Works Books

In the past ten months, I've burned through over $100k in insurance benefits, pursuing what conventional medicine offers for osteoarthritis. In that time, the disease has rapidly and progressively degenerated joints in my neck, shoulders and hips to a point that I am almost completely bed-ridden. Conventional medicine has not only done nothing whatsoever to aleviate the disease or the pain, it has addicted me to morphine and Duragesic (80 times more potent than street-level heroin). I turned to this book out of desparation.

The book states clearly and early on, that conventional medicine doesn't know what to do for osteoarthritis OTHER THAN to mask the pain with narcotics. The position of conventional medicine - i.e. most A.M.A. practitioners - is that osteoarthritis is a normal part of aging and once it occurs, there is nothing that can be done for it. This book contends that is absolutely wrong.

The book puts forward a very compelling argument that by following a nine point systematic approach, the heart of which is a regimen of daily glucosamine and chondroitin together with ASU, osteoarthritis can not only be stopped in its progression, but the symptoms actually reversed. The book is wonderfully and powerfully written and I think maybe, the best hope and option for osteoarthritis sufferers.

How am I doing since going onto the 9-part program espoused by the book? Well, I've only been on the glucosamine and chondroitin for about three weeks. I haven't been able, as yet, to locate a source for ASU, and I haven't yet implemented any of the the other 8 parts of the cure - though I will be doing so within the next few days.

Have my osteoarthritic sypmtom abated since I started the program espoused by this book? Sad to say, no. However, I am truly convinced that as I factor in the other 8 parts of the cure and give it another month, my pain will decrease, I will regain range of motion, and I will regain function again.

I believe this is an excellent book and very much worth a read by every sufferer of osteoarthritis.

The title is unwisely chosen, close to a cheap shot, designed to get the attention of people in pain. This is unfair,and diminishes the total effect of the book, which is well researched and documented for a book for a lay audience. It is very helpful to have all the information on glucosamine and condroitin together, with an exact plan. Very useful is the attention paid to the lack of quality control in choosing nutritional supplements. Dr. Theo provides excellent advice on how to choose wisely, and how to avoid poor or deceptive formulations.

Three months ago I was as skeptical as John (below). I have OA in both knees and was contemplating knee replacement surgery. I decided to give this guy's recommendations a chance as a last resort, since my meds weren't helping much. I've been on fairly large doses of glucosamine/chondroitin, ASU, SAMe, and Omega 3-6-9 since around last Thanksgiving. My knee pain has reduced by, I would guess, about 75%. I don't want to over-hype this regimen, and I don't have any idea how long the relief will last. But it's real, and it's substantial. Note that you have to allow a couple of months for it to fully kick in. [...]

The above review was originally written on 2/14/07. As of 6/7/07, I've added the supplement MSM, and the "cocktail" continues to work. I'm still off pain meds except for the occasional ibuprofen. The supplements aren't magic, my knees continue to hurt, but I'm still much closer to pain-free than before I began the regimen. And most importantly, I'm still avoiding the surgeon's knife. ~CPW

Put it this way, I have joint pain, and I take glucosamine and chondroitin for the pain. But I have my doubts about them, too, especially with regard to the claim that they "rebuild cartilage" (note: I am not a doctor, and I am just a layperson and reader of average knowledge, who has done some reading on this).

Here is what the Mayo Clinic site states about glucosamine and chondroitin (Mayo has one of the top-5 arthritis departments in the country):

"Many manufacturers market dietary supplements that they claim can rebuild cartilage. But little scientific evidence supports this claim. The most studied of these supplements is glucosamine sulfate.

Glucosamine is a natural compound in your body that helps make your cartilage strong and rigid. Osteoarthritis causes the breakdown of joint cartilage and can affect any joint, including the elbow, ankle, wrist and knee. Although there is insufficient evidence that glucosamine rebuilds cartilage, there is some evidence that a combination of glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate may relieve moderate to severe pain in some people with osteoarthritis of the knee. The mechanism by which it does this isn't clear."

Some doctors state that glucosamine mimics aspirin and Tylenol, i.e. it is a pain reliever, not a rebuilder of joints.

The book is still good in that it shows the current scientific ideas on how to heal and feel better; but let's not let our hopes of a "holistic cure" get in the way of evidence.

