Education Books

This book is a keeper for all ages. Young children (and I mean really young, you'd be amazed at who will pay attention to these illustrations) can point out details and ideas with very few prompts. You can simplify your language when telling this story to a 15 month old, and then expand your vocabulary and sentence levels for older children. Even kindergarteners love this book. They can re-tell the story without being able to read. They can answer questions about characters, motivations, predictions. Please do not let the fact that there are not a lot of "written words" turn you off from this story. Every good storytime reader knows that descriptions, questions, and "what's happening here?" are most beneficial to young children.

Please give it a chance. Your child will love it!

(from an early childhood speech pathologist)

There's so very much for young children to see, learn and imagine in this wonderful book, Good Night Gorilla. The illustrations are as wonderful as the text, suggesting the feelings of the characters as the silly and exciting story progresses.

Every child will be tickled by the idea of all the zoo animals following the zoo keeper back to his little house, much to the surprise of his wife. All the animals in this book are sweetly detailed, and will keep your child coming back to Good Night Gorilla over and over again.

My daughter loves this book. It's definitely a pre-bedtime favorite and it is a terrific segue into telling her that since the zoo is going ni-ni that she has to as well.

We love this book. The art is great and the story is fun. My kids love to go through and follow the mouse, follow the balloon, identify the different animals, etc. My son's favorite part is the different voices I use for the animals saying Good Night. But one thing makes us sad - we check off all the animals' dollies (they find the armadillo's hysterical) but we cannot find a dolly for the lion!! I tell them maybe he's sitting on it. Surely he has one.

At any rate, we love this book and would not hesitate to recommend it.

My 20 month old daughter loves this book. Most nights I get "more" from her meaning "read it one more time". She loves this book and the surprise eyes at the end make her smile every time. I'd recommend buying this book and Ten Minutes Till Bedtime by the same author. If you buy that book, on one of the pages you can see the same illustration as in Goodnight Gorilla outside the window. My 4 year old loves to put the two books together so you can see both illustrations side by side.

Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul Volume 2 is an inspirational and enlightening book. Being a teenager myself I can relate to a lot of the stories told in this bestseller. The first time I read this book I was younger and didn't understand what the authors in the book were saying, but when I revisited it this year I actually understood it and connected more to the stories. This book has inspired me to write about my personal experiences and really look back at the good, bad, or in between as a way to learn from my mistakes. Instead of breaking down I decided to write. This book has taught me and helped me through some rough times. This book is great and I recommend it to anyone. Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul is not just for teenagers, I have even read some stories with my friends and family. This book has been a real joy and inspiration on all aspects of my life. Thanks Chicken Soul and I hope all readers out there will get a chance to read this delightful, motivating, and wonderful book.

This is a great book for every teenager. Every teen goes througha tough time at least once in their life and this book can really help. It has stories on things from teenage romance to suicide. This is a great book for everyone from teenagers to adults.

Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul 2 is a great book for teens because it is something we can relate to. It is filled with short anecdotes written by teenagers or once-teenagers about their adolescent experiences. It is inspirational and teaches us about who we are, about people, and about life in general. I recommend this book for all teenagers.

I think that this book was a very good and fun book to read. Anyone who enjoys hearing about different teens telling their own stories would greatly enjoy this book. While I was reading it, there were times when i felt like laughing and other times when I felt like crying too. The things that teenagers go through are so hard and alot of adults do not understand this, that is why this book is so helpful. It is a very good book to read and I would recommend it to anyone, espically teens.

Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul ll is a great book written by teenagers and some adults about life. It teaches us about life and how to deal with it. It shows us that no matter where you came form, what you look like, or how you act, almost all teenagers are the same. This book is an inspiration to everyone.
This book influences me because it inspires me to become a better person. Before I read this book I thought, "Oh this book is just some boo full of made-up stories", but as I continued to read into it more, I thought" Wow this is a really great book". This book tells you that all teens go through the same stuff. It shows you that your not alone, and with faith and courage you can overcome most obstacles. This book is filled amazing stories of love depression, and hope. I encourage everyone to read this book.

