Schools Books

Lauren Baratz-Logsted writes a week-by-week young adult novel that chronicles the journey of a high school senior's pregnancy: from her decision to keep the baby to the obstacles she must overcome as she faces impending single motherhood.

After a few too many one night, high school senior, Angel Hansen, experiences her first time with a guy she hardly knows after her crush hooks up with someone else. Ironically, after he drops her off, he tosses Angel his phone number and sarcastically says, "Call me if you're pregnant". Two months later she makes the phone call. From difficult decisions to the consequences the decision presents to her family and friends, Angel's Choice is a brutally honest depiction of a teenage pregnancy.

A recommended read for both mothers and daughters. The dialogue is real, the voice is real, and the obstacles are real. For a frank peek into an expecting teen's world, without a pro-life or pro-choice hidden message, read Angel's Choice.

ANGEL'S CHOICE begins in typical teenage fashion. A girl, a boy, a party and a very bad decision. Angel Hansen is a senior in high school and her plans for the future included graduating, going to Yale, and becoming a novelist. She's always been the smart girl. But at the end-of-summer party, she has a lapse in judgement that will change her reputation and affect the rest of her life. With all options available to her, what choice will Angel make?

ANGEL'S CHOICE takes an honest look at teenage pregnancy and the decisions that go along with such a difficult situation. Taking a walk in Angel's shoes is not easy. But it is heartwarming and emotional and realistic.

Lauren Baratz-Logsted tackles a difficult topic without judgement. ANGEL'S CHOICE is heart-warming and sincere and a must read for any teenage girl.

Angel's Choice was the best book I've read in a long time! I'm so glad that Lauren has written this book. My best friend is currently pregnant at 16 and it really helped me to understand her pregnancy better. It even helped me of what I thought of myself and my future goals. I think that every teenager should read this book. My favorite character was Angel because she was a very strong person to keep her baby even though she got accepted in to the college of her dreams and her family had very high expectations of her. I read Angel's Choice in 2 days. I just couldn't put it down!
- Courtney Jelonek

Couldn't put this book down. I read it over the weekend. really well written and believable. I've read all of Lauren's books and I think this is her best. I really cared about Angel and wanted to know what her decision would be. Great job Lauren.

To me, the most important factor in any book is the characters and their voices. This book, judging by how much I love it, really delivered.

Angel Hansen finds herself pregnant in the middle of senior year, and while everyone else is worried about getting into college, their SATs, usual high school stuff, she's got much bigger things to worry about. Does she ever complain about it? No. Does she ever let herself wallow in self-pity? Again, no. She is, throughout the book, met with many conflicts that she does not wiggle herself out of--she combats them full-on. By no means is her pregnancy easy. Being a pregnant teen in today's society means you're constantly the object of judgment, ostracism and alienation. It takes its toll on a person. But, again, does Angel cower away? You guessed it--she doesn't.

The choice she makes has strong repercussions in very important relationships in her life--with her best friend, Karin, her parents, her aunt, and Danny, a guy from school who is more than a friend but less than a boyfriend. This is what makes this novel so, so authentic. Nothing comes without a certain weight.

And of course, Angel is a truly identifiable character. Sometimes while I read this book, in the many times I have read it, I was struck by how many introspective passages sounded like my own thoughts and my own reasoning. She's got her weaknesses, her fears, her imperfections, all of which perfectly shape an admirable heroine.

All in all, this book's got it all: superb writing, characters you can relate to, authenticity, and one great main character.

9/10!

This is a beautiful, timeless story, told in gorgeous prose, and charmingly decorated. I'm not the sort of person who gushes over books, but this one is true literary perfection, and not just for children. It's the kind of book that, no matter how old you are when you first read it, will stay with you for the rest of your life.

I read this as a child. It got stuck in my mind, but I could never remember the title, thinking of it only as the story of the Hunter and the Mermaid. I searched for it for years.

This is a beautiful story, one of my favorites for children.

This story by Jarrell is gentle, mythical, and stands the test of time. A short story about a solitary hunter on an island, who meets a mermaid, and together form a family with animals they meet. The tone is warm and soft, kind and at times bittersweet.

