Schools Books

This book was amazing. I started to read the first chapter and automaticlly was hooked!!! I love Shawdow Horse. Alison Hart, when does the next book come out?

When I first got this book I wasn't interested. My Mom and Dad wanted
me to read the book but I kept saying no. One day my Mom said, "Just read
the first chapter." Once I starting reading it I couldn't stop because it
was so good!!!!!! This is what I have to say to Alison Hart: WRITE ANOTHER
SHADOW HORSE book!!!!!!!!!! I say this book is AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!

Jas, a kind and fun loving young equestrian lover, was well aware that she had no chance winning a course case against Hugh Robicheaux. After all, he had all the money and the power. She had attacked him, and to the jury, for no apparent reason. But both Hugh and Jas know that she had all the reason in the world, he killed her horse.

Jas is sentenced to two months on house arrest at a small farm for abused animals. She knows that somehow this farm ties into the killing of her beloved horse and she is determined to find proof. Little does she know she will find all that and more! Now the only question is, can she go up against the richest guy in Virginia State, Hugh Robicheaux?

Filled with twist and turns and not to mention amazing passages "Shadow Horse" kept me reading until I turned the last page. This book is meant for younger readers and preteens,(those who are older may find it juvenile). Though the ending was somewhat of a disappointment for me the "Shadow Horse" is a great book for young horse lovers and mystery lovers alike.

This is like the best horse booke EVER! It ends weird though, so THERE REALLY SHOULD BE a sequel!!!!! So to Alison Hart, MAKE ANOTHER!!!!!!!!!!

I got this book back in 2002 or so and have read it countless times...at least 15 times or so. It is extremely well written and keeps you interested from cover to cover. I have been waiting for a sequel since the first time I read it. This book really is a must read!

This is the only word book I remember reading with my mom back in the early 1980s. I still have my old hardcover edition after more than two decades. Every few years, I dust off the cover and go through the pages to look back fondly at the all-too-familiar pictures. Someday, I hope to pass on this book to my kid/s who will probably enjoy it as much as I did.

I can't forget this book, because of it had several great factors. It covered almost every place a kid may see, with it's name to know what the object is. Each page shows kids different work spaces, lands, city life, even inside a home, room by room.
This would be an excellent book for preschoolers, and even younger as well. Children and their parents may create their own stories with the detailed scenes.

I had this book as a child, although the version I had was longer and more PC. This is a great word learning book. The only drawback is that all the characters are animals, so it has to be for a child who knows the animals are simply playing people roles and doing people things. I would recommend to anyone with kids. You cannot go wrong with this book. The older version is better since it has more pages (20 more pages), but it is hard to find in good condition and at a decent price.

I always purchas this book for baby showers and any gift for very young children. It is wonderful to use for early language development or anyone wishing to learn the English names for nouns. My son wore out three copies and I always kept at least one copy in my classroom as well as my home. Cheryl White

This was a favorite book of mine growing up. I just bought it for my 21 month old son, and he loves it as well!! A classic that every child should have!

The content is great, and I was buying this book as a present to my customer, but the look and the quality of paper is very poor. The paper is brown, not white, and edges of pages are uncut. Half of pages are wider than other, and stick out from under the cover. It looks like it was printed and binded in some small shop, manually, and at a very low quality. Very disappointing experience. IT IS DEFINITELY NOT A DELUXE EDITION, AS IT WAS PRESENTED.

This trilogy is amazing! I had tried to read the 1920s translation as a teenager and was put off by the language, but the updated translation by Tunnally is great. As the intro describes, she translates closer to Undset's original style and it's much more comprehensible. Since finishing this book, I haven't been able to stop thinking about it. The characters are so real and tragically human. Although I got very frustrated with Kristin and Erlend at times, I was still deeply invested in their lives and had a lot of sympathy for them. Simon Darre and Kristin's parents were my favorite characters though. I would highly recommend this book to anyone!

