Crenshaw's Books & Decks

The Twits is just a delightful story about a couple of disgusting but hilarious-to-watch married couple, the Twits. They have a malicious baleful irksome behaviour towards each other and other people, and towards animals in general and the family of monkeys they keep in their garden in particular. You will hate the Twits from the very beginning because they are true mongrels; however, you will also love them because they allow you to hate them fully (they deserve it!) but they also make you laugh.  And, of course, you will cheer for the monkeys, they are the only ones with common sense in the Twit household!

Unlike other books by Dahl, the Twits is less metaphorical and fable-ish and more fun. The main two lessons you will learn in the book are, firstly, that if you are ugly in your soul, that shows in your face; and, secondly, that if you treat other people and animals without respect, you will end badly. The language used is Dahl's usual mix of straightforward narration, play of words, and whimsical adjectives and interjections.

Quentin Blake's illustrations are an essential part of this book. Unlike his illustrations for other Dahl's novels, which are secondary to the novel, those for the Twits are intertwined with Dahl's narration; thus, this book is rightly both Dahl & Blake's. The way Dahl describes the Twits and the way Blake draws them in his usual sketchy nervous-like style really go together in my head. Some of Blake's images in this book are really hilarious, like the depiction of Mr Twit's beard, or the bird pie, just to mention two.

This is mostly a book for children, but adults will also enjoy it. .

 

The Cat in the Hat is one of those books that little children and adults enjoy reading because it is fun, it is naughty, it is educative, and the cat in the hat is just a quirky cat! Adults can see the value of the embedded message, and kids learn that behaving and being orderly will benefit them, not just their mothers. This is a classic of world children literature, and so enjoyable that you want to buy for yourself, to remember your childhood, or to make it part of your children's childhood. Like all Dr Seuss' book, this book is shrinkingly simple in its imagery, with a very 60s pop-culture sort of colouring and style, which gives the book a sense of surrealism that makes the whole acceptable for children. 

The application format works well with Dr Seuss' books and with this one, turn it in a sort of semi-animated mini-movie. You select the way you want to read the book, by yourself, by the narrator, or you just to leave it on auto-play and the pages and voice will move at their own pace. The app automatically rotates your screen, and uses the original illustrations of the book, closing up and down on them to match the action and speeches of the characters. Background noises have been added, but they are very cute and not invasive at all; still, you can mutate them if you want. You can browse the pages on your own by using your fingers and the pages flip as if they were those of a real book.

The narrator's interpretation and reading is great. The reading comes handy if you have children and want them to read and not to watch TV, but do not have the time to seat and read to them. Genius!

A few things that I would have liked to have available in this app are: 1/ Option of female and male voice. 2/ All the objects in the screen being interactive. Some of the main elements in each image show the name when you click on them, but some of them not, like the curtains or doors or walls, or the floor, or many of the secondary elements in the image. It would have costed nothing adding those extra words!

This is a perfect app not only for English speakers, but also for for foreign children learning English, as the interactivity of the app make learning new words fun and easy.

Dr Seuss are not just fun, are strikingly pop in their imagery, they are very educative and ridiculously funny. This is the case of Mr Brown Can Moo, which is addressed to very small children, those who are learning the name and sound of different things, that is onomatopoeia formation, This is is one of my least favourite stories by Dr Seuss, because there is no story. Although I recognise its pedagogic value.

The application is fantastic, as all of the Seuss stories that Oceanhouse has turned into electronic interactive format. The app is interactive if you choose the read yourself option; you can click on any image on the page and the word will pop up on your screen and will be pronounced. From the main menu, you select the way you want to read the book, on your own, using the narrator's voice, or auto-play. The app automatically uses the landscape setting and rotates your screen, and uses the original illustrations of the book, closing up and down to focus on the action and speeches of the characters. Background noises and musical notes have been added to enhance the experience, but it can be mutated if you want. You can browse the pages on your own using your fingers and the pages flip as if they were the ones in a real book.

Children are fussy eaters, anything green or healthy is sort of no-no, refusing to eat what they haven't tried for no reason. The story is very cleaver, because the character is made fun of, like he sounds so silly, but also the character carrying the green eggs and ham. The book will teach children that you might be surprised at trying new things that seem unappealing, and those very things can become your favourite ones.

This is book is perfect for very small children, but it might not be that enjoyable for adults as other Seuss' books.

