Customer Reviews (2)

Everyhting you needed to know...and then some!!
This book, following in the footsteps of others, such as THE PREPPY HANDBOOK, not only provides really good information about the subculture of the Gay community but does it is a true bear style- with FUN! And after all, that's what is is all about isn't it? FUN??!?? From setting up your own "Bear's Den" to what to have on the bookshelves( this book being one of many) this handy book will inform and amuse you and your friends for a long time to come- why not check it out? I think you will find it GRRRreat!!!

cute little lifestyle book on gay bears
This is a lighthearted, illustrated book about bears (chubby, hairy gay men) and their culture. It includes a lot of living hints such as names for different goatees, computer emoticons in order to describe one's self, etc. For anybody who tries to collect all literature on bears, you must own this book. I only have two critiques. First, there is only one picture of a man of color in it. Second, the book casts all bears as butch: like mama bears don't exist! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Bears (Gay culture)   2. Gay Studies   3. Gay men   4. Gay/Lesbian Nonfiction   5. Homosexuality, Male   6. Humor   7. Love / Sex / Marriage   8. Men's Studies - Masculinity   9. Social Science   10. Social life and customs   

Customer Reviews (2)

Terrific
The illustrations in this book are superb. The story of the rescue of the passengers of the Despatch by a Newfoundland dog are so vivid due to the bold, colorful pictures. My older daughter loved another Newfoundland dog rescue book called "The Wreck of the Ethie" & my 6 yr.old loved the pictures in this book. What fun to read & enjoy such exciting stories w/ my children!

Splendidly illustrated in a 19th century evoking style
Isle aux Morts means "Island of the Dead" and was thus named because of the number of ships and lives lost near its shores. One early morning in June, 1832, Anne Harvey was awakened by two familiar sounds: the howling wind of a storm and the distress call from a ship offshore. The pounding waves prevented Anne's family from approaching the ship in their small boat. The only hope was to send their dog Hairy Man into the sea with a rope. Hairy Man was a strong swimmer and reached the ship safely. Using a breeches buoy the Harveys were able to rescue 163 passengers, one-by- one, from the sinking ship. Splendidly illustrated in a 19th century evoking style by Geoff Butler, Alice Walsh's Heroes Of Isle Aux Morts is a vivid, engaging, and highly recommended retelling of a true story for young readers ages 8-11. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Action & Adventure   2. Children's 9-12 - Picturebooks   3. Children: Grades 4-6   4. Dogs   5. Fiction   6. Hairy Man (Dog)   7. Historical - Other   8. Juvenile Fiction   9. Newfoundland dog   10. Juvenile Fiction / Historical / Other   

Customer Reviews (1)

Gotta Love It
Wiley and his mother outwit the Hairy Man in this compelling retelling of the folk tale. The illustrations alone are worth the price of admission, but you and your child will get a fun, absorbing story as well. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. African Americans   2. Children's 4-8   3. Children: Grades 1-2   4. Fairy Tales & Folklore - Anthologies   5. Folklore   6. United States   

Customer Reviews (2)

KIDS LIKE IT, PARENTS & TEACHERS WILL TOO!
Any parent, teacher, librarian, or storyteller can use Crum's delightfully scary story and hold children in K-Gr 3 and up spellbound. A folk tale with a spooky character, a halloween-like setting, and a what-will-happen-next? situation has youngsters' rapt attention. Of course, the story must be read aloud with the appropriate annimation.

Crum, a dedicated storyteller and children's librarian, fashions a new tale from one she probably heard first as a child. In the tradition of spinning yarns, Crum -with Krenina's sparkling illustrations - breathes life into Old Tar Pockets a fascinating character who swipes a monster's hairy toe. I've heard the spontaneous reactions of children 2-5; this tale draws them in and they remember it.

Buy it, give it as a gift, but most important share it by reading it to youngsters, and they, in turn, will pass it along to friends. Crum is a talented writer with more children's books in production. I look forward to her next story.

