Recommended Reading: Fran's Favorites

For your convenience, clicking on these titles will take you to pages on Amazon.com where you can purchase these books. An effort has been made to select the edition that you can receive as quickly and economically as possible. Books marked with * are available only on a limited basis.

For Parents and Teachers  

Atwell. Nancie. In the Middle: Writing, Reading, and Learning with Adolescents (implementing workshop approach to writing and reading)

Austin, Carrie. Drawn into the Heart of Reading (a multi-level approach to reading instruction that enables students at different levels to study the same literary concepts simultaneously using books of their -- or the teacher's -- choice)
http://www.prioritypublications.org
Fran's Review in "LinguaPhile"

Baldwin, Bruce. Beyond the Cornucopia Kids (successfully raising children in an affluent society)

Calkins, Lucy. The Art of Teaching Writing (including sections on children's writing development from kindergarten through junior high school, writing various genres, connecting writing with reading, conferencing)

Calkins, Lucy and Lydia Bellino. Raising Lifelong Learners: A Parent's Guide (how to maximize the partnership between home and school to encourage the development of literacy, a work ethic, and curiosity in all curricular areas)

Codell, Esmé Raji. How to Get Your Child to Love Reading (a treasure trove for parents, teachers, librarians, grandparents, anyone who cares about children and books; in addition to 3,000 recommended titles, it provides activities, ideas, and inspiration for exploring everything in the world through books)
Fran's Review in "LinguaPhile"

Davis, Bonnie M. How to Teach Students Who Don't Look Like You: Culturally Relevant Teaching Strategies  (a practical tool to help teachers understand the "unique lens" through which their students view the world -- and develop strategies to teach them)
Fran's Review in "LinguaPhile"

Deskin, Gerald and Greg Steckler. When Nothing Makes Sense: Disaster, Crisis, and Their Effects on Children (readable, practical guide that helps adults and children prepare for and deal with various kinds of disasters mentally, emotionally, and physically)
Fran's Review in "LinguaPhile"

Douglas, Julie. A Parent's Guide to St. Louis, Missouri: More Than 250 Fun Things to See and Do (a practical guide to a family-friendly city)

Dowis, Richard. The Lost Art of the Great Speech: How to Write One; How to Deliver It (an extremely readable guide to all aspects of crafting and delivering an excellent speech)
Fran's Review in "LinguaPhile"

Faber, Adele and Elaine Mazlish. How to Talk So Kids Will Listen & Listen So Kids Will Talk

Fadiman, Ann. Ex Libris: Confessions of a Common Reader (a collection of essays recounting "a lifelong love affair with books and language")

Fleischman, Paul. Seedfolks (vignettes of people from various backgrounds who form a community of gardeners in a vacant lot; an excellent tool for building community among educators, parents, and students)
Fran's Review in "LinguaPhile"

Fountas, Irene C. and Gay Su Pinnell. Guiding Readers and Writers: Grades 3-6 (a comprehensive manual for nurturing lifelong learners by turning your language arts classroom into a reading and writing community)
Fran's Review in "LinguaPhile"

Freeman, Marcia S. Listen to This: Developing an Ear for Expository (use models to help students improve their expository writing)
Fran's Review in "LinguaPhile"

Gilbert, Susan. The Land of I Can (helps people of all ages cope with change; celebrates the resilience of the human spirit)
Fran's Review in "LinguaPhile"

Goldberg, Bernard. Bias: A CBS Insider Exposes How the Media Distort the News
Fran's Review in "LinguaPhile"

Grannie Annie Books (Based on interviews with their family storykeepers, children aged 9-14 retell stories from their family's history. These anthologies, published annually, bring history to life and provide invaluable models for students who might want to submit their own stories to The Grannie Annie in the future. Next year your child could be a published author!)

