Family Resources Books

Just wanted to pass along that this book is only approximately 3" wide by 6" long. When it arrived, I was very surprised to find out that the book was so small.

This book has become very popular with our friends and family because it gives accurate color drawings with an easy-to-read, informative text. It has been updated twice over the years. A great, compact gift for for both children (7+) and adults.

I already have this book and use it often. The information is written understandingly and the pictures are very good. When my son requested a bird book, I immediately went for this one.

The original of this book, in hardcover, is fabulous. Unfortunately, this edition is not true to the colors of the birds. Compare for instance the Indigo Bunting in this updated edition with the Indigo Bunting in the original Hardcover Version (not the original paperback version which is just as bad as this). We have Indigo Buntings at our feeders every year. Their color is so vivid, it's breathtaking. But you wouldn't know it by looking at this poor substitute for the original book.

I don't suppose dedicated birders would have much use for this guide, but for those of us who think it would be fun to be able to name the birds that live in or migrate through our neighborhoods, this is a wonderful resource. For the parent with curious children, Herbert S. Zim's guides are indispensable.

These hip-pocket sized books are nicely designed and simple enough so that children can use them on their own after just a little guidance. At the same time, though, they offer plenty of solid information. The illustrations are clear, copious, and attractive.

If you are looking for a basic guide to common birds, this is a perfect choice. Also, be sure to see the other Golden Guides by Herbert S. Zim.

I wanted a book that would be simple and straight forward. I intended to buy it for family members that were having a hard time understanding what we were going through after my son's diagnosis of Sensory Integration Dysfunction. And this book helped immensely. For my husband and I, I bought the Out of Sync Child and The Out of Sync Child Has Fun. But I wanted an indepth book for me and something more basic for family members that would need some understanding of my son.

Sensory Disorder...A really difficult concept to understand for those of us who do not have it, yet very real for those who do.
For those who live with someone who suffers from the disorder, it is so very important to understand them and their specific needs. For these individuals, it is of utmost importance to recognize the symptoms so they can be dealt with accordingly. This book really sheds some light on the mysteries surrounding the disorder and gives guidance to making the right decisions for the child when it comes to school, sports, treatment, discipline, etc. I recommend this book as well as "Ten Things Every Child With Autism Wishes You Knew". It is another excellent resource.

This book should be read for anyone working with individuals on the autism spectrum. Pauline and Elizabeth have great suggestions for some of the issues that can be more challenging (public restrooms, public outings, baths, dressing). I thoroughly enjoyed the 1st hand account of these ladies in their journey to understand their children's pain, and to bring out the very best in them.

What a great way to get a quick, overall picture of individuals with sensory issues. I did not get bogged down with so much detail, yet it was thorough. It proved to be an informational, interesting easy-read for me.

I read this book in order to gain more insight into my grandaughter's problem. I found the book to be very informative and down to earth. However, I felt that it would have been much more pleasurable to read if there had been colored illustrations or something to break the monotany of the black and white type. It has the appearance of a college term paper.

Everist subtitles her book "A Comprehensive Guide to Christian Education", and that it is. Everist discusses both the theological basis for religious education and places it within the contemporary context.

Familar models of development (Eriksen, Piaget) are analyzed within a faith framework to create an age-appropriate religious education model for faith formation from infant to older adult.

Everist addresses head-on the issues most churches face in religious education: lack of time, resources, and personnel; "competition" with the modern culture; living within a pluralistic world. Her book combines theory with practical advice, and in the end she holds out hope that not only is religious education necessary to a life of faith, it can be relevant and life affirming to both teachers and learners.

The Church as Learning Community is an excellent resource that can act both as a guide to teachers, volunteers and paid staff workers (i.e. youth educational directors, etc.) within the Christian community and also affirm and encourage professional and lay leaders alike in the importance of Christian Education. I would recommend that all parish educators use this book as a resource. However, be warned: it is an extremely comprehensive piece of work and includes many diverse theories, ideas, phases in education, etc. Everist's efforts and the work and thought she has put into making this book is obvious.

