Languages Books

As RED's editor, my policy is never to be the one posting these--even when readers email to tell me they're too young or don't have/can't open Amazon accounts. No one wants to hear it from me. Ewwwww. But in this case, an exception because I love that a boy was moved enough by RED to be bothered to spread the word. Plus, it's the 4th of July and I'm all for more generous American relations with the rest of the world. Here's what James Shepherd, a 23-year-old MALE fan in London, posted two days ago on Amazon UK (no account for the US version):

"An enjoyable and educational read for all teens! The book contains 58 essays by young American women. All the essays are accounts of real events from the viewpoint of the author. From how the events of 911 affected some, to hurricane katrina, from bullying to boys and beauty.

I originally got this book because of one essay in it that i wanted to read...i ended up reading the whole thing! (in about 4 days i might add)
This book is so amazing! I think all young women should read this book, which is why i am making my sister read it. I hope she learns from it. I just wish i had read this when i was a teen i might have had a better understanding of you lot lol."

Posting this review on behalf of my 13-year-old daughter who doesn't have her own amazon account:

"Books written by older generations to ours about being a teenager are
stupid and irritating. Finally here is a book from our generation
telling it like it is."

The world really is a different place for our girls than it was when we were growing up. This book has helped this particular irritating mother get a clue.

From the introduction by editor Amy Goldwasser, Red: The Next Generation of American Writers provides countless insights about today's adolescent women, through the eyes of 58 essayists from around the U.S.
Goldwasser, a long-time editor and free-lance writer, culled the collection from more than 800 entries she received after sending out an e-mail to a group of friends, asking them to put her in touch with teen-age girls who might be interested in contributing to a collection of essays. She edited very little and found the essays fell into eight, natural categories: body image (the vast majority of essays fell into this category), family, school, friendships, crushes and sex, extracurricular, media and pop culture and a chapter she subtitled "Battle Cries."
"As opposed to a collection held together by adult writers on a single theme," Goldwasser writes, "the essays in Red have, really, only one thing in common. It's their heart."
Indeed, these girls open their hearts wide, pouring out love and anger and frustration and attitude in a riotous, ever-widening stream of consciousness. Some voices seem polished and thoughtful, others carve words from raw emotion. They discuss subjects as intimate as a sexual relationship, as excruciating as suicide attempts and eating disorders, as touching as a tribute to a lost friend and as hysterically funny as the kind of incomprehensible behavior that comes with having a crush.
Three of the essays come from Michigan girls, including twins Hannah and Sarah Morris, who confront not only their similarities, but their differences. Though biologically identical, they seem quite different in outlook and voice; according to Sarah, they look different as well. She worries about her sister's weight and the toll she believes it will take in the future. Hannah focuses more attention on their family relationships and what it means to be a twin. What they share in sisterhood, however, far outshines any differences.
These glimpses into the hearts of young women show us not only how today's generation differs in its dependence on technology and its powerful impact on relationships and education, but also how much these young women share with previous generations. We all fell in love with boy-out-of-reach, we all came to terms with our first bras, we all loved/hated our mothers.
And in Red, we now have a platform upon which to share these memories, these bits and pieces of the female collective.

RED is the most truthful book on my shelf. These girls' stories are potent, there is no watering down--everybody can find a piece of her(or his)self in here.

This collection of essays compiled by Amy Goldwasser is nothing less than a masterpiece, as it eschews the typical teenage bubble-gum-book syndrome in favor of a richly detailed, complex, emotive and, above all, substantial body of work from an array of teenage young women as diverse as their topics.

A standout is Carey Dunne's hysterical essay, "Gym at Riverton," about surviving gym class at private school. Also exceptional: Kathryn Pavia's essay "The Fourth Floor," which is an account of her brother's ilnness, but done in an incredibly subtle, heartbreaking way that unfolds in a dream-like manner, showing the mundane, unlikely things we notice and react to, in times of sadness. It's stunning in its maturity and restraint. This writer, as with others in this book, will go far.

