Educational Games and Adventure Books

I think we'll have to buy some more copies of this story, my son makes us read it at least 4 - 5 times a week to him. He loves firefighters (and George of course) so this is a perfect fit.

I've noticed some of the newer stories "inspired" by Margaret and H.A. Rey -- this is one of their originals / classics. Timeless and precious are words that come to mind when thinking about the actual story.

So many opportunities to learn / teach within the classic George stories -- I think because some of the pictures, things, stuff in the story are vintage and unfamiliar it encourages the child to inquire more.

We're huge fans -- and if you watch the specials, sometimes they have 4 for price of 3 on [...]

Of course, you should try to support your local bookstore whenever you can!

This is a cute little story perfect for my 2 1/2 yr old for bedtime...he loves it.

I couldn't agree more with the previous reviewer. My 5 year old son was also delighted with this book. The designs are fairly easy, and space is a favorite subject. Great for airplane or other travel. We'll definitely buy more.

This dot-to-dot book is a big hit with my 5YO son. He has trouble with pre-writing skills but this book motivates him to use his pencil correctly. Also good for number recognition. I thought at first it would be too hard for him, but the pictures really grab his attention.

Dr. Chess has once again done it! This informative,challenging and thoroughly entertaining book will not only educate kids but keep them glued to each page.Researched well,it is sure to be a favorite among older kids who enjoy a challenge.

My youngest son loves dragons and this book had exactly what he wanted. Not only did it have dragons but puzzles as well. My son loved solving the puzzle and listening to the story. When we were all done, he wanted to read it all over again. I liked the Dragon in the cupboard because of the little twists and turns in the story and the way it kept my sons attention and sparked his mind to solve the questions. Books that make you think and use your imagination are wonderful!

Enjoy heightened drama reading each page by flashlight and then flashing the dinosaur silhouette on the wall. Lotsa fun for preschoolers and early elementary!

As a second grade teacher, I have been teaching my classes about the Iditarod Race for many years. Until recently, it has been difficult to find support for this wonderful unit of study. Shelley Gill has done a fabulous job of showing how this exciting race is the best example of integrated curriculum to be found. She covers ideas for all disciplines of study from mapping skills to science projects. She has captured the heart of the race and understands why teachers choose to teach the Iditarod. Her book will fill your classroom with wonderful hands-on ideas that are great fun to use and enrich the children's understanding of this exciting race.

My bright 6 year old adored this book. She had us go through each puzzle story whenever we had a spare moment and would study the pages herself when we were unavailable. The puzzles include mazes, logic challenges, hidden items, matching problems, all along one of three adventure themes and all accompanied by rich, detailed, fun illustrations. This book is more challenging than the first Puzzle World, which my daughter also loved.

Where the Red Fern grows is an exciting story of a boy named Billy who lives in the Ozark Mountains in Oklahoma with his mom and dad and his younger sisters. Billy has always wanted Dogs so one day he finds an ad where there are pups for sale. Billy really wants some of his own pups but doesn't have much money. The pups are fifty dollars which is a lot of money to come up with. Billy works every day for a long time trying to earn enough money to get the pups. Once Billy earns enough money he gives the money to his grandfather who orders them for him. Billy has to travel all the way to Tahlequah where the pups are to be picked up the pups he has to travel by him self to pick the up. He finally gets the two dogs and decides to name them Old Dan and Little Ann. As the two dogs grow up Billy trains them to be raccoon hunter. The two dogs grow up to be fierce hunters and Billy is able to sell the coonskin for money and gives it to his father. Billy enters his dogs in a Hunting contest and the two dogs show they are good enough to win the contest and the prize is four-hundred dollars. One night when Billy is raccoon hunting the dogs tree a mountain lion. They fight and eventually kill the mountain loin but Dan is very badly injured and he dies. After awhile Ann dies of sadness and Billy is very sad. The dogs have earned enough money for Billy and his family that they are able to move to town. It takes Billy awhile to get over the fact that his dogs are gone until one day he goes to the graves and sees a Red Fern planted by an angel.

