Language Arts Books

Also, a great tool to capture your student's attention outside the daily book work. This book allows the students to use their creativity to apply knowledge learned in a fun engaging activity.

This book contains great ideas to have kids learn through easy and engaging hands-on activities. All the ideas provided are organized in alphabetical order, and for each activity you will find suggestions on how to apply it through different areas across the curriculum. Some of the ideas included are how to make and use: door hangers, flags, journals, pop-up books, puzzles, chains, paper bag activities, shape books, triaramas and quadriaramas (which are beautiful and easy-to-make paper dioramas for reading comprehension, science, etc), mobiles and many more. Some ideas require basic materials like construction paper, envelopes, boxes, paper plates, and other household items. If the activity requires a specific template, the book contains a section of patterns that can be photocopied (like for example the pattern to make cubes, door hangers, pop-up cards, visors, and much more). Most of the activities require no further preparation and most can be done with the every day resources that most teachers keep in their classrooms.

This is a great book for elementary teachers no matter what subject they teach, because most of the ideas can be applied across the curriculum. If you want something innovative for your students, this book will help you give a twist to your lessons and you will definitely use fewer worksheets and obtain better results!

I always refer to this book when I need a new idea or activity to do in class. The activities are simple and can be adapted to virtually any subject. The appendix contains all the templates you need, however most lessons do not require copying. Puzzles, quilts, box activities, journals, mobiles, flags, and recipes are just a sampling of what this book has to offer.

My wife and I have used this (we refer to it as the "yellow book" in our teaching). I'm a 3rd-4th grade teacher and I can say that Alternatives to Worksheets is excellent when you want to get away from the ever-present dittos. The activities are fun and they let you students be as creative as they want to be. I even let my students choose what they want to do from this book and its sequel MORE Alternative to Worksheets. It is excellent for English language learners because they are visually rich and not hard to do projects. Fun, fun, fun. Fun for the teacher too, because it's a break from the same ole'-same ole'!

Each page in this book is a potential great idea to be used as is or adapted for the classroom or even at home. Projects include accordion books, cubes, journals, paper bag activities, and patterns. Although some of the ideas are not novel, they are all brought together and packaged in a handy dandy book.

I adore this book! I have it on my nightstand and can just open it up anywhere and be entertained and delighted. One can find facts and qoutes that are truly beautiful. I few of the passages literally took my breath away.

If you love books and reading, this is a MUST have!

I found the place by accident; I always do. It isn't as though I set out looking for them but they call out to me. I don't even have to see them. Sometimes I can simply sense their presence. The closer I draw, the greater their insistence, the more persuasive their arguments, and the stronger the attraction. A good bookstore is irresistible.

Some time ago, I was with some friends and we stopped in a café briefly. My bookstore indicator went through the roof and after very little looking, I discovered the Acorn bookstore in Grandview. I'll save the complete story for another time. Inside, I found a book of particular interest: one that might describe how I am able to discover such bookstores so easily and why I am so enamored of books. The volume was Holbrook Jackson's The Anatomy of Bibliomania, this 1981 edition being supertitled, The Book About Books.

"Bibliomania" sounded like a strong word to me-its meaning obviously being "book-madness." Nevertheless, consideration of the possibility seemed wise, and likely a pleasurable task, as it would include an addition to my library and some hours spent in reading and introspection. After looking over the extensive table of contents, I turned to the opening and read, "The Author to the Reader." Therein, it said:

"Gentle Reader, I presume thou wilt be very inquisitive to know what antic or personate actor it is that so insolently intrudes upon this common theatre to the world's view, arrogating as you will soon find, another man's style and method: whence he is, why he does it, and what he has to say. 'Tis a proper attitude, and the questions clear and reasonable themselves, but I owe thee no answer, for if the contents please thee, 'tis well; if they be useful, 'tis an added value; if neither, pass on, nor, in the observation of what wise Glanvill, hath any one need to complain, since no one is concerned about what another Prints, further than himself pleaseth; and since Men have liberty to read our Books, or not, they should give us leave to write what we like, or forbear, which for the most part they do.