I have been investigating health issues for almost 30 years, and Dr. Theo's book is the best one I have read concerning the solution to arthritis. I am also one of the victims of arthritis because I have literally walked or run for thousands of miles in my lifetime. So, my knees and hips need constant attention, and I can personally confirm that glucosamine and chondroitin supplements work. The doctor is right that different brands vary a lot in quality, and I am glad he listed some good brands in his book. He also tells the exact amount of each supplement that you must take in order to get effective results. Although I did not see the GNC brand mentioned in the book, I have found that the GNC chewable Tri-Flex candy supplements work for me. You'll be glad you bought this very informative book if you have arthritis or know someone who does.

Anne Perry, the enormously popular writer of historical fiction, just recommended this ballad by G. K. Chesterton as one of five must read tales of historical fiction. (See the Wall Street Journal's online Opinion Page for April 21, 2007 in an article entitled "Past Tense.") Here's part of what she said:

"This is the story of the English King Alfred's desperate stand against invading Danes in 878. England is conquered, and Alfred is a fugitive when he sees a vision of the Virgin Mary that bids him call together the remnants of his people for a final battle. "The Ballad of the White Horse" is an epic poem of courage, passion and unsurpassable beauty."

If you'd like to read other tales and poems by Chesterton, you might want to get "The Ballad of the White Horse" as part of a collection of his poetry that I edited for not much more money. It's called G. K. Chesterton's Early Poetry and has "The Ballad of the White Horse," along with two other books of Chesterton poetry under one cover. That means you'll also get his best humorous poetry, "Greybeards at Play." No less a writer than George Orwell ranked Chesterton as one of the three best writers of funny poetry in twentieth century England. The poems are a riot of the ridiculous and are accompanied with equally funny sketches he did.

And although Anne Perry and I have the same last name, as far as I know we're not related. Her's is a pen name. Mine is a real name. I guess I'm not creative enough to invent a name for myself.

G. K. Chesterton's Early Poetry: Greybeards At Play, The Wild Knight And Other Poems, The Ballad Of The White Horse

Mr. Chesterton has a masterful skill with the pen; _Orthodoxy_ and _The Napoleon of Notting Hill_ are wonderful books--but _The Ballad of the White Horse_ is heartbreaking in its power, beauty, and nobility. With a stunning use of alliteration, rhythm, and imagery, Mr. Chesterton teaches the reader about true hearts, true faith, and true sacrifice. I have bought a few copies of this book to give as gifts to friends, and I eagerly recommend it to anyone who will listen. This book is a must-have for any individual interested in expanding their knowledge of great poetry!

Out of the thousand or so books I have read in my life, if I were to put the Bible aside (since the Bible speaks with a special authority to believers and cannot really be compared to other books), I have read no more than five or six books that I would call truly great. That means there are only five or six books I would rate at five stars. This is one. Yes, it is that good.

I have never read any author who could make the English language sing the way Chesterton does in this poem -- for over a hundred pages. In contrast to contemporary "poets" whose "poems" consist of a bunch of strange words scattered apparently at random on a page, whose meaning, if there is one, is far beyond obscurity, Chesterton had apparently unlimited ability to create rhyme and alliteration, and then he bound it all tightly in the sing-song ballad style that carries it all swiftly along. The words of this poem are glorious to hear, and really, this book should be read aloud, so that one might hear the music of the words.

And few have ever been able to match the way Chesterton paints pictures with words. I will quote one passage, and hope it is not to long, to illustrate this. The scene here is Alfred's army making one final charge against the Danish camp:

Then bursting all and blasting
Came Christendom like death,
Kicked of such catapults of will,
The staves shiver, the barrels spill,
The waggons waver and crash and kill
The waggoners beneath.

Barriers go backward, banners rend,
Great shields groan like a gong,
Horses like horns of nightmare
Neigh horribly and long.

Horses ramp and rock and boil
And break their golden reins,
And slide on carnage clamorously,
Down where the bitter blood doth lie,
Where Ogier went on foot to die
In the old way of the Danes.

It would be hard to imagine anyone anyone describing such a violent scene in so few words any better than Chesterton does in that passage. And this passage is but one of dozens of glorious word-pictures that Chesterton's poetry paints in this book.

Beyond its magnificent use of the English language, this book also contains much philosophical insight -- insight that, although first published in 1911, is directly and clearly applicable today. Chesterton expresses very clearly the way that Christianity has formed the heart of Western culture over the ages, and the way that Christian faith -- which seems all about self-denial and thus sadness -- leads to unconquerable joy.