THE FIRST TIME I READ THIS BOOK I WAS WOKING IN A
DAYCARE CENTER ONE OF THE CHIRDEN BOUGH IT IN AND SINCE
THEN IT BECAME MY FAVORITE CHILDREN BOOKS BECAUSE IT IS
VERY FUNNING.

I don't know one child who doesn't love this book--a wonderful addition to your library.

My grandchildren loved this book. It was so cleverly written. Illustrations were great.

The story, The True Story Of The Three Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka is about a wolf named Alexander T.Wolf and three little pigs. People think they know the story of the three little pigs but everything is all wrong. This is the "real" story of the three little pigs. Once upon a time there was a wolf that was making a birthday cake for his granny. But he didn't have a cup of sugar so he went to ask his neighbor who was a pig. The first pig made his house out of straws. He wasn't too smart. Alexander knocked on the door but nobody answered. Then, Alexander called "Little pig, little pig are you home?" But nobody answered. The wolf was about to go home without any sugar for his granny's birthday cake. Alexander sneezed a great sneeze. And then he saw the first pig had dead. Alexander said "We can't leave a great dinner here." So you know what he did? He ate dinner. But still he didn't have a cup of sugar for his granny. So he went to the first pig's brother who was a little smarter then the first pig. He built his house and said, Mr. Pig, Mr. Pig are you here? Pig said, "Go away, I am shaving the hair on my chinny, chin chin". Alexander said, "Could I have a cup of sugar?" But the pig said he was too busy. He sneezed and sneezed. That sneeze broke the house down. The second pig was dead so you know what Alexander did? He had dinner again. But he still didn't have a cup of sugar. So he went to the other pig brother. Alexander knocked on the door and said "Mr. Pig, Mr. Pig are you in?" The third pig said "Get out of here." "Mr. Pig can you gave me a cup of sugar for my dear old granny's birthday cake?" But the pig didn't give him anything. Then the wolf sneezed and sneezed but the house didn't fall over. Then the third pig was so smart because he made his house out of bricks. The pig said, "Your old granny can sit in pin. But Alexander never let anyone talk about granny like that. When someone talks about his granny he goes crazy. Then the cops saw the wolf go crazy they thought he was dangerous so they put him in jail and the newspapers.

I think the pigs did have a cup of sugar. I don't think the house was falling because he sneezed. Who could break a house down just by sneezing? He says he is a good wolf but he is really not. I don't think the pigs were dead. Maybe they just fainted and the wolf ate them anyways. I think other people will enjoy this book because Alexander is lying but people will notice right away.

By Abby M.

The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by A. Wolf (Picture Puffin)
I use this book for the sixth graders I teach in writing a "response to literature." They look at several aspects of a story and learn to critically respond to it. Since everyone knows the Three Little Pigs, this fun version captures their interest.

I was initially intimiated about the prospect of launching into just one volume of Foote's narrative and so I made the mistake of buying only the first book -- I should have bought all three volumes at the start! It takes about 50 - 100 pages to get into Foote's style of writing, and at times he turns a quirky phrase from the '60's (1860's), but this is enjoyable reading, bar none. If there was ever a way to learn the history of the American Civil War, this would be the way to do it.

I've spent nearly a year making my way through the three volumes, sometimes on airplanes, some of it as 5 - 6 pages before going to sleep. My biggest regret is there is no Vol. 4. I will miss Mr. Foote. The richness of detail and the descriptive character achieved by Foote makes you feel as though he lived in the period and knew many of the characters personally. You will come away with vivid and lasting impressions of Lincoln, Grant, Davis, Lee, Johnson, Jackson, McClelland, Custer, Semmes, Porter, Sherman, Sheridan, and countless others who defined these years. The series is not a dry recitation of facts and figures, but a storytelling of the war with enough statistics to provide a sense of scale.

