Junior Books

First published in the 1920s and still popular, The Flight of the Heron is a romantic adventure of the Jacobite uprising in 1745. A tall red-headed hero, strong friendships, an attractive heroine, and lots of fight and flight in the heather - what more could you ask? Other titles in the trilogy are The Dark Mile and The Gleam in the North.

This is a wonderful story, with plenty of romance, action and adventure, but it also explores important themes like honor, duty, loyalty and courage. You'll love the characters and want to read more about them. It's a classic that I've read several times. Highly, highly recommended.

Flight of the Heron is a great book. It is a brillant example of true friendship and love, and it has adventure. The two main characters are supposed to be enemies; however, they end up having a very strong friendship in the end, which actually brought tears to my eyes. Also, the love that is between the Scottish heroine and his leading lady is sweet and endearing. Reading this book is wonderful and enchanting for the reader! I highly recommend it for those of you who enjoy friendship, romance, and adventure.

This is the second CD I've heard from the talented team of Winters, Wilder and Wilder. Once again, I'm left very impressed by their thoughtful insights, keen strategies, and practical teaching methods. Junior golfers (not to mention kids in other sports or walks of life) can improve their confidence and self-esteem greatly from hearing the messages in this CD. Additionally, parents, teachers, and coaches can help reinforce the lessons by practicing the recommended drills. The authors have hit on a key area of development for all people to realize their true potential. And this CD should enable all listeners to get there.

What a fun, and informative CD! Now, I understand the importance of golf-psychology, golf-confidence, and golf-esteem for young golfers. Winters and Wilder are sport psychologists who teach athletes how to play golf with confidence, and how to have a present-oriented mindset on the course. Dr. Wilder's sister, Karen Wilder, is an LPGA Instructor who offers simple and fun drills that junior golfers can practice to improve their golf mechanics. This CD is an impressive presentation of the mental and physical aspects of golf.

I listened to this CD myself and found that it had so many great ideas for how to improve my "mental" game. I have already started to make improvements in my scores. I have even revealed to some of my golf buddies the source of my new found inner game. I highly recommend this CD for any age. I have even found myself using some of the ideas to bolster my confidence in other areas of my life. I can't wait for more from this dynamic team.

I remember this book from my childhood. I had my parents read each story to me over and over. When I learned how to read I read this book until the pages fell out. In short it is a great book that encourages youthful imaginations. And, it makes for great bedtime stories. A real classic. I bought it for my children.

As a child I didn't have the books of Oscar Wilde but rather the records. My imagination soared with his descriptions of life, and my eyes overflowed with tears at each story. The record of the Happy Prince was read by Bing Crosby and Orson Wells and each year at Christmas we still play that old scratched thing, just to hear it's wonderous love story and that of The Selfish Giant. Now I have to get the book so my nieces and nephews will share in my treasures of love!!!! What is this world if it isn't all about Love?

In these tales, most of them being sad and even very sad, Oscar Wilde looks for a way to save one's soul in front of the misery of the world. Anyone in society who lives in the upper classes does not necessarily see the ugliness and suffering of the world when one looks at the lower classes. But in these tales the Happy Prince, or the Selfish Giant, or any other character will manage to get salvation out of their upper class blindness, by opening their eyes to misery and suffering and by doing what they can to repair these pains and evils because they will realise they have to feel responsible for the world, because they are more powerful and could easily impose their selfish rule. But the giant will discover nature, if not God, punishes him for his selfishness. The nightingale will try to redeem a young student by giving him a red rose in a season when read roses do not bloom. And yet the student will not get the love he wants because he is nothing but a non-entity for the girl he would like to be loved by. There is also a very sad note in A Devoted Friend and how friendship can become a mask for selfishness, a nice appearance for an ugly and egoistic attitude. Those tales are sad and at the same time they convey a moral full of hope. All is not lost if the Happy Prince can give away his happiness for those who suffer, even if later the powerful of his society will reject him when he does not look happy and beautiful any more

Dr Jacques COULARDEAU, University of Perpignan

This book was certainly an exelent book. Other than most of the stories already being in other Albert Payson Terhune books, all of the stories (the one with the fox wasn't THAT good but it was good) were exelent and even one sotry about Wolf was in there and it wasn't in the actual book "Wolf". Even though every single one of Albert Payson Terhune's dog books were good and terrific and I'm not saying any of them aren't good, but this was the only one of his books that I couldn't put down along with Further Advemtures of Lad. It was a pretty short book which was sad because I got done with it so fast. I recommend this book because it was good and if you can't get any other Terhune book, this gives a tast of a few of his books.

