Drawing for older children & teens

Customer Reviews:

Super!.......2007-09-10

I loved this book, and also enjoyed "Drawing With Children" by Mona Brookes. Great plan for a drawing program, very clear instructions, lots of enjoyable background narrative on Mona's personal experiences, student stories/quotes. LOTS of drawing samples, and very helpful drawing exercise pages to copy for use at home. If you've enjoyed Betty Edwards ("Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain"), chances are you'll like Mona Brookes as well. A great resource for tentative beginners in art!

Drawing for older children and teens.......2007-05-13

This book is excellent for any beginner in art irregardless of age. It gives fun projects to start you off that aren't overwhelming, and plenty of encouragement.

Learning to draw over the telephone?.......2007-01-10

After years of searching for a good text for my teleclass in high school Art-2D, I finally found this out-of- print text. Luckily you had enough copies for these two classes, a total of 16 students, at a public school for students who are sick at home or at the hospital and need to be taught by phone.

This is a simple system that really works. It is not some "miracle cure" but based in solid art training and much practice. It takes time for the teacher (me) to learn how to get the job done on the phone, but this book
helps a lot.

The idea is to lead these kids forward step by step as described in the book. I usually do the exercises with them, and I have seen considerable progress in a very short time. After years of art training I am learning a lot myself by simply following the steps outlined. Learning to draw is no rocket science for me now. It is a simple process. You can learn how to draw.

The only small criticism I have is that the book addresses itself more to the adult teacher than to the student. I wish Ms. Brooks would write a new text that can be used in high schools, addressing the student directly. It would help, of course to have a teacher edition to go with it.

addendum to other positive reviews.......2006-11-20

This book has been praised by other reviewers and I have no wish to repeat and rehash their reviews, so check them out. =) I would only add that the title could be misleading in that the term "older children" can be variously interpreted. I bought this for my 10-year-old daughter, whom I consider an "older child." This book is most definitely geared to the attention ability of teens--or "older children" with a HIGH (and determined) level of interest in truly LEARNING how to draw. It is VERY heavy on prose, with a LOT of written explanation of technique. There are plenty of illustrated examples, but I don't see my daughter sitting down to learn to draw and wanting to READ a lengthy explanation of how to do something.

I would consider this more of an instruction book than a how-to book, intended to be READ then applied. A child who is younger (younger than say 13 or so) would likely need a good bit of parental involvement to get a more full understanding and appreciation of what the book teaches. However, if you have a young savant or a very patient reader at home, who doesn't mind wading through the lengthy explanations of technique, by all means buy this book. It is an excellent treatise on drawing fundamentals.

All this being said, I intend to keep the book. I will break it out as a Xmas present and see what her interest level is in really learning about drawing rather than just busting out a quick picture. If she seems overwhelmed by its depth and scope, I will help her work through some of the basics and/or hang on to it until she is older.

Realistic expectations.......2006-02-02

The book's title is what the book actually provides. Drawing for OLDER CHILDREN AND TEENS. People who give this book to a six year old shouldn't be surprised that some of the exercises or explanations are too hard. Likewise, people who want to draw like Rembrandt should realize that a book titled 'drawing for older children and teens' might not be the best resource. Do people even think any more?

Anyway, now that that's out of my system: I adore this book. There are three drawing books I will never give away: this one, Edwards's _drawing on the right side of the brain_ (psychobabble or not aside, the fact is, it works!) and Dodson's book on drawing. Each has strengths and weaknesses. The absolute strength of Brookes's book is sheer enthusiasm. One reviewer is scandalized by the testimonials of success cases Brookes includes: I found them the most inspiring. But what can I say, I need all the encouragement I can get. Even if you skip all that and jump to the exercises, you will get your money's worth out of this book.

What it has that is unique: a day one invitation to play with different drawing media. Edwards's book is perhaps a little too pencil-sketch focussed--this book encourages you to play with colored pencils, art pens, and pastel crayons. I reiterate the word 'play'. For those of us who want to learn to draw as a hobby, not as professional artists, the notion of art as play rather than work is very important. (Again, professional artists, the title alone might tell you this book is not for you?) It also encourages you to learn different STYLES. Edwards's book has sometimes been criticized for being too focused on realistic drawing. Brookes encourages you to try abstraction and flat drawing as well as a more realistic style. Overall, it encourages you more than any other book I've encountered thus far, to develop your own style.