The book, of course, is not perfect; no work of literature can be. There are places where it gets a bit too preachy for my taste. But the book's flaws are few and minor, while its good points are many and glorious.

How good is this book? I have read it at least 50 times in my life, and I still enjoy reading it. In my opinion it is one of the truly greatest works written in the English language. It is one of the few books I have read that truly deserves five stars.

I had read some of Chesterton's fictional books, most of which contain poems which he has written, and I very much enjoyed his poems, so I decided to get a book of his poetry. This too I really enjoyed, so I decided to get another book of his poetry, this time it was The Ballad of the White Horse, and this book simply blew away all of the rest of Chesterton's poems. In fact, it simply blows away most poems by anyone. I have read Dante's Divine Comedy, Milton' Paradise Lost, Eliot's Wasteland, Chaucer's Canturbury Tales, etc., but I can honestly say that I enjoyed this epic far more than any of them. I am not saying that it is a better written poem or that it should be ranked above these classics, but I am saying that it is much more exciting to read than the others. Somehow Chesterton makes his poem involving: you are drawn into it and cannot put the book down until you have finished the chapter. He wrote it in such a way that the verses beg to be read quickly, and as I read I found myself reading faster and faster, until I was stumbling over the words and had to slow down again. Chesterton, like no other poet whom I know of, paints a picture of glory, honor, bravery, and captures the true spirit of an idealized Medieval War. The poem resounds with the drums of doom, the cries of angels, the hordes of invading barbarians and great deeds of heroes of old. If I were to recommend owning one epic poem, this would be the one.

Overall grade: A+

A stirring epic poem with a message important for the future of western civilization...to act on hope when there is no longer any hope... The outcome is always, finally, in God's Providence. "The Ballad of the White Horse" should have great appeal for young men who can dream impossibilities because they are firmly grounded in the eternal verities. The battles scenes will fire the blood!

When I got this book I read it cover to cover and felt like a pro after. I refer to it all the time for help with movements and terminology. It also has some WONDERFUL history on famous dancers, the evolution of the pointe shoe, even about tutus! It also has amazing sections on different ballet buns, what dancers should have in their dance bag, how to properly sew and tie pointe shoes, and more equally useful things! It also has a lot of information for late starters and recreational dancers. It answers those embarrassing questions most people are too afraid to ask about! Plus they couldn't pick a better model! She has amazing technique.

By far the best ballet book I've ever seen. Lots of pictures, concise information, covers just about everything. Despite being by Minden, it's not a book that overly promotes the shoes. I'm a Grishko-wearer and was expecting a lot of tie-ins, but the book actually says different dancers may have different needs.

I highly recommend this book for young and older dancers alike.

We give a copy of this book to all graduating seniors who intend to continue their dance career.

This book is a must have for anyone who loves the Ballet. There is a little something her for everyone, instructors, dancers, ballet enthusiast. It's a beautifully put together collection of photos, descriptions of ballet moves as well as descriptions of actual ballets. This is a wonderful book for research purposes and a beautiful addition to anyone's personal library. The history of dance is also included as well as other interesting bits and pieces of trivia.

Ms. Gaynor Minden's love for ballet comes across in this book. I highly recommend this title if you love ballet or know someone who does.

Written in lay-persons terms so I could understand. Every thing you need to know concerning ballet. - From warm ups to jumps, ribbons to toe shoes, healthy eating to injury protection, Ballet history to future diva dancer. I have been able to look up an ache, see what muscles are in the area and then look up the appropriate stretches. All in one book!

And there are 5 glossaries in the back of the book. - Ballet Terms, Music Terms, theater Teams, Social Dances, and Dancer Slang! Don't get stuck with a "Dolly Dinkle"! Be a proud "Bun Head" and be in the know! This may very well be the only dusted book in your Ballet Library.

Poor Mom of Three Darling Dancing Divas.

Beauty in the Balance is a wonderfully written book covering a wide range of topics in cosmetic surgery and treatment. Dr. Rosen and Dr. Ablaza reveal the many options available using every day language. The decision to select cosmetic surgery is often confusing and frustrating, this book tackles the many issues and answers the questions those considering surgery often have. This is a must read for anyone considering cosmetic surgery.

