Education Books

Eric Jensen's new book is a must read for anyone who works with or is raising children. I am an educator and have read many resources on brain research and this one is by far the most comprehensive and interesting. Jensen makes the info about the brain accessible to all readers and the book is filled with many "Aha!" moments. I found the book so useful, I recently did a professional development presentation on it giving away a few copies as door prizes and lending out additional copies to colleagues. I even handed it to administrators to read too. This book is just outstanding.

I read this as part of a graduate course and really enjoyed it. It talks about the latest findings in brain reserach and how humans' brains can change and are quite malleable. I was really intrigued by the information and findings. Any teacher or parent-to-be would really benefit from this book.

Enriching the Brain should be required reading for educators, parents, and people who want to understand how to help others achieve at their highest levels. Eric Jensen is well-known in his field so I was expecting an authoritative and comprehensive presentation of the latest reserch about the brain. I was not disappointed. He also provided suggestions for how we can maximize the brain's potential and the importance of providing enrichment for everyone.

Jensen's theories of enrichment are based on research which he explains in jargon-free everyday language. The research confirms that the brain changes throughout the lifespan. The brain grows with positive experiences. Negative experiences, if they are not managed properly, stunt the brain's ability to grow.

Jensen's definition of enrichment is that of a result: "a positive biological response to a contrasting environment, in which measurable synergistic, and global changes have occurred."

He cites 7 factors that contribute to enrichment and throughout the book returns to them in his discussions of research, designs for school and parental enrichment efforts, and implications for forming public policy.

Unfortunately, public education is moving in a different direction. Teachers spend more time each school year documenting their every minute of student contact at the expense of more creative lessons, multiple assessments and IEPs for all. Students spend increasing amounts of time studying for and taking one size fits all tests. Until the "system" changes, schools will be measured in the public eye by their rankings on these tests. Vocal parents (who enrich their kids at home) will continue to pressure school boards and administrators for the short term fix (test prep.) in the classroom.

Research, and its accessibility through the writings of Jensen and others, helps those with the resourses and energies to reach the diffuse and quasi-anonymous constituencies that support this ever growing testing. Hopefully, as more and more people come to understand the research and its implications, the current direction of reliance on testing in the name of accountability can be reversed.

Eric Jensen has "done it again." He has carefully laid out reasons and suggestions for enriching all children. He carefully covers neuroscience research relating to the science of enrichment and provides practical suggestions to help every student reach his/her learning potential. Jensen stresses that the brain can and does change, bringing hope to caregivers, parents, and teachers. This is an important and powerful book written with integrity and wisdom.. If you want to make a difference in the lives of children, you HAVE to read this book.

This book is essential for student-teacher because it explain how to introduce and teach literature to children. In addition, you get all sort of ideas from reading this book and it prepare you in the subject of children's literature.

Excellent transaction!! I needed this book for a class and it arrived on my doorstop within 24 hours. Can't wait to order again!

Book in excellent shape and quickly shipped would definitly buy from seller again.

This text includes a great number of book lists for literature for each genre.
It provides a great description and numerous examples for each type of
literature. It highlights all the award winning books. Finally, this text provides
lots of ideas for promoting literature in the classroom.

This is one of the best overviews of children's literature I have EVER seen. I plan on using this book in my new job as a Library Media Specialist. Each children's genre is covered as well as outstanding books in each genre. A must have if you are working with children's or YA literature! BRAVO!

It came in good time and in great condition. I recommend it with no reservations.

One doesn't often come across a textbook that is as well written as this. I was able to understand the material; it presented everything clearly. The language/voice used was engaging, humorous, and easy to understand. I wish more textbooks were like this one. I give it an A.

This is one of the clearest--and certainly the most interesting--college textbooks I've ever had! I'm an older student returning to school and had to take econ as a prerequisite for an MBA program. I wasn't looking forward to it--tried it once in college years ago and dropped it because both book and class were so boring! I love this class (online, so no professor even!) and look forward to doing the reading each week. My school uses a "customized" version with with only about 2/3 of the chapters, and I'm buying the entire book so I can read the rest of it. Highly recommended!

