Readers living in the 21^st century should be grateful for Dr. Seuss. And for Beverly Cleary. And for Margaret Wise Brown. It should go without saying that the best children’s literature is every bit as rich and rewarding in its concerns, as honest and stylish in execution, as the best adult literature—and also as complicated, stubborn, conflicted, and mysterious. Like any worthwhile art, great children’s books are capable of speaking in many different ways to many different audiences. You and I might each take something very different away from The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, just as we might from Invisible Man or La Dolce Vita.

Reading children’s books is sheer pleasure, not just to whatever children you have on hand but also for your own enjoyment and enlightenment. As Ursula K. Le Guin wrote, “Revisiting a book loved in childhood may be principally an act of nostalgia; I knew a woman who read The Wizard of Oz every few years because it ‘made her remember being a child.’ But returning after a decade or two to The Snow Queen, you may well discover a book far less simple and unambiguous than the one you remembered. That shift and deepening of meaning can be a revelation both about the book and yourself.”

One of the unexpected joys of parenthood, for me, was re-encountering books that I had loved and that, much to my relief, I found I still loved. Reading bedtime stories to my kids was—not always, but often—like revisiting a favorite old neighborhood after many years and finding not only that it hadn’t been chain-stored into submission or paved over altogether but that it was far more interesting and complex than I knew.

I had vivid childhood memories of Dr. Seuss, but I was surprised by just how aggressive some of his stories are. Many Seuss characters seem to be expressing anger or frustration in a way that might strike a parent as very—even too—familiar. I had vivid memories of Beverly Cleary’s suburban comedies, too, but I was struck and moved, as I read the stories to my kids more or less sequentially, by the deepening emotional richness of her novels, as her focus shifts from Henry Huggins, and his god, Ribsy, to the sisters Beezus and Ramona. Her masterpiece, Ramona the Pest, is a psychologically acute study of the girl struggling against social conventions.

Some reunions disappointed. I had loved Curious George as a kid, but 30 years on, I discovered the books carried with them a stale, colonial aroma. I remembered A Wrinkle in Time as gripping, mind-expanding, and spooky, and it was all that, though it also proved preachy.

David Grant has become a familiar face to millions of fans of Animal Hospital. Here Dr. Grant tells us the very best of his personal stories about the animals he has treated, including familiar patients such as the dogs Snowy and Duchess, the delightful cat Marigold Serendipity Diamond. He also takes the reader behind the scenes at Harmsworth Memorial Animal Hospital as he describes his day, from ordinary medical check-ups to surgery (外科手术). Tales From Animal Hospital will delight all fans of the program and anyone who has a lively interest in their pet, whether it be cat, dog or snake!

From the author of Stephen Hawking: A Life in Science, comes this colorful description of the life of the world’s first modern scientist. Interesting yet based on fact, Michael White’s learned yet readable new book offers a true picture of Newton completely different from what people commonly know about him. Newton is shown as a gifted scientist with very human weaknesses who stood at the point in history where magic (魔术) ended and science began.

In 1963 a schoolboy called Andrew Wiles reading in his school library came across the world’s greatest mathematical problem: Fermat’s Last Theorem (定理). First put forward by the French mathematician Pierre de Fermat in the seventeenth century, the theorem had baffled and beaten the finest mathematical minds, including a French woman scientist who made a major advance in working out the problem, and who had to dress like a man in order to be able to study at the Ecole Polytechnique. Through unbelievable determination Andrew Wiles finally worked out the problem in 1995. An unusual story of human effort over three centuries, Fermat’s Last Theorem will delight specialists and general readers alike.

●Bark

Cover price: $19.80 Price: $15.00 ($2.50/issue)

You save: $4.80 (24%) Review: By Pat Kane

I love Bark magazine! I love the “smiling” pages and the tips on every issue. I am a dog lover and have saved all of my dogs from either death row or from people who were going to put them down. Everyone should have a chance to live and Bark stresses that with its articles. This magazine is MUST HAVE for any dog lover!!

●Dog Fancy

Cover price: $54.00 Price: $14.99 ($1.25/issue)

You save: $39.01 (72%) Review: By Berner Mom

Don’t waste your money on this magazine. 60-70 percent of it are advertisements, and the articles offer little useful information. It might be suitable for children, but not adults who are serious about educating themselves about dogs.

●Dog World

Cover price: $48.88 Price: $14.99 ($1.25 /issue)

You save: $33.89 (69%) Review: By one critic

Dog World has many very interesting and thought-provoking (令人思考的) articles for people involved in dog showing, breeding (饲养), performance events, etc. However, over half of the magazine is devoted to breeder ads, which is boring. Still, as a whole, I recommend (推荐) it for the articles. Good articles, but tons of ads.

●Modern Dog

Cover price: $45.00 Price: $15.00 ($3.75/issue)

You save: $30.00 (66%) Review: By Dinah

My new favorite magazine! Beautiful photos, smart and interesting articles, fashion, art, interviews with famous people... all with a dog focus! Cover models range from Paris Hilton and Tinkerbell to Virginia Madsen and her dogs. Thanks to Modern Dog I now know how to give a dog-friendly cocktail party and how to actually get my dog to come when she’s called. Surely worth checking out.