A GREAT READ ALOUD!
Greedy old Tarpockets tries to steal his neighbor's sweet potatoes, but digs up a hairy toe in the process! Because he's a greedy ol' cuss, he keeps it, of course. That night, the toe's owner comes a lookin'..."Who..took...my...hairy...toe?"
Kids will love this mildly spooky, just right for storytime book, written by newcomer, Shutta Crum. She deftly uses a storytellers voice to creat this original version of an old Appalachian tale. Katya Krenina's vivedly eerie artwork is the perfect accompaniment to this haunting Halloween tale...Woooooo. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Children's 4-8 - Picturebooks   2. Children: Grades 1-2   3. Fairy Tales & Folklore - American   4. Fairy Tales & Folklore - Single Title   5. Folklore   6. Halloween   7. Holidays & Festivals - Halloween   8. Juvenile Fiction   9. United States   

Subjects:  1. Animals   2. Children's 4-8 - Picturebooks   3. Children: Kindergarten   4. Fear of the dark   5. Fiction   6. Horror & Ghost Stories   7. Humorous Stories   8. Juvenile Fiction   9. Night   10. Preschool Picture Story Books   11. Social Situations - Emotions & Feelings   12. Stories in rhyme   

Customer Reviews (6)

Satire is always Dangerous
Stereotypes are rampant in any society. Usually when we think of people being harmed by a stereotype we think of other, more powerful groups, picking on minorities. What do you do though if the minority you are part of (gay men) ignores you because you don't fit the stereotype (not athletic, young, expensively dressed with expensive tastes in clothes, etc)? Well you can establish communities and band together for your betterment as many bears have done. However, there is also a point in which a group must laugh at itself, and Kampf's "The Bear Handbook" is one of the signs of that time. I've talked to Bears I know and they remember the big uproar when this book came out -- seems that some folks did not understand that it was first and foremost a satire. As satire Kampf's book does its job very well -- it makes you laugh while pointing out how bear community may be repeating some of the stereotyping and social confinement it rose against.

Sorry guys, I didn't like it.
Well. I like playing with Bears but I didn't like this book. It didn't really say anything. Just that Bears are guys that are usually bearded, hairy, overweight and they like porn sites on the internet. They're intelligent and friendly people. There you go. You no longer have to buy this book. Get out there and meet some of these guys if you're interested.

Not blonde? Don't have a swimmer's build?
That's OK, because this book will make you feel good (if not great) about yourself. Written with a wonderful "matter-of-fact" type of humor, this tour of beardom is as informative as it is funny.

Mr. Kampf reveals the secrets to deciphering the bear code, how to interpret an online profile, and how to avoid those who look like bears, but aren't. He also reveals the true spirit of bears as intelligent, loving and gentle creatures who have a propensity for technology and comic books. (If only I had this book 20 years ago. I would have known what my attraction to the X-Men's Wolverine really meant!)

Are you a bear? Do you like bears? Do you have a bear in your life? This is the book for you. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Bears (Gay culture)   2. Gay Studies   3. Gay men   4. Gay/Lesbian Nonfiction   5. General   6. Handbooks & Manuals   7. Homosexuality, Male   8. Humor   9. Lesbian Studies   10. Social Science   11. Social life and customs   12. Sociology   

Subjects:  1. Audio - Children's   2. Audio Adult: Other   3. Fairy Tales & Folklore - Anthologies   4. Fiction   5. General   

Subjects:  1. Picture books   2. Pop-up & lift-the-flap books   

Customer Reviews (4)

A matter of taste: beauty is in the eye, but Butt...
Photography is more than turning a camera on a guy and hoping something will be 1) erotic or 2) art. I can't stand gay photobooks with boys/men with dead facial expressions, and with weak direction from the photographer who fails to tell them to hold their heads up straight. Why must these models look so lifeless and, yech, coy? Hairy implies masculine. Butt may know masculinity, but he needs to get more active behind the lens. Even stills need to be directed. The cover shot is a cliche--which should be a warning. Butt himself needs to take a look at a couple other hairy photo books to get an idea of how to do it. The ultimate standard for hairiness and men who seem connected to their own sensuality and masculinity are Chris Nelson's "Bear Cult" and "Jack Fritscher's American Men," plus hidden away in a collection of stories based on Chris Nelson's "Bear Cult," are some hot photos in "Tales from the Bear Cult" which, while not produced on glossy paper are as well presented as any photo in any one of the bear mags. A model should not be passive--but this is my opinion--because I like to look at models who give the impression they could dominate me, or at least wouldn't roll over straight to the bottom. All the world loves a top. Nelson and Fritscher show men who "can do."

A true abortion of a book! Delivered before it was ready.
Like his book "An English Lad" this thin, meagre offering is desperately poor fare. It is nothing but a collection of snapshots of the sort any Instamatic owner could manage. Technically, they are just risible. As in his earlier book, Butt (no jokes here!) shows little control over the use of light, focus, posing, depth of field control, selection of the best lens, etc. etc..

True enough, some of Butt's models are not unattractive in a real-guy from the bar sense. They just lack 'spark': that certain something that connects the viewer to the guy's soul. It's the photographer's job to bring that out, and Butt is singularly inept at doing so.

