Fun and Games Books

This book contains many great ideas. I teach kindergarten, so wasn't able to use as much as first through 3rd grade teachers could. However, I did get some good ideas that I use. Not a bad price, and the ideas are worth the money.

I have bought many books recently on literacy centers and this book is by far the best! It gives you background information on the purpose of centers but really focuses on making it work for you. It gives tons of easy to put together center activities and reproducible sheets. By far the most teacher friendly book on centers I now own.

I would highly recommend this book for anyone teaching primary grades, and integrating literacy centers in the classroom. It is perfect for managing reading groups, as well as a great time-management tool. Full of reproducibles, and helpful tips, it's one of the best teacher resources available. :)

This book may work if you are a new teacher with no resources and no ideas. If you are a veteran teacher, don't bother. The book is full of worksheets that you could quickly create and are probably already doing in your classroom. Don't waste your money.

After 12 years teaching middle school, I am now teaching second grade. This book has become one of my most treasured resources. This clearly and concisely explained the purpose and practical upkeep of 30 learning centers. I have used many of the activities as a springboard for countless other center activities. Don't walk, RUN to get this book.

There are several cute basic patterns for scarves and simple garments in this book. They can all be made with other yarns than the ones called for if they are hard to find. Some of the novelty yarns are in the sale bins now, and they can be used in combination with any yarn that you have. The only thing you have to do is get the gauge specified in the pattern. Do a gauge swatch, doesn't every knitting book tell you that?

I found this book in my local library on my quest to learn how to knit. This book is not for the teach yourself first timer. Although there are knitting instructions in the beginning, they are not sufficient to teach.
I look forward to coming back to this, after having finished five projects and understanding the basics. It has wonderful patterns that incorporate the ever-alluring novelty yarn. Most books I find do not even touch on such yarns. The patterns are creative and different, real eye catchers. A great buy, just not your first.

There are so many knitting books out there its hard to know which one to choose. Well I definitely reccomend "Yummy Yarns." Ms. Ziegler and Mr. Greco do an excellent job presenting more than just the standard beginning knitting projects. The authors are so creative! I found that the instructions were very well written and easy to follow and I especially loved the layout.

Great book!
I love to knit!
Thanks Yummy Yarns!

I was given this book as a gift from a close friend after mentioning I'd like to start knitting. I've referenced many knitting books to guide me but have often found inspiration in this particular one. There are basic instructions both for learning how to knit and numerous different stitches, as well as pictures.

This book is an excellent reference for almost any piece of knitting and I enjoy trying out the different stitches by making scarves and adorable little tops. I would recommend this book as a great reference to have in any knitter's collection.

but rather a "relearning" knitter, I found Yummy Yarns to be a wonderful guide to the new and fun yarns in the market today. I learned to knit years ago with worsted wool and other boring types. Today there are so many more fun yarns to work with and Yummy Yarns provides a direction for the use of these fun yarns.

Despite the fact that this book was published in 2004, you may find that obtaining some of the yarns used in the projects is difficult. For instance, I had to use ebay to find the yarn used in the cover project, Gedifra Costa Rica. However, the book does offer suggestions on substitution yarns and using gauges helps in finding suitable replacements.

The projects are directed mostly toward beginning knitters, but experienced knitters might enjoy some of the patterns offered. Keyhole scarves are very sophisticated and make wonderful gifts. The scarf called the "Eyelash Scarf" knitted up wonderfully using different yarn and made a wonderfully received gift. Note that it has a wonderful solid-colored "border" at each end that gives it a designer look.

There are some fun bags to knit as well as accessories for jean jackets.

For yarns that I could not find, I made note of the suggested substitutions in the pattern and look forward to these other projects. Yummy Yarns has proven to be a yummy venture!

I'm a veteran teacher of more than 20 years and an English major to boot and I've always found teaching writing difficult and sooooo tedious. This book is a God send. I did almost all of the assignments given and my class enjoyed all of them. We wrote six, yes six, five paragraph essays this year and my kids really became better writers. I have recommended it to many colleagues and my student teacher used it successfully in her first teaching job. It's a "keeper" and well worth the money.

