Star Wars: The Force Awakens - The Visual Dictionary by Pablo Hidalgo

Happy Star Wars Day!  May the 4th be with you.











Star Wars: The Force Awakens - The Visual Dictionary features characters, weapons, tools, and locations from the movie.

This is such an awesome book. As with other DK visual dictionaries, it's so beautifully presented. The book concentrates on the main characters (or groups of characters) and major locations. Each one is featured on a 2- or sometimes 4-page spread with tons of labelled/annotated photos and interesting and informative text . Many of the photos are large enough to really see the fine details.

Within the character and location pages, there's also information and photos of the tools, weapons and a few of the vessels from the movie. It's great that each of these is also labelled and/or explained further.

My favourite character photos are the dynamic ones. That is, the ones where they are doing something. For example: Kylo Ren's fighting pose with his plasma blade ligthsaber, and Rey with her quarterstaff in a defensive position. Both of these are so cool. Of course, sometimes it's just easier to see the details when the person is just standing there, so it's great that there's also plenty of those types of photos as well.

This book has so much information that each time I pick it up I see something I missed the first time I looked at it. I especially love that the photos with labels start on page one and continue right until the very last page.

It's fun to page through the book, but for those looking for something specific the book also has a table of contents as well as an adequate index.

By the way, I saw the movie and loved it.

Highly recommended for Star Wars fans.

For more Star Wars books from DK and for a downloadable activity kit, please see DK's website.

For more information about this book and/or a quick peek inside, please visit Amazon's website.

I'd like to thank Chris at DK Canada for this review copy.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens - The Visual Dictionary by Pablo Hidalgo, Dorling Kindersley (DK), ©2015. ISBN 9781465438164(Hardcover), 80p.

The Slow Cook Book by Heather Whinney

The Slow Cook Book features recipes for both slow cookers and more traditional slow cooking methods. There are recipes for soups, stews, casseroles, curries, chilis, pot roasts, and even a few desserts.

This is a really good cookbook. I don't use my slow cooker as much as I should, but this book has encouraged me to use it more often. I love that there are so many delicious sounding recipes to try. I made a number of them so far and each of them has turned out pretty good.

The book starts off with an introductory section that includes: types of cooking, pantry essentials, choosing ingredients, and some cooking techniques. I particularly like the photos in this section.

The next section is called "Recipe Choosers". It sort of neat, but I'm not sure how useful it's going to be. Along with the recipe titles, there are photographs, page numbers, and cooking times sorted by the main protein used. However, this section doesn't have include all of the recipes in the book. I'm confused as to why the author chose to highlight these, but not others. Also, some of this information is already presented in the index, albeit, not as beautifully. Oh, well. It's pretty to look at.

On to the recipes. Each of them features: the number of servings, the recommended maximum freeze time (if applicable), instructions, prep time, and cooking time for both slow cookers and traditional slow cooking methods. Some of the recipes have photographs of the finished dish, however, sadly, many of the recipes don't.

Speaking of photographs, the ones in this book are quite nice. Not ultra-contemporary mind you, but mouth-watering, nevertheless. It's odd, though, that there's only one photograph of a slow cooker. And there's no food in it. All of the other photos (for cooking techniques and for presenting the dishes) are either on plates, bowls, pots, or dutch ovens. I just find that a bit strange for a book about cooking in a slow cooker.

The instructions are laid out nicely and quite easy to follow. There are a number of recipes that have been labelled "healthy". However, I couldn't find anything to tell me the criteria for this designation. Are they low fat? High fibre? High protein? That would be nice to know.

The book also contains a table of contents and index.

Recommended. If you use your slow cooker all the time, you'll find some new interesting recipes to try. If you don't use your slow cooker a lot, this book will likely inspire you to dig it out and plug it in.

For more information about this book, please visit Amazon's website.

I'd like to thank Chris at DK Canada for this review copy.

The Slow Cook Book by Heather Whinney, Dorling Kindersley (DK), ©2013. ISBN 9781553632191(Soft cover), 352p.

Energy Bites by DK Publishing

Energy Bites features bite-sized high-protein snack recipes. Each of the recipes contain good-for-you ingredients for "increased vitality and wellness".

This is such a great book. It's small in size and only contains 15 recipes, but it's filled with nutritional information and suggestions for recipe variations. The possibilities seem almost endless. I love the contemporary layout.

The book starts off with an ingredients section. It's not just a list, however. It explains the nutritional importance of the ingredients used in the recipes. Next, there are general directions on how to make the no-bake and baked/pan-fried balls. In addition, there are directions on how to prep (soaking, boiling, roasting, etc.) some of the ingredients before the ball making can begin.

For each of the recipes, there's a list of ingredients, directions for making the balls, some nutritional information, as well as a gorgeous photograph of the finished product.

All of the recipes sound great and I've already made a list of ones I have to make for sure. There's really only one that doesn't appeal to me: Carrot & Red Beet Buckwheat Balls (page 24). I adore beets, but I don't like buckwheat...at all. I'm sure if I substitute another grain, though, they'll be yummy.

