Average customer rating:
- Better than the first
- Read the 1st, Read the 2nd!
- great series
- Boo
- maximum ride: school's out forever
|
Maximum Ride: School's Out Forever
James Patterson
Manufacturer: Little, Brown Young Readers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
 Action & Adventure
| Literature
| Children's Books
| Subjects
| Books
Science Fiction, Fantasy, & Magic
| Science Fiction, Fantasy, Mystery & Horror
| Literature
| Children's Books
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Literature
| Children's Books
| Subjects
| Books
Adventure & Thrillers
| Literature & Fiction
| Teens
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Literature & Fiction
| Teens
| Subjects
| Books
Fantasy
| Science Fiction & Fantasy
| Teens
| Subjects
| Books
Science Fiction
| Science Fiction & Fantasy
| Teens
| Subjects
| Books
Look Inside Children's Books
| Trip
| Specialty Stores
| Books
Look Inside Teen Books
| Trip
| Specialty Stores
| Books
Similar Items:
-
Maximum Ride : The Angel Experiment (Teen's Top 10 (Awards))
-
Maximum Ride #3: Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports (Maximum Ride)
-
Judge & Jury
-
Beach Road
-
Cross
ASIN: 0316155594
Release Date: 2006-05-23 |
Book Description
James Patterson shifts high action into overdrive in this eagerly awaited follow-up to his #1 New York Times bestseller. Brave bird-kid Max and her flock fly south on a perilous quest to find their parents, after having rescued Angel and recovered secret documents about their origins. But just when they think they've finally escaped the hungry claws of evil Erasers, they're discovered by an FBI agent and forced to face perhaps an even worse nightmare: going to school. There's no such thing as an ordinary day when Max's "homework" includes decoding documents, deciphering when (and how) she's supposed to save the world, and learning to face what may be her greatest enemy: herself. A clone. Max II.
Customer Reviews:
Better than the first.......2007-10-01
The second installment in the Maximum Ride series allows for the characters to grow in a way that wasn't possible in the first. While other reviewers are dissapointed in the lack of beginning-middle-end type of storytelling, it was nice to see these kids get a chance to truly be kids for a while, even if it means they go to school and have Thanksgiving dinner with a shady FBI agent. While this hold over in Virginia doesn't make for the most exciting read, it gives these hard running, hard fighting kids a chance to regain their bearings and focus on the hunt for their birth parents. This was a fast fun read.
Read the 1st, Read the 2nd!.......2007-09-18
Patterson brings back the flock into our lives in their pursuit to understand their history and to save the world! It is better than the first!
Again, I stress that this book's targeted age group is 10 to 15. I do not recommend this book to adults (which I am) for it is too elementary. For teens it is a great read!
great series.......2007-09-17
Great series, it keeps you guessing how are they going to get out of the next situation and if one of them is a spy. Enjoyed this book as much as the first one in this series.
Boo.......2007-09-13
I'll admit, I enjoyed the first book. It was cute, clever, and I liked the idea. But the second book made me angry due, particularly at one character- Angel. A cute, six-year old girl with pure white wings who can read minds and control minds and breathe underwater and talk to fish that everyone loves. I can no longer read this without wanting to bludgeon this Mary Sue over the head.
Neither Max or Fang are too original either. Max just has an annoying personality, while Fang is the "OMG Dark mysterious pretty boy angst dark angel!!!". Yeah, like that's original.
And don't get me wrong, I loved Iggy, Nudge, and Gazzy... Iggy had a little bit of page time, but the others? Max mentioned in the first book that she spoke all the time, but I can barely remember her. Gazzy is the worst though. As the older brother of Angel, he holds nothing in comparison to her superspeshulness. While Angel can do so many magical things, Gazzy farts. You heard me... infact, his name is literally 'Gasman' while his sister is some Holy Being to the rest of the group!
Don't waste your time on this book unless you like unoriginal characters and Mary Sues.
maximum ride: school's out forever.......2007-08-05
This is a great series for any age group, and book 2 continues the bird kid's adventures. You can't help but fall in love with Max, Fang, Iggy, Gasman, and Angel. And the dog!! What a hoot! Can't wait to see what happens next.
Book Description
This book offers a revealing—and troubling—view of today's high school students and the ways they pursue high grades and success. Veteran teacher Denise Pope follows five highly regarded students through a school year and discovers that these young people believe getting ahead requires manipulating the system, scheming, lying, and cheating.
Customer Reviews:
Worthwhile Reading.......2007-09-11
While it has been a year or so since I've read this book, during this time I have recommended this book to several parents with high school aged children. As a student who attends a supposedly "elite" university, I often wondered where, or from whom, my classmates developed their misplaced sense of ethics when it comes to achieving academic success....and then I began tutoring students in the very competitive high schools that surround this university. I witnessed students who were more interested in getting A's in all of their classes - by whatever means necessary - than in actually understanding the material at hand. As a result much of their time was spent devising ways in which to "work the system", which, it seems, are good skills to acquire if one wishes to attend the top universities. God forbid that any of these students should attend a "second tier" university, for their parents would have to hide their faces in shame when among their peers.
It no longer surprises me when the students around me resort to the methods outlined in Ms. Pope's book. True, not all of these methods are "technically" prohibited and (fortunately) not all students approach their studies in this way, but enough of them do that it is time to reevaluate just what is most important when approaching our children's education. Ms. Pope's book attempts to redirect this focus so that American students do not continue to fall further behind the rest of the world.
