Beginners Books

Mr Tall is a tall man. Well, he's just got really long legs, hasn't he? This makes him sad, and this sadness is what makes the book, I feel. It's bittersweet and romantic and brilliant.

Even as an adult, I've always loved Mr. Tall because of his extremely long legs and big feet. The drastic contrast between Mr. Tall and Mr. Small in this book is hilarious. I don't care if I am an adult, I LOVE THIS BOOK!

Some of the Mr. Men series are better than others. This one is good, teaching about accepting who you are and realizing your potential. Other Mr. Men characters appear to make it more interesting. Highly recommended - my 6 and 3 year olds both enjoy it.

Mr. Tall is sad because his legs are too long. He meets his friends Mr. Small, Mr. Tickle, Mr. Nosey, Mr. Greedy who all have problems that they have turned into benefits. All of his friends show Mr. Tall that he doesn't have to be sad because he has long legs.

This book contains 30 pages of brightly colored pictures that will catch the eye of any youngster. It also teaches them a good lesson that you should be happy with how you look.

My son really liked this book. He said that Mr. Tall was funny because his legs were so long.

This is DELIGHTFUL! The words twist and turn and almost taste good as the story develops. It is wonderfully illustrated. It is fun for adults to read and for kids to hear.

This is a great book -- well written, fabulously illustrated and carrying a meaningful message for young children. I especially loved the recipes. Highly recommended!

My daughter got this book as a gift and we really enjoy it. We like it so much we loaned it to her teacher who has incorporated it into her lesson plan with an mud pie cookie project. The book also comes with some kids recipes in back.

Playfully written, excellently illustrated. A tasty literary treat, with cool recipes to boot. Read it to your children then take the recipes and let the kids assert their individuality in the kitchen! ...

My Big Lie is a great book for character development. I chose this book when I taught the rules to my 2nd graders. They liked to read it by themselves too.

I was searching for a way to explain to my child why lying was "a big no-no." I hoped that a Little Bill book would be sure to hold my child's interest. This book was able to do both quite well. The story is interesting without being overly complicated. Both my children enjoyed it and the elder did seem to finally grasp what I'd been unsuccessful in explaining before.

My only complaint would be that I wished Cosby had had Little Bill's parents explain the danger in what he had supposedly been doing that caused him to be late for dinner (his lie), before having Bill come clean. But, it did allow for another important safety topic to be discussed.

Altogether, I'd give the book 4.5 stars.

I teach first grade. My students love this book because the children in this book are just like them! I like the book because it is easy for them to read, has great pictures, and is in the form of a short chapter book so they feel they are smart readers. I also like the morals and lessons in the book. This book and other Little Bill books are great!

Every year my students have a choice of choosing a book from the stack of 'Little Bill' books, and this one is always the first one they pick. The moral of this story is one that not only teachers wish to inflict, but parents, as well. It has a great way of introducing THE BOY WHO CRIED WOLF story into the classroom. I also enjoyed how it introduced a way to discuss the definition of a "fib". This book was great for my students because we were able to explore in more detail the meaning of true "trust". I recommend this book to every teacher and every parent of elementary aged children.

Anyone who has children and cats should easily relate to the tribulations of Nick and Nora, two much put-upon felines who somehow are able endure regular humiliation at the hands of two well-intentioned little girls who, fortunately, are oblivious to the frayed nerves of their furry playmates. My daughter loves the great pictures of the cats and their expressions of exasperation and disgust. It is not at all unusual to see the same expressions on our own persecuted kitties, sometimes only minutes later, as a result of Helen's carryings on. This book never fails to bring a smile to my face.

This is the cute story of two little girls, Emmie and Isabelle, and their adventures with their reluctant playmates, the cats Nick and Nora. The children's activities include playing school with the cats and dressing the cats in doll's clothes. After deciding that today is the cats' "birthday", Isabelle and Emmie give them a party -- including some big dogs as the guests! It isn't until the children take the cats out for a walk in a doll carriage that a neighbor's nasty cat, Fluffy, decides to chase Nick and Nora. The cats take off! But Emmie and Isabelle know how to get them to come back.

This book is hilarious. The little girls' innocent unawareness and the cats' long-suffering attitudes makes this book funnier at every reading. My daughter loved this story when I first bought for her years ago, and even though she's now in middle school, I still have this book. It's a keeper.

A book this wonderful should never go out of print -- but yes, it's out of print so buy one quick! My toddler daughter loves this book and so do I. Both text and illustrations are excellent, humorous, and lovingly done. Isabelle Harper and Barry Moser wrote/illustrated another book we love -- "Our New Puppy" (cat lovers will enjoy the cat "subplot" in this book). It's also out of print now -- grab a copy while you can. (We have the other Harper/Moser book in this little series, "My Dog Rosie", but we don't like it quite as much. The little girl in that book is younger and that might appeal to some toddler "readers", though.)

