Both my boys (ages 5 and 2) are big Thomas fans, and this book is probably their favorite Thomas book. There is truly a lot to see and do here! I think their favorite page is the one with a lot of sheds to open and see all the favorites---James, Percy---all of the gang! Another page has boxes filled with different numbers of things---toys, hats, bananas, etc. One page even features a man that looks a little bit like Schemer from the Shining Time Station series, although I don't think he really is, but that didn't stop that from being the favorite flap in the book for my older son! Each page is filled with interesting details. Certainly worth every penny.

My husband bought this for our son when he was 19 mos or so. He is going to turn 2 soon and he still loves that book. He loves to look under the flaps, and has actually learned a lot from it. He never knew what a kangaroo was until he got this book. I was amazed at his ability to recall what flap the kangaroo was under! It's a bright, colorful book that any toddler will enjoy, especially if they are Thomas fans.

The only downside I would say about this book is that some of the flaps are not as strong as others. My toddler has ripped off a few of them, but mostly because he is so enthusiastic about the book!

My 3-year-old son loves this book. Each set of pages focuses on a different concept like counting, colors, or the alphabet. One page has 10 flaps numbered 1-10, and under each flap are a certain number of items to count. Another page has the entire alphabet! The flaps aren't all the same size either, which is more fun for the kids. I recommend this book for children 6 and under.

This book became my single source for reference about asthma. Till I found this book, I was reading anything and everything that I could find on the net about asthma. My 3 year old had an asthma episode as a result of a viral infection. She has an excellent pediatrician and we chose to care for her at home. I got great comfort in knowing that the things we did intuitively were the recommended things in this book. It helps to have a good doctor. It also helps to have this book as a friend. While I was freaking out that my daughter had asthma, this book helped me calm down cos I realized that it could be worse. My heart goes out to all the children who suffer. If you are a parent of a young child with asthma, read this book. It will help you understand what asthma is all about in plain words and give you an idea of what you can do to make your child's life more comfortable by learning to identify the symptoms and manage your child's asthma better. Make sure you have a good doctor, too!!

Last weekend my seven year old son had an asthma attack with no warning, his first ever. Our doctor treated him competently and he is now recovering nicely, but the information we were given -- and all the drugs and instructions -- were a bit overwhelming. My first response was to try to find some good books on asthma in children, and I was lucky enough to find this one. It explains everything you need to know about asthma in easy-to-understand language. I learned many important facts about the biology of asthma, the drugs my son is taking, long-term care and management of asthma, and -- perhaps most importantly -- the questions I should be asking his doctor. The book is well illustrated, including pictures of all the different kinds of inhalers and spacers, how to properly administer different medications, etc. (particularly useful for newcomers to the world of asthma). I also really liked all the information and sample forms showing how to keep an "asthma diary" of your child's symptoms and treatment. The first-person stories of how other parents have dealt with their children's asthma were helpful, especially for putting things into perspective. In summary, this book really helped me to understand what we are facing, and I now feel much better able to deal with it. I have other asthma books on order, but I doubt I'll need them -- it is hard to imagine how any other book on asthma in children could top this one.

Dr. Plaut was coming to a town near me to speak shortly after my daughter was hospitalized for the third time. One of the nurses handed me a flyer and recommended I go hear him. I bought his book before I went. This book was a lifesaver. I first read it nearly 10 years ago (spring 1992) and my daughter has not been hospitalized since! Dr. Plaut gives the average parent the confidence to handle this illness without falling apart and without having to decipher the medical-ese being spoken by the doctors in charge of their child.

This book brings back fond memories of when I first heard these songs/stories back in grade school. I really think they are wonderful, motivating stories and songs that truly inspire children. I had to get it for my first baby so he can also experience the magic.

I first heard of FTBY&M in 5th grade(1979) the whole school watched it in assembly. I loved it-all the stories and most of all the music. It touched me like nothing I had seen or heard before. The title song had our whole school singing for days! Years later i just happened to come across the book in our library, and WOW! all those memories came rushing back!! THEN, two years ago, i was given the soundtrack to FTBY&M, and I have not stopped singing since. The music and stories got me thru a serious illness and a horrible breakup= and when I one day have kids of my own, I will pass the legacy on!!!!!