Even the limitations of the book are not limitations, if you take into account the audience. Her list of subjects to draw doesn't necessarily work for me, but I remember as a teenager drawing a lot of the items on her list over and over again. (I must have drawn about a million horses). A student today just handed in an in-class writing assignment with the bottom half covered with a drawing of a car. She knows, in other words, what young people like to draw, and presents the information in manageable and attractive pieces. If you're an older reader, like me, who picked this book up because I suck way too much at drawing for books like _the Natural Way to Draw_ and many other upper level learn to draw books, some of the exercises seem silly. Skip 'em! Do another one you like better, again. I've had a lot of fun, for example drawing my cats in not only a variety of media (pastel, colored pencil, conte, pencil) but also in many more styles (primitive, cartoonish, realistic, abstract). A lot of the technical exercises (copying drawings upside down, using a viewfinder) are in many other drawing books, but are again presented in a young adult friendly manner.

It's a book about ENJOYING drawing. Anything you like, you're bound to become better at, because you enjoy it, so you keep doing it. Especially if you get results you like. This really is worth a look, but only if you either fit into the categories of the title, or still draw like you do!

Customer Reviews:

Genuinely funny topical humor.......2001-11-13

Often topical humor doesn't age well. Mr. Frank's work does -- it is genuinely funny. There is always something goofy happening in San Francisco for him to have fun with as seen through the eyes of his range of characters. His daily strips are posted at sfgate.com

Book Description

A Man Called Daddy is an entertaining look at fatherhood, written with the same charm and down-to-earth spirit as books by Erma Bombeck.

Customer Reviews:

Need a real belly-laugh?.......2000-08-10

Prepare to laugh yourself into a frenzy. I have read and re-read this book, and know to keep the tissues handy because I laugh so hard I cry !! It's hilarious, clean, heartwarming humor. Hats off to Mr O'Neill.

Great Book!.......2000-05-31

This book is great! Whether your a father, a mother, or just a 14 year old (like me!) you'll love it, and laugh your head off. It's one of the funniest things I've ever read!

Really, really funny!.......2000-05-31

This book is great! I laughed out loud evey five seconds. This book is great for both fathers, mothers, and just plain people. I'm only 14 and I loved it!

Really, really funny!.......2000-05-31

This book is great! I laughed out loud evey five seconds. This book is great for both fathers, mothers, and just plain people. I'm only 14 and I loved it!

Touching for dads - it will grow on you too.......1998-12-27

This is one of the most enjoyable books I was given as a new Dad. It's brief and an easy read. The personal stories reinforce your enjoyment of the adventures, mishaps and discoveries of every day life with kids. I've grown to like this even more that my first child is now two, and am buying a copy for another new Dad.

Book Description

This book explores the significance which contemporary club cultures can come to have for women living through a time of radical sexual-political change. The book focuses upon the experiential accounts of different "raving" and clubbing women by illustrating how new, and more appropriate, fictions of femininity are generated within these accounts. Focus upon these aspects reveals the limitations of reading today's club cultures as indicators of a sexual-political regression.

Book Description

Expanding Class is the study and story of industrial class relations in North Brabant, a Catholic province of The Netherlands, over a hundred-year period. In examining the lives of workers in one of Europe’s more idiosyncratic industrial regions, Don Kalb affirms the utility of class analysis while responding to the cultural critics who have encouraged a movement away from this focus in labor history. In so doing, Expanding Class advances an interdisciplinary historical anthropology of working-class formation. Basing his analysis on oral as well as archival sources, Kalb reveals a dynamic relationship between capitalist industrialization, locality, and cultural class identities.
Expanding Class compares Brabant’s quaint central shoemaking district to its electrical boomtown Eindhoven, home of the enormous Philips Corporation. It introduces the concept of "flexible familism," a sociological phenomenon in which family daughters were employed to facilitate a cheap and ample labor force. Industrialists manipulated and fostered flexible familism to ensure the discipline and loyalty of the working-class community. By using the industrial Netherlands as a paradigm, Kalb reveals new and productive ways to examine class construction and the development of labor history in other countries over the past thirty years, steering a path between the two schools of thought—cultural and economic—that have dominated labor history discussions in recent years.

Expanding Class: Power and Everyday Politics in the Industrial Communities of North Brabant, 1850-1950

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Expanding Class: Power and Everyday Politics in the Industrial Communities of North Brabant, 1850-1950
Don Kalb
Manufacturer: Duke University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000KYZD7Q

Product Description

This book provides Biblical principles upon which a strong marriage can be built.

