Education Books

After reading the "New Economics" by W. Edwards Deming I was very surprised. Mr. Deming's made the book very easy to read and understand. In my case it was the examples that really put things in perspective. "The Red Bead Experiment" was an example that was very good at explaining exactly what it was that, we needed to take away from the example, the difference between common cause and special cause variation. Management should be solely responsible for the well being of the production line. Personally, Deming's did a really good job in describing typical work situations that I personally am aware of. I enjoyed the way he broke everything down into its simplest form. You do not have to be an industrial engineer to understand the message he is trying to convey. The message he is trying to convey is "Team Work" because it is only when every person in the group agrees with each other that everyone can come together for one common purpose. He was very specific in the situation that he believed everything and everyone could work together. In his eyes the hierarchy had to be done away with. There was no one person that was better than the next. This one belief that I have always believed in. I appreciate his train of thought and think that if it could be applied to the small stream businesses it would be extremely effective. It sounds like Deming's was a man of the people because he described every person's job just as important as the next. It sounded like he believed in the chain of command. I enjoyed this book thoroughly and would recommend it to those trying to get a more in-depth feel to what common cause variation and special cause variation really means.

Wow. After 25 years in the quality business I am still not ready to claim I completely 'understand' Deming. He was of course, a brilliant statistician and business optimization theorist . . . but he was also a physicist. His famous quip, "Water turns to ice . . . same molecules. . . what happened?" I finally realize, was his way of speaking to the state change that occurs in a phase transition, the same phenonmeon that occurs when organizations cross over to quality. Deming was the real Superman.

also read Superperformance

I really liked the book , it was easy to read although I don't like the way that he writs , the good thing about the book is that consist of real cases and this make it much easier to relate to the book, another good thing about the book is that it doesn't repeat the same thing over and over again, what I don't like about the book is the way that he jumps back and forth and mention different books without any brief explanation about those books; this was sometime confusing for me, but other than that I would recommend everybody who is interested in management read this book and refers it to others. It was amazing that lots of thing in this book beside the last 4 chapter is commonsense.

Dr Deming has some magnificent ideas.
Unfortunately this is Deming's Last book before he passed away. Deming is a major proponent of the PDSA Cycle (Plan, Do, Study, Act). His 14 points are very viable from a business situation. If managers were to read this book, they would be better for it. Actually this book is recommended to everyone, as it can be applied loosely to all walks of life. I've never been good at picking apart a book, so if there are any weaknesses, they aren't apparent to me. 5 Stars....also pick up "Out of The Crisis". Great Book for anyone to read!

Dr. Demming introduced in this book a new style of management which he basically covered in his simple 14 points of management using the idea of profound knowledge. It was very interesting the way he approached different scenarios with multiple examples that he encountered first hand through his time in industry, stressing the fact that ranking within a system is completely wrong and should be completely removed. Demming pushes group work and cooperation instead of programs such as incentives and commissions due to the fact that they turn into individual profit centers and ultimately lead to the collapse of the system. His ideas were simple to follow throughout the text and is a great book for people in management positions to read and consider.

This book is amazing. It gives great instructions for many fun games. The instructions are brief,but fun,and give enough information to make the games easy to implement. I have used the book twice for a group of kids, ranging in age from 9-14, and they have loved the activities! I've purchased a couple other similar books that were not nearly as fun and well-put-together as this one.

I bought this book to use to teach a drama class in my homeschool co-op, and I'm so pleased with the fun games and ideas for teaching basic drama concepts. The kids are loving all the games and I think that the games and exercises really spark their creativity.

I never take the time to write reviews for books but I had to for this one! EVERY activity is great--you don't have to search through picking and choosing. I know this will be an invaluable source for me in teaching drama to both elementary and high school students. Thanks to the author for such a great resource!

I purchased this book before I started teaching creative dramatics in Recreation deprtments teaching K-8. It was wonderful. I loved it. I would reccommend it to every teacher (theatre or not) it has wonderful classroom activities.