Another reviewer has mentioned that the models weren't truly hairy. Well, as you can actually see the skin of almost all these guys, I guess you can claim they're not sufficiently hirsute. They are, however, more hairy than I like to see. True many books show non-hairy models, but this is only because of shaving to exhibit their pumped-up muscles. There aren't many young pretty-boy books out there.

So, there you have it. I found this book to be dismal in all respects. The pictures simply fail to be erotic - Butt cannot distinguish between a photo of an undressed man and an erotic picture of the naked male.

regular boys, just regular boys
If the regular boy down the street is what you're after, this may be for you. It's true, these are young (read: 20-26-year-old) hairy (read: leaving as it grows what little body hair they may have) guys. But I look for some charge in a book of naked men and for me that means something to focus on. Call me a fascist, but I need something out of the ordinary, something "ideal" to catch my interest (and isn't photography all about a sort of interest in the things we see or want to look at again and again?) A few of these guys provided that for me (a couple are truly hairy or just look at the lens with an expression that suggests they're showing you something you shouldn't see), but most were just pleasant, young men without their clothes. A particular taste, I guess; just not mine. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Individual Photographer   2. Photo Techniques   3. Photography   4. Subjects & Themes - Erotica   5. Subjects & Themes - Portraits   

Customer Reviews (2)

Quirky and Weird but kids love it!
The first time I look through this book I thought it was pretty bizarre even for a kids book. But my opinion changed the first time I read it to my 2 year old daughter. She absolutely adores this book and thinks it's hilarious.

This is one book I'm sure she'll continue to love for years. And even though it says for ages four and up, my little two year old is very hyper and still loves to sit still to listen to this whole book. It's not very long, I think it's great for younger kids too! Buy this one you won't be disappointed!

wonderfully perverse!!!
I first read this book to my nephew about ten years ago. Now I have a son of my own I was terribly disappointed to find it out of print. Bribing my nephew for his copy, which is so well loved the cover is hanging by a thread, has proved useless. No promises of money, video games etc. can pry this book out of his hands. I may have to resort to burglary... ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Emperor Jones
Just finished it! This is the best play I have ever read. In fact perhaps the best piece of writing ever read. An incredible journey through the past of a black man, Brutus jones aka Emperor jones, who over comes life to become an Emperor of an island in the West Indies. Only to find he has become something he hates, predominantly a white man stealing and corrupting his own brothers. He remembers his past violently attacking it, until he is killed by his own beliefs, when he told the natives he could only be kill by a silver bullet, the natives coerced him with haunting drum beats in the night while they made the silver bullet. forcing jones to go mad, and break down to defeat. He runs in acircle right into the native silver bullet!

O'Neill Plays Stimulate The Mind With Identifiable Theme
This edition provides three original plays by Eugene O'Neill, about men at war with themselves and society. In "The Emperor Jones" Brutus Jones is a black man who has escaped the law in the United States and found refuge on an island in the West Indies. Through deceit, Jones becomes emperor over the 'bush Negroes' he so despises. The play opens on an empty court with a cockney confronting the last of Jones' servants who is preparing to 'run away to the hills'. When Jones awakes and is

told of the situation by Smithers, he masks his cowardess with fake bravado and is soon overcome by his guilty conscience of taxing the people and of his former life. O'Neill delivers his vision of a destitute man and his guilty conscience masterfully, using the vibrant pulse of a tom-tom to keep the continuous beat that spells Jones' doom. In '"Anna Christie"', a Swedish Sailor and his daughter are reunited only to discover that everything can not be perfect after 15 years of separation. It is the story of Chris coming to terms with the knowledge that he could have provided a better life for his daughter, Anna. At the same time, Anna must realize that she can not live in a lie, but must tell her father and boyfriend the truth and ask for their forgiveness, while also learning how to love. As in O'Neill's other plays, the characters portrayed are at the bottom of the social ladder and must also come to terms with their station in life. Finally, O'Neill tells the story of a coal stoker on a steam-ship who is confronted with the realization that he is nothing but the dregs of society. With the innocence of a child, Yank personifies himself as steel, he is the power of the steamboat and nothing can stop him. Yank thinks only of himself and those around him, not daring to imagine a world outside that of his natural habitat, the furnace. In five minutes Yank's world comes crashing down as a woman from the outside looks in and is horrified by what she sees in the men. Through possible jealousy and despise, Yank attempts to avenge himself of the girl who condescended on him. When Yank is snubbed by a group he wants to join that could bring him his coveted revenge, he is cast further into gloom and self pity. With nowhere to turn, Yank breaks into a zoo where he confronts his fears by addressing what society claims is his equal. Eventually, Yank is brought to the cruel reality that he is nothing but a 'Hairy Ape'. O'Neill wrote the characters in The Emperor Jones, Anna Christie, and The Hairy Ape as people at the bottom of the social ladder suffering from grief and guilty consciences because all people can identify with their trials and eventual reconciliations. Beautifully written and always stirring, these plays will never leave your mind or heart empty. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. American   2. Anthologies (multiple authors)   3. O'neill, Eugene, 1888-1953   4. Performing Arts   5. Plays   6. Plays / Drama   7. Theater - Playwriting   8. Drama / American   