Karla L. Hall
National Organization of Vascular Anomalies
[....]

Excellent reference book on the latest cosmetic surgery procedures for face and body. Does not include reconstructive procedures.

I was truly impressed with "Beauty in Balance". It gave me a clear understanding of the procedures and this in turn helped me to have realistic expectations. I would recommend this book for anyone contemplating cosmetic surgery.

I'm so impressed with this book. It contains clear-detailed information in a professional yet easy to undestand manner.

I found this book to be most helpful in researching cosmetic surgery and the various procedures I am considering. The information was succinct and easy to read. I feel much more confident about the process as a result of reading this book. I recommend this book with great enthusiasm!

My initial reason for ordering this book was to learn more about mediation. From front to back, it was like a blossoming lotus. Not only did I learn about meditation, I learned that it is a staple of the Buddhist Faith and why it is just that. The concept of cleansing ones mind sounds like a good intention that actually unfolds into a replenishing and rebirth of our mind and body. It is a message of hope and love with instructions.
Meditation is not just merely sitting on a pillow and chanting, it is a skill that is learned and brought forward to our thinking and speaking. She so eloquently words this process of how it flows into our daily lives as mindfulness of everything around us. We so often look at a landfill of details that really are of no consequence to the quality of our lives whatsoever. We can learn to be the inertia of wholesomeness and peace that will automatically radiate to all living things around us with skill!!
I would recommend this book to the most enlightened of people, to those in a recovery process, and also to those who are balancing life in and out of a mental (depressive)condition. Seriously, I believe not only what she was teaching, but how she taught it could actually alleviate the need for all of these medication that are being prescribed because of our run-away, chaotic world and in turn our seemingly unmanageable, stressful lives.
I DO not like the term "New Age" here. The teachings of Buddha are anything but.

I used to always recommend Walpola Rahula's "What the Buddha Taught" as the best first read for someone looking to get started with Buddhism but now I think I'd recommend this instead. Rahula's book seems better for those with just an intellectual interest in Buddhism, but this book seems better for those who are ready to start changing their life. An absolute gem.

A book that transcends the page and leaves the reader with insight long after putting it down. It is written in a style that is easy for Western Bhuddist readers to comprehend. Well worth the time and money to read.

Ayya Khema's book is a summary of lessons at a Bhuddist retreat in Sri Lanka, but it reads like an overview of the most important Bhuddist teachings in one volume.

I've read many books about meditation, but for me this is the best. I highly recommend it for both beginning and experienced meditators.

There are thousands of books out there for people interested in Buddhism, but few of them get to the core of what it's all about and why it's so important to practice, practice, practice. This is undoubtedly the best. Just the first chapter alone is perhaps the best summary I've ever read of what Buddhism really is.

This is a good book, with clear instructions. It is a good starting point for learning about mini-books and paper folding. I found going through the book thinking of different ideas in addition to those in the book. Some of the illustrations provided inspiration for subjects to cover. In all, it is a good jumping point to start from.

This is a great book for teachers!!! #Exspecially if you are short on money and time. Dinah Zike has helped those teachers that need some motivating activities for students without the cost! I love the book and so do my co-workers. We will be using it for years to come!

This book has many useful tips on how to incorporate construction paper into a variety of lessons for a variety of grade levels.

Dinah Zike makes paper folding easy and education fun with her creative methods of writing and instruction. The students enjoy the lessons just as much as I enjoy teaching them! The photos and instructions are easy to follow and personalize to your own classroom needs. This is a must for all ages/grades!

This is a creative and helpful book. It really helped my kids know their material better. They would use big or small books to elaborate on topics they had learned. They love to look back through the books they made, reinforcing the information over and over.
They were able to remember so many more details of the topics we covered from the ideas in this book.
--Michelle L.