Hall, Susan. Using Picture Storybooks to Teach Literary Devices: Recommended Books for Children and Young Adults (Vol. 2).
Fran's Review in "LinguaPhile"

Hallowell, Edward M., M.D. When You Worry About the Child You Love: Emotional and Learning Problems in Children (provides the explanation that empowers parents to act decisively in dealing with a wide range of children's problems)

Hallowell, Edward M., M.D. and John J. Ratey, M.D. Driven to Distraction: Recognizing and Coping with Attention Deficit Disorder from Childhood Through Adulthood (Softcover)
(Audiotape)
----- Answers to Distraction (presented in a question-and-answer format grouped into chapters covering specific aspects of ADD) (Softcover)
(Audiotape)

Healy, Jane M. Ph.D. Your Child's Growing Mind: A Parent's Guide to Brain Development and Learning from Birth to Adolescence.
----- Endangered Minds: Why Children Don't Think and What We Can Do About It
----- How to Have Intelligent and Creative Conversations With Your Kids* (concrete suggestions for helping children improve thinking and communication skills by engaging them in open-ended discussions about questions without right or wrong answers)
Fran's Review in "LinguaPhile"
----- Failure to Connect: How Computers Affect Our Children's Minds -- for Better and Worse

Kirschenbaum, Valerie. Goodbye Gutenberg: How a Bronx Teacher Defied 500 Years of Tradition and Launched an Astonishing Renaissance (a beautiful book that chronicles the age-old marriage of word and image, and proposes "designer writing" to make text more accessible to readers)

Latrobe, Kathy H., Carolyn S. Brodie, and Maureen White. The Children's Literature Dictionary: Definitions, Resources, and Learning Activities (includes 325 terms relevant to children's literature).
Fran's Review in "LinguaPhile"

Levine, Mel. A Mind at a Time (developmental-behavioral pediatrician provides hope and help for all learners, especially those experiencing problems)
Fran's Review in "LinguaPhile"

Lima, Carolyn W. and John A. Lima. A to Zoo: Subject Access to Children's Picture Books (catalogs nearly 23,000 titles in more than 1200 subjects).
Fran's Review in "LinguaPhile"

Mellonie, Bryan and Robert Ingpen. Lifetimes: A Beautiful Way to Explain Death to Children (appropriate for both preschoolers and adults--and everyone between)
Fran's Review in "LinguaPhile"

Morris, JacLynn and Paul L. Fair, Ph.D. From Me to You: The Reluctant Writer's Guide to Powerful, Personal Messages (will help you to eloquently communicate your innermost thoughts and feelings, creating memorable gifts that are as rewarding to give as to receive)
Fran's Review in "LinguaPhile"

Oppenheim, Joanne. Dear Miss Breed: True Stories of the Japanese American Incarceration During World War II and a Librarian Who Made a Difference (includes letters from young people to the librarian who befriended them during their incarceration -- and many other primary sources)
Fran's Review in LinguaPhile

Prechtel, Cindy. Using the Internet in Your Homeschool (for teachers and other lifelong learners as well as for homeschoolers; a categorized, annotated guide to about 1,000 websites; a terrific resource)
http://www.homeschoolingfromtheheart.com
Fran's Review in "LinguaPhile"

Ravitch, Diane. The Language Police: How Pressure Groups Restrict What Students Learn (an objective -- yet impassioned -- look at the threat posed by censorship that pervades educational materials in the United States)
Fran's Review in "LinguaPhile"

Reiss, Fern. Terrorism and Kids: Comforting Your Child

Rozakis, Dr. Laurie. McGraw Hill's SAT 2400! A Sneak Preview of the New SAT I Verbal Section (practical, user-friendly guide with sample tests, fully explained answers, and test-taking strategies)
Fran's Review in "LinguaPhile"

Schlafly, Phyllis. Turbo Reader (a user-friendly phonics approach for people of all ages)
Fran's Review in "LinguaPhile"
http://www.turboreader.com/

Senn, Linda C. The Many Faces of Journaling: Topics & Techniques for Personal Journal Writing
Fran's Review in "LinguaPhile"

Trelease, Jim. The Read-Aloud Handbook (the rationale behind reading aloud to children as well as many specific suggestions for material)

English Language

For a comparison of these dictionaries, see http://www.grammarandmore.com/edu/archive/issue15.htm#review

Macmillan Dictionary for Children
Webster's New World Children's Dictionary
Merriam-Webster Children's Dictionary

For a comparison of these books of idioms, see http://www.grammarandmore.com/edu/archive/issue25.htm#review

Terban, Marvin. The Scholastic Dictionary of Idioms
Broukal, Milada. Idioms for Everyday Use
Longman Pocket Idioms Dictionary
Spears, Richard. NTC's American Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed.
Spears, Richard. Essential American Idioms, 2nd ed.

