The Hedgehog Feast

Hilda and Hugh Hedgehog decide to give a party and make all the preparations

The natural world holds secrets under every rock and around every tree. If you've ever wondered what life is like through a microscope, telescope, or with the naked eye--you'll love this book! You will: Run with the antelope across the American plains and learn about the food chain. Climb with a monkey to the highest tree in the rainforest and discover how photosynthesis keeps leaves green. Sink to the bottom of the ocean to follow creatures who have adapted to life in total darkness Travel with a meteor at speeds up to 160,000 miles per hour. Burrow with the earthworms in your own backyard. Through it all, you'll find out how things synergize, regenerate, and evaporate--and lots more! And don't worry about the big words--they are all defined and explained with familiar examples in this fascinating trip through the natural world.

A unique six-year compilation of British rural news, interspersed with the author's own observations on birds, mammals, fish, and aspects of Britain's countryside today. Most rural subjects are covered in a comprehensive snapshot of country life at the start of the new Millennium. From December 1999 to February 2006, scores of different issues are compressed into hundreds of bite-sized, easily digested articles. From angling to animal rights campaigns, foxhunting to farming, game shooting to wildlife conservation, a diverse collection of views, comment and advice is presented. The batty and the bizarre also get a look-in, as do the controversial and the downright crazy. With its packed pages, A Country Pillow Book could become a bedside companion for the rural researcher or a useful tool for the country-loving insomniac.

Welcome to the world of Hedgemond the Hunter, a brave and stubborn little hedgehog. Down in the wild woods he proudly tends his beloved house, but there are some animals who just can't understand what the fuss is about! Find out just how Hedgemond proves to the grumpy bear and the greedy boar that there truly is no place like home. Hedgehog's House is a story about caring for your natural habitat. Set in the unspoilt environment of the forest, we find the wild creatures arguing about what home means: is it simply a place we should take for granted, or is it something to be cherished and protected? Despite the persuasions of charming Miss Fox and the jeers of the angry wolf, Hedgemond steadfastly proves that his home is his castle, reminding us all that we each need to care for the places we live.

On the face of it, Gabriel Axel's Babette's Feast (1989) is a film in which the eyes – and mouths – of religious zealots are opened to the glories of the sensual world. It is a critique of what Nietzsche called life-denying religion in favour of life-affirming sensuality. But to view the film in that way is to get it profoundly wrong. In his study of the film, Julian Baggini argues that Babette's Feast is not about the battle between religiosity and secularity but a deep examination of how the two can come together. Baggini's analysis focuses on themes of love, pleasure, artisty and grace, to provide a rich philosophical reading of this most sensual of films.