Because the recipes look so good, I immediately had to try a couple of them. Both the Peanut Butter & Banana Balls (page 44) and Sweet Potato Spicy Bites (page 34) turned out great. We ate the sweet ones for a snack, and the savoury ones with chicken and Brussels sprouts for supper. My husband thought the sweet potato bites needed a little something and since they are a bit spicy, I quickly made a dip out of Greek yogurt. Yum. My only complaint is that the recipe called for one sweet potato. No size or measurement mentioned. If you've ever bought sweet potatoes, you know they come in varying sizes...from those that fit neatly in the palm of your hand to others about half the size of a football (see Superstore for these ones).

Most of the recipes call for a food processor to chop up or incorporate the ingredients. However, if you don't have one, the book provides some alternatives so that the balls can be made by hand. I like this idea because cleaning out a food processor isn't my favourite job and sometimes mixing by hand is just easier.

There's one other thing I should mention about the book. It contains some ingredients that might be a little hard to find. Things like acai powder, bee pollen, moringa powder, and spirulina, probably won't be on your grocer's shelves. A health food store or online might be the a good place to find these. Don't worry, though, those ingredients don't make up the bulk of the balls. In fact, for one of the recipes I tried, I just omitted the ingredient.

As an added bonus, DK, the publisher, has a page on their website dedicated to one of these delicious sounding bites: Tropical Immune Boosters (page 42). Click here for a video and PDF download of the recipe. These look so delicious and are definitely on my list to try. The only reason I haven't made them yet is because I didn't have all of the ingredients on hand.

The book also contains a table of contents, glossary, and index. I really like the table of contents a lot. It starts with a list of general items, then uses pictures and page numbers for the recipes. Cool idea.

Highly recommended.

For more information about this book, please visit Amazon's website. To take a quick peek inside, click on the book cover!

I'd like to thank Chris at DK Canada for this review copy.

Energy Bites by DK Publishing, Dorling Kindersley (DK), ©2016. ISBN 9781465451538(Hardcover), 61p.

I Love DK Books!

Once again it's time for the annual I Love DK promotion. From January 1st to January 31st, I encourage all of you who love DK books to use the #ILoveDK hashtag to nominate a favourite DK book either on Twitter or Facebook. If you don't have a blog and would like to write a review (or have written one already), feel free to post it on DK's Facebook page.

On Valentine's Day, DK will select one of the entries and that person will win $250 worth of DK books! One lucky participating blogger will also receive a similar prize.

I personally love DK books. They have so many wonderful books on a wide variety of subjects. There's really something for everyone. Whether you like to cook, workout, learn a new skill, or sit in your favourite chair and read about history, philosophy or other fascinating subjects, DK has a book for you.  Did I mention the travel guides, Idiot Guides (for learning new things), craft books, and parenting books? And that's just the adult books. They also have tons of children's books to keep the little ones entertained, educated, and busy.

It's really going to be hard for me to choose a favourite, but since I adore cookbooks and read them like others read novels, I decided to pick one that hasn't left my side since it showed up at my door.

It's called Grains as Mains. The book is filled with tons of "modern recipes using ancient grains". Things like quinoa, buckwheat, polenta, and more. I love this book because it's so beautifully presented with some of the best food photography I've ever seen and features current and relevant recipes that are OMG delicious. I've made a number of recipes from this book and each one is a keeper. I'll write more about those when I do a full review some time soon. For now, click here for more about the book and to see a great video about whole grains. By the way, the video is filled with some of the great mouth-watering food shots from the book.

That's it for now. I hope you love DK books as much as I do and participate in this great promotion.

DK's Idiot Guides in Full Colour!!

Are you a fan of DK's Idiot Guides? Well, now they are even better. If you are not familiar with the books, now's your chance to get acquainted with them. With new topics, new authors, and new colour photography learning a new skill is even more exciting.

DK is currently revamping their website, but they've just completed the section for these fabulous guides.  Why not pop over to DK's website and take a look?

In the coming weeks, I'll be reviewing two of the titles, so stay tuned!

Smithsonian Great Design by DK Publishing - I Love DK!!

It's time once again for the I LOVE DK promotion where readers pick their favorite DK book.  All you have to do is pick one that you love and let DK know with a short review or a sentence or two.

On Valentine's Day they will select one of the reviews and that  reviewer wins a $250 DK shopping spree from DK.  They will also select a participating blogger for the same prize. 

So, if you love DK books as much as I do I encourage you to participate  between January 19 and February 4th.  Just go to Twitter and use the hashtag #ILoveDK letting DK know you favourite DK book.  Not on Twitter?  No problem.  They also have a Facebook page.   I left this a little late, but there's still a few days left to let the world know your favourite book from DK Canada and win a great prize!

Anyway, I posted about lots of great DK books over the past few years. Here's my recent favourite:

Smithsonian: Great Design features over 100 designs from around the world using numerous photographs and informative text. Within the covers, you'll find information about furniture, flatware, vehicles, graphics and much more. There's really something for everyone. In a nutshell, it's " the world's best design explored and explained."

I loved this book!! The thing I loved most about it was that it taught me that every item I see or touch each and every day has been gone through the design process. It can have a designer label or a generic one. It doesn't matter if it's sold at Wal-Mart, a high end "designer" store, or given away for free. Someone somewhere made decisions about its form and function. The book was definitely an eye-opener.

