This is a keeper for the school media specialist who likes to use activities and games to connect books and the preschool to primary classroom curriculum. Topics covered include: bears, plants, weather, bugs and fish. A chart in the back which notes recommended grade levels and the part(s) of the curriculum to which the skills relate, can assist the media specialist as he/she plans with the classroom teacher. The teachers will appreciate the suggested activities they can use in their classroom, outside, and in gym! Another nice feature is the listing of "other media" you can access for the topics, including some web sites. Not only will cooperative teaching be enhanced, children will be working cooperatively also through hands-on, team experiences.

All of the Batman movies had the weakest screenplays ever written for them. Batman Forever was no exception. The screenplay as written by Lee and Janet Batcher, was not the best that they could have done and Aliva Goldsman did a lot of rewrites to it, as a result the movie novel's author, Peter David was constantly frustrated that he was writing a novel with a lot of rewrites going into it, and the experience was not the most satisfying one for him. Not surprisingly the finished book is very difficult to read, and not very good.
The movie itself however is a bit easier to watch and better then many give credit for, because of it's colorful production and mostly solid performances of the cast.

Well, the movie was not up to par with the two first classic Tim Burton Bat-flicks, but the book is good. The film was hardly a serious approach. Fluffy, with Carrey extremelly silly and unfunny and with Tommy Lee Jones simply One-Dimensional. However, in this book, as absurd it may sound, Edward Nygma (Carrey's character) is presented as a sad person, who is frustrated by his ruthless boss and wants to payback as the Riddler. As for Tommy Lee Jones' character (Two-Face), he is presented as a tragic figure who is not a true villain but a victim of the circumstances. All in all, the book although follows the script of the film, it is a lot better, and makes me think that the reason that this film sucked was not its scriptwriter but its director.

This book blows away the movie. I could not put this book down. I'm serious; read it.

All books I have previously read portrayed Jacqueline Kennedy's mother, Janet, as rather a one dimensional character whose main focus in life was social climbing. Ms. Pottker has fleshed her out into a real human being with foibles and strengths like everyone else. I would have liked to see more of the dynamics between mother and daughter, but nevertheless found this book interesting. Even though Jacqueline herself seems to have had more love and tolerance for her father, it was her mother that was the bigger influence in her life. In divorce the non custodial parent quite often spends the time spent with the children in
pursuit of giving the children a good time, buying things, etc. However, it is the custodial parent who has to establish discipline, study habits, etc. Consequently the children recall more fondly the good times versus the day to day normalacy. The author has given a new look at the life of Janet Lee.

I am an avid reader/collector of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis books, and I would recommend this book to someone who wants to better understand her. A great deal has been made about the relationship between Mrs. Onassis and her father, but not much was ever published about her mother. The author has accessed materials from the Auchincloss family, and has also talked with members of the family who can give insight into the complex woman Janet Auchincloss was. There are some extraneous details, but I learned a lot about the family dynamics, and how they affected some of Jackie's behaviors and tastes.
Janet Auchincloss has usually been portrayed as a social climbing, volatile, meddling woman with whom Jackie had little affection. This book makes Mrs. Auchincloss much more real, and clearly shows the impression she made on her eldest daughter.

A family tree diagram would have helped as the author spends the first several chapters discussing the genealogy of all the families invloved. Also, how much everything--homes, furniture, etc. cost while Jackie was growing up and before her time-- (thousands) and what it would cost today (millions). After her divorce from Jackie's broke, philandering, alcoholic father Janet Lee Bouvier looks around for a man who would ensure a stable and wealthy future for herself and her daughters. She finds him in Hugh Dudley Auchincloss Jr., founder of a Washington, D.C. brokerage firm. Together they build a good life for his children, hers and the children they have together. Jackie had a loving and close relationship with her stepfather; her relationship with her mother had its ups and downs. Janet was definitely a social climber of the first order: when her daughter Lee announces her engagement Janet is thrilled because the fiance might be the illegitimate son of a member of a royal house! Nevertheless, she is a caring mother--always there for Jackie and her children through good and bad times. Jackie resents her mother for separating her from her father and keeping him away from her wedding to JFK, but she is never afraid to stand up to her when their opinions differ and she is there for her mother when Janet develops Alzheimer's disease. Not much new info for Jackie fans and it could have done with a little less who-married-who, but an enjoyable read anyway.