A Good Book for Pesonal Reflection.......2007-04-21
Ms. Pope superbly examines the question - can the pursuit of high grades to lead to unhealthy consequences in a child's mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual health? As a parent (and I think most parents would agree), the answer is yes. This book encourages parents to reflect on whether their children are involved with such an unbalanced lifestyle, and most importantly, whether I as a parent am encouraging (usually unwittingly!) such an unbalanced lifestyle.
Ms. Pope falls short when she tries to generalize her conclusions about the five students she followed over the course of a school year to an indictment of the state of education in that particular high school (and ultimately, the state of education in America as a whole). These students suffered from multiple problems such as probable sleep deprivation, to possible mental illness and personality disorder, to family dysfunction. Just to examine whether the high school itself was a prime culprit in fostering an unhealthy emphasis on grades, Ms. Pope would have needed a much larger study including psychiatric, social work, and medical evaluation of the students, but also the families, teachers, administration, and even of the characteristics of the surrounding community.
Even then, generalizing her conclusions to other school districts would have been impossible, since the problems facing any given school system are unique. For example, poverty, racism, and drugs didn't seem to be prominent problems for the students in her study, but I am sure teachers and administrators in other districts might say that such problems are of paramount importance to them.
As a result, as a scientific investigation of the state of education in the high school Ms Pope studied (and in America as a whole), Ms. Pope's book is useless.
Forget the inflammatory title. I highly recommend this book as it was written - a call for parents to reflect on the lives of their children.
required for class.......2007-02-19
I bought this book as a requirement for a teaching class, and its not too bad. Not a book I would snuggle up and read for fun of course, but as far as required reading goes, its a nice read. Has a good flow and doesn't dull you to tears like most required books.
Great Book.......2007-01-19
This book is great if you are parent or educator. Easy and enjoyable to read, with compelling stories.
Doing School.......2007-01-13
Doing School, for me was a good book. The author of this book is Denise Clark Pope. On a scale of 1 to 10 I would rate this book a 6. All of the stories are very similar, that's why I rate this book a 6. All of the kids in the stories are in high school and are all trying to please someone other than them selves. This book is divided up into sections for each student's story. I could relate very well with this book and that surprised me because I don't consider myself stressed.
My opinion of Doing School is that it's good but it needs more variety in the stories. All of the stories in the book explain from an outer person's part of view. You can see that the kids don't have fun and are unhappy. I can relate to this book very well. I know how it feels to have so much work you don't even want to try to do some. I also know how it feels when you procrastinate when a project is due. Also some people in my school feel if they don't wear popular clothes they won't be popular.
In To Kill A Mockingbird Scouts first impression of teachers wasn't good. The teacher didn't like that Scout already knew how to read when she came to 1st grade and the teacher put Scout in a time out in the corner. The teacher wouldn't listen or try to understand why Scout already knew and was mean to her. In Doing School the teachers won't try to understand why a student doesn't have their work they just give them a zero. I would recommend this book to a teacher because next time a student who normally does their work doesn't have it they will try to hear the student out.
Customer Reviews:
this is an amzing and very practical book!.......2001-08-23
this is such a great book if you are looking for a book that gives basic developmental guidelines for reading AND some wonderful activities to do with children! the focus is on children birth to 3rd grade! I absolutely LOVE it!
Excellent Kindergarten Resource.......2000-03-30
As a Kindergarten teacher, I have found the Starting Out Right book to be one of the best resources that I have ever used in my classroom. The text is very easy to read and very user friendly. The activities are great for any teacher making the changes in education. I only wish that I had found this book years ago. I would recommend this book for any teacher who is teaching reading strategies. In fact, my district is purchasing this book for ALL kindergarten teachers for our personal resource library.
Product Description
"Giving test results to an incoherent, badly run school doesn't automatically make it a better school. The work of turning a school around entails improving the knowledge and skills of teachers-changing their knowledge of content and how to teach it-and helping them to understand where their students are in their academic development. Low-performing schools, and the people who work in them, don't know what to do. If they did, they would be doing it already."
So writes Richard Elmore in "Unwarranted Intrusion," an essay critiquing the accountability mandates and high-stakes testing policies of the No Child Left Behind Act. In School Reform from the Inside Out, one of the country's leading experts on the successes and failures of American education policy tackles issues ranging from teacher development to testing to "failing" schools. As Elmore aptly notes, successful school reform begins "from the inside out" with teachers, administrators, and school staff, not with external mandates or standards. This collection of some of Elmore's most probing and influential essays is essential reading for any school leader, education reformer, policymaker, or citizen interested in the forces that promote real school change.
Customer Reviews:
Great for teens!.......2006-02-26
I would recommend this book to any young teenager. I've read the "adult" version, and it would be appropriate for older teens at a high reading level. I've also read this youth version, and I thought it very appropriate for kids grades 6-9, especially. The cover art is pretty juvenile, but I just had a 9th grader (age 14) borrow my copy of this book, and she loved it.
Not the best.......2004-06-15
The book was ok...it was not life changing...I think it would be great for new Christians or for young teens (12-15 years old.) I think this book was written for young teens because the way it is written makes me feel like I am reading a children's picture book. It is very repetitive and uses too many little stories to make a point. I would recommed reading Victory over the Darkness by Neil T. Anderson instead if you are older or are an advanced reader.
LIFE CHANGING.......2002-06-27
I am only half way through "Stomping Out The Darkness" and I already am compelled to tell others about this book. If you are at all interested in buying this amazing book, do it. You will not regret it. You might never realize the amazing gift you have been given when Jesus died on the cross for your sins. I have no words to describe this book except a miracle. Dave Park and Neil are amazing men. If you are not at peace in your life, you can change it. This book shows you how. God Bless You
Freedom.......2000-05-17
Stomping out the darkness is one of the most influential booksI have ever read. It not only teaches you the basics on your identityin Christ, which so many Christians miss out on, but it also shows you pratical applications for them. Please, if you buy any book this year, BUY THIS ONE. It will change your perspective and your life.
