Editorial Review

The information age is upon us, baffling us with thousands of complicated state-of-the-art technologies. To help make sense of the computer age, David Macaulay brings us The New Way Things Work. This completely updated and expanded edition describes twelve new machines and includes more than seventy new pages detailing the latest innovations. With an entirely new section that guides us through the complicated world of digital machinery, where masses of electronic information can be squeezed onto a single tiny microchip, this revised edition embraces all of the newest developments, from cars to watches. Each scientific principle is brilliantly explained--with the help of a charming, if rather slow-witted, woolly mammoth. ... Read more

Reviews

BUY THIS BOOK!, July 8, 2002
My god, this has to be one of my favorite books. When I was a kid, I was FASCINATED (well, I still am) by mechanical things. I must have checked this book out of the library twenty times, and it never got old. It is PACKED with info, the drawings are great, and it is very educational. Well, I was at the library today checking out books for a mechanical engineering class, and there it was on the shelf. I checked it out again for old times sake, and here I am at Amazon.com (to buy my very own copy of course), writing a reveiew. Nuff said. Anyway, if you have a child, boy or girl, old or young, smart or not, it doesn't matter- this book ROCKS!

But this book, November 27, 1999
My nephew, who is six, thanks me everytime he sees me or talks to me on the phone for sending this book. This is a great book for curious children to "grow into" with their parents. It also helps parents look very smart to their children if they read it first!

This book really tells you how things work!, December 11, 1999
Do you think you know how a lot of things work? Yes? Well, you are probably wrong. I am a Physics Major in college and I thought I knew how a lot of things work. However, when I found this book in my physics professor's office, I fell in love with this book. I ordered for my copy on the same day. This book is good for the kids, but some of the stuff is hard to understand because there are some words like forces or angles. These are hard to understand for kids, but the pictures in this book are good for the curious kids. They may understand some of the stuff. But, I would rate this book for grownups. You will learn how locks work, how airplanes fly, how helicopters can go forward or backward. You will understand the mechanics just by looking at the pictures, but the reading the explanations also helps you understand. This is a nice book to keep at the corner of your bookshelf.

A Work of Art, November 10, 2005
"The Way Things Work" took almost three years to create. A cute and sometimes silly "Great Wooly Mammoth" makes his appearance throughout the book. The facial expressions and animal antics are at times very amusing.

While the "Mammoth" theme is highlighted, this is a book which discusses serious concepts. They are simply explained in a more entertaining way. In between all the facts, you will suddenly find a page which discusses tusk trimming. "I watched with great curiosity a mammoth that was having its tusks trimmed....." Don't worry, as the story progresses, "velocity" is being explained.

Quite frankly, this book is not only a work of art, it is a compilation of genius. When David Macaulay, Niel Ardley, David Burnie, Peter Luff and Christopher Davis put their minds together for a book project, something amazing happens.

Where they came up with the 384 pages is beyond my comprehension. In fact, only taking three years to write and illustrate such a work, is in itself an incredible feat. Truly, this is a comprehensive, instructive and entertaining reference book for readers of all ages.

Life is too short for reading inferior books. - James Bryce This book is superior in so many ways. It is divided into four main sections: The Mechanics of Movement (inclined plane, levers, wheel and axle, gears and belts, cams and cranks, pulleys, screws, rotating wheels, springs, friction), Harnessing The Elements (floating, flying, pressure power, exploiting heat, nuclear power), Working With Waves (light and images, photography, printing, sound and music, telecommunications), Electricity & Automation (electricity, magnetism, sensors and detectors, computers).

Each page is filled with drawings so you can completely comprehend mechanical principles. David Macaulay takes you from levers to lasers and does it all in a most entertaining and efficient manner. Here is a prize-winning author's brilliantly conceived guide to the principles and workings of hundreds of machines.

~The Rebecca Review

A forward outpost on the frontier of learning, May 12, 2000
I bought this CD in the hope that it could help me teach my children science in general and physics in particular. I have a moderate understanding of how things work, but I am woefully undereducated in the scientific principles that underlie those workings. The New Way Things Work gives both: nuts-and-bolts explanations of things and succinct discussion of the underlying principles--and abundant links to go between the two.

There are timelines of machines and their inventions, as well as their inventors. Each machine has a page with a clear picture with the working parts labeled, and sometimes a short animation to further clarify the machine's action. There is a testing feature which is useful, if a bit humbling. The "Research Answer" button posted tantalizingly right at the bottom of each test question is a spur to further research, though I worry about the ethical implications. Does that mammoth think I'm cheating? Does that guy with the mustache and mannerisms of Martin Mull keep track of how many times I "research" an answer, and does that go on my permanent record? Perhaps there should be an on/off toggle.

The links on each machine page to the principles and inventors and vice versa may be where the CD has an advantage over a book, particularly for children. When I'm explaining something to my daughter and she doesn't understand part of the explanation, she wants that missing piece Right Now, and the hot links provide that immediacy. Paging to another part of a book and then loosing her original place frustrates her. That never happens with this CD, because she knows she can always hit the BACK button. It would be even better if there were a FORWARD button like on a browser, because children quickly understand this navigational technique and use it frequently. I notice they pick up and leave off and go back and forth and generally become more involved than with a book.

I was disappointed that the Tele-Prompter was not one of the machines featured. Like others in the television audience in the 1980s, I gaped in wonder as politicians gave huge speeches to live audiences without glancing at their notes. I assumed the glass plates to the right and left of the speaker were security devices to block bullets and flying tomatoes. Also, it would be nice to know how a polygraph works, and whether the polygraph could be combined with a Tele-Prompter to make a more complete machine--what surveyors call a "total station".

The timelines are also quite valuable. You feel better about your own limited understanding of practical things by contemplating such facts as the toilet tank being invented by a contemporary of Shakespeare. And frankly, I think that article could do with a little expansion: where did the flow of water go after it traveled from the newly invented tank of Elizabeth the First's godson? The street outside his window? The River Thames? I know that through my childhood and right up until the time I bought a house I believed that wastes were carried away in pipes in a method involving electricity.

Ever since capsizing a sunfish in 1977, I've wondered how sailboats can be propelled by wind blowing from behind them, and by wind blowing directly into your face as you stand on the deck and gaze at your destination. New Way Things Work provides the answer. Another device it would be interesting to know about is carbon dating and the newer, more accurate (I'm told) argon-argon dating. I want to know the age of the rocks in my back yard. And why haven't we Americans been provided with small, affordable, personal flying devices yet? These and other questions naturally come up; like all good educational tools, this CD raises as many questions as it answers.

The New Way Things Work, August 29, 2002
This is the best book for childern and adults I have ever read. I recieved "The Way Things Work" When I was in 4th grade. Now I have this newer version. My classmates and I both used it during my College Mechanical Engineering Classes. Everyone can learn from this book it is not just for kids but really belongs on every childs bookshelf.

A+, October 28, 1998
My nine-year old son is hooked on this book. He reads it in the morning, after school, at the dinner table, and instead of doing his homework!

An Absolute Need for Every Household, July 10, 2004
Few books can compare to "The Way Things Work" in the amount which they can teach the curious. Be they old or young, college educated engineers or preschoolers, everyone can pick something out of this book. Trust me; I've seen it from all ends.

When I was six, I loved the mammoths...and learned about simple machines and airplane wings. When I was in high school, I appreciated the mammoths' wit...and learned about automatic transmissions and transistors. Now that I'm in college, I've read the whole thing, and it's still a great reference book, just as entertaining and informative as it was so many years ago. And the mammoths are still funny.

For kids with insatiable curiosity, "The Way Things Work" can be a great and entertaining resource; for everyone who's ever wondered how their car drives, or why their computer works, or how satellite communications happen, it can be an immensely satisfying read.

Good book, but not for the very young, January 30, 2003
I bought this book for a boy of the age of 8. He didn't seem very interested in the text explanations of how things work. Perhaps he's a little young, but like other reviewers said, this is a book that can most definately be put on the shelf for several years and still have relevance when a few years of knowledge is gained.

This answered many of my child's questions, December 9, 2001
If you have a child with 10,000,000 questions on how things work, buy this book! This explains it better than any book I have found on the subject. It has even enlightened me. For more, buy the book titled HOW DO THEY DO THAT? by Caroline Sutton. This author has a series of books. ... Read more

Reviews

Children's Guide, September 30, 2009
Conceptually this book is OK. I got it for a 10-year-old and he is probably likely to get past any useful information very quickly. The equipment shown and explained is primitive and more on a toy level. I am sending him a high school student-grade scope that has many features not covered. I also purchased another book for him which is a bit more detailed and has Internet information available. Hopefully that will prove to be a more challenging guide.

Microscope handbook, November 30, 2009
If you're just beginning study with a microscope, you will find this very basic book, very helpful.

Good book, November 4, 2008
my 9 yr.old boy enjoyed this book. It explains in detail what a microscope is and how to use it!

Great Microscope For Kids, December 30, 2009
My 7 yr old loves this microscope. He can easily use it on his own. Really encourages science. Now our whole house is his lab! ... Read more

Editorial Review

From the creator of the mentos soda geyser--the viral video sensation--comes a collection of outrageously entertaining science experiments and cool tricks guaranteed to get ooohs and ahhhs!

Author, celebrity teacher and science guy Steve Spangler teaches you how to transform the ordinary into the amazing as you make everyday items ooze, bubble, fizz, and pop! Make people wonder . . . How did you do that?

From flying toilet paper to trash can smoke rings, erupting soda to exploding sandwich bags, the experiments in Naked Eggs and Flying Potatoes will spark your imagination and totally impress your friends. Learn how to astound kids and kids-at-heart with easy and inexpensive experiments like:

Bubbling Lava Bottle
• The Incredible Can Crusher
• Nails for Breakfast
• The Folding Egg
• Quicksand Goo
• Screaming Balloon
• Burning Money

This is not your ordinary book of science experiments. Naked Eggs and Flying Potatoes is a geek-chic look at Spangler's latest collection of tricks and try-it-at-home activities that reveal the secrets of science in unexpected ways. Over 200 color photographs accompany the step-by-step instructions, and simple explanations uncover the how-to and why for each activity.

Make potatoes fly, bowling balls float, and soda explode on command. But don't try these experiments at home . . . try them at a friend's home! ... Read more

Reviews

Excellent Addition to your Child's Library!, September 14, 2010
Dear parents and teachers: Steve Spangler's new book "Naked Eggs and Flying Potatoes" is the best book of science experiments and information I've ever seen, and as an educator with over twenty years' experience, I've seen my share. I believe that the fact that Mr. Spangler was himself a classroom teacher for several years gives him an insight that is missing in other books of this type; he KNOWS how it is, with kids and classrooms and limited time and resources.

Shawn Campbell's pictures make this book even more spectacularly awesome. Just to look at the colorful examples and illustrations will make anyone of any age want to try these experiments himself/herself.

Steve Spangler makes sure we will learn the actual science behind each of his experiments, too. This book isn't just about having fun, blowing things up, and making messes, although those things certainly add to the awesomeness. Yes, you and your kids will have fun, blow things up, and make messes, but you will also understand why. Mr. Spangler is a master teacher who knows how to communicate his love of science and kids, and his audiences and readers sense it and respond accordingly, with that same enthusiasm.

"Naked Eggs and Flying Potatoes" is the kind of book that belongs on every classroom's library shelf and every kid's bedroom bookcase. However, I seriously doubt that the book will stay on the shelf for long; once word gets out, every kid in the building will want to get his/her hands on it and start experimenting. It might even be a good idea to get a second copy to keep in the kitchen; many of the experiments use simple household ingredients that are found in any pantry.

My liking for and enthusiasm about this book are intense. It's absolutely fantastic!

Amazing Science!, September 14, 2010
What is most striking about this amazing book is the number and quality of photographs that are included. Sometimes the most difficult thing about performing an experiment or demonstration is not knowing what it looks like as you do it. This book solves that problem!

I wholeheartedly recommend this book for all parents who are looking for a way to engage their children in something other than digital appliances! I unreservedly recommend this book for teachers who want their students to ask them to "do that again!" in class! Above all, I recommend this book for anyone who just wants to have some fun!

Stunning Book!, September 17, 2010
I've been a fan of Steve Spangler's work for some time. An amazing educator and phenomenal television talent, this Emmy Award-winning, content-rich showman has successfully made the jump from local news to the national scene with numerous appearances on the Ellen DeGeneres show among others. In his new book, Naked Eggs and Flying Potatoes, Steve takes on the herculean task of taking the best of his live experiments and demonstrations, and transferring them to the printed page. He has succeeded in a most dramatic and unexpected way. In crafting this terrific book, Steve Spangler as avoided the low-hanging-fruit of simply transcribing his very effective live TV presentations, and has instead, taken a step back and works to truly explain, not only the step-by-step process of creating the experiments yourself, but the lesson behind the magic. The pictures are stunning, and the process in each experiment is just as engaging as is the payoff. This book not only educates and entertains the reader, but has raised the bar for all future science books - both in and out of the classroom. Bravo!

Amazing Book, September 30, 2010
I own two copies of this wonderful book! I first obtained the printed copy, and thoroughly enjoyed it. So much so, that when iTunes released an enhanced version of it with how-to videos, I purchased it again! My 5-yr old loves the enhanced videos and it encourages her to want to "make magic." My 15-yr old uses the book to select science class projects and refers to the text (and videos of the ebook) to make sure she's doing it correctly. And while I'm not going to divulge *my* age in this forum, suffice it to say grown adults can enjoy this book, too. The "wow!" factor of many of the experiments is wonderful. I'd highly recommend this book! ... Read more

Editorial Review

Talk about a change of plans! Ms. Frizzle and her class are on the Magic School Bus headed for a museum. They have been studying how the body turns food into energy, and now they are going to see an exhibit on the human body. Things seem fine until they stop for lunch. A strange mishap causes the bus to shrink and then be swallowed! Ms. Frizzle's class is suddenly inside a real human body! ... Read more

Reviews

Fifth Food Group: Magic School Buses, October 12, 2003
Joanna Cole and Bruce Degen outdo themselves in "The Magic School Bus: Inside the Human Body." It is their most ambitious collaboration yet, and it definitely doesn't disappoint.

As is the custom, the third book in this science series (written in 1989) picks up where the second story left off. Ms. Frizzle is showing her students a filmstrip about the human body. "We're going to learn all about ourselves," she says. Then she announces the next field trip - the class is heading to the museum to "see an exhibit about how our bodies get energy from the food we eat." However, anyone who has even an inkling as to the kind of person Ms. Frizzle is should know that things rarely, if ever, go according to plan. A field trip is never just a field trip when you're taking a ride aboard her magic school bus.

The Friz and her students stop at a park for lunch before arriving at the museum. Afterward, everyone goes back to the bus . . . except for Arnold! He's still sitting at a picnic table, daydreaming and eating a bag of Cheesie-Weesies. And before the class realizes what is happening, the bus shrinks to the size of a Cheesie-Weesie . . . where it is promptly downed in one gulp by Arnold!

"I thought we were going to the museum," says one student.

"There's been a slight change of plans," explains Ms. Frizzle. "We're being digested instead."

Why visit an exhibit about the human body when you have a magic school bus and a teacher like Ms. Frizzle who can take you directly to the source?

If "At the Waterworks" was like priming the pump, and "Inside the Earth" was like getting the ball rolling, "Inside the Human Body" is like plowing full-steam ahead. Cole and Degen have firmly established themselves as a literacy force to be reckoned with; this is proven in the confidence of the writing and the boldness of the illustrations. There is so much going on in this story that you almost need a scorecard to keep track of it all. It seems as though Cole and Degen are bound and determined to one-up themselves with every book they come out with.

A list of some things Ms. Frizzle educates her class about would include: blood cells (red and white), blood vessels, digestion, germs, the heart, lungs, molecules, oxygen, plasma, the small intestine, etc. Do you know what villi are? You will after you read this book! Any idea what the cerebral cortex does? Ms. Frizzle will show you! Ever wondered why you sneeze? The answer resides in this story!

"Inside the Human Body" deserves just as much, if not more, a home on a person's bookshelf as does "At the Waterworks" and "Inside the Earth." Cole and Degen loaded their latest adventure to the bursting-point with information. You can see the growth author and illustrator have taken since their inaugural effort with "At the Waterworks." They prove that some things do, indeed, get better with age.