Besides being informative, the book is beautifully laid out with absolutely gorgeous photographs. Many of the designs are iconic, while others are less well known (at least to me) and somewhat surprising. Some of the items are just beautiful; some more functional; many a little of both. I love that the book is presented chronologically (1860 to the present), which allowed me to see the evolution of design. I also enjoyed the information on the designers and design movements.

The book starts with an interesting, but short, introduction explaining what design is and how it works. Each chapter starts with a list of items designed in that time period. I kind of wish there were page numbers on that page so that I could quickly find what I'm interested in, but I guess that's what the table of contents is for.

Within the chapters, each design item is featured on a 2 or 4 page spread. There are lots of photos and information about the item. The Visual Tour section is my favourite part because it focuses on the details of the particular item with annotated and/or labelled photographs. Besides the photographs, there's lots of information about the items including: date, materials used, country of origin, and scale of the piece. There's also a side bar about featuring information about the designer, many times with a photo.

There's so many great items in this book. It was hard, but I managed to pick a few favourites. Here they are:

• Kitchen/dining items: Flatware, especially the spoons (page 30-31), Aga cookers (pages 42-43) Kilta tableware (page 118-119), and Pride cutlery (pages 122-123)
• Vehicles: Volkswagen Beetle Model 1300 (pages 80-03), Vespa (pages 98-101), Austin Seven Mini (pages 168-171), and Cadillac series 62 (pages 172-175)
• Furniture: Egg chair (pages 162-163), Barcelona Chair (pages 58-59), Wiggle Chair (pages 202-203), Vermelta Chair (pages 229-235), Laver sofa (pages 238-239), and Masters Chair (pages 248-249)
• Miscellaneous: Penguin paperback covers (pages 102-103), Dyson DC01 vacuum cleaner (pages 226-227, I have a soft spot for all things Dyson)

The most surprising item in the book was the London Underground map (pages 64-65). What surprised me was that the diagrams were very similar to those used on our bus schedules here. It didn't occur to me that these needed "designing". However, after reading the information about how and why they are designed that way, I was amazed I didn't see it before. I liked the Munich Olympic Games pictograph (pages 204-205) for much the same reason. Both of these were very cool!!!!

Book also features a table of contents and index.

Highly recommended. This gorgeous coffee table book will be looked at repeatedly and already sports a number of bookmarks.

For more information about this book, please visit Amazon.ca, while DK revamps its website.

I'd like to thank Chris at DK Canada for this review copy.

Smithsonian: Great Design by DK Publishing, Dorling Kindersley (DK), ©2013. ISBN 9781465414403(Hardcover), 256p.

Smithsonian: Timelines of Science by DK Publishing

Smithsonian: Timelines of Science is a visual guide to "history of science and inventions". It starts with fire and progresses through time to the internet. It's packed with information and covers all branches of science from astronomy to technology.

I really liked this book, but I admit the massive amounts of information it contained was a little intimidating at first. It's not really the kind of book that I could or world read cover to cover. That would be overwhelming. Instead, it's the kind that I could leave on the coffee table so that I (or my guests) can dip into it from time to time. The gorgeous cover featuring the Vitruvian Man is terrific. It definitely draws me in, but it's the extensive content within the book that keeps me coming back for more.

I love that the book presented information in a variety of ways. There are interesting articles, quotes, side bars that highlight some of the information, as well as small annotated photographs and diagrams scattered throughout.

The main part of the book are the timelines. For each of the timelines, an accompanying article explains what happened during that time frame using text and photographs/diagrams/illustrations. While the articles are informative, I think the information is a little squished. There's too much packed into a small space with very little white space. I would have preferred some headings for the separate ideas, instead of just some highlighted words or phrases.

In addition to the timelines, the book also features many key events or discoveries. There are at least three types of 2-page spreads on a particular topic: The Story of...; Understanding...; other. Each of them is well presented and nicely laid out. I especially love the ones that teach basic concepts (like evolution, stars, and DNA), and the ones with tons of labelled photographs.

I have mixed feelings about all of the sciences being presented on one timeline. In one way it's good because I can see what else was happening in the world when a particular discovery was made. However, there's just too much information to wade through. If I want to learn about astronomy for example, I have to sift through lots of other stuff to get to it.

There's a reference section near the back of the book that will delight true science nerds. The 6 parts feature: measurements and units, physics, chemistry, biology, astronomy and space, as well as earth science. The sections are filled with laws, equations, symbols and the like. To me, it looked like stuff I was supposed to memorize or learn in my high school science classes. To be honest, I found it interesting, but my eyes sort of glazed over after awhile.

That section is followed by who's who in science featuring brief biographies. It's sort of like a glossary of people. It's really cool.

The book also contains a table of contents, which is presented chronologically, a glossary, and index, both of which are massive. In the index, two of the pages are printed out of order, so it might be a bit confusing for readers at first. Hopefully, this will be corrected in the next printing.

Highly recommended.

For more information about this book, please visit DK's website.

I'd like to thank Chris at DK Canada for this review copy.

Smithsonian: Timelines of Science DK Publishing, Dorling Kindersley (DK), ©2013. ISBN 9781465414342(Hardcover), 400p.

