We gave this book to our daughter just before she started kindergarten. It was perfect. The experiences that Amanda had with riding the bus and making friends helped her get ready for her own new adventures. The lighthearted easy-to-read pages made reading the book fun for her and the chapter book format was a terrific introduction to this style of reading. She read the book over and over and over again, giving her lots of practice before school even began. We love Amanda Pig!

This book is both sad and upbeat. I felt bad for Twig because she is in a bad place and I want things to work out for her. I think it is a good book for 9-12 year olds.

Part of my daughter's and my July 4th celebrations every year is to watch the video "1776," not because it is the most accurate portrayal of American history, but because it at least commemorates WHY we celebrate Independence Day. My daughter enjoyed the book "A Fourth of July on the Plains" on several levels. First, the characters clearly remembered why we celebrate the 4th as they sewed a flag and gave speeches. The simplicty of the celebration also showed how people can have a great time with just the basics of good food, good fellowship, and an impromptu parade. Finally, the tale of pioneers heading west in a wagon train -- a piece of history in itself -- celebrating an even earlier era in America's past evoked a sense of continuity. It helped me show my daughter how for over 200 hundred years, generations of Americans have paid tribute to the country's founding.

Kathy McGruder is your average 13-year-old girl facing those same old problems children never dreamed they would have as teens. Her hair that she once never paid any attention to has now become "problem hair". Her looks and weight, that she has always been confident in, now makes her feel like she's some kind of concentration camp victim. And she's never been asked out on a date thanks to all of this(or, at least, thats what she thinks). Oh, and to make things worse, she's got a friend who shares none of her beauty problems and has a date with a hottie in just three days. What's a 98-pound duckling to do? Well, find out in "I Was a 98-Pound Duckling", a book that kept me on my pillow 'til I finished it. It's the kind've book that gets you reading it all in one sitting. My favorite part was when Kathy got her first kiss. Siggghhhhhhh, romance. Anyway, "I Was a 98-Pound Duckling" is a great read for anyone under 17 or 15 years old, and makes for a fun story to read anywhere. But mostly it makes for a unique bedtime story, so forget about those fairy tales and bring out Jean van Leeuwen's ol' masterpiece.

This book was a well-written exploration of a young girl's attempt to cope with the loss of her mother and five year old brother. I thought that her grief was well shown, and I was saddened by her repression of the death of her mother and brother. Morgan's mom and Ben were well developed through Morgan's memories that she shared with the reader. It was a shame that Morgan was not able to turn to her sister and father to ease her pain, but through a new friend and classmate as well as her magical dog, Lucy, Morgan's road through the grieving process was well shown. This book, espcially coming after September 11th, when so many children had parents who didn't come home can help other children see a little bit of what their friends may be going through. I give this book four stars because it was written well and it is a realistic account of a young girl grieving, but learning to move on with her life while keeping her mother and brother in her heart.

"Tales of Amanda Pig" is a collection of gentle, calm stories about how Amanda the pig solves everyday situations, such as resolving a fight with her brother. In one story she is faced with food she doesn't like, in another her father helps her overcome her fear of a "monster" in the hallway. The last story is about going to bed. The pig parents are ideal - we humans should handle our kids this well! The book is wholesome enough to read aloud to very young kids, and easy for beginning readers to read on their own.

Aimed at a first-grade reader, the Tales of Oliver Pig is unusual in that the illustrations are small. The pages, as a result, carry two-thirds text. The illustrations are almost monochromatic and subdued in mood. In this way, they match the quiet and relaxed narratives. Readers gain a vision of a peaceful domestic space filled with kind and loving characters. Mild disputes do occur, such as a fight between two siblings in the second tale, however the young pigs soon make up. Comic relief is provided by the youngest pig, whose dialog consists of one word, "gah." The stories place only small demands on the imaginations of readers; prosaic events, such as baking in the kitchen, make up entire tales. The notion of pigs acting like humans is the most unusual element in the book, yet even that is normative: the pink skin of the pigs reads as Caucasian.

Dear Mom, You're Ruining
My Life
By,
Jean Van Leeuwen

This story is about a sixth grader Samantha Slayton who attends Farmingville Elementary School. She has many worries such as the boys like Brian Finnegan, her height tall, and the size of her feet. Her mother's a poet, her father mathematician, and her brother wins prizes for his artwork. These things really bother Sam because she thinks she doesn't have a talent.

I think anyone could relate to Samantha in this book because just about everyone has problems with school.

My opinion of the book is that it wasn't the best book I've read but it was a good book. I don't know what I would change if I were to change anything because if I changed anything it probably wouldn't flow right. My recommendation of this book is not very high because I didn't like it that much and nothing very interesting happens. I'd probably recommend it to anyone who likes stories about people's lives.

"This book by when you read it you can tell that Jean van Leeuwen (the author) defently know's 11 year olds, It was so simmilar as what my daughter (11) feels" My mom would say. I think that This tells what and how an average, 11 year old feels about things. This is a well written book, an any 11 year old should read this to show, that they are not the only one. We choose this for our mother daughter book club, and I am guessing to hear a lot of good things, from the mothers mostly, but I enjoyed it and i hope you will too!

This is a great book about the bond between a mother and daughter. Sam thinks her mother is SO WEIRD! She comes to Sam's soccer game wearing a STOCKING CAP, tells Sam's friends to GO TO SLEEP AT 10:00 at Sam's slumber party, and makes the winning play at a sudent/parent volleyball game (which hit Sam's crush right on the head!). This is an awesome, realistic, funny book!