Armadillo Rodeo

Book Description

When Bo spots what he thinks is a "rip-roarin', rootin'-tootin', shiny red armadillo," he knows what he has to do. Follow that armadillo! Bo leaves his mother and three brothers behind and takes off for a two-stepping, bronco-bucking adventure. Jan Brett turns her considerable talents toward the Texas countryside in this amusing story of an armadillo on his own.

Customer Reviews:

Armadillo Rodeo by Jan Brett.......2007-03-12

This book is really cute! The 7 year old boy I purchased it for wants to read it over and over again! The illustrations are really colorful and well done. This is the type of book that is great fun for a boy or girl - ages 4 to 8, I should think. The author, Jan Brett, is very clever. I will look for more of this authors books in the future for children on my gift list.
Loriann Ringgold
Elko, NV

A delightful adventure.......2006-09-29

For children and for those who just love that critter I love so...you will enjoy this book very much. With a delightful story and wonderful illustrations, it is sure to please.

Walking across Texas.......2006-03-16

This is really a cute book and I know my niece will really enjoy it. I recommend buying and reading it to all children. It is truly fun.

Armadillo Befriends Boot.......2003-12-17

A slightly different tale from Jan Brett. Gone is the European feel of so many of her books. It is replaced by a healthy jargon-filled dose of American Western. Gone are the hedgehogs; welcome the armadillos.

Bo is one of four armadillo brothers. He tends to be curious and wander so his mother tries to keep a close watch on him. Like all armadillos, Bo's eyesight is not very good. So one day while he is following a lizard, he sees a red cowboy boot and thinks it is a red armadillo.

The boot in question is being worn by a young girl who is trying to scuff them up so she won't look like a tenderfoot at the rodeo. But Bo does not see the girl, or the other boot for that matter. Instead, he thinks he has found a playful new friend.

Chasing after the boot, Bo has many experiences while his mother and brothers search for him (as seen in the side panels). Bo's adventure takes him across the rodeo arena, to a bar-b-que, into an encounter with a jalapeno, to a barn dance, a hayloft, and ultimately to the truth about his new friend.

In the end we learn that while Bo has learned the truth of his day's adventures, he knows just what to do when he feels a little mischievous.

I usually give Jan Brett's books five stars but gave this one only four. I did that only because of the heavy use of Western jargon that needs to be explained to young ears in order for the story to make sense. But it is still a very fun book with beautiful illustrations.

The book I have the most fun reading aloud to my 7-year old!.......1998-05-01

My sister, a nearby neighbor of Jan Brett's, discovered this book and sent it to my then 5-year old son for his birthday. Bo's nearsighted adventures entertain; and his being lost and not knowing he's lost delights my son. Most children will envy Bo's adventure to the rodeo and understand his curioisity. Having developed quite the Texas "accent and attitude" while reading this book, it's at the top of our list of all-time favorites. Thank you Jan Brett!

Average customer rating:

London calling
Not what I had hoped for.
boyd's best
MY OUTSTANDING READ FOR THE YEAR 2001
Not his best

Armadillo: A Novel
William Boyd
Manufacturer: Vintage
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Literary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 0375702164
Release Date: 2000-04-11

Amazon.com

Lorimer Black may suffer from a serious sleep disorder and an obsession with the labyrinths of the British class system, but Armadillo's peculiar protagonist is the star insurance adjuster of London's Fortress Sure PLC, unaffectionately known as the Fort. At the very start of William Boyd's noir-ish seventh novel, however, things take a decided swerve for the worse. On a bleak January morning one of his cases has apparently chosen to kill himself rather than talk: "Mr. Dupree was simultaneously the first dead person he had encountered in his life, his first suicide and his first hanged man and Lorimer found this congruence of firsts deceptively troubling."

Soon our hero, who himself has a lot to hide, finds himself threatened by a dodgy type whose loss he has adjusted way down and embroiled with the beautiful married actress Flavia Malinverno. "People who've lost something, they call on you to adjust it, make the loss less hard to bear? As if their lives are broken in some way and they call on you to fix it," Flavia dippily wonders. Lorimer also has his car torched and instantly goes from an object of affection to one of deep suspicion at the Fort. Then there is another case, the small matter of the rock star who may or may not be faking the Devil he says is sitting on his left shoulder.

Needless to say, Lorimer is "becoming fed up with this role of fall guy for other people's woes." Boyd adds a deep layer of psychological heft and a lighter level of humor to this thinking-person's thriller by exploring Lorimer's manifold personal and social fears. This is a man who desperately collects ancient helmets even though he knows they offer only "the illusion of protection." Another of Armadillo's many pleasures: its dose of delicious argot. Should Lorimer "oil" the apparent perpetrator of the Fedora Palace arson before he's oiled himself? Or perhaps he just needs to "put the frighteners" on him. Boyd definitely puts the frighteners on his readers more than once in this cinematically seedy and dazzling literary display. --Kerry Fried

Book Description

From the award-winning author of A Good Man Africa and An Ice-Cream War comes Armadillo, a brilliant satirical noir set in contemporary London.