While perfect for bedtime, cold or rainy days, this book is appealing to me even as i grow older. The subtle lessons about companionship, newness, differences, loneliness, loss, and joy are not forced to the fore. Rather, an old-fashioned sense of creating an environment as a way to tell a story is key here. Inviting wilderness, homely relationships, and just enough magic and mystery to compel the story forward.

One of my most treasured books since i was a young child, the is a timeless and infinitely re-readable story.

Randall Jarrell (1914-65) is better known as a poet, although probably best known today for his poetry criticism. He also wrote a few children's book, most notably The Bat-Poet and The Animal Family, the later published the same year he died and winning the 1966 Newbery Honor. It is wonderfully illustrated by Maurice Sendak - of Where the Wild Things Are fame - in beautiful pen and ink drawings.

The story is a sort of fable along the lines of Hans Christian Andersen or Lewis Carroll, but updated with a 1960s message. It is about a lonely hunter who lives in a cabin by the sea who with time comes to gather around him a "family" of very different creatures, first a mermaid, and then a bear, lynx, and human boy. Each is an orphan whose parents have either died or somehow left the scene. They all are very different animals yet find comfort and eventually identity with one another. It is a story in the spirit of the Age of Aquarius, when songs such as Free to Be You and Me and Free to Be a Family resonated during a cultural revolution in which boundaries of class, race and, in this case, even species were being explored, when everyone was a "brother" and "sister".

My reading of the story in its 1960s context is only one interpretation, this is not a heavy handed preachy book by any measure, it is timeless in its message about toleration of differences, the power of love to overcome anything (including for a mermaid to live on land, in effect brining a happy ending to Hans Andersen's otherwise brutal The Little Mermaid), and in particular for those who seek out love and find it in the most un-expected places. It is a short book, easy to read, and poetically written. Over the past 40 years it has found a place close to the heart of many children and adults, I only wish I had discovered it sooner.

Every once in a while, an author manages to pull off a novel that carries with it the exact tone and magical feeling of a fairy tale. In the genre of The Last Unicorn and The Princess Bride, this beautiful story takes you into a peaceful world where a lonely hunter lives by the sea.
The story follows the hunter's efforts to make a family for himself, and to keep that family safe. I don't want to spoil any of the plot points, but I will say that this gentle fable is going to fill each reader with joy and contentment. The tale is universal, and is just perfect for a shared experience at bedtime.
The decorations by Maurice Sendak are also quite lovely, giving us detailed sketches of the landscapes that the hunter and his family occupy.

Though a little skeptical based on one person's review that the book was "lean" in terms of graphics, I went ahead and bought it. While I agree that the book is not gorgeously laid out, it has some of the best information I have ever read in a how to book. My learning curve went straight up and not only would I recommend this book to any parent but have also bought copies for friends.

Everything you ever wanted to know about athletic recruiting when your high school coach doesn't do it for you. And here's a hot tip. You can go one better than your high school coach, Mom and Dad. Check out the opportunities at West Point. Almost everyone there is a scholar-athlete, and all on full scholarship plus getting paid [...] a year! And, best of all, if you get hurt, you don't lose your scholarship! To find out what West Point is really all about, read Norman Thomas Remick's book, "West Point". In conclusion, Wayne Mazzoni did a great job. His, "Athletic Recruiting & Scholarship Guide" is the book that tells you everything you need to know. (Unless you become interested in West Point).

This book made it clear what we need to do. I can't wait to get started on helping my daughter get a place to play in college and a scholarship.

While this book does not have the perfect layout of pictures, etc. that many books do, it has the only thing you really need when it comes to recruiting...an insiders perspective on the process. This book can be read in a few hours and your learning curve during this time will be dramatic. I am so much more prepared now then when I started this process.

I thought I did everything for my son that I could...When it came time for college, we just hit a brick wall. Wayne has helped us break through that wall. Step by step. Our family owes a great deal to Wayne. Thank you!

I absolutely loved this series of books and I can read them over and over! While yes it is a little hokey and rather unbelievable when it comes to an actual follower of Wicca, it is still a fun series. As long as you don't take it too seriously and remember to just have fun with it you will get swept away by the characters and their struggles and triumphs.

