A favourite on the bookshelf, 22 Oct 2008
What a gorgeous book, and one I don't dread reading with my 2 year old at bedtime. Sometimes Thomas the Tank Engine picture books are just too much to bear for the eighth night in a row but this is the perfect antidote for anyone who knows what I'm talking about! Animal Hide and Seek gets chosen regularly and the flaps are nice and sturdy for little hands to open and fold back again and again. Lots to look at and talk about, and not too heavy to juggle with a wriggling toddler. Buy this book - I'm sure you will love it.

Really lovely book, 19 Mar 2008
I bought this for my son when he was about 8 months old - he's now nearly 3 and still adores it. It's definitely his favourite book ever, he insists we read it every day and simply never seems to tire of it, and always finds new things to look at or talk about.
It has led us to discover the world of Apple Tree Farm books - they are enchanting and seem to fascinate all young children.
Definitely well worth the money!

Lovely book, 21 Jul 2007
A lovely book with lots to do but you have to be careful that the flaps are folded down when you turn the pages. However, excellent fun and my little one loves it.

Lovely story, 26 Apr 2005
My daughter had hours of fun searching for the animals, and now still when she plays hide and seek, she shouts, "Where's Daisy". A lovely durable book, well worth the buy.

Brilliant for babies, 09 Mar 2005
This is a beautiful book. It has big pop ups (good for small fingers) lots of textures and a simple story. My twins had this when they were 11 months and LOVE it. It's their favourite book by miles, well this and Dear Zoo. It's a good size as well so easy to hold whilst juggling your babies.
Buy it.

A favourite on the bookshelf, 22 Oct 2008
What a gorgeous book, and one I don't dread reading with my 2 year old at bedtime. Sometimes Thomas the Tank Engine picture books are just too much to bear for the eighth night in a row but this is the perfect antidote for anyone who knows what I'm talking about! Animal Hide and Seek gets chosen regularly and the flaps are nice and sturdy for little hands to open and fold back again and again. Lots to look at and talk about, and not too heavy to juggle with a wriggling toddler. Buy this book - I'm sure you will love it.

Really lovely book, 19 Mar 2008
I bought this for my son when he was about 8 months old - he's now nearly 3 and still adores it. It's definitely his favourite book ever, he insists we read it every day and simply never seems to tire of it, and always finds new things to look at or talk about.
It has led us to discover the world of Apple Tree Farm books - they are enchanting and seem to fascinate all young children.
Definitely well worth the money!

Lovely book, 21 Jul 2007
A lovely book with lots to do but you have to be careful that the flaps are folded down when you turn the pages. However, excellent fun and my little one loves it.

Lovely story, 26 Apr 2005
My daughter had hours of fun searching for the animals, and now still when she plays hide and seek, she shouts, "Where's Daisy". A lovely durable book, well worth the buy.

Brilliant for babies, 09 Mar 2005
This is a beautiful book. It has big pop ups (good for small fingers) lots of textures and a simple story. My twins had this when they were 11 months and LOVE it. It's their favourite book by miles, well this and Dear Zoo. It's a good size as well so easy to hold whilst juggling your babies.
Buy it.

Best Basic Pig Book for Small Scale Pigkeeping, 05 Aug 2008
I've read at least 10 pig books in the past couple of years, but this gets my vote as the best one for the small-scale pig keeper. Covers everything you need to know (including what to do if you have to raise piglets without the mother's help, something a surprising number of books ignore) without going into too much mind-boggling detail. There are a lot of great pig books out there, but most of them are aimed at pig farms. This is more geared towards the smallholder, pet pig owner or hobbyist. And isn't the pig on the front cover just great?!!!

A Worthwhile buy, 19 Nov 2007
If you're new to pig keeping this is a good book to start with, very good sound advice offered which will help you through those first nerve wracking weeks of pig keeping. Mine is somewhat tattered and coffee stained and well thumbed. Highly recommended

A favourite on the bookshelf, 22 Oct 2008
What a gorgeous book, and one I don't dread reading with my 2 year old at bedtime. Sometimes Thomas the Tank Engine picture books are just too much to bear for the eighth night in a row but this is the perfect antidote for anyone who knows what I'm talking about! Animal Hide and Seek gets chosen regularly and the flaps are nice and sturdy for little hands to open and fold back again and again. Lots to look at and talk about, and not too heavy to juggle with a wriggling toddler. Buy this book - I'm sure you will love it.

Really lovely book, 19 Mar 2008
I bought this for my son when he was about 8 months old - he's now nearly 3 and still adores it. It's definitely his favourite book ever, he insists we read it every day and simply never seems to tire of it, and always finds new things to look at or talk about.
It has led us to discover the world of Apple Tree Farm books - they are enchanting and seem to fascinate all young children.
Definitely well worth the money!

Lovely book, 21 Jul 2007
A lovely book with lots to do but you have to be careful that the flaps are folded down when you turn the pages. However, excellent fun and my little one loves it.

Lovely story, 26 Apr 2005
My daughter had hours of fun searching for the animals, and now still when she plays hide and seek, she shouts, "Where's Daisy". A lovely durable book, well worth the buy.

Brilliant for babies, 09 Mar 2005
This is a beautiful book. It has big pop ups (good for small fingers) lots of textures and a simple story. My twins had this when they were 11 months and LOVE it. It's their favourite book by miles, well this and Dear Zoo. It's a good size as well so easy to hold whilst juggling your babies.
Buy it.

Best Basic Pig Book for Small Scale Pigkeeping, 05 Aug 2008
I've read at least 10 pig books in the past couple of years, but this gets my vote as the best one for the small-scale pig keeper. Covers everything you need to know (including what to do if you have to raise piglets without the mother's help, something a surprising number of books ignore) without going into too much mind-boggling detail. There are a lot of great pig books out there, but most of them are aimed at pig farms. This is more geared towards the smallholder, pet pig owner or hobbyist. And isn't the pig on the front cover just great?!!!

A Worthwhile buy, 19 Nov 2007
If you're new to pig keeping this is a good book to start with, very good sound advice offered which will help you through those first nerve wracking weeks of pig keeping. Mine is somewhat tattered and coffee stained and well thumbed. Highly recommended

Excellent book for someone considering beekeeping, 11 Jun 2008
I bought this book knowing virtually nothing about bees (they exist, they live in hives and they make honey was about the sum total of my knowledge).
I have been considering keeping bees for a while and thought that a little reading would help guide me to a decision.

From memory, the book covers: types of bees (not just honey bees), types of hives, the gear required by the beekeeper, where bee hives can be situated, how bees can be purchased, the maintenance of the colony & hive, pests and how to mitigate their impact, the social structure of the bee colony, the way honey is produced by the bees, the 'swarming' of bees, how to harvest honey from the hive and how to store the harvested honey. There's definitely more - my memory just isn't good enough.

The book material is pitched at the level of the layman/novice. In particular areas the book is usefully pratical and in-depth e.g. There are guides to setting up the hive and putting in the colony, checking the colony's health after setting up your apiary, harvesting the honey, controlling swarming and spring-cleaning the hive. There are also little practical tips throughout that will obviously help you avoid common mistakes e.g. Approach your hive from the side, approaching the front entrance will only wind-up your bees!

To sum up. I thought the book was excellent and was written at exactly the right level for someone in my position. It increased my knowledge greatly (admittedly i started with none), it informed me that i have a more-than-reasonable environment for a hive, it convinced me that i'd be capable of performing the duties required to keep the bees happy and healthy, it told me how to go about performing the duties required, it told me what equipment i'd need to keep bees and finally it was a thoroughly pleasant read into the bargain.

A favourite on the bookshelf, 22 Oct 2008
What a gorgeous book, and one I don't dread reading with my 2 year old at bedtime. Sometimes Thomas the Tank Engine picture books are just too much to bear for the eighth night in a row but this is the perfect antidote for anyone who knows what I'm talking about! Animal Hide and Seek gets chosen regularly and the flaps are nice and sturdy for little hands to open and fold back again and again. Lots to look at and talk about, and not too heavy to juggle with a wriggling toddler. Buy this book - I'm sure you will love it.

Really lovely book, 19 Mar 2008
I bought this for my son when he was about 8 months old - he's now nearly 3 and still adores it. It's definitely his favourite book ever, he insists we read it every day and simply never seems to tire of it, and always finds new things to look at or talk about.
It has led us to discover the world of Apple Tree Farm books - they are enchanting and seem to fascinate all young children.
Definitely well worth the money!

