Book Description

Already a proven home-study program, the Language for Children series is making noise with this updated, integrated book-plus-audio edition. Along with its charming visuals and lively activities, the series now provides in CD format the stimulating sounds of language to entice preschoolers through primary graders into learning a second language. Cute, catchy songs and the humorous, serial adventures of SuperCat are sure to captivate the imagination and foster language acquisition. Each set in the series contains an 80-page full-color activity book coordinated with two 60-minute CDs as well as a Parent/Instructor CD packed with helpful tips.

Together children and parents can master basic language skills, including making introductions, counting from 1 to 20, and describing objects. The perfect package for parents and teachers who want to familiarize three- to nine-year olds with foreign languages and cultures.

Reviews (2)

Learn Italian!
I have been searching for an easy way to teach my daughter, age 4 who has grown up only speaking english, my native Italian. I have tried various computer programs, books and tapes, and other teaching methods. All were rather boring and unhelpful, my daughter soon lost interest. This system is wonderful! The lessons are interesting and fun. They are blended wonderfully with songs and activities that keep a child's attention. I highly recommend this program. I do recommend that someone in the family practice with the child and participate with them while they listen. This is by far the best children's language packet I've seen.

An engaging and informative program for learning Italian.
My son and I enjoyed the music, activities and games provided in this learning program. The use of children's voices for the cassette was very effective. A great starting point for both children and adults alike.

It would be great to have this program on video.

's ... Read more

Book Description

WORD SMART

The words you use say a lot about you. Some words say that you are smart, persuasive, and informed. Others say that you don't know what you're talking about. Knowing which words to use and how to use them are keys to getting the most from your mind and to communicating effectively.

Based on the best-selling book, Word Smarton cassette will help you learn the words you absolutely need to know. To find these words, the Princeton Review researched the vocabularies of educated adults. It analyzed newspapers like the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal, books from best-sellers to the classics, and standardized tests like the SAT and GRE. The words included in this interactive program are those that appear most frequently and are often misused or misunderstood.

Here's what Word Smart includes:

Book Description

A great introduction to Reading! Uses both phonics and whole language approaches. Learn about the alphabet, vowels, consonants (C and G), telling time, days of the week, seasons, the environment and more...

Age: SK - Grade 3 ... Read more

Reviews (1)

What a great and memorable song collection for kids!
I am a second grade teacher and I have to say that "Funky Phonics and more, vol. 1" really livens up my classroom, every year!

Favorite tunes include "The Vowel Song", "The Animal Song", "Telling Time" and "Androide".

I would say that "Funky Phonics" is really a Reading Readiness kit which also introduces phonics through song. Lots of the songs are action packed.

For example, when we are singing "The Vowel Song", I make giant flash cards for the kids and each child gets a chance to be one of the vowels. Then as we are singing about each vowel, the child proudly gets a chance to pop up and show off his letter.

"The Animal Song" is great. It's much more that an alphabet song. It introduces a new animal for every single letter of the alphabet and teaches an interesting fact about each of the animals too!

"Telling Time" is wonderful because not only does it each kids how to tell time, it reviews skip counting in 5's because after all, this is often the way we tell time.....ie..10:05, 10:10 or 10:15.

"The Androide Song" is an interesting approach to telling time. The kids love to hear the Androide sing about time and his daily race through the fast lane of life.

Of course, other interesting songs, such as "Days of the Week", which teaches how the days were named after the planets, and "Who's Going to Save Us Now?" a great environmental tune, really spice up other curriculum units.

Whether for home use or in the classroom, I hope you'll be as excited and pleased with "Funky Phonics and more Vol. 1" as I am. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

The best I've seen yet...
The audio is of high quality, the speakers have clear voices and the cards are very helpful. My only problem with it is that they go too fast for a beginner, but they all do. It seems obvious to me...slow down! When a baby is learning to speak, you don't say "apple" all of the time, sometimes you have to say "aaa pull" I have to stop the tape player over and over and over........However, I do recomend this. I would buy it again.