At the end of "Inside the Human Body" is a true-false test to help readers distinguish what things were true in the story and what things were made up. And, of course, Ms. Frizzle drops another clue as to where her next great adventure will take us. I'm pretty sure the class will think of their next field trip as out of this world!

It doesn't seem possible, but Cole and Degen managed to improve upon an already-winning formula. They are both in top form with "Inside the Human Body," a field trip that will take you from the brain to the small intestine and back again. Well, what are you waiting for? Hitch a ride on the magic school bus!

As Ms. Frizzle herself would say, "Seatbelts, everyone!"

Hilarious, fantastic, fascinating, inventive education!, July 9, 2000
I discovered these books when my son was 5 and we were in a trial year of homeschooling. Both of us were fascinated, by Ms. Frizzle, the magic shrinking bus, the fantastic field trips and funny Arnold.

The main text is good, the pictures are great and the comic book style conversations and binder paper reports on the sides of the pages are fabulous.

We both learned important things about the solar system, human body, water refineries, the earth and the ocean in a very fun, creative, imaginative and impressive way.

Read these books with any child you know, laughing and learning together!

My daughter loves Magic School Bus, June 18, 2003
My daughter is 3 1/2 years old. I got this book and wasn't sure if it would be to complicated for her. She loves it! I have ordered a few more Magic School Bus books and she can't get enough of them. She even drew a picture of her Daddy's red blood cells! It was hilarious. But best of all, she enjoys them so much. They are her favorite books and she is learning about science. I wish I had these when I was a kid.

packed with information, July 31, 2004
Ms. Frizzle is taking her class on a memorable field trip through the human body in this entertaining book featuring the beloved eccentric teacher and her curious class. My only complaint is that the pages are so busy with information that it's impossible to sit and really read the whole book, but perhaps it's best to let a child's curiosity guide you through a number of readings rather than trying to get everything in at one sitting. Concepts are expressed clearly and with humor. Justly popular with young students.

Kid Tested, July 7, 2002
My son likes this book. It gives some good insights into germs and our bodies. he likes the entires Magic School Bus series - but this is one of his favorites. An easy read before bedtime - just the right length.

a great book out of a great series - a review by Eli (age 7), August 23, 2006
This book is really out of this world. I have been hooked on the magic school bus series. I can't wait to read more books in the series. The inside the human body book is full with very interesting facts and I learned so much from reading it. Arnold doesn't know where the bus is and is trying to find it. He doesn't even know that it is actually inside him. Then Arnold sneezes and finds the bus right next to him. He doesn't understand how he didn't see it before.

A Creatively Exciting Science Adventure, August 3, 2009
The Magic School Bus is a popular, fun-filled science series in which a class of public-school students, led by the eccentric Ms. Frizzle, goes on magical field trips to new and unusual places. In this episode, their school bus shrinks to miniature size to be swallowed by one of the students. The rest of the class explores the inner workings of his body -- his intestines, circulatory system, nervous system, and respiratory system (at which point they are sneezed out and resume normal size). The action moves at a lively pace, with comic-book-style commentary by members of the class (we often skip the commentary for reading aloud, although it does provide an opportunity for discussion). At the end of each book, the class participates in a traditional review session of what they have learned, and the authors include a brief question-and-commentary section. Cole and Degen succeed quite well in making an elementary-level science lesson fun.

This series inspired a television program, which in turn inspired a second book series of significantly lesser quality. I recommend the original series, except for In the Time of the Dinosaurs, which includes a lot of evolutionary theory.

The Magic School Bus : Inside the Human Body, May 20, 2001
Very fun to read and educational. My daughter is 7 years old and she must have read it ten times. She only usually reads a book once! ... Read more

Editorial Review

Reviews

Accurate, fun pictures., January 16, 2002
This is a book which is accurate in its drawings, with the official names for many, if not all, the different species. I am an adult, a frustrated artist with no talent whatsoever for drawing. I have really enjoyed coloring these pictures with colored pencils. There is a lot of small detail work in some of the pictures, which I think would be difficult with crayons, but of course, all the detail doesn't need to be observed. I have loved this book and have colored 2/3 of the pictures. It is my favorite of the half dozen coloring books I bought. There are completed colored pictures of about a quarter of the drawings, which I appreciate very much, as it gives inspiration to those of us who would like to experiment with shading, etc.

Creative and Fun learning tool, July 14, 2007
Adults and kids who enjoy art and/or nature will find the books in this series enjoyable. You can simply enjoy putting colors together to create your own world of creatures or flowers (depending upon which book you order) or you can do the research and create a realistic world of color and beauty complete with learning the different names for the fish and under water foliage or the flowers or the butterflies etc in other books. Whether used as a learning tool or just for creative expression adults and children alike enjoy these books. I keep a selection of these types of coloring books around around the house with a very large selection of gel pens and markers for my neices and nephews and they come over frequently to visit while we all sit down to color, nothing else, Though I wouldn't sit to color a regular coloring book, these and the geometric or mandrel design coloring books are more on an adult level and I enjoy sitting with them as we chat about what is happening in their lives as we color. I believe they open up more because the coloring alows them to avoid the intensity of one-on-one coversations about emotional things in their lives. Open a door, sit and color with your pre-teen or teen and just be available to talk. You may be surprised at what doors you are opening, beyond the creativity of a child and yourself.

beautiful, April 10, 2007
I just purchased these Dover COloring Books for my mother and she loves them. The detail is out of this world and the variety of colors you can use are only limited by your inagination. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

Magnificent designs for silk painting - gutta outlines, October 7, 2008
Fantastic. These books are the best I have found to find pictures to use as templets or stencils for designs to paint on silk.

Beautiful underwater scenes, August 14, 2010
I never would've guessed my friend and neighbor, who drives a bulldozer for a living, would be the type to sit down with a coloring book but his colorings are beautiful and not juvenile at all. And he says, which also never occurred to me, that coloring is very relaxing. I never saw it that way as a kid but looking back, I guess coloring was actually relaxing. I'm very impressed with his, what I'm gonna call, artwork. He's somewhat picky about what he wants to color. The more detail in a pic to color, the better. And he's been very satisfied with the books I picked out for his birthday. He loves that the art of each of the pics to color is so detailed. He has bragged about my choices and so has anyone else who he's bragged to that I picked them out. I've never seen such beauty in a coloring book myself. I bought four of them and they all deserve the same praise so I guess I'll just copy and paste this review on each of the products.

One of my favorites, March 15, 2010
One of my favorite coloring books. Clean lines, clear shapes unlike some of the Dover coloring books in which leaves or grasses are sometimes indicated by little hooks or open loops of line. It's hard for me to figure out what to do with those. It identified the fish and provided brief descriptions but no reference pictures inside the covers. I had to go online no find photographs of the fish to get a real idea what they looked like.

Great Intro to Coral Reef For Kids, December 1, 2009
This book includes both fish and invertebrates found on a coral reef and is a nice introduction to these species for children interested in marine life. The illustrations are accurate and easy to color and there's just enough info about each illustration to learn a little something. There is also a nice introduction to the different phyla found on the coral reef. As a fish and wildlife coloring book illustrator myself, I find that coloring often gives children the chance to learn in a pressure free environment, on their own terms, and also to get creative. I also like the fact that Dover is now printing on recycled paper. There are a number of other coloring books that are great for coloring fish...Seashore Life Coloring Book (Colouring Books), Great Barrier Reef Coloring Book (Dover Coloring Book)...or tryThe Complete Hawaiian Reef Fish Coloring Book which is also printed on recycled paper.

Lovely coloring book, October 26, 2009
Beautiful coral reef and fish coloring book that entertains even older children. My grandchildren like to draw their own fish, using these as a guide.

Wonderful for an artist reference- for adult meditation, or kids!, August 28, 2008
There are wonderful illustrations of reef fish and corals in this nicely illustrated book. Adults can color it with colored pencils to de-stress, and kids can benefit from learning all about the creatures of the coral reef. This also is a very good reference for the graphic artist as well. ... Read more

Editorial Review

The runaway national bestseller, now in paperback ... Read more

Reviews

Imagine "Teen Cosmo" publishing INTRO TO JUNIOR-HIGH MATH, August 4, 2007
When I was seven, my mother got a Mathematics degree. At 29, I got my own Mathematics degree -- and of 60 people that day who got Math bachelor degrees then and there with me, only three were women. My mother proved, and those three co-graduating women proved, and Danica proves now, that women can learn math. But that's not what junior-high and high school girls think, is it? Most teen girls think they're math-morons.

Danica has written this book for such math-panicked teen girls -- Danica has written this book not only to TEACH them, but to ENCOURAGE them: "You can learn this!"

The math covered in Danica's book is junior-high level -- Danica presumes that the reader already knows how to add, subtract, multiply, and divide; then Danica takes the reader up through Algebra I. Danica's math is solid; and Danica's explanations, easy to understand.

But this is not your brother's math book. If you flipped through the book quickly, not reading the text, the illustrations and all the girly-handwriting would make you think that it was a book about teen fashion. The book also has chapter headings like no other math book I've seen -- Chapter 7, for instance, is entitled, "Is Your Sister Trying to Cheat You Out of Your Fair Share? (Comparing Fractions)." Chapter 9, on complex fractions, starts out, "Say you're trying on an outfit for a party. You've got the dress, the shoes, and the earrings -- and now you're choosing the right necklace...."

Danica also includes three "testimonials" (profiles) of young women who are successful in their careers because they've mastered math. Rather than show three "Ugly Betties" or nerdettes, the three women profiled are BABES.

To me, the most amazing thing about her book is that she tells the "blank quiz" story about herself: In a seventh-grade math class, "[w]hen the bell rang and my quiz was still blank, I wanted to disappear into my chair. I just didn't want to EXIST."

When I read this book, I learned something. Not about math, but about people. Junior-high girls, in particular. I give this book a 4.99999999999999999...-star rating.

Makeup and math? Hallelujah!, August 2, 2007
What will this book teach your daughter? That she can work out math problems by herself. That she can learn to love math, and even excel at it. And that she can do these things while still being every bit as girlie as she wants to be. Makeup and math? Yes, this book says, you can love them both.

Will girls read it? I think so, because, unlike so many academic texts, "Math Doesn't Suck" is so much more than a study guide. Author McKellar -- yes, Winnie Cooper from "The Wonder Years" but also a summa cum laude math grad from UCLA -- combines a step-by-step approach to middle-school math concepts with lots of personal anecdotes (such as how she once struggled with particular math problems) as well as stories of how other feminine women have excelled in the subject. Also adding some insight is McKellar's 12-year-old goddaughter, Tori.

Best of all, McKellar makes her points well. Each chapter is devoted to just one topic (i.e., decimals, or factoring) and uses real-life situations (baby-sitting, shopping) that really make things easy to understand.

Overall the book's chapter titles are a little too pink-and-purple for my tastes, but then again I'm not the target audience. I'm not 13, striving to define myself while getting Paris Hilton, the Pussycat Dolls and Hooters commercials driven into my brain. Girls can be smart AND feminine? Math is for them? Say amen, somebody!

math for the masses in junior and high school classes, May 5, 2008
This Danica is as good looking as the racing Danica and a great actress. She's a math whiz too. Well as a trained mathematician I can assure you that she proves in this book that she knows math, is proud of it and want other high school and junior high school girls to appreciate it too. The book is filled with interesting ways of teach junior and senior high school math that makes it fun and exciting. She would be a great teacher too. I think her goal is to be a role model for other girls who have an aptitude for mathematics. Girls have always been discouraged and discriminated against in this field. I remember at my high school I was the best math student but Linda Cirillo was a close second. Yet I was the one who got the encouragement and her talents were ignored. Years later I came back to my home town and found that while I was now a professional mathematician she was a house wife raising children. I hope things have improved over the last forty years.

This is a great book to give a child in high school who needs a little help and boost of confidence in math. When an author ahs the art of making things exciting rather than boring the student may develop an interest and capability that he or she never dreamed of!

A must read for any middle school girl!, August 10, 2007
I came across this book based on a news article about Danica McKellar. As the proud father of two middle school aged children (one boy and one girl) I am already seeing how differently boys are treated than girls when it comes to Math and Science. The schools seem to teach math from the male point of view. I can easily explain a math concept to my son and he can understand it, but I have not been able to explain the same concept to my daughter.
The book arrived last week, and my daughter seems to always have her nose in it. The book isn't designed to be read cover to cover, but to jump around as topics interest you. We had terrible problems last year with fractions, but after reading the section of fractions, my daughter claims that "she gets it". I have never seen my daughter excited about Math like this. If you have a middle school daughter who is struggling with the concepts, this is a must read for her.

My only complaint is that Danica hasn't written a survival guide for science yet! I am ordering a second book as a gift for the 6th grade math teacher to help with other girls who are struggling.

This book isn't just for young girls, August 20, 2007
Having good math skills makes a person a better shopper and a better chef. Having good math skills simply makes an individual more confident in all areas of life. This is the message of this well written book. McKellar takes a step by step approach to math. I liked looking at the examples she provides, as I tried to solve the problems she includes in each chapter. Math Doesn't Suck is a good refresher for me, because I forgot a lot of things from my school days. I also learned new concepts like how to figure out rates and ratios. I enjoyed doing the fraction problems and algebra problems. They were challenging and fun for me to solve. I also enjoyed reading the testimonals from women who use math in their daily lives. There were interesting contributions from students and teachers and other professionals. I loved the contribution from Stephanie Peterson. She uses math on the job as a petroleum analyst, and she is also a professional actress. McKellar also shares personal experiences from her life. McKellar is an intelligent successful and humble young woman. Math Doesn't Suck is an educational and inspirational book. I loved it.

A Realistic Approach to Middle School Math, August 13, 2007
Few adults really like what's happening to girls these days - an obsessive focus on makeovers, cosmo, gossip, clothes, popularity, and boys. It has a lot of people wondering what will ever become of kids raised on this type of diet. But rather than fight the unfightable, Danica McKellar decided to leverage "girl culture" and offer a book that speaks to them in their own language.

"Math Doesn't Suck" does provide high-quality and carefully prepared material on middle-school math topics. All the stuffyness and "who cares?" writing found in textbooks is replaced with "let's get real" phrasing with a little attitude thrown in. Perfect for that sassy pre-teen in your family. But more importantly, it gets girls to think about why they need to develop their intellect, and how that plays a role in their lives. My daughter likes it and she's using it to polish up her skills before going back to school in September.

Even if this book were terrible, McKellar should get a medal for being brave enough (and for caring enough) to attempt it. But it's actually very well written and you can see how much effort went into it. So I hope one day this book wins an award. It deserves it.

Fantastic!, September 24, 2007
This book has honestly changed my life. I have always struggled in Math and Danica presented the material in such a logical way that I now "get it". I highly recommend this book to anyone, at any age that has ever had a difficult time with Mathematics.

Math DEFINITELY Does Not Suck!, September 16, 2007
Not only is this book going to appeal to teenage math phobes, but it's great for those of us adults who teach those same teenagers! Lots of cool ideas I can't wait to try on my 7th and 8th graders, that I think will actually help them and get them to understand they CAN do math. The mnemonic devices and catchy names for various strategies are the kind of approach I have found works best with this age.

The book is organized clearly by topic, and the hand-drawn pictures from Danica's middle school notebooks add to the ease of use (besides being very cute). The nicest surprise about this book was the fact that it makes for enjoyable reading, just as a book.

Kudos to Dr. McKellar for showing that beauty, intelligence, and talent make a super combination!

A novel way to prevent math phobia, August 9, 2007
It's true. Math Doesn't Suck. Too many kids - boys and girls - give up on math when they get to a rough patch. For many different reasons, they decide that they can't do math because they just don't get it or they won't do math because it's not relevant to their lives. McKellar's book dispels these myths by showing that quantitative reasoning really is relevant to the problems of everyday life, and that interesting examples can help illuminate difficult concepts for students with a wide range of interests. Readers interested in helping girls develop their math-brain even as their lives change might also be interested in Danger, Long Division, a novel for preteens about a fifth-grader who learns to solve her math problems even while struggling with tough family issues.

