Educational Books

This book was a find at a yard sale and is a joy for both my husband and I as well as my daughter since she was 2. It introduces all kinds of subjects like veterinarian medicine, not to mention the obvious seasons cycle and life on a farm activities. The illustrations are simple and detailed enough to even keep an older childs attention.

I love this book, along with "Our Animal Friends at Maple Hill Farm."

In this factory-farm era, it's a great look into farm life the way it used to be, and for a lucky few, still is. The illustrations are both funny and sweet, the writing tender but matter-of-fact. Both were done by the owners of an old-fashioned family farm.

The authors take the reader on a through-the-year tour of their farm, introducing them to the various tasks and animals as they go. Every animal has a personality (even the sheep), and every month has its ups and downs--things the average suburban child, and even the average suburban parent, knows little about. Every child should own these two books!

This wonderful picture book takes you through a year at a farm (great for us city dwellers who have never step foot on a farm). It is very informative and interesting. The pictures and the story are enjoyed by my children. We are very pleased to have this book in our collection.

We got this book as a companion to 'Our Animal Friends at Maple Hill Farm'. I have to say, I love 'Our Animal Friends' best, but this is also a great book. I like it as a companion to Our Animal Friends. The book goes through the months of the year, and what happens with the animals in each month. Humorous and interresting for our 3 and 7 year olds.

I just bought this book for a gift, and seeing it on Amazon's website makes me want to go find it on my daughter's bookshelf, and read it myself. And I'm 43!

What a sweet, beautiful, educational, pleasure of a book. It's a great size with gorgeous illustrations. The text is fun to read and fun for a child to listen to, and the whole book is non-fiction and very educational. The perfect combination of a book. I just love it and love to give it! It just bounces and is very engaging. You'll want to read it every season for years.

Enjoy!

Full disclosure: we're distantly related, but sharing the same last name is how I found this gem! And, I'm so glad I did! This book reminds me of what a great connection and understanding Dianne has with children. I heartily recommend this to anyone who wants a fun, compassionate picture book for their kids, on how they can just be themselves, but a minor degree of conformity is required :0 Definitely a fun book on a great subject.

A great children's book with great illustration and text. I have 3 boys, and they absolutely love this book (what little boy wouldn't?), especially my youngest, a 4 yr old preschooler (calls it the "nakey" book). It is currently his favorite book, and he can't get enough of it!

This is a great book for preschoolers or children just starting school. The story keeps your attention and the colorful illustrations are marvelous. I have purchased several copies for my young nieces and for friends to share with their children and grandchildren. This is a book that a child will want to "read" over and over again.

My 22 month old daughter loves the illustrations, especially the costumes on the last page. The story is fun and hilarious, and we both thoroughly enjoy it. I recommend this book, especially for children preparing to go to school or day care for the first time.

What a darling story and illustrated so well.
The pictures are large and easy for a child or classroom to see. The print is legible and the story darling. I bought it for my Granddaughters Birthday and beginning Kindergarten present.. Thank you for a great addition to her beginning library of books. I will also give on to a school library in the District where I work.

The book is really a great reference for education majors that want to find out how to run book clubs in their class. I have marked many passages to use as a reference when I have my own class.

I recently went to a teacher conference here in Idaho that had Jeffrey D. Wilhelm as a guest speaker. He was phenomenal and provided great insight into teaching reading to children. I won this book as a door prize and continuously use it as a reference. This book really gives teachers some ideas into how to make reading more engaging and meaningful.

When I read this book last year, several months into working with an 8th grade remedial reading class consisting of all boys but two, I felt great relief to see that I was not the only teacher having such difficulties. Wilhelm used his difficult years of teaching remedial reading to kids who insisted on hating school and hating reading, and turned this experience into a practical approach to getting reluctant readers involved in a good story. His premise is generally that many struggling readers have difficulties because they are unable or unwilling to visualize what they read. He oulines practical ideas for helping readers visualize, generally by using process drama and tableaus in class. The book concentrates on a few different strategies, but he goes into some details on them, and just reading about these few strategies is enough to get you thinking about other ways to help your students. I'll never forget my macho boy students interpretating Charlotte from Avi's The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle, sashaying around the front of the room. Once they got over their embarrassment, they enjoyed the drama and said such activities helped them remember and understand what they've read, as well as helping them connect with the characters.