I love how all of the different skills are addressed in separate sections of the book. There are many, many games and tasks included in each so the variety never ends. I use this book as a warm up during the first couple of drama sessions and then as a filler when I think that the kids have had enough "serious" rehearsal time and need to let loose. Pair up this book with a play or set of plays and you are set to go with any group.

The Red Balloon is a wonderful story with an adorable little boy as the star character. I bought both the book and the DVD to give as a present to younger children (4 yrs old). I think they will enjoy if only for the visuals. The film is produced in French language but there is so little dialogue that not understanding the script doesn't affect the enjoyment of watching the film. Overall, it is a fun story with a good feel to it. There were only a couple of situations in the story that I thought might be a little sensitive or a bit scary to younger kids .. one being a group of boys chasing the little boy trying to take the balloon away from him. The other a very quick scene where a school headmaster is upset with the chaos going on and he puts the little boy in a room and locks the door. These are minor to the overall upbeat feel of the story but parents may want to review first to consider their own fast forward editing or explanations. In my case, the quality of the DVD was not great. It's an old film so perhaps the age is showing a bit in the reproductions.

Great story....grew up watching the short film and checking this same book out from our local library. Now that I'm a mom, I have introduced this video and book to my kids, and they're infatuated with everything about it. Great, well-made books with lively photos and storyline that holds little ones' attentions.

this book was written some decades ago but the excellence of the writing and the very skilful, thoughtful & sensitive photography which integrates very successfully with the story, are such that I believe this book will be deservedly popular with very many generations of children in the future. I believe that it is a masterpiece of children's literature and I strongly recommend it as a gift to be given by any parent - or grandparent.

I must have checked this book out a hundred times when I was in Elementary school as it was such a favorite. What a joy it was to find it still in print and telling it's charming story to future generations. This is a classic, and a book that I would recommend to all children and adults that want to hold a piece of their treasured childhood memories. This story was told in film on the International Children's Film Festival, hosted by Kookla, Fran and Olie, and further helps to bring this story to life.
Treat yourself and your children to the story of a boy and his friend, the red balloon.

The photographs, the text and presentation are remarkable. A piece that makes a good complement of the movie.

If you enjoy consummate skill in the written word you will treasure this book. It is the most beautifully crafted collection of short stories I have ever encountered. The characters are powerful, endearing, heartbreaking, loving, loathsome, self centered, generous, and sometimes frightening - the scope of this work is breathtaking. It is unfortunate that a book perfect for "dipping into" is so large and heavy - a reissue in rice paper would halve both (The Oxford Book of English Verse 1250-1918 has 1166 pages and fits quite comfortably in a coat pocket!) William Trevor is a genius - if you buy his book you will not be disappointed. Dr Peter J Kirby.

It took me a couple of months to make my way through these 85 stories and it was definitely worth the time I spent with them. Trevor's prose is always simple and clear, yet his range of characters and plots is astonishing because of their superbly captured detail and variety. Most of these stories deal with Irish and English characters, and many swirl around the realities or possibilities of extramarital affairs. "In Isfahan," one of Trevor's best stories, a married middle-aged man carries on an impromptu affair with a young woman he meets while in Iran; in "Lovers of Their Time," another top-notch story, a married man carries on a long-term affair with a shop girl by meeting her in a hotel's second-floor public bathroom. Trevor is also quite adept of presenting the romantic yearnings of women. In "The Ballroom of Romance," a country girl's dreams and consequences are highlighted in her trips to the local dance hall; in "Afternoon Dancing," a middle-aged married woman dallies with the idea of an affair with her dance partner after the death of her close friend. Like Chekhov, to whom Trevor is often compared, this writer also has an admirable sense of comedy. "Mulvhill's Memorial" finds an unlikely pornographic set-up within an office; "The Trinity" has a couple booking a vacation to Venice and ending up in Switzerland. Accidents spiral out of control in "The Penthouse Apartment," and in "A Complicated Nature," a man is forced to help his upstairs neighbor when her suitor unexpectedly dies. Another one of the best stories of this collection is "Broken Homes," where an elderly woman suffers the indignities of having her kitchen painted by a team of indifferent youths. Other first-rate stories include "The Smoke Trees of San Pietro," where a boy's sickness propels his mother into an affair, and "Death in Jerusalem" where a mother dies while on vacation.

