Education Books

This is the be all end all of information as far as wines are concerned. We keep a copy in the shop at all times for new employees, and when they encounter a question on a certain varietal or terminology, it answers all the customers questions. Highly recommended.

If you love food and wine, this book is the perfect companion to the Food Lover's Companion. It's the ultimate dictionary for wine terminology.

This book was my favorite dealing with wine. It contains much of the same info as the Oxford Companion, but you can hold it in your hands and carry it about. It contains very useful information if you are learning about wine. Also has a great pronunciation guide for wine terms.

Whether you are new to wine or are a Cork-dork, this book, written in an easy to understand manner, is an excellent resource. The New Wine Lover's Companion is a must-have for any kitchen or wine library.

I purchased this book as a gift and my husband loved it. Yes, It is a dictionary so no pictures just words! It is a great addition to the "Complete Wine Course" by Kevin Zraly. Its small format is great to take along to diners or wine tasting party.
Great value for the price.

As a graduate student in Psychology I get to read and correct mountains of papers from intro-level classes. Now that I am about to get my degree and start teaching those classes, I realize that students need a book that shows them how to write a sentence. This is the book I have chosen for my Principles of Psychology classes. Harvey's concise style and recognition of the pompous style most young college students choose to write in is enlightening and entertaining. The small book is filled with great examples of what not to do alongside examples of how to fix the problem(s). Even though I have literally decades of technical and academic writing experience, the book has helped me to be more concise and to link my thoughts together in a more readable and efficient way. I highly recommend this book for students and especially for teachers. So what if you are not teaching English - if you require students to write, your students will produce better papers (that you have to read!) after using this book. It's required for my psych class!

This is a helpful book, but lacks some key aspects needed in college level English classes. Example: paraphrasing is not covered. Quotes are covered extensively though. Good for the price, handy, light to carry, but could use additions.

I'm a fan of The Elements of Style. I still have the students in my freshman composition class read it each year for its clear, concise guidelines to writing with style.

There are two striking flaws to that book though. First, the writing guidelines appear, too often, to my students as being arbitrary. In The Elements of Style, the logic behind good grammar rules is occasionally neglected in order to keep things brief. Each rule is just the truth because the book says so. Second, style is clearly a product of culture, and a result, the version of style Strunk and White offers fails to be as appropriate today as it once was.

The Nuts and Bolts of College writing amends these two errors. Almost everything in The Elements of Style is present here, too, but Harvey has provided a context sufficient for developing an understanding of these stylistic principles. He organizes the book according to values clearly desirable in writing: clarity, flow, gracefulness, etc. By discussing a principle such "using the active voice" within the context of clarity, Harvey effectively communicates why such an approach produces better writing. It's not just another rule to follow anymore. Additionally, Harvey's examples and his updates to stylistic norms make the book very timely.

In all, it's very handy tool in a writing classroom. I think it's the best of its kind currently available.

Anyone who wants a no nonsense approach for how to write (in general), needs this book. It teaches you how to write clearly and concisely and cuts through all the garbage. The author provides clears examples for what not to do and makes comparisons between good and bad writing. I highly recommend this book.

The Nuts and Bolts of College Writing goes over the fundamentals of good essay writing such as concision, clarity, flow, punctuation, and topic sentence for a paragraph and so on. It is an excellent reference book for college students and writers in general. The book however does not go into term or research paper writing.

Great product- I received it quickly and was able to utilize it for a class I was taking.

On Solid Ground is a comprehensive guide for teachers who would like to implement a reading workshop in their classrooms. I found this book to be a very valuable resource. The book also includes an appendix full of reproducible sheets that support instruction and organization.

I just "happened" upon this book a few years ago, and since I first opened the cover, I have been amazed at how it "talks" to the reader. I was drowning in the beginning of my Reading Recovery year, and this book helped me to put teaching reading into not only a global perspectative but into plain language. Since that time, I have re-read this book every summer before I head back into the "regular classroom" in hopes that I will be renewed and refreshed when beginning with my new students. I have referred many teachers to this book and would recommend it as a MUST have in the Professional library of every teacher. NO you dont need to borrow a copy from someone. You need to buy one(and I didnt get paid to say that!) LOL You need to be able to mark it up and refer back to it all year long. My copy is now tattered and torn but what a wealth of information Ms Taberski has given me.

