Educational Books

Jud's look at how faith and God are moving in Las Vegas is truly fantastic. When we moved here several years ago, we were not sure if we would be able to find a faith community and church to be a part of. Turns out that faith, God and christianity is actually discussed more openly here than in California where we came from. I highly recommend Jud's book to get a good look at what he terms not "sin City' but "grace City". As the bible says, where sin abounds, grace abounds even more.

I loved this book so much, I bought 10 more copies for friends, then bought another one of his books! Ive never done that before. Great stories from people living in LV, where I lived 28 yrs.I worked with, and knew Henry, the story of whom is also in the book towards the end. Great chapters, but so are all the others! Great job Jud! I went to Canyonridge, the sister church of Central, great churches, great people, I go back and see them when Im in town! Great book, to read and to share, with "the message" very clear.

This is a great book, easy to read and hard to put down. The stories are life-changing and touching, wonderful job, Jud and Bill. Watch out world, "What happens in Vegas, is changing the world!"

You the know the commercial - "What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas." A great marketing campaign promoting you to come to sin city and indulge your wildest fancies, because who will know? I'm glad Pastor Jud didn't buy into this with the stories of gospel-renewed lives he has witnessed living in one of America's most notorious cities. What I love about this book is that it showed me how often I write off people because I feel they are beyond hope. This book shows that God's love in Christ can penetrate deeper than our deepest sins, and this has given me a lot of courage and compassion to view others as Jesus views them - with love and forgiveness...and of course, grace. Check this book out. It'll do your heart some good.

This is an awesome book about real people in Las Vegas who find Gods amazing grace...the stories are very touching and inspirational. I recommend it for all of us who live in Las Vegas and those who know of our city to gain an understanding of some real people who find hope and love the Lord here!

Views from Our Shoes is a wonderful collection of stories. I enjoy it every time I read it, and take something new from it each time. The first time I read this book, it helped me understand myself better. It helps to know that there are other siblings who have the same range of emotions towards their special siblings that I have toward mine. The essays do not hold back any feelings, which is important for helping other individuals.

I would highly recommend this book to siblings and parents of children with special needs. I think that siblings, both younger and older would benefit from reading this book. Especially if they have never met any other siblings of individuals with special needs. This book would also benefit parents and help them understand the feelings of their "normal" child. Children with special needs can demand a lot of attention, and their siblings will often fade into the background willingly, and it is important for parents not to let their children do this. Even though siblings may put themselves on the back burner, it can create bad relationships among family members in the future. Views from Our Shoes would be a wonderful book for children and parents to read to help them relate to each other.

My daughter enjoys this book immensely. After reading only a few essays the first day she informed me that she was happy she had a brother with special needs. I wasn't worried much before the book but it helps to cement that idea and make it one she states outloud! She was also thrilled to find the guide in the back of the book on writing her own essay about her brother. While I do feel like a few disabilities are OVER used here and many left out, it's still a good book for kids in early elementary age. It opens my daughter's eyes to the fact that not everyone has the same disease or conditions. (My son has a genetic disease as well as a chromosomal disorder.)

Overall I was pleased with this book. There is a great range of sibling ages and conditions in the book. That being said, I was surprised that there was not at least one story that was specific to a child with spina bifida. There were several children with various rare conditions, kids with Downs, cerebral palsy, blindness, deafness, mental retardation, autism, etc, but no spina bifida kids. The closest they came is a child who has hydrocephalus.

The market for children coping with a disability is sadly lacking in resources- books like this one are rare- and I would still recommend it to a family who had siblings, cousins or friends with any disability, including spina bifida, but I am disappointed that it was not included.

Donald Meyer has compiled a wonderful book of essays from siblings of disabled children. My thirty year old son bought me this book for my birthday. Growing up, I too was one of these children and would have truly benefitted from anything that would have explained what happened to our family. As one of these sibs, I had to grapple with guilt, embarassment and also neglect from my parents due to the resources, both financial and emotional that were poured into my sister's handicap. My heart goes out to both parents and siblings of exceptional children. It is so much pain to bear for them and they feel even worse about complaining because they are "normal."

My 11 year old daughter read this book and even asked if she could read some of "her favorite essays" to us - she is the older sibling of our 2 year old little girl who was born 17 weeks early and she has cerebral palsy, blindness, deafness, is tube-fed and chronically ill. Her favorite stories were of the ones that she could most relate to - like the little boy who said he did not understand why his sibling was so ill when she was born. I think it made my daughter feel like it was okay for her to have bad and good emotions about her little sister. I think it validated them.

