Junior Books

I am teaching middle school science and love this book. It is packed with information and has a very interesting browsable format. Its very inviting to pick up and just start reading anywhere. There is a good balance between theory and application. It addresses the real world of teaching in multicultural, economically diverse america.

Research based and gives lots of case studies that illustrate
how instructional tools can be implemented. Explains the theory behind the models as well. A must have for science teachers!

Hassard is at it again! Having been one of the pioneers in exploring the application of technology in the teaching of science in his earlier books, such as Science as Inquiry and Minds on Science, Hassard's The Art of Teaching Science is a compendium containing all that a science educator needs to be fully current and effective.

Incorporating historical information I deem critical knowledge for my pre-service students, Hassard considers the curriculum implications of the science curriculum, and does a masterful job at the marriage of the theory with the current trends in best practices in Part III of his book. In Part IV, Hassard really struts his stuff as a master strategist, and takes on the reader with him. This part, for me, is one of the most important reason to get this book, although some may argue that other sections hold stronger merit.

This is one of the books to own, if just to use for reference purposes.

Charles Hutchison
Science Educator
College of Education
The University of North Carolina at Charlotte

The Art of Teaching Science is a wonderful resource for middle and secondary science teachers. The book recognizes good teaching as a creative and experiential process and it provides young educators with a framework for innovative teaching. The hands-on, minds-on activities provide useful examples of how inquiry-based experiences can help improve our students understanding and enjoyment of science. It is well worth the read.

I enjoyed this book with my grandson. We have some bald eagles nesting at our job and have been observing them for a year now. The book has loads of helpful information to enhance our experience.

My son picked this book our at the library today. We read it together. Lots of great info along with a story of how baby eagles grow! Fun book!

The illustrations and the story are both immediately appealing. The information is fascinating and what is especially useful is that there are two levels of information available on each page. That is, the story for children about how a baby eagle joins the world and then additional information for the older child and the parent. Its so engaging and beautiful!

I absolutely love this book--visually stunning with accurate, sometimes to the point of scientific, drawings of the growth cycle of the bald eagle. The narration is very informative while at the same time engaging for younger readers as well. I learned more in this book about eagles than in any field guide. When's the next one coming out?

I love all the books in this series. I am introducing these to my 4-year-old son who just started pre-school, and we are working on how he expresses fear/anger/sadness as well as manners. I have looked at quite a few options and like this series the best. This book introduces the topic of manners, shows examples of manners in actions, as well as the benefits of being gracious. Also, Meiners balances this with what happens when we do not use good manners and how we can make amends.

I highly recommend this and all the other books from this series. The concepts are simply stated and are dealt with in a variety of ways. It encourages kids to think through things themselves. The artwork is delightful. The books are short enough to hold their attention. The kids love all the books we have in this series, and you can find just about any topic you are needing help with.

We own almost all the books in Cheri Meiners series. This particular one simply and beautifully illustrates the aplication of everyday manners through different scenarios that will be interesting and often familiar to most children. It supports, through example, the work that parents do at home teaching children everyday manners.

However, an added (and perhaps hidden) bonus of this and many if not all of the books in the series will interest parents of children on the autism spectrum. This and many of the other titles have opened a window to the kind of knowledge that simply does not come naturally to my daughter with high functioning autism. This title and others in the series (in particular Share and Take Turns, Listen and Learn, and Understand and Care) provide a framework for understanding social interactions and rules that is warm, supportive, loving, inclusive, natural, and most importantly, instructive.

I have watched how the lessons contained within them seamlessly flow into her daily conversation and life ("May I please have some Cheddar Bunnies, Mommy?" - this after a couple of readings of "Be Polite and Kind"). I know they have helped her think through the kinds of things that do not come naturally to her and equally importantly, give her the language framework to apply them. I highly recommend these books not just for children on the spectrum but for any parent or even teacher who is looking for an entertaining, non-preachy way to expand upon lessons on good social behavior or more simply, per the title of the series, is interested in helping their child learn "how to get along".

I would highly recommend any of the books in this series by Cheri Meiners. My just-turned-5-year-old son asks for them at storytime, and the writing is just right for pre-K and kindergarten children. Truthful without being preachy, the series shows children and family members from many different ethnic groups in the colorful illustrations, and each book addresses issues which are developmentally critical to this particular age group: sharing, taking turns, being afraid, listening, respecting others, helping out at home, etc. These books have given us a starting point to discuss problems at school or interacting with others, and have helped my son to have more empathy for his peers....I am hopeful that this quality will serve him well as he continues on to kindergarten and elementary school. It is exciting to hear him use ideas from this series to problem solve.

After taking a class with Joan Wolf, I decided to read her book. The Beanstalk and Beyond is excellent book for writing ideas. It helps develop your imagination and gives you guidelines for writing stories. If you're a writer and you have writer's block, pick up a copy of this book for wonderful ideas and lots of fun!

