Childrens Days Books

This story tells about the feelings of Amanda, an elementary school-aged girl as she experiences her mother's unpredictable episodes of recurrent depression. The mother also clearly experiences anguish when she sometimes cannot respond to her child's needs. Her mother and father both help Amanda understand that her mother loves her and that the mother's depressive episodes are not Amanda's fault. Amanda conceptualizes her mother's moods as colors. The illustrations sensitively follow this metaphor to catch the moods and experiences of the mother and the household. Amanda and her mother learn that despite recurrent depression, the mother can still find ways to give of herself to Amanda.

Children often feel confused and upset when a parent is depressed. They may blame themselves or the depressed parent. I liked the fact that this book is encouraging without sugar-coating a very difficult situation. I often use this book as a springboard for further discussion.

I have been looking everywhere for books to help me explain to my 8 yr old daughter about my clinical depression (I suffer from Bipolar disorder). This book was awesome, and was able to give my daughter and I points to begin discussion about my depression. I've recently become a single parent and have felt that it is even more important now than ever before to educate my daughter about this illness that is such a large part of my life. Through this book we've been able to discuss how this affects her and how we can work together to get through the difficult times caused by my illness.

I was looking for a way to talk to my little girl about depression. This book was wonderful. It shows a little girl who has to deal with depression in her home. And it answered questions that I had no way of answering. It has helped my daughter understand that she is not the problem when things are not good at home. And that there are good and bad days. She is not to blame. And that was very important, as a parent with depression, to get across to my children. The only part that I didn't care for was about the cereal. I wish that there had been a different way to see what kind of morning it was. My kids have cold cereal most of the time, even on good days. That is the only reason that I rated it 4 instead of 5. It did make all the important points in a way that a child can understand.

I bought this and another children's book about depression to help explain depression to my kids. I thought this book did a much better job than the other one I bought. Amanda Martha's mother suffers from depression, and the daughters asks the usual questions: Is it my fault? Can I make you feel better? And the mother gives the right answers: It's not your fault. It's not your job to make you feel better.

The mother's depression was protrayed very realistically, I thought. Some days she's very down and can't even get out of her bathrobe. Other days, she can get dressed, but she's not happy. Some days, she is happy. There are no quick fixes here. However, there is a sense of hope, that when the family pulls together, the necessary work will get done and love will be shared in abundance. This book should be available for all parents who have been diagnosed with depression and who have young children.

This book is a wonderful resource to share with children. Told simply, from the point of view of a child whose mother is severely depressed, this book is affirming for parents and children. As the child tells us, "some days are sad days, some are glad days and but most are in between days."

Through a simple plot, Amanda shares her feelings about her mother's 'sad days' and 'glad days'. When Amanda first asks for a kitten she is told no, because her mother's sad days might make it difficult to care for the kitten. At the end, Amanda, knowing that most days are in between days, agrees to care for the kitten on her mother's sad days; and her mother can help her on her glad days.'

The book is very uplifting and satisfying with an honest portrayal of living with depression.

I teach Pre-K, and used this book along with other books by Kate Waters (The Mayflower,Sarah Morton's Day, and Tapenum's Day)to teach my November unit on the Pilgrims and the Native Americans. The photographs, which I primarily used, are an excellent source for my young students to visualize how things were. (I also left them in our library to look at at their leisure.) The text, which is understandable for this age, was a bit long for them to sit for during circle time. However, I wish I had these books when my own children were younger, because they would have had no trouble listening to them one on one. I remember how excited my children were when learning of this era. These books would have been some of their favorites, and I highly recommend them.

I used this book as part of the third grade curriculum. We are studying Massachusetts History. This book and its partner books about Sarah Morton, a Pilgrim Girl and Tapenum a Wampanoag Indian boy were excellent!!
The texts and pictures were well researched and presented. Plymouth Plantation and the reenactors there provide an authentic setting. Homes, clothing, work and play of children during this period are acurately shown. These books should be in every school library.

This is a wonderful, wonderful book. It will help you teach your children about hard work, perseverance, and family. My children want it read to them again and again.