This is a long novel, and like War and Peace it goes on throughout the life of its main character. Cold climates make for long novels, I think. I loved it because it handles the life of a Medieval Norweigan noblewoman and her family from childhood through old age and death. It is very accurate and compelling. It reminds me that some issues in women's lives are constant, no matter what.

first off..i did not know that this was back in print....secondly i am damned glad it is...a great alternative to all The DaVinci Code wannabes...there are no diabolical plots..no artistic chicaneries here...it's 14th century Scandanavia people!!!it's cold...it's hard living...it's LIFE..and there is a lot of LIFE in these pages...Kristin marries a way-philandering man but he's a major babe and she endures...she prevails, actually...i first read this at the tender age of 12...then 10 years later...come to think of it..i'm looking for something to read now that has TEETH to it...maybe i'll revisit KRISTIN...could do worse3, no???

Excellent quality of a very hard-to-find book. I purchased 2 copies and was delighted with both of them! Prompt shipping...can't ask for more from an online purchase!

at teaching good things in a fun way. This book shows that a looking different doesn't make a person less fun or likeable. It has great rhymes, & is a quick read before sleep time.

Seuss teaches so much to my daughter that I would have a hard time starting a conversation about. My daughter doesn't quite get the stories so she asks me and we have great conversations about right and wrong.

I ordered this after seeing it on Amazon. It was one of my favorite books growing up and I wanted to share it with my three daughters (8,6,& 2). After reading "The Sneetches" to my 6 year-old, she looked at me and said that it wasn't very nice to treat people badly because they aren't the same as us. I was thrilled that she got the meaning of that story right away. Dr. Seuss is a genius for getting these moral points across in a way that children understand and making it so fun at the same time. She thought that "The Zax" was funny. She didn't understand why they just didn't compromise. Every story in this book has an important lesson and it's such a great way to spend time with your children too!

My 3, now 4 year old loves this book. He loves all the stories but especially the last one about the pale green pants. He likes to feel a little scared (boys!) and then have a happy ending, so this story with its good messege is a perfect match for him. He can "read" it to me from memory. It's amazing. He says that McMonkey Mcbean in the Sneetches, isn't a very nice little monkey." It slays me every time, and he's learning a great lesson. His Dad's name is Dave, so that story if fun and makes him laugh. He would pick this book almost every night for his bedtime story if I would let him.

All I can say, The Sneetches and other Stories, was so loved by my kids, I had to buy it and send it with them when they left for college! We still recite it (almost all by memory) and laugh at ourselves.G-d rest Dr. Suess...his books will live on forever.

I first read this book when I was about ten years old, and I remember it instantly becoming one of my favorite books. Re-reading it again at age twenty-three, I continue to be impressed by the compelling characters, the heartbreaking plot, and the undeniable compassion the author has for telling this story. As explained in the author's note, the author had a brother who had Down's syndrome, and this book was written as a tribute to him. What a compelling, compassionate, heartfelt tribute it is, too. Beautifully written, the story flows nicely but readers should be warned that it deals with some tough topics (parental death, misconceptions of mentally handicapped, death of a "sibling"/relative, low-self esteem issues, and first love). I personally recommend this book for only children over ten, due to the difficult subject matter.

This is a beautiful, wonderfully written book. Though a work of fiction about a young man named "Punky", author Wood's wrote this book as a tribute to her late brother. I myself am a sibling of a man with Down Syndrome and as such this book is very close to my heart. People with Down Syndrome possess personality traits such as blunt honesty, obsessive/compulsive-like reliance on routine, stubbornness, finding great joy in simple things and in a job well done. Wood's depiction of Punky, who possesses all these traits and more, is dead-on. So much in her characterization of Punky describes my own brother. I am also from Missouri, where the story is set, and can attest to her descriptions of the settings being very accurate. I own this book in paperback and only wish I could still find it in hardback because it will be a permanant part of our family library.

This book is a "must-read", it is sad at parts but I won't spoil the book for you!!! If you are looking for a great book read this, you should also read the sequel Turtle On A Fence Post, it is also great! The Man Who Loved Clowns is about Delrita, a girl who's uncle "Punky" just turned 35 years old, he has down-syndrome.I won't tell you any more but trust me READ THIS BOOK!!!

This is the greatest book. Perfect for children of all ages. ITs a heart touching story, and shows how families need to stick together no matter the circumstance. This story is a great example of how no families are perfect. Punky is a wonderful character/person, he touched my life. This book makes you want to smile and cry at the same time. Its an amazing book, don't just take my word for it, go ahead and read it yourself.

