Education Books

I enjoyed the book and it has an incredible amount of resources in it. It addressed a lot of homeschooling concerns for gifted kids. I don't feel it is a stand alone resource and maybe after a few years and some revisions it will seem more "complete".

I read several dozen books on homeschooling when I decided that my kids were going to be homeschooled. Creative Home Schooling by Lisa Rivero was by far the best book I came across. Initially I just checked the book out from the library as I did with the rest of books on homeschooling I read. I actually bought this book and am happy about it. Most of the home schooling books are designed for the average family that pulls its kids out of school, often for religious reasons. Ms. Rivera targets the audience of people who homeschool because their kids are just too smart for normal public school. She discusses different learning styles, the differences between gifted children and high achievers, child-directed learning, and asynchronous learners.

This is absolutely the best book I have read about homeschooling. It is intended for gifted children, but is so much more than that. It talks about all types of homeschooling methods, suggests materials, gives experiences from parents already homeschooling - it is just wonderful. I have given this book to friends considering homeschooling and they agree - this book is a MUST READ!

Book provides many helpful hints for homeschooling gifted children. It does focus more on families that are newly considering homeschooling so it was less of a help to me than expected. It still helped me with some insight into alternatives for gifted children and provided many lists of resources.

If you are new to homeschooling and your child is gifted, this book is a must-have. The different styles of homeschooling are reviewed and presented in an objective manner. The first section of the book deals with gifted children and why homeschooling is an ideal solution for many. The next section helps you to find your homeschool style, and the final portion is a resource guide. Informative quotes from kids and parents are liberally sprinkled through the text. Go ahead and borrow it from your public library, but you're going to want to buy it after you see it!

Dr. Kernan's four years overseas, which encompasses the full length of the War in the Pacific during 1941-45 is an autobiographical treasure that is as true a war story as any can be. This book takes us not on a pleasure cruise, but a voyage into a long-forgotten world of young, Depression-era ranchers and shoe clerks turned aviation ordinancemen and pilots. These we meet, however briefly, snaking up the stairs in a long line at the New Congress Hotel whorehouse in old Honolulu, in a below-decks poker game on a rusting, inflammable escort carrier, or seen for a fleeting moment, unconscious in the gaping seas as the result of a slight but deadly flight miscalculation, sinking beneath the waves, impossible to save, gone. Those voices of the past, their thoughts, fears and dreams, are recorded here with a painful honesty and without much sentiment for, as the author admits, he never really intended it for general publication at first. Those of us who appreciate history poured straight up will be forever in his debt that he changed his mind.

War, of course, is the antithesis of wonderful, and yet Alvin Kernan's memoir is so vividly and beautifully written that I wish to have been at his side during that time. The other reviews give a sense of Mr. Kernan's story, but I want to spend my praise on his writing: clear, direct, unadorned prose, which nevertheless conveys an absolute sense of place. If you want to learn to write well, you will read this book repeatedly. If you teach writing (not making up), consider Crossing The Line as a textbook.

Highest recommendation. You can order new copies online at Yalebooks.com.

