93 books like Illustrated Guide to Integrated Pest Management in Rice in Tropical Asia

I loved this book because it provided me, a new and inexperienced rice entomologist at the International Rice Research Institute, with the status of rice entomology research in Asia.

This book, which consists of the proceedings of a symposium, includes 37 chapters written by the world’s leading rice entomologists on rice insect taxonomy, distribution, biology, physiology, and control methods and includes recommendations for future research.

As such, I found this classic book as a guide for developing a holistic research program for the management of rice insect pests targeted at smallholder rice farmers in Asia.

I liked this book because it provided me, a young rice entomologist, with details on rice virus diseases and their transmission, which is primarily via insect vectors. This information was of immense value to me as I developed my rice entomology research program at the International Rice Research Institute in Los Banos, Philippines, in 1975.

This book was a guide that provided the required knowledge needed in my role of developing a program for the evaluation of rice germplasm accessions to identify resistant insect/rice virus disease accessions for the use as donors in the rice breeding program.

To develop an integrated pest management (IPM) program for rice viruses, it is necessary to be able to identify the virus vector, mode of virus transmission (mostly insects), damage symptoms, host range of the virus, and rice varieties having genetic resistance to the virus and the vector. This book provided that information.

I loved this book because it provides the world’s best example of a minor pest that became a major pest because of the change in cultural practices that accompanied the advent of the Green Revolution in rice. It is also the best example of pest resurgence, which occurs when pests previously controlled by pesticides recur but in higher numbers than they did before due to the destruction of the pest’s natural enemies by pesticides.

This book consists of 22 chapters presented by world-renowned authors at a 1979 symposium on the economic impact of the pest, biology and ecology, taxonomy, forecasting, migration, and the development of integrated pest management practices to control the brown planthopper. As such, I found this classic book as a guide for developing a holistic research program for managing the brown planthopper targeted to resource-poor rice farmers in Asia.

I love this book because it is the only book produced by a national rice research program that includes all the biotic factors limiting rice production: insect pests, vertebrates (rodents and birds), plant diseases (fungi, bacterial viral, and phytoplasma), nematodes and weeds. The distribution, damage, description, biology, and management are described for each pest. It also contains a chapter on yield loss, control strategies, and rice IPM. 

The book is unique as it is the only one covering pests of deepwater and floating rice which are prevalent ecosystems in Bangladesh. A bibliography with an extensive list of references, an appendix, and a detailed glossary are included. It has sufficient information to serve as an excellent supplement for university students majoring in plant protection. 

This is a classic mathematical fable that has been brought to life by several authors. Demi sets the story in India, and it’s marvelous to watch how quickly the numbers add up when you take a single grain of rice and double it day after day. The illustrations, inspired by traditional Indian art, are breathtaking, and may well inspire your child to create their own mathematical art. At the very least, they’ll start demanding more tasty rice dishes at the dinner table.

A book on statistics that is interesting? Yes, actually. And The Tiger that Isn’t is more than just interesting, it’s useful. Maths was never my strong point at school, but even someone who never got the hang of quadratic equations can learn to ask useful questions when faced with bamboozlingly large numbers and dodgy ‘averages’. 

This book offers a way to see through statistics that are used to conceal information as much as to reveal it. It’s worth reading just for the section on rice and random distribution. And the tiger in the title? It’s what happens when you think you see a pattern (in this case, stripes in the undergrowth), but there is no pattern at all. 

When I first read Tamar's original book, An Everlasting Meal, I knew I had found a kindred home-cook spirit in her. And to be honest with you, I thought that book couldn't be topped. But then she wrote The Everlasting Meal Cookbook!

This cookbook is the definitive guide on how to use up every imaginable leftover in your kitchen so that almost nothing will go to waste. Chances are, when you begin to implement Tamar's leftover recipes, you will see very little going into your kitchen garbage can. You'll gaze upon every scrap, every crumb in your kitchen in a new light.

Next thing you know, you will be taking the heel of a loaf of bread, a sliver of a parmesan rind, and a few vegetables from your crisper (that look a bit past their prime) and turning it all into a dinner that friends and family alike will… show more.

I love this book because it is a fun bilingual book. Written in the style of The House That Jack Built, a farm girl makes rice pudding while all the animals help out and contribute something to the meal as they sing and dance. I learned Spanish words for eggs, milk, and many others. I found myself reading it over and over because the words just flowed off the pages.

This rollicking, rhyming picturebook is so much fun to read. A little girl and her mother are making the traditional Korean dish of bee-bim bop. The book starts in the grocery store and ends at a table with three generations gathered to eat. It’s basically a recipe—bee-bim bop can actually be made by reading it, and it is delicious. This is always a crowd-pleaser during storytime. Kids can join in on the refrain of bee-bim bop! The energy level escalates as you go!

Why garden at all? Isn't it a lot of work? I can always count on The Talking Vegetables, a retelling of a traditional African story, to delight toddlers and preschoolers. They revel in Spider's laziness as he shirks helping neighbors grow food at the community garden, and are just as delighted when he gets his comeuppance as the insulted vegetables refuse to let him get away without contributing to the team effort.