"Yet in some sort to give thee satisfaction, which thou hast a right to demand, since I have caused my book to be printed and sold for money, I will show a reason both of this usurped title and style. And first for the name and form, which I hae so freely adapted from Robert Burton his Anatomy of Melancholy: lest any man by reason of it should be deceived, expecting a pasquil, a scherzo, a burlesque, a satire, some humorous or fantastic treatise (as I myself should have done, recalling that all parodies are jests), I may at once undeceive him, for my intent is serious; I have gleaned the crops of innumerable authorities scattered far and wide, winnowing the chaff from the grain, and setting out the various species in such an order that they may best contribute to our knowledge of books in general and of Bibliomania in particular."

I was hooked, and purchased the book. Its structure is thirty-two parts, covering such things as "Of Books in General," "The Pleasure of Books," "The Art of Reading," "Study and Book-Learning," "A Pageant of Bookmen," "The Influence of Books," "Borrowers, Biblioklepts and Bestowers," "Of Bibliomania or Book-Madness," and concludes with "Bibliophily Triumphant."

A passage I found particularly noteworthy was "Men Who Become Books: Biblianthropus."

"If, as I have shown, pro captu lectoris habent sua fata libelli, [`The reader's fancy makes the fate of books'] books, as I have also shown, make the fate of their readers; it is a quid pro quo, give and take."

As I read through the text, I found that the treatise became an increasingly plausible argument that I afflicted by bibliomania. I have long believed in this quid pro quo and indeed have proclaimed to the entire world time and again that lego, ergo sum. Even so, in the sections where Jackson discusses the hunters and collectors of books, he shows that bibliomanes often do not read their books. Their love of books is often superficial, appreciating much about them but ultimately being driven by such things as greed, or at the very least profit. I found myself disconnected from the subjects of the discussion.

The opening of the conclusion, entitled "Wedded to Books," I found myself once again connected with the subject. Jackson advises:

"Let us love books as we love, dum vires annique sinunt, while we are in the flower of years, fit for love, and while time serves,

Gather ye rose-buds while ye may,
Old Time is still a-flying:
And this same flower that smiles to-day
To-morrow will be dying."

Bibliophily is a natural and even healthful state, for books are the most timeless way for us to proclaim who we are and to find out who our ancestors were. I suggest that there is no better way to find one's place in the world than first to survey the world. I hold that there is no better way to survey the world and human experience than through books. With this knowledge of the world, one has a frame of reference for one's own experiences and can see one's own life in perspective. This understanding will not only enhance one's own experiences, but through discernment leads to wisdom: knowing what to do when confronted with decision, how to promote what is ultimately good. Or, as Johann Kaspar admonished:

"Act well at the moment, and you have performed a good action to all eternity."

So this is the crux of bibliophily for me, even if I do enjoy such simple pleasures as seeing, smelling, and touching books. Nevertheless, the world of books is large enough to allow for reading that is less purposeful in nature, even allowing for the pointless. Other bookmen, whether bibliomanes or bibliophiles, may well take liberty of disagreement with me; and I have no interest in preventing them in any case. Having taken Jackson's tour of bibliomania, I am well satisfied with both the content and presentation. And I'm delighted to have another volume to add to my library.

If you are an aficionado of "books about Books" ,you'll love this classic.
The author,Holbrook Jackson ,who died in 1948 at the age of 73 was one of England's foremost men of letters.He was primarily a "bookman" who loved books and everything about them,and what they were to him ,he wanted them to be for others.It has been said, that when it came to books he was a conductor,not a composer-and what a brilliant conductorhe was.
This book was first published in 1930 when Jackson was 55. It came out in 2 volunes comprising 435 pages and a small printing of only 1,000 copies. It has been reprinted in several editions and still available in a soft cover. It is one of those books that people hold onto and is readily available in various editions. I bought my copy in "The Sleepy Hollow Bookshop" in Midland ,Michigan,in 1997.It is the Hardcover edition ,published in 1950,consisting of 668 pages ,excellent condition,including the dj,and very reasonable priced at $20. As I have always been attracted to books about books,I was captivated by it immediately. Since that time,I have glanced at it many times,but finally got aroumnd to reading it through. Since the time I bought it,I've read several other books about books and written reviews on them. I 've enjoyed them all ,but this is without doubt a classic.
You must keep in mind that this book was written 60 years ago .It also concentrates mainly on British and European books,collectors,authors,classics,etc.However;what the author writes about applies to any books anywhere.He covers everything imaginable about readers,collectors ,booksellers,collections and not muchabout authors ,other than their love of books,versus writing them. Also,don't think that ,with so many pages,the book is too detailed and gets bogged down.There ree co many subjects covered that any subject covered is done in a couple of pages.It is broken down into 32 Parts or Chapters.with each Part again broken down into several sectionsFor instance ,Part XXXIV,