Book Description

With his victory over the Russian army at the battle of Tannenberg in August 1914, Paul von Hindenburg became a war hero. By 1916 he had parlayed an exaggerated reputation for decisive victory into near dictatorial powers. After Germanyâ€™s defeat at Verdun and War Minister Erich von Falkenhaynâ€™s dismissal in late 1916, Hindenburg, along with his chief of staff Erich Ludendorff, took over strategic direction of the war. The eponymous Hindenburg Program attempted with some success to mobilize Germanyâ€™s economy for war. He also oversaw many of Germanyâ€™s most important wartime decisions, including the resumption of unrestricted submarine warfare, Bethmann Hollwegâ€™s dismissal as chancellor, Russiaâ€™s defeat and negotiation of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, and the â€œLudendorff Offensivesâ€ of 1918, which sought decisive victory on the Western Front but ended in Germanyâ€™s catastrophic defeat. After the war, Hindenburg played a crucial role in creating the Dolchstosslegende (the myth that the German Army had been â€œstabbed in the backâ€ by a Jewish-Bolshevik conspiracy on the homefront), in leading Germany as president of the Weimar Republic, and, most tragically, in acquiescing to Adolf Hitlerâ€™s rise to power.

Amazon.com

In the first of his three debates with George W. Bush, 2004 presidential candidate John Kerry argued against the war in Iraq not by directly condemning it but by citing the various ways in which airport and commercial shipping security had been jeopardized due to the war's sizable price tag. In so doing, he re-framed the war issue to his advantage while avoiding discussing it in the global terrorism terms favored by President Bush. One possible reason for this tactic could have been that Kerry familiarized himself with the influential linguist George Lakoff, who argues in Don't Think of an Elephant that much of the success the Republican Party can be attributed to a persistent ability to control the language of key issues and thus position themselves in favorable terms to voters. While Democrats may have valid arguments, Lakoff points out they are destined to lose when they and the news media accept such nomenclature as "pro-life," "tax relief," and "family values," since to argue against such inherently positive terminology necessarily casts the arguer in a negative light. Lakoff offers recommendations for how the progressive movement can regain semantic equity by repositioning their arguments, such as countering the conservative call for "Strong Defense" with a call for "A Stronger America" (curiously, one of the key slogans of the Kerry camp). Since the book was published during the height of the presidential campaign, Lakoff was unable to provide an analytical perspective on that race. He does, however, apply the notion of rhetorical framing devices to the 2003 California recall election in an insightful analysis of the Schwarzenegger victory. Don't Think of an Elephant is a bit rambling, overexplaining some concepts while leaving others underexplored, but it provides a compelling linguistic analysis of political campaigning. --John Moe

Book Description

Don't Think of an Elephant! is the definitive handbook for understanding what happened in the 2004 election and communicating effectively about key issues facing America today. Author George Lakoff has become a key advisor to the Democratic party, helping them develop their message and frame the political debate.
In this book Lakoff explains how conservatives think, and how to counter their arguments. He outlines in detail the traditional American values that progressives hold, but are often unable to articulate. Lakoff also breaks down the ways in which conservatives have framed the issues, and provides examples of how progressives can reframe the debate.
Lakoff's years of research and work with environmental and political leaders have been distilled into this essential guide, which shows progressives how to think in terms of values instead of programs, and why people vote their values and identities, often against their best interests.
Don't Think of An Elephant! is the antidote to the last forty years of conservative strategizing and the right wing's stranglehold on political dialogue in the United States.
Read it, take action-and help take America back.

Customer Reviews:

Absolutely love this Book.......2007-09-09

I've read this book twice now, and each time I read it I gain a better understanding of my surroundings. Lakoff does a great job of first describing what he means by "framing" and how it applies to nearly every aspect of life. He then applies his idea of framing and cognitive dissonance to political affiliations. This book does an excellent job of explaining almost all the issues that ail our political system today. The book explains timeless dialogue between the left and right over the last 25 years.

I've bought four or five copies now, and it's one of my favourite books to give to graduates. Definitely a must read!

Must read for progressives and liberals.......2007-08-05

I appreciated the way Lakoff provided a frame for progressive values. I purchased a copy for several friends and family members.

