Schools Books

A fun book for kids, with some deeper insight as well.

"When you go beyond Zebra,
Who knows...? There's no telling
What wonderful things
You might find yourself spelling!"

Actually got this for my new tat, but I love this art

This book introduced "paradigm shifting" into my intellectual vocabulary before I even knew what such a thing was.

Many, many, many years ago (Nixon was President, I think) I read this and was changed. I can remember the the images, the textures, the smells (Ah! The ditto machine and its purple perfume!) and all my surroundings. I was sitting in the elementary school library, facing northwest toward the door. Lured by the title and the premise, I had taken the volume to my assigned seat ("Library" was a class back then, as it should have been) and quickly devoured it.

The concept - that our 26-letter alphabet was an arbitrary collection and not a universal constant on a par with gravity - had never entered my cartoon-addled mind. It sparked an awareness of similar cultural and philosophical constrictions that I have expanded and retained to this day.

Hats off to the Dr.!

Loved this book as a child. Fast-forward thirty-some years, I am a computational linguist with a fascination for exotic writing systems. Coincidence? In think not.

This was my favorite book as a kid & still is. I now have ownership of our family's 'ancient' copy (copyright date 1955, Mom's written inscription: Christmas 1962 for my oldest brother who was age 6). I recently read it to my 6 year old son and he also was taken with this book. I am getting a new copy for him for Christmas as the original is pretty fragile now. This book belongs in every family's collection along with The Lorax, The Sneeches, Bartholomew Cubbins, Horton and the rest of the classic/original Seuss stories.

We bought this one used from a library and it was worth looking for. A different look for Mercer Mayer -- and a hilarious, surprise-on-every-page story. We like the Typhoonigator the best, especially when he gets full to bursting and then... SPLATTERS slime on the next page. That's a real hoot. This one makes us all laugh -- I love that!

One of the all time greats. But I was disappointed after ordering a new hardcover copy. It is smaller than the original printing, with the result that the binding cuts across monster faces. Very lame. I am sending it back and ordering a used copy from the original printing.

I loved this book, with all the illustrations. I could just sit for hours reading and looking at the pictures of monsters. I plan on reading it to my child someday....

THE OTHER REVIEWERS ARE RIGHT ON. I NEVER LIKED 'WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE' AS A KID & WASN'T TOO INTERESTED IN TRYING ANY OF MAYERS OTHER BOOKS. I'M SO GLAD I RECONSIDERED. WE LOVE THIS BOOK! PRONOUNING SOME OF THE MONSTERS' NAMES TAKES A LITTLE GETTING USED TO, BUT OUR TODDLER LOVES IT SO MUCH, THAT THE NAMES JUST ROLL OFF OUR TONGUES NOW.

Although now in my mid thirties, I still remember the story and illustrations from this book -- my childhood favorite. Now that my friends' children are almost to reading age, I plan to give this book for birthdays and holidays so that others can enjoy the whymsical tale with ornate illustrations.

I've said it in other reviews and I'll say it again--I love everything by Mary Ann Hoberman that I've read. This book is great for reading aloud, is fun and engaging, and has a great message for children (and adults, for that matter)!

My daughter is 14 yr. and this is still her all time favorite book from her childhood. It is beautifully written. When read aloud, the rhymes are truly lyrical. I also love the underlying message re. the life enriching qualities of friendship and sharing. Illustrations are gorgeous, unique and really hold a child's attention. I just ordered three copies to give to friends with younger children.

I got this book from the library for my 2 year old and he absolutely adores it. He asks me to read it all of the time! I have to force him to pick a different book to read (for my sanity). The illustrations are very colorful and just grab his attention. There is a nice rhyme to the story that makes is pleasant to read aloud. This is one that we will definitely be purchasing!

The illustrations are what really sold me on this book and the story is wonderful too. It is one of those rare kids books (much like Maria Kalmans) that combines beautiful art with a sweet story. It is quirky and dear.

This is a great book for children. It teaches sharing and how to make friends. I like this book becuase Oliver learns about how to treat others. He doesn't know what life is like, becuase he has always lived by himself and never talks to any of the people in his town. He has one of everything in his house. He doesn't know that his house was only made for one person until he makes a friend and invites her to his home. Peggoty Small tells Oliver that his home was made for one person and she couldn't live with him.
My favorite character was Peggoty Small. I like her becuase she told Oliver Toliver what she tought. She wasn't afriad to tell him about her feelings, she just told him flat out what she thought. Even though she hurt Oliver's feelings, she old him anyways because she thought he should know the truth. This book teaches kids how to make friends, and how to share what you have with others.

