Education Books

Tim Rasinski has successfully married theory and practice with this easy read, and included forms, resources and practical ideas that can be integrated into the classroom immediately. We purchased them for several teachers in the district so that they can get the strategies to students without delay. Strongly recommend this resource to others!

I ordered two copies. They arrived quickly and in great shape. Thank you.

This book is an excellent resource if you are teaching reading at any level. It is researched based and provides concrete, practical teaching tips.

The book was given to me by my principal and after reading the first chapter I gave it back so I could buy my own. This is a book every elementary teacher should own and refer to on a regular basis. It has enough theory to it to support its findings without slowing down the reading. Most of the book has practical suggestions and methods to use in the classroom. I have been so motivated by this book that I have completely changed the way I am teaching reading in my 4th grade classroom.

Very practical for teachers but at the same time is research-based.

I love this book. My grandmother bought it for me (hard cover version)when I was little & I still have it. It is about a very tiny winged horse named Flutterby who does not know what she is. As she tries to figure out who/what she is she tries to be a bee and later an ant. At the end a butterfly shows her her reflection and tells her that she is unique and that she should just be herself. I think this is a great story for any child to learn.

Do yourself a favor and save up for the hardback if they still make it. This book is very very very thin and flimsy in paperback form.

I first read this book as a little girl who loved it for the beautiful pictures of such a cute creature as Flutterby,as i grew older & began to understand the true meaning of the story I loved it even more.My hope would be that everyone can use the moral of this story for themselves-Find out who you are & dont be afraid to be yourself.

This is a great little book for elementary school girls who like fantasy. It's about accepting yourself and realizing that you don't need to be just like other people you meet to be a valuable person.

Flutterby the tiny pegasus hatches from a cocoon and sets out to figure out what she is. After she makes funny but failed attempts to blend in with a beehive and an ant colony, a wise butterfly shows Flutterby her reflection in a puddle.

If you considered getting "Stellaluna", but the mother-loss angle bothered you, this is a very good substitute.

What a beautiful creature. I grew up reading and rereading Flutterby. The story, however, didn't hit home until much later: who you are is who you are, and that's all that matters.

I found this book to be helpful in getting my daughter to realize that everyone is afraid of something and that fear is a natural emotion. This books helps to show how the characters deal with their fears. If your child is very fearful of the dark, I would recommend you read the book before sharing with your child. I had no problems with an increase in fears after reading this book but neither of my children are very fearful of the dark.

This Franklin book is one of my favorites! All the Franklin books are great! This book teaches kids not to be afraid of the dark! Lots of reading for smaller children, but great pictures!

I GIVE THIS BOOK A FIVE STAR BECAUSE IT TEACHES YOUNGER KIDS BETWEEN THE AGES OF 1-6 ABOUT THE DARK AND HOW IT IS NOT SCARY.

This is the best of all of the Franklin stories, and the first one published. It's a wonderful read aloud story, a great story for children to act out, and an easy way to begin a discussion of "things that scare us". Children are amazed to learn that grownups can be frightened of things too. This book should be in every child's home collection and in every elementary teacher's too!

This was our first Franklin book and my son really, really likes Franklin now. I had never heard of him before this book, which was a "gift" from the pediatrician for my son's pre-preschool check-up.

The Franklin books are great.

This one, however, I wish we had skipped.

The thing is, my son was never afraid of the dark. I don't think it ever occurred to him that you *should* be afraid of the dark. But after reading this book, he started to have nightmares. We can't get him to tell us what they are about exactly but they have something to do with Franklin and his small, dark shell.

This might be a good book to help a child who is afraid of the dark get over it. But unless our child is some sort of anomoly, it could also have the potential of giving bad ideas to a child who is not afraid of the dark.

Consider your child when you purchase this book.

It's rare to find a young adult novel that can be enjoyed by girls AND boys. By the end of the first chapter you feel as though you are a part of Artie's family. The story is sad, funny, and captivating; it will be with you long after you read it. I think that Artie is a character who deserves a sequel!

Andrew Auseon has a gift for over-the-top adolescent sarcasm and humor, and he uses it to great effect in this wonderful novel. The main character, Artie, is very sympathetic, but one of the themes throughout the book is that no one is what he or she seems. So though it's easy to feel sorry for poor, stunted, bullied Artie in the beginning, we quickly come to see that he--like everyone around him--is much more complicated than that.

