Schools Books

My 10 year old daughter loves all four of the Melanie Martin books. She cannot put them down. Not only is she entertained, but also has learned a few things about other countries. As a teacher, I highly recommend the Melanie Martin books. I sure hope Mrs. Weston keeps adding more to this series.
Melissa Lombardo

The Diary Of Melanie Martin is a book about a young girl called Melanie. She flies to Italy with her family on an airplane when she had never been out of the U.S.A. She loved the thought going to a foreign country, but things didn't turn out how she expected... I liked this book and all the characters in it. My favorite part of the book was when Melanie just went back home to the U.S.A. She had realized a lot about her family and learned some important values. Melanie inspired me to be nicer to my sibling, as she did in the book. I definitely recommend this book to anybody who has a sibling, or who has never been out of his or her country. In this book, she gives the lesson about trying new things and taking risks. I am sure that anybody who reads this book will learn some useful information about life! Enjoy!

Having traveled to Italy with my family when I was twelve, The Diary of Melanie Martin called back dozens of similar memories of all the museums which were endured with the promise of gelato and of the delicious food which Weston describes to mouth-watering perfection. Reading this book, I kept on wishing it had been around for my family vacation so that my brother and I could have played "Point out the Naked People" during our museum tours; now I can only wholeheartedly recommend it to every member of a family planning a trip to Italy or just looking for a funny and truthfully-written book too perfetto to be missed.

I read melanie martin, and it was sensational!!!!!!!!!!!!!!I wanted to learn about Italy, and she helped me learn about it. Read this book, and you'll wanna read the other three book too.

A must read with the monalisa, sistin chapel, and boots the cat. Also it has ton of poetry. The book makes your mouth water for more.

I am a high school ESL teacher for new immigrants to the U.S. Our school buys the Merriam-Webster English-Spanish in bulk so each student has one that is easy to carry around, and because they are cheaper. But after experimenting with various dictionaries, I find that I much prefer to keep The New World dictionary right beside me at my desk, when I'm standing at the overhead projector, when I am circulating around the room to help students. I find The New World easier to read and easier to use. For example, when looking at multiple meaning words such as plot or setting, it is easier to pick out the language arts/literary definition in The New World dictionary. It also offers more in the way of support for people learning English or Spanish -- for example the section that helps Spanish speakers understand English prefix/root/suffix is very useful to ESL students and teachers in a high school setting. This year we are going to buy several for each classroom that has ESL students in it.

I have been teaching English as a Second Language for many years and I have become fluent in Spanish. This dictionary for Americans (North and South) is the best for the money. It has many words that are American Spanish and American English whereas many other more expensive dictionaries use European words and sometimes spellings. It is not a good dictionary for travel but then I don't think most are. I don't use a dictionary when on the road. The paper editions wear out rapidly with moderate use but they are cheap enough. Do not waste time and money on smaller dictionaries such as the Chicago. This one not only has American language, it has many idioms, and a reasonable grammar section. I hope this little gem never goes out of print.

Very descriptive, lots of examples in grammar. This should be the only dictionary that a student will ever need. Everything is there. I have learned so much from this dictionary.

PERFECT! Product in great quality. For my daughter's high school Spanish class. Just what we needed! Thanks!

I bought the New World Spanish/English dictionary for college, and hated it. It seems to be missing a lot of words. Looking words up feels more frustrating, because they are often missing, and because this dictionary follows the practice of putting "ch-" after "co-" and the other C words. It's hard to explain. I just don't love the New World the way I love my Chicago.

The Chicago English-Spanish / Español-Inglés was recommended by my highschool Spanish teacher -- I don't regret buying it. Classmates who bought other ditionaries (such as the Oxford, I think it was) often needed to borrow mine. It simply has more of the words we needed to look up and is fun to use and browse through. For example, the New World has the verb reference section in the middle of the dictionary, but the Chicago has it in front, where it's quicker to locate.

let me just say i loved this book!...i came across it at my God daughters house this weekend.....it's such a great lesson ...and in such a simple easy to read way...Grace has it on her reading table as her favorite book....which is saying something.....this is a girl that has a room full of the latest toys and books....and i loved reading it to her...there's a great story line...as well as such detailed interesting illustrations...it's a must have for every child!...catherine marvis

I had an opportunity to read Different Just Like Me and was so touched by the author's spirit towards diversity of all people, shapes, colors, conditions, and ailments. This is a wonderful starter book for preschool to young elementary aged children to put language to difference, and to begin awareness to how being different and unique... is really what we're all about. Each page has a new element, be it Braille, sign language, explanation of fruits and vegetables - and makes connections between the differences in each. Wonderful work!

