Interactive Books

In this book, Eric Bergman surveys some of the most influential and thoughtful people in the user interface design world - Don Norman, Chuck Clanton, David Haitani (designer of the Palm Pilot) and more. Their comments are insightful, practical, and visionary at the same time. I particularly liked the chapters by David Haitani and the one by Chuck Clanton on computer game design. This book will be helpful to anyone who has designed software user interfaces for desktop machines or web sites and is now wondering what the brave new world of wireless devices might look like.

I find that I like read the chapters in order of what interests me, not necessarily in the order they are bound together in the book. And that is a strength of the book - it acts more like a reference than like a novel. In this way, it reminds me of Brenda Laurel's excellent book "The Art of Human Computer Interaction."

Many information technology designers forget that the purpose of product design is not to display technical virtuosity, it is to help their users solve problems in the real world. This book, alone among those I've read, confronts this issue in a compelling and useful way. It's a "must read" for anyone thinking seriously about how to design information products.

Well written and interesting to read, Information Appliances & Beyond is the lone book (at least that I've come across) that helps product designers create Information Appliances. The Interview with the creator of the Palm Pilot is excellent, as are the examples of the Nokia 7110 mobile phone, and the i-opener. Highly recommended to anyone with an interest in the future of consumer computing.

I have been a big fan of Jeff's since his DHTML book changed my outlook on web development. After reading this book, you can appreciate the amount of experience that has been distilled in 222 pages. Since many companies have tried to capitalize on streaming media and failed, Jeff outlines what not to do. If you or your organization is thinking of investing in streaming media, buy this book.

An overview of the future. Good general book for finding out about streaming media and Interactive TV. I liked having the specific code examples mixed in, but some who just want an overview might find it too specific. Book is still great if your ignore the code. If you want specific code examples....there they are!

Book contains lots of great examples of how to use streaming video in web pages. It also gives alot of background information on where streaming video and interactive TV are going. The final chapter is especially forward looking.

This book has assisted me greatly in my elementary school Spanish classes during the past year. I have purchased books for all of my students, and it has added not just valuable lessons on the Spanish language but also an emphasis on culture from various Spanish speaking countries, which I found to be excellent!

I would highly recommend this book to ANYONE interested in learning Spanish, but would definitely recommend them to buy the workbook as well if they really want to pick up the language. The textbook offers tons of vocabulary and sentence structure, as well as songs and other good information, but the workbook allows you to really practice what you've learned, and it comes with a CD so you can hear the language spoken! It is by far the best language tool I have come across in the two years I have been teaching Spanish to children.

I have found this book to be an invaluable resource in my classroom. It is full of great activities for children young and old. The workbook reinforces what was learned in the lesson while the CD focuses on the auditory part of language acquisition. I have found this book to work for kindergartners all the way up to 8th graders. The lessons are succint and well directed. It makes teaching a class very easy because there is already a relevant lesson planned for just about any topic you wish to cover. This book is great and I would recommend it to anyone, whether they are a teacher, or just wish to teach their child at home. This has been a huge help to me. Buy this book!!!

I am an extracurricular Spanish instructor at an elementary school in Seattle, Washington. It has often been difficult to find texts and exercises that are oriented towards young people, but that are challenging enough to convey basic Spanish grammar. Many Spanish books are either utterly dry or focus entirely on vocabulary and memorization. Espanol para Chicos y Grandes does neither - it respects the Chicos/chicas (youth) for whom it is written, but avoids boring them to death.

I also appreciated the simple cultural tidbits that liven up the book. It is clear that the author has a knowledge and love for the Spanish and Hispanic cultures and peoples. I plan on ordering a set for my class next year.

The translation of the main title of this book is "Spanish for Kids and Adults". The title is accurate: this set of books and CD is perfect for kids, but also offers the simplicity and clarity needed to give adults a basic intro to the language. Actually, a few of my students' parents have started studying with the books right along with their kids, and they seem to be picking it up quite well. I highly recommend this curriculum!

This book is in Almost New Condition. Missing CD-ROM. I ship the book Priority Mail or UPS.

