Archive for the ‘Science’ Category
Saturday, August 12th, 2006
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| Author: | Annie Dillard |
| Reading Level (Conceptual): | Children 12 and up |
| Reading Level (Vocabulary): | Children 12 and up |
| Genre: | non-fiction |
| Year of publication: | 1988 |
Annie Dillard aims her clear scientist's eyes and the evocative Voice of the Pilgrim At Tinker Creek at the lives of upper class families with children in Pittsburgh, PA in the fifties. She reveals a great deal about Pittsburgh; and just about nothing about herself. |
As long as one isn't determined to read this as an autobiography, it will not disappoint.
Dillard's reflections on the differences between her fascination with the French and Indian War versus her obsession with reading about World War II (one was history, the other was an open wound), about the good that Andrew Carnegie did for the people of Pittsburgh and the good that he could have done if he'd made different choices, about her father's aborted trip down the Mississippi, and, especially, about Dillard's growing awareness as she grew up that Pittsburgh high society was not the box she wanted to be in -- made me grateful to have read this book. |
If you found this review helpful and/or interesting, consider supporting our book habit: Buy this book!: An American Childhood |
Posted in Biography, Child-raising, Conceptual: age 12 and up, Culture, Female protagonist, Gifted, History, Reading level: age 12 and up, Science | No Comments »
Saturday, August 12th, 2006
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| Author: | Annie Dillard |
| Reading Level (Conceptual): | Children 8 and up |
| Reading Level (Vocabulary): | Children 8 and up |
| Genre: | non-fiction |
| Year of publication: | 1974 |
I have always been squeamish.
And yet, Annie Dillard's beautiful yet clear-eyed vignettes about the resplendence and horrors of the natural world captivate me.
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A must-read for any budding naturalist.
See also An American Childhood, a memoir by the same author. This one doesn't tell you exactly how Dillard became the astute observer of nature revealed in Pilgrim, but it does focus those same astute eyes on life in Pittsburgh, PA in the fifties. |
If you found this review helpful and/or interesting, consider supporting our book habit: Buy this book!: Pilgrim At Tinker Creek |
Posted in Animals, Biography, Conceptual: 8 and up, Death is a central theme, Female protagonist, Gifted, Reading level: age 8 and up, Science | No Comments »
Sunday, July 30th, 2006
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| Author: | Perri Klass |
| Reading Level (Conceptual): | For grown-ups
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| Reading Level (Vocabulary): | For grown-ups
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| Genre: | Non-fiction |
| Year of publication: | 2003 |
reviewed by An Asperger's Parent
This is a book for parents of kids who have, or resemble those who have, any of several closely related, and confusingly similar, challenges: Asperger's Syndrome, Pervasive Developmental Disability - Not Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS), Nonverbal Learning Disorder, Sensory Integration Dysfunction. But it's about the kids, not the disorders.
This is NOT the book to provide an in-depth understanding of any one of these diagnostic categories. For that purpose, a book more focused on whichever condition you're concerned about will probably serve you better. For example, my own favorite scholarly resource on Asperger's Syndrome is Asperger Syndrome (Guilford Press, 2000), a collection of articles edited by Drs. Klin, Volkmar and Sparrow of Yale.
