Non-fiction Books

The Mom's Choice Awards® honors excellence in family-friendly media, products and services. An esteemed panel of judges includes education, media and other experts as well as parents, children, librarians, performing artists, producers, medical and business professionals, authors, scientists and others. A sampling of the panel members includes: Dr. Twila C. Liggett, Ten-time Emmy-winner, professor and founder of Reading Rainbow; Julie Aigner-Clark, Creator of Baby Einstein and The Safe Side Project; Jodee Blanco, New York Times Best-Selling Author; LeAnn Thieman, Motivational speaker and coauthor of seven Chicken Soup For The Soul books, Florrie Binford-Kichler, Founder of Patria Press, Inc. - an award-winning independent publisher, President of PMA, the Independent Book Publishers Association, and Member of The Children's Book Council; Tara Paterson, Certified Parent Coach, and founder of The Just For Mom Foundation(tm) and the Mom's Choice Awards®. Parents and educators look for the Mom's Choice Awards® seal in selecting quality materials and products for children and families. This book is an honored recipient of this distinguished award.

I bought this for my daughter and we both love it (me more than her)! She is almost two and doesn't quite get the message of the book; however, she loves the fun rhymes. I can't wait untill she is old enough to make lemonade stand and help the cause. This is a great book for any child!

very accessible story for telling little kids about fatal diseases like cancer.

This is one of my new ALL TIME favorite books! I first came to know Alex on the TODAY show with Matt Lauer. She inspired me so much that I bought lemonade from every stand I could find that summer! I was so sorry that her little life was cut so short, but so thrilled that her spunk and determination and vision live on! EVERY child should be exposed to and read this book! There is no excuse for every library to not have it, and for every parent to not read it! Open a lemonade stand, and continue Alex' dream!

This is the story of an extraordinary little girl. Alexandra Scott was diagnosed with neuroblastoma, a form of cancer, when she was one year old. When she was four, she decided to build a lemonade stand and donate the proceeds to the hospital where she was treated. News of Alex and her goals spread, so that others decided to help her raise money. Now there is a foundation (Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation) dedicated to continuing her work.
Told in a set of delightful rhymes and attractive illustrations, this is a tale that is inspiring and demonstrates how much one person can change the world if they simply try. If you buy this book, you will enjoy it and young children will be delighted to have it read to them. I also encourage you to make a donation to what is truly a worthy cause.

I love this book and so does my toddler. We have read it many, many times and immensely enjoy both the story and the illustrations. I don't mind reading it over and over because I feel like I see some new detail in the illustration that I didn't see the first 50 times we read it together. It's a delight for anyone reading it.

The consequences were far reaching and wide ranging when one little bug sneezed - just what happens, it ripples out and are quite fun. The illustrations are rich and warm, soft curves and good colours with lots going on in each to maintain interest in repeated readings of it.

This has beautiful rhythm to it and is easy for children to get predictive about, learning to anticipate and the value of language, and rhythm.

As an adult I get a bit bored with it - it is quite fun but not for repeated readings, but it is high on the reading request list at home so it gets read repeatedly at the moment.

My [...] loves this book. You can have so much fun with it as the book builds from a little bug sneezing to a out of control circus parade. The rhymes are well-done. Good for all ages.

This is one of Dr. Suess's books written under his pseudonym Rosetta Stone. This book shows once again what an amazingly clever man he was. Each of my children love this book. And I just finished reading it to my youngest son's preschool class. They enjoyed it so much they asked me to read it a second time! It is a fun and extremely enjoyable book for everyone!!!

Why this was published under a pen name, I'll never understand. In my opinion, it's one of Dr. Seuss' best books. The rhyme is easy to remember for toddlers, the images are bright and fun, the book about the little bug's sneeze and the major consequences thereafter is a brilliant encapsulation of chaos theory and the beautifully illustrates the fact that a small event can trigger larger, unforeseen events. Once we discovered this book, it became a nightly read. Highly recommended.