Customer Reviews (1)

it was pretty good.
the book was funny and it has a really good ending. lots of my friends read it. I really think that you should read it. Bye ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Children's 9-12   2. General   

Subjects:  1. Children's 4-8   2. Children: Grades 2-3   3. Folklore   4. Folklore & Mythology   5. United States   6. Juvenile Fiction / General   

Customer Reviews (1)

GREAT
I Just got this book, and I love it!!! If you like Fun, a good time and spooky fun this books for you. AngelaM ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Children's 9-12 - Fiction - General   2. Horror & Ghost Stories   3. Humorous Stories   4. Readers - Chapter Books   

Customer Reviews (4)

Things that go woof in the night
Well, it’s porn about bears (in at least one case, literally â€" no, not quite THAT way…), ranging from historical pieces to moving tales of differently-abled bear sex to sweet romantic stories to revenge/rape fantasies.

Very stimulating reading, though I did not find the cover model very titillating. Of course, as the person who whines about classical CDs with skinny hairless men on the cover to trick us gays into buying them, I may want to have my panda-shaped cake and eat it too…

Bearly Put-Downable
Anthologies, by their Bear-y nature, are always a mixed bag. Some stories you love (and are sorry when they come to an end) and others you just wanna skip over. Me...well I really liked some of the ones another reviewer liked ... and others he didn't ...while I didn't like some that he did ...But its the nature of the beast...and all in all this is a pretty good anthology. It certainly reached the parts intended....and made me surf amazon to see if any of the authors had more work .... Ideal bedtime reading when you're snuggling up to a hairy-chested hunk! WOOF!!!

Pleasure-affirming
When it comes to fiction anthologies (erotic or otherwise), the very nature of the work makes it a hit-or-miss endeavor.

However, this collection of bear-themed erotica delivers the goods more often than not, yielding a variety of enjoyable stories ranging from the humorous ("Really Hairy Jesus" by R. E. Neu), the sleazy ("Teachin' Manners" by Jim Mason), the poignant ("Bernard and the Energy Circle" by Lance Gap and "Bear Trap" by Eric Mulder), and just plain fun ("Jack and the Bus Bears" by Bob Hay and "Honey" by David Bergman).

Another thing I really liked about some of the stories were the realistic glimpses into a subculture that exists outside the (stereotypical) gay mainstream (particularly "Guts" by Simon Sheppard and, to a smaller extent, "Golden Boy and the Bear" by Adam Gawron). I could also totally relate to "****cub and Bruce" by Thom Wolf, depicting the bittersweetness of feeling a connection to someone you can never completely have.

A couple missteps keep me from giving the book 5 stars, particularly "The Bearwych Project" by Bob Condron. Obviously written to capitalize on the success of "The Blair Witch Project," this story comes off as gimmicky, unoriginal, and quite unerotic. It also combines sex and violence in a way that I don't care to read.

All in all, I found this book affirming of pleasure, and it certainly pushed a lot of my buttons. Definitely recommended. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Anthologies (multiple authors)   2. Erotic stories, American   3. Erotica - General   4. Fiction   5. Fiction - General   6. Gay   7. Gay men   8. General   

Subjects:  1. Children's 9-12   2. Fables   3. Fiction   4. General   5. Owls   6. Self-acceptance   

Subjects:  1. Children's 4-8 - Education   2. Children: Preschool   3. Concepts - General   4. Juvenile Fiction   5. Preschool Reading Skills   6. Readers - Beginner   

Subjects:  1. Fiction   2. Graphic Novels - General   3. Humor   

Subjects:  1. Care and hygiene   2. Children's 4-8 - Picturebooks   3. Children: Grades 2-3   4. Family - General   5. Fiction   6. Hair   7. Humorous Stories   8. Juvenile Fiction