The book is both theoretical and practical knowledge by nature. Theoretical in terms of presenting many (often diverse) theories on issues (i.e. how to be a church in a pluralistic world) and practical in that it offers suggests on how those ideas can be put into use (i.e. how to create safe learning environments, how to equip leaders, etc.). It is also really engages the reader both theoretically and practically speaking. It offers questions for reflection (theoretical) and strategies for putting into action what you just read (practical). I found it is especially useful in beginning to think about adult Christian education and how to work with different ability (and disability) levels. As the title implies, its geared to get the reader to think about the church an educational facility which is nurtures the educational process at every stage of life. In other words, Christian Education does not stop with youth Sunday School.

Basically speaking, she has synthesised a range of ideas, research and theories concerning faith education into one resource. As such, the chapters address a range of topics from learning amongst a community to connecting the community with public world at large.

The Church as Learning Community by Norma Cook Everist
This is a great survey of Christian Education and the many many different considerations that go into educating people of faith. It was surprising to me how much there is to think about when writing curriculum, finding curriculum, or critiquing it. I appreciated the different charts that are found through out the book. I liked that there weren't a lot of them, but enough to study to better understand where she was coming from and the big aspects she was trying to get at. The best one is Figure 9 found on page 344. I liked the mapped out ideas of Parish Education and how this is going to be brought out into the World.
A couple of other great things about here books were the Personal or Group Reflection and case studies. The sections of reflection are always helpful to reflect how the written information could be installed into the program of a readers church. The reflection also leaves room for people to break up the book, and read the sections that are going to be helpful at different times. This book should be read in sections, there simply is to much to try to implement in one setting. The reflections allow people to find ways to make Everist's ideas work in what they are doing.
The case studies are helpful as well with the mentioned ideas. They, like charts, allow the reader to have a real life example. With these different ideas, a reader can respond by saying, "Yes I have gone through that" and then reflect on how improve different situations.

This book will make you significantly smarter at your next education committee meeting! Ok, well...maybe not at your next meeting- as it is a dense and detailed, idea packed book close to 400 pages- but it will expand your ideas about education in a church environment.
I hate to be caught using the phrase "something for everyone", but it really does apply here. Not only that, Everist includes many things for anyone: most of the material seems likely to enrich any person involved in church education (a group of people which is expanded to include everyone who walks in the doors of the church, by the way.) It is a vast storehouse of practical methods and ideas for every age group, some of which are laid out in a convenient diagram format. Norma Cook Everist explores life stages, ways the community is organized, who is included in the community, and sets out many ideas for education in all of these contexts.
One criticism I have involves the flip side of this book's great strength- the volume of the material presented. It is very detailed and expansive. If you are looking for an easy-read manual that can be thumbed through at meetings when an educational issue arises, don't buy book. In order to utilize its riches, one needs to commit to it and spend time slowly becoming familiar with the content. Trying to skim through or read quickly may result in frustration, and abandoning the effort. (So, you may not have anything for your education committee meeting tomorrow... but next month? Watch out!!)
Another characteristic that might be a problem is the congregational ethos it quite obviously springs from. Parts of this model include church functions (committee structure, liturgy, curriculum, sacraments, the use of the word "parish" and the sometimes-assumption that there is a community of connected churches) that are found more often in mainline, liturgical churches than in a more fluid evangelical or non-denominational approach in which those elements are less important or not present in the same way. However, there are only a very few theological assumptions that affect the curriculum in ways that might cause a problem. The way that baptism is part of Everist's foundation for our congregational responsibility to educate one another might change meanings or create a stumbling block for congregations that practice only adult baptism. Other issues, such as the emphasis on community and civic involvement as part of our educational process (which is an emphasis found more often in mainline churches) add a wonderful richness to the book in taking our responsibility for educating outside the church walls. These differences in perspective are certainly nothing to fear. The sheer volume of information and diversity of the resources within this book (the great majority of which carry no denomination-specific doctrinal claims) assure that it will be a rich resource for anyone. Overall, this is a wonderful book for those serious about education in a church setting.