This is a great book for Beginners in Economics. It has side notes and just about everything is explained very well. Perfect for the Econ101 Course.

I'm new to Economics and have done very well in the class so far because the book does such a good job explaining complex economic principles. My Professor follows the book exactly. He even uses the slides provided by the publisher. The student section the publisher provides is awesome too. It has flashcards, practice tests, powerpoint slides, etc.

I am a graduate student and had a difficult time writing my first paper. I bought this book and it clarified all the hidden rules that you are "supposed to just know." Buy this book, then set aside time to actually read it!

This is an outstanding book on how to improve the writing of biomedical research papers. It is well organized, well presented and extremely helpful.

I bought several writing books at the same time and this one stands out because not only is it a "how-to" book, but it is a workbook and mostly consists of exercises. There is plenty of space in the book to do the exercises right in the book. This is extremely important, because you can read about the rules for improving your writing, but you really don't learn how to use them until you practice rewriting actual sentences.

Significantly, this book has dramatically improved my ability to edit my own papers, which has been one of my nagging writing weaknesses.

A good book for beginers, clear and easy to read.

My close friend who is one of the nicest person I ever met, recommended me this book. Upon opening the first chapter, I already know that this book is amazing. My writing improves a lot. If you are an international student like me, you might also have hard time on writing as well. I guaranteed that this book is really invaluable.

we used this book as part of a class i was taking. i am so glad that the professor picked this one out!
the beginning of the book gives you the building blocks, and the later chapters help you put it all together. i realized that a lot of people who help you with proofreading don't really look for some of the organizational items that the author stresses.
i reccommend this book for any graduate student, as well as anyone else who is looking to improve their writing. it might also be a good tool for mentors to use to work with their students.

Opinion: I've read alot of Neal Shusterman books and I've loved them all. The Eyes of Kid Midas didn't capture me the way the others did.

Summery: When Kevin Midas decides to follow a story that his teacher tells, he soon finds himself in a strange place. When he finds a pair of sun glasses, he soon realizes they aren't just any sunglasses. These sunglasses let him change anything he wants. Any thing he says is true! How cool is that? But with a few misplaced words here and there, Kevin changes two lives forever! Unless, he can get time going again!

The original paperback of this caught my eye in the used bookstore. The back cover summary sounded interesting, so I picked it up even though I could tell it was a "kid's book."

Well, that's what it may claim to be. But adults can enjoy this just as much. It's AKIRA meets CARRIE meets BRUCE ALMIGHTY meets THE MONKEY'S PAW. It doesn't pull any punches and could almost be classified as horror. The characters are, at one and the same time, both archetypes AND realistically drawn. That is a balancing act that is nearly impossible to pull off, but Mr. Shusterman does it.

Highest POSSIBLE recommendation, no matter your age.

Kevin Midas is nothing more then a major bully target for the school's big bully, Bertram Tarson. Then, just because of a gloomy camping trip, an urge to beat Bertram, lack of common sense, and a pair of glasses, Kevin finds himself in charge of the world. At first it seems like fun, but as time goes by it gets out of control. Can Kevin repair the damage he has done or has he made permanent changes in the world?

The Eyes of Kid Midas is a good book for people ages 8- 100. 100 if adults like reading good kids' chapter books. This book is also probably more appealing to people who like fiction, adventure, and suspense. I really liked this book for many reasons, but the main ones are that it describes things exactly the way they would be in real life if a boy had the power to rule the world. The other reason is it keeps you wondering so you can't stop!

I can't even remember what it was exactly that first caught my eye about this book way back when it was new. But I still have my original copy and have read it several dozens times at least, and it is still a great read. The book is both appropriate for the younger crowd, the main character being at their age and acting like they would, but also for the older crowd as well as the main character acts out everything we would have done at that time, heh.

I think the most important part about the book is it doesn't shy away from the conqsequences, and right to the end his actions have major ramifications on the world around him. The ending is nice and fitting, with one small concession after it all to put a small smile on your face, just a little nod to him at the end of everything he goes through that I thought was a nice touch.