I'm ordering this book after checking it out of the library 4 times. It is my daughter's favorite book, and it's so beautiful I don't mind reading it over and over (at least not as much as other books).

It's a very simple narrative, but I have seen my daughter play with our cats in the same ways Isabelle and Emmie play with Nick and Nora--I think that must be some of the appeal. The illustrations are simply beautiful--they capture the mood of both girls and cats, and the use of light is sublime.

My three year old son was completely engrossed in this book. He just loves goats. However, partway through the book, my wife came in to whisper something in his ear. He waited 7 seconds, turned to me and said: "Daddy, I need to go do what three year olds need to do. I'll be back as soon as I can, but you keep on reading." He left, and I finished the story. I then wept for seven minutes. It was quite a moving story.

I like this book. It taught me neat stuff that I think is neat, I meant, it is neat. I think I like goats, and I think I want one. Goats are neat, I mean, I think they like the story. I mean, the story is pretty good.

I didn't understand the story right first, but Karl said to me something about world trading, and I knew he meant the word is training. So I really knew he meant the word I didn't read right was trading, so the story is about trading goats. I like the story.

I was enthralled with the plot, so much so that I couldn't put the book down, even 7 minutes after I had been given the most horrific news of my life.

I love pet goats. They fascinate me. Reading about pet goats capture my imagination so much that it takes me at least seven minutes to get my bearings again.

I read this book by myself about 15 years ago when I was 5. I'm not quite sure how it stacks up against the rest of early child hood literature, but it will always have a special place in my mind as the first book that I was able to read by myself.

I give this book as a gift to all friends who have a new baby. I loved reading it to my son... it is the story of a new puppy and a boy from the puppy's perspective.

A great book for a beginning reader!

I give this book as a gift to all friends who have a new baby. I loved reading it to my son... it is the story of a new puppy and a boy from the puppy's perspective.

A great book for a beginning reader!

Many books easy enough for my kindergartener are not interesting. There is no story line. They focus on the words being simple only. This has easy words, yet a great storyline of life from a dog's view point and it is cute and funny. We read it over and over.There needs to be more of these kinds. Real stories inspire reading.

This book is about a girl named Dawn and a boy named Jason who try to find a blue ring with a crack in the stone. I think this book is very good because I like stones. I like the characters in the book because they are always trying to solve a mystery.

I liked this book because there were some funny parts in it. One day A kid named Emily lost her birthday Ring. The whole class thinks her friend Dawn took it because she took her unicorn last time. To prove she didn't do it she was going to find the ring.

I read this when I was a kid and to this day I still enjoy these books. There are parts in these books that make me laugh. It's neat the way Dawn and Jason (who is a RIOT of a character--you'll love him) work together. Dawn put on her disguise and sets out to look for her friend Emily's lost ring. She wears her cowboy boots--yes, very good disguise! Very inconspicuous, right? NOT! O-well, she's just a kid. I remember doing dumb things like one time me and my sister and one of her friends decided we were going to go let some neighborhood boys have it since they always threw rocks at us. Well we loaded up our wagon and they got in and I pulled it over there and we attacked the boys with buckets of mud we'd put together! They started to chase us and I tried to run with the wagon and they tipped it over and what a disaster! We were so prepared for battle!

First, a kid named Dawn really wanted to solve a mystery and then her friend Emily lost her birthday ring. Dawn tries to find the lost ring and if you want to find out where it is, read this exciting book with 10 chapters. This review is by Eddie, Age 7.

I loved the "Nate the Great" books when I was a child and recently rediscovered them by reading them to my seven-year-old. We picked up the very first "Nate the Great" book this summer at a garage sale and she's now hooked on the series. I can read them to her in a night in about 20 minutes and she can read one on her own within an hour. "Nate the Great and the Boring Beach Bag" is a fun story to end the summer....or begin next summer. It features all the typical characters, Nate's sometimes-sarcastic sense of humor and all the plot you need to get your young reader to start thinking outside of the box to solve the latest mystery. Be sure to make some pancakes to eat while you read!

I, Melika the excellent really adore the book Nate the Great and the Boring Beach Bag. This book is about a boy who solves a mystery of a missing beach bag.In my opinion this is a easy mystery, but you might think differently. I don't admire an easy mystery, but I prefered the rest of the book, and I really recommend this book.

This story is about a boy who lost his beach bag and Nate the Great finds it. It's a detective story and it's also funny. Kids who enjoy detective stories will like this series.