A Labor of Love -- for math and for Danica's students., October 3, 2007
I bought two copies, one for my student and one for myself. Danica's explanations rival any text book at the middle school level. She teaches for understanding and her reviews, restatements, and conclusions help the reader recall and use math powerfully.

After the flashy cover, I expected the color images with which most other math authors at this level sprinkle their pages, many of which distract the reader. Nope, simple, small pen and ink sketches which reinforce lessons or gently amuse the reader. Hooray for you, Danica.

As I read and read, it became clearer that Danica did not have a committee writing her book, which dilutes so many books. She weaves themes which persist throughout the book, aiding the reader to comprehend more deeply. Even so, she consulted teachers and students (of whom I would have been honored to have been one) and incorporates their suggestions throughout what is still her own unique book.

If I were a teen girl, I'd devour this book, as many reviews already attest to. If I were a teen boy, I'd read it also both for its math worthiness and also for some insights into young women. I abhor sexism in our society and feared that Danica would reinforce some of the worst stereotypes. Not so. She unambiguously supports intellectual, achieving women. Hooray for you and your students, Danica.

Buy this book, Gentle Reader.

Sincerely, A Retired (male) Middle School Math teacher ... Read more

Editorial Review

Five months ago, Valerie Leftman's boyfriend, Nick, opened fire on their school cafeteria.Shot trying to stop him, Valerie inadvertently saved the life of a classmate, but was implicated in the shootings because of the list she helped create.A list of people and things she and Nick hated.The list he used to pick his targets.

Now, after a summer of seclusion, Val is forced to confront her guilt as she returns to school to complete her senior year.Haunted by the memory of the boyfriend she still loves and navigating rocky relationships with her family, former friends and the girl whose life she saved, Val must come to grips with the tragedy that took place and her role in it, in order to make amends and move on with her life. ... Read more

Reviews

Courtesy of Teens Read Too, October 7, 2009
Gold Star Award Winner!

Valerie is alone. Her family tiptoes around her, her friends act like she doesn't exist, and most of the people in the community think she should be dead.

Valerie's boyfriend, the person she trusted more than anyone else, shattered her life when he brought a gun to school and wounded several students and killed many others, including himself. Most people believe Valerie was involved, but she had no idea what Nick was planning.

After spending weeks in the hospital recovering from a near-fatal gunshot wound to the leg, Valerie is moved to the psychiatric ward for observation. Afterwards, during her many therapy sessions, she begins to think back on her relationship with Nick and all the events that led up to the terrible act that changed an entire community.

HATE LIST is an extremely powerful story. I was in tears for the last eighty pages and felt emotionally drained by the time I reached the last page. Jennifer Brown has given us a wonderful example of the importance of keeping a watchful eye out for bullying in our schools.

Valerie is a strong character and it was great to witness her healing process. Once I started HATE LIST I couldn't stop. I read every chance I could. Even though the subject matter is very serious, this book was a pleasure to read.

Thank you, Ms. Brown.

Reviewed by: Karin Librarian

Deeply Moving, Gripping, and Powerful, September 12, 2009
Hate List by Jennifer Brown is a terrific book on many levels. First, there is the main plot where Valerie Leftman struggles to come to terms with the fact that she was the girlfriend of a school shooter, Nick, whom she had unwittingly abetted in the shooting. This fact leaves her with mixed feelings of guilt and anger. She must also work out her feelings of love and compassion for this boy, whom Brown has painted as a real human being rather than a stereotypically bad individual. Brown artfully engages the reader to journey along with Valerie as she explores and comes to terms with her role in, and the consequential suffering from the shooting.

Secondly, this is a book about teenage angst and real high school tension that takes place in everyday circumstances. Additionally, Valerie has parents that have their own issues and shortcomings. Brown weaves a thread of pain through the family dynamics, as well as the high school dynamics that is realistic and insightful. This gives the reader insight into Valerie's anger as she and Nick create the Hate List as almost an inside joke.

Thirdly, this book is about a process of moving from mental anguish and mental instability to mental health through a few various factors. It takes a knowledgeable and caring therapist. It takes courage from Valerie to take many baby steps to work through the process. It takes persistence from Valerie to not give up when the process was so difficult that it seemed impossible. It also takes a change in focus from Valerie as she must not read too much into each encounter or conversation. Finally, it just takes time as she matures from adolescence into adulthood.

Brown captures these levels by intricately growing the reader's understanding of Valerie by moving easily back and forth in time from before the shooting to the results after the shooting. Readers can easily identify with the mental turmoil because Brown has captured the essence of high school relationships so common in adolescence.

I highly recommend this book to young adults, as well as adults of all ages. It especially gives hope to all who are struggling. I predict this will be a best seller.

Packs a punch, September 7, 2009
I live in Montreal, where one of the most horrendous school shootings happened over a decade ago. I can tell you that we can still feel this event very deeply.

Reading The Hate List brought me right back to that horrible day when we found out that this madman had walked into a school and just starting shooting all the "feminists" who took his place at the school.

The Hate List is extremely well written and proof of this, in my opinion, is that I felt anger, resentment, fear and every other feeling I could on this topic. This is such a horrible subject matter and the author manages to write about it in a sensitive, yet true and frank way.

I don't know how I feel about the involvement of Valerie - even after finishing the book and interestingly enough, Valerie does not know how to feel either.

This book is a gut wrenching look at a mind gone and how society deals with the aftermath.

Thought-provoking and hopeful, August 31, 2009
Jennifer Brown's HATE LIST is about the aftermath of a school shooting, narrated by the shooter's girlfriend and loaded with questions. The characterizations in this YA novel are some of the best I've ever read in any book for kids or adults. The characters, their motivations, and their responses to that awful thing that happened in the Commons on May 2nd all feel so very true and real that I had to keep reminding myself I was reading a work of fiction.

This is a story about high school and bullying, about stepping too close to lines and crossing over them. And even though it's also the story of a community's worst nightmare, ultimately, it's also a story about hope. Highly recommended...with a special note for teachers & librarians that this will make one heck of a compelling book club/literature circles choice.

Stunning and a must read., September 9, 2009
Five months ago, Valerie Leftman's boyfriend, Nick opened fire on their school cafeteria. Six were killed, many were injured, and a whole community changed in less then an hour. Val saves the life of a fellow classmate, but is still implicated in the shooting in the media. She helped make a list of things that Nick and her hated. The very list that Nick used to pick his targets.
After a summer of seclusion, Val is forced to go back to school for her senior year. She haunted by the memory of the boyfriend that she still loves. She also has to navigate the rocky relationship with her family, former friend, and the girl whose life she saved. Val must come to terms on what happened that day and make amends with those that she lost and those that are still there.
Valerie was an amazing strong character. She has a different personality then most people in that situation. I loved Jessica Campbell. It took a lot of courage to be friends with Valerie, but I think that she found that from being alive. The plot of Hate List is emotional. Full of anger, confusion, and at the end, hope. It was so hard to stop reading at points. Brown crafts an original novel. I liked how most chapters had a quote or a newspaper article in the front. Brown is amazing writer and someone to look for future books. I highly recommend this book, but be prepared to cry.

as orignially posted on the blog Ticket to Anywhere, November 29, 2009
I wasn't entirely sure what to think about Hate List when I first picked it up all I knew was that all the buzz about it said that it was amazing. When I first started the book I was doubtful of this buzz because for me it started off a bit slow. But that slowness what short lived. Before I knew it I was staying up into the wee hours of the morning sheading tears as I rushed to finish this amazing book. Hate List deals with a subject that is sure to strike fear into the hearts of everyone who reads it. Its a book that immediately brings to mind images from other school shootings like Columbine and Virgina Tech. And its those images that help make this book so powerful. But Hate List isn't about the actual shooting its about what happens next. How do you move forward from the horrible events. How do you deal with the fall out? This is Valerie's story. She's returning to school after her boyfriend did the unthinkable and she has to face her role in the events that occurred on that fateful day.

Its a wonderful story about redemption and the journey of self discovery. Of learning to overcome some pretty serious issues & events and coming out stronger on the other side. I found all the characters to be believable and was lost in their stories. A few years ago I read Jodi Picoult's Nineteen Minutes, which is also about the after effects of a school shooting. It was a story that I really liked at the time despite its difficult subject matter. But when I compare that book to Hate List, it only seems to scratch the surface of emotions that such an event would bring. Brown has this powerful writing style that takes you to the heart of the matter. This was such a great book that if you haven't read it already then I strongly suggest you run to your nearest bookseller and pick up a copy. Its just that good.

How do you go on after your boyfriend goes on a shooting rampage?, November 2, 2009
This was an excellent YA novel about the aftermath of a school shooting. The protagonist, Valerie, was the girlfriend of the shooter and has to live with the consequences of being known as his ally and as the co-author of the "hate list" that instigated the bloodshed. Was she involved? Did she know he was going to do this?

Valerie returns to high school the fall after the shootings. She is shunned and feared, but tries to continue on. She's been in therapy and she's working through the feelings she has about her boyfriend Nick -- the guy she loved vs the boy who shot her classmates. How did she not know that he was planning this?

This is a well done novel about the aftermath of school violence. How people adapt, change, come to terms with the senseless act. The reactions of enemies, friends, family -- it's all here. There are no pat answers and Valerie isn't magically cured. The violent act changes everyone.

Recommend!

BLT Reviews, September 19, 2009
Hate List is probably one of the most complex and compelling stories ever written about pain and how simple words, thoughts, or gestures can turn into a unthinkable disaster. There's not many books that explore the power of hate and what it can do if you don't understand what you're dealing with. Take a disaster event for example. People become inhuman, and sadly, we test that everyday. If something terrible were to happen in your community, people start to blame. Blame turns into anger, anger turns into hate, etc.This is perfect example of that, and cuts even deeper with a message not only of consequences, but how family life can also shape a situation, or a persons thoughts and decisions.I can't say Hate List was an enjoyable book to read since it was about a shooting and other gloomy topics, but I definitely think teens should give it a try. This book contains a valuable message to teens about knowing what the difference between hating someone or thinking they hate someone. Things like that are dangerous, as Valerie learns the hard way. Don't let yourself use words like hate in a jk manner. Read Hate List and you'll see why.Overall, Brown did a stunning job on presenting an tough topic and following the main character through her family drama, pain, and extraordinary recovery.


Age Group: YA, ages 14+
Content: Graphic descriptions of shooting, some language, and other depressing situations
Recommend? Yes, for ages 14+

[...].

A powerful novel., December 8, 2010
My thoughts...I have to admit, I did not want to read this book. After reading the book summary, the content seemed too dark, depression, and scary. The book found its way into my hands and I reluctantly began reading, expecting heartbreak. I quickly discovered that while this book is definitely covers some tough subjects, it was one I needed to finish. Hate List haunted me for weeks after competing it. It left me with mixed emotions including grief and frustration.

Hate List is a very powerful story. It explores the aftermath of a student involved in a school schooling that resulted in the death of a number of students. The story is told through the point of view of Val, who was the girlfriend of the shooter. Prior to the shooting, they created a hate list of people who treated them cruelly, or in their opinion, unjustly. The list reached beyond their classmates. We walk with Val as she returns to school after months of therapy. She has to learn to come to terms with the events, as do her classmates. It was a powerful journey.

The big emotions this book left me with were fear and frustration. This is a scary situation, one that no matter how much you protect your kids, now matter how safe you think they are at school, the truth is they aren't. High School kids can be cruel and there is no telling what that sort of cruelty can cause people to do. It is frustrating that we can't control this. It is frustrating that this sort of thing happens. As for the book I have to ask myself...Would I want my kids to read a story like this? Would this story be a good selection for a class library? My answer is yes. Bringing awareness to issues like this may be a good way to prevent it. Will it stop the ridiculing and abuse that occurs between students, no. However, it may make people think twice and consider the repercussions of their actions.

In regards to the story, it is very well written and interesting. It will make you cry and believe that sometimes good things can come from the darkness.

Overall, I recommend this book, especially for discussion. One question could be the guilt of Val. Was she guilty? Did she get off easy? Making a hate list is definitely not a good outlet for the frustrations they were feeling, but what would be another way to deal with this. Anyone who has ever been at the receiving end of ridicule can attest to the way it makes you feel. This story definitely provides a good starting point for discussion.

wow, November 22, 2010
I bought this book bc no one rated it 1 or 2 stars. SO I thought it must be good if no one hated it. The book did not disappoint. It was very honest and well written. I like how the author made no one look like the bad guy or good guy... it was just so real. The ending was perfect! ... Read more

Editorial Review

When it comes to relationships, Colin Singleton’s type is girls named Katherine. And when it comes to girls named Katherine, Colin is always getting dumped. Nineteen times, to be exact. On a road trip miles from home, this anagram-happy, washedup child prodigy has ten thousand dollars in his pocket, a bloodthirsty feral hog on his trail, and an overweight, Judge Judy–loving best friend riding shotgun—but no Katherines. Colin is on a mission to prove The Theorem of Underlying Katherine Predictability, which he hopes will predict the future of any relationship, avenge Dumpees everywhere, and finally win him the girl. Love, friendship, and a dead Austro-Hungarian archduke add up to surprising and heart-changing conclusions in this ingeniously layered comic novel about reinventing oneself. ... Read more

Reviews

A quirky coming-of-age novel with an original plot!, March 6, 2008
Since I've always been a fan of Young Adult and Juvenile books--love to read them, love to write them--I just had to see what all the fuss was about with author John Green's coming-of-age novel. What sets it apart from others in the genre?

I started reading and quickly found out: it's an original concept, a laugh-out-loud funny story, complete with satire and an American road trip that's unlike any road trip I ever took. I'm enamored with this book and Green's main character, Colin Singleton, a loner with a quirky fascination for anagrams, math and odd facts. His main problem is that he has a hard time making friends, but NO problem with finding girlfriends.

But keeping them is another story!

At the end of his senior year of high school, "Katherine the Nineteenth" dumps him ... only the latest in a chain of rejections. As a result, he becomes indecisive about his future and begins to question his identity, his future.

What is Colin's problem? Why can't he keep his friends? When his friend Hassan suggests a road trip, what happens when the boys take off? What does a cemetery in the middle of rural Tennessee have to do with him? And who's Archduke Franz Ferdinand? Will Colin and Hassan fulfill Colin's quest to understand why he is always being dumped by his girlfriends?

Since Colin is a fading prodigy whose hobbies include making anagrams, memorizing odd historical facts, mathematical equations, and dating girls named Katherine, what mathematical equation does he formulate to explain why so many dump him? And just how many Katherines make an "abundance?"

You're invited on Colin's journey to find the answers to all those questions, but I can tell you one thing without spoiling the plot: you're in for one hilarious road trip!

An Abundance of Katherines has a little bit of everything: adventure, humor, math, verbal games, little-known historical facts, and humorous tales of boy/girl relationships as the boys begin to learn more about the opposite sex.

Green is such a masterful storyteller with a talent for creating believable characters, I couldn't put this book down. I hope he writes a sequel because I'd like to have some more fun adventures with Colin and Hassan.

This hardcover version was published by Dutton Juvenile in 2006, but the paperback is due for release in August 2008. Since it's to be listed at $3.99, I suggest waiting until then to read it. What a bargain!

A final note: This is one of those YA books geared for adults too. I'm not the only one who enjoyed it; many of the rave reviews are from adults. I would have given it five stars, but in a few places it was not as smooth as it could have been.

Film rights to John Green's Printz-award-winning first book, Looking For Alaska, were acquired by Paramount Pictures, with production in its early stages.

Reviewed by: Betty Dravis, 2008
author of: The Toonies Invade Silicon Valley

smart and funny, September 23, 2006
From third grade through his senior year of high school, Colin Singleton, child prodigy, has dated nineteen girls. All of them have been named Katherine (anagrammed in the rake; ie, her tank), and all of them have dumped him. Not for the same reasons, and not in the same way. Katherine XVIII dumped him in an email, for example. And K-19 dumped him immediately after graduation. Now, faced with a Katherine-less summer, Colin and his best friend, Hassan, decide to take a road trip. They are short-stopped in Gutshot, Tennessee, home to Archduke Franz Ferdinand's grave, with a job offer. Since there are no Katherines in sight, only Lindseys and Katrinas, the two boys settle in for the summer to interview textile workers, and, in Colin's case, come up with a mathematical formula for predicting the end result of a romantic relationship -- his Eureka moment. Layered with fun and funky characters, anagrams, formulas, flashbacks, and footnotes, this complex yet easy-to-read novel is not only compelling, but one of the smartest novels I've read in a long time.