Average customer rating:
- keep reading
- At last! Quality gay fiction for teens!
- Let It All Out!!
- Not bad but i wouldn't recommend it
- There Are No Surprises Here
|
Rainbow High
Alex Sanchez
Manufacturer: Simon Pulse
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Children's Books
| Subjects
| Books
| Baby-3
| Ages 4-8
| Ages 9-12
| Audiobooks
| Animals
| Arts & Music
| Authors & Illustrators, A-Z
| Computers
| Educational
| History & Historical Fiction
| Issues
| Literature
| Obsessions
| People & Places
| Popular Characters
| Reference & Nonfiction
| Religions
| Science, Nature & How It Works
| Series
| Sports & Activities
Fiction
| Homosexuality
| Social Issues
| Teens
| Subjects
| Books
Fiction
| Dating & Intimacy
| Social Issues
| Teens
| Subjects
| Books
Sexuality
| Health, Mind & Body
| Teens
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Literature & Fiction
| Teens
| Subjects
| Books
Sexuality
| Health, Mind & Body
| Teens
| 4-for-3 Books Store
| Stores
| Books
General
| Literature & Fiction
| Teens
| 4-for-3 Books Store
| Stores
| Books
Fiction
| Dating & Intimacy
| Social Issues
| Teens
| 4-for-3 Books Store
| Stores
| Books
Homosexuality
| Social Issues
| Teens
| 4-for-3 Books Store
| Stores
| Books
All 4-for-3 Deals
| 4-for-3 Books Store
| Stores
| Books
Similar Items:
-
Rainbow Road
-
Rainbow Boys
-
So Hard to Say
-
Geography Club
-
Getting It
ASIN: 0689854781 |
Book Description
Jason Carrillo, the best-looking athlete in school, has had his eyes on the prize from day one: a scholarship for college.
But then his eyes turn to love -- and Kyle.
Kyle Meeks, swim team star and all-around good guy, is finally in the relationship he wanted. Being in love feels so good, in fact, that he can't imagine giving it up to go to Princeton.
Something he's worked for his entire life.
Nelson Glassman, outgoing and defiant, might be HIV positive. Jeremy, the boy he loves, is HIV positive. Although Nelson fears testing positive, if he is infected Jeremy might stop protecting him and pushing him away.
They can be together.
High shool's almost over. Graduation is ahead. Life's a bowl of cherries, right? Right...
Customer Reviews:
keep reading.......2007-09-11
This book started off slow really. Then it got really good in the end. I was happy I kept reading it because the ending was so good. Jason comes out to his team and the school loves him for it while Kyle's life in school is the total opposite from his boyfriends. Nelson is thankfully over Kyle and he has a boyfriend. But as we all know, life isn't perfect now that you have a boyfriend. It was really good just not as good as the first book.
At last! Quality gay fiction for teens!.......2007-04-06
Finally, a story about gay teens, while told with honesty and realism, where no one dies. Author Sanchez has a great feel for teen language and motivation. He is also spot-on with the parental and other adult characterizations. The plot teaches without being pedantic and without ceasing to entertain. There's also a couple of scenes that steam lightly with the mildest, yet warm eroticism, but it's certainly not gratuituous in the least and written tastefully and without prurience. As a former young adult librarian, I've so often needed gay fiction to recommend to struggling teens for a bit of bibliotherapy. Until Sanchez, there's been a definite dearth of such literature. Looking forward to reading his other books and highly recommend this one. The eye candy covers are fun, but the content is far more than fluffy hotties looking bored.
Let It All Out!!.......2006-12-07
Rainbow High is a very inspirational book. Especially for the Lesbians, Bisexuals, Gays and Queers. An inspiration because alot of homosexuals are very uncomfortable with the way they look and how they would fit in with the world, and why won't the world except them for who they are. Sanchez shows all of the difficulties and hardships homosexuals endure in the "normal" community, including high school. He also expresses how other people react to their homosexuality, including there very own relatives.
I love this book because it inspires me personally.Alot of people dont except me for being bisexual and its hard. But as long as i stand up for myself and not let anyone control what I want to do and be in life, i'll have alot of respect after words.
Not bad but i wouldn't recommend it.......2006-01-08
Primarily and most improtantly, homophobia wasn't not the true reason behind shaping my ture opinion about this book which i coudn't bear reading till the end. Although Alex Sanchez does a great job in revealing an introspection of the three protagonists Nelson, Jason, and Kyle including their feelings about their homosexuality and their caring about the view from which society would regard them. Instead of bringing forth the disliked subject of homophobia in American society, Sanchez unreasonably talks sublty about this important issues by narrating the story of Jason's coming out. It is surprrising and hardly believable to accept the courtesy by which Jason's schoolmates regarded his coming out and that their role-model is homosexual. In actual life, it's rarely if never oucurring that a large amount of people would easily accept among them someone who according to religion and common rule, is somehow different. In addition to the unusal attitude of the town people, Jason't being interviewed and acclaimed by many for having the courage of coming out is an extreme prasing of being homosexual. Again, i am not a homophobe and i can prove this by expressing how much i liked Rainbow Boys in talking about a negative thing (homophobia) in American history and in it's valuale message to encourage youth in general and homosexuals in particular to accept their fauts and face society.