Great introduction to Spanish
My daughter (age 10) and I have been playing Linguafun card games for a few days and really enjoying it. The cards guarantee success in speaking in sentences right away, rather than learning numbers and colors and just a few phrases at first, the way I learned in school. It's spurred us both on to learn more--I only wish there were more sets of cards from Linguafun.

The best foreign language teaching tool on the market.
I am a Spanish teacher, and have used the Linguafun cards in the classroom. I was amazed at how easily my students learned Spanish using these cards and cassette! The set comes with instructions for many different games, but our favorite in the classroom is "War". I have reviewed and tried many products for teaching Spanish, and Linguafun is by far THE BEST! It's the easiest way I have ever seen of learning a foreign language. I can't wait for all the other languages to be available ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Very good for the people's listening
My teacher recommended this book and took it as the context. It solved our many listening problem. I have studied it every chapter. It is really good for my listening. ... Read more

Book Description

4 cassettes/ 8 Audio Adventure Stories For ages 4 to 12 Each story approximately 15 to 20 minutes in length

Stories included on this cassette book are: (Please see individual stories for descriptions)

All Thing Changes (Maylene the Mermaid) Turning Problems Into Opportunities
(Aaron and Wish the Dog) Its Ok to be Different (Ollivers adventures on Monkey Island) Exploring and Developing Your Senses Courage and Confidence
(Egar and the Land of the Twoids) Happiness Lives Within You
(The Little Girl Who Looked for Happiness) Making Friends by Being Yourself (Matthews New Jungle Friends) You Can Make A Difference
(The Purple Planet Phatos)

Somewhere deep inside me where the creative child lives I question and the voice of the inner child asks. "In our noble efforts to be "good parents", do we inundate our children with books that are either practical or attempt to teach manners or morals? And in our passion to make them good citizens of the world do forget their insatiable quest for learning that is entertaining." Could the real question be "how many of these books stifle the imagination and the curiosity and teach the values of the conventional adult world; money, power and public success?" More often than not our children simply tune these books or politely tolerate them.

The literature that my friends and I gravitated to, as children were those subversive texts that told what really matters is art, imagination and truth. I rode the covers of the "Black Stallion", lived on the island with Robinson Crusoe and fought every fight with "Tom Sawyer". I believe the works that touch our children, such as Maurice Sedak's "Where the Wild Things Are", will endure long after pedestrian tales have gathered dust. It will be those stories that mock current assumption, spark the imagination, which encourage questioning and appeal to the rebellious and curious child within us all. It is our only hope to create energy for change.

Most people would be happy if life was a little less painful. To me that isn't acceptable. We need to find ways, attitudes and philosophy toward life that insures it to be more joyful and fulfilling. We need values and ideals expressed in a way that is palatable to children. Stories that leave them begging for seconds and yet inspire the qualities they need in order grow, survive and experience life in the most joyful and least painful way possible.

This is the motivation, spirit and philosophy in which the "One To Grow On! "Series of children stories was created. I know these stories have made an undeniable difference in the lives of many children. They teach children how to create rather than how to destroy. They teach honesty, self esteem responsibility and cooperation. They inspire young imaginations and fuel the desire for success. The stories deal with all these elements in a way that every child will discover the perfect self within, giving him or her the determination to approach life with an attitude that is indicative of success. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Great tool to help with my 6 year old son's development!
My child was having problems getting along with other kids. These tapes were fun to listent to and helped immediatley with his attitiude towards his peers! ... Read more

Book Description

Now young children can read about dinosaurs even how to say their names'by themselves. ‘Shouts of welcome will greet this new addition to the Early I Can Read series.

I Can Read Books are the premier line of -- beginning readers encouraging children to learn and love -- to read. Featuring award-winning authors and illustrators, I Can Read Books offer a full spectrum of entertaining stories for every stage of a child's reading development.

Reviews (2)

Not a very good book
At one point, (page 14) the book and the tape don't match. The book lists Apatosaurus and the narrator says Brontosaurus. Will NOT buy this line of books again.

outdated dino ideas for kids
This is a poor resource for children who want to learn about dinosaurs, it gives outdated, incorrect information and illustrations to match. I had a copy of this book in elementary school and i kept it as a model of incorrect dino information. ... Read more

Book Description

Sing Along and Learn Your Multiplication Tables

Do you have students who need help learning their multiplication tables? Our Audio Cassette Tape -

MULTIPLICATION TABLES TO MUSIC - can help your students. They can sing along with Rick Hubbard and learn their multiplication tables.