This book is wonderful. I have been looking for a book to help my 4th graders prepare for the Writing Assessment, and this is it. The kids love the lessons and everyone from my Sp.Ed students to my Gifted students have been making progress. My husband sometimes reads stories that my students write and he has seen an improvement. One of my parents said that her son's everyday writing is even getting better, and she knows we have been writing. We still have a lot more of the book to cover . I know their writing will get even better as we progress.

I have a third and fourth grade classroom. I find the lessons contained in this book provide easy to follow, day by day steps that the children enjoy writing about. Students who had barely written three sentences are now writing five paragraphs with all the components of a good paragraph. I highly recommend this book, which can be adapted to any classroom, to increase your students writing skills!!

I was in a classroom substituting, and saw some of the activities from this book being used. The kids
were motivated! I ordered the book for my own use! Some of the activities can be used as journal writing/time or fillers.

In my 13 years of curriculum, I have not found a writing book better than this one for elementary school. Well worth every penny of the money spent.

The lesson plans are done for you, and they are step by step! There are modeled pieces of writing included and bulletin board display ideas. There are skills imbedded in the lesson.

There are also additional writing ideas which can convert the 10 weeks into 30 weeks of writing practice.

Great for new teachers! Great for those of us who are uncomfortable teaching writing, because we are unsure of our own writing quality.

I LOVE this book.

The book came in expected condition. They shipped quickly and did a great job.

Girls will be girls and what was girly and cool 100 years ago is still girly and cool today. A fun look into history loaded with good old fashion fun. Every girl in our neighborhood has found something they love in this book. Giggles and smiles. This does seem to be a better fit for a girl who already enjoys reading otherwise you may end up doing the loins share of the reading which could be just as rewarding for your relationship with your special girl.

I received this book for Christmas and it is one of my favorite books. It has crafts and activities ranging from preserving flowers in wax to turning an old straw hat into a drawstring bag. Along with fun crafts and games, and even interior decorating, this book shows one how life was like back in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. This book is over 100 years old, and the activities are still really fun and easy to do! I recommend this book to any girl, young or old!

Sure, it might be a little outdated, but it's a great glimpse into a past time. And today's kids would probably enjoy the chance to do some old-fashioned things described in this book, like making their own hammock or refurbishing some old furniture. The instructions for painting and drawing and basic and useful, and many of the ideas presented are things forgotten about and could stand resurrection. Lots of attention paid to girls getting exercise and being healthy, contrary to modern perceptions of Victorian women. Good for parents and teachers, and kids who are fond of history and open to old-fashioned ideas.

My mother bought both for me as a child. I spent days going through the American Boys Handy Book but the girls version bored me to death. I was excited to learn of the amazing things boys got to do in older times but what girls were doing sounded a great deal like chores. The best bit with the American Boys Handy book is you get history and crafts together. There are many things you can still build, at least if you don't live in too urban an environment. If you do live in the city or want more female crafts than trapping, fishing and animal training, get a more modern craft book for your children. The American Girls doll company likely still makes interesting period crafts if you'd like to go the historical route. They did when my nieces were young.

this is the second book of Partridge's that I've read and then chosen as the text for a class I'll be teaching. He is a consistently excellent author and his books are clear, concise and the sort of text that makes all others superfluous. Partridge neither assumes the reader knows too much, nor too little. He engages readers and developers from all parts of the spectrum and one is never left feeling spoken down to nor 'jargon fatigued.' my students find his books witty and his examples clear and useful. Professor likes the book and Students like the book...isn't that what's called a win-win situation?

easy to read and understand, if you want to create games and make money at it this is the right book, plus it gives you great ideas to market you games. but mostly it is not hard to read and understand

I don't go out of my way to write reviews often but this is an awesome book! It 's filled with great examples. It's changing the way I design everything.

