Book Buys

Updated to fix some broken links and add a few good titles

First of all, sign up at Cashbaq and automatically get five dollars credited to your account (Or just skip ahead to BookCloseouts).



Then look over in the left column for 'books.' Click on it and then look for BookCloseouts. You get seven percent of whatever you spend at Bookclose outs credited back to your Cashbaq account, and they'll send you the cash periodically.

Even if you don't join Cashbaq, there are always some good deals at BookCloseouts.

You can click through the link to find your own, or see some I have discovered further below.




Right now there is also a special sale on childrens' books, and their prices are always pretty low. You can get items like:

Audio Books (and a few paper and ink books related to the audio books):

Seamus Heaney's Beowulf on CD (only a few copies, and at six bucks they'll go fast) But there's also this CD with part of Beowulf along with several other early English poems (Caedmon's Hymn, for instance), read by Bessinger for six dollars, and there are more copies of it. I picked up one of each.=)

You can get the book of Rebsemen's copy of Beowulf- this is what we used in school (Heaney's translation didn't come out until after our eldest two had finished Beowulf). It's a softcover for only three dollars.

And if you have a youngster who loves Beowulf, that youngster will probably also love this hardback illustrated guidebook of swords.



Frank Perretti's All About Faith: Wild & Wacky Totally True Bible Stories on CD for about 1.50- My youngest two loved listening to Frank Perretti's zany performances, and here he retells the stories from the lives of Daniel, Queen Esther, Noah, and Moses. I find his voice a bit grating at first, but I got used to it.=)

The Autobiography of Martin Luther King, Junior on CD (16.00), and also this CD with eight excerpts from two speeches, along with introductions and background material, 8.00

Captivating, by John Eldredge and Stasi Eldredge- a friend gave print copies of this to our oldest Progeny. They recommend it to certain other Believers with reservations- it is primarily good, they think, for girls who have severe doubts about their self-worth and are in need of validation. There's a few CDs in the scratch and dent section for 6.24. There are rather more copies on CD NOT in the scratch and dent section for 9.99. They suggest, my girls, that the book is especially good for young women who have been abused. But I know the friend who so highly recommends the book comes from a loving family. I suspect my girls are happily innocent of just what damage years of exposure to our toxic culture via public school, television, movies, magazines, the radio, and other media influences can do to a young person's values and self-image.

You could get The Dangerous Book for Boys in Spanish, thereby giving your young Spanish student some incentive to brush up on his Spanish skills. (12.00) There are three copies in English (as of this writing) for 12.00. Or you can get the English Pocket version of 'things to know' from the Dangerous Book for Boys in (seven dollars) (there are just a handful of copies of the pocket book of Things to Do from the DBfB for less than four dollars).

A four dollar study guide for
The Great Gatsby on CD, very useful for high school. This version "contains: introduction to the Roaring Twenties; detailed narrative guide to the novel; dramatic readings; critical analysis. PDF booklet contains: character list; scene-by-scene synopsis; glossary of terms; sample test and review questions; study reference for books, music, film."
There is a similar product for Frankenstein, also excellent for high school. (six dollars)
And one for MacBeth for only 4 dollars.


Mrs. Sharp's Traditions is on CD for about five or six dollars.

Frogs, Newts & Turtles: Interactive CD Book- I don't have this one, but it's seven dollars and it does sound interesting, so I put one on my cart for the Boy:

Special pets with special needs, frogs, newts, and turtles are especially fascinating. There are a few important things you need to know to take good care of your new pet. Come join our CD Magic Book pals Dillon (a very cool kid) and Malcolm (the smartest wizard), as they share through videos and pictures all the special things you need to know to choose and care for your creepy critter. This CD Magic Book is so easy to use even your parents can do it. Just a click of your mouse and you're on your way to knowing how to keep your new pet healthy and happy. Ages 4 to 11.

The Poets' Corner: One and Only Poetry Book for Families on CD looks promising enough that I put one in my shopping cart. See the entire six CD table of contents here. A bit of a hodgepodge, but delightful.

There are several CDs of different Narnian tales available on CD, including this one of Lynn Redgrave reading Prince Caspian. (only six dollars!!)

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, audio book, unabridged, several discs, only 9.00

There's an unabridged audiobook of The Two Towers on CD for just ten dollars. (Updated to add- it's nearly 6 hours of CDs, and they plainly say unabridged, but CoffeeMama of My Blue Castle says they have the set and it is an abridged dramatization.



Dave Ramsey:

The Total Money Makeover Workbook: A Proven Plan for FInancial Fitness, for 9.00 (less than a handful of copies)

The Total Money Makeover Journal, 6.00


Children's Books

The classic Little Fur Family by Margaret Wise Brown, illustrated by Garth Williams, only a few copies for 4.49


A picture book of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales for only 4.00 looks lovely. Published by Candlewick, and they don't seem to make visually ugly books.

