Education Books

After trying hooked on Phonics (which is completely backward) my son is thriving on this program...He has turned from a reading hater to loving it. I could not be more impressed. I love all the materials and when you open the box for the first time the joy of seeing everything inside is exciting. A++++++++++++

Love this curriculum can't say it enought!!! However the readers that correspond with On Track are not correct. There are many difference from the reader and the questions asked on the comprehension page in the book which is frustrating.

I highly recommend this program to anyone wanting to find "the" reading program that WILL ensure success the first time around with only fun and NO tears!

My son, 5yrs. old and a home schooled kindergartener, devoured the information and came to "school" every day ready to see what his Sing, Spell, Read and Write lesson would be.

STARTS AT THE VERY BEGINNING My son had only been to preschool and wasn't even able to recognize and give the sounds for the letters when he began Sing, Spell Read and Write this year. He began Sing, Spell, Read and Write in September and finished in mid-January. He now reads books and confidently sounds out words he hasn't come across before. He moved on to Level 1 and his excitement about the program is just as fresh as when we started.

RESULTS WHILE HAVING FUN!! I look forward to our Sing, Spell, Read and Write daily lesson just as much as my son! Learning is enjoyable when it is fun. My favorite part of the program as a "teacher" is that the author makes it literally impossible for a student to get through the programs without the basics solidified if the program is followed as prescribed.

A COMPLETE PROGRAM Sing, Spell, Read and Write does not hit-and-miss. The author takes a very logical, systematic approach and makes it fun and memorable for parent and student. Although thorough, the program is anything but redundant or boring. All of the author's thoughtful, thorough planning sets the student up to succeed, keeping them encouraged about their abilities and engaging them so they desire more "fun" (learning).

ORGANIZATION AND PREPARATION TIME The instructions are straightforward and simple. A parent/teacher instruction video, color-coordinated manuals and workbooks, and a train track the student moves along to physically "see" how far he's come makes this program pleasantly easy and fun to implement. The program takes very little daily preparation, so the bulk of the time gets to be focused on doing the fun daily activities!

I feel my son and I got more than our money's worth out of Sing, Spell, Read and Write.

A quick note about the other levels. My first grade gdaughter is in Level 1 Raceway and my 3-year-old is using the pre-k Sing, Spell, Read and Write Program. Both levels are just as fantastic as the Kindergarten program, in my opinion. We all play the phonics games and sing the songs together before moving on to each child's separate activities each day, and even the younger ones are soaking in some of what my oldest is doing in Level 1.

After spending months with "How to teach your child to read in 100 easy lessons" and HOP "Hooked on Phonics" and various computer reading games I tried SSRW (sing, spell, read, and write) with my daughter. I can't emphasize how much better my daughter liked this program. I admit I thought it was expensive; but I can't emphasize how much stuff you get and how well rounded this program is. Did I mention we homeschool? That is definately important. I really want to do a great job teaching my daughter to read. To me, this is the most important thing I can do- teach her to read and most importantly to ENJOY reading. She got so frustrated with all the exceptionally boring material I mentioned above. The other reviewers mentioned all the stuff included, so I won't go to all that detail. I will say that we loved the cd music/songs. We know the songs so well we don't even need the music on the sing them loud and proud! I will also admit I learned phonics tricks that I had never heard before. Sue Dickson (creator) includes all the tricks we need to know to learn to read...and she did it rhyming to music in song form. "When two vowels get together they play a little game; the first one speaks and says it's letter name"...from my memory of course. There are so many great things about this program.

For criticism---It didn't spell out which book to start with; so I made my best guess and we did First Grade first. Which we did easily. Then when I was on the second book for First Grade it was getting hard for my daughter to get through all the material in the amount of days they said we could get it done in. So, I started reviewing everything again and then realized that I had completely skipped Kindergarten. So, then when I switched to those books I had to regress a bit.

Also, my daughter has a few letters that she struggles writing; for example the lower case "a". I wish there was some more options for reviewing the letters. Once you move on to the next letter in the alphabet, you don't review until you get to the next book in the series.