I grew up in the late '70s playing the record of "Free to Be you and Me" over and over. My mom actually had to buy me a second copy because I lost the song book and couldn't live without it. I still sing "When We Grow Up" and "It's Allright To Cry" in the shower and to my nephews. Now I share the wisdom of Atalanta and William's Doll with the teenage mothers I teach. While it doesn't take a genius to figure out the songs on the record were recorded in the '70s, they are timeless treasures for all of our children. Buy this book and the CD for the important children in your life. You'll never be sorry!

I believe all parents or would be parents should have a copy of this book. It would be a great baby shower gift. Helps you understand yourself and children, and actually makes you like yourself and children. I can't say enough on this book. It brings the best out in you, and also makes you feel like you are not the only parent on earth who goes through tough times in your home raising kids. The book was written over thirty years ago but still works in this day. I use the skills almost all the time with my daughter who is fifteen and I have had the most conversation I have ever had with her since applying the skills the book suggested. Truly the most effective book on parenting I have ever read.

I read this book in a communications class in junior college. I do not have kids, but it is the foundation of the way I relate to people and to my students. So many people do not know how to talk with others without blaming. This book shows you how to own your power and let others have theirs, too.

Every person alive can benefit from reading this book. I've just finished it & already see improvement between me and my 3 teens(and feel more forgiving toward my own parents, teachers). Parent Effectiveness Training translates into ALL relationships and makes them BETTER! Thank you a MILLION times.

This book explains how the behavior of parents during pregnancy, childbirth and early childhood can influence the brain and body of the child on becoming a healthy, intelligent and emotionally fit child. Notwithstanding the previous reviews arguing that this work lacks cientific support, it appears to me that more than 95% of Verny's theories stand upon research from prestigious scientists from the four corners of the world. In fact, the book has hundreds of bibliographic references. Verny explains in a clear and concise fashion how prenatal stress, music, domestic violence, desire to give birth or not, conversation, drug and alcohol abuse, among other factors that you can control, can shape the brain of the unborn child. At the end of every chapter you will find a short list of advices and good practices to have an emotionally and mentally healthy child. Well written and a pleasure to read. For spanish speakers, there is a translation from a Catalunian editor, available from spanish internet book stores. The pregnancy and early childhood periods are, according to the author, paramount in the development of the brain. Afterwards the brain structure is almost fixed. The author gives you the advice on how to navigate successfully through these critical periods of the life of your child.

Hopefully, this visionary, courageous and helpful book on the art and science of parenting will push us toward the critical mass needed to assure a future for our mad, deteriorating world. This authoritative book should make it clear to parents that the future of civilization is not in the hands of armies, corporations, doctors, television, blockbuster movies, or the World Bank, but in the hands of parents who will conscientiously guide, humanely endow, and proudly send forth healthy and loving children into the world. As long as we fail at this, nothing else will matter or last. Fortunately, this book is easy to read, full of illuminating stories, reveals the latest science, and carries you along with Summaries and Key Parenting Points in every chapter. Be sure to find and memorize the two concluding chapters on how to cultivate basic goodness and how to enhance empathy, compassion, and altruism--the priceless things that cannot be bought at Universities or at Wallmart and just might still move us in the direction of a civilized future!

Read this truly fascinating and inspiring book as an act of
responsibility for humankind and as a contribution to making the world a better place.
"Tomorrow's Baby", the new book by Dr. Thomas Verny, the most eminent expert in the field, inevitably touches the existential core of each human being.
However, there are two things you certainly cannot do with this book. Firstly, you cannot read it all at once, and secondly, you cannot read it only once; because, almost every page is a new adventure into the depths of the art and science of responsible parenthood.

On our daughter's baptism four years ago, we gave her this wonderful book which she still often chooses for her night-time story, even though she is a big girl now. The editors have presented biblical stories that are of most interest to the youngest children. The illustrations are charmingly simple and include details that a child will enjoy picking out. The text is brilliantly cast in the first person ("Hi. I'm Noah. God told me to build a big boat . . .) so that the book "speaks" to your child in a personal way. It is successfully designed to appeal to a child's native interest in a good story as a "first step" into the Bible. Because it is so engaging, this bible comes off the shelf often as a well-loved storybook.

I reviewed a lot of bibles before selecting this one and have bought it many times for other children. My daughter is now familiar with the major figures of the bible and has heard many positive messages through our reading and rereading of this book. Because the stories are short and sweet, we can easily stretch or shrink the bedtime reading to suit our needs. Most importantly, our child has been given a way to talk about religion and morality--a dialogue, I think, many parents have trouble knowing just how to start.

