Education Books

I read a couple of Louis Sachar's books when I was young (Sixth Grade Secrets (Apple Paperbacks), There's a Boy in the Girl's Bathroom (Cascades)). After reading (and loving) Holes several years ago, I decided to read some of his other books.

This one is much simpler and shorter than Holes, with a younger reading level, but it is still a fun story (with a fair amount of serious elements) and a quick (if somewhat predictable) read. I like that the reason given for Angeline's genius is that she can remember things she's known since before her birth.

If you're looking for a book that you can't take your eyes off then this is the book for you. Someday Angeline by Louis Sachar is a journey of a genius turning into a normal kid, finding her first friend Gary who tells the best jokes. From being a city girl one of Angelines favourite things to do is visit the tropical fish at the aquiarium. Our opinon about this book is if you want to feel serious and also have those funny moments this book will suit you!!

By J.T.B and R.T

If you're looking for a book that you can't take your eyes off then this is the book for you. Someday Angeline by Louis Sachar is a journey of a genius turning into a normal kid, finding her first friend Gary who tells the best jokes. From being a city girl one of Angelines favourite things to do is visit the tropical fish at the aquiarium. Our opinon about this book is if you want to feel serious and also have those funny moments this book will suit you!!

By J.T.B and R.T

I liked this book even if the beginning was quite slow, but most of the story got my mind glued to it that I found myself straying deeper into the story and reading it to the end.

The setting was somewhere in the US, in a small place near Mitchell beach. The book does not exactly describe where the story took place.

The story is about an eight year old girl named Angeline Persopolis whom they say is a genius. She could read before she was old enough to turn the pages of a book. She mastered the piano without a single lesson; she's also been able to predict the weather. But all this genius has done nothing but gets her into trouble. Mean kids in her school call her a genius freak. For Angeline her only friends are Gary Boone (a.k.a. Goon), a fifth grader who tries to be a comedian and only Angeline thinks he's funny. Gary's teacher Miss Turbone (a.k.a. Mr. Bone), is the only teacher in their school who understands Angeline. Someday Angeline hopes to be another smart and happy eight year old. Someday her father says, but for Angeline however someday is not soon enough. If you're looking for a funny yet inspiring book, I recommend this hilarious Louis Sachar's "Someday Angeline".

---CV May2007

Some day angeline is absolutely the best book i've ever read. I would sugjest this book for some one who thinks reading is a waste of time. I promise you that once you pick up this book you wont put it down untill you get to the last word on the last page. I dont usually like luis sachars books, but he really outdid himself with this one.Some day Angeline is a story about a 7 year old who is a pure geniouse.

I give this spellbounding book two thumbs way up in the air. If i had the money i would definently buy this book. after reading this book you will never look at seven year olds the same way ever again.i highly recommend this book, ive read this book before and i would read it again if i could. After reading this book im sure you would too.

Lisa Yee's debut novel, Millicent Min, Girl Genius, introduced readers to a prodigy who is forced to take part in a summer volleyball team. Yee followed that book up with Stanford Wong Flunks Big-Time, which retells that summer from Stanford's point of view.

Stanford would much rather play basketball than study, so he's super upset when he has to go to summer school instead of basketball camp. He also doesn't want to be tutored by Millicent, but he relishes the opportunity to make her look silly when she pretends that SHE is the one being tutored.

I've known many real-life Stanfords, kids who have struggled with school and excelled in sports. I want to give this book to all of them, even if they are grown up now. Stanford Wong Flunks Big-Time will hopefully encourage readers to see the value in both education and athletics. With realistic situations and winning humor, Stanford's story will appeal to reluctant readers and avid readers alike.

Eager for more Stanford? Make sure to pick up the other books in the trilogy - Millicent Min, Girl Genius was the first book and So Totally Emily Ebers wraps things up. Yee's written three slam dunks in a row!

I did not enjoy Stanford and Emily's books as much as I did Millicent's but Millicent's is one of the best books I've ever read. These are easier reads than Millicent which is on an adult level. Very creative to tell the same story from 3 points of view. Will definately buy all her books.

My 12 year-old granddaughter would rather play basketball than read, however, this book captured her attention and she claimed it as the best book she has ever read! She laughed as she read it until tears ran down her face and said she could relate to the issues of the characters.

