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When I was in elementary school I hated math. Perhaps I would have had a different experience if Barbara Pearl's Math in Motion program had been available. Fortunately for kids today, Math in Motion can help make this often-unapproachable subject fun.

Barbara Pearl uses the ancient art of Japanese origami (paper folding) to demonstrate such fundamental mathematical concepts as number sense, patterns, fractions, angles, congruence, symmetry, spatial relationships, and polygons--all potential stumbling blocks for children learning math. The beauty of this approach is that the learning is embedded in fun projects.

Ms. Pearl also relates the exercises to language arts, social studies and science. These may be the only math exercises that kids are reluctant to end.

This is not a do it yourself book for kids. It is aimed at parents who want to participate in their children's learning and at teachers who are looking for innovative and creative ideas for the classroom. The projects range from simple enough for kindergartners to challenging enough for junior high.

An intuitive understanding of basic mathematical concepts is critical for all kids entering today's technical society. Math in Motion can be an invaluable tool in helping kids make it.

Charles B. Kreitzberg, Ph.D.

CEO, Cognetics Corporation

Several years ago I never would have bought a book or attended a workshop like Math in Motion because I did not think it was relevant. But from the moment we started, Ms. Pearl made us all feel so comfortable-an ideal environment for learning, especially a subject like mathematics, which may be stressful. I wanted to create the same atmosphere and remove the fear element from learning mathematics. The workshop experience made us feel like we were a team. I felt like I could do anything. And it gave me the motivation to try more. Ms. Pearl's book outlines lesson plans that support NCTM Standards and has teaching scripts and tips for developing a warm and inviting hands-on learning environment that is educational and fun. The multidisciplinary approach connects math to other subjects including reading, science, and social studies. The step-by-step directions are clear and easy to follow. Multicultural activities teach an appreciation of other cultures from exploring tangrams to writing Haiku. The three most exciting words from my students were, "I did it!" I think this is also great for building kids' self-esteem. The book encourages you to have students write down on their paper manipulatives math vocabulary that helps them to remember it--younger kids can trace the place with their fingers as they say it. Now, I know that math is not BAD. When adults feel good about what they are teaching, children will feel better too. I know this book will help you create a room where children (and adults too) will love to come to learn and grow.

Although I am neither a teacher nor a grade schooler, I found exceeding pleasure, while reading "Math in Motion," in brushing up on aspects of math that I had long ago forgotten. But beyond the math, I thoroughly enjoyed making the origamis depicted in the book. While using this book to create each of the origamis, I found the instructions easy to both read and follow. (Of course, the spiral binding is yet another much-appreciated feature.) I had never been successful in Japanese paper folding before in my 60+ years, even though I had attempted it several times, and so it was exciting for me to complete my very first origami!
Written primarily as a teacher's guide, I still highly recommend "Math in Motion" for anyone between the ages of 5 and 105! If you are looking for a way to spend a marvelous afternoon at home, I suggest purchasing, reading, and using "Math in Motion." The author, Barbara Pearl, is a jewel! Thank you, Barbara, for this wonderful gift - a book to treasure, to use, and to share with friends and family alike.

No, we are not kin though Ms. Heising and I share a name. I wish we were kin so perhaps I could share a mind that could dream up a reference book like Detecting Women. This remarkable book is divided into wonderful lists to not only help you keep track of all the women authors and their series but also lists to help you locate almost any of these books even though you can't remember the author! Or perhaps you want to read about lawyers, or interior decorators, well, there they are. Or you really like historical mysteries? There they are. Or if you like award winning books, she has a whole section from which to choose. It is a treasure trove of information. I would love this book even if my name weren't Willetta!

This is THE authoritative book on mystery book series written by women. It is such a pleasure to have this book and be able to look up a female author and find biographical information, books written with dates, etc., and to be able to have that informtion sorted in a number of ways. I carry the Detecting Women 3rd Edition paperback in my purse for visits to the book store and library but I copy information from the hardback, which is so much more extensive, into the paperback if I need to jot down a little more information. I cannot recommend this book highly enough. If you love mysteries whether by male or female authors (there is a Detecting Men also), you need this book. Its guidance is invaluable.

