Schools Books

I bought the hardcover version of this book for our 4 1/2 year old after we heard the story told at our local library by a professional storyteller. It is such a delightful story and our whole family just loves it! We have fun with the repetition that is in the story and have various gestures, voices and movements for them. The illustrations are well done and overall, it is just a really fun book to read!

This book is amazing. I found it a couple of years ago and we read it ALL the time. My kids love it. We even have hand/body motions to go with each article of clothing that the Little Old Lady comes upon. Your kids will love this story. I have kid from 1 to 9 and they all love it. My older ones even quote it while I read or read it to the younger ones. This book is for all ages. I love reading this story and you will too.

Youngsters eight and younger will love this spooky children's tale about a little old lady who refuses to be afraid of "things" following her through the woods on her way home. "The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid Of Anything" is simple, fun, and excellent for kindergarten and first grade kids to practice their reading skills on. It works even better as a tale read to a child. My daughter loves it when I read this story to her and put emphasis on the noises that each of the old ladies' followers makes. From "Clomp, Clomp" to "Boo, Boo," my daughter giggled her way through this story. There's just enough spookiness to the story to keep kids a tad antsy, but the resolution eventually makes everything okay.

I highly recommend this tale to anybody who has a child eight years of age or younger and stress that this story works best if it's read to the children instead of having them read it. Author Linda Williams has done a nice job of making a lightly spooky tale for youngsters and Megan Lloyd's dark and moody (though somehow amazingly fun) illustrations only add to the tale's atmosphere. It's a fun Halloween tale that works on any night of the year.

We pull this one out in the fall. The story is great for standing up and moving around -- clomp, clomp - wiggle,wiggle - shake, shake - clap, clap - nod, nod... plus, there's a great surprise (which we shout out VIGOROUSLY!) and a happy ending. It's one of our best fall books.

I found this book last year at the library and read it to my daughter when she was three- Within a few pages, she was saying most of the entertainingly repetitive dialogue on her own. It's the best Halloween book for preschoolers out there, in my opinion. This year, we bought a copy of our own and she loved it just as much as the first time around.

As you should expect from a book that claims to 'make strategy work' this book for me does exactly that. Make it work. It borrows principles and concepts from other major works over the recent years, like Good to Great from Jim Collins and elaborates on them in several chapters, most of them focusing on singular subjects that prevent the strategy from working: culture, leadership, behavior, structure etc.

I personally like the mix of conceptual models and basic tips and tricks, but this can also lead to a middle of the road book that the more practical-minded or the more academic might not fancy. Take your pick.

Keeping implementation in mind when creating strategy is a sound strategy. Packed with excellent case studies, Making Strategy Work is a fine guide for managers and leaders to get things done. I recommend this book along with Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap... and Others Don't, starting with the "Who" then moving on to the "What".

"Making Strategy" contains tons of topics, case studies, and specific methods to improve the implementation aspect, after planning and, how to make change and then manage the change. Each chapter has several detailed related sub-chapters.

Chapters:

1. Strategy Execution is the Key
2. Overview and Model: Making Strategy Work
3. The Path to Successful Execution: Good Strategy Comes First
4. Organizational Structure and Execution
5. Managing Integration: Effective Coordination
and Information Sharing
6. Incentives and Controls: Supporting and Reinforcing Execution
7. Managing Change
8. Managing Culture and Culture Change
9. Power, Influence, and Execution
10 Summary and Application: Making Mergers and Acquisitions Work

Hrebiniak first notes the education system where minds are molded. MBA programs focus on the formulation of strategy and functional planning: competitive strategy, marketing strategy, financial strategies, and so on. Execution gets little attention. Most managers delegate the implementation of plans to the employers under them. A key point in this book is that planning and execution are interdependent. Execution is a process, and it involves more people than just strategic planning does.

Many factors influencing who and how things get done emanate from the organizational power structure, the leadership climate, style of approach, and centralization vs. decentralization.