I am a first year teacher working in an elementary urban education classroom. I found this book to be a happy marriage between theory and practice. It is clear you are reading a book by a veteran teacher, not simply someone who theorizes about education. There are so many aspects to this book that I found useful. Taberski's chapter on assessing student needs and organization of classroom space were most helpful. Read this book and if you have a chance check out Sharon taberski at one of her workshops - she is an inspiration to us all. Be sure to check out the appendices at the end of the book - great reproducibles there!

After teaching for 22 years as a special ed. teacher, I read Sharon's book. It changed how I teach forever. Using Sharon's ideas, I decreased the amount of talking I do, increased the amount of reading my students do and saw tremendous change in even my most disabled students. One 4th grade student made 4 years growth in the first six months after I began to use Sharon's strategies and returned to her regular class. All students made significant improvements. I highly recommend her book and her ideas to every teacher of young children. You won't be sorry.

The day this book arrived I read 6 chapters in 3 hours! This is a very inspirational book about leadership and success and is not just about your children. It would apply to anyone, any age, stay-at-home mom to CEO. I especially liked her personal stories, I felt like she was writing about me. I am living my dream and have never lost sight of my goals. After reading her book I feel like I have been more of a success than I had thought previously. This is a must read book for anyone. M. Craig - Successfull Internet Entrepreneur

Susan Collins has become a bedtime friend. This doesn't just feel like I'm reading a book, it feels like I know her. I look forward to spending time with her each night. She makes me feel her successes can also be mine.

My God, I must have stopped dreaming when I started to work. This book woke me up. Now I am remembering the things I told myself I'd do. And I will.!

I feel like I'm sitting right there talking to Susan. Her stories make me laugh, cry and dream. I've never been so deeply touched by a book!

This book puts many, until now, separate pieces together again‹training, management, leadership, parenting and personal growth. Making sense of them all.

Having students learn to learn is a goal identified by all teachers. John Creger's book guides the reader through a process that engages all students and through that engagement, students learn about themselves and their personal responsibilities. They learn how to learn.

From the quotes, to the text, this is a book teachers will use and share.

Mr. Creger is doing some very important work that really empowers teenagers to access and express their most authentic self. His book about the creed project can help others find ways to implement this program which should be done in every school in America. High Praise for the work and the book! A must read/implement for any High School English teachers, principals, other teachers and students.

Most kids seem to be taught only what will be asked on the local standardized test. It is rare when they are taught to actually think! Which is sad. John Creger wants to change that and not only encourage independent thought but also to get our children to ask themselves what they stand for. And imagine the self worth that students get when their peers tell them how much they have meant to them. I showed this to the chairman our our school board and she says that she is going to implement John's program in our school district. I hope she does. Kudos to John for this innovative teaching pattern.