Someone else here refers to the problems of 'star' hyperbole. He's right. The five stars Trevor deserves must be especially large and dazzling.
He goes wrong, just a little, once in a while. So did every truly great writer we know. Most of the time he opens a door on the world of two or three people, and shows us the universe in the process. He is a breathtaking artist. Witness 'Another Christmas' - in a dingy living room and armed with no one but an aging Irish couple, he brings home the Troubles in Ireland in epic, heartbreaking scope. And 'Torridge'...a girl said to me when this story first appeared in The New Yorker that it was like Beethoven's Fifth; you can't imagine it not having been around before. It's that good.
Readers! You can do no better than to get to know what this man can do with a pen.

Not all stars are created equal. By awarding 5 stars to this book, the implication must be that they are stars of the purest gold. I have read some "5-star" novels and short story collections before, but little, in my experience, compares with this: the combination of an extraordinarily beautiful prose style, the seemingly effortless creation of literally hundreds if not thousands of alternately sympathetic and detestable (but always vividly memorable) characters, a profound insight into the psychology of the human mind to rival (and pretty easily surpass) that of any other writer alive, a recreation of atmosphere so real it clings, and a brilliant inventiveness when it comes to creating great story lines (and, often, superbly twisty [but never illogical] endings) places this collection among the very greatest of its kind. One measure of how deeply impressed I was with this book is that now, more than half a year since I finished it, I can look back through the table of contents and still remember not merely every story with tremendous vividness, but often where I was at the time I read it.

Stated broadly, Trevor's stories seem to fall into two distinct types, English and Irish. The former tend to be (as do many of the earlier stories) sharp and edgy, whereas the latter tend to be quiet and pastoral. Although it is the Irish stories that appear to garner the greatest praise from the critics, I prefer the greater cynicism (often bordering on, but never quite reaching, downright misanthropy) of the English stories.

Having to choose my favorites from among this potent collection is akin to separating gold coins that are 100% pure from those that are 99.975% pure (soft though they would be!), but three continue to haunt me just a little more than the others. "The Death of Peggy Meehan," one of the Irish stories, and one of the collection's shortest, tells the tale of a young lad who is taken to his first movie during a summer vacation, and how the fantasies he draws after seeing that movie color (for better or worse) the rest of his life. "In at the Birth," is, unusually for Trevor, a creepy ghost story that Rod Serling would have marveled over. In it, an elderly woman takes a baby-sitting job for a peculiar couple who turn out to be (and this is hardly among the most riveting revelations provided) childless. But rather than leave me frightened, it left me pondering the meaning of life, age, and human relationships. Finally, "The Hotel of the Idle Moon," is what I described to a friend as "the greatest short story ever written." Its title is especially evocative and, in its context, has a host (no pun intended!) of powerful resonances. The "set up" is baldly cliche: on a dark and stormy night a middle-aged couple stop in front of an estate, pretending that their car has broken down. Foul play, one can be sure, is bound to ensue. And so it does. But the play is much fouler and more upsetting than anything anyone can imagine (trust me, until you read this story you cannot imagine what happens). It is one of Trevor's gifts that such a story can't be adequately explained. It has to be read, felt, lived. Suffice it to say that by the end we realize that we have read nothing less than a parable of (very) contemporary times (I don't know when it was written) that manages, in a trice, to both limn and condemn humankind since the beginning of history.

