Brooks Books

Joey is Bree's best friend. Bree talks to her when no one else is around - and that's been happening an awful lot lately, with Bree's mom at work and her older brother off doing his own thing.

Then a new girl moves in across the street. Confident, cool, and bossy, Cassie immediately impresses the younger girl. Will Bree leave behind her old buddy for a new one? She just might, seeing as how Joey is an imaginary friend. Hopefully, Cassie won't find out about her . . .

Cassie Was Here gently captures one girl's impressionable summer in the suburbs. Caroline Hickey's debut novel is adorable. Even if you've ever had an imaginary friend, you've probably needed a real friend - and you might have learned the hard way, like Bree does, that a good friend shouldn't make you do things you don't want to do. Recommended for ages 8 and up.

I read this book before giving it to a ten-year-old babysitting charge so we could discuss it together and found myself enjoying it just as much (as an adult) as she did. It was honest and poignant, yet funny and light, too. Hickey's understanding of kids, their feelings and they way they communicate is remarkable and she makes the book accessible to all. I HIGHLY recommend this book to people of all ages - you'll be doing yourself a favor!

Wow. It's impossible to say too many good things about Cassie Was Here. Over the past few years I've become all too familiar with youth-adolescent literature, and while many of the books my daughter has read have been a real hoot (I usually skim through them so I can discuss them with her from an informed perspective), this one had a lot of brains and even more heart. Let's just say I _more_ than skimmed it because it was really just so resonant (which made me feel less old!). This must be the author's first book since I'm sure work of this quality would have found its way to my daughter's bookshelf (or bedside table, or breakfast table, or the backseat of the car, or on the stairs so I can trip over it- ergh!). Hopefully she'll write another one before my daughter passes through the youth/adolescent window-- otherwise I just might have to pick it up for myself. (Normally I'd be too embarrassed to say that, but hey, it was really good.)

First used this book (earlier edition) in college in the early 80's. I wish to revitalize my math skills and it is as effective now as it was then. Very well done, with small lessons easily mastered. If more instructors taught Math like this we wouldn't have so many students so puzzled by math in our schools and colleges.

I got this book for the second part of my math series for the year. The first part (last semester) I had a teacher that had another book. I didn't have an easy time obtaining the grade I wanted. I had to go for tutoring. This semester, I had to get this book. Before having this math class (the teacher I had this semester) AND this book.. I was dreading math. Now I'm psyched. I wish I'd have had this book last semester, it would have made all the difference. (The teacher is not the only important factor.) If you need it for school, great! But it is also great if you've been out for a while and need to refresh... it is easy breezy to follow (almost don't need a teacher).

I had a BA and was planning to enter a B.S. program after ten years out of High School. This book was a tremendous help in refreshing my mathematics skills. The material is presented clearly and in very understandable language. There are periodic tests one can take to chart one's progress between chapters, helpful reviews of terminology and appendices with review of some fundamentals you may have forgotten as well as a preview of the sort of math this book would lead into if one continued.

The answers to the exercises are worked out in the back of the book (the odd numbered questions are shown at length) so that you can catch mistakes in methodology (and in arithematic).

It is simply impossible to not follow the easy phraseology and straight-forward teaching techniques. You almost breeze through the material because it is presented so clearly and in such easy language. The instruction is explicit with a step-by-step analysis of the material and a lengthy explanation of how one goes about solving involved equations. I only wish I had these authors as my math teachers in high school-I'd have remembered without difficulty the math skills I need now.

It's great to have the use of the internet, but having an actual book in front of you to hold and read and flip through the pages is so much more appealing to me. This is a great starter encyclopedia for children to have from age 7 and up. It's great for homeschoolers also. When they go through the book, it will give you an idea of what their interests are and what they want to learn more about. The pictures are realistic, beautiful, colorful. There are so many things in it to learn and lots of tidbits about everything from the body, science, earth, animals, sports, religions, materials, dinosaurs, and on and on. Great encyclopedia to own.

I have been homeschooling my 5 year old using the Usbourne Children's Encyclopedia. Great intro to social studies and geography. I just use one page at a time and make up a list of questions that I use afterwards to see if he remembers and if not we discuss the topic such as how are rainbows made again until he understands. Great for his attention span at this age. After this book, I plan to then use the Usborne Encycl. of Geography. We have not yet used the internet part of the book, but that also looks promising. Great value if you read the book and not just use the book as a resource.

This encyclopedia has an excellent coverage in an easy to understand language for elementary lower grades. I bought it for my son who is at second grade reading level and enjoys geography and science. This encyclopedia has the same content as its bigger edition, which costs about $21. Only that this is more handy and still has a good size print. The pictures are beautiful. Altogether, it worths more than what I paid for. What a deal!

