For Stocking Stuffers

There's never before been a book like Gallop! Employing a patented new technology called Scanimation, each page is a marvel that brings animals, along with one shining star, to life with art that literally moves. It's impossible not to flip the page, and flip it again, and again, and again.

A first book of motion for kids, it shows a horse in full gallop and a turtle swimming up the page. A dog runs, a cat springs, an eagle soars, and a butterfly flutters. Created by Rufus Butler Seder, an inventor, artist, and filmmaker fascinated by antique optical toys, Scanimation is a state-of-the-art six-phase animation process that combines the "persistence of vision" principle with a striped acetate overlay to give the illusion of movement. It harkens back to the old magical days of the kinetoscope, and the effect is astonishing, like a Muybridge photo series springing into action—or, in terms kids can relate to, like a video without a screen. Complementing the art is a delightful rhyming text full of simple questions and fun, nonsense replies: Can you gallop like a horse? giddyup-a-loo! Can you strut like a rooster? cock-a-doodle-doo!

Every child who opens the book will be amazed—and so will every parent.

In the years since we first published All I Need to Know I Learned from My Cat , with over 2 million copies in print and the fastest-selling book in Workman’s history, one thing hasn’t changed—people are still starved for wisdom. Few oracles have dispensed as much common-sense truth as Binky, Suzy Becker's cat. "It's O.K. to wear the same thing every day." "Know all the sunny places." "Flaunt your hair loss." "Get mad when you're stepped on." Life lessons such as these and dozens of others propelled the book like a champagne cork to the top of The New York Times bestseller list.

Now, to celebrate the book's double-platinum milestone, there's a new edition: the original book, in a fresh cover, plus 48 new pages, including the Are You a Cat Person? quiz. The cat, Binky, is perspicacious and profound; the artist, Suzy, is utterly delightful; and the combined effect is one of immense and irresistible charm. Every cat fancier will recognize the book's timeless take on grooming, health, relationships, boundaries, and, above all, how to live in the moment. With new entries like "Be good at hellos. Don't drag out goodbyes," "Don't think too far beyond your next meal," "Celebrate the days you can open the windows," and "First one in has to warm up the bed," these teachings may very possibly change your life. Or at least let you know that there's always time for a nap.

The cute, the cuter, the cutest. Okay, they're all the cutest. Curly Poodles and silken-haired Shelties. Teeny-tiny Chihuahuas, energized Jack Russells, never-in-a-hurry Bassets. Plus playful Westies, sprightly Spaniels, always-game Labs, and mutts galore. Featuring the hundreds of winners of the 200 Dog Calendar Contest, 365 Dogs is the dog calendar gold standard—now celebrating its 16th full-color year of wagging tails, floppy ears, and those utterly lovable expressions. Here are dogs at play. Dogs at rest. Dogs clowning, dogs leaping, dogs stretching, and dogs posing every which way.

Introducing The Portable Miracle Ball, a take-it-anywhere-and-everywhere kit ideal for business travelers and commuters or anyone who spends long hours away from home. Rather than two balls, these exercises require only one, which, at 3 inches in diameter, packs easily and is discreet to use in public. The fully illustrated book is filled with simple exercises that work miracles the minute you settle into your hotel room or board a plane.

Stuck in a long line at the bank? Here are techniques to stretch the muscles and reduce tension right on the spot (and no, you won’t look silly). Feet worn out after a day at the museum? The author’s soothing exercises targeting the insteps and legs will have you up and moving again in no time. And for anyone who experiences discomfort when sitting for long periods, the book features exercises to be performed at your desk, on a plane, or even in a restaurant. A chapter on “Emergency Measures” provides quick relief for back spasms, waking up with extreme stiffness, and other acute problems. The author discusses proper breathing technique, ball placement, and the importance of listening to one’s own body when performing the movements.

It’s mobile Boynton! Mom's Family Desk Planner moves seamlessly from desk to purse and is indispensable for moms on the go (and what mom isn't on the go?). Each handy week-at-a-glance grid features two columns—one for Mom's schedule and one for the whole family's schedules. In the back, Mom can record phone numbers for school, work, maintenance and repair people, and restaurants. Plus there are perforated grocery and "to do" lists, 150 full-color stickers, and storage pockets on the inside front and back covers. And, this being Boynton after all, the spreads are illustrated with a cast of lively, lovably charming animal characters.

Maybe the first "How come?" question is "How come these books do so well?" And the answer is in how they satiate every boy and girl's insatiable curiosity about the world around them.