Young Samuel Eaton (a historical character) is looking forward to his first chance to help his father bring in the crops. He finds the work incredibly hard, and the coarse grain raises bad blisters on his hands. But he perseveres, and at the end of the day when his father tells him "you did a man's work today, Samuel," we feel his pride.

Masterfully written, beautifully photographed, this is a gem in every way.

I am continually amazed at how children's books offer detail and insight into daily life that no stout history book can provide.

Writing the same review for the other two in this trilogy. Excellent all!

This book took us back to 1627. We learned all about Samuel Eaton's first day as a man. He told us all about the hard work he had to do in the fields. It was so interesting to read a story that used different words from long ago. The pictures were awesome! They showed us the clothing the pilgrims wore, what their house looked like, and the hard work everybody did. We thought it would be difficult to be a pilgrim boy! We think everyone should read this book because you can learn a lot about how the pilgrims lived. Read this wonderful book!

This book is well researched and well written. It has been encouraging to me as a new stay-at-home-mom that I am "good enough" and my child is not missing out on any developmental (or any other) benefits from not being in an "early learning center".A MUST READ! So happy I found the book!

Motivated by the negligence of modern parents on determining appropriate childrearing approaches, Anne Pierce examines the harsh consequences American society inflicts upon our children in "Ships Without a Shore". Today's standards create no solid foundation for substantial growth as the pressures of early-age education, improving talents, organized sports and creating impressive resumes takes away from the innocence and creativity children thrive upon. Pierce suggests that moral values have become optional as children turn to the media and their peers for guidance as a result of a household with two working parents, who are often too busy for adequate family time. The definition of a nuclear family has changed in the past two decades to include mothers who seek fulfillment in the workplace rather than their homes, single parent families as a result of teen and out-of-wedlock pregnancies, and the increasing divorce rate. These social issues directly affect children as mothers are contributing to their family's financial wellbeing, rather than satisfying parent-child relationships. According to Pierce, this model for the self-fulfilled mother is supported by the media's portrayal of powerful women in the corporate world and popular opinion that mothers should be free from guilt of leaving their duties at home. The data presented by the media on the effects of two working parents is a seemingly reasonable situation for families, yet the figures are often misleading: as Pierce's research points out, many of the so-called `working mothers' hold part time jobs, have flexible hours, or work from home and are therefore a constant presence in her child's life and providing at-home care rather than institutionalized. She argues that many daycares promote `early learning', which often is not age appropriate, and sheds light that although several centers may be high quality, no child will receive the same love and trust that a parent can provide. Many psychological problems arise from the abandonment of infants and young children to daycare and early learning centers that create adolescent and adult disorders. Pierce gathers many scientific studies and includes them in her text, making the information available and understandable to the reader. She also provides comprehensive examples of worldly political and psychological trends that have influenced popular thought, such as the Soviet Revolution, which placed focus on the community rather than families, and the justification of any and all choices in our current cultural relativism. Furthermore, the text cites specific familial examples of various interviews conducted by Pierce, and even personal accounts from her experience as a `working' mother. "Ships Without a Shore" gives a voice to the mothers who fight the pressure to return to the workforce; those who are ignored because popular opinion is much easier to accept than the truth that is hard to hear. Anne Pierce reminds parents that children can learn outside institutions and structured activities; children must grow in their imaginations and especially, in love. This book forces us to ask, `What are the optimal conditions for rearing a child?' rather than simply finding a convenient solution for parents.

Dr. Anne Pierce has written a "no-holds-barred" manifesto about how American culture and lifestyle choices are hurting our children. She is searing in her criticisms of non-parental care for young kids (especially center-based daycare), divorce, out-of-wedlock childbearing, graphic violence and sex in the media, hyperscheduled kids who are shuttled from one organized activity to the next with little or no unstructured down time, the push for androgyny in the name of "gender equality" that belittles traditional masculinity and femininity, multiculturalism and identity politics run amok, and the general trend away from traditional Judeo-Christian views of morality in favor of moral relativism.