As a pre-nursing student, the competition is fierce to get into a program. When I first received these study guides I thought I had paid way too much for what I got and thought the material simplistic. What I found is that 25% to 35% of my test questions were very close to the examples given. If you are a serious student, these guides are another tool in your total study regime. They are not intended to be your ONLY source of study and review. There are no easy ways to learn the Sciences, but these focus on some of the commonly tested areas. I wanted all the resources I could find and it paid off with A's.

As a pre-nursing student, the competition is fierce to get into a program. When I first received these study guides I thought I had paid way too much for what I got and thought the material simplistic. What I found is that 25% to 35% of my test questions were very close to the examples given. If you are a serious student, these guides are another tool in your total study regime. They are not intended to be your ONLY source of study and review. There are no easy ways to learn the Sciences, but these focus on some of the commonly tested areas. I wanted all the resources I could find and it paid off with A's.

This book made studying the Nervous System In Anatomy and Physiology very easy, being that the nervous system is one of the hardest topics to learn. This sudy guide helped me gain the knowledge thoroughly. The questions were thorough and covered all the areas of the nervous system

As a pre-nursing student, the competition is fierce to get into a program. When I first received these study guides I thought I had paid way too much for what I got and thought the material simplistic. What I found is that 25% to 35% of my test questions were very close to the examples given. If you are a serious student, these guides are another tool in your total study regime. They are not intended to be your ONLY source of study and review. There are no easy ways to learn the Sciences, but these focus on some of the commonly tested areas. I wanted all the resources I could find and it paid off with A's.

I think this book was the difference between an A and a B. I liked that it was quick, to the point and relevant.

Lots of ideas for putting kids names on the board. Kids seem to enjoy seeing their name "up in lights" and this book has great ideas for that.

Now and then, you have to invest in a book that pays big dividends in time and creative energy for you, as a teacher.
Karen Robbins has given us just such a book -- generously sharing nearly a hundred pages of bulletin board ideas for all the months of the year, including summer! We know that learning takes place best when we get children involved with all their senses -- what I especially like about this book is the "cooperative" in the title, because from now on bulletin boards will not be a teacher chore, but a child's delight! Thank You for this guide for those of us who are less artistically inclined!

A book obviously written by a teacher. Ideas are clear for students to understand and assemble. One page directions with materials easy to find and prepare. Workable plans for huge displays that engage all students. Projects celebrate creativity at all abilities and provide students with art lessons that enhance seasonal themes. Extremely useful for the classroom teacher with artistic limits, that wants to introduce students to a variety of art media.

I LOVE this book! I used it all last year and my colleagues were always exclaiming over our finished projects. The ideas matched a lot of my theme units. And each page comes with a great illustration for those of us who are visual learners. The best part is that the teacher has a very small role in the making of classroom displays (other than pinning student's creations to the wall). The students have complete artistic control!

As an elementary teacher, I believed that bulletin boards should be made by my students and not me! I wrote Big Bulletin Boards with this concept in mind. Most of the boards within my book have been successfully constructed by students. Children will be introduced to 23 different forms of art mediums; while developing creativity and building self esteem. The boards are quick, easy, fun and creative for both boys and girls. What a wonderful way to teach cooperative learning! Big Bulletin Boards: A Cooperative Approach was previously published by Prentice-Hall, Inc. selling over 16,000 copies. I revised the book and released the Second Edition in 2001 under Hide and Seek Press. I hope you have fun making BIG bulletin boards with your students! I sure did and they became the "talk of the school."! *Note: This is a great book especially for beginning teachers, preschool/elementary teachers or librarians.

If you are a parent, or teacher/therapist/service provider, to a gifted child with ADHD or Asperger's, this is the best book around. I am puzzled by the reviews that say this is academic in tone - I actually thought it was a tremendously effective and accessible compendium of the seminal research in the field. Dr. Lovecky makes two big, valuable contributions in this book - she documents what we know, empirically, about ADHD and Asperger's kids with high IQs (the focus of much research and treatment is based on the average IQ population, and is not always helpful or appropriate to understanding and working with gifted kids), and she offers many concrete strategies for helping these "twice gifted" children at home and at school to develop strategies for problem solving, social skills development, etc. As a mom of a recently diagnosed, and long misunderstood, gifted son facing extreme executive function challenges, this book made me understand my son better and helped give me some insight into how I can better support him as a parent. I am giving copies to my family members to help them support him as well! THIS IS A FANTASTIC BOOK WORTH TWICE THE PRICE!!!! Thank you Dr. Lovecky for writing it.