When I first read Different Just Like Me I thought to myself, "What a wonderful book and what a great way to begin discussions in my classroom about respecting each others' differences". Never did I dream that this book would have the impact it had on my third grade class.The converstaions that were stimulated by this book were phenomenal! I was so impressed by how the book was able to open the door to the difficult topic of differences and acceptance. Children began to share their own experiences of times they felt left out or different. Children spoke about times when they felt uncomfortable around someone who was different then they were and they were unsure of how to handle that. I learned that my students had so many questions. They had finally found a safe opportunity to begin asking these questions. The children continued to refer to the book and make textual connectionns with this book throughout the year. It was obvious that the story had made a big impact on the children. Besides teaching a third grade class I also teach the Mainstreaming class for teachers at San Diego State University. I have reccommended this book to many teachers in the class as an avenue to begin the discussion about diversity in the classroom. I have heard such positive results from many of the teachers about how helpful it was to start the discussion with this book.

I learned of this book because my daughter Lindsey has vitiligo, a skin condition, that makes her look different. I went to my local library to check on the book and they had to borrow it from a bigger library. My daughter and I enjoyed the book because it brings out the points that we are all different in some ways but we are all also the same because everyone has feelings and want to be loved and treated well. When I returned the book to the library the librarian told me that she had enjoyed the book also and wanted to order a copy for our local library. The beautiful illustrations and insightful text are a treasure for anyones library.

I've read this book a number of time with my daughter. The odd premise is that we are all alike despite our differences. The main character, April, encounters people who are different races or ethnicities, people with disabilities, even boys and men, and . . .nothing much happens.

She has these encounters before and during a weekend train trip to visit her Grandmother. (Oddly, nothing is made of how older people are different but the same.) Her Grandmother cuts a bunch of different flowers and gives April the bouquet.

This aggregation of flowers symbolizes, one must suppose, that different people can be in the same place. Gosh!

The story is weak, the premise flimsy, but the illustrations are OK.

Hally is a dog with bad breath. It is extremely bad breath. So bad the family feels they need to get rid of him. However, when his horrific breath saves the family from danger, the dog gets to stay and is a hero.

This is a cute story, and the play on words with Hally Tosis is funny. My son likes this story, but it doesn't engage him in the way that some of the other Dav Pilkey books do. The writing just isn't as funny as it is in Dogzilla and Kat Kong. However, the illustrations are very funny, and we like to talk about all of the different reactions to Hally's doggy breath. In fact, the illustrations entertain my son more than the story.

This is a nice easy read for the kids, and the reader can enjoy the adventure right along with the kids.

I thought this book was so cute!!!! The humor is wonderful and so smart. I am publishing a children's book and hope it is as wonderful as Dog Breath!
(...)

We finally get something that kids can REALLY appreciate- a cute, lovable dog with horrid breath. The story is hysterical, the artwork sheer perfection. My three and five year-olds both love this one. I have to confess I do, too. Yeah, there's a message in here, too... but who cares. Books like this will make young kids love books.

I know Amazon says this is a book for 9-12 year olds but I'm older and I loved it. I started reading the Heartland books in like 5th grade but like now I really think this is a book that people my age would enjoy. However, if you haven't read at least the last five books first it won't mean as much to you. I am one of those people that isn't really sensitive and has never cried in a book before but this book made me cry. Everyone should read this book! It's fantastic!

Another awesome example of Lauren Brooke's admirable ability to relate to our-age teen equestrians. With the new and challenging mustang on her hands, and Ty still in the hospital, quite a few surprises spring up, and Amy has to deal with many things she hasn't yet dealt with- such as a horse completely and totally not responding. I won't tell you whether or not Ty wakes up, if he is in a wheelchair, if he is fine, or if he is... dead. One bit of information I can spare without ruining the numerous surprise scenes is that this book is far more emotional and in-depth than Lauren Brooke's previous works, but I can not say I am opposed. Amy seems to still be herself, but more sentimental and emotional at the same level. (...)

I absolutely love the Heartland books since they're all so great and this one was no different.

In Everything Changes, Amy deals with alot. She has to since Ty's still in a coma and there's an un-backed stallion (Dazzle) straight from the plains of Nevada. Plus dealing with all of the other damaged horses by herself and the barn chores.

