Schools and Instruction Books

In A Secret Country expatriate journalist John Pilger tells the often untold, hard to swallow, stories which make up the Australian past and present. Some of the wide range of issues covered in this book include:

- The white invasion of Australia.
- Contemporary Indigenous Australian issues, including deaths in prison.
- The power plays between the wealthy in Australia and politicians and how politics in Australia is influenced for personal gain.
- The power plays between other nations (USA & UK) and Australia. Including how these nations have potentially changed politics in Australia for their gain.

My favourite is the section on how the CIA through their influences was able to oust a democratically elected government and replace it with a better behaved one. It should noted that this book often reads like other passionate, emotive rants. It is easy to find yourself being totally engrossed in the story and feeling like you need to take a step back, follow the books sources, or find other literature which supports the books premises.

For people looking for a darker alternate view on many still highly relevant issues in Australia I would thoroughly recommend this book.

There were quite a few poems I did like. But overall, this collection was boring. I think she should stick to singing.

There are a few poems in this book which really touched me at the time that I read them. Others did not appeal to me at all. That's the great thing about poetry it either speaks to you or it does not. It is a very personal thing. I give Jewel credit for pouring her heart into her poems and then releasing them for the world to see, I do however prefer her music to her writing.

A Night without Armor by Jewel is an excellent and under-rated book of poems. Ok so she's not Shakespeare but most writers aren't. These poems have been highly-criticized in the past, and it's a shame that Jewel was unfairly mocked by critics and so-called fans. I got this collection of poems the first week it was released and I fell in love with the book instantly, the poems are sensual, seductive, sensitive, and incredibly funny as well. Some of my favorites are: The Bony Ribs of Adam, Sara Said, The Strip Parts 1 and 2, New Moon, Someone To Know Me, Christmas in Hawaii, Red Roof Inn, Boston, and You Are Not. So with that being said, get this great collection of poems by Jewel today.

Very well done! The expression drawn from deep within is very identifiable. I love it!

I found THAT book brilliant? Eye-opening? Of course I did, once upon a time. I am usually the exception to the rule. I like people who are usually reviled and I am drawn to other things that can be otherwise shunned or whatever else...maybe because I feel like I too am shunned or reviled.

Poetry can take on so many forms, so many incarnations. What one person finds incoherant, another might find powerful. There really are no limits to the styles of verse or subject matter, and not everybody has to understand or approve of it. While I might not get the same momentum that I found when I first began reading this book...the poems here are rather simple and sparse, with not much rhythm at all in the lines if any, I am still proud to have it in my library because it is a very personal body of work which is unique only to Jewel Kilcher's life experiences. She may not be up to par with the writing abilities of Emily Dickinson, Dylan Thomas or Sylvia Plath, but not many writers are.

Poetry, above any other form of writing, is an individual experience. Different people will have different reactions to it. I suggest you read it for yourself first before you decide to form an opinion of it.

This book is really good for beginners. It's a great help if you plan on doing fantasy manga or robot manga drawings. I got this book from the library and I enjoyed it. So now I am buying it. I would recomend buying this book. If you are under the age of 10, some pictures may be not be for there age group. But otherwise, a really great book!

I found the book very helpful for drawing anime style cartoon characters. I'm making an anime parody! This book is helpful on how to draw a manga character's head from many angles! The art isn't all very good the later volumes in the series have better art though. Overall it's okay!

I bought Manga Mania for my 12-year-old niece for Christmas as she's getting into Japanese cartoons (she's started watching Robotech!). I decided to thumb through this title before wrapping it up and was disturbed by chapter 7, "Drop-Dead-Gorgeous Manga Babes."

Hart's publishers state it's appropriate for 5th graders (10-year-olds) and up but I decided not to give my niece this book based on this chapter. The females are scantily clad and the descriptions that accompany them are explicit (e.g. "Her bathing suit is a great costume because it's skin tight and wet"). I know this is a part of the genre but I think the content is too suggestive for young teens.

I ultimately went for Hart's other title, "Anime Mania" which did a good job of describing illustration and character development without focusing so much on sexiness.

