School Time Books

Wet my students' appetites with this one, and they love it! Better still, Scholastic has a Reading Counts quiz for this excellent story (as well as other titles in this series). Furthermore, parents and educators can thank Peretti for providing fun, wholesome literature with Christian values.

This book promotes Christianity, but this is not mentioned in the book's description. Deceitful.

This was a very good book. I enjoyed it all, I couldn't put it down! I love books that have time-travel in them. This book was about Jay and Lila switching places in time with a sheriff from 100 years ago. They were investagating the mystery of Annie Murphy who supposedly killed her husband. People had said that strange carvings had apeared in the canyon where she once lived, and supposedly was shot for muder. What really ocured was that a time vortex caught Annie, who now floats in and out of time, between 100 years. The vortex was caused because of the wierd gravity in the canyon. When both kids and sheriff come close to her at the same point in time, the vortex causes them to switch places in time. The kids and their father discover a plot between the judge and the sheriff, to frame Annie. Is she a murderer or not? And will the kids return to they're own time before the time vortex disapears? As I said, I couldn't put this book down.

Is there anything that Peretti can't write - or won't? This time (get it?) the Coopers are in the good old US, and traveling with their old buddy Mac to a strange desert location. Ghostly sightings, and massive cliff carvings make their trip worth it...until they are separated by the minor amount of two hundred years! Jay and Lila desperately try to decipher the messages being left in the past...while Doc and Mac try to decipher the messages being left at the same time...in the future!!

The adventure and fun of the Coopers hits new heights with The Legend of Annie Murphy.

Four boys on a camping trip with their parents decide to spend the night in the cemetery above the ghost town Bodine, Arizona. Two had to be coaxed there through a dare. While sitting around a campfire telling stories they are frightened off by the sight of a luminous bluish weeping women in a long flowing dress. It's Annie Murphy, the murderess! They run back to their parent's camp to tell their tale.

The boys' sighting draws serious investigators to the site. Professor MacPherson, an astrophysicist and an Old West Buff whose convinced that the strange phenomenon is caused by a severe disturbance in the magnetic field within the town, and Dr. Jacob Cooper, an archeologist and his two children Jay and Lila. Mac wants Dr. Cooper to examine a massive carving done of a weeping woman on the cliff in the cemetery above the grave of Cyrus Murphy, Annie's murdered husband. Annie was a master carver who worked in both wood and stone.

The Cooper children wide up in the thick of the mystery as they are sucked back in time and Sheriff Dustin Potter is propelled forward. Being a sheriff doesn't always make a man the good guy. Getting to the bottom of this mystery could cost the professor, the Coopers and even Annie Murphy's life.

Frank Peretti is as good as his press, a master storyteller. I read this in a single sitting because I simply had to know what was going to happen next. Annie Murphy's story is a good read for adults and children alike!

I liked this book. I really did. But it is a very sad commentary on the state of education in today's world. This young man, Martin, a teenager, attends a fancy private school where he is supposedly getting a good education. But he knows NOTHING about history, or art, does not know that a 'seraphim' is an angel and so on. Did I know at 13 what a seraphim was? Yes. I read voraciously then and now. I knew. I am no genius but I knew.

But this is overall a very well written, extremely entertaining book. I truly enjoyed it and would like to read other works by this author.

Other reviewers observe that London Calling is part problem novel, part historical fiction, and part time-travel adventure. Despite the author's skill at creating vivid locations, as a whole, I think the story suffers from this mixture of stories more than it benefits.

Martin hates his school and his life, but the revenge he seeks against classmate Lowery, grandson of the WWII hero, seems small and unsatisfying. That's because the story morphs into that of the relationship between Martin and his alcoholic father. But that's somewhat underwhelming too, because the story also is about helping Jimmy, his time-travel friend from 1940, and Jimmy's father.

I had difficulty hanging in there long enough for Martin to get to the real issues in all three stories-- just past halfway in the book. I think I would have preferred a straight story of any one of the elements rather than all three weaved together. And of them, the story of Jimmy and his father has the most potential for development on its own.

