School Time Books

The retellings of fairytales in this book are superb. The author, Katarine Lee Bates, was the author of the song "America the Beautiful" and an English professor at Wellesley College. But what really contributes to the experience of this particular book are the plentiful and wonderful other-time full-color illustrations by Margaret Evans Price. (At this writing, Amazon does not have images of this book for you to see, and the cover was by a different person anyway, but examples of these enchanting and often full-page illustrations are available on the web, e.g. surlalunefairytales. I have many times thought of buying an extra copy to cut up and mount them as prints.) Together with the stories, which were often about personal transformation in which a flawed character would learn a lesson and then be rewarded, this book makes a more enchanting reading experience than other fairy tale books.

This was THE FAVORITE bedtime book for our kids, and as a parent I always found it enjoyable to read out loud. There were certain stories we visited over and over, like King Hawksbeak, Furball, Toads & Diamonds, and the Frog Price. Once while on a trip and without this book, my daughter was able to recite King Hawksbeak word-for-word for a bedtime story for her little sister, she had read it and enjoyed it so often.

My father had this book as a kid in the 1920s, and the version I grew up reading at my grandparents was his, but alas that was since lost. I purchased the 1986 Rand McNally printing of this book, and it has only 13 stories. Comparing the list of stories from the helpful review by robimac, the 1986 printing is MISSING three stories: Jack the Giant Killer, Tom Thumb, and The Goose Girl, which I do remember reading in my father's old copy.

This book seems to be reprinted from time to time, so copies of it should be around if you cannot find it new.

My mother received this book from her mother as a Christmas gift in 1926 when she was just 6 years old. She so loved the book. She tried to copy the pictures over and over by tracing over them. Her book is worn now, but still very treasured. She read the stories to me when I was small and reads them now to my children, now just 4 and 1. The 4 year old loves the book. The stories are not told in a scary manner but are very magical and also moral, with the good people winning out in the end. The illustrations are beautiful. I highly recommend this book. I am very hopeful that I will be able to find another copy of it.

I can recall as a young child curling up next to my mother, while she read to me from her favorite children's book, "Once Upon a Time, A Book of Old-Time Fairy Tales," by Katharine Lee Bates (Rand McNally & Company, 1921). She had received this book for her own fifth birthday. In time I knew all my favorite illustrations by the marvelous Margaret Evans Price, and could recite most of the book's stories by heart. My favorites were "Furball," "Hop O' My Thumb" and "The Dancing Shoes." The stories contained in "Once Upon a Time" are part of the time-honored tradition of fairy stories which relied on the imagination of the child and the voice of the storyteller to ignite. Edited by Bates, Professor of English Literature at Wellesley College, the protagonists of the stories are good and often beautiful; they always find love and/or good fortune. By comparison, the antagonists get their just desserts; however, they are obviously bad, and merely scary rather than terrifying. There's something solid and safe about these tales; they're not explosive or bigger than life, just extraordinary in the nicest way. "Furball" tells the story of a motherless princess, who is sold by her feckless father into marriage to an ogre. Innocent but resourceful, she agrees to the marriage on the condition that her father provide her with four lavish and presumably impossible-to-furnish items of clothing: a dress "as golden as the sun," another as "silvery as the moon," a third as "glittering as the stars"; and a coat made of "a thousand different kinds of fur" from "every animal in the kingdom." To her chagrin, her father presents her with all she has requested. Now, faced with marriage to the ogre, she sees that her only remedy is to run away. So she folds her new clothing into a packet so small "she could shut them up in a walnut shell." Wearing her fur coat and staining her face and hands with walnut juice for concealment, she runs until she comes to a forest, where she falls into exhausted sleep. Discovered slumbering in the hollow of a tree by a neighboring young king and his huntsmen, and thought initially to be an odd sort of animal, the young king decides to rescue her and takes her to his castle. Recognizing neither her beauty nor her royalty in her disguise, he assigns her to work as a scullery maid in the castle kitchen. Eventually wooed by her cleverness, soon revealed beauty and unexpected culinary expertise, he. . . well, you know the rest. "Toads and Vipers" is the story of a widow with two daughters. The elder, who resembles her mother in face and character and is therefore favored by her mother, is homely and rude. But the younger takes after her late father, and is pleasing in her appearance and sweet-tempered. One day, a fairy, disguised as a crone, hobbles up to the fair sister and asks her for a libation. The young girl graciously proffers the woman a drink from her pitcher, and, in return, the fairy/woman graces her with a magical gift: "At every word you speak there shall come out of your mouth a flower or a jewel." When the girl's mother perceives the great riches which could come her way, she sends her favorite daughter out to the well, but to very different effect. The grumbling, unpleasant sister rudely rebuffs the crone's request for water, and the fairy/woman bestows upon her an appropriate curse: "At every word you speak there shall drop out of your mouth a snake or a toad." Blaming the beautiful daughter for the ill fortune of the wretched one, the mother chases the innocent girl into the woods, where she is later found crying by the King's son, who happens to be riding by. Impressed by her beauty and the obvious riches that fall from her lips at every word she speaks, the young man takes her to his castle and. . . well, you know the rest. These are just two of the 16 famous and not-so-famous stories that have been compiled into this wonderful book. Also included are Jack and the Beanstalk; Briar Rose, or The Sleeping Beauty; Hop O' My thumb; Drakestail; Jack the Giant-Killer; Cinderella, or the Little Glass Slipper; King Hawksbeak; Little Red Riding-Hood; The Dancing Shoes; Beauty and the Beast; Rumpel-Stilt-Skin, or Tom Tit Tot; The Frog Prince; Tom Thumb; and The Goose Girl. I could also recap these beloved stories, but . . .well, you know the rest.

