Education Books

I found the book Scam-Proof Your Life to be very thorough in covering all catagories noted in the Table of Contents.I especially liked the "go-to" sources for filing complaints. I found, however, that the inserted information in each catagory interrupted the flow of the commentary and disturbed my "train of thought". Overall, there is a wealth of useful information in this book.

What a find -- everyone needs this book! It's filled with pages and pages of great information that can save you money and aggravation. Many thanks to this author.

So informative. I was unaware of all the ways I could be scamed. I hightly recommend this book, very educational for young and old.

Scam-Proof Your Life is a really good book with lots of information that will teach you ways to protect yourself against the scams and frauds we face everyday. It seems like we are constantly faced with people trying to cheat us out of our money. This book is both fun to read, and very informative, and will make you aware of some of the scams used by these criminals to steal your money!

This book should be required reading for the entire country. A crisp and invigorating read, 'Scam Proof,' by Sid Kirchheimer, is packed with information on topics ranging from Telephone Service to Identity Theft; chapters 3, 7, and 8 are especially informative. The length to which the credit card companies will go to fleece Americans borders on the criminal. Furthermore, the similarities that exist between the unfair but legal practices of some of America's most powerful institutions and the ambitious professional conmen of the day are unsettling. Get ready to feel paranoid and disappointed, because this book is an eye opener.

I used this book in conjunction with "Probability and Random Processes with Applications to Signal Processing" by Stark & Woods, and I would have to say that this Schaum's outline filled in the gaps nicely. Stark & Woods has a nice selection of exercises, but unfortunately there are no solutions to any of the problems in the book, so you have no way of knowing whether or not you have grasped the material. That is where this outline came in handy. It manages to cover all of the issues in random processes, including basic probability, random variables and multiple random variables, functions of random variables, convolution, estimation and decision theory, and queueing theory. Chapters five and six on the processing and analysis of random processes are particularly useful to those readers who are interested in applications to signal processing and communications theory. Each chapter has an excellent selection of exercises with solutions to test your knowledge. The only possible drawback of this text is that it often approaches the material from a mathematician's viewpoint more than that of an engineer. Therefore, there are quite a few proofs included as exercises that probably won't be that helpful for students of the applied sciences. The reader should already be comfortable with multivariable calculus as well as linear algebra to get the most from this book. Also, though chapter one reviews probability quite well, this should probably not be your first excursion into the subject. The only difficult part of random processes that I found this book a bit weak on was on the subject of functions of random variables. Again, this is probably because this text takes more of a mathematician's point of view and functions of random variables is more of an engineering subject.

This book is a GOD SEND. I have been utterly confused in my upper division probability course, but this book has so many great worked out problems that it worked out all my problems understanding the subject material. I thought I would fail the class, but I will probably get a B!

I love this book's great collection of solved examples and problem exercises. It will definitely improve your understanding and clear out a lot of doubts. I would not recommend it to be used as a sole textbook. There is simply not enough theoratical information. It is definitely a very good supplement to any classic text on probability and stochastics.

This book has many exercises with answers/solutions to each and every exercise covering a wide range of topics from probability. The book, however, should be used along with an appropriate probability textbook. An excellent companion to Hsu's book is the introductory text by Henk Tijms. This book contains many worked-out examples and exercises as well, but also explains why probability works and how it can be applied in practice. As engineering student, I learned a lot by using both books.

I wish I had this when I was taking my probability courses. It presents concepts in a clear and understandable way, and the solved problems provide excellent guidance. After working through the solved examples, I finally had a better understanding of random variables, pdfs, cdfs, random processes, etc. I would strongly encourage solving as many problems as you can in this book as you are going through other texts or taking a class on this. Reading through a textbook may lull you into thinking you already understand it, and waiting a long time for feedback on homework may make you more lost in class. Doing exercises will help identify your weaknesses and provide instant feedback on areas you may need to study more. With this stronger foundation, you can appreciate and understand better what the other texts are discussing.

After trying hooked on Phonics (which is completely backward) my son is thriving on this program...He has turned from a reading hater to loving it. I could not be more impressed. I love all the materials and when you open the box for the first time the joy of seeing everything inside is exciting. A++++++++++++

Love this curriculum can't say it enought!!! However the readers that correspond with On Track are not correct. There are many difference from the reader and the questions asked on the comprehension page in the book which is frustrating.

