Brooks Books

The photographs in this book are beautiful. My favorite, by far, is the one on the cover. I sure hope this wasn't photo-shopped- it would take the magic out of it.

Pumpkins is a beautifully done book for children, ages 4 - 8. It details through photography a pumpkin from the beginning to the final carved product.

It shows and tells how the farmer plants the seeds, what the new plants look like, how pumpkins form and what they look like and even the many colors, shapes and sizes they come in.

I was really impressed by this beautiful book. The only thing that really bothered me is that there were photography of trick-or-treaters dressed in some really scary costumes-considering the age it is geared to.

If you celebrate Halloween, then you will not want to miss Pumpkins. It will be a wonderful treat for your favorite child.

Armchair Interviews: Special look at a pumpkin as it becomes a jack-o-lantern.

I bought this book with some others that I needed, but without being able to page through it. I was hoping for a book with few words but great photos that show the different aspects of pumpkins and growing to share with my preschool special education classroom before our visit to the pumpkin farm. What a happy surprise to find out it was Perfect! It contained some photos of planting that I had no pictures of yet. Plus the written text accentuated the photos. It was short enough that I didn't have to "paraphrase" to my class. Excellent choice!

Written by Ken Robbins, Pumpkins is a picturebook celebration of the edible plant that is cherished as a Halloween symbol. Full-color photography offers a tour of the life of a pumpkin plant, from seeding to flower to fruit and harvest, and finally being carved into a scary jack-o-lantern. The perfect seasonal read-aloud book for Halloween, Pumpkins is especially fun to page through for young pumpkin lovers eagerly looking forward to the holiday season.

Thanks to Brook and her cookbook I am saving time when I entertain using the shopping list in the book and the very tasty recipes. My guests are wanting more of the foods I am serving them. They think I spent hours in the kitchen when I didn't but shhhh don't tell.

The Rush Hour Cook series is a collection of small books that are designed to easily fit into a purse or briefcase without taking up much room. In the "Effortless Entertaining" book you can expect the usual categories of appetizers, main meals, and desserts. One of the requirements for a recipe to make it into the Rush Hour Cook series is that the ingredients must be easy to find in just about any grocery store. So if you plan on preparing something from the book you can drop it into your purse or carry it along and pick up the ingredients on the spot.

Various tips are also scattered throughout the book. At the end there are five days of suggested meals as an example of meal planning and the shopping list that would be needed to prepare all of these meals. These are practical, easy to prepare, and quick recipes that are sure to please at any entertainment function. Not just for entertaining adult friends with things like Chicken with Mushroom-Sherry Sauce but also for entertaining a group of children with recipes like Kids-love-it Casserole. This is a great gift for the novice cook or the person who just wants to make a quick meal and get on to other things.

I heard about this book on the radio and can see why this book has gotten so much press coverage. I love it! You can fit it in your purse and it includes complete grocery lists so you can grab all the groceries you need for a week quickly and easily. I bought the set of 4 and also bought a bunch to use as Chrsitmas presents and they received rave reviews! I think this book is a relief from those huge cookbooks with tons of useless recipes. My family has loved everything I have made so far!

"Truth be told -I'd love to have friends over more often - whether it be formal or informal. In order to do that I would need an arsenal of realistic recipes for the person who wants to entertain-but doesn't have 100 hours (or a staff of 12) to execute the preparation." ~Brook Noel

Brook Noel has appeared on ABC World News, Fox Friends, CNN Headline News, AM Northwest, The Parent's Journal and hundreds of other shows. She has also been featured or mentioned in The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, Woman's World, Salon and Town & Country to name a few.

If you think you don't have time to cook, just ask Brook Noel where she finds the time to write cookbooks, let alone getting dinner on the table fast. She also has formed a E-Club that sends out cute assignments in order to conquer clutter and get organized for good. At the end of 70 days, you get a "Certificate of Sanity."