The book goes from specific to broad, serious to comical, abstract to photographically-detailed. In sum, both teenagers and their parents will find it richly rewarding, and conversation-provoking. Gimmicky book concepts, especially for teens, come and go, but classic essay writing like this is something that will endure. -S.

I ordered this item in the hopes to teach my speech-delayed son more sign language. I was an elementary school teacher for over ten years and this product was overwhelming! The songs are way too fast! Then you have to refer to the book while listening to the song and then supposedly teaching your child- UGH! It would be beneficial if the book came with a dvd showing the signing along with the songs...

We love the upbeat original songs and my 2 1/2 year old requests this cd to be played when we're getting bored in the house. I came home one day to find the kids dancing with our nanny. Needless to say, whether for signing or pure enjoyment it is a great product everyone can enjoy together. Parents will find that the songs are easy enough to remember to sing along and practice signs when changing diaper, feeding time, bath time, etc... which are perfect routine activities to introduce signs to your baby and toddler. As an instructor who has seen participants enjoy the activity book and cd I highly recommend the item. www.sign4baby.com

I use this in my sign language classes I teach to babies, toddlers, children, adults, and special needs. It is a BIG hit, everyone loves it, everyone gets involved, and after class my clients want to purchase one. I have received e-mails after classes letting me know that they just love it and find it very helpful in learning the signs. Parents love the detailed information and illustrations in the book it is very easy to understand and shows what signs to use for babies. Well worth your investment.
www.signsforlife.biz

The pick me up cd is a central component of my early literacy sing and sign program that I offer to preschools and kindergartens in the central and seacoast regions of NH. Sign language combined with music gives students the opportunity to use mulitple processes to internalize vocabulary information. As I subcontract with schools, I have become the students' favorite specialist and have watched them blossom and grow in their signing vocabulary. Students learn by doing and when complimented with music they internalize the information with greater speed and efficiency. If you aren't having fun with this product you need to to rethink what you are doing because this is all about a large dose of fun with learning.

I use this product every week I teach my Baby Sign Language Classes in Houston, Texas and love it. The songs are a little silly, but the kids love them. Unfortunately, I find myself singing them all the time and get annoyed, but they are a great way to practice and get yourself comfortable with signing during daily activities. I highly recommend it!

Great children's book. It's a fun way to encourage and read with your child.

This books is wonderful! I am using it in small groups at work and the kids absolutely cannot get enough of this book. I bought all titles in the series! Great for paired reading among siblings, parents and children, and friends!

Our students really love all the books in this series. They frequently choose them to read to each other during free choice time. I would really recommend this book to other teachers as a great source for oral reading practice!

My seven year-old grandson introduced me to Mary Ann Hoberman's work. He loved reading to and with me. I'm a volunteer reading tutor and I use her books to teach first graders to read. They love it.

I highly recommend the books by Mary Ann Hoberman to excited kids about reading.

Judith Hays

I love Mary Anne Hoberman's "The Cozy Book", it is always a great bedtime story. So, when I found this title on Amazon, I couldn't resist. My son is 7 and enjoys reading, so this was perfect for us; he reads to me, I read to him, and we read the last verse together. The stories are cute and short, good if you only have a few minutes at the end of the day. The emphasis on reading is an added bonus.

Don't get me wrong, I love this dictionary. However, I'm only giving it four stars because Amazon shipped me a "new" copy that actually has several flawed pages. I suspect this is a copy that was supposed to be rejected but somehow slipped through a hole in the quality control and ended up being shipped to me. The defect is annoying and makes me feel like I paid a new price for a damaged product. Otherwise, the defect does not interfere with the use of the dictionary.

I read a review of this dictionary in the Wall Street Journal and(based on the author's opinion)I purchased two copies, one for myself and another for my grandson who is a freshman at a local Jesuit High School. Personally, I believe this dictionary is the most comprehensive one to which I have ever had access.

This dictionary is a gem for use at school, at home, at work. The color plates make this particular dictionary reader-friendly to any age from 12 years and older. The entries are complete enough for use by a sophisticated reader, but yet in language that is understandable to a younger reader. I have used lots of different dictionaries in the classroom over the years, and this one is certainly my favorite.