I highly recommend this program to anyone wanting to find "the" reading program that WILL ensure success the first time around with only fun and NO tears!

My son, 5yrs. old and a home schooled kindergartener, devoured the information and came to "school" every day ready to see what his Sing, Spell, Read and Write lesson would be.

STARTS AT THE VERY BEGINNING My son had only been to preschool and wasn't even able to recognize and give the sounds for the letters when he began Sing, Spell Read and Write this year. He began Sing, Spell, Read and Write in September and finished in mid-January. He now reads books and confidently sounds out words he hasn't come across before. He moved on to Level 1 and his excitement about the program is just as fresh as when we started.

RESULTS WHILE HAVING FUN!! I look forward to our Sing, Spell, Read and Write daily lesson just as much as my son! Learning is enjoyable when it is fun. My favorite part of the program as a "teacher" is that the author makes it literally impossible for a student to get through the programs without the basics solidified if the program is followed as prescribed.

A COMPLETE PROGRAM Sing, Spell, Read and Write does not hit-and-miss. The author takes a very logical, systematic approach and makes it fun and memorable for parent and student. Although thorough, the program is anything but redundant or boring. All of the author's thoughtful, thorough planning sets the student up to succeed, keeping them encouraged about their abilities and engaging them so they desire more "fun" (learning).

ORGANIZATION AND PREPARATION TIME The instructions are straightforward and simple. A parent/teacher instruction video, color-coordinated manuals and workbooks, and a train track the student moves along to physically "see" how far he's come makes this program pleasantly easy and fun to implement. The program takes very little daily preparation, so the bulk of the time gets to be focused on doing the fun daily activities!

I feel my son and I got more than our money's worth out of Sing, Spell, Read and Write.

A quick note about the other levels. My first grade gdaughter is in Level 1 Raceway and my 3-year-old is using the pre-k Sing, Spell, Read and Write Program. Both levels are just as fantastic as the Kindergarten program, in my opinion. We all play the phonics games and sing the songs together before moving on to each child's separate activities each day, and even the younger ones are soaking in some of what my oldest is doing in Level 1.

After spending months with "How to teach your child to read in 100 easy lessons" and HOP "Hooked on Phonics" and various computer reading games I tried SSRW (sing, spell, read, and write) with my daughter. I can't emphasize how much better my daughter liked this program. I admit I thought it was expensive; but I can't emphasize how much stuff you get and how well rounded this program is. Did I mention we homeschool? That is definately important. I really want to do a great job teaching my daughter to read. To me, this is the most important thing I can do- teach her to read and most importantly to ENJOY reading. She got so frustrated with all the exceptionally boring material I mentioned above. The other reviewers mentioned all the stuff included, so I won't go to all that detail. I will say that we loved the cd music/songs. We know the songs so well we don't even need the music on the sing them loud and proud! I will also admit I learned phonics tricks that I had never heard before. Sue Dickson (creator) includes all the tricks we need to know to learn to read...and she did it rhyming to music in song form. "When two vowels get together they play a little game; the first one speaks and says it's letter name"...from my memory of course. There are so many great things about this program.

For criticism---It didn't spell out which book to start with; so I made my best guess and we did First Grade first. Which we did easily. Then when I was on the second book for First Grade it was getting hard for my daughter to get through all the material in the amount of days they said we could get it done in. So, I started reviewing everything again and then realized that I had completely skipped Kindergarten. So, then when I switched to those books I had to regress a bit.

Also, my daughter has a few letters that she struggles writing; for example the lower case "a". I wish there was some more options for reviewing the letters. Once you move on to the next letter in the alphabet, you don't review until you get to the next book in the series.

Well, those are really minor issues. There is a great video that walks you through the system. But, it went over the First Grade curriculum; which is why I thought I was suppose to start there. The video was good, but it should have said which books were which and marked them more clearly for people like me with a Masters Degree and sometimes a embarrassing lack of common sense!! Maybe this doesn't happen to most people; but it should be idiot proof! (for me!)

I highly, highly recommend. My daughter was 5 y.o. for this program. She will probably finish up after turning 6. Most importantly is that she likes this program. She loves the variety and music and cutting and glueing, and , and.....you get the idea!

