Reviews (118)

If you can look past the agenda . . .
I read Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes when I was taking a young adult literature class in college.I'd just finished reading Chinese Handcuffs, also by Crutcher, and even though I'm not interested in sports at all, I really enjoyed it.Feeling in the mood for some more angst, but wary of the emphasis on sports in a lot of his books, I decided swimming would be an interesting sport to read about and picked up Staying Fat.It wasn't bad.In fact, it was very similar to other books of Crutcher's I've read in that it deals with sports and angst.
Two Teen's Couragous Battles Because ofBeing VeryDifferent.
When I began the book, I felt like it was going to be just some teen complaining because life isn't perfect.However, Eric was couragous and well beyond his years because he accepted himself completely.Beyond the teasing and tormenting that his peers gave him was a growing deep confidence in himself.
Can I get an extra star?
I'm an ELA teacher. This is one of my favorite YA novels. After you get comfortable with the main character and hisrelationship with Sarah Byrnes, it's impossible to put this book down. The characters are new/strange and well defined.The issues are a bit heavy as is the language, so I'd keep it at 14 or older.
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Subjects:  1. Child abuse    2. Children's 12-Up - Fiction - General    3. Children: Young Adult (Gr. 7-9)    4. Fiction    5. Friendship    6. Juvenile Fiction    7. Schools    8. Social Issues - Friendship    9. Social Issues - Physical & Emotional Abuse    10. Social Issues - Violence    11. Juvenile Fiction / Social Situations / Friendship   

Editorial Review

Australian poet Alison Croggon brings an eye for sensual detail to this heroic fantasy that follows the genre's familiar formula: A humble person is caught up in extraordinary events and led (or sent) on a journey by a wise figure, only to discover eventually that he/she is destined to save the world in an ultimate confrontation between the powers of good and evil. In this case the young person is sixteen-year-old Maedra, who is rescued from slavery by the Bard Cadvan. They share an exhausting journey toward Innail, one of the Bard schools and strongholds that govern the land, and Maedra grows to trust Cadvan as he reluctantly reveals his magical powers in several ambushes from evil creatures. But under duress she, too, begins to discover that she has a Gift--and more. After she has learned to read, ride a horse, and handle a sword at Innail, they set out on another dangerous trek to the prestigious city of Norloch, where Cadvan hopes to consult with his mentor Nelac to confirm his conviction that Maerad is the One who was Foretold. Many other characters and creatures come into this tale, as well as mystical intimations and dreams, and lavish descriptions of landscape, food, clothes, and room furnishings. In the tradition of Tolkien, a whole history of an ancient language and culture undergirds the story, and Croggon has even provided appendices of that history, a pronunciation guide, and an invented bibliography of her sources. Die-hard fantasy fans who can forgive its slow pace will enjoy this richly imagined story and look forward to its sequel, Read more

Reviews (32)

Little Known But Well Done
Alison Croggon is a little known but acclaimed author of "The Naming"."...An epic fantasy in the Tolkein tradition..." says Tamora Pierce author of Protector of the Small and the Circle Opens quartets, which is small praise for this page turning novel.
The formula for success?
The scenario: An orphaned young protagonist is whisked away from a bleak existence by a mysteriously powerful stranger, introduced to a world of magic and intrigue in which she has by birthright a special place. In addition to her previously undiscovered, unpolished, and innumerable talents that stagger everyone with their power, she also happens to be the Fated One, named in a mysterious prophecy as the hero to bring down a terrible villain so evil he is Nameless.
Detailed and Easily Understood
First of all, The Naming was a great book, and I would definitely recomend reading the whole series.
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Subjects:  1. Children's 12-Up - Fiction - Science Fiction    2. Children's Books - Young Adult    3. Children's Books - Young Adult Fiction    4. Children: Young Adult (Gr. 7-9)    5. Fiction    6. Identity    7. Juvenile Fiction    8. Legends, Myths, & Fables - General    9. Magic    10. Orphans    11. Science Fiction, Fantasy, & Magic    12. Social Issues - New Experience    13. Supernatural    14. Juvenile Fiction / Legends, Myths, Fables / General   

