Childrens Days Books

This book is very educational! I would say kids of all ages should read this book. This book is about a girl named Thembi who lives with her great-grandmother and parents. Well one day Thembi's mom comes home crying because black South Africans are finally going to get to vote and it it very special because it will be Thembis great-grandmothers first time to vote. At first Thembis parents say her great-grandmother cant go vote because they will have to be at work when she votes so she will have no way of getting there. Also that there will be very long lines and they dont think she can stand for that long. This book has very nice pictures that you should look at even if you havnt read the book! It teaches kids that in some places in our world people are not so lucky like we are, they dont have very much freedom. Also that children should'nt take things for granted and should respect what they have because other kids arent so lucky!

Contemporary authors tackle issues that would've been unheard of, fifty, even thirty years ago. "The Day Gogo Went to Vote" addresses South Africa's emergence from its apartheid past to the present politically-balanced form of government. Taking place in the days prior to the election of Nelson Mandela as its first black president, the book shows how important it is for open and free representation at the polling places.

The wonderful illustrations, coupled with the inspiring characters, make this a fascinating and insightful read. The love shared between the old lady and her grandchild, as well as the respect the community has for the elderly, helps to promote citizenship and family values.

"The Day Gogo Went to Vote" belongs in every library, every school, and, if things were perfect, every home.

LOVE IT ! Based on history and reality it gives an un-thought of angle of the life of the Lord when entering Jerusalem. At the same time, it highlights some of life's challenges that can come whether you are a child or an adult. This book speaks to not only children, but everyone who reads it to a child. It crosses gender and age barriers. Illustrations are adorable. I wanted to take Jasper home with me. A must have book.

A truly inspiring story. The plot makes it a real page-turner. Many lessons about life such as obedience and self-esteem that are woven into the book make it absolutely awesome. The author makes history come alive with her adorable donkey that tells the story as a first person narrative. Highly recommend this choice.

I thought this was a very well written book for youngsters. The pages are bold and colorful with easy to read words. It is a chapter book for the beginner reader with a story relating how a child's imgination can get away from them before they come back to earth. Bill Cosby writes this book for all to learn to laugh at ourself once in a while! And to think how we would react if we were in the same position as the kids in the story!!!

Little Bill finds a huge "diamond" and thinks he's rich. Little Bill agrees to share the money with his friends. Their ideas for spending the money are sweet and thoughtful. They're disappointed that the "diamond" is a paperweight but they overcome the disappointment very quickly. They play outside and laugh at how they were fooled.

My daughter enjoys the Little Bill series and continues to enjoy this new one. If you like the Little Bill series, you'll like this one too.

Though the day recorded in pictures (May 2, 1986) may have occured almost twenty years ago, the life (and look) of this nation has only made slight changes or none at all.

People are still getting married (page 118).
Babies are still being born (pages 28-29).
Mount Rushmore still stands (page 50).
People still worship their pets (page 59).
People are still divided over abortion rights (pages 62-63)
Mary Kay salespersons still win Pink Cadillac's (page 140).
Siegfred and Roy are still among us (pages 146-147).
Young families still share the joys of grocery shopping (pages 234-235).
Liza Minnelll, though a lot "heavier," is still entertaining (page 87).
The Citadel still graduates cadets (pages 74-75)
First graders still share secrets (pages 132-133).
Las Vegas showgirls still tout their "wares" (pages 240-241).

And a "Bush" is in Washington (page 106).

Like I said, little has changed in twenty years and this photographic day in the life of our nation shows that.

I am a professional photographer and I find this book compelling and inspirational. When my creative juices begin to ebb this is one of the volumes I always reach for! A must have for anyone who loves America and photography.

This is one of those rare history books that should never go out of print. It tells you so many of the details of Roman life. Did you ever wonder what Romans wore under those togas? They wore a tunic, which is a thing like a night shirt. Upper classes were allowed (encouraged, actually) to wear a purple stripe down their tunic (wide ones for Senators, narrow ones for Equites), and that's how people knew if you were or were not upper class (I mean besides all those slaves running after you). It's a very complete picture, describing houses, tenements, public eating houses, the public baths, schools,what a Roman banquet was like, the pots and pans in the kitchen, and even sandals. Did you know the proper number present at a Roman banquet was 9? Why? The couches held three people and there were three couches, ergo 9 people. That was tradition. Just about everything you'd want to know about day-to-day Roman life is in this one small book. It's great. You'll love it. I've got to have "A Day in Old Athens," now. By same author.