Imagine the year is 1899 and you are a young man or lady of 12 or 13, sitting with your aging uncle who had lived and fought through the major battles of a war on the verge of being forgotten. He shares with you his remembrances and vast knowledge of what happened on the major battlefields and political stage (and behind it) during the war. He is a master story teller. You are enthralled and look forward to each evening's session. That's what Foote offers to the reader.

The books have some flaws -- a lack of maps, no program of players, ambiguous chapterization, shifting time lines and locations. While there are large scale maps inside the covers to convey the flow of the entire war, there are not enough maps for the individual battles. You must dog ear those map pages for reference. I'm not a history buff, so I constantly had to keep asking myself "who was that general?" as Foote leaves one theater of the war and then returns to it several chapters later. A suggestion -- get an index card and each time you meet a major player, write the name, side, title and use the card as a book mark. The problem with shifting time lines and locations is unavoidable in such a vast work. Foote generally does a good job to tying overlapping periods to each other, but you need to keep alert on our own.

There are few books I would ever consider reading again, but these will stay on my bookshelf for just that possibility.

There are two types of reviewers for this trilogy. Those who rate it five stars and those who have no soul.

I am about half way through and find these volumes excellent. They not only address the battles fought, but also address the political climate how people from the North and the South felt about the war, their leaders etc. It is interesting to be made aware of the annimosity that existed toward the "press." It is also interesting to hear how the press on either side was willing to print information that may prove detrimental to military activity and probably help to contribute to the many deaths experienced on both sides. And I mean the southern press printing about the movements of southern forces and the northern press printing about troop movements of the northern armies. Also, it comes across to me that Foote presents a relatively fair and unbaised narrative of both the North and the South. Excellent reading especailly for you history buffs. However, be ready to have fun trying to keep track of all the different generals etc. It is a little like alphabet soup.

I found this a very through account of a momentous part of American history full of detail and knowlegeable details.For any student or some like me curious about the history of the American Civil War I recommend these books.

I wanted an objective account of the civil war and an objective description of the battles, but Foote's three volume books is anything but objective. He is an engaging writer and, as another reviewer points out, brings the characters back to life, but Foote makes confederate thugs like Stonewall Jackson look like lovable, eccentric and courageous heroes. He portrays the confederate soldiers as poor, under-equipped soldiers full of valour, but then paints the union soldiers as over-equipped soldiers, lacking in courage and drive, who are there only for the experience and who pillage civilian homes when they go into southern towns (see the battle at Federicksburg for an example).

I note another reviewer commenting that Foote's view is not apparent in the books, but to me it is very clear he is rooting for the confederates. For example, on page 19 of the second volume, he writes "Texas was decontaminated" and the only bluecoats were Magruder's prisoner (this was about Magruder winning the battle at Galveston for the confederates). Only those in support of the confederate would say that Texas was decontaminated when Magruder won. If the writer was objective, that phrase "Texas was decontaminated" would not have been inserted. It's not even necessary!!

There is also a little too much detail. I can do without how many men are in each division and how many men were killed, wounded or captured.

I do not intend to read all three volumes because of his pro-confederate tone. It was a struggle to finish the first volume without wanting to throw the book at something (I am not pro-union, just anti-confederate). I am reading the second volume only so I can read about Stonewall Jackson's death. I am not sure how Foote has portrayed his death, but I'm sure with his pro-confederate feeling, it will be a glorious death!!! To me, Stonewall is a hypocritical thug and murderer and I will delight in reading about his death, however, glorious it might be to Foote.

Diferente, hermoso, con un tono narrativo que no es el típico de los libros para chicos. Cuanto más se lo leo a mi hijo de dos años, más me gusta, más posibilidades de narrarlo descubro desde su economía de palabras y la expresividad de sus dibujos. Con frases cortas y texto breve, es perfecto para los más chicos.

This little pig is great! What a fun story to read with your little ones!

Great Book!!!!
As a parent that reads ALOT to her two kids, I need books that will entertain me as well as them- and this is one of those books! The story is funny and the illustrations are wonderful!