by Gurupreet Khalsa, NBCT
Most of us don't spend much time analyzing our lives, examining wisdom, or articulating values, personal goals, or influences on our world view. The opportunity for high school students to spend a school year investigating the concept of wisdom and then to determine their stance in the world by analyzing and demonstrating how their views coalesce into a personal creed is one not to be missed. John Creger's book, The Personal Creed Project and a New Vision of Learning: Teaching the Universe of Meaning In & Beyond the Classroom, provides a rationale and a means for doing just that.
From the beginning of this book, I was hooked. Creger, a staunch fan of James Moffett, argues for personally rewarding learning. I'm a fan, too, of figuring out ways to make school meaningful for students and teachers in the face of "walls of measurement" inhibiting personal growth for the sake of "skills." Often, school is a fight between students yearning for freedom or purpose and systems bent on shaping them to fit a conforming model. Most classrooms ask students to leave their inner selves in their lockers.
Adolescents are all about figuring out who they are and how they fit into larger schemes of family, community, nation, world. School should be a place to explore those relationships, but sadly, teens are often left floundering on their own, stuck with popular media's ideas about the world. Thus, many students leave school with weak personal foundations on which to build. Creger claims that this lack is going to contribute to the downfall of democracy, because when people don't know what they stand for, and then stand for it, freedom suffers. With very good support, he works a theory of learning tied to the moral advancement and personal unfolding of society's members, which is the only way that a nation built on freedom can sustain. He proposes methods by which education can become "growth-centered" rather than "skills-centered."
Creger's book is as much about the need for an entirely different philosophical approach to education as it is a description of an ennobling project. He is right in thinking, along with Moffett, whom he quotes extensively, that a new perception of learning is necessary, far beyond the partial or piecemeal, reactionary or progressive fixes we have repeatedly implemented.
Historically there has been a dangerous waffling in educational reform, a tendency to retreat to the security of a policy-bound system fraught with rules and measurements, rather than embarking on an uncharted journey into the hearts and souls of America's teens with a view towards awakening their inner spirits. Creger has provided one way for teachers to begin such a journey. The constantly swinging pendulum of school "reform," he claims, can be steadied and exchanged for true forward movement by incorporating what he calls "two-legged" learning: learning that embraces both academic and personal goals, or, as he labels it, cultural and conscious learning.
There is much to love in this book. Many teachers have used quotes as journal starters; Creger takes the idea farther with "Thought Logs," tying them into wisdom through the ages. I loved the careful attention to students' (and teachers') personal growth - the ultimate aim of education. I loved the idea of classroom "meditating," establishing an ambience of calm consideration of ideas shaping us as human beings. I like Big Questions, overarching themes. I liked the "triumvirate" nature of learning - facts, meanings, values; material, mental, spiritual; beauty, truth, goodness, that Creger explores.
If I have any arguments with Creger's book, it is that it sometimes sounds a bit "preachy" - not surprising for someone so passionate about the need to make substantive changes in the ways schools address learning. Frequent italicized words make some passages sound like they are coming from the pulpit.
The missionary spirit of the book creates the excitement of a "movement" - an important factor in change. Yet with over-use of such a project, the deep impact would of course be diluted. Not that it's wrong to keep reflecting on our personal values and meanings, but, once institutionalized (as anything, which is what's wrong with most organized education), such a project loses its epiphanal nature and could become yet another scripted program in the wrong hands. What is most important is the underlying philosophy of meaningful education. It is clear that Creger has thought long and deeply about the nature of a satisfying education for the new millennium. This is a book to help us on our way.

Identity-integrity=self worth.These are a few of the words that describe the turmoil of the adolescent mind. The Personal Creed Project is the most practical way that i have encountered that encourages each teenager to embark on a path of self examination and articulation to resolve these personal conflicts.Too many high schoolers and college students look upon their educational experience as an arid wasteland as four years forced upon them by a system that ignores their personal needs and concerns. Rather than requiring students to study abstract "subjects" the Personal Creed Project makes each individual the "subject" and rewards even those who are failing academically with a sense of identity, integrity and self worth.
Isn't that is what education is all about?
Teacher Bob

This flowing book of poetry is so enjoyable that you might want to read it in one sitting. The beginning has the beautiful language of pomegrantes, figs, and nature. At "Bach's Concerto No. 1 in C Minor" (210) the true feeling that this is great poetry dawned on me. And the poetic craft became better, too, through "The Bees" (217), "Straw-Blond" (243), and "Things I Didn't Know I Loved" (261). These poems progress through decades of his life and reach their peak in his maturity.

I was introduced to Hikmet through his poem, "Things I didn't know I loved". On the strength of this poem, I picked up this collection. I was tremendously suprised to find that there are many, many more poems that beautifully and powerfully express Hikmet's relishment of life, of love and the constant frustration he experienced as an exile.

His politics are a constant thread throughout many of his poems, as is his optimism in the future - in spite of being imprisioned and separated from his wife, his son and eventually his country. It is his passion for living, however, that struck me most powerfully. "Because of You", "On the Matter of Romeo and Juliet" and "This Journey" are among my favorites (and are among my favorites of ANY poet.)

If you own only two books of poetry, this should be one of them. (The other, in my opinion, should be anything by Rilke, but that is my taste.) Hikmet's words are exquisite and sublime. Highly recommended.

A poet of great humanity, great compasion, a believer in the human race in spite of having been in jail from many years, as well as been exiled by the Turkish leaders. refreshing and immediate, poetry for everyone, simple and strong.

It's hard to express in words just how wonderful and beautiful Hikmet's poetry is - intimate, honest, uncompromising, gently humorous, filled with longing and hope and refusing to let despair triumph in spite of outward circumstances. In other words, profoundly human.

I don't think he'd mind if I quoted his poem "Hello":

HELLO

Nazim, what happiness
that, open and confident, you can say "Hello"
from the bottom of your heart!

The year is 1940.
The month, July.
The day is the first Thursday of the month.
The hour: 9.

Date your letters in detail this way.
We live in such a world
that the month, day, and hour
speak volumes.

Hello, everybody.