Lovely book, 21 Jul 2007
A lovely book with lots to do but you have to be careful that the flaps are folded down when you turn the pages. However, excellent fun and my little one loves it.

Lovely story, 26 Apr 2005
My daughter had hours of fun searching for the animals, and now still when she plays hide and seek, she shouts, "Where's Daisy". A lovely durable book, well worth the buy.

Brilliant for babies, 09 Mar 2005
This is a beautiful book. It has big pop ups (good for small fingers) lots of textures and a simple story. My twins had this when they were 11 months and LOVE it. It's their favourite book by miles, well this and Dear Zoo. It's a good size as well so easy to hold whilst juggling your babies.
Buy it.

Best Basic Pig Book for Small Scale Pigkeeping, 05 Aug 2008
I've read at least 10 pig books in the past couple of years, but this gets my vote as the best one for the small-scale pig keeper. Covers everything you need to know (including what to do if you have to raise piglets without the mother's help, something a surprising number of books ignore) without going into too much mind-boggling detail. There are a lot of great pig books out there, but most of them are aimed at pig farms. This is more geared towards the smallholder, pet pig owner or hobbyist. And isn't the pig on the front cover just great?!!!

A Worthwhile buy, 19 Nov 2007
If you're new to pig keeping this is a good book to start with, very good sound advice offered which will help you through those first nerve wracking weeks of pig keeping. Mine is somewhat tattered and coffee stained and well thumbed. Highly recommended

Excellent book for someone considering beekeeping, 11 Jun 2008
I bought this book knowing virtually nothing about bees (they exist, they live in hives and they make honey was about the sum total of my knowledge).
I have been considering keeping bees for a while and thought that a little reading would help guide me to a decision.

From memory, the book covers: types of bees (not just honey bees), types of hives, the gear required by the beekeeper, where bee hives can be situated, how bees can be purchased, the maintenance of the colony & hive, pests and how to mitigate their impact, the social structure of the bee colony, the way honey is produced by the bees, the 'swarming' of bees, how to harvest honey from the hive and how to store the harvested honey. There's definitely more - my memory just isn't good enough.

The book material is pitched at the level of the layman/novice. In particular areas the book is usefully pratical and in-depth e.g. There are guides to setting up the hive and putting in the colony, checking the colony's health after setting up your apiary, harvesting the honey, controlling swarming and spring-cleaning the hive. There are also little practical tips throughout that will obviously help you avoid common mistakes e.g. Approach your hive from the side, approaching the front entrance will only wind-up your bees!

To sum up. I thought the book was excellent and was written at exactly the right level for someone in my position. It increased my knowledge greatly (admittedly i started with none), it informed me that i have a more-than-reasonable environment for a hive, it convinced me that i'd be capable of performing the duties required to keep the bees happy and healthy, it told me how to go about performing the duties required, it told me what equipment i'd need to keep bees and finally it was a thoroughly pleasant read into the bargain.


Disappointing and lightweight, 18 Apr 2008
A little bit funny in places and an occasional insight but by and large poorly written and forgetable.


Feathery fun... and a little bit more., 02 Dec 2007
Like other reviewers here, I thought this book was very entertaining, hugely humerous, and very warmly written. It is not a soppy recollection of chicken tales, but an open and honest (yes, and funny - but how could a book about these fabulous birds fail to be funny?) look at how one man has had his life affected by his feathery pals.

Chapter 2 starts with the words: "The sort of chicken-keeping we were embarking on can be summed up in three words: 'twee' and 'middle class." And I read those words with recognition, not embarrassment. My two ex-Tesco hybrid waifs are currently strutting their stuff around our ill-prepared garden, and laying an average of 9 eggs a week between the two of them.

This book is for people like me. I have recently ordered 2 more copies of this for my newly chickenified friends. Why? Because of its honesty. Because of the little snippets of chicken care secrets. Because of the kindness in this book. Because it's worth its weight in eggy gold!

Laugh out loud funny -- and a few lessons to boot, 04 Sep 2007
I don't recommend reading this in bed next to a spouse who has to get up for an early commute. You could be laughing so hard, you may not be forgiven. I haven't had such a good time reading a book in I don't know how long... terrifically witty & many laugh-out-loud moments.

I agree with another reviewer who said this book can help you make up your mind about having chickens, as it gives the ups and downs and the no nonsense and the you've got to really want to do this kind of thing information woven into the humour. But I think there are quite a few good lessons to be learnd and chix health tips I'd not heard of before, so I'd recommend it also as a way to get some good chicken rearing information.

Eggcellent, 21 Apr 2006
My only criticsm of this book was that it was too short. It is an entertaining tale of keeping chickens, don't expect to learn to much from it for that I'd reccomend Storey's Guide to Raising Chickens but for those still wonderimg about weather to get chickens or not this will make your mind up.

Hen and the art of chicken maintenance, 30 May 2004
This was a really funny book, it had me laughing out loud all the way through but you would have to keep hens for it to be really relevant. A good read and I picked up a few bits of good adviceand felt I had learnt a little about chickens but not an information book.

A favourite on the bookshelf, 22 Oct 2008
What a gorgeous book, and one I don't dread reading with my 2 year old at bedtime. Sometimes Thomas the Tank Engine picture books are just too much to bear for the eighth night in a row but this is the perfect antidote for anyone who knows what I'm talking about! Animal Hide and Seek gets chosen regularly and the flaps are nice and sturdy for little hands to open and fold back again and again. Lots to look at and talk about, and not too heavy to juggle with a wriggling toddler. Buy this book - I'm sure you will love it.

Really lovely book, 19 Mar 2008
I bought this for my son when he was about 8 months old - he's now nearly 3 and still adores it. It's definitely his favourite book ever, he insists we read it every day and simply never seems to tire of it, and always finds new things to look at or talk about.
It has led us to discover the world of Apple Tree Farm books - they are enchanting and seem to fascinate all young children.
Definitely well worth the money!

Lovely book, 21 Jul 2007
A lovely book with lots to do but you have to be careful that the flaps are folded down when you turn the pages. However, excellent fun and my little one loves it.

Lovely story, 26 Apr 2005
My daughter had hours of fun searching for the animals, and now still when she plays hide and seek, she shouts, "Where's Daisy". A lovely durable book, well worth the buy.

Brilliant for babies, 09 Mar 2005
This is a beautiful book. It has big pop ups (good for small fingers) lots of textures and a simple story. My twins had this when they were 11 months and LOVE it. It's their favourite book by miles, well this and Dear Zoo. It's a good size as well so easy to hold whilst juggling your babies.
Buy it.

Best Basic Pig Book for Small Scale Pigkeeping, 05 Aug 2008
I've read at least 10 pig books in the past couple of years, but this gets my vote as the best one for the small-scale pig keeper. Covers everything you need to know (including what to do if you have to raise piglets without the mother's help, something a surprising number of books ignore) without going into too much mind-boggling detail. There are a lot of great pig books out there, but most of them are aimed at pig farms. This is more geared towards the smallholder, pet pig owner or hobbyist. And isn't the pig on the front cover just great?!!!

A Worthwhile buy, 19 Nov 2007
If you're new to pig keeping this is a good book to start with, very good sound advice offered which will help you through those first nerve wracking weeks of pig keeping. Mine is somewhat tattered and coffee stained and well thumbed. Highly recommended

Excellent book for someone considering beekeeping, 11 Jun 2008
I bought this book knowing virtually nothing about bees (they exist, they live in hives and they make honey was about the sum total of my knowledge).
I have been considering keeping bees for a while and thought that a little reading would help guide me to a decision.

From memory, the book covers: types of bees (not just honey bees), types of hives, the gear required by the beekeeper, where bee hives can be situated, how bees can be purchased, the maintenance of the colony & hive, pests and how to mitigate their impact, the social structure of the bee colony, the way honey is produced by the bees, the 'swarming' of bees, how to harvest honey from the hive and how to store the harvested honey. There's definitely more - my memory just isn't good enough.

The book material is pitched at the level of the layman/novice. In particular areas the book is usefully pratical and in-depth e.g. There are guides to setting up the hive and putting in the colony, checking the colony's health after setting up your apiary, harvesting the honey, controlling swarming and spring-cleaning the hive. There are also little practical tips throughout that will obviously help you avoid common mistakes e.g. Approach your hive from the side, approaching the front entrance will only wind-up your bees!