Well, those are really minor issues. There is a great video that walks you through the system. But, it went over the First Grade curriculum; which is why I thought I was suppose to start there. The video was good, but it should have said which books were which and marked them more clearly for people like me with a Masters Degree and sometimes a embarrassing lack of common sense!! Maybe this doesn't happen to most people; but it should be idiot proof! (for me!)

I highly, highly recommend. My daughter was 5 y.o. for this program. She will probably finish up after turning 6. Most importantly is that she likes this program. She loves the variety and music and cutting and glueing, and , and.....you get the idea!

I had been wanting "Sing, Spell, Read & Write" curriculum for over a year when finally I decided to bite the bullet and try it out. My six year old has a very short attention span and needs to be in motion constantly, it seems. She loves music and games, so this curriculum seemed right for her. After doing the learning in this new way for just a few days, she was so excited to "play" more that she wanted to do it on the weekends also. She has learned all her letters now and the sounds they make. We have only been doing it for a couple weeks or so and she had been working on those things all last year and didn't master them. So even kids with a more negative attitude about school or kids with learning disabilities can benefit much from this curriculum. I highly recommend it for kids that cannot seem to learn the basics in the normal workbook/chalkboard way.

This is now our all-time favorite children's book. My three-year-old son loves this book. He laughs so hard he runs out of breath, and when Sid's dad begins to fly at the end of the book, he is so relieved and absolutely elated. Not only is this an excellent book, but the looks on my son's face are absolutely priceless and one of my happiest memories.

I love everything about this book: the vivid illustrations, the engaging flow of the rhyme, the uplifting, but not preachy, message. Sometimes I long to skip lines or pages in books when reading to my kids, but never in this book.

Cutest book about Sid the Dog who can fly but none of his friends believe him. Cute, bright illustration and all rhyming!

I loved this book! The pictures are TOO CUTE, the rhymes are clever and the story is fun. I'm starting a collection of books for my grandchildren (still a few years away!) and bought this for them. The book is large so the pictures really pop!

This book uplifts your heart and teaches your child that dreaming and believing in the impossible is perfectly okay! Delightful to read for ages 4-10, it is a must for your library. I give it as a gift all the time!

Storky is a fun book written from Michael "Storky" Pomerantz's point of view in diary form. It was fun to follow the daily happenings of this freshman boy. He starts out with a journal on the computer and then figures out someone may be reading his personal thoughts, so decides to just type the pages and print them out, but not save them.

Storky's sister reveals some of his inner most thoughts, showing that she was the one reading the journal. Being of nerd fame, all Michael wants to do is get through his freshman year of high school without being noticed too much.

Storky tries very hard to be accepted by his father, who lives outside the home--and tries to accept his mother's antics and deal with the mixed-up, crazy Jewish family traditions all while trying to maintain a semi normal life. Every day is a new adventure for Storky, right up until the end when his mother meets and marries his dentist. All through the dating process, he wants to hate Dr. Berman but finds he can't hate a man who has befriended him in the only way he knows how. Michael ends the school year planning another person's life and gets the girl, not the one of his dreams or that he thought he would get--but someone better.

Armchair Interviews says: Most of us can relate to that freshmen year in high school. Nice story from boy's point of view--written by D.L. (Debra).

Written in the journal-entry style a' la Angus, Thongs, and Full Frontal Snogging, this book will make anyone who has ever been a high school freshman laugh every few pages. The diary follows the first year in high school for Michael "Storky" Pomerantz, as he tries to lose his nickname, get a girlfriend, and learn about making the right choices in life. Unfortunately he is not only saddled with a useless divorced Dad in the throes of a mid-life crisis, but other calamitous events in the life of a 14-year old: the uncontrollable male body part he nicknames "Rex" (who causes embarrassing things to happen while he is trying to impress girls at the blackboard with his Spanish skills), a mom who begins dating (gasp!) the pudgy family dentist, a friend who introduces him to alcohol, and Michael's own age-appropriate musings and wonderings about sex. First-time author Deborah Garfinkle (note that the publisher uses the "J.K. Rowling-don't-let-the boys-know-it-was-written-by-a-woman" name change), gets right into the head of a smart, sarcastic and sensitive young teen with great skill. The character of Michael is unmistakably Jewish and living a very middle-class, 3-times a year, Reform Jewish existence in San Diego. Librarians: beware of the maturity of the themes, but know there are many young high-schoolers who will be passing this hilarious book from hand to hand and waiting most impatiently for the certain sequel.
Reviewed by Lisa Silverman.

