I am a 30 year old woman who received this book back in 1987. I just "rediscovered" it this week. As I look back on the entries, I'm surprised at how much I've grown, how much I've learned, how tolerant I've become & also how I have very much stayed the same. This book guides you thru some of the bad things that can happen to a woman who doesn't plot a course for her life. Some of the myths of being a woman are debunked (can't do math, can't be a trucker, or a construction worker, etc). What I liked most is that it doesn't push any specific feminist ideaology - just asking the question - what would you do? The message is clear - don't count on anyone to "take care of you". It tries to teach us to take care of ourselves. It is true that this book (at least my edition) is geared toward working / middle class teens. But as a middle class teen, it helped me enormously! This book is great and I look forward to getting it for both of my daughters!

I am constantly ordering this book. I am a foster parent for teenagers and I use this book as a family activity as well as at girls slumber parties. It makes thinking of the future and what you want to do with your life almost a fun thing. My childrens' therapists keep borrowing it and not giving it back!

This book really helped me in believing that sex before marrige isn't right and now that I am married and can always look back and thank the author!

I am a new teacher and I am trying to build up a library of resources. I bought this book hoping it would be helpful. I am so glad I purchased it. The activities are simple and concise, but they were developed with the children in mind. They will enrich your higher kids and strengthen your lower readers. Great for Kindergarten to intro basic phonics, super for first grade!! They will be fun to use in the classroom. The book is also FULL of information about phonics and linguistics. Do not hesitate purchasing this book.

If you are teaching kindergarten through second grade, you must have this and use it in your classroom. It has activities that covers every area of phonemic awareness. It gives you many activities for each section so your children will never get bored with your lessons. Uses all modalities. I can't say enough good things about this book.

This book was recommended to me by my sister (also a k teacher), and I used these phonemic awareness activities during the last school year -- not only did the activities help my whole class overall, but they also helped me identify which kids were struggling and needed more help. And they were fun for the kids, too, which made teaching it so much easier. My school has been buzzing about phonemic awareness and phonological awareness for a couple of years now, but we haven't had a good way to actually teach it directly until we used these activities. I highly recommend this book!

Steve Edwards' book was my first purchase as an avid rockclimber when I visited Santa Barbara in January 2002 to prepare for my transfer to the area. Even before using the guide to locate the local climbing I enjoyed it immensely for the history and personal flavor given by the author.

There is much more to this book than a climbing guide. It is also a personal pilgrimage. Steve experienced a golden era in Santa Barbara climbing that he describes so vividly yet knows has passed forever. His is the passion of a personal life transition that we all go through and there is both joy and sadness in the writing. His obsessive intensity and endurance for physical training is mirrored by an affection for caffeine, alcohol and nicotine that make him such an interesting character. Steve is also a movie connoisseur from his early days running a video shop in the student quarter (Isla Vista) next to UCSB and he blends this knowledge with climb descriptions for occasional flashes of brilliant humor. And I should refrain from commenting on the Reverend Speefknarkle! Steve's defining picture is buffed and honed on "Pieces of You" atop the fantastic Pine Mountain boulderfield.

The book fulfills its primary purpose as a tool for guiding the climber in locating and selecting appealing routes exceptionally well. My copy is already dogeared and marked up with yellow highlights after just one season and it has never led me astray. Only rarely have I disagreed with the grades Steve gives for difficulty and quality but this is to be expected for these subjective ratings.

In summary, this book is a must buy for any climber interested in the Santa Barbara - Ventura region yet it has deeper appeal as literature capturing one man's personal journey through the 90's. How we all wish to turn back the hands of time!

I visit the Santa Barbara area often. So I picked up this book and thumbed through and became intrigued enough to buy it. Not for the rock climbing information (although the personality and names given to each trail had me captivated); instead I became curious to know this philosophical guide writer, Steve Edwards. Formerly thinking all rock climbers were a bunch of daredevils, this guide opened my eyes to the depth of committment it takes to be a rock climber, much less, write a guide! And their love of the earth is more honest and real than most armchair environmentalists. Reading this book definitely helped me grow. I hope you will read it and then go hug a rock - and maybe even a rockclimber!