Trying to take a day off and bask at the beach just doesn't work for Nate the Great. As a detective, his detecting services are always on call. This time Oliver, Nate's next door neighbor and the world's greatest pest, has come up with a new mystery. Oliver has lost his beach bag. The beach bag contains Oliver's clothes and shoes, which Oliver will need. Nate signs on for the case at once, and the search begins-with Oliver following closely after, of course. During the course of his investigation, he runs across the usual suspects: Annie and her dog, Fang, and Rosamond, who is running a seaside restaurant.

Marjorie Weinman Sharmat is the author of over twenty Nate the Great adventures, including NATE THE GREAT STALKS STUPIDWEED, NATE THE GREAT AND THE BORING BEACH BAG, NATE THE GREAT AND THE HALLOWEEN HUNT, and NATE THE GREAT AND THE MUSHY VALENTINE. She has written dozens of books for young readers. She named Nate the Great after her father. Her books have been named as Children's Choice books and Junior Literary Guild selections, and been picked as Books of the Year by the Library of Congress.

NATE THE GREAT AND THE BORING BEACH BAG offers more than the usual high standard of entertainment readers have come to expect from Marjorie Weinman Sharmat. Filled with the wit and humor of any other Nate the Great book, this particular entry also involves rudimentary mapping skills and an introduction to logical thinking. Also, long-time fans will really get the humor in Rosamond's Restaurant, where the sandwiches actually come packed with sand! The first-person voice of Nate the Great is an absolute delight to read on its own, but even better to share with a young reader just beginning to discover the worlds and adventures that lie between the covers of a book. Marc Simont's artwork, especially since it is out of the urban locale that the Nate the Great adventures usually favor, is eye-catching and colorful.

Young readers will enjoy the whole Nate the Great series because the tales are told in a familiar fashion and involve a solid cast of characters that return book after book. These books are also some of the best to choose for read-alouds to pre-readers or for the last story before bedtime because they can be read in just a few moments. The Nate the Great mysteries are fun and addictive for both parent and child.

Just as much fun as the first one, we're really loving Nate the Great!! In this volume, we join Nate on his first "night case." What is this case? Well, Nate has been hired by his annoying neighbor Oliver whose garbage keeps getting dumped over in the middle of the night...WHO would want to steal GARBAGE?! Nate the Great is on the case in no time flat with a LONG, LONG list of suspects....including just about every neighborhood animal you can think of.

Delivered in the same P.I. voiceover as the first book, Nate the Great continues the great tradition of tough guy private detectives...well, as tough as a kid can get at any rate...I can almost imagine it being read by Leslie Neilson (of spoof flick fame), because there is such an edge of hilarity in each book, that you can't resist getting a total kick out of reading how Nate narrows down the suspects and solves the mystery! Another hit for Sharmat! We're still loving the Nate the Great series and plan to read many more!!

Nate the Great Goes Undercover
Written by Marjorie Weinman Sharmat

If you like to solve mysteries, you would like to read Nate the Great Goes Undercover by Marjorie Weinman Sharmat. Nate the Great has a challenge ahead of him. The challenge is: Who is tipping over Oliver's garbage can? Nate and his dog Sludge set out at night to solve the mystery. They ask friends, look for clues, and they get down and dirty trying to find out what's happening to Oliver's garbage.
Nate the Great books are really fun to read because there is always a surprise at the end. Are you ready to solve a mystery? Pick up Nate the Great Goes Undercover and you will not be disappointed.

Written by: Devan

Nate the Great is a cool detective who solves lots of mysteries. In this story he is trying to find out who is dumping Oliver's trash. We liked it when Nate the Great went undercover to solve the case. The best part was when Nate runs into a "Stinky Surprise"! We think this is a great book for all second graders.

Nate the Great, the youngest detective to ever deliver tough guy lines, is summoned to his newest case by his next door neighbor, Oliver. Oliver is something of a pest because he follows people. It doesn't matter who they are or where they're going, if they catch Oliver's eye he will follow them. He's followed Nate the Great around on a lot of the cases Nate has been given to find things his friends have lost. Oliver's problem sets Nate on his first night case as a detective. Someone is stealing from Oliver's garbage can and dumping the rest all over the place. Reluctantly, Nate the Great takes the case and is followed by Oliver. Along the way, Nate finds out what Rosamond's four cats will eat. It is a very long list, and not at all what Nate needs to know. Researching the case also leads Nate to the local library to study nocturnal animals. However, the real culprit who is stealing Oliver's garbage is a major surprise!

