Party The Books

I gave this to my 7 year old niece and she loved it. She happened to be having a slumber party a week after I gave it to her and she and her friends had fun looking through and deciding what they wanted to do days before. My sister-in-law also appreciated not having to come up with every idea and game herself. It was easier to leave it up to the kids once they had so much to choose from.

I'm fifteen, so this book was little babyish for me (I got it as a gift). Still it had some really good ideas (like making pillowcases at your party) and good recipes. This would be perfect for someone around 8 years old.

This is perfect for a girl's first slumber party, it has recipes and fun craft ideas, the tone is light and easy for an 8 year old to read on her own and feel like she's throwing her own party. I really love this writer's books, always nice!

Do you get cold feet when your child's teacher asks you to help plan the next classroom party? Does the thought of creating a Valentine's Day game for a class of seven year olds leave you frozen in fear? Are you a party mom but lack the creativity to bring a craft idea to the classroom? Or are you just plain bored with doing the same old same old at every single class party?

Marci Mohan, Jeanne Palmer, and Peggy Simenson have you covered. With their new classroom party resource guide, PARTIES WITH PIZZAZZ, they introduce dozens of unique and creative games, crafts, and snacks designed to get your classroom partying down!

PARTIES WITH PIZZAZZ is split into parties revolving around traditional holiday themes - Halloween, Winter, and Valentines Day - and is split again into "Mixers" (large group activities designed to ramp up the party atmosphere), "Team Builders" (division of the large group into several smaller, more manageable ones), "Games," "Crafts," and "Treats."

Mohan, Palmer, and Simenson work together to create unique party activities that are fun and inexpensive, such as:

*Loop the Hoop (requiring two hula hoops and some crepe paper)

*Counting confetti (requiring only snowflake confetti and plastic snack bags)

*Graham cracker gifts (a fun and inexpensive treat the kids will love making)

What's more, the authors provide you with templates, patterns, and samples in the back of the book for easy and convenient implementation of their ideas. All that is needed is a willing spirit and a few eager children.

While the book seems to be geared specifically toward a classroom setting, it should be noted that most, if not all, of the activities within could be used for any gathering of children, from youth groups to slumber parties. In fact, one can only hope a "Birthday Parties with Pizzazz" book is already under construction.

A valuable resource tool for any parent with small children who might be called upon to help with a holiday party, and an absolute must-have for any teacher worth her salt, PARTIES WITH PIZZAZZ delivers true celebratory spirit.

The collaborative effort of Marci Mohan, Jeanne Palmer, and Peggy Simenson, Parties With Pizzazz: A Complete Resource For Holiday Classroom Parties is an activity book filled with ideas for games, crafts, costumes, candies, gifts, and more centered around Halloween themes, wintertime themes, or Valentine's Day. Black-and-white photographs embellish the step-by-step instructions for easy-to-plan projects especially suitable for classrooms but also great for family fun at home. A festive, wholesome resource.

Dozens of Halloween, Winter, and Valentine Day party themes. Crafts, games, and songs that kids will love. Yummy snacks to top off the fun. What more could a party planner want?

Parties with Pizzazz has everything you need to create great classroom parties. However, I think a good deal of the crafts, games, and snacks are just as suitable on their own either in the classroom or for use at home. Each entry clearly states what you need so that you aren't running around looking for craft items or ingredients. Moreover, the directions (with lots of illustrations) are simply, to the point, and are easy to actually complete.

Parties with Pizzazz was a finalist in ForeWord Magazine's Book of the Year Award.

This book is one that I will remember for a very long time. My daughters borrowed it from the library several times until I finally decided to buy it. They absolutely love it. The book enables me to reminisce about my own childhood and the wonderful times with my extended family.

This is a beautiful book that both children and adults will love. My daughter 6 has brought it again and again from her school library. The story is realistic and one to which children can relate easily, they all love parties especially with chips, deserts and lots of fun, including their grandma. The illustrations details are breathtaking, absolutely wonderful, a true piece of art. Sentences are short and easy to read for your child, but also challenging. We also recommend the French translation. You will want to see more from the same author, just as we did.