. When you think of an east coast university professor who specializes in the humanities--Shakespearean literature, in this case--you probably won't be visualizing someone who started adulthood by engaging in vicious aerial gunnery duels with Japanese fighters and otherwise living the stressful, profane, hazardous life of an enlisted sailor on three World War II aircraft carriers, one of which was sunk while he was aboard. Such is the case, though, with retired Yale professor Alvin B. Kernan, author of "Crossing the Line," one of the most interesting and often gripping sagas of navy life that I've read.
. The book came as a surprise to me, on two counts. One, I knew that Kernan had been an aviation ordnanceman on the USS Enterprise during the Battle of Midway, and later an aerial gunner. But I had very little notion of the depth of his wartime experiences, not only as an aircrewman but also in escaping the sinking of the USS Hornet in the Guadalcanal battles and in a harrowing deployment aboard the escort carrier USS Suwanee (CVE-27). Suffice to say in this short review that Kernan earned a Navy Cross, a DFC, and five air medals from inside the turret of a TBF Avenger!
. And two, I had previously read Kernan's fictitious account of the Battle of Midway, "Love and Glory," which I thought was interesting but flawed in a number of regards (see my review on Amazon). For that reason, I was a little dubious about reading "Crossing the Line." Would this be another "interesting but flawed" piece of work that would cause me to keep my red pen handy while I read it? No. Crossing the Line is simply outstanding. Anyone with an interest in WWII naval air action will also want to read this book. I highly recommend it. Yes, there are a couple of minor nits that a very knowledgeable historian might want to pick, but they are so insignificant as to be unworthy of mentioning here. "Crossing the Line" will not disappoint you. In fact, you'll probably find it hard to put down.
. (Reviewed by R. W. Russell, Battle of Midway Roundtable, www.midway42.org)

Alvin Kernan has written one of the best books on WW2 I have ever read, and I've read a lot of them. His descriptions of his wartime experiences are crisp, vivid, and relevant.

If any of us are ever tempted to generalize in a negative way about sailors in the U.S. Navy, I suggest they read this book all the way to the end. What Kernan went on to do after the war is just as impressive as what he did while he served Uncle Sam.

Alvin Kernan was a 17-year-old from a poor family when he enlisted in the Navy in 1941. He was assigned to the carrier Enterprise and was aboard on Dec 7, 1941. He served aboard carriers most of the war, including a tour aboard the Hornet and he was aboard when she was sunk. He spent most of the time with the torpedo squadrons and gives a vivid account of the Battle of Midway. Most war histories are written by or about the leaders and it is unusual to find someone who was there for all the battles but who was seeing it all from the bottom up. After the war, he went to college on the GI Bill (as did I) and eventually ended his career as dean of the graduate school at Princeton. This is a vivid and knowledgeable account of the carrier war from one who was there and is a skilled writer. Anyone interested in the navy in World War II should read this book.

If you're looking for a guide on writing e-mails in a business setting, look no further. This book covers every aspect of writing e-mails and even some tips on how to organize your e-mail as well. The chapters take you through different topics regarding e-mail and at the end of each chapter are some activities that you can do to help build your awareness of your e-mail writing skills and how examining the messages you receive from others can help improve your awareness of writing skills. This book is perfectly designed for training courses, since each chapter could be completed in one training session. I recommend this if you are looking to write e-mails as professionally as you can.

Like it or not, we live in a world of electronic communication. E-Mail: A Write It Well Guide is a practical and helpful guide for those who aren't totally familiar or comfortable with the medium as well as for those who use it routinely, but perhaps not always effectively or appropriately. Most important, it urges people to take their e-mail communication as seriously as their other written communication - and tells them how.

This book is exactly what every e-mail should be (and so few are): clear, sensible and pointed. Compare the advice here to the emails you receive daily and you will agree that it is filled with uncommon good sense. You'll find yourself trying to figure out how to secretly get copies to your colleagues! Jim Knutsen, President, Boatz Knutsen Communications

Like it or not, all of us are up to our eyeballs in emails everyday. We feel pressed for time yet need to write coherent emails that effectively communicate important information. This guide is an excellent resource on how to write readable emails that come to the point quickly without leaving any of the important stuff out. After going through the material, I recognized a lot of mistakes that our company frequently commits in our frequent volleys of emails with clients. I wish I would have had this book sooner! Thanks for cutting through the jungle for us, Write it Well!
Thanks,
Mike O'Quin
PowerPointPartners.Com

As the author of an English reference guide/workbook, I think this book is exceptionally helpful to everyone needing to send out professional e-mails. E-mail has just about replaced informal memos and even reports. Therefore, we all need to learn how to convey the right tone, present a professional image, get our messages across clearly, learn the etiquette of e-mail, and avoid the pitfalls and hazards that e-mail technology poses. The author provides excellent, relevant examples and lays the material out in a logical, easy-to-understand fashion. I highly recommend it to individuals, HR departments, and training professionals.
Jane Straus
Author of The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation
and
Enough Is Enough! Stop Enduring and Start Living Your Extraordinary Life

Given as a gift. Got a thank you note so she must like and or use it.

