Book Description

Monchi likes to write poems, hang out with his cousin, and tell stories to his uncle. Then one day, a member of the local gang tells him it's time to join up. Monchi is scared but excited. The older boys give him the handshake, girls talk to him, and even teachers are afraid of him. But when a tragic event changes everything, Monchi must make an important decision. There is no easy answer to his dilemma, but the love and respect of his uncle help him find a way out. Written in both English and Spanish, It Doesn't Have to Be This Way is a compelling tale of a young boy's encounter with the world of gangs. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Must have for any teacher
This book is the best book I have read dealing with the pressures and dangers of joining a gang. The author gives you a realistic view of what it means to be a part of a gang. The story follows a young boys quest to belong. You get to watch this young boy slowly drift away from his family and friends into the gang lifestyle, until something tragic makes him realize that it doesn't have to be this way. This book does an incredible job of making you realize all that kids go through when faced with pressure to join gangs. This is a book that I am going to use in my classroom to open the eyes of my students. I believe this book is informing and empowering kids to not join gangs. ... Read more

Book Description

Over 50 fun songs, games and everyday activities to get started in Spanish!

From taking a bath to going shopping, books in the Play and Learn Language series turn everyday routines into fun language-learning activities for parents and children. Packed with lively four-color illustrations, each package features:

• Fun songs, games, and activities
• Key word illustrations
• Engaging comic strips
• Sidebars with fun cultural information
• English translations for all activities

Packaged inside each book is an audio CD that includes all the songs, games, and expressions in the course.

Book Description

Merriam-WebsterÆs Spanish-English Dictionary is a completely new dictionary designed to meet the needs of English and Spanish speakers in a time of ever-expanding communication among the countries of the Western Hemisphere. It is intended for language learners, teachers, office workers, tourists, business travelersùanyone who needs to communicate effectively in the Spanish and English languages as they are spoken and written in the Americas. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

Disappointed
From a beginning Spanish speaker's point of view, a good dictionary with one glaring fault: No pronunciations were given for the Spanish entries. Pronunciations were a large part of what I bought this book for.

The explanatory notes at the beginning of the dictionary had this to say under the heading "Pronunciation of Spanish Entry Words": "Spanish pronunciation is highly regular, so no pronunciations are given for most Spanish-to-English entries."

Well, OK, if you say so. Guess that puts me in the "Spanish for Dummies" crowd.

The beginner will just have to look elsewhere for help with pronunciations

Must-Have for learning Spanish
This is the only spanish-english dictionary I've ever owned.I've used several over the 8 years that I've spent learning Spanish, but this is by far the best one.It's lay-out is very easy to read/understand, plus there's great conjugations, examples, etc. that make it very user-friendly.Not to mention, there's tons of words that you don't find in many Span-Engl dictionaries.

Wonderful.
This is a fantastic dictionary.I spent quite a bit of time on amazon researching the best Spanish/English Dictionary.This one lives up to all of the positive reviews below.

I have found this to be very helpful.One nice feature is that if you look up a conjugated verb, it actually appears in the dictionary with a cross reference back to the unconjugated verb.

It also has several tenses of the words, so you can say the right thing even if you're wanting to speak in the past tense.I also like the sample sentences that it gives for many words...you can easily see how the word would actually be used.

It's also conveniently small in width and height.But still packs a lot in!

Big book in a small package
This is a very powerful mini dictionary at a very competitive price.Itcontains explanations, examples and phrases making it far more useful fortravel than the smaller pocket dictionaries.It has also replaced my deskdictionary as it contains more recent words, is better organized and easierto use. If you're looking for a "one-size-fits-all" book this oneis worth checking out.

Great student or traveler reference
This book packs a lot of bang for your buck.Being the third dictionary I've owned, I am very pleased.Contains great phrasing examples and is well-organized.Has 80,000 entries, including modern terms andexpressions.And it's small enough that you can pack it around with you! I highly recommend this as your choice of dictionary. ... Read more

Book Description

Five little brothers, two parents, and a houseful of visiting relatives make a Mexican-American girl feel crowded. She loves her family, but how can she get a little space for herself? The solution comes when her family turns a small storage space into a room just for her. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Nice book but with errors
All the other books I've seen in this series have had Spanish-language error, but this one has the most, which I believe is due to the difficulty in trying to translate one-word prepositions in English into Spanish, which frequently require entire phrases. For example, for 'under' she has 'bajo'. In fact in Spanish one would have to say 'debajo' or 'abajo' (depending on whether you meant 'underneath' or 'movement under' something). Same thing goes for 'up' and 'down' (her translations are wrong.