We read Where the Red Fern Grows in class when I was in school (7th grade?) and I really loved this book. After reading it again many years later I loved it just as much. I do have a lot of bias involved because my dog is a Redbone Coonhound (possibly the only one in Scandinavia) and before moving over here I spent many a night tracking and treeing Racoons. Besides that I've always been a sucker for a dog story of any kind. The tree hugger in me isn't exactly fond of the part where the kid chops down the biggest tree in the area just to get to a single Racoon but I don't know if any other book that I've read better illustrates the love and deep bond that exists between dogs and humans. I have to warn you if you haven't read it that this book is a real tear jerker but I think dog lovers of all ages would find this a great entertaining read.

I had to read this book in elementary school, but I've been thinking about it lately and wondered if it was still around. Looks like it's not only around, but being used in schools just as regularly as before. Also with 1200+ reviews, I'm not sure it needs any more, including this one.

I will say that even though I haven't read it in twenty years, that it still makes me want to shed a little tear. I can't say that for many other books.

I'm 45 now, but read this book in Elementary school. This is the book that got me hooked on reading. Even after all these years I still think of the story from time to time.

I have finished Where the Red Fern Grows. That was a terrible book. It has nothing redeeming about it. It lost me when the 10-year-old couldn't think of an alternative to chopping down the biggest Sycamore in the river bottom, that you can't always win was lost as an emphasis, that trees are dispensable if you make a promise to a dog, that it is fair to have two dogs trained to chase ONE raccoon, that the fact you have to train them to do it because the raccoon is actually smart enough to not be killed by them also goes lost, and, worst of all, that a majestic mountain lion in its own habitat gets an ax in his back because he is defending himself from bloodhounds and is made out to be a scourge, an EVIL predator, that, lastly, there is no mention made that it is the 10-year-old's fault that the dogs die because he is the jerk who trained them to tree critters to begin with and didn't teach them which ones they ought not challenge. I can find no bad review of this piece of trash anywhere. I am positive I am the only one in the world who thinks this way, else why is it on a reading list for our kids? I will buy my grandson "Lassie Comes Home." That is a story deserving of the status of classic. At least, it is about a fantastic dog. The bloodhound beasties were not even rescue dogs. They were "trained" to wantonly kill raccoons or animals for the pelts: Davie Crockett hats. Goodness. The book made me sick. The popularity of a book is not moral equivalence.

Gary Paulsen "paints with words" as he writes a descriptive story about a fifteen year old boy contending with his parent's divorce. This book is rivoting. The reader wants to read on as a young boy learns through discovery about how to survive in the Canadian wildernes. I read this book to my students and they were lined up in the library to check out Gary Paulsen books. Gary Paulsen writes passionately with no holes barred, which is what makes the story believable, exciting and compelling.

Hatchet is about a boy named Brian who is stranded in the Canadian wilderness trying to survive. This book is very easy to read. It is a very good book for anyone who likes survival or nature books. I recommend it for ages 10-12. I like it because it is very neat how Brian uses his hatchet. If you like Hatchet you might also like Robinson Crusoe, Swiss Family Robinson, or The Cay.

Hatchet is about a boy named Brian who goes on a plane to visit his dad.On the way there the pilot gets a heart attack,so eventually the plane falls.The plane falls in the wilderness in the bottom of the lake.Luckily Brian survives.Brian is alone in the wilderness with no friends,family,or people.Will he be rescued?Find out in the wonderful story Hatchet.

This book is a really good book.It's not just any book, it's Hatchet, by Gary Paulsen. Gary reel's you in with his word techniques, thought of life and more things to get you to read this bbok. In Hatchet, Brian a 13 year old boy survives a plane crash. But he nneds to get through the tough winds, the hard measures and shelter. Each day,night any time you read this you can't wait to read more!!!!!!!!!!!!!:):):):):):):):):

Do you like adventure books? If you do you should definiatly read this book Hatchet by Gary Paulsen. Hatchet has a little bit of comedy, some cliffhangers, and a bunch of adventure. Brian Robeson is on a plane to go visit his father in Canada. On the way his pilot has a heart attack and unfortunatly dies. Brian doesn't know how to fly a plane which means it crashes. Brian is stuck in the wilderness with only the hatchet his mother had given him earlier that day. Will Brian find shelter? Will Brian find food? Will Brian survive? Read Hatchet by Gary Paulsen to find out!

It is in our most difficult times that we discover our true character and that of those around us. This type of discovery is at the heart of the tale of Bud, the 10 year-old main character of Bud, Not Buddy (Random House 1999), a novel by Christopher Paul Curtis. In this wonderful piece of historical fiction, Curtis artfully crafts Bud's story, weaving together inspiration, humor, and the realities of the Great Depression to create a heartwarming and upbeat story about the power of the human spirit.