To his colleagues, Lorimer Black, the handsome, mild-mannered insurance adjuster rising through the ranks of his London firm, is known as the guy who has it all: the sleek suits, the enviable status. But when Lorimer arrives at a routine business appointment and finds his client hanging from a water pipe, his life spirals out of control. His company car is blowtorched after he investigates a fire at a luxury hotel. He becomes the fall guy of a new colleague who puts the company in the red and the victim of a vicious attack by the possessive husband of a mysterious actress.
As Lorimer becomes increasingly entangled in an apparent conspiracy that involves everyone he knows, his own past comes to light. A brilliant satirical noir, Armadillo confirms Boyd's place as England's most versatile, sublime novelist.

Customer Reviews:

London calling.......2003-03-27

Armadillo is also a great book for all London-minded readers. It is fun to be able to recognise places and routes mentioned in the book. But I would not recommend the TV adaptation of the book: a lot got lost in it, even though it was adapted by the author himself. The humourous bits and all things about London had gone.

Not what I had hoped for........2002-11-27

Whilst I can see and appreciate the main themes within this book - being afraid to be yourself and the absurdity of the British class system. I didn't really feel like I got to know any of the characters that well. The twist and turns of the plot seemed pretty far fetched to me. I found it more sad than amusing. Perhaps it speaks more to men than to women, I wouldn't recommend this book to a friend.

boyd's best.......2002-04-11

I spent a year of my life working the 2AM shift flipping burgers, and Boyd brought that world back to me. I don't know anyone who has ever written so well about sleep, nosleep, and the inner world of the solitary working stiff

MY OUTSTANDING READ FOR THE YEAR 2001.......2001-12-29

Lorimer Black is a loss adjuster working in the City of London. Unwittingly he becomes a pawn in a darker world and a side of business life, where corruption, greed and snobbery prevail.

From the outset this book had a hold on me. It was fascinating immediately, and very funny. I recognised the characters in people I know and laughed outloud so many times that I became a real pain to those within earshot. I very rarely find literature funny, only Spike Milligan in fact.

The writing is crisp and flows beautifully.

The bad type of British male: slobby, uncouth, aggressive and misogynist was supremely portrayed in Torquil Helvoir - Jayne. I have seen these guys so many times in real life. William Boyd makes the point that despite his name and connections Torquil is no different to other pig ignorant individuals who happen to be below him in the class order.

William Boyd has a fine reporter's eye and can build characters that are believable and a wonder to behold.

There are a number of important themes in this book but the main one is the struggle to be someone other than ourselves. A British trait I am afraid, a response to the class bias where we are judged as soon as we open our mouths, in our accents, the way we speak and dress.

Like so many others in Britain poor Lorimer fell for it hook, line and sinker.

There is a great play in names: Milo Blocj becomes Lorimer Black, David Watts the clapped out rock star had also changed his name. Pretence and more pretence.

The book says that underneath it all we are all the same insecure and fragile individuals. Eventually the unreality catches up and drags us down. We wear armour that eventually proves to be too heavy, to be discarded so that real life can enter. Hence the armadillo - the little armed man. The layers are slowly stripped away. And the final piece - the helmet is cut away.

Despite Lorimer's adherence to style and clambering up the English greasy pole of class snobbery, in the end he reverts back to himself - Milo the European ethnic. That's when he starts to live life and find true happiness.

It is a great book and one of my best reads for the year 2001. I can't wait to read some more William Boyd.

Not his best.......2001-06-02

Armadillo is an entertaining well written novel, that's clear. However, I think it's little more than that. It lacks the streght of other novels by Boyd like Braazeville Beach for example. Lorimer Black, the main character, is not consistent: sometimes he is brilliant and then he seems stupid. The explanation of why he is so insecure is found in his past by the reading his diary, but I think it is not convincig.The other characters, like Flavia Malinverno are steal weaker. When I read the novel my conclusion was somethig like: ok I had good fun reading it but what else?

Altruistic Armadillos, Zenlike Zebras: A Menagerie of 100 Favorite Animals

Average customer rating:

Interesting
Delightful and Inspiring
Heartwarming and Informative
100 Fascinating Stories
Not What I Expected

Altruistic Armadillos, Zenlike Zebras: A Menagerie of 100 Favorite Animals
Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson
Manufacturer: Ballantine Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Reference | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0345478819
Release Date: 2006-10-31

Book Description

The wondrous, remarkable, and outlandish activities of animals have long captured our curiosity, and no one has better explored or illuminated our fascination than Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson, bestselling author of the groundbreaking Dogs Never Lie About Love and When Elephants Weep. Masson’s genuine passion for our two- and four-legged, invertebrate, flippered, and finned friends has turned into his life’s calling–and earned him a reputation as one of our most provocative authorities on animal behavior.