Like the other books in this series, she seems for be using a Spanish-English dictionary and has little fluency in Spanish herself.

This whole series is wonderful
I have been using this entire series with my son since he was born, and he is now 14 months. He loves the pictures and turning the pages. The books use the format of one word per page and it gives both the English and Spanish form of the word. This is a great series for early language acquisition.

Great series
We have all of the books in this series. I have an 18 month old who has been studying these books for 6 months now. At this point, he is least interested in this book. His favorites NOW are My Colors and My Shapes. My Opposites is still a great book; I suspect that he will appreciate closer to 24 months along with My Numbers... ... Read more

Book Description

Even if you've never spoken French before, this exciting pack ofstories, songs, games, and parent information will provide hours of entertainment while building language skills that will last a lifetime. Store everything in this handy suitcase and take it everywhere you go! ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Terrific Intro to French for Small Children
I bought this set for my children (ages 2 and 4). Our experience with this set has been wonderful. The kids both enjoy the songs and the story and have learned LOTS of vocabulary. In fact, we have been using the cassette in the car for about a month, and they are now able to repeat the story, sing the songs, and have learned all of the vocabulary presented in the dictionary. I would strongly recommend this set to anyone who wishes to introduce their children to the French language.

Berlitz Kids French Language Pack
My ONE MONTH old has been listening to the tape for a week and loves it! She will lie on the floor contently until the story is over. She also likes the songs on side two. I put the tape player on the floor about 8 inches away and she will roll onto her side to listen.

All of the books that I have read say that the neural pathways for language are developed in the first 6 months. That is why I let my daughter listen to the tape now. I also plan to buy the Spanish version. I wish that more of the books in this series came with cassettes.

As for content, I took intensive French in college and the quality of the teaching materials in this pack are excellent for the age range that Berlitz recommends. ... Read more

Book Description

Pleasant, practical learning aid contains 15 carefully drawn scenes (14 double-page, one single-page) of home, school, farm, beach, other environments. Each scene contains dozens of common objects, people, animals and other features, each labeled in German. To help reinforce words and meanings, scenes are designed to be colored. A list of all German words (with definite articles) and English translations is included.
... Read more

Book Description

Everyone’s favorite Dragon Tales characters are here in five brightly colored scenes depicting everyday objects and concepts. Each object is shown in context and on a border that surrounds each page, where it is labeled in both English and Spanish. Children will love pointing to an object, then locating it in the scene. Hearing the word first in English and then in Spanish, as an “I spy” prize, reinforces the idea that learning is fun! ... Read more

Book Description

Broaden your children's horizons by helping them to learn of Spanish. A bright and accessible introduction, Spanish: First 1000 Words helps children build vocabulary skills in a second language, an increasingly important asset. Wonderfully detailed illustrations make learning a fun challenge, words are used in thematic context, and links to exciting websites are included for further study. ... Read more

Book Description

Reviews (4)

chinamom
My four year daughter is adopted from China. She really likes this book. She immediately started copying the characters. It is a simple book that provides a way for her to learn about her birth culture. It is worth adding to your collection.

Sadly disappointing
The only Chinese words in this book are the 10 numbers. The "Pronunciation Guide" does not use the standard romanization (pinyin) nor does it even hint that Chinese is a multi-toned language. The text is simplistic but uninteresting--had there been a bit of Dr Seuss or Boynton rhyming it might have been more fun.

The pictures are nice.

I'm learning Mandarin and hoping to teach my daughter as she grows up. This book won't help.

counting your way to china
This book is an excellent tool to teaching to count in chinese. My daughters ages 3 and 6 found this book fun. It makes learning more fun and also show beautiful pictures of china.