The biggest criticism I have of "Ships Without a Shore" is the author's tendency to overgeneralize from her own social circle of affluent mothers. These women are fortunate enough to have an actual choice about whether or not to work full-time outside the home when their children are young. She claims that most married employed moms are working for self-fulfillment and a luxurious standard of living. And the picture she paints of a "typical day" of a stay-at-home-mom revolves around providing one-on-one enrichment to her child with apparently no housework to be done and the father bringing home takeout. Doubtless these reflect the experiences of Dr. Pierce and her peers, but not for many moms in this country who are less well-heeled.

Overall, however, I recommend "Ships Without a Shore" for anyone concerned about children's welfare.

"Ships Without a Shore" by Anne Pierce PhD is a unique and much needed book about the state of parenting today.

Mainstream parenting as it is being done right now is analyzed thoroughly, that is, the lifestyle of babies and children raised in daycare and toddlers taking classes and doing sports, children being raised in institutions (including public schools), children busy with after school programs, extra-curricular activities after school and on weekends and summers filled with camps. The author asks questions about how the children, the products of their parent's lifestyle choices, are turning out. With many citations to studies, the answer is that today's teens are already in a disaster state and todays youngest are headed down a sad road also. By looking at the results of these parenting choices such as the rising rates of alcohol and drug abuse, rising eating disorders, rising self-mutilation, rising child and teen depression rates, suicidal teens and detached apathetic children and teens, the author asks how they got that way and the answer is that they are the products of their upbringing: they have been under-nurtured due to the parenting decisions and lifestyle choices of their parents. Yes, the children are suffering due to the choices that their parents made.

Pierce looks back over history and seeks to find the answer to how we got here. Mothers of today who were happy with their own childhood usually choose a very different lifestyle for their own children. We who were raised in the 1970s and 1980s are being guided to parent our children very differently than we ourselves were parented. Why is that? How did we get to a place where we abandoned the typical way of parenting for thousands of years and jump to this other way? Pierce calls our modern day parenting a `social experiment'. No matter how much some would like to think that their lives are fantastic, if their children are turning out to be a mess then our society should be rethinking things. The author explains the history of America and changes brought on by feminism and moral relativism. The role of a woman in our society and the role of today's mother is analyzed including discussion of how a mother who chooses to stay home to raise her children is marginalized and shamed by society and the media. The skewing of statistics in order to lead the public to believe that more mothers of very young children is done intentionally by some in our society in order to push an agenda that working mothers are the norm. Another interesting topic is the uniqueness of males versus females, how the attempt to make our culture androgynous is hurting our society. Topics such as absentee fathers and divorce and the effects on the child are examined. Later, Pierce looks at Russia in the early 20th century and shows the effect of socialism and how it altered the family dynamic and the way children were brought up. Surprisingly, today's America resembles socialist Russia, and the negative outcomes of socialist Russia's children are explained--is that what we want for our children?

Some other topics covered are related to American public schooling and the content that is being taught or not taught to today's children. Issues the author explains in depth are the problems with teaching negative content about the environment and man's ruination of the Earth, before children even know the basics about the environment. The author discusses the problems multiculturalism, the effect of the bashing of American history and the overall dumbing down of the curriculum. Today's children have rising rates of learning disabilities, ADD/ADHD, and problems thinking--some of which the author ties to being raised in daycare situations or being rushed to formal academics at a too-young age when their brain is not even physically developed enough to handle the processing of that type of learning, and is damaged as a result.

Pierce has carefully crafted this book, digging deep to find historical references or studies to back up what some would like to say is `just her opinion'. The fact of the matter is that studies and statistics have been showing for years, the negative effects of things such as babies separated from their mothers and turned over to strangers for paid daycare. The author shows how the American media filters and hides information from the public which `they' don't want us to know as the information is disturbing and would lead people to consider changing their ways. Clear documentation of some suppression of scientific data is provided. We, the public, have reason to be wary of the media and even our government who doesn't always disclose all the findings of the NIH studies funded by our own tax dollars.

Beyond the daycare issue, the subject of the innocence of children and the importance of parents working to ensure that their children are protected and allowed to grow up and through each developmental stage rather than being rushed to adulthood with too much exposure to mature content is addressed. The importance of time to think and play and relax and `be a kid' is discussed. Moral relativism is another cause of the state of today's affairs in America. This is examined and applied to many different aspects of parenting and the negative ramifications of it are glaring.