I first encountered this book while researching a term paper on the public games of the Roman Empire, and I liked it enough that eventually I acquired my own copy through Amazon. Davis herein did not formally cite his references or include a bibliography, so the book's value is more that of supplying a mental roadmap of and feel for the setting rather than as a formal scholarly work. (Davis covers himself on that score in his preface, however, by outlining generally the sources drawn upon, emphasizing the major Roman writers of the period.) Davis wrote at least 2 other books in this vein: A DAY IN OLD ATHENS and LIFE IN ELIZABETHAN DAYS. I can say definitely that while the latter has a similar structure, A DAY IN OLD ROME scores over its Elizabethan sibling in that herein Davis has confined himself to a real city and real historical characters rather than creating a composite setting to better illustrate his points.

As the author says in the preface, the book describes Imperial Rome on a spring day in 134 A.D./C.E., as seen if the reader were magically transported there and provided with a competent tour guide. That date was picked because the Empire was architecturally near completion, the Empire was prosperous but not yet decadent. Davis deliberately avoids unusual events; he's tried to construct a run-of-the-mill day; the emperor Hadrian isn't in the city until he formally arrives in the last (13th) chapter.

Chapter 1, "The General Aspect of the City", gradually shifts from speaking *about* the city and the surrounding countryside to a viewpoint from a height near the Campus Martius, to obtain an overview before descending into the city. (Nice touch: English translations of place names are provided parenthetically when the names are introduced, providing a flavor of how a contemporary would have heard them, e.g. Ostia, "River Mouth".) Davis' details are interesting; readers may not have realized how advanced Roman architecture really was, wherein impressive buildings were mostly concrete with marble facades, and cheaper buildings were of brick or building stone - not wood, with its increased risk of fire.

As our tour guide, Davis doesn't jump straight to the famous "sights" that would crown a tourist's visit, but works his way inward and upward to the heart and heights of the city, beginning with chapter 2, "Streets and Street Life", a good example of the kind of detail provided. Davis not only mentions that most streets were too narrow for two vehicles at once, and that traffic laws banned most wheeled vehicles between dawn and 'the tenth hour'. (Note the time given in Roman style, only parenthetically translated to 4 pm.) From a pedestrian's point of view, most streets were worn slick, only main roads being kept clean, with special stepping-stones inset against the rainy season. We even get samples of Roman flyers posted on walls (actual text, noted as found in Pompeii, from 'to rent' notices to announcements of upcoming gladiatorial combats) and graffiti, as well as descriptions of typical street processions and crowds' behaviour in public.

Chapters 3 through 6 come in off the street, dealing with "Roman homes", "Roman women and marriages", "Costume and personal adornment", and "Food and drink". Housing covers the gamut from insulae (tenements that ought to be "islands" with space around them to prevent the spread of fire) to great houses of the wealthy, including on the low end the expected rental price in sesterces (with a parenthetic conversion into U.S. dollars where each money amount is mentioned, a convention followed throughout the text). Example of nice touches of detail: the Calends (July first) was the regular moving day, when deadbeat tenants were evicted. Furnishings being skimpy in the slums of Rome, details about higher-class housing treat Roman furniture in more depth, although expected furnishings are covered for the low-end insulae as well.

"Roman women and marriages" focuses on betrothal customs, marriage ceremonies (when there were any), and divorce, which was easier in Empire days than it would be for many centuries after the Empire's fall. A couple of stereotypes are drawn: that of a frivolous woman who might collect gladiators and suchlike, contrasted with the tomb enscription of an archetypal 'good woman' by her mourning husband.

A bit of trivia about costume: the word 'candidate' comes from 'candidati', "extra-white" - office-seekers used to specially bleach their togas so as to stand out in a crowd. Basic things in life never really change.