It never fails to surprise me how certain books will turn out. You start a book, and you think you have its number. You say, "Book, I know exactly who you are and where you are going." Many times, you are right. But therein lies the joy of discovering a book that adds to your life. Edward Bloor is one wacky guy. He comes up with original plots, but he is also a very good writer. In Story Time, his protagonists went to a private school where the students sat in windowless rooms, taking standardized tests, and drinking noxious shakes blended to keep the students chained in their educational prisons (Yes, down with standardized tests!). With many authors, they are good at only one aspect of writing (plots, characters, pacing). Bloor has all of these elements of writing nailed down, plus he creates characters that will touch your heart.

In London Calling, Bloor again shares his loathing of private schools. Our protagonist is Martin Conway, a bright, unhappy 12-year old with little drive. He is a self-proclaimed hermit. He lives in the basement, where his crazy uncle once lived, and his dad used to live before he set the place on fire. Martin's nuclear family consists of an alcoholic dad that works for an airport steakhouse chain, an unhappy mother who works as a secretary at the school so that Martin can attend (She thinks he will have better opportunities.), and a sister who is a genius and works at an encyclopedia company as a fact checker. See what I mean? You have to be pretty creative to make this stuff up.

Martin has only two friends at his private Catholic school, which appears to be run by the Lowery family. The Lowery family claims that their ancestor, Hollerin' Hank Lowery, was a World War II hero. They have some money, and so the school kowtows to that family.

The current reigning Lowery loves to pick on the weak, and he makes regular sport of picking on Martin and his friends. On one such occasion, Martin's friend, Manetti, takes a piece of concrete and chucks it at Lowery's head, causing Lowery to whine like a little girl. It also, unfortunately, breaks off a chunk from a statue the school is getting ready to unveil for the Hall of Heroes. The school, in a guise of a fair trial, rules that Martin and his friends are completely responsible, suspending Martin from school.

At the same time, Martin loses a family member. His Grandma Mehan, his mother's mom, passes away. Grandma Mehan is another wacky family member. She believes that she came back from the dead while in hospital. No one really takes her seriously. Martin, however, is quite fond of Grandma Mehan. When she passes away, she gives Martin a vintage radio from the 1940s.

This is where our story elements come together. Martin begs his mom and principal that he be allowed to remain on regular suspension. In lieu of attending school, he asks to do a home study about the radio his Grandma gave him. He gets permission, but Martin has a secret agenda. The radio is actually a time travel device. When he sets it to a frequency that receives static, Martin is transported back to 1940s London, where he meets a Jimmy Harker. Jimmy says Martin has something he needs to do, but he doesn't know what. Martin reluctantly follows Jimmy on several late night adventures, involving blackouts and Germans bombing London. Martin suspects he is going crazy, but this is where his sister comes in. As a fact checker at an encyclopedia, she can verify or deny the facts he records from his travels.

Martin discovers he does have a mission to fulfill, and it will impact not only the Harker family, but his own family as well. Martin is asked repeatedly, "What will you do to help, when the time comes?" Martin finds out that he, yes, even he, a 12-year old boy, can make a difference. He also learns to hope again, and his family receives some healing.

I just loved this book. Any book that causes me to shed a tear is usually a winner for me. There was also a lot of talk of a higher power; that we can't do things on our own without the help of a higher power. In addition, this story had so many elements. It was historical fiction, and it was also fantasy. It had the adventure and purpose that boys crave, and it had relationships that would appeal to girls.

I would recommend this to teens that love historical fiction. I would also give it a fantasy fan that has to read historical fiction.

Is time travel really possible? Many people wonder about that. That's also the question this book asks. As for the answer, you'll have to read this book to find out.

Martin Conway is confused. His grandmother has been calling him late at night, telling him he has to help "the boy". At first, he doesn't know what she's talking about. When she dies, however, and leaves him her old antique radio, he's transported to World War Two London, and the adventure begins.