The Symptons of Bi"Tbliomania;there are 7 sub sections;
I.The Symptons Introduced
II. Wherein the Madness Lies
III. Its Main Character an Obsession
IV. Of Hording
V. Bibliotaphs and Book Misers
VI.Of Pluralists
VII. The Mania for Rarity.
All this is covered in 18 pages.
One thing that becomes very evident is the immense difference with readers and books from the time this book was written and today ;is the introduction of the Internet on the whole world of Bibliography. Those were the days that most books were found in small local bookstores.Book lovers spent endless hours searching bookstores in hopes of finding their books. Now virtually any book can be found and acquired via the Internet. Also,Bookfairs and Events like street sales are great ways to find books and even meet authors.In Totonto we have huge charitible used
book sales run by Univrersities.;who get donations of books from theri Alumni.
And then we have Amazon and the communitaion among readers with Customer Reviews. All these new advancements would be totally unimaginable,to Bibliophiles.But ,once again,all the things that Jackson talks about are stii as revalent today as they were then ;but even more so.

a tongue-in-cheek look at the "madness" of bibliomania, inspired by Robert Burton's 17th century classic "The Anatomy of Melancholy", this book is filled with fun facts and interesting anecdotes from the world of books. If you're a book-collector, booklover, bookseller, or just all-around bookaholic, you'll delight in this compendium of book trivia, and in the clinical classification of the numerous manifestations of bibliomania (book-madness), from the book-thief to the book-abuser to the book-hoarder, and everything inbetween - but be careful you don't find yourself described therein!

This is it. Huge, plenty of data, infinite in its approaches, full of ideas, rich in details, abundant in humor and written in a circunvoluted english as if written by a XVII wit. In fact, as if Robert Burton would have done it now, as in fact he did it then.

My 2 yr old (almost 3) loves this book. Initially, it was a bit much for him as there are more words on the page than he was used to, but now he loves it. He loves the pie at the end.

This is a great, great book, and appeals to all in the age group that is described. I have to read this thing at least 4 times every single night. The colors are fantastic and the story is just very funny. Poor Bob. He and Larry serve as voluteers for Archibald's opposites lessons and well, Bob is short so he gets the short end of the stick! While Larry gets a chocolate pie, Bob gets a sour lemon! Poor Archibald gets it in the end from Bob and it's pretty funny! Nothing like a chocolate pie in the face to send a toddler off laughing! It's also nice to use these books to break up the monotony of learning so much "stuff" in the early years of school. They're just so very funny and you don't forget them. How can you forget the opposite of clean when Archibald is standing there with a pie in his face? It's very well done and I sincerely hope that there are more of these because if there are, I'm buying them all! Highly recommend!

My daughter is barely two, but absolutely loves this book. The pictures are very bright and colorful, and they are very thick and sturdy. The people who designed this book were thinking about children this age. The pages are not thick like a board book, but not really thin like a regular book, therefore, it would be much harder for a children to tear the pages of this book, especially accidentally. The story rhymes like all of the bob and larry books or videos. This is also good for the children. The length of the story is great too. It is not too long with too many opposites because too many would make the book overwhelming to children this age. This is my first veggie book in the educational series, but I am going to get the other ones that are available. How can you lose with veggie tales and books together.

Poor Bob suffers so, as he and Larry help Archibald teach a lesson on opposites. But a suprise ending will keep kids (and grown-ups) reading and laughing along with the loveable Veggie Gang!

Those wacky veggies have done it again. This time they teach ages 3-7 the concept of "opposites" while carrying on their usual silly antics. My first grade class begged me to read this book again and again when they wanted a little silliness added to their day. It challenged them to think of additional sets of words that were opposite of each other after each reading.

Art Fundamentals is a great text book. It gives information, examples, and drives you from basics to most modern concepts and trends.

[ASIN:0072878711 Art Fundamentals and CC CD-ROM v3.0 (MP)]]

Recieved quicker than expected. Purchased the "without CD" option. Book was in excellent condition. Thanks!

I have an older version of this book. I found this most recent version good because of the color pictures. The CD that comes with it is also a nice edition as it walks you through the principles presented in the book using Flash. However, the older version seems more clear in the area of writing and vocabulary. I'm not sure why you need to change an edition by making it wordier, but that seems to be the case here.

