Children's Series Books Books

This book is great for your beginner reader. The words are short (3-5 letters) and easy to sound out. The story is also cute and the illustrations are delightful.

This is a great book for cat lovers, or animal lovers who are just beginning to read.

Author of "Hobo Finds A Home"

This is a wonderful story for children who are just learning to read. The pictures are bright and colorful. The words are easy and there are only 2 or 3 words per page. My daughter reads it over and over.

My wife and I read this book when we were expecting our first child. It was easy to read and very entertaining. It actually inspired me to write my own diary of our son's first year. I highly recommend it!

This book is terrific! My husband and I read it before we had our first child. Bob Greene got us super excited about the baby's birth! We tried to read it slowly, so we wouldn't finish much before we had out child. We give this book to all of our friends who are expecting a baby and they agree it's a must-read!

There are plenty of books that tell you what to do when a baby comes, but this is the only that I found that gave me an idea of what I could expect to feel like as a new father. As a husband, as a father, as a person inhabiting the planet, Bob Greene very simply describes how his life and outlook are changing during the first year of his daughter's life. He is surprised by what he can and can't do, remarks how his wife's focus has changed. As a reporter, he is surprised to find how his view of the world is different now that he has a small life in his charge.
Some of it is very funny: the helplessness he feels when his daughter first arrives home and how woefully unprepared they are (versus what they thought the instant before). Other parts of it are coldly chilling: Bob Greene's feelings about the mysterious Tylenol Killer anonymously killing people in the Chicagoland area mirrored my own concerns when I heard about the shootings at Columbine High School. Fatherly concern can only go so far and what happens when it's not enough?
My son is almost three years old now and my memories of the first year of his life are melting together into some generic feelings and a handful of anecdotes. However, I have a journal of my son's first year to look back on. That was the most wonderful thing about this book. Bob Greene is a professional writer, but this book made me feel like I could do something similar for my son and - surprisingly - it wasn't all that hard to jot down a little bit here and there as time permitted.
I like to think Bob Greene looks back at this book the same way I look back at my journal.

I started watching Gossip Girl on TV and loved the show, so I decided to give the books a try. In 3 days I have read 4 of the books. I am truly addicted. I have one to finish and 5 more arriving tomorrow!

A word of caution. IF you have younger children you might want to monitor these books. The content and language is mature. I am not saying censor them because, people who censor their children are dumb, but read the book so you can discuss it with them.

If you are mid to late 20's like myself you will love these!!!

the gossip girl books are fun to read. i don't like some of the casting for the show but i think blair(the girl who plays her) is cute

Read it when it first came out... However, i'm not satisfied with the cover from the new tv series. These actress do not convey the way i imagined Serena & Blair to look like. I have the complete series and in none of the book cover you get to see the face of none of the girls and i was very pleased with that.

Serena's come home after getting kicked out of boarding school and everyone wants to know if the rumors are true. Was she pregnant and did she leave her baby in France? Is she really dealing drugs with her initial "S" stamped on each pill? And what's up with her clothes? Is she getting them from a homeless shelter?

All Serena wants to do is hang with her friends and have her old life back. Unfortunately, her friends and old life don't seem to want her back. But don't waste any time feeling sorry for her. She's still rich and gorgeous, and manages to draw the attention of two photo-artists who ask her to model for them and then plaster the city with her pictures. (Well, pictures of some part of her. No one's really quite sure which part, though. Belly button, maybe?) Anyway, she also manages to make new friends and shows signs of adding some depth to her otherwise shallow world.

Don't expect to walk away feeling enlightened after reading this page turner, however. It's not great literature, but it is entertaining and a breezy bit of escapism, much like its tv namesake. Fans of the weekly drama will note some character differences: the names are the same, but physical descriptions, personality traits and economic status vary - most notably in the characters of Dan and Ginny Humphrey. Dan is a little more gritty and angst-ridden and Ginny doesn't look so much like Barbie's little sister, Skipper.

I rated the book five stars because I really enjoyed it and plan on reading the rest of the series. Would I recommend it to you? Well, if you're familiar with and enjoyed Morgan Burke's Party Room trilogy, Melissa De La Cruz's Blue Bloods or Hobson Brown's The Upper Class, you'll probably like Gossip Girl, too. They all center around spoiled, rich kids - or, in the case of Blue Bloods, spoiled, rich vampires - and the dirty secrets that sometimes even money can't hush.