I had been wanting "Sing, Spell, Read & Write" curriculum for over a year when finally I decided to bite the bullet and try it out. My six year old has a very short attention span and needs to be in motion constantly, it seems. She loves music and games, so this curriculum seemed right for her. After doing the learning in this new way for just a few days, she was so excited to "play" more that she wanted to do it on the weekends also. She has learned all her letters now and the sounds they make. We have only been doing it for a couple weeks or so and she had been working on those things all last year and didn't master them. So even kids with a more negative attitude about school or kids with learning disabilities can benefit much from this curriculum. I highly recommend it for kids that cannot seem to learn the basics in the normal workbook/chalkboard way.

This is now our all-time favorite children's book. My three-year-old son loves this book. He laughs so hard he runs out of breath, and when Sid's dad begins to fly at the end of the book, he is so relieved and absolutely elated. Not only is this an excellent book, but the looks on my son's face are absolutely priceless and one of my happiest memories.

I love everything about this book: the vivid illustrations, the engaging flow of the rhyme, the uplifting, but not preachy, message. Sometimes I long to skip lines or pages in books when reading to my kids, but never in this book.

Cutest book about Sid the Dog who can fly but none of his friends believe him. Cute, bright illustration and all rhyming!

I loved this book! The pictures are TOO CUTE, the rhymes are clever and the story is fun. I'm starting a collection of books for my grandchildren (still a few years away!) and bought this for them. The book is large so the pictures really pop!

This book uplifts your heart and teaches your child that dreaming and believing in the impossible is perfectly okay! Delightful to read for ages 4-10, it is a must for your library. I give it as a gift all the time!

Storky is a fun book written from Michael "Storky" Pomerantz's point of view in diary form. It was fun to follow the daily happenings of this freshman boy. He starts out with a journal on the computer and then figures out someone may be reading his personal thoughts, so decides to just type the pages and print them out, but not save them.

Storky's sister reveals some of his inner most thoughts, showing that she was the one reading the journal. Being of nerd fame, all Michael wants to do is get through his freshman year of high school without being noticed too much.

Storky tries very hard to be accepted by his father, who lives outside the home--and tries to accept his mother's antics and deal with the mixed-up, crazy Jewish family traditions all while trying to maintain a semi normal life. Every day is a new adventure for Storky, right up until the end when his mother meets and marries his dentist. All through the dating process, he wants to hate Dr. Berman but finds he can't hate a man who has befriended him in the only way he knows how. Michael ends the school year planning another person's life and gets the girl, not the one of his dreams or that he thought he would get--but someone better.

Armchair Interviews says: Most of us can relate to that freshmen year in high school. Nice story from boy's point of view--written by D.L. (Debra).

Written in the journal-entry style a' la Angus, Thongs, and Full Frontal Snogging, this book will make anyone who has ever been a high school freshman laugh every few pages. The diary follows the first year in high school for Michael "Storky" Pomerantz, as he tries to lose his nickname, get a girlfriend, and learn about making the right choices in life. Unfortunately he is not only saddled with a useless divorced Dad in the throes of a mid-life crisis, but other calamitous events in the life of a 14-year old: the uncontrollable male body part he nicknames "Rex" (who causes embarrassing things to happen while he is trying to impress girls at the blackboard with his Spanish skills), a mom who begins dating (gasp!) the pudgy family dentist, a friend who introduces him to alcohol, and Michael's own age-appropriate musings and wonderings about sex. First-time author Deborah Garfinkle (note that the publisher uses the "J.K. Rowling-don't-let-the boys-know-it-was-written-by-a-woman" name change), gets right into the head of a smart, sarcastic and sensitive young teen with great skill. The character of Michael is unmistakably Jewish and living a very middle-class, 3-times a year, Reform Jewish existence in San Diego. Librarians: beware of the maturity of the themes, but know there are many young high-schoolers who will be passing this hilarious book from hand to hand and waiting most impatiently for the certain sequel.
Reviewed by Lisa Silverman.

This book not only "swooshed" me back in time to my own high school days, but it also brought memories of my children's high drama of high school. How little reactions (both mental and physical) have changed since then ... and I confess, that was a looooooong time ago.

Although Storky's a male, and I'm a female, this author brought not only Storky's feelings but the feelings of all the characters into this story ... in funny and pathetic ways of which we can all relate.