I teach at a special education high school and in any one class my students' reading levels range from Kinder-12th grade, so it is extremely tough to find things that will encompass as many levels of learning at once. I am happy to say that this book does that, and the students really jumped right on to use it!

This book is right to the point, and is great for teaching students how to take notes. It has amazing spacing and large type that allows easier reading for students with reading disabilities. The fantastic use of color allows the reader to visualize a change in topic so that they may know that they are onto something new.

I would LOVE for this series to be modified into textbooks, with resources such as computer programs to enhance learning for visual and audio learners.

I DO NOT love the fact that it puts the grade level in BIG BOLD WORDS on the cover. That means that my 18 year old student is liable to tell me, "I'm not going to look at some middle school book. I'm in high school."

This is an excellent book for immigrants to study for US citizenship tests. I would highly recommend it. It is not too childish and it goes to the core of what you should know.
I am very glad I purchased it.

Having recently moved to the US I decided to refresh my knowledge of local history. I got The Penguin History of the USA by Hugh Brogan The Penguin History of the USA: New edition which I recommend, but I also wanted something that would give me a quick overview so I decided to pick this one up. I was pleasantly surprised - it is concise, informative, well organized and fun. I have the Jan 2005 edition which covers everything until the Iraq war in 2003, apparently a big difference from the 1997 edition. Regardless of whether you're 15 or 50 give this book a try. I guarantee that you'll find an interesting fact you were unaware of (or had long forgotten) about US history.

I enjoyed this book very much. It's concise, so you're not going to get any details, but it's a great place to start. I use it, also, as an "intro" to each section for my middle schoolers -- "whole to part" learning.
Definitely recommended.

Fantastic book! This book is so well written and engaging. I felt like I really felt like I knew the students whose college application journeys were portrayed. I even cried when one of them had (his or her - don't want to give it away) dream come true. It was also beautiful to read how their views of what will make them happy in the end changed over their senior year. I hope to share this book with other parents whose children are applying to colleges. Although my own children are presently at (and also looking at)state colleges, it's such an honest and personal portayal of the pressures of senior year. I hope the author will write a follow-up to describe the pleasures and challenges of college.

This book leaves me amazed by both the focused young ones out there and the rigorous climb to get into the right college. I started college in 1998 and even then, the desperation was evident. But today the process seems that much more saturated in complexity. Jager-Hyman has introduced a new era with her book-- she is a fresh voice of reason. Out with the books of plain old "How to" and in with this excellent documentary style "How to." Jager-Hyman gives us the real scoop. Any parents or would-be college students should be grateful!

At the most esteemed collegiate institutions applications far exceed the amount of available slots. The reality is an increasing number of exceedingly qualified candidates are denied admission to the university of their choice. Joie Jager-Hyman offers engaging and informative insight into five-students' quest for Ivy League acceptance. And perhaps, most importantly, leaves the reader questioning a system that equates a person's self-worth with the name on their degree.

This book really helped me understand the ins and outs of admissions, but even more, revealed this calming truth about finding the right college--you are a consumer, you should be shopping for the college that fits you best and respects your interests and talents...NOT the other way around. Jager-Hyman tells these compelling stories and paints beautiful portraits of these young people. Any college hopeful or parents of one will relate.