Crochet: The Complete Step-by-Step Guide by DK Publishing

Crochet: The Complete Step-by-Step Guide features more than 80 crocheting projects for both beginners and more advanced crocheters. It starts off with some basic techniques and mini projects to get beginners off to a good start before launching into some more complicated patterns.

I love this book!!! I think I learned some crochet stitches many years ago, but I didn't learn enough to make anything. Because this book has both techniques and patterns, it's perfect for me.

Many years ago (30+), I really wasn't that interested in pursuing crocheting further because at the time it seemed like a "granny" craft to me. That image was further enhanced by all of the "granny square" projects, which I'm not fond of. This book changed all of that! These patterns are modern as well as fashionable. Even the "granny square" ones looks like they've been updated, to a point.

The book is divided into two sections: tools and techniques; and project patterns. The first section features information on yarn types, choosing colours, caring for your work, hooks and other equipment, and basic stitches, as well as more complex stitches and techniques. It also shows the reader how to read patterns as well as charts. I'm particularly interested in learning how to read the charts because they are very new to me. It looks hard, but I'm willing to go it a go.

I like how the book shows the reader a few basics then launches into a mini-project so that they can use what they just learned. I also like that the stitches are shown in a logical order...in this case, by height. So, the single crochet comes before the half-double crochet, which is followed by the double crochet. It's a little thing, but to me it makes sense and builds upon previous lessons.

The project patterns section is broken down into categories: blankets and pillows; home and gifts; hats and scarves; gloves, socks and slippers; what to wear; toys; and bags.

I really like the variety of patterns, even though I most likely won't use a number of them, especially the garlands, toys and kids/baby wear. There's enough of the others one, though, to keep me interested and crocheting for quite a while.

Each of the projects in the book specifies which yarn (by brand name) was used for the project. It also specifies which type of yarn to use in general. However, even though I knit quite a bit, I still don't know enough about yarns to pick them out for a specific project. I'll probably just end up taking the book with me to the yarn store and getting help there.

Notes at the beginning of some of the projects point to similar projects or projects using the same stitch. I really like this idea as it encourages me to look at patterns other than the first ones that caught my eye. There's also additional advice, labelled "Top Tip", scattered throughout the book.

I love the patterns in this book. Several of them immediately caught my eye. I've already made the striped washcloth (page 34-35).

 

The pattern was very easy to follow and I appreciated the photographs of the edging technique as well as the large one featuring the finished project. I had a problem changing colours (I somehow lost a stitch), but I'll figure it out eventually. I hope to make a few other patterns once I learn some more stitches and get better at the craft. These include: filigree bookmark (page 178), shell mesh scarf (page 116), men's beanie hat (page 194), men's chunky scarf (page 206), cropped sweater (page 250), straw beach bag (page 290), everyday bag (page 295), and the change purse (page 306).

Highly recommended. I'll definitely be using this book a lot.

For more information about this book or to browse inside, please visit DK's website.

I'd like to thank Chris at DK Canada for this review copy.

Crochet: The Complete Step-by-Step Guide by DK Publishing, Dorling Kindersley (DK), ©2014. ISBN 9781465415912(Hardcover), 320p.

Strength Training: Exercises for Women by Joan Pagano

Strength Training: Exercises for Women has over 200 step-by-step exercises "to burn calories, boost metabolism, build muscle and tone your body".

I mostly enjoyed this book, but I did find parts of it a little confusing. I haven't done a lot of weight training in the past, but just recently I've been interested in incorporating some into my overall weight loss/fitness plan.

The book starts out with the "getting started" advice. It discusses why you'd want to lift weights before launching into the training program explanations. It talks about muscles, equipment, and other topics including how to use this book. There's also a number of warm-up and cool down exercises and stretches. While this section had lots of good information, it wasn't as clear and concise as it could have been. I kept returning to it and must have reread it several times. I still wanted more information before starting any of the exercises.

While the book did explain how to start, I wasn't quite sure on which exercises to pick. There were so many. I really wanted a sample program or two with exercises listed so I'd know I was getting off on the right foot and not doing exercises that were too hard for a beginner. I found out much later by flipping through the book, that a few general programs with selected exercises are listed, but they are at the back of the book. Other than a brief entry in the table of contents, I didn't see them referenced anywhere else.

The main part of the book focuses on the exercises. They are divided into sections for the lower body, upper body, and the core. Each of the exercises features a large, labelled photograph(s) and a pretty good explanation. The side bar lists 3 levels, which get progressively harder by adding more weights or more repetitions. There are also some trainer tips with some additional advice scattered throughout this section. I love the way the exercises are presented. Even though some of the exercises use machines or other equipment, I think there are enough exercises to pick from that I can still get a good workout without having to join a gym.

As I mentioned earlier, there are three general programs near the back of the book. They are: building strength (for beginners), getting stronger (for those looking to progress), and strength training plus (for something more challenging). Basically, they draw exercises from the main part of the book and together they form a total body workout.

Also closer to the back of the book, the author has included 4-15 minute total body workouts that progress in difficulty. All of these include warm-up and cool down exercises and are perfect for when you have a limited amount of time. I like that these workouts are self-contained, so you don't have to flip back and forth in the book to see how the exercises should be performed. I haven't tried them out yet, but these workouts look fun.

There are several Q+As with the author scattered throughout the book. These were great. The questions were relevant and the answers were clear and informational.