I read the book cover to cover with pencil in hand. I couldn't stop myself from underlining passages and making notes in the margins. This book is one that should be read slowly and carefully. The book is not filled with fluff nor is it a lot of white space. The author chose her words carefully and writes in a precise style. I had to read it slowly so as to be sure to not miss a single word. This is not a book to skim as you may miss something. This is a very serious book that should be required reading for all people who think they will one day become parents, and for all parents too.

As a mother who has chosen to put her own career on hold in order to be home to raise my children, I found validation of my choices in the pages of this book. Things I had wondered about or strongly suspected were the root causes of some outcomes that I have witnessed in some young children were confirmed. Learning new things about the problems associated with this `new parenting' that is going on all around me has confirmed that our family made the wise choice. Just as the author asks readers to do, I too have always based my parenting decisions on what is best for the child, which is not necessarily the easiest thing or the best thing for me. Active parenting takes work and Pierce drives home the point that children do need our presence and our attention for their entire childhood.

What the author does is ask `what is best for the child'? What do children need physically and emotionally? Then after we know that, we adults, the parents, should make our lifestyle decisions based on what is best for the children. We should be informed and make informed decisions.

This book is brilliant. It will leave you wanting to talk about the ideas with someone. It would make an excellent book club book.

Please buy and read this book. Then tell all of your friends about it and get them to buy it. (We need to keep this book in print and support the work of this author!)

Let's really get a dialogue going about this very important topic. Our children and the future of our country depend on it.

Don't place your babies in daycare or sign your children up for a host of structured activities until you read this book. Incredibly well-researched and insightful, this book raises issues every parent needs to think through before going along with today's popularly accepted way of raising children. As Pierce says, "Our busy lives allow too little time to question whether all this busyness is necessary and whether the content of our children's education is good." The book is challenging, but very well-written, and provides an essential wake-up call for everyone who cares about America's children.

You'll love it. It is classic

Are you board, raining out side. Well even if it isn't this book will still be fun. it delivers the fun out of the simpsons. If you like the show, you'll love this book.

A great Simpson's book, which you cannot put down. It's full of excellent games and puzzles. One for all Simpson's fans.

This book basically is for finding something for elementary aged children to do. The games are desribed in ways relating to the show, but many are just actually Simpson related twists of old games. This book faetures many card games, scientific tricks, optical illusions, and many other things that can be done inside the house. This book also features some great puzzles, and a area with children related recipes. Buy this book to keep your children entertained, I'm sure they'll find much of the book useful.

This is not one of my favourite Simpson books ( I have 7 of them) because it gives no in-site into the characters or the show. But because of the Simpsonesque humour, great pictures and its high fun factor this book is a winner with Simpson and Non Simpson fans alike.

This is a beautiful book for children, not only to deal with the issue of cancer or illness in the family, but to help them understand and cope with all of life's difficulties in a simple and basic way. Kudos to the author!

We are all very lucky in many ways. This very powerful, yet simply written book reminds us that we need to take time to celebrate our blessings. There are many sides to every challenge we face. It's up to us to find ways to make each challenge an opportunity or at the very least not let it tarnish our ability to enjoy what we have right in front of us.

Thanks for the reminder Andy.

Andy's book reflects on the simple virtue of living each day being thankful. Similar to the book "The Giving Tree", the message is for young and old... or should I say more mature.

Anyway, this is a book to read over and over again, I know I have and will. Thanks Andy!

This book is simple, touching and so true. Everyone will hit a "bump in road" at some point in their life. Some Days.... is very comforting for those who have already encountered this "bump". It emphasizes the importance of slowing down and enjoying the simple day to day things we have.

This is a profound little book, simply stated with a message of love. It will touch your heart and remind you to cherish each moment with those you love. Truly a book for all ages with important words to live by.

A must read for all teenagers and even adults. Gives a perspective of life, adventure and information, interwoven with intriguing plots and excitement !

