Education Books

We got these books b/c my 18 month old twins were having trouble relating the cartoon images in our other books to real life and it gets tedious to go through the whole house and try to point out names of things. They absolutely LOVE them! They will spend hours every day pointing to things and asking what they are, saying the words they know, and putting animal sounds or signs we've taught them with the images. They are learning new words all the time and I really think these books are a big factor in how quickly their vocabulary is expanding.

I bought these books for my son who is 16 months old. He loves them and I find him taking them out and turning the pages while smiling or laughing at the bright pictures. We go over the pages together too. I think they are great and they are also very durable.

Our kids will bring these books to us over and over pointiong to animals objects and look at us waiting to hear the name of the object. It's become one of our favorite things to do.

These books are so great!! My twin girls got them when they turned one, and they have learned so many words from them! They can name so many different things! The animal book is also really great! The only complaint I have is that some of the pictures are so generic that it is really hard to even tell what it is, but that is really hard to do in a book. That is when you go and get the real thing and show it to your toddler and name it for them!! They do put some less common things in them as well, though, to really challenge them and expand their vocabulary. There are a few animals in the Animal Book that I hadn't even heard of!! These are great for the car because they will keep your toddler occupied for a while. They will flip through the book naming everything!! I was amazed at how fast my girls learned so many words. They are 22 months, and they know all their letters, all their colors, all their shapes, most every animal and its sound, and I think these books have helped them learn a lot of those things! I don't even know how many words they know, but they pretty much know everything in all three books! These are their favorite books and have been for months and months. They will not get tired of them quickly because there are soooo many pictures! This also makes a great gift for a first birthday!

My son is 18 months, and these have been his favorite books for a long time. Compact, a good size for him, and good for travelling. The photos seem to appeal more to my son than the cartoon graphics in many childrens book.

They are so popular with my son, that they have been used so much that they will need replacing before too long. Not that this any problem with the books themselves, just heavy use!

You cannot go wrong with this set.

Love love love this little book of end-less information. I have the HUGE regular DiPiro which isn't a joy to lug around. This handbook is the perfect reference for any pharmacy/med student. It covers the same topics as DiPiro 6th edition, but in a much more condensed, straight-forward way, including foundation & therapeutics. Very happy I purchased this book!

I bought this book hoping that it would serve as a shorter version of the larger and more detailed textbook. It turned out to do just that. I have used this book on many occasions to review the key things about certain conditions without having to read the lengthy chapters of the textbook.....this is a must have for anyone in the medical field....it provides a concise summary and key points from the bigger version.

Great therapy book to have in your pocket, but doesn't discuss much on etiology of diseases. Basically it's good as a review, but it's not helpful if you are trying to learn the disease for the first time.

much more concise than Depiro; it's like ESPN for therapeutics, all the best highlights... but if you have a very picky professor they might bring up something specific enough that it isn't included in this book.

gives a detail summary of the book... a must have for all pharmacy students.

This is a very inspirational book. Great for in-service teachers. I loved their dedication and devotion to their students' success and belief that they are "human."
Wonderful.

a wonderful read... a triumph of heart, mind and human spirit. great job mike, robynn and students. The movie will be a must see on my list.
maj. davie a megahan, usa-ret, huntsville al.

a wonderful read... a triumph of heart, mind and human spirit. great job mike, robynn and students. The movie will be a must see on my list.
maj. davie a megahan, usa-ret, huntsville al.

I usually prefer fiction books, however, this true story of a teacher so dedicated to his students was too hard to resist. It is uplifting and motivating to see that there are others in education who will put their heart and soul into helping their students succeed! So many children need teachers like Mike and Robynn.

A Smile as Big as the Moon, by Mike Kersjes, is a very inspiring and encouraging book. Personally, I was happy to see a teacher who took risks to make those children with disabilities feel proud of themslves. Personally, as an employee at a school with disabled children, I know what it takes to make those children happy. I can call Kersjes a gifted teacher who devoted his time, energy, and money to help those children in special education. Based on a true story, it is very interesting and keeps the reader eager to know what happened next. I would reommed this book to teachers, parents and older children.

A very good book that covers most of the power converter architectures. An excellent addition to your personal library.

The book is so clearly written you can open it practically anywhere and read just the items of interest.

Concepts are supported by properly simplified schematics.

All the math needed for your own designs is shown and explained, but in such a way, that if you do not need the math right now, you can skip it.

Half the reason I bought this book was to learn to build switching power supplies, the other half was to learn analog design in general. The book is excellent for both purposes.