Interesting and educational
This is a simple, interesting and educational book. I enjoy it because it presents a wide variety of interesting information about China (geography, musical instruments, writing, animals, etc.) while organized around teaching the Chinese numbers. Even as an adult with some knowledge of China, I was able to learn a little from the book, as I'm sure children will learn even more. I love learning about a variety of aspects of a culture! ... Read more

Book Description

The Alphabet Teaches children letter recognition and the alphabet with pages of delightful illustrations. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

The Alphabet/El Alfabeto
My daughter was having trouble getting the alphabet down in her Spanish class. I remembered that I had this book, and we pulled it out and began going over it consistently. In no tme did she finally master it and got an A in her class on the test. Because of the way that the book was written, we were both able to learn the alphabet and other words that were in it, and now both of my children want me to continue getting books like these by this author so that they can learn more. They have a lot of Spanish friends, and have enjoyed practicing what they have learned from these books. These books are simple enough for a small child, and informative enough for an adult like me to pick-up the language.

Good choice for dual language learning
This is a very good book for learning English and Spanish. The book is very well made and a great size for little hands. The pictures are large, bright and colorful. However, the Spanish does not include the article. This is very helpful in learning the gender of the word and should be taught with the vocabulary. There is also a couple of strange choices. For example, Q stands for "quetzal" rather than something more familiar like "queso".

Excellent primer on the basics
Our 30 month old loves this set. It's in-depth enough (shapes, for example) that it will keep him engaged for months. Great illustrations. Sturdy, well-made construction.

Very Good
I like the pictures, they are very bright & colorful. My son enjoys reading it with me. I read it in Spanish & my husband reads it to him in English. He's 10 months old, and loves the colors! Nice & chuncky too! Great if you're trying to teach your child 2 languages. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

WITH LOVE!
I cannot tell you how much I love the Melanie Martin diaries! I read "The Diary Melanie Martin" in second grade! and it inspired me to start a diary of my own! Now I'm addicted to journals and own like sooo many!!! Then I told ALL of my friends about the book, I even got 5 boys to read it! Now they love Melanie, too! They're my favorite book in the entire PLANET and are amazing, educational, smart, laugh out loud, TERRIFIC novels!!! I have read the first book at least 10 times (no lie! I swear!), the second book 5 times, and I bought the 3rd book the minute I saw it!!! It is awesome!!! They are such wonderful stories for my friends and I to cherish and pass on to our kids, and their kids, and their kids, and their kids...

I Love Melanie!
With Love from Spain, Melanie Martin, is my favorite Melanie yet, and I LOVED the first two! Melanie is now 11 and she goes to Spain for vacation and meets a really nice boy but then can't tell whether he likes her back. Her adventures at a bullfight and flamenco show and just eating Spanish food are so funny and I also learned a lot about Spanish painters and customs and words. You HAVE to read this diary! I totally recommend it! By the way, I love Carol Weston's column in GL, too. And I like her website: It's melaniemartin.com - I once wrote to her and she wrote back!

Erica in Las Vegas
GREAT BOOK!! Five stars! ... Read more

Reviews (5)

Ahoy There Little Polar Bear
"Ahoy There Little Polar Bear" is a story about a polar bear named Lars who lives in the north pole. One day, Lars swam out too far in the water and got his foot stuck in something. It was a net and it reeled him up and onto a fishing boat. Onboard, he met Nemo, the ship's cat. Nemo was willing to help Lars get back to the north pole, so when the ship docked at the next port, Nemo took Lars to see some other cats. They decided that Lars should get on one of the ships that was leaving for the north pole the next day. So they sneaked Lars onboard early the next day and soon Lars was back in his home at the north pole.
I think that this is a very good book because it is quite interesting. It can keep a reader's attention during the whole book I believe. The book has a cool plot with neat characters and good description. Lars is a fun character that is interesting just to hear about.

Sorry, But the Truth is, They Didn`t Like it Much
We still love LITTLE POLAR BEAR, the first book, but this just does not compare! Maybe at five and seven, cute is just not enough for my sons. The environmental message with the garbage strewn port is a point well taken, but LITTLE POLAR BEAR with all the different animals from a warmer climate he meets for the first time was far more interesting. According to my two, "this only had Lars, cats, and dead fish." The illustrations are cute, but the story was a little too simple and unexceptional-- no drama.