There Are No Surprises Here.......2005-09-12
Nelson, Kyle and Jason whom we met in RAINBOW BOYS are back again, pretty much as we knew them. Well, Nelson has gone from dying his hair lemon-lime to "flame-blue," an appropriate color since he is certainly the flamer of these three. He is the outrageous one who never had a chance of being in anybody's closet, even if he had wanted to. Kyle is still the shy one on the swim team who can "pass" if left alone. Jason, of course, is the high school jock equally attractive to both young men and women.
There are no surprises here. We pretty much know where Mr. Sanchez is going with his plot. Will Nelson break up with his new boyfriend Jason because he is HIV positive? Will Kyle go to Princeton rather than to a lesser university even though it means he will be separated from Jason? Will Jason come out to the other members of the basketball team? If he does, will he lose his college scholarship? Will they all attend the senior prom?
What this novel does extremely well is provide a story that gay teenagers can read and know that they are not alone, particularly those who live in out-of-the-way towns and attend small high schools. It is comforting to learn that RAINBOW BOYS was an American Library Association Best Book for Young Adults.
As in the previous novel, there is information about all kinds of organizations and help for gay teenagers at the end of this novel.
Customer Reviews:
More timely than ever, unfortunately.......2001-09-26
In the wake of a terrible terrorist attack, various public voices are arguing for liberty-threatening countermeasures -- increases in federal power, the placement of federal marshals on aircraft, the unreasonable search and seziure of airline passengers, and so forth. Almost unnoticed and unmentioned is the fact that the terrorists succeeded in killing thousands using, apparently, no weapon more powerful than a box cutter.
A handful who are aware of this salient point are claiming that airline security was lax owing to "market failure." This is supposed to relieve us of the responsibility to establish security by means that respect rights.
But Bruce Benson's _To Serve and Protect_ addressed all of this several years ago -- broadly and in principle, though of course with no explicit discussion of the proper security measures for airlines to implement. What Benson provides in this volume is a thorough defense of a superficially counterintuitive claim that becomes less and less counterintuitive as time goes on: the free and private market is better, _much_ better, at providing security and criminal justice than is the government.
That means that his book is, sadly, perhaps more timely now than when it was written. By a simple extrapolation of the arguments presented herein, the recent tragedies indicate, not that "private" security provisions put us at risk of "market failures," but that a government monopoly on criminal justice costs lives.
Benson is also the author of the highly recommended _The Enterpise of Law_, which sets out probably the most thorough case to date that _law_ can exist without the institutions of a territorial State. This volume is in some ways a sequel, setting out a positive case as to how "private" criminal law works and why it is, consistently and in principle, superior to government regulation. (And allegations of "market failure" are specifically addressed.)
Check it out. The need for Benson's arguments has never been greater at any time since its publication.
What we have to avoid !.......2000-01-13
Professor Benson's book is very interesting and excite. Good thoughts and insights in criminal justice failures. Benson advocates free market administration of crime and punishment as solution. The question in my opinion is: what we have to avoid ? Criminal justice failures or market rules ? What seems a good ideia, maybe is the wrong way and will cause more problems than solutions. Anyway, you can't be pro or against it without this excellent book.
A brilliant follow up to Benson's "The Enterprise of Law".......1999-09-12
What I love about this book is that it is a must read for both Liberals and Conservatives alike. Benson shows step by step why our monopolized "justice" system works against real justice -- and why the poor are the most likely to suffer at its hands. What is most comforting to me (who wholeheartedly agrees with his findings) is his conclusion that whether or not people like it, the privatization of criminal justice is inevitably growing.
Average customer rating:
- Bravo
- Loved It
- Rainbow Boys
- A must read!
- A Must-Read!
|
Rainbow Boys
Alex Sanchez
Manufacturer: Simon Pulse
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Fiction
| Friendship
| Social Situations
| People & Places
| Children's Books
| Subjects
| Books
School
| Issues
| Children's Books
| Subjects
| Books
Fiction
| Homosexuality
| Social Issues
| Teens
| Subjects
| Books
Fiction
| Dating & Intimacy
| Social Issues
| Teens
| Subjects
| Books
Being a Teen
| Social Issues
| Teens
| Subjects
| Books
Sexuality
| Health, Mind & Body
| Teens
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Literature & Fiction
| Teens
| Subjects
| Books
School
| Issues
| Children's Books
| 4-for-3 Books Store
| Stores
| Books
Fiction
| Friendship
| Social Situations
| People & Places
| Children's Books
| 4-for-3 Books Store
| Stores
| Books
Sexuality
| Health, Mind & Body
| Teens
| 4-for-3 Books Store
| Stores
| Books
General
| Literature & Fiction
| Teens
| 4-for-3 Books Store
| Stores
| Books
Being a Teen
| Social Issues
| Teens
| 4-for-3 Books Store
| Stores
| Books
Fiction
| Dating & Intimacy
| Social Issues
| Teens
| 4-for-3 Books Store
| Stores
| Books
Homosexuality
| Social Issues
| Teens
| 4-for-3 Books Store
| Stores
| Books
All 4-for-3 Deals
| 4-for-3 Books Store
| Stores
| Books
Similar Items:
-
Rainbow High
-
Rainbow Road
-
Geography Club
-
So Hard to Say
-
Boy Meets Boy
ASIN: 0689857705 |
Book Description
Jason Carrillo is a jock with a steady girlfriend, but he can't stop dreaming about sex...with other guys.
Kyle Meeks doesn't look gay, but he is. And he hopes he never has to tell anyone -- especially his parents.
Nelson Glassman is "out" to the entire world, but he can't tell the boy he loves that he wants to be more than just friends.
Three teenage boys, coming of age and out of the closet. In a revealing debut novel that percolates with passion and wit, Alex Sanchez follows these very different high-school seniors as their struggles with sexuality and intolerance draw them into a triangle of love, betrayal, and ultimately, friendship.