Some of the companies and examples listed are Johnson & Johnson, Citibank, South West Airlines, Phillip Morris, 7-up, ABB, GM, Dell, Kraft, and more. Case studies and Hrebiniak's personal experiences add relevant points and examples.

When certain companies such as Microsoft interviews applicants they are generally not concerned with academic achievements (grades) or professional accomplishments but instead focus on how the applicant, if hired, would fit in and jell with the team he/she would be joining. This is called "cultural due diligence." And Hrebiniak emphasizes that within companies culture is not homogeneous. Even moreso when M&As occur. Or, when a company has different and autonomous decentralized Strategic Business Units (SBUs) producing vastly different products in different markets (e.g. Johnson & Johnson).

This is a helpful book on how to do things more efficiently and effectively. One quote I recall from the first page of this book is, "The problem with poor performance typically is not with planning, but with doing." And this goes for about everything. The questionnaire in the back is a survey and is helpful to those who conduct it and those who respond. "Making Strategy Work" is highly recommended.

I have been somewhat confused by complicated strategy map like approaches. I love the simplified and common-sense approach to making strategy work presented by Dr. Hrebiniak. One can use it in developing strategy for execution, and improving success rate of strategies from 10%. I plan to use it in making strategies for business intelligence and innovation work!

Considering the high ranking and the established name of Warton School, I bought this book. Whether you like this book or not, depends mainly on what you are looking for.

The author says, making strategy work is more difficult, than finding a suitable strategy for the business you are in. Following my own experiences I doubt this. How many companies do we really know, that have a sound strategy that can be simply expressed and proofed right by many years of succes? Go to the shopfloor and ask your employees simple things as e.g. why your customers buy from you and what your business is or should be about. Although the author does not focus on how to build a strategy and covers the aspects of strategy implementation, a good strategy will first of all decide, whether any implementation has a chance for success.

A good strategy gives you answers on:

1.) Who are we and where are we actually (not only internal view) ?
2.) Where do we go ?
3.) Why will we be succesfull ?

Answering this questions will cope with the core question of strategic marketing as positioning and differentiation as well. Implementing any longterm strategy is mainly dedicated to leadership, preliminary people development around core competencies and step by step project management by having easy and consistant measures defined.

There are to many basic statemants in this book and definitions - just common sense. Focus on analysing your current external position and the internal view, the strategy definition and the strategy implementation will be much easier. Change has mostly to do with communication and telling the story as it is, the rest relays on your leadership and how convincing the need for change is. Eliminate the "jerks" and develop the "right" people and your strategy will move forward. The question about the "right" people is linked to change management and leadership, but non of this books will provide you the answer of this question.

Even though softfactors are important, any book about making strategy work should first of all rise a few questions what preliminary answers on important questions need to be on hand?

Best Regards,
Oliver

My Grandsons loved the idea of eating such odd and gross things.They don't get tired of the story.
Terri

I am an elementary Spanish and ESL teacher. This book is always a hit with my ESL students who come to see me! They beg me to visit their classroom and read it to the group. It's like their "show and tell". The repetition is great but the subject matter is irresistible, no matter how many times they've heard it. And, yes, I do make someone eat some peas and no, no one really throws up and yes, I do take along a few plastic, but-oh-so-real-looking worms or other creepy critter.

This book is a hilarious rhyming story. Sure to be a hit with about any kid!

OUR DAUGHTER LIKES TO PRETEND TO EAT THE CREATURES TOO (SHE SAYS THE ANTS & THEIR UNDERPANTS TASTE THE BEST). OK, THE STORY IDEA OF THESE CREATURES BEING EATEN IS A LITTLE STRANGE, BUT YOU JUST NEED THE RIGHT SENSE OF HUMOR. THE PICTURES ARE REALLY GOOD & IT'S A VERY FUN BOOK. OUR DAUGHTER WILL REQUEST IT BE READ 3+ TIMES IN ONE SITTING. I'M PICKY ABOUT OUR BOOKS & THIS IS ONE I'D HIGHTLY RECOMMEND & DEFINATELY GIVE AS A GIFT.

