independence, her sexuality, her need to experience the world beyond Shrove House, and her desire for books and serious schooling. Skillfully and subtly, Rendell draws parallels between Liza's motivations and the presumed motivations of the reader, making this strange and limited girl seem more normal, less bizarre, despite her upbringing. Liza's ingenuousness and her acceptance of the men's fates as a "normal" part of her life increase the horror and tension.

Rendell's careful rendering of details and her juxtaposition of bloody scenes with idyllic country living make the story come alive, while Liza's normal curiosity about other people and her love of Sean throw her mother's damaged psyche and psychotic need to "protect" herself into sharp relief. Despite the fact that the reader knows from the outset that Eve has committed murder and is about to be arrested, the author develops considerable suspense about Liza's own life and her feelings for her mother.

Because Liza has observed her mother committing several murders associated with love and/or love-making, her own sexual freedom and lack of inhibition regarding Sean are surprising and seem emotionally incongruous, and some readers will not accept this implausible, but crucial, element. The story is skillfully constructed with its flashbacks, however, and Rendell's association of Liza's story telling with the legend of Scheherazade creates neat associations with other serial murders. Suspenseful and entertaining. n Mary Whipple

Dull and implausible.......2004-04-23

Am I the only one who finds most of Rendell's books dull, silly and implausible? This one was particularly bad. The central idea was laboured and highly unlikely and rammed home to the reader by countless reiterations of the same theme. Dickens, indeed! I've rarely come across such unbelievable characters or such poor dialogue. And how anyone can compare Rendell's writng to that of P.D. James amazes me. Baroness James couldn't write this badly if she tried.

Bill and Pete To Rescue (Picture Puffins)

Average customer rating:

Bill and Pete to the Rescue-- by: Tomie dePaola
Silliness You Can ALL Enjoy
Hey I enjoyed it!
Bill & Pete
Great book to teach about how one person can make a differen

Bill and Pete To Rescue (Picture Puffins)

Manufacturer: Putnam Juvenile
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Alligators & Crocodiles | Animals | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

General | Ages 4-8 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

General | Literature | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

All 4-for-3 Deals | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books
Similar Items:

Bill and Pete Go Down the Nile (Paperstar)
Bill and Pete (Paperstar)
The Knight and the Dragon (Paperstar Book)
Big Anthony and the Magic Ring
Tony's Bread (Paperstar)

ASIN: 0698118847

Book Description

When Little Jane Allison Crocodile is kidnapped by the Bad Guy's Big Bad Brother from Louisiana, Bill and his bird buddy Pete head to the rescue. But Pete gets caught by the Rich Lady and it's up to Bill to save the day. Kids and parents everywhere will love Tomie dePaola's hilarious new episode featuring the Egyptian pair's first visit to the United States.

Customer Reviews:

Bill and Pete to the Rescue-- by: Tomie dePaola.......2003-03-12

A classic tale of good versus evil, this book is a touching story about the things people (or crocodiles) will do for their family. It teaches that no matter how different you may be with your relatives, you are still family and should help each other.
Bill and Pete go all the way from Egypt to the United States to rescue Bill's cousin, Jane Allison. Many mishaps occur, but all is well at the end of the story. There is also a suprise ending, but you have to read the book to find out. I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a little family-oriented adventure.

Silliness You Can ALL Enjoy.......2002-05-06

I don't know what I liked most about this book -- the sly, dry humor or the wonderfully naive illustrations. This is a funny, funny book about a pair of really good friends -- a young crocodile and his young toothbrush (a bird). It also is a grand adventure with suspense and action. Quite a lot for a book for 4-8 year olds. Here's one you won't mind reading again and again.

Hey I enjoyed it!.......2001-03-01

I am shopping for books for my little baby nephew, hes only 8 months old, but for his first birthday i am getting him lots of books. I read Bill and Pete when i was little and i STILL like reading them! i am SO excited to see another Bill and Pete book! that just made my day!

Bill & Pete.......2000-02-13

My three year old son enjoyed this book so much I went to the library and took out, Bill & Pete Go Down the Nile & Bill & Pete To The Rescue. He requested they be read to him every evening, when I had to return them, he was so sad. He asked me if we could buy them so he could have them always.