Customer Reviews:
Bravo.......2007-08-29
From the first to last page I was hooked on this book. It was so good that I am thrilled that the stories continue. Alex you have a new fan!
Loved It.......2007-08-01
I probably do not fit this books demographic!
I'm a 22 year old straight female.
But I LOVED this book, and the other two that follow it. I rarely read at all, but I couldn't put it down, I read it non stop until it was finished.
I felt like the characters were my close friends. The great part about this book and the other two is that it gets right to the action. None of that boring prose about trees and leaves blowing in the wind. Every page is interesting, and it feels like an original story, unlike all the hetero fiction that is out there for teens to read. Did I mention again that I'm straight?
Nelson, Jason and Kyle are remarkable - particularly Nelson, he comes out with some great lines and is a fantastic character.
To be honest, this book rather made me WISH I knew these kids. And that I was a guy. And gay. (Nelson owns my heart)
Kudos to Alex! Excellent book!
Rainbow Boys.......2007-05-09
I loved the book. It could really help young boys who are sturggling with their sexuality. The story line keeps you involved and the context of the story is very appropriate. The book is page turner because it moves at a fast pace and the story line is interesting, your always wondering whats going to happen next. Not only is the context of what is going on with the boys helpful to young adults, but also the family dynamics presented in this book can also have many children relating to these boys struggles.
A must read!.......2007-05-04
This realistic contemporary literature novel covers many social and emotional issues faced by high school students. The problems and solutions were realistic and practical. Fear of rejection, sense of belonging, and the need to fit in were just a few of the underlying themes that were presented throughout the novel. It is difficult for all high school students to understand who they are and everyone fights with trying to fit in, having the right clothing or hairstyle, listening to the right music, saying the right things. But for high school minorities, these challenges are only more obvious as they face so many different difficulties. The characters were well developed and ever changing, allowing the reader to feel as though they really know Nelson, Kyle, and Jason first hand. Sanchez does a great job of producing well-rounded characters with realistic problems. He leads the reader to want to continue reading, waiting to see what will happen to the boys next. The book ends rather abruptly, with many issues yet to be resolved. However, this is Sanchez's way of making you read the sequels, Rainbow High and Rainbow Road. As a reader, I definitely want to go and read the next two books that follow the characters through the remainder of high school and on to their lives after graduation. As frustrating as it was to have the book end without answering all the questions, it is a good author who leaves you wanting more and can get a reader so excited that they can't wait for the next story. A true eye opener of a book, dealing with many adolescent issues. However, not appropriate to be used as a whole class novel even in late high school. There are some very graphic scenes and language that is quite controversial. I think it is a great book that teachers, social workers, and parents should be aware of and it should be available to students on an individual basis. Students who might be part of a gay-straight alliance or who personally seek help and understanding of their own confusions will learn a lot and be able to connect to Sanchez's work.
A Must-Read!.......2007-04-04
First, I am very picky when it comes to books that I select to read. As a special education teacher and doctoral candidate, there just is little time for "fun reading"
When a former student came out to me, I took her to the local GLCC (I am also on its board of trustees). I took her to our library section to see if there was anything she would be interested in. Anything that might make her feel the "normality" of being Gay that I struggled with for so many years. At one time, I was even on the verge of suicide.
Alex Sanchez's books had been recommended to me. I think I even purchased a few -- but they got lost somewhere in my book avalanche. I DO NOT regret brining this book home. It is well written. It shifts from character to character delicately telling their stories. Mr. Sanchez could not have chosen three better characters for his plot. You have the very open Nelson, the "I'm gay but I don't want everyone to know it, yet" Kyle....and my favorite, the jock....Jason. Each has separate struggles. But they help each other through the process.
I wish this book had been written all those years ago when I was afraid and alone. I am ordering the series....and anything else that Mr. Sanchez writes!
As the sponsor of a Gay Straight Alliance, I think this is a great addition to any collection.*
* I do have to admit that they use the "F" word a few times more than I am used to .. but I alo teach high school! But, I realize that that is the way kids talk...and if it helps someone...Hurray!
Book Description
Discover the Power of Positive Time-Out
Time-out is one of the most popular disciplinary techniques used in homes and schools today. But instead of being the positive, motivating, experience it should be for children, it is often punitive, counterproductive, and damaging to their gentle psyches.
In this book, bestselling parenting author
Jane Nelsen shows you how to make time-out a positive learning experience for children. Inside, you'll discover how positive time-out can teach children the art of self-discipline and instill such invaluable qualities as self-confidence and problem-solving skills. You'll also learn how to:
·Make time-out an encouraging experience
·Develop an attitude and action plan to avoid power struggles with children
·Empower children by involving them in the behavior changing process
·Understand the mistaken goals of negative behavior
"Gives parents and teachers the encouragement and tools they need to help children handle their own behavior."—
Sheryl Hausinger, M.D., Texas Children's Pediatric Associates and mother of three
"Offers more than 50 ways that parents can set limits while still encouraging their kids. It should be in every doctor's waiting room."—
Jody McVittie, M.D., family physician
Customer Reviews:
The first time to use Amazon.......2007-07-15
Fast delivery
Same as New book
it is really a good online buying experience
But the delivery charge is a quite expensive!
The best secret in the Positive Discipline Series.......2006-06-04
The Positive Discipline series is all about non-punitive, respectful discipline (discipline=teaching). Treating your children with kindness and firmness at the same time is the key.