Now I'm in graduate school, but I used to teach 8th graders in a low SES school. If I think his ideas are usable, which I do, they would probably work in almost any middle-school classroom from a management point of view, which is the problem with many similar teaching suggestions. If you're familiar with "learning styles" you will understand what he learned from his research, but he explains how to help students who need visualization (art) and kinesthetic (drama) to become better readers. I also recommend "Strategic Readers" and am planning to read his more recent books.

At a time when countries like USA, Australia and Great Britain have registered their concern over literacy standards in schools by subjecting students to an ever increasing battery of standardised tests, it is refreshing to read a book by an experienced educator which emphasises a human and humane approach to putting the joy back into teaching reading. Jeffrey D Wilhelm's response to teaching students with reading difficulties is to make books "live" by using drama and art activities to enable readers to see and feel the text as well as to read it. He maintains that reluctant readers feel submissive to texts, seeing them as codes to be cracked rather than as containing meaningful stories and experiences. These students become so preoccupied with word identification and pronunciation that they never experience sentences and meanings. It is not until the teacher intervenes to reinforce reading with visualisation and actualisation activities that some students begin to "see" stories in their imaginations for the first time. Wilhelm's resistant students move from rejecting reading altogether as being irrelevant and boring to actively interrogating texts to check the validity of their artistic and dramatic performances - they learn to enjoy reading. It's worth wondering whether any basic skills test or comprehension activity could claim to have had that effect on even the most enthusiastic of readers. As an educator of beginning high school English teachers in Australia, I found this book to be both inspiring and topical, given the debate about literacy standards, particularly in relation to boys. One of the most frequently asked questions from student teachers returning from their practice teaching experiences is, "How do you get kids to read anything these days?" This book provides some helpful suggestions - firstly, get to know the students, without labelling them as failures, secondly don't be afraid to use texts they enjoy outside school, especially comics, and then present literature in conjunction with other forms of art so that students can see their experiences represented. Wilhelm is insistent that once students can "see" the worlds written about in literature, then they can enter the story world and from there encounter texts at gradually deepening levels of insight and enjoyment. It sounds like it might be worth a try.

Clearly, one of the best books I've ever read regarding education. This book was a required reading for a graduate course, but it should be required for any educator who truly wants to help make children more successful. It made me examine how I have been ZAPPING (encouraging, motivating) students and colleagues and SAPPING (demotivating, discouraging) students and colleagues. Although I can't go to the 12th dimension with Ralph, I'm hoping I will look at my students, my school in a way that will allow me to be more of a ZAPPER and less of a SAPPER.

This book really impacted me and the direction to go in my administration and teaching roles! I am a better leader and teacher b/c of the principles taught in this book! Gives a great approach on how to inspire others to accomplish more and succeed. Easy book to read! It is set up in a fictional story. The story was slow to grasp at first because I kept saying, "get to the point". Once the story was set up it began to pour out applicable information that the fictional story really brought out insights into. I really liked it after that. that is why i recommend this book to all educators. It doesn't make you feel like a failure. We are just normal and trying to do the best we can and wonder why everyone seems so exhausted and bored in schools. This book gave me a great approach to create energy within others! And it is a very simple approach.

Note: This book doesn't really talk about discipline or methodologies or theories, but provides a practical approach of how to improve the quality of instruction, and increase student and teacher satisfaction. Through the fiction side of the book it allows you to observe a successful school and one that is failing and how the failing school becomes a success! I now am going to take my classes to a new level of energy b/c of this book!

Easy read! At first it doesn't seem like it is going to apply b/c it is building the story. Then it catches steam and flows with good stuff.

