Education Books

I read this book when it was first published and was completely taken by it. I entered the US Naval Academy in 1968 (Class of 72)--my plebe year was 1968-1969 (I flunked out a year later, joined the Army, went to Vietnam, returned, finished college then joined the Marine Corps, retiring as a Colonel after 31 years total service). The events and characters in this book were so close to those I'd experienced (to include the setting--I was in 32nd Company, my company officer, Maj Stensland, MUST have been the model for Capt Lenahan) it completely blew me away. Most poignant for me is the part about training for jump school...I participated in that; reading the book was like reading a chapter of my own life. If you want to know what this little bit of history was all about; if you want to "taste" a snapshot of the times...being part of an institute demonized by anti-war sentiment knowing that upon graduation you were going to Vietnam (in my case, never coming to grips with what calculus had to do with fighting NVA) this is the book for you.

I bought this book based on the reviews posted on this website. I too, served for 10 years in the Navy. For some reason, I got very bored with the centralized theme: discipline at the USNA. I'll even admit that I started (and stopped) reading this book several times but I was determined to finish it (like Dean running the wall). The transformation of turning teenagers into military leaders is the purpose of the Academies but why does Webb beat you death with this point. I know there are other plots to the book but everything comes back to the discipline element. Webb's military career is well documented and he does a tremendous job bringing the reader into this environment. His character development in Sense of Honor is very strong. The plots are easy to follow. He satisfactorily brings each to conclusion at the end. I am giving it 3 stars because 1) I finished the book and 2) due to the over emphasizing of discipline. It would be kinda interesting if Webb had to choosen to follow up these characters. He did with Fogarty but what eventually happens to Dean might have made a great sequal. This is a good novel but not a real turner.

I wasn't there in the 60's, but I can tell you it was very accurate for 1985. The are still a few Fogartys running around there. I had a squad leader just like him. This is a very good read. Webb is underappreciated as a writer.

"A Sense of Honor" is classic Webb, and that's a good thing. For those readers unfamiliar with James Webb and his works, he graduated from the Naval Academy, went to Vietnam as a Marine Officer, and eventually used his experiences to write his most famous novel, "Fields of Fire". Both "Fields" and "Sense of Honor" have as central themes the warrior's distaste for the tyranny of guidelines and rules over common sense. Webb excells at creating choatic enviroments, where leadership breaks into difficult choices of judgement and morality, where there are no 'right' answers. In particular, I found 'Sense of Honor' great because of its simple contrast of characters. Fogerty is the poster-boy Annapolis First Classman, and consumate warrior. John Dean is the new 'plebe', subject to the whims of the First Classmen (think of a recruit in a Fraternity). Dean is about grades and class; jumping through whatever hoops he must to simply graduate and continue a civilian life. Fogerty pushes Dean, in the words of 'Sense of Honor', to be 'bigger than himself' - to be a leader sacrificing for his companions, rather than a civlian out for himself. This is all set during the Class of 1968, the summer of the Tet Offensive in Vietnam, in which Annapolis graduates fought, bled, and died. Sacrifice and death were by no means simple abstractions. Anyone interested in leadership, the military life, or simply a great drama would do well to buy this book. It is as relevent to current events as it was back when 'Sense of Honor' was written.

It's been 15 years since I read this book the first time as a Midshipman. While quite a bit has changed in my life since then, I am amazed at how quickly A Sense of Honor took me back to my youthful days at USNA. As I read Webb's story this time, I was amazed at how differently it affected me and how greatful I am for my own experiences and relationships I took from the Academy. They call Annapolis "the great conundrum" because while you are there, all you want to do is get away, but once you graduate, all you want to do is get back, and Webb's story helps to demonstrate why. While the particulars of the story will be more familiar to former Midshipmen, there are terrific lessons to be learned for everyone and I would recommend it without a doubt.

what a fascinating book! unfortunately it is littered with typographical errors which are REALLY irritating. examples: "The stem brain or gator brain processes and teacts to sensory input(p. 21)"..."Nothing is perfect. The word is full of things we can do better(p.7)."..."As Nicholas Negoponte, the founder of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Media Lab, has written...(p.43)"

such a shame. if there is ever a second printing, perhaps these and other unnecessary errors can be corrected.

