Nonfiction Books

This book is excellent. It aligns the Proverbs 31 scripture along with daily life that little girls understand and can apply.

It's so nice to read something to my daughter that I know is feeding her spiritually. She really connects with the illustrations, and loves to talk about what the girl in the story is doing. This book has naturally lead us into wonderful conversations about what it means to belong to God and what kind of habits we need to be forming as His children.

Beautiful pictures and borders. A great gift to give to parents of newborns and to preschool and primary children. God's Wisdom for Little Boys is equally wonderful.

This beautifully illustrated book is full of wonderful prose and rhymes that could be read to any little girl old enough to know right from wrong. The stanza format is excellent, and if you were to work on and apply each page a week at a time (with repetitive reviews) it will turn into a lasting treasure.

Written by best-selling author Elizabeth George, God's Wisdom for Little Girls has a lofty goal: To help children understand Proverbs 31 and how it applies to their life today. Each page of this book (charmingly illustrated by Judy Luenebrink) deals with one character trait; through pictures and rhyming text, it shows little girls how that trait might apply to their life. The last page of the book breaks down some of the bigger words used in the book (like "diligent" and "gracious"), saying what they mean, and where moms can find the corresponding text in the Bible. God's Wisdom for Little Girls says that "God's little girl is:" priceless, kind, eager, helpful, cheerful, busy, hearty (giving it our all), diligent, caring, prepared, creative, prayerful, artistic, confident, gracious, careful, thoughtful, and cherished.



What I Like: The concept; Proverbs 31, while an important passage to all women, isn't always easy for grown-ups to understand. But the author does a fine job breaking down each concept and applying it to modern life. (Moms may learn something, too!) These virtues are things we should try to instill in our daughters from an early age, and God's Wisdom for Little Girls really help mothers do that. The illustrations vary in color intensity (some are vivid, some are pastel) and are quite detailed. They depict little girls playing, working, and loving.



What I Dislike: These aren't dislikes so much as cautions. I think it's important for mothers to tell their daughters they may not be able to live up to all these virtues - especially at first. It's also important to stress that we can only be a Proverbs 31 woman (or girl) if we lean on the Lord. Initially, I also questioned some of the named virtues; for example, "artistic." I couldn't recall a Bible passage that said Godly women should be artistic. But when I checked the last page of the book and saw how the author defined artistic ("a skillful expert"), my objection disappeared. Some parents may also object that God's Wisdom for Little Girls is sexist; it doesn't depict little girls romping around with cars and tools; they are mostly shown doing traditionally feminine things. There is certainly room for romping in every girl's life, but romping isn't one of the virtues mentioned in Proverbs 31. (There is a little girl shown digging in the garden, however.) Yet, overall God's Wisdom for Little Girls takes a pretty difficult subject and makes it approachable for preschoolers.



Overall Rating: Very Good.



Age Appeal: 5 - 8


Kristina, Editor at "Christian Children's Book Review"

I love the concept of this book & helping kids to really graspy how much is a million, billion, etc. It is a fun, easy read that will captivate your kids 3 1/2 up.

Great Book! Teaches kids to understand the concept of very large numbers.
It's fun to read and the pictures are very well done. A must have for any children's library.

The beautiful artwork and kid-freindly examples captivated my 5-year old daughter. Genuinely helped her better understand how big a million is - and, how much bigger a billion and a trillion are. A lovely addition to a classroom, but also perfect for your home library as well!

I got this book with my five-year-old in mind, but all of my two-year-olds and three-year-old also found it engaging. The illustrations are colorful and whimsical without being overwhelming or chaotic.

I think this book is probably best suited for slightly older children as some of the examples were not familiar to my children. For example, my children have never been in a stadium, so that example was a little abstract for them.

Overall a good book and an excellent way to introduce the concept a million.

This picture book is a great pairing of engaging children's literature, detailed illustrations and a deep math concept. I love the way that Schwartz and Kellogg bring this book to life!
I love Kellogg's illustrating! I would just love to jump right into the pages and be a part of all the action. His characters are drawn with such unique faces. And each page is filled with numerous details and endless nooks and cranies. Each page begs to be explored over and over.
If you have never enjoyed a book illustrated by Steven Kellogg now is the time!
The writing in this particular book is also very well done. The little facts about the number 1 million are really interesting. For instance it would take a fish bowl the size of a city harbor to hold a million goldfish!
This book really helps kids and adults understand a very abstract concept. How many of us really have a good grasp on how much a million really is? This book definitely puts it in perspective!
Read it once and you'll have to read it again and again!