These Willard Price books are addicting to kids in my class...particularly boys. They read one after another until they've read them all. So glad I found a place to order them.

I love this book, I read it and I couldn't stop myself. When I saw how big it was at first I thought it was a waste of time but actually it was really interesting. I liked how they were stranded on an island with tons of pearls. Very very creative! Buy this book, it is the best adventure story I have ever read! END

I've finished reading all of Willard Prices books and I've found this to be one of the best.I liked the part when Hal and Roger started finding food and water on the desert island for themselves and their Polynesian friend,Omo.Reason I like these type of books?They are very informative,as well as having a good touch of humour and adventure.

I am 45 years old and read all of Willard Price's books when I was in junior high. I was caught up in each and every one of them! How I helped the boys struggle through each adventure! When my son was in his early teen years, I purchased all of the Price books that I could find for him. I am so excited that Amazon.com can find some of the books for me that I couldn't find years ago!! These books should be mandatory reading for all junior high students - male or (like me) female.

I purchased one of these for each of my 6 year olds last Christmas. Both just LOVE anything SpongeBob.

This is a really nice, fat coloring book that will last a long time. What can you say about a coloring book? This is a good one.

We also bought this for a birthday party gift for one of the boys' friends a few months later. We gave this, along with a few of the 8 x 8 paperback SpongeBob books. Very well-received!

I'd definitely recommend this coloring book. It will last virtually forever. If you're buying for a little kid, aged 4-7, go for it! (I think they ALL love SpongeBob!)

A lot of times, Amazon has this on their 4-for-3 promotion. That's a perfect time to stock the gift closet. I also recommend the Pixar and the Scooby Doo big, fat coloring books offered here on Amazon. (See my other reviews.)

My son is a Spongebob fanatic at 23 months!!! He loves this coloring book... he scribbles in it and at times looks at all the pages. It is a coloring book afterall, so don't expect durability if you have a child that tears everything. I will tell you that it is very big though.

Keeps the kids busy for hours...down side is we are running out of "YELLOW" crayons, paint, markers, and color pencils. Are now using yellow highlighters.

This is a great coloring book for Sponge Bob lovers of all ages! Nice pictures!

This is a nice big coloring book and has and continues to keep my 8 year old Spongebob fan entertained.

This book is a good value for the money and a definite buy for kids that like Spongebob and coloring.

This was the first book i learned to read. If you buy it i believe you won't be sorry.

Spot the Dog books are a favourite with my girls. They love the simple stories that they can relate to (hiding, baking a cake, playing with others etc) and the lift-the-flaps always bring screams of delight even though we've read them many many times. As they grow I'm sure they'll be one of the books they learn to read with. The words are simple and the font easy to read. Lovely books to cuddle up with your children on your lap. They are also big enough to hold up and read to them as they sit in back seat on car trips.

I feel in love with "Spot Goes to School" and will be reading it to my grandson when he gets old enough to read.He is only six months old but I am stocking up now. The illustrations are really cute and on every page there is something that easily "opens" to reveal something underneath. What an adorable book to prepare a child for going to nursery school etc.!

Spot does it again! That dog named Spot shows little ones how he goes to school and talks about his day. From singing with Helen and Tom, to painting a picture, to reading stories, Spot let my son know it would be fun to go to preschool. We purchased the book right before my son started attending preschool and as we read it, he told me about his day, which includes storytime, painting and singing, as well as playing on the playground. The lift-the-flap books engage little ones to keep on reading. It is a nice way to end the day and naturally talk about what happened at preschool that day. Way to go Spot!

Spot discovers that school is fun and interesting in this flap book by Eric Hill. After a warm greeting by his teacher and classmates, Spot hides (under one of the flaps found on every page) when it's time to sing a song. "I can't sing," he says. There is no resolution to this (maybe some pages were torn out of my copy?), but Spot soon finds plenty to do as the disjointed plot reveals Spot's fun activities at school. These include finding dress-up clothes in a small playhouse, spelling the word "DOG" with blocks, story time by the teacher, playing teeter-totter (Spot is cleverly hidden under a flap that is part of a tree), and painting paw prints. When his mom picks him up and asks, "How was school, Spot?" he answers with a resounding "Great!" Twenty-two brightly colored pages showing Spot enjoying school after some initial uncertainty.