High marks also to "The Table," which reads like a hilarious comedy of errors until the last line suddenly blackens everything that came before it with perfect (and perfectly uncanny) inevitability, "The Forty-Seventh Saturday," as poignant a story of loneliness as I know, and "O Fat White Woman" (the title may be funny; the story is anything but), which spins a tale of the tragedy that follows passive resistance. (And when is the last time you read a story that dealt with that? Why does it seem that Trevor is our only contemporary writer who consistently confronts such common yet seemingly taboo foibles?). As is usual with Trevor, the tragedy occurs on many planes and is of an inestimable magnitude.

Oh, heck, let me not forget "Nice Day at School," an incredibly sensitive and piercing drama, and the superb and highly regarded "In Isfahan," in which a married, middle-aged English man meets a married, youngish English woman on tour in Iran. They try to get close, but their chequered pasts prevent them. What we don't realize until the end, however, is that one of their pasts isn't real. Or is it? And what purpose does fantasy play in encroaching human relationships? Can it be used to repel as well as to lure? Or is it there to comfort? And, if so, comfort whom? Particularly rich stuff.

Amidst a sea of great short story collections, this one by William Trevor will always have its place at the top. There's a word for books like this, and that word is "perfect." May it never go out of print.

Had never heard of the guy - got it at a bookstore because it had 1200 pages (I needed a lot to read) and because it was written by an old guy (well, he's old now, at least - well- wrinkled but kind looking). So far I'm about a third of the way through it, but like everyone else has said, this book is great. Some writers get lazy and write the same story over and over. Not this guy - every character, every situation is unique. For people who like movies, read the one about Istafan and compare it to "Lost in Translation". The story about the swingers party is indescribably great also, just in the way he describes a man kissing a woman's hair or them barely dancing at all.

THis story is classic. I use this book so much that I have to retire my old copy and replace it with a new one every couple of years. It is a fabulous vehicle for storywriting in the primary classroom.

I have been reading Pat Hutchins books to children for many years. They are wonderful!! Rosie's Walk is a great book for sound effects! As Rosie goes obliviously on her walk,the fox encounters all sorts of sound effect producing trials. Great fun!

We have the board book edition, and I have to admit, I didn't think my 2-year old was going to like it when I first flipped through it. There didn't seem to be much to it --- no eye-catching illustrations and not much text. Shows how much I know... My daughter loves it. The story is less about Rosie the hen and more about the fox --- what happens to it from page to page. It is truly a sequential story and shows cause-and-effect: on one page you see the fox leaping towards Rosie, who is walking past the pond. On the next page, you see the fox in the pond. Your toddler will make the connection on her own: "Uh-oh. Fox fall in water."

My absolute FAVORITE book as a child! Simple, clever, and humorous all at the same time. GREAT for children starting to read! A+

We fell for this after watching the scholastic dvd series. It's on the Chicka Chicka Boom Boom video and we're hooked - love the detailed pictures and watching where thefox is headed.

...which which is good for mathematicians and students. To be honest, I purchased this book to gain some insight and practical examples on probability for trading purposes. While this book offers a lot of information about the subject, it wasn't exactly what I was looking for. It'll probably be more useful to someone who'd develop their own automated system, but not very much for scalpers or swing traders.

I used this book in conjunction with "Probability and Random Processes with Applications to Signal Processing" by Stark & Woods, and I would have to say that this Schaum's outline filled in the gaps nicely. Stark & Woods has a nice selection of exercises, but unfortunately there are no solutions to any of the problems in the book, so you have no way of knowing whether or not you have grasped the material. That is where this outline came in handy. It manages to cover all of the issues in random processes, including basic probability, random variables and multiple random variables, functions of random variables, convolution, estimation and decision theory, and queueing theory. Chapters five and six on the processing and analysis of random processes are particularly useful to those readers who are interested in applications to signal processing and communications theory. Each chapter has an excellent selection of exercises with solutions to test your knowledge. The only possible drawback of this text is that it often approaches the material from a mathematician's viewpoint more than that of an engineer. Therefore, there are quite a few proofs included as exercises that probably won't be that helpful for students of the applied sciences. The reader should already be comfortable with multivariable calculus as well as linear algebra to get the most from this book. Also, though chapter one reviews probability quite well, this should probably not be your first excursion into the subject. The only difficult part of random processes that I found this book a bit weak on was on the subject of functions of random variables. Again, this is probably because this text takes more of a mathematician's point of view and functions of random variables is more of an engineering subject.