I work in a performing arts magnet school and the activities in this book really appealed to their creativity. Lots of oppertunites for higher level thinking.

After taking a class with Joan Wolf, I decided to read her book. The Beanstalk and Beyond is excellent book for writing ideas. It helps develop your imagination and gives you guidelines for writing stories. If you're a writer and you have writer's block, pick up a copy of this book for wonderful ideas and lots of fun!

The Beanstalk and Beyond: Developing Critical Thinking Through Fairy Tales
Joan M. Wolf has created a tool that will make learning with fairytales memorable for children of all ages and abilities. In her introduction she states "...this book is not just about the study of fairy tales. It is about experiencing the joys of creative writing and creative problem solving with students" The items needed to implement the lessons are basic things that can be found in every classroom which keeps teachers from having to spend more money on the supplies. In the copyright notice it does say that a library media specialist or teacher can photocopy from this book as long as it is used for one single school. The notice also states that portions of the book (up to 15 pages) can be used for professional development in a single school. This book is a great addition to any professional collection of a library or classroom. While reading I found activities for my library, for teacher's classroom use, and for our gifted teachers. This book is user friendly and an easy read for anyone that wants to increase higher order thinking in their instruction.
Chapter 1 is designed to get students excited about writing and studying fairy tales. This chapter is full of thought provoking questions like, "What do enchanted trees look like? Are they gentle-looking or fierce looking? What colors are their bark and leaves? What do they feel like to the touch? Do they have any kind of smell?" (p.10). That is just one of many discussion starters or journal prompts. There are two activities in this chapter that I absolutely love. One is a graffiti wall in which you post a question and students are invited to respond in graffiti style on the butcher paper wall. I am currently using this at my school in a man hallway and I have children of all ages (k-5) responding. The other activity has you placing a question about a fairy tale on each student's back. The students walk around and have people answer their question and the have to guess what the question is. Both activities get students involved and excited about fairy tales while they think critically and improve their question and answer skills.
Chapter 2 takes a critical looks at characterization while allowing children to manipulate characters from a fairy tale. Students will change information about the character and then create resumes, employment ads, business cards, and even advice columns. At the end of the chapter students will even create their own fairy tale character after being asked a series of questions to get them thinking in the right direction. I couldn't help but think about how this could change our student's view of creative writing and problem solving.
Chapter 3 works on the perspective and point of view of a story. Students will be asked to create talk shows, advertisements, news broadcasts, and persuasive speeches to prove that the villain in the fairy tale is actually innocent. I love this chapter because students are always fond of remakes of fairy tales where the villain tells their side of the story. This chapter helps students see that they can do their own remakes of fairy tales. I would love to create a school newspaper after studying fairy tales and fill it with the various remakes of the classic fairy tales. I think students would be so proud of their work.
Chapter 4 is all about developing creative story skills while making up their own fairy tales. This really focuses on how to create fractured fairy tales by just changing a few things in the original story. It also discusses creating a fairy tale by starting at the end of a story and working to the beginning.
I think Joan M. Wolf has created a dynamic resource for anyone that works with children. Examples of products are throughout the book so that anyone can easily teach these lessons and provide examples to learners. This could be used in book clubs about fairy tales, in public library summer reading programs, and any classroom in any part of the world. This is a must have for anyone who wants to increase critical thinking, creative writing, and questioning skills. The only thing I would have liked to see added to this book is basic rubrics for evaluating products. Most of the products created could not easily be graded and every teacher will want to put a grade on the hard work their students will do. A basic rubric for each product would have been a nice touch to help teachers save time. I think a CD of rubrics would have been even better so that teachers could easily go in and manipulate the basic rubric to meet their needs. Overall, this is an outstanding resource and worth every penny to purchase multiple copies.

The book looks brand new and I received it in less than a week. I am very satisfied and would highly recommend.

I am beginning art teacher and I have found this book incredibly helpful. What I like most about it is that it is thorough, but condensed. It covers a lot of important information in an accessible and easy to read way. A great overview on child development, and practical methods for the Elementary Art Classroom. A great reference.

This is a great book to use in a pre-service teacher education program. However, I am a long-time art educator and I still refer to it because it has a wide range of information on issues we encounter every day. This year I am teaching the art class for undergraduate elementary teachers and it is proving a very valuable resource. It is written in a readable, highly practical way with lots of examples that make adding art into an elementary curriculum not seem so foreign or so daunting. I do feel that there is a need for other supplemental reading and resources to accompany this text, but it is a great overall art education text, especially for the generalist teacher.