This book fits in with the 6th grade Ohio Social Studies curriculum, and every school library needs it. Not only are there a lot of projects that are quite easy to do (no supplies that would be hard to get, no special expertise needed) there is a lot of well-researched information about each of the projects. Vocabulary in listed, as well as little known facts. Useful and fun to read as well!

This book is a winner! I have 3 kids, ages 6, 10, and 12, and there's something in there for all of them. The projects are fun to do, and just the right level of difficulty. My kids have learned a lot about Egypt by building the projects as well as reading all of the intriguing information tucked into the book. I highly recommend this book!

As a home educator, I'm always looking for books that will draw my kids in. Great Ancient Egypt Projects You Can Build Yourself does just this. The main text is full of information that kids will find interesting, and peppered throughout are sidebars offering further detail. Best of all are the numerous activities. This book includes more than 25 hands-on activities, including creating a game of senet, building a shaduf, making kohl, blending perfume, and even transforming a garage sale chair into a throne. Very cool!

We have just finished our unit on the Civil War. The projects in this book are fantastic. My eighth graders used many of them to create a Civil War museum. They then presented their museum to fourth graders using their artifact to teach a key aspect of the Civil War. Even my most reluctant learners did an exceptional job. I highly recommend this book to any teacher of American History and/or any student

We all know that a great way for kids--and adults--to learn new information or a new skill is to take book knowledge and apply it. This book offers readers many opportunities to sew, build, construct, and cook up items applicable to the Civil War, using ordinary objects. Who knew you could easily fashion a bugle from garden hose or a periscope from a milk carton?! I also enjoyed the trivia and slang terms that are sprinkled throughout the book. I now know a "hospital rat" is someone who fakes an illness!

Kids, and adults, will get a lot out of this book. And teachers can put it to great use in the classroom.

"Great Civil War Projects You Can Build Yourself" is a prime example of the supplemental books that are out there for teachers to get ideas for projects their students can do for a particular unit. Maxine Anderson provides a brief introduction to the Civil War that talks about how it all began and who were some of the important political and military leaders on both sides, but obviously a history textbook is going to give young students more details (i.e., the names, dates, and places that students will need to know on the test). But the two main sections of the book are devoted to projects that help students understand what live was like on the battlefield and on the homefront.

There is some background material for these products, so this is not just a "How to" book. The first section of "On the Battlefield" looks at bands and music during the Civil War before providing a pair of projects where you get to make your own Civil War bugle and drum. In the first half of the book there are projects for making a pinhole camera; a Union Fort Sumter, South Carolina Palmetto, and/or California 100 flag; the ironclads "Monitor" and "Virginia"; a lean-to shelter; a paddlewheeler; periscope; telegraph; and signal flags. There is also the opportunity to make some battlefield food from Union hardtack (if the students have been misbehaving I suppose), Confederate Johnny Cakes (spread with butter or molasses, which, as Anderson points out, was "a treat Confederates didn't often get), or the cornbread popular on both sides. Anderson even explains how to make your own Union or Confederate jacket, as well as a forage cap or Zouave fez, which might be more reasonable.

The "On the Homefront" section looks at how civilians deal with hardships and deprivations during the war. The projects consist of making your own berry ink and handmade paper; four patch quilt block, pillow or wall hanging, and/or four patch quilt; corn husk, rag, and/or hanky dolls; fan or cameo; banjo or tambourine; and Underground Railroad lantern. This time the food related projects consist of making your own fruit dehydrator, molasses taffy, and rock candy.

For each project Anderson provides a list of "What You'll Need," and step-by-step instructions on "What To Do." The back of the book has Templates for Projects, such as circles, squares and stars to go along with some of the key elements in the flags. Throughout the book there are reminders to "Know Your Slang," so that you will learn "web feet" is a term the cavalry had for the infantry and a "housewife" was your sewing kit. You will also find Civil War Facts & Trivia (e.g., President Lincoln had to cross the street from the White House to check telegraph messages) scattered throughout the book, along with dozens of informative sidebars where Anderson talks about everything from photographer Mathew Brady and inventor John Ericsson to the color uniforms used to different branches on the battlefield and Southern food prices.