This book is an excellent addition to any child's library. The board book edition holds up better to little ones who still chew on their books.

This book makes me chuckle when I'm reading it to my daughter. She's not sure why I think the illustration on the sand castle page with "she got pretty good" is so hilarious--- but it'll slay you if you're a grown-up. These books are really really witty. you hear this a lot- but they're great for kids AND grown-ups!

This book quickly runs through various methods children - I mean, dinosaurs - use to try to prolong bedtime, before finally showing the method that children should - and dinosaurs DO - use to go to sleep on time.

The charm is all in the illustrations - don't worry too much about the text.

This is my toddler's favorite of the series. It is the usual whimsical style with beautifully detailed illustrations. We just discovered after many readings that there is a pet on most pages. My toddler loves to look for the dinosaurs' pets as we turn the pages. A refreshing bedtime story.

We absolutely love Yolen and Teague's 'Dinosaur' books. The text is fun and rhythmic and the pictures are just incredible. My son is eight years old and loves these books, just now when he came in as I was on the computer he pointed to the books and said "thanks!!!". We have only one comment. Please, please, please, make all of them available in large book editions. The board books are simply too small to appreciate the amazing detail in the illustrations.

My three year old has been into dinosaurs for a year and is still going strong. He received this for his third birthday and it quickly became his favorite bedtime story. We always end with a kiss and he roars a goodnight. Lol.

I like how the dinosaurs are named in the pictures because it not only teaches bedtime manners, but also dinosaur identification. Believe it or not, the boy can name dinosaurs better than he knows the alphabet.

If your little one is into dinosaurs, this is highly recommended for the collection.

WE REALLY LOVE THESE BOOKS WITH THE HUGE PICTURES OF REALLY REAL LOOKING PICTURES OF THE DINOS & WHAT IT MIGHT BE LIKE IF ONE WERE REALLY LIVING AS A HUMAN CHILD INSIDE A HUMAN'S HOUSE! FAST TO READ & GREAT EYE CANDY. THIS SERIES OF DINO BOOKS LEAVE U WANTING MORE! THERE ISN'T 1 AT ALL DISSAPPOINTING! WE HIDE THESE FROM GRANDMA SO THEY R ONLY TO BE READ BY ME & THE KIDS! THEY R OUR SECRET TREASURES WE ENJOY!
GRANDMA NEEDED TO FIND HER OWN TREASURES TO SHARE WITH THE KIDS...

And it's still a favorite around here two years later!

It amazes me that this book is almost as old as I am, is of course considered a very popular classic, and yet - I never read it until I was an adult!

Given its age, I'm sure everybody *else* here knows the plot, but just in case, this is a book about a (very logical, I'm sure) series of misadventures that happens after you give something to a mouse. Every request leads to another thing, and another, and another, until the poor boy in the story falls dead asleep.

This book is too cute, and it's funny, too, in a way that both adults and kids will appreciate.

Plus, it's short, which is great for those "Oh dear, go to BED already!" kind of nights!

I would highly recommend this book to any parent who has pre-school aged children. It is a great bed time story.

This is the story that captivated by interest in this author's storytelling. My students love the books! Plus, the book came in excellent condition.

BOTTOM LINE:

Numeroff does it again!
Anyone who gives this less than 4 stars is a soulless android. There is NOTHING to not like about this book in a series of 'If you give a ...'! It is laugh out loud funny, great to read, and the pictures are cute and hilarious! The story has a nice touch of irony without forcing a MESSAGE.

I think its wonderful to have a children's book that is so clever and whimsical - hard to find one nowadays. Not only does my 6-yr old love it, but I love it myself. :-)

If You Give a Mouse a Cookie is a modern classic, beloved by children everywhere. It is also a book that teaches about sequential action and consequence. For example, if you give a mouse a cookie, he is going to ask for a glass of milk. If you give him a glass of milk, he will probably ask for straw. As the book continues, the drink leads to a napkin, which leads to a mirror (to check for a milk mustache), which leads to a haircut, which leads to cleaning up, etc., and so forth. The tale eventually comes full circle, with thirst leading to a glass of milk, which leads back to giving a mouse a cookie. And of course, if you give a mouse a cookie...