We're at the potty stage and got this along with a couple of other books. It's a very funny book about a bunch of different animals trying to find the right potty. My son just laughs and laughs and then has to go sit on his potty. Just what we needed.

A big hit in our house. We were given this as a gift because toilet training is the big subject right now. This isn't an explanation of how to potty train. Instead it's a very funny story showing a bunch of different animals finding exactly the right potty to sit on. Our daughter knows it well enough to read to herself at potty time. It's made this experience much better.

Featuring simple patterned text and familiar animals, Potty Time is right on time! Guido Van Genechten's illustrations, painted on old Belgian (?) newspaper, are bold, eye-catching...and silly! How can you not laugh at Nellie Elephant's "great big bottom" squatting on Joe's little pot? Or Missy Mouse's "teeny weeny bottom" perilously perched on the edge? With this book you can introduce the potty concept while sliding in a lesson on contrasting shapes and sizes for good measure. Throw in some extra "oinks", "woofs", "clucks", and "ribbits" and your child will love it even more.

We have read almost every potty book available on the market as of 9/2003 (over two dozen!). Most fit into two categories: INSTRUCTIONAL books that introduce the skills needed to master the potty; and those that are primarily ENTERTAINING, for children who understand what is supposed to happen on the potty, but need extra time to make it happen.

I think Potty Time! fits more in the ENTERTAINING category. Two other delightful potty books featuring animals include Potty! by Mylo Freeman and Sara's (or Max's) Potty by Harriet Ziefert.

I think that this is the best book in all of the Blast to the Past series. I mean like come on can it be any better. You have Lewis and Clark, Sacagewia, and even a time traveling history club. What can be more perfect. If you have any objections to this book whatsoever wright a review on this book.

Sacagawea's Strength made me feel great! I learned a lot about her life that I never knew before. I also liked it because the author was very good at describing life in her time. I recommend this book to people around the ages of 7-10 years old.
I have read every book in the series and find they are an excellent and fun way to learn about history. The Blast to the Past books really bring the characters to life in an exciting way. I can't wait for the next book to be written so I can read it at once!
Michelle J
Age 9
San Diego, CA

This book is very good, the best Blast to the Past yet. A new character is introduced and it's makes me want to read the next books even more.

"A Sound of Crying" is a book from my childhood. After many many hours of searching for the title, since I could only remember a bit of what it was about and the cover, I was relieved to find it through amazon.com. This is a great ghost story for a young person - no inappropriate language or content, just a good old-fashioned mystery. I enjoyed it after 30 years and will hang on to my highly used, out-of-print copy this time for my children to read!

I first read this book when I was 10 or so, and then re-read it countless times. Each time was like reading it for the first time! I lost my copy and just recently found one through Amazon. As an adult I still enjoyed it greatly and hope to share it with my kids.. I felt like I connected with Polly. The reading is easy but not too simplistic.

I read the first book of this series at age 12, and now that I am a grown man collecting the best children's fare, I can remember why I loved it. Polly Devenish is a very believable character who is empathetic to the tragic Sarah, a 'ghost' who never appears except in Polly's dreams while she stays with some relatives in an old country house. As Polly learns about Sarah and her cruel uncle Simon Stampenstone, she tells her young cousins the story as it unfolds to her. As she finds the evidence to support her dreams as reality, she endears herself to the reader. Unfortunately, this series never took off in the States, though it seems to be classic children's fare in the UK. Apart from the fact that "A Sound of Crying" is incomplete without following books which never were published here, it is an unusual story that should be appreciated at all ages.

This book is of great assistance for young folks starting to enter either the business world, college or for young marrieds. Should be part of every job service office. Takes the time to explain in easy to understand language the important requirements like getting a job, budgets and even finding and caring for an apartment.

As an owner of a professional typing service, I type resumes for a variety of people. However, the young people who are starting out have no idea what is necessary to write a good resume, or what is necessary to get their first interview and land a job. My time is limited, so even though I previously spent a considerable amount of time trying to assist these young people,I can now refer to them to this wonderful book. It is written in language that all teens can understand, with lots of humor, recipes,helpful hints about dressing for that all important interview, and sure fire ways to land the job you want. I loved it.

This little book is packed with helpful, no-nonsense suggestions on everything from getting a job to how to prepare nutritious, economical meals. The chapters on managing your finances are especially noteworthy. If someone had given me this book when I graduated high school, I'd be a millionaire! A must for that special teenager.