Brook Noel has a wonderful sense of humor, is willing to look at her lifestyle realistically and really wants to help families find their way back to the dinner table. With cookbooks in hand, she offers families solutions to kitchen chaos. If you are rushed for time, these tiny cookbooks can help you get organized fast.

Brook Noel used to make pies without pitting the cherries, color unboiled Easter Eggs and make lasagna out of pizza. But fear not, she has officially learned how to cook appetizing meals.

In this cookbook, you will find recipes for: Lemon-Garlic Vinaigrette, Beef Roast with Onion-Mushroom Gravy, Summer Melon a la Mode, Pan Fried Bananas, Sloppy Joes, Caribbean Chicken, Guacamole and Perfect Parmesan Chicken.

Her ideas about making your own croutons will make you salads much more tasty but I use butter instead of oil to fry the bread cutouts. You can also use rum flavoring in her Pan Fried Banana recipe, just a drop or two will do.

A cute little book that will encourage you to invite people over more often. Most of these recipes serve eight.

~The Rebecca Review

Hands down the most comprehensive set of A+ Certification prep tools available. Meyer's book fails on DOS/Windows. Jones and Landes could have done better. And both Gilster and Groth have a tendency to oversimplify. This is the only suite that will satisfy the knowledge hungry soul. But buyer beware...if you lack either ambition or aptitude, go with the books written by the previously mentioned authors. With "Ultimate...", Mueller, Brooks, and Berkel go beyond what is required to past the tests...they give you what is required to succeed outside in the real, working world. For those who demand only the most comprehensive of study tools, this is indeed the "Ultimate A+ Certification Kit".

This is not review, but just some information on this kit, since the webpage provides very little. The kit consists of 3 items:

Brooks's "A+ Certification Training Guide" (reviewed elsewhere on amazon.com)

Mueller's "Upgrading and Repairing PC's", 10th anniversary edition (reviewed elsewhere on amazon.com)

New Riders "Top Score A+ Certification Test Simulation Software" (sounds similiar to the MacMillan "A+ Certification Testprep Software" reviewed on amazon.com)

This kit COMPLETELY covers EVERYTHING you NEED to ace the A+ exam. It also includes an excellent PC Repair Manual and software with over 1000 practice questions. Most important, it offers you the KNOWLEDGE you need to get a great job OR to start your own PC business (or both). I plan to use it to teach a HIGH SCHOOL class in PC Repair starting Fall '00. My goal will be to have my students A+ certified by the end of the school year. For newbies, I would suggest 90 days of study for each of the 2 tests (this is the max amount of time allowed between tests). The tests cost approximately $100 each. I DO NOT recommend the DUMMIES series. My background: CSCI Instructor, Technology Coordinator, Technical Specialist, User Support Analyst.

If you are at all interested in attaining your A+ professional designation this is the only set of books that you will need. Scott is one of the most knowledgeable PC hardware tech's in the world.

I got to read this book again after a long, long time (after a generation). I am trying to get my daughter interested in reading, and this series seems great to get her started on the reading habit.

It's half a century since Enid Blyton first wrote this book, and it is still captivating enough. I'm surprised that these books are not as popular any more. When I used to read these books, we were sharing them with friends and making sure we read all the books in the series. Nowadays, television and game consoles seem more interesting to children. Maybe, the publishers are aware of this -- and they made the covers look more interesting!

One of the rewards of reading Enid Blyton titles like this Secret Seven book is that it improves your language skills. And yes, this is the first book in the Secret Seven series.

Enid Blyton is one of the best children's authors I know. As an eight-year old, I personally bought and collected Blyton's books. There are different series for different age levels, so you can actually grow through the books. Unfortunately, few of Blyton's books are available in the U.S., and if available, are usually quite high priced. I miss those books.

Two days went by, and the secret seven were very busy with all kinds of things. Peter and Janet lime-washed the hen-houses for their father, with Scamper watching in great intrest. 'You look a bit peculiar, Scamper-splashed with white from the lime-wash drips,' sais Janet.'Why must you sit exactly under where we're working you get all the splashes!' George was busy too, with Colin, rigging a fine ship they had made together.