As a lay leader in my church's adult education ministry, I found Norma Cook Everist's book to be an excellent handbook and guide for my continued faith journey as both a teacher and learner in my congregation. I wish I had discovered this book a few years ago - but as they say - better late than never.

As the author states, "The purpose of this book is threefold: to put forth a vision of the entire parish as a learning community; to help faith communities create and maintain learning environments that facilitate us being different together in a pluralistic world; and to provide a comprehensive guide for religious educators leading a congregation toward fully becoming a learning community." I'm pleased to say that Norma delivers on all three fronts!

This is not the type of book that will sit idly on your shelf collecting dust. It's a wonderful resource that Christian educators will find themselves using time and again. It truly is a comprehensive guide to Christian education. I really enjoyed and appreciated the opportunities for reflection in the various chapters. The graphs, tools and strategies are extremely useful - this book is packed with tips and advice that's both practical and applicable in today's communities of faith. I especially enjoyed chapter three - Eight Facets of Learning: Methodologies for a Diverse People.

As the author states in chapter three, "How we teach teaches as powerfully as what we teach. The method a teacher chooses to use does not just convey content; it becomes the experience." The Church As Learning Community is truly a rich and wonderful guide to helping all of us involved in Christian education become powerful teachers to the body of Christ.

I'm fourteen years old and I have a ferm belief in God and I am a southern baptist. You know what? If this book upsets you so much then maybe you need to reafirm your faith and if a teenager reads it and they get that impression you talked about which only a dumbass would then thats their opinion and their choice.This book is awesome!

Kortney Dowell
1st hour
October 3 2005

Sarah Morgan has so many problems she is having to deal with. One being the death of her father about one year ago. She also has to deal with her mother's problems. Her parents got divorced one year before his death. It was so hard for Sarah because she loved her father more than her mother. Her friend was no help either because all she ever wanted to do was write complaints to the government. She also liked a boy just like every girl her age does. She just didn't know how to express her feelings to him. On top of that she may be getting a new stepfather, Mr. Cooper. Sarah's feelings totally change when she finds out her father was a drunk and hit her mother frequently. She now has to decide should she love her father even though he has done such horrible things. In the end Sarah decides that she loves her father know matter what mistakes he has made in the past because he still loved her even though she made many mistakes. This book is very intense and realistic. So I encourage you to read this book
And journey through many problems with Sarah Morgan.

Dealing with her parents divorce, Sarah Morgan's life took a big twist when her father died of a heart attack and she moved to a new town, and school. Sarah idolized her father, and even loved him more than her mother, without him she felt like life was cruel, and not worth living. Her day to day life consisted of her being the typical outsider in school, dealing with her friend's issues, and her mother trying to be her friend rather than the mother that she needed.
The author's diction gave Sarah a realistic teenage attitude. As I read the book I could almost put myself in Sarah's place as she described her relationship with her father and how she felt about her parents' divorce. The mood completely changed after Sarah found out that her father was a drunk and often hurt her mother. Matters really got worst as her mother got into a deeper relationship with her soon to be step father Mr. Cooper.
Sarah wanted to express her feelings to Ben, and wanted to help her friend over come her problems and solve environmental issues by wrting letters to the governor. Upon her friend's death she felt dissapionted but relief as a sign to move on with her life and make the best out of it.
This book is very realistic, honest, and unbelievable. I highly recommend it, espeacially for those in a parallel structure to Sarah.

This short book tells a story about a young girl faced with many problems in life. She is going through a hard time in her life as her parents just divorced. Like any other person, they think that it is their fault that his or her parents divorced. Sarah( the young girl) would live with her mother after the divorce was final. Her mother and her did not get along as well as her father and her did. Sarah could relate to her father on a more fun and serious note. Sarah was a young teenage girl who liked to fight for her rights about things that were going on in life, such as fighting off the death penalties of innocent people. Sarah's best friend was busy with her alcoholic mother and her suicidal sister. She hardly had time to hang out with Sarah. Sarah learned that the unconditional love her father had given to her was all she need to get on in life.
I liked the book because I could relate to it myself. Most teenager's parents are divorced or having problems at home. Conditions of love tells that it is not at all your fault that the divorced. The Book also was a bit boring in some parts when all she ( Sarah) did was talk and explain how she felt. Other wise it was great and really showed an outside view on things.
posted May 16 2002