I haven't yet received this book... that I ordered over a month ago. Any idea what I should do next? Should I order from Amazon.com again?

The book was in "like new" condition as advertised and was shipped and delivered promptly - Good Job!

This is a great educational building block for those that want to jump into the world of web sites. It's clear and very understandable. You forget how to do something just go back and find your answer in the book. I was very happy to read this, it's very good.

I just finished reading this book and it was a very excellent beginning introduction to HTML and CSS. Thank you Ian lloyd.
This book edition was updated January 2008.

Despite the title the book is teaching you XHTML, a more standardized and stricter version of HTML.
XHTML is set to be the progression from HTML so you should learn the XHTML standards rather than HTML.

This book is ideal for anyone starting out in web development/programming, you need no prior skills in it whatsoever.
It is particularly well suited for self-study.

The focus is on using XHTML and CSS together, all explained in a non-technical manner; the author does not have an academic degree in computer science so you will get a humane explanation of things.

The book is structured like one large tutorial: you build a website (about diving) from scratch.
The first part of the book covers basic (X)HTML stuff - fonts and such.
It then quickly dives into CSS.
The author shows you how to integrate CSS into all major (X)HTML functions as you learn how to build tables, forms, insert images and sounds, etc.
At the end of the book you will have built a complete website.
The final chapters cover more administrative things such as setting up a website and updating it.

I have a few minor perks though:
- the reference section is not very good
- because the book is built up around a single tutorial it is not very
practical for looking up specific things, this is a problem only
if you are using this book as a complement to a course and not
for self-study

This book is brilliant, CSS is easy to learn using this book, the progress you can make is also very good as it is easy to understand. The book arrived earlier than stated and was in perfect condition. Full marks to everyone. ThanksBuild Your Own Website The Right Way Using HTML & CSS, 2nd Edition

This is a very good book. I have been stumbling around for some months now trying to figure out how to do web site development, yet never having had any training to do so. I'm only half way through this book, but it is like the lights have come on. This book really made sense to me. It was easy to understand and the directions were written in terms that anyone could understand and follow. I agree that it would have been nice to have some color, but it was okay not having it if that meant keeping the cost down. Once I finish this book, I'll be moving on to another that will teach me how to work in the Dreamweaver CS3 Suite, a program I have been stumbling around in for some months now with no success. I feel like Ian Lloyd's book has provided a firm foundation on which I could build before moving on to DW and CSS.

If you are a first time wanna be web site designer, with no computer training or experience, yet want to learn a firm foundation on which to build, I would highly recommend this book.

David Powers has a gift for teaching via the printed word. The books are good, so good that I tend to go look at the Friends of Ed books first and the Riley books second.

I'm not a programmer, a designer who has to program occasionally, so the friends of Ed books and particularly this one were invaluble to me. I need to learn fast and this was able to tool me up sufficently to do the job and enable me enough knowledge to go and learn more advanced php as well.

The other thing I like about the book is that when I was confused I logged into the Friends of Ed site and David wrote me back explaining my errors (I doubt that it ever gets any better than that).

This man makes a promise of a written format that can be followed. The writtng is NOT CLEAR and leaves much to the readers imagination of to what exactly the format should be. There is no CD so that you can see how the step by step process works. He names his files but does not show the real differences between how he is set up and how you can set up to fit your needs. I waisted my money. He claims in the book there is support which at best is terrible.

The worst book I have ever bought on coding. If I were you try another writter.

This book is written very clearly and is really easy to follow. I've learned a lot of other really useful stuff than just the PHP content, things that I now realise I should have been taught by the official Dreamweaver 8 book, but weren't. The PHP content for which I bought this book is fantastic - much better than another generic PHP/MySQL I have read, as this is tailored to the Dreamweaver 8 environment which takes a lot of the guessing out of the equation. This book is written by and for people who use Dreamweaver 8 in a practical situation. I'm still less than half way through my book and already feel like I've learned much more than I expected. Highly recommended. I'll be checking out Mr Powers' other books when I finish this one. Thanks David Powers, you're a genius!