The cover claims it was being made into a movie, but sadly those plans seem to be long... long abandoned. I still like to hope once in a while that the book would see light of day as a movie, with modern CGI I think the ideas in the book could be given full justice, but until that hyopthetical day, we will have this great book to tide us over.

Can't beat it for the price, I highly reccommend anyone pick this up and give it a try.

I remember purchasing this book in the sixth grade, and reading it quickly and eagerly. Quite simply, it's a wonderful book that contains profound themes in a package that's intelligent, yet easy for preteens to swallow. Abuse of power, addiction, loneliness, responsibility, greed, destiny....it's all covered in this novel. I heartily recommend purchasing this book. And guys? Don't spoil this book for other people in your reviews!

A unique blend of introspection,philosophy, WWII adventure, and aviation.

In this autobiogrpahical tale, Antoine de Saint-Exupery ruminates at length upon the situation of men within mankind, France's gallant but failing war effort, and the general context of a life lived meaningfully. He includes relationship to God. He provides specific illustrations within the context of his occupation as a pilot in the French air corps. AND . . . incredibly, he narrates most of this story while at the controls of a French military reconnaisance aircraft on a seemingly hopeless mission to Arras and back.

As St-Ex is wont to do, he flits back and forth between his reflections on life, and the current situation piloting the aircraft. The effect in fascinating, dealing with his inner thoughts while on this hopeless mission, for example describing his feeling of old age as he starves for oxygen at high altitude, fighting against his frozen controls. There is tense combat, described at one point as, flying into a "wall of brass".

On a few occasions the heavy introspection came close to losing me. I suspect that the translation from the French contributed to this, although the Lewis Galantiere translation that I read was generally nicely done.

Great writing . . . adventure . . . thoughtfulness . . . history. Does he make it back to home base? I won't ruin it for you. His writing indicates that in a way, he "found himself" while on this sortie. I will add that, as recorded in history, Saint-Exupery died when his P-38 reconnaisance plane went down in 1943, returning from a mission.

How can an author do better than "The Little Prince"? He can't. And once the dull reader--myself--accepts that, Saint-Exupery's other wonderful books become what they are meant to be: special gifts from a memorable writer.
Read "Flight to Arras" to learn about the nature of warfare, the nature of defeat and, in the midst of all this overwhelming distress, the importance of the individual.

It took more than one try for me to really get into Flight to Arras. Saint-Exupery is not the easiest of writers to follow, despite a superb writing style, because of being so deep into philosophy. And, once I did finally reach the point of being ready for this book, I was astounded. Absolutely! As always, St-Exupery taught me So Much.


To anyone who likes Saint-Exupery and wants to read this, I would say: Go for it. Don't force yourself through it, though. Wait until you're really at the place where this book will take to you, on its own.

In this autobiographical story, Saint-Ex tells of the already lost battle he found himself in during 1940 in desperate, war-torn France. He and his crew get sent on a hopeless reconnoissance flight mission over the burning City of Arras. Faced with almost certain imminent death, he is brought to the point of where he can't help but ask himself: "Where's the sense in all this? What am I doing? Why am I doing this?" And as we live through the harrowing experience with him, he lets us see into his heart and mind as he tries to find some answers.. What he comes up with is defined by solid thought resulting from acute observation (Metaphysics my foot!) of man and mankind, certainly more poignant now than ever and therefore surely timeless... And since it's Saint-Ex who relates all this in his unique humble-but-not-so-humble and profoundly human style, this is not only an exciting read about a dangerous time, but it is infused with charme and humour like some superb wine with its unique flavour and aroma. A great little book by a great man.

the book is st.-ex's thoughts and reflections as he flies a suicide recon mission during WW2. it is not an action novel, but does have some exiting parts to it. it is a thoughtful look at life. the book is not just an interesting look into the mind of someone on a doomed mission, but is motivating, thougth provoking and insightful, and has some great lines to live by. i liked it better than his other book wind, sand and stars, and my copy is all marked up and highlighted and i refer back to it often. i would reccommend this book without hesitation.