Tim Hurson explains that the premise of this book "is that success in our business, professional, and personal lives is less a matter of what we know than of how we think. If we can develop the thinking skills to generate more options and then evaluate those options more effectively, we can all live richer, fuller lives - and so can the people around us." The focus of the this book is on the thinkx Productive Thinking Model (PTM), developed by Hurson and his colleagues after rigorously evaluating a number of other methodologies that include the Creative Problem Solving Process (CPS) and Integrated Definition (IDEF).

There seems to be greater emphasis on improving problem solving than on improving any other function of better thinking (e.g. generation, evaluation, and selection of innovative ideas), although the PTM process consists of six interlocking steps that can help to achieve a variety of objectives. Each step includes a variety of tools and techniques that Hurson explains, citing relevant real-world examples throughout his narrative to illustrate how various companies have used the PTM. Hurson devotes a separate chapter to each step.

For example, Step One responds to the question "What's Going On" and requires a situation analysis. Here are some issues to address at the stage of the process:

1. "What's the Itch?" (i.e. problem to be solved, question to be answered)
2. "What's the Impact?" (i.e. pay-off, benefits, improvements)
3. "What's the Information?" (i.e. what is currently known about the situation)
4. "Who's Involved?" (i.e. Who are the stakeholders? Who else will be affected?)
5. "What's the Vision [or "Target Future]?" (i.e. ultimate objective as well as its implications and consequences)

In Chapter 13, Hurson recaps the Productive Thinking Model (PTM) and offers a number of observations and suggestions to those who are considering use of this model as well as those who have made it commitment to it and are now engaged in the difficult but necessary processing of making appropriate modifications of it to accommodate the needs, resources, and objectives of their own organization. Then in Chapter 14, Hurson suggests four essential criteria for developing productive thinking skills and embedding productive thinking in organizational cultures.

In this final chapter, he also asserts that -- as practiced in much of corporate America -- training "is an astonishing waste of resources" when there is no follow-through on front-end training to embed and then strengthen even more the skills taught. In fact, the word "training" has lost its meaning because it is now more commonly used to refer to information transfer rather than skill development. "Hurson prefers the word "entraining." Why? "In chemistry, to entrain means to trap suspended particles in a solution and carry them along. This concept is an apt metaphor for skill development...Entraining results in a new and different workflow. Keeping those new skill particles suspended in your workflow requires the forging of new synaptic connections, new neural pathways."

Hurson includes an especially apt quotation that I now use also when concluding this review:

"In theory there's no difference between theory and practice. In practice there is." Yogi Berra

* * * * *

Those who share my high regard for this book are urged to check out Tom Kelley's discussion of how IDEO conducts brainstorming sessions in his two books, The Art of Innovation and The Ten Faces of Innovation. I also recommend two of Henry Chesbrough's books, Open Innovation and Open Business Models, as well as John Medina's Brain Rules, Howard Gardner's Five Minds for the Future, and Creativity in Business co-authored by Michael Ray and Rochelle Myers. Those feeling especially frisky and convinced they are up to the intellectual challenge are encouraged to consider reading Gerald Edelman's Bright Air, Brilliant Fire and Albert Borgmann's Holding On to Reality. Most of these books are available in a paperback edition.

I was introduced to the book recently, with the author presenting at the local public library. Over 100 people showed up from all walks of life, and all seemed to have benefited from the approach he takes on creativity.

The book is an excellent guide on how to change your critical thinking processes into creative thinking processes.

His work even helps deal with stressful issues- you shortly find new ways to tackle problems - and sometimes even find new opportunities. I recommend this book to anyone who is ready to realize the importance of creative action in their lives.