Now Masson shares his vast knowledge in this comprehensive and charming volume featuring one hundred of his favorite animals. Drawing upon this affable expert’s own experience and extensive research, Altruistic Armadillos, Zenlike Zebras offers fascinating facts, colorful anecdotes, and surprising tidbits on familiar creatures (bottlenose dolphins, hummingbirds, kangaroos) as well as lesser-known, yet equally entrancing critters (bonobos, kakapos, and wombats). Inside you’ll discover that

• armadillos are the only mammals who routinely give birth to genetically identical quadruplets
• frogs can mate for months at a time
• koalas have tiny brains, possibly because they sleep for twenty hours a day
• a newborn kangaroo is the size of a small bean
• lobsters, if allowed to, can live for nearly a century
• the manatee is one of the most gentle and inoffensive of animals

No one interprets the inner workings and idiosyncrasies of animal behavior quite like Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson, nor does anyone else translate them to the page so engagingly. What’s more, this guide includes gorgeous photographs and links to educational websites. Irresistible and illuminating, Altruistic Armadillos, Zenlike Zebras will forever change the way you view our world’s most amazing creatures.

Customer Reviews:

Interesting.......2007-08-06

About: Profiles of 100 different animals

Pros: Very interesting, I learned plenty about animals I knew something about and even more about animals I had never heard of. Includes a photo of each animal profiled. Short chapters for easy reading. Bibliography at end.

Cons: Masson can get opinionated occasionally but puts this in a nice warning up front.

Grade: A-

Delightful and Inspiring.......2007-04-03

Do badgers plan funerals? Have zebras ever been tamed? Altruistic Armadillos, Zenlike Zebras puts a creative twist on the traditional encyclopedia concept by discussing such matters in a conversational tone rather than in the language of scientific certainty.

Masson gets up to the nests and down to the burrows, supplying anecdotes to illustrate the psychological experiences of other animals. Just as intriguing, if not more so, are the author's sensitive interpretations of these anecdotes. Masson declares a feeling of "complete respect" for bald eagles, whom we have utterly failed to understand. To talk wisely of other animals is a paradoxical task, Masson explains, for knowing them as individuals has historically involved their habituation to our presence.

The factual information selected for this book is exquisite. Bats, we learn, can hear an insect walking on a leaf. Prairie dogs have distinct calls to warn of various dangers, including one call when a human is approaching, and another call when a human approaches with a gun.

Bison have been wiped out by the same "curious hatred" that decimated pre-colonial peoples. But then there was the pet buffalo who killed the Idaho rancher who owned and rode the animal. Recounting the story, Masson reflects critically on our quest to make other animals like us and to transform them into our companions.

Altruistic Armadillos, Zenlike Zebras is the perfect pick for a budding animal-rights activist or those who enjoy linguistics and creative questions. The seasoned activist too will find this book valuable, because it sustains so gracefully the theme that's surely the core of animal rights theory: the interest of other animals in simply being permitted to live unmolested. Altruistic Armadillos, Zenlike Zebras is an important book for showing how much richer we'd be if we would consciously strive to acknowledge other animals on their terms.

Heartwarming and Informative.......2007-03-05

ALTRUISTIC ARMADILLOS, ZENLIKE ZEBRAS: A Menagerie of 100 Favorite Animals is a dream book for someone who already knows way more than the average person about many animals, is interested in language and naming, and likes to consider what we humans do with and to animals in the name of, well, whatever we want (because we're the boss of them). But there's also a lot of fascinating material for the meat-eating, cat and/or dog lover.

Masson explores not only the emotional lives of animals, but his emotional experience of them. This isn't merely a book of facts and statistics about animals; it's a window into the life of the author, who reveals himself by describing animals.

ALTRUISTIC ARMADILLOS, ZENLIKE ZEBRAS raises issues that most people, even vegetarians, don't necessarily concern themselves with. Masson might make you think twice about using items such as honey, royal jelly, silk, pearls, mother-of-pearl and other by-products of some form of use and abuse of nonhuman animals.

For the meat-eating, cat and/or dog lover, Masson provides insight into the lives of animals that you ordinarily aren't privy to. From chickens to lobsters to pigs to turkeys to red foxes to wolves (and I thank the author for alluding to the reality that wolf-hybrids shouldn't be pets), there's a lot to learn about the animals we take for granted, and often assume were put here primarily for our use.

The mantra "leave them alone" is echoed throughout the book, and it's a valuable message that's more relevant than ever.

As for criticism regarding the author's style or content, in his Preface he states: "I have not shied away from speculation, personal remarks, personal enthusiasm, and pet peeves. . . . In line with my own personal publishing history, which has been primarily about the feelings of animals, I felt it only fitting that I should acquaint the reader with MY feelings about animals for a change."

Any grad student in literature will tell you that you can't criticize someone for not writing the book you wanted them to write. You must base your criticism on the author's intent. Masson provides that intent, then follows through.

100 Fascinating Stories.......2006-11-29

Descriptions, stories, and opinions about a hundred different kinds of animans, all interesting. Well not quite all.

The first animal is the armadillo (It's the national bird of Texas - I know, it's not a bird.) You see them lying beside the road. A car goes over them, it scares them, they jump straight up, hit the bottom of the car which kills them. Armadillos are the only animals that catch leprosy. And they routinely have genetically identical quadruplets, after having had sex as long as three years ago. Now where else could you get all this information about armadillos.