Ahoy There, Little Polar Bear
My daughter first discover Lars when someone gave her the video of the little polar bear (in german). For weeks/ months afterwards every second word was "Lars" (she was one at the time). Now on a recent trip to Germany I bought some of the books, so every night she wants to hear about Lars' adventures. Even though she has seen the video and heard the stories hundreds of time, she wants to hear them over and over again. And even though I have read them to her lots of times I'm still not bored with "Lars, the Little Polar Bear" and wont be for a very long time. The books are just that wonderful.

Beautifully illustrated, positive adventure stories for kids
Our friends from Germany sent Kleiner Eisbar (the German version) when our son was born. Then we discovered the books are available in English! This is just the first is a wonderful series that is not very well known in the U.S. Hans De Beers' illustrations are gorgeous and witty. The stories are simple, but entertaining, easy to read, and always leave you both inspired and feeling good at the end of each book. The Board Book is a great gift for new parents, and the large, hard cover editions are true keep sakes. We highly recommend the entire series-- You can't help but fall in love with Lars, the Little Polar Bear!

Great book - my son just loved it. Good to read!
All these polar bear books have a very happy ending. The drawings are beautiful, there is no violence or blood. The bear seems to get into trouble, but there are always other kind animals that bail him out. ... Read more

Book Description

Show off your language smarts. Amaze friends and family with your knowledge of hundreds and hundreds of words- from everyday essentials to zany. With 1,000 German words, you'll be on your way to mastering another language inno time. Developed by the world's leading language publisher, 1,000 German Wordsis a fast-paced, visually exciting introduction to German that the whole family will enjoy. Imaginative scenes will delight readers of all ages. Color illustration are labeled in English and German. The index lists vocabulary words and theirEnglish equivalents for easy reference. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Wonderful introduction to children (and adults)!
I ordered this book as I am attempting to raise my son as a German speaker. The book covers all the big subjects like family, rooms in the house, the restaurant, zoo, park, farm, beach, etc. It gives both the german word and the english word above the picture. What is particularly nice is that it has pictures of people of all nationalities. I would highly recommend it to people who want a good start up book in German. ... Read more

Book Description

Retold in both Spanish and English, the universally loved story The Ugly Duckling will delight early readers and older learners alike. The striking illustrations give a new look to this classic tale, and the bilingual text makes it perfect for both home and classroom libraries. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

The Emerald lizard, Fifteen Latin American Tales to Tell
Finally, a Latin American collection of tellable tales that is full of variety (15 different cultures and countries)and enlivened tales. I'm a true fan of DeSpain's books because I find them so useful in the classroom. This collection is one of his best as the stories elicit so much interest in Latin America. Also, DeSpain says that he writes his versions down after telling them aloud for some time. I believe him. These read like they're being told. ... Read more

Book Description

This unusual and helpful illustrated reference volume is a book of Spanish words, synonyms, and definitions designed especially for Spanish-speaking elementary and middle school students. It is also a highly useful word book for English-speaking children who are first being introduced to Spanish in the classroom. More than 2,000 words and synonyms are presented in Spanish, and many entries also include antonyms. The authors are experienced elementary school teachers who have organized this book with special attention to practical classroom needs. This brand-new second edition features more word entries and more illustrations than appeared in the original edition. Another new and helpful feature is use of two-color type to highlight many headings as an aid in ease of reference. (Ages 8–12) ... Read more

Reviews (1)

A user friendly resource for beginners.
This is the perfect thesaurus for junior Spanish students. It is a small thesaurus with a range of vocabulary appropriate for beginners. The layout is quite simple. It is arranged alphabetically with quite a large font and the key word is in bold with the synonyms and antonyms beside the lead word in non-bolded letters. The thesaurus is illustrated therefore the student can associate some of vocabulary with the illustration. This book will help beginners to expand their vocabulary in Spanish and most of all understand the meaning of words at and beyond their level. This thesaurus would be helpful to beginners at any age not only to juniors. ... Read more

Book Description

[This book is written in Spanish.]