Edward Bloor's fourth book really tells Martin's story in his own voice. This story is about redemption and courage. It's really interesting to see how the whole story comes together, and when it does, you're left with a warm fuzzy feeling inside. Anyone who likes historical fiction will love this book. I know that I did. London Calling is a dramatic journey that you'll want to ride. Trust me.

-Paul Brandt

I picked this up because I loved Tangerine, by the same author. I decided my boys are all going to read Tangerine when they get a bit older because it is a great story and I loved how the main character takes on the bully in his life.

This book will also be on my list of reads for them, but for a different reason. It's also a great story and once again there is an obnoxious bully who needs someone to stand up to him. But there is also a message. I know, kids don't like message books, but it's really just a small part of the story and it's a good message. I think I read a similar sentiment in a Margaret Frazer book, where she wrote something like, "it will be asked how you spent the time you have been given." Here, it's "what did you do to help?" Either way it applies to the hero here. At the beginning he is spending his summer sleeping - he doesn't do anything. No interests, hobbies, nothing. He is very unenthused about life.

And then Martin's grandmother leaves him an old radio that transports him to 1940s London. The story gets sort of Sixth Sense-y, but it is a very satisfying story.

This book is awesome and funny. It is about the magical book called THE BOOK that Joe got from his uncle Joe. THE BOOK can teleport Joe and his friends, Sam and Fred, to places long times ago. Every time they teleport some place, they lose THE BOOK and have to find it to get home. I like the adventures, and their arguments are really funny. My favorite character is Sam. He always acts like he is not in trouble when he is in BIG trouble. My least favorite character is Blackbeard. All he says is HA-HA-HA-HA and I MUST FIND THE TREASURE. Also, I don't get the point why Blackbeard always has the need to shoot people. This book isn't as good as Knights Of The Kitchen table because it has a little less action. But, I'd say get this book no matter what.

Sam is the thinker, Joe is a baseball player and the last guy is kinda like Sam too.
This was a very good book. I recommend it.
Blackbeard Joe has a bad voice and he cannot carry a tune.
Go find this book today!

It all starts out with someone I really would call a "Not so Jolly Roger." They have pistols, daggars and lots of cool weapons in this book. (Violent). Something always goes wrong-wich always happens in books-of course. Get this book or I'll be "The not so Jolly Roger."

I liked The not so Jolly Roger becuase it was a mystery and I love myseries. My favorite part was when Fred was reading a book and Fred got sucked into one of the pages. The not so Jolly roger could be better by taking out the part when a pirate shoots his mates after they got done buring the treasure they found. Iread the story becuase in the first book of the series, it was really interesting,so it made me think The not so Jolly Roger was going to be interesting.

S.W.

I really like the Time Warp Trio series. My Grandma Kathy gave me books #1 through #10 for my birthday. So far, they have been very interesting and FUN to read! I am hoping that my younger brother and sister will enjoy them as much as I do.

This is very well written. A great help to helping children understand History. It makes reading about the past fun and enjoyable.

There is no doubt that this series is well written. My son read each of the four books in the span of less than a week. They really piqued his interest. These books will let you know what really turns on your child, but you'll need to go on for further, more in-depth review.

Can't recommend this series enough for the pre-teen set!

This is our second purchase of the Story of the World series. All three of my school age kids (6,8,10 yrs.) just love to listen to these tapes. It is giving all of us (mom included) a much more comprehensive picture of all the parts of history we have learned with other books. We highly recommend this product for your family as a history program or just for listening to in the car for fun. The acitvity book is also full of great ideas for making this as involved or as simple as you would like it to be.

I got what I wanted, at a fair price, exactly as described. Perfect.

The history is in a story format that kids can relate to and understand. I homeschool 3 children and absolutely love this curriculum. The story pages to color help my youngest follow along as the older ones read. We have the activity book and there are supplementary books that we get from the library. The quizes also help alot!

