Poems for Kids
Edited by Rachel McAlpine and illustrated by David Elliott
Through my house in sunny weather
Flies the Dictionary Bird
Clear to see on every feather
is some outlandish word.
'Hugger Mugger" "gimcrack" "guava"
"waggish" "mizzle" "swashing rain"
Bird, fly back into my kitchen
Let me read those words again.
(Margaret Mahy)
This collection of poems deals with everything from moa and kiwi to robots and computers, from popcorn and chilli to naked horses and whales. It's perfect for children of today and features many of our best known writers such as Brian Turner, Roger Hall, Hone Tuwhare, Barry Crump, Bill Manhire, Fiona Farrell and many more. The illustrations are the perfect accompaniment to the charming poems. If you want to get your kids keen on poetry from an early age, this book is just what you need.
Lighten up your day with Edward Lear
This is a lovely Folio Society edition in a matching slipcase, introduced by Quentin Blake with illustrations by Edward Lear which have been specially hand-coloured for this 1996 issue.
There are nonsense songs, nonsense stories, nonsense pictures, nonsense rhymes, nonsense poems, nonsense lyrics and yet more nonsense.
There was an Old Man who when little
Fell casually into a kettle
But growing too stout
He could never get out
So he passed all his life in a kettle.
This would make a lovely present but would also just be nice to have around at home for a bit of light entertainment and reading out loud to your kids.
Calling all dentists
Medicine for Dentists: A Problem-based Approach
Written by Simon Dimmitt
This book is what you need if you are a dentist or a student. It gives you access to accurate medical information quickly and easily.
These days, dentists have to be able to cope with so much more than just their patients' dental needs. They can often be faced with medical risk factors or drug sensitivity problems, for example. This book deals with the medical conditions that are most likely to be of importance to dentists.
The book has a problem-based approach to the essentials of pathophysiology and delas with what to look for, possible areas of concern and what to do, and much more besides. It is clear, concise, easy to use and provides valuable information at a very reasonable price.
The Wind in the Willows
It has been reprinted many times and adapted for both theatre and television. While we are not lucky enough to have a first edition we do have this beautiful early edition. Printed in 1913, it is illustrated by Paul Bransom with 10 vibrant colour plates.
This stunning copy would make a collector very happy, but if the $200 price tag is a little too much for you we have many copies available of this classic story, both online and in the shop.
H P Lovecraft
Howard Phillips Lovecraft; writer of horror and science fiction, has a devoted following of readers. Decades after they were written, his books are still sought after with fans traipsing far and wide to track down copies of his novels that they haven't yet read.
He was a relatively prolific writer so there are many titles to choose from. Here are a few just to give a flavour of his books: In the Vault, The Hound, The Shunned House, The Rats in the Walls, Beyond the Wall of Sleep, The Beast in the Cave. You begin to feel the horror seeping through.
Although a brilliant ideas man when it came to his writing, Lovecraft had some pretty unpleasant political views. You may not have known that so as a Lovecraft fan you may be interested in this little paperback you see in the photo.
It is by Richard Lupoff and is called Lovecraft's Book: The Astounding Story of HP Lovecraft and the Nazi Connection. It relates a difficult period in his life where he flirted with fascism. I won't give any more away. Come in and buy the book and see what you think.
A real treat
One of our loyal regular customers came into the shop with a magnificent offering today. She had popped into the Wolf at the Door cafe in Carroll Street (Dunedin) on the way here and had purchased the beautiful cinnamon scrolls you can see in the attached pictures. She generously donated them to the hardworking bookshop staff.
The staff discussed the merits of immediate consumption versus delayed gratification and, in the end, plumped for the latter. A great deal of willpower was required to hold off until 4pm for afternoon teatime but it was worth the wait!
We have now wolfed the lot so if you are on your way in to the bookshop to purchase some reading for the weekend, I'm afraid you have missed out on the cinnamon scrolls - but there are PLENTY of books to choose from.
A huge thank you for the lovely treat.
Secrecy Cryptography Ciphers
Simon Singh's The Code Book
Simon Singh is a physicist and he wrote the book Fermat's Last Theorem. As such, he is well placed to author this history of codes. He approaches the subject from the point of view of linguistics, mathematics, science, technology and history.
The text is illustrated with many examples of code and the colourful personalities behind them (Mary Queen of Scots, for example).
Singh looks at code-creation and code-breaking from military espionage to modern computers as he charts the evolution of codes and their relevance today.
At the end of the book, Singh includes a world-wide Cipher Challenge. He offered a massive reward to the first reader to successfully crack it. Maybe you should pop in to the shop, buy a copy and have a go at winning the 10,000 pounds!
Most recent book buy
Some heavy hitters were on hand when they arrived back to lug the boxes up the first flight of stairs and cram them into one of the book aisles, thus temporarily blocking access, as you can see from the photos. There they will remain until they've been processed and cataloguing can begin. It's quite a daunting task but all in a day's work for our brave buyers.
Today, one was sporting injuries and staggering around in pain after packing and carrying such heavy loads but both were happy with the interesting selection they had purchased and looking forward to the next step. You just can't keep a good buyer down!