My three year old and I love reading this together at bedtime. I start the sentence on each page ("If you give a mouse an xxxx...), and she shouts out the end of the sentence (",...he is going to xxxx."). The result is lots of giggles which are very nice right before bedtime.

This fun, entertaining book is beautifully illustrated with rich, detailed, colorful drawings. I highly recommend this book for small children and beginning readers, and I guarantee that it will quickly become a family favorite.

I am only about half way through this book and already have learned numerous things about the design of Java as a language and about proper usage of said language. This book is going to be a staple in my programming library and a book recommended to anyone I know working with Java. I am also looking forward to the second edition which is slated to be released in May sometime.

An indispensable, insightful, and well written Java book to add to your reference library. The second addition is due out May 25, 2008.

I ask all of the developers I manage to read this book, after having been introduced to it by a coworker. Great tips, and helpful in clarifying some of those "gut feel" things that come up during pair-programming.

It is incredible to read Joshua's insights. Forget about being a Java Guru or something like that. This book is pure joy to read if you are detail oriented, perfectionist or a student of art of programming in general.

I have started this effort of creating a distilled version of this book coupled with my own reflections at: [...]. To any curious reader though, any such effort is not a replacement for the book itself. It is a masterpiece.

- Kedar Mhaswade

I've been using Java since 1995 and have owned this book since 2001 and it's the only Java text I still turn to. I recommend every Java developer, no matter what level you're at, read this book and read it again every year for the remainder of your career. I doesn't matter who you are or how experienced you think you are -- you will learn from this book. I give "Effective Java" my highest recommendation. I cannot wait for the Second Edition.

I never did truly see the point of this novel, but hey, it was fun and everyone loves dinosaurs. I think it's a good project for writing, and I like the admittely contrived concept of looking at everyone's thoughts. But aside from that, why?

While the bonus installments of Animorphs are K.A. Applegate's chance to shine (a.k.a. Visser, Megamorphs #1) they can also spell disaster. And this book spells every letter. It's as though Applegate rubbed her hands and said, "Here's my chance to put in every random idea I've ever had along with ten hours of research on dinosaurs. No, make that five hours." And she does.

The adventure in the book starts with some of the Animorphs stuck in a dinosaur. Yep, that's right. Inside a dinosaur. It is as ridiculous as it sounds. From there, they venture into the land of dinosaurs trying to find one another. The dinosaurs range from huge deadly raptors who are conveniently acquired, to Stegasaurus who are being zapped by evil ant aliens.

To try to divert attention from the convenient ways all six Animorphs can come away unscratched by a massive T-Rex, Applegate puts in big crabs with about twenty eyes. Oh, and they invented broccoli. They're named Mercora. Their enemies are lots and lots of evil ants called the Nesk, which are the pitifully two dimensional race who tries and fails to be as interesting as Yeerks.

Are these elements not ridiculous enough for you? There's more. They make dinosaur sandals. They steal nuclear weapons that happen to be invented back in that time. And somehow they all survive when a massive meteor hits the world and kills everything.

Sometimes Applegate goes a step too far in the absurd (though occassionally enjoyable) ideas throughout her Animorph series. Time of the Dinosaurs goes an entire staircase. Only die hard Animorphs fans should read this. And even then, remember that this is a bonus installment not part of the main series essential to understand the plot line... thankfully.