Would you like to know about bats or beetles? What about the Yeti? Yes, even he asks about putting in such a creature/myth in an animal book, but then he gives what evidence there is. Some like octopuses are fascinating (200 seperate species, lay two to four hundred thousand eggs, and quite smart - equivalent say to about a dog). Some merely there - Okapi, the only know relative of the giraffe who has such a long tongue that it can clean its own ears.

Well by now you get the picture, 100 fascinating little stories.

Not What I Expected.......2006-11-26

The Booklist review gives a far more accurate picture of this book than the description on the book jacket. I agree with the Booklist reviewer who says the "emotional writing style is not for everyone." It was not for me. I picked up this book to learn more about the animals and their natural behaviors. The summary on the book jacket promised facts and anecdotes. Instead of learning about 100 animals, I learned about Masson's opinion on the 100 animals. There were facts and anecdotes, but they overshadowed by Masson's strong opinions. Being such a popular author, I am sure many will be interested in his opinions. Many strong animal lovers will also be grateful to read such a book. If you like the sound of the Booklist review, you will probably enjoy this book.

Redneck Riviera: Armadillos, Outlaws and the Demise of an American Dream

Average customer rating:

Excellent small book!
Fascinating, in fits and starts

Redneck Riviera: Armadillos, Outlaws and the Demise of an American Dream
Dennis Covington
Manufacturer: Counterpoint
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

South | Regional U.S. | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Memoirs | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

General | Popular Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

General | Real Estate | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Popular Culture | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 1582432961
Release Date: 2005-01-04

Book Description

After his father's death, Dennis Covington plunges into a Florida shootout to claim his only inheritance, two and a half worthless acres of land that his father bought in a real estate scam-but the more determined he becomes to share his father's dream with his own children, the more it seems that his true legacy is bad judgment in real estate. In a tale filled with characters drawn from a Florida like Flannery O'Connor's Georgia, Covington finds his life threatened, his truck torched, and his small cabin shot up and vandalized, but he clings to his inheritance with heartbreaking tenacity. Redneck Riviera is at once a comic and tender celebration of family, a brilliant look at the clash of values tearing much of rural America apart, and a bittersweet comment on our age-old passion to possess and transform the land.

Customer Reviews:

Excellent small book!.......2004-11-17

Despite its relative lack of heft, this book makes for rich reading. You will learn a lot and think about what Mr. Covington has to say on the subjects of family, land, and place.

Fascinating, in fits and starts.......2004-03-05

The core of the book, which is the author's wrongheaded and doomed attempt to reclaim his father's land -- now dominated by local hunters, outlaws and vaguely corrupt law enforcement officials -- is fascinating. Covington's attempt to transfer his dream of recapturing his inheritance to the wilds of Idaho is somewhat less interesting. Most dissapointing, though, is the attempt to string together a narrative over what must be about a decade's chronology. All told, a few key days on his father's land makes up the core of the story, and you don't get a sense of how long or how hard Covington's efforts were.

Interestingly, this area in Florida where the book takes place seems to dovetail with the swamps covered in Susan Orlean's "The Orchid Thief," which also gives a brief history of the land scam that sets this book's plot in motion.

Book Description

Sasparillo, an armadillo from Texas, leaves his home to find out where on Earth he is, and with the help of a golden eagle, he discovers where he lives--in a city, in a state, in a country, on a continent, on a planet, in the solar system, in the universe. Along the way, Sasparillo learns about geography, history, the environment, and animals native to Texas.

Customer Reviews:

Great book.......2006-08-06

This book is great. It is a great adventure for young readers. Books are a great way to discover far off places and this one takes the readers to many places in the United States. I highly recommend this book.

THE LOST IS FOUND.......2004-04-08

Granted the Lone Star State is a large one - many miles and every sort of terrain imaginable from plains to lakes to hills to cavernous waste. And, this is where Sasparillo has lost his way.

How in the world will a tiny, friendly armadillo find his way home in this vast area? Never fear, there are those who help and in this case it's a strong eagle.

Yes, a magnificent eagle befriends Sasparillo and carries him across the sky as the little armadillo searches for his home.

Youngsters love a happy ending, and Sasparillo finds one.

Great book!!.......2004-02-09

My daughter loves armadillos, so when I saw this book at the library, I had to bring it home. It is great. It took her interest in armadillos and combined it with geography. The author did a great job of intertwining the fact that there are 50 states and linking that with the continents and our place on earth and the planets in the solar system. For us, this is definately worth purchasing!!

Emma says...........2003-03-22

it's a very good book but it needs more details about other places. I really liked the postcards because they looked so real. If I was going to places, I would write postcards to my friends.

Signed, E.J.W.

A must for everyone who loves childrens books.......1998-09-15

I checked out this book from our local library because of the colorful illustrations, but as soon as I got it home I knew I had discovered a treasure. My children loved the rolling, tumbling word play and I loved the fact that they were learning as I was reading. Ms Cherry does a wonderful job of drawing you into the story and her illustrations are delightful. I have added this book to our home library and look forward to seeing new stories from this wonderful authoress. I highly recommed it to any one with children or a love for Texas. A must to own.

