Schools Books

I remember my mother reading Frances books to me when I was little, and I couldn't wait to read them to my daughter. The Frances books are wonderful children's stories.

The book is great, and my daughter had to "read" it as soon as it was opened.

I loved the Frances books growing up and now my two-year is enjoying them. I just read Bread and Jam to her and she loves it, especially the songs Frances sings (I sing them to the tune of Mary has a Little Lamb). I love the parenting advice in the book, too. We love the description of the lunches these little badgers unpack and eat at school. I love the quality of the illustrations and the writing. I think it's children's book writing at the best. So many books now are just plain silly!

I read the FRANCES books to my daughters (now grown) and am buying every one I can get my hands on to read to my two grandsons and my granddaughter. The character of Frances is so very human, and she has such realistic foibles that every child can identify with. Frances is a classic.

(I have no qualms about the parental roles portrayed in the book. Can't parents choose the roles they wish, and isn't the traditional role a valid choice?)

It was one of my favorites as a kid and now I read it to my little girl

So... was glad to be able to order the one Betsy book I had never read. It's lovely - all MH Lovelace's Betsy books are. And FINALLY, finally, you get to find out what happened to Larry and where Sam came from. When I first got on the 'net last year, I was so glad to be able to order books I could never quite find, and also to find there were (adult) Betsy fans everywhere - what a pleasant surprise. But if you've never been to Mankato, you want to know about the house (it was a "side trip" when visiting Mall of America). Well, Betsy's high school house is gone, but I was only disappointed briefly, because you can see Tacy's house (being restored), and Tib's house and the big hill (the hill is somewhat different than the image the books present) - but Carney's house looks just as described in the book. I wondered exactly what that add-on structure in back was - well "Carney's House Party" explained that. Bonnie's house, which I would like to have seen, across the street from Carney's, is gone also. One nice surprise - on Front Street there is a charming 2nd-hand bookstore, which my sister loved, probably about the size Mr. Ray's shoe store was. The proprietor there directed us to the library where you can purchase some Betsy items, the main one being a booklet with very nice pictures of most of the crowd when they were in high school, so at long last I also got to see what they all looked like, including Carney. I think part of the enduring attraction of this series is that it is autobiographical and therefore also historical. As a history buff, that's why I have stayed a fan of a book series discovered as a young person.

I loved the book for the same reasons everyone else does -- it's a fresh perspective on the Deep Valley Crowd AND it solves the mystery of what happened to Carney's high school ideal Larry.

I have only two quibbles:

1) The illustrations look somewhat recycled from other Betsy-Tacy books.
2) Carney mysteriously loses her eyeglasses. I noticed this in the illustrations and also wondered what happened while she's hanging on to the bumper of Sam's car in the rain: wouldn't they have fogged up? :) It's a small thing, but one of the reasons Carney was always my favorite is that she wore glasses and so do I.

A great book overall to add to our collections!

I vaguely remembered reading Carney's House Party over 35 years ago in my public library but the details certainly faded with the years. Now that I replenished my Betsy-Tacy library, thanks to Amazon, I decided to get Carney's House Party as well. What an interesting view it is of Deep Valley and the Crowd, as it is from Carney's perspective. As Carney's personality is markedly different from Betsy's, her opinions of events differ from those we'd expect from our beloved, but admittedly more dramatic, Betsy. I also found the description of college life at Vassar to be interesting and so different from my own at a women's college in the early 70's. Finally, Carney's romance is both surprising to those of us who followed the series and ultimately right for her.

I was thrilled to see that Carney's House Party is back! I grew up on a farm near Mankato, MN (Deep Valley) which was featured in Betsy and Joe. I loved these books as a child and now am so happy to be able to share them with my own daughters. Carney was always one of my favorite characters beause of her calm good sense combined with a love of fun. Her loyalty to her friends and respect and love for her family are powerful messages for today's young women. I only wish I could find comparable literature for my son.

I have 5 sisters and each and every one of us read all the Betsy Tacy books when we were girls. I read the ones of their childhood when I was little and then "graduated" to the High School and past, series as I grew older. Oh, so many fun hours reading them, trying to copy the wonderful Vera Neville illustrations, wishing I could live in Deep Valley just for awhile. Several years ago I startled the customers near me when I whooped with pleasure at finding these books in a bookstore -- just like I did a few minutes ago when I saw here on Amazon recommendations "Carney's House Party"! THANK'S Amazon!! I didn't know that that one, and "Emily of Deep Valley", had been re-published. I've just ordered both, (for me!) as well as two complete sets of the younger-age books for my two eldest granddaughters. This tradition is one I am happy to pass on -- I can't wait to give them this treat. By the way -- I don't agree with the 9-12 age rating for the books that are set in high school and beyond: they are really for a bit older, although there is certainly nothing harmful in them for little girls: on the contrary. But they are intended for a bit older -- say 12 and up.