Reviews (9)

Great Book
I thought this book was great - it was really colorful. The overall feel reminded me of the book "Now I Know the Ten Commandments". I recommend it to anyone.
No better lesson for your kids
The lessons and messages taught in these Lucado books through Punchinello and his friends are very effective. If you want children with great self esteem, high confidence, ability to choose the right path, not afraid to say 'no' to peer pressure, always treat others with respect, leaders amongst their friends, far less troubles than other kids....then you'll get all Lucado books like this and read them to your kids. The kids love the stories, and I bet there's even a message parents will get as well. You can't buy a better book for your grandchildren, children, nieces, nepwhews or friends. Make an investment in your kids future that pays off big time. Ours has already, and we're so glad we did!

Best of All
Max Lucado has done it again with his book "Best of All".He continues to teach life long lessons using creative characters that are able to captivate readers of all ages.Sergio Martinez does an amazing job making the story come alive for readers with his illustrations.I use Lucado's books in my third grade classroom and we always have wonderful, heartfelt discussions to follow.I recommend his books to anyone with children of their own or to an educator who wants to fully enthrall his/her students while teaching moral lessons. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Children's 4-8 - Picturebooks    2. Children's Books/Ages 4-8 Fiction    3. Children: Grades 1-2    4. Children: Kindergarten    5. Conduct of life    6. Fiction    7. Juvenile Fiction    8. Nature & the Natural World - General    9. Prejudices    10. Religious - Christian    11. Social Issues - Prejudice & Racism    12. Social Issues - Values    13. Social Situations - Prejudice & Racism    14. Trees    15. Wood carving   

Reviews (23)

This book is great
This book is one of the best books in the world. I have read it and I want to see the movie. Anne Holm is a great writer. This book truly exemplifies the human spirit at its best.

AGreat tale of Faith and Freedom
David is just a young boy, and yet he has never seen anything outside of the prison gray concentration walls he is trapped behind. He has lived his entire life there, with only one friend, and he never knew his parents. When he gets a chance to escape with the help of a prison guard, he takes a chance. In a daring move, he gets over the fence and heads off to an unknown land that he was told to go by the guard. With no map, little provisions, and little knowledge of the outside world, it is just David's memory of stories he used to hear that keeps him going on towards freedom. Traveling through Italy living off of what he can steal, David is faced with several problems. How does he find this country the guard told him about? How will he survive without being captured? David hitchhikes across the boot of the country up to the north. The people he meets can only focus on his eyes, and how painful they look. He makes some friends along the way, and eventually gets a job to buy bread, but he has to keep moving. When he reaches his destination, he realizes that he has done some things that he couldn't have without being from a concentration camp, he is thankful. In the end, David meets someone quite unexpected! This book is a fantastic read about faith and freedom.

Escaping David
David, a boy who had been living in a Nazi camp since he was young, is now ready. Ready to escape that is.The time was right and the signal had been given.David climbed over the fence thinking, and waiting for the spotlight to be shined on him.But, a light never shined and he was never caught.He found the bundle that the man told him about and David set off.He wasn't aware of the world around him; all he knew was to go north toward Denmark, as the man had told him.David's journey is long and he faces many challenges along the way.Will David be caught again?Will he survive the world he's never known?Find out all this and more in this thrilling novel titled I Am David.
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Subjects:  1. Children's Books/Ages 9-12 Fiction    2. Children: Grades 3-4    3. Classics    4. Fiction    5. Historical - United States - General    6. Juvenile Fiction    7. Refugees    8. Social Issues - Homelessness & Poverty    9. Social Issues - Runaways    10. Social Issues - Self-Esteem & Self-Reliance    11. Juvenile Fiction / Historical / United States / General   

Reviews (302)

Just WoW!
I usually don't read realistic fiction but this is one heck of a book! It is such and intense story but told in a way that makes you feel engaged rather than sad and depressed. It is a story of growing up and journeying. Dicey is still one of my favorite characters and I read it 8 years ago.

