Language Arts Books

Edith Hope Fine's Cryptomaina! Teleporting into Greek and Latin with the Cryptokids is a fun, interesting and most educational read. This book is completely original and puts an adventurous spin on learnning about Greek and Latin words. Kids of all ages will enjoy this book! It's a great addition to everyone's library. This book would be a great gift for anyone interested in words and their origins. Buy it!!!!!!!

This is an amazing book filled with the zany adventures of the CryptoKids, with their buddy Alphy, a microcyanasaurus. With knowledge of Greek and Latin roots increasingly part of state English and Language Arts standards, this book gives teachers a way to have fun with students, who will love the Teleporter destination and learn valuable decoding skills. Parents and grandparents will love it, too. It's a book for students of all ages to read, study, and pore over. Kim Doner's illustrations are beautiful, creative, and varied.

Here's a bright and beautiful plunge-into-fun book with fabulous teaching and learning potential. Beyond the clever storyline with its time/space travel adventure, you'll find a rich content of vocabulary instruction based on the Greek and Latin roots of many modern English words. Kids will start out exploring the fascinating drawings (they give Waldo a run for his money!) and finish by cracking the secret code of vocabulary enrichment. Greek and Latin roots can be used to decipher the special "hard words" at the end of the book. Kids in upper elementary grades will enjoy the book and it wouldn't hurt the pre-SAT set to pick up a few pointers either! Wonderful work!

I love giving this book to grandchildren and friends for birthdays, holidays and visits. I find new info every time I open it. Cryptomania is complex and fascinating. We come back to it often to find and understand the origin of words. Greek and Latin languages help the book's characters solve a homeWORD assignment using commonly available supplies (a big cardboard box), modern tools (a computer) and vivid imaginations (teleporting to different times) to discover the world of words. The illustrations and glosseries are terrific. I wish I'd learned word-meaning and word-making this way.

Suddenly, words I have known and used all my life make sense. I can pick them apart, scrutinize those parts, and understand exactly why the word means what it means. And I now also have a method to dissect unfamiliar words and figure out what they mean. Then, I can take some word parts, put them together, and come up with a brand new word of my own. All thanks to Cryptomania!

I never had the opportunity to study Greek and Latin in school. Now, thanks to this book, I've had my own course in the Greek and Latin roots of English--and I've been entertained while doing so. Each page is an adventure in itself, and young readers will find endless sights to fascinate and intrigue, all while learning. The illustrations are a perfect match for the tale, changing style as the characters travel through time and space. This book is certain to open young eyes and minds to the wonders of language. If these readers eventually participate in "Jeopardy" or "Millionaire", the knowledge they acquire from Cryptomania! might earn them a million dollars. For certain it will help them score higher on their SATs. Not bad results from one stunning nonfiction picture book!

This is a nice book to help keep the kids busy over summertime.
So far it looks like it will do the trick for us.

This is a great resource for parents to help kids keep their knowledge and skills fresh over the summer between grades. Kids complete just 2 worksheets each day for 10 weeks -- it's just enough to keep them up to speed and doesn't take a lot of time for kids to do or parents to supervise.

The Daily Summer Activities books are fantastic! They are layed out so nice. There is a page each for Monday - Friday with a little bit of everything for each day (a little math, spelling, reading, thinking skills, ...). Just the right amount so kids don't forget what they've learned over the summer, but not too much - so its hard to complain about.

I of course have not purchased this 4th to 5th grade as my daughter is going to the 5th Grade, but I have used the 3rd to 4th and it is wonderful. I had previously purchased for my local Boys & Girls Club other grade levels and they are just great! Many parents loved to have their children working on these while still having fun! Highly recommended!

I have used the third to fourth grade and the fourth to fifth grade books with my girls. The pages are colorful and fun. The work is mostly simple review. Just enough to keep their brains working over the summer. My girls enjoyed doing the activities, too. All subjects are incorporated into these books. We think they are fabulous!