As a tutor for college-age students, I think Ms. Jager-Hyman has captured the culture extremely well. On the one hand, these incredibly talented and driven students impress us with their accomplishments and maturity. On the other hand, they scare us with...their accomplishments and maturity. Ms. Jager-Hyman's book does an excellent job of introducing us to and bringing us along through this stressful year in the life of some of America's best and brightest, while along the way providing commentary from her years as an admissions officer at Dartmouth and an education PhD candidate at Harvard. It is rare to find someone who knows a field so well and yet can bring it to the public with such art and verve. It is a quick read, and a highly recommended one.

This book is really funny from a teacher's point of view. I plan on reading it the first day of school to a group of third graders. It's a great way to promote your school.

This is an excellent book. Especially in light of our demands on schools these days...with testing...the amount of information we are req'd to cover...the amount of material students are expected to know etc. This story really brings us back to the basics of living life and enjoying each day.

I love this book!

The characters and illustrations in this book develop a fun and entertaining story which carries the theme "too much of a good thing can be a bad thing." In this case, the "thing" is school. The Principal of Tillie's school has decided to increase learning by continually adding days to the school year. Tillie finds a way to gently convince her Principal that although school is a wonderful place for students to learn, there are some things they need to learn and participate in away from school.

This book has loveable and relatable characters as well as charming and informative illustrations that clearly come together to display that too much of a good thing can indeed be a bad thing. Even though there is a clear lesson to be learned, the story is also very humorous and entertaining by itself. This is a great book to read to--or be read by--young elementary students and enjoyed for years to come.

This book is a great book to ease the stress of the first day of school. It has a great repetitive text for kids learning to read and it is a humorous story so even the picky reader will enjoy it.

The pairing of children's author superstar Sharon Creech (Newbery winner "Walk Two Moons" anyone?) and New Yorker cartoonist Harry Bliss (the modern equivalent of Margaret Bloy Graham of "Harry the Dirty Dog" fame) was not an intuitive one. It was not a given that these two wunderkinds would find one another and produce, for the world, "A Fine, Fine School". It was even less of a given that the book would turn out to be as good as it was. It's just nice that it worked out that way.

We are introduced to the bespectacled Tillie, her oddly unnamed toddler brother, and her dog Beans. We are also introduced to Mr. Keene, the kind of guy whose first name is probably "Peachy". Mr. Keene is the principal of Tillie's school and he is just overwhelmed with delight at his fine children, their fine teachers (no winking), and the fine fine school they all work and learn in. Mr. Keene is so delighted, in fact, that one day he calls all the students and teachers together and proposes that the school be open on Saturdays too. The kids and teacher are, needless to say, not thrilled with this notion. Mr. Keene has apparently never heard of there being too much of a good thing, so he quickly makes Sundays mandatory school days as well. Next, holidays are abandoned, making this the first picture book I have ever seen containing the phrase, "Easter Schmeaster". Finally (amid much rending of hair, tears, and lapses into unconsciousness), Mr. Keene declares the summer to be a time of learning as well. Tillie, for her part, has been unable to help her little brother learn and play. It's up to her to explain, kindly, to the cheery Mr. Keene the flaws in his delightful plans.

The story, in and of itself, is fine. I mean, it's a novel idea to have a sympathetic principal character who does increasingly well-intentioned but blundering things. Also, this is the first children's book I read where the children have to take summer school because they're doing so WELL. Honestly, however, there's not much to say about the plot. I like Sharon Creech, but nothing in this storyline really blows me away. Harry Bliss's illustrations on the other hand...

Now, I should preface this a little. I grew up reading a heckuva lot of Steven Kellogg growing up. I was entranced with any picture book artist that could slip a million tiny details into an illustration that would later be found and poured over by children worldwide. I continue to be entranced by such artists to this very day, and Harry Bliss has become one of my new favorites. Under his guidance this fine fine school moves from simply being okay to becoming fabulous. Kids in it read books like, "Catcher in the Rye" and "Pleasing the Ghost". They define words like "futurism" and "cubism" and construct nine feet tall dinosaurs out of paper mache. In Bliss's world the dog Beans is near human, reading New York Times articles on Al Hirschfeld and drinking coffee. Heck, every picture in this book has a million different little details and delights to discover. Mr. Keene is the ultimate happy-go-lucky guy. The kind of fellow so nice and sweet that no one has the heart to actually come out and say that school on week-ends, holidays, and in the summer might be a bad idea. And when he announces that school will no longer fall on those days, Bliss taps into the joy and energy kids feel on the last day of school. There's a whole lot of joy going on in this book's finish.

