We've read all of Susan Rogers Cooper's delightful stories, including the six Sheriff Milt Kovak books, the (very difficult to find) two Kimmey Kruse stand-up comedian stories, and the previous six EJ Pugh mysteries. Obviously we like Cooper's great writing ability; one would swear she can turn a soccer practice carpooling chore into an event of note with her descriptive and insightful commentary on everyday life. All of her characters tend to be a little low profile, humble practitioners with an overdose of curiosity that leads to solving crimes, sometimes almost unwittingly. Unlike her sheriff, who of course was paid to catch killers, Kimmey and EJ are strictly amateurs who depend on cajoling friends and policemen into helping move along reasonably good plots.

In this story, EJ is far from her home (Texas), and is re-united with her three sisters (with spouses/partners along) in a contrived vacation in St. Johns cooked up by her mother who wants to see the girls "get along". Much of the story revolves around their childhood goings-on and/or their perceptions of each other's adult lives and situations in society. Hence, the plot is almost a little secondary to the mental and verbal meanderings in the Virgin Islands setting. There is a murder or two to solve, and even if a bit improbable in total, we're hooked enough by a few real clues mixed in with several red herrings along the way to feel some suspense. Indeed, we thought the ending fairly surprising, and hardly anticipated the ultimate culprit at all.

While we'd readily give almost all Cooper's books 4 stars, we don't think this one was one of her best -- maybe the unusual setting (although entertaining in itself in some ways) put our author off her usual game plan; and with none of the regular supporting characters to help out, we didn't know anybody here either. Still, the faithful will want to read this; and while many of her others seemed better to me, all 15 books are fun, worthwhile "reads" without demanding too much from us the reader but "enjoy". Why not ?!!

This was the first book that I've ever read by Ms. Cooper. I picked it up intially because I had been to St. John, U.S.V.I. a few times in the past, and wanted to see which sites were mentioned.

I liked this book, but I found the writing style to be a bit spare. I have no real mental image of what the protagonist and her husband look like, or whether or not I would like them if I met them. The story itself was interesting, and the sibling problems added a nice twist to the story. Actually, I probably would have liked the book better if the family relationships were the sole focus of the book (Ms. Cooper seemed to handle that well). The mystery seemed to be a secondary issue here, and the whole treatment of the crimes that were occuring seemed too lackadaisical.

Although I liked the book, I don't yet know if I care enough about the characters to read the other stories. I'll have to think about that for a while...

This is my first E.J. Pugh mystery. It was a very fast read, the mystery kept me guessing, and I liked the characters of the four sisters. The memories of E.J. and her sisters while they were growing up greatly helped in understanding the dynamics of their dysfunctional family. The mystery itself was good, clues were there, but not obvious. I will read the other books in this series with enjoyment. If you are looking for an easy fast read, this is it.

Although this is a great guide, most of the books are no longer in print. Had I known I couldn't buy the books I would have gotten volume II instead.

Susan Hall defines literary devices clearly and gives examples. The real power of this book however, is the resources listed and the easy to use layout. Teachers who are teaching at any grade level can find short, easy to read books that can teach hard to explain literary devices in a single class period. This is great for teaching youngsters, or a great introduction for older students who will be encountering a particular device in a longer book. Picture storybooks are wonderful literature these days and should be encouraged at all levels. This book should be in every school's professional library. I'd love to see a follow-up with more recent titles, and a resource of popular children's chapter books that could be used in conjunction with picture storybooks.

I am trying to teach my children a little Spanish- and since most Dora books have Spanish, I assumed this book would have both English and Spanish words for the colors. So, I just wrote the Spanish color names into the book.

My 2 year old is a Dora fan. We nearly have every book of hers. This one is not one of our favorites. It is a larger board book that is hard to hold for small hands. And there is no spanish to learn in this one. The object of this book is to find things that are the color Dora is asking for. If you are looking for a simple colors book then this might interest you. But if you are looking for a story to teach colors, this is not the book to get.

This book is probably better for the 1-4 year old crowd, than the 4-8 year olds, as it primarily is about finding colors. It is more fun than the other "simple" color books that we have. If you have a little Dora fan, they will enjoy this one.

It is also a sturdy board book, easy for little hands to turn and not tear pages.

While this book may be a life saver for parents, its a teacher's worst nightmare. This book is merely a propaganda ploy designed to promote the use of reading programs that ONLY use a phonics-based approach to solving reading problems.