My three year old and I love this book. Full of color and motion, it is our favorite of her large (and growing) library.

Following the 2004 elections, citizens of the U.S. learned that they were less United than they had previously thought. It turned out that there were two countries in the space formerly called America, one red and one blue. The strange thing was that the citizens of each color-coded country believed that the people in the other part of the map were actively working against their own interests. Blue-staters saw red-staters as voting for rich people who exploit them, and red-staters believed blue-staters to be recklessly building up a wasteful government.

I live in a blue state (Canada), and so I was naturally curious to find out what the red-staters were all about. I bought and read Thomas Frank's blockbuster What's the Matter with Kansas?: How Conservatives Won the Heart of America, which turned out to be a kind of character study of the type of person who votes Republican. The analysis is interesting, but rather superficial -- the conclusion was that a lot of working class people vote based on what the media like to call "moral values", which is a felt need to be patriotic, god-fearing, independent, etc. They're drawn to candidates who have personalities that seem to exemplify such values, even when their actions don't. Reagan is the canonical example.

(Interestingly, there doesn't seem to be much in the way of a similar analysis of blue-staters. Every attempt I've seen is almost comically inflammatory and patently wrong. I realize it makes no sense to expect thoughtful insight from the likes of Coulter/D'Souza/O'Reilly, but I haven't seen much else. I also realize that the problem of summarizing the shared political outlook of 100 million people in 200 pages is formidable, but Frank actually makes it seem doable).

What's great about The Party of Fear is that David Bennett traces the origins of this brand of reactionary thinking to the beginnings of the U.S. It turns out that the kind of anxieties expressed by the folks in Frank's book have been part of the American political landscape for centuries. In all likelihood they typify a sort of personality trait that can be summarized most succinctly as pathological fear of uncertainty. Hence the recent rightward lurch in American politics can be attributed to renewed fears of terrorism, just as previous political movements were sparked by fear of immigrants, Catholics, Irish, etc. As Bennett points, in each case there really was a legitimate reason to be afraid (e.g. immigrants actually were more likely to carry certain diseases), but in each case the reaction of a certain segment of the population was exaggerated in its magnitude and irrational in its substance. The appeal of the current "War on Terrorism" is just the latest example. Yes, terrorism is a threat. No, it does not help to attack random countries or to set up secret prisons.

I'm not sure whether or not it's comforting to learn that paranoia has always been a driving force in American politics. On the one hand, as Party of Fear documents, its influence waxes and wanes from decade to decade. On the other hand, it is totally irrational, surprisingly pervasive, and neither of these aspects is likely to change.

For further information on the same subject I can recommend the more scholarly The Politics of Unreason: Right-Wing Extremism America and the really outstanding Anti-Intellectualism in American Life.

According to historian David Bennett, the parties of fear took many forms, from the anti-Masonic parties of the 1790s to the Know-Nothings of the 1850s. The American Protective Associations of the 1890s subscribed to nativist formulas, as did the acolytes of the Red Scares after World War I. The Ku Klux Klan became an archetype of anti-alienism during the raucous 1920s. A different sort of nativist ideology emerged after the fall of the Klan, in the form of McCarthyism, the John Birch Society, and the New Right of the 1970s and 1980s. Bennett finds common threads in all of these movements and organizations. Subscribers to the ideologies of hate believed in an America resembling a Garden of Eden, a perfect paradise that promised "freedom, opportunity, individualism, equality for all true Americans." Aliens, outsiders who spoke strange languages, practiced inferior religions, and looked different represented a threat to this concept of an edenic America. Nativists abhorred the foreigners' presence, and they were willing to abandon the very principles they cherished in the fight to preserve their country. Moreover, rising to the endless challenges presented by waves of immigrants and foreign ideas allowed these super patriots to find shelter from status anxiety by banding together with like-minded people.