Girls, Math, and a Road Trip, January 11, 2007
An Abundance of Katherines is about many things: Heartbreak. Friends. Family. Math. Most importantly, it is about a young man who takes a road trip to find himself. The literal journey works well for the metaphorical one, of course, and is a familiar storytelling device. Author John Green has made it his own - or rather, Colin's own.

Colin Singleton used to be a prodigy. Used to be, because now he's a recent high school graduate, and what means "gifted prodigy" at age 2 means simply "smart" at age 18. Not only that, but his girlfriend Katherine just dumped him. In his lifetime, Colin has dated 19 girls named Katherine - never Kathy, never Catherine, always Katherine - and been dumped by every single one.

Stuck in that between-time, between boy and man, between high school and college, and positively heartbroken, he goes on a road trip with his best (and only) friend, the blunt and unabashed Hassan. They end up in Carver County, Tennessee, in a little place called Gutshot. There, they meet a kind girl named Lindsey Lee Wells, and her mother, who opens her home to the two boys.

Colin wants to have a Eureka moment, to make an amazing discovery. He also wants something more personal: to matter. When he vocalizes this, things change for him. He changes. This means that when his Eureka moment does occur, it signifies something other than what he predicted. And that's a good thing.

The same can be said for this book. The book jacket summary and title may make readers initially assume that the story will detail each of Colin's relationships in turn. Instead, they are anecdotes that he shares, stories that he tells, memories that he has. They don't fuel the story; they fuel the character. In other words, this book moves beyond what readers expect to find, and impresses them and surprises them in new ways.

This is not unlike Lindsey Lee, the girl in Gutshot, the self-proclaimed chameleon who changes how she sounds and how she acts depending on who she is talking to at the time. She never wants to leave her small town, yet she seems more worldly than Colin. She acts tough and thinks she's the opposite of Colin, but the characters learn that they have more in common than either of them could have imagined.

Fans of John Green's Printz Award-winning novel Looking for Alaska will not be disappointed by his sophomore effort. Though the stories themselves are vastly different, with Abundance being much lighter in tone than Alaska, both novels boast intelligent writing and memorable characters.

An Abundance of Katherines is more than heartache and theorems. Colin asks if love is graphable, and he finds out that life is unpredictable. What really matters? How can a person matter? Whether or not your name is Katherine, pick up this book, and Colin will share his discoveries with you.

A Little Choppy, But Decent, September 22, 2006
I should preface this by saying that as 30something adult, I don't seek out "YA" (young adult, aka teen) fiction for my leisure reading. In the case of this book, I didn't realize it was a YA title until I was already hooked, and since I'm a fan of quirky coming-of-age novels, it pretty much fit right into my comfort zone. The story is about recent high-school graduate Colin. A former child prodigy, he is now merely another smart teenager with underdeveloped social skills and a yearning to leave his intellectual mark on the world. With the summer between high school and college to kill, he's also heartbroken because his girlfriend, Katherine, just dumped him. Actually, she's the nineteenth Katherine to sever relations with Colin (hence the title) -- although one of the book's enduring mysteries is how someone as neurotic as Colin manages to have relations with 3, let alone 19 girls, whatever they may be named.

In any event, Colin is fortunate to posses a roly-poly sidekick/best buddy named Hassan, who promptly prescribes a road trip as the cure for his malaise. Couch potato Hassan provides much-needed comic relief with his blunt talk, tough love, and love for bad daytime TV. It's also nice to see an Arab-American character in such a role. The road trip takes them to a small town in Tennessee, where they stumble into jobs and a place to stay for the summer. They also luck into friendship with a cool local girl named Lindsey and spend a good deal of time hanging out with her and her Abercrombie-wearing friends. Meanwhile, Colin is hard at work trying to figure out the variables needed to plug into a mathematical formula which will graph the rise and fall of any relationship. This provides the excuse to learn about the 19 Katherines, although thankfully just enough to help the reader understand how they affected Colin.

As the summer progresses, the story unravels much as one might expect, with the notable exception of an unlikely hookup between Hassan and another character. Lindsey naturally turns out to have hidden depths, and despite the expected heart-warming developments at the end, the story kind of peters out without the closure one might expect. Overall it's a worthwhile read, although it's not a particularly challenging story and Colin is simultaneously too self-pitying and too handy with the ladies to be a truly sympathetic protagonist. Some of Green's stylistic tics work, such as the many footnotes, but the mathematical relationship formula felt kind of gimmicky. Still, this is the second YA novel by Green, and it's definitely enjoyable enough to make me think about seeking out the first.

An Abundance of Charm, April 13, 2007
The moment I finished, I wanted to rush out and give this novel to all my reader friends. Unfortunately, it is just too good to do that with - John Green deserves every one of those friends to buy it for themselves.

Green, the Printz Award-Winning author of Looking For Alaska, has definitely succeeded in his sophomore effort - Katherines is a charming mix of interesting characters, thought-provoking prose, and laugh-out-loud moments. Such a combination reads like a brilliant hybrid of J.D. Salinger-esque emotion with all the sideways humor of a Christopher Moore novel.

The major success of the book is neither its emotional arc nor its spot-on humor, but the characters themselves. Every single secondary character, no matter how minor, is drawn perfectly - there isn't a cookie-cutter in the bunch. Colin Singleton, the protagonist, is even better: an endearing mix of tremendous brain power, introspection, and a healthy dose of social awkwardness, makes him completely sympathetic to the audience.

As an avid reader of all genres and a YA writer, it is rare that I come across a book that truly wows me anymore, but An Abundance of Katherines succeeded. The 2007 Printz Honor this book just received is well earned, you won't regret this read!

from [...], September 8, 2007
Picture this: You used to be a childhood prodigy. Member of an academic game team. You excelled in school. You were special. You met a girl named Katherine and the two of you started dating.

Then she dumps you.

Then eighteen more girls named Katherine dump you.

Suddenly, you're a teenager with no claim to fame except for your former status as a prodigy. No new ideas. No girl. No plans for the summer excepting wasting away in your room and moping.

This is not your life. But it is Colin Singleton's life immediately after his graduation from high school.

Given Colin's history with girls, you might not be surprised that John Green chose to name his second novel An Abundance of Katherines--a title that proves itself even more apt as the novel progresses.

After sulking for several days after being dumped (again), Colin is dragged out of his room by Hasan, his best friend. Hassan is confident that the only cure for Colin's depression is a road trip. So Colin and his Judge-Judy-loving, overweight, Muslim pal head off for the great beyond that is the United States between the coasts. Their road trip stops in Gutshot, Tennessee. But the adventures don't. Hired by a local bigwig to compile an oral history of Gutshot, Colin and Hassan find themselves staying with Hollis and her daughter, Lindsey. It is in Gutshot that Colin finally has what he has always wanted, a truly original idea. Thus, Colin begins to create a theorem of love in his attempt to understand his own rocky love life.

Most of my friends who have read this book and Green's first novel Looking for Alaska agree that his second novel is not as compelling a read. Having only read "Katherines," I cannot make a judgment one way or the other. What I can say is that I loved the style of this book. There has been a growing trend to use footnotes in novels--notable examples include The Bartimaeus Trilogy by Johnathan Stroud, Jasper Fforde's Thursday Next novels, and Ibid A Life by Mark Dunn which is a novel written entirely of endnotes. Green continues that tradition here to good effect.

The tone throughout is quirky, nerdy, and generally fun. I don't know that reading this novel will change any lives, but it will certainly get a lot of laughs. The best parts are, undoubtedly, the dialogues between Hassan and Colin. The guys are just so likable! In addition, Green's writing is snappy--all the better to keep the laughs coming.

Some readers might find the name John Green familiar although they cannot say why. This year John and his brother Hank have earned a good amount of notoriety on the internet for their Brotherhood 2.0 vlog project (available on YouTube) in which the brothers send videos back and forth each weekday in lieu of text conversation (if you're curious be sure to check out the Feb. 14, 2007 post because it's my favorite). They are really funny and seeing John Green and his brother in these vlogs makes it easy to see how Green came up with the idea for Colin Singleton.

Like Nothing but the Truth by Justina Chen Headley, this book includes a bit of math. The "real" math behind Colin's theorem appears in the back of the book in an appendix and Green even has a website where you can use the theorem for your own relationships (if it doesn't crash your computer). Despite all of that, Green is a self-proclaimed lost cause when it comes to math. (The theorem was drafted by friend (and "resident mathematician" for Brotherhood 2.0), Daniel Biss.) I wanted to share this for a couple of reasons. First, because I think it's great that Green is writing outside of what some might call his "comfort zone" and, second, because it should illustrate that you don't have to like math to enjoy a book that features a lot of math.

Anyway, if you need a cheerful book with some fun, lovable characters I don't think you can do better than this book which was recently nominated for the LA Times Book Award in addition to being selected as a Printz Award honor book (Looking for Alaska won the actual Printz Award, just to put that into perspective).

Perfect for the reader within us all, August 29, 2007
Of course, if you really are a math nerd, it doesn't take long to fall in love with Colin, our dear hero. He's a geeky, nerdy, anagram-loving high school graduate, waiting to start his college life. The outline is simple: Colin's been dumped. He's depressed. Quirky, hilarious best friend Hassan declares that there's only one thing to do - road trip.

That's how Colin ends up in a hole in the wall type town, working alongside Hassan and a girl named Lindsey, who essentially is the reason they even stayed in town. Lindsey is an interesting character, normal, and intelligent, something Colin doesn't really expect when they first meet (he sees her reading a trashy magazine and assumes he's dealing with someone ignorant and stupid). Colin meanwhile becomes obsessed with creating a formula that accurately portrays his 19 failures with Katherines. The story thus progresses.

If there's one thing that's great about "An Abundance of Katherines", it's that there's something for everyone. Math nerds will love the concept. Teens will love the characters. Adults will love the humor. Or just everything, because it's fun to love. It's a great book, one that will suck you in from the first moment and keep you until the end. Funny characters and interesting situations keeps this book moving.

Perhaps this is more appropriate for teens, who will let some minor issues go more easily (the ending was nice and good, but not as incredible as the rest of the book...). Even so, adults will be just as able to enjoy this fun, funny, enjoyable book.

(P.S. The footnotes are probably the best part)

An extremely funny book, December 10, 2006
An Abundance of Katherines is about a boy named Colin who has just graduated from high school, and is experiencing a bit of a mid-life crisis. You see, in his youth, Colin was a prodigy. And now, at 18, he feels washed up, having not lived up to his potential, not become a full-fledged genius. To top that off, he's just been dumped by his 19th Katherine. Colin only dates girls named Katherine, and has had 19 relationships of varying length and depth with Katherines since early elementary school. This most recent one lasted nearly a year, before K-19 broke Colin's heart.

To take Colin's mind off of his problems, his best friend Hassan proposes that the two friends go on a road trip. They make it as far as Gutshot, Tennessee, where, in part due to Colin's celebrity as a prodigy, they are offered a summer job doing video interviews. They become particular friends with Lindsey Lee Wells, daughter of eccentric local factory owner Hollis, and move into the gigantic bright pink Wells home. The rest of the novel recounts Colin's history with the many Katherines, in flashbacks, interspersed with Colin and Hassan's adventures in Gutshot.

This isn't a very plot-driven novel. I found it to be not such a good bedtime reading book, because I would fall asleep. However, I loved the writing. John Green has a gift for the quirky yet memorable turn of phrase. Even using restraint, I ended up with seven passages flagged for possible quotation. For example:

"Colin's mother shook her head rhythmically, like a disapproving metronome." (page 12);

"And so the periodically incontinent prodigy ended up in a small windowless office on the South Side" (page18); and

"Maybe if a guy is actually, literally, on fire, he won't be thinking about hooking up. But that's about it. Whereas girls are very fickle about the business of kissing. Sometimes they want to make out; sometimes they don't. They're an impenetrable fortress of unknowability, really." (page 76)

I especially loved Colin's friend Hassan. He's a chubby Arabic guy, with a sense of humor, and he's quick to point out when Colin is going off on a tangent that's "not interesting." I really think that everyone should have a friend to tell them that. I actually think that Colin is borderline on the Asperger's Syndrome scale. He needs to be taught what other people find interesting. Here is the quotation:

""Not interesting," Hassan said. Hassan's not-interestings had helped Colin figure out what other people did and did not enjoy hearing about. Colin had never gotten that before Hassan, because everyone else either humored or ignored him. Or, in the case of Katherines, humored then ignored. Thanks to Colin's collected list of things that weren't interesting, he could hold a halfway normal conversation." (page 26). There is a footnote containing a partial list of not-interesting things, like mitosis, baroque architecture, and "the significant role that salt has played in human history."

And, for another window into Hassan's sense of humor, this is his explanation for why Hollis offered he and Colin jobs:

""She wants to make me happy. We fatties have a bond, dude. It's like a Secret Society. We've got all kinds of s*** you don't know about. Handshakes, special fat people dances--we got these secret fugging lairs in the center of the earth and we go down there in the middle of the night when all the skinny kids are sleeping and eat cake and friend chicken and s***. Why d'you think Hollis is still sleeping, kafir? Because we were up all night in the secret lair injecting butter frosting into our veins. She's given us jobs because a fatty always trusts another fatty."" (page 72)

I like reading a novel that's not afraid a) to have a character who is smart, and b) to include math. I love that the title on the cover is formatted as a formula. It's also interesting to see Colin, Hassan, and Lindsey evolve over the course of their summer together. I think that even non-prodigies will be able to relate to the unique problems of at least one of the three teenagers, and will perhaps be inspired to change. And if not, they'll still have a good time reading this extremely funny book.

This book review was originally published on my blog, Jen Robinson's Book Page, on December 4, 2006.

Courtesy of Teens Read Too, September 21, 2006
If you had the opportunity to devise a theorem that could correctly predict the outcome of a romantic relationship, would you do it? If it worked, would you use it? Can it even be done? This is the problem plaguing Colin Singleton, recent high school graduate, nearly-former child prodigy, hopeful genius. Colin, you see, has a significant problem. He falls in love quite easily, which in and of itself isn't such a bad thing. The fact that all of his loves, nineteen of them to be exact, have been named Katherine can even be explained away by some form of twisted scientific method. What can't be explained, though, is why Colin has been dumped by all nineteen of those Katherines.

When he's dumped by the love of his life, Katherine XIX, he finds himself in a bad place. He can no longer call himself a child prodigy, since he's graduated from high school. He's not a genius, because he's never come up with anything that will change the world. There's an empty place inside of him where his latest Katherine's love used to live, and he doesn't know what to do with himself. Until Hassan Harbish (Muslim, but not a terrorist) devises a way to get Colin out of his funk--a road trip. With no destination in mind, the two set off in The Hearse, Colin's car, and go where the road leads them.

Where it leads them is a small town called Gutshot, Tennessee, where Colin gets the urge to see the supposed grave of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. It's also where the two meet Lindsey Lee Wells and her mother, Hollis. Not to mention where they get to live in a giant Pepto Bismol-pink house on a hill, interview employees of a factory that makes tampon strings, and eat Monster Thickburgers at the local Hardees.

It's also the place where Colin decides to finish the Theorem of Underlying Katherine Predictability. Assign numerical value to different variables, plot it on a graph, and you'll be able to predict how long a relationship will last--and who will be the dumper, and who will be the dumpee. Except Colin forgot some pertinent information, like chance, and distorted memories, and the fact that love is never predictable. As Colin and Hassan learn a few things about life in the small town of Gutshot, we get to follow their journey of learning to grow up, to make a name for yourself, and how to matter as a person.