I am already in the industry and this book was still helpful for me.
I would recommend it for aspiring casual game designers.

I purchased this book on the basis of the title and after reading it I didn't feel it taught me what I was expecting.

The book is good and explains how to set up a game in order to get it published by one of the large game portals on the Internet.
But that's not what I bought the book for and the subjects I thought it would cover were either one or two lines or non-existant.

For example - what if I don't wish to use an online portal? The book has a paragraph explaining how to go it alone; this should have been a whole chapter.

The book also relies on the designer using Java (it even gives example of Java code), why? I am knowledgable in several programming languages but not Java, I can make games in C++ so I don't feel I need to know Java (the book certainly didn't put up an arguement as to why I should learn it).

As I said before, there were code examples given. I really did think the book would be about marketing side of games (hence the name: 'creating games for profit') so why delve into code examples of games?

Overall I thought the book was 4 stars and had some good information but not what I was expecting.

James

This is a great book for a 7th or 8th grader but too young for a 16 year old. The information about this book gives no age it will be suitable for. A nice book for the right age. I am returning it.

It is excellent sign language book with activity and games to be fun!

Illustrations are much clearer than in older sign language books. Signs are up-to-date, whereas a book like "The Joy of Signing" contains some antiquated signs. I very much enjoy teaching beginners sign language from this text. Very creative and fun!

The book is fun. I found a couple pages where the answers didn't match the signs but it's still a fun book.

I teach ASL for high school foreign language credit. My students enjoy the games offered in this book. Good practice sentences for beginners.

I've used this book in a small private school and homeschooling, both for Kindergarten. There's 10 lessons and we spent two weeks per lesson. At the end of 20 weeks, your child should know all the beginning sight words they'll need in reading. I taught this in conjunction with phonics instruction, because this book only teaches 100 SIGHT words.

This workbook was wonderful, with games (like word BINGO), fill in the blanks, flashcards (you had to cut them out) and many, many different types of excercises that made the learning of sight words fun and engaging. My money was well spent.

I am very pleased with the format of the activity pages for sight words! Saves me time and my home schooled students enjoy them as well!

This book has excellent resources to teach sight words. The Bingo Games are a good hands on activity for the children to learn. The story books are another good source for learning to help children grasp memorization of sight words.

This book contains reproducible mini-books, bingo cards, flash cards, some word search puzzles and fill-in activities. In my opinion, the fill-ins are a bit too challenging. I even had trouble with them. The only thing in this book really "worth it" that I couldn't make as well myself, are the mini-books. The mini-books each contain several different sight words, so they seem to me to be more effective for review of words the student has already learned than in the initial learning of them.

Yes, Pat Battaglia, has produced yet another fascinating, challenging, stimulating, and sometimes downright maddening mind bender of a book. We found it to be of immense fun to work our way through it as a small group. It often makes you ask yourself, "how dumb can you really be?" but even so, it is loads of fun and entertainment. It is just about right for those searching for a challenging word exercise that is moderately difficult and with sometimes infuriatingly obvious answers for those who find themselves a bit stumped along the way. Highly recommended for good, clean fun!

I was expecting a book of puzzles that were more mathematically based. When I think of word puzzles, I think of a mathematical problem in which the question uses words.

Here is an example of a puzzle in this book: "Corresponding to each word or phrase given below is another word, similar in meaning, which is also the name of an animal. EXAMPLE: lifting device ANSWER: crane"

To me, this is more like a crossword puzzle book, you just don't have to fit your answers into a crossword puzzle template.

If you like this type of puzzle, then there are a lot of word "teasers" in here for you. If you are looking for a brain teaser book to challenge the mathematical side of your brain, there are probably better books out there.

