Language Arts Books

This is a beautifully composed and illustrated manuscript from an obscure monastery in late Medieval Europe, combining "Medieval style mysticism" with "Renaissance style inquiry" to present a work dedicated to the arcane lore of the unicorn. Selected pages of the manuscript are reproduced (with amazing drawings) and the Latin translated. What I liked most was the layout and atmosphere of the drawings and text which makes a few thousand words and dozen pictures into a great book. A great find!

A magnificent book telling the origin of the unicorns and it's wonders. Highly recomended! Specially if your a unicorn lover! :D

I read this book very many years ago and it is still a treasured possesion in our home. I was a seeker, and I have found the truth and beauty of the unicorn. I believe !

I loved it. It is a wonderful story, whether it be fiction or not. It is symbolically the story of a seeker of Truth whose messenger is the unicorn. I recommend it to anyone who seriously seeks Universal Truth.

Mr. Green has provided a sumptuous feast of color illustrations of the mystical Unicorn in a wide variety of settings, and with the accompanying original text, transports one's imagination to an enchanted, magical land. Though the editions of this book as of this writing are out of print, it is well worth the effort to locate a copy - I prefer the earlier edition where the illustrations were in their original smaller but more vivid appearance. A lovely book throughout.

I use this series of books throughout the school year in third grade before jumping into the parts of speech. They are a fun and engaging way to start off a lesson.

Loved the illustrations & rhyming in the book. Kept the attention of my students.

These books are so good at helping kids learn the parts of speech. They give so many clear examples of sentences, with the specific part of speech in a different color so everyone will notice it. I used these in a classroom during english class and they all loved it. A+ to this book!

Can the topic of adverbs be colorful, interesting....dare I say it? Fun? Apparently Brian P. Cleary and his innovative cat-loving illustrator Brian Gable think so! Not only does Cleary explain this difficult part of speech to grade schoolers with a rhyming, lively verse, my college sophomore is not above consulting this WORDS ARE CATEGORICAL series for the lessons within. You've done it again, Brian and Brian!

Also recommended: A Mink, a fink, a skating rink: What is a Noun? Hairy, Scary, Ordinary: What is an Adjective To Root, to Toot, to Parachute: What is a Verb? Under, Over, By the Clover: What is a Preposition?

These books both entertaining and educational. The illustrations are fabulous! We have nearly all of Brian Cleary's books. Not since Schoolhouse Rock has learning been this much fun!

Sal Glynn gives it to us straight and with (FINALLY!) a sense of humor. "Dog Walks.." is a must have for writers trying to publish. It's smart without being pretentious, thorough without being overwhelming and all in all, the perfect handbook for writers of all shapes/sizes/levels. Sal knows what he's talking about, and thankfully, he also knows how to make us laugh when LOOOOORD knows, as writers, we need to. Like, a lot.

"The Dog Walked Down The Street: An Outspoken Guide For Writers Who Want To Publish" by Sal Glynn is 96-pages of solid, practical, experienced, 'user friendly' instructional advice for authors in answering a series of fundamental questions about their work such as: When you finish the first draft how do you decide whether its really good or simply too flawed to submit for publication? How do you go about finding a good agent? Sal Glynn draws upon his years of personal and professional experience working as a managing editor for book publishers to demystify the common problems encountered by novice authors and experience writers alike; presents a clear, accessible approach to writing for publication; offers practical 'first aid' for writers, details just how to stay sane and healthy while writing, and provides aspiring writers yearning to break into print with a strong and effective foundation for their present and future work. "The Dog Walked Down The Street" is a welcome, thoroughly useful, and critically essential addition to any dedicated author's reference shelf.

Glynn's tour de force may prove to be the only page-turner in non-fiction; my copy, at least, has many pages turned down. I will go back again and again, not only for the bon mots he delivers on every page, but because his brief, incisive points motivate me to write more often, send more query letters, try one more time. "Get to it", he seems to say, and "here's how". Authors, editors and publishers: his book will save you hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars. And did I mention that it's funny?

Buy a copy for each aspiring writer on your gift list, and another for your reference shelf. This is a book for the ages. And--Sal? Please write another one soon.