The history of nativism from the inception of the United States to the 1930s oscillated between anti-Masonic, anti-Catholic, and anti-communist sentiments. Concerns about Freemasonry welded with suspicions of Illuminism offered a hope for Federalists who wished to regain their waning influence in the 1790s. The early anti-communist attacks occurred shortly after the First World War with the Palmer Raids. By far the most important fuel for nativist fires during this period was the Catholics. Hatred of "Romanists" and "Papists" first surfaced during the colonial era when religious animosities between England and Spain traveled across the Atlantic to America. By the middle of the eighteenth century, anti-Catholic attacks by Protestants reached a fever pitch as Irish immigration into the country soared to undreamt of heights. The secret societies of the 1830s fought pitched battles with recently arrived men of Eire in the streets of eastern cities. These gangs eventually coalesced into the Know-Nothings of the 1850s, a third party that gained success in local and state elections on a platform filled with anti-Catholicism. The disintegration of this party due to divisions over slavery, and the subsequent Civil War, briefly quieted nativism. The American Protective Associations of the late eighteenth century and the Ku Klux Klan of the 1920s marked the high water of anti-Catholic attacks.

When the United States failed to fall prey to the Vatican, anti-alienists moved on to other lucrative ventures. They also, according to Bennett, shifted their fears from foreigners to foreign ideas. The old nativism declined due to a number of factors. Immigration slowed thanks to the national quota acts of 1924, cosmopolitanism triumphed, and the economic policies of the Roosevelt administration greatly alleviated the old fears traditionally transferred to immigrants. Additionally playing a part were the rise of corporate ethics, which placed an emphasis on performance over ethnicity, and academics such as Franz Boas who eroded the old concepts of Social Darwinism and racial superiority. From the 1930s on, those movements that still insisted on blaming foreigners for the ills of the country moved further and further to the fringes of the right. The "mainstream" parties of fear attacked communism with a zeal reminiscent of the old anti-Romanist fanatics, but it was an "inverted" nativism led by Catholics like Father Coughlin and Joseph McCarthy who launched salvos against a Protestant elite perceived as soft on Moscow.

Bennett's book resembles in no small way Seymour Lipset's and Earl Raab's "The Politics of Unreason." Both studies recognized fear and anxiety over status as motivating factors of American nativism. Bennett does a better job in his book, however, because he examines the myriad factors that inspired anti-alienism. For example, chapters describing the rise of the secret societies and the Know-Nothings also describe the host of ills caused by a flood of Irish immigrants. Crime rates and public expenditures exploded in eastern cities unequipped to handle the huge influx of uneducated foreigners unfamiliar with the American system. Moreover, citizens worried about immigrants driving down wages, diseases, and the swelling size of the cities where the Irish stayed after arriving in the country. By showing the very real circumstances behind the rise of anti-Catholic, anti-Irish attitudes, the author allows nativist attitudes to assume context.

Factual errors are not as troubling as the author's occasional forays into psychohistorical speculation. For example, after a lengthy section detailing the popularity of anti-Catholic books describing the sexual debasement of women, Bennett begins using the words "might" and "could have" more times than is comfortable. To explain the lure of these degrading tracts, he cites "psychoanalytic literature" that "suggests an inextricable alliance between sadism and masochism. Both seem to represent means of defense against castration anxiety; by performing symbolic castration on others, the sadist gains assurance that he is the castrator and not the castrated." This claim seems to be far outside the realm of the historian, to say the least. Students of the past must recognize they do not possess the necessary tools to perform psychological analysis. Even if the historian holds a degree in psychology, the subjects did not leave behind the type of evidence required to make such sweeping judgments. The author should have avoided making these conclusions. "The Party of Fear" is a monumental achievement, a learned, exceptionally researched, highly readable tome of great significance for students of extremist politics. Investigating the far right is never an easy task due to the enormous amount of primary source material churned out in reams by hundreds of its adherents. David Bennett did an excellent job successfully navigating his way through three hundred years of the lunatic fringe.

Bennett provides an insightful and concise detailing of American history dealing with the rightist movements. From the nativist / anti-papacy movements of the 1840's to the Christian Militia movements with their stress on government conspiracies that are guided by a Jewish elite, this work provides the basis for understanding the reactionary movements which seem so vogue today.

my child has speech delay, and he responds verbally to turn each page!!! also he won't stop manding for it....we had to hide it at the end of the day :)

This book was written by the mother of an autistic child, but I would bet that most young children would love the colorful imagery, the adorable animals and train parts, as well as the repeating story components. The "plot" allows children to take part in the story in a fun way. I look forward to reading it to my twin niece and nephew.