Kudos to Oceans and Hay House for doing such a great job with Seuss' books. The app is a sort of animated mini-movie. From the main menu, you select the way you want to read the book, on your own, using the narrator's voice, or you just to leave it on auto-play. The app automatically uses the landscape setting and rotates the screen, using the original illustrations to close up or down while the book is narrated. Background noises and musical notes have been added, but they are very cute and not invasive at all. You can browse the pages on your own using your fingers and the pages flip as if they were the ones in a real book.

Moreover, the app is interactive if you choose the read yourself option; you can click on any image on the page and the word will pop up on your screen and will be pronounced. They are basic words, so the app is perfect for small children learning to read, no matter English is their first or second language.

The narrator's voice and interpretation are very nice, and he uses different voices and intonations for each character, so the whole book is really enjoyable.

Horton Hears a who is a book about the importance of every living being on the planet, no matter how small it is. It is a book about the importance of the voice of any person to contribute to the good of the community. It is a book about the need to believe without seeing. It is a book about doing the right thing no matter what others think of us.

Living with a gadget is the reality of most Western Kids. Paper books are not so cool now, too bulky, too heavy, too environmentally unfriendly, too last century. Apps like this show how to keep a classic of the literature alive making it cool to the new generations of readers without losing the spirit of the original.

The application is a sort of animated mini-movie. You select the way you want to read the book, by yourself, or using the narrator's voice, or you just to leave it on auto-play. The app automatically uses the landscape setting and rotates the screen, and uses the original illustrations of the book, closing up and down to focus on the action and speeches of the characters. Background noises have been added, but they are very cute and not invasive at all. You can browse the pages on your own using your fingers and the pages flip as if they were ones in a real book.

The narrator's voice and interpretation is just fantastic, better than in the other books, and he plays all uses different voices and intonations for each character. I would have loved having the option of female and male voice narrator, though.

This is a wonderful collection of short stories published by Dr Seuss in different publications. The stories, as all Seuss', are embedded with wonderful messages about ethical behaviour and good life values for the little ones, but made fun by Seuss' fanciful rhymes and illustrations. Most of them are enjoyable for adults as much as for kids.

My favourite stories, are the Bippolo seed (a modern retake on the European Folk Story of the milkmaid and the pail, but with a focus on greediness), The bear and the rabbit (an hilarious tale, very Aesop's fable in a way, about the power of your intellect to win over brute force, and also on the power of perception to condition your behaviour) Gustav the goldfish (follow the rules, even if they look silly, or you might find yourself in big trouble), and Steak for Supper (about the dangers of bragging and speaking what you are up to when you are with certain people).

I find Tadd &Todd an OK story, while The Strange Shirt Spot and The Great Henry McBride are blah to me, and to adults, but they might be appealing to children.

The application is fantastic, as all of the Seuss stories that Ocean House and Hay House has turned into electronic interactive format. The app is interactive if you choose the read yourself option; you can click on any image on the page and the word will pop up on your screen and will be pronounced. The app is a sort of animated mini-movie. From the main menu (where the icons of the different stories are shown), you click the story you want to read and then select the way you want to read the book, on your own, read-to-me option or or auto-play. The app automatically uses the landscape setting and rotates your screen, and uses the original illustrations of the book (in this case very few), closing up and down to focus on the action and speeches of the characters. Background noises and musical notes have been added to enhance the experience, but you can switch them off in the settings. You can browse the pages on your own using your fingers and the pages flip as if they were the ones in a real book.

The main downside of the application is not the application, but the fact that the accompanying illustrations were very limited originally, so the mini-movie effect is somewhat washed out. Also, one of the stories was unstable and kept crashing.

The Lorax is a metaphoric tale about the dangers of aggressive economical practices and consumerism done at the expense of the environment. The Lorax is also a call to bring forward common sense and tp respect Mother Nature as the only Mother Nature we have. If we destroy it, there is nothing left but devastation. The message of the Lorax is as relevant as ever in our world, and kidos and adults will benefit from reading the book or using the application.

The application is great. Kudos to Oceans and Hay House for doing such a great job with Seuss' books. The app is a sort of animated mini-movie. From the main menu, you select the way you want to read the book, on your own, using the narrator's voice, or you just to leave it on auto-play. The app automatically uses the landscape setting and rotates your screen, and uses the original illustrations of the book, closing up and down to focus on the action and speeches of the characters. Background noises and musical notes have been added to enhance the experience. You can browse the pages on your own using your fingers and the pages flip as if they were the ones in a real book.

Moreover, the app is interactive if you choose the read yourself option; you can click on any image on the page and the word will pop up on your screen and will be pronounced. This being the case, the app is perfect for small children learning to read.

The narrator's voice and interpretation are wonderful, and he uses different voices and intonations for each character, so the whole book is really enjoyable.