"Homecoming"
The Tillerman's mother abandoned Dicey, and her three younger siblings, James, Sammy, and Maybeth in a mall parking lot one afternoon. After endless hours of waiting for her mother, Dicey configures a plan. Dicey decides they must travel to her Cousin Cilla in Bridgeport, Connecticut and see if she will take them in as her family. Dicey will do anything to keep her family from getting separated in Foster Care, even if it means the Tillermans must hike miles in the scorching sun, with very little food, and a only a map to guide them. After many days of traveling through different cities in all kinds of weather, the Tillermans reach her Cousin Celia's home, only to find she has died. Cousin Celia's daughter, Eunice, takes them under her wing, feeling it is her duty. The Tillerman's feel uncomfortable living with Cousin Eunice. They escape and make their last journey to Chesapeake Bay, full of hope, to her grandmother's farm. The last relative they know of.
It's still true..
This book is full of adventure, and all of the adventures that the Tillerman children have been on.It's fun to read and makes you feel as if you were there with the Tillermans emarking on their next adventure! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Brothers and sisters    2. Children's Books/Ages 9-12 Fiction    3. Children: Young Adult (Gr. 7-9)    4. Family - Siblings    5. Family life    6. Fiction    7. Juvenile Fiction    8. Social Issues - Homelessness & Poverty    9. Survival    10. Juvenile Fiction / Family / Siblings   

Reviews (3)

When love was an ember about to billow
When I was younger I used to love going to antique stores to buy old photographs.Usually these stores would have huge bins of old shots of families, individuals, and places.Finding the ones I thought were the most original, I bought them and gave each one its own name and history, entirely of my own making.I could pore over a single photograph for hours, enlivening it with a background that I myself would never be able to prove or disprove.But each photo was a staged affair.Its participants knew that they were being photographed.How different it would be to do the same thing, only with photos that highlighted a particular historical moment in our nation's history.In "Remember: The Journey To School Integration", authorial god Toni Morrison does just that.She takes photos that highlight the struggles and heroism of the civil rights activists (and their children) during the early years of southern integration and gives many of them their own little comment or story.Taken individually the photos are eye-opening affairs, even for adults that lived through those turbulent years.Taken as a whole they tell a tale that we should never forget.
A fitting tribute to a volatile period in history
On May 17, 1954 the US Supreme Court declared segregated schools unconstitutional, sending the nation on a path of integration whose ramifications are being felt today. In Remember: The Journey To School Integration, author Toni Morrison presents archival photos depicting the events surrounding school integration processes, accompanying photos with a fictional text recounting the dialogue and emotions of students of the times. A fitting tribute to a volatile period in history which should never be forgotten.
A Morrison Masterpiece
Morrison has captured an era in her skillful hands and held it out for all to see, a remembrance and a memorial as well.She presents reality, but has smoothed the harsh edges, so that the truth stands out plainly and clearly. Her gaze is focused upon progress toward equality, respect, dignity and non-violence.
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Subjects:  1. African Americans    2. Children's Books/Ages 9-12 Nonfiction    3. Children: Grades 3-4    4. Discrimination in education    5. Education    6. History - United States/20th Century    7. Juvenile Education    8. Juvenile Nonfiction    9. Pictorial works    10. School & Education    11. School integration    12. Social Issues - Prejudice & Racism    13. United States    14. Juvenile Nonfiction / History / United States / 20th Century   

Reviews (9)

Sad Isn't Bad
I was looking for a book for a child who had lost her mother (a single parent).The book assumes there is a parent in the child's life.It would be a good book for a traditional and religious family.