A warm, funny and refreshingly creative look at human weaknesses. Just ignore the off-putting cover and dive right in.

If you like your coffee black and your comedy dark, this book is for you. Definitely not your average teen novel, this first novel by Andrew Auseon percolates with quirky characters, a dysfunctional family, and it makes you ask yourself how far you would go for revenge.

If you're Arty Moore, challenged in the height department, the answer is almost over the edge.

Arty Moore is a growth-challenged high schooler who had no friends and lives to be as unnoticeable as possible, especially to his hulk of a twin brother, who torments him endlessly. Towards the end of the school year, Arty makes an unlikely female friend and manages to join the town's misfit underground resistance system. Pulled in several different directions, Arty is offered opportunities for revenge against his brother. Nothing is as simple as it seems, though, and Auseon's novel packs a punch of commentary on family relationships, friendships, and what it means to stick your neck our for another person.

This is a nice break from the usual YA fare, and it would make a great book for a reluctant male teen reader.

FUNNY LITTLE MONKEY is a hilarious story of the life of Arty Moore, a fourteen-year-old teenager with growth hormone deficiency, hence his childish appearance and towering 4' 2" build. His twin brother, Kurt, however, seemed to get all the "good" genes and the similarity in looks between the two brothers seemed to stop when Arty stopped growing, and Kurt didn't.

Kurt loves tormenting Arty. Arty doesn't exactly appreciate the "brotherly love" being sent his way, and so he employs the help of a secret school organization with, frankly, more tricks up their sleeves than the KGB and Stalin's other two secret police, along with the Gestapo, combined into one. With the help of this underground alliance among students at his school, Arty plans revenge against his brother, but his problems are only beginning.

What wouldn't complete a great novel without a girl being involved, and yes, there is a girl. Arty is utterly infatuated with new student Leslie Dermott, but he can't quite figure out how got the attention of such a hot girl. Readers join Arty on his road trip to love as well as the pit-stop to the gas station of pain.

Extremely clever and hilariously written, Andrew Auseon gives us a character so obnoxious and self-righteous that even though we all know Arty is a complete jackass, we can't help but root him on in his eternal struggle to grow up, both literally and emotionally. Truly, this novel is a story of two brothers and the complex relationship two brothers can have.

Along with that, however, throw in confusing situations, smart literary puns that some readers will find intriguing, secret social groups, a Vietnamese kid who is ignorantly named Tibetan by Arty [typical], and the mysterious disappearance of the school mascot statue [a stone turtle], and you get FUNNY LITTLE MONKEY, Andrew Auseon's stellar debut novel and an incredibly funny and very, very, very clever and well-written story. Cheers to A.A.

Reviewed by: Long Nguyen

It's rare to find a young adult novel that can be enjoyed by girls AND boys. By the end of the first chapter you feel as though you are a part of Artie's family. The story is sad, funny, and captivating; it will be with you long after you read it. I think that Artie is a character who deserves a sequel!

Andrew Auseon has a gift for over-the-top adolescent sarcasm and humor, and he uses it to great effect in this wonderful novel. The main character, Artie, is very sympathetic, but one of the themes throughout the book is that no one is what he or she seems. So though it's easy to feel sorry for poor, stunted, bullied Artie in the beginning, we quickly come to see that he--like everyone around him--is much more complicated than that.

A warm, funny and refreshingly creative look at human weaknesses. Just ignore the off-putting cover and dive right in.

If you like your coffee black and your comedy dark, this book is for you. Definitely not your average teen novel, this first novel by Andrew Auseon percolates with quirky characters, a dysfunctional family, and it makes you ask yourself how far you would go for revenge.

If you're Arty Moore, challenged in the height department, the answer is almost over the edge.

Arty Moore is a growth-challenged high schooler who had no friends and lives to be as unnoticeable as possible, especially to his hulk of a twin brother, who torments him endlessly. Towards the end of the school year, Arty makes an unlikely female friend and manages to join the town's misfit underground resistance system. Pulled in several different directions, Arty is offered opportunities for revenge against his brother. Nothing is as simple as it seems, though, and Auseon's novel packs a punch of commentary on family relationships, friendships, and what it means to stick your neck our for another person.

This is a nice break from the usual YA fare, and it would make a great book for a reluctant male teen reader.