Each Multiplication Table has a different jingle to help keep the attention of your students. It will help them in their math with multiplication as well as division. Give your students the help they need in order to become excellent math students.

Help your students learn their Multiplication Tables! ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Poor audio quality, uninteresting music
I was dissappointed when I heard the poor audio quality of this tape. The tape sounds as if a child taped it off of another medium on a boom box. The poor recording quality was only made worse when the musical reciting of the times tables droned on with the same rhythm for each number. ... Read more

Book Description

Moon Shadow is eight when he sails from China to join his father, Windrider, in America. Windrider lives in San Francisco's Chinatown and works in a laundry. Moon Shadow has never seen him.

Moon Shadow soon loves and respects this father, a man of genius, a man with a fabulous dream. With Moon Shadow's help, Windrider is willing to endure the mockery of the other Chinese, the poverty, and the longing for his own country to make his dream come true.

Inspired by the account of a Chinese immigrant who made a flying machine in 1909, Laurence Yep's historical novel beautifully portrays the rich traditions of the Chinese community as it made its way in a hostile new world.

Reviews (66)

Dragonwings
During the Tang period, a Chinese boy named Moon Shadow immigrates to America. He meets and lives with his father, Windrider, who is an absolute genius. Windrider is said to have encountered a dragon, who instructs him to pass several tasks in order to be reincarnated as a dragon. Inspired, both father and son build a flying machine, and, with some help from their Chinese company and two good, American friends, they fly the plane, thinking that this is one of the tasks needed to be fulfilled for the dragon. In the end, however, the flying machine breaks apart, but Windrider decides not to work on it ever again. Somehow, the whole experience seems to bring everyone together again. Even Moon Shadow raises enough money for his mother to join them in America.
I greatly enjoyed this book very much. The detailed description made it sound like I was in the book. It was easy to read, and I did not have much difficulty trying to figure out the main point of the story. I saw that the book had a well-thought-out plot, because it all fitted together nicely. The cover was quite interesting.
The part of the book I enjoyed reading was when Windrider flew his huge flying machine outside against the strong winds. The book described it so well, I thought I was flying myself! When Windrider finally crash-landed, I could not tell whether I really did experience it or not. Laurence Yep is quite an amazing writer. Overall, I know that this book will always be one that I would greatly enjoy reading once more.

illustrates varities of themes.
This book, Dragonwings, is full of emotions, including sadness,happiness, fighting, suffering, perseverance, dream, and comedy. It expresses some stereotypes about americans ,and it also points out the good relationship between Chinese immigrants and Americans. The main theme mentions about one Chinese immigrant, who had left his family to work in Demon land. He was full of dreams ,and he believed that he was a dargon in the past life. He tried to construct his dream to become true with builted glider and plane. He wish to fly as a dragon. However, finally, he had knew that nothing was more important than his family. I can learn the ideas of different culture that help me open my mind widely.I like this book. It is useful to read it- good novle.

Dragon Wings
This book is about a white boy who learns to fly kites using a stick and a paper. HE learns thet white people are the best and christians are not bad.

I want to get away, I want to fly away
No one melds fact and myth into seamless storylines of historical fiction quite like Lawrence Yep. Like many of his tales, the remarkable, "Dragonwings", reflects on the Chinese experience in America. Says Yep in his author's note, "I have tried to make some of these dry historical facts become living experiences". The result is a book that certain kids will grow attached to and respect. Admittedly, it is not a book for all children, but for what it offers it is an impressive work.

The plot follows Moon Shadow, a boy sent from his native China to live with his father in the Land of the Gold Mountains a.k.a San Francisco in 1903. While there, Moon Shadow learns a great deal about the ways the white settlers (referred to in this text, without exception, as demons) reacted to the Chinese in California. Yep does not play down the characters' difficulties, but Moon Shadow and his father, Windrider, learn the ways in which they may live their lives acceptably. They befriend their white employers, survive the great San Francisco earthquake, and finally Windrider follows his dream of making a flying machine just as the Wright Brothers did. This portion of the book is based on the true story of a Chinese immigrant that on September 22, 1909 flew from the hills of Oakland, California. As Yep points out in his author's note, this book is a historical fantasy and not an actual factual construction. Nonetheless, Windrider's quest is such that you feel just as caught up in the excitement of the moment as he is when at last he is able to test his creation.