Bud's story is a fast-paced narrative describing a resilient, determined orphan in search of a new home at a time that was difficult for many Americans. After running away from an abusive foster family, Bud is forced to move through a difficult world in search of a compassionate and caring new home that he hopes he will find with the man he believes to be his father. Armed with a beat-up suitcase filled with all of his possessions and only a flyer as his guide, Bud sets out to find a better life and ends up finding more than he could have imagined.

In his search, Bud encounters a number of helpful and interesting individuals who assist him along the way. At one point, Bud meets a homeless family who helps him sneak into a line to get bread. Bud also encounters a shantytown, known as a Hooverville, where families sleep in tents after becoming homeless. Bud meets families who wait while fathers and husbands hop trains in search of work. Bud's tale recounts the difficulties for many individuals, especially African Americans, during the Great Depression. Throughout his travels, Bud encounters the difficulties of finding food, shelter, and money, as he looks to others and his own strength to continue his journey.

Fortunately, Bud meets a number of individuals who are willing to share the little bit that they have in order to help him. Bud's search eventually leads him to the man in the poster that he believed to be his father. Although Bud's final destination may not be exactly what he thought when he set out, it is exactly what he needed. Despite the difficult times, Bud's journey is a heartwarming tale about the compassion of strangers, the beauty of music, and the power of family.

Curtis' novel is a great read for families and a perfect selection for middle school children. The 243-page novel moves quickly as Curtis' narrative-style leaps off the page. Based on the Fry readability formula, this book has a fifth grade reading level, but it may be a great for students above that level as well. Although the realities of the Great Depression may be difficult for younger readers to grasp, the life lessons that Bud encounters are valuable for any student. Despite the bleakness and difficulty of the historical setting, Curtis does an excellent job of describing the strength and compassion of the individuals. I personally enjoyed this book a great deal and would recommend it to others.

My 3rd grade class really enjoyed listening to this story. The adventures of Bud, while many times being funny, touch my students and help them to see what another 8 year old in a past era had to endure. Great story line.

I am the parent of a 6th-grade reluctant reader. Luckily, he will still cuddle up to listen to a good book read out loud, though his preference is for plots involving dragons, elves, and convoluted quests. I have occasionally been able to slip in a more realistic novel, but more often than not, my son will dismiss it as "BORING" just as I am getting absorbed. "Bud, Not Buddy" has been an exception. Bud comes across as a real kid with a real kid's voice and my son has found himself drawn to the character as well as the adventure (and it is quite an adventure that Bud has). I appreciate Curtis's ability to conjure Flint, Michigan, and the Depression so vividly for the reader and I love the incidental learning that goes along with the story, from the existence of Hooverville(s) to the early days of unionizing. I highly recommend this book for 10-12 year-old kids and their parents. It is a wonderful book to read out loud.

Ten-year-old Bud, living during the Great Depression in Flint, Michigan, was left after his mother's death with only a suitcase of band fliers and a bag of stones. He leaves his latest foster home and ventures on a Steinbeck-like odyssey to find his father--whom his believes to be the man on the fliers. Excellent coming of age tale that beautifully captures the voice of both a young adult and the time period. Grade: B+

The book I read was Bud, Not Buddy. It was by Christopher Paul Curtis. He also wrote The Watsons Go to Birmingham. This book was Historical fiction.
In this book Bud was adopted from an orphanage. He goes to live with this really mean family who locks him in a shed. He breaks out and runs away to a library. On the second night at the library his friend Bugs finds him. Together they walk to Hooperville. They were going to hop a train that left from Hooperville the next morning. Bugs makes the train but Bud doesn't. Bud walks back to Flint and back to the library to get direction on how to get to another town called Great Rapids. He was told it was a twenty-four hour walk. He started to go to Great Rapids that evening. One guy saw Bud and asked where he was from and why he was walking to. Bud lied and said he was from Great Rapids. The guy drives Bud to Great Rapids and drops him off at his dad's house. Bud's dad didn't know he had a son so he was confused.
I like this book because it tell me about people who aren't as lucked as I am. I think this book would be good for greedy kids because it teaches them how they are luckier than others. I was inspired by this book because of the message it sent out. I recommend this book for all kids because it is really good.