So You Think You're Smart: 150 Fun And Challenging Brain Teasers compiled by Pat Battaglia is an eclectic collection of queries and riddles to boggle the mind, from sports trivia to word games to graphical puzzles. Each conundrum has hints and solutions, written in reverse to avoid casual reading yet easily looked up with the aid of a small paper-thin mirror that doubles as a handy bookmark. Ideal for parties or simple personal enjoyment, So You Think You're Smart is enthusiastically recommended as a fun and engaging selection of riddles to challenge readers of all educational backgrounds.

Fantastic book and THE most prompt service I have ever received from a publisher.
Very much appreciated!!! You won't be disappointed with ordering this selection.

Your puzzles are great! We're having so much fun with them. You are so creative

Not nearly as vital as the inside cover proclaims, this book lacks in-depth information. Overall, it gives you very little useful info on the various breeds. You get a breed history snippet, very generic temperament description, and information like size and coloring. If you want in depth historic and breed information, look elsewhere. This book is only useful as a pictoral guide to common breeds.

It has great pictures of over 300 breeds and basic information on all of them including their size and weight, brief history, country of origin, job, and has a picture of a man and the dog to show the size. It also has the history of dogs and many other great information. I have had the book since I was young and it always was a great source of information and a great book to just look at all the different breeds and their pictures. I loved the book then and love it still. I highly recommend for any household that has any interest in dogs and for young kids that want to know more about the dogs they see on tv, outside or at dogshows. I Love this Book!

I Think that the dog handbook from DK is one of the very best dog books that i know of, and that is deifinatley saying somthing!

This book is visually clear as well as informative regarding over 300 breeds. The organization makes it easy to find that odd breed seen on TV dog shows, even if you missed the breed name. The dogs are organized according to the major groups, and then in each section are grouped with like types.

Each dog's description includes beautifully done photographs showing different views, samples of color variations, and a graphic that compares the dog in size to a human. The description is concise and includes additional facts about the history and other interesting information.

This book includes major breeds as well as breeds not common to the American Dog shows and as such is helpful when watching shows from other Countries.

If you love dogs, this is a book you will enjoy for the profusion of excellent photographs! It is also packed with good information. Each breed is described in one or two pages with bullet points about its history and character. Color-coded data in the margins tells you the size and weight, temperament, and origin of the breed. But the best part of this book is the collection of full-color, detailed, and very expressive photos.

The book is organized into chapters for "companion dogs, gundogs, herding dogs, hounds, terriers and working dogs." This is a little confusing, at least to a non-breeder. For example, Labrador Retrievers are in the 'Gundogs' chapter and Chow Chows are under 'Working Dogs'. Fortunately, there is an index to assist with locating the dog you want to learn about.

I picked up this book to help me identify the breeds that went into my two adorable mutts. I admit I didn't get very far -- best guess is that one is a Lab-Chow Chow mix and the other is at least part American Pit Bull Terrier. Now that I have this book about breeds, I think I need a "Mutts of the World" book to help me figure out my little monsters!

I thought this book would be filled with fun games to play. When I actually read it, most were dull and not fun. Most of the games were ones I already heard of and I was looking for new ideas. I was looking more for games to be played at wedding receptions and I did not find one game worth playing.

A good book with lots of games. Wasn't prepared for the amount of "racey" ones, and wouldn't use those at a bridal shower for family, but would be fun for a bachelorette party. Good ideas!

I am a mobile Disc Jockey, and am always looking for ways to "change it up" or add new activities to get a crowd involved. Joan's book explores traditions while adding a twist. More importantly, there are games and activities that work to involve just about everyone at the party. Her examples are well laid out, very detailed and easy to follow. What a bargain this book is!
I'll be looking for her new edition in the future! A must buy!

Thanks Joan! I found the book superbly useful. I used it during my sister's wedding shower, and not only were the games suitable for the younger crowd, they were also very popular with the older aunties and mommys! It helped break the age barrier, and allowed everyone in the party to feel included. I can't wait to play the games on the bride and the groom during the wedding!

I MC'd a wedding this summer, and used a number of the ideas from the book for at the reception. Everyone had a blast! What a great way to liven up the usual drudgery. Thanks to Joan!