To sum up. I thought the book was excellent and was written at exactly the right level for someone in my position. It increased my knowledge greatly (admittedly i started with none), it informed me that i have a more-than-reasonable environment for a hive, it convinced me that i'd be capable of performing the duties required to keep the bees happy and healthy, it told me how to go about performing the duties required, it told me what equipment i'd need to keep bees and finally it was a thoroughly pleasant read into the bargain.


Disappointing and lightweight, 18 Apr 2008
A little bit funny in places and an occasional insight but by and large poorly written and forgetable.


Feathery fun... and a little bit more., 02 Dec 2007
Like other reviewers here, I thought this book was very entertaining, hugely humerous, and very warmly written. It is not a soppy recollection of chicken tales, but an open and honest (yes, and funny - but how could a book about these fabulous birds fail to be funny?) look at how one man has had his life affected by his feathery pals.

Chapter 2 starts with the words: "The sort of chicken-keeping we were embarking on can be summed up in three words: 'twee' and 'middle class." And I read those words with recognition, not embarrassment. My two ex-Tesco hybrid waifs are currently strutting their stuff around our ill-prepared garden, and laying an average of 9 eggs a week between the two of them.

This book is for people like me. I have recently ordered 2 more copies of this for my newly chickenified friends. Why? Because of its honesty. Because of the little snippets of chicken care secrets. Because of the kindness in this book. Because it's worth its weight in eggy gold!

Laugh out loud funny -- and a few lessons to boot, 04 Sep 2007
I don't recommend reading this in bed next to a spouse who has to get up for an early commute. You could be laughing so hard, you may not be forgiven. I haven't had such a good time reading a book in I don't know how long... terrifically witty & many laugh-out-loud moments.

I agree with another reviewer who said this book can help you make up your mind about having chickens, as it gives the ups and downs and the no nonsense and the you've got to really want to do this kind of thing information woven into the humour. But I think there are quite a few good lessons to be learnd and chix health tips I'd not heard of before, so I'd recommend it also as a way to get some good chicken rearing information.

Eggcellent, 21 Apr 2006
My only criticsm of this book was that it was too short. It is an entertaining tale of keeping chickens, don't expect to learn to much from it for that I'd reccomend Storey's Guide to Raising Chickens but for those still wonderimg about weather to get chickens or not this will make your mind up.

Hen and the art of chicken maintenance, 30 May 2004
This was a really funny book, it had me laughing out loud all the way through but you would have to keep hens for it to be really relevant. A good read and I picked up a few bits of good adviceand felt I had learnt a little about chickens but not an information book.

Simply the Best Bee Keeping Book, 04 Aug 2008
It is the Bible as far as I am concerned. Critically, in places it shows its age, but generally you will not get a better book on Bee Keeping.

So far, excellent!, 12 Jul 2008
Nicely written and highly informative by someone who evidently has an immense amount of experience and knowledge and who is happy to share it without ever becoming dogmatic.

I am a beginner to be-keeping and this book is giving me a great combination of directly applicable advice and an overview of how it all works together.

good book for beekeepers in the UK, but slightly out of date, 21 May 2007
the best book on beekeeping i have bought BUT it does give a false impression of how easy, spontaneous and predictable beekeeping is. Only the hands on experience of owning your own hives and keeping your own bees will give you a full insight.

My only other fault with this book was despite the fact it is very extensive and probably the best book on the matket it is slightly out of date, not containing some modern beekeeping methods and although it says it is completly up to date on Varroa, it isnt and for that information the best place to go is the DEFRA website at beebase.csl.gov.uk and look at there PDF about the control of the mite, this is the primary reason I didn't give this book 5 stars.

The chapter at the back labelled "flowers for food" gives an extensive overview of the diffrent forage for the bees and is better than other books I have bought that are designed to address solely the issue of bee forage, and it is worth buying the book just for this chapter alone

In conclusion despite being slightly out of date this is the best book I have found so far on beekeeping and no beekeepers book case is complete without it.


Buy it you won't need another book on bees, 27 May 2005
However, one of my beekeeping friends who has been keeping bees for some 20 plus years, refers to this book as his bible, he frequently disagrees with it, for example he frowns on the process of dividing the brood to increase the laying rate of the queen and thus expand the colony.

Something you just have to live with I suppose.

Bridgend Beekeepers Recommend Hooper, 02 Oct 1999
There are many good beekeeping books on the market but this is the one that Bridgend Beekeepers recommend to all its new members.If you are looking for a good book to get started and still be useful to you when your beekeeping knowledge has increased then this is the one to buy.

A favourite on the bookshelf, 22 Oct 2008
What a gorgeous book, and one I don't dread reading with my 2 year old at bedtime. Sometimes Thomas the Tank Engine picture books are just too much to bear for the eighth night in a row but this is the perfect antidote for anyone who knows what I'm talking about! Animal Hide and Seek gets chosen regularly and the flaps are nice and sturdy for little hands to open and fold back again and again. Lots to look at and talk about, and not too heavy to juggle with a wriggling toddler. Buy this book - I'm sure you will love it.

Really lovely book, 19 Mar 2008
I bought this for my son when he was about 8 months old - he's now nearly 3 and still adores it. It's definitely his favourite book ever, he insists we read it every day and simply never seems to tire of it, and always finds new things to look at or talk about.
It has led us to discover the world of Apple Tree Farm books - they are enchanting and seem to fascinate all young children.
Definitely well worth the money!

Lovely book, 21 Jul 2007
A lovely book with lots to do but you have to be careful that the flaps are folded down when you turn the pages. However, excellent fun and my little one loves it.

Lovely story, 26 Apr 2005
My daughter had hours of fun searching for the animals, and now still when she plays hide and seek, she shouts, "Where's Daisy". A lovely durable book, well worth the buy.

Brilliant for babies, 09 Mar 2005
This is a beautiful book. It has big pop ups (good for small fingers) lots of textures and a simple story. My twins had this when they were 11 months and LOVE it. It's their favourite book by miles, well this and Dear Zoo. It's a good size as well so easy to hold whilst juggling your babies.
Buy it.

Best Basic Pig Book for Small Scale Pigkeeping, 05 Aug 2008
I've read at least 10 pig books in the past couple of years, but this gets my vote as the best one for the small-scale pig keeper. Covers everything you need to know (including what to do if you have to raise piglets without the mother's help, something a surprising number of books ignore) without going into too much mind-boggling detail. There are a lot of great pig books out there, but most of them are aimed at pig farms. This is more geared towards the smallholder, pet pig owner or hobbyist. And isn't the pig on the front cover just great?!!!

A Worthwhile buy, 19 Nov 2007
If you're new to pig keeping this is a good book to start with, very good sound advice offered which will help you through those first nerve wracking weeks of pig keeping. Mine is somewhat tattered and coffee stained and well thumbed. Highly recommended

Excellent book for someone considering beekeeping, 11 Jun 2008
I bought this book knowing virtually nothing about bees (they exist, they live in hives and they make honey was about the sum total of my knowledge).
I have been considering keeping bees for a while and thought that a little reading would help guide me to a decision.

From memory, the book covers: types of bees (not just honey bees), types of hives, the gear required by the beekeeper, where bee hives can be situated, how bees can be purchased, the maintenance of the colony & hive, pests and how to mitigate their impact, the social structure of the bee colony, the way honey is produced by the bees, the 'swarming' of bees, how to harvest honey from the hive and how to store the harvested honey. There's definitely more - my memory just isn't good enough.

The book material is pitched at the level of the layman/novice. In particular areas the book is usefully pratical and in-depth e.g. There are guides to setting up the hive and putting in the colony, checking the colony's health after setting up your apiary, harvesting the honey, controlling swarming and spring-cleaning the hive. There are also little practical tips throughout that will obviously help you avoid common mistakes e.g. Approach your hive from the side, approaching the front entrance will only wind-up your bees!

To sum up. I thought the book was excellent and was written at exactly the right level for someone in my position. It increased my knowledge greatly (admittedly i started with none), it informed me that i have a more-than-reasonable environment for a hive, it convinced me that i'd be capable of performing the duties required to keep the bees happy and healthy, it told me how to go about performing the duties required, it told me what equipment i'd need to keep bees and finally it was a thoroughly pleasant read into the bargain.


Disappointing and lightweight, 18 Apr 2008
A little bit funny in places and an occasional insight but by and large poorly written and forgetable.