This is a very good book for learning PHP, and surprisingly, most of the examples work right out of the book as he's written them, which seems rare for a programming book these days. The projects that he has you complete are highly relevant to what you'd actually be doing with PHP, and that makes it even better.

The only trouble I had with this book was that he sure packed a lot of information into each chapter, and he didn't use the sidebars as much as I would have hoped. It's easy enough to follow along with the examples the first time, but if you want to go back again and figure out how he programmed a small detail, you'll never find it unless you reread the whole chapter again. All it would have taken was a few little bullets here and there in the margins to point out some of the off-topic stuff that was going on in the examples, and the book would be much more functional as a reference. As it stands, I probably will have to get a whole new book for that purpose.

Also, the support on this book is phenomenal. I missed a small detail in Chapter 6 that caused my script to fail, and when I posted on the book's message board, I had a reply from the author in less than a day. That's a really cool added bonus.

I am a frontpage user that has set up static pages in a web site. I needed to move from static pages to dynamic pages using a database. I couldn't use PHP with FrontPage so I switched to Dreamweaver and needed a book that covered both dynamic pages and Dreamwaver. This book walked me through setting up the environment to have Dreamweaver work with Apache, PHP, MySQL and phpMyAdmin. I am completely non-technical so these areas were beyond my comfort zone but the book walked me through it very successfully. It then took me through CSS styles, setting up an online feedback form, setting up my first database and tying it into Dreamweaver. It also showed how to insert, delete and maintain records in order to keep the database up to date. This was an excellent book for a non-techie as it didn't take any knowledge for granted.

This book came highly recommended by two Japanese tutors who have been living and studying in Japan for years. It is a great starter book and from what I understand, there is a series of books that follow for more advanced studying. A must have for anyone interested in learning Japanese.

The CD goes along with the book and gives you different voices on how to say it correctly. Recomend buying it with the book.

Definitely get the Workbook that goes with it! It greatly expands on the course book.

This book is great for people who want to learn by themselves our with a teacher. It has real life situations and easy to learn. I recommend buying the textbook for more practice and the CD.

This book is very good, but there are not many to choose from. This was 3 quraters of classes.

Overall a good book!

My children---ages three and five---request this book over and over all through the year and quote it on numerous occasions. It's one that I truly don't mind reading over and over as well. The incredibly colorful illustrations are fantastical and yet the small, wondering boy who experiences all these grand events somehow keeps them almost believable. My favorite part is when the birthday boy stands atop a mountain and shouts, "I am me! I am I! I may not know why but I know that I like it." It teaches children to celebrate their special individual quality without being selfish about it. The book is simply overflowing with a sense of love and nurturing without being maudlin in the least.

I ordered this book for my grandaughter, and she loved it. It was a little long for her, but I enjoyed it as much as she did.

Review by Sherry North, Author, Because You Are My Baby

When I was a child, this book took my breath away. I felt like I was living the incredible adventures in the story, from riding the Birthday Bird to choosing the tallest pet to eating the giant cake. I think this story inspired the adventures I try to create in my own writing.

Now that I'm a mom, I still love this book. It is a little long to hold the attention of toddlers or preschoolers, though, so I recommend it for Kindergarten & up.

I bought this book for both my youngest daughter and our cousin, both who were turning one.

Of course this book is way too advanced for them but I brought it to their 1st birthdays and had everyone who was in attendance sign it. I love looking at all the adorable things people have said and can't wait to show it to them as they get older.

My 2 yr old son destroyed this book just by turning the pages. I wish it were a board book and not a pop up book.

If you enjoyed Oke's "Love Comes Softly" series, you will surely love this book! This is my favorite of her books and I recommend this one to anyone who wants to read a good romance novel.