Limited
This book would not be helpful for children of faiths other than Christianity.

helpful to children
I found this book very helpful to my 7 year old when dealing with the stillborn death of his sibling.Reading it together helped us discuss certain emotions that we would not have brought up on our own.I recomend it for elementary age children. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Children's Books/Ages 4-8 Fiction    2. Children: Grades 3-4    3. Social Issues - Death & Dying    4. Social Issues - Emotions & Feelings   

Reviews (1)

Best of the series!Clear, easy signs & cute pictures
"Get your spider-fingers ready...!" (wiggle, wiggle)
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Subjects:  1. Children's Baby - Boardbooks    2. Children's Books/Baby-Preschool    3. Children: Kindergarten    4. Juvenile Nonfiction    5. Language Arts - Vocabulary & Spelling    6. Poetry - Nursery Rhymes    7. Social Issues - Special Needs    8. Social Situations - Special Needs   

Reviews (17)

Powerful Page Turner
I really enjoyed BURNED.I found it difficult to put it down, and didn't.I read CRANK as well a few months ago, and I have to say I am really looking forward to her next 2 books IMPULSE and GLASS.
Hmmm...
In the very first pages of Burned, Ms. Hopkins writes:
A Girls Life Broken...
This book sends you through a girls life with a father who beats his wife... a mormon family growing up - and a daughter wanting to break free and just let it all go but no one will let her...
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Subjects:  1. Alcoholism    2. Children's Books - Young Adult Fiction    3. Children: Young Adult (Gr. 10-12)    4. Family - Parents    5. Family problems    6. Fiction    7. Juvenile Fiction    8. Mormons    9. Social Issues - Physical & Emotional Abuse    10. Social Issues - Self-Esteem & Self-Reliance    11. Social Issues - Values    12. Juvenile Fiction / Family / Parents   

Reviews (173)

Very Touching
I really enjoyed this book.It is in my top favorites.It's a very touching story you will never be able to forget Nancy.

An Old Favorite
My mother found this novel for me at a yard sale.My aunt was suffering from AIDS at the time, and I think she felt that by reading the book I might better understand her illness.
it happened to Nancy
Ages 14 and up. Nancy thought she was in love but didn't know that it could cause her her own life: It Happened to Nancy. Nancy was raped and infested with her new bestfriend's HIV. Never again did she think anything good could come out of this situation. But having AIDS taught her to be more careful in life and appreciate it more because she didn't have that much of it left. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. AIDS (Disease)    2. Biography    3. Biography & Autobiography - General    4. Children's 12-Up - Biography / Autobiography    5. Children's Books/Young Adult Biography    6. Children: Young Adult (Gr. 10-12)    7. Diaries    8. Health & Daily Living - Diseases    9. Health - Diseases    10. Juvenile literature    11. Patients    12. United States    13. Juvenile Fiction / Social Situations / Death & Dying    14. True Stories   

Reviews (5)

Very good reading for children!
My 9 year-old son recently lost his father and he was not talking to me or any family members about his feelings. This book was very thorough for a young person and it helped him to open dialogue with me and start his grieving process. I highly recommend this book.

Helpful for Basic Questions of A Child Experiencing A Death
This book provides brief and blunt answers to questions many children may have and adults may not consider - it touches on 'What is a Memorial Service', 'Where does the person go', 'Am I Going To Die Too?', 'Is the Death My Fault' as well as common feelings experienced while grieving.Each topic is brief and written for a child.
Childish illustration paired with Blunt realism.
I bought this for my 4 1/2 year old, she has never seen it. I found it too clinical, and not at all what I had imagined having read the other reviews. The cartoons seemed aimed at my daughters age group, yet the writing is in my opinion, not for little ones. I showed this book to my twelve year old niece, thinking maybe the target was more in her age range. Her response was an incredulous "isnt this supposed to make you feel better!?"... ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Adjustment (Psychology) in chi    2. Adjustment (Psychology) in children    3. Bereavement in children    4. Children's 9-12 - Sociology    5. Children's Books/Ages 9-12 Nonfiction    6. Children: Grades 3-4    7. Death    8. Grief in children    9. Juvenile Nonfiction    10. Juvenile literature    11. Social Issues - Death & Dying    12. Social Science - Psychology    13. Social Situations - Death & Dying    14. Social Studies - General    15. Death & dying    16. Suicide, death & bereavement   

Reviews (62)