This book is awsome! I have read this series in order (Millicent Min, Girl Genius, Stanford Wong Flunks Big Time, and So Totally Emily Ebers.) I have to say, this book is the best in the series. When carrying this book around school, I have gotten a lot of comments about it from my classmates: (girls) "Is that the sequel to Millicent Min?!! I loved that book! You have to lend it to me!" and then boys: "*gasp* I saw a review for that in 'Sports Illustrated!' I want to read that this summer!" Finally, a book besides Harry Potter that both girls and boys like!

It's the last day of sixth grade, and Stanford Wong can't wait to get out of school and go to Alan Scott's Basketball Camp, the best camp any basketball player could dream of. This is going to be the summer of his life...

...well, that is until he receives his grade for English class: a big fat F.

An F means that basketball camp is over. Stanford needs to go to summer school instead. Not only that, Stanford will be tutored by the annoying genius Millicent Min.

What else can go wrong?

Lots more! Stanford's parents are not getting along, and his grandma recently moved into a nursing home where she's miserable. On top of all that, Stanford obviously cannot let his friends and the girl he likes, Emily Ebers, know that he flunked big time! This is certainly not going to be the best summer of his life.

Or is it?

Lisa Yee is not only a funny lady, but she has done something quite original: she's written three novels (that's not the original part), and each one of them tells the story from the point of view of a character that eventually shows up in her other books: Millicent Min, Girl Genius; So Totally Emily Ebers; and STANFORD WONG FLUNKS BIG-TIME.

Of the three titles, I have only read this one, but I'm sure that readers of the other two books will enjoy reading this novel to find out what Stanford thinks about girls, parents, friends, and basketball. And they'll also find out Stanford's biggest secret: when he gets nervous HE KNITS!

The back of the book contains a section with an interview with the author, a recipe for Stanford's grandma's Won Tons, and much more.

Reviewed by: Christian C.

This is a book which can easily change the way you see (observe) world. It is a book which requires meditation.
Krishnamurti's talks on various topic and his insight to know yourself is life changing.
While reading it, I used to go deep into thought and observed myself. During this period you realize and know a lot about yourself. One of the biggest thing which I learned was that you know the truth when you know what is not true. Making yourself aware of yourself (including anger, jealousy, prejudice) and not forcing it to go away is the the true observation. Just watch yourself as you watch the the sky and the birds without trying to do any change. This is just a small part of things which changed my life. It is not a book that will change your life but definitely one can change his own life after reading his book. At some points in the book you will be lost as there is nothing wrong or right but constant meditation on the topic will help one out.

If you are ready to challenge your believes and habits, this is a must read book.

One the MOST influential book I have ever read! It is very easy to follow, and I would recommend it to every one.

If you're interested in actually practicing Buddhism, not just reading or conceptualizing it, I feel like this book may help, because it's like having a teacher in your pocket. He guides you in a way that is productive, yet you have to truly see what he talks about for yourself in order to appreciate it. Otherwise, as JK would say, it's just more dead words.

What Krishnamurti offers the reader here are exercises for the mind that will help us re-wire our brains to think in a different way, that will allow us to obtain a new perception of who we are, and what our world is, and the harmony of both, leading to a freedom that can't quite be explained in words, but will be felt by those few who experience it. Have you stopped to think that it really makes no difference what car you drive, the clothes you wear, the place you live, because you still will at times feel sad, troubled, depressed, sick, and happiness is not guaranteed by these material objects?
What is our purpose in life? The author touches on these and other subjects, which we've being conditioned to believe as a universal truth, in today's modern "greed and riches are the only goal" society. He offers his ideas on how we free our minds from learned concepts, ideas, cultural traditions, and other thoughts that tie us into inflexible thinking, that doesn't allow us to understand new experiences, new ideas.

Krishanmurti, explains that in order for us to understand, we must say to ourselves "I don't know" so that we can have a clean slate with which to experience new ideas. Therefore not letting old, inflexible, sometimes narrow-minded, ideas or experiences, which we may have gathered through life, which are the sum of the culture, traditions, and experiences of thousands others who may, or may not be entirely correct in their interpretation either do to lack of knowledge, or a tunneled vision.

He describes how , by us depending on old ideas, acquired knowledge, and experiences,
We are pre conditioned, and bias, to new experiences, making it hard for us to obtain the full effect of any new experience. "Ah here we go again" is something all of us have said at times, and this is exactly what Krishnamurti is telling us not to do. When we think we opened our mental files, draw one from the bunch, and base our emotions, and reactions on that, which is wrong because in general terms, to grow as intelligent beings, we need to learn to clear our minds of the old (ideas, experiences, concepts) to make room for the new. He also says in this book that we should experience these things ourselves, not through gurus, religious leaders, or spiritual guides, as it is only you the one that can experience such a mental broadening, and someone else can't teach it.