Every good teacher knows that a balanced, multi-level approach to teaching reading is the best route to go with instruction. Kids come into your classroom with a wide variety of needs; our job is to figure them out, and supply the best level of instruction to meet those needs.

These well intentioned but misled authors seem to think that only one way is best: complete phonics instruction. While I believe that some of my student truly benefit from this, many of my students need so much more. To ignore all the systems that allow us to read, and solely focus on one, is to cheat our children out of cueing systems they need to successfully manage text.

There are several key "code words" they include in their text that lead me to suspect they have a hidden agenda. First "researched-based" literacy instruction. While everything that needs to happen in our classrooms should be proven to be successful, that term is a hot button term meaning only using products sold by the all-powerful educational basal reading companies. They want a return into our classrooms, dominating our instruction by returning kids to workbooks and controlled basal readers, none of which is real, authentic reading.

The second is a report that the authors quote by the "National Reading Panel" (an organizations which many teachers have never heard of before) called "Put Reading First". This report clearly is another propaganda piece written by people with an agenda: to promote a singular form of reading instruction. This document actually suggests, laughably, not to have students in your classroom select books to read on their own. It's not "proven" to show growth in their reading. Apparently, kids do not need to read at home at all, or visit libraries to choose books to read, because it won't help them grow as a reader. The fact that this book wraps itself around this report is suspcious enough.

Let's be clear: this book was written by two people with a clear agenda. Don't allow yourself to be fooled by their tainted words.

If you want to help your children in reading, here's what you can do. Go into your child's classroom. Volunteer regularly. Ask your child's teacher monthly, weekly, if need be, what's happening in the classroom with.reading instruction. Find out what you can do at home. Read to your child every night, and have them see you read.

Become proactive in your children's education, not a victim of someone else's political, financial agenda.

Before reading Parenting a Struggling Reader, run out to your local office supply store and buy a package of post-it flags. This book is filled with great information you will want to mark and refer to again and again.

Parenting a Struggling Reader takes you on a journey to help solve your child's difficulty with reading. Written in a very readable, informative, and practical format, questions parents ask the authors set the navigational course for the information offered in this book. Charts throughout the book highlight important information parents need to help them reach their goal and final destination--having their child be a reader.

This book begins by discussing how parents need to act promptly and not wait, how to become informed about the latest research, and what are the available approaches for teaching reading. Knowledgeable informed parents are parents who know what questions to ask and where to get help for their child.

Chapters 3 and 4 discuss how parents are their child's best advocate, how to identify the problem, and assessments used to identify children at-risk at a young age.

The journey continues as Chapters 5 and 6 contain invaluable information on testing and seeking a diagnosis. In a style that is very easy to read and understand, the authors explain the different levels of testing and what tests are commonly used to assess the different aspects of reading acquisition.

Chapter 7 gives concrete examples showing how to recognize effective instruction as well as an overview of the most common structured language approaches to teaching reading. Chapter 8 addresses older students who have still not learned to read or to read well. The balance between the accommodations used as well as a necessary intense remediation program is discussed.

The final chapter on navigating the IEP clears the fog for parents as they journey through the IEP process. In a very clearly written style, an overview of the process is given, concrete examples of goals and objectives are shared, and practical advice about how parents can prepare for the meeting and become an important part of the team to help their child overcome his reading difficulty is clearly stated. The Appendices provide terrific recommended resources to help parents as they journey towards the land of the readers.

This book is not only about completing a journey-it is about hope for all children.

"Kitty Whiskers" is comprised of ten unnumbered pages of darling illustrations which demonstrate the many uses to which kitties put their whiskers. Cheerful but simple illustrations of cats feature various textured materials behind cutouts to give young children a kinesthetic pleasure: a smooth, slick bowl of milk; cotton batting as a cat's tail; a felt mouse-hole; and a sateen kitten's nose! My son (now almost four) liked this book so well that he wore it out, so to speak; the cardboard cover has been pulled off the plastic binder! I especially like the creative explanations of the purposes of kitty whiskers: to decorate their faces; to dip in their milk; to tell the direction of the wind; to measure mouse-holes; and to tickle their owners' toes! ISBN 0-307-12902-0

Willie Stargell wrote of this book in his autobiography "Willie Stargell, An Autobiography"- "Adelman and Hall had approached me a few years before about writing the book. I entered the situation with an open heart and I got trounced on. Adelman and Hall traveled with the club for the majority of a season, gathering interviews and researching. What they produced was not the type of book I expected; it was filled with horror stories about the players and their personal lives. I feel fortunate that the publisher listened to my comments on the book.