I am a tutor at the local community college, and I use this book often. It really is one of the best tools for learning English and expanding your vocabulary. If you're even thinking about buying this book please do. Learning English can be difficult and frustrating, but this book makes it much easier.

Hi, I am one of the authors of Interactive Vocabulary: General Words. The text is designed to make learning vocabulary fun. It features colorful pages, thematic readings, interactive exercises, and a variety of self-tests. Among the activities are crossword puzzles, matching words to pictures, drawing your own pictures,writing projects, and analogies. There are activities in the book for all types of learning styles. The book also includes word part chapters, review chapters, and flash cards. Some of the thematic readings are sports, music, romance, art, history, pets, and movies. The book was designed to be used individually or with a whole class. If you are a teacher, the book will make learning vocabulary fun for your students. It is aimed at students with reading levels from sixth to ninth grade. Try the book and discover how learning new words can be an enjoyable experience.

This book has been a wonderful state-of-the-art resource book for primary public-school education classrooms.
I am a teacher in California. My class assignment this year is a kindergarten/1st grade combination classroom. I started the year out as a 1st/2nd grade combination classroom but the enrollment changed at our school site that after the first two weeks the students were reshuffled around and I was given a mostly new set of students and had to make a room change.
Now I needed all new materials and resources for the grade changes. Our school was given a very large grant and we as teachers were being observed by consulting firms to see if they approved of our teaching methods. Every so many months they come around to make several observations of us in our classrooms. They check to see if we are following their recommendations and if our classrooms are "child-centered classrooms". Most of the teachers are on edge at this school and are exhausted working many long hours and at their own monetary expense to make things happen at this school.
This book offered me a wonderful resource for solving many of the concerns I had at this school for resolving a number of these difficulties. In it, are many ideas for getting your struggling students to come up to and approach grade level standards. The students are able to do activities that enable them to become excited able learners.

I am a kindergarten teacher who has agonized over the years at how to incorporate writing into my classroom. I've recently gone back to school to get my Masters in Language and Literacy to become a better teacher. My thesis is going to be on interactive writing. I have found this to be the BEST resource for explaining to me how and why and when to "share the pen" with my students. I can't praise this book highly enough. The pictures and lessons and rationale that have gone into this book are just what I've been searching for...The authors make so much sense...the literacy connection between reading and writing is based on research. Take a look at this book. I promise you, it'll change your outlook on how reading and writing can and should go together.

I am a first year teacher and I have finally incorporated interactive writing into my daily curriculum. It was not easy at first, but I have arrived at a successful and exciting place with this teaching method in my classroom. I think I could have reached this level of success back in September if I had Andrea McCarrier's book then. It is truly the missing link to a successful literacy centered classroom. This book has supplied me with enough specific ideas to initiate interactive writing on the first days of school next year. Letter ID and sight word development will be more effective and mastered more quickly by using interactive writing with my students. The beauty of interactive writing is it can be integrated with many other subjects: science, social studies, health, technology, etc. Only after a week of hard-core interactive writing, two of my students have emerged from confusion and are have begun to build sentences with spaces, punctuation and sensical inventive spelling. Many in the class have advanced with their writing, and this has also advanced their reading! This book has helped me come up with ideas, realistic goals, step-by-step procedures, and final product bulletin boards and books for their classroom. The book is full of photographs showing the beginning of the task, the task in process, and the final result. This is the new "bible" in my classroom, and I cannot recommend it enough for kindergarten and first grade teachers, both new and veteran. Now, if I could just find a book with this quality of information and step-by-step ideas that would focus on independent literacy centers to allow me to teach small group guided reading without an interruption, I would be able to teach the world to read! Come on Pinnell! Come on Fountas! Come on McCarrier! You write it or recommend it, I'll buy it!

If you have a little girl, this is a fantastic interactive book to keep her engaged. Anything to encourage kids to read and increase their love of reading is terrific. My twins turned 5 when I bought this and I would say this book is good for kids age 3 to 7.