This easy-to-read book sends a powerful message concerning the importance of empowerment and ownership in education. The lessons that can be learned from this publication will remain beneficial as long as education is an existing institution. Everyone should place himself/herself in the shoes of Joe Mode and see how the empowerment process can and should be implemented. To see firsthand how empowerment can improve teacher and student performance is totally astounding.

This book should be required reading for every school administrator starting with the State Commissioner of Education.

This book is light-hearted and easy to read. It provides the reader with a real sense of how to empower employees to create the best school possible. After reading this book, you will feel empowered to make a difference in your school. A must for all practicing school administrators.

Zapp! should be required reading for every educator in the USA. Its an easy read and an inspirational account of a principal who wants more for his students, staff and himself. The power to empower is underestimated in our schools today. Zapp!could change any educaator with the desire to grow.

This is a great set of short plays for the beginning musical theater student. They are fun with a new twist and the kids can relate to them. They also offer opportunity for discussion about life lessons.

I took this book to the beach for the kids to have something to do if the weather turned bad, it did, and the whole family loved it. The kids got to be creative and work together to put on a play for the rest of the family. Even my [...] year old got to play a part (with my help) and because they are familiar kid fairy tales, they already knew how they wanted to act out their character.

I teach drama to children ages 9-12. It was nice to find something that did not play down to them and was simple to memorize and stage.

Any type of plays/readers theater are a great way to involve all students in reading. My students enjoy these stories very much. This is a great way to make reading fun for students and can be used in the classroom with reading groups/whole group or at home with different family members reading different parts, a great way to practice reading and spend time together. Readers of all ages will get a kick out of reading these very adorable plays.

humorous fairy tales for elementary age students - a colleague and I were laughing so hard ourselves at the humor in the plays!

Recieved item on time, right when we were told it would arrive. Book in very good condition.

Educators already know that intrinsic motivation is preferable, but finding a viable way of doing that can be challenging. This book provides 150 (author was not exaggerating ; ) specific, doable activities for motivating the reluctant learner. I checked it out at the library~ it was so good, I immediately turned to the computer to order on line!

The ideas in this book can be adapted to just about any grade level. The strategies are fun, easy to understand and apply, and don't cost a fortune. I especially like the 'wanted posters' idea. This is a great way to teach diversity in the classroom.

My experience in the teaching work was improved with this lecture

Mr. Raffini has put together a great resource for motivating students. This book shows ways to use active versus passive learning practices. These methods are all classroom tested and designed by successful teachers. He understands what motivates students and what activities leaves lasting learning. Even a few of these suggestions will help make any classroom a better learning environment.

Games in this book are a great way to practice math concepts. I bought if for my son to play at home as extra practice. Great buy.

There are a lot of products similar to this one, but this is the best "Math Games" book that I have ever purchased. It has easy-to-understand instructions and games are matched to appropriate grade-level curriculum. Students really enjoy these games and have opportunities to learn from them by reflecting on the strategies they use, creating new games, and by attempting challenging tasks included in the book. If you are looking for a good Math games book, look no further.

There's one game in this book that's worth the whole price--Skyscraper Runup, a kind of relay race for computation that students *love* to play. The Remainder Raccoon game is also a hit. The others are fun, too. I highly recommend the book. I've worn out my copy already!

This book is a must for all teachers who struggle with making kids assimilate difficult concepts such as calculating equivalent fractions, geometry, measurement, probability and statistics, decimals, and mathematical operations ranging from addition all the way through divisions with remainder.

It contains black and white masters to photocopy in order to build your own board games. What I have done so far, is photocopy the games, color them and then have them laminated so that they can last longer. These board games are ideal for small group instruction or learning centers. Most of the games require not only the board and/or the dice, but a worksheet for the kids to color while they advance on the board, making the games even more engaging for the students.

The games are aimed at students between 3rd and 6th grades, and they all contain really attractive illustrations.