I am a huge fan of christopher hart;i have most of his books!The other books in the manga mania series are awesome!but this book was really bad the art was horrible except for maybe 5 pictures.I did not like the book and i regret buying it...So if you want a good manga book get another book by him like shoujo mania.Manga Mania Shoujo: How to Draw the Charming and Romantic Characters of Japanese Comics (Manga Mania)

MY SON LOVES THESE BOOKS. THEY GIVE HIM IDEAS HE NEVER THOUGHT OF. HE HAS TO TURN IN A SKETCH FROM HOME EVERY WEEK TO HIS ART TEACHER. THE BOOK MAKES IT EASIER FOR HIM TO FIND SOMETHING TO DRAW. WE ARE VERY PLEASED!!

"It's Perfectly Normal" is an excellent sex education guide for older kids
and teenagers. It describes sex and sexuality frankly both in text and in
well-done cartoons. Only the most prudish would be offended by this book.

This book touches on more subjects than I had anticipated. I read the book with my daughter and at first I thought I would skip some areas, but know if my daughter does not hear it from me, she WILL hear it from someone else.

I'm concerned about some of the negative comment on this work. For example, sex will cause disease (without qualification.) If so, why doesn't it after a stable relationship, not necessarily marriage, is formed? If a parent writes this, then he/she is refuting his/her own argument. Why is he/she still alive after conceiving the child?
The abstinence ideal is only that - an ideal. Some keep to it (I did), others don't. The fear of death can't fight hormones. Teach sense, not blunt abstinence. Changes will be occurring anyway with puberty. Do you imagine young people don't notice? My first sex lesson, many years ago, I still remember: it was written, in crude terms, in crayon on a wall. I couldn't believe it, and didn't ask my parents. Consequence of ignorance: I was male-raped years later. I'd never had a girlfriend. My later marriage failed, again through overbearing religious creeds, preaching what was plainly total nonsense.
If it's open, so much the better. Are parents afraid of the subject? Mine were - with the above results. I didn't know, at 25, male rape was possible, and walked straight into a trap. What's so frightening about truth and fact, about openness? And above all, ditch one thing: moralising. Nature, like me, has no time for it and its rantings.

I checked out this book for my 17 year old son who was writing a paper on puberty. Most of the text content is great but the pictures are pornographic cartoons. I also have an 11 year old son and was planning on letting him read it. Once I reviewed it, it went straight into my car to be returned to the library. As far as the text goes, most of it was pretty informative and well written for the preteen age group but there were also plenty of references (with lots of pictures) of masturbation, homosexuality, etc. that were way too graphic for anyone under the age of 16 years. Fair warning here: don't buy it for any innocent kids especially ones that don't know anything at all!

It's Perfectly Normal: Changing Bodies, Growing Up, Sex, and Sexual Health (Robie Sex Books)
As the title states "growing up", that's what these people who give this book a poor rating should do. If you want your child properly prepared for the world ahead of them, this is the book. It clearly, and in a very cute way, states FACTS ! Of course, I want my children to grow up heterosexual, as I am. Of course I want my children to have a "healthy & proper" sex life ahead of them. THAT IS WHY I BOUGHT THIS BOOK. We cannot control who or what our children will become, we can only GUIDE them correctly, and let them know that THEY are okay, no matter "who" they are. When they enter the teen/adult years, this world will be twice as insane and confusing as when we did. Knowledge is POWER ! Yes, I wish life was easier and more carefree, as when I was a child; but many years of law enforcement (not metro/ but suburban & rural) have proven that kind of life no longer exists. These sheltered, simple minded, negative rating people, have NO clue as to not who, but WHAT, wanders among our children. No, I don't agree with every single thing portrayed in the book, but that's why I will tell my children to ASK, ASK, ASK, if you have ???'s, as I will ask them ???'s. This book is for an educated, informed, alert; parent who wants to give their child the freedom to learn & explore, health & sexuality. Let's give our children the POWER of knowledge & understanding to help them with their decisions. The book covers just about every aspect of sexuality, reproduction, health, emotions, etc. Much of the contents is nearly identical to the AMA versions, but in a friendlier atmosphere. I won't have my 9 year old daughter reading it for awhile, that's why I purchased "The Body Book for Girls"; but I'm sure my 13 year old son will find "It's Perfectly Normal," to be perfectly normal by our family values. Good luck everyone through this tough phase of parenting, as we try to REALLY prepare our children for the real world.

