It's an okay book. It tries to relate human inter-racial marriages and it's offsprings through a 'animal gender mixed marriage and it's offspring', dealing with why children of inter-racial parents look different. However, the book could have gone more indepth with dealing with why the Rabbit was married to the Turtle, therefore resulting in an offsprings who was half rabbit and half turtle. The book does teach a "don't judge a book by its cover" lesson, and it's reading level should not be placed at Baby-Preschool, but placed more at Preschool-Teen. When I began to read the first page of the book to my 4-year old daughter, and it read that "Zack is different." "His mother is a rabbit and his father is a Turtle." She looked at the moving furniture man (in the background) and said that he should be the father; the furniture man was...a rabbit. She has already preconceived what society is telling her is to be the 'correct way', and that is why there needs to be more children books readily available that deal with inter-racial couples, marriages and bi-,multi-racial children. I think the book should have explained why the Rabbit and Turtle were married (love). And why Zack 'looks' the way he does (made by two people who love one another and wanted to bring someone special into this world, despite their 'outer' appearance).

I bought this book because my 5 year old son goes to a school with very little diversity, not by design, but due to geography. He now understands that being different isn't a bad thing. It is the differences that make each of us special. I wanted to stress to him that just because someone looks different doesn't mean he/she cannot be your friend. It's hard to be the new kid and look different. I hope now my son will not shy away from someone who is different, and rather, invite him/her into his activities and get to know him/her. In the book, the Little Critter discovered that the new kid, Zack, was fun and stuck with him even when his friends shyed away.

I am a single mom of an "almost" four year old (as my daughter would say)biracial child. Although I live in a pretty diverse city (Philadelphia), there exists much ignorance, prejudice and real cruelty with respect to the questions, stares and comments people make when I am with my daughter. Even as far as going to parks and people thinking I am the au pair for my child. Despite the growing number of biracial children being born, some people still don't get it. My daughter has started making observations about her skin tone being different than mine, her eyes being different than mine, etc. This book was a wonderful way for me to start talking with my child about why she is different than children who are "all black" or "all white" and that there's nothing wrong with her...that sometimes people are just unsure. I use this book to let her know that being biracial is actually pretty darn special. That she has the best of both worlds in terms of culture and ethnicity...and to teach her to embrace that and not be upset by other's ignorance. The book helped me to teach her that as long as she continues to be her beautiful, lovable, fun self, people who are worth being friends with will be honored to be her friends....for the rest of the crowd who doesn't....it's their loss.

I would HIGHLY recommend this book to parents of biracial children.

Holly in Philly.

When I get bigger is another one of my favorite books by Mercer Mayer. In this book It gave me flashbacks on how when I was little I couldnt do the things I can do now. In the book Critter dreams of things he can do when he gets bigger. In the end it says "im going to bed, im not bigger yet". In his own mind he thinks he is bigger but hes not. Most kids dream that they are bigger but there not.

I liked this book because it made me think about what I get and have to do when I'm older. Of course they are different than crossing the street alone and going to the store by myself. This should be good for kids because they get to see what they can look forward to when they become older. This book is short, simple and to the point, just like I like them!

I really enjoyed reading this book to my daughter. We've had this book since she was almost 3. It talks about all the fun things Little Critter can do when he gets bigger, like crossing the street alone, telling time, camping out, etc. My daughter enjoys knowing that she will get to do all these things when she's truly a "big girl." The ending is a twist because he says he's going to bed now because he's not bigger yet.

This book examines the Canary Islanders in three parts. Firstly, the author compares the physical anthropology of the islanders, particularly in comparison to the ancient inhabitants northwest Africa. Secondly, the prehistoric (i.e. pre-conquest) culture is examined, with a great deal of archaeological evidence considered. And thirdly, the travails that the islanders were subjected to by the French and Iberian invaders of the Fifteenth Century are recounted.

Sadly, the book is written in a dry, academic style. Also, the author begins the book convinced that the original Canary Islanders were northwestern African rebels exiled to the islands by Roman authorities in the Second and Third Centuries, and very little contrary evidence is even mentioned. And, as a third complaint, while the author mentions several ancient references to these "Happy Islands" (e.g. Pliny), he fails to examine them in any detail at all.

However, this book is an absolute goldmine of information on the pre-conquest Canary Islanders, and stands alone in this field. If you are interested in the ancient Canary Islanders, then you must read this book!

The Canary Islands, once believed to be the remains of Atlantis, are a major forum for discussion of cultural and biological evolution. The unusual appearance of the 'native' Canary Islanders (blond, tall, pale eyes) was noted by the Spanish invaders of the 15th century and has been extensively debated for some time.

Mercer's book is essential for a fuller understanding of the inhabitants of the prehistoric (=Prehispanic) Canary Islands. Social, biological and cultural evolution (based on archaeology) are all discussed, in addition to contemporary Spanish writers' commentaries on the prehispanic inhabitants. The geology, geography and natural history of the area is also reviewed.