This book not only "swooshed" me back in time to my own high school days, but it also brought memories of my children's high drama of high school. How little reactions (both mental and physical) have changed since then ... and I confess, that was a looooooong time ago.

Although Storky's a male, and I'm a female, this author brought not only Storky's feelings but the feelings of all the characters into this story ... in funny and pathetic ways of which we can all relate.

And, YES, like most teen boys from time immemorial, there's the inevitable Miss Popular for Storky to lust after, an insensitive father ... and the other high school problems that will trigger the memories of all who read this well-written book. This is a page-turner for teens and for their parents and grandparents, also. I could see the "comic tragedy" of teens shining through the pages AND, in hind-sight, the healthy learning experiences for Storky and the realistic characters in this book.

I recommend this book for ALL AGES. It was a nostalgic trip down Memory Lane for me. A great job, Debra Garfinkle! Keep 'em coming; you have found your niche.

Now I am Over 13, but Didnt Want An Account So Don't Get The Wrong Idea

Now Mike Pomerantz aka Storky is a freshman in highschool and is going through some normal teenage things.

I thought this was a well written book for a female women, but unless you have some real bad hormone problems most guys arnt like that(or that much of a pervert) So If Your A Girl And You Have Read This Book DO NOT THINK THAT EVERY GUY THINKS LIKE THAT.

This book was a highly entertaining book and slightly disturbing on my part but yeah...Well I would Highly Recomend This Book To People :)

A lot of people have talked about how this book about a GUY was written by a GIRL (or, rather, a woman). Yeah, she did it. Very convincing. But the real story is that really that she wrote a funny, touching, believable story about a character I wish I knew. Good show!

My grandmother and I were recently discussing how she would read to all her grandchildren the "Thingumajig" books and how we all loved them. I am now 29 years old and still remember how vivid and wonderful they were. I just purchased them for my god sons, I hope they love them as much as I have.

Great book teaching children about manners and right from wrong. I loved this book as a child myself and know my son can enjoy it!

I love this book. I read it to my second graders on the first day of school each year as we discuss classroom rules. Throughout the year if someone is using bad manners I will hear another student say, "Don't be a Thingumajig!"
I also leave this book on my whiteboard tray and it is one of the favorites during free reading time.

This book was written and illustrated by my grandparents. They were some of the kindest people I have ever known. And the books are absolutely wonderful! You won't be disappointed with this book or any of their books.

I had this book (in a bigger version) when my 27 year old son was small. I was thrilled to find it for my grand-daughter who enjoys it as much as my son did. Manners are a hard concept for children but this book simply nails the importance of manners by showing children what not to do. It is engaging and my 3 year old grand-daughter has already learnt the rythems and can quote the book.

Highly recommended for anyone who wants a true grasp of the power that drug cartels wield on the national and even international arena.

When one reads this book, it is like dropping into the hole of Alice in Wonderland, or falling into one of Carlos Castenada's peyote trances never to come out again. One arrives unprepared at a station in a new dimension of human existence. It is an odyssey "across," "within," "through" and ""around" the world of where drugs, and the drug Kingpins that traffic them, meet with our non-existent "shadow government."

Both are overlapping "nether worlds" that we are told do not exist, but exist they do: as partners in crimes at some place well above our heads. Not only do they exist, but if one can believe the expanded paradigm of the U.S. government put forth by Berkeley Professor, Peter Dale Scott, the drug cartels and those agents and agencies of government that intersect with them -- which promote or passively allow them to ply their trade -- make up the "Sixth Estate" of our government (with the "Press", the mob and other organized crime cartels being the Fourth and the Fifth).