Another great experience buying a child's book through Amazon. Books received timely and as advertised. My granddaughter loves the books. I read to her every night. I like them to. Grandpa Jim

This is a good ficton book. That's what I think. It has a good cover It was a good story, and it is especially funny when Flea popped out of Gray's head. Then they had to teach her how to fly. It didn't seem so exiting that Bullsnake was not moving. But it got exciting when he moved. This book has great excitement in it! I hope you have this GREAT Book like me!

This book is about a cat that adopts a baby bird that has fallen out of it`s nest because the cat, Gray, doesn't like to eat birds. (Whoever heard of a cat that doesn't like to eat birds?) And when the bird (Gray calls Flea) goes south for the winter Gray is sad because she taught her how to fly.

I thought this book was funny.

It might have taken me a little while to read this book, but it was fabulous. There wasn't a part that I really liked the best because I enjoyed the whole book. If you like cats, birds and funny stories you will love this book.

My nine-year old daughter loved this book. The Wallace's tell this story from the animal's perspective, and do so with great success. Being country-dwellers, and animals owners, we could totally relate to all of their thoughts and antics. Gray, the new cat, along with Callie, the older (and wiser) cat, and their yard-mate Bullsnake share their lives with Mama Bird, Papa Bird and their babies. Find out what happens to Flea, the baby bird, when he takes comfort on top of Gray's head! Find out what happens when Gray visits the barn full of rats! The illustrations add much to the story.

As a teacher of the gifted I find reader's theatre a creative avenue for teaching literacy and creative dramatics. Aaron Shepard does a great job providing interesting, well organized scripts with a rich selection of myths, folktales, and legends. I greatly appreciate this valuable resource!

I love all of Aaron's books. As a future teacher who believes today's students don't know enough of the world's folktales, I know I will be using this book in my future classroom. I especially like the story of "The Sea King's Daughter." It is a wonderful story and Aaron Shepherd has done a wonderful job of adapting it and the other stories in this collection for readers' theater. I can't wait to see what he will do next.

Do you want an engaging activity to use with elementary students that fosters reading, performing and listening skills? Aaron Shephard's book is a wonderful resource for K-8 teachers to use in the classroom. This book has a variety of texts adapted for Reader's Theater from all parts of the world. It has been a great addition to our reading lessons!

The grade and school where I teach stresses folktales, legends and myths. I also wanted to try to get this in a "Reader's Theater" format. This book does just that! Bravo!

As a teacher of children with learning disabilities, I rarely find an activity that relates to the standards, a child's IEP, and is one that students rave about. This is entertaining as well as educational.

I am taking Spanish and we have a terrible book full of silly pictures. So I ordered this book and passed it around to our class to review. We all were impressed with the way Spanish is taught thru this book. Very comprehensive and easy to learn. This is a must!!!!

I'm still studying with this book, and it is extremely helpful! Vocabulary is quickly provided to the reader and before you know it you're spouting simple Spanish sentences instead of just given phrases to memorize. There are exercises after each new thing you learn, making it easier for content to stay in your mind and actually learning it. An answer key is provided at the end of the book to check your work.

Hoping to perhaps retire to Mexico, I am endeavoring to learn Spanish on my own after 30+ years has passed since I had to take Spanish in college. Although it certainly is not sufficient by itself (because one needs to actually hear the language being spoken), I find it is one of the best books I've purchased for learning the Spanish language. The material is very well organized, and I concur with those reviewers who rave about the book.

The vocabulary lists, especially, are very helpful to me. I find that, in browsing them as I work through the chapters, I can refresh myself on what I used to know and pick up new vocabulary. It's encouraging to realize that, even with my native English vocabulary, I forget the meanings of words I don't often use and a dictionary is always at hand if I don't understand something. I feel like less of a dufus, in other words. The lists in Fundamental Spanish are plentiful, but each list is not overly long, so I can literally review a list when I'm watching TV, when a commercial comes on, and pick it back up later. Having the book in Kindle format, of course, makes it very easy and convenient to always have the book with me, so I get far more instruction and practice than I would if it were sitting on a bookshelf.

