Book Review

Books that we have read and reviewed

June 25, 2012

Rocksford Rock Oprea- A Review

Dominique Book Review, Parenting and Kids, Reviews Rocksford Rock oprea

Rockfords Rock Oprea

A few months back I received this online storybook for review. There were many chapter in the book and we took a really long time to get through it as I only showed a chapter on the book each week to Doggie boy and Monkey boy.

Rockford Rock Opera is about a the adventures a boy named Moog and his dog (Rockford) went through. The whole story is 16 chapters long and we didn’t get through the whole book as only 4 chapters were allowed to be read free with the option to purchase access to the remaining chapters. Our access to the rest of the book must have expired as we took more then one month to read the book.

In this story Moog and Rockford traveled to the mystical island of Infinity where they go on a real adventure. This book is unlike other online storybooks which we have read. There is the injection of songs within the chapter which breaks the monotony of just listening to the chapter being read out aloud.

The story was more suited for my 8 year old as he really loved listening to the story. My 5 yr old interest was quickly diminished after the 1st chapter as the story didn’t really suit him.

My thoughts:

I love the fact that there were many resources there which I could tap on further enhance the learning experiences of my kids. There were lessons plans for ages 5-7 and 7-11 years old which are divided into Science, Literacy and Design. There were also music sheets, fun activities and crafts which one can follow up with.

I certainly recommend this free online story book and now there is a chance to view it on IPAD as it can be download from ITUNES free.

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary access to Rocksford Rock Opera for review purposes. All opinions are 100% my own.

June 22, 2012

Say This NOT That to your Professor

Dominique Book Review Ellen Bremen, Tips for college students

Say This, NOT That to Your Professor: 36 Talking Tips for College Success by Ellen Bremen is really a very useful book for college students.

Ellen Bremen gives first hand tips on how to communicate with your college professor so that you are able to foster a good relationship with them. Having clear channels of communications with the professors would in turn make it easier for one to understand what is necessary to be done to achieve good grade in college.

She pens out how you should be talking to the professor given the different possible scenarios that you maybe in.

The book is divided into these sections

Section 1 : Class Issues Your Professor Won’t Discuss With You (But Wishes Someone Would)

– Parents

– Classroom behaviour and peers

-Grades

– Managing your assignment/schedule

– Dealing with E-mail/Social Media/Technology

Section 2: Class Issues Your Professor Won’t Discuss With You (And May Not Want You to Know)

An example she gave was tips on dealing with unfair comments by the professor, Ellen suggests that you could start off the conversation by thanking the profession for taking time to see you. You can then express your views about his “harsh” comments which were given on your assignment.

She also suggests that the student could ask what was wrong with his paper and how to improve on it. Using this approach would not make the student seem hostile and strain the teacher/student relationship. Acting angry or the victim may not get your point across to the professor. While dealing with the professor by himself the student is also learning a life skill of negotiation and it would help him in his future relationships with other professors.

Ellen shows the reader how the professor views the behaviour and actions of students. This gives the reader and inside to how it is “on the other side”.

My thoughts:

It’s a real pity that I didn’t have the opportunity to read such a book when I was in college as it would certainly have come in useful for me. I wasn’t a Grade A student while I was in collage. Even though I didn’t get into trouble with professors or fellow students it would be great to know how I could maximize my relationships with my professors so that I could perform better and get a better report card.

I certainly recommend this book to any student who would be entering collage soon or parents of collage going kids.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of Say This, NOT That to Your Professor: 36 Talking Tips for College Success by Ellen Bremen for review purposes. All opinions are 100% my own This post has a Compensation Level of 3. Please visit Dominique’s Disclosure page for more information.