I have been reading book after book trying to figure out what is going on with my son, and I've finally found it! I had so many "a-ha" moments while reading Different Minds. Even the title speaks to me!

This book not only discusses the issue of twice-exceptionality (a new concept to me), it goes into great detail about characteristics of children with different exceptionality combinations. For example, ADHD is not lumped into one description...gifted kids with ADHD, inattentive-type are differentiated from gifted kids with ADHD, combined-type, based on the fact that their thought patterns, behaviors, and emotional reactions to situation can be markedly different. As an example, there is a paragraph that clearly describes why gifted kids have higher levels of anxiety, and how (in our case) inattentive-type ADHD can cause that anxiety to be even higher due to over-focus.

Another of the great things about Different Minds is that it gives very specific ideas on how to handle these issues. I needed practical, hands-on tools that I can use to help encourage, support and motivate, as well as cope with, my twice-exceptional son. I got some great ideas from this text that were very specific to our situation. The book discusses, as an example, how a behavior management technique that works with a boy with inattentive-type ADHD may not work with a girl with the same combination of issues. The specifics in this book are fantastic.

Also included are discussions of learning styles, which lead to several "a-ha" moments regarding my own personal learning style and that of those I interact with. I believe this can be invaluable in terms of learning to motivate people, both children and adults. This has helped us refine our home/bedroom organization system, as we are all visual-spatial and thus need to see our "stuff."

All this being said, the most important thing, for me, about this book is that after reading it, I did not feel so alone! I finally found a book that "gets" my child and makes him sound normal, at least for a twice-exceptional child!!

Through the years, I've bought countless books on the separate problems of ADHD, Aspergers, giftedness and learning deficits. This book was a GREAT relief because it really gave me all the practical information and more that I could possibly want to know on these subjects. Plus, it was enlightening. I'm highlighting pages and finding out things about myself, my husband AND my boy who is ADHD, Aspergers, gifted and has CAPD (auditory processing problems). I personally feel they are all somewhat related, and you don't get true giftedness without some other problems. I disagree with a previous reviewer who thought it was a book more for professionals. If you have a child with any of these problems, I'd recommend buyin this book and reading it thoroughly before going on and buying separate books on the subject.

Yes, Deidre Lovecky writes in an academic style. I appreciate books that don't talk down to parents, but allow us to share in the data the experts have developed without dumbing it down.

If you have a gifted child, know that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. The chances are very good that you are gifted, too. If you truly have a need for the wonderful information in this book, I suspect you will have little difficulty absorbing the concepts that will help you help your child.

Having encouraged parents to boldly go and read this book, I must also comment that whatever you find here that should be acknowledged and coped with by your child's teachers, school administrators, or psychologist, can be easily communicated by getting them a copy with appropriate passages marked. The book IS written professionally and for the benefit of other professionals as well as parents.

I first met Dr. Lovecky 14 years ago, and I was impressed then with her insight and interest into children who were gifted and demonstrated difficulties such as ADHD, Asperger's, etc. Her depth of clinical experience and observation has enabled her to develop and share keen insights that will help any parent or professional recognize and help a gifted child with an added exceptionality.

This book was informative, but written in a tedious and academic style, like a textbook. I think it would be more useful as a reference for professionals than a guide for parents. In some respects my son would fall into one pigeon-hole, but in other traits he would fall into quite another. And it left me quite confused as to how to handle his difficulties. Many of the recommendations are oriented toward young children, but a teenager is a different matter entirely. It also ignores many of the other pressures on teenagers that are part of the equation. We're going to go to a therapist--hopefully he will be able to figure something out.

Yes, it's true. I've read this book three times since I first obtained it back in 2004. Autism was a serious weakness in my game at that point so I knew that I had to improve my knowledge base. I first heard about it from a superintendent with whom I interviewed who identified it as one of the publications in the field that everybody was reading. I definitely was not disappointed by what I found. Time and again it has strengthened me and assisted me in my work. It's a sound gospel upon which to draw--particularly in lieu of what can only be described as an autism craze that's sweeping the country. More and more physicians are diagnosing (over-diagnosing?) the disorder at present, and this tome is just the medicine that diagnostians need. It offers great statistics and research along with--in Chapter 16--solid suggestions for assisting the afflicted and their families.

The book came very fast. Faster than I actually expected. It was in brand new condition. Thanks

I have many resources on the subject of teaching autism, but this book is one of the best I have found. I highly recommend it. This book gives research-based information for identifying learning difficulties in children with autism and strategies for teaching these students.