Think Better: An Innovator's Guide to Productive Thinking

This book is based on the outstanding premise that how we think is more important than what we know. Tim explains why thinking skills are likely to be even more important in the rapidly changing future. The book then expands on exactly what productive thinking is and why we need to do it! Although initially based on the proven concepts of the Osborne Parnes Creative Problem Solving Model, Productive Thinking takes the ideas of divergent and convergent thinking, and together with an excellent choice of thinking tools and techniques, weaves them together in the 6 step Productive Thinking Model. Elegant in design, thoroughly researched and proven in practice. An easy to read and very informative piece of work. Well done Tim.

Ken Wall - Australia

Thinking is intuitive. Thinking is common sense. Thinking is hard wired into humans. If all this is true, more people would put common sense into common action. It's not the case, though is it?.

When one understands, one can make decisions more easily, more quickly and more correctly. Tim Hurson's book whacks it out of the park so well, we purchased 150 copies for clients and will follow up with them to make sure they read it and, well "Think Better" to dramatically improve their business.

As Tim writes on page 10 of his must read book, "The ability to think better will soon become the most significant competitive advantage companies and individuals can claims. Thinking better is what it's all about."

Our company trains insurance agents (Throw the eggs now) to help their employer clients better understand what they pay so dearly for. The word insurance seems to connote the worst images...an intangible concept that is difficult to understand, costs too much and does not perform when one needs it.

Page 88-Perceive a problem. Pick a solution. Do something. Finding the real problem to create broader solutions takes training. Tim shows one how to analyze properly, find the solution and implement. Not only is one step difficult for too many business people, but putting all three into action, is almost impossible for most. Isn't the goal to at least beat Paretto's 80-20 principle?

The insurance business is replete with "This is how it's always been done. This is the way to do it now." If readers will follow Tim's Productive Thinking Model framework, it will help them think better, think more effectively, and think more powerfully. We'll finally hear no more "This is how it's always been done."

Makes sense to us. It will to you also.

Words Their Way is an excellent source for teachers to use for word study. It gives great insight into how kids learn to spell.

The book is outstanding. The materials in the book is easy to read and follow. I use the activities and word sorts in my classroom each day. I have used the spelling inventory with my class, also.
I do have a problem with the CD that came with the book. I wish the word sorts involving words would be big like the picture sorts are. My students have trouble with the small size of squares.

This is a great resource. It gives many examples of how to impliment the program. One thing I really like about Words Their Way is the fact that is hands on. This will really help my students who are more concrete thinkers.

It's been shown that spelling provides a window to one's reading. This book explains the developmental stages children go through K- adult. The database software on one of the CDs that allows one to analyze the spelling inventories and sort the results is very easy to use. Classroom teachers appreciate the data I have been able to give them on their students. The word games and short videos on the 2nd CD are very helpful. The analytical phonics approach is very kid-friendly right up through high school. This is a very thorough resource that every ELA, SpEd, and Title I teacher should use.

My children attended a public school where this program was used. When I brought them home due to their various LDs/allergies, I balked at the $40 price tag of this book and opted for the less expensive Spectrum Spelling books for their grade level. I found those to be rather annoying because often my children already knew the words. And the ones they didn't know, they would spell correctly on the tests, but they didn't necessarily continue to spell the words correctly in their writing. Mid-way through the year I abandoned the Spectrum books and purchased this one.

My favorite thing about this approach is how the kids really think about and interact with the words. It is a disciplined program, I require my kids to do a word sort and an activity in their spelling journals every day -- their choice. However, this typically takes less than 10 minutes a day.

The other thing I do is pretest the kids every week to find out which words they need to study. If they already know a spelling pattern, then I don't give it to them and move on to the next one. Sometimes I pull misspelled words out of their writing, and then find the pattern that applies and give them those words for the week.

I will say, that for most homeschoolers, this book is pretty heavy on the theory, and the "how-to" is mixed up with the theory so it may take more work up front to start the program if you are unfamiliar with the idea of spelling notebooks and word activities. But it is quite fascinating, and will give you a new appreciation for a young child's emerging spelling skills, as well as concrete strategies for helping older students with more complex words.