This book is an outstanding resource for readers who devour mysteries. Heising's multiple ways of listing books (geographical, by profession, etc.) provides a wealth of information for the reader who is always on the lookout for a new author. I just wish there was a new edition! I wouldn't part with this one, though. It's always a good way to start on a new author.

THIS IS NOT JUST AN ENGLISH DICTIONARY. THIS IS AN ARTWORK ON LINGUISTIC SCIENCE! YOU WILL BE AMAZED TO SEE EACH AND EVERY WORDS WITH NATURALLY,SCIENTIFICALLY STRUCTURED EXAMPLES WITH VERY SPECIAL CARE. IT'S WELL WORTH CHECKING IT OUT AS SOON AS YOU CAN,ESPECIALLY IF YOU ARE A NON-NATIVE ENGLISH SPEAKER! ONCE YOU'VE FOUND WHAT'S INSIDE IT, MAN, YOU WILL LOVE IT! I BET YOU WILL PROUDLY CALL IT THE BEST ENGLISH DICTIONARY IN THE WORLD YOU'VE EVER FOUND!

This is not a "junior dictionary." This dictionary is a 100% up-to-date state of the art dictionary with a comprehensive listing of any word you might encounter as well as a key for how to use it in a sentence. With that key, students can figure out how to use the word properly in speech and composition. The dictionary itself is a learning tool because the definitions of the 60,000+ words included are limited to a 2000-word vocabulary, giving the student practice while learning new words. Additionally, the dictionary has many illustrations and diagrams which list thematic vocabulary (for example everything that is under the hood of a car or everything that is in a fully-equipped kitchen). The definitions are clear and precise: look at the definition for the word "piece." In that definition you will find a flow-chart with questions like, "Is it solid?" "Is it thin?" and so on, leading the learner to words like "drop, dash, squirt, wisp, chunk, slice, slab, segment, grain, speck...." My reading students, whose first language is English, love this book also, because the defining vocabulary is within their range. It is comprehensive enough that even teachers will find definitions of unfamiliar words (for example, I just learned that "chock" is a block of wood used to wedge under a tire). This book is the best investment a student can make. It is also an investment that every teacher should make in service to his/her students

I like the book very much. I love it. I keep it in a saft place, I always put it away after studying. NOTE:
I've found a bug on page 1637, look at the entry "widow", (NOT window).
the entry has "-see aslo GRASS WIDOW" cross-reference, but I can't find the entry "grass widow", the nearest entry found is "grassy". I'm not complaining. The dictionary is very useful, very handy. I'm a foreign student studying Computer Science in US. Excuse my English.

Fuse has written a book all about one of her favorite areas of origmami: modular creations. Modular origami is created when you fold multiple copies of the same unit and then work them together to create a larger model. It looks gorgeous, but can be very time consuming and frustrating if your model is made of 60 units. I like this book alot, but it is clear that Fuse's ability to fold is light years beyond mine. Still, she always gives clear directions and diagramms so that if you are patient you can make gorgeous models.

Beautiful colour photographs, endless complex pieces of unit origami and clear instructions put this book above many others in its category. PLEASE NOTE: I recently went to Japan and was surprised to find MANY more similar books in Japanese. So if you liked this book, there is much, much more to come. All of these other books are in Japanese and are more difficult to purchase, but it is definitely worth searching for them. (Tomoko Fuse also told me she IS soon to be producing her own web page).

Tomoko Fuse is popular for her amazing origami figures that she creates with unique units (over 50 books in print). This book is no exeption. Possibly her best book ever, this book is a combination of all her most interesting items taken from her other books in Japanese and Korean. I own a few of the forgein language books and I find many things in the book that I enjoy folding, and many that I hate. This book has MOST of the cooler items from her most famous books. If you are a fan of unit origami or just like geometry, then buy this book.

