Nonfiction Books

not really a neccessary purchase as book is available online from the school.
If the book is at home then it can't be used during breaks at school to get homework done.
too big/heavy to send back and forth in the backpack

Don't listen to what the other people are saying. I got first hand experience on this book. I must say that this is probably the best and most easy to understand math book i have ever used. The answer key in the back allows the user to assure that their answers are correct. If you are considering buying this book, i must say YES, DEFINATELY BUY THIS BOOK, IT WILL BE WORTH YOUR WHILE!!!!

I used this book in 9th grade overall it was a pretty good book. It gives for the most part clear explanations on how to do the work. A problem is that some of the examples were a lot easier than the book work was. But if you pay attention to the teacher that shouldnt be a problem. It has all the uneven answers in the back so you can see how your doing which is a good thing. Overall not bad it got me through algebra all right and combined with teacher explanations you should understand it.

I am currently a 7th grader and i take Algebra 1 for Credit. This book has been most helpful in me learning how to do it. This book gets five stars!

I had this book in freshman yr. as well as the geometry book that follows in sophmore yr of high school. In my own classes i often found that the people whom said bad things about the book such as those in the following reviews are the people who either did not pay attention in class, or did not care about the subject enough to put the effort to try to understand the matter. On the other hand, some of the concepts were a little advanced, but my teachers usually explained them in a way we could understand.If the student is doing their job as well as the teachers there shouldn't be a problem with this book. I would strongly recommend it.

I'm usually concerned about purchasing items on line, especially books. I can honestly say that this experience was worth it. I would recommend this seller to anyone interested in purchasing good quality books at extremely reasonable prices.

Buy with confidence, I did!

I was hoping that this book would bring more chuckles than it does. Coming from Jeff Foxworthy one would have that expectation. It's not a book of humorous things that kids do, well, not in the laugh out loud sense, but is a collection of cute poems for kids.
I still enjoyed the book, but expected more laughs.

Jeff reminds us of childhood at it's best. Perfect book for my 4 year old grandson. We read it over and over again. I even got another copy to share with my daycare group. Hope to see more children's books from Foxworthy.

It has individual poem type stories. You can read as many or few as you wish. They are cute and interesting. My grandsons love it!

I am a children's book enthusiast. My 3 year old son has hundreds of books on his shelf mostly bought here on Amazon (great prices AND great service). My husband, son and I love this book. It is just so clever and a really fun bedtime read!

A Unique Bunny

Dirt On My Shirt was just adored by my friends daughter. I bought it to her along with A Unique Bunny. My girlfriends daughter is home schooled and is 8 years old and loved both of these books.

My son is 3 years old and he just recently started to show interest in tracing. So, I started him out with Kumon maze book and this book. He absolutely loves it!! The pages in the book are easy to understand and very simple. Simple enough for a child of the indicated age on the front cover of the book. The quality of the paper is very sturdy, it doesn't rip easily and you can erase over and over, there would be no wear and tear on the sheets. The colors of the pages are not super bright (like alot of books I've used before) but nice light colors that are gentle and not overwhelming to the eyes. The only thing that I don't like about the book is that they can't tear out and as you get further into the book, it gets a bit annoying to have to hold the previous pages down. But, over all it's an excellent book and I would continue to use and purchase their products.

I thought it would be actual tracing, but it was basically just drawing a line from point A to point B, kind of like a maze that's super-easy. My daughter is turning 4 in a month and is not excited about the book. It was fun for a night, but now it just sits there.

This book has a very fun way to practice cutting, my daughter just love it because there are some projects that she can do by herself and then she decors her room with them. Very good book.

I guess I waited to long to get these books. My son who just turned four found this one rather easy but he enjoyed it very much. He finished over half of it in one day. He kept asking for more! He is doing the cutting book now and is doing well at it. He really likes all the pictures. The cutting and pasting book is a lot of fun as well. The only thing I would like is if they made these books "wipeable" so I don't have to toss them after they are used. I'm thinking of putting laminating sheets over them and using washable markers.

I have a preschooler with fine motor delays and he HATES to do anything which requires use of his hands. I was told by his teachers that this will lead to issues in school when he is expected to write and participate in art projects. If he can't write, it will affect his academic future.

Therapy provided only so much help, as he was frustrated with the tasks. But then I learned about Kumon's excellent reputation for learning through their local tutoring center - I purchased all of the workbooks.

My child just LOVED this book, and he dislikes anything to do with writing. He loved the book simply because of the cute pictures. He asked what they meant, what was he supposed to do, and why? I would say that we were going to draw lines to "help the bunny get to the other side" etc. I'd make up little stories about each character and pretty soon, he was doing the tasks without any hesitation at all!

I kept it to 3 pages a day or less. At first one might wonder, so what, straight horizontal/vertical lines? But his teachers said a child can't write his letters until he can draw straight and curved lines. Makes sense!

If you want to help your child develop fine motor skills while keeping them happy - this is the book for THEM!

My husband loves to learn about how things work. The title of the book told me this was just the book for him.

*Keep It Short and Simple.