And, YES, like most teen boys from time immemorial, there's the inevitable Miss Popular for Storky to lust after, an insensitive father ... and the other high school problems that will trigger the memories of all who read this well-written book. This is a page-turner for teens and for their parents and grandparents, also. I could see the "comic tragedy" of teens shining through the pages AND, in hind-sight, the healthy learning experiences for Storky and the realistic characters in this book.

I recommend this book for ALL AGES. It was a nostalgic trip down Memory Lane for me. A great job, Debra Garfinkle! Keep 'em coming; you have found your niche.

Now I am Over 13, but Didnt Want An Account So Don't Get The Wrong Idea

Now Mike Pomerantz aka Storky is a freshman in highschool and is going through some normal teenage things.

I thought this was a well written book for a female women, but unless you have some real bad hormone problems most guys arnt like that(or that much of a pervert) So If Your A Girl And You Have Read This Book DO NOT THINK THAT EVERY GUY THINKS LIKE THAT.

This book was a highly entertaining book and slightly disturbing on my part but yeah...Well I would Highly Recomend This Book To People :)

A lot of people have talked about how this book about a GUY was written by a GIRL (or, rather, a woman). Yeah, she did it. Very convincing. But the real story is that really that she wrote a funny, touching, believable story about a character I wish I knew. Good show!

My grandmother and I were recently discussing how she would read to all her grandchildren the "Thingumajig" books and how we all loved them. I am now 29 years old and still remember how vivid and wonderful they were. I just purchased them for my god sons, I hope they love them as much as I have.

Great book teaching children about manners and right from wrong. I loved this book as a child myself and know my son can enjoy it!

I love this book. I read it to my second graders on the first day of school each year as we discuss classroom rules. Throughout the year if someone is using bad manners I will hear another student say, "Don't be a Thingumajig!"
I also leave this book on my whiteboard tray and it is one of the favorites during free reading time.

This book was written and illustrated by my grandparents. They were some of the kindest people I have ever known. And the books are absolutely wonderful! You won't be disappointed with this book or any of their books.

I had this book (in a bigger version) when my 27 year old son was small. I was thrilled to find it for my grand-daughter who enjoys it as much as my son did. Manners are a hard concept for children but this book simply nails the importance of manners by showing children what not to do. It is engaging and my 3 year old grand-daughter has already learnt the rythems and can quote the book.

Wake Up and Smell the Planet is nonsence and hard to read. I did not enjoy it.

"Wake up and Smell the Planet" is just as advertised: it details common-sense, and not so well-known, ways to help our planet survive us. The light touch is welcome, and deftly used.

every house in America should have this....
It is written in a manner that is totally doable to some level.
The author has also choosen not to insult your current way of life but at the same time asks you to ponder an alternative that works just as well.

VERY GOOD FOR PEOPLE WHO DOESN'T HAVE AN IDEA ABOUT GREEN LIFE, IT REALLY MAKES IT EASY TO START A "GREEN LIFE". IF YOU CONSIDER YOUR KNOWLEDGE ABOUT GREEN ISSUES TO BE EXCELLENT, DON'T BUY IT.

It's very true; it's hard to get good advice on how to help save the world without purists and pompous tree-huggers (no offense to the non-pompous kind :) ) talking to you like you're just another lazy 'part of the problem'. Grist gets right down to the facts, and covers alot of today's (and tomorrow's) issues and lifestyles, with a comedic twist, and without all the namecalling. That way, YOU can keep an open mind and explore all of the different earth-saving options that are available to you. 'Practical', 'funny', and 'informative' are three words I would use to describe this book. I am very pleased with it.

OMG--this book is awesome... I first saw this book at my daughters preschool. the children loved singing it at storytime. I buy this book for my nephew/nieces, and friends children for birthdays. I also bought this for the Kindergarden teacher... Its very basic, and the illustrations are very colorful.. My daughter is 8 now and still gets it out..

My baby is 9 months old. A few weeks ago our teacher read this book to us in our mom and baby class and all the babies were mesmorized by it's beautiful pictures, accompanied by the music of Louis Armstrong that was playing in the background. I quickly found it on Amazon and ordred it for my baby. We've read it together several times and he always lights up and squeals excitedly when he sees it. I love how versatile it is because I can read it, talk about the pictures, "sing" it, or play the song and just follow along with him. I am planning to enjoy this book with my son for a long time to come. The only minor issue for us is that the book has regular paper pages (I couldn't find a board book version) so if I let my baby play with it he would instantly destroy it and he sometimes gets frusterated when I hold it in front of him but out of his reach.