This book talks about the need for a cooling off period when emotions run high (on either side) before the problem-solving session can begin. This Positive Time-Out is a choice made by the child to be most effective. The child helps to choose it in advance, when there's no conflict. Jane Nelsen stresses the point that children do better when they feel better.
The parent can take one too whenever he/she needs it. When both sides have calmed down, there's a focus on solutions, not blame.
This book also gives 14 attitude tools (for those who find it hard to shift from punishment to non-punitive attitudes) and 41 (yes, 41!) action tools you can use to guide your child. It's gentle, effective discipline in my book!
What I think is important in this book is also the need for children to develop a "can do" attitude. Jane Nelsen talks about the Significant Seven Perceptions and Skills children need to thrive in the world. If every parent would help their children achieve these social and life skills, children would be more confident, cooperative and well-adjusted as adults.
A handy, great book brimming with wonderful ideas!
Tons of Help for Parents and Kids.......2005-10-29
This book had many tools that help you with parenting! Many books offer extreme ideas or only ideas the help "fix the kids". This book gives many ideas with recognizing and working with the common difficulties of being a parent and gives many tools for helping parents and kids. I have just finished reading this book and have had two wonderful weeks with less struggles with my two kids and much more cooperation. I also learned more about my limits and when I need to take time to calm down from a situation and how to do so. I found this book very helpful and very affordable.
Essential Reading.......2001-08-15
This is one of the best books available for people who either have children or work with them. The make sense, and they work. Why would children do better when they are punished, when adults don't? I've used these ideas with the children I work with, as young as age three, and they work. I've also taught them to parents who have taken parenting classes with me, and all have reported success with the method. It allows us as adults to avoid power struggles, set clear limits and have boundaries with our children, rather than using external control. As the author explains, external control doesn't work in the long term - kids only learn how to not get caught, or they become totally dependent on the approval of others, which makes them likely to get caught in peer pressure. Punitive time out teaches conformity and compliance. Postive time out teaches kids to think about the impact of their behaviour on others and the consequences of their choices.
Bravo and thank you.......2000-08-04
Bravo and many thanks to Jane Nelsen for her latest book, Positive Time-Out. Since it's publication last November, nearly two hundred parents from my workshops have tried this fabulous approach with their children. The response and outcome has been more than favorable. Parents have shared that they no longer experience the power struggles and frustration that had accompanied their previous attempts with time-outs. Initally, many parents expressed hesitance in using this approach. Most said they felt it was necessary to make time-out punitive--even if they were following many of the Positive Discipline guidelines. However, I consistently hear parents say, "since we've changed our approach and stopped using time-out as a punishment, things have improved". All of Jane Nelsen's books have reframed the parenting approach from a negative to a positive and indeed it has helped many families achieve peace, cooperation, and satisfaction. As a parenting educator, I have used this model exclusively for nearly twenty years and have had the experience of receiving compliments and gratitude from the thousands of families who have benefitied from it's amazing and positive outcome.
Average customer rating:
- Emma Jean Lazarus Fell Out of a Tree
- A fabulous audio recording of a terrific first novel
- Richie's Picks: EMMA-JEAN LAZARUS FELL OUT OF A TREE
- Wow, what voice!
- A delightful and insightful book about being different, dealing with bullies and overcoming grief
|
Emma Jean Lazarus Fell Out of a Tree
Lauren Tarshis
Manufacturer: Dial
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
General
| Family Life
| People & Places
| Children's Books
| Subjects
| Books
Fiction
| Emotions & Feelings
| Social Situations
| People & Places
| Children's Books
| Subjects
| Books
Fiction
| Friendship
| Social Situations
| People & Places
| Children's Books
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Ages 9-12
| Children's Books
| Subjects
| Books
School
| Issues
| Children's Books
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Issues
| Children's Books
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Literature
| Children's Books
| Subjects
| Books
Similar Items:
-
On The Wings of Heroes
-
Rules (Newbery Honor Book)
-
The Wednesday Wars
-
The Mysterious Benedict Society
-
Feathers
ASIN: 0803731647
Release Date: 2007-03-01 |
Book Description
Emma-Jean Lazarus is a lovable oddball who thinks she can use logic to solve the “messy” everyday problems of her seventh-grade peers. It's easy—she just follows the example of her late father, a brilliant mathematician. Of course, the more Emma-Jean gets involved, the messier her own life gets. Suddenly she's no longer the person standing on the outside of all social interactions. But perhaps that's a good thing?
If you took The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time and Ida B . . . and Her Plans to Maximize Fun, Avoid Disaster, and (Possibly) Save the World and put them in a middle-grade blender, you would have the book Emma- Jean Lazarus Fell Out of a Tree. Quirky, honest, and written by first-time author Lauren Tarshis, this is a tender story about what happens when a girl who has long stood in the social shadows gets a taste of what it's like to connect with kids her own age.
Customer Reviews:
Emma Jean Lazarus Fell Out of a Tree.......2007-09-25
Tarshis, Lauren. Emma-Jean Lazarus Fell Out of a Tree. Dial Books for Young Readers, 2007
Emma-Jean Lazarus is in the seventh grade at William Gladstone Middle School where she observes rather than interacts with her classmates. Her father, who died in a car accident a couple of years ago when she was only 10, had been a successful mathematician who influenced her to want her world to be logical and rational, "Emma-Jean had observed her peers closely over the years. Her painstaking research had given her a much clearer understanding of their complex emotional lives and surprising sensitivities." When Emma finds a classmate crying in the girls' bathroom, she decides to use her excellent problem solving skills to intervene behind the scenes to fix Colleen's problem. A series of unfortunate events ensue until Emma finally understands that some of her well-intended actions have had negative consequences. Emma is a combination of thoughtful and naïve as she struggles to deal with the damage she has caused; fortunately facing up to her role in some troublesome events enables her to grow significantly as she learns how to interact more wisely with her peers. Woven in to this story about a child who is dealing with the death of a parent is a sweet subplot that has an older student, Vikram Adwani from Mumbai, India who is studying for a PhD at the local University, board with Emma and her mother. Emma really likes this gentleman, in fact, they spend many afternoons talking and cooking fragrant curry meals after she gets home from school, until she realizes that her mother and Vikram are growing maybe too fond of each other. Now Emma decides to intervene to help Vikram's mother find him a lovely Indian bride. Emma is a very appealing character in this wonderful story that blends humor with poignancy.