This book was very interesting.I found it hard to follow the book would jump from Sara's Mom and Grandmother and her Father to her best friend's problem with her family and also to the boy she loved.Once I understood what was happening I thought it was good but not great.The book is really funny and has some explict words and thoughts.If you like that kinda thing then you would love the book.When I started the book it was very hard to put down because well most teenagers think about some scenes in the book.The book is very funny and realistic.I recommend to all teenagers.

Pros: Covers lots of topics and is a very valuable source for beginners with great, well written, summaries of many skills and sources needed for doing family history
Cons:

No real cons. I was a bit surprised, however, not to read more about the incredible land patent database of the former General Land Office offered through the Bureau of Land Management's Eastern State Office. There is no mention that people can actually download from the office's site copies of early land patents of ancestors after discovering how and where they received federal land. Yet, this only points out that one book, though great, cannot cover everything.

I was interested to review this book since I do a lot of genealogical research and wanted to see what more I could learn. I wasn't disappointed. There's plenty to be discovered through the great information supplied by this fine book. Though one of the "For Dummies" series for beginners, there is much here for people who aren't dummies but are advanced in their genealogical studies. The authors have their own website, "Helm's Genealogy Toolbox" at www.geneaologytoobox.com, and that is featured as well as other web sites and links.
The book also contains a CD with three items: 1) a trial version of "Family Tree Maker," a popular genealogy database, 2) an evaluation copy of "Homesite 5.5," a popular HTML editor, and 3) a gazetteer designed for genealogists,"World Place Finder." This CD runs on Mac OS system software 7.55 or later, which is useful if you haven't yet stepped up to OS X.
This book is indeed a fine source for all genealogists, covering not only what can be found on the web (an incredible amount), but also great tips for basic "how to do" skills. There is even information in one of three appendixes for the real beginner without many computer skills, such as getting set up with a service provider. The other appendixes include terms and more information on using the CD.
As to its organization, the book begins with the needed first steps about recording easily available information needed to "ground" what you later discover. Progressively you also learn about preserving notes and photos, organizing your records, and many other valuable tips to get started. Later chapters (a total of 16 in the book) continue with planning genealogical research trips and strategies, plus lots of great information about the almost countless sources that have developed on the Web to aid family history buffs. This includes some information even on foreign sources and archives.
The book also covers the increasing availability of various source records, such as census and vital statistics posted on the Web, plus the value of using comprehensive genealogical indexes, surname forums, and the incredible national GenWeb project which coordinates state and county records. And that's only a sample of what this useful book covers! The helpful index allows you to easy find the variety of specific topics in this great "how-to" book,.
Overall, its easy-to-follow style, like other "for Dummies" books, makes this a real winner for both the beginner and advanced genealogist. It is well worth the price.

This book is for the beginner genealogist. It tells you how to plan your research and what kind of computer equipment to have. It takes you step by step in certain websites. It is extremely boring, even for a genealogy book. I was hoping for more info on what is contained in individual websites, where to find certain types of documents and explantions of software available to the genealogist. It is great if you don't have a clue but if you can navigate the internet on your own, you don't need this book. I will use it occasionally but The Genealogy Sourcebook and The Source: A Guidebook of American Genealogy are much more in depth.

This is a very helpful book. I have been doing genealogy research for years, and found all of the tips I would give someone who has just started research within its pages. I also found things that I hadn't previously thought of that I was able to use and I accomplished a lot. This is a perfect handbook for those who are interested in using the internet to further their research.

I've been researching my genealogy on the web for about a year now, and I'd already found everything included in this book. If you're a basic web surfer, and can use a search engine, don't bother with this book. I also found that it was very difficult to reference, and jumbled together both the excellent resource sites, as well as the ones that are pretty much useless. Spend your money on "The Source" it will be worth the extra investment.