Children and Their Art is the most comprehensive textbook available for teaching art education methods. This bestselling textbook covers all aspects of teaching art in the elementary classroom: the basic principles and goals of art education, the characteristics and needs of children as learners, the core principles of art as a subject-aesthetics, principles of design, art history, art media-and all aspects of instruction-curriculum planning, sample lessons, classroom management, and assessment. The seventh edition has been thoroughly updated and includes coverage of the National Standards for Art Education as well as the impact of postmodern thought on the practice of art education. It also provides a concise overview of child development theories and the latest findings on child development and brain research, including Howard Gardner's theory of Multiple Intelligences.

I was searching for children's books with my new granddaughters name, Clara, and when I came across this book I liked the story. The moral of the story is "Clara is so capable and courageous" and "And I'm a completely contented butterfuly" said Clara, and I hope that my granddaughter Clara will grow up capable, courageous and content.

Absolutely delightful! Beautiful illustrations accompany the alliterative text that tells the tale of a cream colored butterfly who pales in comparison to her spectacular butterfly friends. But when Clara's relatively plain appearance helps her to save another butterfly, the other butterflies recognize her true value. An outstanding read aloud.

Clara Caterpillar is a fabulous book for many reasons!! My kids enjoyed hearing the tongue tripping tale and love reading it aloud themselves. The alliterative style is quite ear catching. The illustrations are vibrant and colorful. The pictures draw you into the garden until you feel like another bug.

This book is perfect to use with students. I used this to teach caterpillar metamorphosis. It will also be read frequently to illustrate accepting and admiring the unique qualities of individuals. No classroom library would be complete without this book!

This is story about hidden talents, not judging someone by their appearance etc. and it is very clever. I especially liked the fact that the hero in this story is female. I bought this story for my son's 5th birthday, but my 8 year old daughter simply adored this book. After I read it aloud to him a couple of times I saw her pick it up and read it to herself again and then to him when he asked her to. (She is not normally gung-ho for reading)Great story. Fantastic pictures.

I used this to teach a class of 5-7 yr. olds in our homeschool co-op. Although at times I had to add a little more review and material of my own, I was able to use this to teach entire 45 min. sessions. The kids love it and it is easy to prepare. I'm sure I will be able to use it much more in the future because it covers such a wide age range. Definitely money well-spent!

This practical resource gives music teachers a unique collecton of lessons and activities to build interest in classical music, while developing knowledge of form, mood, melody, harmony, tempo and rhythm. For easy use, the 50 tunes and 50 tales are organized into 5 sections with suggested grade levels and REPRODUCIBLE activity pages, spiral bound for convenient photocopying. Sprial bound, 340 pages

We used this book as a spine for our group music history unit studies. It was one of our favorites! The catchy musical excerpts made each lesson memorable. The kids loved singing them. We supplemented with short bios of the composers and pages to color while we listened. Maps helped us see where the composers traveled. We added videos when available and attended live events. It was a very rich study! Young children can really acquire a love for classical music.

We have such wonderful memories of this study that I'm having a hard time selling our copy.

This book is an excellent book with a problem! I found this book to lack an accompanying Music C.D. which should consist of all Music/Song selections found in this book. As a Music Educator, I feel that Music teachers have a better handle on classroom control when one can immediately select the music/song to be heard in class from an accompanying Musical C.D. Playing the music directly from this book should be the choice of the Teacher (not all Music Teachers are trained pianists!)enabling extensive student-centered lessons and easier teaching methods.

This is one of the few books that I have laughed out loud until tears streamed down my face!!! When trying to share the funniest entries, I can't even read them without laughing again. From analyzing the famous "Yeti on the lou" Pertwee phrase to including a table of contents containing only the letters of the alphabet, this is humor and wit at its best. I have never found a funnier Doctor Who book and I am hard pressed to name a funnier novel in general. If you do not have this book you don't know what you're missing!!! A++++

This book is an incredible collection of phrases and Whoisms that have appeared throughout Doctor Who's many years on the air. The authors have managed to poke fun at the good Doctor while assuring the reader that they're really on our side. It's a lot like making fun of your family - only another family memeber can get away with it. If you're not family, watch out! From "AAH" to "ZORG AND ORG," it's all there - every last tasty fun morsel that makes Doctor Who a worldwide institution.

This text is the funniest book I have ever read... Poking fun at not only Doctor Who, but the fandom of Doctor Who, this book is a laugh-riot from the introductory debate over stories' names, to the final index page which lists simply the letters of the alphabet and the Dedication to Godzilla. My favorite parts: the description of Season Eighteen as an "amusing omission from The Doctors: Thirty Years of Time Travel" and the description of Lazar's Disease as a syndrome whose main symptom is removing one's clothing... Lyons & Howarth are to be commended for such a devistatingly funny work.

Hilarious & irreverent, the useless encyclopedia looks unflinchingly at the schitzophrenic british fan base, the shoddy "classic" episodes, the ludicrous "new adventures", and just about everything and anything "Who" and useless. Written by fans for fans.