This book is full of facts and figures to demonstrate just how damaging some of the products we use every day can be to our environment. The information regarding the biodegradability of every day products will really make a person think about what they use and how they dispose of it.

I bought this book to help me put on a presentation on recycling to a cub scout den. Age group- first grade. I loved the book! I found it very informative and motivating. It touched on all the highlights of recycling. Even included info on landfills. It was presented in a format that a child could easily understand. I read it to my son. He didn't complain, but he loves books, and it really doesn't matter what you read to him.

The day came for my presentation. As soon as I started reading the book to the den, I saw the look of boredom across all their faces (There were 6 of them). I think had they been at least in the third grade, it would have gone much better.

This book had a lot of good factual information in it about recycling. We read about recycling for Health this week. This book had great information about what is done with the things we recycle and how to reduce using those items that can't be recycled. I would recommend it for grades 2-4th.

While this book isn't the best I've found, it does have information a lot of other books don't have. It's a little hard for some younger learners to read as it has words like "bauxite" and "silica" but gives a pretty good background on renewable and non-renewable resources that go into your everyday products (glass, metal, paper, etc). The illustrations might be the best part of the book - as an informal educator with a non-profit organization, I mostly use this book for the pictures.

This is an amazing book. It covers the major groups of recyclables. It shares facts, tells children how to prepare each item to recycle, and gives a comprehendable description of how they are made into new products. At the end it even gives children ideas of how they can help.

These books are great. The way each lesson is just enough to not make a child get bored or hate it really makes it unique from other books like this. My kids don't even realize how much they are learning. It's so easy to learn with these books. Before you know it, they've mastered a new concept.

Charles Collier has created a great question set for helping families establish better communication around the subjects of Human, Intellectual, Social and Financial Capital.

I have read the first and second editions of this book and have utilized the framework to help my clients with difficult topics.

My purpose in writing Wealth in Families is to encourage you to think deeply about the fundamental questions surrounding wealth and its effect on your family. If I am successful, you may find yourself choosing to alter the ways in which you plan and act with regard both to your wealth and to your family.

After 25 years working with individuals and families of wealth, I have discovered that the hardest, yet most rewarding, part of the planning process is asking essential questions about what people want to preserve - besides financial wealth - and how they can enhance each family member's growth.

These "why" questions surrounding family wealth are the most important ones, and yet they are rarely asked. The questions about the meaning and purpose of wealth should drive the thinking of individuals and families, and the resulting estate planning decisions and outcomes. Thinking about values first, products second. This book explores the meaning of wealth (Chapter 2), the amount of an appropriate inheritance (Chapter 3), family communication (Chapter 4), the development of a balanced approach to money (Chapter 5), financial education (Chapter 6), and the philanthropic impulse (Chapter 7). Several chapters include interviews with leading experts in the field of family wealth management.
--- from book's introduction

It's a great book but I doubt the price. $99.99, is that really accurate? If it is then there will be lots of people disappointed when they get the book.

I had been wanting to read this book for a while. So I was very happy to see it back in print. This book focuses on intergenerational wealth management. A good deal of the focus is on people who have large amounts of wealth, something that would exclude me. But many of the lessons apply to regular people with modest savings. One of the best things it does is to debunk the myth that people should not discuss money with their family. It makes it clear how absolutely essential it is to teach the next generation about wealth, and its meaning. It also helps people understand that the real meaning of wealth goes beyond money and is really one's family and its values. I think anyone with children will benefit from reading this book.

Having lived in Russia six years and still in business there since 1991, I quickly learned that in Russia there is not only the proverbial two sides of the coin, but often three. Figes cetainly examines that underside of what makes a Russian different. He does it with revealing research and obvious affection and respect for those deep characteristics so unique to Russia and it's people. Certainly a scholarly work, but still entertaining, convincing, and a joy to read. As I have heard from Russian readers of my own book, "Why does it always take a foreigner to explain us." Figes is a master at that.

Frederick R. Andresen, Author of "Walking on Ice, An American Businessman in Russia"

I'm still in the middle of this thick book, and I find it fascinating--but my Russian colleagues tell me is it not altogether trustworthy in its portrayal of Russian history and culture, so I'm looking at it with an eye toward possible problems. That said, it is an eminently readable, fun way to get through a lot of the history of this endlessly fascinating country.