This book is a GOD SEND. I have been utterly confused in my upper division probability course, but this book has so many great worked out problems that it worked out all my problems understanding the subject material. I thought I would fail the class, but I will probably get a B!

This book has many exercises with answers/solutions to each and every exercise covering a wide range of topics from probability. The book, however, should be used along with an appropriate probability textbook. An excellent companion to Hsu's book is the introductory text by Henk Tijms. This book contains many worked-out examples and exercises as well, but also explains why probability works and how it can be applied in practice. As engineering student, I learned a lot by using both books.

I wish I had this when I was taking my probability courses. It presents concepts in a clear and understandable way, and the solved problems provide excellent guidance. After working through the solved examples, I finally had a better understanding of random variables, pdfs, cdfs, random processes, etc. I would strongly encourage solving as many problems as you can in this book as you are going through other texts or taking a class on this. Reading through a textbook may lull you into thinking you already understand it, and waiting a long time for feedback on homework may make you more lost in class. Doing exercises will help identify your weaknesses and provide instant feedback on areas you may need to study more. With this stronger foundation, you can appreciate and understand better what the other texts are discussing.

I read this book and I loved it. You have to read the book because it shows the power of children to make the World better.

School is for more than English, Math, and Science - it's for the intangibles too. "Spectacular Things Happen Along the Way: Lessons From an Urban Classroom" follows Brian Schultz as he teaches an inner city class something far more valuable than academics - determination and a feeling of self worth. An inspired and inspiring tale sure to give hope in the next generation ensues. "Spectacular Things Happen Along the Way: Lessons From an Urban Classroom" is highly recommended for community library education collections.

One of the most important and challenging things we do in this country is educate our children. This becomes especially important when we think about how education can affect one's life. This book really highlighted for me the hope and possibilities for education in a time when all I hear about is that teachers are focused on standardized tests. Apparently, things can be different.

I must admit that at first I was resistant to some of the ideas presented early on in the book in terms of allowing the students' to guide the learning. I thought the students would naturally pick something that did not challenge them. But, boy was I wrong! It is almost as if my inclinations were the exact opposite. That is where this book has a extremely powerful hook. The students clearly went well beyond that simplicity. They clearly found something that mattered to them. They clearly became transformed in their learning.

While reading the book, I really want to know what happened next. The author does an excellent job of drawing the reader into the story. I felt like I was sitting in the dark classroom with my coat on as vividly described in the narrative. And, I found myself learning, questioning, and reflecting as I was reading. I especially learned what horrific conditions exist in some schools and better understood how that old mantra of picking oneself up by the bootstraps is not so easy when most things in some schools like the one in this book are stacked against you.

I strongly recommend reading this book. It is a page-turner. It will give you much to think about. I promise! What is especially great is that the students are front and center rather than it being all about the teacher. And, I believe that as the author states throughout the book, you will learn from the students in this story, just as he did.

"Impressive..." or "Extraordinary..." may be a more appropriate title for this book. Schultz traces the both the history of a non-functional inner-city public school classroom all the way through the children's education achievements, and his personal growth along the way. Developing a democratic classroom with both the students and teacher learning from each other is truly amazing!

The book allows the reader to share, and understand, the successes and disappointments of both Schultz and his students. And throughout, the reader remains totally engaged.

The interaction between the students and politicians, the news media, and national organizations has demonstrated that we all have much to learn. Truly inspirational and extremely motivational. A must read.