My four year old son has started collecting these books, and it's been a real treasure to read them to him because they bring back memories from my own childhood. He loves the stories just as much as I do. We especially love reading the little poems on the first page of each book! Each book teaches a different lesson. I love using them as examples of what not to do and also as positive reinforcement for my children.

I enjoyed these books as a child and now I can buy them for the child in my life. Each book teaches an important lesson without seeming preachy. My nephew loves them. Make sure you select a Berenstain Bears book that is age appropriate. Some of them deal with issues for all children, some are for school aged children. Think about the content before you select yours.

Sister and Brother Bear gripe and complain that all their friends have new toys and new things. Mamma gets sick of their whining and basically tells them to be grateful for what they DO have instead of what they DON'T.

A storm comes and soon the Bear family finds themselves together and the cubs find out that family and each other is more important than things and being grateful for what they have is wiser than being covetous.

This book is an excellent book to read your children. Not only is it entertaining, it actually has a valuable message for your children. Imagine being able to entertain and teach at the same time. What a novel concept!

I've been reading them since I was a child, now my little girls have all of my old ones and we continue to add to the colection. GREAT BOOKS!

Considered by many as baseball's poet laureate, Roger Angell displays his moving style in this compilation of top writing. Many of these previously-published essays date back to the 1970's and 1980's, yet each is worthy of a reading replay. Angell is at his best as he speaks with 91-year old Smokey Joe Wood (star of the 1912 World Series) in the Yale University grandstand watching young collegians Ron Darling and Frank Viola duel on the mound. The author was just as good interviewing Bob Gibson in his native Omaha, where the ex-hurler discussed his "I'm not your friend" attitude on the mound. There's also a moving look at several World Series (the last being 2002), an examination of scouting, and a look at such personalities as Tim McCarver, David Cone, (the late) Dan Quisenberry, and Ted Williams. We even get a look at the author's boyhood introduction to the game.

This edition is probably best savored like a fine wine rather than read straight through. A vintage 86 year-old at this writing, may Angell's wit and wonderful pen keep busy for years to come.

I bought this book because Angell has an account of going to a college baseball game with 1912 Red Sox pitcher, Smoky Joe Wood. Angell and Wood sit in the stands, talk baseball (and life) and watch future star Ron Darling pitch a nailbiter.

The rest of the book is a little drawn out but Angell remains one of the most gifted baseball writers of his generation.

After I bought "Game Time" I was immensely disappointed to realize that the greatest baseball writer of our times has done it again! He has issued a second consecutive collection of his writings composed of a majority of material previously published. Those of us who have read all of his earlier baseball books and wait in anticipation of his next article can't help but feel taken by this. He did it in "Once More Around the Park" and now, again, in "Game Time". Once was enough to irritate a loyal following but we were, perhaps, too loyal and purchased enough copies of "Once More Around the Park" for his publisher to try it again. What agrivates matters for me is that I have been a subscriber to "The New Yorker" magazine for a number of years and, therefore, had already read most of the "new" material.

Oh well, I guess I have to admit that Angell's writing is so good that I rather enjoyed re-reading some of his essay and articles. I especially enjoyed re-reading "Distance" which was about Bob Gibson. Actually, that essay (about mid-way through the book) got me refocussed enough to read the remainder of "Game Time" in short order. The recap of recent seasons was almost like deja vu. The steam I started off this review with is supplanted by the real pleasure that I felt in reading the last 200 or so pages. All is forgiven Roger but please store up a bit more new material before you issue another book.