As for content, the book covers spelling from pre-K through at least middle school, perhaps early high school.

And the CD-Rom is a real time-saver too, with its words for sorts and activities.

All in all, quite effective, very interesting, and a great value - you buy this once and then purchase simple notebooks or composition books for their spelling journals, and you are set for years to come.

The Marva Collins story is an inspiring story of a teacher who was passionate about teaching and excelled through the odds set against her by the school system.

marva collins is such an idol and inspiration for me. she is so full of morals and has a brilliant answer for all of life's problems. get this book if you want to hear the most intelligent things from the most intelligent human being walking the earth! she is HIGHLY underrated as an educator and everything! i really needed to find her b/c as she says, "in this slippery world we all need something to hold onto...." thank you Marva, I love you and God bless you!

I first read Marva Collins Way several years ago, and have reread it many times since, to help guide and clarify my thoughts about education. She has revolutionized public education, and people's perceptions of it. She has also effectively refuted the growing slew of people in the highest places
of academia who stubbornly cling to long-discredited theories about the intellectual inferiority of certain races in this country. I would recommend this book to anyone, and ask only that you read it at least twice, because it has too much to absorb, to just read it once. It will possibly alter your concept about education, and just who is capable of learning. If you use Marva's concepts as a teacher, I guarantee powerful results!

I read about 70 pages of the book and unfortunately lost it during my travel. I will be buying this book again. Marva is an extraordinary teacher who has taught me at my middle age that NO CHILD CAN FAIL TO SUCCEED in school. She has achieved this with such re-sounding success that one would want to have a teacher like her for all children in the world. I have no words to express how great the feeling is when you know that every child has all the potential to succeed.

I have been re-reading this book (0r parts of it) every year since I first read it in the 1980's -- it is an inspiration to anyone in the teaching profession. I also give it as a gift to the special teachers that I know or that have made a difference in my own childrens' lives.

"The Giant Jam Sandwich" is great for any kid with a vivid imagination its laid out in such a way that it flows like honey or in the case of this book STRAWBERRY JAM! The basis of this book is the town of "Itching Down" has one serious dilemma, one day in flew 4 million wasps and of course they were wreaking havoc for everyone and everything so what do you do to try to get rid of these pesky wasps? why build a giant jam sandwich and trap them in it!
From what I see this book came out 30yrs ago its has a fun rhyming text, the illustrations are great I love the expressions of the townsfolk and it showcases a community really coming together to solve a big buzzing problem. A great food fun book a lot like "Cloudy with a chance of meatballs" which I also highly recommend. This book is complete fun for the family a great story to bring along for picnics just don't forget to pack your own jam sandwiches!

My son who is graduating from high school requested this book as a graduation gift. It is one of his favorite memories from childhood and may have even influenced his decision to become a professional pilot. A charming story told in rhyme accompanied by whimsical illustrations. An asset for any child's library.

I grew up with this book and am rapt that amazon could find it for me.
I love the simplicity of the book, the story, pictures etc.
I am now able to read it to my children.

This was a favorite of mine as a child, so I was excited when my daughter was the right age to read it. She enjoys it immensely and loves to point out and name all the details in the colorful pictures.

I love how the paperback version offers a gerat book at an affordable rate for my boys. I remember watching it on "Reading Rainbow" as a child and was happy to share it with my own boys.

This time we got more that we bargained for. Thank you!

GOD BLESS AND KEEP YOU ALL ALWAYS!!!!!!!!!!

If you've put off getting your GED because you haven't got time to go to a class, don't worry and stop putting it off now! Get this book, refresh your mind, start using that "grey matter" again and pass the GED test with flying colors! This book is great, it has everything you need to prepare for taking your GED test and KNOW you'll pass. I did it and couldn't be happier.

Very helpful in preparing for the GED-I would strongly recommend buying this book if you are taking the GED

This book has really helped and has given me a place to start to get a new life.