I am an elementary school music teacher with students ranging from pre-K to 5th grade. I read this book to all of my pre-K and kindergarten through second grade classes and sometimes the mood strikes me to read it to older students. There is something in here for most every age. Everyone loves it.

So why does Raschka draw chicken feet in such odd places, e.g., on overshoes, alphabet letters, pancake flippers?

Well, rumor has it that one day Charlie Parker was driving back to his boarding house and, as luck would have it, he hit and killed a chicken that had run out into the street from someone's front yard. Such chickens are called "yardbirds". The alleged events include Parker doing the unthinkable, namely, backing up his car, picking up the dead chicken (aka "roadkill"), taking it to his landlady (hey, it was fresh!), her cooking it, and him eating it. When friends heard this story, Parker was known forever after as "Yardbird", which was eventually shortened to just "Bird".

If you didn't catch the part about the chicken feet on your own, don't feel badly. Insiders like Rachka and myself know it and now you do too. Rachka has done a terrific job in providing a lot of feeling about some very notable personalities. Plus he does it with humor, some of which is very subtle.

My students probably have as much fun going through Parker's history as with the book itself. But all of that is just the preliminaries: I then have to read it several more times with the students reading and acting out the story. We have a rockin' good time.

This book introduces jazz to a young audience. It explores the sounds, rhythms, and emotions of the genre through colorful pictures and rhythmic words similar to the beat of "scat" singing.
Lots of the words are there just for the sound of them. By focusing on the sound words, students could develop spelling strategies that help them move from phonemes, the sounds they make, to graphemes, the written representations of those sounds.

This book is excellent. The illustrations and musical text allow for early readers to really enjoy and learn from this book. Perfect for preschool and kdg age. I used this book as the basis of a jazz unit, it worked wonderfully.

"Charlie Parker Played Be Bop" was my son's favorite book when he was two and nine years later we still have fun reading it. I now purchase a copy for new parents to read to thier babies. As a speech language pathologist, I want to share to magic of words and the music they can make! This book is an absolute MUST read for all children.

I wasn't sure how my little one would respond to this book even though I love it. If I ask, "Do you want to read about Charlie Parker?," she lights up and starts literally starts to bop. The baby digs it. Just more evidence that the jazz is a universal language. I like the introduction to poetry, rhythm and randomness ("Never leave your cat alone"). I bought two other copies and gave them to my friends for their babies.

After reading the glowing reviews, I was hoping for something spectacular. First of all, it is a small book, about 6x6 inches - $10 is too much for this small book. Next, I flipped through and read a few of the quotes, but couldn't see myself -or my daughter, the intended recipient- reading for more than a couple of minutes. Sorry, I'm just not impressed. This book, along with the other 3 in the series are all going back.

It is difficult for people of different generations to find a perfect gift. For my niece I thought that the best thing I could give her in her formative years is a sense of self esteem. Talking was not always the best way. I was lucky to find a book that was meaningful to us both.

I have a couple of girl friendship quote and photography books but this is one which I think will appeal to multiple generations of women, unlike my other books. Catherine Dee has included quotes from female Gen Y heros like Michele Kwan: "If you have nothing in life but a great friend, you're rich."

My 14 year old niece worships Michelle Kwan so I think she would appreciate this, as well as her grandma who worshipped Erma Bombeck.

I can't believe it, another gem by Catherine Dee. What a beautiful book of friendship, life lessons and quotes. This book helps to complete the set of Ms. Dee's other works. With beautiful shorts stories, whimsical quotes and words of inspiration, The Girls "Book of Friendship" is the perfect tool for teaching young girls how to build long-term relationships at the same time, providing words of encourage and empowerment.

I was thrilled to be able to give my daughter something tailored to her. This book lays a great foundation for "Girl Power" and enforces a strength in young ladies which will help them take on the world and deal with the obstacles in it.

Keep em coming Catherine!!!!!!

I was recently in the hospital for open-heart surgery. My dear friend gave me the book of friendship. It meant so much to me for two reasons. One is that it is full of such wonderful quotes and shoret stories, and gave me some great memories and cemented my friendhip with the girl who gave it to me, and secondly, due to the brevity of the quotes and stories it was easy for me to pick up and read and put down when I got tired. It is so hard to concentrate on long stories when first out of surgery, so this book was perfect. It took me two weeks to read it all, but worth very minute.

I teach kindergarten and this is one of my favorite books to share with my class. I love the pictures and the kids are fascinated by the story. I had the book in paperback, but it has worn out. I now have my old paperback book to check out to the children and my own copy to cherish.

Our whole family enjoys this book. Audrey Wood is one of our favorite authors. All of her books are a delight to read. I meant to select 5 stars, and I can't change it now!