His ideas could seem complicated, and hard to grasp in the beginning but if you read carefully, and maybe stop to think about it for a while, you'll find that they make sense.
The mind is like a warehouse where we store our ideas, and experiences, and once we
We have a certain amount of them, we base our behavior on them. Every time we encounter a new situation we draw from that warehouse, and if what's in storage is
In turn based on those ideas and experiences of others, we may not be experiencing life
fully. This is because we haven't really used our very own and personal thought process fully enough to see and understand way beyond those that came before us.
Krishnamurti advocates that we tear down the fences in our minds. He explains that all knowledge has been fragmented, in different areas, yet we as persons are one complete being. And we then behave and think fragmented as well. We talk about "my spirit", "my mind", "my body", as if they were separate from one another, yet they all reside in the same place: you.

If you have thought about the meaning of life, what your purpose in life is, what is this crazy place we call "world", then this book is for you. If you've ever thought about how is it that we follow established patterns of behavior like going to school, to work, getting married, paying bills, following goals, saving for retirement, among others, you should get thisbook. If you've realized that we're all right now living through one of the many stages of our lives (childhood, teenager, young adult, adult, middle age, golden years etc.) this book has many answers to those questions you've thought about but haven't been able to ask someone else.

"Some of you believe in the idea of reincarnation. You come and ask me what I believe, whether reincarnation is a fact or not, whether I remember my past lives, and so on. Now, why do you ask me? Why do you want to know what I think about it? You want a further confirmation of your own belief, which you call a fact, a law, because it gives you a hope, a purpose in life. Thus, belief becomes to you a fact, a law, and you go about seeking confirmation of your hope. Even though I may confirm it, it cannot be of vital importance to you. Whatever it may be to me, real or false, what is important for you is that you should discern for yourself these conceptions through action, through living, and not accept any assertions." - krishnamurti

I cannot recommend this book high enough. This book is one of the most comprehensive and accessible of Krishnamurti's work. It is a collection of talks given at various parts of the world. In each series of talk Krishnamurti leads the listener to look into serious topics like Operation of thought, conflict , The art of seeing, freedom, the energy needed for freedom, do we need a teacher, etc. There is a huge difference between looking into an issue and "thinking" about an issue. Thinking involves thought, and simply looking is mere observation. And krishnamurti says that if this observation, the seeing is done with total attention without the interference of thought, then the intelligence operates.

Many a times while reading this book, my mind will come to a complete stop and I would be taken to deep and spontaneous meditation. Krishnamurti is highly skillful in sparking our insights and allows us to see what he sees. He never says "This is right or this is wrong", he doesn't even want us to agree or disagree to what is being said, because he doesn't offer any theories. He just tells us to look without judment, prejudice or opinions. He asks us to listen "completely". He says that people ask questions for two reasons, one is to confirm what they already beleive in, and the other is to "really" find out the truth. The first way of asking will never lead to an answer, because we are unwilling to listen to the "truth"; We only want a confirmation for the false, and only the false needs confirmations. This book is for sincere seekers of truth who really want to know the truth. He says that when we look at the false as false, what remains is truth. Health is the absence of diseases, and so it truth the total negation of false. The ability to discern the true from the false is what intelligence is. I have observed that reading one talk per session in regular periods helps tremondously in awakening "intellingence", not "my" intelligence but just intelligence.

"As I was saying, the importance in asking a question is not to find the answer but to understand the problem because there is only the problem and not the answer. To ask a question is easy; but to go into the problem is extremely difficult because once you know what the problem is, the very seeing of the problem is the understanding of the problem. The moment I can state the problem very clearly, simply, the answer is there, I do not have to look beyond. But most of us do not know what the problem is. We are confused about the problem and so naturally we look, in our confusion, for answers; and that will only produce further confusion. " -krishnamurti

This book is a God send, or Whatever send for you non-Christians. It is a wonderful workbook that gives you various questions and methods to teach you the multiple kanji used in basic Japanese. The only down side is that there isn't a Kana section, and all of the pronunciation listings are in Kana. The plus side is that it trains you to not always have an English backup plan.