Chapters 7 and 8 cover the social orders (slaves receiving an entire chapter). Davis then moves on to professions, education, and commerce before finally arriving at the fora, the Palatine and the centers of government, and the imperial war machine. The courts, baths, and public games are covered before Roman religion is addressed. A separate chapter on "pagan cults" ends with the most disreputable cult of all, from a Roman point of view: Christianity, including Roman popular beliefs about how debased Christian practices were. (For a more detailed view, set a couple of decades earlier, see Barbara Hambly's well-researched mystery novel SEARCH THE SEVEN HILLS.) After digressing to "the Roman villa" and the grand finale of the Emperor's return to Rome, a final note on where people are in the Roman night ends in the catacombs, with a brief flash of the Christians through their own eyes, holding services while keeping a lookout for watchmen.

NOTE: The paperback edition before me reproduced the colour plates in black-and-white, unfortunately, but otherwise the book is unchanged. The old hardcover edition illustrations consisted of 1) black-and-white line drawings, 2) occasional photographs, and 3) colour plates of illustrations painted by Von Folke, reconstructing various landmarks in their heyday and showing (for example) a scene from a chariot race. (Incidentally, Davis in a footnote commends Lew Wallace's novel BEN-HUR on its accuracy, adding the caveat that Messala, being of high rank, would have considered driving his own team beneath his dignity.)

Kathy Wilmer shows the world of education in colonial times for both boys and girls in this beautifully illustrated volume.

Young readers will come away from this reading experience understanding the shool day -- what was taught, how it was taught, school supplies, school discipline, etc. There is a glossary for review.

Highly recommended for great educational and entertainment value!

This book is part of a great series of 6 books about colonial businesses. They include:
q Colonial printer
q Colonial wigmaker
q Colonial silversmith
q Colonial schoolteacher
q Colonial blacksmith
Each book tells a fictional story about a worker during the Colonial period. The books are illustrated with historical photos as well as line drawings. The important vocabulary is highlighted with a glossary in the back for student use. It also has Internet connections for further research. I used these in my classroom as a set. I gathered about 6 copies of each book from the local libraries. I made short questionnaires about each book. Students were required to read at least three, but most read all of them. Students used the information to give supporting details to their colonial monologues for their portfolios.

Kathy Wilmore's entertaining examination of the wigmaker's trade in colonial times introduces readers to the life of a wigmaker from apprentice, to journeyman, and finally to master wigmaker. Young readers will come away with a solid understanding of a wigmaker's day, the workings of the shop, including a description of the actual preparation and completion of a wig. The illustrations are awesome.

There is a glossary and list of web sites for further study included.

This book is very highly recommended.

This is a fine little book for children about an intriguing aspect of colonial culture. Large pictures and large type make it accessible to lower reading levels.

I looked everywhere for a book like this to send with my infant to daycare so I would know what his day was like. I am ready to purchase my second book now. I can also save it as a keepsake! It's a great buy!

Parents rely on daycare for their children for many reasons. Unfortunately, when children are in daycare, they are usually too young to share all the little things that happened throughout their day. Now there's a wonderful way for parents to feel more "connected" to the children they leave in their daycare's hands. There's no reason that parents should miss out on all the happenings of their child's day.

"A Day In The Life..." is a keepsake journal that allows daycare providers to record messages about a child's day, and gives parents those would-be "missed" memories and milestones that they would ordinarily not have. This soft-covered, easy-to-carry, spiral-bound journal lists five sections per day, where daycare providers can fill in notes for parents such as "Activities & Achievements," "Yummy for your Tummy," and "Notes & Reminders to Parents." It's 103 pages of memories that daycare children can now share with thei parents!

My ParenTime recommends the journal, "A Day In The Life..." by Shannon Hammond -- what a great idea! It helps parents keep informed about their child's daycare activities; and answers many questions parents have about their child's life while away from home.

My friend was delighted with this gift, and tells me it is the most entertaining way to learn Spanish.

The only way these stories could be better is if Hayes could tell them to you personally. All children, but especially those from the American southwest, will appreciate having a collection of these oft-told tales. Get ready to laugh about the day it snowed tortillas and get shivers when the wind's moans down by the ditch sound like those of a woman.

This is one of the first books I ever read when I was about five. To this day (22 years later) I still remember it vividly. The wonderful story is enhanced by frequent illustrations of the hideous Ness. Any child will love this book.

I read this book as a child and it was my favorite book growing up. I must have checked it out of the library 25 times. Unfortunately, I remembered the story, but not the title. I had a vague recollection of the author, but could never find the title. Thanks to Amazon, I can now find a copy for my daughter (and read it again myself!).