I was a student of his many years ago. The book is not nearly as great as the man. He was a rare professor.

On the book, it is well laid out, progresses well and a distinct asset to the language learner.

I received the book in three working days. Book was in great condition and the price was lower than I had expected to pay.

Mailed and recieved in the time they said. The book is in great condition, the price was even better.

The book is one of the "classics" of introductory level German. I used this book for a college level class and now find myself referencing it as I complete more advanced level classes and prepare to move to Germany. The authors do a great job of simplifying the grammatical points of the German language in clear everyday language. They also use many examples throughout the explanations to clearly illustrate the key grammar concept. I also appreciated the mini-review at the end of each chapter, as well as the list of the grammar concepts in the index. Finally, the list of valuable idiomatic expressions and relevant sayings is helpful to the student in many normal everyday situation whether it be in a classroom or in a normal everyday situation. All in all, it was and is a valuable learning tool!

I bought this book to use with my German 101 and 102 classes, and it was extremely helpful. The writing style was, if not absolutely gripping, easy to get through, and the information was plentiful and well laid out. The accompanying website was also useful. The only problem I have with this book is that at the beginning of each chapter are a few dialogues using grammar that hasn't yet been learned. It would've made more sense to put those dialogues at the end of the chapters, in my opinion. That's more annoying than anything, and doesn't hurt the content or student's learning rate at all. I'd recommend this to any beginning German student.

A classic piece of Dahl lunacy. Whether you are 5 or 50 this Roald Dahl classic will have you squirming and tittering. Quentin Blake's wonderful illustrations capture Dahl's beasts and bring them hairily to life.

From a six year olds' point of view.
"It is fun to read and funny. I love the part of the boy with the talking tummy."

I thought some of the Rhymes might be a little to grody for a little girl, but that is the essence of this little book. She takes delight in reading it aloud to her friends at school. And she never tires of it. She is a Roald Dahl fan and I am over the moon about it. I think Dahl and his books are a great alternative or addition to Junie B. Jones and Magic Tree House. But I think ultimately he will outlast many of these other books. He is a classic.

My cousin bought me this book when I was about six and I still love it (I'm 17 now). My whole family thinks it's a hilarious book and we have given it to many of our friends for presents.

This book was a favorite of my children, and is now conquering the hearts of the next generation growing up now. It is hilarious. Roald Dahl is a master.

In this book, A clever pig is trying to save his bacon with an anteater.... Just read the book!

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.

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 don't really use the cards right now. I modified the directions from the book, and we use whole pages for each root. We put the root, meaning, and a graphic that reminds us of the picture. With one visual spatial learner and two with dysgraphia, the modified version works better for us.

I used this book when my daughter was in her primary years. We played the games and created the cards. We formed Greek and Latin combination words as fun challenges. She was able to read Old English literature with ease. She soared through Biology because of her root word knowledge. She has thanked me several times over the years for this fantastic foundation. She is a successful college student and her ACT scores were fantastic.

I immediately put these to use in my classroom. This will help my students not only develop their vocabulary in writing, but also be able to recognize roots that will help them decipher the meanings of words when they read. I have more confidence in teaching these vocabulary words than any other method of developing vocabulary I have tried. It just makes sense.

I purchased both the book and the flash cards. After reviewing both I kept the flash cards and returned the book.

The flash cards have everything you need, and they are ready to use. The flash cards include all forms of the greek or latin word on the front, and on the back they list many common English words based on the root.

The book requires that you make flash cards. The book also includes a few pages of background material, but not enough to make it worth the money. While the book has a lot of useful material, it is not as easy to use as the flash cards. The book would have just sat on the shelf -- the flash cards were put to use the day they arrived.

The flash cards are great and they are really the most helpful. Purchase the flash cards.

We went through the 100 roots, learned them and made cards and I think making the cards is a big part of the learning process. I like to have a copy of these to use as flashcards for review. My only complaint would be, I wish they had included the pronunciation like they do in the book.

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.