Customer Reviews

The View from the Oak: The Private Worlds of Other Creatures (National Book Award for Children's Literature)

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I am very happy to see that this book has been reprinted. I have two copies from the mid-70's, well-thumbed and dog-eared from being read so often. What the authors have to say about the way perception affects the world that we and other animals perceive, and how they say it, is timeless. To be read and enoyed by everyone, from ages 10 and up.

changes viewpoints....see the world from the point of view of various critters...might also apply to viewpoints of people of different cultures. Just a thought.

With the exception of the one false sentence about Columbus, this book is very insightful. It provides a fascinating possible portrait of life from the perspective of ticks, spiders, dogs, birds, etc. A great read.

Herbert Kohl is a specialist for childrens' literature.But this book seem s to be something different.

Based on a classical biology which is prior to the molecular biology,the authors told readers this world is made of many creatures. You can't think it as a matter of course. Because he cited von Uexkull, it does not mean the "objective" world is made of diverse worlds of creatures but the world for human being is a part of worlds.Doing so, the authors guide us to the last chapter "Views of the Oak".At the end, we realize we can't deside even whether the oak is hard or soft, tall or small.Because depending on the relations to the oak, it can be changed.

You can ask yourself why the title of last chapter is different from the title of this book. And enjoy this world view which is quite simillar to the world view of buddism. If children can read it and expand their imagination, how happy they are!