I recently graduated from Virginia Tech (undergrad), and I had only two classes that focused on power supply design/analysis. As an extension to what I learned in those classes (basics about buck/boost/flyback design and fabrication), this book is fantastic.

The book assumes you have a basic knowledge of EE principles, but nearly everything is explained in great detail. Topologies are examined one by one, and the author includes ALL of the derivations that lead to his design equations, which leaves very little room for misunderstanding. Each section contains pros/cons to using that particular topology, how to remedy common problems, and even talks a little about component selection (although since this book is years old, there are probably better components out there).

I haven't spent much time looking at the magnetics design section; however, it seems as though it would be useful. The chapter on loop compensation is excellent as well, offering a complete refresher of control theory and the design/analysis/use of Type 2 and 3 controllers. As I said before, the author assumes you're starting with very minimal knowledge of power supplies, so every equation and assumption is clearly justified in writing.

All in all, I would definitely recommend this text to anyone who is interested in power supply design or has to gain a quick understanding of something in the workplace since it not only includes the "quick and easy" design equations but also how to get there if you really care to know.

If you're an avid electronics enthusiast, you've more than likely had to build some power supplies. The days of building simple linear supplies are over. If you need various voltages that are carefully controlled and/or just want to build efficient supplies, you need to build a switchmode power supply. This handbook will take you through the major topologies, explaining them all in detail, along with the necessary math to choose the proper components, and the theory of how it's done - and how to choose the proper topology in the first place. The book is well-written and stuffed full of very useful information. Power Factor Correction is also covered, with examples, chips, and theory to build PFC circuits, along with transformer design and theory as well. This book is a great book to buy with "Switchmode Power Supply Handbook", by Keith Billings. Keith's book presents additional information and transformer design mock-ups, along with additional ways to calculate and pick components. Used together, you have the information you need to build a working switching supply with a minimum of hassle. Of course, this assumes that you're already famaliar with electronics and magnetism, and have a good working knowledge of algebra and basic trig. These books are not meant for beginners by any means. I am one happy customer to have found such a good reference for an art that seems to only be known by a few anymore, and other reference materials do not even begin to go into the depth that this book does.
The only shortcoming is that Pulse Width Modulation power supply chips are not covered much, but this book cannot be expected to keep up with the latest PWM chips used in switchmode supplies. This problem is easily resolved by going to National Semiconductor's website and getting current datasheets on PWM chips for standalone, voltage-controlled or current-mode designs, of which they have many. Motorola also has reference materials available on PWM offerings that they carry.

Although a good primer on the basic switching topologies, with an excellent chapter on inductor and transformer design, I couldn't help but feel that this book is more than a little outdated (which it is, at nine years old). There was no mention of synchronous or polyphase switchers, inductorless converters, charge pumps, high-frequency designs...and the section on MOSFETs left out what I feel was a great deal of information about paralleling and load sharing. Many of Linear Technology's app notes go above and beyond the material presented in this book...and they're free.

His abiding love of trees is evident in this deeply personal account of trees he's found and ...respected enough to photograph, research and write about. I bought this because we already had "Meetings with Remarkable Trees" and we were in no way disappointed. The photos are excellent, the trees selected really are remarkable, and the narrative is engaging. Not much else to say, both my husband and I love the book, and it's on the coffee table right now. We have had guests pick it up and also fall in love... attesting to the wide appeal of this photographer-naturalist.

A very nice book, with remarkable trees, however, from the cover I suppose I wrongly assumed they would be beautiful trees. Quite a lot of the book is spent on African trees of a very strange nature, and to my husband's suprise, very little was done on the banyan tree. I was looking forward to large, ancient trees myself. All in all, it is still a wonderful book, it just wasn't what we were expecting.

Great Book will enough the wonder hopefully they have it in the school systems or county systems

Trees are grouped by various, sensible categories that other books on trees might neglect: Giants: Gods, Goddesses, Grizzlies; Dwarfs: For Fear of Little Men, In Bondage; Methuselahs: The Living and the Dead, Shrines; Dreams: Prisoners, Aliens, Lovers and Dancers, Snakes and Ladders, Ghosts; and Trees in Peril: Do the Loggers always Win? and Ten Green Bottles. Pakenham's text is great fun to read, as can be viewed from those sectional titles, and individual tree titles such as "Tie up my feet, Darling, and I'll live forever" for the Bonsai tree that is the In Bondage section.