Roger Angell is a marvellous writer on baseball. Warm, human and involving he never fogets that it is just a sport that he is writing on and no matter how much he (or we) might love it there are plenty of more important issues going on in life. At his best his writing can be gripping ( A's v Mets 1973), thrilling ( Reds v Red Sox 1975) insightful (essays on Bob Gibson and David Cone) and life affirming ( the essay on the 1979 Pittsburgh Pirates is a particular favourite of mine). His enjoyment of life is clear and his preference for the Reggie Jackson Yankees over the Steve Garvey Dodgers is telling in this regard. Sadly this book is a mix of old and new - I would have loved a whole book of new material. Some of the new stuff is excellent - it was good to be reminded of the 1996 series again and theauthor's frustration with Pete Rose is palpable - but I think it loses a little in comparison with some of the older material. Also, the format is disconcerting: Angell's work benefits from the slow burn of the chronological build up from pre season hope to World Series excitement. The book is an enjoyable read but "5 seasons" is the best place to start with this masterful writer.

When it comes to baseball, the mind is unreliable and selective in what it remembers. Games and seasons blend into to one another and most second basemen or relief pitchers fade from view forever soon after they leave the diamond for good. Old teams and players live on only as lines of statistics in massive baseball encyclopedias or deep historical databases. Lost, too, are the millions of moments that make up every game. But Roger Angell has been quite good, over the years, at capturing those moments and preserving them as though in amber. And so, in reading his collection of baseball pieces that span more than forty years, one feels a bit like the lucky archeologist who has stumbled upon magnificent specimens so exquisitely preserved as to seem positively lifelike. Angell writes with almost scientific precision: "With the strange insect gaze of his shining eyeglasses, with his ominous Boche-like helmet pulled low... Reggie Jackson makes a frightening figure at bat." Angell is not just an observer; he is also the ultimate fan, rooting for childhood favorites or for a team whose story has caught his fancy that particular year. Game Time is laid out like the baseball year, with pieces about the languor and anticipation of spring training in the beginning and closing with multi-faceted recollections of several past World Series. The many pieces taken together are like one long summer spanning forty years, a summer when you went to the ballpark frequently but listened to most of the games on the radio on the back porch at dusk.

As any book by Megan McDonald, this one is a very easy and captivating read for any 3rd or 4th grader. It's especially good for the kids that struggle with reading. Take a mom's word for it.

These are great books for the 8-10 year old girl. My daughter does not like to read and yet this series has captured her imagination and kept her engrossed for long periods. Well meaning topics and fun reading for kids.

In this, the third book in the Judy Moody series, the spunky heroine gets inspired to try and single-handedly save the world from environmental damage. The author handles the delicate material with a sense of humor, showing Judy's initial over-enthusiasm that sometimes leaves her digging through garbage for overlooked recycle-goods or confiscating products from her friends and family that aren't environmentally friendly. In the end, with the help of her classmates and a lot of fun (and funny!) adventures along the way, Judy Moody finds a way to make a difference that everyone can agree on. The book is a lengthy, entertaining read for children with lots of great illustrations throughout. A great book--both funny and heart-warming.

It's really a shame that so much of the radical environmental movement goes unchecked. It's even worse that little kids are subtly brainwashed in conventional wisdom concerning the subject with works such as this book. The scientific debate around such taken-for-granted-as-good topics like recycling is nowhere to be found here. (Ever check how much labor and energy are wasted "recycling?") Why spoil good enviro/social reengineering with the facts, right? I prefer for my children to learn science on objective data.
Judy Moody STW is consistent, however. It's got all the politcally correct characterizations you could ever want. Dad's are idiots. Boys are dopey and helpless. Girls are assertive and scientific and never feminine. You get the idea.
For this age group, try finding some unreconstructed old editions of Nancy Drew Mysteries, unless of course you like left wing indoctrination.

Judy Moody Saves the World

In all the Judy Moody books Judy has a mood for everything. In this wonderful tale of Judy she is in the mood to create a "Crazy Stripe" (band-aid) so that millions of people over the world could wear her work of art. That dream soon fades when one day at school, Judy's teacher in class T3 starts teaching them about recycling and endangered species. Judy starts to think about recycling and saving the world. Judy gets so involved with saving the world by recycling that she gets her entire class motivated to help. Class T3 starts to collect bottles to recycle. The students in class T3 decided that they will use the money from recycling to help plant new trees in the rain forest. At the end of the book Judy Moody is rewarded for her efforts in helping to save the world in front of her entire school!
This is a wonderfully written book with a great story line. As a teacher this would be a great book to help students understand the importance of recycling and helping save endangered species. Students will not only learn from reading this book, but will also get a laugh out of reading about Judy, her brother Stink, her friends Frank and Rocky, and class T3.