I love the books in the Wicca series (or Sweep in the US). I've read them all, and I'm trying to read them all again. I remember that Awakening was always one of my favourites, and it was one that really got me in to the series. I love the eventual happy ending in this book and in the entire series.
I liked Hunter and Morgan coming to terms with having feelings for each other. I love the touch with the Morganite at the end- if only people would actually do that!
The series is wonderful, as soon as I read the first, I bought some and got some from my local Library- I got 4 out at a time, and was up until three in the morning attempting to finish them.
I strongly reccomend anyone who liked the other 4 to read this one, and people just generally interested in Witches and Vampires etcetera.

I've only recently begun reading these books, now when I think about it, I should have read them earlier!
I can relate to Morgan. She has a best friend who gets alll the attention, has low self esteem, and isnt considered a 'popular' girl. Neither am I. This book is so cool because she is trying to accept her new identity and learn to live without Cal. When she fell in love with him, she was happy. Then he betryed her. Used dark magick against her. Tried to kill her! I mean, you have to agree with me, he was a really nice guy. And in some way, he does love her. And I know she loves him. Anyway, this was a great book and would make an excellant movie.
Thanks for your time,
Elizabeth M. Short

Awakening starts off quickly.
Morgan is seeing more of Hunter and it annoys her a little. Morgan and Hunter are still gun powder touching a flame. But every thing starts to simmer down when weird things are happening to the both of them.
Morgan sees more of friends and learns dark secrets that she does not want to be part of.
I especially love this book more than some becuase soemthing happens that makes you either smile from ear to ear or make your jaw drop. Read it!

I purchased the Sweep series for my 13 year old daughter in the hopes that maybe she would read. "She hated to read." Well I was amazed, and could not get her to go to sleep, as she would spend the whole night, with a night-light on reading these books. She enjoyed them so much, and could not stop talking first about Cal and then Hunter, that I had to see what all the fuss was about.
Well after two weeks, a book a day, for a girl who hated to read, it sparked my curiosity, so I started reading, and was surprised to find out how enjoyable a Teen book about Teen Witches could be. I am not really into Wicca, but these books are really enjoyable. I am on my fifth book, and my daughter read each twice, and is know on the Circle of Three Series. I have to highly recommend these books to those parents who can not get their daughters to read. These are excellent stories, full of fantasy, horror, and fun.

My granddaughter was having a very strong reaction to her new baby brother so I gave this book to her. We all about died laughing the day she announced she was moving to Florida, behind the rocking chair, with her 3 bags of toys. Not the dining room table that Frances moves to, but it seemed to do the trick and granddaughter is adjusting well. Seriously, this book really helped her with her feelings about another child coming in to the family. Thank you to the Hobans!

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.

When I was little, I used to love the Frances books. This is easily one of the best ones. In it, Frances has to deal with the fact that her mother and father are often too busy with Gloria the new baby, to speak to her at the moment. Frances just can't stand being ignored, so she tries all kinds of things. Finally, after there are no raisins for her oatmeal, and her mother didn't have a chance to iron her favorite dress, Frances decides to run away to the dining room. So she packs up her knapsack, and runs away to the dining room table with a box of prunes and five chocolate sandwich cookies. But after her food supply is exhausted, Frances realizes that you can't run away from your troubles! And so she runs back to her mother and father. But I really loved her marching song, which I used to annoy my parents with.

Frances was a favorite of mine as a child, so I bought the books for my daughter who is 2yrs old. She doesn't quite get it yet, but likes listening to it nonetheless, and I've discovered that these stories are fun for the grown-up reading them too.

The Francis series is a wonderful reminder of how parents "used" to parent! It's love, unsullied by the current trend to spoil our kids to death. I loved these books as a kid, and now my daughter loves them, too!

I absolutely loved this series of books and I can read them over and over! While yes it is a little hokey and rather unbelievable when it comes to an actual follower of Wicca, it is still a fun series. As long as you don't take it too seriously and remember to just have fun with it you will get swept away by the characters and their struggles and triumphs.

Even though not greatly written, the book is captivating. Morgan, who is still struggling with the knowledge that Ciaran MacEwan is her father, has to deal with the council now too. They want her help to stop Amyranth from destorying another coven with the dark wave. To do that she has to get in contact with Ciaran -- the man who killed her mom and tried to kill her. I won't saw more! It's a great book, one of my favorites in this series!