The books is about these four teens that had gone back in time, into the Cretaceceous age. So any way they had turn turn into these four great dinosaur. There names are Mike the T-rex,Jaine the Quetalcoatlus, Candayce the Leptoceratops, last but not least Bertram who is the Ankylosaurus. They were once human but now dinosaurs who romned the earth befor us. But to top it all of they had to face all sorts of danger. So they had traveld a long way to look for the standing stones. They are (standing stones)stones that just like them. Will Bertram had gotten in touch or should I say in love with another Akylosaurus. The female Ankylosarus was going to have a new mate, because she had lost her first male in a flood. Before that had happen it was Mike with Bertram traveling together intell they had met with a old enemy. Now, that has left Candace and Jaine to work to get to the futre and hya they did go through weird changes. Will the ever make it home?

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I'v e been to the bookstores and have seen a lot of your books and find the characters to be believable and empathetic. Young people seem to really enjoy your style and ability to create surprise, mystery and excite, all the while weaving very grounded principles and morals to the stories.

Great Work!!!!!!

Steven.

In paper back form, this is the second half of the Dinoverse Hardcover book. Which of course means that it is absolutely wonderful. Aside from a great story, the art by Fredericks is a great visual commentary.

George Wood describes the strategies he brought to bear, and others which can be brought to bear, in public education high school reform. The result? A school that does not do absurd things to youngsters, which encourages them to become good citizens, and which leaves them opportunity to go to college, or not--but not to fail as persons.

His advantage is that his high school, Federal Hocking, was small; that he was skilled at seeking teacher collaboration; and that he has imagination.

His disadvantage is that he subscribes to some time-worn Essential School maxims. Nevertheless, he is able to do creative things and you get a sense that he, the teachers, and the students are spending more productive times together.

A quick read. Implementation of his ideas takes some real planning and commitment.

George Wood's book is an amazing description of what can happen in a typical public high school, if you organize the school as a learning community, focused upon developing citizens and neighbors. Wood is a high school principal who has written a book about what has been done to improve his high school in rural Ohio. This is a must read book for anyone who is concerned with the deterioration of the public schools in America. Wood, through stories about students, provides helpful suggestions for how to improve schools. His stories will have you crying with joy as you see the impact of a school organized to care for each student as an individual. Read this book, and then, give copies to your school superintendent and school board. After reading his book, you'll want to pack your things and move to his town, just so your kids can go to his school. And the truth of Wood's approach is that it can happen anywhere. What a breath of fresh air and hope for our nation's public schools.

As a member of a school district that was given a huge grant from Bill Gates we were encouraged to read books that would assist in thinking out of the box. This book certainly did that!! The author was able to take you through the necessary steps that worked for his school all the while not telling you that his way was the only way!! What a refreshing thing!! I really enjoyed the specifics that he wrote as well as the unique stories included. This is definately a book that will be used in our district! In fact our Administration has agreed that if not mandatory, it is a book that is recommended for all teachers and parapros. So if you are looking for tips to change, here is a book that has a ton of ideas and a real school that had real change!!

Since my niece became a new mommie, she shared this book with me. It is a fabulous collection of ideas to put the "quality" into quality time with the kids. Since I have found this treasure, it has become an item I love to include with my gift for baby showers. Don't pass this up!

This book is an incredible resource of creative, interactive ideas for activities to do with children of all ages. The activities are designed to take advantage of materials parents already have on hand, and they require very little preparation time. The book clearly shows how such diverse activities for children can assist them to build skills as leaders and organizers, develop their creative thinking and help them to become capable game masters.

I agree with the previous review that this book was similar to the Magic Treehouse series, but I think this book was even better than those. My six year old daughter and I loved this book. We planned on splitting it up over two nights of reading, but got so involved in the story that we read the whole book in one sitting! Super imformative and the story was woven well into the Ancient Egypt facts!! We read this as part of a homeschool lesson, but any kid who is interested in Ancient Egypt would be thrilled with this story!

I got this book along with several others for my first grader. We homeschool and are studying Ancient Egypt. We loved this book! This was by far my son's favorite. It is easy to find "photos and facts" types of book on Egypt, but this one adds a bit of fiction and adventure to the mix. It is kind of like the Magic Tree House books, but in a picture book format. The book is an adventure story with factual information listed at the bottom of each page (I guess sort of like Magic School Bus type books too). I will definitely be checking out the others in this series.

Their is a school named Bear Country school. Their are many cubs that go their. The bears started wearing clothes that were un exceptavle and one of the cubs named Quinnie she wore a short skirt to school and one of the teachers sended her home Queenie had her mother call the school and thats wear everything started. The cubs started dressing un proper and had to have a new dress code....

Their is a school named Bear Country school. Their are many cubs that go their. The bears started wearing clothes that were un exceptavle and one of the cubs named Quinnie she wore a short skirt to school and one of the teachers sended her home Queenie had her mother call the school and thats wear everything started. The cubs started dressing un proper and had to have a new dress code. So the cubs had their own club against the grown ups they ended up getting to wear whatever they wanted to.