There are just a handful of hardback copies of The House at Pooh Corner for 5.49, and a few hardback copies of Milne's When We Were Very Young for only 2.49!
a collection of folktales illustrated by Mary Englebreit for 9.99.

This isn't exactly a children's book, but it looks absolutely lovely and I popped one into my cart: Once Upon a Time in Great Britain: A Travel Guide to the Sights and Settings of Your Favorite Children's Stories, and only five dollars for a delightful armchair tour.

A long time ago, when castles and monasteries dotted the land and knights went forth to do brave deeds, when women wove beautiful tapestries and minstrels played for pauper and prince alike, there lived a humble musician named Simeon.~ So begins this lovely picture book written by Julie Andrews and her daughter- Simeon's Gift.

We discovered the delights of Maurice Sendak's The Gryphon and the Minor Canon only a short time ago, but it is a favorite. Here's a hardback for 3.49, but there's only the one copy. There are a few copies of The Wheel on the School in hardback, illustrated by Sendak for less than five dollars, and there's a library bound edition of The House of Sixty Fathers by DeJong, illustrated by Sendak.
For a considerably more (ten or eleven dollars) there is a nice hardback copy of the picture book Outside Over There, a strange and mysterious story of a big sister who sets out to rescue her baby brother, who has been kidnapped by goblins.

You can get a board book edition of I Love You Like Crazy Cakes (I love Jane Dyer's illustrations) for less than 2.00, or you can get a hardback
for less than four I Love You Like Crazy Cakes- a sweet tale about adopting a baby girl from China, based on the author's experience.

and I Loved You Before You WEre Born, a great book for conveying a grandparent's love to her new grandchild. Gee, why would I be thinking of that?


Educational Tools:
You can make your own flash cards, but for .74 I'd save my time for something else-
Multiplication flash cards
Multiplication and Division together
Addition and Subtraction
United States Flash cards
Beginning Sounds

Foam dice with math operations signs

A wipe off mat for practicing cursive writing. .99


Fun Stuff

They have all sorts of stickers for less than a dollar. You can use them for writing letters, chore charts, school papers, or just for fun. Stickers make great stocking stuffers. I like the rainforest version, and the .99 horses and ponies will be very popular with many little girls.



Science and Nature Study

This set could also be in the 'fun stuff' category. The Ocean Life Mini Book collection- I like these cute little books with stories about different creatures (there is also a woodlands creatures set, a backyard creatures set, and more). What you get is six sets of these sweet little books, and there are six books to a set. This makes a nice set for a classroom, but it also makes it a very frugal purchase for a family with several young friends or relations to give gifts to. At 24.00 each set of six books would be four dollars. If you have LOTS of small friends and relations, you could break up the sets and spread the goodness around. Or go in on them with five other friends and each of you gets a six book set for four dollars. The Amazon sets right now sell for around 45 dollars.

This would make a beautiful addition to the basket of Christmas books- it's an illuminated rendition of O Holy Night and other christmas songs, and includes a CD of the Harlam Boys' choir singing the five songs which are illustrated in the book. 4.00

And Heart and Home of Christmas looks like a beautiful coffee table book for only four dollars.



Bibles and Bible Covers

bible covers suitable for small boys who have outgrown their Veggy Tales version (five bucks, but only a few copies left).

Brown and turquoise cloth Bible covers for girls grown too cool for the pink Precious Moments version. You could get the mossy oak camouflauge bonded leather NKJ for the hunter in the family (20.00)

You can get Bibles, like this ornate red and gold covered version, or this one in green and gold (both NCV, or New Century Version translations)

Cookbooks

Bread Alone looks like a marvelous cookbook on baking artisan loaves from scratch.

Can I Freeze It- beyond OAMC, Susie Theodorou explains the tips, tricks, and rules of freezing food, from containers and wrappers (foil or Tupperware?), to the best methods for retaining moisture and flavor, to what ingredients and dishes can and can't be frozen. She provides a wealth of recipes, along with color photographs, for whole and part dishes. 8.00

How to Bake looks like a good Home Ec book for high school students of either gender- 14 or 15 dollars.

The Better Homes and Gardens New Junior Cookbook for 8.00 might be a good present for your budding young cook.

Kids Cook 1, 2, 3 looks like a useful cookbook for beginners of all ages- and it's all recipes with only three ingredients.

History

Two in one- Jane Austen's very frivolous history of England, and Charles Dickens' more serious but still enjoyable Child's History of England, only six dollars.

Agincourt: Henry V and the Battle That Made England

Longitude, by Dava Sobel