The book has a table of contents and an index.

Recommended.

For more information about this book or to browse inside, please visit DK's website.

I'd like to thank Chris at DK Canada for this review copy.

Strength Training: Exercises for Women by Joan Pagano, Dorling Kindersley (DK), ©2014. ISBN 9781465415806(Soft cover), 335p.

The Complete Running & Marathon Book by DK Publishing

The Complete Running & Marathon Book goes through the biomechanics of running, a variety of training plans, as well as programs to build strength and speed. It also covers typical injuries, ways to prevent them, what to wear, nutrition, hydration, training, what to do before and after race day as well as the day itself, as well as lots more. Basically, it offers advice on all things to do with the sport. It's geared towards all levels; those just starting to run and those wanting to take it further.

Overall, I liked reading this book. I'm not a runner nor do I expect to be. I wanted to read this book because I've been using my treadmill a lot more for walking and I wanted to get more out of it. I was hoping that some of the advice would be transferrable to my situation. It was pretty much what I expected and I wasn't disappointed.

The first part of the book deals with the body and how it works, concentrating on the lower body. It also covers running styles and ways to assess your running fitness. I didn't find the last bit all that helpful as I found them too hard for a "walker" like me.

The "Get Ready to Run" section covers: goal setting, shoes, clothing, nutrition in general and in regards to training, and hydration. It also features sample programs with descriptions and large photos for the exercises and stretches for proper a warm-up and cool down. My favourite part of working out is the stretching so I loved this part of the book.

The "Plan Your Training" section starts with the good training principles, which includes advice on a variety of runs, crossing training, and overtraining, before launching into the actual planning and log keeping. It then goes into the different training programs: foundation, 5k, 10k, half marathon, and marathon. It also has additional programs to help with strength and endurance, increasing speed, and post-race recovery. While the programs are nicely laid out and should be fairly easy to follow, I found the suggested speeds much too fast for me. Therefore, they aren't going to be as helpful as I would have liked. They do give me some ideas, though, on how I should be training.

The "Build Your Strength" section focuses on a selection of strength and resistance training exercises tailored for runners. It starts with core training then moves onto resistance training. Both of these parts features programs for beginners as well as more advanced athletes. The photographs of the exercises are large, labelled, and well explained. There are also side bars that have a list of the targeted muscles as well as an illustration that pin points the muscles that are being worked. I didn't realize that runners have to do so much strength training so I appreciated all of this information. What I didn't like was that some of the exercises used machines and/or equipment that might not be accessible or readily available in a home gym. Not everyone has a desire to join a gym.

Now that the athlete has trained and exercised, the book moves onto a section for race day. This part has advice on tapering your training, mental preparedness, eating and drinking, strategies, and recovery. I loved the advice in this section and found most of it accessible and relevant.

Finally, the book has tons of advice on maintenance. Topics include: avoiding injury, caring for your feet, self-massage with foam rollers, common complaints (with prevention and first aid), and injuries with descriptions, symptoms, treatment and training advice. Since I've experienced a number of sports-related injuries, this is the first section I turned to. The advice is invaluable.

Overall, I got a lot out of this book. I may not use all of the advice, but there was enough in it for me as a walker to recommended it to others.

For more information about this book or to browse inside, please visit DK's website.

I'd like to thank Chris at DK Canada for this review copy.

The Complete Running & Marathon Book by DK Publishing, Dorling Kindersley (DK), ©2014. ISBN 9781465415769(Soft cover), 192p.

100 People Who Made History by Ben Gilliland

100 People Who Made History features people who helped shape the world. They come from many different walks of life and includes explorers, inventors, leaders, artists, and much more.

I loved this book! It's filled with so many fascinating people. There were many that I recognized: Marco Polo, Charles Darwin, Thomas Edison, Aristotle, Joan of Arc, Walt Disney, and Elvis Presley, to name a few. Even though these names were familiar I didn't know everything the book had to say about them. There were also many people that I didn't recognize: Dmitri Mendeleev (created the first version of the Periodic Table), Cai Lun (invented paper), Mary Seacole (pioneering nurse), Saladin (Muslim leader who retook the Holy Land), David Ogilvy (the father of modern advertising). I found each and every one of them interesting.

The book is divided into categories: Daring Discoverers, Inspirational Inventors, Thoughtful Thinkers, Leading Leaders, and Clued-up Creatives. The author presented the information in a couple of different formats. Some people took up one page, some 2 pages, while others were condensed so that several appeared on one page.

One of my favourite parts if the "All About Me" section, which features year of birth and death, nationality, interesting factoid (claim to fame), and a brief summary. I liked it because it gave me a brief snapshot of the person before I read more about them. This was particularly helpful for those I was unfamiliar with. I would have liked it if the author included this information for each of the figures in the book. Unfortunately, that didn't happened.

The other two parts that I enjoyed were "He couldn't have done it without...", which showed the person's forefathers and their contributions, and "He paved the way for...", which showed those who came after him in his field. These people benefitted from the work that had already been done. I liked these two sections because it gave me some perspective on the person's work and put it into context.

I also liked that the book contained some more modern figures like, Jobs and Wozniak, Zuckerberg, and Nelson Mandela. Having said that, I enjoyed reading about all of the figures in the book, both historical and more contemporary.

