Nonfiction Books

I was a little disappointed in the fact that the information from the seller said it was a new book (not used at all) and when I got it there were pencil marks underlining in a few of the chapters. Otherwise the actual condition of the book was great.

This book is easy to read for a science text and has pretty good descriptions and pictures. I'm using it for an Intro to MicroBio class and it suits me well. I was a little shocked that it did not come with a CD or an online website supplement, but I guess that helps keep costs down (A book like this for only $100 brand new is great).

Recommended

this is the best science book in the world, and i don't even like science. the book keeps me entertained and i love it. i love it so much i am not going to re-sell it after my class ends and save money. I would rather keep the book.

a lot of info but it is broken down into bonehead terms.....

Now in an updated and expanded seventh edition, Alcamo's Fundamentals Of Microbiology by Jeffrey C. Pommerville (Professor of Biology and Microbiology at Glendale Community College) is a solidly written and comprehensive life science text designed specifically for college students. Individual chapters address bacterial diseases of humans, physical and chemical means to control microorganisms, microbiology's relevance to key public health issues, and much more. The explicit and easy-to-follow text offers a thorough and in-dept indoctrination into this vital body of scientific knowledge. A superb reference or instructional text especially for students (and also for professionals or even non-specialist general readers seeking to brush up their understanding), Alcamo's Fundamentals Of Microbiology is a vital and welcome contribution to Biological Studies reference shelves.

I used this book to prepare for the AP Psychology exam and was thrilled! I had never taken a psychology course before and thought it would be challenging to try to succeed on the exam to earn college credit. It was easy to read and the practice test questions were extremely similar to those on the actual exam. I was excited to hear that I received a 5 on my exam... and the only aid I used was this book! I would recommend this to anyone.

I was expecting there to be actual sentences in this book. There is one feeling per page in english and in spanish. It's fine if you just want to learn the words to some feelings, for that it's great. But, I could do that with a spanish dictionary. I wanted to read actual sentences to my daughter. It would better if it had "I feel..." Rather than just the one word. But again, if you just want to teach words of feelings, then it's good for that.

Fun book for your baby if you want her to learn both english and spanish. The pictures are very colorful. My daughter enjoys repeating the different words every time we read it.

I was looking for a spanish book that talked about something other than just objects. I also like the drawings and that the book is very simple. My 1 year old can really enjoy it.

I use this book in my classes for students ages 4 all the way to 18. It's a great, and SIMPLE way to help them express themselves in Spanish! The older teens crack up as they use the phrases, but it's great because they're communicating in their target language, and the younger students all identify with the bright pictures and sturdy pages. They LOVE using the phrases from Como me siento!

If you want something to listen to and write in- a complete curriculum, try Flip Flop Spanish, which comes with a CD!

Sra. Gose
Author of Flip Flop Spanish: Ages 3-5: Level 1 & Flip Flop Spanish: Ages 3-5: Level 2

We're trying to teach our daughter Spanish from an early age (she's 8 months), and reading stories to her each night. This book is pretty simplistic with two - four words per page ("sad, con triste") so it's over pretty fast. Perhaps for an older toddler who can interact a bit more and understand the meaning it would be suitable but it's not helpful right now.

I purchase this math workbook with a grammer workbook to keep my 11 year old in the rythm of doing homework everyday during summer. Math is strongest skill, but he prefered the GRAMMER workbook. This Math workbook didn't communicate or interest him.

This was just a usual workbook with no instructions on math. This book is only for math you already know and need extra work to help learn. You can buy these in the grocery store or Walmart every day. Nothing extraordinary, but at least it has answers.

I bought this book for my son who is going into 6th grade for summer reading. It's not easy to get him to read in the summer. He loved it and couldn't put it down. Now he's reading the sequel.

If you like the notion of Peter Pan, Tinkerbell, etc. this series is really excellent. I don't use the word WONDERFUL much, but they're a great read. They really do carry on the story of Peter and his friends in a believable and fun way. Really AWESOME and you won't be disappointed. The entire series is highly recommended - all three books so far.

I guess it is a good book, I gave it to my great grandson, because he loves to read.

Peter (of Neverland fame) hitches a ride on a ship filled with Very Bad Men and goes back to London to warn his friend Molly of the danger that races towards her and her family. The Starchasers are in grave trouble this time. This is a great, fun book. Inventive, funny, fast-paced. The characters are fleshed-out and believable. The baddies are very bad.

Fabulous book! My kids and I liked it even better than the first one in this series (Peter and the Star Catchers), which we also loved! These books are prequels to the original Peter Pan and are very well written. It has lots of very short chapters, which makes it easy to read with your children. It gets you very interested in what is going on with one character, then switches back to a different character, which makes you not want to stop reading it! This one is more intense than the first one and might be a little scary for younger children.