Average customer rating:

Great Book
fun story
Fun story

Substitute Groundhog
Pat Miller
Manufacturer: Albert Whitman & Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Library Binding

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

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

General | Literature | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0807576433

Book Description

It's almost Groundhog Day! Everyone knows that Groundhog has an important job to do every February 2, but this year he's not feeling well. Dr. Owl diagnoses him with the flu and orders two days of bed rest. But how will people know the weather forecast if Groundhog is down in his hole in bed?

Then Groundhog has in idea-he can hire a substitute! Maybe Squirrel can be the substitute, or Eagle, or Bear. But at the subtitute auditions, Groundhog realizes that none of his friends is quite right for the job. Will he be able to find a substitute or will Groundhog Day be cancelled this year?

Customer Reviews:

Great Book.......2007-03-01

I am an elementary special education teacher. I bought this book to read to my class of 1st - 5th grade students. It was a great book for all of my students. The book brought about a discussion of what groundhog's day was. We also discussed the other animals in the book and why they were/were not able to do the groundhog's job.

fun story.......2007-02-04

This is a fun story that compares characteristics of several animals who are applying to be the temporary groundhog while Phil is out sick. Miller's story is great for teaching comparing and contrasting and has some great opportunities for children to make predictions. Children in Texas will really enjoy the outcome, wherein Armadillo saves the day.

Fun story.......2007-01-06

Kathi Ember's warm drawings enhance the story from Pat Miller, Substitute Groundhog, telling of a young groundhog who gets sick the day before Groundhog Day and is told by Dr. Owl to stay in bed. His search for a substitute groundhog leads to a new assessment of his many unique qualities to fit the job description in this fun story.

Average customer rating:

Master of 'Sinful Excess'
Crunchy on the Outside, Chewy on the Inside
The one that got me addicted
Refreshing change of scenery for the Kinster
Love him or leave him on the shelf

Armadillos & Old Lace
Kinky Friedman
Manufacturer: Bantam Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

General | Mystery | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books

General | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books

General | Mystery & Thrillers | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books

All 4-for-3 Deals | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books
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ASIN: 0553574477
Release Date: 1995-08-01

Customer Reviews:

Master of 'Sinful Excess'.......2006-12-21

The friends of Kinky Friedman gathered recently over the release of his latest mystery, and the air was positively green with screaming over it.

"Like P.J. O'Rourke on testosterone," cheered Robert Stack, noted literary critic and host of "Unsolved Mysteries." "A true American original," mused Steve Allen, modern Renaissance man.

"A real beauty mark of sinful excess," says James Crumley, author of "The Last Good Kiss."

Lord knows mystery novels are not meant to be the all-day suckers of literature, but the scorch marks on my eyelids remain mute evidence that there was less here than met the eye.

The concept behind this series is simple. Kinky Friedman, in reality a smart-alecd country singer who writes songs like "They Don't Make Jews Like Jesus Anymore" and "Get Your Biscuits in the Oven and Your Buns into Bed," plays amateur detective in New York City.

As an added conceit, his friends appear in the books, sometimes as Watsons, sometimes as victims and suspects.

There is some justification for Crumley's "sinful excess" assertion. Although of an age old enough to know better and too old to care, Friedman has the sense of humor sure to tickle the hearts of 13-year-old boys everywhere. Between the bodies are sprinkled fart jokes, crap jokes, Jesus jokes, Jewish jokes, Texas jokes, booger jokes and more fart jokes.

In addition, he drops in stories which don't mean anything to the plot and rules of life with great portentousness. His plots meander about the ranch like herds of sheep. Sometimes, he wraps it up well enough to forgive and badly enough to induce hurling (the book, not your lunch, unless you don't like dirty jokes).

This time, Friedman heads to Texas for the summer, to the combination ranch and summer camp which his family has been tending for decades. But before he can settle into his trailer and take off his boots, the justice of the peace asks him to look into the deaths of six old ladies. She thinks a serial killer is at work; the county sheriff doesn't. And Kinky is in the middle.

So while he investigates the deaths, we also get heart-warming scenes around the campfire, where Kinky campfire songs like "Ol' Ben Lucas / Had a lot of mucus / Comin' right out of his nose."

Along the way, Kinky talks about relatives who had gone to seed in nursing homes and his experiences as a Peace Corps volunteer in Borneo, sometimes dipping into lines like: "I was a hunter who traced the wide open spaces between the ears of a madman, just barely within shouting distance of reality."

This time, Friedman keeps his mind on the plot and wraps it up not only satisfactorily, but adds a coda capable of inducing heartbreak.

If you have a taste for sick humor, sacrilegious talk and bawdy observations, then the Kinkster comes highly recommended.

Crunchy on the Outside, Chewy on the Inside.......2004-06-29

"Armadillos and Old Lace" is Kinky's seventh novel and is his first to be set away from New York. Instead, the action takes place at 'home' - in and around Echo Hill Ranch, Texas. This means, of course, that Kinky must solve this mystery without the help of people like Ratso, Rambam and John McGovern - though he has brought the cat along with him. While the cat doesn't voice her opinion on their new home - a green trailer - it's obvious that she isn't impressed.