Brian D. Schultz's "Spectacular Things Happen Along the Way: Lessons from an Urban Classroom" is a beautifully written, well-researched, and heartfelt account of one classroom's journey from stereotyped and ignored to empowered, challenged and brilliant. Schultz's narrative intelligently interweaves the students thoughts, hopes, disappointments, work, and words with his own reservations, thoughts, struggles, and triumphs. Furthermore, he manages to connect, explain, and reinforce their story with some of the greatest educational philosophy and research available (e.g. Dewey. Kozol, Freire, etc.).

What is this read about?
It's about Room 405. In 2004, Schultz was a 5th grade teacher at Chicago's Carr Community Academy. And in short, Schultz participates in a workshop called Project Citizen, which in turn inspires Schultz to do something new with Room 405. He asks the students to identify a problem that they care about/want to solve, and from there, a year-long curriculum was created by the students and for the students of Room 405.
What do the students decide upon?
Room 405 decides that they need a new school because their school is obviously falling apart, so they set-up an Action Plan that consists of the ways in which they are going to go about this undertaking (e.g. writing letters to legislators, interviewing the principal, emailing newspapers, etc.).
What happens after they decide on their problem and what they are going to do?
Are you serious? Just read the book!

As an educator myself, I want to point out that Schultz's Social Justice teaching, as exemplified in this book, should have all of the skeptics and naysayers believing because the proof was and is in the students and the results of what they learned, shared, achieved, and experienced together.

Delivered quickly and much cheaper than college book store. This was teacher's edition, which has answers the student edition does not.

I must say I felt bad with the price of the book - I felt it was much too high. But after reading the first few chapters of the book, and noting that it flows and is very easy to understand, I do not have to complain so much now. I am loving the book now.

There isn't much more to say. This book is concise -- it gets right to the point, every time. It is also thorough -- it covers everything you need to move on to advanced statistics. But, best of all, it presents the material in a way that is very easy to understand and allows students to apply their new knowledge to the behavioral sciences.

I have taught statistics for many years and this is the best stats book I have seen. It is clearly written, has easily understood formulas, and excellent examples. I highly recommend it!

[A review of the 7th Edition, that came out in 2006.]

The text starts off easily. With the elementary definitions of mean, median, percentiles etc. Things you probably should have dealt with in high school. Likewise with its treatment of probability theory. Though the latter goes directly to the normal or Gaussian distribution.

But the meat of the book really starts in part 3, which is about inferences of means and mean differences. For you, as a student or researcher, what is important is not a definition of terms and distributions, but how to test hypotheses. From this flows such ideas as the t statistic and the analysis of variance (ANOVA). Part 4 builds on this, with nonparametric tests and regression analysis. The linear regression in one variable is simple. Then you get multiple regression with 2 variables. Tied in is the chi square test and various other tests.

The book also is a quick introduction to using SPSS as your basic statistical program. In your field, SPSS is likely to be the dominant such program, and you need an indepth acquaintance with it.

Divided into 12 monthly teachable values this book gives "lesson plans" for preschoolers and elementary age children along with a story (sometimes two or more), guidelines for parents, simple games and disussions that further illustrate the topic for the child/ren over the course of a month and guidelines for encouraging praise throughout the month as children begin to exhibit or model the desired trait.

Although major Christian values are covered, Christian parents may notice that God is not directly mentioned as this book was written generic traditional moral values(with no biblical reference) but there is room for you to add your religious belief and doctrine although you will have to do the footwork yourself (look up scripture reference and incorporate God into the little stories).

Values are divided into two categories: values of being (who we are) and Values of Giving (what we do). They include:
honesty, courage, peaceability, self-reliance, discipline, fidelity/chastity, loyalty, respect, unselfishness, kindless, and justice and mercy.

The authors raised NINE children with these concepts. Creative parents will find it a great launching point for them to expand on monthly while EXHAUSTED parents will find it a wonderfully easy "road map" to use when instructing their children that requires virtually no advance preparation and is easy to execute.