This book starts out with a kid seeing a submarine crashing at the bottom of the ocean. His name is Marco and he is the prankster of this group of special humans. They are Andalites,which have the power
to gather animal d.n.a. and they change into animals.Jake is the leader
then there is Cassie,Ax,and Rachel. Well they go to save the people in
the sub,While they are saving the day nuclear sub blows up and they get blown back to in time with the dinosaurs.While they are there they

encounter two alien species one friendly one not so friendly. So they create another explosion and they go home

megamorphs
the book i read was the animorphs: megamoarphs in the time of the
dinosaurs. the book starts out with Marco on of the five animorphs
talking about a nuclear sub that sank in the ocean. so he talks to his
friends and they go to the sunken sub and boom it happens if you
want to find out what happened read the book . but they wake up
and there in the time of the dinosaurs and all of their morphs are to
weak for them to use in that world so they have to get new morphs
but how. when they wake up tobias and Rachel were eaten by a
dinosaur and the rest of them are being chased by another dino.
they reach land and demorph and they relies that this is real and
that they might not go home. But they knew that tobias and werenýt
going no matter what because they were eaten as you now know.
Now the remaining animorphs decide that they need to get a fire
going to survive and keep other animals away. but what they dont
know is that tobias and rachel are still alive and are trying to get out
of the dinosaurs stomach. And back at camp a t-rex shows up and
they run they thought that the fire would keep the dinosaurs away .
to find out what happens in the rest of the book youýll have to read
the book but on my opinion the book was one of the best iýve ever
read on a scale of one to ten it was definetly a nine.

Sorry, but this book is definately only three stars. It all starts out when Marco hears about a sunk sub and the Animmorphs go to investigate. Something goes wrong and suddenly they find themselves in preostoric times!

I don't like this book because: a)It has the whole Sario Rip thing that was already put in another book. b)When they find themselves stuck in the Creostastes(sorry, don't know how to spell it) Period, there's another alien speices. I don't like that whole thing, along with The Mutation #36, and c)How it ended was very, very predictable. I don't know about you, but I knew that the comet was going to blow them back to their own time sooner or later.

Sorry Applegate, but you couldn't give us another winner like THe Andalite Chronicles (I have a review there, too)

I loved this book, the entire series is amazing. I cannot wait until I read the next one.

Tamora Pierce is an excellent writer. All of her books really put you into the stories and make you feel as though you know the characters personally. This book is no different.

PAGE is the second installment in Tamora Pierce's PROTECTOR OF THE SMALL quartet and it improves on the already fantastic opening novel FIRST TEST. This particular series is again set in the enchanted kingdom of Tortall and features Keladry of Mindelan, now eleven years old and still as determined as ever to become a knight. In FIRST TEST, Kel successfully undergoes a probationary year which had been unfairly imposed upon her by the conservative training master Lord Wyldon, who doesn't believe that women are cut out to be knights. However, Kel truimphs over every test put in her path and Lord Wyldon has no choice but to add her officially to the ranks of pagehood.

PAGE chronicles Kel's three eventful years as a page. Here, she faces a diverse and ever escalating gamut of challenges, from battle lessons to physical tests of endurance and strength, from suffering growing pains (she develops a crush on a friend) to enduring the persisting scorn of several of the male fraternity, and, on one peril-fraught occasion, fighting for her very life as she and her fellow pages must face off against desperate bandits. And then, finally, there's the all-important and extremely difficult fourth-year exam, which will determine whether she'll advance to squirehood, the next rung up to knighthood. But an unexpected, catastrophic event will transpire which will endanger her chances of even attending the test and will pit her against her greatest weakness. Once again, Kel is well served by her fruitful time spent on the Yamani Islands as she habitually makes good use of the adopted martial training and the poise she had learned from her Yamani instructors. Also, now in her second year, Kel has garnered enough friendships amongst her peers that she doesn't feel quite so isolated. Her horse Peachblossom and her helpful flock of sparrows again prove to be invaluable. Meanwhile, her mysterious, unidentified benefactor pleasantly continues to present her with inestimably practical gifts.