Crack science writer Kathy Wollard answers those sneakily simple questions that ambush even the most erudite moms and dads. Like: "Why do apples turn brown when cut?" Or "Why do we get dizzy from spinning around on the playground?" Or "How can a fly walk up the kitchen wall?"

The 125 questions are all derived from the experiences central to a kid's world—stuff that happens at home, in the backyard, at school, on vacation. There are the inevitable insect questions—"Why do bees die after they sting someone?" (the honeybee's stinger is barbed, and can't detach from the bee without pulling out its venom sac, a fatal injury). Food questions—"Is a tomato a fruit or a vegetable?" (a fruit, in fact a berry). Science questions—"We used dry ice in our school play to make fog. How does it do that?" (Unlike water, carbon dioxide goes straight from gas to solid and back—when frozen as dry ice, it "melts" into fog.) And the classic: "Why can't we tickle ourselves?" (Tickling depends on the element of surprise—and the brain can't surprise itself.)

The Black Dog Opera Library is the most popular, informative, and budget-friendly way to enjoy the greatest operas of all time. Each book contains a history of the opera, a synopsis of the story, a complete libretto in its original language as well as in English, dozens of photos, and a world-class Angel/EMI recording of the entire opera on two CDs. It's a must-have for die-hard opera lovers as well as those in need of an introduction to the timeless art form.

Turn back your biological clock. A breakthrough book for men--as much fun to read as it is persuasive--Younger Next Year draws on the very latest science of aging to show how men 50 or older can become functionally younger every year for the next five to ten years, and continue to live like fifty-year-olds until well into their eighties. To enjoy life and be stronger, healthier, and more alert. To stave off 70% of the normal decay associated with aging (weakness, sore joints, apathy), and to eliminate over 50% of all illness and potential injuries. This is the real thing, a program that will work for anyone who decides to apply himself to "Harry's Rules."

Harry is Henry S. Lodge, M.D., a specialist in internal medicine and preventive healthcare. Chris Crowley is Harry's 70-year-old patient who's stronger today (and skiing better) than when he was 40. Together, in alternating chapters that are lively, sometimes outspoken, and always utterly convincing, they spell out Harry's Rules and the science behind them. The rules are deceptively simple: Exercise Six Days a Week. Eat What You Know You Should. Connect to Other People and Commit to Feeling Passionate About Something. The science, simplified and demystified, ranges from the molecular biology of growth and decay to how our bodies and minds evolved (and why they fare so poorly in our sedentary, all-feast no-famine culture). The result is nothing less than a paradigm shift in our view of aging.

Welcome to the next third of your life--train for it, and you'll have a ball.

With over 4.1 million copies in print, Elizabeth Koda-Callan's Magic Charm Books is the little series that could. Now, The Tiny Angel takes a dramatic new turn with a fresh redesign featuring a new cover and an irresistible 5" x 6 1³2" trim size—a smaller book for smaller hands, and the perfect stocking stuffer. The look is contemporary, yet as classic as the story inside, with its ageless message of "Good things happen when you believe in yourself." And, of course, nestled inside the cover is a charm on a matching gold or silver chain.

It’s a marriage made in BBQ heaven: America’s foremost grilling guru takes on ribs. Baby backs and spare ribs, short ribs and long ribs, pork ribs, beef ribs, lamb ribs, and more—a passionate, single-subject celebration of meaty, smoky, sweet ’n’ spicy, crowd-pleasing, fall-off-the-bone-tender ribs.

A perfect rib is the culmination of the griller’s art, and nobody’s better at showing how to put it all together—the tastes, techniques, ingredients, recipes, tips—than Steven Raichlen, award-winning author of Barbecue! Bible, How to Grill, Beer-Can Chicken, and other BARBECUE! BIBLE® books with 3 million copies in print. Here are 75 mouth-watering, repertoire-expanding, rib-rocking recipes: Buccaneer Baby Backs with Rumbullion Barbecue Sauce. Lone Star Barrel Staves. Tandoori Ribs. Maui-Style Short Ribs. Jamaican Jerk Ribs. Thai Sweet Chili Ribs. The Original Dinosaur Ribs. Cousin Dave’s Chipotle Chocolate Ribs. But the book is also a rib clinic: It covers the nine methods for cooking ribs, from direct grilling to spit-roasting. The essential techniques for handling ribs. Key ingredients in making homemade sauces, mops, and rubs. And boxes throughout to help take your rib cookery to the next level—even to the competition level, with tips on how to enter and how to win.