It's meant to be written on, which is something the various other books I have don't have in mind. They show you everything, and teach you nothing. I recommend this to EVERYONE.

I just started learning Japanese....oh, about 2 weeks ago. I had no trouble learning Hiragana and Katakana, but as I'm sure you already know, the Kanji seems to be nearly impossible. Well, this book pretty much solves everything.
It starts you out with the simplest Kanji and only builds each section off of previous knowledge. It is well laid out with thoughtful planning and it never eases up. I really have no idea how they managed it, but the book really immerses you in the Kanji and makes it so easy to remember with some of the best drills I've seen.

If you plan on learning Japanese, forget all of the other Kanji workbooks because this one is really the only one you need. I would also suggest getting the whole series because they are all built off of this first book.

I used this book about a week before I started taking my Japanese classes and to say that the beginning of class was easy due to the things this book taught me would be a great understatement.

I have bought several other Kanji books before buying this one. Some of the other books left me with unanswered questions. Others unmotivated me to study so i gave up studying. I bought Basic Kanji Book because one of my friends who is also Japanese student suggested me to buy it.


Basic Kanji Book is a great choice if you are learning Kanji. In every chapter you learn 10 or more Kanji characters. And at the end of the each chapter you will review them by having 30 or more questions about these characters. The good thing is that each chapter and the questions make you feel like you are learning Kanji. That feeling motivates you and makes you want to study more Kanji.

I suggest this book to everyone who is trying to learn Kanji. I am totally satisfied with this book.

Don't think about getting any other books to learn Kanji because this book is pretty comprehensive. It teaches you the stroke order and the meanings and then uses the kanji in practical context. For example, it gives you the layout of a train station and the various directional gates, N S E W, subway and the respective Kanji used. This was an invaluable resource in my learning of Kanji.

You would be hard pressed to find a better beginning kanji book than "Basic Kanji Book Vol. 1." The combination of logical progression, constant reinforcement through exercises and activity, as well as a stern instance on using only hiragana and learned kanji makes for a powerful study tool.

The first in a series, it takes you through 500 kanji giving you a solid basis in the written Japanese language. Instead of selecting the kanji based on Japanese school levels, or other arbitrary standards, they are selected by pure usefulness in written and spoken Japanese. The kanji are grouped by sections such as "kanji made from pictures" or "kanji for time," with 12 kanji in each grouping. Each section is laid out with writing practice, followed by review and reading comprehension practice.

There are no gimmicks or fancy short cuts in "Basic Kanji Book Vol. 1." Just straight-forward, old-fashioned learning by use. The constant reinforcement in each chapter is really the strong point, as each exercise compounds on previous chapters, allowing for true learning rather than just quick memorization.

Before you tackle this book, you need to have a good grasp of hiragana and some katakana. Like all good Japanese study texts, "Basic Kanji Book Vol. 1" makes no use of romaji so you learn the language directly from the language. It can be a bit hard at first, but if you persevere you will be well beyond the level of learners who stuck to their training wheels.

I ordered this since my sister received it and thought it was a great book. Unfortunately, this copy does not come with the answers. Look for the hard cover version, that has the answers in the back.

CDB! (Stories to Go!)

I was very excited to find this book for my grandbaby. We had great fun with it when her aunts were small. Who would have thought back then that William Stieg invented 'text speak'. I even stumped my youngest daughter with NQ!

This book is as intriguing and entertaining was it was 25+ years ago when I read it to my children. As an educator, I discovered this book to be a source of entertainment and challenge to my children as well as a wonderful tool to help my students as they struggle with reading skills. I recently purchased it again for my grandchildren since my copy was misplaced over the years...and they love it as their mother when she was their age.
Buy it and use...it will help dust off the gray matter and delay alzehemier. :)

smart! adorable! unexpected! (the book, not my kids...)
This book really has us rolling in laughter. My sons (ages 4 and 6) and I have been playing with an electronic toy: push a letter and the thing says the letter's name. We had been using it to make word sounds -- pressing U R A Q T for "you are a cutie" and so forth. When I saw this book I just had to get it. It is amazingly clever -- and to think it was written in 1968. It's fresh, not at all dated. My sons are very good readers for their respective ages, but it is definitely appropriate for them. I had to explain a phrase or two (they didn't know the word "ecstacy" when they saw X-T-C) but otherwise it was totally on their level. I still crack up reading it, and I've read it at least ten times. The watercolor illustrations are perfect. Stieg conveys a lot of emotion and expression with just a few brush strokes. When a boy sees someone with a lollipop and tells him "I N-V U," you can see the envy.
I won't mind if my kids want to read this one again and again. I M N X-T-C 2!