A fabulous audio recording of a terrific first novel.......2007-09-12
Gummer, the daughter of Meryl Streep, does an absolutely terrific job of bringing to life the various characters (brainy Emma Jean, anxious Colleen, villainous Laura, even wise Vikram!) from this winning debut novel. It's also a plus that this trim book, packed full of plot and humor, is only one-long-car-trip length, clocking in at just over three hours. (I found myself in the rare position of wishing it was longer.) Gummer's reading is so absorbing, this most girly of stories was even enjoyed by a 13-year-old boy, who rolled his eyes at all the seventh-grade dramatics, but nonetheless admitted it was like spying on a conversation he'd never be privy to any other way.
Richie's Picks: EMMA-JEAN LAZARUS FELL OUT OF A TREE.......2007-08-17
"It had been nearly two and a half years since Emma-Jean had climbed, but the motions came right back to her, as if they had been programmed into her limbs. She shimmied up the skinny trunk like her father had taught her, keeping her knees tight together. She grabbed the lowest branch, hoisting herself up in the manner of a gymnast mounting the uneven parallel bars. At several junctures, the branches formed sturdy V-shaped joints, providing footholds for Emma-Jean's white Keds. She was mindful not to disturb the tiny buds that were forming, and kept her feet clear of the most delicate branches."
"Hey, ho, makes you feel so fine
Looking out across the orchard in the bright sunshine.
Hey, ho, you feel so free
Standing in the top of an apple tree."
--Larry Hanks, "Apple Picker's Reel"
When I finish writing this piece, I will get to dive into a very special dessert. Shari spent the afternoon baking a pair of Gravenstein apple pies from our very first crop of apples, grown in a corner of our little Sebastopol, California farm.
It really tickled me when, twenty years ago, I was paging through RISE UP SINGING, searching out new songs to share at circletime, and found the Apple Picker's Reel which was accompanied by Larry Hanks' commentary about having written it while he was, himself, picking apples in Sebastopol.
Back in those days, I'd recently moved from the East Coast to California (with my goats) and had discovered my farm which was, then, bordered on the north and west by neighboring Gravenstein apple trees standing shoulder to shoulder for as far as the eye could see.
This was of no small importance to me. My relationship with apple trees goes back to my early childhood in the late Fifties when I learned to climb "my" apple tree in the backyard of our family's small suburban house in Plainview, Long Island, and gaze down over my kingdom which included the swing set and the little round swimming pool.
"No one I think is in my tree, I mean it must be high or low"
-- Lennon and McCartney, "Strawberry Fields"
Tragically, those neighboring apple trees in Sebastopol were all torn out a number of years ago to make room for wine grapes. You'd better believe that it wasn't merely all the dust being stirred up by the giant tractors that was causing me to cry when the corpses of those old trees were being stacked up in pyres around the perimeter.
And, of course, being ever the contrarian, I was out there planting baby Gravensteins (with a rich dressing of aged goat manure) while everybody else in the hills was tearing them out.
Having nurtured our tiny orchard of apple trees from when they were the length of my forearm to the harvesting of this first crop, I now recognize that the apple tree that I'd climbed all those decades ago in Plainview must have been planted sometime back during the Roaring Twenties or the years of The Great Depression for its having been so exceptionally wide and tall with its maze of sturdy limbs to traverse and its bountiful crop of tart, green apples. It will surely be decades before my adolescent trees in Sebastopol will be sufficiently strong to permit my teaching a child to climb them in the fashion that Emma-Jean Lazarus's father had taught her to climb trees.
Sadly,the love of her mother's (and her) life -- her father, the mathematician -- died in a car crash two-and-a-half years ago, and that is why Emma-Jean has not climbed a tree (either literally or figuratively) since then.
But, in a move that is uncharacteristic for this cautious observer, this foe of disorder that she has since become, seventh grader Emma-Jean Lazarus decides to go out on a limb to assist a schoolmate in distress.
"All Emma-Jean knew was this: Some irrational, emotional force had compelled her to enter the chaotic world of her peers, where the rules of logic did not apply."
The focus of Emma-Jean's assistance is her fellow seventh-grader, Colleen, a very believable character who struggles to walk the narrow line between being popular and doing the right thing.
"You're right, Emma-Jean,' Colleen whispered. 'The truth is I'm not doing well at all. I'm having some trouble, bad trouble, with some of my friends...' Colleen shook her head. 'Some people...aren't nice.'
"Emma-Jean knew this was true. People sometimes behaved unkindly toward one another, even at William Gladstone Middle School. Hurt feelings, bruised egos, broken promises, betrayed confidences -- the list of emotional injuries her fellow seventh-graders inflicted on one another was dismayingly long.
"Of course, Emma-Jean was fond of her peers. In fact, she believed that one was unlikely to find a finer group of young people than the 103 boys and 98 girls with whom she spent her school days. But their behavior was often irrational. And as a result, their lives were messy. Emma-Jean disliked disorder of any kind, and had thus made it her habit to keep herself separate, to observe from afar."