There appear to be only two other titles in the Build It Yourself series to date, "Great Colonial American Projects You Can Build Yourself" and "Amazing Leonardo Da Vinci Inventions You Can Build Yourself," but hopefully there will be more in the future because it would be nice for history teachers to have more choices for incorporating these sort of projects into various units. Obviously you do not have to do all of them, but there are certainly enough in this volume that you could do a couple of different ones each year for a while before you started repeating yourself (unless, of course, you get really hooked on something like making your own rock candy or pinhole camera).

This book looked too advanced for my 10 year old (maybe it isn't) but I read it with my 13 year old son. The lay-out and illustrations make this a good choice for younger teens, colorful pictures and small subject-boxes for related topics on each page make it interesting to look at, unlike the straight text of books intended for older teens. This book kept my ADHD son's attention very well, sparked questions for discussion, and offered all of the information (and more) that he was looking for. We were able to discuss embarrassing subjects objectively and discreetly with this book. The game-plan is to use "What's going on down there" as the next step, but this was a good starting point for my son. This book will be kept on hand for use with my younger children when they are old enough for it.

My mom presented me with this book when I was about 9 years old, and I've used it for reference all though my middle school years. Almost everything that I could have possibly needed to know was in this book, and the information was presented in a frank, honest tone without being too clinical or demeaning. What was most helpful was the female anatomical section, which was extraordinary in allowing me to understand and properly identify what exactly was going on inside me.

My only complaints about the book are that it is dated (I believe it was published in the late 1980s) and British - which, for an American, proved to be a bit of an obstacle; most of the slang terms listed were words I'd never heard of, and information about abortion and age of consent laws were exclusive to Great Britain.

Overall, however, I would highly recommend this book to any parent searching for sex education instructional material for their child (the book is gender-neutral; my younger brother benefitted greatly from the book as well).

I needed a book that my nine-year-old daughter and I could use together as she enters adolescence: not too complicated, not too simple, but clear and honest in ways with which we both were comfortable. I read six other similar books before choosing Growing Up, which was the best by far. It does just what we needed it to do without getting past her level of maturity and readiness. The illustrations and explanations are easy to understand. Every issue I wanted to address is covered in this book. My daughter loves it and so do I. I commend it to other parents.

When a book is written by Stephen Cosgrove, you can almost always count on it as a treasure for teaching children about character education!!! The Grumpling is no different - this is a great book for teaching children about the importance of using good manners. Of course, the adorable pictures help, too!

There are no words to describe Stephen Cosgrove's books. There is a lesson in every one of them. This book will live on forever.

A must-have if you wish to show your children the importance of manners. Even the unmannerly Grumpling can learn with the patient help of a small rabbit! The artwork is reliably wonderful, and children will love the story's involvement of animals instead of your average manners books.

This series is wonderful to use in classrooms as a supplement for students with special needs. I use it at the high school level when including students with intellectual disablitites in the regular curriculum. It also serves as a fun review for the entire class!

This was the perfect text to get my 10-year old reading Shakespeare! She's a bright girl, but I thought the "real" text of Hamlet might be a bit burdensome, so when I saw this book, I bought it right away. She loved it! Not only did she understand it, she liked reading it.
Yay, Lois Burdett!!!!! Applause! (can you hear it??)

I teach third grade in an urban school in a very large district and have used Burdett's version of Hamlet as my sole reading program component for the last 2 months. My students have showed more growth in comprehension, vocabulary, writitng skills and public speaking, than I have ever seen with any other class. Not only has their work showed such growth, but their passion for reading has flourished unbelievably. My class ranges from d's to average b's to high honor roll and every child has grown and every child now loves Shakespeare. The wording that Burdett uses is enjoyable and comprehendable yet challenging enough to keep the educational bar raised without compromising the accuracy and intent of Shakespeare's original version. Burdett also incorporates written material and illustrations by students in her second grade class. This helps the children in my class relate to the book even more. They have developed a thirst for Shakespeare that I enjoy trying to quench everyday. Every child is quoting Shakespeare and reciting soliloquys, and I credit much of that to Burdett and her brilliant writing. I loved this book so much that I have personally purchased her entire series and have displayed them all in my classroom. These books are checked out by students in my class everday. They are by far the most frequently read books in my class. She has truly brought Shakespeare back to life in the classroom and on behalf of my students and myself as well, I thank her. Classic literature is back!!!!!

Fron the first opening page to the last one in the book, this is definitely a must-read!! Joy Shannon Balmer captures the exact touch of despair, frustration, helplesness, anger, hatred-all feelings you will experience as you read this book! Sorrow, sadness and hidden ghosts are all a part of the saga of this family, and you will actually feel as if you are a part of this family as you delve into their lives. Joy Shannon Balmer-a great author!! I will be eagerly waiitng for another one of her books!!