Don't Think of an Elephant! Know Your Values and Frame the Debate.......2007-06-27

Lakoff's book is truly a guide for progressive values in the United States. His diligent work as a linguist really informed me of the concerted and deliberate efforts of the ultra conservative politic right to control the debate, messaging, and election outcomes. I am a moderate and was shocked into action after reading this book, and more than once. It is a quick, informative, and provacative statement on what we as individuals need to do to get this country back on track and in alignment with the Bill of Rights and The Constitution. Lakoff educated me and it has had a profound impact on my life and involvement in our democracy.

A concise primer on what really makes political messaging work........2007-05-30

This is a great primer on cognitive science as it relates to political messaging. Lakoff has done a lot of ground breaking work in illuminating how verbal metaphor dictates cognition. And here he presents this idea in simple, concrete language, with plenty of sharp examples, to explain how these same principles dictate how we perceive political messages.

Some have posted negative reviews of this book by criticizing its politics, which are unabashedly liberal and progressive. But the value in a book like this lies not in whatever its political message might be, which is really quite vague, but rather lies in the insights it provides anyone into how a prospective audience will receive a message, and how best to construct a message to gain broad acceptance.

Lakoff "decodes" the value politics of the past several decades to show how conservative politicians, by employing the right verbal metaphors to "frame" their objectives, have had great success. While liberal politicians have largely failed to appreciate how these "frames" create and manipulate the values that voters will support.

Buy and read this book if you want to be a more responsible and informed citizen voter in a message saturated political environment.

Can I give it 0 stars? .......2007-04-18

Actually, I'll give it 1 star because it is important to try to understand how the radical left (who get passes in the media everyday) really think. This book is nothing but propaganda, BUT is surprisingly honest about the secular left's intentions, tactics, techniques, and procedures for undermining American culture and economy. If you're not concerned about creeping Socialism or secular pressure from the left, then read this book. It will be eye opening to finally see how the Michael Moore, Al Franken, Ward Churchill, Nancy Pelosi crowd REALLY think. Go to a library and check this one out. Then get out and fight these guys to the death (figuratively, of course). If you follow the pack mentality of the aforementioned clowns, then by all means buy this and feed your misguided preconceptions that the America that championed the world in battles vs communism, fascism, Nazism, slavery (you heard me right... Frederick Douglas, John Brown, the Quakers et al came from America (and England), NOT South Asia, Russia, the Ottoman Empire, Africa or Arabia- where eunuchs were still acceptable at the turn of the 20th Century BC) is an awful, immoral country. Oh that's right... Lakoff says us Americans are the terrorists. Or is it little Eichmanns?

Don't Think Of An Elephant!/ How Democrats And Progressives Can Win: Know Your Values And Frame The Debate: The Essential Guide For Progressives

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I hated this book
Prompt and quality service and merchandise
Academic writing style but extremly helpful concept.
At last -- a clear understanding of Republican rhetoric
the dvd stinks.

Don't Think Of An Elephant!/ How Democrats And Progressives Can Win: Know Your Values And Frame The Debate: The Essential Guide For Progressives
George Lakoff , Howard Dean , and Don Hazen
Manufacturer: Chelsea Green
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1931498822

Book Description

DonÂ't Think of an Elephant! is the definitive handbook for understanding what happened in the 2004 election and communicating effectively about key issues facing America today. Author George Lakoff has become a key advisor to the Democratic party, helping them develop their message and frame the political debate.
In this book Lakoff explains how conservatives think, and how to counter their arguments. He outlines in detail the traditional American values that progressives hold, but are often unable to articulate. Lakoff also breaks down the ways in which conservatives have framed the issues, and provides examples of how progressives can reframe the debate.
LakoffÂ's years of research and work with environmental and political leaders have been distilled into this essential guide, which shows progressives how to think in terms of values instead of programs, and why people vote their values and identities, often against their best interests.
DonÂ't Think of An Elephant! is the antidote to the last forty years of conservative strategizing and the right wingÂ's stranglehold on political dialogue in the United States.
Read it, take actionÂ—and help take America back.
DVD Overview
If you want to understand the November elections and youÂ'd like to see a change in the future, then watch this DVD!
Featuring a lively interview with George Lakoff, television news clips, and illustrative graphics, this is a must-see media tool for everyone who wants to better understand and communicate the progressive agenda. Includes Â“How to Debate a Conservative,Â” Â“Know Your Values,Â” and much more. Each DVD includes a summary card of key points.