So, overall, it's a good book because of its pictures and CD. If you don't have earlier versions of the book you won't be missing anything so I'd recommend it wholeheartedly. If you do own an earlier copy and want this one as well, try to find it cheaper on another site.

This book was exactly what the teacher wanted and it got to me in a timely manner!! Thank you so much.

This new tenth edition of this classic book has been expanded and changed in two significant ways.

First the CD-ROM that comes with the book has been extensively enhanced under the direction of Bonnie Mitchell of Bowling Green State University. The CD-ROM now opens with a menu of five major areas:

Elements and Principles of Art
Art Techniques
Chapter Resources, reviewing each chapter in the book.
Study Skills Primer
Internet Resources (aimed at those new to the web).

The book itself has been brought up to date with a broader array of media and represents more diverse artists than previously. New sections have been added on video art, contemporary photography, and global art. In addition the entire text has been reviewed and changed to increase the readability.

Finally the book has been integrated with the publishers Online Learning Center which has quite a bit of additional material including trial quizzes, flash cards, crossword puzzles (to assist in the vocabulary development), and a link to McGraw-Hills Art Supersite with additional more general information.

This book has long been a standard text in the field. The new edition brings it completely up to date.

Volume 2 of "The Art of Computer Programming" is about random numbers and also about relearning one of the three Rs from grade school, viz. arithmetic. Each topic gets one chapter.

When you generate random numbers in Excel, or VBA, or Perl, or C using functions packaged with the software, you are really using a deterministic algorithm that is not random at all; the results do however look random and so we call them "pseudorandom".

Chapter 3 contains four main sections. First a section devoted to the linear congruence method (Xn+1=(aXn + c) mod m) of generating a pseudorandom sequence; with subsections on how to choose good values for a, c, and m. Second we get a section about how to test sequences to find if they are acceptably random or not. Third we find a section on other methods, expanding on linear congruence. Finally in a particularly fascinating section, DK provides a rigorous definition of randomness.

I haven't looked much at chapter 4 yet, on arithmetic. In it Knuth covers positional arithmetic, floating point arithmetic, multiplication and division at the machine level, prime numbers and efficient ways of investigating the primeness of very large numbers.

Again, DK is thorough and methodical. Again this is not a for dummies book. Again it is about theorems, algorithms, mechanical processes, and timeless truths. Again the exercises are a fascinating blend of the practical (investigate the random generating functions on the computers in your office) to the mathematical (he asks readers to formally prove many of the theorems he cites). And yes, again Knuth uses MIX, that wonderfully archaic fictional 60s machine language. But that should not stop readers; I use Perl.

Vincent Poirier, Tokyo

I recently modified a program I wrote so that it would do operations on polynomials with multi-precision coefficients. For this, I turned to Knuth. This 3-volume set is a great starting point for learning how to implement mathematical calculations on a machine.

Don't listen to the "Reader" from CA. This person obviously has a bone to pick with Knuth. Maybe (s)he failed one of his classes. Maybe (s)he should write his/her own book on the subject.

Of course this is a classic programming text, but the book is fascinating from a mathematical point as well. The discussion of random number generation is worth the price alone. Also neat is the discussion of why numbers with lower initial digits are 'more common' in practice than those with higher initial digits, a topic I've never seen treated elsewhere.

This book is the bible of coputer programming

It contains algorithms on pseudo-random sequences, algotithms on aritmetic operations on number, matrices ect.

The only drawback of this book is that all algprothms are writeen in MIX - some kind of assembler, that make them hard to read.

This book offers a stringent treatment of random number generators and algorithms not found anywhere else. It is particularly valuable for those that deal with encryption and the analysis of cyphers. The exercises add admirably to the text. References to other books in the field are extensive. The book is written in a non-wordy, but still very readable style, making it accessible to serious computer scientists at all levels. A mathematical background is necessary.

Short stories and advice from 52 great authors of short fiction. Need I really say more? I love a good short story collection, and this most certainly is one. Over 900 pages, so you can enjoy it for a long time. Copyright 2006, meaning I was no longer passing myself off as a teacher when it was published. I could've used it then. But no matter. I still read for pleasure, and it certainly gave me much of that. Another keeper.