What is so impressive about Lawrence Yep's writing is how he accepts that there are no hard and fast rules about the ways in which people act and react. The Chinese are constantly set upon by the white majority, yet there are good Tang people and bad Tang people just as there are good whites and bad whites. The sentence that really drilled this home for me was one referring to a white female friend Moon Shadow and his father made the acquaintance of. Miss Whitlaw befriends our heroes, as well as the patriarch of their company, referred to mostly as "Uncle". The section I love reads, "I won't say that Miss Whitlaw and Uncle became the best of friends, but they came to like each other as much as two such difference people could". To me, this is an eloquent description of how two people from remarkably different backgrounds can become close without ever reaching the closeness that comes from being with someone like yourself.

So here's the real test of this book; Do kids actually like reading it? Published originally in 1975, I remember hearing about this story when I was in elementary school. And, admittedly, I never so much as picked it up. For those kids that do glance through it, or are assigned it in school, what is their reaction? Honestly, I thought the book began rather slowly. Yep is introducing his subject honestly and with tact and feeling, all of which make the beginning a small slog for the average child reader. Those kids that stick with it, however, will find fights, natural disasters, and attempted throat slittings galore. To my mind, Yep's "Child of the Owl" is a lot more kid friendly than the well-written but ultimately measured "Dragonwings". So if I were to give a child I knew a good, if more contemporary, book reflecting the experiences of Chinese-Americans, I'd probably offer them the former. None of this is to say that there aren't children out there that consider "Dragonwings" to be their favorite book ever. I just suspect they are a minority.

In the end, "Dragonwings" has won more awards and garnered more praise than I think Lawrence Yep could have ever hoped for. It is a fine noble creation and well deserves the attention it has received. Whether kids will ever willingly open its pages is open to debate, but it is definitely a fascinating look into the lives of a people that could well have remained unknown but for the superb prose and experienced writing of one of the finest American writers of our day and age.

dragon wings reivew
...BR>I didn't like this book at the beginning, because I thought it was boring. After I read and I found that it was pretty interesting. In this book, I learned a lot of things, such as vocabulary, what is important in life, and how to make it easier, etc. Laurence Yep mentioned detaily in people's emotions and their different characters. Yep listed out how people felt after they left their home, and went to a different place for work. In addition, he also stated how was a life for a little boy, and how he managed it. In general, it was a little bit long. Finally, according to the last chapter of the text book, I knew the "Family" is the most important in life ... Read more

Book Description

What a great way to learn Spanish when you and your children are on the road! Developed by the experts at Living Language®, this book and cassette program includes 16 easy, fun, and effective language games centered around things you typically see while driving. Engaging songs, rhymes, and activities teach basic Spanish words and phrases effortlessly. No previous knowledge of Spanish is required.

Each kit includes:
 ¸  Activity book with 16 games and activities
 ¸  60-minute cassette with Spanish words, phrases, songs, rhymes, and more!
 ¸  40 play & learn stickers

... Read more

Reviews (3)

A good introduction for children
This tape and book set has activites you do with each lesson. Only a few words are introduced in each lesson (sometimes it would be nice if more supplemntary words were listed) It's a wonderful taste of the language for young ones, and then they'll be ready for a more complete course later.

Spanish in the kitchen
It dosnt give you enough words from things in the kitchen. It has activities fro you to do with your child and it skips to each activity. It dosnt cover enough vocabulary in my opinion. I found in order to learn enough vocabulary i had to go through about 5 lessons and them i felt bad for not doing all the acitvites.