As ever, Kel continues to champion the underdog and the helpless. Here, she takes into her care the homeless and homely but ingratiating mutt Jump (never mind that she's not allowed to have pets) and hires into her service the timid maid Lalasa, who had suffered ill-treatment in her past. Kel aims to foster a confidence in Lalasa by instilling in her a belief in her own worth and by teaching her various martial arts moves for self-protection. Kel also continues her informal evening hall patrol as she keeps a watchful eye out for her nemesis, Joren, and his disagreeable clique of hangers-on, who revel in the abuse of the hazing ritual, too often unlawfully beating up on smaller, newer, and younger pages.

Kel persists in being one of the better young heroines out there. I really liked her in FIRST TEST and, here, she's even more appealing. Unlike Alanna, Tamora Pierce's first heroine, Kel isn't imbued with a magical power and doesn't attempt to hide her gender. Kel is a GIRL and very proud to be one, and she doesn't take short cuts. Pierce nicely depicts sequences of Kel stubbornly working hard to better herself as she stoically suffers every bead of sweat, bruise, and ache brought on by her training. Thus, the reader actually ends up cheering all the more for the approbations she does receive.

By the way, I don't mean to knock Alanna. I also enjoyed the quartet of books about her. Her achievements are what made Kel's endeavor here possible. But, yeah, when you get right down to it, Alanna has a supernatural ability while Kel remains a regular human girl. To get even more nerdy, it's kind of like comparing Superman to Batman. Anyway, if you've already read FIRST TEST, I won't have to talk hard and fast to convince you to read PAGE, or the subsequent novels. I'm in the middle of reading SQUIRE right now, myself. And that one, so far, is even marginally better than FIRST TEST and PAGE.

I gave the first of this series 5 stars, and reluctantly subtract one for the execution of her second. The premise is sound - she planned to deal with Kel as a child, a Page, a Squire, and finally as Lady Knight, but the pace and high drama of this book left many things feeling a bit rushed.

Firstly, expect the content to be notably more mature than in First Test. Kel deals with hitting puberty, hitting boys, being hit by boys, and a brutal regimen of forcing down her phobias. This, in addition to intense training, having (and dealing) with crushes on her fellow Pages, and proving over and over and over that she can and will "run with the big boys."

Despite cramming several years worth of experience (literally) into this book, Pierce does an admirable job of containing and streamlining it. The years are well defined, and the individual 'quests' are tightly written and clear. This book also handles the development of Kel's unique abilities in command. Her growing sympathy for commoners and the weak is showcased in a series of growing climaxes. The ending sequence is especially well-done, and younger readers will be very impressed with Kel's maturity and self-sacrifice.

Again, I find that Pierce writes extremely appropraitely for the age-level (estimating by Kel's own age, the pre-teen market) and I find that her focus on morality and strength of conviction in difficult circumstances is fitting for younger readers. I wholeheartedly suggest these books for parents wishing to instil those ideals in their children, in addition to reading them because they are simply VERY nicely crafted books.

**Lastly, as I warned for First Test = Parents who are very careful of the sexual, homosexual, or magical encounters their children have - PLEASE read these books before handing them over to your kids. I personally see nothing wrong with her handling of delicate issues, but you might. And to set your child on a series of entertaining books, and then later ban them for dealing with unfortunate subjects - this makes rebellious and NEEDLESSLY unhappy children. Please, if you are sensitive to sexual references (including a brief mention of homosexuality and extremely frank dealings with rape) and/or the use and presence of magic, please make sure YOU read this first.

Keladry of Mindalen has passed her test and is now a full page, dreaming of becoming a knight. Kel is keeping up with life but it's getting hard. She still has to handle to fact that many, many people are still mad about her becoming a page. While she deals with this she is trying to maintain her training. And ALSO trying to deal with her feelings for her best friend, Nealan of Queenscove. In other words life is hectic for Keladry of Mindalen.
In this book there is a part where Keladry shows her skills and leads her friends out of a sticky situation where they're trapped by a group of bandits while the pages are on a little 'field trip'.

"Ladies have no place bearing arms..." I've said it once and I'll say it again...that's WRONG!

I hope you'll read this book, 'Page'. I'm sure you'll love it.