Beginners Books

Dr Seuss comes through again. Fun to read, good morals, excellent story.
Lots of fun!!

This is my favorite Dr Seuss book (even though I discovered it only a few months ago). The story and pictures are excellent and (importantly) it is particularly easy and fun to read aloud.

Unfortunately, this book is advertised as being suitable for 5-8 year olds only - NOT TRUE! This book is for ANYONE of ANY AGE who enjoys stories.

This book is so appropriate today, maybe more than when it was written in 1948 (a response to the New Deal, perhaps?)! I'm sure I appreciate the message (beware of freeloaders!!) more than my kids, but they enjoy the story and the pictures (as always) are priceless. Dr. Seuss was a national treasure and his books are all terrific.

This book should be in every child's library (and most adults as well). This is the starter book for Orwell's Animal Farm.

I first read this book when I was a little girl. I was really impressed with it then, of all the Dr. Seuss books I thought it was the best because of the message. The poor moose is so soft-hearted, he lets everyone take advantage of him. It has a wonderful message for children to learn about "users". If you only read one Dr. Seuss book to your children, read them this one.

I'm not even halfway through this book and already I'm blown away with how much information there is. Skip doesn't hold back at all; this book is for serious people who want to be successful sellers.

Well written comprehensive guide to getting started on E-bay. You do have to actually put the effort and creativity into any business to make it work. But, if you follow the outline of this book you will have a better chance of making it work. This book also contained unique information by the author. It dovetailed with the other books I bought by the same author.

Was getting started on ebay and looking for some guidance. This book combined with ebay's on-line tutorial is loaded with enough information to get a new ebay seller headed in the right direction. Would recommend to anyone contemplating selling on ebay.

Skip Mc Grath takes you step by step from a beginner, to a seller in a very short time if you read and put into practise his instructions.
He also tells you what to sell on eBay giving you a lot of ideas where to find what is easy to sell and how to promote it.
I would recommend this and other books published by this author to anyone who wants to make money on eBay, because he really know what he is talking about. And for my understanding he is a born teacher because he has the pacience to explain in detail what to do and how to do it.

I don't review books unless I genuinely like them, and I liked this book. The concrete, clear steps are excellent. I decided to use this book in teaching college students how to use the Internet more effectively.

Ben Franklin and the Magic Squares
Author: Frank Murphy

Reviewed by: Brianna - a Stockbrideg Central School 3rd Grader
***


This book is about Benjamin Franklin. Benjamin was a very successful inventor. Ben invented: flippers in 1717, the Franklin stove in 1742, and found out that lightning was made of electricity. He all so started: America's first library, America's first fire station, and first hospital too he even helped Thomas Jefferson write and rewrite the declaration of Independence in 1776.
There is narration through out the book and on every page there is information. There is very little text so it is easy to read. The book is told as a story it starts when he is a boy and goes through his life. I like this book because it gives a lot of information. I recommend this book to children who would like to learn about Benjamin Franklin. So read the book or you will be missing out!!!

I love this book! It introduced me to magic squares. Sometimes they're hard but not always. I read the book in 3rd grade. We were doing math groups and Mrs. Wrigely said" Today we are doing Magic squares."
What is a magic square?" I asked.
"It is 9 cubes that all have to equal the same number." Mrs. Wrigely
And that's how I was introduced to magic squares. I recommend this book for kids 6 and above. I think that because some words may be a little challenging for kids that are 5 or 4.


Mitchell S. 4th grade

what other book can make math interesting? and funny? Mr. Murphy has done it once again with his fabulous work! A++++++++++++!
-Stephanie
Connecticut

I thought that ths book was really good! I thoght it was so interesting!! Mr.Murphy is my math teacher... and he is amazing at teaching!!! He did very well with all of the writers craft in it. In class for Language arts he encourages us to use writers crafts and he actually uses them in this book!! This book is very interesting for adults who are interested in math and Ben Franklin. It is also a great book for children who are interested in math and Ben Franklin!! I love math because it is so interesting and because I have a great math teacher!!
[...]

I THINK BEN FRANKLIN AND THE MAIGIC SQUARES IS A REALLY GOOD BOOK FOR KIDS. AND MAYBE PARENTS TOO. I READ MOST OF HIS BOOKS. HE WAS MY TEACHER IN 4TH GRADE. HE IS A VERY GOOD WRITER I THINK. HE WRITES AMAZINGLY AMAZING BOOKS. HE IS A REALLY GOOD TEACHER.


RYAN .B
HOLLAND

If I ever get around to making a list called "The books that built my brain," this book will be on it. I had a copy of "Come over to my house" as a child, and the fantastic images of faraway places, diverse people, and different ways to live helped furnish my imagination with wonderful scenery. The pictures stayed with me: the balconied Venetian house, the painted Chinese houseboats, the carvings on the (Polynesian?) house near the hot springs. Every child's imagination should have room to travel. If you can find it, read it to your kid.

