ABC Books

Television news matured in the Sixties, and the correspondent who made its prominence most appealing was Harry Reasoner. The golden age of tv news boasted a panoply of stars -- Walter Cronkite, the most trusted man in America; David Brinkley, of the sardonic wit; Howard K. Smith, the occasionally controversial commentator; and more. Of them all, Harry was the one who seemed most like a close friend, eager to share a story, and least like a college professor, ready to scold our ignorance. Daniel's book examines and animates this Harry, the man whose geniality was so compatible with broadcasting that you could feel its warmth a continent away in your living room. Daniel helps us understand Harry's gifts, his drive, his connections to the heart of America, his professional ethos and concerns about the practice of journalism. For anyone interested in tv news in particular or journalism at large, this bookHarry Reasoner: A Life in the News (Focus on American History Series,Center for American History, University of Texas at Austin) is a delight. Moreover, the author includes a great selection of b/w photos -- from Harry at age 1 to the end of his career.

A reader will find my name in the introduction and in the text of this book. I am proud to note for those who seek to acquire this book that the quality of Doug Daniel's enterprise in writing about Harry Reasoner matches the quality Harry demanded of himself and of others who dared to take pen, typewriter or computer in hand. This is a poignant, heart rendering at times, superbly written biography done by a true craftsman in the trade of journalism. Harry Reasoner would be proud to know the author.

Douglass K. Daniel deserves kudos for an in-depth, meticulous, but thoroughly engaging look at one of the pioneers in broadcast journalism. Harry Reasoner was a familiar figure to millions of TV viewers, and now his less-than-perfect personal life (which in no way diminishes his professional accomplishments, by the way) has also been chronicled. This book would be interesting and relevant for anyone interested in the history of broadcast journalism, including college students and professors.

I thought the author did a great job portraying Harry Reasoner in a way that anyone could appreciate. He provided an extremely objective and well-researched biography. Additionally, Douglass Daniel has a very fluid writing style that I enjoyed. A truly interesting read.

Daniel's book on Harry Reasoner works very well on two levels. It tells the story of a talented newsman who sometimes coasted on his skills and was almost destroyed by drinking.
And it tells the story of broadcast news in its glory days, including the formative days of "60 Minutes."

A terrific read.

I wondered if Wegman could surpass himself once again and he sure does. A generous treat for all ages with irresistible examples of how to find the soul of a weimaraner or two.
An ABC changed into very heaven.

We originally found this book at the library. We wore it out in the two weeks we had it. The only problem was when the book was put together it was not in order. My kids wanted to check it out again but I was afraid they would think that was the order of the alphabet so I ordered them their own copy. The pictures are great and they will use the phrases from each letter over and over again. It's helped my three year old recognize letters everywhere. We bought a few more Wegman books because we enjoyed this one sooo much!

This book made me wish learning the a-b-c's were this much fun back in my own childhood. The photos are amazingly original and your kids will truly enjoy coming back to their letter lessons with Wegman's adorable dogs. A very fresh approach to teaching! NOTE: check out Wegman's fairy tales featuring his prize dogs too.

My 5 year old son has this book memorized. He laughs everytime he reads it. It has also been very helpful in teaching him the alphabet. It is an especially fun book for us since our pet is a Weimeraner.

This was one of my son's first favorite books. He would listen to me read it as many times as I was willing, and because of Wegman's non-cutesy approach, that was many times indeed. Although the dog-formed letters aren't as clear as text, they don't need to be - there are many other instances of the letters on each page, and hearing them is as important as seeing them. Overall, a great experience in enjoying reading for parent and child alike.

I love this book! We have three children and I have several books for herbal education and remedies. This is THE book I turn to when the children are sick. It does not go in depth about each herb, its properties, and its other uses - that's what my other books are for. Before using this book, you should have at least a beginning knowledge of herbs and at least one other reference book that goes into more detail about specific herbs.

What this book does for me is tell me which of the hundreds of herbs I have been learning about will be best for the children. Some herbs are milder than the herbs for adults, and some herbs just taste better and are more readily accepted by children. Some herbs work better with certain other herbs (activation, building, cleansing, etc....) I learned more about the action of herbs, the four channels of elimination, and how herbs work by reading this book.

Some people may look for specific recipes, but when dealing with herbs you seldom find books that give exact measurements. It is left to the individual to combine the herbs in a ratio that suits them. At first this bothered me because I wanted to know that I was doing it right. But then I realized that it is not that hard and I eventually find some kind of recipe out there.