Hi,
I bought this book about 3 weeks before the test. Ive been out of school for 4 years and my main weakness was mathemetic-I did very badly in this area in school. This book breaks EVERYTHING down to you in a way that makes it easy for you to pass the test with high scores. You dont even particularly need to know the actual subject well. The GED tests your ability to think and ability to discern what questions they are asking-thats it! With math, I took the practiced tests(which I got a lot wrong)-but once I went back and checked the answers-I understood what the questions were asking me to do(Oh-so I just needed to do the Pythagorean theorem..).
I will say, that the tests in this book are about 25 percent harder than the real GED exam, so know that if you consistantly take the tests and go over what you got wrong-YOU WILL SCORE HIGH! No doubt about it.
I took the test this month and already got back my scores
680-Mathematics
700 Writing
760 Reading
660 Social Studies
680 Science
These are all scores in the high 90th percentiles for graduating high school seniors.The scores speak for themselves. I highly reccomend this book!

Whether you are a strength coach, any person who trains others to increase their strength or looking to learn more about improving your own strength, this is a must have. It is science digested and put into print in a very easy to understand format.

This has been a fanastic book. I coach cyclists for the Velodorme, and it has been nothing but helpfulll in bringing up the power output in riders and having them pull out some better numbers on the track.

I recomend this book to anyone who has been having trouble in getting anyone over the line in any sport that requires power, strength, or a combination of both.

This book gets 5 stars because it focuses precisely on Programming. You can see by the other user reviews that this is an excellent book.

This is the best book I've read on planning strength training programs. If you exercise for strength, you need to have this book.

However, while I thought this was a great book by the standards of the field, the lack of references really irked me. What's fact and what's opinion? It's hard to tell. Rippetoe often implies things are scientifically supported (and from other reading I have a pretty good idea about which of his points are supported), but he doesn't give you the references you would need to be able to tell. He doesn't tell you where his knowledge stops and his speculation begins. This book really is closer to best-practices than anything else out there, but you can't tell that by casually reading it.

Myth-based training and unsupported theories run amok in weight training. Scientific-ish people like Rippetoe could combat that. In that narrow sense, this book is a missed opportunity. There are readers who will get through the book and put it on the shelf next to McRobert, Mentzer and Schwarzenegger and not be able to tell the difference.

Quibbles: The Intermediates chapter, which ought to be the most useful for the target audience, is hard to follow. I was particularly disappointed in the description of the Texas Method. There's also basically nothing on mixing weight training with other sports, which is a common need.

Overall, it's a very good book, but it could have been a great one.

As with most of the books that I have read on advanced weightlifting programs, the book is heavy on theory and low on examples. The author gives some general and somewhat confusing parameters on how to design a program and then fails to give a full body workout. The book even states that working the body as one unit is the way to go, but then only gives examples on specific exercises like the push press or squat. Its well written and one can tell the author is extrememly knowledgeable. I just dont understand why he didnt give a full body workout example for beginner, intermediate, and advanced lifters.

After reading this book and doing what it said, I saved over $4,000 on my new Camry. If you're looking for a new (or even used) car, this book will teach you what discounts the dealers receive, what the kickbacks are, what you should expect to pay for your new car and how to get the best deal possible. The book will teach you how to pit the dealers against each other and give you the upper hand when it comes to negotiating. No more sitting in a dealership for hours while they play their waiting games, no more high-pressure sales, no more haggling. The "fax attack" portion of the book tells you where to get the information about your car, how to present your deal, and who to fax your information to. It's that simple. With just a little research on your part, you can make a really great deal. Simply put, do the research, create your fax, send to the dealers in your area (the more the better), wait for the phone to start ringing with great offers on the car that you want. Take the lowest offer and call the dealers who will, in turn, try to beat the offer. Do this until all of them are done bidding. Go pick up your car.