As a new author (2005) I was very naive about the ways to work with a publisher. I expected more hand-holding, and didn't know how to help the pubishing house staff help me. I so wish I had access to the clarity in "The Dog Walked Down the Street." Sal Glynn knows the book business from the ground up, and loves to help people turn an idea into a book. His viewpoint is pro-author, but always sympathetic to what the editors and publishers need from the writer for a co-creative process. Most writers are so grateful to be published they will take crumbs of praise in place of a solid partnership in making the book as terrific as it can be. After reading this book, any writer can navigate the business behind taking a book from draft to galleys to book signing events.

Here's a little gem of a book that anyone trying to be a writer must have. The title comes from a quote by the poet Charles Bukowski that "most writers can't write a simple sentence, like, `The dog walked down the street.'" Unfortunately, that holds true for most of the "how-to" books on writing out there, but this sleek little volume is different because Glynn does it with humor, a wry, I've-seen-it-and-it-ain't-pretty sort of humor that always rings true. He's obviously been around the publishing business for years, and he openly shares his savvy about the nuts and bolts of the business from contracts, re-writes and editors to galley proofs, typography and book design.

Mostly, though, this book is about inspiration, inspiring the writer to keep writing. Filled with terrific quotes, antecdotes, and just plain good advice, it's a book to be read straight through, but also to be picked up and opened to any page for a laugh. Glynn doesn't pretend to offer a treatise on plot arcs, characterization, etc., but he makes up for it with a suggested reading list that's eclectic, exhaustive, and knowledgable. "The Dog" is sure to become a cult book for serious, aspiring writers. It succeeds beautifully in supplying that one percent of inspiration that makes up for all the perspiration.

I totally agree with the other reviews about the value of this book. I have (and still use) Henry Stern's Dutch grammar book, but was to the point where I needed more information. Well, I sure got it! I was searching for something good but not quite as expensive as this book, but finally broke down and got it. It's well worth the cost.
I do think this should not be the choice for beginners, but for advanced learners that want the info without having to wade through reading a grammar book in Dutch I give it two thumbs up... heck, I'll borrow my Dutch boyfriend's thumbs and go for four thumbs up.

Bruce Donaldson's other book, Beyond the Dictionary in Dutch, is also awesome and great for someone with a little experience in the language.

Susanne Spangler

Over 30 years ago when I tried to learn the basics of the Dutch language in-country, there was nothing like this available. It was a struggle, particularly so when you're butchering the basics and kindly Dutch folks inevitably say, "Why don't we just speak English?" (which they do ever so well).

Ah, but now I'm older and wise enough to have picked up Donaldson's superb Dutch grammar for another go at the subject, this time in the warmer clime of the Dutch West Indies.

It's still a struggle, but thanks to this great resource, the "Why don't we just ..." questions come far less frequently. Reading Donaldson's "Comprehensive Grammar" is actually (amazingly) pleasureable and a good thing, too, since that's likely to be a daily affair for those who really want to learn this complicated "keel ziekte". A bit pricy, sure, but a great value, indispensible for the likes of me.

That's a very good grammar. I'm a Portuguese native speaker and it is very difficult to a Latin language speaker to learn a Germanic language, but this grammar made it easier. It even helped me with the German language. This one is great for beginners, everyone should buy it. With this book I was glad twice: I started to study an interesting language (Dutch) and I began to understand a very difficult language (German). Buy it, you won't be disappointed. It gives you a comprehensive explanation about all points of the Dutch language.

Somewhere out there there may be a more comprehensive Dutch grammar for English speakers, but you won't need it unless you are a scholar. This book covers pretty much every useful grammatical topic you will need for learning Dutch. Thankfully, Dutch is not a particularly difficult language for English speakers, so that fact helps keep the size of this grammar manageable. Any assiduous student should be able to master it in less that six months. After reading it you should be able to read any newspaper; and although speaking is a totally different animal, there is no reason you should not have a good grounding in speaking proper Dutch. The book, however, does not delve into colloquialisms to a great degree.