Genealogy Online for Dummies is a handy how-to, where-to, what-to, who-to, and why-to book. Matthew L. Helm, one of the authors, is executive vice president and chief technology officer of FamilyToolbox.net, Inc. With a bachelor's degree in history and a master's in library and information science, he created and he maintains the Helm's various genealogy websites. April Leigh Helm, the other author, is the company president. She has degrees in journalism and higher education administration. They are no dummies, and anyone who reads this book will be no dummy about genealogy online.

The book has 16 chapters organized in five major sections, also three appendices, an index, a genealogy Internet directory, and a tear-out "cheat sheet." The text covers in part one doing the groundwork, in part two focusing the online research effort, in part three expanding research online, and in part four using the computer and web to organize and share information. In summary, part five lists ten handy databases, ten things to remember when designing your genealogical website, ten sites that offer help, and ten tips for "smooth sailing."

Throughout the text are addresses of useful websites, research tips, definitions of genealogical terms, step-by-step instructions, and warnings. Examples of warnings are "don't violate any copyright laws by sending large portions of written works through email" (p. 215), and don't post on your website "any information that could land you in the doghouse with any of your relatives - close or distant" (p. 246). The text features sidebar discussions of issues like copyright (p. 250) and privacy (p. 248), and even a "mandatory lecture on privacy" (234). But the tone and message are generally positive: You can do genealogy online. The text explains not only the software, the search engines, the online resources (websites), but also the hardware appropriate for different tasks, and the basics of HyperText Markup Language (html) needed to create a website.

One appendix provides the basics of going online, for anyone not already connected to the Internet. A second appendix defines genealogical terms. The third appendix provides a long list of software available on the CD inserted in the back of the book, mostly demo software for Windows; but the CD itself contains only the demonstration software for Reunion 8, and a very useful list of genealogy-related urls. The index is detailed. At the center of the book is a 30-page genealogy Internet directory, organized into clear categories and fully annotated. The cheat sheet provides instructions for using the Helm's Genealogy Toolbox at www.genealogytoolbox.com/, as well as the addresses for 14 websites.

The final chapter's "ten tips for genealogical smooth sailing" take the reader back to the big picture: (1) start with what you know, (2) get organized, (3) always get proof, (4) always cite your sources, (5) focus, focus, focus; (6) share your information, (7) join a society or research group, (8) attend a conference or workshop, (9) attend a family reunion, and (10) don't give up. Before the reader gets here, the text has provided clear, detailed guidelines for thoroughly researching, organizing, and presenting genealogical information.

The organization and layout of this 332-page book are great. I found it easy to locate specific information, and I found the information clear enough for the beginner and yet substantive enough for the advanced genealogist. The graphics clearly illustrate the text, and the text is easy to read. The occasional 5th Wave cartoons are appropriate and humorous. I am adding this manual to my desktop reference collection of books that I want within arms reach.

I work with early and late one year olds and this book has been soooooooooooo useful from the songs to the felt board patterns. I have it in the classroom and I take it home with me.

This book is big for a reason! It presents fun and interesting activities on a myriad of simple subjects (individual body parts, individual colours, Holidays) that little ones would like to learn more about. Each of these subjects has a "chapter" devoted to it. For instance, the chapter on "Loud" suggests songs, stories, activities (physical and craft projects) that are related to the action "Loud" exclusively. Within these chapters, the activities I stated above are broken down by language enrichment, cognitive development, social-emotional development, and physical development. Overall, it aims to be a "well rounded" educational guide. This book is meant to work best in a daycare/preschool/structured homeschool setting because it allows you to set up a structured "school plan," but it could be a handy reference to a parent if their child takes a particular interest in a certain subject. I really like the way this book is presented. It's very easy to follow, and has so many great, simple ideas. I would recommend you check it out at the library before you consider buying if you are a parent just looking for fun ideas for your own kids (this could be really great for you if you don't mind planning ahead, ala a school setting) but I would recommend daycares/pre-schools to buy this book because it seems really fun and easy to use! This book also says it's meant for toddlers and twos, but I think these activities would be fun for small children from toddlers through five. I mean, what little child doesn't love to sing songs and play games? It's new material for the little ones, but a fun review for the bigger kids.

