WOW! When I first read "Spelling Through Phonics," my whole attitude towards teaching spelling was radically changed. The McCrackens clearly and concisely lay out a spelling program that can work for anyone in any school-- no matter what! I have used it from the inner city school, to the county school, to the private "college prep" type school. It works. Rather than teach a child to "hear" the sounds for spelling, the McCrackens advocate using how a sound "feels" to write. We can actually feel more sounds than we hear. But not only does the book lay our a plan, but it also gives you everything you need to run the plan-- including word lists, sample lessons, and hand outs to go with the lessons! What an incredible program!

I'm a retired first grade teacher (27 years in K-1) and was always heavy with phonics when teaching reading. I didn't discover this book until close to my retirement and so much wish I'd found it sooner. It is pure phonics, but done is such a way that my children had a lot of fun with the program. With a half an hour a day of Spelling Through Phonics, by the end of the year they were spelling beautifully and more importantly, mostly reading on level. An example: My last year, out of 21 students, 7 did not speak English. But I made sure we did the spelling lesson before any of them left for their ESL classes. They worked every day with the McCracken spelling program along with all the other students. By the time they'd finished first grade all had some reading skills and were conversing in English with great understanding. ... By using the phonics attack skills they'd learned, they'd tell me how a word should be spelled as I wrote it on a transparency. Confidence in their own reading skills grew by leaps and bounds because I'd remind them every day that if they could spell a word, they could certainly read it..... and most other words by attacking them in the same way. I highly recommend this book for any teacher!

I have used this book in the classroom, tutoring, and homeschool settings for more than 10 years. There have been no children left behind. This is truely the best way to teach both reading and spelling! It is simple, fun and quick!

I just got done reading this book and it was great. I thought he did a good job writing the book, everything was in detail it felt like my own family and I was in it. I hope he keeps on writing books. He is an excellent writer.

A believeable fiction that captures your curiosity and bonds you emotionally to the characters. You won't want to put it down!

This is a great read for anyone with a family who has kept secrets, and who's hasn't. The author is very good at building suspense and creating characters who are as real as your own family. While reading this book, I felt as though the characters could have been friends, they were so real! Hope this author continues to write more books - this one was very good!

When I started to read this book to my son he said Hey I saw thi on tv before. He really enjoyed this book! A must read from your powerpuff girls fan!

This book is a telling of one of my very favorite episodes, and I love having it around when I can't watch the show. If your favorite Powerpuff Girl is Bubbles, you'll be glad to see her featured in this book. She's just so darn cute, and her quest to become "hardcore" is hilarious!

I read this book in high school over 10 years ago, and I still feel that it is the best book to really teach you what autistic and behaviorally disturbed children are really like. This is the book that made me choose to become a teacher. I recently recommended it to a friend who just married a man with a 7 year-old autistic daughter.

Simply the best book I have ever read. It shows how children with mental disabilities SHOULD be taught and loved, with love, compassion and patience. Mary MacCracken has an insight others need!

A group of boys on a Scottish island accidentally slip back in time to an age when the local lord conducts a Wild Hunt, with human prey, once a year. The boys, soon recognized as "strangers", must use their wits just to survive ... and, beyond that, to save the locals from this tyranny.

The tale is told at a cracking pace, and it's a great adventure story. But it's more impressive than that. McCracken has the knack of portraying children the way they really are, not the way that doting adults would like to think sweet little kiddiewinkies are; this realism is refreshing. Also, he's doesn't flinch from some of the ghastlier consequences of his plot: for example, one of the boys is killed and another suffers torture. Because of this darker side to the book, the sense of involvement is hugely increased: the threats aren't just Tom & Jerry stuff but very real - something that will be hugely appreciated by young-adult readers, who get tired of being shielded by well meaning adults from the unpleasant truths of life that they can see in the newspapers.

But don't get the impression the book's just for young adults. At the grand old age of, er, fiftysomething I sat up late devouring it. Grand stuff!

This book follows the adventures of a group of kids who travel backwards in time - and have to cope with the baddies and the goodies! This is a fantastic book, which not only presents historical fact in a way which doesn't feel like learning but is also totally absorbing. It's absolutely fascinating.
The next book please!

Much to my surprise, and delight, I discovered after reading the first few pages that Fred Smith's work is not a manual on what clubs to join and how to select party guests. It's a thorough discussion on how to get the most value out the brief time we have on earth. Smith unapologetically uses his daily Christian walk to illustrate how to obtain real success in business, pleasure, family and personal relationships, and spirtual growth. In fairness to the reader, Smith is generous in sharing his failures as well as his successes. For the greatest benefit, read the entire book. Then, using the chapter titles as a guide, go back and study the parts you really need. Fred Smith's book was a personal "mission statement" years before the term was coined.

I first read this book in the late 80's. It became a favorite. I've started rereading it...something I rarely do for any book. The ideas are simple, yet profound. Nothing gimmicky or hokey here...just sound advice from a highly successful person. I think so much of the book I've bought a box full to give as gifts to clients and friends.

I read this book in a single day. It deals with the way we (mostly women) use hair as a first step towards identifying ourselves and even identifying (or trying on) the self we are becomming. It was straightforward but lighthearted and kind. You could tell the author enjoyed the research. Hair as a window to the soul.

Congratulations, you have written a winner! I am not a twelve year old boy, but I was engrossed in the story from start to finish, disappointed when it was over and looking forward to the next one.

I read a lot of fiction and often am disappointed that I "heard" the story but it wasn't descriptive enough to "see" it. Not so with "Charlie". Great descriptions. When the fellow was looking up at the cherry tree..I was looking up at the cherry tree!

Put simply, this is a work of genius. Tweitmeyer is considered by many to be the Barry Bonds of his field--he makes his own rules and and stands alone at the top of his profession. He was at the top of his game at the time he wrote this book. Although hard to find, it is well worth the search, and autographed copies from his ill-fated book tour carry a large premium. This is a great read for both the beginner or the accomplished vivisectionist. My one complaint that keeps this from getting 5 stars is that I would have liked to have seen the illustrations colored in so I didn't have to do it myself. I blame McCracken for that.

This is possibly the finest book on human anatomy I have ever read/used. Now I know where both babies and poo come from. It has helped me tremendously in my work and hobbies. It is the next best thing to having an actual human cadaver lying on your kitchen table, and we all know how hard they are to come by, except for in the winter. Its full color illustrations truly bring the human viscera to life and the prose is remarkable in that it universally appeals to professional and layman alike. Highly recommended for the medical student or someone like me who just has a thirst for knowing whats inside the human body, but is closely watched by the authorities. And we all know how hard it is to fool the MAN. If I could only own one book for the rest of my life, and the way things are going, this could easily come true, it would be this one. Kudos and my hat is off to you Dr. Tweitmeyer for authoring this great, great work of American medical literature. I hope your next book is as much help to me as this one.

This text on the human anatomy is an easy read informative and educational book that will help the student in the learning process. The text book takes you step by step through the body so you can go at your own pace (or the pace of the instructor!). It's an ideal text that all can enjoy (if you enjoy anatomy) and learn a great deal from. I am impressed with the book and its relation to the reader (student)!