This is an amzaing manuscript. By leading the reader through the key discoveries in modern molecular oncology , Weinberg is able to elucidate the hallmarks of carginogenesis in simple, yet comprehensive ways.
This is a must read for any doctoral student. However, Weinberg simple and entertaining language will be enjoyed by anybody who has an interest in the pathways that lead to cancer.

Here's a book that I would recommend to those people interested in learning a bit about the beginnings of cancer. In One Renegade Cell, Robert Weinberg has written an informative narrative on the history of cancer and molecular biology research, focusing on the theories and evidence behind the early days of this field: the 1970's and 80's.

Weinberg's focus is on what he knows best: the mechanisms that promote and regulate the proliferation of normal and malignant cells. And for that, his explanations are the best out there. These explanations take up the first half of the book, corresponds to the early events in the development of a tumor, and makes up a coherent story. For example, he covers oncogenes, tumor suppressors, apoptosis, and to a lesser extent DNA repair, in relatively easy-to-follow language.

In the second half of the book, Weinberg refers to other aspects of cancer progression, more reflective of the later stages of cancer - angiogenesis, immune evasion and metastasis. He essentially provides the highlight reel for these aspects of cancer, and I felt that the transitions to such topics could have used some work. But that's okay in my opinion, because Weinberg comes right out and says it on the cover - this book is specifically about *the beginning* of cancer, first and foremost.

Weinberg also avoids using overwhelmingly long lists of references that are typical of more scientific writing, as well as skipping over the many highly-technical details that are involved in actually conducting such research, making it more accessible to non-experts. Indeed, he defines every term in a way that probably only requires a minimal background in biology to understand.

No prior knowledge of cell biology or genetics is required. I have gained an appreciation for the complexity of cancer research thanks to the book. I highly recommend it. You also learn a fair amount of the history of the development of cancer research. And don't think you need to read through hundreds of introductory pages to accomplish this. The book is under 200 pages.

Once again: What I found great about the book is it explains very clearly the current thories on how cancer starts and spreads without requiring any prior knowledge in the field.

For the scientifically oriented who are interested in the details, it has a big reference and endnote section. 5 stars for sure.

Extremely informative, written in interesting form like a scientific novel, a systematic mini-survey of the molecular biology of cancer. Takes you through 30 years of discovery, explaining how false expectations were replaced by the discovery in laboratories of right pathways. Among the useful pieces of information you'll pick up: cancer cells are not destroyed by chemo and radiation, only some DNA damage occurs. Unless the p53 gene is little enough damaged, then the tumor is not stopped, and Weinberg explains why. He fully describes the 6 mutations that are required, over time, to produce a metastasizing tumor. My wish: that Weinberg would next write a book about cancer treatments.

I end with an aside for those who are in love with the red herring called "holism", and imagine that "reductionism" is dead and of little or no use in the elucidation of complexity. The entire field of genetic and cancer discoveries, all of microbiology, is nothing but plain ol' reductionism applied to very long molecules, molecules so long and often disordered in shape that new techniques of chemical analysis had to be invented (like PCR). This book and any standard text on molecular biology provides full evidence for the truth of my assertion.

There are very few books out that give the reader an overview modern cancer biology. This short book gives a clear picture of a complex and current subject. It uses historical perspective on scientific discovery to enliven the reading. It's well organized and readable without background in biology, but with enough depth to interest biologists in other fields. I also reccomend Robert Weinberg's "Genes and the Biology of Cancer", written with Harold Varmus, which covers the same material in a little more depth.

This is a wonderful collection of poems by Neruda in a bilingual edition. I'm planning to use it in a course I'm teaching in Fall '08.

Que bueno la traduccion y el original... Neruda es lo mejor de los mejores. Un libro exquisito.

I was a rookie when it comes to reading stylized writings like that of Pablo Neruda. I ordered the book as a friend suggested thinking it would be an impressive addition to my library not realizing that I would really enjoy his deep, thought-provoking and yet whimsical poems. My recommendation is to try it, you'll like it!!

Neruda was my companion during a 7 months journey and i remember clearly as water how many times i took this book with me to read it in front of the ocean. I am not very fond to poetry but with Neruda its impossible not in fall in love with the magic of words. You should have this book in your hands and heart.

I actually got this collection to study up on my Spanish, and I found myself emmersed in his tangible words. I found it interesting that some of the translations seem slightly weaker in English, but maybe that's just me.

What I like about Neruda is that his poetry can really talk to a general readership without sacrificing the aestheticism of poetic language. He seems to have an uncanny way of being brutally raw with his lanugaue, while letting the images, hard as they are, float softly, like flower petals.