Feathery fun... and a little bit more., 02 Dec 2007
Like other reviewers here, I thought this book was very entertaining, hugely humerous, and very warmly written. It is not a soppy recollection of chicken tales, but an open and honest (yes, and funny - but how could a book about these fabulous birds fail to be funny?) look at how one man has had his life affected by his feathery pals.

Chapter 2 starts with the words: "The sort of chicken-keeping we were embarking on can be summed up in three words: 'twee' and 'middle class." And I read those words with recognition, not embarrassment. My two ex-Tesco hybrid waifs are currently strutting their stuff around our ill-prepared garden, and laying an average of 9 eggs a week between the two of them.

This book is for people like me. I have recently ordered 2 more copies of this for my newly chickenified friends. Why? Because of its honesty. Because of the little snippets of chicken care secrets. Because of the kindness in this book. Because it's worth its weight in eggy gold!

Laugh out loud funny -- and a few lessons to boot, 04 Sep 2007
I don't recommend reading this in bed next to a spouse who has to get up for an early commute. You could be laughing so hard, you may not be forgiven. I haven't had such a good time reading a book in I don't know how long... terrifically witty & many laugh-out-loud moments.

I agree with another reviewer who said this book can help you make up your mind about having chickens, as it gives the ups and downs and the no nonsense and the you've got to really want to do this kind of thing information woven into the humour. But I think there are quite a few good lessons to be learnd and chix health tips I'd not heard of before, so I'd recommend it also as a way to get some good chicken rearing information.

Eggcellent, 21 Apr 2006
My only criticsm of this book was that it was too short. It is an entertaining tale of keeping chickens, don't expect to learn to much from it for that I'd reccomend Storey's Guide to Raising Chickens but for those still wonderimg about weather to get chickens or not this will make your mind up.

Hen and the art of chicken maintenance, 30 May 2004
This was a really funny book, it had me laughing out loud all the way through but you would have to keep hens for it to be really relevant. A good read and I picked up a few bits of good adviceand felt I had learnt a little about chickens but not an information book.

Simply the Best Bee Keeping Book, 04 Aug 2008
It is the Bible as far as I am concerned. Critically, in places it shows its age, but generally you will not get a better book on Bee Keeping.

So far, excellent!, 12 Jul 2008
Nicely written and highly informative by someone who evidently has an immense amount of experience and knowledge and who is happy to share it without ever becoming dogmatic.

I am a beginner to be-keeping and this book is giving me a great combination of directly applicable advice and an overview of how it all works together.

good book for beekeepers in the UK, but slightly out of date, 21 May 2007
the best book on beekeeping i have bought BUT it does give a false impression of how easy, spontaneous and predictable beekeeping is. Only the hands on experience of owning your own hives and keeping your own bees will give you a full insight.

My only other fault with this book was despite the fact it is very extensive and probably the best book on the matket it is slightly out of date, not containing some modern beekeeping methods and although it says it is completly up to date on Varroa, it isnt and for that information the best place to go is the DEFRA website at beebase.csl.gov.uk and look at there PDF about the control of the mite, this is the primary reason I didn't give this book 5 stars.

The chapter at the back labelled "flowers for food" gives an extensive overview of the diffrent forage for the bees and is better than other books I have bought that are designed to address solely the issue of bee forage, and it is worth buying the book just for this chapter alone

In conclusion despite being slightly out of date this is the best book I have found so far on beekeeping and no beekeepers book case is complete without it.


Buy it you won't need another book on bees, 27 May 2005
However, one of my beekeeping friends who has been keeping bees for some 20 plus years, refers to this book as his bible, he frequently disagrees with it, for example he frowns on the process of dividing the brood to increase the laying rate of the queen and thus expand the colony.

Something you just have to live with I suppose.

Bridgend Beekeepers Recommend Hooper, 02 Oct 1999
There are many good beekeeping books on the market but this is the one that Bridgend Beekeepers recommend to all its new members.If you are looking for a good book to get started and still be useful to you when your beekeeping knowledge has increased then this is the one to buy.

Not great!, 27 Sep 2008
We were thinking of keeping 2 or 3 for the pleasure it would give us and our two children but this book has put us off the idea completely...

At times confusingly written with far too many negative aspects described in detail and not enough positives.

Some might say the writing is 'charming' but, as a beginner, I needed to know detail which either isn't in this book or is made confusing by the writing.


A charming introduction to keeping chickens, 15 Aug 2008
Although I kept chickens many years ago I found this book a mine of useful information. It is charmingly written, very easy to follow, I read it at one sitting. It covers all aspects (I found the cooking and storage sections a pleasant suprise) and although some things could have been covered in slightly more detail, this information is easily found in other sources.

Excellent book - highly recommended, 01 Nov 2007
If you are thinking about keeping chickens everything that you need to know is in this book. Absolutely excellent!!

A favourite on the bookshelf, 22 Oct 2008
What a gorgeous book, and one I don't dread reading with my 2 year old at bedtime. Sometimes Thomas the Tank Engine picture books are just too much to bear for the eighth night in a row but this is the perfect antidote for anyone who knows what I'm talking about! Animal Hide and Seek gets chosen regularly and the flaps are nice and sturdy for little hands to open and fold back again and again. Lots to look at and talk about, and not too heavy to juggle with a wriggling toddler. Buy this book - I'm sure you will love it.

Really lovely book, 19 Mar 2008
I bought this for my son when he was about 8 months old - he's now nearly 3 and still adores it. It's definitely his favourite book ever, he insists we read it every day and simply never seems to tire of it, and always finds new things to look at or talk about.
It has led us to discover the world of Apple Tree Farm books - they are enchanting and seem to fascinate all young children.
Definitely well worth the money!

Lovely book, 21 Jul 2007
A lovely book with lots to do but you have to be careful that the flaps are folded down when you turn the pages. However, excellent fun and my little one loves it.

Lovely story, 26 Apr 2005
My daughter had hours of fun searching for the animals, and now still when she plays hide and seek, she shouts, "Where's Daisy". A lovely durable book, well worth the buy.

Brilliant for babies, 09 Mar 2005
This is a beautiful book. It has big pop ups (good for small fingers) lots of textures and a simple story. My twins had this when they were 11 months and LOVE it. It's their favourite book by miles, well this and Dear Zoo. It's a good size as well so easy to hold whilst juggling your babies.
Buy it.

Best Basic Pig Book for Small Scale Pigkeeping, 05 Aug 2008
I've read at least 10 pig books in the past couple of years, but this gets my vote as the best one for the small-scale pig keeper. Covers everything you need to know (including what to do if you have to raise piglets without the mother's help, something a surprising number of books ignore) without going into too much mind-boggling detail. There are a lot of great pig books out there, but most of them are aimed at pig farms. This is more geared towards the smallholder, pet pig owner or hobbyist. And isn't the pig on the front cover just great?!!!

A Worthwhile buy, 19 Nov 2007
If you're new to pig keeping this is a good book to start with, very good sound advice offered which will help you through those first nerve wracking weeks of pig keeping. Mine is somewhat tattered and coffee stained and well thumbed. Highly recommended

Excellent book for someone considering beekeeping, 11 Jun 2008
I bought this book knowing virtually nothing about bees (they exist, they live in hives and they make honey was about the sum total of my knowledge).
I have been considering keeping bees for a while and thought that a little reading would help guide me to a decision.

From memory, the book covers: types of bees (not just honey bees), types of hives, the gear required by the beekeeper, where bee hives can be situated, how bees can be purchased, the maintenance of the colony & hive, pests and how to mitigate their impact, the social structure of the bee colony, the way honey is produced by the bees, the 'swarming' of bees, how to harvest honey from the hive and how to store the harvested honey. There's definitely more - my memory just isn't good enough.

The book material is pitched at the level of the layman/novice. In particular areas the book is usefully pratical and in-depth e.g. There are guides to setting up the hive and putting in the colony, checking the colony's health after setting up your apiary, harvesting the honey, controlling swarming and spring-cleaning the hive. There are also little practical tips throughout that will obviously help you avoid common mistakes e.g. Approach your hive from the side, approaching the front entrance will only wind-up your bees!

To sum up. I thought the book was excellent and was written at exactly the right level for someone in my position. It increased my knowledge greatly (admittedly i started with none), it informed me that i have a more-than-reasonable environment for a hive, it convinced me that i'd be capable of performing the duties required to keep the bees happy and healthy, it told me how to go about performing the duties required, it told me what equipment i'd need to keep bees and finally it was a thoroughly pleasant read into the bargain.