Katy may not have purfect anime but she can teach you the basic's well. Dont go out and try to learn from the 'how to draw manga' series from Graphic-Sha if you an ABSOLUTE BEGINNER. That's for expert's. I know because when I wanted to try and draw manga I went to go get the Sha book's and I gave up because it was too hard. Untill I had one of my friend's tell me it was for intermediat and expert's.
The reason why most people give it a low-rating is because they are most likly above the stage of beginer's and basic's and this did. Anyway, after I got this book I got better after a day. But the reason why I give it a 4 out of 5 is because she use's blush to much.
Blush is for showing emotion like shyness or emberassment or even anger. She use's it willy-nilly like it's apart of their face or something! I mean come on , look at other manga and anime t.v show's and you can tell they dont blush in every sceen. She doesnt even tell you WHY you put blush. It's just there. But that's the only setback.
After you get good at this buy her other book 'How to draw more manga' and/or get the how to draw book's from sha. Only when you think you have mastered her book though.

If you're above the age of eight, this book is not for you. It shows you how to draw over-simplified figures that can hardly be called "manga." Well, it doesn't really "show you." Coope hardly gives you four steps for drawing a face, and it's difficult to imitate unless you know what you're doing. I guess I can't criticize too much, since this book is obviously aimed towards the younger crowd, like I said in my title.

Still, I don't recommend copying her style and attempting to create manga, because it actually doesn't look like the real thing, to be blunt. It's ridiculous. Each character has blush on top of their noses, and now that I brought up noses, the noses she draws are horribly small. Where is the collar bone on the neck? Even if you ignore the deformed facial features, how are you supposed to draw a side view of your manga characters Coope-style if the noses are so small?

I could go on and on, but I think you get the point. Not really recommended.

~Lina-chan

This is not good for anyone above the age of twelve or thirteen. Explanations are incredibly simplistic, everything is colored with pencils, and it's quite a short book.

This might be good for someone who is just learning to draw, but does not go into depth of technique. Everything is very basic without much detail. Also, the author's finished drawings are not very good.

If your children are in any way serious about being good at drawing manga - or drawing, period - this is NOT the book to buy for them. I can only assume books like this come about because some clueless publisher has a 13 year old daughter who "draws anime", because this is not up to what any sane person would consider publishable "how-to-draw" book standards. Anatomy? Not important here, not even stylized anatomy. Proportions? What are these "pro-por-ti-ons" you speak of? This book sure doesn't know. It disturbs me that so many how-to-draw manga books are illustrated by people who, frankly, need one of these books themselves. Don't doom your children to hours of failure and frustration.

This book is absolutely awful. Look elsewhere.

This is THE single worst "How to Draw Manga" book I have ever seen. This girl is my age, and gets props for getting herself published, but, speaking as a fellow artist, I certainly hope that after the publication of this book she pursued further artistic training, because her own abilities as put forth in this book are sadly lacking. She demonstrates how to draw "anatomy" but fails to implement good Manga-style anatomy into her own demonstration images. While I can understand using the over-simplification of the style for young readers, it would be far better to start out learning the style from someone who offers a more accurate example of the art style.

I think this book would be better titled "How NOT to draw Manga". If you are an aspiring artist looking for solid tips on how to draw the manga style, don't bother with this book.

This is good for beginner and intermediate level artist. It will show you in a very simple way all the how-to's of pencilling. Good price also. It's part of three book set, Penciling, IOnking And Coloring comics - from DC comics

I just received this book and immediately went to chapter fourteen. After reading chapter fourteen first I have to say that it was worth the price of the book.

This is an outline book about drawing with a tilt towards comics art.