This book is excellent for rhymes and counting, also for graphing. The children love this book and don't mind hearing it over and over.

ELIZABETH CHANDLER IS AMAZING!!!! BUY THESE BOOK WORSHIP THESE BOOKS THEY ARE A GIFT FROM GOD!!!!!!!!!!

I thought this would be a BORING book. I had to find a book for my L.A. project and chose this randomly. I just finished reading it-and to my surprise-it was so exciting! It was very suspenseful, deep, and kept me on the edge of my chair! I couldn't help but turn the page continuously and read for hours. I am unusually like this unless I am reading a REALLY good book. And that's what this is--a REALLY good book and more!

This story is filled with unbelievable twist. It will keep you at the edge of your sit, and the ending was amazing. You won't believe what happens and you really will not guess who the killer is! I give this story five stars, a great job by Elizabeth Chandler.

Jenny's sister, Liza, was murdered while she was at drama camp and Jenny went there to find out if it really was a serial killer who did it. While she's there, Jenny keeps having these visions that are like memories of what Liza saw near to the time when she was murdered. Jenny is finding more and more clues and has many suspects. She doesnt think it was a serial killer, she thinks it was someone that knew Liza, and she needs to find out because they might try to kill her next. Jenny keeps touching things that give her chills and suggest that they had to do with the murder, like a hammer that she had a vision of being the murder weapon, and sometimes she has visions when she stands in a place that Liza was. Jenny doesnt tell the people there that she is Liza's sister and subtly asks around to find out more. Will she find out who the murderer is before they get her too? Read it to find out!!

This is a phenominal book, full of friendship and betrayal. It has captivating characters, even those who have "passed on" are intriguing and lead to a smooth flowing novel. Every detail helps pull the plot together in a superb ending.

Scared for your life in the midst of a civil war. Then put into a Sudanese refugee camp, disconnected from your father but left with your terrified mother and siblings. After a while, you are reunited with your father, and your entire family is together. Then in America, where you must start over in an alien place, where you get most of your possessions from dumpsters. This was the childhood experience that Mawi Asgedom underwent.
The book "Of Beetles & Angels" shows the extraordinary experiences throughout Mawi Asgedom's young life, which led him to America and to graduate from Harvard University. His amazing story shows the hardships, as well as the joyful occasions, as he discovers American culture and starts an American life. I thoroughly enjoyed his book and believe that I caught a glimpse at just how hard his childhood was.
The chapters within the book are separated into different stories and times of Mawi's life. This way, the reader truly gets to see how wonderful and cruel our country can be to those who are starting over in a new place, and how Mawi and his family start in a new and foreign place. The book also shows Mawi's experiences viewing racism, biased brutality, and what it is like to be noticeably different from most others around you. " Most of our classmates treated us nicely, others ignored us, and the rest -- well, we could only wish that they would ignore us. We may not have understood their words, but we always understood the meaning behind their laughter. `African boodie-scratcher! Scratch that boodie!' `Black donkey! You're so ugly!' `Why don't you go back to Africa where you came from?' We were just two, and they were often many. But they had grown up in a wealthy American suburb, and we had grown up in a Sudanese refugee camp. We were accustomed to fighting almost daily, using sticks, stones, wood chips, and whatever else we could get our hands on. So it was usually no contest, especially when the two of us double-teamed them, as we had done so many times in Sudan. The cruelty of brutal beatings and the name calling left Mawi and his older brother scared and unsure about their new found home America.
Mawi Asgedom's parents dreamed that their children would do well in school. The primary values that they taught their kids were that education was most important, knowledge was power, and that if all of the children within their family studied hard, they could earn scholarships and become smart and powerful leaders within their new country. Mawi kept his parents' values close and fulfilled them all. "I graduated from Harvard one year ago and have since thought much about my parents' dream. By earning my scholarship and graduating, I have fulfilled it. But along the way, I have found greater value in other dreams. And while Harvard University taught me well, my true education has come from less-likely sources. As I look back to the angels, the Charlenes and the Beth Raneys; as I look back to God's servants, dressed as beggrs and as beetles; as I look back to my inspirations, to the Mamas and Tewoldes, I see true guidance staring back at me. True power comes from focusing on what we can give, not what we can take." Mawi learned so much throughout his life and not only made his parents' dreams come true, but also made his own dreams come true.
This book, with all of its extraordinary detail and description, probably cannot entirely summarize all of the struggles, hardships, and rewards Mawi and his family endured from their journey to America and once in America. However, throughout the pages and dialogue of the story "Of Beetles & Angels", the book does an exceptional job of showing how unique Mawi Asgedom's life was as a child. I absolutely recommend this book.