Learning Spanish for all ages
This booklet and tape provide an interesting way to learn some Spanish with your child. The booklet and tape are divided into 16 activities focusing on different sets of words, for example, clothes, colors, verbs, numbers, body parts, foods, and more. The tape describes the 6-12 words to be learned for each activity using a lively English-Spanish banter between two people. My 4 year old loves to listen to a short segment of the tape in the car and then practice the words. The booklet provides activities mostly geared toward older children (6+ years old). As an adult I am also learning Spanish from the tape and booklet. ... Read more

Book Description

Millions of years ago dinosaurs roamed the earth. There was Brachiosaurus and Allosaurus, Stagosaurus and Triceratops. But greatest of all was Tyrannosaurus rex, king of dinosaurs. Some of these dinosaurs were meat eaters, others ate plants. Some dinosaurs could swim, some lived on land. Larn all about dinosaurs on this exciting trip to a museum.

Aliki's lively, informative words and inimitable full-color drawings make these long-extinct animals come alive again.

Reviews (4)

my visit to the dinosaurs review
My visit to the Dinosaurs is a book I would reccommend to any kid. This book is a very good book that has lots of pictures and teaches you a lot about dinosaurs. This book takes you through a dinosaur museum as you follow a young boy and his Father and sister. They give you cool facts that you might not have known about Dinosaurs. they show you all kinds of dinosaurs, small, tall, short and long. They tell you how you find Dinasours and other exciting facts. this book in my mind is deffenently one of my favorite children books.

A Favorite
Both of my sons enjoy this book...over and over and over. Anything about dinosaurs is popular, but this book even provides good educational information.

great for a 5 year old boy
My 5 year old son really enjoyed this book. It has good content at a reasonable length that held his attention. The art work is also good. It is simply a good book!

A wonderful children's introduction to dinosaurs.
Aliki's 'My Visit to the Dinosaurs' is an exciting and scientifically accurate adventure through the dinosaur hall of a museum of natural history. Children from pre-school up will enjoy their tour through this fascinating world through the eyes of a child. The supplemental audo cassettte is well recorded and easy to follow, an excellent way for your little one to learn how to read and increase their vocabulary. Occasional comments by Prof. Franklin Branley, former Director of the American Museum of Natural History in New York City are an added treat. ... Read more

Book Description

In Joey Goat the focus is on the long vowel sound of the letter o.Joey Goat likes to play jokes on folks...until he learns how it feels to have a joke played on him!32 pages, 6 1/2 x 9, Audio Cassette: Side A: Read-Along, Side B: Listening, Ages 3-7 ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Child pleasing and up to date,a great learning tool!
As a parent of Homeschooled children it is sometimes a challenge to find quality materials the children love. I give Rock N Learn Phonics a thumbs up. My children love it, and are catching on quickly, while having fun too! ... Read more

Book Description

Everyone knows Rudyard Kipling's animals are the ones most worthknowing anywhere. This collection -- beautifully performed by Boris Karloff -- includes Kipling's Just So Stories (where we meet the animals when the world was new -- so new, in fact, that the Rhinoceros had not yet losthis buttons!) and stories from his timeless classic, The Jungle Book.

Book Description

Great for beginners. Songs that teach the alphabet, farm animals, counting, family members, parts of the body, days of the week, colors, fruit, opposites and shapes in French. Packaged with an activity/lyrics book. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Not for True Beginners, But Excellent Nonetheless!
It is true that this set is not for those who are completely unfamiliar with the French language. It is important that the adult (parent or teacher) have a basic familiarity with the French language. That said, this set is a real value. First of all, the learning is based around activity-centered songs--which children adore. They learn to sing the alphabet in French, the days of the week, counting, animals, body parts and more. My kids really enjoy the interactive nature of the songs and since all children love to sing, I think it helps them to remember the words and associate them with the appropriate things. If you are a teacher, this set would be terrific to use in a classroom setting with young children. Although the set says it is good for any age, I would suggest it is optimal for children under 10.

The teacher needs to know french!
It was with great anticipation that my daughters and I awaited this book and tape set. We couldn't wait to learn French! It was a great disappointment however, when we opened it up and found not a word of English. The teacher needs to know French in order to use this product as there is no English to use as a comparison. The pictures are not very good and the words go way too fast. I gave two stars becuase I imagine this set will be useful once we know French and need some review.