This is the most sincere book that I have ever read. I actually read it aloud to my 6th grade students. We were all moved and touched so much by the main characters, Punky and Delrita. This book exposed my students to many morals and excellent character traits as they learned the importance of accepting others, even if they are different. My students have missed this book so much since we finished it. I think it will leave an everlasting impact on their lives, and they will always treasure this story that we shared together.

Although this book was written in the 1960s, it is, still, very relevant today. This book was recommended to me back in 1983 or 1984 when I was in the military. I bought it with a number of other books. It took me twenty years to read it. I should have read it alot sooner; but, the rigors of life and the fact that a good many other books I bought kept pushing this one further back on the reading list. I grew up in the streets of NYC and saw his life being played out in a number of guys and gals I hung out with at that time. I didn't get caught up in the drug scene nor in the gangsta scene but, like the author, there was a lot going on outside the walls of the house to keep me outside nearly all day. Yeah this world was much newer for me then rather than now but I had to see what was going on within and without my neighborhood. As a parent looking at my kid, I know this world is new to them, which I can't shelter them from. As my kids look at me as their parent, they are constantly telling me to get out of their way. I want to see what is going out there. This only helps me to keep life real for them with a dose of non-reality here and there. Fortunately for Claude Brown, the street made him wise and through his book some of us can reminesce about those days and explain to others what urban life was like for us and how it made us what we are today. For others who have not experienced this urban lifestyle, take the book for what it is and re-evaluate your own experiences in hopes of passing on a reality check of your own life to your children.

This is an awesome book that I highly recommend to all young men trying to find their "way". It can be a little harsh, but it is about life in the inner city and a young man becoming a man.

Claude Brown's slightly fictionalized autobiography recounts his childhood and early adulthood throughout the 1940s and 1950s. Manchild in the Promised Land also documents the changing atmosphere of Harlem and the people it affected. Brown tells stories of himself as a hell-raiser, involved in theft and drug dealing, and spending time in juvenile detention centers like Wiltwyck and Warwick. He was able to establish a feared and respected name for himself both among the streetwalkers of Harlem and the inmates of the reform schools. Lacking formal education (resulting from years of playing hooky) and idolizing the criminal elements around him, he seemed to be heading down a short road of vice and danger.

Only after Brown moved to Greenwich Village shortly before turning twenty was he able to begin viewing Harlem with a more objective eye, and see the factors that led him down the downward spiral he had been traveling. One of the main reasons Brown believes he and his friends were wrought with such violence and recklessness is due to the mentality imported by their parents from the South. The thing that mattered most to them was fighting: for one's money, girl/family, and manhood (Brown 260). He feels that that rural mentality had been brought to a crowded city life that was not only incompatible with the setting, but also destructive. He laments, "it seems as though if I had stayed in Harlem all my life, I might have never known that there was anything else to life other than sex, religion, liquor, and violence" (Brown 281).

As a youth, Brown excelled in these very base attributes. It wasn't until the introduction of heroine, or "horse," as it was first introduced in the early 1950s, that he feels Harlem truly became unable to cope with their values. Instead of young men fighting for honor, they were killing and robbing for money to sustain their overwhelming addictions, introducing more guns into the neighborhood with desperate people wielding them. He witnessed his friends begin to fade away into scratching, nodding junkies. However, by this time Brown was able to leave and slowly break away from the crumbling Harlem he once knew, watching from afar many of the individuals he once hustled with fall victim to the crimes they themselves would perpetrate.

Many opted instead to stay in Harlem and live the street life. He attributes this to the attitudes of whites outside Harlem and the racism they encountered. To live a "clean" life usually meant to work for a white man who underpaid, referred to them in a racially derogatory manner, and made them perform the most labor intensive tasks. When it came to these prospects, most understandably chose the life of a self-employed drug dealer in Harlem over the self-effacing menial work elsewhere, despite the danger (Brown 287).

Where some people turned to drugs or religion to deal with these problems, Brown found his calling through more established and secular means. Education and music became outlets for him to express himself, gain a self-pride through non-criminal means, and eventually lead to a promising career as a lawyer and author.