This was a great book and I hope Lauren Brooke continues on writing.

About the book: Life is slowly returning to normal at Heartland. Amy continues doing the daily chores at Heartland, but without her boyfriend, Ty. Ty is still in a coma at the hospital from a tornado that hit heartland in the previous book. Heartland has a mustang stallion arriving, and Amy is excited. She never got to work with a horse quite like that before, and she cant wait to get started. But when she does get started, the stallion, Dazzle, finds it difficult to warm up to Amy. She realizes she's in for a long haul with this horse. Ty eventually recovers and forms a bond with Dazzle.

My Opininon: Awesome book, awesome series! For horse lovers all around the world! And i know the reading level says ages 9-12, but im 16 and i STILL read this series. I've been a loyal fan since book #1 came out (Coming Home). I recommend this book and all the others in the series to any horse lover.

Oh yeah, and before i forget: This series is ending after book #20 (Always there). But check out Lauren Brooke's BRAND NEW series: Chestnut Hill. The first book is called "The New Class".

I have been reading the Heartland books for quite a long time and they have been all good but this book is DEFINITELY my favourite. This book has alot of things going on in it and at the end it leaves you on a cliff hanger. I can't wait to read the next book(Love is a gift) and anyone who is a horse lover will simply adore this book.

This book finds the quartet leaving Fairie land and walking straight into Ka Anor's territory. There they find the Greek god Dionysis and the very handsome and immortal Ganymeade as prisoners of the Hetwan. Both are on the menu for Ka Anor.They are able to help them escape and try to flee to Olympus where Dionysis claims he can make them all immortal. But to get to Olympus, it means travel right through Ka Anor's hive. In this book we finally get to meet this Ka Anor and Christopher goes through a very big life changing experience in this book. You'll have to read to find out what it is.
It is a great book and I enjoyed it as much as I did the others!

Christopher is my favortie character so of course I would would like this book but then they added some greek mythology and I was hooked. Another factor is they travel to Ka-Anor's city and see Ka-Anor eat someone and discover that Ka-Anor is fear himself. Since they first mentioned Ka-Anor in the first book I've been wanting to meet him. THis is also the first book I've been interested in the real world part of the book I won't talk about it or I might ruin it for someone. I loved this book and I reccomend it to anyone!

Christopher is my favortie character so of course I would would like this book but then they added some greek mythology and I was hooked. Another factor is they travel to Ka-Anor's city and see Ka-Anor eat someone and discover that Ka-Anor is fear himself. Since they first mentioned Ka-Anor in the first book I've been wanting to meet him. THis is also the first book I've been interested in the real world part of the book I won't talk about it or I might ruin it for someone. I loved this book and I reccomend it to anyone!

While this series is no great work of literature, it's definately worth reading. The characters are extremelly well defined and developed, and I find myself liking all of them, even Christopher, more and more. The author herself has an almost bizarre understanding of teenagers, and she writes it just like it is. Anyway, in book six, the point of view swings back to Christopher, and he tells the tale as the four kids travel across Hetwan country, at the center of which is the inevitable Ka Anor, God Eater. They are soon joined by Dionysis, Greek god of wine, and his unbearably handsome young cup-bearer, Ganymeade, who convince them to accompany them to Olympus. Christopher's real world dilemma was interesting as well, but that would be a spoiler and a rather ironic one at that, so I will leave you to read the book yourself to find out the rest. These books are pretty intense, so I can't say I'd recommend them to anyone younger than thirteen or fourteen or so.

This is a great book if you liked Animorphs. When Applegate decided to stop Animorphs I was bummed but then she made Everworld. This was the first book I've bought and I didn't think it would be that good but it is!! If Amazon had ten stars for this review I would give it an eleven!!!

Recently I was reminded of this awesome book, which I loved to have read to me when I was a young child. I'm so excited to share it with my new niece and nephew! Wonderful story line of determination, and emphasis that one can be whatever one chooses to be.

This book was handed down to us from other family members who read it to their kids years ago. We loved it as much as they did and ended up buying a copy to give to our school. Highly recommended.

my daughter enjoyed this book when she was small. so much so that it looked very well used now my granddaughter is enjoying the book and it fast becoming her favorite book to read

Even though it isn't a "funny" book, I find myself utterly amused
with the pictures. The story is simple and charming.
The book is a classic in my eyes, and very special to me. I hope it will be for you too.