This is a lovely story about a lovely boy. He grows as a person and has his dreams come true. It is also a fantasy story which makes it a bit unrealistic but this book does deal with real issues and it is a beautiful and memorable story.

I tracked this book down on Amazon after remembering it from when I was a kid. It's a great story of the loser kid (which I really related to) transforming his life through the aid of magic and the ability to fly. Highly recommended.

I loved Black and Blue Magic as a child. I have tried to find it several times using search engines but never used the right search terms until recently. I am buying this book for my children because I know they will experience the same "magic" that I felt when I read this book (many years ago). Jason Alter, author of John Fastramp and the Dakota 3000 Challenge.John Fastramp and the Dakota 3000 Challenge

An old book that shows it's age. However, it was one of the first books I read in the fantasy genre. The book is a harmless glimpse of what might be if magic were real and being peddled out of a suitcase. I bought it for my nephew.

I found this book to be kind of dull actually. The characters are broad and somewhat unrealistic, and I don't know that Snyder has found an effective way to combine fantastic elements with a realistic world.

This is a good-hearted book, and might be worth a read as an afternoon's entertainment, but it didn't hold the magic for me that it seemed to hold for other reviewers. It reminds me a little bit of the works of Ruth Chew, which all center around kinds and magical objects.

I would recommend Beatrice Gormley's "Mail Order Wings" above this for a book about an adolecent who takes flight. If you're looking for a good fantasy story involving children and magical adventures, I think "James and the Giant Peach" or "The BFG," both by Roald Dahl, would be more satisfying.

Walter Farley is a fantastic author about horses. He knows his stuff.

This book is extrodinary.While you're reading this book El Dorado gets swamp fever.The other horses are checked for swamp fever.There's a wildfire and Alec tries to save the horses.Any girl that loves horses I recommend this book.

This book is extrodinary.While you're reading this book El Dorado gets swamp fever.The other horses are checked for swamp fever.There's a wildfire and Alec tries to save the horses.Any girl that loves horses I recommend this book.

If there was a book that could just sweep you away in a race of horses and nature, this is the book! Satan and The Black come head to head! But it isn't a race against each other, it's a race against a blazing inferno! You will see who truly is faster; The Black or His Son, Satan. It is a truly wonderful story. You won't be able to put it down!

Read the book! It is truly exciting. I guarantee it.

The Black Stallion and Satan is a great book by Walter Farley. It is the 3rd book in the Black Stallion series. This 178 page book was just as amazing as all the other Black Stallion books, so if you enjoyed the other book I suggest you read this one as well.

Right from the begining this book is exciting and suspensfull, you wont want to put it down. Alex gets a letter from Abu's daughter, telling him that her father has died, when he was thrown from the black. In his will Abu has left the Black to Alec. Abu has entered the black in a race. So Alec decided to let the Black run in that last race before his retirment, instead the Black and Satan end up in a race for there lives!

This is a great book that you will love just as much as the other Black Stallion books, but if you haven't read the other books I suggest that you read them before this one. This book would be good for anyone in there teens to adult.

My son recently started preschool and I remembered I loved this book as a child. I particularly remember how vibrant the pictures were and how my imagination ran wild with them. It was a great way to prepare him for his first day of school and one we continue to read over and over and over! A definate classic!

Book shows that Sister is nervous about starting kindergarten. She meets the teacher Mrs. Honey before school starts. First she is nervous but soon she starts to relax and enjoy herself and have fun. I love the part where she holds another kindergartener's hand on the bus. So often little kids only think of themselves and not others.

this book is ok .One reason is because it shows you not to judge things you haven,t tried.Another is If people dont trie something then help them do it.This is what i think of this book.

I really loved this book as a kid because I loved all the illustrations and I loved kindergarten as well. I was volunteering at a kindergarten class one time and read this book to the kids and they loved it and were so happy for some reason when I told them I have the book at home too :) It's a good book to prepare your child for daycare, preschool or kindergarten if they're having anxiety about going.