Maybe I'm in love with the guy. Oh to be a poet.

Kerish-lo-Taan, third prince of the emperor, and one of the Godborn, has been chosen to fulfill the ancient prophecy of releasing the savior of Galkis. Seven keys held by seven sorcerers will unlock the seven gates imprisoning him. With the five kingdoms of the south united, and corruption within Galkis, it seems hopeless. With the help of his half brother, Forollkin the warrior, can the seemingly frail and childish Kerish complete his destiny?

I read the series of four books when an impressionable teen. They stuck with me for a very long time. My mum and I used to discuss who would play the titles roles as surely they would make a movie out of this fantastic series of books. Prince Kerish touched me in ways other books couldn't, you read, entranced as he turned from a spoilt boy into a man. There are still scenes I can relive in my head now. My particular favorite is Lihlanee the marsh cat, rescuing the prince as they enter the Dead Kingdom, so sad I cried. As others have written, the books are far too complex to explain easily. It took me some years to track them down too. I even used the books as a basis for my English exams! You have to read these books!

This is a suprisingly good series, though each of the four books is a short 200ish pages and could have just been sold as one 800ish page doorstopper in the current style.

It is about a fascinating central and ancient empire, the rulers of which are descended from gods, but have fallen into decadence. The empire itself is threatened by barbarians who have recently united.

The story focuses on half brothers, their relationship and personal growth, and their quest to fulfill an ancient prophecy that could save the empire.

The world Harris has created is particularly interesting.


I wonder why this was never reprinted, as it appears there are no copies available past the early 80's edition.

This novel was full of all sorts of magic. Through the use of her skills of describing Mrs. Harris brings to life a world of magic, adventure, and action. I can tell that this is the first in a line of spectacullar novels.

I hadn't heard of Geraldine Harris when I found volume three of this series in a Lexington bookstore. The title impressed me, however-The Dead Kingdom, and I bought the book based on a nice comment printed on the dust jacket. Over the next couple of years I accessed the internet and scoured stores for the other three installments by Harris. They proved elusive, or available but expensive buys on the net in those days. Persistence pays, however, and I found them. I began reading with the first volume, this book: A Prince of the Godborn. Godborn sets up the story, filling us in on Harris's world, providing an image of the main character, the godborn prince of a besieged kingdom. It seems some neighboring warrior tribes are threatening attack, and the Prince of the Godborn must act heroically, undertaking a quest that'll by no means be easy: to recover the keys to 7 ominous citadels, scattered pell-mell across Harris's landscape. The quest expands across the four books, the Prince encountering the kingdoms and citadels one by one, until the final, sobering encounter, as he ascends the enigmatic seventh citadel. FYI- The four books that tell this story are the following: A Prince of the Godborn, The Children of the Wind, The Dead Kingdom, and the Seventh Gate. A great series in my estimation, and a story I completed in back-to-back readings of the four books.

This is a thoughtful story about how a little girl (judging from the pictures, I'd place her age at 6 or so, but her actions in the book seem to put her closer to 8 or 9 - even considering that fantasy characters get a lot more freedom than real kids!) learned that raising dragons was "in her blood".

There isn't any tragedy in this book. The unnamed girl (closest we get to a name is "Cupcake", but that's probably not intended to be her real name) talks about the great things her dragon does, but there's nothing to scare or upset the little ones. The worst thing that happens is that her dragon becomes popular, so she decides to bring him home - and even then, it's clear he comes back to visit.

It's a really good book. Very vivid, colorful illustrations, realistic dialog, and a charming story.

There are a few things you might want to take note of.

The narrator doesn't speak Standard American English, but instead uses a nonstandard dialect. I think of this as a good thing, but some people do find that a problem, so I thought I'd make that clear.

Also, the whole story does start when the girl deliberately disobeys her parents, it says so explicitly, and there don't seem to be any consequences for that. I don't have a problem with this, but I know some people might.

It should additionally be noted that this is a very long, very wordy book. The cover on my edition suggests that it's for children over the age of six, and I agree. This is not a picture book well suited for toddlers or for children with a very low attention span.

My son has really gotten into dragons lately since he saw the movie eragon. He is only 7 and finding age appropriate stories about dragons is pretty hard. I went through the list and found this book. My son really loves it, he always wants me to read it to him as it is about a little girl who is good at raising dragons. I would highly reccomend this book for children from the ages 5 and up.

Book came as promised and was just as enjoyable as the first time I happened upon it in the reading specialist's library. I liked that this whimsical story featured African-American characters as so many of these kinds of stories don't.