Sure this book didn't include everything that could be said about the cultural history of Russia, but what it said and how it said it was superb. You really get an appreciation for the great themes of intellectual thought. It reminded me of what it was like to take college history classes taught by the best professors on campus, back in the day.

Bought Natasha's Dance upon recommendation of a friend. Have only just started reading, but I am captivated by the passion and detail of Figes writing and quite looking forward to delving more deeply into this history of the Russian people.

Amazing, such history, told so well, I cannot put it down!

This is a bit out of date. Perhaps children won't mind. Pluto is no longer a planet. Plans for humans to go to Mars have been scrapped. The Very Large Telescope in Chile was completed years ago. Etc.

It says there is no proof that UFO's exist when clearly objects that haven't been identified do exist, there's just no proof they are space aliens.

But, nevertheless probably a fun book for kids who like science.

My kids love these research guide books from Magic Tree House writers but this one was a disappointment. One whole chapter was devoted to the big bang theory which we personally don't believe in. They should have skipped this chapter and focused on facts.

The kids realy like the animations and presentations of this book. While it is definately not boring, the planets themselves get only one page each of factual info in super small text. The solar system overview chapter was great for group reading and was primarily what I used from the book, including a photo of a meteorite in comparison to the size of children. Translation: great as a fun addition to learning but not to replace hard fact texts and in-depth lesson plans.
----You don't need to read the accompanying Magic Tree House fiction book in order to use this research guide.

Once you are 100 miles above Earth, you are in space. Anything beyond Earth's atmosphere is space. There are a lot of planets, stars, and space rocks in space.
A spacecraft travels in space and carries supplies and people. A spacecraft has to go 25,000 miles per hour to get away from gravity and get into space. Spacecrafts have rockets to lift them into space.
Fuel is burning in the rocket at very hot temperatures. The hot gasses come out from the bottom and push the rocket up. Rockets were used 1,000 years ago as fireworks and weapons by the Chinese.
The Soviet Union and the Unites States had a race to have a spacecraft go into space. The Soviet Union sent the first satellite into space. A satellite is something that travels around a planet. The Soviet Union won that race. The United States put its own satellite into space and the race began.
An astronaut is a person from America that is trained to go into space. A cosmonaut is a person from Russia trained to go into space. A person from Russia, or a cosmonaut, orbited the Earth in less than two hours. He was the first person to orbit the Earth.
The United States and the Soviet Union had a race to get someone into space first. John F. Kennedy made a challenge to send someone to the moon before the 1960's were over. A lot of people worked for that goal.

I cannot say enough about how impressed I was by this book. For students in Jr High and up, this is an incredible resource on teenage life in Nazi Germany. This book will bring WWII to life for them in a dramatic and immediate way.

The book follows many different "normal" teens through these years, discussing which options were available to each of them and what the results were of the decisions they made. The pictures and first hand accounts bring to life a period of time that could otherwise seem far too distant and foreign to teens. In reading this book, teens will see how such atrocities happened - and more importantly perhaps, realize that it could happen again.

This book is a fantastic jumping off point for stressing the importance of critical thinking. There are so many aspects in the book to explore and discuss with groups or assign as independent projects. I HIGHLY recommend this book for jr/senior high.

Hitler tried to create a terrible new order and one of his instruments was the Hitler Youth. By brainwashing and influencing the young, he created a cadre of fanitical youth willing to die for his twisted goals.
This short photographic book shows the rise and fall of the HJ and how their energy contributed to the prolongation of the war and the horrors of Nazi injustice.

Even though this book is for the younger reader, adults can gain new insight by reading about what Hitler planned with his core of youth followers. Thankfully the Allies prevailed in this war, rather than let the HJ follow through on murderous policies.

This is more of a picture book than a historical novel. The pictures are ones I have yet to see in my library of other WII references. The opening page has a spectacular photo of a very young boy probably around 5, standing at attention in full nazi decorum. There are some chapter stories of various personal events that provide a eye witness account as to the culture, frenzy and social pressues that were in effect at the time. Place this book on your coffee table and it is sure to spark conversation with any house guest!