No description is available at this time. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

A forgotten masterpiece.
'Pepita Jimenez', once considered the great 19th century Spanish novel, now lies neglected by most readers and critics. Neither Penguins, Everyman nor Oxford, the pre-eminent publishers of 'Classics', have ever produced an edition, and I only became aware of its existence by accident on the net.

Having just read - and loved - the novel, I can see some reasons for its decline in popularity. for a start, unlike most 19th century novels, it is not realistic or naturalistic; it does not portray a society with voluminous detail. The hero, Don Luis de Vargas, the son of an Andalusian squire and an aspirant to the priesthood, is prone to use the high-flown, ecstatic and orotund language of the spirit, which, though set up by Valera to be undermined, can irritate the reader with its verbosity. The translation, by Valera himself, needs to be updated for the tastes of a modern readership - the famed beauty of the original can appear washily sentimental in unforgiving English. Most importantly, the novel's sunny benevolence, its attempt to reconcile the totems of Spanish conservatism - the Church, the Aristocracy, the Family - with less tractable forces such as Love and Nature, is not fashionable with critics who historicise Spain as a country with violent divisions, and who want their fiction to conform to this vision.

for those willing to take the chance, however, 'Pepita' has something for everyone. Its story of a theologian and his attempts to repress a growing love for the title character, a young widow and the intended of his rakish father, has all the abundant romanticism, terrible tension and potential tragedy of 'Wuthering Heights'. From the novel's first page, when Don Luis describes to his uncle and mentor the Archbishop his first meeting with Pepita, we know what will happen - the interest lies in the unfolding of the inevitable and the psychology of the characters, especially Luis, whose sacred and profane raptures spring from the same source (in its relentless focus on an unstable and delusive psychology, 'Pepita' is closer to the works of Prevost, Constant and Stendhal, than later 19th century realists).

Though not a realistic novel, the book is full of indelible set-pieces of Andalusian village life (trade, social occasions, rites, customs, night-life, festivals, in which the Christian and the pagan are indistinguishable, just as they are in Luis' imagination); and the overwhelming natural beauty, the latter made to serve and reflect the claustrophobic visions and passions of the characters (in its limited focus, in its conflation of spiritual and romantic ideas and language, its slippery allegorical possibilities and its proto-Expressionism, 'Pepita' could be considered the Spanish Nathaniel Hawthorne).

For post-modernists, the novel's straightforward, simple narrative is contained in an elaborate framework, more familiar from Gothic fiction. Parts 1 and 3 consist of letters to the archbishop from his nephew and ward Luis, and his brother, found on his death with his effects. Part 2 consists of a 'paralipomena', a 'fictional' third person narrative continuing the story. The officious editor of these papers speculates in vain on the provenance of this fiction. His own conjectures, interpretations and asides throughout, his alarming tendency to 'edit' the material without explaining his procedures, together with Valera's profound irony, sensual displacement of sexuality and unexpected humour, casts doubt on the novel's seeming optimism, without once diminishing its nerve-wracking immediacy.

Suspenso, amor, psicologia
Don Luis, un joven que tiene aspiraciones de ser sacerdote, regresa a la casa de su padre después de pasar doce años con su tío en el seminario. Durante su ausencia, su padre se ha hecho pretendiente de Pepita, una viuda joven y hermosa, y a Don Luis le llega todo tipo de chismes sobre la mujer antes de que la conozca, enterándolo de toda su historia. Cuando por fin la conoce, empieza un trastorno moral dentro del pecho del pobre joven y se siente turbado, arrancado entre la lealtad hacia su padre, su vocación al sacerdocio y el deseo fuerte que le provoca Pepita. La novela se trata del psicoanálisis que resulta de este dilema y hace que el lector se cuestione a sí mismo: ¿Qué haría yo?

Como toda obra de Valera, Pepita Jiménez está lleno de lenguaje hermoso que refleja su alto ideal estético. Vale la pena leerse, aún para el estudiante (aunque avanzado) del castellano.

Interesante, muy simple
La novela original es mejor, pero para una persona quien esta comenzando aprender la lengua, es buena. Este cuento que habla del amor es a veces un poco aburrido, pero al lector le encantaria las palabras hermosas del don Luis. Si quiere aumentar su vocabulario y practicar leyendo, compre este libro. ... Read more