Bruce Donaldson is the doyen of English Dutch Teachers and his Comprehensive Grammar is far and away the best Dutch Grammer aimed at English speaking students available--far better than Professor Shetter's grammar cum text. It is an excellent reference grammar with clear explanations that do not require an in-depth understanding of generic grammatical terms. It is best used in conjunction with a text as a reference book. If you want to "read through" a brief summary of Dutch grammar, try Stern's Essential Grammar.

Xenophobia is the fear of foreigners. Yet Xenophon's greatest book was a biography of the most hated foe of the greeks, Cyrus.

Cyrus was the greatest emperor of the Persian empire, and the antecedent (see what a great scholar I am? I can't remember all the exact facts like a real student should; I read this stuff for fun) of the Persian emperor who Alexander defeated right before Alexander went crazy and decided to conquer the rest of the world while he was on a streak.

In today's Jingoistic anti-Iran & Iraq climate, it's illuminating to get the Persian perspective on world history, and since I haven't found any Persian histories written from the ancient Persian viewpoint, this book is the best I've read.

Herodotus' Histories is often considered the gold standard of knowledge pertaining to the Persian empire. Little is made of the fact that this Ionian had certain political grudges against his political masters and had never visited Persia or had entry into Persian society. Xenophone however was a nobleman who lived amongst the Persians and the Medes and was acquaianted with their ways and histories. Xenophone's observations on Persian society and religion are far closer to modern scholarship than Herodotus. Furthermore even the chronological inaccuracies of Cyropaedia are in the Persian tradition. As evidenced by Sassanian histories, the Persians had the habit of attributing the conquests of dynasties to their founders. However the most fascinating and thrilling aspect of reading this book is that the educational stories attributed to Cyrus are identical to the stories found in Adab or the Persian courtly literature of Islamic era. Given that Xenophone was not translated into Persian or Arabic, this confirms the authenticity of the materials used by Xenophone. I love this book and have read it twice already. I recommend it to anyone who wants to have a closer look at the realities of Persia.

This book was indepth research of King of kings Cyrus the Great with respect how did He became the King of Persia/Iran.

Interestingly, Cyrus the Great became the King of Iran not by having large army but by hard work, and relying on His good allies and friends to establish His empire.

If English is your second language or if you are first time reader of Cyrus the Great you may wish to read this book "Xenophon's Cyrus The Great" by Larry HEDRICK in order to grasp King of kings Cyrus the Great very well.

Ahura Mazda be with you.

This truly is one of the most remarkable books I've ever read and I would encourage anyone with an interest in military science, government or leadership to take the time to read it. This book requires commitment and a quiet place to read and savor its thought-provoking passages. The investment of time and effort is dwarfed by the magnitude of the lessons this book has to offer. Make the commitment and you'll see why this book was a favorite of men like Alexander the Great, Scipio Africanus, Caesar and Machiavelli.

This book is not in the style of a Platonic dialogue, or a play (whether a tragedy or comedy), a Homeric epic (but if you're careful, you'll note parallels), or a history (like Herodotus).

No, Xenophon - a contemporary of Plato's, a student of Socrates - was considered a philosopher way back when. He tells a story and you might think it is a history that is meant to be accurate. There is nothing accurate about Xenophon's use of history in this book; however, the story is well-told and funny, and the prose moves fast in this edition. (Which was your primary concern, of course: that this was a good read.)

He does teach philosophy - ancient philosophy concerned with ethics and politics - in an interesting way. The plot of the book is as follows: Cyrus of Persia receives an education unlike any of his peers. With that education, and a considerable bit of ruthlessness, he attempts to take over the world.

It's difficult to write a story where different philosophical viewpoints define characters and events. Somehow, Xenophon pulls this off, and manages to entertain his reader with tales of battles, lots of humorous exchanges between characters, and even some love stories strewn throughout.

(If you do Classics, you probably want to get acquainted with Xenophon, fast.)

My 5th graders beg for me to let them guess the homophone riddles! I read them outloud and let them turn in their guesses - winners get a (sugar-free!) piece of candy. It's a great way to fill extra minutes!

It's a funny book, that does cheer people up if they're sad. I learned about homonyms

"Eight Ate" by Marvin Terban. Illustrated by Giulio Maestro. Sub-titled, "A Feast of Homonym Riddles". Clarion Books, 1982.

