Alex Frith

Given the peculiar storm of outrage surrounding this book, I actually bought a copy, and have read through it. I can testify that the book is a completely, earnestly, anodyne production that does its best to orient boys to puberty in an age-appropriate manner. It does a pretty good job of it, though of course any parent would probably want to take a look at it before passing it on to a boy, just to confirm that it was in accord with that family's attitudes.

However, I can also testify that show more most of the people who have written negative reviews, here and elsewhere, display a shameless lack of integrity, energetically bearing false witness about something they have not even read, claiming as justification one sentence on one page, which they have passed around in utter isolation from the rest of the book, of which they have demonstrably no knowledge whatsoever. You can see that very few of the negative reviews some from people who have bought the book, and none of them address the 12-word sentence in context, nor the book as a whole. This utterly contemptible behavior is, unfortunately, all too common.

Even more unfortunately, the publishers seem to have demonstrated a complete inability to stand up to the bullying of liars and fools, and have pulped every copy they could. No doubt this was a purely commercial decision, reacting to the threat of a spoiled brand. A more honorable course might have been to defend the work and the author. If this decision caused the rights to revert to the author, he might consider putting the text up in PDF form for everyone to see; if it was work for hire, and the rights remain with the publisher, they might themselves consider doing so. show less

I purchased this small (literally, it's this miniature little square shape) book for my girls, spurred on by remembrances of my childhood days and long trips in the car. I frequently drove with my parents on multiple day trips, and my favorite way to pass the time was with books of all kinds. This book is a collection of puzzles and trivia games, intended for children - the type of thing I would have eagerly snatched up myself. The puzzles are as advertised, basic trivia or logic problems show more that will pose a challenge for children, particularly in the elementary range. They can do word searches, find the differences in two pictures, decipher basic logic problems, complete simplified sudoku puzzles (with pictures instead of numbers and only four in a box), find hidden pictures (ala Where's Waldo), and more. I perused the whole book, and some of the conundrums looked uninteresting to me, while others appeared quite entertaining. The art is cartoony and fun, not what I would call beautiful, but it certainly fits the mold of what is stereotypically considered children's art. The puzzles are a little too difficult for my girls, but when they are older I look forward to working through these with them. show less

Excellent beginner's guide to political concepts. Attractively laid out, well organised with a nice progression through ideas that are presented with clarity and simplicity. Encourages the reader to be involved A great introduction. Good for upper primary, intermediate and lower secondary schools.

Since I'm already familiar with Norse mythology, this book wasn't super impressive to me personally. However, it would be effective for its intended purpose--introducing Norse mythology to a younger audience--and it was an easy refresher on myths I'd forgotten about.