Great book to teach about how one person can make a differen.......1999-11-05

My 3 year old daughter got this book as a birthday gift and she loved it! The book introduces kids to the issues of endangered species, and through Bill and Pete's action it teaches them how each one can make a difference.

Average customer rating:

A wonderful retelling!
Read it again!
A tasty animal tale
A book adults will enjoy reading to children

Mrs. Chicken and the Hungry Crocodile
Won-Ldy Paye , and Margaret H. Lippert
Manufacturer: Henry Holt and Co. (BYR)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Literature | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

Picture Books | Ages 4-8 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

General | Ages 4-8 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

Folklore & Mythology | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
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Head, Body, Legs: A Story from Liberia
Koi and the Kola Nuts : A Tale from Liberia
Why Leopard Has Spots: Dan Stories from Liberia (World Stories)
The Talking Vegetables
Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears: A West African Tale

ASIN: 0805070478

Book Description

Mrs. Chicken can't see her wings in the puddle, so she walks down to the river where she can admire all of herself. She doesn't know that Crocodile is there, waiting for dinner-and a tasty chicken would do nicely! To save herself, Mrs. Chicken tells Crocodile that they are sisters. But how can a speckled chicken and a green-skinned crocodile be related? Mrs. Chicken had better prove that they are, and fast, because Crocodile is getting hungrier . . . The authors and illustrator of Head, Body, Legs join together to create another lively retelling of a popular African folktale.

Customer Reviews:

A wonderful retelling!.......2007-09-22

The storyteller's voice is delightful and compelling and makes this tale perfect for oral telling or read-alouds. The illustrations are a perfect complement to the text and the full effect is even better than the sum of its stellar parts.

Read it again!.......2004-05-01

We just got this book last week. When my kids take turns choosing books to read, this one comes first, regardless of whose turn it is. On the first reading my easily scared 4-year-old sank deeper and deeper into the couch as Mrs. Chicken got closer and closer to being eaten by Crocodile. When she actually SNAPPED on her leg, he couldn't watch. But as Mrs. Chicken's clever plan unfolded he started smiling and by the end he was laughing at what he called the coolest trick ever. He loves it.

A tasty animal tale.......2004-03-20

"Mrs. Chicken and the Hungry Crocodile" combines a text by Won-Ldy Paye and Margaret H. Lippert with illustrations by Julie Paschkis. The book jacket notes that this is a retelling of a Liberian story, and that coauthor Paye is from Liberia and was trained as a storyteller by his grandmother.

The story tells how Mrs. Chicken, while trying to see her reflection in the river, encounters the toothy croc of the title. Mrs. C tries to outwit the croc in order to avoid becoming a chicken dinner. This is a great story: it's funny, features a high stakes conflict between two strong female characters, and has suspenseful plot twists. There is a delicious irony throughout. Paschkis' colorful drawings perfectly complement the story. The artwork has a whimsical quality and clever visual touches; the main characters are particularly well realized.

A book adults will enjoy reading to children.......2004-01-18

This is a wonderful wacky folktale. The children will enjoy listening to this story and the adults will love reading it to them. In this story, a chicken finds a most unusual way of outwitting a rather gulliable crocodile. I have read this book to many kindergarten classes and I have given it, as a gift, to many young children. The response is always a happy one. The kindergarten kids will ask me to please read it again.

Average customer rating:

A wonderful book for children... and adults!
Not just for kiddies
Parents will love it.
Delightful Ducks
Phenomenal book :)

Sitting Ducks
Michael Bedard
Manufacturer: Grosset & Dunlap
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Alligators & Crocodiles | Animals | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

Humorous | Literature | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

Picture Books | Ages 4-8 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

General | Ages 4-8 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

Plucked Duck (Sitting Ducks)
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Ice Bear and Little Fox

ASIN: 0399228470

Book Description

Imagine you're an alligator. You work in a factory that processes ducks. And you live in a town filled with other alligators who dine exclusively on nice, plump, juicy ducks for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. So what do you do when an innocent duckling waddles into your life? Eat him or become friends? This is best-selling poster artist Michael Bedard's first book for children. In Hopper-esque paintings, his googly-eyed gators and yellow-billed quackers take center stage in an offbeat story about a decidedly odd couple -- and the friendship they make in an alligator-eat-duck world.