Whether served up with a tray of Bombay Sapphire martinis (shaken, two olives) or a six-pack of ice cold Oly, let this text be your companion to some of the best and most scenic climbing areas in America! Looking for steep, gargantuan sport routes that make your tendons twitch just looking at 'em? How about classic sandstone slabs with holds so fragile they may break if you merely pass gas? Or maybe you're into divine boulderfields so vast that first ascents are possible until Jesus comes back to spot you? This book has it covered. Steve Edwards has done a first class job of directing you in entertaining fashion to the climbing, history, and lifestyle that Santa Barbara climbing is all about. Read it over coffee and cigarettes not just as a guide, but as fine literature. It's better than 'Atlas Shrugged', and shorter too!

I loved this book when I was twelve (the same age as Andrew). It is chock full of verisimilitude and I loved the style, which is conversational without being hackneyed.

When in my twenties, I read Salinger's "Catcher in the Rye." A few pages into it, I said "HEY!" Holden Caulfield's voice is almost exactly the same as Andrew Kellogg's. Barbara Brooks Wallace cannot convince me she was not inspired by Salinger.

Barbra Brooks Wallace has written a book for youth that brings home what it is like to grow up unappreciated and lonely in a new community. Andrew, the book's hero, moves with his family to Washington DC and immediately begins facing all of the troubles a boy in junior high must face: the fears that go along with being the "new kid," bullies, loneliness, a big brother with no time for him unless he is bossing him around, and a kid sister he finds himself having to take care of. Top it off with a mother who has to go away for a while, and it is a wonder Andrew doesn't go crazy! Blessed with smarts and a wry sense of humor, however, Andrew rises to the challenges (even when he doesn't want to) and truly becomes the "big deal."

This book brings back memories of my childhood. It's a story of a boy who moved with his family to Washington D.C. and tells about his struggles with childhood, and getting no respect. It is a very funny book for kids, and was the first book I remember laughing out loud while reading!

This book bridges eastern and western perspectives on the body to formulate a movement approach to performance that could be the basis for a Stanislavski based acting class or a performance class that is some combination of actors, dancers and performance artists. The exercises are concise, clear and guide the reader through increasinly levels of self-awareness and application of this knowledge to performance.

This book is great. The concept of feel, fuse and follow integrated me with my body in ways I never thought possible.

This book was a revelation to me in integrating my physical life with my imagination. The easy to follow explorations guided me from an understanding of my body to new ways of moving and working with a script. I found its focus on breathing and imagery expanded my ability to create a character.

Wow! This was a wonderful book. It's one of the best books I've read in a while. Wersba's imagination and creativity has hooked me again. The book was realistic and really made me think. Through rough times and fun times you had to read on. The book is about a young boy who's life is turned upside down when he gets on a plane Zurich, Switzerland. The characters are realistic and easy to relate to. The description is fantastic. The story holds an important moral, a moral which I had never thought about before. If you are realistic fiction crazy or if your not, this is a good book. Read this book and you'll be in for an adventure.

I am now 25, but I consider this book to still be one of my absolute favorites. I laughed at Harvey's quips and little-old-man maturity, and cried at his would-be love affair. The writing is flawless, the decriptions of NYC neighborhoods, Harvey's school life, and warped dog-loving mother were all amazing. A true find!

This book was absolutely breath taking. The story begins in Queens NY with a poor teen age boy who can't make one thing go right for him. Through diary entries to his psychiatrist he tells of his journey to Zurich, what happens there and what changes inside of him.

If you are a high school or college drama teacher or forensics coach, you should have this book!!! The book contains original scenes that are great for Dramatic Duets for competition or for classwork. I can't wait for the release of the comedic scenes! I hope that this is the first of many in this series. To the authors: Please keep writing intelligent, challenging works that are appropriate for high school students!!