I choose the book "Raising Dragons" because my 6 year old daughter loved the book "Balloon Farm" by the same author. She also likes dragons. The book kept her interest. The little girl raised her dragon from an egg. The illustrations are beautiful.

The sweetest relationship between a girl and her dragon that has ever been described. An amazing combination of story and illustration. And it involves a combination of fantasy and rural life that is amazingly rare in children's books. Love it! Love it! Love it!

I found this book very interesting. I wish I had a button to press and help kids actually become passionate readers. Society must help and encourage more reading as entertainment. Too often there are ads for physical activities and they do not show value for reading and academic activities.

Finally, an author who validates my own tried and true method for developing strong readers. Reading an interesting book can teach our students more about reading that we ever will. It's time we again dedicated a part of our reading time for reading, not just reading instruction, but we need to help them by offering the best books to select from. "Build it and they will come." A class library full of rich literature that interests middle school students is a huge challenge, and Ms. Atwell provides tons of titles to get you started. She also offers plenty of ideas for record keeping, and student conferences. The book is very inspiring and full of good ideas and advice.You rock Nanci Atwell!

As a teacher of students who are struggling readers at the high school level, I was somewhat disappointed by Nancie Atwell's latest book. Her approach assumes many things that simply not always possible in the public school class room, especially at the high school level. I applaud her devotion to providing students with time and space to read, but she doesn't understand the time and MONEY constraints that most of us have. For example, I have to spend my own money to provide my students with a classroom library and my department can only afford to provide us with $25 per teacher for classroom supplies like chalk and staples. The $250 that the IRS allows for is usually what I spend just to have art supplies, extra pens and pencils available for my students. I have to reach deep into my own pocket to purchase books.

Over all this book left me disappointed, because Nancie Atwell needs to see what it's like for people like me who are just as devoted, but left with little money to supply my students. How are we supposed to do all the great things she reccommends if we can't have the same resources that she is lucky enough to have?

This is an excellent book that shows how students can become great readers when they are given the chance to have independent reading time and be in control of their reading choices. This is a must read for all teachers!

How does a kid learn to read...by reading. Get your students into the Reading Zone. I was sucked into the guided reading, small groups, centers, rotations, strategies method of teaching too. However, my students just were not progressing or developing that "love of reading" that I wanted for them. Within a month of reading this book and changing my approach, almost all my students have jumped into the ZONE. This book will change how you teach. It's the next step in your evolution as a reading teacher. Happy reading!

THis story is classic. I use this book so much that I have to retire my old copy and replace it with a new one every couple of years. It is a fabulous vehicle for storywriting in the primary classroom.

I have been reading Pat Hutchins books to children for many years. They are wonderful!! Rosie's Walk is a great book for sound effects! As Rosie goes obliviously on her walk,the fox encounters all sorts of sound effect producing trials. Great fun!

We have the board book edition, and I have to admit, I didn't think my 2-year old was going to like it when I first flipped through it. There didn't seem to be much to it --- no eye-catching illustrations and not much text. Shows how much I know... My daughter loves it. The story is less about Rosie the hen and more about the fox --- what happens to it from page to page. It is truly a sequential story and shows cause-and-effect: on one page you see the fox leaping towards Rosie, who is walking past the pond. On the next page, you see the fox in the pond. Your toddler will make the connection on her own: "Uh-oh. Fox fall in water."

My absolute FAVORITE book as a child! Simple, clever, and humorous all at the same time. GREAT for children starting to read! A+

We fell for this after watching the scholastic dvd series. It's on the Chicka Chicka Boom Boom video and we're hooked - love the detailed pictures and watching where thefox is headed.

I love this book and this is a perfect source of good learning of idiom for a small price its comes with. Perfect choice of gift for people that would love to read

Can anyone tell me what this book says about the idiom, "the calm before the storm"?

The graphic desciption and origin of the idiom are excellent. The explanation of the idiom is written in simple English that my 5 year old understands and loves. She read half of the book in one sitting. It's like a joke book to her. She was having a good time by herself. (She reads on a 3rd grade level.) I even learned a few things. It's a must have resource like a special dictionary that will also help to expand vocabulary. I now want all of the author's books.

I absolutely love this book. I am a teacher and this book really helped my students in 7th grade learn what idioms are. They really enjoyed learning about where the idioms came from.

Fairly good source for origins of idioms. Not all are here, but many. Some "conjecture" as to origin on many, but they do seem logical. A good over-all (particularly sufficient for elementary level) resource & nice leisure reading.