Beginning in 2001 I worked with two refugee families from Liberia. I wish I had read this book first, because it would have helped me to understand better the sorts of things these families might have experienced before they arrived in our country. While experiences of war, persecution and homelessness vary among people arriving in the USA, the feeling of confusion (even when you speak English, like 'my' families did) and dependence mixed with utter relief of finally getting here seem to be common among all. "My" families knew basic things, but our housing, food and school systems were totally overwhelming even for these educated people. And the police, which we're taught to depend upon, strike fear into every refugee I've ever met. Most of them have had bad experiences with police.
So when I read this book I could relate to some things, I cried over others, and I put others in the back of my mind to remember for when I'm working again with refugee immigrants, especially in these days of heated debates about immigrants.
Personally I think this book should be a must-read in every high school curriculum and for every teacher, not only because it's such a compelling story, but it helps us to see others through another lens and it is ultimately a story of hope.
From a strictly literature point of view there are better books out there, but this one tugs at the heart. And it's also a fast read if you want it to be.

Of Beetles and Angles is the remarkable non-fiction account of Mawi Asgedom's jouney as an African war refugee to America and the obstacles that he and his family had to overcome. In his own words he describes his inspiring transformation into a man with traditional values and principles mixed in with the demands of everyday life in a new society. Influenced by his older brother and father, Mawi sets out to experience the American dream and more importantly, look upon each and every person as angels sent to test the will of our hearts.

This book told me one thing: everyone can be an angel. No matter in what form, that thing could be an angel.
From this story, a boy named Mawi was a refugee. His homeland had been involved in a war. His father decided the family would flee to Amerikha, as they called it. It was a place of peace, which was something that didnt exist in Eritrea, their homeland.
Many perils were made in America. Mawi needed to go to school, with his brothers and sister. He survived through prejudice and violence at school. His dream was to be welcomed with a scholarship into a special university. He worked very hard to achieve his goal.
How did it happen? Just read the book and find out!

I won't take a lot of space stating what the book is about. Just get it and read it, everyone from middle school through adults. You'll be glad you did.

I adore this book, as does my three-year-old son. It's fun to read with a thick Cajun accent, and the illustrations are beautiful. However, if you don't feel comfortable doing voices or accents you may not find reading aloud as enjoyable as we do.

That said, I'm back looking for more from the same author. Very, very fun book.

The story line follows the traditional but captures the cajun language and lifestyle well. The pictures are great and I love the characters. The book arrived timely and it was in perfect condition.

This is my absolut favorite story ever written!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
My 2 1/2 year old loves just as much as I do!I bought extra copies and sent it to every child in my family! It's become an instant classic.
It's especially fun if you read it with a creole accent which isn't that hard to do since they put a glossary in the front of the book on how to pronounce many of the words. Funny! Funny! Funny!

I love reading this book to my 6 year-old boys, and they love to hear it. The rhythm of the writing, and the very clever story, makes this book a real joy, and very funny. Look for their other books, too.

This book is a huge hit. My 4 year old loves me to read it to her. I have entertained guests at our house by reading it too. So much fun!

I wish I had access to AJ Kaufman's book when I was in college (U of Texas). I remember feeling so helpless when my English professor (a radical leftist) would bring in members of the Black Panthers to lecture us -- in an English composition class, no less. Even then I knew what was going on, but was literally held hostage, knowing that any protest on my part would be reflected in my grade. If I had had Kaufman's book in hand, I would have had the facts and therefore the courage to speak out, regardless of the consequences. This book lays out in specific terms why our schools are failing our children. The radicals run the schools. Thanks for the time you took (and the abuse you endured from many educators) to give the reader an inside view of a frightening state of affairs.