I loved AN ABUNDANCE OF KATHERINES, even more than Mr. Green's previous book, Looking for Alaska. That book won the prestigious Michael L. Printz award, and I won't be surprised if this book is nominated, as well. This story is funny, poignant, and informative. For example, if I hadn't read AN ABUNDANCE OF KATHERINES I would never have known that:

1) Fetor hepaticus is a symptom of late-stage liver failure where your breath literally smells like a rotting corpse.
2) The junior senator from New Hampshire in 1873 was Bainbridge Wadleigh.
3) There is absolutely no scientific proof that drinking eight glasses of water a day will improve your health.
4) Dingleberries can be anagrammed into see inbred girl; lie breeds grin; leering debris; greed be nil, sir; be idle re. rings; ringside rebel; and residing rebel.
5) Nikola Tesla did a lot for electricity before Thomas Edison came along and stole some of his ideas, and he also loved pigeons.
6) I still suck at math.

Order this book today. It's great, you'll love it, and you'll actually learn stuff. Three for the price of one!

Guys Book, December 1, 2006
Reviewed by Debra Gaynor for Reader Views (11/06)

Colin is drawn to girls named Katherine. He's a little bummed as his girlfriend has just dumped him. Her name was Katherine; she's the nineteenth Katherine to dump him.

A recent high school graduate, Colin lacks social skills. He was a child prodigy but now he's thrust into the real world where he's just another smart kid. Colin is determined to figure out a mathematical formula, which will graph the rise and fall of a relationship. (It's no wonder all the Katharine's dumped him.) He and his friend Hassan, a non-terrorist Muslim, go on a road trip with no particular destination; they end up in Gutshot, Tennessee, where they meet Lindsey and find jobs. Lindsey has depth and is an exceptional character.

Colin, like most of us, truly wants to make a difference in the world. He wants his life to count for something. After all, "what's the point of being alive if you don't at least try to do something remarkable?" Colin strives to be unique and original. "The way he sees it, his Theorem is the last chance for him to be remembered and the last chance he'll ever have to fill that nagging hole that is eating him up inside."

This book is filled with humor, adventure and self-discovery.

This book, "An Abundance of Katherines," is unique and well written. I'm not a "math person" and much of that was lost on me. However, it is a good plot (just stop beating yourself up for not understanding the formula). The characters are so funny, unique and truly likable despite their so human faults. The cover is intriguing but doesn't really fit the book. The cover made me think this book was for young women. It isn't it. This is a "guy's book." I recommend this book for guys. ... Read more

Editorial Review

Whether playing at defending their own castle or simply chucking pumpkins over a fence, wannabe marauders and tinkerers will become fast acquainted with Ludgar, the War Wolf, Ill Neighbor, Cabulus, and the Wild Donkey-ancient artillery devices known commonly as catapults. Re-creating these simple yet sophisticated machines introduces fundamentals of math and physics using levers, force, torsion, tension, and traction. Instructions and diagrams illustrate how to build seven authentic working model catapults, including an early Greek ballista, a Roman onager, and the apex of catapult technology, the English trebuchet. Additional projects include learning how to lash and make rope and how to construct and use a hand sling and a staff sling. The colorful history of siege warfare is explored through the stories of Alexander the Great and his battle of Tyre; Saladin, Richard the Lionheart, and the Third Crusade; pirate-turned-soldier John Crabbe and his ship-mounted catapults; and Edward I of England and his battle against the Scots at Stirling Castle. ... Read more

Reviews

Good mix of history of & instructions for building catapults, September 27, 2004
This is a fun book. The author does a good job of leading the reader through some history of war focusing on the role of the catapult. He points out that historically there have been three types of military units, the hard hitting infantry, the fast moving cavalry, and then the artillery. I liked his description of the catapult: catapults make something big go whoosh and then splat.

The basic approach of the book is to cover the usages of catapults through the ages, and then show how to make a model the given type of catapult. It was interesting and informative to see the different types of catapults:

1) Tension - basically a big bow and big arrows
2) Torsion - using rows to provide the tension
3) Traction - using lots of people to pull on ropes
4) Gravity - using heavy objects, like lots of rocks

The book has a nice layout. The pictures and diagrams are good. The instructions on how to build the various types of model catapults are detailed and well written.

If you are interested in a brief history of catapults and/or interested in building some model catapults, buy this book.

A note from the Author, June 15, 2004
Here is some additional information for prospective readers and buyers of Art of the Catapult, from the book's author.

This book has been written for readers aged 9 to adult, although younger readers will enjoy many of the projects if they have adult assistance.

Note: Adults will enjoy this book as well. As of the time this note is written, Amazon describes this book as written for readers aged 9 to 12. This is not correct, as adult readers will find it written for them as well.

The largest catapult project is a traction powered (human powered) catapult that can throw a water balloon or similar item a very long way! Most of the projects are somewhat smaller. Buy this book and enjoy throwing your weight around!

Excellent story book and manual., January 11, 2005
This book is divided as chapters that begin with a narration of a battle or siege, and then and then presents the instructions on how to build several catapults. I learned my archetype of a catapult is an onagre, and that is one of the oldest kind, so I am severely obsolete. The instructions on how to build the models are very clear and easy to follow. The book is appropriate for young audiences, yet entertaining for adults too.

I built the onagre as depicted here. It can throw little wood blocks up seven feet away without touching the ground (it slides some more). In my first attempt the block would not go farther than one feet, and I realized the rope was twisting the thread in two different directions, and corrected the twisting. Tried it with different numbers and types of threads. In the end, using eight loops of candlewick, it snapped the wood where the nail penetrated. I will build a new one, using glue instead of nails, to see if it holds up better. Lots of fun!

Great Book for those with a Backyard, July 1, 2004
I was really impressed with this book while sitting sipping a cup of coffee. Wondering to myself, how could I use this to have fun with my family if we lived in a space with, of all things, space.

This book not only shows how to make catapults of various types. It goes into the history of how the catapult was made or as it transformed throughout history. There are short vignettes about various historical subjects surrounding seizes throughout time and what types of catapults were used, what they looked like and how to build something like it using easy to but materials.

This is a fun book for the hobbyist who likes to tinker with things and how has a flair for fun projects (or projectiles for that matter.) I will buy this book when I get a place and I hope it sells for those who want to work with their kids on a fun project.

The Art of the Catapult is a fun romp....if you liked Lord of The Rings, you will like this book, putting catapults in perspective.

Good reference for siege weapon builders, April 28, 2005
This is a juvenile title that is well illustrated with step by step directions for building several working models of weapons (from a simple sling to a trebuchet). It even gives directions for making rope. In addition to showing how to make siege engines, it covers their history, the reasons they were developed, how they were used and what caused a decline in their popularity. I can see a student using this book to make a model for a history class, or an SCA group adapting the information for a full-sized weapon.

Definitely not worth the money., April 16, 2007
I was really dissappointed with this book. Several of the projects are ridiculous, and he didn't do enough research. A few quick searches of the internet reveal that he gets a lot of historical facts wrong.

His first two projects, have nothing to do with anything related to actual catapults. The first is two sticks tied together, and the second is the equivalent of a waterbaloon slingshot. He calls it the "Viking Catapult". Of the ten projects in this book, three of them are modeled on actual historical types of catapults. Two are sub projects, that just show you how to build parts of the catapults, and the other five are things a child could design on thier own. As the one of the other reviewers pointed out, the last project is a plastic spoon catapult game. Small children do this on their own.

Do your self a favor, and download some free plans off the internet.

Perhaps he should name it....Catapults for Kids., January 9, 2007
I was disappointed in this book. I was expecting some historically accurate designs and what I received was overly simplified plans presumably designed mostly for children. Yes, most of the text is related to the history of these weapons, but the plans left something to be desired. The ballista plan suggests use of a peanut as ammunition (not a bolt?) and the catch mechanism is nonexistent. The last project is a plastic-spoon-based basketball game. Enough said?

More fun!, November 9, 2006
This is a great book - got a copy for my brother for Christmas, and after taking a look had to get my own copy. I've been wanting to build a trebuchet ever since I saw one as a teenager - here are the plans!

Water balloons? Dead bodies infested with plague for me!, March 23, 2008
Why would I want to go through the building of all these great weapons just to catapult some water balloons? PLEEAAAASE!!! Do you think Rome got to be Rome by doing just that? We can do better!

I always wanted to free the Genghis Khan inside me. And when I heard about this precious book containing everything you want to know about catapults, ballistas, trebuchets and onagers I knew I had to have it.

The construction of the catapult was pretty easy. It took me less than a week to build one (and if you think that a decent siege lasts for months, it is time well spent). Of course I did not lift a finger. My own troops did it. And the baby was gorgeous.

First we tried to catapult some dead goats but they did not go far. Then we tried several two ton rocks and the result was still disappointing. Finally I discovered what was wrong. You should never build the catapult in an apartment. Go outdoors. Get a house with a yard.

With that problem solved, let me tell you it was a sheer joy to use this magnificent weapon.

No need to say that after just a few tests involving some spies we caught recently, I was pretty confident to start invading my neighborhood. Although the book does not mention it, it is customary in these occasions to let "whoever you are about to destroy" have the opportunity to surrender peacefully and avoid one or two of the usual barbaric, shall I say... bureaucracies.

But don't let that hold you down. Just because you promise, it does not say you have to keep it. No dead will ever complain, right?

Right! So... so far, I destroyed several houses, killed most of my enemies and I haven't yet finished counting all the gold I pilled. My army already killed and raped (not in that order) nearly anything that moved and we're having a great time.

The onager, by the way, is a little difficult to "drive", specially if its contents are in flames. But after some practice any maniac can do it.

The trebuchet, sometimes, can be a nightmare to build and test. But, hey, that fortress isn't going anywhere, right (at least not in one piece). So why not give it a try, eh?

This book is recommended!

I'm now waiting for the second volume of this delightful collection "The Art of Nuclear Weapons: Build American B61 and B83, Russian RDS-7 and a British Violet Club".

Amusing catapults, interesting history, but no metric units, July 19, 2005
This book contains easy-to-follow instructions on how to build different catapults. Unfortunately there is no data regarding approx. distance and height for the suggested projectiles, why you must try for yourself. All units are english/american, which means you must translate this to metric units if you are more used to that.
A lot of historic background around catapults in general and around each model is given, which makes the book very interesting to read, even if you do not plan to build any of the models.
I can recommend this book to both historically interrested people and those who are more fond of making amusing toys! ... Read more

Editorial Review

Reviews

Wonderful book!, April 25, 2007
I found this book very readable with lots of beautiful pictures. It has sections on horse breeds(horses&ponies), horse's coloring/markings, grooming, traveling, trimming, stable management, feeding, health & caring for a sick horse, tack, it even has a section on riding(mostly eastern)and driving! This book only gives basic information with a reasonable amount of detail, I would reccommend this book for any horse lover of any age. If you plan on owning a horse someday and want a book on training your horse, this isn't the best choice. If you want to know what goes into caring for a horse I would reccomend this book. Again, it has wonderful pictures and is easy to read, I love it and have confidence you will too.

Great Horse Book, September 20, 2009
I purchsed this book for my oldest daughter. She's 7, and absolutely ADORES horses. She LOVES this book. I looked through it as well. It's very informative. Also, the pictures and digrams are very nice. Definately a good purchase in my opinion for anyone who enjoys horses!

Excellent book, December 30, 2009
My daughter got this for her 5th birthday in August and still looks at it everyday. She can't read yet but she loves the pictures and everyday copies sentences out of the book because she is doing her, so called, "horse homework". I'm learning a ton too.

Great book, December 23, 2009
I bought this as a gift for my granddaughter. She LOVED it. Useful information and lots a great pictures.

The Kingfisher Illustrated Horse & Pony Encyclopedia, January 27, 2007
This was a wonderful book for a person who loves horses and likes to see different pictures of horses and ponies. My niece loved it so much she actually sleep with it the firsr night.

Don't Know! - Have not received yet!!!!!, February 14, 2010
I have not received this book yet but still am looking forward to giving it to a very special young lady who is very interested in horses as was my youngest daughter at her age!!! ... Read more

Editorial Review

It’s never been more important to engage a child's scientific curiosity, and Sean Connolly knows just how to do it—with lively, hands-on, seemingly "dangerous" experiments that pop, ooze, crash, and teach! Now, the author of The Book of Totally Irresponsible Science, takes it one step further: He leads kids through the history of science, and then creates amazing yet simple experiments that demonstrate key scientific principles.

Tame fire just like a Neanderthal with the Fahrenheit 451 experiment. Round up all your friends and track the spread of "disease" using body glitter with an experiment inspired by Edward Jenner, the vaccination pioneer who's credited with saving more lives than any other person in history. Rediscover the wheel and axle with the ancient Sumerians, and perform an astounding experiment demonstrating the theory of angular momentum. Build a simple telescope—just like Galileo's—and find the four moons he discovered orbiting Jupiter (an act that helped land him in prison). Take a less potentially catastrophic approach to electricity than Ben Franklin did with the Lightning Mouth experiment. Re-create the Hadron Collider in a microwave with marshmallows, calculator, and a ruler—it won't jeopardize Earth with a simulated Big Bang, but will demonstrate the speed of light. And it's tasty!

By letting kids stand on the shoulders of Aristotle, Newton, Einstein, the Wright brothers, Marie Curie, Darwin, Watson and Crick, and more, The Book of Potentially Catastrophic Science is an uncommonly engaging guide to science, and the great stories of the men and women behind the science.


... Read more

Reviews

great resource for home and afterschool programs, July 15, 2010
This is a well edited book that has history, biography and other relevant background along with some pretty cool experiments. It's edgy enough for the middle school crowd and easy enough for younger kids if they have adult supervision. My neighbor, a teacher, "borrowed" it for a week. I had to order another!

The Book of Potentially Catastrophic Science, July 3, 2010
This is a clever book to demonstrate basic laws of science using items that are right around the house or easily available.

Potentially catastrophic science, June 25, 2010
Good over view of the history involved in many area of science, many in physics. Good work. ... Read more

Editorial Review

43 finely detailed, accurately rendered illustrations of pipevine swallowtail, monarch, buckeye, white admiral, olive hairstreak, California dogface, mourning cloak, great spangled fritillary, fiery skipper, painted lady, many others. Captions provide data on coloration, range, habitat, special characteristics, more. Captions by Monty Reid.
... Read more

Reviews

Butterflies Coloring Book, April 20, 2000
This is a pleasant coloring book. Butterflies are show in their habitat and good descriptions are given about their coloring and habitat. The backgrounds are fairly detailed, but in some this ways eliminates details in the butterflies themselves. Colored reference drawings are included in the cover for reference. I'd recommend this book for pleasure drawing for anyone school age and up.

Great For Homeschoolers!, February 1, 2006
We use this coloring book when the kids need a break during homeschool. The pictures are detailed and best for kids 5+. Each page has a short paragraph about the butterfly along with the common and latin names. The only complaint I have is that the color pictures are on the inside cover of the book, so you have to keep flipping back to the cover if you want to color the butterfies accurately.

pretty, December 28, 2006
I chose this coloring book for my five years old daughter who loves butterflies and coloring. The lines are bold and simple, yet detailed enough to get the complex coloring, if she desires. The pages also contain descriptions of each butterflies. She is now looking forward to plant flowers that will welcome the butterflies in the spring.

Dont Flutter by this great buy, April 10, 2007
I just purchased these Dover COloring Books for my mother and she loves them. The detail is out of this world and the variety of colors you can use are only limited by your inagination. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

Educator Nana, January 30, 2010
Excellent, excellent value as are all the Dover Coloring Books I have purchased. This and several other Dover books were Christmas presents for a 7 year old. She loves nature and the the detail on each page stimulates her imagination, questions arise leading to research - fun-filled learning experiences on Google. Great buddy project for adult and child. Also nice for stencils, projection work onto water color materials. A must for nature-loving, budding young artists and adults.

Nice coloring book..., February 20, 2005
But it is drawn more like a work of art. Each page is very detailed and for a 3 year old, it gets a little sloppy. However, she loved it. I'd recommend it for ages 5+.

Wow......................I love it!!!!!!, January 7, 2010
These pic are amazing. I love them, they look like the real thing. Love it love it.

Beautiful book!, December 26, 2009
The pictures are wonderfully detailed in this coloring book. I got it for my daughter, but I think I'll color in it along side her.