The best way to tell if this is the kind of book your kid will enjoy is to flip through it yourself. Just take a look at the illustrations for a moment. Spend some time with this tale. If you don't find yourself charmed and delighted after a few minutes of sifting through it then this book will probably do nothing for you or your child. But if you find yourself intrigued and delighted, snatch it up tout suite and give it to a child who'll appreciate it. This is a book that understands the worthiness of school, and the ecstasy of not having to go.

i really like this book. touching stories that open your brain to different dilemmas in medical ethics, a subject i enjoy reading about. i lent it to several friends, all of whom loved the book.

I enjoyed the book. Makes you think about ethics a bit and the reality of financial constraints on the practice of medicine.

Despite the major advances in knowledge, skills, and technology in the field of medicine, this book shows that ultimately life and death fall back on the human touch. Following the workings of an Ethics Committee in a major urban hospital over several months, Belkin clearly shows that medicine continues to be as much an art as a science and in many cases there are no "right" answers, even when decisions can affect whether a patient lives or dies.
This is not a dry, mechanical review of how ethical decisions are made. Quite the opposite, the book captures your full attention from the very first page. You become fully involved in the heart-wrenching lives of actual hospital patients, as well as the no-win situations health care professionals and family members find themselves in when struggling with decisions that literally have life or death consequences.
For example, when she describes the process in which the life support devices are withdrawn from a young patient you feel you are there in the room witnessing the tragedy. Some readers might scream within their minds not to do it - perhaps there is something else can be done? Others may feel a sense of loving compassion over the ending of someone's suffering. Both types will feel incredible compassion for those who had to make the actual decision and hopefully will never have to make such a choice in their own lives.

Lisa Belkin has created an amazing book here - she definitely did her research. The book consists of a few case studies of patients who pose ethical dilemas. Belkin takes you inside meetings of the ethics committee at the hospital, she takes you to the patient's bedside to see what the patient actually wants. Some of the patients she follows are a young kid who has been hospitalized for 15 years with a terminal condition, beating all odds by staying alive that long, several premature babies, and a man who was paralyzed almost completely after getting shot in the spine. It's a great look at medical ethics - Lisa Belkin's book asks all the right questions.

The book is in a very easy-to-read format - the stories of the patients she follows are all intertwined throughout the book. For example, you'll read about Patrick for 30-or-so pages, and then she'll switch over to update you on Taylor's story. She does this because you are reading the stories in "real time" as they happened; all of this took place in a certain time span in the hospital. It's exciting and fast-paced non-fiction - I read it in two days and didn't put it down.

It will break your heart, because often the ethics committee has to bring money into the discussion, as much as they would like to treat every patient as if money was not an issue. This book is SO worth reading, for anyone who is interested in medicine and healthcare at all.

This book will keep you wanting to turn the page and make it hard to put down the book. This is a great explanation of real life situations that patients and hospitals face everyday. Some of the situations that are hard for some people to understand why hospitals are concerned with matters like money and certain treatments of patients can be explained.

Flip Flop Spanish is a fun activity book that is user friendly for the teacher and the student. The author explains how to teach Spanish right down to the correct pronunciation of words and keeps my four year old wanting more! I got more for my money than I expected a cd, flash cards, and advice from the author! Lastly, this book suggests easy ways to incorporate Spanish outside of the class where it really matters! I do not think there is another Spanish workbook like this; I will definitely be looking for the next levels. Thanks!!!