A gown of spanish lace is about a young women that is a school teach.
and a young man that has been raised by outlaws and without a mother.

its a wonderfull book about two young agult finding love..
and a young man finding out how he is... and coming to belive....
its a graet book full of mystery and Love and advetures. and a little acshon. graet graet book!
and I think you would enjoy it!
:-)

I loved this book it was wonderful they was they fell in love. Ariana and Laramie are perfect for each other. Ariana lived the life of a schoolteacher who was hungry for god's word. She wanted her students to feels the same. She loved her town and every thing it stood for. Well. She loved being a teacher. She was adopted. Her parents died in a raid on their wagon trail. All she has heft to remember her mother by is a dress, which she planes to wear when she gets married. That wont is for a while. Soon Ariana is kidnapped so that Laramie's father can get Laramie to kill some one. She is kept in a hut near the camp, the people that live in the camp our robbers and are horrible men. They are widely known. None of them know about Ariana being on there camp except for the boss and one of the other members of the camp. Sam, Sam told Laramie about his past, well at least as much as he knew. Gave him a trunk filled with Laramie's stuff. From when he was a baby. While Ariana is a captive her and Laramie fall in love by simple acts of kindness. Soon Laramie helps her escape. He almost kills someone for it. Once they escape there past begins to unravel, in a strange way the to lovers are connected very closely. Soon all is settled but the ending will take you by surprise. You don't see it coming.

This is the best book that Oke has written. I absoulty loved it and couldnt put it down until I finished it. Read it.

I really enjoyed this book.
My mom read it to me when I was three or four and recently
She recomended that I read it myself.
I am really happy that I did. It is about
a sixteen year old girl named Ariana who is a schoolteacher.
one day two men come to the school house and kidnap her during a blizzard.
She is taken far away to an old, small, dirty cabin and locked in. When she gets a new guard, Laramie, at first she is afraid of him, but then she starts to enjoy his company. He does not mistreat her and he buys her food and soap and all she needs. one day he decides to help her escape. It is a dangerous and risk, but Laramie is willing to take it and liberate her out of camp. Will they survive?
see for yourself. I think that you should definatly buy this book It has many twists that I did not mention. 5 STARS!

I have the 2nd edition of Bauer (the BAGD) and this 3rd Edition (the BDAG), and this is just excellent. The definitions help a relatively novice student such as myself to get a much better feel for what words mean than just simple one word definitions which cannot possibly present the accurate sense in most instances. For serious study of Biblical Greek issues, this is a wonderful tool.

The text is very readable. The cross references are thorough. The binding and paper quality excellent. The biggest problem is the size of the work as it is quite large. I would like to be able to purchase an electronic version to allow quicker look-ups, and potentially better cross referencing within the lexicon itself.

The BDAG is about the best lexicon out there in my opinion. Yes, it is expensive, but it's got the scholarship behind it, has MORE words than the Greek New Testament has in case you need to study extrabiblical literature, and also has expansive definitions.

Highly recommended.

It is the best lexicon of the Early Christian Literature (NT included) available, because its entries are characterized by excellent classification of the meanings, because it gives sound grammatical-syntactical information of the words, it gives plenty of examples with proposed renderings of specific passages, it discusses difficult cases, it refers briefly to the origin of the Early Christian Literature words and it adequately presents their contemporary extra-Biblical usage. Something else very important is the rich and updated bibliography that is provided.

In other words, it is a great improvement and expansion of the Grimm-Thayer lexical tradition, but, comparing to Grimm-Thayer, it gives lesser attention to the LXX usage and the Hebraic background of the NT words. Allow me to consider this an imperfection of the BDAG that forces the reader to buy also a LXX lexicon or a theological one (such as the TDNT abridged or the EDNT) in order to have a more spherical view of NT Greek, but I have to admit that nothing vital is missing. The second drawback is the price. Finally, a couple of times I have noticed mistakes in the etymology; but, of course, this is not an etymological dictionary, neither does it claim to be one.

This review willl cover four Greek New Testament lexicons: Bauer, Abbott-Smith, Thayer and Souter.