It is ashame to admit this but Ari Kaufman's "Reclamation," will be glossed over. It won't sit in the front halls of major bookstore chains like Barnes and Noble and Borders. It won't loom pretentiously on the display cases of airport book stores, beckoning you to devote yourself to it for the duration of your flight. And yet the irony is that if you were to purchase "reclamation," one cross-country flight would be all you need to read what may be the most necessary and yet under-appreciated work that I have read in quite some time. Amidst all of the chaotic developments that have plagued our country since the new millennium, the progressive deterioration of the public school system in this country has flown relatively under the radar despite its potentially catastrophic consequences. In a relatively short amount of space, Kaufman takes you into the heart of this issue, explains some of its most basic and fundamental problems, and even goes as far as to propose realistic and productive ways of combating these problems.

From a purely literary standpoint, Kaufman's book is a pleasure to read because of the natural eloquence of Kaufman's writing style. Furthermore, by focusing on personal experiences as a foundation for his book, Kaufman is able to retain an innocence and unique honesty in his words that even goes as far as to manifest itself as humor in quite a few situations. The bottom line is, you do not have to be an embittered teacher, an overprotective parent, or a prospective idealist to appreciate this work. Do yourself a favor and buy it for your next airline flight...the cosmo magazine won't be offended that you took a week off to read something of consequence...

Mr. Kaufman has a strong and thoughtful voice on this subject. Whether or not one completely agrees with his total perspective he deserves a wide audience. Tell your friends, especially those with young children, to read this.

Ari delivers a very passionate and convincing argument against the current direction of public education in America. Ari uses excellent examples from his experiences as a teacher to substantiate his opinions. A very interesting read on a most important topic. I hope, as Ari, that his words have an effect on the future of education in America.

Living in Los Angeles not far from where Mr. Kaufman taught, I had a keen interest in picking up a copy of this book. As I also have a four year-old daughter and two year-old son who may or may not enroll in LAUSD sometime soon, this book was certainly an important read.

Many of my fears of the immense bureaucracy, overwhelming and unnecessary union involvement (these political activities and monetary greed will help my kids learn how?), and teachers with belief sets that clearly run antithetical to the real world I reside in, were confirmed. But I also gained some hope; hope that, with more teachers opening their minds and thinking about how to better the educational world in the same way that Mr. Kaufman has, our students can in fact succeed.

One issue that comes to mind, as it has also been discussed recently by politicians, is private school vouchers. I cannot fathom how any sympathetic person can be against them, but school districts and most Democratic politicians currently are. If our schools in the inner cities are failing---and they are---what better way than to aid these kids who want to learn, than to give them this opportunity at a better school via private, religious or charter school type vouchers? These work, and should be implemented. Opposing these, when their urban constituencies strongly support them, shows these school boards and local politicians are tied together to perpetuate failure. That's both sad and troubling.

Kaufman's book is thorough, well-documented and forward-looking to the future, which is key. I highly recommend it, especially if you find your life in the same spot I now do, as numerous other reviewers noted. We seem to be the folks Kaufman is writing to aid, not the teachers, who will denounce this book without reading.

Beautiful illustrations inside a wonderful children's book. Recommend for any kids library. Bought it for myself, R. is one of my favorite stories, and I wasn't disappointed.

The classic fairy tale done with Zelinksy's incredible art. The artwork is beautiful, reminiscent of the medieval style. I'm not sure how much little kids will care about that fact, though. Still, I think they'd like the pictures. They're amazing. They've all heard the fairy tale before, but it's a nice fairy tale they'd probably appreciate hearing again.

This is a lovely version of the classic Rumpelstiltskin. I enjoyed reading it with my third graders. The illustrations are beautiful and spark the imagination. A good story demonstrates struggle and challenges the students to compare present day expectations with the past.