Blackbelly is a novel of unexpected depth from an author who understands how to tell a morality story without beating a dead horse--or sheep, in this case. Heather Sharfeddin's prose is straightforward, non-judgmental and honest from first word to last. And her characters, Chas McPherson, the proud loner who wants to do right by his dying father, and Mattie Holden, an unassuming nurse looking for a chance to start fresh, ring as true as any I've encountered--on or off the page--in recent memory. Blackbelly is a story of loneliness, repressed needs, and bigotry in a small town. Sprinkled with a hint of the supernatural, a few bible quotes and a layer of underlying tension, it resonates like a clanging cow bell. We haven't heard the last from this outstanding wordsmith. Salmon Run

I read Sharfeddin's book between Hemingway and Terry Kay. She more than held her own against these two great writers. From the first chapters I was drawn in and felt like I was a part of the story. I was impressed with Sharfeddin's ability to capture the lead male character so well. How did she get into the mind of a male so well? Maybe I don't want an answer.
This is an enjoyable book that reaches deep to capture emotions we all face but often hide from. Through this book we can learn a little more about ourselves, our society, and others. I recommend this novel.

I know Heather Sharfeddin personally. I raise Blackbelly Sheep. I grew up in rural Idaho just a few miles from where Heather grew up. With all that being said, I loved this book. I read it in one day just days after it was released. I didn't want it to end. I still think of the characters and wonder how they are and what they are doing. As I was reading the first few pages, I kept thinking how amazing it was that Heather was the writer and that I knew her. It was not long before she took me away from that and led me into the lives of her characters. I am buying this book for almost everyone on my Christmas list. One of the best reads ever--and I read a lot!!

Have you ever hit a dry spell with the books you read? When everything you pick up is missing that special something that hooks you in and holds you until the last word?
I was in just such a dry spell when I picked this book up after having seen in reviewed in the Idaho Statesman. I am so glad I did!
I will wait as patiently as possible for this author to write another novel.

This book is a real page turner that is masterfully written. I am eagerly awaiting a second novel from this author.

_The Book of Questions_ defies easy description. Neruda composed over 70 poems in quatrains, two questions per quatrain - yet the depth of the questions and the variety of interpretations the reader can take from the questions is limitless. That the book contains English translations of the Spanish original is an added bonus.

The images are surreal, as if a Dali painting put to words. Further thought (and the poems ARE thought provoking) yields a different answer with each reading. There is a pervading sense of sadness to them, perhaps because Neruda was dying of cancer while he wrote them; but there is hope, here, too - and a wisdom that only a master poet can communicate. For example:

Where is the child I was,
still inside me or gone?

Why did we spend so much time
growing up only to seperate?

Neruda's _Book of Questions_ haunts and provokes, much like life itself. Highly recommended.

The BOOK OF QUESTIONS was written in 1973, a few months before Neruda's death to cancer. Troubled by the knowledge of his impending death, as well as by a U.S. backed coup threatening the Allende government in Chile (Leftist regime 1970-73), Neruda wrote several small books of brief poems, comprised simply of unanswerable questions, in the koan tradition (question/statement in the form of a paradox that disciples of Zen ponder). They are enigmatic, at times surreal, leaving you lost in labyrinths of deep thought, or in abstract bewilderment.

My favorite questions include:

Why do leaves commit suicide
When they feel yellow?

and

When the convict ponders the light
is it the same light that shines on you?

--ross saciuk

Pablo Neruda's BOOK OF QUESTIONS is one of those books that simply cannot be read just once. Though the poems are short, they are questions that make you ponder and think about through out the day. Neruda covers just about everything, such as politics, society, nature, and life in general.

The most enlightening thing about poetry, especially Neruda's style of writing poetry, is that it lends itself to much interpretation. Anyone that reads this book will have their own answer and interpretation of what they think Neruda was trying to convey. For example, Neruda has a knack for covering politics. He writes:

"How did the grapes come to know
the cluster's party line?

And do you know which is harder,
to let run to seed or to do the picking?

It is bad to live without a hell:
aren't we able to reconstruct it?

And to position sad Nixon
with his buttocks over the brazier?

Roasting him on low
with North American napalm?" (p.18)

For the most part, the book has a zen-like quality, which suggests a complexity to the poems -- the sense of not-knowing, and moving towards intuitive perceptions, beyond rehearsed patterns of thinking and feeling (viii). In a way, it appears complex, but at the same time liberating. Neruda's poetry is simple in its structure.

Beyond analysis, BOOK OF QUESTIONS is also helpful for anyone trying to refresh their memory to read and write in spanish. The translations are wonderful and practical. I recommend this book as well as other books by Neruda because of this added bonus.