This is one of the best books I have ever read. It is by that immortal writer of collie and dog books, Albert P. Terhune. It is a collection of collie stories, some about his own dogs, including the famous Lad, and some about fictional dogs. Several of the stories made me cry, and several made me laugh. This is a wonderful book for anyone who loves dogs, or just anyone who wants to read some good stories.

"The Heart of a Dog" is Terhune at his best...You get to meet many of the residents of Sunnybank Farm and you will laugh, cry, and be spiritually uplifted in the process! The collection of short stories contains lessons for life that will remain long after you've put the book down. This is a book to be passed on to as many who will read it!!

I was given this book years ago as a gift when moving away from IL. I have well over 40 cookbooks in my collection. This one is, by far, my favorite. All recipes are easy to prepare and each one has been a hit in our home. I LOVE this cookbook. In the past, I have purchased cookbooks by favorite cooks, only to be disappointed to find many recipes are out of the ordinary fare, which have gone over like a lead balloon with my children. I have yet to prepare something from this book, which my children won't eat. It is a true representation of midwestern favorite foods. The potato soup recipe is a favorite at out house.

It's a pity Abe Lincoln wasn't much of a gourmet. His hometown of Springfield had wonderful recipes. Honest to Goodness covers the gamut of the Midwestern dining experience. The soups and breads, like many of the main courses, service both everyday and elegant occasions. This cookbook is simple, appealing, and full of charming Abe stories to make it a great read as well.

I am a Springfield, Illinois native and can tell you that these recipes are well known in the Springfield area. The recipes in this book are very very good.

Some of my favorites include.....Lemon Shake-Ups as seen at the Illinois State Fair, Steak Diane as served at Baur's On the Green, Funnel Cakes And the all time Springfield favorite... HORSESHOES... if you don't know what this is I urge you to buy the book for that recipe alone! You will love it!

If you teach 1-5th grade writing workshop, you NEED to read this book! Especially if (like many of us) you're using the Lucy Calkins writing kits. Mr. Anderson really breaks things down in a PRACTICAL way so you can feel confident sitting down with every single child you confer with. He also includes blacklines for forms that for me, have made the difference between confidence and exasperation! Way better than One on One by Calkins herself. !
Plus, he was in the project with her, so his philosophy lines up completely. Do yourself a favor, seriously. (Maybe check out Assessing Writers, it does repeat some of this book and has some really great other stuff too.) I couldn't live without them both, though! (and I don't work for anyone but my 26 third graders).

This book is excellent for teachers wanting to know more about how to have effective converstaions with their students during reading conferences. This will change how you approach conversations about writing with your students.

As a mother, I really want my child to learn to write so she can enjoy all the benefits that come through written expression. I found this book to be very practical and immensely readable, filled with examples and anecdotes that make the suggestions come alive. A parent could use this book as guidance for inspiring a child's interest in writing -- and in the process, might discover all kinds of things about what the child is thinking and feeling. If you don't read this book yourself, buy it as a gift for your child's teacher! (So much better than bubblebath ...)

This book has a lot of useful information about insects. It describes basic characteristics, life cycle, and much more. It also includes info on other terrestrial arthropods, such as spiders and centipedes. As a field guide, it focuses on families of insects, not species, which makes more sense because there are so many species that are hard to identify. There are great photographs and descritions as well.

These books are so helpful to use as references for painting.

Very clear photograhy. I would have liked a few close-up shots for some of the images perhaps, but otherwise a great book.

(Although I'll admit some of the inclusions in this book made my skin crawl!! I really just wanted the insects and not the spiders, but that's not the author's problem!)

This is really a nicely done guide and almost fits in my coat pocket. The pictures are fabulous and the insects are divided up into their respective families with very clear identifying traits. I'm really impressed, so much easy-to-use information in such a small book. This would be a great precursor to an entomology class. Some of my favorite critters are in the Psuedoscorpion order and are the cheliferids and chernetids, both of which look like tiny ticks with claws. So very cool. I actually found one once in Washington state--in my kitchen! It was very, very tiny. I digress. A book like this is handy if you are always finding insects and wondering what the heck you are looking at. A good value!

This book has been a wonderful state-of-the-art resource book for primary public-school education classrooms.
I am a teacher in California. My class assignment this year is a kindergarten/1st grade combination classroom. I started the year out as a 1st/2nd grade combination classroom but the enrollment changed at our school site that after the first two weeks the students were reshuffled around and I was given a mostly new set of students and had to make a room change.
Now I needed all new materials and resources for the grade changes. Our school was given a very large grant and we as teachers were being observed by consulting firms to see if they approved of our teaching methods. Every so many months they come around to make several observations of us in our classrooms. They check to see if we are following their recommendations and if our classrooms are "child-centered classrooms". Most of the teachers are on edge at this school and are exhausted working many long hours and at their own monetary expense to make things happen at this school.
This book offered me a wonderful resource for solving many of the concerns I had at this school for resolving a number of these difficulties. In it, are many ideas for getting your struggling students to come up to and approach grade level standards. The students are able to do activities that enable them to become excited able learners.