Marjorie Weinman Sharmat is the author of over twenty Nate the Great adventures, including NATE THE GREAT STALKS STUPIDWEED, NATE THE GREAT AND THE BORING BEACH BAG, NATE THE GREAT AND THE HALLOWEEN HUNT, and NATE THE GREAT AND THE MUSHY VALENTINE. She has written dozens of books for young readers. She named Nate the Great after her father. Her books have been named as Children's Choice books and Junior Literary Guild selections, and been picked as Books of the Year by the Library of Congress.

As usual, Majorie Weinman Sharmat writes a sharp and smartly told tale. Nate the Great is one of the best fictional heroes to ever come about for young readers and pre-readers. Reading one of the Nate the Great books to a pre-reader is a fantastic privilege. The first-person, clipped dialogue is pure pleasure for the reader willing to do "voices." Annie and her dog Fang were absent from this adventure and long-time readers will miss them, but Oliver and Rosamond are there, as well as the usual stumbling blocks Nate encounters. And pancakes-lots and lots of pancakes. The author's clues are there, though, and many alert readers will figure out the solution to the garbage-snatching mystery one step ahead of Nate, which is the best place to figure those things out. Marc Simont's artwork is simple and elegant as always, adding to the enjoyment.

Young readers will enjoy the whole Nate the Great series because the tales are told in a familiar fashion and involve a solid cast of characters that return book after book. These books are also some of the best to choose for read-alouds to pre-readers or for the last story before bedtime because they can be read in just a few moments. The Nate the Great mysteries are fun and addictive for both parent and child.

Networking: A Beginner's Guide, Fourth Edition is the ideal place to start your way into the networking world. By reading this book i made my way up and now i'm studying for my Cisco CCNA exam. Definately recommended.

Note that the sub-title of this book says that it is a Beginner's Guide. It is designed for people who understand computers and have some experience in using operating systems such as Windows, Mac, or Linux. It starts with this base and talks about how to interface these systems into networks.

One thing that I like about this book is that it starts with an overview of what networking is, how the company will benefit, what the goals of establishing a network might be. From there it goes into the types of networks, i.e. peer to peer, client/server. I often find that this overview, what should be the first 40 pages or so of the book, is missing. Here Mr. Hallberg does an excellent job of providing the basic understanding of 'this is what I'm trying to do.'

After 38 pages (not quite a full forty pages, but close) he begins to get down to the nuts and bolts like cabling, repeaters, hubs, switches, and firewalls. From there he goes on about like you would expect to more advanced topics until the basics of networking are pretty well covered.

One particular strong point is the chapter on Network Disaster Recovery. You're going to have a disaster, it's just a matter of time. Having a place to at least start looking for how to recover is very good and not common in beginning level books.

One point I would like to see more of in a beginning book is security. Windows XP has some security features built in. A discussion of using their firewall vs. a hardware firewall would be good. And some discussion of keeping the salesmen out of the accounting package would be nice. Perhaps in the next edition.

Conclusion: A Very Good Place to Start.

This book is great for everyone who wants to learn about networking. Amazingly it covers a variety of topics easy to understand and follow. I recommend this for for everyone who wants to learn key concepts about networking.

It's difficult to find a networking book that covers the basics in comprehensive detail without weighing in at 1000 pages. But this one does a very good job... Networking: A Beginner's Guide (4th Edition) by Bruce Hallberg.

Content:
Part 1 - Networking Ins and Outs: The Business of Networking; Laying the Foundation; Understanding Networking; Understanding Network Cabling; Home Networking; Understanding Network Hardware; Making WAN Connections; Understanding Networking Protocols; Exploring Directory Services; Connections from Afar - Remote Network Access; Securing Your Network; Network Disaster Recovery; Network Servers - Everything You Wanted to Know but Were Afraid to Ask; Purchasing and Managing Client Computers
Part 2 - Hands-on Knowledge: Designing a Network; Installing and Setting Up Windows 2000 Server; Administering Windows 2000 Server - The Basics; Understanding Other Windows 2000 Server Services; Introducing Windows Server 2003; Installing Windows Server 2003; Setting Up Windows Server 2003; Installing Linux in a Server Configuration; Introduction to Linux Systems Administration; Setting Up a Linux Web Server with Apache
Glossary; Index

This is far more than a quickie home networking guide designed to allow you to hook up your wireless laptop. Instead, it's more designed for someone who is interested in learning how to set up a full network and administer it much like a professional would. Hallberg covers everything from cabling on up to the actual network operating system. While the chapters on Windows 2000/2003 aren't designed to be comprehensive reference manuals, they are complete enough to get the fledging network administrator up and running. The information is solid and readable, and working your way through the material would yield a solid foundation from which to start a career in network administration. And you can do so without getting bogged down in endless details that would be beyond you as a starter...