Pablo Neruda is much missed as a poet and thinker. Since his death in 1973 there has been an even stronger growing of appreciation for his unique style of writing. During his last days he composed this strange little collection of some 300-odd questions and a number of poems all dealing with the life cycle as only one who sees his end at hand can write. The subjects are death, rebirth and nature in as complete a marriage of intention as any poet has created. They are beautifully translated by William O'Daly.

Intending his reader to be stimulated by his words to create a visual image that is personal, his questions from this volume so aptly titled 'The Book of Questions' open our eyes and our minds to some rapturously beautiful experiences. Examples:

'Why don't inanimate things
do something?

Where did a celestial body
leave something tonight?

Why don't they train helicopters
to suck honey from the sunlight?

Where did the full moon leave
its sack of flour tonight?'

Warmly humorous, touching and eventually elevating, the questions remain on the backs of our eyes awaiting reentry into our brains for relish at needy times. Neruda is a poet for all seasons. Just read this book and discover. Grady Harp, December 06

With this book, Pablo Neruda takes the universe and turns it inside out; in doing so, he brings forth questions for which there are no answers, and which, at the same moment, lead us toward the questions and vibrations of our own souls. The questions may appear as nonsense, but in truth, they are of another language, that of the poet, and they are neither meant to be answered nor translated into the realms of the logical and linear. He embraces humor: "What will they think of my hat, the Polish, in a hundred years?" and "Is there anything sillier than to be called Pablo Neruda?" Yet he also delves into mystery of life and living: "Is 4 the same 4 for everybody? Are all sevens equal?" and "In the end, won't death be an endless kitchen?" While perhaps never having read C.S. Lewis' "A Grief Observed," Neruda picks up a thread from two lines of this short memoir of grief: "Is yellow square or round? How many hours are in a mile?" But while Lewis searches for answers in a prosaic realm, Neruda remains the poet of questions. His work also brings to mind a poem by American jani johe webster, "the color of august": "what is the sound of a shadow / how do you say a hope / can you see time in a dream". For a truly amazing experience, read William O'Daly's translation of "The Book of Questions" side by side with Ben Belitt's: it is an amazing study of words, meanings, translation, and most of all, questions.

I love this book and the Talisman Magic Workbook as well. It gets down to basic and ensures that you have an understanding of what you are doing, why you are doing it, and how to utilize it.
If you are looking for someone to hold your hand, tell you where to stand,what to recite and give you a bunch of spells that mean nothing to you personally, then don't bother with this book.
If you want a book that gives you all the info and then allows you to personalize it, then I recommend this book.
My only complaint is that the authors only wrote two books.

This book is the best book on candle magick that one could own. I have read several and this one is my favorite. Easy to follow, lots of great information. It is the ONLY one I actually bought and I have NO desire to buy any others on this subject. Great book, great price, and you cant go wrong.

But please understand that candle magick is not for everyone. We all have our own skills and gifts and some people are better at other things..Like me, I just cannot skry! Its not something I have been able to do yet, however it does not mean I wont, some things just take longer to learn, so remember that when you are studying candle magick.
~Blessings~

I was hoping for a grimoire of different spells, but this definatly doesn't cover all of that. It does however cover the basics of using candles as a part of magick, and also covers several other topics like Creative Visualization and other great things like that.

This book is for anyone thinking of joining a Coven, is a Solitary Practitioner of Magick, or is really serious about their Magick Work.

It is not a book of meaningless recipes where you have to trust that the author knows what they are doing and is not a rehash of light flowery vague information.

The book teaches Why and How Magick really works, and why it can fail. A Fabulous Book!

I have been looking for a book to teach my beginning students how to safely perform magick and spells, and this book is beyond words.

It is so rare to really find an author that knows what they are talking about and is willing to share their secrets with the world.

A friend, that belongs to a Bay Area Coven, had raved about the book and that it was exactly what I needed for my students.
He was right . . .

If you want to really understand how and why magick works, and want to customize your own spells . . . I highly recommend this book.

It is one of the rare books that deliver and all the covens that I know of in my area make this book required reading.

I was hoping for a grimoire of different spells, but this definatly doesn't cover all of that. It does however cover the basics of using candles as a part of magick, and also covers several other topics like Creative Visualization and other great things like that.

This book is effectively an ABC for kids. Published in the 1960s it still provides a valuable teaching aid to get young children learning their alphabet. Each letter has anassociated series of words and story attached to it. With characters such as "Aaron" the alligator, and Abigail a girl, simple sentences are conveyed with quirky illustrations to help children learn various concepts. From "Abigail crosses the road" to "Aunt Ada likes Lions" the book leads the young reader from A through to Z where we learn that "Zero is very cold for zebras". A fun way for any child to learn to read.