I always enjoy reading a book by an author I have never read before. Its nice not to have any expectations based on previous work, nothing to compare it to, so when I sat down to read Hand Me Downs, The Secrets I was very eager to get to "know" this author, through her words and character construction. From the first chapter I was not disappointed, the opening scene with Daniel and the Doctor just made my heart ache. Ms. Balmer's style of writing flows like a steady stream with only the situations in the story itself to change the direction of the current but not disrupt the flow itself.

If it was the author's intention to make you feel strong hate, compassion, exasperation, and hopelessness she did a fantastic job. I have to admit that this was not a book I could sit down and read in one sitting, although normally a book of this size would be finished in a day. I kept having to stop either because I was very angry or bordering on depressed. The fullness of the characters made me feel as if I were actually there, watching what was going on and I just wanted to shout.....Wake up Daniel!! Get a grip Hildy!!! I cannot recall a book character I have hated more than Bobby Ray, and I have read a LOT of books in my life. I wanted to castrate the man with a rusty knife.

Though my sense of humor may be different from a lot of other people, there were spots of humor that gave my anger a break and for that I'm most appreciative to Ms. Balmer. A person can only take so much heartache and despair and she certainly put humor in, in most needed places to help me be able to momentarily forget my hatred of Bobby Ray (I believe I have mentioned that she wrote him so profoundly well that I abhor him, but did I mention I wanted to castrate the man with a rusty knife more than I did John Willoughby in Sense and Sensibility, or more than Black Jack Randall from Outlander.)

The book gives me a whole different view of the time period my grandparents grew up in. I've always known the depression existed, I've known the things my grandparents did without and had to make do with....but this brought a lot of it home for me, someone that has never "wanted" for anything that was "needed" in her life. As a genealogist, it gives me a much more fuller picture of the statistics and facts I see on census pages and court documents.

I can honestly say that the ending definitely gives the much needed hope for healing and closure that I, as a reader, searched for, and leaves you wanting more, in a good way.

Joy Shannon Balmer captures the subtle nuances of a troubled Southern family; a group connected by love and tragedy. The family saga spans three generations,miggled with the flow of dark,hidden secrets lurking just below the surface. To read this book is to delve into the complexity of human emotions and drives. Joy Shannon Balmer is an author whose work I will follow. A rich, rewarding read!

Rhett DeVane, author of "The Madhatter's Guide to Chocolate" and "Up the Devil's Belly"

I remember this book from my childhood. I had my parents read each story to me over and over. When I learned how to read I read this book until the pages fell out. In short it is a great book that encourages youthful imaginations. And, it makes for great bedtime stories. A real classic. I bought it for my children.

As a child I didn't have the books of Oscar Wilde but rather the records. My imagination soared with his descriptions of life, and my eyes overflowed with tears at each story. The record of the Happy Prince was read by Bing Crosby and Orson Wells and each year at Christmas we still play that old scratched thing, just to hear it's wonderous love story and that of The Selfish Giant. Now I have to get the book so my nieces and nephews will share in my treasures of love!!!! What is this world if it isn't all about Love?

In these tales, most of them being sad and even very sad, Oscar Wilde looks for a way to save one's soul in front of the misery of the world. Anyone in society who lives in the upper classes does not necessarily see the ugliness and suffering of the world when one looks at the lower classes. But in these tales the Happy Prince, or the Selfish Giant, or any other character will manage to get salvation out of their upper class blindness, by opening their eyes to misery and suffering and by doing what they can to repair these pains and evils because they will realise they have to feel responsible for the world, because they are more powerful and could easily impose their selfish rule. But the giant will discover nature, if not God, punishes him for his selfishness. The nightingale will try to redeem a young student by giving him a red rose in a season when read roses do not bloom. And yet the student will not get the love he wants because he is nothing but a non-entity for the girl he would like to be loved by. There is also a very sad note in A Devoted Friend and how friendship can become a mask for selfishness, a nice appearance for an ugly and egoistic attitude. Those tales are sad and at the same time they convey a moral full of hope. All is not lost if the Happy Prince can give away his happiness for those who suffer, even if later the powerful of his society will reject him when he does not look happy and beautiful any more

Dr Jacques COULARDEAU, University of Perpignan