Autism Society Bookstore Review

Party Train is a delightful, large hardback children's book written by Lesli Mitchell, the mother of an autistic child and a professional writer. Using a behavioral context, this appealing story is about a lengthening train full of animals. The 32-page book is written in large print, and nearly every page has several bold words for your child to repeat. Once a page is turned, the events of the repeated words unfold before their eyes in vividly colored, three-dimensional illustrations. These pictures are quite captivating and increase the child's desire to repeat the highlighted words and participate in the story. If you are working on circletime behavior this book will be of help. I feel it is definitely worth the money, and would best interest early childhood educators, parents and their developmentally delayed children who are between the ages of 2 and 10. I have not seen another book similar to this one, and I enthusiastically give it a rating of 5 out of 5.

--Barbara R. Bucknam, M.D.

The difinitive edition of Ralf Brown's Interrupt List, PC INTERRUPTS lists every DOS and BIOS interrupt call I have ever needed. This book should reside on the shelf of anyone interested in low-level code, especially assembly. -nick black

Nobody else could write a book like PC Interrupts, than Ralf Brown & Jim Kyle. This book is not only a reference, it is written from programmers for programmers and all the needs of an experienced developer. The title speaks for itself, the book is a milestone in Computer Literature and traces a long period of general PC development. May be, that the most of the stuff is dated, but anyway there's often enough a good reason to read some and the enormous information impact makes the book valuable for every programmer, today and forever. I recommend the book particularly!

The classic Brown-Kyle book, this book is just great it has all the interrupts and third party calls info that every programmer needs I can't say anymore about this book just that it rocks!

Every parent, teacher, and child should have this book. It is adorable and teaches and important lesson. I give it more than 2 thumbs up!

This delightful book is a must for children and their parents. It involves the child in the charming story and ends with a "recipe" that child and parent(s) can do together. This is great because it fosters the child's reading, and it gives the parent(s) a chance to bond with the child in a creative exercise. I know that the author has more books to publish in this series and I wholeheartedly encourage her. My hat off to you Debbie Pollard. You are giving children a wonderful book to read and allowing parents, teachers, etc. a fantastic tool for communication.

I really enjoyed reading the book to my niece and nephew. Penelope's experiences with the first day of school, they really related to. The colorful drawings and characters really kept them interested and the visit to the Penelope website was fun. The kids were happy to see that Penelope's first day of school turned out fine and I was pleased to see that her mom saved the day. I was pleasantly surprised to see that Penelope had both parents, most books nowadays only feature one parent. The first mention of milk & cookie time required a snack after finishing the book. The kids also insisted on making their favorite uncle, "Milk & Cookie Time" pancakes with the recipe in the back of the book. We can't wait to see the second book!

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; 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 has been honored by this distinguished award.

Tim Friedlander's ISLAND POTTY PARTY presents a conga line and a transition from diapers - with musical motivation. Again, parents will find this a fun way to reinforce potty training with music and dance, presenting an unusual 'restroom romp' of action and whimsical fun.

Reviewed by Stephanie & Parish (age 3) & Isaac (age 1) Rollins for Reader Views (5/07)

Playdate Kids dare to address all issues children struggle with--even potty training. Included in "Island Potty Party" is a CD of the same name. Parish loved the song. It has an island sound that made Parish and Isaac dance.

Playdate Kids books always have a diverse group of kids and adults. There are many kids with different hair colors and skin colors. Some are cute. Some are less than cute.

In "Island Potty Party," the Playdate Kids play on the beach. Then Dakota's baby brother has to go potty. Dakota teaches her brother to not pee in his diaper. She shows him how to go to the bathroom. The kids act like expert potty trainers. They direct the baby brother to not pee on his feet and so on.

On a few pages, grown-ups and kids are shown going to the bathroom. At the end of the book is a simple diagram that shows kids what happens to their food.