Swallowing Stones
Michael McKenzie is turning 17. It's the fourth of July and his parents are throwing him an all day barbeque and pool party with all of his friends. He's having the time of his life! Little does he know that this day will change the rest of his life---for the worse. Swallowing Stones by Joyce McDonald made me realize how an innocent act can turn your life upside down. The protagonist, Michael, is in conflict with himself throughout the entire book when he realizes that he has unknowingly killed a man with the 45-70 Winchester rifle that his grandfather has just given him. Michael goes from an athletic, popular, well-liked student with a wonderful girlfriend to a withdrawn kid who loses most of his friends. I felt sorry for him as the plot thickened. He was scared and since he remained silent he didn't have anyone he could turn to for help. He loses all of his relationships and is alone. His personality changes and he is constantly on edge. News of the details spread throughout town as the police close in on their investigation. When the detectives appear on his doorstep to question his father, Michael's story becomes twisted and he even implicates his own best friend. Will Michael clear his conscious and turn himself in? Read Swallowing Stones by Joyce McDonald to find out how this thriller ends.

swallowing stone
i'am writing about swallowing stones because this book was a really good book.the reason why i set her and say it was a good book because it it was a book the most boys like it had action and i donotno what boy or girl that wouldn't like a book with action.it also made me want to keep reading the book ever time i had to take a brake and it is really hard to make me read just one book.so that's why i say it's a good book.

Swallowing Stones

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Subjects:  1. Children's 12-Up - Fiction - General    2. Children: Young Adult (Gr. 7-9)    3. Death    4. Fiction    5. Grief    6. Guilt    7. Juvenile Fiction    8. Social Issues - Death & Dying    9. Social Issues - General    10. Social Situations - General    11. Juvenile Fiction / Social Situations / General   

Reviews (8)

For all ages
I am mom to a toddler, aunt to a 12 yr old girl and 8 yr old boy, and reading tutor to three kids ages 6, 11, and 15.We all love learning from this book.Heller's Baby Fingers Teaching Your Baby to Sign board books for babies and toddlers have also been great for my toddler.

Excellent introductory book!
This book has clear, easy to follow pictures. There is enough information in the first few pages to begin signing to/with kids!!Great book!

Excellent book!
This is a WONDERFUL book and an excellent place to begin signing with your baby. Lora Heller is an expert in signing as well as children. I signed with my baby from about 9 months, and he picked it right up. He is now a very advanced talker at 2.5 years of age. He loved signing, and so did I - it gave us a way to communicate before he could talk. I knew what he wanted and what he was feeling/thinking so much more often with signs! I can't say enough good things about it and about Lora Heller. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Children's Books/Ages 4-8 Nonfiction    2. Children: Grades 3-4    3. Juvenile Nonfiction    4. Juvenile literature    5. Language Arts - General    6. Sign language    7. Social Issues - Special Needs    8. BG-HUMOR/GAMES - BG-HUMOR    9. Juvenile Nonfiction / Language Arts / General   

Reviews (10)

Bad Book
Never read this book.It is boring.The author repeats everything over and over again.

Good Enough
This Everglades story is an interesting ecological mystery, but it's a bit too repetitive. (By now if you've read all my reviews you'll know it's one of my pet peeves.) Searching for a missing alligator the entire story is a bit too much, hm? Well, overall it's a good ecological mystery, but only if you're bored should you make the drastic decision to read it.

The Missing Gator of Gumbo Limbo
I have just finish reading a book call The Missing Gator of Gumbo Limbo. It's about a family who don't have a house yet, because they don't have enough money to build a house. The father was in another country, doing business around the world. He doesn't even know what's happening to his family. Many people say that they don't have house. Well they are, but the mother says that they were on a vacation. She always said that every time because she doesn't want people to know it. So now, their daughter named Liza K., is an adventures girl. She knows all the places in the forest. She even has an alligator friend. Now, she and her friends must save the forest from the people who want to destroy, but then, her alligator friend lost. Now, she's on an adventure to find the alligator and stop the destruction of the forest. Read more