One of the things that make this autobiography interesting is its use of language. Brown writes in a notable street dialect, however, the language itself evolves with the character. For instance, "cat" slowly comes into use around page 67 and is used throughout, though it receives less use towards the end. More notably, on page 109 the young Claude begins idolizing a street pimp named Johnny: "To Johnny, every chick was a b*tch. Even mothers were b*tches." And so on page 114 Brown writes "Jackie was a beautiful black b*tch." From then on women are regularly referred to as "b*tches" until the character matures enough to treat women with more respect, and Johnny's spell seems to have completely worn off by the time Brown falls in love with a fellow student. Likewise, the sentence structures become less erratic and grow in sophistication as the book goes on, using less slang chapter by chapter when he begins to change. This seems to be by design.

Claude Brown's personal accounts are no doubt fictionalized to some degree, for his characters go on exhaustive speeches several times, and he certainly didn't tape record them for every word. However, Brown's intentions are to present Harlem and its difficulties in approachable and creative ways. To allow readers (such as white-suburban-me) an inside look into the ways of urban life it invites an understanding and, hopefully, sympathy for the situations of the junkies, prostitutes, and drug dealers that we pass on the street. He shows them in a way that cannot be easily neglected, in intimate, personal relationships that reveal the influences and regrets that have placed them in those situations. These factors were not unique to the 1940s and 1950s. They existed before and do so today. Brown allows insight into the hardships while telling an encouraging tale of one who made it out. By personal drive and education, through art and self-expression (as this book is), he shows that the situation is not dire, but attitudes must change before the world will follow.

I can't believe I didn't write a review for a book I read 10 years ago. This is one of my favorite books. It was this one book that drew me into reading books and becoming a book lover. One of the best books I ever read. Highly Recommended!!

I was able to find this book relatively easy, based on a few keywords. My boyfriend started reading it several years ago and was unable to complete it. The storyline stuck in his memory and I bought it as a surprise for him, because over the years he mentioned it occasionally. Thanks for making the lookup so easy!

Melissa Fox is totally messed up because her boyfriend Will Simmons dumped her and she can't understand that so she takes 27 sleeping pills to end her pain, but she ends up in the hospital. But before this all happened she turned almost everyone in the school against Jessica Wakefield because Will and Jessica like each other. But now Jessica feels the responsible when Melissa commits suicide. Will is always taking Jessica's side and that's one of the reasons why Melissa hates Jessica. But Jessica started going out with Jeremy and doesn't feel comfortable around him, she thinks she likes him but she actually likes Will.
Conner DeMercott and Elizabeth Wakefield like each other so they start dating. The problem is that Elizabeth's best friend Maria Slater likes Conner and she told her that. So Conner and Elizabeth decide to keep it as a secret. They mostly make-out but at the end Maria found both of them kissing in Conner's kitchen. Maria started to cry and she left.
This book is about love, life and time.

Melissa Fox is totally messed up because her boyfriend Will Simmons dumped her and she can't understand that so she takes 27 sleeping pills to end her pain but she ends up in th ehospital. but before this happened she turned almost everyone in the school against Jessica Wakefield because Will and her like each other. Will keeps on taking jessica's side and that's one of the reasons why Melissa hates Jessica. But Jessica started to go out with Jeremy and doesn't feel comfortable around him, she thinks she likes him but she actually likes Will.
Conner DeMercott and Elizabeth Wakefield like each other so they start dating. But Elizabeth's best friend Maria Slater likes Conner and told her that. so Conner and Elizabeth decide to keep it as a secret. They mostly make-out but at the end Maria found them kissing and she started to cry and left.
This book is about love, life and time.

i LOVE SWHSY it is the best book series i really liked this book because i LOVE seeing liz and conner together. i think i am the ONLY person who feels sorry for melissa, i mean will cheated on her and she obviously has issues i think if she had let jess explain things would have turned out differently. all in all it was a great book but im tired of everyone thinking jess is so mush Better looking than liz THEYRE twins i know everyone has thier "twin" and liz is mine keep on the look for me in the future im on to the next book

okay, we all love jess and liz and want to destroy anyone who goes up against them.this is how i first felt about melissa. she started all these rumors about jess. wait- before i go on ,i let you know i have only read a few of the senior year books. anyways, this book helped me understand liss more. she is not just completely evil, she has problems. like the deal with her mother. doesn't anyone else feel for her? SO in the end my oppinion of liss has slightly wavered from hatred to sympathy.