To say a big
fat "Hello"
and then, without finishing my sentence,
to look at you with a smile
- sly and gleeful -
and wink. . .

We're such perfect friends
that we understand each other
without words or writing. . .

Hello, everybody,
hello to all of you. . .


(translated from the Turkish by Randy Blasing & Mutlu Konuk; published by Persea books)

Thank you, translators, for bringing this wonderful poet to English readers. From the bottom of my heart - thank you and hello!

Does not matter how good the translation is, it is not comparable to the original work. Nazim Hikmet is world's one of the great poets, but what makes him special really is the way he uses Turkish.

When I received the book, I sat down and read it through and through. This book is exactly what I need for my third grade class. The concept of practice centers for intermediate students makes sense. Debbie Diller's book
gave me the written "how" and provided the blackline masters to put those ideas into practice. I just completed my first week of school and I have already used several of her ideas. This book is easy to read, understand,and most importantly practical.

This was an excellent resource! With our school getting ready to teach combination grades-I will highly recommend it to all teachers. The ideas are practical and with a limited budget, will be attainable in our classes.
Finally- a book to help right away, simple ideas that we can all use!

Recieved item on time, right when we were told it would arrive. Book in very good condition.

This is just what I've needed. Excellent source for getting kids motivated and on tasks that help THEM to learn. Outlines possible problems and solutions ahead of time. Great ideas for taking centers I already want and making them real learning stations in the classroom.

Other teachers on my floor are already looking to "borrow" it.

This book, like Diller's companion book for K-2 teachers, is a wealth of information for those teachers who recognize the importance of differentiating instruction, engaging the learner, and losing mindless worksheets that only serve the purpose of occupying the student's time while the teacher teaches small groups. Whether you are experienced with managing literacy workstations or a new convert, you will get an in-depth look at management of stations, keeping the stations meaningful and engaging throughout the year, and assessing the students' work. This book is the best I have seen for practical, easy to implement, true literacy activities. I highly recommend it for teachers and administrators of students in grades 3-6.

Most of our knowledge of railroads comes from either seeing them as they pass in their multi-hued glory, or in memories generated from films of steam belching locomotives huffing and chugging their way across the countryside. Unless we care enough to learn more, we really do not understand how they work, why they are organized the way they are, or what all the equipment that we pass by is really for. If we do care to learn more, there is a dearth of information about the railroad. That lack of information is what is addressed by this book. This book could be used as a semester-length entry-level university class textbook - it is that thorough yet high-level. In 22 chapters it addresses all the fundamentals of the railroad especially as railroading is practiced in North America.

Through many examples derived from a fictional railroad that operates in the Northeast U.S., the author leads us through what and how a railroad "ticks". He explains why the rails are ballasted the way they are; what historical accident led to the gauge being determined as 4 ft 8.75 inches; how locomotives are measured and what are the important measurements that the operating departments use; How signals work on the railroad; what kinds of railroad cars are there and what they are used for; the way in which a car goes from point A to point B and how the revenue is shared amongst the many hands that touch that load; and how the railroad itself is organized to bring its benefits to the shipping public.

This is a pretty thorough introduction to the art of railroading and is about as much information as any curious observer may wish to have. Besides people who are interested in railroading (maybe as a career?), I can see this book also being useful to model railroaders who want to model realistic operations; shippers who want to understand what happens when they let go of a cargo, or when they receive it; investors and financiers in railroads; and others.

Being somewhat of a textbook, the reader has to understand that getting through this book will take some work - this is not an easy read at the beach intended to help pass the time! But, attention to the words and the concepts they illuminate will help the reader understand the complex world of railroading.

I used this book to help get up to speed on financing railcars and this book was invaluable in helping me understand the differences in railcar types and the way that railroads work. Would highly recommend it.

John Armstrong is both a railroader and a railroad modeler. He wrote "Railroad: What it Is, What it Does" to help modelers create realistic layouts by understanding how a real railroad operates. But it doesn't matter if you're a modeler: whatever your reason, if you want to know how railroads operate, then this book is for you!

Armstrong covers every aspect of railroading. Starting with history as far back as the Roman Empire, he surveys the evolution of rail transport from mining cars on wooden tracks through the "big steel rail". He covers the pros and cons of flat wheels on flanged track versus flanged wheels on flat track, stone ties versus timber ties, steel rails versus iron rails, and all of the engineering issues that go into building a stable, long-lasting track--and that's just in the first few chapters.