I am amazed by the fact that God made our bodies to heal themselves - and they do if we give them the right ingredients: proper nutrition, supplements, and herbs.

This is such a simple and easy to follow book. It's by no means exhaustive--far from it, but it's helpful. The way that they break down the ABCs is very cool and will help you understand how better to treat your child.

I would highly recommend this book to any parent who wants to take charge of their children's health. I have two young children and this book has been invaluable in helping me treat them through their various colds (as well as their daddy). They've never had an infection yet, and I'm hoping to keep it that way. If you want an alternative to antibiotics and needless intervention, educate yourself on natural, gentle methods to help heal and soothe. The book is small, but it's jam-packed with information, and gave me the knowledge to make my own herbal tinctures and poultices. It's a great starting place for someone who's new to herbs.

After my 7 month old caught his 3rd cold, I opened The ABC Herbal to see what I could find to help my little guy stay well. I read it in one sitting and couldn't believe I hadn't taken the time to read it before then. It is a wonderful book that gives you some basic information about how herbs work, then gives you remedies and sources for herbs suitable for children. Although the book is geared for treatment of children, the concepts are universal and can be applied to adults, as well. This book is an excellent resource, and I would recommend it to anyone looking for alternative ways to get well and stay healthy (children and adults!)

I purchased this book and subsequently returned it. Having said that, I believe I read enough of it to know that it is not the kind of book that is going to help me make decisions about my children's healthcare mainly because it is guilty of committing the same error as the mainstream medical community, namely being very heavy handed with perscriptive advice, and very light on educating the parent. As much as I want answers about how to raise my kids, I don't want them at the expense of being asked not to think.

For example, the book mentions quite a few recipes for different ailments, with almost no background information on the herbs used, more than an occasional anecdote about the author's own children's experience with the remedy. One remedy that I found paricularly concerning, given the author's very frequent reccomendation of it for everything from fever to earaches was the administration of routine enemas. If this is a miracle cure I'm unaware of, I was certainly left unconvinced by the lack of support given in this book.

As a believer in Christ, I was also put off by the mention of speaking declarations over your children as you administer the remedy. I am open to faith in healing, but not to an extra-Biblical supposedly Christianized version of positive thinking. Overall, I was very disappointed in the book.

This is a charmingly illustrated book with a story on every page. My son at 3 used to stop me and ask about the scenes - why is this? who is that? where are they going? Great for imaginative reading and story telling.

I love the illustrations in this book - they are so sweet. I had bought this book for my own daughter when she was a baby and now I just bought it for my twin grandsons.

This was my favorite children's book when I was young. I would have my mother read it to me over and over again and still to this day I can remember almost all of the letters! As friends of mine have children, this is the book I always get for them! And before I wrap it up, I always read through it again and remember how much I loved it. Absolutely my favorite children's book even now!

I can remember when I was young, I made my father read this book to me over and over and over again until he had it memorized! This book, is by far the best book ever! My personal favorite. The pictures are georgous and the rymes are great. If you love Teddy Bears, you'll love this book! All children should own this!

There are a lot of bad children's books and this is one of them. I have the board book version. The pictures are dark and gloomy. Maybe it is for atmosphere, which is probably a taste issue. There are 3 major problems I have with this book. Each letter introduces a bear whose name begins with the letter and doing something that most of the time also begins with that letter. I don't like Ursula being a useless bear. Imagine a poor girl with that name out there reading this book. Could someone please check the spelling, I believe William is wearing a CAPE not CAP, according to the drawing? Lastly, Xavier is not unheard of, is it?

This has been a great source of information - as a Childcare professional it will be used in my career to offer another style of practice

This book has been the clearest and most concise version of the Montessori method I have found yet. The introduction is excellent and seems to cover all the history of Maria Montessori and her philosophy without confusing issues or making it over complex. It gave me a real feeling of being able to implement her ideas in my home without having to hugely change the way my daughters lived. I found the descriptions of the materials and how to present them excellent; simple, as the presentations should be, ordered, so I knew what I should tackle next and with lots of varieties, so I could make good use of the materials I made or bought. I found a lot of confidence from this book - partly in my parenting techniques and partly in my ability to take to the do-it-yourself stores and make my own materials using his descriptions! If you are going to have one Montessori book - have this one!