This is one of the best books of the series. I love the Conner-Liz thing. However... I just wanted to point out, I think in this book something like Maria and Liz go into the Riot and laugh as Tia pull them into the crowd. It's something like "Liz laughed then coughed at the second hand smoke." Smoking's been outlawed in California bars for a while. Just a comment.

I read this book years ago and I remember absolutely loving it. It's taken me years to find it again (I could never remember the title or author). I'm not sure I've ever read a book that has haunted me and disturbed me as much as this one.

A group of teens face an evil, deserted amusement park with rides and objects intent on doing them harm. Jenny, Dee, Michael and Audrey all set out to find Jenny's boyfriend, Tom and her cousin, Zach. Jenny constantly resists the charming Julian and proves herself as stronger than anyone ever thought her to be. Julian, who was introduced earlier in the series as the demanding and ruthless evil Shadow Man, shows that he has a much more caring and vulnerable side. Jenny and her friends face various obstacles and change along the way- their support, friendship and solidarity strengthening each other. The ending is bittersweet and, in my opinion, a tearjerker.

L.J. Smith should really consider writing a sequel to this series! The ending ends with some hope and really, I find the possibilities of what could be done now to be extremely interesting.

(Spoiler) What do you all think would happen IF Julian's name was carved once again? Would he be the same Julian with the same feelings, would he be as Julian was when he was first born, or would be another being entirely? These questions were never fully answered and I would love to know!

I do detest the ending however I don't think I'll spoil it for you but never the less still good story.

This entire Trilogy is just amazing. I was given a present of the first book when I was about 7 (10 years ago), and I immediately wanted the next two! I fell in love with Julian there and then, and was never able to understand why Jenny didn't just choose him! I've read these books over 20 times, and they're all falling apart. Everybody in the entire world should read them, because you're missing out if you don't. I highly recommend them. The last book is a nice finish, but it's incredibly sad. I wish it had ended differently! (...)

In the trilogy of the Forbidden game i thought that the first and third were the best books I've ever read, and although the second was good it didnt even compare to these. I thought the game was great but if I were jenny I'm afraid I would miss out on it because one look and a few words from Julian and I would run away with him straight away. The books were made to be so real that I'm still searching for my own door, call me sad but you have to admit if Julian wanted you, you wouldn't be able to resist!

This was the first LJS book I ever read and it awakened me. Never before had I realised what a book could truly do to a person. This, the final book of the Forbidden Game trilogy, really gives the reader an insight to all the characetrs. It shows how they have developed, especially Julian. It also brings out different feelingsof the main characetr, Jenny. She learns so much about Julian and learns to understand. This book is definatly the most important and is a wonderful way to end the trilogy.

This is my favourite book, only challenged by other of L J Smith's works. She is an amazing woman and it is well worth reading her stuff.

My oldest son loved this book. It was his favorite when he was little. It builds on vocabulary; you can count the cars, name the colors, and look at different scenarios. I learned a lot about trains by reading this book to them. I am raising my children bilingual and when I found it in English and Spanish I knew I had to get it for them. It also helped me remember the words in Spanish, which I had forgotten. I must have for any child that likes trains. Donald Crews again has delighted us with a masterpiece.

A must-read to share with kids! Freight Train uses simple text and clear illustrations. The book can be very interactive for little ones: count the cars, identify colors, make "whoosh" sounds when the train is in motion and find the smoke from the steam engine. Perfect for toddlers!

I absolutely love this book! We checked it out all the time when I was young, about three to five years old, because I could not get enough of it. I loved the shiny pages, the bright, solid colors, and the different cars on the train. I'd forgotten, until I read the reviews here, that the book had words, but then, that's how I learned the names of train cars. I'm getting this book for my son.