In 1856, Flashy is once again dragooned - this time not as a direct result of some peccadillo on his part - by Palmerston himself to go to India and keep an eye on possibly mutiny brewing there, fomented by Flashy's old nemesis, Count Ignatieff. Like all the other Flash books, this is a thoroughly researched piece of historical fiction, from the personalities of the great (and not so great) commanders of the day, down to the details of the daring exploits of the (not so) common soldier. Like its predecessors, this book is rife with wit, debauchery, wry observations on war and empire, and a few laughs at our hero's expense. This volume does, however, depart from the other books in two ways, in my opinion. The first is tone: where before I got the sense that Flash was so selfish and sadistic he was removed from the carnage he witnesses, in the Mutiny I got the sense that Flash (or Fraser, unable to hide himself behind his character) was moved by the massacres. Flash lets emotion creep in to the point of not just leaping in to rescue (!) a British couple, but to ruminate on the morality of the British retribution. Secondly, in this book Flashman is more propelled along by events rather than(even unwillingly and unknowingly) influencing them, as he has before, goading Raglan into ordering the charge of the Light Brigade or managing to repel Russian invasion of India, for example. All this is simple observation, not criticism; the quality of Flashman's exploits here in no way disappoints.

History is boring? Not if it's written by George MacDonald Fraser. India comes alive in a way most authors can only dream of, and you can taste the chapattis. I didn't think Fraser could top Flashman at the Charge, but he has done it. Read this book! Imagine a world without fiction, or worse, a world without Harry Flashman? No thanks, I'll keep them both.

While I read this book as number eight in my chronological survey of the life and times of Harry Flashman and still have three books to go in the series, I can understand why the Flashman cognoscenti consider this book Fraser finest effort of this series.

In this book our toady, womanizing coward ends up in the middle of the great Indian mutiny in the 1858-9 period. As always there is high entertainment with Flashman's picaresque adventures and a lot of historical context thanks to Fraser's meticulous research. What makes the book stand out in this superb series is it's accurate and objective analysis of the events leading to the Indian Mutiny -required reading with regard to the current conflict in Iraq- and the fully three-dimensional rendering of the Indian princess Lakshmibai.

Fraser has responded to questions "how much of Flashman is in you?", "I think like Flashman, but don't follow it up with acting the way he does". As such, It seems like Fraser's esteem for this enigmatic leading lady translates into this book. Furthermore, the expert description of the battle scenes and the sights and smells of India turn this book into a superb example of historical fiction.

Too bad that the Flashman character has so far been so poorly translated to the moving screen. Maybe, just like Dickens, Fraser's writing skills are so evocative that any reenactment ends up disappointing. Yet, since the in my eyes disappointing O'Brien series received the full Hollywood treatment, it may be time for another try to bring Lord Harry to a larger audience.

Cute, funny, poignant, sad, etc.--all the adjectives you would expect to describe a book like this. Effie Wilder takes us on a tour of the retirement home and introduces us to her friends and acquaintences. Being able to take people's stories and use them to make people smile is what makes books such as this so endearing and special to read.

In this, her first book, the author uses her own experiences in a retirement home to illustrate her story. Her main character, Hattie, is a lovable & outgoing busybody, a habitual eavesdropper and journal writer, recording the day to day activities with a sense of humor and sometimes with a touch of sadness. She shows us that 's it's still possible to have a rich and meaningful life, no matter what one's age, with the right attitude. A good, clean book ( I especially enjoyed the humor and the light poetry).

I bought this book at a time when I could see that we were going to have to find a new, safe place for Mother to live. However, she resisted the thought of moving to an "Old Folks Home", as she put it. She had also fallen into the "I don't want to go anywhere, because it takes too much effort" routine. Since she has always been a very sociable person, she fell into a deep depression. As I read this book to her, we both saw that there was a better alternative for her, as she was not so far along, physically and mentally, as to need a nursing home. After she moved into The Reunion Inn, in Marshall, Tx., I started reading to the residents from this book on a weekly basis. I am scheduled on their monthly calendar as "The Whimsical Reader." The book has allowed the residents to recall a lot of memories, as well as opening their eyes to the humor around them. It has also given them ideas as to how The Reunion Inn can be improved for their convenience. They really liked the idea of the benches across from the cafeteria line. Reading to the residents has given me the opportunity to get to know them better than I probably would have otherwise. This book has given such pleasure to all of us that The Reunion Inn is going to buy the rest of the books in the series so that I can continue reading to their guests. I recommend this book to anyone facing the possibility of moving into or placing their parent in an assisted living facility. It certainly made the decision easier for us.