The kids remember everything taught because of these songs.
Only by chance did I come to know about these wonderful tapes. I was vacationing in Quebec one summer, and a friend, knowing that I teach French to young children (my own children included), bought this tape for me as a gift. I couldn't have meen more pleased with Francais pour debutants.

I teach French and Spanish to English-speaking children as an enrichment program in several public and private schools, and I am always looking for lively materials to use in my classes. I teach children how to speak French and Spanish in a way that they learned their own language, i.e. though a natural method of conversation, through songs, and through game playing.

My classes being with a song because this seems to lighten the atmosphere of the classroom. My favorite song that we sing is "Comptons les animaux." I make stick puppets for all my students, and as we sing about one of the animals, we hold up the puppet as we're singing. Each student has a complete "barnyard" of the ten animals and they enjoy singing as they hold up the particular animal. When we sing "Les parties du corps," we point to that part of the body we are singing about, and we dance as we sing. The children always request to sing " L'alphabet". What is evident is that the children remember the vocabulary that is being taught because these songs are so lively and full of fun.

This may seem almost hard to believe, but I only teach each of my classes one hour, one day per week, and the children remember everything that is taught to them by means of these these songs. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Oh, the things you do as a parent...
Such as listening to (and, after dozens of repeat performances, singing along with) songs about pooping in the potty. Just hope you're not singing so loud that the neighbors hear you!

So, having said that, this has been a great tape for my son. He was adopted from Romania having just turned four, and using the potty isn't a big skill they stress in the orphanages, apparently. His inability to speak English was a bit of a problem, too. This tape's repetitive, simple lyrics, and fun nursery-rhyme tunes, made him want to listen to it again and again. And, I must admit, after about the 500th time, I started to kind of like some of the songs, too!

I highly recommend the tape, but beware: you will soon be singing potty songs, too!

My three year old loves this tape
This tape really works for my three year old. She wasn't very interested in the potty, but I bought her the tape. She loves it! She'll sit on the potty and listen to the tape, singing along. It's really made a big difference. In just three weeks, she's almost fully trained.

can't live without it!!!
This cassette WORKED for my 2 year-old! She finally became interested in the potty. My 8 year-old nephew liked the "gross" lyrics, and finally borrowed and lost the tape. I have to get it again, because my now-3-year-old loves the lyrics (we can remember) and want to play it again. If your toddler needs help, THIS IS THE TAPE!!!! K. Kattelus ... Read more

Book Description

Features 8 songs, including: Amos, The Alligator Dude * Mrs. McFritter * When Daddy Was a Little Boy * and more. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

This activity book is great fun.
We have so much fun learning the songs and then doing the activities to go along with the songs. All of the songs are very singable and engaging. This book is extreemly useful with substitute teachers in the music classroom. There are also additional actitivities in the back of the book. ... Read more

Book Description

Hodges the elephant runs a cafe with the help of a crazy duck. One night, despite the sign outside that reads No Tigers, Please, three menacing tigers walk in - and they're hungry! ... Read more

Reviews (4)

This is my favorite children's book!
I just picked it up today to read it to my twins and while they're entertained by me reading it, I totally love reading it to them! This is a beautifully illustrated book with a cute story ~~ we all should accept one another even if we are different.

Hodges' duck is annoying but one Friday night, when three Tigers came in, the duck counter them with his own challenge after every insult that the Tigers give out. Then a food fight melee breaks out ~~ and that is when the Tigers realized that hey, food doesn't have to be pigs or elephants or even ducks! Hodges' cooking and his duck save the day.

It is a very entertaining book and very cute. It is going to be a definite bedtime story for these guys from now on!

10-2-03

one of our favorites
My 5-year-old son and I have enjoyed this book very much over the years. It's a great story and it's easy to do fun voices with the duck and the tigers.

On the rise!
Tim Egan is without a doubt on his way to the top!! I've purchased all his books for my niece and will continue to do so..

Thank you Tim for bringing so much pleasure into children's lifes. The word is out that your next book will hit huge.....

A reader in Toccoa, GA
A very offbeat and funny little story. My girls (ages 5 & 3) thought it was a hoot - as did their parents. Defintely a book we'll be reading again and again. ... Read more