This book is the real deal. It is informative and gets to the point fast. Definetly worth buying!!!!

I bought this book after reading most of it on-live via the library. It's one of those books that brings a lot of information together, and it has the authoritative seal of the Council for Exceptional Children. I bought it because my son's school administrators and staff are living in the Dark Ages. The administrative law judge needs to be enlightened regarding the current professional standards == widely recognized and accepted theories, educational methodologies, elements for multi-disciplinary programming, for children on the Autistic Spectrum. A must for serious advocates' bookshelves/offices.

A MUST!!! Creswell organizes the book into three parts: 1. Introduction to research, 2. Steps in Research and 3. Research Designs. Within each category are simplistic reviews and explanations for designing and writing a research project.

Many research books are on the market, this is my favorite and has become my "bible" in designing a research project and writing papers due to the reader easy style Creswell laid the book out and the language he used to write and explain.

Alexandra B. Kealey

The book has been outstanding, very easy reading almost like a novel. I was able to run through the 659 pages very quickly and now I am reading it again to reinforce the content. The organization I purchased it from however has been a terrible MAP sales is a supplier everyone should stay away from. I have never received the book from them, 7 weeks later, although they were very fast to post my account for the charges. Numerous emails later, they still haven't credited my account. Stay away from MAP sales.

I am in the process of completing my exit project for my Master's degree. This text has been an excellent guide for me as I am completing my degree through distance education. I purchased the text at the end of my degree, after my coursework was completed, however, I think it would have been a great help for me if I had it from the beginning. I'm sure it's on the "recommended reading" list for most graduate courses, but I feel it should be "required reading" for anyone who is engaged in formal, academic research.

As a grad student returning to the classroom after more than 25 years I was a bit reticent about taking up the subject of academic research. The excellence of this text informed me, gave me a comprehensive view of the subject matter and left me wanting to learn more. I highly recommend it. This is one of the text books I will keep for future reference.

I bought this book as a required text for one of my on-line classes. I am in my second graduate class which is about quantitative and qualitative research and I am very impressed with the quality of this text. If you are a researcher, this book is a must have. If you are a reader of research, this book is also a must have. It is very well written and provides numerous examples of how to properly organize and write effective quantitative and qualitative research papers.

Very enjoyable, engrossing, quick read. Perhaps the only criticism I can think of is that it was too short... I didn't want it to end yet. Even at that, it was a complete story that didn't feel rushed. I certainly didn't mind that it was written for a young adult audience... and perhaps the only recognizable indication that it was written for that audience is the length of the novel. Both the characters and the whole story felt very well developed. Highly recommended for fans of the PA genre.

It's too bad that fiction written for young adults is also written off by literary critics - if not, I couldn't imagine a work deserving higher praise than Christopher's "Empty World," which accomplishes the near-impossible task of rejuvenating the stale genres of coming-of-age novel, apocalyptic novel, and survival novel, all wrapped up into a touching, insightful, and compelling story.

The power of Christopher's fiction relies largely on a simple device: his heroes are never the biggest, strongest, or even smartest in their environments. They are usually quiet, unassuming, and have the great misfortune to be witnesses and unwilling participants in Events (often catastrophic). In the most heartbreaking scene in "Empty World," the hero finds another boy his age who has just committed suicide, only to realize that that boy was otherwise more intelligent and more capable of survival than he. With these kinds of realizations generating the plot, you can see that this is no ordinary teen fiction.

In "Empty World", the hero is emotionally dead long before a devastating virus sweeps the planet clean - and he begins to come alive (metaphorically) only after the rest of the world dies off (literally). His quest to find survivors turns into a near-parody of Sartre's "Huis Clos," as they struggle with their ability - or inability - to live together at all.

It's an amazing work from start to finish, full of beautifully painted atmosphere, well-drawn characters, leisurely pacing, and a helluva emotional wallop. Such a pity that the book is so difficult to find anymore. :-/

It is sad that John Chrisopher isn't more well known.
Unlike his other books that deal with sci-fi themes like space ships and aliens, Empty World deals strictly with reality and in many ways is all the more chilling because of it.
I have only ever found it in Children's libraries, which is a shame because even though this book is short (easily read in an evening) it is a very thought provoking examination of the nature of being human.
I first read it in 7th grade and now that I am 27, I am happy to report that the book is still as powerful as ever and has the same effect as a really good Twilight Zone episode.