Two pages at the back of the book are dedicated to more people who have made contributions, but didn't quite make the top 100 list. These include: Noah Webster, Sacajawea, Helen Keller, Tommy Douglas, Gloria Steinem, Terry Fox, and many others.

The book also includes a table of contents, a glossary, and an index.

Highly recommended. It's written for younger readers (7-12 year olds), but older readers might also enjoyed this one provided they don't need a lot of information on each person.

For more information about this book or to browse inside, please visit DK's website.

I'd like to thank Chris at DK Canada for this review copy.

100 People Who Made History by Ben Gulliland, Dorling Kindersley (DK), ©2012. ISBN 9780756690038(Hardcover), 128p.

The Incredible Pop-Up Body Book by Richard Walker

The Incredible Pop-Up Body Book features a full-size pop-up poster of the human body. It also covers a variety of subjects all dealing with the human body.

I like this book. Besides the poster, the book tackles a few interesting topics: the cells, the heart, respiration, digestion (appropriately called "From Taste to Waste"), reproduction, seeing and hearing, bones and muscles, and disease defenses. All of these are beautifully illustrated and annotated with labels and side bars.

The back of the book features a full-size pop-up body poster. Several of the items "pop-up" when the poster is unfolded. These include:
• rib cage with the lungs, heart, and diaphragm underneath
• moveable arms that reveal bones
• moveable lower leg that shows muscular details and flips up to reveal bones
• foldable intestines that reveal kidneys and pelvic bones, arteries, and veins

The poster itself is well labelled and contains lots of additional information about the body and the featured parts. It's relatively pretty well made with heavy-weight poster stock and should last quite a long time providing that extra care is taken when folding and unfolding the sections.

The back of the poster is loaded with additional information on the main body systems: respiratory, digestive, cardiovascular, muscular, and skeletal.

Although I enjoyed the book, I admit I was a little disappointed with it. Instead of one large pop-up, I expected (and probably would have preferred) several smaller ones. While the poster is amazing, it is a little hard, actually make that impossible, to unfold it while sitting in a chair reading. It's just too large and unwieldy. You actually have to put the book on a large hard surface (a table or the floor) to unfold the poster. Additionally, I think it might be too cumbersome for younger readers and or those who are refolding-challenged. I still think it's pretty cool, though.

The book has an adequate table of contents, a pretty good glossary, and an extensive index for a book this size.

Recommended. All and all there's a lot of information packed into this relatively short book.

For more information about this book or to browse inside, please visit DK's website.

I'd like to thank Chris at DK Canada for this review copy.

The Incredible Pop-Up Body Book by Richard Walker, Dorling Kindersley (DK), ©2011. ISBN 9780756686963(Hardcover), 28p.

I Love DK!

Every February DK creates a boutique of their most popular books as selected by readers. Throughout January they invite DK lovers to submit their choices for their favourite DK book of all-time. DK then picks the top 20 and offers them up at 30% off.

Each person who votes is entered into a draw for a $250 DK shopping spree where they can choose whatever books they like from the DK website!

To vote for your favourite DK book, click here or on the icon to the left.

I'm so late in posting this! Sorry, DK. The voting is open until January 30th so you still have a little bit of time to vote for your favourite DK book and be entered for the $250 shopping spree on the DK website.

Still looking for gifts? How about a book from DK?

With Christmas just around the corner, I bet some of you are still looking for a few gifts. If so, you might be interested to know that DK Publishing has great deals on some of their titles for both adults and children.

I love DK books! They are high quality, very visual and always entertaining.

I've already read and reviewed a number of the books in this promotion.  They are:
Children's Book of Music
Optical Illusions
Star Wars: Year by Year
The Human Body Book
Canadian Gardener's Guide

In the coming weeks, I should have a few more reviews on these titles. 
Happy Holidays!

Star Wars: The Secret Life of Droids by Jason Fry

Happy Star Wars Reads Day! It's the day where people all around North America celebrate Star Wars and reading. As I mentioned the other day, DK Publishing is celebrating by offering 30% off Star Wars books (for a limited time). These terrific books can be found in their Star Wars Boutique.

For more information about Star Wars Reads Day, go to the official site. There are activities planned all across North America.

A free downloadable Star Wars Reads Activity Kit with recipes, crafts, colouring pages and games can found at both the DK site and the official Star Wars Reads Day site.

Today, I'm posting a review of one of the books in DK's Star Wars Boutique. 

May the force be with you. 

Star Wars: The Secret Life of Droids features all different types of droids from the Star Wars universe. Readers will learn about their functions, technology, missions, and lives.

I really enjoyed this book. I was only familiar with a couple of the droids, namely R2-D2 and C-3PO, so the rest of the books was really enlightening. A few of the others looked familiar, but I didn't really know much about them. It's all fascinating stuff.

The book contains lots of photos and tons of information about droids. Some of the information is presented in a question and answer format. Questions include: Can a droid by trusted to complete a mission?, How are droids made?, How does C-3PO relax?, etc. I really like this format. There are some really good questions I hadn't thought of. My favourite: Do droids have friends? You'll just have to read the book to find out the answer.