I suppose coffee table books really shouldn't be considered exceptional items to read - view, yes; read, not so much. This is an exception. Tolkien's Ents are invoked for a handful of trees, and rightly so; geography students who get a core borer stuck and (somehow) get permission to cut down what had possibly been the oldest tree in the world just to retrieve it are warned against; and, of course, it is mentioned that any fool can climb a gum tree. I've read this about six times this year, high time I count it officially.

In fall 2006, Lansing's forestry department planted a tiny gingko biloba tree between the sidewalk and the street in front of my house.
It had four and a half branches, all oriented in one plane like the candlesticks in a menorah. You could barely roast a wiener with it.
I scrambled into the house for a book I had bought, by sheer coincidence, the previous day -- Thomas Pakenham's "Remarkable Trees of the World."
Yes! There, sprawling across pages 110 and 111, was a gingko nearly 1,000 years old, still living in Tokyo, measuring 30 feet in girth and 66 feet high.
Pakenham, a British historian with Irish wanderlust and a gentle sense of drama, has traveled the world to photograph and research the history and lore of 60 of the world's most remarkable trees.
This oversize book, just now out in paperback, is so relaxed and un-sensational you picture Pakenham walking from tree to tree, a Haydn string quartet playing in the background, not minding the continents and oceans in between. It's a follow-up to another book that's just as good: "Meetings With Remarkable Trees," in which Packenham confined his wanderings to the British Isles. The response to "Meetings" was so warm that Pakenham packed his bags and expanded his search to global proportions.
Pakenham's style is that of a curious, intelligent pilgrim. He pairs generous full-page or double-page images of his subjects with un-fussy, lightly conversational background information. He clearly respects local lore and legend, but doesn't go overboard with it, nor does he bog the text down in scientific details. The result is almost a set of personality profiles.
The images are spectacular -- given the subject matter, most of them can't help it -- but sensitively chosen and framed, with an eye toward the unique setting, mood and attributes of each tree.
It's a low-key approach, but if this book doesn't awaken your sense of awe, nothing can. That little stick of a gingko in my front yard, for example, belongs to a hyper-ancient species/order/family that predates dinosaurs. Its peculiar lineage (it's related to ferns) is betrayed by unique, fan-shaped leaves that have no central fold.
Of course, trees have their own agenda, and don't care whether they get into a coffee-table book or not (it's tempting to think they'd rather not, insofar as books are made of paper). But it was hard not to think of Pakenham's gargantuan gingko as a thundering encouragement for my little tree's stressed-out, brown-fringed leaves and spindly trunk.
For one thing, Japanese Buddhists believe the gingko, not the Bo tree of India, was the tree under which Buddha found enlightenment.
If lore doesn't thrill, Pakenham serves up history and science. For example, a gingko 800 yards from the epicenter of Hiroshima threw up new sprouts even after the atomic bomb hit.
But enough about gingkos. In this book, the reader will meet a panoply of the world's most amazing creatures: General Sherman, a mega-giant sequoia in California that weights 1,500 tons and is probably the largest living thing on Earth; ancient teapot-shaped African baobabs out of a Dr. Suess illustration; the leaning Italian cypress said to have been planted by St. Francis; wind-lashed cypresses clinging to the rocky California coast; great oaks with hollows where 20 people can sit down to a banquet; bristlecone pines now into their fifth millennium of existence.
Some of these magnificent trees are near roadsides or chained off in parks, all but ignored by passersby. The wonder of this book is that it tunes the mind to the low-frequency, centuries-long chords only these creatures can hear. Looking at trees that have lived the better part of a millennium make you wonder whether there will be a California -- the home of a disproportionate number of these giants -- or a Lansing in 1,000 years.
My bet's on Lansing, which is far less likely to slip into the ocean before my gingko grows up.

I got this book from my adopted parents when I was close to five years old. I am almost 30 now and still have this book. Love love love it!

It is so interesting how many adoptees there are on here who are my age and raving about the book. I am 24, and I was adopted as a baby. I grew up reading this book and always understood that I was adopted. This book was SUCH a comfort to me and I would read it over and over. I came on here to buy one for friends who are adopting, in hopes that it will be of comfort to their little one. I definitly recommend this book, it was a great help to me.

I'm 23, my younger sister is 20. We are both adopted from seperate birthparents.
I don't remember not knowing I was adopted. I remember reading this book a lot though. My cousin and I would read it out loud to each other and laugh at the pictures. When my sister was old enough, two or three I think, I started reading it to her. This book is something that will always be a good memory. It helped me understand who I was and what it meant to be adopted.