Subjects:  1. Alligators    2. Animals - Alligators & Crocodiles    3. Children's 9-12 - Fiction - General    4. Children's Books/Ages 9-12 Fiction    5. Children: Grades 4-6    6. Ecology    7. Fiction    8. Nature & the Natural World - Ecology    9. Nature & the Natural World - Environment & Ecology    10. Social Issues - Homelessness & Poverty    11. Social Situations - Homelessness & Poverty    12. Wildlife conservation    13. Juvenile Fiction / Animals / Alligators & Crocodiles   

Reviews (17)

Even if...
This is a beautiful and subtle story.While the story metaphorically uses a fence as the boundary constructed between people of different races, the metaphor could also be used to represent the boundaries that always seem to exist between people who are different from one another.If we all could only meet each other at those fences, like these little girls...

The Other Side
Wonderful read aloud book to children of all ages.A class favorite.Great book to demonstrate diversity and what adults can learn from children.

Powerful message
What a powerful message!This book is perfect for classroom discussions about diversity.I have used it during vocabulary activities, comprehension activities, as a journal starter, and simply for read aloud.Perfect addition to an upper elementary classroom. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Children's Books/Ages 4-8 Fiction    2. Children: Grades 1-2    3. Fiction    4. Friendship    5. Juvenile Fiction    6. Race relations    7. Social Issues - Friendship    8. Social Issues - Prejudice & Racism    9. Summer    10. Juvenile Fiction / Social Situations / Friendship   

Reviews (5)

Great book for infants!
I'm an occupational therapist and I absolutely loved using this book with my daughter.We used it from the age of 6 months to 17 months,when my daughter started to use more verbal language.I've read the other reviews and they state that the book is BSL, which I didn't even realize (not being a speech language pathologist, I'm not exposed to sign language as much).The book was great for what I think it's intended to be.It seems to be appropriate for infants to toddlers that are learning sign language as a precursor to verbal language.The children that would benefit from it won't communicate with other people who use standard ASL and won't use sign language as their main form of communication.My daughter learned approximately 20-25 signs to communicate to me things that she wanted and it cut down on a lot of frustration.I also noticed that if the word that she wanted to communicate wasn't in the book or wasn't something that I taught her, she would make up a sign...she even made up a sign for The Wiggles.This book is great for an infant/toddler because the pages are cardboard (they won't tear), the pictures are age appropriate for a baby, and it's easy to understand.I've seen several baby sign language books and none were appropriate to sit down and look at with a baby.This book was actually the first book that my daughter wanted to "read" before she went to bed, because she could "read" it.Again, a wonderful book for a infant/toddler who isn't going to use sign language as their main form of communication.My daughter is now 20 months old and has been talking for awhile and I really contribute it to her use of sign language prior to verbal language.Even if there's not a word that your baby wants to communicate in the book, just make it up.You're the only one that is probably going to use it with them...they won't be using the signs for long anyhow.

Important signs are missing.
What I like - This book is easy to understand.Large pictures and easy to understand illustrations are great.
British Sign Language vs. American Sign Language
My children and I love the illustrations and size of this big board book, but were disappointed upon receiving it and noting the signs were based on BSL (British Sign Lanugage) not ASL (American Sign Language).Although many signs were similar, there were also quite a few that were different.We're in close contact w/many deaf friends, so its not acceptable for us to learn BSL, when we're trying to learn ASL.I wish that I had known in advance regarding the translation. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Children's Books/Baby-Preschool    2. Children: Kindergarten    3. Juvenile Nonfiction    4. Language Arts - General    5. Social Issues - Special Needs   

Editorial Review

On the first day of kindergarten, Miss Bindergarten must prepare her classroom for her beloved students. This noble, whimsical teacher greets her dark, summertime-empty classroom with an explosion of color--a bouquet of fall leaves, a goldfish, rolled-up posters, and shoeboxes full of no-doubt-delightful surprises. Meanwhile, her young students get ready, too: "Read more

Reviews (19)

miss bindergarten gets ready for kindergarten
beautiful illustrations filled with color and imagination, that the whole family will enjoy. Excellent tool for introducing a child to school for the first time and for getting any child excited about returning to school. Wonderful tool for parents in looking for a guide to what your child's progressive classroom should look like. Great tool for teachers, containing tested methods for engaging and instructing young children.