We love these books in my house because they are very believable and my kids get so involved in them they don't want to put them down. Sometimes my daughter tells me she almost felt like she was living right there with the characters, even in the very frightening times, because she knows the things that happen to the kids really did happen in those times. That's what makes it real to them.

The Colossus of Rhodes, is yet another great novel written by Caroline Lawrence. Lupus now owns a ship and he has given it to Flavia's father the sea captain so he can go on one of his voyages to Rhodes so he can more more money by bringing stuff back to Ostia. While on the ship, the four friends, Nubia, Lupus,Jonathan,Flavia, discover that children are being kidnapped and taken to Rhodes where they are headed. Lupus is very interested in this and when fate brings him back to his home where he thought his mother would be, he has to make a choice between two things; both depending on him.
This is a thrilling adventure book and I would recommend it to anyone. It is very well done!

Caroline Lawrence outdid herself in creating these histicly accurate, fictitious, adventures for children and youth. Both girls and boys will love finding a character they can relate to. They are wonderful read aloud books, or about 4th or 5th grade and up silent reading material. As Flavia, Nubia, Johnathan and Lupas travel through different parts of the Roman empire in about 79AD, we learn many things about Roman History and culture. This book actually takes them on a trip through the Greek Isles to break a ring of slave traders who kidnap free born children and sell them into slavery.

While I highly reccomend this book, I do think it would be helpful to read the series in order. There is so much character development that takes place in the preceeding books.

The new edition of this book provides updates on the models of mediation, advocacy, and negotiation that were provided in the first edition. The new edition also adds creative models of mediation, including healing circles, deep listening, and trust building.

Bought this book as required text for a social work course. Best textbook I've ever used. Great explanations of concepts and interesting exercises.

Teaches you how to get not just what you want, but what others want, too. Great cases and examples to show you how to mediate and negotiate... especially how to be prepared for tough situations in practice.

This book of poems makes a wonderfully illuminating companion to the novel The Far Away. The books are by the same author.

Imagine Virgil had been born in mid-twentieth century Long Island, this might have been the result. The noble beauty, simplicity, classical style of these poems are quite unique. The images and cadences ring true. It's very interesting that authentic pastoral poetry can be written by someone who grew up a few miles from the most frenetic metropolis our planet has ever known. If you like solid, classical poetry, you have to check this out.

Touching and insightful, that's how I would classify the poems in Crane's Neck. Beautifully written and even more beautiful imagery. This is Long Island the way it used to be, natural, triumphant and magnificent. It is truly a collection worth reading.

I work with A/A Books Publishers, and last week when I was in the new local Borders Book store, I was surprised to fine Anne Brooks Brauer's latest book The CRAZY 8MURDER, on display with big stickers , saying they were autographed copies. The book is great and we in the office have read it and love the way she uses the backgrounds of Turkey and Greece, describing so vividly the street, the sites of these exotic cities. This is a great book, not a bloody thrilled but a challenging mystery. Jill Hagan

Anne Brooks Brauer, has done it again, with a great "arm chair adventure" taking place in Greece and Turkey. The reader can follow along step by step while solving the murder.

Travelers returning from visiting Turkey have been buying this book in numbers. The setting is factual and adds to the mystery of the story.

The first thing to bear in mind about this book is that it was published in Yiddish in 1940 based on the first hand accounts by Mr. Glatshteyn from a visit to Vienna in 1934. That means this book wasn't researched... it was WITNESSED. To me, that makes "Emil and Karl" as poignant and as real as Anne Frank's Diary.

But this is not a Holocaust tale. This book stands out for me as a cautionary tale for ALL ages during ANY time in history as a succinct exploraration of how a nationwide mob mentality can engulf an entire society and eventually result in a Holocaust.

But I would be remiss if I didn't also mention that the book succeeds not only in its coverage of such an intense subject, but how it does so with such fine writing. The characters of Emil and Karl are designed with great care and sensitivity to a boy's mentality, and their friendship is truly palpable. Even the many incidental characters such as an old man ordered to clean the sidewalk help to create the tangible environment of a Vienna on the brink of catastrophic madness.

Teachers looking to create a curriculum using firsthand accounts of the Holocaust for young adults might want to consider "Emil and Karl" as the FIRST book for their reading list. Then, move on to "The Diary of Anne Frank" and conclude with Anita Lobel's autobiography "No Pretty Pictures", which also stands out for me as a book partly dedicated to surviving the aftermath of the Holocaust.