This book's title and subtitle are a good summary for a book I feel belongs every creative writing class and on the desk of every aspiring writer. And for only $18.95 USD for 926 pages, the book is a bargain. If you've recently purchased books for a college class, you will know what I mean, I've paid upwards of $100 for a book.

The Art of the Short Story is an anthology of the best stories from the best short story writers. See if you recognize a few of these names: Nathaniel Hawthorne, Stephen Crane, Edgar Allen Poe, Sherwood Anderson, Herman Melville, Jack London, Gustave Flaubert, James Joyce, Leo Tolstoy, Virginia Woolf, Henry James, Franz Kafka, Kate Chopin, D. H. Lawrence, Joseph Conrad, Anton Chekov, F. Scott Fitgerald, William Faulkner, Jorge Luis Borges, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Ernest Hemingway, Ursula K. Le Guin, John Updike, Raymond Carver, Ralph Ellison, Joyce Carol Oates, Shirley Jackson, Margaret Atwood, Alice Walker, Flannery O'Connor.

What I like best about this book is that, in addition to the great short stories, the book also contains commentary from each author. The commentary varies. The author might discuss how or why the story was written, or public reaction to the story, or their view of literature, or give specific advice on an area of the writer's craft. For example: Earnest Hemingway's essay is on Crafting one True Line. Jorge Luis Borge's author perscpective is Literature as Experience. Shirley Jackson's essay is The Public Reception of "The Lottery." There are too many to list here but the masters discuss the entire spectrum of short story writing from why to write to elements such as character, plot, style, and suspense to authorial explanation and defense of stories.

This collection has a nice variety of authors and stories. There are unmistakable classics like Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery," Ernest Hemingway's "A Clean, Well-Lighted Place" and James Baldwin's "Sonny's Blues" but also stories by several authors I had never been introduced to before. The result is a fascinating range of styles and perspectives which make the book a compelling and inspiring read.

In addition, many of the "Author's Perspective" pieces give great insights into the lives and views of the writers. For example, Baldwin writes about "Race and the African-American Writer," Faulkner writes about "The Human Heart in Conflict with Itself," and Kafka discusses "The Metamorphosis." These are writings that are not often seen, yet they go a very long way toward placing the story and author in context.

I wholeheartedly recommend this book.

Excellent book for reading top notch literature and improving knowledge about contemporary authors. I really enjoyed the collection of work assembled in this book.

I bought this book to use in a course on short fiction at MIT. I expected the usual history of literature book, but what this contains is a treasure of not only excellent, popular fiction, but essays by each of the authors that are as interesting as the stories. I don't think you can find a better collection to study the art of the short story anywhere.

This is a good translation with a helpful introduction. I prefer Hamill's translation to the version in Barnstone and Ping's _Anchor Book of Chinese Poetry_; Hamill's translation has a lot of "space," for lack of a better term.

I plan on exposing my students to some of the advice here. For example, Lu Chi says, "Restrain verbosity, establish order;/ otherwise, further and further revision." I can't argue with that.

My only reservation about the book is that it's so expensive. For a few dollars more, you could get the Anchor book, which has highlights from the Wen Fu and much, much more.

This book would make a nice gift, though.

I've had this book for about three years. At the time that I bought it, the title was out of print and I had to buy it direct from the publisher, Milkweed Editions. Along with another classic, Basho's A Haiku Journey, this book never leaves my backpack. I pull them out to free my mind and get me back on track. A must for any writer.

Terry Bowman, author of unReQuiTed

This beautiful book is an inspiring resource for writers and anyone who is touched by creatvity. I return to its pages of wisdom again and again for guidance as I try to write. It is a classic that must be in every library. I have purchased several to give to friends.

A few days ago I told someone that I wanted to be able to write more like Lao Tzu. Humility is not one of my stronger suits... That I wanted to be able to write as profoundly and yet concisely as the "OldBoy" himself... I can dream can't I? Today while looking at a book about Thoreau at a local bookstore "Wen Fu" caught my attention. I openned it and discovered that it had been written in the third century by Lu Chi, a soldier-poet. That the "Wen Fu" is a book about the art of writing poetry and intended for those who wish to engage the art of letters at its deepest levels. It discusses the joys and problems that face both writer and reader and provides basic insights about many techniques of this style of writing. The more I read the better it got. It is a book about having the courage of your convictions where writing is concerned.

Sam Hamill's Introduction is excellent at setting up Lu Chi's "Wen Fu". I found it very helpful in understanding and appreciating Lu Chi's words about words.