From there he explains the economic issues that go into deciding where to run the track, how to route the trains, and everything that goes into establishing a railroad operation.

Finally he covers all the details: how a consist is put together; the various cars and their construction; the railroad workers and their various jobs.

This is one of the few books that leaves me feeling like I know all about the subject. It's incredible how he packs so much knowledge into these few pages! He obviously knows, and loves, his subject. And he writes with a storyteller's flair, so it's more like a novel than a text--I was sorry when it was finished!

Do yourself a favor. If you have any interest in trains whatsoever, get this book. You'll read it more than once.

A great refernce book, I have the 3rd edition, I will have to get the fourth edition in time.

John H. Armstrong is probably best known for his books about model railroading. This is not one of those books. This is an introduction to the railroad industry.. It covers such diverse topics as to why goods should or could be moved by rail, locomotives, cars, routing, trackage, passenger service, freight service, organization, accounting, profit and loss, operations and a host of others. It is a book about the industry, not models. I don't think models are mentioned anywhere.

That being said, it is a very useful book for model railroaders who are always seeking to make their layouts as much like the real thing as possible. This book explains why certain things take place in the real world giving modelers an insight as to how to do the same in their created world.

Models aside, this is a great text for anyone who wishes to learn more about this part of the transportation industry.

I love how Regie Routman balances passion with dedication and inspires enthusiasm for even the most mundane routines. She understands that a happy teacher is a good teacher, and is one of the few who encourages educators to have a personal life and share important parts of themselves with students. "Reading Essentials" is not just a practical guide to literacy education: it's a call for teachers to fall in love with reading and inspire the same passion in their students. The children I've taught have learned to become authentic, purposeful, and enthusiastic readers in large part because of Regie Routman's ideas and strategies.

This is an awesome resource for beginning or student teachers and helps with the basics. Very clear, simple and direct.

Great!One of the best books on reading instruction ever! Easy to read, and very well organized,full of practical tips,and lots of student examples. Enjoy!

This is unquestionably the best "how-to" book on teaching reading that I have come across. It is written from the standpoint of a classroom teacher, but there are plenty of essential ideas for homeschoolers, too. One way or another it covers every (as far as I can see) important point, and I agree with most of them. The best chapter is #8, Teaching Comprehension, where the first sidebar says "Teach Comprehension Right from the Start." Cool!

Routman moves most of the academic material to the end of the book, where there are many endnotes with references to research articles and a hefty index.

So what's not to like? The text is more of a collection of ideas and tips rather than an evolving education in teaching literacy (which I would love to see Routman take on). The many entry points to the text material (sidebars, bullet points, "Try it, Apply it" tabs, chapter heads, and subheadings) prevented me from finding a continuous, developing thread of instruction. The book is, as it sets out to be, a tune-up guide for trained teachers who are already dealing with classrooms of students. There is too little step-by-step guidance for homeschoolers who are new to teaching literacy. This is especially apparent in dealing with very early readers, where specific training, commercial materials lists, and informal assessments would be welcome (Routman seems to say that such would be infeasible). I missed recommended reading lists that might specifically tie in with coaching in the text, and striking the best balance of phonics to reading is brought out, but left up to the intuition of the teacher.

The thrust of most of the book is about 5th grade difficulties, but it seems to me that a solid K-3 program would head off most of those problems. I found K-3 to be the weakest component of the book.

Routman acknowledges the many demands on classroom teachers for their time and compassion, but I think she is unrealistic about what is achievable in a classroom-based school setting. Interestingly, though she never mentions homeschooling, her prescriptives are precisely what motivates homeschoolers (this one, at least) and homeschooling is a very sensible response to many of the ills she addresses.

Finally, I had the nagging feeling that the book could have benefited from being substantially shorter. Whatever shortcomings Reading Essentials may have for homeschoolers, it's still the best resource available, and it IS essential.

I teach 5th grade, and the teachers on our grade level enjoy being involved in a book club. This year, we've selected Reading Essentials as our book of discussion. The book is easy to read and full of ideas to make reading effective in your classroom. If we only had enough time to implement the many wonderful ideas, we'd be in great shape.

This book has a wonderful message about being yourself. My four-year-old daughter loves the illustrations and asks for this to be read to her often.

Ruby is a new girl in a new class. She is afraid to be herself. She finds a girl and little by little starts dressing like her and supposedly doing the same things as she does. This other girl is Angela, who gets very upset with Ruby and tells Mrs. Hart the teacher.