If you are looking for something fun to do with your kids meanwhile they are mastering mathematical reasoning, this book is a must for you!

This book is a guide on how to create the board games for the kids, the board games are not included. Good product.

Your book blew me away from page one! This book is more entertaining than any other educational guide to Internet sites and the best thing about it is that it's fun. Every person of every age needs this book. The topics covered are so numerous, this book proves itself incredible for all!

The authors falsely advertise this book when they say 300 INCREDIBLE THINGS TO LEARN ON THE INTERNET. Instead, they provide 300 classifications with several URLs included in each classification. An estimate based on an unscientific sampling of the 300 classifications, the book provides gateways to over 1000 incredible things.

I tested a few in areas of personal interest like Astronomy and Election, and asked my family members to do likewise (their choices). The sites that each one of us entered we agreed were informative and in some cases very entertaining. We felt some of the URLs were too slow. However, generally, we all agreed this book is a great gift for the newcomer (are there any left?) and the youngster to use for fun and reference...

Harriet Klausner

300 Incredible Things to Learn on the Internet quenched my thirst for learning and left me wanting more! I want to know when 300 MORE Incredible Things to Learn on the Internet will be available. This book is a valuable resource for all ages. Parents, teachers, students and just about anyone will enjoy these interesting and incredible sites. Whether you need help on a tricky homework question or can't remember the capital of North Dakota, 300 Incredible Things to Learn on the Internet will help! There are sites on every topic imaginable! I never knew surfing the Net could be so fun! Hats off to these INCREDIBLE authors!

This book is full of wonderful web sites for all ages and interests. As the teacher for adults and teens new to the internet, I found this book to be an invaluable resource. A variety of subjects, listed alphabetically make the format very easy to follow. I want to spend my afternoons...cruising the 'net using these "incredible" suggestions!

To be honest I wasn't really expecting much when I was given this book as a gift. Still the book proved my wrong, proposing 300 really interesting things to do online! I was amazed at such sites as fun-with-words.com or vazelos.com which really bring the internet experience to a new level. Highly recommended. You 'll keep coming back to it when you are bored surfing!

This book was great--my coworkers took it when it was delivered to my office and wouldn't give it back for 3 days. It is fun and easy to use, and everyone says it is super accurate. Enjoy!!!

I have been an astrologer for 30 years and have seen quite a few astrology books that deal with all aspects of personality. I have never seen any "birthdate" book work so well. I have used it extensively and only once did it fail to describe the person. However, in that case, the individual would have loved to be exactly what the description said they were, but an impoverished childhood stood in the way. When we first meet people we all wonder what is facade and what is real. We wonder how much we ourselves are projecting on to them. This book is very good at describing the main motivation of any person you meet.

I have read astrology books for years.This one pinpointed my sign. Even my kids and husband.

Looked up my birth date and was blown away by how accurate it was. Was also right on about my boyfriend. My Mother said hers wasn't as accurate but I guess they can't get everyone right.

I'm a bit of a skeptic about horoscope books in general, but this one seemed to grab my attention. It was displayed at a local psychic expo that I went to. I picked it up and checked out my birthday first. For some reason I'm a typical pisces so it was right on the button for me... the real test was my boyfriend who isn't a typical aries at all. Surprisingly it was correct for him too! It was accurate for about half a dozen other relatives and friends I looked up. Even if you don't believe in this sort of thing or it isn't 100% accurate, it is still a really fun book that anyone could enjoy. It even includes gift ideas for the birthday you look up! I'm buying two... one for my mum and one for me!

Giroux follows his typical train of thought in this criticism of the role of securitized discourse and fear in shaping American domestic and foreign policy. This time he focuses on how culture (the media, etc.) affects the educational spheres of America, most specifically its effects on children and those involved in higher education.

Best for those who are familiar with the basic tenets of critical pedagogy, the nuances of security literature, and who share a more liberal political ideology.