FUNNY LITTLE MONKEY is a hilarious story of the life of Arty Moore, a fourteen-year-old teenager with growth hormone deficiency, hence his childish appearance and towering 4' 2" build. His twin brother, Kurt, however, seemed to get all the "good" genes and the similarity in looks between the two brothers seemed to stop when Arty stopped growing, and Kurt didn't.

Kurt loves tormenting Arty. Arty doesn't exactly appreciate the "brotherly love" being sent his way, and so he employs the help of a secret school organization with, frankly, more tricks up their sleeves than the KGB and Stalin's other two secret police, along with the Gestapo, combined into one. With the help of this underground alliance among students at his school, Arty plans revenge against his brother, but his problems are only beginning.

What wouldn't complete a great novel without a girl being involved, and yes, there is a girl. Arty is utterly infatuated with new student Leslie Dermott, but he can't quite figure out how got the attention of such a hot girl. Readers join Arty on his road trip to love as well as the pit-stop to the gas station of pain.

Extremely clever and hilariously written, Andrew Auseon gives us a character so obnoxious and self-righteous that even though we all know Arty is a complete jackass, we can't help but root him on in his eternal struggle to grow up, both literally and emotionally. Truly, this novel is a story of two brothers and the complex relationship two brothers can have.

Along with that, however, throw in confusing situations, smart literary puns that some readers will find intriguing, secret social groups, a Vietnamese kid who is ignorantly named Tibetan by Arty [typical], and the mysterious disappearance of the school mascot statue [a stone turtle], and you get FUNNY LITTLE MONKEY, Andrew Auseon's stellar debut novel and an incredibly funny and very, very, very clever and well-written story. Cheers to A.A.

Reviewed by: Long Nguyen

This is a great and informative book. Easy to follow and understand. If you are trying to write grants and new help with fundrasing this is the book for you

I am using this book as a textbook in my business bachelor's degree program. The professor who is a professional grant writer for a Florida college picked this book as she said it covered all the basics with easy to understand steps. I agree, it has been so helpful that I am using it to write a grant for the non-profit that I work for. The website addresses, examples and sample letters are great!

This book is packed with great information. I like the writer's approach and level of information. I'd also suggest the "Government funding and you series too." Enclosed is a link to this product series. Both titles are highly recommended. The other grant series also has a video too.

-C

Government Funding and You: The Workbook (Government Funding and You)

Grant writing is one of those activities for which there are many "how to" books. The real dilemma for novices-or even those of us with a few grants under our belt-is which book to adopt as our handy desk reference, its well-thumbed pages peppered with hi-liter and sticky notes. Getting Funded:The Complete Guide to Writing Grant Proposals by Mary Hall and Susan Howlett fits this role perfectly.

The latest update of a classic on the subject, this 2003 edition provides an excellent overview of all aspects of grantwriting, beginning with the most important steps of assessing the grant-applying organization's readiness and capacity for taking on the project and securing the necessary funding. Each of the 13 chapters are well-written and organized by sub-headings that assist the grantwriter to quickly locate and digest guidance at the applicable step in the long process of developing and writing a fundable grant application. Most of the chapters include a checklist that serves as a summary of the chapter as well as a handy reference tool for assuring all issues have been addressed

What I especially appreciated about this book was its continual reminder that the process of developing a project and writing a grant proposal is in itself a valuable learning experience. If it weren't so difficult to write a winning proposal, if funders didn't require such a high showing of competence and commitment, money would surely be easier to come by, but there is no guarantee that we would be spending it wisely. The process of grant development and writing, from budgets to case statements for our organizations, drives us in the non-profit world to ensure that our projects are the best and highest use of grantor funds to serve the needs of our communities. I highly recommend Getting Funded as the best resource available to help achieve this goal.

Cynthia Haruyama, Executive Director of Hoyt Arboretum Friends, Portland, Oregon

Getting Funded
The complete Guide to Writing Grant Proposals
Mary Hall, PhD. & Susan Howlett
Portland State University
Portland, Oregon
174 pages including appendices