I recently shared my old collection of Enid Blyton books with my son, who is 7 years old. They were an instant hit! The stories are full of imagination and humor and it is a shame that finding new copies is so difficult. I would advise anyone looking for childrens books to start with this author.

This is a "must-read" book for all teachers & administrators. For not only are we charged with teaching the three R's, we are entrusted with the emotional well-being of a child. How would you want your child to be treated by their teacher? I hope my daughter's teachers have read this book and understand the significant messages within.

Dr. Brooks is a charismatic speaker and writer. This book is an excellent motivator and inspiration to all of those in the field of education. After reading this book the reader will recall and forever appreciate the teachers that have shaped their life.

Robert Brooks' book "The Self Esteem Teacher" is an inspiring must read! His message brings hope to teachers and students alike!

I recently had the honor of listening to Dr. Brooks speak in Colorado. His ideas and suggestions, which are all in the book were wonderful. Every teacher should read this book and live Dr. Brooks' message.

This is an absolute MUST READ for teachers and parents alike. Dr. Brooks provides the reader with an intimate look into the mind and heart of children in the classroom. The book made me laugh and cry. But more importantly, it made me recognize the importance of nurturing a child's self-esteem. Educators (and parents!)who integrate his (incredibly simple!) strategies into their curriculum, will positively impact the student's life.....far beyond the impact of the "reading and writing."

His style is easy and engaging. His message is invaluable!

One things for sure, there are not many books like this.

As readers we get to see the world of a cancer patient through Izzy's eyes, our fourteen year old cantankerous (or regular teenage angst) main character. For six grueling months we follow her from diagnosis, treatment, to conclusion... sorry, no spoilers here. As readers we come away with both an attachment to the storyline and an appreciation of what having cancer must feel like.

I'm happy that someone has finally written a good teen book about cancer that 1. doesn't bog us down with too much medical jargon, 2. chips away at the mystery for all of us looking in from the outside, and 3. gives us a characters we can relate to.

My one complaint is that at times the story feels a bit disjointed. Also, if I ever talked to my Mom the way Izzy does, illness or not, I wouldn't be typing this review right now!

Izzy has cancer - and is back in school trying to catch up. Her descent into illness - and struggle to retain to a world of normalcy - makes SIDE EFFECTS an outstanding survey of cancer recovery, delving into much more than the usual physical issues of struggling with cancer. Leisure readers in grades 4-8 will find it outstanding.

Izzy wakes up one morning concerned because her glands are still swollen from a recent sickness--and she soon discovers that she has cancer. She's placed into a children's hospital where people come talk to her until she no longer hears what they're talking about. All she can do is concentrate on drawing.

Her mother is a basket case and Izzy is in shock.

Now her life has drastically changed. People who were her friends no longer talk to her and people she's never talked to are fake around her. She doesn't quite know how to react, but it's not with the anger her best friend feels.

Izzy goes though treatments: pain, the puking, and the needles, but still never loses her sense of humor.

SIDE EFFECTS takes a deep look into the medical and emotional roller-coaster of cancer patients. With Izzy, you hear the knowledge first-hand, which makes you both laugh and cry.

Reviewed by: Jennifer Rummel

From the author of The Girls (a realistic look into the inner workings of an all-girl clique) comes a novel about an almost-fifteen-year-old who is diagnosed with lymphoma. The once-healthy Izzy is suddenly hospital-bound. The faces of the nurses, doctors, and counselors who surround her blur as she undergoes chemotherapy. Meanwhile, her mom is a mess, her father is fairly steady, her little brother doesn't quite understand what is going on, and her best friend isn't allowed to visit her.

While her body battles cancer, Izzy's tongue stays as sharp as the needles that the nurses stick in her arm. Instead of a book riddled with angst, the story details Izzy's treatments and her physical and emotions reactions bluntly. Instead of being a sob story, this is the story of survival. Izzy refuses to give up, and readers won't give up this book until they've reached the final page. Well-done.