Morgan thinks shes poison, so she breaks up with Hunter :( and shes very sad about it. A council person comes to Morgan called Eoife (i think...) and she thinks that Ciaran (who is morgans dad) is going to send a dark wave or something to Starlocket, which is Alyces coven. Morgan has to find Ciaran and if possible stop him. Killian, who comes in to the story in the calling, also adds a little mischief too... Ciaran and morgan turn into wolves and their prey is... do you think i would spoil it?!? Just coz everyone else has.

Apart from the 9th book, this was definately one of the worst books in the series. Book 7 was terrific but this book was just annoying. Firstly, The whole good-evil thing is just getting irritating. I am glad Morgan and Hunter "finally" got back together again, but I thought that Morgan wanting to kill Hunter when she was a wolf was possibly the worst storyline yet. I love Killian he is v. cool, Ciaran also has alot of class and Eoife was also a really great character, I wish she'd stayed through book 9 instead of Erin. At one part in the book, Hunter mentioned to Morgan how he also had "struggles" between good and evil but I would have been more convinced if he'd given an example. I think that this series is overall very good, but it lacks alot of balance, everything is so dark, there's never any light.

Yes, a black wave may be coming and it looks like it will be directed against Starlocket (the coven of the magic shop owner). Because of Morgan's history, the International Council of Witches asks her to risk everything to try and get closer to the source of the evil (the evil witch who tried to kill her in New York City).

To do so, Morgan witch calls Killian to come and see her. He shows and his exuberant personality takes Morgan and her coven on a roller coaster ride of partying. But eventually Morgan does run into the evil witch and more plot developments follow.

This is really the first time that Morgan is going up against a threat not targeting her specifically. Somehow she must help the Council, avoid detection, keep her grades from slipping further, deal with Hunter and maybe, just maybe, get a chance to breathe.

Some reviewers feel that the series weakens after book 7 but I feel that this one shows a nice maturing of the story. Having Morgan acting and not just reacting is a pleasant change. I do look forward to the next book.

This is the first

I bought this book for a doctoral level class I am taking. It is outstanding! The information in it is practical in the classroom and simply makes sense. I highly recommend it.

This is a great overview of literacy instruction for any elementary classroom. The book is reader friendly and offers many different ideas that could be applied to the classroom the next day. Many primary ideas could easily be adapted for intermediate, however, overall the authors did a great job of presenting ideas that were usable in every grade! The vocabulary, reading, and writing lessons/activities are fun for students while continuing to challenge and develop their thinking. The practical nature of the book is ideal for any teacher!

I just got into this book in my class. What I have seen so far of it it is a good book. great for Methods classes for Education Majors.

This is a must have book for elementary school teachers. It gives great insight and ideas for teaching children how to read and write.

This is a must read for all elementary classroom teachers. It offers research based lessons to implement a balanced literacy program. It's an easy read. I highly recommend it!

This is such an imaginative book. My 9yr old girl and 10yr old boy and I just LOVE this book. You find yourself going into the book yourself. It's a great book for children, without anything inappropriate, not too scary at all, great lessons.

My husband found this book at our local library and we started reading it to our 5yr old and boy were we all pleasantly surprised. This book is fantastic, sweet and intriguing, once you start reading you can't stop. My daughter even goes back and rereads the book all by herself now.

This is a very interesting fiction story about three kids who go to an
island and explore it, then they find a three-headed dragon. I like it a
lot! It is very intriguing.

This is from my son:

I give this book five stars because the kids use their imagination. I enjoyed the adventure on the island and the mysterious key that unlocks the secret room. I would like to visit the kind-hearted golden dragon's island because of the magical dragon's stories. All the childeren seemed to have learned lessons from the stories. My favorite scene was the silver-eyed story. Find out why...

The three Davis children Have to go to lonely island. Where thay find a cave and they find a great big dragon! They visit the dragon alot. Each time they meet a new dragon. It is a three headed dragon and each time they go to the cave they meet a new head and each head tells them a story.