Reviewed by
Jan Tunnell
Tunnell & Associates
Orlando, Florida

I found this book intriguing. As an experienced (25+ years) professional, I approached this assignment with an "I will see if they did it right" attitude. Not only do they do it right, but I enjoyed the content, arrangement of information, and style of presentation. I found myself mentally noting things I have tried to share with clients or peers - and wishing I could underline passages and stick the book under a few noses. Validation is wonderful, but I also learned new techniques and viewpoints and got an update on several topics.
The book is divided into parts:
Part One: Essential Planning Steps
Chapter 1 Getting Started
Chapter 2 Assessing Your Capability
Chapter 3 Developing the Idea
Chapter 4 Selecting the Funding Source
Considerable space is given to guiding an agency through the process of planning to prepare an application - how I wish this step was the norm instead of the exception! The first four chapters are devoted to this crucial step - and they are the chapters I want more agencies to use. So often the attitude is "we need money, write a grant", not knowing or caring that you can only write applications. The planning step is mostly unknown or ignored. Hopefully, these four chapters will encourage new applicants to start off on the right foot and actually think before they leap. This information will also be appreciated by experienced grant writers - they know this but can't get their administration to listen. Here is support for their unheeded cries.
The nine chapters on preparing the application are thorough, well presented, clear, and concrete.
Part Two: Writing and Submitting the Proposal
Chapter 5 Writing the Proposal
Chapter 6 Title Page, Abstract, and Accompanying Documents
Chapter 7 Writing the Purpose Statement
Chapter 8 Writing the Statement of Need
Chapter 9 Procedures
Chapter 10 Evaluation
Chapter 11 Qualifications and Personnel
Chapter 12 The Budget
Chapter 13 Review, Submission, Notification, and Renewal
Every possible section and subsection of an application is covered in easy to understand language. Samples of standard pages and suggested formats are included in the body of the text, where they are most relevant. Charts provide summary and detail of specific topics in an easy to understand format. Differences among government, private foundation, corporate, and research applications are explained and the components of each are listed, including required attachments.
One of my favorite sections is a working timeline. All too often someone in an agency notices that there is funding available, gets all excited about applying, and then casually mentions that the deadline is next week. The planning timetable shows the uninitiated exactly how long each process takes, and what the working order should be.
The information is current; time lines, PERT charts, and logic models are included and explained. An entire chapter is devoted to evaluation methodology, a relatively recent requirement many are still uncomfortable dealing with and preparing. The authors even include an overview of the review process, and a list of the Seven Deadly Sins of Proposal Writing.
Appendix A Proposal Development Checklist
Appendix B Resources for Teachers
Appendix A is a summary of each chapter, with a check list of salient points and tasks. It will serve as a handy review and reminder when you get down to the wire and the group starts to lose focus. I probably won't use the syllabus for a nine-week course in Appendix B, but I am most interested in the outline for a one-day seminar. For the truly serious, there is a section of assignments for each chapter, these are handy for a curriculum, but could also be used by an agency as an on-going group project to focus and integrate the grant writing team.
This is a resource for both beginning and experienced applicants. Every page has something new and/or interesting. As I went through the chapters, I kept wanting to add to this review, calling attention to this topic or that technique. I can't go on forever, so go get the book. I'm not sharing my copy.

I have used another Caught Ya for several year, but have moved from high school to middle school. I am really enjoying the Caught Ya specifically for middle school. I can tell a difference in my students' writing, especially in the area of punctuation and more varied sentence formation.

Sara Sherrill
Hurricane Middle School

My gifted class will not sit still for a traditional (boring) grammar lesson, but their writing skills aren't keeping pace with their creative ideas. The "Caught'yas" in this book keep my kids focused on doing their grammar...everyday! The lessons help them with their writing and introduce $100 words into their vocabularies. With the included CD, I don't even need to type or write the "Caught'yas." I just copy and paste into a powerpoint and put the daily work on the projector. Truly a great find!

The service I received was excellent. I received the book within 3 days in perfect condition.

I cannot wait to use this grammar system in my 6th grade classroom. The book has everything you need to jump start your grammar lessons. The book is designed for grades 6-8 to use consecutively. If it works for me I will pass it one to my colleagues. Worth the purchase.

I am a first year teacher and just accepted a job for next year teaching both math and language arts in the 7th grade. I have never taught language arts before and was looking for motivating ideas when I came across this book. I bought it 3 days ago and have read the whole book already. Kiester does a great job of breaking down the activities and explaining exactly how to use "Caught-Ya" in your classroom. The book includes all of the corrections for each "Caught-Ya", as well as some explainations for why the corrections need to be made. The CD which is included allows you to print out the daily sentences and easily put them on transparencies. The CD also includes a great grammer review resource for those new teachers, like myself, who could use a refresher on some of the terminology as well as suggestions for introducing and reviewing the parts of grammer without boring your students with all the terminology. I am excited about using this technique in teaching my class next year. Wish me luck!!