Lou Brooks is one of America's foremost designer-illustrators and his work has appeared in nearly every publication in America at one time or another. SKATE CRAZY doesn't contain many of Lou's masterful illustrations, but it does have his wacky, inventive mark on every page. Illustrators and designers across the globe are going to be drooling over Lou's delectable choices. Beautiful old advertisements, postcards, signs and stickers abound in this book--lovingly restored in many cases by Lou's wife, Clare (also a first-class artist).

But it's not only Lou's colleagues who are lucky to have Lou's jam-packed gem available. His fun, informative writing will delight anyone on your gift list. Buy a copy for creaky old grannie--she probably spent time in her youth on roller skates, mesmerized by the drone of the Hammond organ. Get a copy for the couch potato of your choice--it's time to bring back those halcyon days and hit the rinks again. Roll off those extra rolls! Send a copy to your kid at college--a great way to discover a nearly-forgotten, but once very important American pastime.

This is one hell of a buy, as well. It is crammed to the gills with photos and graphics and will inform and delight everyone who is lucky enough to get a copy.

If I could, I'd give this one 10 stars! Congratulations, Louie!

Although this book makes a perfect gift for someone who loves to skate, it's just as good for art students, pop culture buffs, and lovers of quirky, crazy stuff. The infinite variety of roller-skate images is dazzling. "Skate Crazy" belongs on the shelf of every graphic designer. Plus, it's a lot of fun! Some of the old roller-rink photos made me laugh out loud, and the wild assortment of vintage stickers are a joy to look at. I've only been roller skating twice, but I loved this book!

This book is a great compilation of skating memorabilia from the 30s, 40s, and 50s. The book is full of photos, ad illustrations, and postcards, but the best part is the stickers from individual rinks - there are over 400 of them! The restored graphics are amazing, and the vintage style will make anyone nostalgic for this era of skating. Anyone interested in art or graphics should take a look at the way Brooks updates the stickers, because he truly has done a fantastic job.

A tip of the hat to Lou Brooks for making this book such a delight to look at! The subject matter is pretty mundane and in the hands of many other book designers 'Skate Crazy' would just look bland but Mr Brooks knows his stuff. He knows how to select the right photos, handle color panels, overlap graphic images, choose a relevant typeface for headings and all the other little design elements that make each page sparkle and this book has 144 of them in a neat square format.

Although much of the material is similar Brooks has managed to split it into sixteen chapters and write a bit about each subject but the book is essentially visual. The four hundred rink stickers are the main pictorial items and nicely the index in the back is a geographical listing of past rinks across America. Strangely, despite a thorough coverage there are no close-up photos of skates, a page or two from a manufacturer's sales brochure would have been helpful I think.

'Skate Crazy' is a wonderful bit of nostalgia and if you rolled (or danced) around one of the three thousand rinks across the Nation in the Forties or Fifties you'll really enjoy looking at this book. Just super!

***FOR AN INSIDE LOOK click 'customer images' under the cover.

Sagans book makes representation theory easy. The book first covers representations using modules and then choosing a basis to show the matrix approach. With every new topic he develops it using what Doron Zeilberger has dubbed the Gelfand Principle ([...]) The principle is: "Always chooses the smallest example to make a point". It isn't easy to find the smallest example when Sn grows as quickly as it does, but Sagen always manages to do it.

The ensuing chapters follow in the same vein. Ideas are introduced and explained, sometimes with pictures, sometimes with calculations, but always as clearly as can be.

To read this book does require a firm grounding in linear algebra, as well as abstract algebra. Time reading it is time well spent.

This book has 4 chapters.Chapter1 is about general theory of representations of finite group.Chapter2 is about representation of symmetric groups.chapter3 and 4 are about combinatorial topics and symmetric functions. Though I haven't read all of the book,I highly recommand this book because this book shows us introductive part of representation theory with easy words.I think it is worth to read for all who are to begin the study of representation theory.