Brandreth, Gyles. The Joy of Lex (word games from A to Z and back again)

Crystal, David. The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language, Second Edition (a celebration of all aspects of human language)
Fran's Review in "LinguaPhile"

Elster, Charles Harrington. What in the Word?: Wordplay, Word Lore, and Answers to Your Peskiest Questions about Language.
Read excerpts.

Garg, Anu. Another Word a Day: An All-New Romp through Some of the Most Intriguing Words in English.
Fran's Review in "LinguaPhile"

Grothe, Dr. Mardy. Oxymoronica: Paradoxical Wit and Wisdom from History's Greatest Wordsmiths (a celebration not only of people's wit and wisdom but also of the paradoxical nature of our world)
Fran's Review in "LinguaPhile"

Grothe, Mardy. Viva la Repartee: Clever Comebacks and Witty Retorts from History's Great Wits and Wordsmiths
Fran's Review in "LinguaPhile"

Lederer, Richard. Anguished English: An Anthology of Accidental Assaults Upon Our Language (a collection of language bloopers guaranteed to make you laugh)
----- Crazy English: The Ultimate Joy Ride Through Our Language
Fran's Review in "LinguaPhile"
----- The Miracle of Language (guaranteed to increase your appreciation of English)
Fran's Review in "LinguaPhile"
----- The Play of Words: Fun and Games for Language Lovers
----- Pun and Games: Jokes, Riddles, Daffynitions, Tairy Fales, Rhymes, and More Wordplay for Kids

Lipton, James. An Exaltation of Larks (an illustrated collection of terms that metaphorically name a group of people or things, such as "a crash of rhinoceroses"; some of these date back to the 15th century)
Fran's Review in "LinguaPhile"

Lundquist, Joegil. English from the Roots Up (building vocabulary by studying Latin and Greek roots)

Quinion, Michael, Ballyhoo, Buckaroo, and Spuds: Ingenious Tales of Words and Their Origins (corrects many common misperceptions)
Fran's Review in "LinguaPhile"

Truss, Lynne. Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation (a lively look at the vital role punctuation plays in our written communication)
Fran's Review in "LinguaPhile"

Grammar

Heller, Ruth. World of Language series (small books with colorful pictures illustrating concepts)
Fran's Review in "LinguaPhile"
Merry-Go-Round: A Book About Nouns (small books with colorful pictures illustrating concepts)
----- A Cache of Jewels and Other Collective Nouns
----- Mine, All Mine: A Book About Pronouns
----- Many Luscious Lollipops: A Book About Adjectives
----- Kites Sail High: A Book About Verbs
----- Up, Up, and Away. A Book About Adverbs
----- Behind the Mask: A Book About Prepositions
----- Fantastic! Wow! and Unreal!: A Book About Interjections and Conjunctions

Poetry to Read

Cassedy, Sylvia. Roomrimes* (delightful sight and sound images about rooms starting with each letter of the alphabet; employ various forms from haiku to the Shakespearean sonnet)

Janeczko, Paul B., ed. Going Over to Your Place.

Merriam, Eve. Rainbow Writing*.

By Children for Children

Grannie Annie Books  (Based on interviews with their family storykeepers, children aged 9-14 retell stories from their family's history. These anthologies, published annually, bring history to life and provide invaluable models for students who might want to submit their own stories to The Grannie Annie in the future.)