Disappointing and lightweight, 18 Apr 2008
A little bit funny in places and an occasional insight but by and large poorly written and forgetable.


Feathery fun... and a little bit more., 02 Dec 2007
Like other reviewers here, I thought this book was very entertaining, hugely humerous, and very warmly written. It is not a soppy recollection of chicken tales, but an open and honest (yes, and funny - but how could a book about these fabulous birds fail to be funny?) look at how one man has had his life affected by his feathery pals.

Chapter 2 starts with the words: "The sort of chicken-keeping we were embarking on can be summed up in three words: 'twee' and 'middle class." And I read those words with recognition, not embarrassment. My two ex-Tesco hybrid waifs are currently strutting their stuff around our ill-prepared garden, and laying an average of 9 eggs a week between the two of them.

This book is for people like me. I have recently ordered 2 more copies of this for my newly chickenified friends. Why? Because of its honesty. Because of the little snippets of chicken care secrets. Because of the kindness in this book. Because it's worth its weight in eggy gold!

Laugh out loud funny -- and a few lessons to boot, 04 Sep 2007
I don't recommend reading this in bed next to a spouse who has to get up for an early commute. You could be laughing so hard, you may not be forgiven. I haven't had such a good time reading a book in I don't know how long... terrifically witty & many laugh-out-loud moments.

I agree with another reviewer who said this book can help you make up your mind about having chickens, as it gives the ups and downs and the no nonsense and the you've got to really want to do this kind of thing information woven into the humour. But I think there are quite a few good lessons to be learnd and chix health tips I'd not heard of before, so I'd recommend it also as a way to get some good chicken rearing information.

Eggcellent, 21 Apr 2006
My only criticsm of this book was that it was too short. It is an entertaining tale of keeping chickens, don't expect to learn to much from it for that I'd reccomend Storey's Guide to Raising Chickens but for those still wonderimg about weather to get chickens or not this will make your mind up.

Hen and the art of chicken maintenance, 30 May 2004
This was a really funny book, it had me laughing out loud all the way through but you would have to keep hens for it to be really relevant. A good read and I picked up a few bits of good adviceand felt I had learnt a little about chickens but not an information book.

Simply the Best Bee Keeping Book, 04 Aug 2008
It is the Bible as far as I am concerned. Critically, in places it shows its age, but generally you will not get a better book on Bee Keeping.

So far, excellent!, 12 Jul 2008
Nicely written and highly informative by someone who evidently has an immense amount of experience and knowledge and who is happy to share it without ever becoming dogmatic.

I am a beginner to be-keeping and this book is giving me a great combination of directly applicable advice and an overview of how it all works together.

good book for beekeepers in the UK, but slightly out of date, 21 May 2007
the best book on beekeeping i have bought BUT it does give a false impression of how easy, spontaneous and predictable beekeeping is. Only the hands on experience of owning your own hives and keeping your own bees will give you a full insight.

My only other fault with this book was despite the fact it is very extensive and probably the best book on the matket it is slightly out of date, not containing some modern beekeeping methods and although it says it is completly up to date on Varroa, it isnt and for that information the best place to go is the DEFRA website at beebase.csl.gov.uk and look at there PDF about the control of the mite, this is the primary reason I didn't give this book 5 stars.

The chapter at the back labelled "flowers for food" gives an extensive overview of the diffrent forage for the bees and is better than other books I have bought that are designed to address solely the issue of bee forage, and it is worth buying the book just for this chapter alone

In conclusion despite being slightly out of date this is the best book I have found so far on beekeeping and no beekeepers book case is complete without it.


Buy it you won't need another book on bees, 27 May 2005
However, one of my beekeeping friends who has been keeping bees for some 20 plus years, refers to this book as his bible, he frequently disagrees with it, for example he frowns on the process of dividing the brood to increase the laying rate of the queen and thus expand the colony.

Something you just have to live with I suppose.

Bridgend Beekeepers Recommend Hooper, 02 Oct 1999
There are many good beekeeping books on the market but this is the one that Bridgend Beekeepers recommend to all its new members.If you are looking for a good book to get started and still be useful to you when your beekeeping knowledge has increased then this is the one to buy.

Not great!, 27 Sep 2008
We were thinking of keeping 2 or 3 for the pleasure it would give us and our two children but this book has put us off the idea completely...

At times confusingly written with far too many negative aspects described in detail and not enough positives.

Some might say the writing is 'charming' but, as a beginner, I needed to know detail which either isn't in this book or is made confusing by the writing.


A charming introduction to keeping chickens, 15 Aug 2008
Although I kept chickens many years ago I found this book a mine of useful information. It is charmingly written, very easy to follow, I read it at one sitting. It covers all aspects (I found the cooking and storage sections a pleasant suprise) and although some things could have been covered in slightly more detail, this information is easily found in other sources.

Excellent book - highly recommended, 01 Nov 2007
If you are thinking about keeping chickens everything that you need to know is in this book. Absolutely excellent!!

Beekeeping for Dummies, 01 Aug 2007
I always thought that the Howells series were for techno dudes. So I was amazed to see this title. And what an excellent surprise it is. This is one of the best guides to the keeping of bees, anywhere in the world, I've read. It's informative, honest, helpful and entertaining. Thus making bee keeping an achievable and enjoyable pastime. Everyone should read this, even if you don't ever get the bees.

Warning - Bears, 27 May 2005
This is a super book, I am a beginer and although this book is limited in detail it is idea for the beginer.

This book concentrates on one type of Hive, the lanstroth, which world wide is the most popular hive, but in the UK most beekeepers use the national, but this make no diffrence at all they are based on the same principals.

It gives you practical advice, on silly things that you dont want to ask, i.e. how do you start your smoker and, what is a smoker.

The book is very easy to read and comprehensive, for keeping bees on a small scale this is the book I would happily recormend, and fequently refer to.

If you do really get into bees the British Bee Keepers (to whom i now belong) recormended reading - Ted Hoopers Bees & honey. This is the next stage, this book covers everything there is, although again you will find that most of the bee keepers will frequently disagree with both books.

Oh and the bears, this is refered to as a common problem it appears that bears do like honey. The book is rather clear on this that you should protect your hives from bears.

A favourite on the bookshelf, 22 Oct 2008
What a gorgeous book, and one I don't dread reading with my 2 year old at bedtime. Sometimes Thomas the Tank Engine picture books are just too much to bear for the eighth night in a row but this is the perfect antidote for anyone who knows what I'm talking about! Animal Hide and Seek gets chosen regularly and the flaps are nice and sturdy for little hands to open and fold back again and again. Lots to look at and talk about, and not too heavy to juggle with a wriggling toddler. Buy this book - I'm sure you will love it.

Really lovely book, 19 Mar 2008
I bought this for my son when he was about 8 months old - he's now nearly 3 and still adores it. It's definitely his favourite book ever, he insists we read it every day and simply never seems to tire of it, and always finds new things to look at or talk about.
It has led us to discover the world of Apple Tree Farm books - they are enchanting and seem to fascinate all young children.
Definitely well worth the money!

Lovely book, 21 Jul 2007
A lovely book with lots to do but you have to be careful that the flaps are folded down when you turn the pages. However, excellent fun and my little one loves it.

Lovely story, 26 Apr 2005
My daughter had hours of fun searching for the animals, and now still when she plays hide and seek, she shouts, "Where's Daisy". A lovely durable book, well worth the buy.

Brilliant for babies, 09 Mar 2005
This is a beautiful book. It has big pop ups (good for small fingers) lots of textures and a simple story. My twins had this when they were 11 months and LOVE it. It's their favourite book by miles, well this and Dear Zoo. It's a good size as well so easy to hold whilst juggling your babies.
Buy it.

Best Basic Pig Book for Small Scale Pigkeeping, 05 Aug 2008
I've read at least 10 pig books in the past couple of years, but this gets my vote as the best one for the small-scale pig keeper. Covers everything you need to know (including what to do if you have to raise piglets without the mother's help, something a surprising number of books ignore) without going into too much mind-boggling detail. There are a lot of great pig books out there, but most of them are aimed at pig farms. This is more geared towards the smallholder, pet pig owner or hobbyist. And isn't the pig on the front cover just great?!!!