This book has 4 chapters.Chapter1 is about general theory of representations of finite group.Chapter2 is about representation of symmetric groups.chapter3 and 4 are about combinatorial topics and symmetric functions. Though I haven't read all of the book,I highly recommand this book because this book shows us introductive part of representation theory with easy words.I think it is worth to read for all who are to begin the study of representation theory.

This book is excellent. The material is presented clearly and concisely. It makes the subject matter accessible and interesting. I used it as the text for a one-semester graduate subject. I completed all of the exercises, so it is well-paced for this kind of study. I started with only an introductory knowledge of group theory, so it is self-contained. The only drawback is that there are no solutions to any of the exercises. If it had this, it would be a perfect bok.

this is one of the saddest books i ever read.

its about a boy name grady, who was walking home one night when all of a sudden he gets taken into a van where he is raped and beaten up, by two men. grady is so traumatized after what has happened that he cant speak anymore. he feels so embarressed that his parents take him out, and put him to a new school. when he goes into a new school he makes one friend that helps him speak and stand up for himself.

then one day grady runs into his old friends. he feels that if they know what really happened to him, they wouldnt want to be his friend anymore. the opposite happens. when they find out what happened, its his friends that help him move past it, and accept him again.

i was so shocked by how descriptive this book was. every time something bad happened to grady i felt it too. i felt his shame, pain, and embarressment. it helped me understand what really happened to grady. its such a disgusting that happened to an innocent boy and scarred him for the rest of his life.

i love this book and recommend it to anyone past the age of 16.

There are litterally NO words to describe this book! It takes you on a whirlwind rollercoaster of emotions of trauma and self-disgust. I couldn't put it down for a second. 5 Stars doesn't quite say it!!! I reccomend this book to any and all Young Adults!!!
Also reccomended:
It happened to Nancy
Go Ask Alice
When Dad Killed Mom
You Dont Know Me
Monster
Speak

This is the Story of Grady West, a teen who is dealing with severe issues after he was brutally raped by two men. These issues include post-traumatic stress (symptoms of social phobia), and anorexia.
The author makes Grady's self-imposed isolation seem so real, that I found myself feeling isolated from the outside world while I was reading it. Normally this is a good thing, but I felt depressed while reading the book, despite the fact that I loved the story. I would definately suggest reading this book, but maybe read it outside on a sunny day.

Target hits hard from the beginning and won't let go. Grady West has a problem. And he doesn't want to talk about it. To anyone. So he changes schools, stops eating, speaks only when necessary and keeps himself to himself. And if he fades away into nothing--that's good. But Jess comes along. Dreadlocked, fast-mouthed, furiously living Jess who can't stand to see this curious white guy refusing to get with the program. The program of recognizing that Jess is cool.

Kathleen Johnson hits it out of the park with this wonderfully realized novel of friendship, suffering, and the fear of reaching out. Grady is circling the drain and the reader feels the pull with him, the knowledge that any moment he's going down and knowing it might be sweet relief. The reader feels how hard it is for Grady to reach out and hold on.

It's been a long, long while since a book made me feel that much so vividly.

A winner.

I completely agree with the other reviews. Great story and I really really hope Ms. Brooks does make this a series and that they are able to eventually find their lost brother along with her sisters!!

This book was great, I'm hopeing there will be another book about this family. I'm wanting to know about Blake and Velvet Johnson. Please Betty Brooks make this a series.

This is only the second book I have read by this author, but it certainly won't be the last. I also hope she continues the story of the family of brothers in the book along with the heroine finding her sisters. I very much enjoyed the personality of the heroine, not a clinging vine or damsel in distress that depends on someone else to save her.

I have read several books by this author over the years. All I can say is that she really outdid herself on this book. I am sincerely hoping that this will be a start of a series of books about this family. This book deals with the aftermath of the Civil War and the devastation/destruction that followed. She is very detailed in her facts and interwoven in these facts is the gripping and turbulent story of two young people and their families. I read the book in day and a half. If you like this time setting then I would HIGHLY recommend this book.