If you are reading this review then your must be considering buying a new car. Don't even think about walking into a dealership and talking to the salespeople. Except of course to test drive and see which one you really want. After that run out of the showroom. I highly recommend using Mr. Bragg's strategy for buying a car. It is so easy and stress free and you will have the dealers eating out of the palm of your hand. I also highly recommend visiting his web site fightingchance.com and purchasing his information package. Actually if you get the package you may not even need the book. But the book is a good read in any event. I was looking for a compact car which typically doesn't have a lot of wiggle room for dealers because they generally don't come with expensive extras like leather seats, real wood trim etc.... I was able to get mine for $1150 under dealer invoice and maybe could have even gone a little lower but I had to stop the dealers from chasing me at some point. It was crazy. I finally just said enough. It works that well. Before finding Mr.Bragg's information I probably would have been happy to get a couple hundred of the MSRP. I can laugh about that now. One word of caution would be if you use this method and have a trade-in the dealers might try to really stick it to you on your trade. They won't be making much if any money on the sale of the car to you so they will most likely try to make it by low balling you on your trade-in. That was my experience until I told them I'd take it some where else and sell it. Bottom line is if you think you can walk into a showroom and negotiate the best deal, you're CRAZY. Buy the book or buy the info packet. And pocket the rest of your hard earned money.

James Bragg has made a successful career out of helping people through the intimidating process of buying cars. And his success is well-deserved. I just recently bought my first new car. I had put off the process for a long time, because:
(1) I'm young and could be seen as an easy target by car salesmen
(2) I was intimidated and had how idea how to even approach the car buying process.

So I began to do my homework, researching car buying on the web. I found a lot of advice out there, much of it conflicting. One thing people never disagreed upon was the value of the Fighting Chance, the information service by James Bragg. When I finally decided that the time was right, I ordered the Fighting Chance and bought this book. Armed with the all of the knowledge and preparation I needed, I now knew exactly what I needed to do to launch a successful "fax attack" on dealerships surrounding me. I knew exactly how to field every response from car dealers. I knew how not to fall into their traps. I knew how to defend myself and control the situation. I was doing everything on my terms and not letting the salesmen know too much or dictate any of the terms. I got a great price on a car (way below invoice price). And when I went to the dealership to sign all of the papers, I knew exactly what to do and what to look out for. I drove away feeling happy, satisfied, and NEVER taken advantage of.

This book will arm you with all of the knowledge you need to buy a new car. You'll know exactly what to say in every situation. And you'll know how to not fall into playing a car salesman's games. Whether you've done it before or not, you will be amazed by how effective the techniques taught in this book are. James Bragg's writing is entertaining; you'll breeze through and thoroughly enjoy this book. As one reviewer said, this book does somewhat play out like a long infomercial for the Fighting Chance service. But it fleshes out a lot of areas that Fighting Chance doesn't. And for someone like me who has never done this before, it helped me walk into the dealership with full confidence that I would get what I want.. with no surprises. It is a vital companion piece to the Fighting Chance package.

If you're in the market to buy a new car, you need this book. If you think you can get a great deal by walking into a dealership (or a few) and negotiating well, you are greatly mistaken. Buying a car is like a high stakes game of poker. And the dealership is holding most of the cards most of the time. This book will give you a chance to level the playing field. And it will enable you to have the upper hand in getting the best price for the car you want.

This book provides good practical advice for buying or leasing a car. It is clear and easy to understand and takes all the mystery out of the process. I also learned about my own motivations for buying a new car and how car stores are ready to separate me from my money. The book, however, is a couple of years out of date. It's not critical but more up to date data and more info available on the internet should in my opinion be included. The techniques offered for saving money are sound.

The "fax attack" method for purchasing a new car is genius. I not only got my 2007 Honda Civic for the least expensive price out of the 18 dealerships I faxed in Illinois (darn near the whole state, excluding some northern Chicagoland dealers), but I was able to sleep at night. Not ONCE did I wonder, "could I have gotten this at a lower price?" because I knew for a FACT that the price I got was not only the lowest at that time for that model, but was also fair. Ever get burned by a dealership? (Don't lie, everyone has, even if it was just a waste of time.) Well, buy this book, study it well, and you won't get burned again.