In 1940 Vienna, Austria, prior to the start of World War II, Karl, who is not Jewish, has just witnessed his mother - a Socialist - being beaten and taken away from his apartment by Nazi thugs. Alone, he must decide what to do. His first thought is to go to his friend Emil's house.

Emil is Jewish. His father was taken away and murdered by another group of Nazi's. They cremated him and sent the ashes back to the house. The funeral has just taken place and Emil's mother is sitting shiva. When Karl arives, they decide to stay together forever.

Their experiences describe the sense of terror and horror the people of Austria - Jews and non-Jews - felt when the Nazi's took over their country. Emil and Karl encounter people of all types: the good who work to save people and end the occupation; the bad who force people to do terrible things like scrubbing the streets with their bare hands; and the indifferent who stand by and watch as all of this takes place.

This is an excellent book to begin discussing how people reacted when the Nazis came to power. Why did people stay and not leave? Why did some people join the heckling, shouting, evil crowds? Why did others decide to stay and fight from within, saving as many people as they could? While today we know the tragic consequences of the Nazis, this book allows us to enter into a world prior to the war and imagine what we ourselves would have done under similar circumstances. Highly recommended! REVIEWD BY KATHY BLOOMFIELD (NEWTON, MA)

This gripping and unusual novel is set in Vienna on the eve of World War II. It is a beautifully written and compelling story of Jewish life in Austria turned on its head after the German invasion. Two nine-year old boys who are classmates and best friends -- Emil is Jewish and Karl is not -- fight to escape the Germans and to survive the war together. Their respective parents are either dead or have been taken away in a violent fashion. In their attempt to survive, they see a world where Jews are regarded as inferior people. They are initially helped by their neighbors, who are both good Austrians and good people. They are then put in touch with and protected by members of the Resistance. Written in Yiddish in 1939 in New York, it is a unique book in that the story it is telling was written as the events were unfolding. The translator believes that it is one of the first books, in any language, for young readers about a period that would eventually be called the Holocaust. The Anschluss in 1938 was the beginning of the persecution and deportation of Jews in Austria. This is a particularly haunting story to read now, as we read with the benefit of hindsight. For ages 10 and up. Reviewed by Shelley Feit

This book (and the series) may be aimed at pre-teens but is surprisingly sophisticated in the ways it deals with some of the harsher problems of life faced by its protagonists. Add to these the underlying philosophies of the Roman world of the first century AD, and you have a story rich in setting, characters and plot--mainly because the sense of youthful adventure is never ever neglected. Very highly recommended reading.

Every book that Caroline Lawrence writes is based on a character in the roman mysteries series. This book was based on Jonathan. Jonathan and his friends Lupus, Nubia and Flavia go to Rome to solve a mystery for the emperor Titus. During solving the mystery, Jonathan gets an urge to show something to his father. Something very important. Something that has to do with Jonathan's family. In this book, Berenice(said to be the empress) was told by emperor Titus to leave the city returns once again. I rated this book 5 because it has all the actions and adventures that a great book should have!!!

Its great. Its follows a myth like The Twelve Tasks of Flavia and once again we meet some characters we've seen from the past. (Tip: read the series in order).

This is a compelling and entertaining book which draws you into an action packed story full of interesting characters.


I am looking forward to the sequel.

This is a creative, deep novel with a message relevant to the modern age. What happens when a certain line of environmental degradation has been crossed? The theme here-worth noting in our daily lives- is that Nature is not insentient matter. In this story she also has feelings and has finally reached a point of abuse where She is ready to fight back (with human help).

This story specifically addresses what happens when the waters- lakes, streams, and rivers- fight back in tandem with environmentalists. The plot of "Erie Uprising" follows the distressed waters of the Midwest and their alliance with sensitive types within the Nature Warriors environmental group.

If you strongly believe that our natural world is just lifeless clay, you may not like this book. But if you think Nature has a soul, intelligence and feelings, you may enjoy this book. Also within is an interesting commentary on what happens when a group takes the motto that "the end justifies the means." A novel relevant to a modern society that engages in aggressive warfare and hapless environmental degradation.

S.G. Brook has given us clear, understandable writing and an engaging style. For those from the state of Michigan or Wisconsin, the level of real-life detail used in scene description is impressive. This book may be worth getting just for the fun of seeing your local waterfront built into a novel.

Environmental extremists harness previously unknown powers of Nature and rebel against the US Government. The story begins with a man who turns his ability to communicate with the Earth's spirits into a power that threatens to overturn American society. Angry over the abuse of nature he witnesses near his home, he discovers his anger originates from the outrage of the rivers and streams themselves. He hones this understanding of the waters in his native Great Lakes Basin into an ability to focus the waters' power on specific actions.