Here we are at the second of three books in the Tartan Magic Series and we rejoin Peter, Jennifer and Molly still on vacation in Scotland with parents (visiting their grandparents). With just Gran and the kids home for the day...and what with it being a typically rainy Scottish weather, Gran and the kids set off to visit some of her friends at the Eventide Home for the Elderly. Returning in this volume is the dog and horse from the first book, both serve largely to provide humor in the story line and I've come to love that cranky, sarcastic old mutt!

While the group is visiting Gran's coven, Molly (the youngest) is given a talisman which sets them off on yet another magical adventure to save the world from a power hungry villain! The group joins up with Ninia a Pictish girl from the ancient past who is being chased by an ominous dark mist and it's up to the kids and their Gran to solve the mystery, get the girl back to her time and foil the villain!

This is a wonderful little story for young readers (I'd say 8-14 is the ideal range here), while there's not much to the character development, it's got great pace and a fair amount of suspense and with the proper attention, readers can figure out "who done it" just before it's revealed. I'm a bit disappointed to see that Peter is still portrayed as a brooding, moody and somewhat prone to temper tantrums (he stalks off from the home) and the focus of this story, as in the first, is on Molly and her emerging magical skills. Since they are twins, it would be nice to see a more even development of the characters. Overall, I give it a B, it's fast paced, suspenseful, magical, and just plain fun!

(...)

I think the theme of the Pictish Child is magic. Like people disappearing, Dog and Nina are magical creatures. Dog is a dog and Nina is the Pictish Child. Any cold metal or iron will burn them. Jennifer and Peter, the twins, and their little sister Molly are three Americans in Scotland for the summer to visit their grandma and grandpa.
Their challenge was trying to keep the sinister fog out of the house by putting pots and tools around the house. Peter was tricked into opening the door, thinking it was their mom, dad and grandpa. Read the book to find out who was really at the door!
I did not think that the Pictish Child was the best book I have ever read. I think that it was confusing because people are disappearing and the book does not tell where they go. Also the Scottish dialect was confusing too.
I would recommend this book to kids 10-15 but if you are someone who is eight like me and can understand magic unlike me then you could read it.
There are no illustrations but I can say they would be helpful.
It is the second book in the series and you can read it in any order.

The Pictish Child
By Jane Yolen
Book reviewer: Hilde

The Pictish Child is a very good book. It takes place in Scotland, and according to Gran "There's electric-and there's power. Americas got the electricity and Scotland has the power."
Sixteen-year-old Jennifer, sixteen-year-old Peter and four-year-old Molly came from America to visit their Grandmother (who they call Gran) in Scotland. Where rain that in America would have canceled Baseball games, was (for Scotland) nothing more than a slight drizzle.
While Da (Their Grandfather) is at work, Gran decides to visit Eventide Home and her friends there. "A young woman in a plaid skirt, white blouse, and blue cardigan sweater greeted them at the door. She had a foxlike face, long and sly looking. A metallic name badge identified her as Fiona, and she wore a pair of tiny silver scissors around her neck on a ribbon."
Jennifer, Molly and Peter discover the past when a giant, gray mist comes to swallow up all of the past that had escaped when a mean sorcerer came through a small rip that he had created in time. They also found out how delicate the balance between good magic and evil magic is in this thrilling and scary-at-times book.
I was really quite glad that there were no pictures in this book. For I think that pictures would have absolutely ruined it for me. Because I loved imagining what was happening and what the characters and things looked like.
I think that the way Jane Yolen used words was really quite descriptive and powerful. Like she wielded a sword made of words with discipline and imagination that is a treasure in any book.
I think that this book is an appropriate read-aloud book for children from five to seven. But to fully understand it I think that you have to be eight or over.