This book is a tale of such staggering proportions that were the facts not all in perfect alignment with the reality we see in the ghettoes where the drug trade is mostly plied, one would believe it to have been invented: made from whole cloth like a fairy tale. However, once the motive of money, unimaginable amounts of money, enters the picture, then our senses begin to tell us that this is not fiction, no fairy tale at all: but the outer limits of what can happen when greed and the pursuit of money are let loose, unbridled, unrestrained to seek its own logical path and endpoint.

As but two examples, during the 1970s, before the "real" drugs crisis with "crack cocaine" ever got off the ground, there was so much money in marijuana trafficking that the drug kingpins bought, all along the Atlantic coast, from New Jersey to Miami, all of the available multi-million dollar beachfront mansions they could find. The purpose of this vast investment: To use them as storage houses for transshipments of the vast amounts of marijuana: A whole class of U.S. property was used only as storage sheds for marijuana.

As another example, in order to support their defensive needs, the drug Kingpins, would "let" contracts for the development of new equipment needed to support their smuggling efforts. Things like new guns, radar equipment, night goggles, submarines, excavation equipment, poisons, etc. were procured through private contractors just as the military does with new weapon systems.

And as always, their biggest problem was never finding buyers for their product, but how to transport and launder staggering amounts of money, which with the advent of cocaine, weighed more than the drugs that were sold, and was much more difficult to conceal and dispose of. The sophistication with which large sums of money was laundered and otherwise invested in the normal economy, even in the days when this book was written, still are enough to amaze the best Phds in economics: setting up and "breaking out" bonding houses, issues stocks, setting up shell companies, etc., ad infinitum. During the 1980s, for instance, 85% of all Miami paper money tested positive for trances of cocaine.

Given that the amount of money involved is enough to destabilized even the largest governments in the world, it is easy to see why governments were able to rationalized being and staying involved in the drug trade: better to regulate and give order to it than to allow random criminals to destabilize the entire world.

This book tells the complete story of how a handful of drug cartels and renegade drug entrepreneurs, did almost that.

Five stars

This is the best book written so far on illegal drugs in America.I am surprised this book is out of print. It would make an ideal book to study in a college class. This book goes far beyond the simple minded mainstream media "reporting" and takes investigative journalism to a higher level. This book will chill you and amaze you in its thoroughness of how dangerous illegal drugs and their dealers are to our society.

Wow, this book should be required reading for an educated adult, this could be used as a university text. This book is hard hitting, realistic and well written about the illegal trade and alliances between Narco-trafficers and governments, whether willing or not. This book exposes the facades and uncovers startling and incredible truths about the impact of illegal drugs on America that the mainstream media just glosses over. I wish this book was still in print. There needs to be more investigative reporting like this to resurrect journalism.

OMG--this book is awesome... I first saw this book at my daughters preschool. the children loved singing it at storytime. I buy this book for my nephew/nieces, and friends children for birthdays. I also bought this for the Kindergarden teacher... Its very basic, and the illustrations are very colorful.. My daughter is 8 now and still gets it out..

My baby is 9 months old. A few weeks ago our teacher read this book to us in our mom and baby class and all the babies were mesmorized by it's beautiful pictures, accompanied by the music of Louis Armstrong that was playing in the background. I quickly found it on Amazon and ordred it for my baby. We've read it together several times and he always lights up and squeals excitedly when he sees it. I love how versatile it is because I can read it, talk about the pictures, "sing" it, or play the song and just follow along with him. I am planning to enjoy this book with my son for a long time to come. The only minor issue for us is that the book has regular paper pages (I couldn't find a board book version) so if I let my baby play with it he would instantly destroy it and he sometimes gets frusterated when I hold it in front of him but out of his reach.

As a K-5 music teacher, I use this book to provide a visual aid as I sing "What a Wonderful World" to the kids. They love it, I love it, and it is a wonderful way to learn song! The pictures are a little on the hokey side and illustrate a puppet show (Satchmo included!), but for K-3, it is age-appropriate and enjoyable.

This book, filled with gorgeous illustrations, puts pictures to the song made famous by Louis Armstrong. This book is a wonderful tool to use accompanying the song, and emphasizes the wonderful differences in our world.