This book plays on the wealth of homonyms (words which sound alike but mean different things) in the English language. First, a question, (i.e. a riddle) is asked, and then the answer, dependent upon a homonym, is given. For example, on the back cover, the riddle is: "What do you call a smelly chicken?"
Answer, playing on the homonyms: "A foul fowl!"

The entire book is filled with this type of word play: the riddle, with the answer in homonyms nicely illustrated by Giulio Maestro. All of the clever use of words makes for funny reading aloud. The illustrations keep the attention of the children who are too young read, even though they may not fully understand the joke embedded in the homonyms. This book is a worthwhile addition to the library of the young reader.

Eight Ate, created by Marvin Terban, was created as a teaching game, in one of his English classes. This book is useful for learning the difference between words that sound the same, but are spelled differently. The jokes and riddles are described by pictures to give clues to the answers. This book is a great way for kids to understand the different meanings behind words that sound the same. As someone who confuses they're and there, I found this book fun and helpful, and I'm in college! This would also help teachers in the Language Arts field. By creating fun use for words, Terban brings forth knowledge needed to understand the English Language.

I use this with fourth graders. I put a riddle on the board everyday. They love it! If I forget, they remind me. This is a great way to increase vocabulary.

I've owned both editions of this wonderful little book. This little gem is for the person who doesn't have time to slog through all sorts of prescriptive grammars. It's handy, well organized, and easy to use. I own a lot of grammars, being both an author and an English teacher, and this is the one I turn to first.

Author of:
Nasty

"Nate Jepson (a.k.a. "Nasty") is a solid entry into the P.I. hall of fame." - Publisher's Weekly

A good friend who must really love me gave me this book when I headed to grad school. It answered all of my APA citation questions and many of the little grammatical quandries one encounters at 3 a.m.
I only wish I had the budget to buy this book for all of my high school students. Every young writer should have a guide like this to tidy up their work. Alas, at about $50 a pop, with a school of 350 students, this book is out of our range. If you can pick one up used or can afford a new copy you won't be sorry.

As one of Andrea's former students, I've had to read this book and use it extensively. Not only did it get me through her class, but every class I had after that (and I've had a large number of English and History classes). If you're looking for a book to help you with MLA style, Professor Lunsford covers everything you can possibly hope to draw info from, including lectures, interviews, and even MUDs online.

This book is an ideal tool for anyone who has to write for school, work, or as a hobby. The easy access tabs and extensive menus help you find what you are looking for quickly and the spiral binding lets you lay the book open while you type. The coverage of the writing process and argumentative writing really set this book apart. Anybody can write up grammar rules or documentation standards, but Lunsford's coverage of writing at the start of the book is wonderful. Buy this book and don't sell it back to the bookstore, this is a keeper. Also, for the teacher that wants one for every student, try "Easywriter" which is the smaller version of this text that only costs about fifteen bucks.

The Everyday Writer is a wonderful asset to any college English student. It contains all the essentials for writing term papers. I suggest that everyone who needs help in English should pick up this book.

The Book came exactly as described and in a very timely manner when ordered with expedited shipping. - - We saved a ton of money when compared to what the book store at school wanted us to pay!

I was very satisfied. The book came in mint condition and the price was the best of others offered by other companies. Keep up the good work!

I like Evergreen. I think its a good book to help you with all the problems your having with your writing. I use it everyday. Its great for everyone who is learning to write or who wants to be better.

I actually purchased this book becuase it helped give me some inspiration for addtional exercises for my ESL students because I thought that some of the material in the text we were using was not covered effectively. I really like this book, and can be used for high level ESL or native English writing. Easy to follow, well-ordered, and overall a good writing skills text.

We use Susan Fawcett's book 'Evergreen' in writing courses at the community college where I work, as well as in our Tutoring Center (we also use her book 'Grassroots', which is a good companion at the more basic level). Whereas 'Grassroots' is for those who need help writing sentences and with more basic grammar concepts, the 'Evergreen' book is for those who have mastered that level of writing, and are ready to develop more fully structured themes and essays.