Highly recommended.

Fundamental Spanish is excellent for students and teachers of Spanish. It provides an accessibility into particular grammatical subjects as well as providing excellent content for learning or reviewing Spanish grammar. Without a doubt, Fundamental Spanish could be used as a text for beginners (adults/college prep) who have a grasp of grammar in general.

The book was required for a Spanish Class, was received in a very timely manner, however, the price listed on the back of the book was $26.95. Amazon charged $29.00 in addition for the shipping. What was that about??

This book is fantastic, and is the functional opposite of all those repetitive drill- and workbooks. The "games" are unique and ingenious: low-tech enough to do on the fly, but fostering solid math and language skills. The author divides the book into subjects (logic, math, language, science), and then groups the activities in each subject according to grade level. From my experience with the book (mainly math and language), Kaye's games are appropriate for each grade level, and can be adapted to teach slightly younger children. My kids love playing any kind of game, and the book has become my go-to resource when one of them needs a little extra help understanding concepts learned at school. The time spent playing with your kids is an extra bonus.

The book is as described, "Ten minutes a day...from kindergarten to third grade". I bought the book thinking it might have games that I could use with my almost three-year-old son. I think that the ideas in the book are terrific, not games that I would think of on my own. I will definitely be using this book when my son is older. But, for other over-achieving parents like me, save your money and buy this book when your child is older. There are over 80 games in this book, I think it is a great value. The games are useful for all parents, whether you homeschool or your children attend traditional school.

As a mom of a kindergartener and a preschooler, who works outside the home, and maintains the home the rest of the time, I constantly felt too tired to play with my kids. Most kids games are so boring for an adult that I'd be falling asleep or lose my patience when they couldn't follow the rules or get too goofy half-way through the game. I also did a poor job feeling like I was teaching them anything to help them do well in school.

The games in this book are perfect for a tired parent to play with little or no advance preparation required. No hunting up paper plates or craft sticks or glue or paper lunch bags. Just think of a word to rhyme with or grab a sticky note or an index card or an old grocery store receipt and write a letter on it and hide in in plain sight and ask your child to find the sound for that letter.

Some good games for playing while waiting in a restaurant or doctor's office like draw a letter and have your child trace around and keep it tracing around it so you have a series of rings shaped like the letter. Secret sentence helps improve memory and makes your child feel special because they have a "secret" with mom or dad for the day.

I feel great because I'm interacting with my kids more in a way that doesn't tax me and I know I'm helping to sharpen the skills they need for learning at the same time. They love it because Mom is playing with them and the games are fun. Playing these games are often the best 10-20 minutes a day I have with my kids. That it will help them do better in school makes it even more valuable to me as a parent.

I used this book when homeschooling my son many years ago. I just bought it for my sister who will be homeschooling her daughter this coming year. It is a great way to "make your own" curriculum and very inexpensive too! Great ideas using simple material that help kids learn; in 10 minutes and fun for them. I highly recommend this book as well as all of Peggy Kaye's Learning books.

This book is a real find. It is full of inventive and fun little games that teach skills needed for reading and math in such a way that children have so much fun they don't even realize they are learning. Kaye introduces each game with a description of the student and the learning problem she designed it for, and there is a key next to each game with suggested grade levels, both of which help the reader to pick out the best games for their kids or students. She aslo explains what each game teaches.

I bought the book because my daughter was having some trouble with reading and math in Kindergarten. I've tried out a few games and she enjoyes them while it provides us with quality time together. I've also learned from the directions some key tools for how to approach children and learning tasks so that they feel like fun, not a task, for example, Kaye recommends that we play the games with the child, taking turns and participating equally.The book has also helped me to understand where my daughter is coming from at the age of five, what kinds of developmental issues are common, and how to recognize where learning is occurring. Though I'm a college professor, I didn't have a clue how to teach a child or what was age-appropriate. So, the book not only helps me educate my daughter, but it is educating me about teaching and learning, and the games are easy to fit into a busy schedule.