This book is one of my favourites out the whole series. Unlike alot of readers, I really like Alisa - I think she adds a strange kind of innocence to the books that instead of being annoying is quite good - it adds some light for a change. Even though the way in which she finds out about being a half witch is very repeative and simliar (and a bit cheesy) to how Morgan found out she was an adopted blood witch, i still liked it because like I said, I like Alisa and the innocence and light she adds to the story. I think it was a very good idea to have Alisa save the day rather than Morgan for a change. I think that it was a good idea of Cate Tiernan's to have the spotlight shared by two characters because she has avoided the irritating predictable problem some books suffer from where there is always one heroic character who saves the day every time. This time, it is alot more varied.

So this book, eclipse, is really good! It shares the point of view with Morgan who is ususally the narrator, and Alisa, who you haven't heard from. Alisa's relationship with Morgan is that she is Morgan's little sister Mary K.'s best friend (getting a little Jerry Springer...) anyhow, Alisa is a blood witch. Mordan's killer father, Ciaran McEwan is trying to destroy Widows Vale with the *ominous music* DARK WAVE! Morgan finds Ciaran and her boyfriend, Hunter, stripps his magick. But the dark Wave is still coming! Will they be able to stop it in time? *FORESHADOWING*

I purchased the Sweep series for my 13 year old daughter in the hopes that maybe she would read. "She hated to read." Well I was amazed, and could not get her to go to sleep, as she would spend the whole night, with a night-light on reading these books. She enjoyed them so much, and could not stop talking first about Cal and then Hunter, that I had to see what all the fuss was about.
Well after two weeks, a book a day, for a girl who hated to read, it sparked my curiosity, so I started reading, and was surprised to find out how enjoyable a Teen book about Teen Witches could be. I am not really into Wicca, but these books are really enjoyable. I am on my fifth book, and my daughter read each twice, and is know on the Circle of Three Series. I have to highly recommend these books to those parents who can not get their daughters to read. These are excellent stories, full of fantasy, horror, and fun.

over here in the uk sweep is called WICCA. i am a wiican and 14 and im a beginner and i do like these books. it is fantasy wicca but it is buult over fact.
if u want real wicca after u have read these books check out silver ravenwolf, starhawk, dorothy morisson etc.
These books are great 2 read even if ure not wiccan they are action packed.
this book in particular is probably one of the best and at the time of writing this is the latest one published in the UK but i know the other 2 plus super edition will be even better.

Morgan is back and so is Alisa. For those who don't remember, Alisa is the girl who is scared by Morgan because strange telekinetic things happen when they are together and she feels Morgan is unable to control her power.

One day, at practical magic, Morgan picks up a Book Of Shadows from the seventies. This is actually on we have seen excerpts from in a previous book. But when Alisa is visiting Mary K. (Morgans younger sister), she steals the book.

The book winds up revealing things about Alisa's family and just who Alisa is. As Alisa begins to deal with her situation, she gets caught up with Morgan, Hunter and Hunter's father as a new and serious danger threatens them and much of Widow's Vale.

The story switches back and forth from Morgan's point of view to Alisa's. There are no excerpts starting each chapter, but there are some interesting quotes. A good book that seems to really move the series towards a conclusion.

On a side note, does anyone else thing the town should change its name to Widowers Vale? Morgan, Alisa and Hunter are all missing mothers. Plenty of widowers and no widows.

... this one is for you. Ever feel like the girls around you live on some other planet? Do you yourself feel like an alien in your own environment? This book may give you hope that one day even you will feel at home in your own skin.

Emma-Jean Lazarus (what a delicious name!) is not quite like her seventh grade peers. While a keen observer of their behaviors and social interactions, she nonetheless remains a little aloof from them all. Highly literal, and almost painfully logical, Emma-Jean doesn't really attract the friendship of her peers either -- they think her just a tad weird and mostly remain indifferent to her. However, one day, Emma-Jean finds a fellow classmate crying in the bathroom, and Emma-Jean perceives (in the classmate's various wailings about a best friend's betrayal) a plea for help. Ever the logical problem-solver, Emma jean applies her analytical mind to the issue and soon comes up with a, frankly, morally dubious solution. However, to Emma-Jean, it seems she's done just the right thing -- solved her new friend's problem.

Emma-Jean soon finds other problems to solve for her classmates, but doesn't realize the ripple-effects her various unusual-if-logical solutions are creating. It seems that there is one problem Emma-Jean hasn't been able to puzzle out quite yet -- the mysteries of the human heart and mind.