I bought one for me and one for my grandkids (age 6 and 11). Takes more time than I have, but I'm planning on using it w/grandkids on the plane to Mexico and we should have some fun together.

I began using this book with my first child when he was 7 and am currently using it with my 3 year old. Senora Gose provides vocabulary that is interesting and practical for a child to learn, for example, colors, animals, clothing, weather. There are 14 lessons in all, each designed to take approximately one week in time, allowing time for fun and practice to find their way into each lesson. As a parent, I really appreciate the pronunciation guide for each word introduced -- a great way to remind me of the proper pronunciation before I teach it to my child. If there's any doubt, the included CD offers help as well.

I got this for my daughter and I ended up liking it just as much as her. The pics were also lots of help. I haven't bought the second level yet but we will. I have bought lots of products for learning Spanish at Amazon and this is the first one that my child enjoys using just as much as I do. The others she simply had no interest in. I highly recommend this as a product that you can use to teach both parents and children Spanish.

I have 6 children from the ages of 3-13. All of us, including myself enjoy listening to the cd. She talks to the kids, not down to the kids. It is not dry, just reading the words, but more converstational sounding. I highly recommend the book and cd set. It is worth every penny.

We just finished a Book Study @ school using this book! We all thought her suggestions were great (especially the one about not ONLY using running records & DRA levels to "label" readers) but using individual conferencing also.
Mini Lesson Ideas abound! Specifics are included throughout! A must-have in your personal/professional library for ANY Elementary School Reading Teacher!

This book has many great ideas! It is very simple and to the point. YOu can turn around and use these lessons tomorrow.

I wish every teacher in America could teach reading this way- we would have classrooms full of kids who LOVE to read instead of kids who get DRILLED to death with phonics and word attack skills.... phonics is important but learning to choose appropriate books and LOVING them will create LIFE LONG readers... this author knows that and shares her thoughts in a fabulous way :)

Mrs. Collins gives you a classroom teachers perspective on guiding yourself and your students down a path to discovering reading, readers and the step readers undergo to comprehend what they read. This is an easy read because Mrs. Collins narratives transforms you from the pages of the book to front and center in your classroom, working with your students.

This is an excellent source to guide teachers on how to teach Reading Workshop. It gives dialogue on mini lessons and ideas of how to set up your room. It is a must read for Reading Workshop teachers. It is a down to the minutes guide of what to do.

I bought this for help with my 6.5-year-old since he finally has homework and has been giving us a hard time. Its written for an older child to use as a guide, so wasn't all that helpful at this stage. Maybe in a few years it will be, dunno.

Very good book. Helps with getting kids to do their homework. It is a very good reference book. We have used it alot.

My 11 year old son rolled his eyes when I handed him this book. I came back a half an hour later and he had finished it! He was so excited and told me so many things on how he can do his homework better. He said it was very funny also. He learned a lot and really enjoyed the book!

You know the phrase, "A spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down." Well, this book gives a spoonful of laughter to help the homework "go down" without "throwing up." The clever use of artwork and text really gets kids involved in getting the job done instead of spending so much time complaining. There are many practical ideas and they are presented in a highly motivational way. I suggest reading it with children and discussing it rather than just handing them the book.

Nobody likes homework these days. I can say not even I do. Well the book I read was How to Do Your Homework Without Throwing Up by Trevor Romian. The book was all about homework obviously, it also explains why it's good for you, the purpose of homework, and why it helps us in school. It also explains to you the emotions and feelings you might get when you're doing your homework. People might get sad, confused, frustrated etc. Then you have to think they didn't come up with homework just to bug us.

I like this book because it's exciting and it's something I'm interested in. It's easy to connect in a way, because at times when I'm doing my homework I do get confused and think that homework is there for no reason and as your reading the book you can compare yourself to the book in several ways. I would recommend this book to people who like funny books but also books that you can connect to. If you like books that teach you a lesson in life, and what homework is good for, read this one!