As a baby; Pumpkin the Raccoon was abandoned by her parents after falling out of a tree and breaking her leg. Taken in by a family with two rescue dogs; Toffee and Oreo; Pumpkin gained a new set of "parents" and a life of luxury in the Bahamas.Pumpkin: The Raccoon Who Thought She Was a Dog is a sweet; unique look at an adorable household pet; captured in gorgeous; never-before-seen photographs in luxurious settings. Pumpkinrsquo;s message is that friendship and love can be found in the most unlikely of companions. With a lot of personality; and a little bit of mischief; Pumpkin will capture hearts all around the world.
#811143 in eBooks 2015-10-05 2015-10-05File Name: B01B0MOROG
Review
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful. A Jack of All Trades; and a Master of - SeveralBy Shannon Blue Christensen"Far and Away" is my favorite of Pearts books. The "open letter" format gives him terrific agility between subjects; form; tone; and perspective. There is a careful informality to each piece; as if he is chatting with the reader over a late-night drink; sitting on a terrace overlooking the lights of Southern California. There is intimacy; too; the intimacy of strangers. The emotional timbre of each piece has increased; as opposed to some of his earlier work (even "Ghost Rider") where the subjects where more obviously private - and therefore the reader needed to be kept a little farther away from the author by careful use of grammar and style.For the audience not familiar with Pearts day job; "Far and Away" is a treasure of travel literature; both between geographic locales and between ideas. The casual tone of the work belies its attention to the craft of writing. Much as Rush fans practice playing "YYZ" repeatedly just for the joy of it; Peart practices writing for the pleasure of creating a finely tuned; precise; meaningful phrase. The essays stand on their own; and anyone who appreciates the patient; meticulous; loving effort of good writing will be satisfied - and grateful.2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. Another Classic by Ol Elwood.....By John A. BertelsThis book is an outstanding work by one of the most creative; introspective minds in the history of modern music. Neil Peart... Drummer extraordinaire; lyricist; author; moto-journalist; socio-environmental psychologist. The style of the book is a collection of shorter chapters; replete with pictures; capturing the time period between the Snakes and Arrows tour; all the way to the recent Time Machine epoch. I recently re-read this book; wanting to relive the magic once again.Thus; the typical Rush/Neil Peart fan will find this work interesting; as will motorcyclists; travelers and anyone seeking a well-written work by a humble; private author. Several things come to mind which have vastly changed from Neils last work: Pictures...yes; pictures!! Thank you; Mr. Peart. You have endeared the hearts of many motorcyclists around the world who treasure reading of your visits to places that they will never get to ride through. One word of advice; however; is that it would seem satisfactory if you took a few pictures here and there of the scenery and not just your head-inside-the-helmet-next-to-the-scenery. Seems to be a little too much taking one hand off of the bars; while you snap the picture. Just sayin...The other thing that has changed in the tone of the book is that the mood generally seems light-hearted and happier. The dislike for fan encounter is really absent from this book. After having read all of Neils books; I know that this is an issue that has just plain worn him out. Frankly; I cant say I blame him. In his own words; he just wants to be "a guy" and certainly not adulated in every public place that he goes. Being followed for miles while on a tour bus is probably not one of his greatest aspirations in life.....nor is being called by a stranger who just left a six-pack outside his hotel room door in the middle of the night. I wouldnt say that Neil is ungrateful - just that he prefers to be a little more "low-key" than Geddy and Alex. I think I would; at that point; too...Even if you werent a Neil Peart/Rush fan or a motorcyclist; Neils style as an author is engaging and quite humorous. From the Dizzy Dean quotes; to other "fun facts"; Neil is always full of knowledge on different subjects and is quite interesting; causing the reader to lose him/herself in whatever he is describing: wearing full motorcycle gear in all climates; the hummingbird family in his backyard in California; snow-shoeing in Canada; the mysterious cell-phone tower in the distance; etc...The tone in the opening pages of the book is set with Neil declaring that this is a "book of letters; and a serial memoir; and a travel book that includes motorcycling; drumming; snow-shoeing; cross-country skiing; natural history; human history; birdwatching; hiking; driving; church signs; amateur philosophy and....pretty much everything".Despite the verbal "swats" that