Young Neil Miller is orphaned following a car accident of which he is the sole survivour. He goes to live with his grandparents and whilst there, civilisation is almost entirely wiped out by a plaguee of pregoria. This is a disease which causes premature ageing in younger people. Neil must learn to survive alone and meets two girls in London and the fact that 'three is a crowd' makes for an interesting conclusion...

Read this first as a 14 year old and at that age it made a real impression on me, more so than the classics you get fed at that age. I was reminded of this great book a while ago when I moved to Dulwich (the setting of the family home for the lead character)
Just having turned 30 and with a stressful job in the city I felt the need to be 14 again for an evening. I went in search of a copy yet was disappointed to find the book out of print and not in any library close-by. The copies available from booksellers came at a price but I parted with my hard earned cash and once again enjoyed Empty World. I would highlight the parallels between adolescence / turning 30 /standing looking out on the threshold of responsibility, feeling lonely and vulnerable but there are people who could do a much better job then me. To sum-up, well, its a great book.
I will be lending my copy to mates if I see them getting wound too tight, but only if they can promise not to bend the page edges...

I started the book and by the time (i thought) i should goto sleep, the book was over. I couldn't able to put it down before reading upto the last page.

Great book, so many experiences, so many advises, specially for student like us who came from other side of the world to study in USA.

I have one complain though, the book should have included more essays from more fulbrighters of other parts of the world.

anyway, it is 5 start book.

The best of the Fulbright Program in a brief book. Interesting descriptions from various students, who witness the most important aspect of the Fulbright Program: it promotes a shift in the way of thinking about life and work, changing mentalities and opening minds, giving the chance to brilliant students and researchers to spend a period in an American University. Useful for future perspective international students and Fulbrighters! Interesting for the Fulbright Alumni, to share the wonderful experience they have lived!

I have applied to Fulbright Scholarship this year, and this book as i thought proved to be a perfect virtual tour of this prestegious program and its impact on one's life.

Anyone interested in Cross-Cultural studies, and planning to be a Fulbrighter should read this book.

I reall like this small to-the-point book.

I am a trainer in one of Fortune 500 companies on Cross Cultural issues. I have found this book a great source to see our own country (USA) from totally new perspective(s).

One of the Essay "5 Definitions of America!" in this collection of essays can be used as a reference material in IR and Cross-Cultural learning.

Another essay "Get Back to where you now belong" from an Austrain Fulbrighter who lost her passport is great.

Should read if you want to travel to any of the contributors' countries.

Well! When I got this book as a gift from one of my friend, my initial thought (after reading few pages was) that it will have similar definitions and "New things" again and again by different scholars in the following pages.

But, that wasn't true, each scholar experienced USA in a unique way, every one has their own set of definitions and likes/dislikes about USA.

USA is the most diverse country (I believe).

I really enjoyed the essay of a scholar from Pakistan.

I highly recommend this book for all who are intersted in Fulbright Program, USA or different cultures.

Finders Keepers? is an excellently written book aimed at children of all ages. Its illustrations are top-quality, very colorful and go along very well with the story. The book carries a deep message about what is the correct and most spiritual way to act according to one's conscience. If everybody would be acting according to the principles exposed in this book, we would definitely be living in a better world. I recommend this book to anyone.

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

My mom got this book for me and I love it.I shared with whole class and my teacher read the book to us. They liked the meaning of NAMASTE and the colourful pictures.
My favorite part is the honest boy who teaches you honesty in a very simple way.

"Finders Keepers?" by Robert Arnett has been honored with the Benjamin Franklin Silver Award of the Publishers Marketing Association for Best Multicultural Book of the Year, the Independent Publisher Outstanding Book of the Year, and the Seal of Approval of the National Parenting Center. This book is better for school-age children, as it really provides a geography lesson, a study in ethics and a brief insight into Indian culture.

The book tells the true story of an experience the author had while traveling through India. He had just bought some postcards when a young Indian boy tapped him on the elbow and held out Arnett's wallet, which the boy had picked up when the author accidentally dropped it. The man thanked him and offered him a reward, but the boy refused to take any money, insisting that he should not be rewarded just for doing the right thing.

I'm in LOVE with the brightly colored illustrations by Indian-born Smita Turakhia, who said she was inspired by memories of the place where she spent her childhood. In fact, even the youngest kids enjoy looking at the pictures, so I skip some of the more technical stuff when I read it to them.

I got this book as a gift. As an Indian-American it helped me learn more about my culture. I took this book to school for "show and share". All my friends and teachers enjoyed the stories and the nice pictures. Especially the picture with differnt kids holding hands around the world. my teachers also liked that theme. Thank you.