Over the past two weeks I have read the book Hitler Youth: Growing up in Hitler's Shadow, by Susan Campbell Bartoletti. This book shows the Nazi regime of World War2 from 1933-1945 at it's worst on the front lines and at home. During this terrible time in germany's history, textbooks were thrown out for racist and Nazi ideas of hatred for Jews. Young kids in Germany during WW2 were eventually forced to participate in the Hitler Youth program, and girls were placed in the BDM. This book takes you to one of the most overlooked parts of the war and it is truly a great book to read that puts a different aspect of WW2 that not all soldiers were the Jew killers and many actually rebelled against Hitler. To fully understand the last "Great War" you must read this book.

Halfway through listening to this book on CD, I wondered why it seemed like the author was talking down to me. The writing was very simplistic and the extremely irritating narrator felt obligated to remind us that Nazism was bad by reading every race-related word with the utmost sarcasm possible, e.g. "Hitler wanted a 'puuuuure' (tee-hee) 'Aaaaaryan' (rotfl!) 'race' (hahahaha!)." This book also felt the need to explain even the most elemental German terms, the most hilarious being when the author told us that "Heil Hitler" means "Hail Hitler" in English. I was kind of offended at the condescension until I finally looked at the CD case and saw that the book was meant for grade-school kids. It contains some interesting accounts of time in the Hitler Youth, but nothing too revelatory. I guess the point of writing this book was to tell kids that racism is bad and not to be conformist. The author goes overboard though by declaring that "All scientists agree that race is only skin deep". (That quote may not be verbatim.) Even leaving aside questions of intelligence, that statement is a blatant lie, as widely varying racial susceptibility to heart disease, diabetes, cancer, etc. will attest. Does Ms. Campbell Bartoletti really want children to be independent thinkers, or does she merely want to indoctrinate them in her own egalitarian ideology?

I am a student at Ridgewood High School in West Lafayette, OH. These books has unique words in then, but we never use them because we never heard of them before. It's just a waste of time. Most people copy off another students, only few STUDENTS learn from them.

We use this book in assisting students to improve their vocabulary skills. This book is part of a series which is an excellent aide in for teachers and a tremendous resource for students. It uses different ways of learning the vocabulary. Each unit helps a student to pronounce the word properly and shows the proper usage of the word as verb, noun or adjective. The unit helps the student to recognize the word within the sentence structure, as well as, using it in relation to synonyms, antonyms and homonyms. There is a review of the parts of a word (prefixes, suffixes and roots). There is a review of Denotation and Connotation in the literal and figurative usage. One of the most helpful aspects is the analogy section of the unit which prepares the student for standardize testing. The book is an excellent tool for both educators and students.

This book is great, but I think it is really boring and sometimes can really make you fall asleep.

I am a student and have been using Vocabulary Workshop for two years. I find it very boring doing the same thing over and over again. Most of the words I don't remember and have to look back at definitions for the tests and the review sections.

A friend (an MA in English) showed me those books recently, who homeschooled her son with them. Her son gotten nearly full scores on his entry exams in the vocabulary section!
The books are great to build up new vocabulary words and enable you to actually use them.

This book appears to be written for young people, but gives a good picture of the life of a Maasai boy, as well as his family. It is a quick read, not political, and very enjoyable. Having recently visited in this area, I wondered if our view of life there was accurate. Facing the Lion reassured me that what we saw was real and so was the charm of the people.

I really liked this book. It is one of several that I purchased after coming back from Tanzania, and I have recommended it to others. The author is straight-forward about his situation, so I wouldn't recommend it to children under, say, 12, but it is quite moving as an adult book, though he wrote it for young people.

Facing the Lion is the amazing TRUE story of a Maasai boy growing up in Kenya. I first heard about this National Geographic book from my son's 8th grade world history teacher - it was on a summer reading list. B-O-R-I-N-G - right? Well think again. You will not be able to put this book down! The boy grows up tending his family's herd of extremely valuable cows - and that means standing guard at night when lions literally leap from the bush to decimate the livestock. The lessons that the boy learns from incredible adventure, adversity, and challenge in his African upbringing only serve to give him the drive, determination, and power to succeed at HARVARD. My husband read the book on a plane and now uses a number of examples in his consulting practice. A FUN read and a WONDERFUL book for ANYBODY - teens to adult.

Narrated in the voice of a child as he grows up in a Maasai village, this is a quick, easy-to-read book for learning a lot about the Maasai culture (ie; before traveling to Africa, or for general interest). It was recommended by my travel agent and, while very simple, I will agree it is very well worth the read!

This book was absolutely fascinating to adults as well as younger readers.