Yes, OK, Montessori is a great way for children to learn with play. Yes, many children can benefit greatly from this method. Yes, this book explictly lays out guidlines for this method, and includes lots of activities for preschoolers to do. BUT, even as a stay-at-home mom, I cannot imagine doing more than two or three of these activities at home. WAY too complex and involved. If you are a teacher, this book is for you. If you are a mom looking for educational activities to do with your children, look elsewhere. I was very excited about recieving this book, but it just didn't cut it for me. I don't have a sand table at home, and I don't have time to read this whole book (which is surprisingly substantial). Can't I just do flash cards or some fun crafts instead?

Of the four books I have about using the Montessori Method at home with this age group, this is by far the best in some ways. It gives the clearest understanding of the sequence of activities, dividing them into groups or "periods"--and of the flexibility of the sequence. It has the clearest explanations of the presentation of each set of materials, and of the different exercises that can be done (in order) with each, as well as giving a good idea of which exercises lead directly or indirectly to which others. It has helpful tips for making some of the materials yourself at home (and of course instructions for making many more can be found on the internet).

And it has the best explanation of how to follow the Montessori method at home. Here are a few quotes that really opened my eyes:
"Imagine that the child has recently been given a number of very high quality presentations, the cleaned and polished materials are neatly stored in their designted places in the carefully ordered Montessori environment, you are sitting expectantly in the corner waiting to observe some of that remarkable Montessori self-teaching, and what is the child doing? Playing with the cat. Sound frustrating? Well, it shouldn't! We must be very careful not to get in the frame of mind that there is anything wrong with the child's playing with the cat, nor indeed with any typically childlike behavior. The point cannot be emphasized too strongly that the Montessori environment is only there to help the child. Forcing it on the child, making evident our expectations of the wonders that Montessori's method can work...will only cause harm and distress."

"A presentation to a young child should never consist, in whole or in part, of verbal instructions. The essence of a good presentation is that you don't explain the activity to the child--you show it."

"You must not draw attention to error...When an error occurs, you must decide whether it happened because the child was momentarily distracted or careless (in which case you simply ignore the error and continue as though it didn't happen), or if the error was fundamental to the concepts being explored (such as confusion about terminology or organization). In the latter case, you should gracefully and without any expression of disappointment bring the activity to a close. Later, at another unrelated time, you can give a special presentation that clears up the particular confusion in the child's mind. This may mean going back one or two activities to re-establish the necessary fundamental principles."

The downside is that the book's emphasis on perfection can be quite intimidating. The directions for Pouring Beans between Two Jugs comprise 26 steps. The page on how to present activities states, "Each presentation you give must be absolutely perfect..." While this may be the case in Montessori schools, homeschooling parents may find it intimidating and unrealistic to the point of immobilization.

I do recommend buying this book. If it's too perfectionistic and intimidating, then also buy Teach Me to Do It Myself: Montessori Activities for You and Your Child, which has many of the same activities with more accessible instructions, though without giving nearly as thorough an understanding of the underlying principles.

'Basic Montessori' is one of the most popular renditions of Maria Montessori's philosophy and method, and it has been for nearly 20 years. This is because the author, David Gettman -- who attended the official AMI Montessori course, has a honours degree in philosophy, and is also an accomplished author and publisher in his own right -- has done the education world and parents a great favor by rendering Maria's early-1900s pedagogical language (similar in style, for example, to Henri Bergson) in modern, accessible, common-sense terms. This accessibility disturbs narrow-minded obsessives like A C Crook (see review below) who wish to keep Maria Montessori's actual thinking closeted away from the general public, so that only a chosen few are 'qualified' to dispense it. But the many thousands of educators and parents who over the years have read 'Basic Montessori' have deeply appreciated being given this access and insight, so that they too can benefit from Maria's wonderful approach to early childhood education. Long may Montessori's ideas be open and available to all!

Signed,
Montessori nursery teacher in London

This book is excellent! There are a lot of excellent books of this type so I won't make a claim that there is only one right way to write this type of book. My son just turned 3 and he as enjoyed having this read to him since he was two. Now he joins in and he can identify every item in the book when I ask him what it is and if I ask him to find a certain item he has no problem finding it. I particularly enjoy the fact that the words are not just single syllable words. At first of course my son would only repeat the last syllable of the words. But as time has gone on he is picking up the first and second syllables as well.
I hope you enjoy this with your child as much as I do. When we have our daddy and son reading time every day when I come home from work and every Saturday and Sunday morning this is almost always one of the first books he brings to me.