If you doubt that technical information can be short and simple, read this book. It was written for anyone old enough to read well, and especially designed for those who find technology intimidating. It not only provides comprehensive descriptions of the way hundreds of machines and devices work, but also gives explanations of the scientific principles behind each. The book makes liberal, effective use of graphic diagrams, and describes most of the machines and devices in 200 to 300 words on 1 or 2 pages.

This is a great book. It breaks down complicated concepts into simple principles that a child can understand. A good start for budding engineers.

This is a fabulous book! I like all of David Macaulay's books because they have so many details of how things are made. This is my favorite, though, because it answers questions about objects and technology for budding engineers and architects or just anyone who is curious! My son has loved his and I just bought one for my nephew.

Put these four things together--ingenuity, imagination, depictions, diagrams-- and you have a double ID toward understanding how things work. David Macaulay and Neil Ardley put together a magnificent volume for children and children at heart containing a way of understanding the laws of physics and mechanics.

The first illustration even shows God busy creating the rotation of the earth. Then they go to the earth where wooly mammoths lived and pick up one to take us through the history of mechanics, machines, and the like. Dozens of movements in five sections: waves, electricity, automation, digital domain, and machines show us just how easy these things are to understand done in drawerings.

Just as in child's play, there is no seeming order to the arrangement of items in the book. For example here are a few pages next to each other: vacuum cleaners, aqualungs or oxygen tanks, the toilet tank, the water meter, dishwasher, spray nozzle, fire extinguisher. Are you seeing an order? Yes, so am I.

Flipping over a hundred pages, I find the jet engine, rocket engines, nuclear power, nuclear weapons, fallout, nuclear reactor. OK, a definite pattern. Another hundred pages show these topics: movie camera, movie projector, printing, paper making, printing plate, printing press, bookbinding. More discernible order and logical arrangement.

One last check: scanner, bits and bytes, flash memory, magnetic storage, microchip, processor, software. We know where we are and recognize the order--a computer and its parts.

This reviewer has a suggestion for the reader. Once you have this book in hand, take it home, take it out every night and read a comfortable number of pages. If you have a child, read one page, discuss it, put this one away and take out a night-night book to read. If this is just your book, read several pages. By the time you have finished the book, you will have added dozens of operating systems to the computer banks in your own brain, making your child and/or yourself an expert in the way things work.

I got this book for my niece who was a little nervous about starting middle school. We both read it and I thought it had plenty of good information and tips. I think it also helped with some of her nervousness.

I bought this for a grand daughter who'ss getting ready for middle school next year. She's been 'freaking out' over the significant changes in middle school.

I haven't read the entire book but I've skimmed it enough to see that it will be a life saver for her, and I highly recommend it for anyone who has a girl leaving the comfort of elementary school.

Book outer cover & edge wear was inconsistant with the listing.
Book is great!

I was scared bout starting middle school and I read this book and it answered all my questions. Any girl starting middle school soon should read this book.

I got this book from the library, because even though I'm homeschooled, I was hoping it might give me tips on studying for tests doing homework, and other such things. The only thing in there I didn't really know before was how to place things in your backpack to make it not so heavy. And their schedule for getting ready in the morning was not bad either. Also, the "After School" section, gave you pretty good advice on tryouts and how much is too much activities. But being as to how that's just about two thirds of the book I'd say it's not worth your money. Also they make middle school sound scarier than I think it really is. For example, they said "Picture yourself having a good time in middle school." They make it sound like you're going to a different country! So overall, you might get it at the library, but I wouldn't buy it.

I heard this CD while visiting my 2 1/2 year old grandson, who listened to it at home and in the car. I loved it and bought it for myself. The lyrics are so cute-Speed Turtle and Rabbit Tango among many others. The music is catchy and irresistable, so familiar as the tunes are from the sixties. Every night, I'm serenaded by these silly songs and find they're just the ticket to relaxation. I've purchased more copies and Wild Dogs for gifts.

I love Sandra Boynton and her creative illustrations as well as the words she writes to the familiar tunes. I have all her book/CD combos and play them alot. This is one of the best!!

Great traveling cd, Jack is four and never grows tried of this cd, BUT Philadelphia Chickens is Much Much BETTER !!!

"We are Marching though the Kitchen and we need a little snack, we organize you cupboards and we exit out the back.."

We love this cd too.

My son and I send a lot of time dancing to this great cd. This is also a cd that my mom enjoys lsening to with him too.

Sandra Boyton and Michael Ford have birthed their fourth book & cd package (Rhinocerus Tap, Philadelphia Chickens & Dog Train). Using singers from the 50s thru 70s singing wonderfully silly lyrics makes both the parents (or grandparents) and kids all happy. If you wondered where some of the Beach Boys, Davy Jones and Neil Sedaka went - well, here they are! Sandra's illustrations and witty words truly compliment the sounds of Michael Ford. My Personal Penguin (sung by Davy Jones) is my personal favorite. Get this one to put you in a "Happy Days" mood. Get all of the others for some great Rock and Roll!