My daughters, ages 4 and 2, have requested this book every night since I bought it 3 weeks ago. They even take it down from the bookshelf themselves during the day to look at the beautiful illustrations. The story is wonderfully written, and my daughters love trying to remember who gets turned into what food. A great buy for our family.

I love this story, it is just a classic. Great for any child in grade school. The pictures, however, are probably the best part. Gorgeous. Simply gorgeous.

Audrey Wood is clever and fanciful. My daughter loves this book! She first read it at age 10 and asked me to buy her another copy- at age 14(the first was lost in a move). She has become a fan of Audrey Wood (Weird Parents, Elbert's Bad Word)...as have I.

IF YOU WERE THINKING OF BUYING THE BOOK "NAPPY HAIR", GET THIS ONE INSTEAD. ITS BEAUTIFULLY WRITTEN.

This is an excellent book for building confidence in African-American girls about the natural beauty of their hair. The pictures are wonderfully done and contribute to the feeling of pride you get when reading this book. My daughter especially related to the part where the little girl makes music with the beads in her hair, and I try to remember to be as compassionate as the mom in the book when I comb her hair.

I purchased this book for my 3 year old daughter. She is only 1 of two black girls in her class of 16. This has been great for her. She asks me to read the book all the time. The book was also good for me too. It helped me to remind me to be proud of my hair and all of the wonderful styles and the great history of our hair. I just love it when my daughter says "I Love My Hair."

This book was like a breath of fresh air! Compared to the many children's books out there about 'nappy' (coiled/African) hair, this one is the most positive and affirming. While other books dwell on the 'N' word (i.e. the term 'nappy') and try to put a positive(?) spin on it, this book doesn't even use the term. Instead, it focuses on the reality of a young African-American child who is learning to love and accept herself by loving and accepting her unique hair texture. I love it!

My daughter is 10 years old and I have kept her hair naturally curly. She is mixed and gorgeous. She was at school and a little girl told her, " You need to tell your mommy to perm your hair, its a mess." She came home crying because this little girl, who is like her (the girl is african-american) said that to her. I talked to her about it but I don't think she believed me when I told her that her hair was beautiful and special. I came to good ole' Amazon and saw this book. I bought it for her and when it came we read it together. She smiled at the similarities between her and the little girl in the book. Like how she asked her mommy to stop doing her hair until the ouchies went away, the same as she does with me, or that fact that every hair style in the book has been done to her hair too. She LOVES her hair now. And she wants more books about little girls' hair. This is hard but I am looking right now for another one. This book is an inspiration to all little girls of color or mixed race. It truly has been for my daughter.

I used this book to begin the school year. I had my students listen to the story to guess each part of the pyramid of success. After the story we built our own pyramid on a bulitan board and discussed all of the elements needed to be successfull. Now I refer to the bulitan board to remind the children of what they are to be doing. This has been a great tool to teach character to my students while keeping control of my class. Inch and Miles are my new class mascots!

What a wonderful book! The illustrations are colorful and filled with interesting characters. Each block in the "pyramid of success" describes a value in an animated and fun format. A great inspirational book that teaches everyone to to be their best! A terrifically well written that should be shared with everyone you love.

I bought a batch of "Inch and Miles" and gave the book away as presents to my family and friends. "Inch and Miles" is our favorite book in our home library. We recommend this book to parents, educators, and coaches.

As a Principal of an elementary school I gave this book to each of my teachers this Fall and we read the book together round-robin style. What an experience! Their enthusiasm has carried through the whole school as our students have all had discussions of the various blocks, the value of hard work and being a person of integrity whatever your path. We so appreciate that Coach Wooden put his successful system into a kid-friendly venue to reach even our kindergarteners. A must-have book for adults as well as children to assist in returning to the basic roots of a successful society. Yes, enthusiasm is important, but staying the course, inch by inch, with confidence and poise, hard work and determination will ensure great accomplishments. So, "hootie-toot-toot" to a rival Bruin we will always be indebted to! Fight on!

At first I thought this book was too much for children to absorb. But after seeing the kids' reaction to it and the content of other books the children could be reading, I realized the title of this review.

Inch and Miles are now the central characters in our schoolwide character ed program! This beautiful book with powerful lessons from Coach Wooden has been the perfect addition to our program, and it is not the same old charater ed stuff you see everywhere! Each classroom in our school has a copy of the book, and we focus on one or two traits of the Pyramid each month. Students are selected as Students of the Month based on the trait for that month. Every student in the school keeps an on-going journal of writing related to each trait, and students perform special skits, songs, poems, etc related to the traits in the book at our weekly assemblies. Whether you use it individually or schoolwide, this book is a must have for teachers and parents!

This is a sweet story but I found the narration by Jimmy B. and his daughter a little lacking. I'm a Jimmy Buffet fan no doubt. I just don't think voice overs are his thing. It is cool to hear him doing something with his daughter though. Like I said, it's sweet but I don't think we will pull this one off the shelf very often.