As a K-5 music teacher, I use this book to provide a visual aid as I sing "What a Wonderful World" to the kids. They love it, I love it, and it is a wonderful way to learn song! The pictures are a little on the hokey side and illustrate a puppet show (Satchmo included!), but for K-3, it is age-appropriate and enjoyable.

This book, filled with gorgeous illustrations, puts pictures to the song made famous by Louis Armstrong. This book is a wonderful tool to use accompanying the song, and emphasizes the wonderful differences in our world.

The pictures and presentation of the words only accentuate the beauty of the song.

A clever funny and warm little story that reads quicky. Bright, simple and charming drawings highlight the adventures of a small mouse who triumphs over troubles to bring his family together. A very satisfying ending and a book that kids will want to hear again, and again, and again...

A MOUSE LOOSES HIS FAMILY MEMBERS & THEN FINDS THEM. IT'S JUST AN OK BOOK, VERY UNDERSERVING OF ALL THE 5-STAR REVIEWS. A BETTER MOUSE BOOK WOULD BE- IF YOU GIVE A MOUSE A COOKIE.

A small grey mouse with enormous ears is asked by the narrator who he belongs to. Why, he's nobody's mouse!! Where's his mother? Inside the cat!! Where's his father?? Inside a trap!! What about his sister?? She's lost, far, far away... My goodness!! Well, what is he going to DO about it, then?? I'll let you read to find out his fun, creative answers to his life's problems!

Originally published in 1970, "Whose Mouse are You?" is as much fun for young children and beginning readers now as it was back then. The text is short and simple, it rhymes and repeats, so even very young children can get interested in the story and repeat it after a few tellings. The illustrations are wonderfully simple and uncluttered, drawn with only with black yellow and red (from which we can get pink, orange and grey, too!)

When I was a infant/toddler teacher in daycare, "Whose Mouse are You?" was one of the all time favorites. Children just learning how to speak would call out "mouse book!! Mouse book!" and then sit glued to the pages. I've even seen an elementary school art teacher use this book to show how one does NOT need a box of 2 bazillion crayons to make interesting and fun illustrations-"get creative with limited tools" she said, passing out only red, yellow and black markers to the class.

For lapsitting readers as well as beginning readers, "Whose Mouse..." is an excellent choice and a lot of fun!! Enjoy!!

My favorite illustration is the one where the mother mouse is feeding her son (or daughter?) an impossibly large cheese banquet, much to his/her great delight. A wonderful book!

This was my daughters very very favorite book. She had all the words memorized by the time she was barely 3. I would ask the questions from the book and she would respond with the answers. I still ask her Whose Mouse Are You ? sometimes and her own baby will be born in October. By the way, until we find out the sex of the baby we are calling him/her mouse. Your kids will love this book too!

Both my sons love this book and with its clean, cheerful and fun images - I think it is a winner. I wish there were more books like this for kids!

This is the only book that my daughter has ever made a place for on her night stand. She loves the graphics in it, they get her imagination really going. She says she wishes she could live in the book!

I picked up Nicole Wheldon's "1,2, 3 Bees" and couldn't put it down till I was finished! That took all of 90 seconds - not because I am a speed-reader, but because it's the easiest book I've read in years -- about 49 years, to be exact. It's The 1,2, 3 Bees, A Counting Book, beautifully illustrated by Diana Zourelias-Noro.

You'll like "Bees", too! But I don't think quite so much as will our more precocious two and three year olds. I took it to a local bookstore to get a professional's opinion of the 22-page soon-to-be-classic. (There's a sales girl there that reads to the toddlers on the weekends.) Her reaction: "This is such a cute little book! How sweet!!!"...

As we closed the book on the first reading, our preschooler announced 'Read it again, Mama.' We've since read it a number of times, each one a little slower, as s/he begins to study the illustrations in more detail. The story is really just a sequence of sentences counting out how many bees and what they do. It's the beautiful illustrations and the fun of sharing a read-out-loud book that make this great. The bees are cute and the pages are sturdy and will withstand frequent readings, too. Definitely buy this book if you want an art-quality counting book for your child's library.

Very cheery book - It's sure to hold the young reader's attention. The characters seem to all dance and play as the story lesson is being read. What a great tool to teach a young child numbers.