This is a great resource for any of the above groups. The sections are organized by theme (colors, body parts, holidays etc.). There are good suggests for activities, crafts, songs, fingerplays, recipes and related books to read. There are even patterns for some of the stories. I think this book is much better organized than the infant resource guide.

I purchased this book to give my nanny a resource for taking care of my 15-month-old. It is a bit more suited for a daycare than a nanny, as it has lesson plans for large groups of children. Although, there are some interesting suggestions and I like the way the book is organized. Not a waste of money or time, but I wouldn't recommend this as the only toddler activity book to purchase. This one might make a good extra book. I would recommend The Encyclopedia of Infant And Toddler Activities: For Children Birth to 3 as a starter book.

I found this book very useful for my work with toddlers, twos, threes and fours. Why? Because all activities can be adapted to older children. Creative and low-cost activities are always welcome in a Learning Center!

Content was repetitive, boring. Did not give me the good, new, interesting ideas I was hoping to use in those moments when I run out of things to do to keep him stimulated and learning.

Love this book! Pam Schiller has excellent ideas that are developmentally appropiate. As a teacher and parents, this book gets 5 HUGE stars!

I used it for a class I run, it had everything I needed all the program materials. I bought about 20 other books on same subject but this booked covered them all

I thought this was a nice resource. It has some good song and activity ideas. A lot of the interactions are things people naturally do with infants without being told to incorporate that in their actions. (At least for a parent) The organization of the book is a little difficult and not as easy to use as the Toddler book. I am still glad I purchased it for my son, though.

Hmm....Its quite boring and repetitive book. At least it is not my kind book.

This book is not that thick but it is amazingly packed with so many good ideas. Also I love how the activities are divided by younger, young and older toddler activities. It has discovery, math, sensory, music etc... activities.

I think this would be a good book for teachers or day care workers. A lot of the activities in this book I've been doing with my daughter already, or would only work with materials that a day care or pre-school would have on hand.

When I first got this book I was bit disappointed since the activities look so simple that ANYONE could've thought them up.
the thing is that as time passes you find yourself doing the same activities and realize you need to freshen up your lesson plans.
This book is great because it does just that. Gives you great ideas and reminds you the infants & toddlers require different things when learning.
I love the way this book is set up and separated by area of interest (fine motor, gross motor, discovery, etc.) and then by age (infant, young toddlers, older toddlers)
A MUST HAVE!

This does say "For teachers, by teachers" on the cover so it isn't surprising most of the ideas are more suited for classroom settings. If you like to have a lot of resources as a parent, it's nice. For a teacher, it would be more useful.

I am a preschool teacher who has taught kindergarten and 4 yr olds. Having been asked to take a new job with 2 and 3 yr olds was a lot more difficult than I thought! With all the choking hazzards and lack of fine motor skills, it's hard to plan lessons. This book gives some excellent activity ideas. I loved it. My only negative thought is that the book doesn't really follow "themes", which almost all schools use these days. Still it's a great buy!

Reviewed by Lori Plach for Reader Views (7/08)

Do you have a bunch of kids that are getting rambunctious? Are you planning a kids party and don't want to play the same old games? Or perhaps you are a teacher who wants to give your students a break from the usual classes and revitalize their interest? If you answered yes to any of these questions, this is the book for you.

"101 Pep-Up Games for Children" is an awesome resource for anyone who is looking for games for kids in groups of just a few or a whole bunch. The book is separated into sections showing appropriate number of kids or what props you will need. There are some games in the book which require props, some where physical contact might be involved, some requiring a large space, some outdoor play and others which need music.

Recently I was placed in charge of coming up with kids games for our church's picnic. "101 Pep-Up Games for Children" has been an invaluable resource. The kids were able to have fun and in some instances learn something new too. My daughter is planning on being a teacher and she already wants to be sure to have this book in her "teacher stuff" that she will someday use in her classroom. This is a must have for any teacher, parent or adult who works with kids ages 6 to 10. It is a part of the SmartFun series and I can't wait to read more in this series!