Kinky has, once again, cast himself as the PI hero and has continued to use family and friends as the book's supporting characters. Echo Hill Ranch was founded by his parents, Tom and Min, in the early 1950s. Min died in 1985, before the book was written - though Tom does appear and is always referred to by his first name. A summer camp is held on the ranch every year, and Kinky's sister, Marcie, appears as one of the camp counsellors. (It was Marcie's idea that Kinky should start writing mystery novels - I will be eternally grateful to her). Frances Kaiser, Kerr County's Sheriff, and Pat Knox, Kerrville's Justice of the Peace, also appear. The green trailer, Kinky's place of residence in this book, is where he wrote several of his early books. It's now (apparently) home to an armadillo, who presumably answers to the name of Dilly. Much use is also made of Dusty, his mother's old talking car. However, further comparisons with David Hasselhoff and KITT just don't stand up.

Though Kinky has returned home for a holiday, Pat Knox has other ideas. She contacts regarding hom the deaths of four old ladies who have died over the previous five months. Although the Sheriff, Frances Kaiser, has found nothing suspicious about any of them, Pat remains convinced they were murdered. She asks Kinky to look over her files and form an opinion - though he initially agrees with the Sheriff. However, his opinion starts to change when a fifth victim turns up - with her lips sewn shut.

This is the best of Kinky's books I've read to date - though, admittedly, I haven't read then all. He still delivers a fast-moving book, with more one-liners than you reasonably hope for, but it also has the benefit of a strong story. In addition, he writes with a strong sense of affection form the camp and the people who have helped out there over the years. His quips may not be to everyone's taste, but this is a book I thoroughly enjoyed.

The one that got me addicted.......2004-01-18

I forgot when or where I heard of Kinky Friedman, but this was the first of his mysteries I had ever read. His politically incorrect wit, his love for animals, and his writing style in general got me addicted. After reading this book, I have read almost all of his works and I hope he writes many more.

Refreshing change of scenery for the Kinster.......2002-05-13

I snarf down Kinky Friedman books like candy, Lord knows I do, but the last few leading up to Armadillos and Old Lace had started making me antsy for a new scenario or two. Kinky's adventures in the Big Apple have always been long on laughs and his special brand of folksy/freaky asides, but a little shy on new plot twists.

Adding fresh air to the series is this volume, which takes place over a summer on Kinky's Texas ranch. This neck of the woods is so gushingly dear to his heart that you can almost hear the children playing and the crickets chirping. A whole new cast of characters are on board to replace the irreplaceable Village Irregulars, including the Kinkster's father and a young green-eyed love interest. The cat, of course, comes along for the shaky ride and never fails to jump onto unfortunate spots on Kinky's sleeping body. Also keep an eye open for Kinky's new companion, a talking car that spouts bits of wisdom at appropriate times.

The "mystery" portion of our tale comes, as usual, almost as an afterthought, but it's an interesting one to say the least. Some old ladies are getting offed on their birthdays and the local judge and sheriff are clueless. What can you do? Bring in Kinky Friedman, amateur detective from the Big City. Who would've thought that you'd find serial killers and intrigue in Kerrville?

This was the best entry since Greenwich Killing Time and I laughed longer and louder than any of them. Kinky takes his time getting to the story, with plenty of tales of times gone by and bits of wisdom from the famous (and infamous) figures from his past. Kinky's vocabulary has, at this point, become almost another language filled with terms like "rain room", "agitato", "killer bee" (def: fantastic, usually referring to chicken fried steak), "taking a Nixon", and "Jewish shepherds".

You might not get it, but if you do you'll discover a friend for life in Kinky Friedman.

Love him or leave him on the shelf.......2001-12-20

Look - you either dig Kinky Friedman or not. He is rude, crude, at times lewd, always a dude. His New York digs could get a little claustophobic to me, so I was glad to see him head out to his family's home and kids' summer camp - Echo Hill Ranch. As usual, whatever he turns his hand to somehow evolves into grand highjinks, but everything works out in the end. This time he get's drawn into the suspiscious deaths of 4 little old ladies. No pony for Kinky - he rides the range in Dusty, his late mom's talking Chrysler looking for clues and trying not to join the old ladies on the other side of the rainbow. Needless to say, Justice (and Kinky) triumphs, but not before his usual stirring of the hornets nest investigative style makes him equal numbers of friends and enemies. Oh, go ahead and read it - you know you want to!

Average customer rating:

A wonderful book with beautiful interesting illustrations
Reviewers missed the point
A beautifully illustrated book with a simple story line

Armadillo Ray
John Beifuss
Manufacturer: Chronicle Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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

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ASIN: 0811821358

Book Description

Ray is a curious armadillo, and what he is most curious about is the moon. Ray wonders how it can have so many shapes and why it sometimes disappears. He decides to find out the answers to his questions by asking his desert animal friends, from the prairie dog to the desert grouse, each of whom has his own fanciful idea. But it isn't until Ray meets a wise old owl that he learns exactly what the moon isâand discovers that sometimes the truth is the most unbelievable explanation of all!
This enchanting story is brought to life by stunning oil pastel illustrations. Also included is an afterword giving a brief explanation of the phases of the moon, as well as a note about the role that the moon has played in legends around the world.