This book is charming and chuckle-worthy (with the occasional laugh-out-loud moment), but without stooping to humor at the expense of others -- especially the rather obvious target of Emma-Jean. Emma-Jean, while not formerly diagnosed, would be familiar to most reader's who know someone diagnosed with some of the milder forms of Autism or Asperger's syndrome. While the humor often derives from the disconnect between how Emma-Jean perceives her world and how the world is really structured (a sort of dramatic irony), the subtle jabs are more often aimed at the rather silly ins and outs of "normal" human behavior, rather than Emma-Jeans clearly logical analysis.

Emma-Jean is a very short read, but manages to pack lots of action, humor, and even several very touching moments into a small little package. The pacing is great (and I don't often concern myself with pacing), but Emma-Jean's larger-than-average vocabulary will rule out reluctant readers, and some portion of its target audience who doesn't want to read with a dictionary handy. Frankly, it may be one of those children's books that has more appeal for its adult readers... but then again, that's what I am!

This was a quick, easy read. And for the kids that would find its theme of friendship interesting, its a gem of a story. It may not be for all readers, Emma Jean is a compelling, but very different kind of main character.

Its well written without having to resort to cliche attitudes, expressions, or some of the other formulaic child meets friend, helps friend, gets into to trouble middle grade plots. (And for some middle grade readers, that might be too much of a step outside their comfort zone!)

Check it out. You'll be surprised.

This story begins Emma Jean Lazarus opens a door. Literally, it's the door to the girls' bathroom at school, where she finds Colleen Pomerantz (a kind, sensitive girl and not one of the usual 7th grade criers) sobbing over a problem with a friend. Figuratively, it's the door we all open when we make the sometimes scary decision to reach out to another human being. This is a big deal for all of us, but especially for Emma Jean, who's one of those brilliant, wise-beyond-her-years kids who seems to watch everything from the sidelines. She reminds me a lot of Lisa Yee's Millicent Min, Girl Genius. Because Emma Jean is brilliant at math and logic, just like her father who died two years ago, she uses logic to find solutions to her classmates' problems, with results that are hilarious and heartwarming.

There's a lot to love about this book. If you're a writer, you should read it because it's a fantastic example of how to pull off changing points of view in third person narrative. If you spend any time in a middle school, you'll love it because the characters are so real. As a middle school English teacher, I recognized these kids. I've seen Emma Jean watching the other kids at lunch. I've comforted Colleen when one of her friends was mad at her. And I've seen them all in their specially picked outfits at that first middle school dance. Author Lauren Tarshis has nailed middle school to a tee; she even understands one of the great secrets of school hallways: that the custodians are the real heroes.

Emma Jean Lazarus goes out on a limb in this middle grade novel (and yes, she really does fall out of a tree). Her journey is one that manages to be funny and sad and uplifting and true, all at once. You'll love this book.

Tarshis, Lauren. Emma-Jean Lazarus Fell Out of a Tree. Dial Books for Young Readers, 2007

Emma-Jean Lazarus is in the seventh grade at William Gladstone Middle School where she observes rather than interacts with her classmates. Her father, who died in a car accident a couple of years ago when she was only 10, had been a successful mathematician who influenced her to want her world to be logical and rational, "Emma-Jean had observed her peers closely over the years. Her painstaking research had given her a much clearer understanding of their complex emotional lives and surprising sensitivities." When Emma finds a classmate crying in the girls' bathroom, she decides to use her excellent problem solving skills to intervene behind the scenes to fix Colleen's problem. A series of unfortunate events ensue until Emma finally understands that some of her well-intended actions have had negative consequences. Emma is a combination of thoughtful and naïve as she struggles to deal with the damage she has caused; fortunately facing up to her role in some troublesome events enables her to grow significantly as she learns how to interact more wisely with her peers. Woven in to this story about a child who is dealing with the death of a parent is a sweet subplot that has an older student, Vikram Adwani from Mumbai, India who is studying for a PhD at the local University, board with Emma and her mother. Emma really likes this gentleman, in fact, they spend many afternoons talking and cooking fragrant curry meals after she gets home from school, until she realizes that her mother and Vikram are growing maybe too fond of each other. Now Emma decides to intervene to help Vikram's mother find him a lovely Indian bride. Emma is a very appealing character in this wonderful story that blends humor with poignancy.