The pictures and presentation of the words only accentuate the beauty of the song.

A clever funny and warm little story that reads quicky. Bright, simple and charming drawings highlight the adventures of a small mouse who triumphs over troubles to bring his family together. A very satisfying ending and a book that kids will want to hear again, and again, and again...

A MOUSE LOOSES HIS FAMILY MEMBERS & THEN FINDS THEM. IT'S JUST AN OK BOOK, VERY UNDERSERVING OF ALL THE 5-STAR REVIEWS. A BETTER MOUSE BOOK WOULD BE- IF YOU GIVE A MOUSE A COOKIE.

A small grey mouse with enormous ears is asked by the narrator who he belongs to. Why, he's nobody's mouse!! Where's his mother? Inside the cat!! Where's his father?? Inside a trap!! What about his sister?? She's lost, far, far away... My goodness!! Well, what is he going to DO about it, then?? I'll let you read to find out his fun, creative answers to his life's problems!

Originally published in 1970, "Whose Mouse are You?" is as much fun for young children and beginning readers now as it was back then. The text is short and simple, it rhymes and repeats, so even very young children can get interested in the story and repeat it after a few tellings. The illustrations are wonderfully simple and uncluttered, drawn with only with black yellow and red (from which we can get pink, orange and grey, too!)

When I was a infant/toddler teacher in daycare, "Whose Mouse are You?" was one of the all time favorites. Children just learning how to speak would call out "mouse book!! Mouse book!" and then sit glued to the pages. I've even seen an elementary school art teacher use this book to show how one does NOT need a box of 2 bazillion crayons to make interesting and fun illustrations-"get creative with limited tools" she said, passing out only red, yellow and black markers to the class.

For lapsitting readers as well as beginning readers, "Whose Mouse..." is an excellent choice and a lot of fun!! Enjoy!!

My favorite illustration is the one where the mother mouse is feeding her son (or daughter?) an impossibly large cheese banquet, much to his/her great delight. A wonderful book!

This was my daughters very very favorite book. She had all the words memorized by the time she was barely 3. I would ask the questions from the book and she would respond with the answers. I still ask her Whose Mouse Are You ? sometimes and her own baby will be born in October. By the way, until we find out the sex of the baby we are calling him/her mouse. Your kids will love this book too!

I'm an English teacher and a part-time, professional non-fiction writer. I walked past "The Writer's Toolbox" in a bookstore this past weekend, sniffed at the creative packaging, and muttered, "All fluff, but no substance, I'll bet!" And yet, I found myself going back to it. Finally, I bought the damned thing, hoping to scratch the itch.

At home, I opened it, expecting buyer's remorse. No way!!! This kit is amazing. I plan to use it in the classroom next year, both during school hours with my writing students and after hours with my Writers Guild. I especially like the sample story -- in the directions -- that is essentially the result of the toolbox games.

My favorite device? The non sequiter sticks. I plan on using them to help keep some of my non-fiction writing dynamic. Of course, I'll have to modify the items to my own research and reality, but that strikes me as half the fun.

A very clever little box full of games, ideas, and methods for creative writing. Thanks!

Scott Snair

The Writer's Toolbox is fun and engaging-- not only for me, but for our weekly writers' group! The group of six to eight of us come to the table with a variety of backgrounds and experiences. The Writer's Toolbox inspirational and fun exercises are relational and help us to jump 'write' in with our warm-ups! Thanks for sharing your fabulous ideas and instruction, Jamie!
Tanja Moriarty, "Encouraging Words", Haddam, Connecticut.

This is truly a wonderful product! Simply put, the Writer's Toolbox is a necessity for every writer. Who among us has not been faced with a blank page at one point or another during our writing careers? The writing exercises in this package are perfect for moving beyond "I want to write" to "I am writing." In fact, it was a writing exercise from Jamie Cat Callan that inspired me to write my novel, due for completion in August 2008. Kudos to Ms. Callan for a brilliant creation!

