Beginners Books

Reviewed by Kathleen Dowdell for Reader Views (7/06)

Did you know that in 1909 all residential streets in Chicago were renumbered? And that it was not an Illinois state requirement until 1916 to file birth certificates? These are just a couple of nuggets of information you will find helpful in your ancestral research when you read Grace DuMelle's "Finding Your Chicago Ancestors". This book is an invaluable tool for beginners as well as seasoned researchers looking for historical family back ground.

This book is comprised of 16 chapters that aid the researcher in tracing their Chicago
ancestors. Each chapter ends with a Points to Remember section that condenses the information in the chapter into an easy to use checklist. What's also unique is the unintended time line that explains where data can be found for the last two centuries.
Included in this 321 page book are numerous websites and buildings in Chicago and Cook County that house many materials that are not available on line.

This is one of the best genealogical resources for finding your ancestors that I have read. What makes it more unique is that its information is solely targeted for Chicago. But even if you're not searching for a past family member of Chicago, this book is useful because it explains how to research using historical documents. There is so much hands-on interactive information that, with the help of this book, searching for the roots of your family tree will be fun and easy to do.

Grace DuMelle's background in historical research and her connections with many Chicago historical organizations is quite striking. It's a real bonus that she put all that knowledge and expertise into this great book for all to read. Definitely a book to own!

This book was a true pleasure to read! Grace Dumelle has taken what could be a very complicated topic, and she has presented it in an organized and easy to follow format.

I have not done any geneology work, but reading this book inspired me to try to get several questions about my ancestors answered.

I now have a much better sense of where to start my search.

I recommend this book highly.

Alane Repa

If your family tree includes Chicago roots, you better make sure a copy of Finding Your Chicago Ancestors: A Beginner's Guide To Family History In The City And Cook County is on your shelf: family historian Grace DuMdelle shows how and what to research in a Chicago-specific guide to genealogy which covers everything from local resources to Chicago research facilities and how to access them. Any beginner can use Finding Your Chicago Ancestors because it also covers important changes in search routines, how to make the most of 'hidden documents', how to overcome common records-seeking problems and much more.

This is my 3 1/2 yr olds new favorite book. We read it EVERY night. It's an easy read, not too long & the pictures allow you to make up a little bit more to the story than what's actually written. This is a must for little boys!

We bought this book for our almost 4 yr old son to introduce him to imaginary play. We were looking for books that showed him what different occupations do, so that we could pretend to be them together. He loved Piggy Wiggy from the first read-through! I am ordering the other titles in the series, and look forward to more!

My five week old son already enjoys the pictures-the book is large enough and the illustrations are brightly colored and full of contrast for him, not to mention adorable! I know we'll be reading and re-reading this one for years to come.

My 5-year-old did not want to put this book down until he finished it. He loved that it was true, and he related to the try, try again theme for success in the story. If you have a child within this reading level and is interested at all in airplanes, this is a winner to buy!

I chose this book from the local library for my 7 year old daughter. When we got home, she read it immediately and started discussing the book. Now I have read it and will search the Internet to find more information about these actual events. This book is a keeper and I am buying a copy for our home library.

My son, in second grade, was so proud of himself when he completed this book on his own- his first chapter book- that he asked me to find more of the series. Fascinated by history, this historical fiction based on the Wright brothers held his interest to the end.

This is part of a very cute series about Fluffy the guinea pig. Very endearing for those who love guinea pigs---it's hard to find many kids books about them.

My six year old loves Fluffy and his bad attitude and I have to confess so do I. When I'm overdosing on the treacly, politically correct reading material that comes home from school Fluffy is the perfect antidote

I have read two of the Fluffy books. I love them and so do my kids. I cannot wait to read the other two about Fluffy. These are books I don't mind reading over and over with my children. Thank you for them!

This book is well written in a light yet very informative manner. The author's cut to the basics and keep it simple. Well worth the price and the reading.

This is a well organised book with great how to. for the begining to intermediate fly rodder this book has some excellent tips to help you jump start your fly fishing hobbie.

If I had it all to do over again I would begin fly-fishing by reading this book. It's title tells the truth. The book is obviously written for the beginning fly-fisher but that does not mean it is light-weight in its information. Rutter & Card give very solid information and explain it throughly enough for it to become easy to understand. The book is full of black and white pictures and diagrams to help the reader visualize what the writers are talking about. They will explain what you need to do and then show you pictures of how to do it. The Table of Contents is also a big help because it breaks down where you can find each sub-grouping within each chapter (the Table of Contents is almost as big as the Index). All together this makes "Fly Fishing Made Easy" a book that I am still glad I have in my library, even though I am no longer a beginner.