Customer Reviews:

I hated this book.......2007-05-09

I am a progressive, and I hated this book. I have no intention of reading it again, and if it wasn't for the fact that this book is required reading for my English class, I would have never read it. You are probably asking yourself, if I hate this book so much, why did I give this book the grade I did? Well, for a simple reason. While I hated this book, it accomplished what it set out to do. It showed me better ways to convince people to my side of the argument (which is why my English teacher assigned it for his Critical Thinking class). That is the entire purpose of the book, to teach other people how to present an argument, and how to convince people to your side of the argument. Read it if you want to have a better idea of how to present an argument. Don't bother reading it if you want to learn more about the Progressive agenda, the book is way too biased, and you'll end up thinking all conservatives are evil, and that everything is one giant conspiracy made by the conservatives.

Prompt and quality service and merchandise.......2006-07-28

Package arrived within a week of order, the two items shrink-wrapped together and in perfect condition.

Academic writing style but extremly helpful concept........2006-02-25

Several friends recommended this book to me to help me understand the incredible success that conservatives have had in "framing" the debates. In particular, the neocons have caused us to abandon the term liberal, label the Dems as "tax & spend" and sucessfully install the rhetorical title of policy issues without regard to their accuracy. For example, "death tax", "Leave no Children Behind", "Clean Air", Healthy Forests", etc., have almost the exact opposite effect of their titles.

Also, they seem to be successfull in getting even Democrats to believe their propaganda disinformation war. For example, Dems believe we "have no policy", "nominated two ne'er-do-wells" for president, and that we are "hopelessly devided" and too "politically correct" to ever win anything but dogcatcher.

Whew! Do you need a purgative to expell the toxic reality we have swallowed from these sophisticated marketing masters of spin? I certainly did. And thank goodness George Lakehoff has given us just that in his book about these fixed mental paradigms. Read it! Pass it on! We must learn the nature of Karl Rove, et al, and their win at all cost strategies.

I have purchased multiple copies for family and friends. All report finding the book to be helpful and heartening, reminding us that Democrats are the party of people who care about the welfare of others. Get the blindfols off and start working with the simple truths Mr. Lakoff has given us. I am hopeful that all the people can't be fooled all the time - but it obviously takes each of us to work for understanding and then fight against demogoguery.

Thank you Mr. Lakeoff!

P.S. Watch out for you-know-who tricksters who will write reviews to damn the book through faint praise. Sadly, supporters of this administration are not above dirty tricks.

At last -- a clear understanding of Republican rhetoric.......2005-08-14

George Lakoff's thin book cleared away the fog and let me see why Republian words that confuse ME are appealing to so many voters. Why FACTS don't win elections. And showed me ways to "REFRAME" my ideas and present them with effective, value-based wording. One of the most important books I personaly have ever encountered. I found the DVD a valuable addition -- it clearly summarizes the book, reminds me of the primary points, and is a great way to present these core ideas to others. This great tool will help progressives compete more effectively in upcoming elections.

the dvd stinks........2005-04-07

the book is as interesting as I heard it was, but the dvd is a waste of money. Save the extra 7 bucks and just get the book.

Don't Think of an Elephant: Know Your Values and Frame the Debate, The Essential Guide for Progressives

Average customer rating:

Don't Think of an Elephant: Know Your Values and Frame the Debate, The Essential Guide for Progressives
George Lakoff
Manufacturer: Chelsea Green Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000TFHIVA

Book Description

The book reviews recent observations of non-evolved and evolved binary populations in clusters and the field with special emphasis on statistical biases, incompleteness and distribution functions. Different binary types are considered: cataclysmic variables, super-soft X-ray sources, double degenerate binaries, Algol-type binaries, Be binaries, X-ray binaries, and Wolf-Rayet binaries. The observational part ends with a discussion on stellar winds in massive stars, on new results of massive starbursts and on the characteristics and the rates of the different types of supernovae. Population synthesis relies on stellar evolution. Recent results on single star and binary evolution are presented. We then compare theoretical models of population synthesis to observations. Much attention is given at population dynamics, spectral synthesis of starbursts, number synthesis of the binaries and supernova rates discussed in the first part of this book. Finally, the book highlights the possible effects of binaries on galactic chemical evolution.

Influence of Binaries on Stellar Population Studies (Astrophysics and Space Science Library Series), Vol. 264

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Influence of Binaries on Stellar Population Studies (Astrophysics and Space Science Library Series), Vol. 264
Dany Vanbeveren
Manufacturer: Springer-Verlag New York, LLC
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000MUQ1YW

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