The first unit of 'Evergreen' reviews the basic concepts of the writing process - what is one writing for? Who is the likely or intended audience? How should a finished paper look? Believe it or not, it is on this last point that so many grades have risen or fallen - a paper can be wonderfully written, but if it is scribbled on scrap paper rather than typewritten and neatly printed, it may suffer in grading, just as a letter from a business will not be as well received if it has spelling errors and problems with formatting. (This is a similar introduction to the 'Grassroots' text.)

The second unit looks for explicitly at the paragraph, developing concepts such as coherence, topic sentences, ideas to include and exclude, as well as outlining and revising.

The third and fourth units in this book are really the heart of the writing process. In the development of the paragraph, there are different approaches and techniques one can take - the paragraph can be descriptive, narrative, explanatory of a definition, comparison and contrast, persuasive, and a few other means. These lead naturally into the development of the essay, which is generally a series of paragraphs that are linked by a common idea or theme - some of the same processes that go into the development of a paragraph parallel the development of an essay, and many of the same descriptors above apply to paragraph forms, too. The fifth unit extends this kind of essay development by exploring sentence variety, language awareness and consistency in the revision process.

Units 6 and 7 are review chapters for grammar concepts, punctuation, and spelling. These are really review areas - they do not go into enough depth or repetition for this to be an introductory text, but rather will assume some familiarity with the concepts being presented.

The final section has a collection of reading selections, some from well-known authors and other figures. There are pieces that provide examples for the different kinds of essays described earlier in the book - some pieces are narrative, some are persuasive, some are humourous.

This is a good book to use to become a better writer. It is useful in classroom settings, but might also be used for individual study (such as we do in the Tutoring Center).

This is a good supplemental text for a literacy coach or reading teacher to have on hand to explain breakdowns in students' reading.

I am a tutor for third and fourth graders (employed by the school) and have found this book to be priceless in explaining the strategies of reading to 8, 9 and ten year olds - my target audience. The book is structured well and offers many examples of how to help struggling readers learn the "secrets" of good readers. After looking at several other 'Reading Comprehension' books, I chose this one based on the TOC and the foreward. It has proven to REALLY help me clarify each objective and teach the invisible process of active reading to my students. I'm very excited about the book and what it has to offer. Thanks!

I bought this book last year from Amazon, after being recommended it by a resource literacy teacher. It is very helpful to me, a classroom teacher. I would recommend it as great value for any teacher. I recently had the pleasure of hearing G Duffy speak at a day's conference here in New Zealand. He was so clear, so able to show the recent history of the teaching of reading, and how we might go about showing students the skills of comprehension, and what good readers do. In this book, G Duffy helps teachers model what good readers do. He is realistic and down to earth.

This is a wonderful book to use while working with teachers in your building. Use it as a resource for yourself or share it with teachers to support what you are saying or modeling in their classrooms. After you have identified the strategy or skill the students are having trouble with, locate the skill in the index. Then read through the pages as Dr. Duffy describes the conceptual understanding that must be in place for the students to learn the skill. He also outlines how to introduce the skill, model the thinking, scaffold towards independence, apply it in reading and writing, and determine how to know if the lesson was successful. Some topic categories are vocabulary, comprehension strategies, word recognition, and fluency.

Gerald G. Duffy is a former classroom teacher and professor emeritus at Michigan State University. He draws upon his many years of experience and his considerable expertise in Explaining Reading: A Resource For Teaching Concepts, Skills, And Strategies to provide the reader with a solid guide for aiding in their teaching literacy to students who are slow to absorb the skill. Individual chapters cogently provide examples and ideas for explaining vocabulary, teaching word recognition, comprehension strategies, and a great deal more. Explaining Reading is highly recommended as an excellent and detailed advice guide -- especially for classroom teachers and home schoolers involved in a literacy instructional program.

For every published book, there are many editing steps from rough draft to finished product. If math alone were the determining factor, that should mean there would be many more books on editing than on writing. In fact, there are dozens (perhaps hundreds) of books on writing and only a handful on editing. To be sure, there are stylebooks that concentrate on grammatical and punctuational form. And most respectable writers give shelf space to Strunk & White and Zinnser and a few others. But while their efforts address precision of thought and clarity of form, McCormack takes the plunge and talks about artistic sensibility and the effective use of craft in a way that enlarges and energizes like no other book I've run across.