This book helped me learn to read when i was 3 years old. As long as you know the alphabet you can read this book, which makes it perfect for children who are learning to read.

This book is about a girl named Clementine. Clementine cut off Margaret's hair at art time. In bathroom at Clementine's school Clementine cut off Margaret hair in the bathroom. Margaret had glue in her hair. I like this book because Clementine cuts off Margaret's hair because it had glue in it and she was sitting under the sink because she crying and she was half bald. I would recommend this to a person who likes to get in trouble. by Audrey

This book is about a girl named Clementine. Clementine cut off Margaret's hair at art time. In bathroom at Clementine's school Clementine cut off Margaret hair in the bathroom. Margaret had glue in her hair. I like this book because Clementine cuts off Margaret's hair because it had glue in it and she was sitting under the sink because she crying and she was half bald. I would recommend this to a person who likes to get in trouble.
by Audrey

This book is about a girl named Clementine. Clementine cut off Margaret's hair at art time. In bathroom at Clementine's school Clementine cut off Margaret hair in the bathroom. Margaret had glue in her hair. I like this book because Clementine cuts off Margaret's hair because it had glue in it and she was sitting under the sink because she crying and she was half bald. I would recommend this to a person who likes to get in trouble. by Audrey

Clementine is the sort of little girl that other eight year-old girls want for a friend. The book is easy to read but still challenges a second grader. The story is one that my own granddaughter found to be entertaining and she definitely wants to read more about this new friend....CLEMENTINE!

Clementine is a delightfully original romp through the wacky world of a sassy nine year old. I read it aloud to my 6 year old daughter and 4 year old son, and they both loved it. From the first page, we were all entertained by Clementine's interpretation of the world around her.

Clementine has had a rough week. No one told her she wasn't supposed to answer the principal's phone (she was only trying to be helpful), everyone told her to pay attention (she was paying attention, just to different things), and when she tried to help her best friend, Margaret, solve her hair problem, well, it was just a hard week. And the more Clementine tries to make things right, the harder her week seems to become. How was she supposed to know that glue wouldn't stick hair back on? Or that cutting and coloring her hair to match Margaret's was exactly the wrong thing to do? As she tries to sort out the messes she's made, Clementine is ever cognizant of her role as "the hard one" (as opposed to her little brother, "the easy one"), which makes her worry that her position in the family lies precariously in the balance.

I loved how Pennypacker's use of language made the text seem to flow right out of Clementine's own mind. For instance, when Clementine's art teacher calls her out for not paying attention, she is quick to step up for herself as she thinks,

"I was the only person in the whole art room who was paying attention. Which is why I could tell everyone in the middle of the Pledge of Allegiance that the lunchroom lady was sitting in the janitor's car and they were kissing. Again. No one else saw this disgusting scene because no one else was paying attention out the window!" (p. 4)

Marla Frazee's hilarious illustrations, kept us in stitches. They were simple and uncluttered, showing a point of view beyond Clementine's one-sided rendering of events. For instance, Clementine says that she "accidentally touched [Margaret's] lamp," but the illustration on pages 22 and 23 shows a different interpretation of the situation.

My daughter gave Clementine five stars, and I must concur. We can't wait to read The Talented Clementine next!

Creo que uno de los libros mas lindos que he leido. Es un libro que podes leer a cualquier edad, tendo 18 años y recien lo lei.
Es una aventura muy linda que algun dia espero poder leer a mi hijos :)
Les recomiendo este libro a todo mundo.

It is definitely the best book I have ever read, and I read many great books throughout my life. I read it about six times, the first one when I was little. I still remember. Now I got it for my own children. It has amazing principles, and wonderful teachings. I wich we could all see life the way "El Principito" does. What a great lesson!

It's been one of my favorite books since I was in 6th grade, great life values in this story! Great for kids! and people of any age.

This is a lovely story, and I wanted to own the book to follow while I listen to the story in Spanish on my ipod. Children's stories in Spanish are a delightful way to study for the mid-level student.

T.William Waltrip, M.D.