My daughter (she's six) just finished reading this book herself, out loud to me at bedtime. It took her four or five nights to read the three short chapters.

In the middle of the book, when Pickles the cat has a small triumph, she said "it makes me cry!" and at the end she said "I wish it just kept going". I felt so glad for her to have the experience of what it's like to read a good book - these are the feelings that make one a real book lover for life!

Like another recent reviewer I thought the pictures a little crude but the cats were remarkably cat-like; there was no effort to make them cute or cuddley. Yet, perhaps because of that simplicity, Pickles invokes a strong sense of feeling/identification as the he "grows" into a better cat through the three short chapters.

I think this was the perfect book for my daughter to read at this time. Just challenging enough, a great story and illustrations that work very well with the story. I'm also am glad to find a good children's book that's NOT about a boy (though Pickles IS a "he"); I'm sure all parents with daughters know that the vast majority of kid's books are about boy hero (yes I know there are some excellent exceptions) so a wonderful book that's not about a boy is a great find.

There's not much more to to add to the glowing reviews already here. I just wanted to say that the kids go crazy for Fireman Small. I like that he is such a sweet caring firefighter who goes out of his way to help everyone. I love any book that instills compassion in its readers. We love Fireman Small!!!

My 2 1/2 year old son absolutely loves this book..the illustrations are lovely, and it is so much fun to read with him. He has already remembered all the words, and fills in most of the gaps as we read it together. He is crazy about fire engines and firemen. I can't recommend this book enough.

My 2-year old follows this story pretty well (it has a repetitive-type storyline) and caught on quickly to the page turn cues (siren). He loves all the sound effects throughout the story. The illustrations are eye catching as well and help tell the story for a child that doesn't read yet. The price is reasonable considering how hard these cassette read-along are to find!

This is a sweet story with a nice flow and repetition. My 2 1/2 year old son has immediately begun pretending to be Fireman Small saving the kitty and the baby bunny. I will definitely look into other books by this author.

I picked this up thinking that it would be another good fireman book for my fireman-obsessed five-year-old. It certainly is that, but the flow and the structure also make it an excellent help-your-child-to-fall-asleep story. The basic plot is that Fireman Small is very tired and keeps trying to go to bed, but each time he does some new emergency happens that forces him to get up one more time. When he's done with the last one, everybody thanks him for all his help and he oh-so-happily drifts off to sleep. I usually read him several stories at bedtime, but I like to make sure that this is the last one; by the time we're through with it he's usually nodding off.

One small problem; Wong seems to have a unique sense of rhythm, which makes this harder to read aloud then you might expect; it took me a couple of readings before I felt that I had gotten it completely right. With practice, though, it flows beautifully.

My older children read this book to themselves and were not impressed, BUT when I read it outloud with a british accent they were mesmerized. It's now one of our favorites. The pictures are delightful. Now my five year old is a Redwall fan too!

If you like Brian Jacques' Redwall series of stories, then you will like The Great Redwall Feast. As a picture book, it provides colorful, concrete images of characters that you have seen in your imagination. You'll see the mice, moles, hedgehogs, hares, and other animals prepare a surprise feast for their Abbot of Redwall. Without the violence that is characteristic of the Redwall stories, it is well suited for young children. But it is a fun book for older children too, and even adults (like me).

This book shows the talent of Chris Denise. Being the cover illustrator of the American Redwall books, he shows his work again in this very neat picture book. All the animals are so cute in this book, like hamsters, and it shows you how they prepare, what to prepare, and what to do in the abbey feasts. I recommend this book for all ages.

Fabulous illustrations occupy most of the page in this 64-page poem of 101 six-lined stanzas with an AACBBC rhyming scheme. The story incorporates many of the series' favorite characters, including Matthias and Cornflower, and depicts not only the preparations of a wonderful Redwall feast by hares and mice and otters, but includes a riddle as well.

This book is really beautiful and should be read aloud.

I bought this book because my oldest son (5 years old) saw a part of the Redwall series on PBS. He loved it but the book series is too old for him yet. This book is a great introduction! The pictures are gorgeous and the language and imagery are exquisite. I highly recommend this book and I hope there will be more like it!

I loved this book. I read it a year ago and I still rememberparts of it, especially the day and night sides of Ryloth. It was neathow the friends kept saving each other.