When I read the initial literary review, I had to laugh. The story is not weakened by the Jolly Mon's lack of efforts! Hah! The story is about the Jolly Mon's total surrender to his own destiny. He sings, the fish jump out of the sea, a musical instrument comes his way, he tries to play and makes a discovery. He trusts nature. He takes the opportunites that come his way with faith and grace. He uses the gifts he was given to the best and highest purpose. He does as he is asked to do. The book is a metaphor of faith and surrender. Besides that, it is beautifully illustrated, the music is lovely and my 2 1/2 year old son asks for it again and again. And, yes we are all parrotheads...

Anyone who is familiar with Jimmy Buffett understands ~ fantasy and fun are important parts of life.

This book & CD get the dream underway...

When I ordered this book I didn't realize it was a children's book. But when it arrived I read it then mailed it to my grand daughters. So it didn't go to waste and it was at least read/heard by three people in my family. I have loved the other Jimmy Buffett books and songs.

The quality of the printing, the beautiful 'semi-true story', the bright and well done colorful pictures and the bonus CD of Jimmy Buffett's song, aka The Jolly Mon, make this an excellent purchase for anyone with young children in their lives. It can lead to laughter, clapping, dancing and giggles!

It was a good book for young children. There grandparents hide a treasure.

1979. I was 7 years old. Found this masterpiece in the elementary school library one day. This book changed my childhood; it introduced the concept of mystery and adventure. It's effects - lasting. Now 35, it's the year 2007, and I once again stumble upon "Key to the Treasure". Life is great. Nostalgia warms my soul. Kids: enjoy your childhood - read as many books as you can. These years are the BEST of your life.

Thank you Mrs. Parish for the memories!

Now... it's on to "The Mystery of Chimney Rock"...

Have you ever searched for hidden treasure? Jed and his twin siblings Bill and Liza do just that in The Key to the Treasure. These three adventurous youngsters must solve clues and do it secretly so that they can surprise their grandparents. Along the way they often learn to set aside their differences and work together.
The three kids were staying with their grandparents for the summer when they accidentally stumbled upon the clue to a treasure their great-great grandfather had hidden over a hundred years ago. Using their wits they solve clues and overcome obstacles to help them find the key to the treasure. Some of the things they encounter are a hissing goose, a mischievous little boy, paper that is so old it falls apart, wasps, and moldy pouches.
I loved this book when I was a child and still read it to my students today. I always tried to figure out the clues before the three kids and I always dreamed of hiding my own treasure for someone to find. The writing style may not be the best especially compared to books written in our day and age but it is a fun book and a quick read. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes quick mysteries and hidden treasure.

I thought this was a good book because there are lots of clues and it is very interesting for kids to make pretend discoveries. It was fun and there were lots of decriptions about how the treehouse looked. (Nicolas, Age 7, 3rd Grade)

As a child I read "Key to the Treasure" by Peggy Parish at least three times, if not more. I became enraptured with the story line from the very beginning as the accidental discovery of a piece of paper rolled up in an old Indian war bonnet turns into the adventure of a lifetime for three young children.

What I enjoy most about Peggy Parish's book is that it is fiction based on facts. This lends a great deal of believability to the story while providing young readers with glimpses of a time when life was far more simple and yet much more fun. For this reason alone I purchased a new copy of the book for my nine-year-old daughter.

I highly recommend "Key to the Treasure" for children ages seven through twelve who enjoy reading and also enjoy using their imagination. Many hours of pleasure are sure to be derived from this book that I believe to be a classic children's story.

This is an exceptionally insightful book looking into the juvenile criminal justice system in L.A. It does a good job of illustrating the perspectives of all individuals involved, from "criminals" to "officials" and also shows gradients of right and wrong, and just how complicated and even faulty the system may be. It is very well written, and I highly recommend it.

A great introduction into the juvenile criminal justice system. I actually went to work for a public defenders' office because of this book.

A more recent book I'd highly reccommend is "Last Chance In Texas." Ironically, Texas has perhaps the most progressive juvenile justice system in the country. This book tells how Texas' worst juvenile offenders had their lives changed for the better.

This book is so SOOO depressing. And we deserve to feel that way about our Juvenile Justice system. Everyone remotely attached to criminal law or children should read this.

Written over the course of one year in LA's juvenile court system, this book is very enlightening to the plight of our kids in detention and on the streets. It has recently been reported that less than 10% of Florida's almost $709 million juvenile justice budget is spent on prevention. I hope to do my personal part to change this in my community, by supporting intervention programs for at-risk youth.

No Matter How Loud I Shout reads like a novel. It is an incredibly well written and compassionate view of the life of some of the country's forgotten "children". I really enjoyed it as well as "Baby ER" also by Mr. Humes.