This book should be in every child's library in my opinion. I have to read these letter books all the time, every night, and whenever else I can get an opportunity during the day. This one not only teaches about the letter A, but it also teaches something about the work ethics of ants. It's pretty cute to see these ants get mad because an anteater is getting ready for lunch - an anthill and the ants wind up biting the anteater's tail to get him to leave. Pretty cute stuff!

My granddaughter and I enjoyed reading this book together.
It is a book on the letter A. Using the word 'ant,' this book tells a fun story with every word starting with the letter A.
It has delightful illustrations and I believe it's an all around great read.
Shirley Johnson

This book is a Dr. Seuss "Bright And Early for Beginning Beginners" book. However, I have found the phonics method to be too tough for any beginning reader.

It seems to be written for the parent to read to the child; after all, a book introducing the letter "A" is not for a child already reading. So, we're looking at a child between the ages of 3 and 7. And this book as one of the first looks at the letter "A".

But the letter sounds used are "a" as in "ant", "angry", "across" and "aaaarrrgh".

The problem with this, is that most phonics methods introduce only one "A" sound at a time (usually the short a sound, as in "ant".) To introduce all these sounds at once for just one letter can be confusing to a child.

Also, there are only 28 words in this book, but several of them will be unfamiliar to the average 3, 4 or 5 year old. Such as "advance" (as in what an army does), apricot, angleworm, acorn and Arizona.

I think this book could be confusing to some children, and isn't worth much in terms of teaching a child beginning phonics. This is definitely not my favorite Berenstains' book.

This book is sort of cute and my preschooler thought it was interesting, but I wouldn't give it the sort of praise that several of the other reviewers have. Instead I would agree with `Homeschoolmum' that the "Berenstain's A Book" is not a primer but rather just good `ole fun book to read to very young children and that one ought not expect them to learn much from it (unless you are talking about things like `the work ethic of ants').

Now in the publishers description they tout the book as "making ingenious use of humor, rhythm, and limited vocabulary" so that children" even pre-schoolers" will be encouraged to "discover the delights of reading for themselves."

While I won't argue that the book may delight children and lead them to read, I would say that many, many, many books accomplish this same task (delighting children etc.).

And as for the publishers claim of `limited vocabulary' I say poppycock. [I speak as a mom of two; one kindergarten aged child who is reading all sorts of real primers, and one who is on the verge of reading.] Limited vocabularies are what you find in Dick and Jane, or the Bob Book series. Limited vocabularies don't usually include words such as angry, advance, apartment, avenue, apricot and angleworm.

But here is the text from a page in the book so you can judge for some of these issues yourself:

Why do angry ants
advance across
an apple,
an acorn
an apricot,
an ax,
an angleworm
an alligator,
Aunt Alice's airplane,
Avenue A,
apes' apartments,
and all Arizona?

Three Stars. [C+] The book *IS* cute but it's a book for reading *to* a child for fun, not for a child to read or learn to read.

This and John Masefield's other childrens book, "The Midnight Folk" are without a doubt two of the finest most imaginative examples of children's literature I have ever read. Far too little known to Americans, these books demand more attention, and like me many adults reading this for the first time will ask, "Where has this been all my life?"

The fascinating thing is the counter point this sequel to "The Midnight Folk" offers, while this fantasy is centered at the Christmas/Solstice/Yule season with all the magical symbolism that entails, the "Midnight Folk" offers a wonderful autumnal Halloween/Samhain mood. You will note that I combine the Christian and pagan holidays, Masefield does a masterful job blending these rich folkoric elements that will delight both children and adults. The verbal imagery is breathtaking as you can feel the sharp wind and icy needles our main character Kay feels while out in a winter's night skulking to find the answers to the mysteries of the titled box of delights. The villainous Abner Brown is both hilariously inept and frightening at the same time.

As the other reviewer noted, though a sequel to the "Midnight Folk" this work stands solidly on its own. I encourage you to track down a copy of this neglected masterpiece of children's fantasy.

As an adult I take a great deal of interest in and concern for exposing our children to excellent children's literature. While not well known this book is a wonderful one to be read aloud to a child with a good imagination or as a way of helping them to develop one. The character of Kay, a young boy, being cared for by a governess and household of servants helps youngsters from the ages of 7-10 to strech their imaginations and expand their vocabulary. The story is an engaging fantasy and fortifies the virutes of honesty, courage, and intelligence that we should all encourage. Much of today's children's literature may be action packed but is simplistic and lacking in character building ideas. The Box Of Delights is acutally the sequel to the Midnight Folk but can be read on its own. It won't bore the parent reading it either!