My son loves trains, and he loves this book. I like the way it titles all the different cars, not being a train person myself it has taught me a few things. I like the concepts of the pictures being slightly blurred when the train is moving, b/c we match our train sounds to the speed as we;re reading. It's very delightful, it def deserved the caldecott medal.

My 6-month old loves to read and these pictures are perfect for babies. It's great that it's a board book so that we don't worry about the pages ripping.

A very readable & enjoyable book. I especially enjoyed the chapter on autism & the origin of language. Fritjof Capra's book "Hidden Connections" referenced this informative & amusing text including the link between brain function involved with hand gesture, signing, & tongue movements that unexpectedly led to the promotion the uptake of speech in autistic.
There are many insights into the shared psychology of humans & other primates. Despite the physiological and genetic similarities of all primates that have made chimps attractive model organisms for research,it was interesting to read about the reluctance of biological scientists to accept the anthropomorphic traits of chimps. There can be little room for a claim to "value-free" objectivity by biomedical researchers who can apparently dismiss the psychological effects of enforced confinement & sensory deprivation, on the effectiveness of anti-viral medications, or a range of other pharmaceuticals. The author has shown considerable bravery & commitment to expanding this area of learning, despite the threats against his personal career by people with vested interests in ignoring or denying the contradictions to their implicit or explicit values.

A must-read for any animal lover. Roger Fouts and the recently deceased chimpanzee Washoe are my heroes.

At age 62, I still look for writers who will change and deepen my sense of our human nature and our place in the natural world. More than writers about religion per se, I think these writers are able to help us advance our moral and spiritual understanding and reconcile our human/animal natures. For some years I've been reading Goodall and others on primates, but Next of Kin was, for me, a pinnacle illumination. Even if you aren't interested in these types of questions, I think this book will move you deeply. If you ARE interested, may I also suggest the recent Mycelium Running by Paul Stamets.Take Me With You When You Go

Although this book was written some time ago, it is exceptionally timely because the relevance of chimp behavior to our own continues to unfold. The devotion the author invests in his charges and the passion he feels about the atrocities visited on chimps both in the laboratory and in the wild drive his story. This abuse is reinforced by the backward and ignorant thinking that stems from bible thumpers who fear the truth about evolution and man's close relationship to apes. Roger Fouts and his wife have provided an invaluable service to our understanding of chimps, and their research related to sign language is truly stunning. They have succeeded in accomplishing their observation and reporting against considerable odds. All these aspects, and the Fouts' fully rounded examination of their subjects make for a gripping and emotional tale well told.

"Next of Kin: My Conversations with Chimpanzees" is one of the most amazing, heartbreaking, and inspirational books I've ever read. The book is written by Roger Fouts, a primatologist who devoted his life to studying the language patterns of chimpanzees. While in graduate school, Roger was introduced to Washoe, a precocious young chimp who became fluent in American Sign Language. Eventually "Project Washoe" expanded to include many chimpanzees, all who learned to communicate with humans using ASL and demonstrated unique personalities, complex emotions, and astounding intelligence.

I've always been a big animal lover, but reading this book taught me so many things that I never knew before. Anyone who questions an animal's ability to think or feel will get a sharp reality check after reading this book. Chimpanzees are people, too, just as much as human beings are. Unfortunately, the majority if humans in this world don't agree with that logic, and thousands of animals, including chimpanzees, are routinely kidnapped from their natural habitats and bred in captivity for the sole purpose of participating in biomedical research. In many cases, medical laboratories house animals in appalling conditions and literally torture them to death. "Next of Kin" details the horrors that go on behind closed doors at biomedical laboratories, and chronicles the steps Fouts and other animal activists have taken to protect chimpanzees from being treated inhumanely.

I absolutely loved this book. Reading it made me feel close to Washoe and her chimpanzee friends, even though I never met any of them before. (Sadly, Washoe passed away last fall at the age of 42, but I hope to visit members of her family at the Chimpanzee and Human Communication Institute in Washington someday.) Parts of this book are incredibly depressing and difficult to read, but hopefully learning about the terrible ways animals are treated will inspire people to take action. I admire everything that Fouts, his family, and his colleagues have done to protect chimpanzees, who are our next of kin on the great evolutionary scale. I hope other readers get as much out of this book as I did.