Customer Reviews:

A wonderful book with beautiful interesting illustrations.......2004-07-10

Borrowed this from the library and am now buying it for our collection. The illustrations are so different and interesting. And the story is sweet, fun, and unique.

Reviewers missed the point.......2001-05-05

This beautifully illustrated book is the PERFECT introduction or supplement to a science lesson for primary or intermediate elementary-age children. The point of the book is simple: introduce children to a lesson on the Earth's moon. The actual explanation, listed at the end of the book, is purposely not included with the story, so that the teacher or parent can read it and guide the child into the scientific explanation. It also offers legends of the moon from other cultures which can also lead a child into a literature lesson - composing their own original folktale. The book will naturally lend itself to art interpretations after a child sees how gorgeous and simple the illustrations are. This book leads to creativity and knowledge!

A beautifully illustrated book with a simple story line.......1998-08-06

The illustrations carry this book along in its simple story of a little armadillo asking his desert friends about the moon. The pictures are bright, vivid, and appealing. The story line is simple, with the different desert animals offering their ideas of what is the moon, much as different cultures have different myths of the moon as well. The scientific explanation at the end is not too long for this age group. I would have liked for the text to have more about the desert life of Armadillo Ray, or his feelings, as the one shortcoming is that the text is not quite as involving as the illustrations.

The Great Psychedelic Armadillo Picnic: A "Walk" in Austin (Crown Journeys)

Average customer rating:

Make sure you get the version that Kinky reads
An original
Delightful tour of a fantastic city
The road to better living passes through this town.
Riding with the Kinkster

The Great Psychedelic Armadillo Picnic: A "Walk" in Austin (Crown Journeys)
Kinky Friedman
Manufacturer: Crown
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Essays & Travelogues | Reference & Tips | Travel | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 1400050707
Release Date: 2004-10-05

Book Description

Kinky Friedman, the original Texas Jewboy, takes us on a rollicking, rock-and-rolling tour of his favorite city: Austin.

Maybe you want to know which restaurant President Bush rates as his favorite Austin burger joint. Or maybe you want a glimpse of Willie Nelson’s home life (hint: Willie plays a lot of golf). Perhaps you want to get the best view of the Mexican free-tail bats as they make their nightly flights to and from the Congress Avenue Bridge. Or maybe you’re itching to learn the history of a city that birthed Janis Joplin, Stevie Ray Vaughan, and countless other music legends. It’s all here in The Great Psychedelic Armadillo Picnic, the slightly insane, amazingly practical, and totally kick-ass guide to the coolest city in Texas by none other than Kinky Friedman.

This ain’t no ordinary travel guide, neither. “Like most other busy cities these days, Austin is not very effectively traversed by foot,” Kinky explains. “You must understand that ‘a walk in Austin’ is primarily a spiritual sort of thing.” As might be expected from this politically incorrect country-singer-turned-bestselling-mystery-author, the Kinkster’s tour includes a bunch of stuff you won’t ?nd in a Frommer’s guide, from descriptions of Austin’s notable trees and directions to skinny-dipping sites to lists of haunted places and quizzes and puzzles. So put on your cowboy hat and your brontosaurus-foreskin boots and head down south with the only book you need to get to the big heart of this great city.

Customer Reviews:

Make sure you get the version that Kinky reads.......2006-08-10

there are a few versions of this book. Don't get one that isn't read by the author. Otherwise, it isn't remotely funny!

An original .......2005-10-16

At least this guy's an original. This is my first trip in Kinkyland and I was repaid by getting a few laughs. I especially liked his frank no- nonsense tone in telling us for instance, that he goes around giving advice to people happier than himself.
He is deeply at home in the world of Austin and gives the reader a lot of local color, and a lot of advice as to where and what to visit and see.
On the Jewish side it seems to me that that part of his identity is a lot like the Jewish star on Max Baer's trunks, more for crowd power effect than anything else.
But who knows? This guy may be a genuine Longhorn Yid.
However the Kink should be aware that his love of the four- letter word will not give him an A in the big cheder upstairs which I suspect he is more likely to get to than to what he says he wishes to in this book, the Governor's Chair in Austin.

Delightful tour of a fantastic city.......2005-10-10

The Kinkster (Texas' next governor?) takes readers on a whirlwind tour of Austin. Anyone who has lived in Austin for a significant period of time will not find much new here. Those who have only visited might get some inkling of what makes this city unique and why millions of people all over the country consider Austin home even though the population is 600,000. This is an extremely funny journey. I can't think of a better tour guide than a man who refers to Garth Brooks as the anti-Hank

The road to better living passes through this town........2005-01-24

Any traveller worth their salt knows what a big mistake just showing up at a foriegn city empty minded can be; we also know an even bigger mistake exists: showing up with a mass-produced, banal "city guide." Of course, if you have never awoken on an airplane with a throbbing hangover and without any idea what you are doing there, or where 'there' is, maybe this book isn't for you. I once woke up in Toronto, the city hosting the International Conference for Progressive Psychology (ICPP) in 1968 -- before Dr. Shoozenschaurts' breakthrough work on depression was publicized. Sure his work was edgy, and progressive, but I knew it was dangerous. I tried to warn my colleagues of the inherint dangers in thinking such thoughts, after all, what we don't know can't hurt us. My fellow scientists ignored my warnings and embraced Dr. Shoozenschaurts' revolutionary concepts. After the conference of '68 I found myself and my ignorance is bliss theories discredited. Now I live on a couch. You live in a nation of depressed sociopaths. You could say I'm having the last laugh, but I'm not; because I live on a couch, and I am too depressed for laughter.