This was a decent Smart Rant. I agree with Giroux so it made it an (mostly) enjoyable read. I would not recomend this book for anyone who is not already on board with a far left agenda. It will just be frustrating. It would be like me reading a book by Rush Limbaugh. Giroux's rant is full of tricky rhetoric that sits well with his allies, for the most part, but would be unbearable for his enemies.

I would say that if you are interested in learning more about the Far Left, don't read this book unless you don't mind weeding through rhetoric. If you are in Giroux's camp and are looking for somthing to get you angry and fearful enough to participate in forms of activism, this will be a good book for you. If you are an enemy of the Far Left and want something to sink your teeth into so you can tear it apart, this will be like shooting ducks in a barrel. You'll love how easy it is to get annoyed with his rhetoric.

For those of you who don't find yourself as any of these people-types, well, your on your own. Maybe one of the other reviews will help you out.

Henry Giroux writes with a level of compassion, insight, and clarity that informs, astonishes and inspires. In these times of despair, deceit, cynicism, and war, Giroux provides probing and thoughtful analysis, sobering and searing revelations, and, perhaps most importantly, always a sense of hope in and for humanity. His latest work "Abandoned Generation" should be required reading for teachers at all levels, and educators in all domains, as well as every citizen who cares about the future of our youth, the future of education, and the possibilities for a more meaningful, engaged, caring and participatory democracy.

Once again, Henry Giroux stands up to be counted. In his insightful analysis of post 9/11 America, Giroux is unafraid to
challenge the anti-democratic policies of the Bush Administration. He does NOT buy into the belief of the Bushies
that if you repeat the lies often enough, people will begin to
believe them. He rightly suggests that the policies and priorities of the "War on Terror" have had both a chilling effect on the public discourse regarding what it means to live in a democratic society as well as dramatic real-world effects on the lives of many less-fortunate Americans.
Further, he uses popular culture to demonstrate the pernicious
effects the ideology of entertainment can have on the public imagination. Giroux's call for investment in the future security of America by building human capital (via education, health care, and other social services) is one that is not heard often enough. Perhaps if we have enough brave souls like Giroux willing to stand up and state the truth again and again, the public will be better able to distinguish between the truth and the oft-repeated pronouncements of the Bush Administration.

Michael J. Ludwig, Hofstra University

In The Abandoned Generation, Giroux goes beyond asking those who are already in the same political camp to agree with his study. Giroux asks everyone to reflect on what has been central to America's beliefs about democracy, question those features in our current society that undermine those beliefs, and envision how we can build on the democratic legacy that made our country great in the first place. Unfortunately, all three of these objectives often require time, deliberation, and explanation beyond the 10-second soundbytes that we get as pre-regurgitated pablum on the daily news and thus might require someone, such as Giroux, to devote his/her time to engaging citizens in thoughts and sentence structures more complex (and interesting) than those we would find in a Jane and Dick book. Time, deliberation, and explanation are, indeed, difficult in our age of quick fixes, and using them is often traded for the ease with which we would rather lay blankets of blame on the most vulnerable parts of the population, as opposed to lifting the reactionary quilts that try to cover the causes of our crisis.

With theoretical rigor, practical examples, such as in the use of Hollywood movies, and a desire for a better world that is steeped in the democratic tradition of thinkers like Jefferson and Dewey, Giroux takes on issues ranging from the continued assault on public schools that is partially backed by Bush's No Child Left Behind testing/choice schemes and the incredibly shrinking democratic functions of higher education to the utter disregard for children and youth, in particular, and public life in general. Further, Giroux uses front-line insights from various fields of study, not just like-minded left-wingers, who are either heavy-handed, academic, or dogmatic. In the least, Giroux offers hope and a map with which we can begin to work ourselves out of the current crisis in our country, and he also demonstrates that it is important that "academics" take on public issues, and that by doing so, "academic" issues can be seen rightfully as matters of public concern and the vitality of our democracy. The Abandoned Generation is a must read for citizens concerned about the safety and well-being of the U.S.-and its children-in this time of economic turmoil and global crisis.