When Emma-Jean decides to risk going out on that limb, to forgo that separateness and face that which cannot be ordered logically, there will be consequences for the adolescents and adults who are affected by her climb back into the oft-messy and irrational world.
EMMA-JEAN LAZARUS FELL OUT OF A TREE is a sophisticated and captivating tale that I will be recommending most enthusiastically for use by our sixth grade English teachers in Sebastopol.
And now on to the pie.
Wow, what voice!.......2007-07-08
Lauren Tarshis has such a talent to create "real" characters. She's done an excellent job writing from the perspective of a teen-aged girl with Asperger's Syndrome and super job with the voice of a typical teen girl.
It is refreshing to read such a well-written book. I literally couldn't put it down and read it in one sitting.
As a parent of a child with AS, I would like to extend sincere thanks to Tarshis for writing about this difficult subject. She accurately depicts how differently people with Asperger's Syndrome can perceive every day situations and social interactions. I would highly recommend this book to anyone looking to better understand those with AS, especially classmates of teens with AS.
A delightful and insightful book about being different, dealing with bullies and overcoming grief.......2007-06-05
Emma-Jean Lazarus is a gifted and unself-conscious 12-year-old who sits by herself at lunchtime and relies on logic and reason to help her survive seventh grade. At school, she considers the janitor and language arts teacher her friends. Others include her mother, Elizabeth; Henri, her father's 17-year-old parakeet; and Vikram Adwani, a student at the local university who has rented the third floor of Emma-Jean's house.
Emma-Jean's heroes are her father Eugene, a college mathematics professor who died two years earlier, and legendary French mathematician Jules Henri Poincare, who was also her father's hero. Emma-Jean's approach to life mirrors that of Poincare, who believed that "even the most complex problems could be solved through a process of creative thinking."
Emma-Jean is comfortable being different but feels there is an "invisible door" that separates her from fellow students like Colleen Pomerantz and Will Keeler.
Colleen Pomerantz is one of the nicest seventh-graders at William Gladstone Middle School, but she's a worrier who cares deeply about what her classmates think. One day, Emma-Jean discovers Colleen in the bathroom crying. Colleen tells Emma-Jean she's upset because her best friend, Kaitlin Vogel, has invited Laura Gilroy to the Vogel family's annual ski weekend in Vermont instead of her. Laura is bossy and loud and takes pleasure in manipulating other students to get what she wants. After seeing how upset Colleen is, and knowing how Laura behaves as the seventh grade's "female alpha chimp," Emma-Jean uses her logic and intelligence to help Colleen.
Will Keeler is a middle-of-the road student, a star of the seventh-grade basketball team and the object of Laura's affection. One day Will comes to Emma-Jean's rescue when Brandon Mahoney, a bully who "does not practice good dental hygiene," tries to humiliate her during lunchtime. Later, when Will is falsely accused by one of the teachers of stealing candy, Emma is determined to clear Will's name.
By getting involved in the lives of her fellow students, Emma-Jean has stepped through that invisible door. Her actions to solve Will's problem prove successful, but her activities on Colleen's behalf create a new and even worse situation. Colleen gets to go to Vermont with Kaitlin, but Laura is embarrassed and vows revenge. After Colleen discovers what Emma-Jean has done, she is disappointed and angry, and refuses to talk to Emma-Jean. Emma-Jean comes to Colleen's house to apologize, but Colleen stays in her bedroom. When Emma-Jean climbs a magnolia tree outside Colleen's bedroom window to reason with her, Emma-Jean slips and tumbles to the ground.
While recovering from her accident, Emma-Jean wishes she could go back to the way things used to be --- before she interfered in her classmates' lives and before her father died. But she knows that isn't possible. While comforting Emma-Jean, her mother reads that quote from Poincare; eventually, Emma-Jean comes to understand why this was so special to her father. Poincare's words, "It is by logic that we prove, but it is in our hearts that we discover life's possibilities," help Emma-Jean realize that there is more to life than logic and that she's not so different from her classmates after all.
EMMA-JEAN LAZARUS FELL OUT OF A TREE is a delightful and insightful book about being different, dealing with bullies and overcoming grief. The voices of Emma-Jean, Colleen and Will are fresh and engaging. I hope that Lauren Tarshis will write more stories about these likable characters and their middle-school adventures.
--- Reviewed by Donna Volkenannt
Books:
- Memories Are Made of This: Dean Martin Through His Daughter's Eyes
- Memories of My Melancholy Whores
- Northern Flight of Dreams: Flying Adventures in British Columbia, Yukon, Nw Territories, and Alaska
- Novel & Short Story Writer's Market 2007 (Novel and Short Story Writer's Market)
- Novel & Short Story Writer's Market 2007 (Novel and Short Story Writer's Market)
- Now, Discover Your Strengths
- Once Upon a Crime (The Sisters Grimm, Book 4)
- One Thousand White Women: The Journals of May Dodd
- Open Secret: Gay Hollywood 1928-1998
- Operating Instructions: A Journal of My Son's First Year
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- Silent Selling: Best Practices And Effective Strategies In Visual Merchandising
- History: Fiction or Science
- A Bundu Boy in Bomber Command: Memoirs of a Royal Air Force Lancaster Pilot from Rhodesia
- Bait and Switch: The
- Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes are High
- Kingdom Come: The Final Victory: The Final Victory
- Eco-Man: New Perspectives on Masculinity and Nature
- Those Pullman Blues: An Oral History of the African-American Railroad Attendant
- AP Macroeconomics/Microeconomics, 2004 Edition: An Apex Learning Guide
- Cage's Bend