None of what is presented is outstanding from a student's perspective. this seems more like a showcase of the author, with a stiff 'cast in stone' tone.

Covers pretty standard stuff such as material, construction, anatomy, perspective, composition and so on.

Beats me why its called pencillig, unless you mean to say all art work begins with a pencil sketch. hardly any pencil sketch in the book.

There was once a fantastic correspondence course called the Famous Artists School course. Just a couple of pages on pencilling from that course is denser and more informative.

If we are looking at learning how to draw in general, and a bit focussed on comics art, 'How to draw comics the marvel way', is the book that sticks out in this category. Ofcourse there are some wonderful books to learn how to draw from .. Vilppu, Burne Hogarth, Kimon Nicholaides, Andrew Loomis to name a few.

In comics book production 'pencilling' has special meaning, it is not sketching or drawing. it is a process which takes you to just one teeny step away from what's called 'Inking'. It would contain all details such as action, form, light and shadow, minute details such as folds in clothes etc. It is in fact 'rendering' in pencil. not just thumbnailing, or story boarding, or conceptualizing, which one might be able to do with the help of this book.

Its so unusual to see such a technical subject being treated with indifference from an artist of repute and with an institution called DC's name in the title!.

This was a good book but it lacked the step by step workings of the title. It had alot of information but most it was what I was not looking for. This is a good book on the process of the comic book but not on how to go about doing it.

I was hoping that this book would be a more detailed guide to penciling. Most of the illustrations were inked, though. It also has a LOT of text, which makes it not so easy to sit and read while trying to actually draw. I would recommend the "How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way" over this book.

I've been a Suzuki teacher for 12 years. I found that this CD is really out of tune and in many cases sloppy. It has one cool feature and that is it's Suzuki playing Suzuki and he was in his 80s (I think) when it was recorded. The two other CD's available, however, in some cases have lightning fast tempos. The new Midi CD-ROM seems to have solved that issue.

I received my delivery in a timely manor and was able to enjoy The Suzuki Violin CD Volume 1 I ordered. It was exactly what I expected being from volume 1, it concentrated on strings A, and E. This CD was recommended by my daughters Suzuki Violin Teacher to help her learn by ear what the these two strings used in various songs sound like. It was worth the purchase since my daughter is a beginning Suzuki student, ... I may have to go out for volume 2 soon since she's fallen in love with her violin.

I have been taking a lesson from Suzuki method teacher, and this CD has been a great suppliment in my busy life. Just listening to this CD for 5-10 minutes a day ( during the commute or cooking time) has been helping me to understand what I need to work on. My daily practice time is avarage 15 minutes or so, but I have been making good enough progress because of this listening program.

Several people have commented on this recording sounding sharp. I suspect it has to do with different tuning standards. the standard tuning pitch here in the States is A 440, but in other parts of the world A 445 is often used. It would sound sharp by comparison, but is not necessarily "wrong".

It's really unfortunate that the performance on this CD does seem to sound too sharp as pointed out by a previous reviewer, who's a Suzuki teacher. Our violins (both mine and my daugther's) always sound quite a bit flatter than this CD after being tuned by my daughter's Suzuki teacher, who has perfect pitch. One time earlier on, I also tried tuning our violins w/ this CD as aid (thinking our violins had gone too flat), and the teacher thought they were oddly out of tune more than usual (or in an odd way I guess since they were sharp, not flat) -- well, she didn't really say so, but her facial expression and gesture said it all. :-) I never really brought this up w/ her before, but I think I will in our next lesson. And perhaps, I'll buy a different CD for this series as well -- maybe the David Nadien version as suggested elsewhere.

This was a pretty dumb book I already knew all of this stuff!