Incidentally, because the book is aimed at the 3-and-under set, you won't have to worry about the crucifixion--it gets glossed over in a clever way. Likewise, Lazarus isn't "dead," but in a "dark place" when Jesus calls him out. We get the message without confronting death head on.

My daugher is three and we've been through several devotional books, but this is our favorite by far. The illustrations are great. The stories are simple, interesting, and have several pages devoted to each story. I'm buying in for my two-year-old niece and I think she'll like it as well.

I searched a while before purchasing a Bible for my 2 year old son. He loved this one from the beginning. It is his favorite book right now. I liked it because of the 10 word per page limit. The characters are big, expressive and colorful. The essence of the story is captured in a way a toddler can relate. Hands down, it's the best way to introduce Bible characters to your children.

I really liked this book because it was about a kid named Gregory who moves to a new town with his mother and father. It is bad enough moving without having any friends, but not making any new ones is pretty bad too. Everyone was given some seeds to plant a garden. But at his new house he doesn't have much of a yard so he can't make a garden. Behind his house is a burned down chalk factory, so he draws a garden. If you want to find out if he makes any friends read this book.

If you want a book where you can slip into the person's shoes,and feel like you know the character, then this is the book for you. Gregory was staying with his Aunt Grace for his birthday, because his mother and father were moving to a new house.They hade to move because got fired and found another job on the other side of town, so they hade to move.
Then when Gregory's mother and father got to Anut Grace's house they hade to get back home.When they got there Gregory asked do I have my own room? He did and he was so happy he said "This is better then a party and cake this is the best Birthday ever!" The next day he started the first day of school, in his new school. That day when he came home from school he was walking around and found a gate to a burnt down building. He cleaned it up a bit and found a box of chalk. That at school Mr. Hiller, a friend of Miss.Perry, came in and taught Gregory and the rest of the kids all about plants. When Gregory when home that night he said to his mother,"We don't have any grass around here". So he started to draw plants in the building. His mother and father did nit want to see.They were too busy.Don,t worry the end gets gets better.
I could not put the book down because the book never ended,and you would most likely would want to stay up and read it.You will like the book but you have to read it to find out!!!

This book about Gregory tells how a child learns to express himself and win the admiration of his family, teachers and classmates. We have a copy for each of our second graders and use it as a reader. ....

Thomas Locker's beautiful oil paintings make "Water Dance" a work of art and a wonderful way for kids to learn about the water cycle.I decided to see what's out there for kids about water and began with "Water Dance," "Where the River Begins," and "Cloud Dance," all by Locker. I fell in love with his art and . . . also bought "Sky Tree" and several others.
I just published a review of approximately 20 kids water books titled "Teaching Children about the Hydrologic Cycle." To read, go to www.ndwc.wvu.edu and click on the current issue of "On Tap," a magazine about drinking water in small communities.

"Water Dance" by Thomas Locker is one of those books you pick up because you like the look of the cover, a lake nestled amongst the hills beneath the purple sky of dusk, and then when you finish reading it you discovered it was actually teaching you something. "Water Dance" is actually about the water cycle, which starts with the rain that becomes a mountain stream that empties in a lake that is linked by a river to the sea. The cycle ends when the seawater becomes mist that forms into clouds and leads to a thunderstorm that once again brings the rain. Locker's thirteen paintings depicting the water cycle and accompanied by a poetic text describing each step of the process. In the back of the book each painting is reproduced in miniature as Candance Christiansen provides scientific information about what Locker is showing us about water. Students will find out about such things as the different types of clouds, what causes rainbows, and how the water in their bathtub might have been part of the Nile River a month earlier. "Water Dance" is a marvelous way of introducing young students to the water cycle. They will enjoy Locker's paintings even more once they learn how they all fit together to show one of the basic processes of nature. Teachers will be able to use "Water Dance" as an introduction to all sorts of science lessons.

I bought this book as a gift for my friend's son. He wanted to read over and over again for days (and it looks like this will continue for some time!) The pictures are absolutely beautiful, the poetry soothing, inspiring and educational, and this 3-year-old insists on reading the scientific explanations at the end of the book every time. I can't imagine a child (or an adult!) who wouldn't enjoy it!