"Consider the use of letters.
All principles demand them.

Though they travel a thousand miles or more,
nothing in this world can stop them.

They traverse the thousands of years."

The art of writing is about using words as much as they use us.

Well, you know the saying, the pen is mightier than the sword, so I guess Lu Chi is mightier than Sun Tzu. This book was written about 1700 years ago by a Chinese noble.

The words are very inspiring and quite beautiful. This is a writer's book, one to own if you are a writer, or one to give as a gift that will be appreciated, if you want to make a writer happy.

Here's a sample:

"Caught between the unborn and the living, a writer struggles to maintain both depth and surface."

and

on rewriting:

"Perhaps only a single blossom from the whole bouquet will bloom."

This is a very short book, but one you will revisit.

I am a middle school teacher who found this book full of useful ideas which I have incorporated into my poetry unit. I also have Ms. Heard's book, For the Good of the Earth and Sun,and I found this one (Heart)to contain more practical lessons on poetry mechanics. She describes the how-to's of poetic language, form, rhythm and rhyme, etc, which were easily adapted to fit my students' needs. I did have to do a lot of reading and typing (no ready-to-copy pages) but it was worth the effort. I esp loved the heart mapping and the six-room description process.

Georgia Heard's book Awakening the Heart: Exploring Poetry in Elementary and Middle School suggests ways for teachers to help students have positive, successful experiences with appreciating poetry and creating their own poems. Heard gives poetry workshops for teachers and has worked in many classrooms with students at different grade levels in schools across the country. Her book, Awakening the Heart, reflects how far our understanding of the teaching of poetry has come: students will not come to see themselves as poets if poetry instruction is relegated to a "poetry unit" after state tests have been administered.

Heard's book reaches out to teachers who haven't taught poetry in a workshop format before in that it offers the same descriptions of poetry and poetic terms that she uses when she speaks to students, reteaching us the essentials of poetry as we prepare to teach others. She gives examples of directions useful in explaining the centers to students, and includes student work produced in classrooms Heard has worked in. The reader gains the confidence that taking time to gain inspiration from Heard's minilessons, coupled with dedication to a positive classroom environment that integrates poetry into daily life, will really help students to become poets who read poetry with understanding and craft it thoughtfully.

Ms. Heard has put together exercises and knowledge to create a stunning list of usable classroom exercises. She uplifts even the most discouraged teacher heart and gives you the renewed vigor to attack ignorance while inspiring others to find the light within.

This is a wonderful book for both the new and the experienced teacher hoping to bring depth and breadth to their classroom poetry programs. I used it as a first-year teacher of writing, but ended up buying a second copy after sharing-out my original with a colleague with substantially more experience.

For starters, the book is well-written and concise. For busy teachers (is that a tautology?) this means you will really read and really use it. It has all the elements that keep such readers engaged: practical classroom ideas, samples of student work, segmentation of topics into smaller components and, wide-ranging perspective.

Most importantly, however, the book has PASSION! Heard launches you with an introduction entitled "Poetry, Like Bread, Is for Everyone". She maintains this level of enthusiasm through to the last page, where she quotes Matthew Fox to the effect that "The Celtic peoples... insisted that only poets could be teachers... knowledge that is not passed through the heart is dangerous."

I agree - passion HAS TO BE the core of a poetry program in elementary or middle school. Amidst the wash of demand for reading and writing more expository material that standardized testing has brought to the writing class, passion and poetry have often slipped to the background. The poetry 'program' can become a quick trot through narrow 'tricksie' forms like name-poems and shape-poems. Kids need more. You do too.

Heard offers a wonderful suite of approaches to poetry 'centers' in a chapter on "Making a Poetry Environment." These include listening, illustration, performance and music centers as well as poetry windows, amazing language center and a handful more. The centers-based approach can be hard to manage unless properly prepared, but it is a wonderful way to build fluidity into a process that otherwise suffers from rigidity of task or schedule. This book will offer strong support for such an approach.

In the chapter discussing "Writing Poetry", Heard takes the metaphor of the door as entryway, suggesting, among others, the "observation door", the "concern about the world door" and the "wonder door." She then moves to the details of crafting of poetry with a "toolbox" metaphor and a nice collection of tools. In this as in the earlier instances, her pedagogical metaphors will serve your students but also serve to structure your planning and presentation of concepts. Heard concludes with a chapter about the observational element of the poet's craft - what she terms "sharpening outer and inner visions", and a number of useful appendices.