A BOOK THAT INFLUENCED MY LIFE

The book that has influenced my life is "The Little Prince". This book iis basically about a little blond boy that meets an adult with who he will become friend, somewhere in the world, dunno where.He discovers, during a trip, adults, who will allow him to understand adults world and life on hearth In the begining of the story, the pilot crashes in a desert and thers were the story begings.This story has many characters, but the two main ones are the pilot (the narrator), and the little prince.One of the main settings are the dessert were the pilot meets the little prince, and the planet were the little prince lives, but this story has many settings.

I read this book because my mother told me that every kid must read this book, so she gave me the book and i read it when i was almost 12 years old. This book has influenced my life in many ways. Every time i read this book it makes me think, about pepole and friendship, it makes me cry, laugh, and be a better person and a better friend. It also makes me be more pacient, and this is a thing that im not so good at, but every time im in a cituation were i have to be pacient, since i read that book, I have teach myself to try to understand people, and why they are like that. This book is in a prose/chatter way written, in this way it was easier for me to understand the meaning of the words. This book you have to read it more than once to get the meaning of the words.



By Avira Arreola.

... this one is for you. Ever feel like the girls around you live on some other planet? Do you yourself feel like an alien in your own environment? This book may give you hope that one day even you will feel at home in your own skin.

Emma-Jean Lazarus (what a delicious name!) is not quite like her seventh grade peers. While a keen observer of their behaviors and social interactions, she nonetheless remains a little aloof from them all. Highly literal, and almost painfully logical, Emma-Jean doesn't really attract the friendship of her peers either -- they think her just a tad weird and mostly remain indifferent to her. However, one day, Emma-Jean finds a fellow classmate crying in the bathroom, and Emma-Jean perceives (in the classmate's various wailings about a best friend's betrayal) a plea for help. Ever the logical problem-solver, Emma jean applies her analytical mind to the issue and soon comes up with a, frankly, morally dubious solution. However, to Emma-Jean, it seems she's done just the right thing -- solved her new friend's problem.

Emma-Jean soon finds other problems to solve for her classmates, but doesn't realize the ripple-effects her various unusual-if-logical solutions are creating. It seems that there is one problem Emma-Jean hasn't been able to puzzle out quite yet -- the mysteries of the human heart and mind.

This book is charming and chuckle-worthy (with the occasional laugh-out-loud moment), but without stooping to humor at the expense of others -- especially the rather obvious target of Emma-Jean. Emma-Jean, while not formerly diagnosed, would be familiar to most reader's who know someone diagnosed with some of the milder forms of Autism or Asperger's syndrome. While the humor often derives from the disconnect between how Emma-Jean perceives her world and how the world is really structured (a sort of dramatic irony), the subtle jabs are more often aimed at the rather silly ins and outs of "normal" human behavior, rather than Emma-Jeans clearly logical analysis.

Emma-Jean is a very short read, but manages to pack lots of action, humor, and even several very touching moments into a small little package. The pacing is great (and I don't often concern myself with pacing), but Emma-Jean's larger-than-average vocabulary will rule out reluctant readers, and some portion of its target audience who doesn't want to read with a dictionary handy. Frankly, it may be one of those children's books that has more appeal for its adult readers... but then again, that's what I am!

This was a quick, easy read. And for the kids that would find its theme of friendship interesting, its a gem of a story. It may not be for all readers, Emma Jean is a compelling, but very different kind of main character.

Its well written without having to resort to cliche attitudes, expressions, or some of the other formulaic child meets friend, helps friend, gets into to trouble middle grade plots. (And for some middle grade readers, that might be too much of a step outside their comfort zone!)

Check it out. You'll be surprised.

This story begins Emma Jean Lazarus opens a door. Literally, it's the door to the girls' bathroom at school, where she finds Colleen Pomerantz (a kind, sensitive girl and not one of the usual 7th grade criers) sobbing over a problem with a friend. Figuratively, it's the door we all open when we make the sometimes scary decision to reach out to another human being. This is a big deal for all of us, but especially for Emma Jean, who's one of those brilliant, wise-beyond-her-years kids who seems to watch everything from the sidelines. She reminds me a lot of Lisa Yee's Millicent Min, Girl Genius. Because Emma Jean is brilliant at math and logic, just like her father who died two years ago, she uses logic to find solutions to her classmates' problems, with results that are hilarious and heartwarming.