A Worthwhile buy, 19 Nov 2007
If you're new to pig keeping this is a good book to start with, very good sound advice offered which will help you through those first nerve wracking weeks of pig keeping. Mine is somewhat tattered and coffee stained and well thumbed. Highly recommended

Excellent book for someone considering beekeeping, 11 Jun 2008
I bought this book knowing virtually nothing about bees (they exist, they live in hives and they make honey was about the sum total of my knowledge).
I have been considering keeping bees for a while and thought that a little reading would help guide me to a decision.

From memory, the book covers: types of bees (not just honey bees), types of hives, the gear required by the beekeeper, where bee hives can be situated, how bees can be purchased, the maintenance of the colony & hive, pests and how to mitigate their impact, the social structure of the bee colony, the way honey is produced by the bees, the 'swarming' of bees, how to harvest honey from the hive and how to store the harvested honey. There's definitely more - my memory just isn't good enough.

The book material is pitched at the level of the layman/novice. In particular areas the book is usefully pratical and in-depth e.g. There are guides to setting up the hive and putting in the colony, checking the colony's health after setting up your apiary, harvesting the honey, controlling swarming and spring-cleaning the hive. There are also little practical tips throughout that will obviously help you avoid common mistakes e.g. Approach your hive from the side, approaching the front entrance will only wind-up your bees!

To sum up. I thought the book was excellent and was written at exactly the right level for someone in my position. It increased my knowledge greatly (admittedly i started with none), it informed me that i have a more-than-reasonable environment for a hive, it convinced me that i'd be capable of performing the duties required to keep the bees happy and healthy, it told me how to go about performing the duties required, it told me what equipment i'd need to keep bees and finally it was a thoroughly pleasant read into the bargain.


Disappointing and lightweight, 18 Apr 2008
A little bit funny in places and an occasional insight but by and large poorly written and forgetable.


Feathery fun... and a little bit more., 02 Dec 2007
Like other reviewers here, I thought this book was very entertaining, hugely humerous, and very warmly written. It is not a soppy recollection of chicken tales, but an open and honest (yes, and funny - but how could a book about these fabulous birds fail to be funny?) look at how one man has had his life affected by his feathery pals.

Chapter 2 starts with the words: "The sort of chicken-keeping we were embarking on can be summed up in three words: 'twee' and 'middle class." And I read those words with recognition, not embarrassment. My two ex-Tesco hybrid waifs are currently strutting their stuff around our ill-prepared garden, and laying an average of 9 eggs a week between the two of them.

This book is for people like me. I have recently ordered 2 more copies of this for my newly chickenified friends. Why? Because of its honesty. Because of the little snippets of chicken care secrets. Because of the kindness in this book. Because it's worth its weight in eggy gold!

Laugh out loud funny -- and a few lessons to boot, 04 Sep 2007
I don't recommend reading this in bed next to a spouse who has to get up for an early commute. You could be laughing so hard, you may not be forgiven. I haven't had such a good time reading a book in I don't know how long... terrifically witty & many laugh-out-loud moments.

I agree with another reviewer who said this book can help you make up your mind about having chickens, as it gives the ups and downs and the no nonsense and the you've got to really want to do this kind of thing information woven into the humour. But I think there are quite a few good lessons to be learnd and chix health tips I'd not heard of before, so I'd recommend it also as a way to get some good chicken rearing information.

Eggcellent, 21 Apr 2006
My only criticsm of this book was that it was too short. It is an entertaining tale of keeping chickens, don't expect to learn to much from it for that I'd reccomend Storey's Guide to Raising Chickens but for those still wonderimg about weather to get chickens or not this will make your mind up.

Hen and the art of chicken maintenance, 30 May 2004
This was a really funny book, it had me laughing out loud all the way through but you would have to keep hens for it to be really relevant. A good read and I picked up a few bits of good adviceand felt I had learnt a little about chickens but not an information book.

Simply the Best Bee Keeping Book, 04 Aug 2008
It is the Bible as far as I am concerned. Critically, in places it shows its age, but generally you will not get a better book on Bee Keeping.

So far, excellent!, 12 Jul 2008
Nicely written and highly informative by someone who evidently has an immense amount of experience and knowledge and who is happy to share it without ever becoming dogmatic.

I am a beginner to be-keeping and this book is giving me a great combination of directly applicable advice and an overview of how it all works together.

good book for beekeepers in the UK, but slightly out of date, 21 May 2007
the best book on beekeeping i have bought BUT it does give a false impression of how easy, spontaneous and predictable beekeeping is. Only the hands on experience of owning your own hives and keeping your own bees will give you a full insight.

My only other fault with this book was despite the fact it is very extensive and probably the best book on the matket it is slightly out of date, not containing some modern beekeeping methods and although it says it is completly up to date on Varroa, it isnt and for that information the best place to go is the DEFRA website at beebase.csl.gov.uk and look at there PDF about the control of the mite, this is the primary reason I didn't give this book 5 stars.

The chapter at the back labelled "flowers for food" gives an extensive overview of the diffrent forage for the bees and is better than other books I have bought that are designed to address solely the issue of bee forage, and it is worth buying the book just for this chapter alone

In conclusion despite being slightly out of date this is the best book I have found so far on beekeeping and no beekeepers book case is complete without it.


Buy it you won't need another book on bees, 27 May 2005
However, one of my beekeeping friends who has been keeping bees for some 20 plus years, refers to this book as his bible, he frequently disagrees with it, for example he frowns on the process of dividing the brood to increase the laying rate of the queen and thus expand the colony.

Something you just have to live with I suppose.

Bridgend Beekeepers Recommend Hooper, 02 Oct 1999
There are many good beekeeping books on the market but this is the one that Bridgend Beekeepers recommend to all its new members.If you are looking for a good book to get started and still be useful to you when your beekeeping knowledge has increased then this is the one to buy.

Not great!, 27 Sep 2008
We were thinking of keeping 2 or 3 for the pleasure it would give us and our two children but this book has put us off the idea completely...

At times confusingly written with far too many negative aspects described in detail and not enough positives.

Some might say the writing is 'charming' but, as a beginner, I needed to know detail which either isn't in this book or is made confusing by the writing.


A charming introduction to keeping chickens, 15 Aug 2008
Although I kept chickens many years ago I found this book a mine of useful information. It is charmingly written, very easy to follow, I read it at one sitting. It covers all aspects (I found the cooking and storage sections a pleasant suprise) and although some things could have been covered in slightly more detail, this information is easily found in other sources.

Excellent book - highly recommended, 01 Nov 2007
If you are thinking about keeping chickens everything that you need to know is in this book. Absolutely excellent!!

Beekeeping for Dummies, 01 Aug 2007
I always thought that the Howells series were for techno dudes. So I was amazed to see this title. And what an excellent surprise it is. This is one of the best guides to the keeping of bees, anywhere in the world, I've read. It's informative, honest, helpful and entertaining. Thus making bee keeping an achievable and enjoyable pastime. Everyone should read this, even if you don't ever get the bees.

Warning - Bears, 27 May 2005
This is a super book, I am a beginer and although this book is limited in detail it is idea for the beginer.

This book concentrates on one type of Hive, the lanstroth, which world wide is the most popular hive, but in the UK most beekeepers use the national, but this make no diffrence at all they are based on the same principals.

It gives you practical advice, on silly things that you dont want to ask, i.e. how do you start your smoker and, what is a smoker.

The book is very easy to read and comprehensive, for keeping bees on a small scale this is the book I would happily recormend, and fequently refer to.

If you do really get into bees the British Bee Keepers (to whom i now belong) recormended reading - Ted Hoopers Bees & honey. This is the next stage, this book covers everything there is, although again you will find that most of the bee keepers will frequently disagree with both books.

Oh and the bears, this is refered to as a common problem it appears that bears do like honey. The book is rather clear on this that you should protect your hives from bears.

A must-have for hen keepers!, 27 May 2007
A concise, informative book with plenty of advice on chicken health, breeding, housing etc along with some really good egg recipes in part 2 of the book. An excellent buy for anyone starting out in small scale chicken keeping. The little stories at the end of the book are fun too.

A short, friendly book, 11 Oct 2005
The first half of the book gives a introduction to chicken keeping, with a strong emphasis on bantams. The emphasis is more on keeping hens as pets than as livestock. The author pays special attention to bantams. Areas such as medical treatment and raising chicks are covered as well as the basics of housing & feeding.

The second half of the book is dedicated to recipes for using eggs; my hens haven't started laying just yet so I've yet to test this bit.