My son still throws lines at me from this book from time to time! He is now 12 and remembers it well. We read it daily (sometimes more than once) for about 2 years between his ages of 3 and 5 and now, when we do the annual bookshelf cleaning, he still insists on leaving that one on the shelf! No, he doesn't pick it up to read anymore (boo hoo...they all have to grow up), but boy, on that bookshelf-clean-out-day, he likes to remember! Also, when someone brings a child to our home, its one of the first he chooses to read to him/her! This book is beautifully illustrated, reminds us of our hometown (Lancaster PA) and has a GREAT alphabet learning rhythym with this prose! I reccomend this book to parents with toddlers and to early readers!

Better than the usual A-Z teaching tool in that it's a well-written piece of prose--how surprising. Lovely illustrations with an Amish theme. Will please adults as well as the young.

I used the book with my students and they really enjoyed it. They learned about the Pennsylvania Dutch and their life style along with the alphabet. A new word, "row", was introduced and lead to a wonderful dictionary lesson.

I have thirty to fourty books on the tarot. This is the book I seek out to give as a gift along with a deck of tarot cards. The meanings of the cards are crystal clear. I'd even recommend this book to more skilled reader. It even mentions miscarrage/abortion associated with one card. If you're just learning the tarot, this would be the first book I'd send your way. It will make a "believer" out of you very quickly.

Fenton's books have been a great help to me where keyword readings have failed. With the interpretations she gives it became very easy for me to get beyond the 'is it really that?' stage and on to giving accurate readings for many years. I will constantly recommend her words to others ^^ well-written without being condescending or overly flamboyent and flowery. Great stuff!

When I first began reading tarot cards 25 yrs ago. One of my first books was this one by Sasha Fenton. I bought many, but her concise & clear writings made the information easy to remember. When learning to read cards, there is so much to remember, any simple techniques are an assess. My Book is so worn, & overly used it has fallen apart after 25 yrs.

So, I'm ordering a new copy to last the next 25 yrs & would recommend it highly to anyone wanting to learn the art of divination. Julia from Ft. Lauderdale, Florida

I own every Fox book because they are so incredible funny but teach a lesson. If you like Love and Logic Parenting, this is it. Fox gets to face a hilarious consequence every time!

Fox introduces small children to the delightful world of humor and irony in books. What a welcome relief from the drills on simple words that characterize so many early readers. With the simplest of words, Marshall conveys sibling rivalry, naughtiness, and even phobias with a sweet chuckle understandable to early readers. Fox was a constant favorite with both my girls and I only wish more children could go along on his misadventures.

That basically sums up all these books. They are absolute classics! I love everything about every single one of these books- I read them growing up and nearly cried as a teenager when they removed them from my local library. No matter what age you are you can enjoy these fantastic books. James Marshall has turned out nothing but classic, wonderful and fun books. If you've never read them, you're missing out on your childhood, and that goes for his George and Martha books too! Get one TODAY!

Another Great Franklin Book. My 3 year old loves for me to read him these stories.

We really enjoyed this Franklin book. It shows kids that 1)never give up and 2)everybody struggles trying to learn something new. Franklin thinks his friends will make fun of him since he still has his training wheels on his bike. Franklin then remembers that his friends all had trouble learning new things as well. Franklin then devises an interesting way to learn to ride his bike. Its precious.

My 5 year old son got this book for Christmas and we have read it every night since! It depicts the struggle for a young Turtle, Franklin, as he wants to learn to ride a two wheeler like his friends, the peer pressure involved and his overcoming his fears to finally accomplish his goal. Excellent story!

Profusely illustrated throughout with the full-color photography of Mellisa Punch, "Gadgetology" is a lively and 'kid friendly' collection of do-it-yourself instructions for recipe, crafts, games, and experimental projects utilizing thirty-five different kitchen implements or 'gadgets' common to any home. Kids can build an edible log cabin with an apple corer, make a strawberry taste like orange juice with a marinade injector, write secret messages in a lemon juice based invisible ink and the use of a citrus squeezer, make a jelly bean nest with a garlic press, and so much more! Fun and informative, "Gadgetology" is a unique and enthusiastically recommended addition to any family or community library children's activities reference collection.

This book is full of fun things to do as a family. What a treat.

This book is so much fun to use, and is gorgeous to look at. Having projects that you can do with your child by just going to the kitchen and using tools and food you already own is such a fabulous idea. So many project books for kids require items you have to go out and get especially for the project --- not very convenient for spur of the moment fun. This book makes it easy to be spontaneous. And you'll have as much fun as your child! My eight year old and three year old both love it.

I highly recommend this book!