This book was received earlier than expected and in what seemed to be "brand new" condition, even thought I thought I was getting a used book. I am very pleased with this book and condition and will use this company again in the future. Thanks.

This is a great book that will help future teachers and parents to teach their children literacy. It has information about how to help children to understand reading and how one can help them to learn. This book has good information for anyone who wants to become a better reader. The only thing that I dislike about the book is that the chapters are long, but it is worth it.

This is a fantastic resource for literacy instruction. The author provides lots of practical tips and techniques for each approach as well as the theory behind each one. It's easy to read, too.

This is a fantastic book. It is intelligently written and engaging. It is far more interesting to read than, for example, Reutzel and Cooter's "Teaching Children to Read: From Basals to Books," which is stultifying by comparison. Gunning does not insult the reader's intelligence. This book is rooted in the research and, apparently, in considerable experience and thought on the author's part. Full of wise, useful, and detailed practical advice. Highly recommended.

This is a very useful, and up to date text. I'm in an education program right now that focuses heavily on literacy. This text book has become my bible! This text even carries complete lists of children's books to use for teaching certain ages and subjects!
I love this book and I'm sure I'll be using it for years to come!

The 3 principles explained in this book are the basis of any consistent philosophy of school leadership.

As a masters student in a leadership program I have been reading the current literature around leadership for the past two years. Donaldson's book is by far in my top five. Easy to read and accessible, this book offers hope for the future of our schools. The model that he proposes for school leadership is both practical and filled with great ideals...anyone who has worked in a school will know that the author "knows his stuff."

I highly recommend the book.

Deborah Meier wrote:

"Wonderful, wise, and well said... This book lays out a way of thinking about what leadership might entail, alongside the details of why it doesn't happen and what it would require for it to become a reality." Meier is Principal, Mission Hill Elementary School, Boston; Founder, Central Park East High School, NYC

Tom Sergiovanni wrote:

"Few books will teach you more about leadership, how it works, and how it can slip into the nooks and crannies of a school. Donaldson sets a new standard for timeliness and relevance. A must read for school faculties who want to come together to work more effectively with kids." Sergiovanni is Professor, Center for Educational Leadership at Trinity University, San Antonio TX

Roland Barth wrote:

In this volume, Gordon Donaldson demonstrates that he is the ultimate `reflective practitioner'. Like a good academic, his gift to the reader is a refreshing model of school leadership.; But like a good practitioner, he offers a model based on the realities of the school culture.... I wish I had had Cultivating Leadership in Schools as my partner during my own turbulent days as a school principal." Barth is author of Improving Schools from Within, the founder of the Harvard Principals' Center and a former professor at Harvard

Gayle Moller wrote:

This book clearly and concisely explains why school leaders are frustrated in their jobs. In this book, practitioners will find a friend in the author who explains the obstacles to leading in schools, yet offers practical solutions through a leadership model that more closely reflects a school's organization." Moller is the former director of the South Florida Center for Educational Leadership and currently teaches at Western Carolina

This little volume scrapes away the layers of thinking and strategies that have built up over the years and have been proferred to school principals. It begins with the simple, underlying question: "How is it that schools can be lead?"

And it begins with a simple goal: to develop a practical model of school leadership that promises to address the two most pressing issues facing school leadership today: 1) serve the learning needs of children and their communities and 2) prove practicable and fulfilling to leaders themselves.

From this point of origin, Gordon Donaldson casts a fresh eye on what he calls "the everyday realities" that surround people who seek to lead. He finds in his chapters entitled "The Conspiracy of Busyness" and "The Planetary Culture of Schools" that if people approach leadership in the classical paradigm of "one organization, one leader", they are destined to fail in schools.

Donaldson then generates a provocative new model that he argues is "congruent with the everyday realities of schools". Building from the work of Barth, Rost, Heifetz, Helgesen, Sergiovanni, and Darling-Hammond, he proposes a relational model in which leadership is "plural" - blended among people with diverse roles, talents, and responsibilities but who share a common purpose and a disposition for action. Leadership, he claims, engages three intertwining "streams" of a school's life: relationships among adults and between adults and children; purposes and commitments to them; and the belief that "we act in common" to attain our purposes.

The bulk of Gordon Donaldson's book explores what principals and teacher leaders can do to participate in leadership in the three streams. In doing so, he helps us distinguish between these two roles (both of which he claims are absolutely essential to a strong school). He goes on to examine, then, what particular skills and dispositions stand principals and teacher leaders in good stead as they go about this important work. Here, he calls upon the work of Daniel Goleman, Nel Noddings, Robert Evans, and Peter Senge among others.

The book's grounding in "realities" gives it resonance for teachers, principals, counselors, and even citizen leaders. Its descriptions of leader activities and the skills necessary for them makes it useful to people intent on learning to lead and searching for a more useful model for their own leadership experience.