This wonderful story is one of three (so far) chronicling the adventures of three American children on vacation in Scotland, visiting their grandmother. They have come to realize that Scotland is filled with the magic of centuries, and the magic lives in 13-year-old Jennifer. However, there are others working magic in Scotland, and the children soon find themselves caught up in a magics both new and old!

This is a great story, harkening back so clearly to ancient folk stories. I especially liked the traditional idea of women as possessors of ancient wisdom and power, beyond men and their science. This is a great book that I recommend to everyone with children, especially girls.

This is the second book in Jane Yolen's Tartan Magic trilogy, and picks up soon after the events in The Wizard's Map. In this book, Jennifer, Peter and Molly, three American children on vacation in Scotland are taken by their Scottish grandmother to visit three sisters living in a home for the elderly. But, there's strange magic at work here, and when an ancient amulet brings to life a Pictish child that died some 1000 years ago, the children are in for the ride of their lives. An ancient wrong needs to be set right, and a modern wrong needs to be averted.

My thirteen-year-old daughter first introduced me to these books, and I must say that I enjoy them as much as she does. Jane Yolen does an excellent job of bring Scotland to life for the American reader (please remember that there is a Scottish glossary at the back!). In general, the author does not spend too much time on character development (outside of the children and their grandmother, the characters are very two-dimensional), but for many young readers, this will not prove a problem.

So, let me just say that my daughter and I both enjoyed this book, and we highly recommend it to you!

The Time Almanac is thorough, concise, and clearly organized. My favorite highlights:
--10 pages summarizing the year's news in a month-by-month calendar
--200 pages outlining the history and current status of every country in the world, including economic statistics names of governmental leaders
--80 pages surveying U.S. history
--90 pages of celebrities and awards
--35 pages summarizing world history in a year-by-year calendar, complete with portraits of the famous
And there are many other sections--the sciences, languages, sports, business, and more--all laid out clearly and readably. The Time Almanac is a great resource!

The 2002 TIME ALMANAC is a great reference tool for anything. This book has everything you need.

It has a listing of the history of the United States and World history, and the history of the U.S. government. It also has tons of information form all different subjects. Sports, world news, politics, music, and anything you need to know, plus a listing of famous people who died in the past year (2001). This 2002 edition is very up-to-date. It includes a section about the terrorist attacks on America on 9-11 plus a section of the book with color photographs and TIME MAGAZINE Editorials.

If you want the most helpful and informational reference books, the 2002 TIME ALMANAC is the one to get. With a very low price, I highly recommend this book.

The Time Almanac 2001 is packed full of information. It has a little something for everyone:

* History buffs will find a time line of important events in U.S and world history. Also, histories of the U.S government and information on all the countries of the world are included. There is also a listing of "Firsts in America" and Pulitzer Prize winners.

* A listing of people who died in 2000 and a listing of famous people (Dead and alive) is included.

* Film buffs will find a lot of information. A listing of the major Academy Award winners from 1928 to 1999 is included. There is also a list of the top 50 actors (Male and Female) and finally, a list of the AFI's top 100 movies of all time.

* In addition, there is a color photograph section in the middle of the book of events from 2000. There are also editorials from TIME Magazine.

There is just too much stuff to list. Take my word for it and buy a copy!

This almanac was an indispensible resource. Everything from historic fact to current issues is readily accessible, but, even more helpful is the way the book is organized - the index is comprehensive and the layout instinctual.

The infoplease site is well worth checking out too...great info on every search I tried.