I bought this, along with several similar books, for my 11 year-old son. The Q&A format of this book made it easy to read, but many topics were handled in a clinical, vague manner and spent way too much time on trivial subjects (e.g., a whole chapter on "Crushes.") I actually checked the copyright, to see if it was written in the '50's. (It's 1988.) I was very troubled by the section, "What Happens if a Young Girl Gets Pregnant?" It ignored the boy's role & responsibility, and glossed over the topic with vague statements such as: "Her whole life will change, and not usually for the better." And, "She may feel upset for a long time afterward." There's even a section, "Why Would a Girl Let Herself Get Pregnant?" which suggests "Sometimes a girl secretly wants to get pregnant..." The section ends with: "The surest way to prevent pregnancy is not to have intercourse." I found a much better book for my son: "What's Going on Down There." Silly title, but much more thorough, balanced and practical.

As a mother and a teacher, I appreciate Cole's sensitivity and frankness with a difficult subject. I am afraid, however, that the adolescent audience for whom the book is intended will be distracted by the many graphic illustrations. This is unfortunate because the book has many good things to say. I especially appreciated the chapters on AIDS/STDs and sexual abuse. Children need this information. I would like to see this book reprinted with fewer illustrations. Descriptions will often suffice as children have vivid imaginations!

Joanna Cole gives straight answers for preteens' questions concerning sex. Parents and child should read the chapters together. The book will open lines of communications on this very important subject.

I bought this book hoping to have an early broad conversation about sexuality with my 9 year old boy and found this book to be too detailed for someone that young. The illustrations are over-simplified and may be good for younger kids, but it doesn't jibe with the text which is more complex and biologically, fact-based. A great book- but I found I have to leave it on the shelf for another year or so. I don't think most 9-year olds will get this stuff yet so I'd advise you to hold off buying this unless you have an exceptionally mature child of this age. I'm sure it will be an excellent reference at 10 or 11.

I found this book so easy to follow that I was cutting the hair of my two daughters in no time at all. My husband was so impressed that he let me cut his hair, too. I just followed the simple steps and illustrations within. If you want easy and simple, then this is the book for you.

I was having trouble learning how to cut hair in cosmetology school. I just couldn't get the feel of cutting. Then I bought The Haircutting School Book and my haircutting got much better. It puts how to cut hair into very easy to understand terms. I recommend this book to anyone who is starting hairdressing school or for someone who just wants to cut their family's hair.

Personally, I found it helpful, but not that helpful, if that makes any sense to you. And I also thought the illustrations were vague in my opinion and not very well done. They are just good enough that you can make out what she is doing, but barely and I really didn't care for that. I wanted something with good instruction and illustration, so I could see exactly HOW I should be doing it and HOW it should actually look. I felt these illustrations were not very helpful at all. But, all in all, if you are not really in need of pictures, then her instructions are fairly decent and you could go by them. I know this may be confusing, but it is just the only way that I could explain it!

This book might be OK as a supplement to a haircutting course, but one sure couldn't learn haircutting with it alone. It's just a 40 page teaser, leaving you with many more questions than it answers.

I found the illustrations confusing

I found this a good book for an older mature teen. It is very refreshing compared to other books on the market for advice to teens on sexuality. It's very important that our kids are taught about sexually related diseases and unwanted pregnancies. They also need to be warned of the emotional consequences of getting physically involved with a partner before they are ready. Most books cover these topics, and advise abstinance until marriage. Which is all fine to a point. I have been searching for a book for older teens who are mature and in a loving relationship, that would introduce to them how to begin slowly and cautiosly intergrating a little sexuality into their realtionship. One day their sexual relationship should be a very fulfilling and enriching part of their lives. I feel that if we "scare" them too much,they will learn unhealthy sexual outlets (such as pornography), and will then be incapable of developing a healthy loving sexual relationship with their life partner. While this book is not the perfect answer, it's the best I've found so far, and I intend to give it to my teenagers when the time is right.