Beautiful Butterflies, August 22, 2009
The butterflies are so life-like. They seem to fly off the page at you and are so easy to color. ... Read more

Editorial Review

This engaging lift-the-flap book shows children that all creatures have a place to poop: tigers in the jungle, kangaroos in the outback, and monkeys in the rain forest.

With the aid of this playful book, your child will see that he or she has a place to poop, too. While reinforcing the concept of toilet training, Where's the Poop? gives children the confidence they need. This engaging lift-the-flap book shows children that all creatures have a place to poop: tigers in the jungle, kangaroos in the outback, and monkeys in the rain forest. ... Read more

Reviews

Lift the Flaps and Find the Poop!- Alleviates Fear of Going in the Toilet., July 12, 2005
This first page on this book begins with, "Each little animal had made a poop. But where's the poop? Can you lift the flaps and the help the animal mommies and daddies find the poop?" Then on each page a mother or daddy asks the baby animal, for example, "Little elephant calf. Do you need to make a poop?" After the baby animal responds "No, I already did," your child lifts 3 flaps to discover the poop, always under the flap on the bottom right corner. On the last page, you see a little boy and his mother in a bathroom. The illustration shows his poop in the toilet once you lift the flap. We're just doing an intro to potty training at my house, but my 17 mo. old LOVES this book. For one thing, it is interactive and asks the reader to participate in the story! I really appreciate how this book removes the mystery of poop and makes it something natural all animals and people do. I wouldn't consider this book instructional-it doesn't show a child using the potty or anything, only the poop in the toilet once he's finished. Instead, this book is a great tool to help alleviate some of the fear of going poop in the toilet (doesn't show a potty chair). I am not too thrilled about the terminology "make a poop," but as with all toilet-training books, I've had to change various words to fit in with our terminology at home (We say 'go poo-poo'). One thing to know - this is a hardback, and while the pages are sturdy, they are not your typical board book pages so this probably won't be a book you'll want to leave laying around for your kiddo to play with independently. It just won't withstand being tossed around and stepped on like some of the more durable board books. Finally, I think any young potty-trainers can enjoy this book, but because it shows the toilet and not an actual potty chair, it may be slightly more suitable for older toddlers. Hope this helps!

A book to explain & show your curious child, June 6, 2005
My daughter is at the age right now where she's been interested in seeing her poop which I know is perfectly natural for her age and we are in the beginings of potty training.

This book is really neat, the animals are beautifully drawn and there are 3 flaps per animals. Two of the three flaps are of other things like animals and the poop is always in the same place bottom right hand corner of each page. Pretty soon your toddler will know exactly where to look. The poop is not graphically drawn but very tasteful. The last page shows a little boy telling his mama he pooped and there in the right hand corner is a potty. So, it does show that that animals and humans poop. Even the very last page is rather cute with a door that you open to see a young girl sitting on the potty reading the very book your reading this review about. Definately a good way to show your pre-potty training child that everyone poops and also where children should and one day will.

Lift-The-Flap, Animals, AND Potty Intro -- WOW, March 15, 2005
This is such a charming book. First of all, it is a great picture book of many animals. It is a great lift-the-flap book, with many flaps to lift. And it is an brief introduction to potty training. The text has the mommy or daddy elephant, penguin, kangaroo, etc. asking the baby whether it needs to go poop yet. The baby answers no, it has already gone. Each page has lots of flaps -- you find all sorts of things and, under the final flap, the poop! The image of the poop is different for different animals which I thought was good. The last page is a picture of a bathroom. This book does not go into using the potty and is not about potty training, but it is good for kids who have not started PT to get them thinking about poop.

Clever Introduction for Toddler, April 2, 2010
This is one of a raft of books that my wife and I got to prepare for potty training our daughter. It is a flip-up story book that allows the child to interact with the story and also serves to make him or her comfortable with the concept in general. The story follows different animals and asks the question 'where's the poop?' ending with a child on a potty thereby demonstrating where little girls' and boys' poop goes. It's really quite clever and works well as part of a general familiarity campaign with the whole concept.

Honestly, I struggled deciding whether to give this three or four stars. It is fun and clever, and my daughter liked it at first, but she tired of it fairly quickly. Unlike other books, there isn't much story to it; you find the poop for each animal, and you move on to the next one and that's it. Unlike stories, which my daughter never seems to tire of, this one didn't seem to hold her interest over time. Was the book useful? Yes, I think it was and I do like that it is interactive, allowing the child to see for him or herself where the poop is. As an instruction aid, however, I think it is limited as there is not enough narrative to hold the child's interest nor to explain the critical features that make up the whole potty training sequence, as some other books do very well - for both child and parent.

In the end (pun not intended) I do not regret getting this book, but it is probably one that I could have done without if I were to do this over. It is good, but not necessary, in my opinion. Every child is different, however, and I ultimately rated it three stars based on my child's reaction to it. Unlike some other books that combine a story for the child along with excellent reference and instruction material for the parents, this one is solely for the child.

Absolutely helped my 2 year old go poop on the potty!, June 6, 2006
I never bother to leave feedback for items that I have purchased but this book really did help our daughter with potty training. She would rarely go poop on the potty until we started reading this book everyday. Somehow it clicked with her and now she ALWAYS goes on the potty! I love this book. Thank you!!

My daughter LOVES this book!, July 8, 2007
My daughter's got the peeing part of potty training mastered, but she still won't poop in the potty, so I got this book to try to make some ground there. She's a couple weeks shy of her 3rd birthday and she LOVES this book. We've only had it a few days so I can't report on whether it's actually helped with the pooping yet, but she's talking more about pooping on the potty so I am hopeful.

Just wanted to update this to say that it only took her a couple weeks after we got this book to start pooping in the potty. She's now 3.5 and she still loves this book.

Helped solve our problem, December 1, 2005

This is a very simple book but is great for toddlers struggling to understand the mystery of poop. We have been dealing with holding and it's has improved greatly with this book. My son loves the book, it makes him feel better about something every living thing does. It's not a book I will leave around when company comes over but it is fun read.

Where's the Poop?, February 28, 2006
This is a great book that tells about all different kinds of animals pooping. This is written in a simple sentence format that keeps the attention of small children. Although the illustrations show little plops of poop for each animal, and person, it is done in a funny (not gross) way.
This is a fun book for a potty-training toddler. My two year old loves it, and her older elementary-aged cousins think it's pretty fun to read to her too!

MIRACLE POOP BOOK!!!, July 11, 2010
I've been a child therapist for 30 years & have consulted with many parents on the difficulty with potty training. NOW I have custody of my three year old grandson. Peepeeing in the potty wasn't much of an issue but pooping in the potty was a different issue. It was met with "I don't want to." He even goes to a fantastic early education school that is great with potty training. As a therapist I was aware of many potty training books but not this one. However I read all the reviews on-line. My little one loves lift-the-flaps books and I knew that children learn better with hands on material. I decided to give it a try. The book arrived three weeks ago and we read it. He immediately wanted to go set on the potty and read the "poop book." INSTANT SUCCESS!!! For the first two weeks we had to read it each time he went to poop or he read it himself. (He memorized it the first day). BUY THE POOP BOOK, I give it a 100% rating.

Best potty training book ever!, May 12, 2007
I introduced my son to the potty at 20 months, and he was somewhat interested. His interest was magnified by the book "where's the poop?". He LOVES this book so much--and at 22 month old he was completely potty trained. I purchased 10 different potty training books, and this one was by far the most interesting to him. He loved the different animals, and was highly amused with the lift the flaps concept. He is now just two and has been accident free for a month. He is also waking up in the morning with a dry pull up four days a week, and I think I can attribute much of this success directly to this book...He STILL loves reading it! Skip all the others (except maybe Elmo's Potty Time with the sounds) and buy this book! ... Read more

Editorial Review

Open this book and you'll find yourself on a rocket ship to another galaxy! From stars and planets to aliens and comets, The Everything Kids' Astronomy Book explores everything an astronomer-in-training could hope to discover, including:

• How galaxies like the Milky Way were built
• Why the sun's surface is 20,000 to 50,000 degrees Fahrenheit
• Why the earth spins and how gravity works
• What comets and asteroids are made of and how they affect planets
• The truth about the man in the moon
• Why Mars is so hot and what those rings around Saturn are
• What scientists think about aliens and life in outer space

Reviews

GREAT BOOK, May 19, 2010
GREAT BOOK FOR THE KIDS TO BE ABLE TO UNDERSTAND. WRITTEN VERY CLEAR AND LOTS TO LEARN ABOUT.

Sam Christmas 09, January 7, 2010
this is a great book and im sure Sam will love it, i was very impressed with the content, the book was brand new and just wonderful. ... Read more

Editorial Review

The Art of Construction outlines the basic principles necessary to build bridges, skyscrapers, and other architectural structures. Projects that demonstrate how these principles keep the deigns from falling are given. ... Read more

Reviews

Really good high school-level treatment of structural forces, December 27, 1999
For a person who wonders why a bridge is shaped the way it is, or why buildings lean and don't fall, this is an ideal introduction. Useful for anyone interested in structures (e.g. model railroad truss work, furniture design, etc.) and would be very good for a student interested in civil or construction engineering as a future career.

Inspiring, January 16, 2005
A dear friend gave me this book for my ninth birthday back in 1990. Today, I am a structural engineering associate with a major forensic engineering firm, and I know that much of my fascination with the field began with Salvadori's riveting explanations of the basic principles of structural design. This book is incredible for any kid with any scientific inclination!

If it had been around..., January 29, 2000
I've been rereading this lately. This morning I showed everybody in the restaurant where I was eating the book saying, "if this had been around when I was in middle school or junior high, I expect that I would be an architect or structural engineer now.

easily understand the engineering of structures, July 9, 2006
i love this book! it truly explains why buildings behave the way they do and why they are built the way they are. it takes complicated engineeriing and makes it simple, very simple. every principle has an easy to follow sketch and example. this book is a must for architects, engineers, builders or anyone who wants to go behind the scenes and understand the 'why' of buildings. many of the principles and examples only apply to large scale commercial projects like high rises and bridges, so it may not be pertinent for the home builder, but i'd still recommend it. i love to understand why i build houses a certain way. this book explains basic building principles.

Perfect for young builders, April 22, 2010
My 12 year-old son has a love of architecture and design so we purchased this book as a supplement to his homeschooling studies. It contains many physics and engineering principles but is written in such a way as to hold a child's interest. It has simple model building activities to make that demonstrate the topic of each chapter.

excelent, April 19, 2008
I receipt the book very quikly and in excelent conditios of use, as a new book. ... Read more

Editorial Review

The New York Times bestseller-from the author of Math Doesn't Suck-teaches girls how to kick pre-algebra butt

In her New York Times bestselling books, actress and math genius Danica McKellar shatters the "math nerd" stereotype and gives girls the tools to ace middle-school math in her unique, just-us-girls style. Now, in her second book, Kiss My Math, McKellar empowers a new crop of girls-seventh to ninth graders-to tackle the next level of mathematics: pre-algebra.

Stepping up not only the math but the sass and style, McKellar helps math-phobic teenagers chill out and finally "get" negative numbers, variables, absolute values, exponents, and more. As she did so effectively in Math Doesn't Suck, McKellar uses personality quizzes, reader polls, real-life testimonials, and stories from her own life-in addition to clear instruction, helpful tips, and practice problems-revealing why pre-algebra is easier, more relevant, and more glamorous than girls think. McKellar is clearly reaching her audience: parents, teachers, and especially girls are asking for more. ... Read more

Reviews

Buy this for your daughter, August 7, 2008
This funny math book teaches girls that it's OK to be smart, and that they are perfectly capable of kicking a little pre-algebra butt.

McKellar takes a lightweight approach to math, but is deadly serious about it. In the prologue, she writes that "lots of people change their majors and abandon their dreams just to avoid a couple of math classes in college." Girls in particular, she emphasizes, often use their fear of math to keep them from learning the skills they'll need to succeed in life, and they start backing away from the subject in middle school.

And it's not just fear. Girls often don't see how they'll use math once they get out of school. Testimonials in Kiss My Math fight this. Stephanie Perry, the finance director for Essence magazine, explains how she uses algebraic formulas to stay on top of the magazine's financial performance. Jane Davis, financial strategist at Polo Ralph Lauren, was hired as an assistant buyer because of her facility with math. She describes determining inventory over time by finding the mean of a list of numbers.

McKellar -- famous for playing Winnie Cooper in the "The Wonder Years" but also a summa cum laude math graduate from UCLA -- uses simple language and lots of illustrations to teach pre-algebra. Each chapter covers a single topic, such as the distributive property or exponents. She clearly explains each topic, and includes problems for the reader to solve (answers are in the back). The author is generous with helpful notes and shortcuts.

A lively, breezy writing style makes it seem as if McKellar is sitting next to the reader. She uses examples girls can relate to, like clothes shopping, working on the school play, blind dates, parties, kissing and breath mints. It's like having the perfect math tutor. (I'm not a middle school girl, of course, but I just got finished having one. My daughter is starting high school this month.)

Especially good are the entries called Danica's Diary, which are true stories from the author's life as a student, actress and mathematician. One is titled: Dumbing Ourselves Down for Guys: Why is it so Tempting? McKellar gives practical advice on how girls can avoid this common pitfall.

I can't think of a better book to buy for a girl taking pre-algebra.

Here's the chapter list:

Part 1: Number Stuff
Chapter 1: Breath Mint, Anyone? Adding and Subtracting Integers (Including Negative Numbers).
Chapter 2: The Popular Crowd. The Associative and Commutative Properties.
Chapter 3: Mirror, Mirror, on the Wall... Multiplying and Dividing Integers (Including Negative Numbers!)
Chapter 4: A Relaxing Day at the Spa. Intro to Absolute Value.
Chapter 5: Long-Distance Relationships: Are They Worth It? Mean, Median, Mode.
You Said: Most Embarrassing Moments in School
Poll: What Guys Really Think... About Smart Girls
Quiz: Are You a Stress Case?

Part 2: Variable Stuff
Chapter 6: The Blind Date. Getting Cozy with Variables.
Chapter 7: Backpack Too Heavy? Adding and Subtracting with Variables.
Chapter 8: Something Just Went "Squish." Multiplying and Dividing with Variables.
Chapter 9: Do You Like Him Like Him? Combining Like Terms.
Chapter 10: The Costume Party. The Distributive Property.
Chapter 11: Didn't That Guy Say He Was Going to Call? Using Variables to Translate Word Problems.
More Than 20 Ways to Beat Stress
Math... In Jobs You Might Never Expect!

Part 3: Solving for X
Chapter 12: The Art of Gift Wrapping. Solving Equations.
Chapter 13: Nope, She Never Gets Off the Phone. Word Problems and Variable Substitution.
Chapter 14: Can a Guy Be Too Cute? Intro to Solving and Graphing Inequalities.
You Said: Your Horror Stories About Procrastination
Poll: What Guys Really Think... About Talented Girls
Quiz: Do You Pick Truly Supportive Friends?

Part 4: All About Exponents
Chapter 15: Champagne and Caviar. Intro to Exponents.
Chapter 16: Excuse Me, Have We Met Before? Intro to Variables with Exponents.
You Said: Well... That Didn't Work!
Do You Sudoku?

Part 5: Intro to Functions and Graphing Lines
Chapter 17: Secret Sausages. Intro to Functions.
Chapter 18: Creative Uses for Bubblegum. Intro to Graphing Points and Lines.