This is a book that everyone should read & should be a requirement in all schools.

Wow! Just superb. It gave me the real, true perspective of the US. It was an eye opener for me. One of my top 3 reads of all time.

Thank you!

Amazing book. I am 63 years old and wish I'd been interested in american history sooner. I spent most of my life blindly believing the history of school textbooks. Howard Zinn blows the lid off of most of what I had accepted as gospel. This book certainly opened my eyes to what went on behind the scenes. We may not be bad people, but we've sure had some very bad leaders over the years, who made some very selfish decisions without regard to the long term effects of their actions. Three cheers for Howard Zinn.

Well written, intensely compelling, and mind expanding. This book should be a mandatory read for every high school student in the country. Throw away The American Pageant, and hand out Zinn's book instead.

Professor Zinn definitely fills a need--a well-documented political history of the United States from the point-of-view of those who work to move this country nearer to a realization of the democratic values expressed in The Declaration of Independence--in other words to transform the beautiful rhetoric of the Declaration into political reality. This work has only begun and has a long way to go. Zinn's book does disappoint me, though, in touching so lightly on cultural history: just to pick two examples, the Index lists neither J.J. Audubon nor George Washington Carver. My impression is that Zinn elbows the unique achievements of Americans aside in his anxiety to shine a searchlight on our dirty laundry--of which there is a great heap!

My son has really enjoyed this workbook. We are using it as a supplement to his Lifepac material. He likes the mix.

The new Spectrum Math books are an improvement over the older editions. They are more colorful and the print to the answer keys are larger. These workbooks give plenty of math problems for practice and include word problems as well. I also like the fact that they can actually be completed in less than a year, giving the child a sense of accomplishment.

If you are looking for a math book filled with practice problems, then this is the book for you. I am a private tutor and I am currently using this book with one of my students. This book covers many topics (for 8th grade). After each chapter there are tests, which is a good thing. Well, overall this a good practice book for 8th graders. Also, seventh graders can give it a try as well.
[...]

See my review for Spectrum Math Grade 7....

After quickly plowing through the 7th grade book, my 12-yr old has been learning the majority of his math via Spectrum Grade 8. Problems, problems, & more problems is the key to this book's effectiveness.

Spectrum Gr 8 steps up the complexity of the math problems in such a way that we're spending a lot more time with this book than with Spectrum 7. The 7th grade book was an *essential* stepping stone, and we used it from cover to cover, but we didn't bother doing all of the practice problems.

With the Grade 8 book, a good tactic seems to be to cover all the material once (using half or a third of the math problems provided in each section), & then moving back through the book a second time (or a third, or a fourth!), reinforcing lessons learned with the neverending supply of practice problems.

This repetition, spaced out over time (as opposed to covering a topic thoroughly but never revisiting it), is probably the best way to develop math skills that last a lifetime. Particularly if your kid isn't an overly exuberant math lover.

Love these math books!

I am sixth grader who is really into math. I think that this book really helped me go ahead. This book did not only help me go ahead, but I also got into advanced math.I have told many of my friends about this book and they have found it helpful as well. I give this book five stars and a two thumbs up.

"How to Write your Life Story," by Ralph Fletcher, presents an interesting and entertaining introduction to writing about the most important people in the world--yourself and your family. You can get additional ideas from larger books, but this little book, written for young people, covers the most important points about writing an autobiography.

It debunks a few common lies that people use to convince themselves they don't have a story worth telling--that you have to be a famous celebrity, have an amazing life, or be old and gray.

You already have everything you need to start writing: a character (yourself), a setting (places you have been), and a plot (the events that happened to you). Fletcher recommends making a list of memorable events and then writing about the ones that seem most interesting. These events will probably be the ones that are told and retold every time the family gets together.

He suggests gathering up the artifacts that have soaked up your personal memories and holding them in your hands until the memory rises to the top. Drawing maps of important places in your life, and a heart map of the things that really matter to you, will help you uncover the treasured and terrible tales you want to tell.

Whether you choose to write a group of vignettes, a chronology, or a multi-genre collection of short pieces, you can always switch to another form until it feels well-suited to the story you're trying to tell. The most important message in the book is that writing about your life will help you understand it better. So, read the book and start writing.

Excellent resource written for young students. I teach fifth graders and read to them regularly from Fletcher's other books... A Writer's Notebook in particular. How To Write Your Life Story brings the task of memoir to their fingertips -- makes it feel doable, important, and exciting. Fletcher cites two of my favorite authors of other resources: Katherine Bomer and Barry Lane, whom my students know well by the time we finish our inquiry into memoir. Many examples of writing from Fletcher, and other 4 - 7 grade students enrich this book and bring it home. Great for read aloud, introducing mini-lessons, or even as a class reading book if you can swing a whole set. Any teacher who investigates memoir or autobiography with young students should have this book in the classroom.