Mercer is an exceptionally incisive writer, wide ranging in his approach but nonetheless extremely perceptive and rational in his analyses. This book, published in 1980, has not to my knowledge been bettered. Essential reading for both scholars of the Atlantic Island groups and anyone who wishes to look beyond the trashy 'Blackpool in the Sun' image presently suffered by the Canaries.

There are innumerable controversies between the vast schools of thought in American history. Perhaps one of the largest is that of slavery in the United States. Throughout their years of public education, students are taught that slavery is immoral and wrong. Eugene Genovese, on the other hand, shows the side that students are not often taught. He tells of the reasons why slavery was so strongly supported and gives his interpretations and support of slavery in his book, A Consuming Fire.

According to Genovese, the slave owners of the South didn't believe that slavery was inhumane. In fact, they believed that it was God's will that slaves be owned. Southern pastors found many Biblical passages which convinced Southerners not only to own slaves, but how to treat them and what rights to give them, or not give them. Genovese says that many slave holders were torn between politics and Christianity by saying, "The efforts to recognize slave marriage, to keep slave families intact, and to repeal the literacy laws confronted slave holders with an uncomfortable choice between their religion and their political and socioeconomic interests," (pg. 23). One of the arguments Genovese makes is that since God wants people to own slaves, He would allow them to win the war. The first few battles of the Civil War supported this side, since the Confederacy seemed to be winning against such impressive odds. Later, when the South lost the war and slavery was non-existant, the Christian South claimed that it was because they did not live according to God's commandments of being good slave owners. Genovese's work, A Consuming Fire, is an excellent portrayal of the system of slavery in Southern eyes. This book is filled with interesting facts, and the reader learns that the laws created by the Southern government were often opposed by slave owners themselves. Stated on the cover is, "The Fall of the Confederacy in the Mind of the White Christian South." Nothing better summarizes Genovese's theory than this statement.

Eugene Genovese is the outstanding historian of the past 30 years. His books on American slavery touched off the enormous flowering of slavery studies during that time, and his recent work on southern whites has been equally exemplary. This brief volume, a collection of three papers, has redefined the Confederacy.

What Genovese shows here is that their experience in the Civil War led many southerners to decide that God was punishing them for not reforming their slave system. Genovese's subjects remained convinced that slavery was an institution that had been ordained by God; however, they decided that their prohibitions on slave marriage (which forced slaves to reproduce illicitly) and slave literacy (which kept slaves from becoming proper Protestants) were offensive to God, and many of them insisted on changes to remove these objections. By the war's end, many concluded God had chastised them for their sins.

this book is very hard to use. When I bought this book I had no expirence in egyptian hieroglyphs this book probably would be better for someone who has a knowledge of some grammar and wocab. it would be a good review book for the expirenced.

I like this book, but it is quite difficult to use. In it, the author criticizes Budge by saying that he is inaccurate, but I think that Budge is just at accurate in his own way as Mercer is in his. Budge, on the other hand, makes it easier to understand Egyptian.

I thought I could use the wordless book for a fun classroom activity with my 5th/6th graders. They loved the idea. They loved and laughed at the book. Many good points for discussion - even though it is wordless! Fun!

I found a copy of this book at a bargain sale - cheap! I thought I could use the wordless book for a fun classroom activity with my 5th/6th graders. They loved the idea. They loved and laughed at the book. Many good points for discussion - even though it is wordless! Fun!

During his lifetime, Henry Mercer was a lawyer, archaeologist, museum curator, promoter of lost crafts, and collector of a museum's worth (literally) of assorted stuff. One of his many interests was early American woodworking tools.

Ancient Carpenter's Tools is a comprehensive look at 18th and 19th Century American woodworking tools. The book is divided into chapters by function (Measurement, Shaping, etc.) and then by type of tool. As American tools were heavily influenced by their European ancestors, Mercer also includes a history of each tool with references to Medieval and Classical tools. Each tool is illustrated with photographs and drawings.

While this book was originally published in the 1920's (and occasionally shows its age) it remains useful for any student of tool history.

My little sister read this book and she liked it but she didn't like the way that Little Critter never got to do anything that he wanted to do just because of a little sister. How did the little sister get power over that? But the plot was good, and the story in general was pretty good too, so it's worth at least four stars.

One of America's greatest jazz composers, Duke Ellington was the definitive jazzman of his time. While many of us have heard his songs, few of us know the history behind it. This book is a great enlightener for those of us who can stand some light reading. I strongly recommend it to anyone who has heard his music.

This book was very easy to follow. I found it to be historically accurate and highly informative. From the very beginning the author has the reader very captivated. The book gave a complete view on not just the battle but how the people of that era lived. It gave a good human side to a major event in our history. Whoever reads this book will appreciate both sides of this war. And most importantly, this book stimulates the sense of heritage, pride, and the importance of preserving our valuable history. The statistics were also helpful for me, because for the first time I saw the correct numbers of troops involved in the Battle of Fort Mercer. This book was well done.