A great classic that each child should have in her library.

I've been searching for this book since the birth of my first child. It was my all time favorite book. My mother read it to me night and day. Upon my learning to read, I remember taking this book to bed with me during nap time and reading it over and over again. I never grew tired of seeing how children in other countries lived. This book went every where I went. I'm estatic this book has been reprinted and I can share it with my children.

In typical Dr. Suess fashion (LeSieg is backwards for Geisel...Dr.Suess' real last name) this book carries the poetic rhyme that kids love. It tells the story of how homes are different everywhere, but how "they're all alike when a friend asks you in." The pictures are bright and interesting. Young children will be filled with curiosity with the amusing pictures of homes in far away lands.

I read this book to a group of first graders and they hung on every word. None had ever heard the book before. It truly is delightful! It is a shame that this fabulous book is no longer in print. I got my copy nearly 30 years ago. It is still my favorite!

This book is amazing. I found it at a thrift store for .25 and put it away for the birth of my first child. I am an American living overseas, so for my son to see all the different cultures familiar and unfamiliar, it great. He is 18 months old and just wants to look at the pictures and hear me read it over and over and over again. I never tire of reading it either.

I bought this book for my five-year-old grandson before his tonsillectomy. He absorbed the information that was read to him and sailed through the procedure with flying colors. He knew exactly what to expect, so he calmly did everything that was required. It was a tremendous help in preparing him.

I have a 3 1/2 yr old granddaughter who was going to have surgery and wanted some way to prepare her at her level. This book is great! Would recommend to anyone with a child having surgery.

My step son is 5 and he's starting to learn how to read...I'll read to him and he'll re-read what I jsut read. It's helping him learn words. The story is great and easy to follow!

This is a good book to talk about getting sick, seeing a doctor, taking x-ray and going to the hospital. Not a lot of words, but the pictures say it all. It describes how Franklin noticed a crack on his shell, then went to see the doctor and found out he needed a surgery. Then it shows him telling his friends about his upcoming surgery, then going to the hospital for admission, then to his private room, then surgery, recover..

The most amazing part is how much detail it gets into. For example, Franklin has to go to the x-ray room by himself (he was allowed to take his stuff animal), with his parents waiting outside. Also before he went into surgery room, he had to say goodbye to his parents, etc.

This book was a great help to prepare my 4 year old daughter for surgery. Once she was at the hospital, everything was known and already seen in the book and she had fun.. I highly recommend it to relieve the anxiety before a surgery

Reading books about cats to a preschooler, you come upon many books with more wishful thinking than actual knowledge of how cats behave. I'm thinking of those sweet, sweet books in which cat 1 happily accepts cats 2, 3, 4, etc. and they are all best buddies. Alas, that is not how real cats interact. But Charlotte Voake obviously knows cats better than that. Her story of captures the territorial instinct of a cat confronted by a newcomer as perfectly as her illustrations capture the marvelous range of expression in feline posture. Despite the realism, she manages a plausible happy ending that made me laugh out loud. A little gem for cat lovers aged 3 to 300.

I have read many books to my two children over the years (we love to read together) and this is one of our favorites. It is especially good for the younger ones. The story is sweet and gentle and yet full of humor. The illustrations are really engaging -- for both adults and children. Charlotte Voake draws the best cats ever! Funny and warm, this is the perfect bedtime book.

Here is another good book by Charlotte Voake, a woman who obviously knows something about cats.

In this book Ginger gets a new 'friend'. The kitten though proves to be more friend that Ginger can handle and Ginger stocks off to pout.

As a mom I like that this book can be used to teach sensitivity to the needs of others. And though it's not a problem we have, I could certainly see using this book as a segway to discussing certain impending family changes... such as a new child coming.

Four Stars. [B+]. Artwork is even better than in "Ginger Finds a Home". [Ginger is a fat cat now.] Very good read-aloud. Very good art. My two children (boy and girl) love this book.

This is a book about Ginger, a lovely orange tabby who belongs to a little girl who loves him. However, she rocks Ginger's world by bringing home a new kitten, who wants to play with Ginger, eat his food, sleep in his basket, etc. Ginger takes the slightly implausible way out of going and hiding in the garden in the rain (behind the refrigerator is more like it.) But all's well that end's well, with everyone friends.

This book is often pigeon-holed as the book for introducing toddlers to the idea of a baby brother or sister, but it also speaks to the cat lover in all of us. We have a cat and a 21-month old, and this book is right at the top of her list. The illustrative style is whimsical without being saccarine, and the kitten's penchant for muscling in on Ginger's food, bed, etc. is true to cats as well as babies everywhere. We both love this book, and look forward to its 101th reading. You will too.