If you're looking for a book to introduce your child to what happens at school, then look no further. Sister Bear will be going to school for the first time in this book and in preparation, Mama takes her to see her kindergarten teacher for lunch. She has a wonderful time and then brother takes her to school with him and helps her get on the bus. Sister is kind and holds the hand of another little bear who seems very afraid and they go into class together. That part was really sweet! This book does a wonderful job in teaching children what school is about and what to expect. If Brother and Sister can do it, then we can too! This is a great hit at our house and I highly recommend it!

Just a wonderful romantic adventure story with a plucky heroine, great characters and setting. I reread it frequently and recommend it to my
friends. The Pollifax books are fun, but this Gilman is amazing. I wish it had a map of the heroine's journey through the Sahara.

Recently I was introduced to the writings of Dorothy Gilmore. Yes, I enjoyed the Mrs. Polifax series, but Caravan shows the depth and expertise of Gilmore in storytelling. Her descriptions of the desert are magnificent and I felt like I was there. The love story added to making this book even more interesting with a surprise twist at the end. Please, do not read the ending first because it will spoil the delightful trip through Gilmore's mind and eyes. I highly recommend this book because it is not only well written, but it is also a page-turner. Bettye Johnson, award winning author, Secrets of the Magdalene Scrolls.

Caravan is an incredible book. For 11 years I had a medically fragile daughter and kept Caravan in a packed emergency bag for dashes to the Childrens Hospital 2 hours away. On many occasions, I would be at the hospital for weeks and would always re-read Caravan. The strength of the main character, her ability to "roll with the punches" was such an encouragement to me. Sections of the book spoke to me when I needed them the most. At one point Jared is near death and we are quoted "Our doubts are traitors and make us lose the good we oft might win by fearing to attempt...". My child was near death and risking the scorn of the ER doc, I called up the medical director of the hospital to demand a neurosurgeon consult. Whew, did that get action! My child had emergency surgery and lived to see another year. Dorothy Gilmans Pollifax books are great but none can touch the depth of Caravan. Thank you Dorothy!

I listened to this book on tape. I did not particularly enjoy the reader; I felt the main character's voice was too high, and another's voice sounded too contrived. But the story was quite entertaining and imaginative in spite of some parts stretching credibility, but that's why it's called fiction! There is a lot about Africa, African tribes and the Sahara, which is wonderful.

Dorothy Gilman's Mrs. Pollifax mysteries have delighted me. I am late in coming to them. They have been out for years. But I love the pattern of suspense and the new cultural treats that are in store for her readers. I always learn in a Gilman book. And her sense of respect for other ways of living, of relating to God and one another, enrich the tales she gives us.

I recently gleaned the shelves of Half-Price Books and found a few of her titles I had not read, among them was Caravan. And it is a true jewel of a tale.

One feels a bit like this character, a carny child sent to finishing school, is historical, a veritable Unsinkable Molly Brown, and yet the story, as told in retrospect by Lady Teal, encompasses only a small part of a very rich life. And what a vibrant small part that is!

Caressa's survival in the stark desert life of the early 1900's is impressive, and Gilman's finesse in presenting a foreign world and its pecularities make for suspenseful reading beyond the norm. One thing that Gilman never does is shy away from the brutal and the violent realities of her character's situations.

In the primitive 1914 imprisonment that Caressa faces among the conquering Tuareg tribesmen, there are an amazing set of obstacles that just shouldn't have been lived through. No Indiana Jones character could out do Caressa's challenges.

Most beautiful of all are the endearing friendships that she makes with the unusual likes of a fellow slave, a black boy, Bakuli, and earlier with Mohammed, her Arab host in Tripoli.

Delightful endings wrap up Gilman's books with happily ever after as their due. But one is not disappointed with Lady Teal's surprise to readers. In fact, one should have guessed such an ending would be in store.