A Final Word
Math Test Survival Guide!

why does a celebrated actress write math books?, November 16, 2008
Danica McKellar is a beautiful actress who is probably very well off and successful. So why did she go to UCLA to study math after being a very successful child star on the wonder years and then bother to write a book entitled Math Doesn't Suck. Well it is because she wanted to prove she was more than just a good looking actress. She had a brain and could handle math. The attitude that math is not for the ladies was a horrible prejudice in my high school years and even in this enlightened age we haven't quite gotten over it and many a capable young lady lacks the confidence and courage to try to do math. Danica is a rol model who proves that they can. Her first book was so successful and helped young middle school girls overcome their fears and lkearn that math is not really hard and can be fun and interesting whenit is approached in the riht way. So math does not suck! But in addition to convincing young girls and boys that they can learn it she became encouraged to write another book based on the encouraging emails from young ladies who benefitted from the book. Well love of math should not end with middle school and algebra, geometry and calculus are very different form the kind of math you learn in the elementary and middle schools that a good series of lectures in pre-algebra is needed to help those who become discouraged again in high school. It bothers Danica to see a girlfriend of hers give up on medical school just because calculus is required. So in the same interesting style as her first book Danica interest the high schoolers with concepts like negative numbers, mathematical inequalities, exponential functions and much more. By uncovering the mysteries of pre-algebra Danica unlocks the door to advanced levels of mathematics that students in high school need. This book is good for high school teachers and anyone else with an interest in mathematics. But it is aimed at and can help most high school girls who are capable of doing well in math and nedd it for the careers they seek, like med school.

Kiss My Math & Math Doesn't Suck, May 24, 2009
I am a mother that went back to college later in life. One of my classes was algebra. I had math anxiety and tried to find way to wiggle my way out of this class. The algebra class was very difficult for me. I could not understand the instructor or the book. I went to tutors,family members and friends and I could not get algebra. I failed the class. I was embarrassed and angry with my myself. I needed something right away. So my boyfriend and I went to Barnes & Nobles and purchased Kiss My Math & Math Doesn't suck. (I do suggest that you purchase both). So I had a six week break before I had to take the algebra class again. I am happy to say that I passed the algebra class with a B and I am looking forward to starting MATH 209 which is the second part of algebra. Danica was easy to understand and the experiences from other young ladies helped a great deal too. Thanks Danica!

A Fun and Useful Book!, September 3, 2008
Danica's book is a gem. Her love for math is infectious. Math doesn't have to be a drag. Danica makes it fun: she'll make you laugh. She's sort of like a girlfriend who's all giggly about her boyfriend, but it's math.

I know the feeling -- it's the feeling of knowing something so well that you just want to share it. Danica's confidence will inspire confidence in her young readers. Plus, Danica gives young readers tools for raising self-esteem: a stress survey that young readers will surely appreciate, and a friends survey. Danica knows that self-esteem starts with self-approval, and if you can manage stress and have supportive friends, you'll have the confidence to succeed.

Here's what Danica wrote on her website: "My main concern with mathematics in high school is that there's a lot of fear involved! Math is not, generally speaking, presented in a fun way. The concepts, as I see them, ARE fun, and that's the way I'd like to convey them myself."

Danica has taken the concepts behind pre-algebra and presented them in a whole new way. Coefficients and variables get cozy and kiss, and absolute values are like a soothing sauna. You'd never know that integers fall into minty ranges, from ooky Harry Potter flavors (on the negative side of the number line) to yummy raspberry and orange (on the positive). And there's a reason for that. Read the book and find out what that reason is!

Kiss My Math isn't meant to replace a school textbook -- it's more like a supplement, and hopefully it will make reading your regular textbook more fun, plus, it should give you a new angle on your homework! Danica is careful never to make math seem simpler than it is, or trivial. Math is basically hard work, and Danica will make you work! She's even kind of sassy and bossy sometimes!

This book is written for girls, and Danica's advice is: don't dumb yourselves down! You can be a math scholar and still be popular. The thing is, have fun and be creative. If you don't like using x's and y's for variables, go ahead and use little flower and heart symbols. You can use whatever you want as long as you follow the rules!

Pre-algebra and algebra are lifelong skills, as revealed by so many women who share their stories in Danica's book. Plus, Danica shares a few stories of her own, never straying far from math, and always bringing things back to what you need to know. So why not have fun while you learn?

Danica helps girls with math, self-esteem, and the world, December 5, 2008
I highly recommend this book for high-school girls. It is a guide or a text in elementary algebra. What makes this book stand out is that it uses silly analogies, it explains the algebra well, it boosts the girl's self-esteem, and it is relevant to her life.

One of the first things Danika does is that she gives us the order of operations: parentheses, exponentiation and so forth, spelling the acronym PEMDAS. She calls these pandas and shows some pandas doing some math. She even expands PEMDAS into "Pandas eat mustard on dumplings and apples with spice." She makes functions into sausage factories. (for veggie sausages, let's hope). Silly analogies like this have been shown to enhance memory of things. So this would be a good book to use for studying for a test.

She explains the math well. Her use of a cutesy daisy for an unknown shows that there is nothing particularly special in alphabet letters. I like her way of dealing with word problems. Sometimes you get an equation with a large number of minus signs; this can be kind of hairy. Her remedy is to multiply everything by -1. Most textbooks say to clear complex fractions by multiplying by a common denominator, but few have this type of advice. She tells us that word problems involves English grammar as well as mathematics, and lists the mathematical equivalents for such expressions as "is less than" or "three times".

The book is not entirely about math. Math for some reason causes stress in people, including high-school girls. So she includes plenty of material on how to relieve stress. She tells girls how to deal with boys in an assertive and positive way. And she has plenty of testimonials from girls who deal with mathematics in some way.

One of her chapters is entitled "Nope, she never gets off the phone". She starts this chapter, on word problems, with a problem that has appeared in everyone's lives. There are two phone plans, which she calls Fabulous Fones ($14/month and 10 cents/min) and Happy Talk (no monthly charge and 30 cents/min) and she poses the problem of which is best. This word problem leads to an equation with a solution that tells when you should switch from one plan to the other. She shows us how to solve real world problems as well as the problems one is likely to encounter on math tests. One of the best sections of the book is a list of possible careers for women and how math is used in each.

Here are a few tips for improvement. She brings up a phrase "seven less than twice x". She tells us that this should not get a < sign because it is not a sentence. But what about the student that writes 7 - 2x? She should explain how this should be 2x - 7 instead. She brings up exponents in a few places and even has a good sidebar on how sending a kitty video to 5 people who in turn sends to 5 people can quickly reach a huge number of people. She should emphasize here that this could cause problems for web servers. Further, I would liked to have seen a section on what exponents and the exponential function mean for our world; many of today's problems are caused by exponential growth of people and material possessions.

But this is an improvement on her previous book and I highly recommend this book for young girls. She has helped bring mathematical literacy to the world.

Kiss My Math, November 20, 2008
This may be the best math resource for the new 7th grader that is on the shelf today. Our son started 7th grade pre-algebra this year and, while he is an A student in other subjects, this brought him (and us) to our knees. Danica's book has been able to make every chapter in the school text book capable of being understood. Danica has some funny ways she gets the kids to humanize some of the more technical aspects of math, making the concept easier to relate to and to remember. Our son just finished the first trimester with a B+ and we are certain this would have been a C or less if we did not have Danica's book. This is the best $15 you will spend helping your kids in pre-algebra.

Great Help, November 11, 2008
I bought Ms. McKellar's first book to help my grand daughter in 4th grade when she began to struggle with some of the math concepts being presented in school. She was able to get a handle on the work by using that book. She started middle school this year and wasn't able to find some of the math they were now doing in the first book. Luckily, I heard about this second book and sent it along. My grand daughter has found the help she needed in this second book and even takes it to school with her. I think Ms. McKellar has performed a real service for a lot of girls who struggle with math.

Great help for self-educating types, October 11, 2009
Once my daughter, who is now 11, and I finally gave the books, Math Doesn't Suck and Kiss My Math, a chance we were very impressed. My daughter has always taken responsibility for her own education, so if she chooses to use a particular book often, I take notice. She likes that, while so many explanations may be long, they are never presented in a dry manner. The first reason I had not mentioned them to her earlier was because I felt that she was not a "girly girl" and wouldn't like the style of the books, but it turns out that a person need not be "girly" at all. I was also surprised that she was able to identify, and even enjoy, the stories peppered throughout the books that focus on mainstream school topics, even though she is home educated. We had originally borrowed them from the library, but quickly realized that these were keepers and purchased them. They work well for the purposes of learning a concept the first time, and as a reference book. I have not noticed my sons giving these books any attention, so I am not yet sure if they would have much value to boys, but they seem like they would be great for most girls, whether they are "girly" or not.

Danica Rocks!, September 29, 2008
This book explains math in a way that is easy for young girls (and boys) to get a more thorough understanding of Algebra. It builds off of the fundamentals learned in her first book. My daughter loves it and I do, too! Danica, you rock!!!

Dad, September 11, 2008
I'm reading this book with my 12 year old daughter and it's as fun as a fiction book. She is learning (and it's a good review for me). I highly recommend it. ... Read more

Editorial Review

Reviews

Not just a kid's book...great for all beginning stargazers!, April 7, 2000
H. A. Rey is best known for his "Curious George" stories, but he was a scientist by profession and he also wrote two books on stargazing for children. If you have a child who is interested in the stars, this book is delightful and highly readable. And if YOU are interested in the stars, dont hesitate to get it for yourself! Rey has a unique way of showing the constellations: he actually went through the trouble of drawing lines between the stars of a constellation to form a meaningful picture - so Gemini (the twins) actually looks like a pair of twins, Cetus (the whale) looks like a whale, and so forth. A word of warning: to form these pictures, Rey often had to rely on dim stars. Don't expect to see them from the city! Access to a dark country sky is essential to get the most out of this book. That said, "The Stars" makes the mastery of stargazing accessible and fun for children and adults alike.

Wonderful childhood memories, April 13, 2005
One winter night during junior high, I glanced up at the night sky and out of the corner of my eye I saw a small silverly cloud. A closer look revealed a small cluster of six tiny stars. "Hmmm," I said to myself,"I wonder what that is?" I remembered an old book I had on my shelf called "The Stars." So went and after a quick search, realized that the cluster was called the Pleiades and they are part of Taurus. "Cool," I thought, and I sat down to read the whole book through.

This is my all-time favorite book from my youth. I have many, many memeories of me and my dad spending hours up on the roof at night, looking at this book through our red-painted flashlight, naming the stars and tracing the constellations. We did this at least once a week for several years, during all seasons. Even to this day, almost 40 years later, I look up in the sky and immediately see old and comforting friends that haven't changed since then. And I feel like I know where I am.

Then during college, I took a photocopy of the book to Kenya, where I lived for a semester in the bush. This time, Kenya being on the equator, I had the pleasure of meeting new friends; the constellations of the Southern Hemisphere. Way cool.

I have given this book as a gift to friends, children of friends, just about anyone who I have seen glancing into the nightime sky.

So now I just bought myself a brand new copy; I'm going to Sri Lanka to help with disaster relief and, alas, my original cloth-bound hardcover 1962 edition is just to old to make the journey with me. However, I am very eager to re-aquaint myself with those friends I first made back in the African sky.

I have to say that Rey's method for showing the constellations outdoes everyone elses: Gemeni looks like two stick figures (note the cover illustration), Orion a hunter, Scorpio a scorpion, etc. Every other illustration I have ever seen has shown the constellations as apparently random lines between random points. This makes it nearly impossible to see the constellations for what they are. And I don't understand why other publication such as magazines and newspapers don't use Rey's system. Copyright issues, perhaps?

This book is an amazing gift that will inspire you and/or your kids, and it's a great way to spend time and bond with him/her/them. I take it whenever I travel, and I always find it is a great way to get people, young and old, curious, excited, and interacting. I can't speak highly enough.

A really good book!, January 21, 2003
This book is great, allow me to say again it is great. I noticed it used as a reference book at M.I.T. and I was intrigued. I had thought it was a book for children, and it is. But, it is also a book for anyone with a desire to learn to identify heavenly objects. If you've a beginning interest in astronomy buy this book, it's reader friendly.

The finest introductory work on Astronomy in print, May 3, 2002
I found this book in a library as a young child in 1978. After renewing it as many times as I could, my mother bought me a copy. This book started a lifetime love of observational Astronomy that continues to this day. I still have that very book now--it is worn, marked, ripped, and the cover has fallen off--but it is still a book that I pull out from time to time.

Rey's method of teaching Astronomy is to keep things as simple and basic as possible. If all you want to do is recognize the constellations in the sky and know when to see them, then you read the first three chapters. If you want to learn a bit more about celestial mechanics, then you read further. You learn as much as you want to. Rey's outlines of the constellations are innovative in that that really LOOK like what the constellations are supposed to represent. The first time I used this book to find constellations (at age eight) I was able to pick out a few even in the light polluted skies of the SF Bay Area.

The only criticism that I have for this book (which only popped up when I reached adulthood) is that in order to draw some of his realistic outlines of the constellations, Rey needed to incorporate a number of faint stars that can only be seen in areas that have very dark skies at night. Under such conditions there are so many stars peppering the heavens (that are not on Rey's charts) that an amateur could be overwhelmed and get lost. Despite this quibbling, I still consider this book to be the best introductory work on Astronomy around, no matter what age the reader. I've seen lots of other "Astronomy 101" books--some are good, some are great, but after 50 years of being in print, "The Stars" has yet to be beat.

"What those guys said", June 10, 2006
The reviews on this book are remarkably accurate. This is not a childrens' book. Even though decades have passed since it was first published, no other text has been able to bump it off a 'best in class' position. If you want to look to the sky for familiar shapes, this is the book for you.

There are a couple of fundamental ways to study the heavens. A 'modern' approach might be to put your head down, click in a few celestial coordiantes, and wait for the telescope to find a target for you. However a more interesing approach would be to find shape in the sky and locate targets manually. To do that you need to recognize those old landmarks in the sky, the constellations.

The big problem in identifying constellations is to find shape from seemingly random dots. Ray creatively used the same stars, but made 'new' stick diagrams that actually look like what they are supposed to represent. This makes a constellation much easier to visualize, remember, and recognize later. Other texts that attempt this effort fall short because they don't emphasize visual recognition clues.

A major fault of modern texts is the inclusion of unnecessary detail. Ray puts in a few choice details that help the memory and add interesting character to the figures in the sky. But by excluding minutia he draws the reader back to the goal at hand. Ultimately you need to memorize a blueprint of the sky, and this workbook will be your best friend to help reach that goal. Bravo.

Not the best guide for "serious" amateur astronomers, here's why..., December 13, 2006
This book is best for the casual astronomer, but generally speaking it's not for somebody who's serious about the hobby. Why? H.A. Rey's book does not show the constellations using the time-tested line segments between the stars of the constellations. Rey's way of drawing the constellations may be a bit more intuitive for some, but the downside is that Rey's "new way to see" the constellations means that nobody else in the astronomy community uses this "new way".

That means if you read Rey's book and then use a planisphere or star chart any other observing aid, the constellations' connections will look "wrong" because you learned Rey's star connections rather than the conventional connections. Therefore, if you learn constellations from Rey's book then be prepared to re-learn the conventional constellation segments once you graduate to any other astronomical reference.

In contrast, Heifetz/Tirion's book "A Walk Through the Heavens" teaches you to find contellations which are drawn using more conventional line segments between the stars. Thus I recommend Heifetz/Tirion's "A Walk Through the Heavens" to any beginning astronomer who considers themselves more than a casual observer.

This is not a childrens' book (only)., April 7, 2001
This book cannot be recommended, enough. Being an amateur astonomer for 30 years and having studied many "backyard" astronomy books, it was a revelation to find this book. It changed my view of stars for ever! Other books struggled to make you recognize the constellations by trying to "fit" them in patterns that either did not match the names and sometimes were silly. Rey managed to show us that "Cetus" constellation looks like a cetus really, and the same go for the rest of them. As an experienced (?) amateur astronome I usually turn to this book to refresh my view of the stars. I take it with me to star parties and I should say that at least 7 out of 10 people who see it, buy it. There is always a place for this book beside my photographic atlases of the sky and my astronomomical computer software which show thousands of stars more, but lack the fascination to look at bears and whale in the sky...

Best beginners book for skywatchers, July 22, 1996
Anyone who can create a lovable character like Curious George, and write a fantastic, educational, enjoyable astronomy book, is a very special person indeed. The Stars has been my number one reference book for the nighttime sky for the past 35 years. Many, many other books have come and gone, but the STARS is indespensible. It is great for children and great for adults. It is highly untechnical, just what a person needs if he wants to ENJOY the night sky but not major in astronomy. The book is rich in the myths that gave the constellations their names, adding a delightful dimension to the joy of stargazing. If you get one astonomy book for your home, this has to be the one. Phil Chernofsky, Jerusalem

A "New" Old Book, October 23, 2003
Here is a book review of an old book, written by H. A. Rey, the author of the "Curious George" books (no relation to me!). _The Stars: A New Way to See Them_ was first written in 1952. Houghton-Mifflin's 3rd edition, dated 1973, is available in bookstores and online at Amazon.com. I recently picked up a used 1966 edition.