Follow Kay on his Christmas adventure!

Box of delights and its prequel The midnight folks are truly great classics of children literature, but beware: the editions present on Amazon are an heavily abridged version edited by Patricia Crampton (it's an english tv-movie tie-in, if i'm not wrong).
Check Amazon.co.uk for the complete version (published by Egmont)of these two wonderful, ageless classics.

This book is one that should never be allowed to go out of print. Children of today who enjoy fantasy (i.e., Narnia and even Harry Potter) will enjoy The Box of Delights just as much. I can only suppose no publisher has thought to reissue it because the author is long-dead and was more noted as a poet than a children's writer.

The BBC turned it into an excellent 6-part TV series which, although dated in its magical effects, is still extremely enjoyable. The production was also transferred to video tape (about three hours in length) and as far as I know is still available. We had no trouble obtaining our own copy a few years ago, anyway. In our house (where there are no children!) it has been viewed every Christmas ever since it was released on New Zealand television. With its 1930s Christmas setting of the English countryside shrouded in snow (and a wonderful story of villainy outwitted by children) it makes perfect Christmas viewing. But of course the book is always better than the movie! Borrow it from your library if a copy is available there.

My aunt gave this book to me for Christmas when I was eleven years old -- 18 years ago -- and I have read it every Christmas since! Now I am looking forward to reading it to my sons. It is a beautiful tale that leaves some of the simple magic of Christmas intact. A must read for all ages.

From Author Matthew Stein; "An incredibly valuable guide for such a small book, it is clear, concise, practical, easy to understand, and to the point." At 100 pages, Doug King has managed to place the essentials of emergency preparedness into a format that anyone can use in any conditions. I have learned so much from this tiny book that I've ordered them for all of my friends and will furinsh them to all my family members as well. Anyone concerned with personal/household emergency preparedness NEEDS THIS BOOK!

Doug is very thorough in his effort to educate from basic to advanced emergency preparedness for all the main disasters. This book covers information from what to put in a 72-hour kit to how to live off the land.

The Emergency Disaster Survival Guidebook is easy to read and understand. There are lots of good illustrations on making shelters, fires, gathering food, shutting off utilities, and much more.

I would highly recommend The Emergency Disaster Survival Guidebook to anyone who is serious about being prepared. This is a great little book, but BIG on information.

Doug is very thorough in his effort to educate from basic to advanced emergency preparedness for all the main disasters. This book covers information from what to put in a 72-hour kit to how to live off the land.

The Emergency Disaster Survival Guidebook is easy to read and understand. There are lots of good illustrations on making shelters, fires, gathering food, shutting off utilities, and much more.

I would highly recommend The Emergency Disaster Survival Guidebook to anyone who is serious about being prepared. This is a great little book, but BIG on information.

This book is chock full of information that might well be common sense. But are these things common knowledge? It's too late to hone your basic living skills after disaster has wielded it's blow. Earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, civil unrest .. these things can strike without a moment's notice. The practical, easy to understand and follow information in this book could one day save your life or that of a loved one. This book is right next to our First Aid kit, and it's been read by every family member. We hope we'll never have to use these emergency measures, but it certainly is a comfort to have this kind of organized information at our fingertips. Hats off to the author.

If you can read the very tiny print in this book, you will find it gives decent basic material that is helpful but it covers too many areas to be really in depth in any of them. However, some areas were quite good and the illustrated shelters was excellent. For general info, it would be fine and is small enough to be portable so you could take it with you in an emergency.

He was born in a small town within a state that was a hotbed for basketball. Reading this short but informative book, one gathers that Mr. Wooden never lost sight of his roots. Life lessons from his father, Joshua, seemed to present him with a blueprint of hard work, discipline, common sense, courtesy, repetition, organization, and self-confidence. Ultimately, being respected as the premier coach in his chosen field. "UCLA" entered the American sports lexicon for perpetual excellence.

While the theme is basketball and leadership, Coach Wooden weaves personal stories, along with insightful reflections by several of his former players, to make this a very entertaining and educational book. He stresses the importance of the team over the individual in very clear language. He provides many examples of this aspect in a respectful yet enlightening tone. This book was structured like one of his legendary and intense practices: Every page was scripted for efficiency and future reference. At his core, Coach Wooden was the consummate teacher.