Neil takes at religion; the book is packed with adventure of his tours on the road and some not-so-great moments; e.g. hitting the deer on his motorcycle and Neil showing the humanistic side of himself (as any animal-loving human would do). It also offers some very astute advice; coming from someone that should really be a spokesperson for motorcycle safety; having logged as many miles as Neil has: the need to wear full-dress in all weather; in all states. Like Neil; I cant imagine heading out on a bike with head and body exposed; especially at highway speeds.What I really love about this book is not only the fact that its chock full of great stories involving motorcycling; drumming; Rush and the Neils private life; away from music; its the specific captivating style that Neil tends to absorb the reader in; except this time around; the pictures make it so complete. He can easily transition from a motorcycling trip that culminates in a celebration of fine dining; to his project involving the Drum Channel; to writing about marine life; as in "Under The Marine Layer".Perhaps one of the most significant things about "Far and Away" is that Neil is smiling again; at least on the outside. One has to wonder with certain mention in this book; as well as the fast-forward to the sometimes dark themes of "Clockwork Angels" if the smile isnt really a brilliant disguise. Even so; well take it for what its worth.Truth be told; theres a very humorous guy inside Neil Peart who can easily express himself through his pen. In this state and behind the drum kit; Neil is very much in command and at ease. I enjoyed his parody in "Far and Away" of riding in his Aston-Martin DB5 to the lyrics of "Red Barchetta"; one of my favorite Rush songs from "Moving Pictures".In the later part of the book; one can also get a sense that a career of constant touring; especially in the early days; have taken their tolls on the three members of Rush; especially as expressed by Neil. One can be quite positive that it is more difficult each time the band tours to go out on the road and do it; no matter the love for the music. In his own words in this book; drumming is a "grim; arduous; sometimes painful job".Sometimes...just sometimes; Neil seems to overstep himself with his opinions on topics such as religion; as he does ever-so-subtly in this book. Interestingly enough; on his own website; Neil proclaims that he doesnt want the "taint" of being a faith-basher; yet he does it with just about every comment he makes in that particular direction.Realistically; regarding the church signs and amateur philosophy that Neil alludes to in the early pages of the book; his own description of his philosophy as being "amateur" about sizes it up when it comes to certain topics. It IS amateur. As far as religion; if Neil could just leave it out of his work; it would probably save him the "taint" he wants to avoid about being a faith-basher. Even so; Neil is not shy about it all; at least in writing. His response to Blaise Pascals theorem that it is "safer" to believe in God than not; because you have nothing to lose if youre right; and everything to lose if youre wrong was "Man up; Pascal!"... to which I reply; "Man up; Elwood!" As brilliant and interesting as Neils writing is; he sometimes overextends his opinion as fact; as if he has falsified the non-falsifiable hypothesis and proven that he was descended from an amoeba.... While I didnt openly declare Pascal as being right; I also didnt declare him wrong.Moreover to the point above; Neil preaches (sorry; no pun intended) about tolerance and respect; yet he can only personally agree to the tolerance part of it and not the respect. To quote Neil; "Those who attribute spiritual power to geological formations; a humorless deity; or articles of clothing (think Catholic; Hasidic; Mormon or Buddhist) are difficult to respect - not so much for their magic but for their vanity". To me; thats a fairly blunt remark to make in a book thats pretty much of a different tone... but thats all part of Neils attempt at "amateur philosophy"; as is labeling holy holidays (Christmas; nonetheless; even though he didnt say it openly) as "meaningless rituals and customs"... Its this "blemish" that the author doesnt seem to get that he doesnt have to respect others traditions; but he also doesnt have to exemplify and bash them in every book. Its also sad from Neils writing about love and respect as in "The Garden"; with respect being somewhat arbitrary on his behalf.Overall; this is a great work - full of great stories inside the mind and life of Neil Peart; who is undeniably a premier icon in the world of drumming; progressive music and modern music...0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Another good one from Mr. Peart.By demickeyI have read 4 of Neil Pearts "travel" books and enjoyed them all. he is intelligent; insightful and has a keen sense of observation. I enjoy reading about his journeys as he tours with Rush.