Ruby is a little girl who is nervous and insecure about herself. She is afraid she will not be accepted or liked if she is who she really is.

I have mixed feelings regarding this book. On the one hand the book is funny and deals with a real life problem of kindergarden and primary school children ("he is a copycat" is a regular accusation at my house). However, reading this story after reading Peggy Rathmann's three other books: "Gorilla", "Officer Buckle and Gloria" and "Ten minutes till bedtime" is a little disappointing. The three books mentioned are totally hilarious and I feel they are all unique and special works of art. This book however, although very good, does not come to their masterpiece level.
"Ruby the Copycat" is written with a neutral voice without "taking sides" - just telling the story as it is. Reader can understand both Ruby, the copycat, and in a way even understand why she is copying (Ruby is the new kid and Angela's ribbon is so very charming) but also see the point of view of those being copied - as Angela, whose every act (red ribbon in hair, rainbow painted shirt) is copied by Ruby. At first this is nice and Angela whispers back at Ruby "I like your ribbon" - but after a while Angela does not whisper any more... Ruby is stripping her of all individuality. These are an adult words but the book is written in a language every child can understand and the pictures are there to strengthen the words. Ruby wins the readers heart in the end when following the teacher's advice (don't we all wish for such teachers) finds her own unique "thing" and now the children copy Ruby's "hopping".

We read Ruby the Copycat in my second-grade classroom, and the kids really gravitated toward it. The illustrations are appropriately stylized to clearly deliver character emotions, and there are subtle details in the pictures that breathe more life into the characters. Ruby reminds me of the nervous child in all of us that seeks to fit in. I highly, highly recommend this book for in-class reading. Buy a class set!

Ruby, in this delightful story, starts school new and finds an iconographic fascination with a girl who does everything easily and beautifully, Angela. Angela for lack of a better way to explain this is simple sugar and spice and cheer squad and Peggy Lipton all rolled into one dynamite girl. Miss Hart, the teacher, in time observes Ruby as each day she escalates levels of imitation and pure fixation on Angela,from wearing an identical red bow as Angela has on when she comes back to class after returning from home lunch, to bending the truth to say she was "also a flower girl in her sister's wedding"(oh no, teacher silently realizes real lying is starting) to painting a rainbow on her clothes to make her outfit match Angela after another lunch break home. Ruby even, when absolutely rejected in a very strong and rather cruel manner by Angela who is clearly yucked out by this sad little gadfly sycophant, tries to reattach the need to just be someone else (and thus matter) Ruby even stoops to imitation of Miss Hart's nails. Now that's pretty complex stuff for kids.I'd say heavy, wouldn't you? If you read it to a class they will be glued to their spots as if in a trance. This, they get. The problem is resolved in a manner I call SIDEWAYS resolving. It isn't as if Angela suddenly in epiphany sees Ruby as her equal, learns her true worth and harmony results. In a classic distraction the teacher finds a way to generate a Ruby based skill, make it fun and the class enjoys her for herself. How the next day went is unaddressed. In my teaching life as a classroom leader it is likely the teacher would mediate the social interaction for a good long while to build the skills for Ruby, the confidences and to open up Angela to understanding she may indeed write nice poetry, wear her clothes well, speak with ease and have power but she's a long way from having the kind of fragile willingness to be vulnerable and reveal inner insecurities and present that mirror up to Angela. Ruby is , in my teacher lingo-a child that tells us by her doing well or not the barometer for our class's social/emotional health.WE ARE ALL RUBY , I'm afraid. If we learn the lesson of this book, being a copycat is insignificant really, what we are addressing is how we perceive others, our selves, our talents and worth in relationship to others, acceptance, grace, vulnerability these constructs ride at the heart of this wonderful book. Peggy Rathman who went on to win awards on her next book, Officer Buckle and Gloria, surely did a great job here. And if you read her first, Bootsie Barker Bites, written with Barbara Bottner you have quite a triple play. I'm going to share a tip. This book, as well as Bootsie Barker was made into a VCR by Shelly Duvall in a series called "Bedtime Stories" , I think now sadly just available used. This series was just about the best I ever saw for children after Reading Rainbow. This particular story was narrated by Shelley Long (from Cheers) with a great guitar riff in background and is just such a treat for children. It is a Great way to hear Ruby the Copycat. Incidentally if you want the best straight up copycat story out there read Ramona the Brave. You'll love it too.