A great aspect of the Playdate Kids books is that the pictures tell stories, too, so there are several stories going on at one time. There are adults covered up with sand. Kids build sandcastles. There are surfers. There is a volcano in the background. Each time Parish reads this, which has been countless times, she finds another interesting picture.

Once again, Playdate Kids has created a great book. If you have a potty-training child, let them read this book as they sit on the toilet. Parish has a book box next to the toilet. "The Playdate Kids: Island Potty Party" is now in that box.

Kimberly Schlegel enjoys traveling as it provides her with inspiration for writing and entertaining. In The Pleasure of Your Company, she celebrates everything from luncheons to high-society bashes. Dinners, parties for pets and Wild West themes are all part of the pleasure.

Kimberly Schlegel's mother has also greatly influenced this work with her ideas for personalizing occasions for the guest of honor. She once flew in roses from England because they were named after the Princess Michael of Kent. This was for a luncheon in her honor.

The Basic Buffet, The Memorable Meal, Glamorous Gala, Special Occasion Parties and Themed Parties are all included. There are lists of possible occasions to host a party like Tea Time, Pet's birthdays, Anniversaries, Wedding Showers, Book Releases and Ladies Luncheons. Some of the highlights of the book include hostess checklists, theme ideas and how to make a guest list and send out invitations.

The first party is an extravagant doggie bash complete with bone-shaped cookies with messages like "Thank you for stopping by to wag your tail." Recipes for Puff Pastry Dog Bones and Homemade Dog Biscuits are also included.

A Night in Seville is shown in all its extravagance and then a party fit for a princess follows.

What makes this book especially fun are the recipes included in each section and many of the delicious offerings don't require you to hunt down exotic ingredients. The fascinating chocolate coffee cups set atop a cookie saucer look delightful and delicious. You can really make the Lemon Napoleon with Fresh Fruit quite easily with frozen puff pastry.

If you don't want to host your own party at home or find a location to decorate, hosting a party at a restaurant is always an option. But then again, why not host a party outside at your home in the Hamptons. The Book Party looks like a great reason to finish that novel and delicious food and music makes the party memorable.

Imagine creating a party with a peppermint theme, complete with strawberries and peppermint ice cream. The Debutante Ball has an amazing display of pink rose arrangements set in the Waldorf-Astoria Grand Ballroom.

Of all the party ideas in the book, the outdoor parties seemed to really get my attention and the recipes all look delicious.

~The Rebecca Review

This book is style and grace personified. Plus, it looks gorgeous on any coffee table. Ms. Schlegel-Whitman has captured the essence of what makes entertaining so fun and glamorous. From A Luncheon Fit for a Princess, to a holiday Peppermint-themed get together to a gala for a chic fashion designer, this book gets it right on ever page. In fact, all 200 pages are both magical and inspirational. Ms. Schlegel-Whitman is truly a brilliant hostess and author. Buy a few copies - you'll want to give them as special gifts, too!

This book was not only interesting and creatively done, but fun to read as well. The photographs are beautiful and the ideas for entertaining are amazing. I bought a book for myself and liked it so much that I bought one for everyone on my Christmas list.

Me and my pal Adrian just wanted to say

WAHOOO! This book is awesome! I followed its, uh, guidelines on how to do things, and it brought me fame from all over are school!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That lady who wrote this is a genius!!!!!!!!!!!

Putting On A Party is a how-to book written especially for kids ages 6 and up, although readers of all ages can use it to plan an exciting adventure party for young people. Colorful illustrations and easy-to-understand text instruct one in the basic steps of organizing, planning, and hosting a celebration. From basic tips and advice (including how to respond to someone who asks why they weren't invited, and knowing how to end a party on a high note) to decoration and invitation ideas, the heart of the book, a wide catalogue of fun party games that all guests can play together, Putting On A Party is a superb resource and starting guide for kids' get-togethers of all kinds, including birthday, holiday, and end of school year celebrations.

This book addresses etiquette issues in a fun way. There are so many great activities, recipes and games in this book that you won't want to wait for a party to try them out. This book is a great resource for parents and children alike. The humor throughout guarantees that children will read and learn.