As an adoptee, I remember reading and re-reading this book many times with my parents. This book was always on my bookshelf and did much to help me understand adoption, babies, family and most importantly the love my parents have for me. Like a reviewer before me, my original copy has been lost, lent with love to another family who had adopted a child. Now I can't wait to pass this on to another family, my friends who have recently adopted their own child. I know reading this book together will help strengthen their bond as she grows.

An earlier review criticized this book's readability and appropriateness for children. As a child who owned it, I do not believe that is an accurate assesment.

As a 25 year old adoptee, I have tremendously strong and positive memories of this book. Like other reviewers here, I can't remember the first time I read it... it was always a part of my reading life as a child.

I adored this book back then. I must have read it quite literally hundreds of times; enough so that at one point my mom had to sew the spine back on.

Once, I brought it to school for show and tell. I used it to show the other kids that I was pretty special, because there were books written about me! It just made me feel that my history as an adoptee was valuable.

I recommend this book to any families with adopted children, absolutely. Of course, open discussion about adoption should first and foremost come from the parents themselves... but as long as that is accomplished, I really believe that many adopted children will cherish this book as much as I did.

This book is very helpful with lots of activities to help kids. Also helps teachers to understand how kids process and learn mathematics.

A fantastic book and reference for bringing the world of mathematics to kids of all ages. Absolutely great.

This is a great resource for anyone who teaches math to elementary or middle school students. It is full of useful information and ideas for lessons.

I received the text book in a reasonable amount of time. The information in this book is extrememly helpful for those who are in the teaching field, or even for those who have children and want to help with math homework.

I love this book! It is a great resource with ideas for getting kids interested in math and what questions teachers should ask themselves as they teach. It also points out common mistakes students make and their thought processes for getting there. It is divided into sections by mathematical topics and also has dozens of lesson plan ideas, both for full lessons and those quick time-fillers. This is the most reader-friendly textbook I've ever had to read for a class--it's so easy to read!

To prepare for my Biology exam, I bought three books. The Barron, the Princeton Review, and the Cliffs. Even though I only covered 1/2 of the Cliffs book, I ended up with a 4. Reason - because I used this book. The Princeton Review doesn't cover enough. The Barrons was written too much like a textbook. I found two advantages of this book: 1) I was able to answer all 4 essay questions fully, because it was material covered in the Cliffs. 2) The Cliffs is written in such a way that the material is easy to study. There is no unnecessary language. It is all only the important facts. 3) Lastly, the laboratory review was very useful. In class, we had been unable to cover all the labs. The Princeton Review and Barron don't cover the lab part well enough compared to the Cliffs. I reviewed the lab part the night before, and it was very easy to understand.

In some ways, I feel that I have learnt much more in my review during the past few days, than what I have learnt in class.

Had I covered the whole book, yes, a 5 would have been expected.

This book was one of my many test prep books for AP Biology. Its strengths and its weaknesses lie in its conciseness. The subject reviews are very brief and would probably not be helpful in teaching you the material; however, if you are using the book as a review tool, it is perfect. The subject reviews always stayed on topic and contained just the right amount of detail for the AP test. It also contained a review of the 12 labs of the AP Biology course, which are a big part of the exam. My biggest complaint is that there was only one full practice test, and there were very few practice quizzes throughout the book. This is where it falls behind the other AP Bio test preps. But for a quick (last-minute) review, this book is definitely your best bet.

Buy this book, borrow this book, steal this book. I don't care how you get this book, just get this book! There is no better book out there for the AP Biology test and I am living proof of that. The Princeton Review is a great book that helps you get all of the concepts nailed, but you won't get all the details from the Princeton alone. You will, however, from this book. I normally don't say this about prep books, but you really don't need a textbook. This book does not just offer you a review, but used properly, it can teach the material as well. The text book we used was horrible and unreadable(If you're using Biological Sciences by Keeton and Gould, know that I feel for you) and our teacher was not exactly much help either. Oh yeah, this book features a great review of the labs too. This was extremely helpful considering that out of the fourteen required labs, our class managed to do none of them. How did I get a five? The question baffles me too. But I certainly know where to start. This book and the Princeton Review, nothing more, nothing less.