Hens in the Garden Eggs in the Kitchen, 12 Jan 2004
I decided to buy this book after keeping hens for 7 or so years and still learnt a few things. There is plenty of details about the history of chickens, how to keep them without being too in depth and over the top that it puts you off. There are tips on how to keep hens healthy and use the stock of eggs you will get.

A favourite on the bookshelf, 22 Oct 2008
What a gorgeous book, and one I don't dread reading with my 2 year old at bedtime. Sometimes Thomas the Tank Engine picture books are just too much to bear for the eighth night in a row but this is the perfect antidote for anyone who knows what I'm talking about! Animal Hide and Seek gets chosen regularly and the flaps are nice and sturdy for little hands to open and fold back again and again. Lots to look at and talk about, and not too heavy to juggle with a wriggling toddler. Buy this book - I'm sure you will love it.

Really lovely book, 19 Mar 2008
I bought this for my son when he was about 8 months old - he's now nearly 3 and still adores it. It's definitely his favourite book ever, he insists we read it every day and simply never seems to tire of it, and always finds new things to look at or talk about.
It has led us to discover the world of Apple Tree Farm books - they are enchanting and seem to fascinate all young children.
Definitely well worth the money!

Lovely book, 21 Jul 2007
A lovely book with lots to do but you have to be careful that the flaps are folded down when you turn the pages. However, excellent fun and my little one loves it.

Lovely story, 26 Apr 2005
My daughter had hours of fun searching for the animals, and now still when she plays hide and seek, she shouts, "Where's Daisy". A lovely durable book, well worth the buy.

Brilliant for babies, 09 Mar 2005
This is a beautiful book. It has big pop ups (good for small fingers) lots of textures and a simple story. My twins had this when they were 11 months and LOVE it. It's their favourite book by miles, well this and Dear Zoo. It's a good size as well so easy to hold whilst juggling your babies.
Buy it.

Best Basic Pig Book for Small Scale Pigkeeping, 05 Aug 2008
I've read at least 10 pig books in the past couple of years, but this gets my vote as the best one for the small-scale pig keeper. Covers everything you need to know (including what to do if you have to raise piglets without the mother's help, something a surprising number of books ignore) without going into too much mind-boggling detail. There are a lot of great pig books out there, but most of them are aimed at pig farms. This is more geared towards the smallholder, pet pig owner or hobbyist. And isn't the pig on the front cover just great?!!!

A Worthwhile buy, 19 Nov 2007
If you're new to pig keeping this is a good book to start with, very good sound advice offered which will help you through those first nerve wracking weeks of pig keeping. Mine is somewhat tattered and coffee stained and well thumbed. Highly recommended

Excellent book for someone considering beekeeping, 11 Jun 2008
I bought this book knowing virtually nothing about bees (they exist, they live in hives and they make honey was about the sum total of my knowledge).
I have been considering keeping bees for a while and thought that a little reading would help guide me to a decision.

From memory, the book covers: types of bees (not just honey bees), types of hives, the gear required by the beekeeper, where bee hives can be situated, how bees can be purchased, the maintenance of the colony & hive, pests and how to mitigate their impact, the social structure of the bee colony, the way honey is produced by the bees, the 'swarming' of bees, how to harvest honey from the hive and how to store the harvested honey. There's definitely more - my memory just isn't good enough.

The book material is pitched at the level of the layman/novice. In particular areas the book is usefully pratical and in-depth e.g. There are guides to setting up the hive and putting in the colony, checking the colony's health after setting up your apiary, harvesting the honey, controlling swarming and spring-cleaning the hive. There are also little practical tips throughout that will obviously help you avoid common mistakes e.g. Approach your hive from the side, approaching the front entrance will only wind-up your bees!

To sum up. I thought the book was excellent and was written at exactly the right level for someone in my position. It increased my knowledge greatly (admittedly i started with none), it informed me that i have a more-than-reasonable environment for a hive, it convinced me that i'd be capable of performing the duties required to keep the bees happy and healthy, it told me how to go about performing the duties required, it told me what equipment i'd need to keep bees and finally it was a thoroughly pleasant read into the bargain.


Disappointing and lightweight, 18 Apr 2008
A little bit funny in places and an occasional insight but by and large poorly written and forgetable.


Feathery fun... and a little bit more., 02 Dec 2007
Like other reviewers here, I thought this book was very entertaining, hugely humerous, and very warmly written. It is not a soppy recollection of chicken tales, but an open and honest (yes, and funny - but how could a book about these fabulous birds fail to be funny?) look at how one man has had his life affected by his feathery pals.

Chapter 2 starts with the words: "The sort of chicken-keeping we were embarking on can be summed up in three words: 'twee' and 'middle class." And I read those words with recognition, not embarrassment. My two ex-Tesco hybrid waifs are currently strutting their stuff around our ill-prepared garden, and laying an average of 9 eggs a week between the two of them.

This book is for people like me. I have recently ordered 2 more copies of this for my newly chickenified friends. Why? Because of its honesty. Because of the little snippets of chicken care secrets. Because of the kindness in this book. Because it's worth its weight in eggy gold!

Laugh out loud funny -- and a few lessons to boot, 04 Sep 2007
I don't recommend reading this in bed next to a spouse who has to get up for an early commute. You could be laughing so hard, you may not be forgiven. I haven't had such a good time reading a book in I don't know how long... terrifically witty & many laugh-out-loud moments.

I agree with another reviewer who said this book can help you make up your mind about having chickens, as it gives the ups and downs and the no nonsense and the you've got to really want to do this kind of thing information woven into the humour. But I think there are quite a few good lessons to be learnd and chix health tips I'd not heard of before, so I'd recommend it also as a way to get some good chicken rearing information.

Eggcellent, 21 Apr 2006
My only criticsm of this book was that it was too short. It is an entertaining tale of keeping chickens, don't expect to learn to much from it for that I'd reccomend Storey's Guide to Raising Chickens but for those still wonderimg about weather to get chickens or not this will make your mind up.

Hen and the art of chicken maintenance, 30 May 2004
This was a really funny book, it had me laughing out loud all the way through but you would have to keep hens for it to be really relevant. A good read and I picked up a few bits of good adviceand felt I had learnt a little about chickens but not an information book.

Simply the Best Bee Keeping Book, 04 Aug 2008
It is the Bible as far as I am concerned. Critically, in places it shows its age, but generally you will not get a better book on Bee Keeping.

So far, excellent!, 12 Jul 2008
Nicely written and highly informative by someone who evidently has an immense amount of experience and knowledge and who is happy to share it without ever becoming dogmatic.

I am a beginner to be-keeping and this book is giving me a great combination of directly applicable advice and an overview of how it all works together.

good book for beekeepers in the UK, but slightly out of date, 21 May 2007
the best book on beekeeping i have bought BUT it does give a false impression of how easy, spontaneous and predictable beekeeping is. Only the hands on experience of owning your own hives and keeping your own bees will give you a full insight.

My only other fault with this book was despite the fact it is very extensive and probably the best book on the matket it is slightly out of date, not containing some modern beekeeping methods and although it says it is completly up to date on Varroa, it isnt and for that information the best place to go is the DEFRA website at beebase.csl.gov.uk and look at there PDF about the control of the mite, this is the primary reason I didn't give this book 5 stars.

The chapter at the back labelled "flowers for food" gives an extensive overview of the diffrent forage for the bees and is better than other books I have bought that are designed to address solely the issue of bee forage, and it is worth buying the book just for this chapter alone

In conclusion despite being slightly out of date this is the best book I have found so far on beekeeping and no beekeepers book case is complete without it.


Buy it you won't need another book on bees, 27 May 2005
However, one of my beekeeping friends who has been keeping bees for some 20 plus years, refers to this book as his bible, he frequently disagrees with it, for example he frowns on the process of dividing the brood to increase the laying rate of the queen and thus expand the colony.

Something you just have to live with I suppose.

Bridgend Beekeepers Recommend Hooper, 02 Oct 1999
There are many good beekeeping books on the market but this is the one that Bridgend Beekeepers recommend to all its new members.If you are looking for a good book to get started and still be useful to you when your beekeeping knowledge has increased then this is the one to buy.

Not great!, 27 Sep 2008
We were thinking of keeping 2 or 3 for the pleasure it would give us and our two children but this book has put us off the idea completely...