A few things that I would have liked to have available in this app are:

1/ Option of female and male voice.

2/ Unlike other books by Seuss, the vocabulary he uses here is more fanciful and creative, not as simple. Some of the words are invented and part of Seuss' wonderful world. A sort of Seuss Wiki would have been a good addition as an appendix section or extra added to the app.

3/ I agree with other reviewers that the application could be more interactive, but Dr Seuss' books are wonderful for the message they convey and, to be honest, I would not want the app to be turned into a video-game either.

Matilda is a modern tale that has many elements of the old folk European stories, with angelical vs evil people who you immediately love and hate, and an air of defiance of the adult world that hooks up children. What separates Matilda from old fairy tales is that, despite the character being a female heroine, the story doesn't want to turn her into a princess,  into a girlfriend, or into a male character's attachment. Matilda is brilliant because she is an individual and knows what she wants.

The book speaks about the importance of family values and being brought up properly, and about the importance of your willpower and education to overcome any struggle and become your best self. Also, you get in life as much as the effort you put in achieving your goals, you get what you focus on, your willpower moves mountains.

The book reads effortlessly and fast, and it is truly enjoyable. A classic of children literature, and very important to reinforce positive female roles in a world that wants to turn little girls into little empty dolls.

I like Quentin Blake's illustrations style but they don't resonate with me with regards to Matilda, perhaps because I imagine Matilda very different from the character we find drawn in the book. This is a personal preference of course.

I read this book when I was about 13-14y.o. and is still one of my favourite fiction books ever. It is supposedly a book for children, but it is not. It is a book that looks at the world from the point of view of adults and children at the same time. The story might be simplistic, but it is actually embedded with so much wisdom that one needs to be blind or deaf not to hear it.

The Little Prince is about the hidden magic hidden within ourselves, and I agree with other reviewers that it is very Zen, in the "ridiculous" nonsensical meaning of its wisdom. If you read it to a child be ready to the surprise, the multitude of questions, or perhaps none, as a child will get it more easily than an adult. As the Little prince would say, perhaps you have to explain it to an adult, as adults need anything explained to them otherwise they don't understand anything.

Especially in books like this the translation really makes the difference, not at translating what the book says, but what the book oozes, the feeling, the lyricism. I think the translation is decent, and the reading enjoyable the same. If you can read French, well, grab you Kindle copy instead of this.

There are other versions of the Little Prince in Kindle format, but I find this great for the quality of the translation, the quality of the illustrations, and the bargain price it has.

A classic of the World Literature

22 Books, 660 Illustrations, Peter Rabbit, Benjamin Bunny and Many More!

What is not to like about this collection? Having Beatrix Potter's 22 books all in one, in electronic format, with the original illustrations is just a treat for any reader, child or adult might be. One of those authors that you want to read to yourself to remember your childhood, or to read to your own children, or anybody else's.

The stories are charming and adorable, but without the illustrations the book would lose a bit of its soul. You will enjoy them if you have a Tablet, Kindle Fire or you read your books in your computer, therefore the illustrations display in its original wonderful colours.

Each story starts with the cover of the original book in it.

To the delight of the reader, the book offers the possibility of downloading a narration of the stories in mp3 audio-book format (thanks to Timeless Reads). What at treat!

Mind

+ If you have a normal Kindle, the images display in black and white, not as neat as the colour ones, but acceptable in neatness and quality image.

+ The downloadable audio-book is compressed in zip format. Therefore, you will need to have a Zip app in your mobile device to extract the files and listen to them.

Price of the book (plus audio-book) not even 4 bucks. Go and grab your copy!

Jalaluddin Rumi is an Aghgan-Persian Sufi mystic and poet of the 12th century who produced, among others, the Book of Love, an amazing book of love poems.

The Book of Love is one of those books that everybody should read at least once in a lifetime. It is full of depth about the human soul, the true essence of our humanity disregarding origin, and, most importantly, about the nature of Love. 

Rumi talks about divine love, mystic love, romantic and erotic love, and friends love with candidness, cheekiness, sense of humour, and great depth.Sometimes the poems can be read in a mystic or romantic way. The poems are so fresh and modern that one wows at the fact that a Muslim mystic wrote them many centuries ago. Even if you are not into Poetry, which is my case, the poems are still easy to read, enjoyable and thought-provoking.

This edition as a preface and introductory study, and each of the fifteen groups of poems have also a little commentary to contextualise them and the theme they revolve around. I don't know Arabic, but the translation seems correct and it is easy to read.