The types of droids are presented in sections. It mostly presents the material in general terms. That is, it doesn't focus on any one particular droid, but rather a class of droids. There are two notable and delightful exceptions: R2-D2 (astro-droid) and C-3PO (protocol droid). ;)

The "droid data" buttons feature some interesting trivia while the side boxes provides cool stats about the different droids. There's a lot I didn't know.

There were lots of cool pages and topics in this book. Here are my favourites:
Droids Versus Life-form (pages 10-11)
Types of Droids (pages 12-13)
A Day in the Life of a Droid Trader (pages 56-57)
Droids for Sale (pages 58-59)
How to Choose a Droid 60-61)
Droid or Not? (pages 82-83)

The book contains a table of contents, a glossary and an index.

Highly recommended for the Star Wars fan.

For more information about this book or to browse inside, please visit DK's website.

I'd like to thank those nice people at DK Canada for this review copy.

Star Wars: The Secret Life of Droid by Jason Fry, Dorling Kindersley (DK), ©2012. ISBN 9780756690151(Hardcover), 95p.

Star Wars: Character Encyclopedia by Simon Beecroft

Happy Star Wars Reads Day! It's the day where people all around North America celebrate Star Wars and reading. As I mentioned the other day, DK Publishing is celebrating by offering 30% off Star Wars books (for a limited time). These terrific books can be found in their Star Wars Boutique.

For more information about Star Wars Reads Day, go to the official site. There are activities planned all across North America.

A free downloadable Star Wars Reads Activity Kit with recipes, crafts, colouring pages and games can found at both the DK site and the official Star Wars Reads Day site.

Today, I'm posting a review of one of the books in DK's Star Wars Boutique. 

May the force be with you. 

Star Wars: Character Encyclopedia features more than 200 characters from all six Star Wars films plus the Clone Wars. It gives various statistics and information on each of the characters.

Great book!! It was so much some to learn all of the cool facts about each of the characters. I loved that the book was presented alphabetically by character's first name or title. That made it easy to find the characters I was most interested in reading about. I did eventually go through them all, but I wanted to find my favourites first.

Each character takes up one page. There's a large labelled photograph of the character in addition to smaller photos and lots of information about the character. The data file lists various attributes of the characters. It's different for the character types, but it could include:
• affiliation
• type
• manufacturer
• height
• home world
• species
• diet
• habitat
• life span
• appearances (lists the movies in which the character appears)
• See Also (lists similar or related characters)

All of these were helpful to know, but I especially loved the "affiliation" and "appearances" ones. Because I'm not the most avid Star Wars fan and I didn't recognize a bunch of the characters right off, but these two attributes helped to put the characters into context. The characters who appear in only 1 or 2 of the movies (or the Clone Wars, which I haven't watched at all) were the ones most elusive to me. I think I have a much better handle on everyone now.

Table of contents has all of the characters listed with page numbers. The book also contains an index, which is especially helpful for characters who go by more than one name.

Highly recommended. The book is written for 7-17 year-olds, but I think adults (like me) will also enjoy this book.

For more information about this book or to browse inside, please visit DK's website.

I'd like to thank those nice people at DK Canada for this review copy.

Star Wars: Character Encyclopedia by Simon Beecroft, Dorling Kindersley (DK), ©2011. ISBN 9780756682538(Hardcover), 208p.

Star Wars: Beware the Dark Side by Simon Beecroft

Happy Star Wars Reads Day! It's the day where people all around North America celebrate Star Wars and reading. As I mentioned the other day, DK Publishing is celebrating by offering 30% off Star Wars books (for a limited time). These terrific books can be found in their Star Wars Boutique.

For more information about Star Wars Reads Day, go to the official site. There are activities planned all across North America.

A free downloadable Star Wars Reads Activity Kit with recipes, crafts, colouring pages and games can found at both the DK site and the official Star Wars Reads Day site.

Today, I'm posting a review of one of the books in DK's Star Wars Boutique. 

May the force be with you. 

Star Wars: Beware the Dark Side takes young readers through the dark side of the Star Wars universe while learning more about Darth Sidious, Darth Maul and Darth Vader.

I enjoyed this book and learned a lot. For some reason, the description on the website made me think that it was a storybook featuring Star Wars characters. However, it's not, but I still enjoyed it. The book delves into the details of the dark side and features the characters who use the force for evil. It goes through the Sith legacy and powers before launching into the various characters. It does go into the Star Wars storyline a little bit, but it's quite segmented.

The book is written for young proficient readers. Some knowledge of the Star Wars universe might be helpful. The book also features a table of contents, glossary, and index.

Highly recommended for young Star Wars fans.

For more information about this book or to browse inside, please visit DK's website.

I'd like to thank those nice people at DK Canada for this review copy.

Star Wars: Beware the Dark Side by Simon Beecroft, Dorling Kindersley (DK), ©2007. ISBN 9780756631147(Softcover), 49p.

Star Wars Reads Day - October 5, 2013

October 5, 2013 is Star Wars Reads Day.  It celebrates Star Wars and reading.

DK Publishing is celebrating by offering 30% off Star Wars books (for a limited time). These terrific books can be found in their Star Wars Boutique.

For more information about Star Wars Reads Day, go to the official site. There are activities planned all across North America.