"With her countless clubs, bars, and dance halls, Austin is a whore with a heart of gold flaunting her gaudy necklace in the Texas night."

Naturally I am unemployed. This is important because this book along with the other Crown Journey books are, I believe, written for the unemployed. These books are written for the traveler with True Grit, whose idea of vacation is drinking coffee in a foriegn city and reading about one human's experience of a city that stands out from the pack; The kind of person that no longer finds excitement in visiting New York, London, Paris, or Los Angeles. The Crown Journey series captures real, unique culture in the most pleasantly unexpected places (Like Austin, Nantucket, Portland) and then combines it with real, unique personality in equally pleasant form (Kinkster, Pahlaniuk).

This book will make you laugh. This book will give you good ideas on where to go, and what to do in Austin. Perhaps most importantly, this book will give you the background perspective you need to enjoy your Austin vacation to the MAX~!

Riding with the Kinkster.......2005-01-07

Kinky for Governor!

Ok, so this review will be online forever and 50 years from now lots of people will probably be saying "Who the hell is Kinky Friedman?" (People in Buffalo probably already are saying it, but that's another story.)

If you want to get a quick look at who Kinky is, you can't go wrong with this slim volume. Its essentially a travelogue for the city of Austin, Texas, but the Kinkster's wit shines through. Kinky covers a lot of ground in short order to tell you where the best sites in Austin are: for music and nightlife (like The Broken Spoke), for food (like Threadgill's), for sightseeing (like Willie Nelson's house, where else?).

Along the way, we get bits and pieces of Texas and specifically Austin history. Whether you are new to Texas or have been, as I have, a lifelong resident, you're sure to find something you didn't already know. If you get through this and are dying to read more, the next step of course, is to get cracking at his mysteries (i.e. Greenwich Killing Time). In the mean time, sit back and enjoy. The Kinkster is at the wheel, and the cigar smoke is filling up the car. I can't see where we are going, but the trip is sure to be fun.

Don't Ever Cross That Road! An Armadillo Story

Average customer rating:

cute Texas book
Great story and great lessons
Absolutely delightful
great illustrations great story
Delightful Rhyming, Illustrations AND a GREAT Science Lesson

Don't Ever Cross That Road! An Armadillo Story
Conrad J. Storad
Manufacturer: The RGU Group
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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

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ASIN: 1891795082

Book Description

Why should an armadillo NEVER cross a road? Because he may never get to the other side! In this delightful book, a teacher armadillo tells his class about their prehistoric ancestor—a glyptodont weighing nearly two tons. He describes where armadillos live, how they spend their time, and what they like to eat for lunch. And he cautions them about the dangers of crossing the road. But one student in a red baseball cap isn't listening—or is he?

Featuring an armadillo fact section, and a "Words to Learn" glossary, Don't Ever Cross That Road! is packed with information. Conrad J. Storad's musical verse and Nathaniel P. Jensen's charming pictures make this book a special treat for every young reader.

Customer Reviews:

cute Texas book.......2007-07-15

I saw this book at a San Antonio airport and knew I had to get it for my daughter. We're relocating to Texas, and what better way to help her adjust than a good book. I ordered it through Amazon, and when it arrived, loved the colorful artwork and story line.

Great story and great lessons.......2007-01-11

I bought this book for my twin two year old nephews (along with a stuffed armadillo). I bought it for the lessons (don't cross/careful crossing the road) and the sweet story. They love it and the art work is adorable. They're a little young for the lesson but since they're so engaged with the story now I think they'll keep it around long enough for the lessons, too.

Absolutely delightful.......2003-11-19

This is a sweet story you won't mind sharing with your child again and again. The illustrations are first rate, each page has its own color palate as the story progresses from evening to dawn (armadillos are nocturnal, after all!). My three year old has a new best friend!

The publishers also did a great job on the printing. The images are crisp, the paper is of good quality so that the colors jump out at you.

Good for kids or adults who are collectors of picture books.

great illustrations great story.......2003-10-04

Not only is this delightful book instructional but it is also great fun for both children and adults. Kids really respond to the illustrations which animate the story. Definitely a keeper -- one you will want to read and look at over and over.

Delightful Rhyming, Illustrations AND a GREAT Science Lesson.......2003-09-19

This book by the author of "Don't Call Me Pig! A Javelina Story" and "Lizards for Lunch. A Roadrunner's Tale" is a wonderful blend of whimsical rhyme and natural history lesson. Young readers (or listeners) will love following the antics of a red-capped armadillo student as his teacher armadillo lectures the a restless armadillo class all about their history, biology, habitat, and most importantly the dangers of crossing the road! Bringing the words to life are Nathaniel Jensen's delightful illustrations--the expressions on the little armadillos faces are priceless.

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