For many years, I had resisted purchasing a copy of Bauer, et al's mammoth (7 ¾" x 10 ¼" x 2 ¼") Lexicon of the Greek New Testament. Yes, it had a great deal of data. Yes, it shared insights from contemporary literature which shed light on word meaning for words used rarely in the New Testament. However, it was an absolute pain. The layout made it difficult to find what was needed, and it seemed quite easy to lose the forest for the trees in Bauer's 1st and 2nd English editions. Frankly, I preferred George Abbott-Smith's Manual Lexicon, and availed myself of Bauer at the seminary library only as needed. Now the available choices have changed, and for the better.

Bauer's 3rd English edition is a marvel. Everything the other reviewers write about its clear typeface, and intelligent use of bolding and spacing is true: it's a joy to use. A bit heavy, but it's worth it. The actual definitions as opposed to glosses are also a plus. All of this combined means that all of the data produced by scholarship is far more useable. Thank you, University of Chicago! I was willing to shell out the not insubstantial price for it, and have no remorse, it was money well spent.

Have I kicked Abbott-Smith to the curb? No. His Manual Lexicon is older (1937), but still makes use of the bulk of the papyri discoveries. He provides a quick reference for the Hebrew words underlying the Greek when that word is used in both the New Testament and the Septuagint (LXX) translation of the Hebrew Scriptures. He also provides numerous though not exhaustive Scripture references for each entry, making this lexicon reasonably functional as a concordance. With all this, I can still tote around Abbott-Smith (8 ¾" x 5 ¾" x 1 ¼") in my bag. It has yielded pride of place in my study, but for now at least, it's still a keeper.

Two others are worth mentioning. Thayer is old but still in common use because Hendrickson has put out a very cheaply made version which is keyed to Strong's concordance. Of course, if you're using Strong's as the basis for exegesis, you might want to wait on a large lexicon and invest in some Greek training. Thayer wrote prior to the papyrus finds that really altered our understanding of Koine Greek usage, and so is not as good a choice as the others reviewed here.

Finally, there is Souter's little gem of a pocket lexicon. He is post-papyri (1917), and offers pretty accurate glosses for the words listed. Hard not to like Souter, it's quality made from Oxford, red with gilt lettering, and is roughly the same size as the NA-27 Greek New Testament, meaning it fits in your pocket easily. While you don't want to use it for serious exegetical work, you also don't want to tote Bauer around with you everywhere. There is another small lexicon from the United Bible Societies which is nicely made, but not as worthwhile as Souter. As a Greek expert pointed out, it basically uses the RSV translation as the lexical definition.

Bauer, et al: 5 stars
Abbott-Smith: 4 stars
Thayer: 3 stars
Souter: 4 stars

I purchased the second edition of this volume when I was studying Greek at Denver Seminary, back in 1989 as it was highly recommend by my Greek professor. And I used it quite a bit during seminary and even after that in my personal Bible studies.

When I began work on my Analytical-Literal Translation of the New Testament: Third Edition (ALT), I got the BibleWorks 7 software program. That program has several lexicons that come standard with it, and it is a lot easier to use those lexicons than to look up words in this volume. But even with that program, with wanting to be exact as possible in my translations, I would still check Baur on occasion as it contains information that is not found in BibleWorks. Most especially, this volume indicates how words were used in extra-biblical literature. And this info can be a great help in getting an idea of how a particular word was used at the time the NT was written.

For instance, I depended on information in Baur to decide how to translate the plural of "adelphos." Most lexicons give definitions like "brother, fellow Christian, fellow believer" (Friberg on BibleWorks). But Baur's lexicon indicates "The plural can also mean brothers and sisters" (p.16). It then gives specific examples of this usage in extra-biblical literature.

This concurs with what I was taught at seminary that "adelphoi" was used to refer to a group of only men and to a group of both men and women. So I decided that the best way to render this word was to use "brothers [and sisters]." This rendering indicates the term definitely includes men but might also include women (e.g., Rom 1:13).

So this lexicon can be very helpful in pinning down the exact usage of words. But it is very expensive, and I see it is now available as an add-on for BibleWorks. Given the expense of the new third edition and of the BibleWorks add-on, since I already own the second edition, I won't be getting either of these. But if you don't own a previous version and intend to do in-depth Greek word studies, then either this hardcopy version or the BibleWorks add-on would be worthwhile.