Customer Reviews:

A wonderful book for children... and adults!.......2004-06-01

I agree that this book was written for adults as well as children. After seeing this in a local bookstore, I bought it, with the intention of putting it on my desk where I work.

The story, in unambiguous terms, is about how an alligator befriends a helpless duck in a large New York-like metroplis populated by alligators. It is wonderfully illustrated, and the takeoff on Edward Hopper's "Nighthawks" is almost worth the price of the book alone.

It's too bad that the book did not include a few paragraphs from the author which could have shared some of his ideas and experiences in producing "Sitting Ducks". The craftsmanship that went into the making of this book must have been very time-consuming.

As a children's book, "Sitting Ducks" is truly a gem. Scholastic Press is to be commended for the publication of this creative effort.

Not just for kiddies.......2001-08-02

This is a wonderfully off-kilter kids' book that's not just for the diaper set. I gave it to my best friend as a gift, but it gets an airing whenever he substitute teaches at an elementary school. He's read it to his "kids" so often that they call him the "Sitting Ducks Man" now. Definitely a cute comment on friendship at any age.

Parents will love it........2001-08-01

While studying to become a teacher my professor had a pre-release copy of this book that he read to us adults. It felt like I was back in primary school in London (except for the snotty nose and need to use the bathroom) because I was enthralled with a picture book again. I got hold of a copy recently and my three year old asks for it every night. I of course throw a Kipper book at him, throw myself into bed, and look at the excellent pictures until I fall asleep.

Delightful Ducks.......2001-03-19

I fell in love with the art work immediately. The animals in this book do not fall in the "cartoon" range, but take on lives of their own. The story is a little long for a young child, but anyone would treasure this unique story with it's humor and charm.

Phenomenal book :).......2000-08-26

The adorable ducks on the cover of "Sitting Ducks" caught my attention when I was perusing a local book store and I proceeded to sit down and finish the book right there. The enthralling story of the bond that forms between the duck and alligator completely made my day. The pictures themselves are worth the [$], my personal favorite was looking at all of the ducks' expressions as they work out. I'd recommend it to anyone who wants to brighten their day with a great children's book.

The Bird Who Was Afraid to Clean the Crocodile's Teeth (Sandow, Paris. World's Greatest Children's Books, Bk. No. 4.)

Average customer rating:

Really ugly
The Bird Who Was Afraid to Clean the Crocodile's Teeth!

The Bird Who Was Afraid to Clean the Crocodile's Teeth (Sandow, Paris. World's Greatest Children's Books, Bk. No. 4.)
Paris Sandow , and Taylor Brandon
Manufacturer: Imperius Pub
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Ages 4-8 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1889945560

Book Description

A bird who is afraid to clean a scary looking crocodile's teeth learns that appearances can be deceiving.

Customer Reviews:

Really ugly.......2004-10-04

The pictures are really ugly, and the story is really long. I don't like all the rhymes becuase it's hard to understand what is going on. I got it as a birthday gift.

The Bird Who Was Afraid to Clean the Crocodile's Teeth!.......2000-11-28

This is a darling, funny, rhyming book about a bird who's only way to eat is to clean a crocodile's teeth. It is a great story to teach us not to judge people, or in this case a crocodile, by their appearance. I think this is a topic that children in our society need to be taught, as well as a lot of adults. It's a charming, cute story with delightful illustrations. My 6 year old loved it.

Average customer rating:

flamingos to alligators

For Pete's Sake
Ellen Stoll Walsh
Manufacturer: Harcourt Children's Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Alligators & Crocodiles | Animals | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

Picture Books | Ages 4-8 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

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Mud City: A Flamingo Story
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ASIN: 015200324X

Book Description

Pete's a flamingo, he's sure of that. But why is he green? Why does he have four feet instead of two? And why doesn't he have feathers? Pete soon discovers he's not just another flamingo--and he learns what it means to fit in with friends.

Customer Reviews:

flamingos to alligators.......2003-11-19

A wonderful little tale of being different and wanting to belong. Said with very few words with wonderful art,this book has what every parent requires from a good early reader. A easy well told story with a very clear and good message. From strangers to friends what it means to belong. great art.

Average customer rating:

Crocodilians (Mondo Animals)
Joan Short , and Bettina Bird
Manufacturer: Mondo Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Biology | Science, Nature & How It Works | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 1572552174

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