I bought this for a 9-month old who was our youngest Thanksgiving visitor. The story is simple, clear, and had just the right level of religious tone for me, ie: mentions thanking God without being preachy. I'm hoping it will be a special book for her for several years.

My 7 year old and 4 year old asked me to read this book every night since before Thanksgiving. It's December and they are still requesting it. The words are so simple, that they now recognize most of them and read to me! Simple words, but great story.

My five year old daughter (and to some extent my 3 y.o. son) is ready for a more advanced book than this one, but before we move on I thought I would say something about this sturdy little book that has been our foundation in Thanksgiving Day preparations for the last four years.

"The Story of Thanksgiving" begins with a question about why we celebrate Thanksgiving. It then goes on to depict how the pilgrims left England to come to America. It shows pictures of sad Pilgrims boarding the Mayflower, followed by a rough ocean (at least by toddler standards) and then the thankful travelers arriving at Plymouth. (They are thankful to be on land again-LOL)

After that the Pilgrims are shown briefly struggling with snow and cold, followed by a more cheerful picture of them planting. With Squanto's arrival they learn new things about the new land of America. Squanto shows them how to plant pumpkins, corn, and squash. And the book ends with a picture of Native Americans and Pilgrims at their feast; followed by a modern family at their feast.

"Thank you, God, for our families, our food, and our homes" the author writes.

Five Stars. A sturdy little book with child friendly artwork. The text is simple and easily understandable without needing many explanations from mom or dad. The religious aspects can be emphasized or not.

Examples of text so you can judge for yourself:

The Pilgrims lived in England.
They could not have their own church,
so they left their homes for a new land far away.

From another page:

The Pilgrims built their homes. Winter came.
Icy winds blew. Snow fell.
There was not much food to eat.

Nice clear pictures, short, simple, interesting story with appropriate emphasis on God's role in the pilgrim's lives (without being a "religious" book). My favorite thanksgiving book for little kids.

My daughter, 20 months at the time, absolutely loved this book. She got to the point where she would say all the key words before I did. I highly recommend it to any parent of a young toddler.

I purchased this book to read to my 2 neices ages 5 and 3. The 5 year old was able to read some of the words to and with me. They both enjoyed the story and ask their mother to read it to them on a regular basis. The story is a wonderful tale of sharing of company and culture with an older couple who would other wise had spent Thanksgiving alone without a proper dinner.

Debbie Atwell created a lovely, poignant story about the fellowship of humanity and brought a collective ideal to reality. Beautiful, happy, colorful folk illustrations and an orginal Polacco-esque tale bring the spirit of Thanksgiving to the reader, and our family. Ageless and timeless, we will share this book together for years to come.

What an enjoyable book! Very different storyline than most Thanksgiving Day books, but the spirit of the holiday is wonderfully, accurately captured and very well conveyed. The writing style also is a bit unusual but fits the story. Our 5-year old really enjoyed the book (as did we!) and right away noticed the Ukrainian heritage (dancing) and names. TERRIFIC BOOK!

In the beginning of the book we meet an older couple who look forward to a great Thanksgiving meal. The lady burns the turkey and they thik that Thanksgiving is ruined. The husband sugest that they try out the new restaurant down the street. The door is open so the couple assumes that they are open for business when in reality they are getting ready for a family celebration. Find out what happens when the grandmother that owns the restaurant tries to show the couple the true meaning of Thanksgiving.


I liked the illustrations in the book. They were done in folk art style.


We would recommed this book to read around the Thanksgiving season. It teaches that the real meaning of Thanksgiving is family and friendship.

Deftly written and colorfully illustrated by Debby Atwell, The Thanksgiving Door is the entertaining story of a family preparing their Thanksgiving celebration in the restaurant they own and run. When suddenly two strangers walk through the door unwittingly left open, the children try to scare away the undesired customers. But Grandmother in her wisdom invites them as guests and the children learn some sage lessons about what the Thanksgiving holiday spirit really means.