Chbosky, Stacy. Who Owns the Sun?*
Fran's Review in "LinguaPhile"

Vollmer, Dennis. Joshua Disobeys

Novels, Stories

Anderson, Laurie Halse. Thank You, Sarah: The Woman Who Saved Thanksgiving (beautiful picture book that fosters appreciation for the Thanksgiving holiday and for the woman who worked tirelessly to preserve it)
Fran's Review in "LinguaPhile"

Armstrong, William. Sounder (a sharecropper's family faces adversity; a Newbery Award winner)

Avi. Nothing But the Truth (stark documentary novel that presents no commentary but through a series of documents shows how an incident can escalate; should be required reading for everyone associated with a school--students, teachers, administrators, board members, parents)
Fran's Review in "LinguaPhile"

Bradbury, Ray. Dandelion Wine (beautifully written vignettes about a boy growing up in the Midwest in the summer of 1928)
Fran's Review in "LinguaPhile"

Clavell, James. The Children's Story (short, chilling tale about manipulation of children's minds)
Fran's Review in "LinguaPhile"

Clements, Andrew. The School Story (a gifted sixth grader writes a "great" middle school novel and gets it published by a major publisher)
Fran's Review in "LinguaPhile"

Dahlberg, Maurine F. Play to the Angel (a young musician battles many obstacles in 1939 Vienna)
Fran's Review in "LinguaPhile"

Delacre, Lulu. Salsa Stories (stories -- and recipes! -- that introduce readers to Latin American culture)
Fran's Review in "LinguaPhile"

Hale, Edward Everett. "The Man Without a Country" (story that prompts readers to reflect on patriotism and justice)
Fran's Review in "LinguaPhile"

Hautzig, Esther. The Endless Steppe (bittersweet true story of a young girl who maintained courage and hope despite her family being uprooted from their home in Poland and taken across the steppe to Siberia in 1941)
Fran's Review in "LinguaPhile"

Juster, Norton. The Phantom Tollbooth (a linguistic delight and fantastic adventure which offers many valuable lessons about life)
Fran's Review in "LinguaPhile"

Lasky, Kathryn. Christmas After All: The Great Depression Diary of MinnieSwift (a book in Scholastic's Dear America series)
Fran's Review in "LinguaPhile"

Lowry, Lois. The Giver (thought-provoking account of life in a fictitious society very different from ours--or is it? winner of many awards, including the Newbery)
Fran's Review in "LinguaPhile"

Saint-Exupery, Antoine de. The Little Prince (French classic celebrating the wisdom of innocence)

Sandburg, Carl. Rootabaga Stories (whimsical tales written by America's famous poet for his daughters)
Fran's Review in "LinguaPhile"

Young Patriots Series (fictionalized biographies of American heroes, including plausible childhood adventures)

Writing

Asher, Sandy. Where Do You Get Your Ideas?

Cassedy, Sylvia. In Your Own Words, A Beginner's Guide to Writing*

Freeman, Marcia S. Listen to This: Developing an Ear for Expository ("An Expository Writing Primer" and models to help you improve your expository writing)
Fran's Review in "LinguaPhile".

Goldstein, Janet M. and Beth Johnson. Voices and Values: A Reader for Writers (forty thought-provoking essays with exercises to help students develop their reading, writing, and thinking skills; recommended for junior high through adult) Available from Townsend Press.
Fran's Review in "LinguaPhile".

Heiligman, Deborah. The New York Public Library Kid's Guide to Research (selecting a topic, evaluating sources, finding information in all kinds of media, sending for information, and conducting interviews, surveys, and experiments)
Fran's Review in "LinguaPhile"

Henderson, Kathy. Market Guide for Young Writers: Where and How to Sell What You Write (information on preparing and submitting manuscripts; markets and contests)

Janeczko, Paul B., How to Write Poetry
Fran's Review in "LinguaPhile"

Van Allsburg, Chris. The Mysteries of Harris Burdick (fourteen haunting drawings, each with a caption and story title)

Special Challenges

Levine, Dr. Mel. Keeping A Head in School: A Student's Book About Learning Abilities and Learning Disorders
Fran's Review in "LinguaPhile"

For the Youngest

Jay, Alison. A B C: A Child's First Alphabet Book (includes art that will delight and excite both children and adults as they explore the alphabet)
Fran's Review in "LinguaPhile"
----- 1 2 3: A Child's First Counting Book (features scenes from ten famous fairy tales -- and many things to count)

Suggest a Book

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