Usually, in most series by the time they reach book 10 it is beggining to get cheesy and unsatifying, but this is an exception. In fact, I think that this book is even better than the other three books in the second series of Young Jedi Knights, though I generaly liked the first series better. For one thing, even though there is one more book after this one, it seemed to tie in just about all the subplots of the series into a flawless intertwining story, that is much better than most people give it credit for, just because they are kids books. Anyway, in this story, The Young Jedi Knights (Jacen, Jaina, Tenel Ka, and Raynar) finally decide that they have waited long enough for Lowie (their other friend) to return from visiting the Diversity Aliance and they must assume that he has either joined them, or is being held against his will. (both bad things) So they take off to go to rescue him, but are captured by the Diversity Aliance (who is fanacicly anti-human) and thrown into the spice mines to slave out their remaining years in agony. Will they save Lowie and escape? And if they manage to will they survive in the nearly inhospitably cold exterier to Ryloth? You'll just have to read the book to find out. One thing that bothers me, is that when they ask Lusa to stay behind and cover for them saying that they went on a mission or something, well wouldn't the adults imediatly be suspicios? I mean they are just a bunch of fifteen year old kids, wouldn't the adults feel responsible if something happened to them? Yet everyone seems to simply take it in stride as a normal accurance untill Zekk and Lusa come forward and tell the truth for them. Also, these budding relationships between all the kids, while extremly innocent, are starting to get annoying. Actually, the relationship between Jacen and Tenel Ka is fine, it being fun and interesting to watch. But do we really need more than that? Now new characters have actually been created just so other characters aren't left out of this, or so it seems. Zekk in particular was never one of my favorite characters, though despite myself I am begining to like him more. I am still completly against him forming a relationship with Jaina though, despite the fact they like each other. While I suppose Jaina does like him for the right reasons, they are better as friends. Their so called relationship is not only boring, but also completly unneccacary. A poor attemp to relate to teenage girls who would be reading this book. I'm a girl, and I'm fifteen, but this still seems silly and unneccecary, as is Lusa and Raynar, and Lowie and Raaba. Well now that I'm through complaining, I'll sign off by saying once again that this is a great book that I reccomend to any Star Wars fan, especially those interested in seeing how Han and Leia's kids turned out.

I have recenlty found to my suprise that many YA novels are very interesting. The "Young Jedi Knights" series have a lot of these novels and this particular book is easily representative of the breed. It helped that I have read some of the previous books of the series, however, otherwise I would have been completely lost in the character interrelationships.

This is a great book. one of the beast. A good part is when Jacen & Tenel Ka get lost in the ice land. "The first thing Jacen noticed was the cold. He shivered and looked at Tenel Ka,her lizard hide boots rose to midcalf, but her scaled armor only covered a minuscule portion of her uper thigh and left her arms bare. You must be c-c-cold,he said. This is a fact,said Tenel Ka. Chill wind went into the cave like knives of ice. Jacen, unable to thik of any other comfort, put his arms around Tenel Ka and pulled her to him in hopes of sharing some of his body warmth. Tenel Ka's arm slid around Jacen's waist and hugged him". so they are frezzing to death. It gets a bit more buddy buddy for Jacen & Tenel Ka. Now Jaina &Ranar are in the hot lands. " Raynar did his best to keep up with Jaina as they trudged between cracks, lept over open spaces like ovens, and hid from the heat in any shadows they could find. Now I know what a nerf sausage-- on a hot plate feels like,said Raynar. Jaina couldn't anser. Her skin was red and raw from the heat, her hands and feet had good number of blisters already. Jaina climbed up a rockface, along a cleft in the tones that heid some shade. She slipped briefly and reaching out to steady herself, touched an outcropping of rock exposed to the direct sunlight. She hissed in pain and snached her fingers away. Red burn-welts sprouted on her skin. Working it the mines is starting to sound like a vacationto me,she admitted. we don't have any waterout here, no food or protection...said Jaina". So they have to deal with the heat. This is a great book, to see what happens you got to get it.

Jacen, Jaina and group held off to get Lowie back from the Diversity Alliance but it doesn't go well at all instead they end up slaves in a spice mines leaving Lusa to come after them. Another interesting installment of the Young Jedi Knights asside from a few little details like them traveling around the Galaxy at fifteen or them telling Lusa to cover for them (like no one's going to notice they have left the planet?) I like each book better then the last. They're fun adventures and each charactor is well written. I like the little tiny crushes between Jacen and Tenel Ka and Jaina and Zekk their cute but not overly annoying nor are they the main focus of the stories and that works for me.