My 4-year-old daughter, who is fascinated with ballerinas, has enjoyed every Angelina book I have read to her. We were excited to find this latest story about her favorite dancing mouse. In the story, Angelina finds a large envelope containing two tickets to see Serena Silvertail perform with the Royal Ballet. But each time she asks a friend to attend with her, they have other plans! This cleverly designed book features page-sized envelopes containing actual tickets, letters, and postcards that children can pull out and read. My daughter's favorite is the large pull-out poster of the Cindermouse ballet. The only problem we have had is that my less-than-gentle 2.5-year-old daughter was also eager to enjoy this book. I've repaired a few envelopes with tape and I have to verify the pull-outs are still inside the flaps before reading the story again. Definitely recommended reading!

This book is a nice story and the pull-out tickets, letters, poster, etc. added a wonderfully fun dimension to this book. I wouldn't give this book to a child much under 4, however, unless you happen to have one that is really meticulous about keeping things nice. It would be very easy to mess up the book or lose the pull-outs, which are important to the plot.

We bought this as a gift. Can't wait until my little ballerina is old enough to have it.

A great book, this book puts to rest that idea that japanese is to difficult, finally!!! because it is a step by step practical guide to learning japanese. Also, there is a workbook availabe and other resources for those really interested in learning the language of this wonderful and ancient culture.

If you ever wanted to take the lead in something but was not confident enough, this work by a team of experts, including Kathy Negrilli gives you lay out from learning the hiragana to saying hello(konnichi-wa), with fun illustrations and easy method improving your skills every day!!!

Ganbatte,

Lindell

Mina-san Konnichi-wa,
Though this book was tailored to the Irasshai program, but is an excellent textbook for anyone just starting to learn Japanese. It is easy to follow and clearly presented. I recommend it highly. There is an companion workbook that goes with the textbook. The workbook should be available by end of May, 2008.

If you are serious about learning Japanese, I highly recommend this book. It makes Japanese easy to follow and there are many learning exercises to practice verbal, writing and reading skills. It's well written and easy to follow. Plus the workbooks will soon be available! The book is based on an actual course designed for high school students however very friendly for the adult learner.

The story is simple, but it's great to have students use the pieces to expand on the story. The pieces are easy to use and manipulate.

This is a lovely version of the classic. Illustrations are simple but charming and the giant is not scary. The storage box will be very popular with small children, and all ages will enjoy the possibilities presented by the sturdy and easily-handled figures. How wonderful to have a book that invites interactive participation.

My son's name is Jack, and I think we have just about every version of the story of Jack and the Beanstalk on his bookshelf.

When he got this one as a present, I was suprised to see that a publisher had managed to come up with a fresh take on this book. While the story itself is told as the standard tale, the book is unique because it actually comes with little stand up pieces of the characters from the story. This way, my son plays along while we read together, and often just plays with the pieces when we're not reading. What's even better is that the book has its own little drawer to store the pieces in, so we have a better chance of not losing them under the couch cushions. This is such a great book and toy!

This is an amazing tool for young children. The graphics are great - the characters are funny, and my son is learning while he is playing - what a wonderful combination! There are number games, spelling and letter games, pattern games...I can't recommend this CD highly enough.

I will go on to buy the more advanced versions as my child continues to learn and grow.

One of the joys of being a kindergarten teacher in the 90's is searching for software that engages children in thinking and creative activities that integrate with curriculum objectives. We've tried many wonderful programs. However, if I had to choose the best of the bunch and recommend only one software program to parents, it would be Jumpstart Kindergarten. It's the program the children ask for again and again. I like the wide variety of activities. The kids like the way they can work the program all by themselves. I've recommended this to many of my colleagues, and I recommend it to you.

Children are able to explore numbers, letters and shapes, by connecting the dots and other fun games that are captivating for the child. They are having so much fun that they don't realize they are learning.

I bought this for my daughter who si 3 and learning sign language in school. It was great because animal signs are always fun to make and since it was like a song it was easy for her to catch on to.

I was pleasently surprised by the book and would recommend it to others.

Great book for beginning sign language with children. Children love animals and introducing sign using animals is a fun way to start!

Jungle Parade is a short 8 page story that uses simple illustrations surrounding photographs of children signing. The writing is simple and repetitious, perfect for teaching language. Even the physical size of the book is appealing for small children.