That's why it's important to read the Author's Note on this book. It's almost like what would happen if you had Howard Stern write about a major league baseball team. "'Shocking' may be too mild an adjective for it" wrote the Pittsburgh Press when this book first hit the shelf.

And why not? Out of LF has great baseball subject matter. It was written in the season following the death of Roberto Clemente, and the feel of his absence is felt on every page of the book, as well as the standings for the '73 Bucs. The temporary demise of a great team, and Stargell doing everything he can to keep his slumping teammates in the pennant race until the very last day of the season. A managerial firing, the mysterious demise of a star player (Steve Blass) and the birth of a future star (Dave Parker).

But this book is not about on field action. It is about how rowdy, how spirited, how lecherous, and how profane a baseball team of the 1970's could be. The Pittsburgh Pirates of that era had the reputation of being the loosest and loudest of big league clubs, and this book only helps fuel the fire of that reputation.

Some of the most shocking stories of the book come from a five page diatribe from a baseball Annie named Gayle who makes Annie Savoy look like a nun. But when you see her picture; well, let's just say that if her stories are true there were a large number of major league baseball players who were slumming in 1973. Now, like any book of this nature, the reader must wonder how many of the stories are true, and how many are sensationalism or taken out of context. The Author's note at the beginning of the book also does little to establish credibility.

Still, like Ball Four before it, Out of LF shows that baseball players are human beings, and certainly not immune to temptation. And perhaps the highlight of the book is not the look in to a pivitol time in Pirates history, nor the shocking baseball stories. It is Dock Ellis' hilarious rant and theory that the Bible and Star Spangled Banner were written by the same person (p. 187)!

This is a fasinating account of a single mother's experience in the mid-nineteenth century. Fanny Fern, pen name of Sara willis Parton, fictionalized her own experiences to create this account of life for a woman on her own in the 1850's. Fern's wryly ironic style and hold no punches revelations earned her fame and fortune and more than a small amount of criticism. If you thought all women were straightlaced and demure 150 years ago read this and learn.

The book began quite promising and I was quite absorbed with it, despite the millions of cliches. I enjoyed wholly until the last hundred pages when the Fates turned their tide and made the last 20 years of their lives hell. Such a horrible thing to happen to such wonderful characters. Thinking about The Secret Garden made me so depressed for days after reading it.

The book was quite good until the very end. While I found some of the things cliche, I enjoyed it until the very end when it became wholly depressing. I find it hard to believe that such horrible things would happen to the three and after reading the book, I was quite sad for days.

I've read all prior comments and it seems most people do not feel that Return to the Secret Garden contained the magic that the first did. I have to disagree. The key to recognizing this magic is an open mind. Magic can't exist in adults in the same way it does children. It takes on new forms. Mary, Colin, and Dickon grew up past the age of 11 and after that point the world quickly became an ugly place. The magic of the Secret Garden was strong but not even the joy of childhood can stand against a harsh reality for long. A lot of awful things happen to our 3 favorite friends, and it really s**ks. But don't say that a person who experiences "magic" as a child can not become a totally opposite person in a matter of years. It happened to me. As long as you can look past the struggles of the trio, and see the magic inside them fighting to break through, you will love this book. I couldn't put it down, and yes at times it was shocking and even revolting, but asi es vida!

"Start Your Own Information Broker Service" is not only a gross misnomer but also reassured me about the necessity of being provided a proper table of contents or a good synopsis on the "At a glance" page. This is a perfect example of how just browsing through its TOC should have been more than sufficient to steer you away from it. Don't waste your money on this one. If you want a good book on information brokerage, look somewhere else. If you want a mediocre general book on how to start your own business, save your money a buy a good one! It simply amazes me how this one could manage to get published by Prentice Hall...

This book was grossly lacking in information pertaining to information brokerage. The book was about how to start any business,only 2 pages were dedicated to info service. Save your money! I learned nothing! I recommend the Information Broker Handbook by Rugge! It's excellent!

As another reviewer has stated this book is how to start abusiness. its useless for starting an information brokerage.

My daughter is being taught from this book. It has no instructions in it what so ever. When she brings it home for homework and unless you know algebra already it is totally useless. It is the most confusing book to work from. Some of the stories in it are not even relevant to the problem or the answers, which make it totally confusing for the student. My recomendation is not to purchase this book and if you school is using it, GO IMMEDIATELY TO THE SCHOOL BOARD AND DON'T TURN BACK!!