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I have been using both Medstudy and Frontrunners as an adjunct to board review for my recertification. Medstudy is by far more superior as it has a more comprehensive review of each topic, whereas Frontrunners is very abbreviated and in outline form in its review. The questions in Frontrunners are also very unsophisticated, lots of matching and not many case presentations. Finally, try to call customer service or contact the company through the phone number or e-mail on the website, the e-mail link didn't work for me, and it took several days to get a call back, no one answers except a machine even though it gives liberal hours for being open. All in all, the product strikes me as being crude. If you like an outline style and already have some other more comprehensive text, then you might like it, but its quite pricey, even for what it is.

As the Educational Director for our residency and a practicing internist, I found this to be hands-down the best resource out there as far as a database of old exam questions in prepping the internal medicine boards. We also found that the book to which this is a companion (i.e. Frontrunners Syllabus), was extraordinary in laying out all the key material in a nicely-organized, concise, and outlined format offering "recently and commonly asked material". Together, these 2 books form the core of our own ABIM Certification residency training program and were mission-critical to getting our perfect pass rates last year. [...]

My partner and I studied together this time, as we'd both missed the mark terribly on several prior administrations of the exam. We both passed easily owing in large part to this book. (incidentally, we found the book samples far easier to read (translation: not blurry) and far easier to evaluate from their main site). The outlined and user-friendly layout of the syllabus, with its boxed-in/bolded/starred points really made a huge difference and we saw the starred points ALL over the exam. We also owe our success on the exam to the 1300 Q&A book, which gives a massive number of old exam questions. We also found the Slide Shows (CD) essential for all the image questions, EKGs, etc. Bottom line, we're extremely happy we found this curriculum, and we're equally happy to have this exam behind us (finally). We easily score this curriculum a zealous four thumbs up.

This book is a wonderful holiday book! Not only is there great art work, but the story is hilarious! If you go to Dav Pilkey's site, you can download coloring sheets, too. Anyone age 1 to 99 will "howl" with laughter while reading this book, and it has a great lesson about acceptance at the end!

Great book, very funny. I don't mind reading it to my three-year old over and over and over. Cute illustrations.

This is a darling book. The little dog dreams of being something terrifying for Halloween, but to his horror, his well-meaning mother makes him a hot dog costume, complete with mustard. The other dogs make fun of poor Oscar (the book is full of wiener jokes) until Oscar and his ridiculous costume save the day. I put this book on my top ten list for the kindergarten crowd.

Poor Oscar Myer wiener dog (a hotdog dog) gets teased all the time. The bully dogs are always laughing at him because of his size and shape. For Halloween, Oscar's mom buys him a costume that is a hotdog roll with mustard on it. Oscar is so embarrassed, but wears it to avoid hurting his mothers feelings. Oscar gets laughed at once again but the story twists to allow Oscar a chance to be a hero. Oscar wins the respect of the bullies and they all share their Halloween dog treats with him. Silly story with decent, basic illustrations.

I've always been a sucker for the underdogs in life. This book is about a sweet one who in the end teaches us about the real meaning of friendship. I've learned never to judge a book by its cover. This may look like a typical silly book with no thought behind it, but it's so much more! You see, it's about Oscar the dachshund (or as my kids call it - a wiener dog) who just wants to fit in with the other dogs in the neighborhood. They're always teasing him, and it doesn't help when his mother calls him "My little Vienna sausage" or makes him a hot dog bun costume for Halloween. However, Oscar doesn't give up and ends up saving the day and his new pals in the end. Now, wait just a minute! It's not as sappy as it sounds. There are so many funny details in the illustrations and text to enjoy - like the sentence: "Then Oscar showed up, looking quite frank." (Cracked me up!) Be sure to take your time when you come to the classroom scene at Obedience School - hilarious! The teacher reading a book entitled "Dogs who Hate Fleas and the Fleas Who Love Them". I especially liked the dog standing at the chalkboard, writing sentences..."I will not sniff my neighbor". What a cute tale!