Rey's book was written for children to help them learn to recognize the constellations. As you may know, few of the constellations seem to resemble the character or object they are supposed to represent. It takes an awfully good imagination to see Bootes as a shepherd, or Auriga as a charioteer, or Aries as a ram. Rey takes those same star patterns and rearranges the lines to produce stick figures that actually look like something. Not only that, they have the appearance of the intended object or character of mythology. Perseus looks like he's coming to Andromeda's rescue. Monoceros looks like a stick-figure unicorn, and Camelopardalis looks like a skinny giraffe.

Rey's book _The Stars_ is laid out in four parts: Part 1 is "Shapes in the Sky", where he describes old and new ways of arranging the stars. Part 2 is "Meet the Constellations", where he shows a diagram of each constellation and gives a bit of information about it. In Part 3, "The Stars Throughout the Year" he has twelve sets of calendar charts - with and without the lines drawn in -- and explains that the sky is always changing, as the earth travels in its path around the sun. Additional calendar charts include viewing areas farther north and south than most of us are familiar with. Part 4, "Some Whys and Hows" goes into some technical details on the celestial sphere, the path of the ecliptic, why we have seasons, the earth's orbit, solar and sidereal time, precession, and other topics for those with an inquiring scientific mind. It is not necessary to read or understand this section to enjoy the book, but it adds to its value as a learning tool. Rey tells about the moon and its phases, gives a good description of a cross-section of the Milky Way galaxy, and gives some facts about the planets. The planetary tables won't do me much good in the twenty-first century, though. My 1966 edition has planetary tables from 1961 through 1970. The newer edition may have updated tables, however. A 2001 reviewer of the book on Amazon.com says it has planetary tables for the next ten years.

The back pages of the book contain a good index and glossary, a whole-sky chart, an index to the constellations by their English names and by their classical Latin names, and a list of the twenty brightest stars. Hans Augusto Rey has provided enough information in this little 160-page book to satisfy any "Curious George", me included.>Now, if you prefer the classical representations of the constellations, you might not care for Rey's rearrangement of their appearance. For instance, the tail of the Great Bear becomes her nose, and Hercules's body becomes his head. But at least the figures are memorable, and if it helps kids - or adults - to learn the star patterns in the night sky, I would say it has accomplished a lot. I highly recommend this book to stargazers everywhere, young or old. Amateur astronomers can use it to help young people and astronomy novices get comfortable with wandering the skies at night.

I was stunned..., March 15, 2003
I bought this book for a (now ex)girlfriend, a Ph.D. candidate in Astronomy, as a gag gift.

Having a fairly good science background, I thought it was a children's book that would have no use to me.

My GF fell in love with the gift and it has lasted much longer than our relationship. Using this book, she explained things about astronomy to me that I had never even heard of. She went on to use it in teaching an undergraduate astronomy course.

Rey uses his talents as a children's author to make concepts clear and give an excellent basic understanding of astronomy. I highly recommend it to anyone with an interest in astronomy, or even someone dating an astonomer ;) ... Read more

Editorial Review

A great introduction to the world of single-celled organisms, this inexpensive volume showcases an array of curious creatures: a blob-like amoeba; a slipper-shaped paramecium and its mortal enemy, the suctorian; the hydra and its crown of grasping tentacles; and many others. The authors recount the feeding, reproductive, and defensive strategies employed by these animals in easy-to-understand language that opens the door to a wonderful world of discovery. 1969 edition. 37 illus.
... Read more

Reviews

Fascinating, but NOT a how-to manual., December 29, 2005
This is an excellent book describing the various life forms in a drop of pond water. It may well serve to make your child interested in using microscopes. In addition, there are a couple of pages about Anthony van Leeuwenhoek, who first made and described a microscope and what he could see with it.

But if your child is the owner of a new microscope, I recommend the Usborne book "The World of the Microscope" which will give you ideas for making your own slides and give tips for using the microscope.

For early-mid elementary aged kids, I also recommend "Greg's Microscope", which is a level 3 early reader that follows a young boy who yearns for a microscope, finally gets one, and learns to use it. THAT was the book that got my daughter to decide she wanted a microscope for Christmas!

The best for young beginners, November 30, 2005
I spent about half of my childhood staring down the end of a microscope. This book is by far the best introduction to microsopy for children. The instructions are clear and easy to follow and the projects are such that almost anyone with a mud puddle or pond nearby can do them. It's hard to compete with video games but if your child has any interest in sciecne then this book, along with the tools that come with any microscope set, will open up an entire world of fun and learning.

It does what it says, March 28, 2010
I got this for my grand-daughter, who is 9 years old. She had no interest in it, but I won't let her disinterest diminish my rating. I thought and still think it is great for someone between 9 and 14, and beneficial to a lesser degree to someone in high school; a more advanced edition can be written for such people. Of course individuals vary, so some like my grand-daughter need to wait until maybe 14 to find herself more interested, as she matures. But some even 7 years old may be interested. Perhaps boys are more naturally interested at a younger age, on average. My advice is to talk to a young one first, to determine the degree of his/her interest, before buying any book on the subject.

Great for a first book., September 14, 2009
I bought this book for my 10 year old granddaughter. She asked for a microscope and I bought her one. since we have been to the pond together to get water for my microscope, I wanted to get her a book about pond water. This is not a how-to book as the first reviewer states, so I also bought a how-to book to go along with this book.

Science Project, April 6, 2008
A WORLD IN A DROP OF WATER was an excellent book with great information to help my daughter with her science project. The book arrived in less than 4 days from the day it was ordered. ... Read more

Editorial Review

At any school during recess, you’re bound to see a group of giggling girls gathered around a cootie catcher. You know, that folded-up paper thingamajig that you move with your fingers. Open, closed, open, closed. Pick a number, pick a color. Here’s your fortune…. Klutz takes the fortune teller to a higher level with this all-new version of the classic Cootie Catcher Book. With 25 preprinted punch-and-fold cootie catchers, we’ve got it all covered. Were you born to wear a tiara, or are you destined to sport athletic gear? Will you star in a movie opposite your crush, or win an award for most amazing hairdo? Will you be an evil scientist or a professional candy tester? Answers to all these burning questions are just a couple folds away. Easy-to-follow instructions make constructing cootie catchers simple. Use them to tell fortunes or play classic girl-games like MASH and Truth or Dare. Cool illustrations and fabulously funny fortunes -- plus special extras like glow-in-the-dark paper, glittery paper, stickers and a sparkling cover -- make this new Cootie Catcher Book a real catch. ... Read more

Reviews

Hours of fun!, December 10, 1999
We found this one at a craft store for my then 5 year old son. He loved the idea of making up his own fortunes--we helped him fold his catchers. It really helped develop his fine motor skills--it takes concentration to hold one and manipulate a catcher! The designs are great! Bright and colorful--and there are ready made catches plus blank ones to fill-in too! They come in a spiral note book-type format...they are easy to remove and complete directions are very helpful! :)

Do You remember Cootie Catchers? Great Distraction!, October 13, 2002
You remember 'Cootie Catchers' don't you?
(Although we used to call them "Fortune Tellers".) A paper square is folded and refolded so that there are four "pyramids". The player uses the index finger and thumb from both hands to open and close the pyramids, revealing pictures, numbers, words, or letters on the inside surfaces.
The person who is having their fortune told chooses from the pictures once, twice, or three times, and then the paper is unfolded to reveal a "fortune"- a little gem of advice, warning or congratulations, written inside.
This kit provides some precolored lovely, intriguing and creative designs ready to cut out and use. More importantly, it has all the guidelines necessary for you to make your own designs using any square piece of paper. You can make them larger or smaller once you have the idea.
When my 7-year-old niece got this as a distraction for a long car ride to our vacation, she generously shared the patterns with her 6 and 8-year-old cousins. They stayed in the Cootie Catcher phase for weeks, making their own, with wilder, and more outrageous fortunes.
This is a terrific little kit for kids around age 7, and for the inexpensive price, it provides hours of entertainment for car rides and other times when a distraction would help. If it doesn't quite keep them quiet, at least they're having fun!

Fun for kids, October 29, 2010
This is a really fun book, I bought them for birthday gifts and the kids love them, (especially girls). My daughter has gone through two copies. ... Read more

Editorial Review

Becoming a teen is an important milestone in every boy’s life. It’s even more important to get answers and advice to the most common health issues boys face from a trusted source. The American Medical Association Boy’s Guide to Becoming a Teen is filled with invaluable advice to get you ready for the changes you will experience during puberty. Learn about these important topics and more:

• Puberty and what kinds of physical and emotional changes you can expect—from your developing body to your feelings about girls
• The importance of eating the right foods and taking care of your body
• Pimples, acne, and how to properly care for your skin
• Your reproductive system—inside and out
• Thinking about relationships and dealing with new feelings

Reviews

A great book for younger pre-teen boys!, January 8, 2007
I bought this book as part of a three book set, including "The Teenage Guy's Survival Guide" by Daldry and "The Guy Book, An Owner's Manual" by Jukes, to explain growing up to my son (see my other reviews).

This book is by far the lower level book of those three. It appears to be at about a 4th - 5th grade reading level, and is printed in a larger font, making it an easy read for even a younger or reading disabled pre-teen boy.
The illustrations are numerous and cartoonish, and should make it more attractive to younger readers.

This book is very basic, and is geared more towards a basic understanding of what is happening to the boy's body. It includes short, easy to read sections on physical changes (both sexual and general body growth and development, with good illustrations of growing male anatomy, with genital self-exams and health concerns explained very well, this may be the ONLY puberty book for boys that does that!), physical health, diet, mental health (depression, changing emotions, coping with death of a loved one, and parental divorce), feelings, social changes, and, at the last chapter, sex. The sex chapter delves into the areas of changing feelings towards girls, crushes, dating, peer pressure (including bullying and pressure to have sex), and STDs (very brief, very vague). It also has a special two page section on sexual harrassment and what's OK and NOT OK. Very cool! This book has two VERY SHORT paragraphs on "having a crush on another boy", but doesn't explain it at all, except to say that it can be complicated to figure out who you are attracted to, and that these feelings may change many times throughout your life. It advocates discussing these feelings with an adult, and gives no references to hotlines or resources. I think I can safely say it glazes over the topic and makes it go away. Which is probably good for very young pre-teens that are not ready to experiment that way yet (or for children being raised by parents who don't support it).

This book has an excellent terminology dictionary in the back!

This book appears to have been written much like anyone would expect a medical reference book for pre-teens to have been written, and functions much like one would assume a "health class" in school would. It is very wide in it's scope, but not detailed in anything. It promotes health and healthy choices. It reads like a reference book, which may be good or not, depending on the boy and how he was raised. The lack of commentary and story-telling may bring a sense of comfort to boys not ready to delve into these topics comfortably on a casual level.

I highly recommend it as the very first book to introduce puberty to young pre-teen boys (say ages 10 or 11) or older boys with learning disabilities or ADD as it is easy to read and not overwhelming (I say this from experience as my son has both). A great first book on the topic!

I also think this would be a good book for young girls who are curious about puberty in boys, as it shows male anatomy in a non-threatening way, and most of the health and social topics are also fitting for a girl of the same age, and would show a girl that boys face many of the same social challeneges they also face, but from the boy's perspective.

Great Book!, June 29, 2006
I purchased this book for my twin 10-year-old son's (who will be starting 5th grade in August) to read. They had started to ask me questions about different things they had heard at school from their friends, etc., and I decided to look for books they could read that would give them some correct, age appropriate information.
This book is a great. It describes a variety of physical changes to boy's bodies, the importance of personal hygiene, as well as how a boys voice will begin to change and why. It discusses changes in boys' feelings, hormones (and describes what they are), and it also touches a little bit on girls/dating at the end.
It is not graphic, does not discuss sex; it is age appropriate and well written.
It is also a great "conversation starter" for Mom's like me who have no brothers and did not grow up around boys!

Finally! An appropriate book for a 'tween, September 21, 2006
After going through several books with this topic, I found one that discusses the issues important to a pre-teen without being graphic, immoral and too informative.
It tells what needs to be known without all the details. As his parent, I can decide which details he should know and how to explain them to him. This is a book that he can read alone and I feel comfortable with giving him that privacy. The book is very easy to read. It addresses the topics of concern to boys starting puberty. Yes, it goes over body changes and disspells myths. It briefly discusses sex. But, it isn't a "how to" book. I really like that it also pays a lot of attention to how boys/teens feel in social settings, their body images, peer pressure, substance abuse and emotions. These topics are just as important to a pre-teen than knowing all there is to know about sex.
I felt completely at ease handing this book over to my son and then discussing sections with him.

Good as a reference except certain pages. But guide you son!, January 9, 2010
We were looking for a book for our son similar to The Care & Keeping of You: The Body Book for Girls (American Girl Library) that we bought for our daughter, and this book seems to be one of the best. We bought 2, one for our son and one for a realtive, but when we received it, we found that there are materials on some pages that are objectionable or against our regligion. We returned one copy and kept one.

Overall the book is a good reference except the masturbate part. It implies that it is not normal to not masturbate, and the only negative to masturbating a lot is not having time for other things. Medical materials note that masturbating a lot can negatively affect the bowel movement and other organs in the body, too.

The book also talk about oral and anal sex, which might not be appropriate to your early teens. We plan to guide our son through these objectionable pages.

Boy's Guide to Becoming a Teen, February 12, 2008
I bought this book for my 10 year old. I was very pleased with the way it explained things. I read the book to him and answered any questions that he had as we went along. He did not have very many, because it was explained very well. However, there is a part in the book I did not read to him, which is the reason why I did not let him read the book by himself. The part touches on sex, which I don't have a problem with except for the fact that it explained oral and anal sex, and I don't feel like a 10 year old should know about things like that.

Recommended by our school nurse., January 5, 2007
I purchased on the recommendation of our school nurse for my 5th Grader. I read it first and was pleasantly surprised. Deffinitely not a "how to" manual. Clear, concise, kid friendly language.

Great information about a confusing time:, August 30, 2007
I bought this book for my son. I have read the entire thing cover to cover and have decided that he is only ready for some of the material at this point. He will be allowed to read the whole thing in a year or two. This book gives great info on health and hygiene as well as changes in the body during puberty. There are comments about becoming sexually active that I am not comfortable with at this point but I think that may just be because I don't think my son is old enough for the details.I do recommend this book but encourage parents to read it and decide for themselves if their son(s) should read the whole thing or not.

A Good Guide With Good Messages, January 8, 2008
I bought this for a gift for a boy about to turn 13. I looked it over before actually giving it and was impressed. It was a good mix of information presented -- not just the biology of what is happening but also emotional and social changes. There were even sections about dealing with bullies and how your friendships may change as you grow. The wording was matter of fact, but casual enough to appeal to a tween. I liked the message that waiting to have sex was the best choice, and the book substantiated this message with the reasons why. I think when the time comes for my own children to start reading up on these topics I'd like to supplement this with something that goes into more detail about the biology -- but this is a great overview.

Great Book!!, October 10, 2007
If you are looking for a book to help explain the changes that boys will endure as they enter puberty, this is the book to get! The layout is wonderful and it thoroughly explains everything. There is just enough information to answer any questions boys may have. I reviewed this with my son (who is 13) and he felt more at ease knowing some of the things that have, or will start, to happen to him are "normal." He especially was receptive to the fact that he will start to grow taller (as he is on the short side) with puberty. Overall, I highly recommend it!!

Great Reference Book, March 3, 2009
I was looking for an explanation book of puberty for my 10 year old boy. I realize I should have discussed puberty by the time he was nine because he is now already experiencing some changes. Better late than never! Anyway,this book completely explains it all. Especially the emotional aspects. Being a Christian, It would have been perfect without the "feelings for boys" portion of the book. Nothing like a magic marker. This is the help book I needed for my husband for our son. ... Read more