The pictures in this book are very nice. My 5-year old loves to hear it as a story before going to sleep. The ending of the story is also suitable for this age, since Rumpelstiltskin ends up flying out the window, instead of something more tragic happening to him.

I wanted a classic children's fairy tale story with handsome illustrations. I got just what I wanted with this book. I have a 3 1/2 year old and it is the perfect length for bedtime.

I bought this for my 7-year-old for his birthday, and it's very cute. He is reading it on his own (with a few prompts for some of the dinosaur names, but he's a dino buff so he knows most of them already). It's funny, creative, and quite entertaining. It will be a big hit with your dinosaur fan!

I am having to buy this book a second time because we have lost our precious first copy and my 2 1/2 year old BEGS for it CONSTANTLY. He simply cannot get enough of this book. It's his absolute favorite. He loves the rollicking rhythm and rhyme. It really has a rock-n-roll reading beat to it, and my son loves repeat some of the musical words such as "Booma lacka, Booma lacka Whack! Whack! Whack!" He loves the illustrations of the dinosaurs, since he's big into dinosaurs at the moment. But even if your child is not into dinosaurs, he/she will love hearing this book or reading this book aloud. And I have to admit, because the book flows off the tongue with such entertaining, dancy rhythms, both my husband and I LOVE to read this book to our son. It's so important when you're a parent, to buy books you yourself can stand to read over and over and over to your child, and not get bored. "Saturday Night at the Dinosaur Stomp" is one book I enjoy reading to my son EVERY TIME.

This is one of my son's favorite books. He's a huge dinosaur lover and I remember reading him this book all the time...still brings it out now and then. If you have a dinosaur lover, you'll love this book.

A good picture book to read to a 9-month old who doesn't want to sit still is hard to find, but this book is fantastic. The book just reads so fluently like you can't keep up with turning the pages!! Both the words and the pictures are so lively, bright and fun ... it totally absorbs you into the dinosaur stomp:-)

We first found this book at the library and found ourselves checking it out time and time again. My daughter is two and a half, though she first fell in love with this book right around the time she turned two. After months of checking it out, I decided it was time to buy our own copy.

It's full of clever rhymes and ideas about dinosaurs and lots of dinosaur identification in a fun way. The pictures are great and the words are even better. Boys and girls alike would enjoy this. My daughter knows all the words to it now, but I still enjoy reading it to her frequently.

An excellent picture book by a fantastic writer and illustrator. All of her picture books are consistently great. Use of pattern and language which make children want to hear the story over and over. Pictures are excellent with lots to look at

My almost-3-year old son has loved this book for the past year. We've read it so many times that he, my husband, and I can recite whole sections of it. The rhymes are infectious, and the language is great -- not dumbed-down for kids.

My daughter got this book when she was 3 years old and she still remembers all the words. This well-loved book won't make it to another child. I never knew that there were more Slinky Malinki books until I found this one online. I will definitely buy those ones also.

My favorite cat name to recite from "Harry Maclary, Scattercat" has always been "Slinky Malinki..." Turns out I am not alone, and Lynley Dodd graduated the ebony meowser from footnote to full-on protagonist, with a series of his own.... This is the first volume of the S. Malinki saga, in which a kleptomaniac kitty-cat goes prowling through the neighborhood, kiping old gloves, sneakers and bits of string. When his pile of trashy treasures topples over at home, Slinky's secret is discovered, and he has to quit his klepto ways. Once again, Lynley Dodd's artwork is a delight, and the bouncy rhymes propel us along as well. A fun book, even if the protagonist is a sneak thief...

I'm 18 and a freshman in college and I was read this book all the time when I was a kid. I still love it. After a discussion about children's books, I remembered how much I'd loved this particular book and came to Amazon to buy a copy.

The SLJ review made me sad. I read all the time as a young child. I was a strong reader before even starting kindergarten and spent at least six days of the week at the library. I can't remember the huge majority of books I've read, but this one stands out to me. I adored this book as a child and it made enough of an impression on me to come looking for it 14 years later.