There's a lot to love about this book. If you're a writer, you should read it because it's a fantastic example of how to pull off changing points of view in third person narrative. If you spend any time in a middle school, you'll love it because the characters are so real. As a middle school English teacher, I recognized these kids. I've seen Emma Jean watching the other kids at lunch. I've comforted Colleen when one of her friends was mad at her. And I've seen them all in their specially picked outfits at that first middle school dance. Author Lauren Tarshis has nailed middle school to a tee; she even understands one of the great secrets of school hallways: that the custodians are the real heroes.

Emma Jean Lazarus goes out on a limb in this middle grade novel (and yes, she really does fall out of a tree). Her journey is one that manages to be funny and sad and uplifting and true, all at once. You'll love this book.

Tarshis, Lauren. Emma-Jean Lazarus Fell Out of a Tree. Dial Books for Young Readers, 2007

Emma-Jean Lazarus is in the seventh grade at William Gladstone Middle School where she observes rather than interacts with her classmates. Her father, who died in a car accident a couple of years ago when she was only 10, had been a successful mathematician who influenced her to want her world to be logical and rational, "Emma-Jean had observed her peers closely over the years. Her painstaking research had given her a much clearer understanding of their complex emotional lives and surprising sensitivities." When Emma finds a classmate crying in the girls' bathroom, she decides to use her excellent problem solving skills to intervene behind the scenes to fix Colleen's problem. A series of unfortunate events ensue until Emma finally understands that some of her well-intended actions have had negative consequences. Emma is a combination of thoughtful and naïve as she struggles to deal with the damage she has caused; fortunately facing up to her role in some troublesome events enables her to grow significantly as she learns how to interact more wisely with her peers. Woven in to this story about a child who is dealing with the death of a parent is a sweet subplot that has an older student, Vikram Adwani from Mumbai, India who is studying for a PhD at the local University, board with Emma and her mother. Emma really likes this gentleman, in fact, they spend many afternoons talking and cooking fragrant curry meals after she gets home from school, until she realizes that her mother and Vikram are growing maybe too fond of each other. Now Emma decides to intervene to help Vikram's mother find him a lovely Indian bride. Emma is a very appealing character in this wonderful story that blends humor with poignancy.

This is the perfect book for anyone going to school to teach English or already teaching. I wish I had discovered this before I started. It has valuable information in it.

This book was recommended to me by many people--professors in my master's degree program and English teachers. I borrowed a copy and I knew right away I had to have my own. This book has it all--sound theory and excellent examples of practical techniques in action. It even discusses how to get a job. The portions on class room instruction were especially interesting to me because I see discussion as the most important thing that happens in an English class. This book is The Book to get if you're going to teach English (especially high school English). I have enjoyed all of Burke's books and I hope there are more to come.

This is a really good book with lots of great information and good ideas for teachers both new and experienced. However, you'll have to get by his "look at me" pompousness and the many errors. It looks like Mr. Burke decided to edit the book himself, as he's so good at what he does. While I'm sure he is a really great teacher, all writers need a really great editor. The deficiencies can be overlooked because of the variety of quality information. Putting his picture on both the front and back of the book was a bit overdone, though...

Full of Jim Burke's years of experience and his insightful ideas. The writing is very personal, entertaining, and truthful.

This book is very comprehensive in providing all that is valuable in teaching English and Language Arts. I used it has my second resource to prepare me to take the TEXES #117 ELAR 4-8 state exam. I plan on using it to guide me in lesson plan design.

This is a great book for boosting morale on any campus at any level. The ideas are fresh and enlightening for building relationships and team building. This book would be a great way to boost staff development, and active participation from all staff members.

This is a wonderful resource for Staff Development. If you are tired of having teachers yawn through your important presentations, this is a book full of ideas to help add fun to your work. The activities keep the audience involved, listening and learning throughout your presentation.

This book gives the administrator and anyone who supports the teachers in a school some great things to think about and ways to help the teachers on a day to day basis.

thanks for a wonderful job, the book and the service is excellent. well done

I had the honor to see Ms. Connors speak at a teacher conference this past week. I was feeling a bit jaded over the profession of teaching after completing my second year of teaching and after completing a research study proposal on the sad state of teacher retention due to low administrative support. I was at an oh-too-typical low point...

Ms. Connors' words (both in spoken and written form--I flew through her book after listening to her speech) really hit home. This is a book that every teacher and every administrator should read. It gives simple solutions that could and would make a big impact upon the current state of education today. I encourage every person involved in teaching students to read this book and think about the roles they currently play and the role they could play. THANK-YOU MS. CONNORS for humorously yet seriously pointing out both the problem and the necessary solutions.