One quote, among many others, sums up this book for me: "I rarely scouted other teams. Except for UCLA." He believed that the real competition occurs from within, even though he maintained a healthy respect for his opposition. He also stressed that coaches and bosses should lead by example. Kareem Abdul Jabbar, one of his most famous student athletes, said, "He was 40 years older than us, but he was out there on the floor demonstrating what he wanted."

Thank you for the opportunity to review this intriguing book by one of our greatest teachers of teamwork and leadership.

This man was an excellent leader, he did it by keeping things simple and basic. Most of all he put people first and placed high value on giving 100% all the time. Coach would be upset if you won and only gave 50% while on the other hand he would be proud of you if you gave 110% and still lost. Great guy, good book.

This book is a great book on leadership and life in general. I am just a little too young to remember Coach Wooden's great teams, but I have always heard of them. Coach Wooden's philosophy is that winning will take care of itself if you will always give your best effort and just do the best you can do. This book is different because so much of the time teams today only care if they win and not if they did their best and this book takes the exact opposite view. GREAT BOOK on leadership, teamwork and effort!

A book to familiarize yourself with Wooden's Pyramid of Success. The down to Earth view of what it takes to be successful in anything you engage in is laid out in this book. Coach Wooden used the ideas here to mold his basketball teams but the underlying ideas can be applied to anything in life and allow you to be successful and fullfilled. Following the ideas he presents will make you a good person and who could ask for more then that.

Here is a book that is sure to inspire you. From the first pages it grips you, then keeps your attention until the very end. Wooden's philosophy emphasizes that sucess is not measured in "bottom-line" results -- such as games won, sales figures, or other analogous metrics -- but rather on reaching the maximum potential one can achieve -- either individually or as a team. The measure of this becomes self-evident through honest preparation, intensity of practice, selflessness, and so-on. End results, then, are simply byproducts of hard work that was paid up front. Other discussions center around concepts of teamwork, and how to handle people. These have value for everyone, not just leaders and players.
The book is an easy read, and very well written. You won't be disappointed with this one.

My son received this book when he was 3 from his godmother (a children's librarian who found the best stuff for him). He loved it and so did I. The guinea pigs are adorable. Lighten up on how educational it may or may not be! The book is fun. I'm on this site because I want to get a copy for my bilingual German niece (4). (My son is now 22.)

After reading this book about three times to my kindergarten class, they had it memorized. I was able to make flash cards of the adjectives and put them in alphbetical order for lots of fun games. If a child has memorized a book it is easy to get them to follow along and look at the words as they say them. I learned to read this way. I read The Guinea Pig ABC book to my four year old grandson and during his first week of kindergarten he read it to his little classmates. My grandson is now in 7th grade and has always excelled in reading. If you asked him how he learned to read he will tell you about his grandma and the Guinea Pig ABC Book. That person who gave the book one star probably likes the old Dick and Jane books. "Look, look. See funny, funny Jane" is a very boring way to learn to read and it isn't necessary.

Most ABC books are about nouns.
This author decided to be different and write an ABC book about adjectives!

The review giving this book one star is quite a revelation. It's unfortunate the reviewer was unaware that all the words in the book are adjectives - what a brilliant innovation for an ABC book!

Apparently the person who wrote the review is working with very disadvantaged children. Generally young children, even those under three, know words such as 'empty', 'quiet' and 'neat'. The purpose of this book is to help enrich a child's vocabulary, and not repeat the common 'apple, bird, and cat' ABCs. And the wonderful illustrations are as appealing as those in any of the very best children's books.

The reviewer who gave this book one star, Jay Babcock, underestimates the intelligence of the average 4 to 5 year old. Certainly 1-3 year olds may not get the concepts in this book ""E" for Empty" with two piggies looking at an empty mailbox. It is the parent's or reader's job to explain the illustration and what "empty" means as a teachable moment. Everything should not be spelled out and spoon fed to kids or they will never learn anything at all. The children that I have seen checking out this book again and again loved it and when they sounded out words, they were so happy to get them right. They were inspired to read further and read other books as well. It is highly unfair of him to suggest that she had no business writing this book.

I found the book to be delightful and wonderfully illustrated and again, the children I have seen reading this book in the library clearly loved it.