Typical Gilman in some ways, but very nice escapist reading overall. Brava!

the chalk box kid

The Calk box kid









Crcc the walls where about to fall down Gorge ran to the other side



The Calk Box Kid by Clyde Bulla was about a kid named Gorge likes to plant and draw flowers .One

day Gorge moved to a knew town and a knew school but Gorge did not make any friends .Gorge did

not talk to anyone. Gorge got bulled by this kid named Vince because he said'' you think you school is

better then ours just because it bigger



My favorite part was when Gorge stood up to this boy named Vince. Vince was the meanest person in the whole entire school.



I think the author's purpose was to teach us to make friends, be nice to others, and to have fun at school.



I think a lot of kids should read this book because I give this book five stars. You learn some things like how to be a good friend and how to treat others like you want to be treated.
By Eugene



Crcc the walls where about to fall down Gorge ran to the other side



The Calk Box Kid by Clyde Bulla was about a kid named Gorge likes to plant and draw flowers .One

day Gorge moved to a knew town and a knew school but Gorge did not make any friends .Gorge did

not talk to anyone. Gorge got bulled by this kid named Vince because he said'' you think you school is

better then ours just because it bigger



My favorite part was when Gorge stood up to this boy named Vince. Vince was the meanest person in the whole entire school.



I think the author's purpose was to teach us to make friends, be nice to others, and to have fun at school.



I think a lot of kids should read this book because I give this book five stars. You learn some things like how to be a good friend and how to treat others like you want to be treated.
The Calk box kid









Crcc the walls where about to fall down Gorge ran to the other side



The Calk Box Kid by Clyde Bulla was about a kid named Gorge likes to plant and draw flowers .One

day Gorge moved to a knew town and a knew school but Gorge did not make any friends .Gorge did

not talk to anyone. Gorge got bulled by this kid named Vince because he said'' you think you school is

better then ours just because it bigger



My favorite part was when Gorge stood up to this boy named Vince. Vince was the meanest person in the whole entire school.



I think the author's purpose was to teach us to make friends, be nice to others, and to have fun at school.



I think a lot of kids should read this book because I give this book five stars. You learn some things like how to be a good friend and how to treat others like you want to be treated.
By Eugene

When you read this book you will be amazed! This book is amazing
to me and probably to you to.I mean I love this book it's amazing I hope you will like this book very,very much if you want to find out more information you'll have to read it!!!!!

The Chalk box kid teaches you a lesson about how to deal with life when
you move. It shows you that you can make a place your own. It was a wonderful book.Gregory creats a chalk garden. As 3rd graders we give it 5
stars!

This is my favorite book ever because it was about chalk and I like to write with chalk.

I like this book a lot because I like to write with chalk.I would also like to have a garden.

A wonderful book. I loved it as a child, and going back to read it as an adult I realize that there are a lot of things that I missed. I remember my teacher reading it aloud in class--wonderful!

The movie, although very nice, has only a superficial resemblance to the book. For one thing, it moves the time a generation or so back. For another, in the book both parents are alive, rather than Caracticus Pott's being a widower; consequently, there is no romance.

I could very well wish that a new movie be made, NOT a musical and following the original plot.

Just like when I was a kid at my moms knee listening to her read this to me I wsa again transported to another time. This audio is great. Kids and adults alike will fall inlove with this audio book. Some what diffrent than the movie staring Dick Van Dyke. which is always a welcome suprise.

It is a charming and delightful story that you will love to read to your children. I read this book to my 6 year old. She loved it!! We both wish we could find more books about this wonderful family and car.

I remember the 1968 movie based on this novel fondly, but had never picked up the novel itself until just the other day. I was surprised at how different the book is. Although Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang herself is very similar in both, the plot of the story is much different. I enjoyed this simple little story, with Fleming's humorous asides, very much. Those asides reminded me of the "Series of Unfortunate Events" books I have read and I would be interested in learning if Lemony Snicket drew from Fleming's story style for his own series. This is a fun, quick story that most kids will enjoy. I do, however, fear that the admittedly crude illustrations in my original edition would not be as popular with modern children.