I got this book 32 years ago when my first daughter was born. We began "playing with" the dictionary when she was around 1, and it was such a source of laughs for both of us. She did learn her letters. At 18 months , while walking through a marked parking lot, she surprised my friends by saying "Mommy, standing on "A". I gave the dictionary full credit!

Now this same person is expecting her first child. The Dictionary is on it's way to her house right now.

Excellent book. My three-year old learned all of her letters in a fun and amuzing way. She was intrigued by the pictures and the activities the characters were perfoming. I highly recommend it for any preschooler.

Kristina, Mother of Tiffany

While all of the books with the Dr. Seuss label can be considered essential reading for children, this one is more essential than most of the others. In terms of books used to help children learn to read, I found it to be unequaled in value. I still have the copy my daughter read and it is worn to the point where the spine is falling apart. Not through misuse, but from being opened and the pages flipped over and over again.
In the beginning, I read it to her, but it did not take long until she was sitting by herself looking through the pages and saying the words. Each word is accompanied by an illustration and in most cases a brief sentence where the word is used. Many of the illustrations incorporate the usual Seuss silliness, such as the green alligator carrying a sign stating, "I am a horse." All of which is designed to give the meaning of the word "true."
One of the best books I have ever seen to help children learn to read, I cannot include enough superlatives to express my opinion of it.

This dictionary is in my book box of Seuss favorites.It really is a PD Eastman book.In March schools led by the NEA selected to promote Dr. Seuss on his birthday. A literacy celebration to promote reading.That is why I had my classroom Suess box out and re-found this book.


("Ten years ago, NEA started a reading revolution. From a one-day celebration of Dr. Seuss's birthday to a year-round literacy campaign reaching nearly every home, school, and community, NEA's Read Across America is building a nation of readers. " Or so their site reads.)

It's a kind of teachers uniting to read with children and take a literacy stand yearly shout out. Now it's had ten years to blossom and expand and be a part of Spring in schools. I assumed at its start that each year they would broaden this to another author until years later we found ourselves focusing National Attention on a wide variety of authors, but that was an incorrect assumption as Dr. Seuss remained the primary focus.
And that's cool too. The program does encourage literacy generally. It's worth checking their site to find out more about Read Across America.

Somewhere inside of this it seemed the NEA was finding a phonics answer to promote reading to sidestep whole language, which I found a sad nod to those with limited views, but who cares really? It's worked in schools and it makes March more pleasant as you cook up Green Eggs and Ham or read the story of Horton or think about the Lorax, put on your big Cat in The Hat shoes, or wonder about the "differences" in our world as you read "Red Fish, Blue Fish" and how "from here to there and there to here funny things are everywhere," yeah no kidding. And I don't think Dr. Seuss really meant ha, ha funny. I really don't.

In my book boxes, as I said, is a 1964 copy of a Seuss/Eastman dictionary. I'm going to order several. Children in my room at the five group reading tables enjoy reinforcing their ABC order, reading the short and funny entries and they are beginning to grasp the construct of a dictionary by using the clever text and looking up things. Dr.Seuss or rather Eastman buries good jokes in his pictures and words too for added fun. There's lots of alliteration. A "blackbird is at the blackboard" under the entry for "black". "Drops are dripping" under "drip". "James at the jam jar" under "jam". Oh...none of that sounds as funny as it is, you need a copy to see.

Right now things are coming together for my readers but there needs to be a little motivational push to get them inside a book. Because at first reading is work. So when they read his little twists and turns, or the pictures have funny little almost naughty sneezers and loud, louder, loudest concepts it tickles them pink. And then I can begin the process of putting very young children into alphabetical order contextualized inside dictionaries and then move them from this into their child dictionaries and resource materials. Those really are so much drier and not as accessible. This helps.

As I said, this taught my brother to read and I remember for a time that he would recall words he knew were in here and then go put them in his writing using the dictionary to spell them in order to write better sentences. You can't ask much more than that. Excellent then and 43 years later this old lady teacher recommends this as a classroom resource. Too bad it is not reprinted in hardback as classroom sets. I'd get it in a blink of an eye.