This book is so sweet and the illustrations so simple that I enjoy it as much as my son. It is also a very calm and tender read, perfect for bedtime!

Your child (and you too!) will have some good laughs reading this fun loving book together! My kids couldn't stop laughing! Worth every page of reading........Jamie

Great for beginning readers! Kids listen to the nonsense word the townpeople hear and guess what the monster is really saying. Playing with word sounds is an important part of learning to read, and this book is excellent for this. Fun to read aloud because of good story cadence!

This is a great book for SLPs (speech-language pathologists) who work with groups of K-2nd grade kids who aren't "getting" rhyming. The kids love to try to be the first to guess what the Hungry Thing is asking to eat. For example, the book reads "tickles, you know, are curly tailed hot dogs that grow in a row. 'Of course,' said the cook, 'tickles taste yummy, and you giggle and laugh with ten in your tummy!' 'I think,' said the little boy, 'it's all very clear. Tickles sound like sickels sound like......pickles to me!'" Great read aloud.

This was one of the first books I could read by myself, back in the '70s. I am now a school librarian and a parent, and this book is still a big hit with the kindergarten and first grade crowd. They laugh out loud and LOVE that they are smarter than the assembled townspeople. Our school's ancient copies have been borrowed to the point that the covers are worn and the pages are falling out. Time to purchase replacements!

THE HUNGRY THING SHOWS UP IN A VILLAGE & MISPRONOUNCES EVERYTHING HE WANTS TO EAT, SO THE VILLAGERS HAVE TO FIGURE OUT WHAT HE WANTS. I REALLY LIKE THIS BOOK, BUT DIDN'T THINK OUR TODDLER WOULD BE INTERESTED IN IT RIGHT NOW, BUT ON THE CONTRARY, IT'S REQUESTED ALOT.

I love Morris the Moose! I'm a very intelligent grownup now and I still had a ball purchasing this absolute favorite from my childhood and reading it again! My grown children probably wondered what I was doing with that recent purchase! It was a loving, comforting trip down memory lane, and I still recommend it for today's youth! Easy read, fun read!

I'm 23 years old now and thinking about this book just makes me smile. It was my favorite book growing up along with The House That Jack Built. I could read these books OVER AND OVER again every day of my life and be content. It's a great book to not only learn to read, but a good lesson in accepting differences among each other. And that's a great lesson to learn at that age!! If you're looking for great book for your youngster, THIS IS IT!! (along with the whole series!!) :)

This book is absolutely wonderful. I remember loving to just look at the pictures before I could read! I cannot say enough about it. My favorite book of all time.

I use this book every year to introduce ACCELERATED READER to my students. I introduce it as a "read-aloud" and we discuss the text and pictures as I read. Students "act out" the various things that Morris does and students even sit ON their desks when Morris does. There is always a lot of laughing and giggling as Morris learns many things on his first day of school. Morris Goes to School is a great book to show your children how involved they can become when reading.

THEN....... they get to go take a short 5-question AR test on the computer. It's a great book and a great introduction to AR.

I picked up this book to read with my son, and I have to say that we didn't find it particularly funny. Certainly not as funny as the other Morris books. We had about two chuckles in 64 pages. Which is not to say that the story is bad. It hangs together well and provides some very good kid-friendly examples which show why it's good to attend school. Morris, for example, is shown fumbling around town, not knowing which store is the candy store because he can't read. And Morris is also stumped when it comes to figuring out how many gumdrops he can buy, because he can't count.

The publisher suggests this book as a practice reader for those in first grade or younger. My experience convinces me that this book is a little too hard for most children in this age range. For one thing, there are 64 pages of text, which is quite a bit for newbies to sit down and read at one time. And the vocabulary is fairly advanced with words like: wrong, sting, meant, interrupt, couldn't, sandwiches, cream-cheese, piece, fruit, hamburgers, arithmetic, antler, count, make-believe, and forest. And in fact, the Accelerated Reading designation for this book is 2.0 -- which means that those experts feel that the book is suited for entering 2nd Graders.

[The AR designation is a general "guide" that rates books on a relative scale of difficulty. Children can certainly read at levels above or below their group range, so that this number should only be used as a aid to help choose books that are appropriate and not frustrating.]

Three Stars. This is an okay book which shows why learning is necessary. In my and my son's opinion it wasn't as funny as the other Morris books. The Publisher suggests this reader for ages Pre5 to Grade 1. The 'official' Accelerated Reading (AR) designation, however, is 2.0.

this is a great book and i received it just like i expectd to receive it.