Deaf Like Me is a story of 2 young parents struggling to raise their deaf daughter, Lynn, in a hearing world. Written by Thomas Spradley, Lynn's father, the book begins before Lynn was born with her mother's fear of rubella. The book takes you through the fear and waiting for the pregnancy and the eventual realization of Lynn's deafness. The story is written in a simple, straightforward manner, yet conveys the emotions of the new parents. The descriptions Thomas gives are often lacking in vibrancy and inventive vocabulary, but at the same time he conveys honest, true-to-life emotion.
The first 80% of the book is focused on the Spradley's attempts to raise Lynn to succeed in the hearing world. Thomas agonizingly describes the auditory training and constant schooling that he and his wife give Lynn, only to have her barely speaking 4 words at the age of 5. The constant movement of the family portrays varying experiences that Lynn and her parents go through as they try to teach her lip-reading and speech. It is not until the last 2 chapters that the Spradleys finally realize that communication with their daughter is more important than their dreams for her success as a 'normal' hearing person and begin teaching her sign. These last two chapters show Lynn's character developing its own independent personality. Lynn also begins to explore a new deaf culture that neither her nor her parents have any experience.
My fault with the book as that I feel it ends just as the story becomes interesting. The eighteen chapters of oralism, which are shocking and disturbing, are painful lesson in futility. An impatient reader would most certainly give up on the book after the seemingly thousands of failed attempts at oralism. The dedicated reader however, is rewarded with touching moments of a family that finds its 'normalcy' through the common language of sign.

Tell-alls by parents of disabled kids is a genre now, but when Deaf Like Me first was published, it was an unusual book for the market. The story is of the Spradley family, and daughter Lynn, who is one of many children born Deaf in the US in the late sixties and early seventies, the result of an epidemic of Rubella (German Measles).

At the time Lynn's deafness was diagnosed, the common wisdom among hearing professionals was that children born deaf should not be exposed to any kind of sign language, and instead should receive intensive tutoring, even as infants, in speaking and speechreading. Although the tide would turn soon, the Spradleys had no way of anticipating that; they embarked on an odyssey of trying to teach Lynn to speak, and with a hearing aid, and by watching intently, to appear to listen as a hearing child.

After many years of pouring words into Lynn, with the promise from the experts that one day Lynn would finally pour the words back out, the Spradleys are frustrated with not being able to talk to their daughter. Lynn is several years old, and becoming a discipline problem.

Then one day, the Spradleys meet a five year old, signing Deaf child, a child who not only communicates with her parents, but makes jokes. The Spradleys are forced to reconsider years of expert advice balanced against one little girl who can talk to her parents, where their daughter cannot.

How the Spradleys learn to stand on their own, and disregard the experts, even in the face of some heavy censure, is the story of heroism. This is a book to own, because you will want to return to it again and again.

This is an amazing story of a family who strugles when they realize that their little girl is deaf. The story they tell is so true of so many hearing parents of deaf children (90% of deaf children are born to hearing parents). I am a student at Northern Illinois Universtiy and am studying to become a teacher for deaf children. The whole time that I read this book I just kept saying to myself. LET HER SIGN!!! They it made me laugh when all the parents came together and started to talk about the behavior problems their children had. I sat back and said to myself.."do you think it is because they can't communicate what they want and are frustrated?" This is a must read for any parent of a deaf baby!!!!

This is my 2 y/o son's favorite book EVER! We have to read it every night and take it on all our overnight trips. Needless to say, even he has the text memorized. Yes, the Tonka logo shamelessly displayed on every truck is a bit much, but I've found this book to include the widest variety of trucks. These are displayed nicely in their appropriate "scenes", and the information on each truck's capabilities is a great learning tool. My son is so thrilled when we come across these machines at work in our day-to day life, and he couldn't wait to go to the State Fair. It's been the best money I've spent on a book for him yet, even though I wish we could skip it and perhaps read Stellaluna instead just one night.

My son has loved this book since he got it a year ago when he was 1.5 years old. I have found as time goes on he always finds new things to ask about - each page is packed with detail, but not so busy as to be a turnoff. This book has provoked alot of discussion about how houses are built, how roads are made, what happens on a farm etc. There is enough there to keep kids interested for a long time!!

My in-laws gave this book to my 22-month-old son, who loves trucks, construction vehicles and machinery, and it became an instant favorite of his. They were a bit hesitant at first about buying the book because it's essentially a big commercial for Tonka products -- every truck and construction vehicle in the book (and there are many) has "TONKA" prominently written on it. That caveat aside, however, it _is_ a great book for kids who share my son's interests -- it shows the trucks in action and explains the name and uses of each. I also like the fact that it shows both women and men operating the trucks.