At times confusingly written with far too many negative aspects described in detail and not enough positives.

Some might say the writing is 'charming' but, as a beginner, I needed to know detail which either isn't in this book or is made confusing by the writing.


A charming introduction to keeping chickens, 15 Aug 2008
Although I kept chickens many years ago I found this book a mine of useful information. It is charmingly written, very easy to follow, I read it at one sitting. It covers all aspects (I found the cooking and storage sections a pleasant suprise) and although some things could have been covered in slightly more detail, this information is easily found in other sources.

Excellent book - highly recommended, 01 Nov 2007
If you are thinking about keeping chickens everything that you need to know is in this book. Absolutely excellent!!

Beekeeping for Dummies, 01 Aug 2007
I always thought that the Howells series were for techno dudes. So I was amazed to see this title. And what an excellent surprise it is. This is one of the best guides to the keeping of bees, anywhere in the world, I've read. It's informative, honest, helpful and entertaining. Thus making bee keeping an achievable and enjoyable pastime. Everyone should read this, even if you don't ever get the bees.

Warning - Bears, 27 May 2005
This is a super book, I am a beginer and although this book is limited in detail it is idea for the beginer.

This book concentrates on one type of Hive, the lanstroth, which world wide is the most popular hive, but in the UK most beekeepers use the national, but this make no diffrence at all they are based on the same principals.

It gives you practical advice, on silly things that you dont want to ask, i.e. how do you start your smoker and, what is a smoker.

The book is very easy to read and comprehensive, for keeping bees on a small scale this is the book I would happily recormend, and fequently refer to.

If you do really get into bees the British Bee Keepers (to whom i now belong) recormended reading - Ted Hoopers Bees & honey. This is the next stage, this book covers everything there is, although again you will find that most of the bee keepers will frequently disagree with both books.

Oh and the bears, this is refered to as a common problem it appears that bears do like honey. The book is rather clear on this that you should protect your hives from bears.

A must-have for hen keepers!, 27 May 2007
A concise, informative book with plenty of advice on chicken health, breeding, housing etc along with some really good egg recipes in part 2 of the book. An excellent buy for anyone starting out in small scale chicken keeping. The little stories at the end of the book are fun too.

A short, friendly book, 11 Oct 2005
The first half of the book gives a introduction to chicken keeping, with a strong emphasis on bantams. The emphasis is more on keeping hens as pets than as livestock. The author pays special attention to bantams. Areas such as medical treatment and raising chicks are covered as well as the basics of housing & feeding.

The second half of the book is dedicated to recipes for using eggs; my hens haven't started laying just yet so I've yet to test this bit.

Hens in the Garden Eggs in the Kitchen, 12 Jan 2004
I decided to buy this book after keeping hens for 7 or so years and still learnt a few things. There is plenty of details about the history of chickens, how to keep them without being too in depth and over the top that it puts you off. There are tips on how to keep hens healthy and use the stock of eggs you will get.

Very gd, 05 Jan 2006
this is a very gd book,im kepping pig now because of this book and its been very helpfull.

A Guide To Traditional Pig Keeping, 05 Dec 2005
This book is just what I hoped that it would be. Clear, concise, honest and I had no problem reading it from cover to cover. My pigs will definitely benifit from it.

A favourite on the bookshelf, 22 Oct 2008
What a gorgeous book, and one I don't dread reading with my 2 year old at bedtime. Sometimes Thomas the Tank Engine picture books are just too much to bear for the eighth night in a row but this is the perfect antidote for anyone who knows what I'm talking about! Animal Hide and Seek gets chosen regularly and the flaps are nice and sturdy for little hands to open and fold back again and again. Lots to look at and talk about, and not too heavy to juggle with a wriggling toddler. Buy this book - I'm sure you will love it.

Really lovely book, 19 Mar 2008
I bought this for my son when he was about 8 months old - he's now nearly 3 and still adores it. It's definitely his favourite book ever, he insists we read it every day and simply never seems to tire of it, and always finds new things to look at or talk about.
It has led us to discover the world of Apple Tree Farm books - they are enchanting and seem to fascinate all young children.
Definitely well worth the money!

Lovely book, 21 Jul 2007
A lovely book with lots to do but you have to be careful that the flaps are folded down when you turn the pages. However, excellent fun and my little one loves it.

Lovely story, 26 Apr 2005
My daughter had hours of fun searching for the animals, and now still when she plays hide and seek, she shouts, "Where's Daisy". A lovely durable book, well worth the buy.

Brilliant for babies, 09 Mar 2005
This is a beautiful book. It has big pop ups (good for small fingers) lots of textures and a simple story. My twins had this when they were 11 months and LOVE it. It's their favourite book by miles, well this and Dear Zoo. It's a good size as well so easy to hold whilst juggling your babies.
Buy it.

Best Basic Pig Book for Small Scale Pigkeeping, 05 Aug 2008
I've read at least 10 pig books in the past couple of years, but this gets my vote as the best one for the small-scale pig keeper. Covers everything you need to know (including what to do if you have to raise piglets without the mother's help, something a surprising number of books ignore) without going into too much mind-boggling detail. There are a lot of great pig books out there, but most of them are aimed at pig farms. This is more geared towards the smallholder, pet pig owner or hobbyist. And isn't the pig on the front cover just great?!!!

A Worthwhile buy, 19 Nov 2007
If you're new to pig keeping this is a good book to start with, very good sound advice offered which will help you through those first nerve wracking weeks of pig keeping. Mine is somewhat tattered and coffee stained and well thumbed. Highly recommended

Excellent book for someone considering beekeeping, 11 Jun 2008
I bought this book knowing virtually nothing about bees (they exist, they live in hives and they make honey was about the sum total of my knowledge).
I have been considering keeping bees for a while and thought that a little reading would help guide me to a decision.

From memory, the book covers: types of bees (not just honey bees), types of hives, the gear required by the beekeeper, where bee hives can be situated, how bees can be purchased, the maintenance of the colony & hive, pests and how to mitigate their impact, the social structure of the bee colony, the way honey is produced by the bees, the 'swarming' of bees, how to harvest honey from the hive and how to store the harvested honey. There's definitely more - my memory just isn't good enough.

The book material is pitched at the level of the layman/novice. In particular areas the book is usefully pratical and in-depth e.g. There are guides to setting up the hive and putting in the colony, checking the colony's health after setting up your apiary, harvesting the honey, controlling swarming and spring-cleaning the hive. There are also little practical tips throughout that will obviously help you avoid common mistakes e.g. Approach your hive from the side, approaching the front entrance will only wind-up your bees!

To sum up. I thought the book was excellent and was written at exactly the right level for someone in my position. It increased my knowledge greatly (admittedly i started with none), it informed me that i have a more-than-reasonable environment for a hive, it convinced me that i'd be capable of performing the duties required to keep the bees happy and healthy, it told me how to go about performing the duties required, it told me what equipment i'd need to keep bees and finally it was a thoroughly pleasant read into the bargain.


Disappointing and lightweight, 18 Apr 2008
A little bit funny in places and an occasional insight but by and large poorly written and forgetable.


Feathery fun... and a little bit more., 02 Dec 2007
Like other reviewers here, I thought this book was very entertaining, hugely humerous, and very warmly written. It is not a soppy recollection of chicken tales, but an open and honest (yes, and funny - but how could a book about these fabulous birds fail to be funny?) look at how one man has had his life affected by his feathery pals.

Chapter 2 starts with the words: "The sort of chicken-keeping we were embarking on can be summed up in three words: 'twee' and 'middle class." And I read those words with recognition, not embarrassment. My two ex-Tesco hybrid waifs are currently strutting their stuff around our ill-prepared garden, and laying an average of 9 eggs a week between the two of them.

This book is for people like me. I have recently ordered 2 more copies of this for my newly chickenified friends. Why? Because of its honesty. Because of the little snippets of chicken care secrets. Because of the kindness in this book. Because it's worth its weight in eggy gold!

Laugh out loud funny -- and a few lessons to boot, 04 Sep 2007
I don't recommend reading this in bed next to a spouse who has to get up for an early commute. You could be laughing so hard, you may not be forgiven. I haven't had such a good time reading a book in I don't know how long... terrifically witty & many laugh-out-loud moments.

I agree with another reviewer who said this book can help you make up your mind about having chickens, as it gives the ups and downs and the no nonsense and the you've got to really want to do this kind of thing information woven into the humour. But I think there are quite a few good lesson