We have read this book repeatedly, and my first-grader enjoys it every time. Now he enjoys reading it to me. Great for beginning readers.

WHAT A JOY THIS BOOK IS. THE STORY IS FUN AND SO CUTE. ONE OF MY ALL TIME FAVORITES TO READ TO THE CHILDREN.

This is one of those that is an absolute delight to read to and with kids. A mouse, minding his own business is caught by a weasel who of coure plans to whip up a batch of Mouse Soup. Our fast talking little mouse simply talks his way out of the dinner by telling the weasel four delightful stories, thereby distracting the weasle and at the same time, teaching the weasle a good lesson. The illustrations are great the the story telling is of the highest quality. Cute is a word that is over used, but in this case I have to use it because it fits so well. This work is almost along the same lines as the famous Uncle Remus tales, but in many ways is more appealing. I liked this one and do highly recommend it. The art work alone is worth the price of the book.

I have to bow to a superior opinion in rating this book. After reading it to my 5 y.o. son, I had come to the conclusion that the subset of stories were pretty lame and uninteresting. I mean one of them is about two rocks that get lied to by a bird (or so the rocks think). And another is about a rose bush growing out of a comfy chair.

But my 5 y.o. informs me that I don't know what I am talking about. This book is great, he told me. And he convinced me that this was true by doing something his active little self seldom does: he went and got the book off his shelf and dragged his father over to the couch so that dad could listen to him read the stories. [Could have knocked me over with bookmark.]

The AR Reading level for this book is 2.4 which means that the Accelerated Reading committee, and it's software, suggests this book for Second Graders in their fourth month of school.

[The AR designation is a general "guide" that rates books on a relative scale of difficulty. Children can certainly read at levels above or below their group range, so that this number should only be used as a aid to help choose books that are appropriate and not frustrating.]

Four Stars. This book has a mouse cum Scheherazade premise: A weasel captures a poor little mouse and the mouse plots to get out of being eaten by telling stories. The stories the mouse tells didn't appeal to me, but my five y.o. son sure liked them. The AR reading level indicates the book is suitable for Second Graders.

The Mr. Putter and Tabby series is a delightful and whimsical set of tales about an older man and his pet cat. These are simple tales, no complex Russian novel-like characters with conflicted psyches (although his neighbor Mrs. Teaberry is a little strange). Arthur Howard's illustrations are a perfect match for the story - just the right mix of whimsy, expression and humor. The last illustration of Zeke looking out the window at the incoming pears still makes me laugh.

Pick the Pears is one of best in the series (along with "Walk the Dog" and "Feed the Fish"). Our kids range from five to eight and each loves the book which has put the book on heavy rotation in the bedtime story schedule.

I agree with all the reviews. The Mr. Putter books are all wonderful beginning-readers, but this one is especially enjoyable. My Kindergardener read it to me over the last few days, and he was laughing out loud! He really enjoyed reading this book. He thought that Mr. Putter shooting apples through the air with a sling shot was increadibly funny (as were his pink poodle underwear!) He loves the characters, Mr. Putter and Tabby. I'd recommend any book in this series for children learning to read, but I highly recommend this one because it is so much fun!

I use the Mr. Putter & Tabby books for my ESL students. Mr. Putter & Tabby Pick the Pears is their favorite. The language is perfect for either children to build vocabulary or for older language learners for translation and acquisition. The stories are cute and charming. The illustrations are delightful. They look deceptively simple, but really are extremely well done with watercolor. The artist truly brings the characters' personalities to life.

What is particularly nice is the gentle humor used and the continuing themes. Mr. Putter is constantly referred to as "old" or not receptive to silly jokes (i.e. the poodle boxers) during the books but there are flashes of his playfulness throughout the series. while he is set in his ways with his garden, his tea and his love of opera, he still loves toys, trains, car rides and planes. Mr. Putter & Tabby are perfect companions who also have a very close relationship with Mrs. Teaberry, the next-door neighbor and her good dog Zeke. Tabby and Zeke have no dialog but their personalities shines through as well.

This series of books cherishes the differences between people and respect for the elderly. It has been my honor to present seven of these books to my students. They love them. Mr. Putter & Tabby Pick the Pears is the best of the series although they are all gems.

Mr. Putter and Tabby are just a delightful reading experience. Pick the pears invokes the fun and creativity sometimes forgotten in today's much more fast paced world. We have this entire series and read from it at least weekly, but Pick the Pears is easily in the top three.

Some books have magic in them. You know the ones. They stay with you long after you've closed the cover. The rhythm of Ryland's words along with Howard's whimsical illustrations will have you "zinging pears" right along with Mr. Putter.

The Mr. Putter series is just about as good as children's writing gets. You can't go wrong with any one of them. But this one is our favorite.