What Quirky Kids does, and from my perspective does better than any other publication I'm seen, is to serve as a wise, perceptive and sympathetic counselor and friend for parents of kids who are in this spectrum. It speaks respectfully and helpfully about the whole range of real-world issues, including schools, helpful and non-so-helpful friends, maintaining your own mental health, balancing the needs of multiple kids when one or more has exceptional needs, genuinely appreciating your kid's strengths and quirks, understanding the aches and long-term worries. |
Where so many of the books I've read and helping professionals with whom we've consulted, seem to illustrate the parable of the six blind men describing the elephant, Drs. Klass and Costello, the authors of "Quirky Kids," seem to see, and appreciate, the whole beast. I'm REALLY glad I found this book, and I warmly recommend it to parents for whom these issues are relevant. |
If you found this review helpful and/or interesting, consider supporting our book habit: Buy this book!: Quirky Kids : Understanding and Helping Your Child Who Doesn't Fit In- When to Worry and When Not to Worry |
Posted in Child-raising, Conceptual: for grown ups, Culture, Gifted, Reading level: Grown up, Science | No Comments »
Sunday, July 30th, 2006
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| Author: | Eric Hansen |
| Reading Level (Conceptual): | Sophisticated readers |
| Reading Level (Vocabulary): | Sophisticated readers |
| Genre: | non-fiction |
| Year of publication: | 1988 |
About dealing with people and environments that are not like what you're used to. |
| Similar books |
If you found this review helpful and/or interesting, consider supporting our book habit: Buy this book!: Stranger in the Forest |
Posted in Animals, Conceptual: highly sophisticated, Culture, Reading level: Sophisticated reader, Science | No Comments »
Friday, July 21st, 2006
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| Author: | E.L. Konigsburg |
| Reading Level (Conceptual): | Children 8 and up |
| Reading Level (Vocabulary): | Children 8 and up |
| Genre: | fiction |
| Year of publication: | 1996 |
Motley group of gifted kids learn about each other and to work together to win a contest, aided by an inspiring teacher. |
Newbery Medal winner. |
If you found this review helpful and/or interesting, consider supporting our book habit: Buy this book!: View From Saturday |
Posted in Animals, Conceptual: 8 and up, Female protagonist, Fiction, Gifted, Reading level: age 8 and up, School, Science | No Comments »
Friday, July 7th, 2006
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| Author: | Michael Pollan |
| Reading Level (Conceptual): | Children 12 and up |
| Reading Level (Vocabulary): | Children 12 and up |
| Genre: | non-fiction |
| Year of publication: | 2006 |
Elegant essays about the symbiotic relationship between certain plants and humans. The discussions about the way tulips and potatoes changed human history ought to change the way any reader thinks about gardens and commercial agriculture. |
Moral: Just because we think we're at the top of the food chain, that doesn't mean we can't be manipulated by things we believe we subjugate.
-- Emily |
If you found this review helpful and/or interesting, consider supporting our book habit: Buy this book!: Botany of Desire: A Plant's-Eye View of the World |
Posted in Conceptual: age 12 and up, Culture, History, Reading level: age 12 and up, Science | No Comments »
Tuesday, June 6th, 2006
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| Author: | Susan Orlean |
| Reading Level (Conceptual): | Sophisticated readers |
| Reading Level (Vocabulary): | Sophisticated readers |
| Genre: | biography |
| Year of publication: | 2000 |
Study of a man obsessed with orchids. |
The language is rough, but the book is well worth reading because of its fascinating descriptions of the orchids and the man and life in this particular stratum of Floridian society, which spans Seminole tribe members to British nobility. |
| Similar books |
If you found this review helpful and/or interesting, consider supporting our book habit: Buy this book!: Orchid Thief, The |
Posted in Biography, Conceptual: highly sophisticated, Culture, Gifted, History, Reading level: Sophisticated reader, Science | No Comments »
Saturday, April 15th, 2006
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| Author: | Tracy Kidder |
| Reading Level (Conceptual): | Children 12 and up |
| Reading Level (Vocabulary): | Children 12 and up |
| Genre: | Non-fiction |
| Year of publication: | 1981 |
Kidder is a great non-fiction writer. This is a true story about how a company manipulated its most talented employees into creating a great computer, without regard to what the work environment would do to them or their families. |
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| Similar books |
If you found this review helpful and/or interesting, consider supporting our book habit: Buy this book!: Soul of a New Machine |
Posted in Biography, Computers in society, Conceptual: age 12 and up, Culture, Dealing with bullies, Gifted, History, Reading level: age 12 and up, Science | No Comments »
Saturday, April 1st, 2006
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| Author: | Richard Feynman |
| Reading Level (Conceptual): | Sophisticated readers |
| Reading Level (Vocabulary): | Children 12 and up |
| Genre: | Non-fiction, autobiography |
| Year of publication: | 1985 |
First volume in inspiring autobiography of physicist (and all-around extremely intelligent and charming guy), Richard Feynman.
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| Similar books |
If you found this review helpful and/or interesting, consider supporting our book habit: Buy this book!: Surely You're Joking Mr. Feynman |
Posted in Biography, Conceptual: age 12 and up, Death is a central theme, Gifted, History, Reading level: age 8 and up, Science | No Comments »
Monday, March 13th, 2006
Richard Dawkins’ take-no-prisoners-style riff on how evolution has made all of us.
Posted in Animals, Conceptual: highly sophisticated, Dealing with bullies, Reading level: Sophisticated reader, Science | No Comments »