A free downloadable Star Wars Reads Activity Kit with recipes, crafts, colouring pages and games can found at both the DK site and the official Star Wars Reads Day site.

I'll be celebrating the day by posting a few reviews of the Star Wars books offered by DK Publishing.

Until then....May the force be with you. 

Back to School with DK - How to be a Math Genius by Mike Goldsmith

It's the most wonderful time of the year! No, not Christmas. It's back to school time and DK is celebrating by offering discounts on many of their educational reference books.

Need to know more about English, math, science or history or another subject? DK probably has a book for you. Whether your child is taking his or her first steps to school or entering their final year, these books can start the school year off right. By the way, many of these books aren't just for kids. Even adults can learn a thing or two.

Click here or on the icon to the left to see the list of books in the Back to School Boutique.

Today, I have a review of one of those books.

How to be a Math Genius talks about the brain and math while using games, logic problems, puzzles, and activities to boost your brain power.

This is such a fun book! It's very similar to How to be a Genius also by DK Publishing (my review), but this book focuses on how your brain tackles math. Therefore, the brain games are math related.

The book features terrific illustrations that are bright and exciting. It's filled with interesting facts about the brain and uses some fun exercises (labelled "Brain Games") to explain a point and emphasize the information that's presented. The main things I loved about this book is that it made math accessible and showed how much of our daily lives revolve around math. There's mapping, probabilities, sequences, patterns, measurements, shapes, codes and ciphers...it goes on and on. There's even a little history thrown in.

All of the brain games were fun, but many of them were challenging. However, math isn't my best subject. It's written for 10-14 year-olds and I think kids will love this book. I think adults, like me, might enjoy this book, too. However, those poor in math might be discouraged and find the puzzles and games too hard. I love that the book has some tips on how to be better at math. I sure could use these. Regardless, it's filled with amazing information and facts about the brain and math.

One of my favourite pages is about the Big zero (page 30-31). It talks about how important 0 is. Who knew that nothing was something? ;)

The book also features many famous math geniuses. These include: Pythagoras, Archimedes, Karl Gauss, Leonhard Euler, Isaac Newton, and Alan Turing. I had heard of some of these people, but not all of them. The information presented was interesting nevertheless. I found the two-page spread of historical women, who broke into the mostly-male-dominated field of math, particularly interesting.

The table of contents lists the major sections and topics within each of those sections. The back of the book contains a glossary, index, and answers to the brain games.

Highly recommended.

For more information about this book or to browse inside, please visit DK's website.

I'd like to thank Chris at DK Canada for this review copy.

How to be a Math Genius by Mike Goldsmith, Dorling Kindersley (DK), ©2012. ISBN 9780756697969(Hardcover), 128p.

Back to School with DK - How to be a Genius by John Woodward

It's the most wonderful time of the year! No, not Christmas. It's back to school time and DK is celebrating by offering discounts on many of their educational reference books.

Need to know more about English, math, science or history or another subject? DK probably has a book for you. Whether your child is taking his or her first steps to school or entering their final year, these books can start the school year off right. By the way, many of these books aren't just for kids. Even adults can learn a thing or two.

Click here or on the icon to the left to see the list of books in the Back to School Boutique.

Today, I have a review of one of those books.

How to be a Genius explains how the brain works and presents lots of puzzles, games and optical illusions to exercise and train your way to being a genius.

I loved this book. It's wonderfully illustrated with bright and exciting colours. It's filled with interesting facts about the brain and uses some fun exercises (labelled "Brain Games") to explain a point and emphasize the information that's presented. I particularly liked how the section on the parts of the brain and how it works with the rest of the body. I also liked the games and puzzles as they are intended to get your mind working. The book is written for 10-17 year olds, but older kids (aka adults) might also find this book useful and/or interesting.

There's also little tidbits of interesting information scattered throughout the book. Here are two examples: "There is a theory that it takes 10,000 hours of work to be an expert at anything - that's around ten years of practice" (page 20) and "The six basic facial expressions of emotion are the same in all human cultures worldwide" (page 158).

The book also has pages featuring many famous geniuses. These include: Mozart, Einstein, da Vinci, Gandhi, Darwin and a few others I hadn't heard of like Wernher von Braun (a rocket scientist), Jean Francois Champollion (master of languages, decoded the hieroglyphs on the Rosetta Stone), Mary Anning (pioneer in geology), and George Washington Carver (fought racism and improved the lives of the poor by focusing on agriculture). I actually had heard of Carver, but I didn't know what he did. All of these features were extremely interesting.

All of the brain games were fun, but many of them were challenging, at least for me anyway. A genius I am not. I think kids will like them. It was especially amusing to read the pages for training your pet (page 178-179, follows the pages on animal intelligence). Even though I don't have any pets, I loved learning how to train the various pets; dog, cat, hamster, guinea pig and goldfish.

The table of contents lists the major sections and topics within each of those sections. The back of the book contains a glossary, which includes some fascinating definitions as well as an adequate index. Of course, there are several pages of answers to the brain games.

Highly recommended.

For more information about this book or to browse inside, please visit DK's website.

I'd like to thank Chris at DK Canada for this review copy.

How To Be a Genius by John Woodward, Dorling Kindersley (DK), ©2099. ISBN 9780756655150(Hardcover), 192p.