I'm certain this book will light-up your enthusiasm for a poetry-based classroom.

I used this book as a basis for starting a poetry study in my classroom of 4th graders. The information and ideas that Ms. Heard gives are fantastic. It helps you create an poetry friendly environment, not just a few lessons. My students responded whole-heartedly to the suggested activities. The heart map activity was one of their favorites. She gives advice on how to help children write from their hearts and access true emotion (as opposed to writing about surface feelings,"I like my Nintendo"). This is the best poetry book for classroom instruction that I've found. Also, it is an easy and quick read.
I saw her speak on this book at Regis University in June 2003, she is an engaging speaker and it made me love the book even more.

After looking around at many books on baby signing, we eventually decided to purchase 'Baby Signing for Dummies'. We are so pleased that we did! This book is so well-written and easy to read, not like a textbook at all! You can tell that this book was written by a mother, it is practical, full of good advice, funny and most of all realistic! I recommend this book to anyone who wishes to learn about baby signing.

A must have for parents wanting to sign with their children. Easy to use. It is easy to jump right into the signing without reading the entire book, quick easy reference. This book has been very helpful in teaching my daughter to sign. Great starting point. Also true ASL signs.

Great book, this has been very helpful communicating with our young grandchildren!!!

If you've heard any of the buzz about teaching your baby to sign, but don't know or understand the importance...this book will tell you. It's informative and easy to read. You'll learn some basic and everyday useful signs to share with your baby. Signing is advantageous for all ages to learn. My almost 7 year old and 3 1/2 year old really enjoy learning new signs (now that I have a book) past the couple I taught them eons back and help with the 20 month old in her learning. Signing makes communicating so much easier too. Neither one of us is frustrated in knowing when she's done eating or wanting more. I can communicate across a noisy room without yelling. And to find out that it's only helping their brain power by learning to sign...what parent or caregiver wouldn't want that. This book helps make that possible in easy steps.

This book is a great way to learn sign language and teach your babies/kids. My now 20 month old is able to tell me what she needs and there is much less frustration in the house than I had with my first child at this age. My 4 1/2 year old and my 20 month old can communicate with each other as well through signs. I love this book and it has started me on a path of learning/teaching more signs. You can't go wrong with it - even if you only use one sign from it (you don't have to remember them all to have your life easier by using signs).

This text contains short lessons on at least a hundred common concepts in English, with straightforward, everyday examples.

In the appendix, there is the best-organized list of irregular verbs I've seen. The verbs are categorized according to their irregularity, so that the patterns can be studied. Each of my students has a copy that (s)he refers to often.

The Table of Contents is spectacular. Each topic is broken into several different units, which are each well-described. I find this organization particularly helpful when a student mentions (s)he is having trouble understanding, say, the use of the present progressive to express the future. I thumb through the contents, and in seconds, I know to show Unit 20. Especially helpful if you and the student don't know that it's called the present progressive, just that people say "I am playing tennis tomorrow." Waste no time flipping through the index of another book only to find it a dead-end.

Lastly, the sections on prepositions (which are so difficult to teach) are wonderful. We have teachers who won't use anything else and students who have found them very helpful.

I'm using this book to teach my girlfriend English. She is from Brazil. This book is excellent, well structured, and progressive. The vocabulary its controlled. There are a lot of work with the verbs (to be), and (to have).The book also covers progressives and irregular past verb tenses.

If your native language is not English you need this book. If you teach English grammar you need this book. I have seen quite a few English grammar books and this one is the best. Somebody might find another book that is as good but they will probably never find one that is better.

It's an excellent book which will help you to keep in touch with the correct english grammar. If you aren't a native english speaker and you want to learn english language , don't worry!!! this book is going to help you with your studies, it is going to clear any grammar misunderstanding.This could be considered as an english handbook. And if you are a native english grammar you could use this book too, because sometimes you might need to clear some grammar rules to speak "your best english". Don't lose the opportunity of reading this book.

I agree 100% with the ESOL instructor from Lawrenceburg, IN. I, too, am an ESL instructor, and this book is absolutely my best resource. Each unit is a self-contained lesson (if you want to use it that way), with an explanation and examples of the point being covered, followed by a page of exercises for student practice. It's very easy to use for in-class work, homework, student self study, and even pre-class review by the teacher. I love it!