His main premise is that artistic sensibilty is something innate. We like or dislike something because it strikes a chord within or fails to. This resonant characteristic of art doesn't need to be taught. It is simply there. The purpose of craft is NOT to teach the writer how to hit that mark but to help him diagnose the ailment when he doesn't. A writer begins with a vision that drives him. The study of craft, at the outset, may hinder more than it helps. When the attempt falls short, there is plenty of time to apply technique and identify the lack or the excess that caused the work to be less than hoped for.

McCormack says there are two basic failures--bad things which have crept in and good things which have not. He demystifies the whole spooky process and makes it seem much more manageable and achievable.

He also encourages writers to find, cultivate, and appreciate good critiquers whether they be someone in the industry or astute and articulate readers. He encourages critiquers to focus on reader reaction (I had no sympathy for George at this point) rather than specific item that triggered it (George shouldn't have screamed at Alice). This allows the writer to address the effect of his choices rather than become bogged down and defensive of the choices themselves.

This is the best book I have read on the subject although I have to admit, it's not a light read. McCormack has a tendency to invent and run with jargon, a minor distraction but an occasional irritant nonetheless. Still, his obvious respect for writers overall and his passion for the subject matter give this book great value. I return to it every six months or so just to soak it all in again.

A former editor, McCormack knows the territory well. He admits that he doesn't have all the solutions (some of which may never exist because of the nature of the current publishing industry), but his grasp of crucial issues is strong. He also examines some of the ways "we"--readers, writers, editors, agents, educators--think about literature, and his debunking of myths is also insightful and provocative. I especially enjoyed his views on the concept of "Theme." The book also gives writers another way to look at their writing for revision, never a bad thing. Two quibbles: first, the aforementioned lack of solutions. McCormack admits that he has none, and I'm not sure that editors can function differently in today's publishing industry. Indeed, if the industry changes enough, editors might become redundant, a truly frightening thought. Second, McCormack's background in philosophy makes some of his style unnecessarily (?) complex. He says that this revised edition cuts through some of the thick language, but he could simplify even more without doing any damage to his ideas or message. I recommend to book to serious writers--and any English Teacher who still makes students answer the questions at the end of the chapter.

Now in a revised second edition that incorporates author's additional years of experience in the publishing industry since the publication of the first edition, The Fiction Editor, the Novel, and the Novelist: A Book for Writers, Teachers, Publishers, and Anyone Else Devoted to Fiction is a no-nonsense guide to planning, writing, and revising a novel. Written by award-winning publisher Thomas McCormack, The Fiction Editor, the Novel, and the Novelist offers constructive advice for each step of the creative process, from how to structure a novel, choose characters, and drive the story, to identifying common flaws in narratives, and apply appropriate remedies. Written in an amiable tone, often using examples, hypothetical writing scenarios, or dialogue-style discourse between industry professionals to clarify its points, The Fiction Editor, the Novel, and the Novelist is a superb handbook for fiction writers but especially recommended for prospective and professional fiction editors.

I have been around publishing houses, publishers and editors for many years. This is not only the best book I have ever read on the art and the craft of editing, but it is also the best of which I have ever heard. No editor I have known, and there have been many good ones, has described the goals and techniques so clearly.

I am inspired by this book, and you will be, too. You will also be left understanding exactly what should be happening between editors and their authors.

To be honest, the tone of the book didn't grab me. I had trouble reading this book in one sitting. This is not a bad book. It is just that there many books by editors who lambast their colleagues in front of writers in an effort to sign the writers. At first thought, McCormack seemed to be attacking other editors just to look better.

After completing the book, I see that is not the stance the author is taking. He acknowledges that editing is still an art, but avers that a more standard practice and terminology is needed to better the quality of writing today.

To this end, he suggests a vocabulary to help editors describe what works or does not work in a novel. One such word is the prelibation, which is the effect the writer is trying to get from the reader. After reading his suggestions, I am inclined to agree. McCormack also points out the contradiction in many fiction textbooks today. No wonder we have a disparity in editing ability.

I would recommend this book to writers and editors. This book will help you think about the novel in ways that can only help it become stronger.