I am a kindergarten teacher who has agonized over the years at how to incorporate writing into my classroom. I've recently gone back to school to get my Masters in Language and Literacy to become a better teacher. My thesis is going to be on interactive writing. I have found this to be the BEST resource for explaining to me how and why and when to "share the pen" with my students. I can't praise this book highly enough. The pictures and lessons and rationale that have gone into this book are just what I've been searching for...The authors make so much sense...the literacy connection between reading and writing is based on research. Take a look at this book. I promise you, it'll change your outlook on how reading and writing can and should go together.

I am a first year teacher and I have finally incorporated interactive writing into my daily curriculum. It was not easy at first, but I have arrived at a successful and exciting place with this teaching method in my classroom. I think I could have reached this level of success back in September if I had Andrea McCarrier's book then. It is truly the missing link to a successful literacy centered classroom. This book has supplied me with enough specific ideas to initiate interactive writing on the first days of school next year. Letter ID and sight word development will be more effective and mastered more quickly by using interactive writing with my students. The beauty of interactive writing is it can be integrated with many other subjects: science, social studies, health, technology, etc. Only after a week of hard-core interactive writing, two of my students have emerged from confusion and are have begun to build sentences with spaces, punctuation and sensical inventive spelling. Many in the class have advanced with their writing, and this has also advanced their reading! This book has helped me come up with ideas, realistic goals, step-by-step procedures, and final product bulletin boards and books for their classroom. The book is full of photographs showing the beginning of the task, the task in process, and the final result. This is the new "bible" in my classroom, and I cannot recommend it enough for kindergarten and first grade teachers, both new and veteran. Now, if I could just find a book with this quality of information and step-by-step ideas that would focus on independent literacy centers to allow me to teach small group guided reading without an interruption, I would be able to teach the world to read! Come on Pinnell! Come on Fountas! Come on McCarrier! You write it or recommend it, I'll buy it!

My 6-year-old daughter just LOVED this book! She had some concept of tadpoles and frogs -- but this book really helped her understand how the process works. Not only that, but she truly enjoyed the story. We have enjoyed every Marjorie Flack book that we have read together.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and learned immensely from it. I just cannot express in the English language the effect that this book had on my life.

As a young kindergarten teacher, I looked forward to our lessons each year on the life cycle of frogs. Reading Tim Tadpole and the Great Bullfrog to my students was always a fun experience, as the children identified so closely with the growth and change that Tim was experiencing. The triumph of the ending, when Tim emerges from the water using his strong new legs, was thrilling for the children. The copy I used from our school library in the early 80's was already quite old. I've scoured used book sales and thrift shops in vain, hoping to find a copy for my self. Maybe one day this book could be reprinted, perhaps with colorful new illustrations to appeal to today's 4-6 year olds. I would be first in line to buy it!

I read this book with a student that I tutor who enjoys gynmastics. This book was perfect for for her because it was written at an appropriate age and gradelevel and it was a good story for her to relate to. This book is highly reccomneded for those who love gymnastics.

I have enjoyed this book because it teaches everyone to work harder. Katie is a girl in Jody's gymnastics class. One day, Coach Jody announces that her class is going on the balance beam. Her friends are very, very excited, but Katie is scared. Katie hates to do anything backwards (She reminds me of my friend who hates swimming). I did not like it when Katie wasn't working too hard, but I felt happy for her when she wanted to try the backover move.

Sometimes, Katie thinks about quitting gymnastics, but her friends always try to help her get better and better. My favorite part is when Katie has enough courage to try the beam. Lila Hanks, an older gymnast, also helps Katie practice because she is excellent at gymnastics. Katie tells Lila about what happened and why she wants to quit gymnastics. After that, Lila tells Katie a secret...???

Sometimes, I wonder why Katie would want to quit since gymnastics seems so fun to do. I think Katie is a very smart character and could do the backflip, but she's just terrified. If she's not scared or nervous, then I know she'll make it. Katie is my favorite third-grader and gymnast of all of the Junior Gymnast series books. After reading this book, I feel like I have a lot more courage to do everything and anything (and not feel scared). I feel braver, not frightened. This book gave me this feeling that everything will turn out great. All you need is just some courage. Plenty of it!!

This is a great book for girls with dreams. Will Katie ever learn how to get over her fear of backward flips or will she have to quit? Read the book and find out!

This is a good book fo r a gymnast with a fear! In this book it tells how katie got over the fear of doing a back walkover on the beam! So go on read it!