The story of Caractacus Pott, his family, and that wonderful magical car is one of the best children's stories you will ever read. Ian Fleming, the creator of James Bond, tells a fantastic story about Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, the magical flying car that can even turn into a boat! It's a delightful story, filled with crooks and gangsters, and you won't be sorry you bought this fantastic little book. Should be added to every child's bookshelf. Just delightful! The book is so much better than the movie, eliminating that silly Vulgaria story. If you want to read the story Ian Fleming intended, you'll have to buy the book. You won't be sorry.

Thirty short stories by W. Somerset Maugham including "Rain" which is about a prudish missionary and a prostitute and "The Three Fat Women of Antibes" which is an ironic story about self-denial and greed.

As a writer, Maugham considered himself "on the first row of the secondraters". I think he was being modest. Maugham has written some of the finest short stories ever written. His purpose was to do no more than tell an interesting story, but the reader gets much more. Each story is perfectly told; not one word is wasted, each character is fully realized. Maugham observes and never judges his characters. His short stories can be read many times and with each reading the reader finds something new and interesting. Somerset Maugham's short stories takes the reader to a time that is now past but still very relevant.

Somerset is an amazing writer whose words flowed so freely and expressively it makes you want to cry. This book of shorts is classic Maugham and un-put-downable. You'll love it.

The story" Fall of Edward Barnard" is a confrontation between what is called'the Civilized World' and the indigenous, the savage, the primitive world. Edward, thankful to a relative already fascinated by the beauties of the islands around tahiti, had a one life opportunity to have a very introspective reflexion about the meaning of his life. Sent from Chicago for two years, he will delay his return and the promise he made to his bride Isabelle. Why ? Because facing the natural beauty, almost thunderstruck by such simplicity, he wonders what the use of all this hustle and constant striving in our cities which are all but stones with ceasless turmoil. After a unsuccessful beginning in working, he chose a simple life based on beauty, truth and goodness. His thoughts reach the universal when asking himself ( throughout the author's philosophy ) why do we come into the world for to hurry to an office and work hour after hour

I came to know Maugham through his novels, especially The Razor's Edge, Of Human Bondage, and Cakes and Ale. I purchased this collection not knowing what to expect. The stories are character focused, at times incredibly witty and amusing, at times melancholy and near heart-breaking. As in his novels, Maugham has the ability to make the reader see what is not written. Highlights include The Rain, a commentary on the work of missionaries, and The Pool, one of the saddest shorts ever written. Others, such as The Three Fat Women of Antibbes, will probably make you laugh out loud. A first rate collection.

This book has fantastic artwork and a wonderful story. Although written for younger children, it's appeal holds for all generations. The story is simple, but interesting, and teaches children to be honest and respectful. This story will be especially enjoyable for Corgi lovers, as Corgis are the main characters, along with cats, bunnies, and Bogarts.

I am a big fan of Tasha Tudor. I have read that this is her favorite work so this is the book I always give as a new baby gift. Every child and every adult should own a copy of this book.
The story is clever and fun with lots of animal action for little ones to enjoy. The art is Tasha at her best. Every page has so much to see. Like all of the Tasha Tudor books, this one provides REAL art fo children to enjoy and learn to appreciate.

We own many, many, many children's books and all 7 of our children agree this is the very best one! Everyone should own it, just to see how enchanted Corgies really are and to see the fun at the Corgiville Fair. We also really like the rabbits who are diving into the pond and the use of chickens in the place of horses is to funny!

This fills both interests:
#1. illustrated AND written by my favorite illustrator
#2. it's all about Corgies
Thank you. It is lovery!

Nothing pleases me more than to open the pages of "Corgiville Fair" and marvel at Ms Tudor's ability to create a magical, mythical world of corgis, goats, cats, bunnies and boggarts. The story is so dear, the illustrations are truly inspired, and the boggarts are personalities a reader will never forget. This is a treasure for any child's or adult's library; as a child I wanted nothing more than to be able to live 'west of New Hampshire and east of Vermont' in the wonderful, cozy world of Corgiville.