I have enjoyed the character development in this series. It helps to read the Agatha Raisin books in sequence although it is not necessary to enjoy each story. Agatha and James are complex characters and M.C. Beaton does an excellent job in their delineation. The villagers in this cozy mystery are lovable and reading the book is like living in a small village.
The plot of this book was interesting and the action well-paced. I couldn't put the book down until I finished it. The relationship of James and Agatha has reached a different level in this story. Being middle-aged, independent and set in their ways, their feelings for each other are bound to be mixed. They are likable and you care what happens to them.

Another good one by M C Beaton. I have enjoyed all the Agatha Raisin books I have read. In this one Agatha is finally getting to marry James Lacey. But, her first husband Jimmy Raisin shows up at the wedding. Agatha thought he was dead. Later Agatha pushes Jimmy into a ditch and he is found dead in the ditch. Agatha is suspected of murder. She and James Lacey start their usual round of questions and callin on people to try to find the killer. Other people start ending up dead after talking to Agatha and James. After another close call the killer is found. Will Agatha and James ever get together again. I guess we will have to read another book to find out. Beaton can write so that the people and the village come to life in your mind. You can just see the things as they happen. Am looking forward to the next one.

AGATHA RAISIN AND THE MURDEROUS MARRIAGE begins with Agatha preparing to marry James Lacey, the man of her dreams. Agatha was married when she was very young and since her first husband had not been heard from in years, she preferred to think that he must have died from his alcoholic life style. Unfortunately, Jimmy Raisin was not dead, and showed up at the beginning of Agatha's wedding to James Lacey.

Poor Agatha is humiliated and James is furious with her. Her life is in turmoil. She had already sold her cottage and had started moving her belongings into the house she was to share with James. He agrees to let her stay with him, but tells her that he no longer wants to marry her, ever. When Jimmy Raisin is found murdered, the police suspect Agatha or James. The disgruntled couple form somewhat of a truce and agree to do their own investigating into Jimmy's death. As the story continues, several of Jimmy's associates are also murdered and the search for the killer becomes more complex for Agatha and James. M.C. Beaton does a good job of tying up the story and keeping her readers interested in the perils of Agatha Raisin.

This is the fifth story in the Agatha Raisin mysteries. I highly recommend the entire series.

Catherine Anderson has written a top-notch novel as far as keeping the reader's interest goes. The characters are believable and so is the story. The scene-stealers, however, are Sammy (the child) and especially Goliath, the Rottweiler. He is some dog! Anyway, the book is a good one, so sit back and enjoy.

Catherine Anderson's obvious intelligence and sensitivity comes through in this tale of a desparate-but-strong mother, her precocious-but-withdrawn child, a big-hearted Rottweiler, and a strong-and-sensitive sheriff. I loved many of the scenes, especially the one of Goliath, the Rottweiler, sleeping on his back in the bathtub, and the classic scene of the daughter washing the sheriff's mouth out with soap (their agreement if he continued using cuss words). I enjoy Ms. Anderson's well-crafted writing, and love her stories. This is the first contemporary of her's I have encountered, but I hope it is not the last!

Catherine Anderson has a way with words. She keeps your interest peeked through the whole book. I can't wait for the sequel. She leaves you wanting more. Forever After is a book I can read over and over and still get excited about the characters and plot each time.
Wish it was a movie...:)

Is he or isn't he who he claims to be? Is Alex really dead or not? Did Carolyn really see Alex murdered on the night he left? Is the man claiming to be Alex an imposter trying to get his hands on his "mothers" millions, or is he really the son he says he he is? This book has it all - suspense, mystery, intrigue, danger and above all romance. Anne Stuart is the undisputed Goddess!I could not put the book down. Thank you Ms Stuart for another terrific read. Five stars is not enough for this book!