Because her kids demand that she read this book to them everynight before bed. It's gross kid humor, but the story is too cute to dismiss.

My eight-year old son loves these books. He is not an avid reader, so it is wonderful when we come across a series that excites him. I only wish that they would publish more!

I hope more Stinky Boys Club books are written because they are great. All kids would enjoy them alot

I like this book so much. I don't know which Stinky Boys Club books is best they are all so funny. I think all kids would enjoy them especially the fart parts.

I'm pretty sure I have never written a review for any books other than the three Stinky Boys Books. I love them, my kids LOVE them. They are all equally funny. My two sons (even my 13 year old) recite lines from the Stinky Boys Club books by heart around the house. If I didn't think they were so funny, I'd probably be sick of hearing about them. My 10 year old brought them to his class (fifth grade) and the teacher liked them so much he told the librarian about them. And my god daughters love them as much as my sons do. Thank you to the authors.

No writer can afford to be without this one! An excellent resource for all the grammatical rules you've forgotten since high school. I keep this beside my computer as I write.

I had an edition in the 1950's when I was in college, then bought the updated 5th edition in the 1960's. I have newer, bulkier books like _Chicago Manual_ of Style but for conciseness, correctness and convenience this little book is still my favorite. My advice, get an older edition if you can find it. My little book can fit in a large pocket, yet it is complete.

John Culleton

Two or three millenia ago, when I first began college, the assigned handbook was the Harbrace, then in the second or third edition. Since then I have ben a military officer, a professional writer, a manager, and a teacher. Through each of these incarnations I have had the Harbrace at my elbow. I have never failed to find exactly the right advice, the right emphasis, and even the right choices to make my writing eminently readable.
Although its style is not didactic, it does present enough examples to keep both the old and the new writer from wandering off into that muddy stuff we se so often in magazines.
Buy one! That and a Strunk and White are all you need.

Harbrace book rocks. The book was read by me and I like it. Theirs a good part when the book talked about how to not split infiitivs and I like that also, however, do'nt by this book if your all ready nice at writing, like me! C' YA.

I found this book to be a wonderful reference when writing anything from a short paper to a forty page research paper. Neither would have been possible without this text. A great buy!

This book was delivered in just the condition that had been advertised (in this case excellent condition) and the shipping was excellent. I would definitely use this seller again.

My 4th Grade son has read most of the Hank Zipzer series and found them to be "ok" -- funny and reasonably well written, but somehow not completely engaging for him. I found some of the writing to be a little formulaic. Still and all, I would recommend you give this series a try if you're looking for something new. My boy is a little finicky, and he liked these well enough.

I am an elementary teacher who just wrapped up third grade. I read the Hank Zipzer series aloud to my class this year and they all agreed this was their favorite. At one point, we were laughing so loud that a colleage stuck her head in the classroom to make sure we were okay. All of these books kept the kids interested, made them laugh, and got many of them reading them independently after I had read it to them! One of our class catch phrases this year was, in the words of Frankie, "right, and my name is Bernice." Many of my students could relate to Hank's learning challenges and felt better knowing it was "okay" to struggle! Hats off to Henry Winkler and Hank!

This book Holy Enchilada is about this boy named
Hank Zipper. He has a learning challange called dyslexia.
He is very bad at spelling and math but mostly spelling.
In this book Heritage day is coming up. Hank desides to make enchiladas with his two best friends Frankie and Ashley.
When it comes time to make the recipe, he could not read the fraction 1/3tbls for chillie powder. So he guesses that it
said 3 1/3tbls. Uh oh what is Hank going to do now...
I would definataly recommend this book to anyone that loves
humor.

The best book I've ever read is "Holy Enchilada". It is about a boy named Hank Zipzer and his school having a foreign exchange student from Japan to come to their school for a few days. So everyone decides to make the school look fancy for him. The kid needs somewhere to stay so Hank decides to let him stay at his house. The first night that he stays, they don't have anything to do so they start to make enchiladas for the Multi-Cultural Food Days at school. Hank starts to have trouble reading the recipe for how much zing to put in the enchiladas, and thinks he put to much in them, and everything gets worse from there. I
really liked this book because I can relate to the character and I understand him well. I would recommend this book to fourth graders and up.