Reviewed by Kam Aures for RebeccasReads (5/08)

"101 Pep-Up Games for Children" is a collection of different activities designed to replenish children's energy. The book is geared towards elementary school teachers and group leaders with the games inside being designed for children ages 6 through 10.

A page is devoted to each of the 101 activities but you are able to tell from a quick glance at the icons in the right hand corner of each page whether this activity is going to be appropriate for your age group or situation. The icons tell you what size group is needed, whether you need props, music, and/or space, if there is physical contact and if the activity involves going outdoors.

The activities in the beginning of the book start out simple with a game called "All Right." Ironically right before I picked up this book to start reading it my own children were playing their own version of this game which is similar to "Follow the Leader." Basically in "All Right" there is one child who calls out directions and before following them the children yell out "All right!" After three instructions then a different child gets to be the leader.

Toward the end of the book there are more advanced activities for older children such as a game called "Syllable Shuffle." In "Syllable Shuffle" everyone sits with their chairs in a circle leaving one chair empty. The child designated to be the leader sits to the left of the empty chair and tells the group to think of some very long animal names. For instance, if the word is orangutan there are 4 syllables. The person coming up with the word would say "o" and then move over one chair, the next person would say "rang" and then move to the next chair, etc. When the word is complete then another child names a word and they start again.

I found "101 Pep-Up Games for Children" to be a very useful and fun book! Although it is primarily written for teachers I think that any parent would benefit from utilizing some of the ideas in the book. It is a great help to those like myself who have run out of new ideas. Granted some of the activities in the book we have already come up with on our own, but there are still lots of fresh, new games that will keep us busy for a long time!

101 Pep-Up Games for Children
Published by Hunter House Publishers
14.95 for trade paper, 19.95 for spiral bound

This book is designed for teachers or group leaders of elementary aged children. The contents reflect exactly the title--101 different ideas for quick games. In addition, there are jokes and "pick me up" tips scattered throughout.

Each game is labeled with a number of icons representing:
*the size of the group which can play the game
*whether props are needed
*activities which may need a larger space to play
*activities utilizing music
*whether physical contact is involved or likely
*activities more appropriate for outdoors
The icons are fairly clear and easy to read, accomplishing the goal of providing an at-a-glance indication of whether that game is appropriate for your group.

In the front of the book is a numerical list of the games, with a designation of what size group can play the game. In the back there is an alphabetical listing of all the games, and a separate list of games with "special requirements"--essentially enabling you to find games by icon type. There is no listing of games by group size, so you may be flipping to several interesting-looking games to check the icons before finding one that suits your needs.

The games range from the ordinary to the inventive. For example, game #1 ("All right!") and game #13 ("Auntie Bertha's stroll") are variations on follow the leader. Game #36 ("Mirror image") is more inventive, requiring children to mirror the silly faces of a classmate "clown" and freeze that way when the clown moves on.

It is likely that each individual teacher will try out several games from this book, and find a few to incorporate in his regular repertoire.

The "pick me up" tips were surprisingly useful and interesting. In the review copy, however, they were not clearly set out from the text, making them hard to find on a casual flip-through. I hope this will be corrected in the actual copy.

Almost every game is illustrated with a black and white drawing of some children engaging in the activity. The illustrations are cute, but a little misplaced. An adult flipping through looking for ideas might appreciate the summary of the activity that the drawings provide, but they are not really necessary and give the impression of padding the book to stretch to its "hefty" 128 pages. The money spent on illustrations would have been better spent on lowering the price.

That is my one true problem with this book. The price puts it at a level where it is only practical if it is being purchased for a group of teachers, or if an institution approves the purchase because it is not quite as frugal as an individual would be. I hope schools get a steep discount on this one.

As a theatre director and professor, I've had ample opportunity to witness the usefulness of games for energizing and focusing groups of people. Now, as the mother of an extremely energetic one year old (one of her primary nicknames is the Energizer Bunny), I'm even more aware of the basic human need to *move* sometimes. Educational theory backs this up: kinesthetic learning is increasingly recognized as an important and vaild learning style. (In my parenting group, our coordinator told us that some districts are even encouraging kids to chew gum late in the afternoons because the motion helps them focus!)