My Kide Love This Book
This cute book goes thru 26 animals getting ready to go to their first day of ktgn with Miss Bindergarten. It is a rhyming book dealing with each letter of the alphabet.
Wonderful Story!
Creatively written, and fun for kids to read along with you.
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Subjects:  1. Alphabet    2. Animals    3. Animals - General    4. Children's 4-8 - Picturebooks    5. Children's Books/Ages 4-8 Fiction    6. Children: Preschool    7. Concepts - Alphabet    8. Fiction    9. Juvenile Fiction    10. Kindergarten    11. School & Education    12. Social Issues - New Experience    13. Social Situations - New Experience    14. Animal stories    15. Early learning / early learning concepts    16. Fiction dealing with social issues    17. Juvenile Fiction / Animals / General   

Reviews (6)

A fun way to introduce science to little kids!
It's absolutely perfect for our 3- and 5-year olds! It's a great way to introduce science concepts to them.The experiments are simple to prepare, very interesting and lots of fun.Also, most of the materials are common items used at home.We have done a number of the experiments without spending much money at all.It comes very handy, too, during rainy or snowy days.The activities help keep the kids from getting bored inside the house.

Outstanding resource
My kids loved these fun learning activities. Enough to keep them busy through early childhood. Nothing canned here. . . all creative and discovery-focused. Makes biology and even physics accessable to very young children. You can't go wrong with this outstanding guide.

This series is GREAT
This is really handy for the budding scientist in your preschooler. Experiements are written so that the early reader can understand and do the experiments on their own (it lets the reader know when a parent needs to help or supervise, such as when scissors are involved) and has question that the parent can use to further expand on projects. Also check this whole series, such as math play, arts and crafts from around the world, rainy day play, weather, shapes, etc. My son loves these activies. Plus for the price, you can't beat it.(...) ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Activity programs    2. Children: Kindergarten    3. Education / Teaching    4. Experiments    5. Experiments & Projects    6. Juvenile Nonfiction    7. Juvenile literature    8. Preschool & Kindergarten    9. School & Education    10. Science    11. Science & Nature - Experiments & Projects    12. Science & Nature - General    13. Study and teaching (Elementary    14. Study and teaching (Elementary)    15. Teaching Methods & Materials - Science & Technology    16. First experiences    17. General science    18. Time & seasons   

Reviews (5)

Very interesting book
This book is captivating and very interesting both for its topic and timing. The book illustrates what it means to be a Muslim immigrant living in Europe from the perspective of a teenager. It is funny and sad at times. I recommend this to anyone who wants to understand the complex relationships between religions and cultures in today's world.
News from the Paris 'burbs
Not very much "beur" literature has made its way to the U.S. in English translation, so it's nice to see that Guene's French bestseller made the voyage since originally appearing in 2004 (and in 25 other languages since). The term "beur" is a French slang term referring to Arab North African (Algerian, Moroccan, and Tunisian) immigrants living in France, and generally includes those who've been born in France. Like most immigrant populations, it's one that's been largely marginalized, with all the attendant social problems that leads to (witness the widespread riots of late 2005). Here, the beur experience is voiced by a 15-year-old Moroccan girl, Doria, who lives with her mother in a large tower block in suburban Paris projects. Abandoned by their father/husband, who moved back to Morocco to wed a woman who would produce a son, the two women live an impoverished life of thrift store clothes, shiny social workers, food vouchers, school counselors, and minimum wage jobs.
poignant and appealing
First off, may I just say how happy I was to learn the author was 19 when she wrote this, after Kaavya Viswanathan's plagiarism was excused because of her age, as if it's impossible for a young writer to write an original story without "internalizing" half a dozen other (better) books. This is patronizing and untrue.
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Subjects:  1. Children: Young Adult (Gr. 10-12)    2. Fiction - General    3. Juvenile Fiction    4. Literary    5. Social Issues - Emotions & Feelings    6. Social Issues - Prejudice & Racism    7. Fiction / General