The book is not worth the money, also the book I received is old. I am not sure if they send me a wrong one or not. I returned the book.

2005 Edition if VERY Different from earlier editions -- reviews that pre-date 2005 are not talking about the current edition of this book--- More than half of the book was rewitten for the 2005 editon, and it now follows the Modeling Instruction in Physics curriculum more closely than any other current textbook. Note: Modeling Instruction in Physics was recognized in 2001 by the U.S. Department of Education as one of two exemplary programs in K-12 Science Education.

One of the worst examples of Physics text books. Explanations are poor. Very limited number of examples. And the examples are not clearly explained. By making it too simple the author has sacrificed rigor and has ended up confusing students. I would not recommend this text book as an introductory text book on physics to juniors and seniors in high school. I am yet to find a better book than Giancoli's for a non-calculus based introductory physics text book.

Quite possibly.
While I'm not nearly so far as some of these reviewers were when they reviewed the book, this physics book has pushed me so far beyond the reaches of my patience that I find no reason why I should not share with you how horribly this book fails to explain physics anyway.
In all my years of science classes, I have never come across a book this inept at conveying concepts. Generally my rule of thumb is, if you can look through a chapter, find the paragraph or so of information you need to answer a question or solve a problem, maybe an example problem to look at, then you've got a good book before you. This is not one such book.
Though the chapters are short, there is no conciseness or organization to the information within them. In order to learn a concept, you must trudge through three pages of very very very watered down information (who doesn't understand RISE over RUN equals SLOPE?). Normally, if a person gets impatient with the watered down stuff, they can skip to a box that has the equations, or a diagram with a caption underneath it. But I've discovered that this is impossible to do here. The text basically is the caption of all the wonderfully abundant diagrams and photographs provided AND the lesson material all in one.
And as for the diagrams, graphs, and other visuals, they seem to be poorly placed on the pages. Often times they are not labeled well enough to know what paragraph it is associated with, as if they were only afterwards slapped onto the page (which could explain why some of the explanations of these diagrams are downright cryptic).
There is no effectiveness to the method the author uses to explain concepts; there seems to be a meaningless abundance of explanation on how to draw diagrams, but when it comes down to the concepts, there's little to work with. If he was more succinct and organized, perhaps physics would make sense to many more students that have to work with this book.

Exactly. This is what the book looks like if you go to a store right now and open it. This book is virtually a math book although physics is about 60% math and 30% science information, this book is like 95% to 5%. Not only that the explainations for some of the problems are really bad. The reason why people think physics is hard is b/c of books like these that make it hard. THEIR are even mistakes in the formulas they use and they dont round numbers to significant digits. Im the top of my class in physics only b/c i like science, this book can change your mind real fast. The book does not explain who and how which is vital in learnig and passing any science test. For example Isaac Newton proposed the law of gravity. It just tells you concepts and terms that came from nowhere. The only good part about it is webassign that lets you practice problems online. d.

BUY IT BUY IT BUY IT! If you have a child coming up on SAT's or even in middle or elementary school, this is the best book out there! It was recommended to us by a reading specialist. I love to read the book just to see if I can recall words. Love IT so BUY IT!

This is a fantastic book. I am in 6th grade and got this and loved it. I would reccommend this for grades 6th -- 11th. The way it works: first it shows the word, say "copious". Next, it shows the definition -- in this case, "abundant;plentiful". Underneath, it shows a link word. For "copious", the link word was "cup". An amusing cartoon strip follows, such as the one for "copious" which showed a grinning man proudly holding a massive cup of coffee. The caption read, "A COPIOUS CUP of coffee". Then, there are three good examples. At the end of every ten words, there's a review to make sure you understand. This book is wonderful, and I reccommend it to everyone! I loved it. In total, there are 290 words.

This book is a delight! Both this and it's sister version (Vocabulary Cartoons 2) are wonderful vocabulary builder starters before you drift off into harder works like "The Wizard of Oz Vocabulary Builder." That book sounds easy enough, but it's actually geared towards 12th graders and beyond.

These books are wonderful for visual learners, although, others might get something out of them. Building your vocabulary is a process, but the time spent will be well rewarded. A strong vocabulary helps everything, including foreign language and math skills. As you delve into harder works, you'll be learning Latin and Greek roots which build excellent decoding skills for standardized tests.

These books are perfect for summer education. You want your kids to enjoy themselves, however, it doesn't hurt to move ahead academically either. These materials -- and ones like them -- are fun summer pleasure readers. And they'll learn something along the way. Adults will likely enjoy them too!

No one cares about your education more than you do. Fortunately, we live in the day and age where materials just keep getting better and better. So supplement, supplement, supplement. Have no fear: it can actually be fun. A+

this book was a simple, fun way to review vocab for SAT

This book has been one of my most valuable resources in my classroom. Each of my students owns a copy, and through class activities that incorporate the vocabulary into various literature lessons, I have seen results. One student recently took the SATs for the second time and reported a 210-point increase in his verbal score--an increase that he ascribes to this book. I highly recommend this resource to any literature teacher and college-bound student.