I am a drama coach and my students love this book. All of the scenes are well written and extremely fresh and dynamic. This book is a godsend for any teacher tired of mining the same old plays for fresh scenes for their students to work on.

I was so lucky to stumble across this book and trust my instinct to buy it. The scenes in here are great for students, as well as actors in their 30's. I really enjoyed the variety of subject matter, tone, and characters. If you coach, as I do, this will save you and your students a great deal of valuable time. I have had success using these scenes in acting class, and can't wait to try some out with my duets next fall!

How can you not love this earnest protagonist who hides junk food in her closet while simultaneously plans to loose major pounds of weight? How can you not love one who does virtually the impossible -change her name/take swimming lessons- to garnish the heart of her "true" love? Ah, such sweet sorrow: she is indeed FAT!!

Not to worry, there may be a happily-ever-after after all. This first-person narrative snatches up the reader and clearly is a stay-up-all-night-to-read book. Ignore the publication date, this book's heartbeat is as contemporary as any "must-see-tv" love story.

So, snag your copy now + stock up on Hostess treats!

I really love this book. I borrowed it from the library expecting it to be just another read..but it was a great book. I was able to sympathize with everything that happened.. I recommend this book to any girl who feels she has a problem with her weight and thinks that because of it, she cannot attain true love.

I read this book in High School, and five years later I'm still looking for it. Barbara Wersba really captures the essence of a young girl's heart. I loved it!!

This book is very fun to read and of particular interest to toddlers. I absolutely love Barbara Reid's plasticene illustrations. The poetry in the book is wonderful. The book takes about 5 minutes to read, and it is easy for a young toddler to join in. The text is repetitious without being monotanous.

It is one of my 22 month old's favorite books.

This charming little book uses alliteration, assonance, and rhyming words to describe various types of birds and how they live. The sentences are written in poetry that's cadence and structure enhances the types of birds being discussed. The claymation illustrations are playful and capture children's imagination, but without distracting from the focus of the book's lessons. A fun book to read.

My two year old adores birds, and of all of our bird books, this is one of his absolute favorites. I'm not sure how much of the text he understands, but the illustrations, done in clay art, are beautiful, and he loves to identify the various species.

I don't mind reading it over and over because the poetic text stands up to intense rereadings and I love the cadence and rhythm of the text. The author has managed to emulate the careening freedom of flight by the flitting, dipping, racing style of her poetry. This is one of those books I wish we had in hardcover.

I remember reading this series as a teenager during the last days of the Cold War. I was so caught up in the struggle of Matt and Dani because I was so close to their age and lived in a society that feared the end of the world through nuclear holocaust. Now, as we face war again, in this new millenium, I wish that the series would resurface and be completed. The characters were really well-developed, the plot was fantastic and really left me wanting more. I was so anxious to read the 5th volume... waiting for those "hailstones the size of grapefruits"... I think I'm going to go dig up the series and re-read it.

The series focuses on Matt and Dani, two teens who survive nuclear devistation from the (now former) USSR. This book finds them in Colorado where they have arrived at the town of Denver which holds a community of people who have done their best to restore a 'normal' town since the bombings. (This is also the first example of such they have seen since leaving their homes on the east coast to travel to California in an attempt to find Matt's parents who had traveled there before the bombings). This paticular story threatenes to seperate the friends as after the long journey Dani is eager for anything that resembles normal while Matt wants to press on to california. Wonderful book which focuses on the attempts to rebuild civilization and the strengthening bond between the friends. Alas I believe this is the last book that was written for this series and several important burning questions are left unanswered at the end. For that I would give the series 3 stars, but the read itself a 5. I think that these authors went on to create the popular "Anamorphs" series of books.

I recieved this book when I was about nine, and it was really good. However, I wanted to read the other ones, but they're out of print. But it was full of wonder and excitement, and it was a great read.