Jamie has been one of my most inspiring writing mentors, and it looks like she literally "picked up" her classroom and placed it into this clever and eye-appealing keepsake! How ingenious that she put her creative teaching techniques INSIDE a box in order to motivate writers to think OUTSIDE of it. The only thing missing from this toolbox is a badge that says, "I am a writer," as the person who utilizes her time tested techniques will certainly be able to make this declaration after using it!

As a homeschooling parent with a high school age daughter, I bought The Writer's Toolbox to use as part of our writing program. After years of focusing on sentence structure and grammar rules, I was afraid I had completely destroyed my daughter's desire to write. Jamie's toolbox provided the breath of fresh air that our writing life needed. With just the right amount of instruction and loads of room for creativity, the exercises offered quickly restored to my daughter the joy of writing. When we break out the Tool Box, the spinners, cards, timers and sentence starting sticks have us feeling like we're playing a game. When learning and fun are synonymous, both teacher and student are winners. Thanks, Jamie for this great writing tool!

Both my sons love this book and with its clean, cheerful and fun images - I think it is a winner. I wish there were more books like this for kids!

This is the only book that my daughter has ever made a place for on her night stand. She loves the graphics in it, they get her imagination really going. She says she wishes she could live in the book!

I picked up Nicole Wheldon's "1,2, 3 Bees" and couldn't put it down till I was finished! That took all of 90 seconds - not because I am a speed-reader, but because it's the easiest book I've read in years -- about 49 years, to be exact. It's The 1,2, 3 Bees, A Counting Book, beautifully illustrated by Diana Zourelias-Noro.

You'll like "Bees", too! But I don't think quite so much as will our more precocious two and three year olds. I took it to a local bookstore to get a professional's opinion of the 22-page soon-to-be-classic. (There's a sales girl there that reads to the toddlers on the weekends.) Her reaction: "This is such a cute little book! How sweet!!!"...

As we closed the book on the first reading, our preschooler announced 'Read it again, Mama.' We've since read it a number of times, each one a little slower, as s/he begins to study the illustrations in more detail. The story is really just a sequence of sentences counting out how many bees and what they do. It's the beautiful illustrations and the fun of sharing a read-out-loud book that make this great. The bees are cute and the pages are sturdy and will withstand frequent readings, too. Definitely buy this book if you want an art-quality counting book for your child's library.

Very cheery book - It's sure to hold the young reader's attention. The characters seem to all dance and play as the story lesson is being read. What a great tool to teach a young child numbers.

I haven't read an animorph book I haven't liked. And I've read them all. Too bad the t.v. show couldn't stick more closely to the books and get Spielberg to do the special effects.

In this book the Animorphs must tell the govener about the Yeerks before it's too late. Marco, Ax, and Tobias are chosen for the job. They fly to the capital to tell the govener. Will the govener beleve them, not beleve them, or is she already a Controller? Read the book to find out!!

Now that the yeerks have the Morphing Power,the Animorphs have a lot more problems...Everywhere they go,everytime they even try to morph,a team of morph-capable Yeerks cut them off...And now the "National Guard" has sent an army of tanks into town,but it kinda obvious for the animorphs to know that the National Guard has been infiltrated by the Yeerks,and those tanks will most likely be for rounding up hosts....But,they have an idea,What if they got the Govenor to back them up,and warn people of the Yeerk threat.....It could work,but then again,mabye not..........

i loved this book,like I aslo love almost all the Animorph books.This one is very exiting,and I loved the part where they tell the Govener that Earth is under attack......i think any Animorph fan will love this book,and i think You will like it even if You aren't really a fan of it...I also recomend the other books from the series,and any book by K.A. Applegate.......

this book is very pivotal in the whole animorphs plot, and has just the right amount of humor. if you like sci-fi books, or even humor books, buy this one. it isn't too expensive, either.

My son wrote the following mini-review:

The team could not be any more surprised than when news leaks out that the National Guard has been captured by Yeerks. This book focuses primarily on the Animorphs' struggle to first ensure that the Governor is not a controller and then to protect her from the Yeerks. Ax, Marco, and Tobias risk their lives to prevent her from being infested; they are successful.

With this installment, K.A. Applegate begins the countdown to the conclusion of this popular series.