Tired of the same old romantic suspense written by once favorite authors that promise much but deliver little? If so, read SHADOW LOVER, cleverly crafted by Anne Stuart who never lets her devoted fans down. Alexander MacDowell, morally bankrupt, degenerate and beautiful, has returned home after eighteen years to reclaim his place in the bosom of his spiteful, sniping family. Or has he come after the sizable fortune he will inherit from his terminally ill mother? Or will he instead claim Carolyn, the MacDowell family's own Cinderella? Would you recognize your first love were he to return to you after almost twenty years? Carolyn believes she would. And this Alex is not the boy who tormented her as an adolescent and who torments her now as a charming and all too sexy man. While falling under his spell once more, she nonetheless tries to unmask him as a fraud. And while she longs for this man to be Alex, she knows he can't be. Because Carolyn saw Alex murdered as she hid behind an abandoned boat the night he was shot to death at the family's beach house. Yet this impostor knows family secrets so private that he must be the resurrected Alex. Could some miracle have spared his life, or is someone in the family plotting with him in order to gain a share of the inheritance? Surprising, sexy and suspenseful, this novel is another in a long line of winners from Anne Stuart. You won't want this great read to end, but you'll be compelled to race through it to discover the truth of Alex's identity. If you enjoy this novel, try Stuart's other more recent novels of the same vein, MOONRISE, NIGHTFALL, or RITUAL SINS. You won't be disappointed.

Excellent work by Anne Stuart, this book will keep you reading all the time, and when you can't read it because you are at work or at the movies, you will think about what will happen next in the book. The way that Alex-Sam makes his plans to know the truth about his life will not let you forget about the book until you finish it.

Kennedy's Guide to Econometrics explains econometrics more clearly than any other book I have read. This book will not make you into an econometrician. But, this is definitely the place to start your education on empirical methods in economics.

For a book of this size, he covers a lot of territory. He covers the CLR model and hypothesis testing well, and discusses a few other things too. This guide is hardly encyclopedic. However, it covers the things economists need to know most.

Kennedy does more than just explain econometrics. He spells out the limits of econometric analysis. Texts often pay little attention to the 'con in econometrics'. Not Kennedy. He discusses the limitations and defects in standard techniques, as well as their advantages.

The only thing wrong with this book is that it does not carry the reader along far enough. After reading this book, most reader's will likely move on to a standard (i.e. badly written) econometrics textbook. In contrast, this book is written so well that it almost makes learning econometrics fun!

This is the fourth edition of a very popular text for an introductory graduate level course in econometrics. Although designed for econometricians and economics majors, the book has a lot to offer the statistician (time series analyst). There is good coverage of both the classical econometric models and the classical ARIMA time series models. The difference, as Kennedy points out, is that most univariate statistical time series models use only the past history to model and forecast the future while the econometric models emphasize the inclusion of economic predictor variables and not the past history.

However, in recent years, and partly because in fair-fight forecasting competitions the Box-Jenkins time series methods have done better than the econometric models, the econometricians are beginning to incorporate the Box-Jenkins approach in their models. As Kennedy points out,the new theory of multivariate ARIMA models is providing the econometricians with a methodology that is similar to their simultaneous equation models.

One nice feature of the book is that it treats classical linear regression theory early, highlights the key assumptions and then provides specific chapters that cover how to deal with the violations of the assumptions taken one by one.

The book is clear, up-to-date and has an excellent bibliography. It introduces the structural econometric time series approach along with multivariate Box-Jenkins methodolgy. Advanced topics such as dealing with roots on the unit circle in Box-Jenkins models and cointegration are covered. Also robust estimation procedures are discussed. It even introduces bootstrap methodology and the Bayesian approach to inference.

There is some coverage and some warnings about neural networks. Models for count data, duration, linear structural equations and instrumental variables are all presented in an introductory way.

Emphasis is placed early on the concept of sampling distributions for estimators. A clear understanding of sampling distributions is essential to understanding classical frequentist statistical approaches. Much confusion can arise when these concepts are glossed over.

If you are taking a course in econometrics, graduate or undergraduate, there is no good excuse for failing to purchase this book. Kennedy has a tremendous gift for giving readers a vision for the "Forest" of econometrics, which is very handy for those readers trapped in the "trees" of Pindyck & Rubinfeld and William Greene's texts (both of which are excellent, but relatively technical).

Kennedy covers an amazingly broad selection of topics in his books. While those having difficulty understanding the field will definitely get a great deal out of the book, don't think for a second that the book is overly simplistic -- an econometrics primer. No, this is not a mere review of OLS for the Gauss-Markov impaired. Kennedy's text covers Bayesian Analysis, Vector Error-Correction Models, and even touches, albeit lightly for my tastes, on such subjects as Kalman filtering and recursive least squares. Kennedy's notes are also very insightful and bring up many issues that dominant textbooks skirt around.