I have mainly used this series for its running total of population figures, GDPs, and literacy rates for each country in the world. It attempts to present each nation on a comparable basis, as much as it can, and it doesn't tend to split out a new nation (such as when the Soviet Union broke up) until *some* recognized international authority has blessed the creation of the new state (such as Eritrea). I find reading the political and economic summaries each year is a good way to get caught up with what's happening in countries that I don't ordinarily pay attention to or hear about in the papers (like French Guiana for example). I don't fault them for not having the 2000 election results in this 2001 issue. They actually published this around December 1st, and even if the U.S. election had been decided by then it is too much to ask for them to put the November 7th results in there and go to print within 3 weeks.

I don't have an opinion on the Time takeover; certianly a book like this can always be improved in some respects...

MORE FOR PPLE BETWEEN THE AGES OF 8 TO 13. I READ IT IN 1 HOUR AND A HALF. AND IM 14. PLUS I DONT READ THAT MUCH, YOU NOTICE WHY I CHOSE THAT BOOK.

I'm 15 years old, yet I'm still reading 'Two of a Kind'. My mom has been begging me to start reading other stuff, but I still insist on reading either this of The New Adventures of Mary-Kate and Ashley. Why? Cause I am a really big fan of Mary-Kate and Ashley. I own every New Adventures, Adventures, Two of a Kind and Starring In books. I am not kidding.

The storyline is basically the same in every book, but this one had a little of an unexpected twist in it. It is absolutely one of the better books I read in this series. I enjoyed it so much that I plan on buying this book for my friends this Christmas! This one rocks, there's no other way to put it.

Two of a kind books are the best books I've ever read. I've been hooked on these books since I read calling all Boys. Two for the raod was awesome! I cannot tell the whole story but, I can tell you part. Ashley is the team captain for triathlon sports and Mary Kate lost her diary. You will love this book so check it out and read it.

Mary-Kate and Ashley go on a school trip to the Florida Keys.Ashley fell in love with a guy and now her boyfriend ,Ross, isn't talking to her.Meanwhile Mary-Kate is lost an island in a swamp with Pheobe.They write some things about their friends.Then they are rescued and they are in big trouble!

MY name is johanna cepeda I am from Dominican Republic but I live in Providence I am ten years old and I was born on june 14, 1991 I have 1 step brother and two regulur ones with a my step sister she is 19 with two babies and a boyfriend my oldest step brother is 23 years old wich he still is living in Dominican Republic my 12 year old brother is in seventh grade in spinfield middle school my little brother he is 2 years old who likes everypretty girl my sisters name is gisselle my step brothers name is gimy my 12 year old brothers name is junior my little brothers name is steven my mother is 34 years old she lives in the morning to go to work at list at 6:30 and my father is 50 years old he lives to work when I come walking with my friends from school and he comes at 12:00 pm and my mom comes at 4:30 or at 5:00 because that means shes buyng stuff her name is sonia and my fathers name is pedro you know me my mom, my dad, my brother and my little brother sometimes when hes not sick go to a fleamarket we sell clothes for men a little bit of clothes for women and a little bit of clothes for kids we buy all that stuff in New York where theres lots of people living there like my two causins and the boyfriend of my sister because he sells there and has a home so my sister stays all alone with her children at home then the rest of my family live in Dominican Republic plus my my causin hes a boy hes 24 years old and lives with hes girfriend and hes baby boy brian and hes girfriends name is ana and my causins name is pavel and they live with anas family and my uncle tirro hes 55 years old hes maybe going to stay in providence for at least 1 year then he has to go to D.R. my neases name is summerlyn shes going to be one year old and my nefeus name is harvies my sister and her boyfriend named him after a cup that is really starange for me what I have reallysed is that I have a really big family and hafe that I dont know and maybe there will be more members in are family that I will love and keep them forever in my heart I wish that we were all together in my home were I grew up where all of us grew up and I would like to mention my sister is in twellve grade and I am in fifth and we are kind of twins my favorite actresiss are the olsen twins because I love them as if they were my extra sisters to me and if they are readindg this book I want to say I love you famous twin sisters that say that they are perfecly differint I would say the same thing to me and my sister.