Parents of preschoolers will find that the preschool activities while geared to the younger set are NOT dumbed down which may make it a fun activitity to do with older siblings as well.

Teaching Your Children Values is one of those rare books that outgrows trends, critics, and what is currently popular in the way of teaching and parenting. This book, written by Linda and Richard Eyre, is full of stories, games, and activities that teach values, such as honesty, courage, love, self-discipline, respect, and unselfishness.
The Eyres draw from years of experience raising kids(nine), and being active in the national movement toward more conscientious parenting. Richard has served as Director of the White House Conference on Children and Parents, and they host their own radio and TV programs, geared toward helping parents to become better at instilling the same values they speak of in this most wonderful book, destined to become a classic.

This book is a must-have for parents who are worried about the effects of our increasingly values-less society on the well-being of their children. The authors present a number of important values and then provide strategies to teach these to children within the context of the family. I found the anecdotes from their personal experience--the authors are a married couple with nine(!) children--to be especially helpful and encouraging. I have read and re-read this book many times, and passed it on to anyone who will agree to read it!

This book is a must-have for parents who are worried about the effects of our increasingly values-less society on the well-being of their children. The authors present a number of important values and then provide strategies to teach these to children within the context of the family. I found the anecdotes from their personal experience--the authors are a married couple with nine(!) children--to be especially helpful and encouraging. I have read and re-read this book many times, and passed it on to anyone who will agree to read it!

I've read lots of parenting books (over 50 or so) and this is my second favorite. My first is by the same authors, 3 Steps to a Strong Family.

This book contains information on how to teach values to your children. We've just started using it but are having excellent results already. My kids are happier and are grasping concepts they've struggled with in the past. There is a calmer feeling in our home as we all work together to master a certain value.

I appreciate the personal experiences the authors share and the writing style is easy to understand and very well organized.

My two 6-year-olds enjoy the games and stories. They do not have any problems with them as an earlier reviewer mentioned would happen.

I highly recommend this book, but suggest you read 3 Steps to a Strong Family first. These books work and will make your home such a happier, calmer place.

This was an extrordianry book...i fell in love with it..it gave me hopes and dreams about my crush..and how one day, he would soon fall in love with me...it showed me how cliques can hurt, and how much i used to love hanging out with my old friends, before i found my new ones...i just loved this book...

Wonder is about a seventh grader who goes from popular to loser over the summer. She tries to make it through the school year with no friends and her ex-best friend against her. She then shows SCANTA that she isn't bothered by their teasing and gets to be friends with them. Wonder was WONDERful and a very fun book to read.

Jessica and Shelia have been best friends since kindergarden, but everything changes on the first day of seventh grade.I would recommend this book to a girl in the fifth, sixth, or seventh grade. I would also recommend Wonder to a girl who likes to read books about two best friends. Since Shelia is now popular and Jessica is a social outcast, Jessica doesn't think she will ever have friends again. One day jessica becomes popular and shelia becomes the social outcast. The last reason i would recommend this book is because it teaches you a lesson. The lesson is always remmber who your true friends are.

I don't know how I would have survived junior high. "Wonder" is wonderful and an amazing portrait of a girl who goes through, just like most junior high girls, the junior high struggle of losing and gaining friends. I was like Jessica in sixth grade. I was short for twelve. My best friend had left me and I was alone in a world where people changed best friends as often as they did their clothes. I went through sixth grade feeling upset and out of place. Junior high is not an easy time, and that is a fact. In seventh grade, however, I had what Jessica happened to her happen to me. She made new friends and was glad with the fact; I made friends I would never trade with anything. She kept in touch with her old best friend Sheila, saying it'd take some time before they hung out together; I did the same with mine.

"Wonder" changed my life. Will it change yours?

This is my favorite book, and the situations in it are things that happen in real life. I found it easy to relate to some of the characters, and a lot of them reminded me of my friends.I loved the ending, and anyone with major problems at school or with friends should read this book to see that the situation could be much worse.