This book suffers from the unfortunate modern thought that if a book uses a lot of technical and explicit sexual terminology, then we can rely on the good doctor's words. Dr. Stoppard tackles many important topics for sexually curious teens, but her advice generally is a soft-sell on sexual risks and an encouragement to teens that any and all sexual behaviors are enjoyable, `when you are ready.' She repeats the popular line, "Contraceptives can prevent pregnancy, and condoms in particular can prevent STD's from being passed on." The emphasis is on PREVENT. Cute cartoons then suggest "some" people do get an STD from sex, but there is never an honest discussion of failure rates for condoms or a loud warning about the STD's like HPV or herpes which can be transmitted to a partner, even if a condom is used. In fact, in a chart on contraceptives, she lists the condom as 98% effective, when industry experts agree the effectiveness is 87% in reality, with teens turning in the lowest rates of all. (Contraceptive Technology Update, 2000) In spite of the medical community's authoritative warnings against the term "Safe Sex," Dr. Stoppard tells teens, "Always practice safe sex. You want to relax when you have sex; you don't want to have to worry about pregnancy and STD's." In order for teens to decide for themselves if they are mature enough for sex, they are given a short list of 12 simplistic questions: "Would I stand up for a friend? Do I keep promises? Can I accept criticism?-and others." Her "Guidelines for Responsible Sex" begin with, "No sex unless you really care about him, and he cares about you." How many teens "care about" each other? Is this truly when we want them to decide sex is permissible? When discussing HIV, she cautions teens to never have sex with a stranger, implying that teens are protected from AIDS if they "know" the person. This advice flies in the face of the fact that HIV and many other STD's give no outward symptoms, even to the infected person. And she tells teens to try mutual masturbation and oral sex as a way to avoid the problems of intercourse, (including the statutory rape laws in many states, she points out,) while, in truth, mutual masturbation and oral sex are highly effective ways to transmit STD's. In a book targeting pre-teens and younger teens, this is woefully inadequate advice. Finally, at the end of a book that honors any and all sex as permissible for a "mature" person, Dr. Stoppard drops the bombshell of teen pregnancy with this understatement, "An unwanted pregnancy is difficult for everyone concerned...If you're pregnant, it's too late for regrets." In the United States 40 percent of all females will become pregnant before their 20th birthday, and up to 95% of these pregnancies will be unplanned. (CDC Fact Sheet) This unfortunate statistic can be understood in light of the sexually permissive and encouraging advice contained in "Sex Ed." This book ends by reminding teens that everyone "has the right" to basic freedoms. Number 4 on the list is, "Freedom from repression by the older generation." In spite of earlier suggestions in the book that parents are important, this basic freedom No. 4 gives teens complete freedom to ignore their parents. This is the kind of duplicity in "Sex Ed," by Dr. Stoppard, that will allow teens to gain whatever type of permission they seek for whatever type of sexual behavior they want to explore. If teens are truly mature enough to be considering sex, they deserve better than a lukewarm, `be careful, but enjoy,' served up with cute cartoons. Any adult concerned for the health of a child will pass this book by.

This book is GREAT! It realy helps teens like me understand sex isnt just a game, its a step that will affect your whole life. The info is given in a way that teens actauly take seriously. I love the little cartoon scenarios. They help show things clearly. The illustrations are good too. I feel this book should be used by schools when teaching about sex. From a teens point of view it would be way more effective and would lower the levels of sleepers of people who just dont pay attention.

This is a wonderful book for teens. It is much, much more than the title implies. Dr. Stoppard encourages her readers to act in a mature, responsible action, and to treat sex seriously. She encourages her readers to wait, to think before having sex, and to talk to their parents or other adults about what's going on in their lives. She doesn't make readers who have chosen to have sex feel guilty, and she doesn't talk down to teens. She includes frank discussions about the risks of sex, birth control, and protecting yourself against STD's. There is also plenty of good advice for teens on making and maintaining non-sexual relationships and the changes going on in their bodies as they mature. In a few years I'll be making sure my son sees this book.

Sex Ed is a good book for teens that are going to become sexually active not pre-teens like me. The book gives a lot of good information on puberty, birth control, and STD's; but toward the end the book turns into a so called sex manual! Dr. Stoppard actually explains how to have make foreplay more enjoyable. how to get an orgasm, and how to have better sex. I don't like those type of things in a book that teens read. Besides all of the that type of stuff the book is actually pretty enjoyable. Not great for pre-teens but pretty good for teens starting a sexual relationship.