I took an AP Biology class this year and it was a joke! We didn't learn anything, NOTHING the entire year. I used this book from the beginning of the year and, along with my textbook, which was horrible, and the Barron's Guide, managed to learn everything about AP Biology. No Joke! I taught myself biology out of this book. I even got a 5 on the AP test! Many of the questions in this book were almost exactly repeated on the AP exam. Another especially helpful thing was the Laboratory Review in the back. Even though our class didn't do the labs, I understood everything about them. If you need to learn biology. Get this Book. Today!1

Pip is a 15 year old boy that drinks and does drugs that you can usually either find at a cemetary or smoking behind a deli. Life at home isn't to great for him, his father is an alcoholic that is usually angry and his mother pops pills. His little brother looks up to him, even though Pip does not want him to, his little brother doesn't understand what really goes on. Pip has to keep good watch of him because he is exposed to alcohol and drugs and doesnt want his brother to get into those kinds of things even though he doesnt get a hold of them. In the book Pip has to death with trying to not get kicked out of school, family issues, forced counseling, drugs and alcohol addictions. This book is excelant because it talks about problems most teen-agers have and are trying to deal with.
-By Kayla

All parents of teenage boys should read this book. It is a remarkable porthole into their minds. Although written by a woman, both my son and I agree that it taps into this young man's psychy. Very good story, well written, informative.

Pip is desperate to leave behind his life, and all of his problems. He does this by getting high, drinking and cutting classes. He feels his family, including an alcoholic dad, a doormat mom, and a needy little brother, dont understand. Hes busted by his principal and is given the choice to either take counciling, or be expelled. Pip must turn his life around for the sake of himself, and his brother.

Bottled Up is a great, relatable book for any average teenager. Pip struggles with his alcoholic father at home and overbearing teachers at school. He is responsible for his little brother as well as keeping his grades up and making sure his drugs and alcohol use under the radar.
It's a good read.

When you get into High School, there is a lot of pressure. Sometimes people ask you to do things you don't want to do, like drinking and doing drugs, but you go and do them because you think it's cool. If you decide to go along with it, you may regret it when you look back. In Bottled Up, the main character, Pip, is stuck in a place where he thinks everything's okay, doing drugs and drinking underage is fine. When he finally gets hit by reality, his principal finds out and threatens him by saying if he goes to counseling and his classes, he won't tell his father, Pip has to make a huge decision. His father is the kind of dad that likes to drink a lot and hits his children. Pip figures that if his father finds out, it might be the last thing that ever happens to him. He agrees to go to the 'stupid' counseling and tries to find out who he really is. A good reason to read Bottled Up is that it captures you attention, where the reader could get through this book in a matter of hours without putting it down. It makes the person reading the book feel as though they are really there, right with Pip every time something dramatic happens. Another good reason to read Bottled up is that no matter if the reader is a teen or an adult, this book can still be related to their life. If they are an adult, the reader might being seeing things from a different view, being a parent. The best reason to read Bottled Up is whether the reader is a male or female, the book is still fitting. Even though Pip is a guy, girls still go through the things he does. Whatever age and sex the reader is, the book can still be related to. In conclusion, this is a great book for all teenagers in High School and parents. It focuses in on the trouble of being a teen when you start heading the wrong way. This book shows that no matter how far you go down the wrong path, you can always turn back.


-Sarah Burd
Block 3

What a helpful book for keeping the big picture in mind when raising children. Hallowell's 5 Step cycle is practical and shows the cummulative effect of children's learning process. I especially like step 4, mastery. Hallowell says, "The roots of self-esteem lie not in praise but in mastery." I couldn't agree more. Building confidence in children comes through learning how to do something well and feeling a sense of accomplishment. Praise is thin and doesn't go very far. He also stresses the importance of connection at home. Nothing more important than that!

Dr. Hallowell is an amazing fellow. He strikes the perfect balance between being a knowledgeable psychiatrist and a vulnerable, loving and warm father. Whether you are an educator or a parent, you will learn much, reminiscence and have a chance to be a better person after reading this book. The Childhood Roots gives you good laughs and concrete tips to enjoy children and strengthen the foundation for life. Better yet, it gives you a map and the needed information to know whether you're still on the road or lost in your way. If there is one book to read when becoming a parent and realizing what your job is, this is it.

The warm and compassionate qualities of the author shine through this comprehensive and well-written book. Perhaps somewhat more detailed and extensive than many readers would want, in which case people should skip ahead. But there's plenty of superb content here. You can't help thinking what a wonderful father Hallowell must be as you read his personal stories and anecdotes.

I just had to agree with previous postings that this is the only book you need to read to get the fundamentals of what parenting should be about. It is practical yet roomy enough to fit many different ideals of family and home. I'm now ordering another copy!

I haven't read the book, so I'll use a 5-star review like everyone else just to not slant the outcome. But I wonder what he says about video games. They are a form of play but in my mind don't enforce a human connection. And I've been hearing stories lately (on NPR etc.) about people who can't get their adult kids to be productive members of society because they just want to play video games.