Along these lines, 101 Pep-up Games for Children is an excellent resource for moms, pre-school and grade-school teachers, daycare providers, and theatre folks like myself. The games are well-organized, making it easy to find the right kind of game for your specific purpose. They're ordered from simplest (for the youngest children) to most complex (for kids aged 9-10 ... or immature performer-types like myself). Each game is coded with clear icons delineating how many people the game is for, whether props or music are needed (mostly they're not), whether the game is played outside, and whether or not there's physical contact involved. There are also nice indexes in the back in case you want to find a game by name or requirement. Best of all, the games are simple to learn and play, and many incorporate learning concepts that make them easy to adopt to current classroom lesson plans.

One interesting note: the author is German and the book was originally published in Germany. For the most part the translation is seamless, but occasionally the cultural differences show in the "tips" included with certain games. (Suggesting that teachers light a peppermint scented candle to pep students up is one that I imagine would not be allowed in a lot of US classrooms.) Overall, this book is a great resource and one I'm sure I'll turn to with my own kid and with future students and actors.

As both the mother of four young children, and an intermittent Sunday School teacher, I have often found myself at wit's end while cooped up with antsy youngsters. Many are the times I have simply run out of curriculum or activities, while time slowly ticks until dismissal. Though I'm sure I must have played many games in my own youth, at these times, "Duck, Duck, Goose" is the only children's game I can ever remember on the fly. For all these reasons, "101 Pep-Up Games for Children" by Allison Bartl is going to be an invaluable resource for me.

From the publisher: "The games are designed to handle a variety of sitatuions: whether you're working indoors or outdoors, with small groups or entire classrooms, if you have 5 minutes or half an hour." It's really true, too.

Designed for children ages 4-11, this book is the ideal tool for various-sized groups of mixed age kids. In many cases, the games require absolutely no preparation or props, which for someone like me, is perfect. The book is well-organized, with easier games towards the beginning and more advanced games towards the end. Pre-defined symbols indicate what size group a game is best suited for, or other special requirements such as space to move or necessary props. Whimsical drawings are found on every page.

All of the games are specifically designed to release pent up energy, or to re-energize a listless group by moving the body. The description of each game is so straightforward and brief that I'm often left wondering, "Why couldn't I think of that?" But the truth is, thinking of children's games is not my strength, and that is why "101 Pep-Up Games for Children" is going to be such a fabulous tool.

I haven't taken the Y2K issue to seriously until a few prominent business men in L.A. shared with me what they know about the Year 2000 bug and how it can effect them. I decided to do some research for the fun of it. As it turns out, there really is a large subject matter to concern ourselves with. This book helps to cover all the different solutions to these potential problems that may exist in the very near future. The book is well written and 'to the point.' I would recommend it for everybody.

Thanks to this book I was prepared when disaster struck on January 1, 2000. I not only survived the crisis, unlike so many in my community, two of my three children survived as well. Thank you, Mr. Whisman!

We found all of the information contained in the guide objective and easy to read. The authors took a step-by-step approach to understanding the Y2K problem. The guide answered most of our questions to date. Each chapter was centered around " in the event of a Y2K disruption". We found the supplies list and the document information useful. We liked how the guide included what documents to get, how to get them, and the phone numbers for all the vital document offices. Since we both work, we don't have filter through pages of opinion. This guide gets right to the point!

We thought this was a decent guide. It provides 2-4 week home confinment preparedness information. We liked the shelf life information, the 100 item checklist and the different water treatment options. It would have been 4 stars and a steal at $5.00

Looks like each contributing writer picked a subject and downloaded it off a computer website! Don't buy this and all or any costs!! If you're looking for a guide which will be cost effective and practical without all the sensationalism get: "Don't Panic! You Can Prepare for the Y2K Crisis" by Lee Dodds. It's only 41 pages, yet manages to provide more clear, consise and useful information than can be found in this disorganized, paste-up mess.