Reddit mentions: The best friendship books for children

>The Answer

We're going deep, this time! I said i thought Abrams and Mitroff were a good pair, and this is the episode that made me believe that. I wasn't a huge fan of Abrams episodes early on, but it's the best episode Abrams has been involved with. Maybe Mitroff, too. I wonder how you'll rate it :)

>Also, where do they keep getting these trucks from?

Asking the real questions.

>Wow, this is very pretty. Don’t think I don’t see those red and blue tints!

It really is, and yes there's a bit of a theme to this flashback.

>“Assigned to her were three Rubies.” Aaaaaaagh! Oh my god, they’re adorable!

Just last episode we had confirmation that there could be multiples of gems, now we have three Rubies on screen at the same time.

>“Sapphire had been called to Earth by Blue Diamond.” Okay, so a ton of stuff right here. First off, this is definitely confirmation of the Diamond names. Blue, Yellow, and White. Second off, She’s absolutely huge! She’s easily twice the size of her guards outside. Third off, is that a Pearl?

First diamond we see on screen!

There was a theory--i was a big fan of it--that Rose was Pink Diamond (or that "Rose Quartz" was one of the four leaders of homeworld, along with Yellow Diamond) and Lapis was Blue Diamond (again, or "Lapis Lazuli" was the blue leader). Theory status: Shattered.

(Speaking of Lapis, i'm sure everyone is going to fucking point it out but Lapis is my waifu so i'm going to as well: Lapis is there! She was in Blue Diamond's court! Probably! Or someone almost exactly like her, at least.)

>Yeah, this is totally a Pearl. ‘Stand around and look pretty’, huh?

A Pearl in her natural habitat, more or less.

>Huh. They look pretty similar, all things considered. I like how strong the coloration is for them, though. They’re very vibrant. This whole episode feels different. I guess it’s because this is all in Steven’s imagination.

Not just similar! Rose looks identical, as if she's in the same form as 6000 years later, after the war.

>Oh, man, her dress looks all spacy n’at.

People have suspected those gems she beats are Jaspers, and while there's some similarity i feel like they're probably some other quartz type. Our Jasper seemed too independent to be a bodyguard, more of a general/warlord type? She had opinions about Rose's tactics, and ones that might be uncommon in Homeworld at that, and she's too thoughtful of a character. While she could have changed over time--it's entirely in keeping with the other gems--it seems... i don't know, like it would have gotten her ostracized.

That said, a lot of people think the gems Pearl beats are Jaspers and there's sure some visual similarity--diamond-shaped gems, for example. Pearl totally wrecked them like they were nothing, though... Do you think if Pearl and our Jasper fought, pearl would win? Did her strength fade after the war? (Not using it regularly and all.) Is she just depressed now that Rose is gone? Is our Jasper somehow special, more powerful than usual ones? I have lots of questions and not a lot of answers on this one. We're coming up on the end of released episodes :)

>So, when gems of the same type fuse, they just become a bigger version of their original forms?

That does seem to be what happens! Still, not enough to stop Rose Quartz. Of note: neither Rose nor Pearl summoned gem weapons here.

>First off, wow. That’s gorgeous. Second off, it’s quite interesting to me that their first fusion would be an accidental one.

"Cotton candy Garnet".

Also, it almost had to be accidental, right? Since you've gone through the episode, you've seen how Rose--and Pearl--reacts toward the fusion. (I'll get into that more when we get there.) Despite being rebels, it's not like they abandoned all of their socialization. (Speaking of: why do gems have socialization anyway? They're manufactured, right?)

>“They had never seen fusion of two different types of gems before.” Ooooh, I see now. Either they didn’t know it was possible, which seems unlikely, considering how easily this happened, or homeworld keeps people intentionally unaware so that there’s no transference of ideas.

Right, or that. That could also be the reason :)

>“She was...frozen.”

Steven Universe still doesn't take itself too seriously to make the obvious joke.

>Seriously, though, can we just have this Garnet forever?

I have to admit, i'm a fan. It must be painful to draw, though.

>A song?! A Ruby and Sapphire song?!

Here we go :)

>Sapphire’s finally getting to see the Earth.

Yep!

>Also, can I just point out how this is totally blatantly an allegory for a couple’s first time having sex? “Did you say I was different?” “And you hadn’t before?” Hell, they’re even in the ‘laying in bed afterwards’ pose right here. This is rad as hell.

It really is.

>Wow… I feel like I’m watching a Disney film here.

I'm sure everyone has pointed it out, but this episode was strongly inspired by Disney.

Actually speaking of things about this episode: it's getting turned into a book!

>So this is their first intentional fusion, now. It really feels like they’re exploring their own sexuality here, which is totally radical.

Yep.

>Wait a second, now Pearl has pink hair! And I think she might be wearing a different dress. She must have been poofed while Ruby and Sapphire were exploring the Earth.

There's an alternate explanation, here: everything was monochrome, so the blue in her outfit just overwhelmed the pink. There is still reason to believe Pearl was not originally made for Rose, though.

>“I don’t upset you?” “Who cares about how I feel, how you feel is bound to be much more interesting.” I love it. I really do.

I want to unpack this because i think it's a key to understanding Rose better.

Rose didn't say "no", she deflected.

Garnet did upset Rose, but Rose had the presence of mind to not upset this new potential ally. Rather than talk about being uncomfortable, Rose redirected the conversation back to Garnet.

Compare/contrast this with Steven's approach: while Steven is not anywhere near the ancient, experienced gem Rose almost certainly was even then he still has quite a different take on things. Remember, for example, him hugging Centipeetle even though he was getting uncomfortably acid-ed. Rose isn't like that--she was not the high empathy, feels deeply for everything hippie that everyone says she was. That's Steven. (Maybe he got it from Greg?) That's not to say Rose wasn't compassionate or sympathetic to people.

• Empathy: Feeling how someone feels ("I feel your pain").
  
• Sympathy: Feeling for someone ("I'm so sorry to hear that").
  
• Compassion: Suffering together with someone ("We're in this together"--albeit, more active than the other two).
  
  Rose is definitely high in sympathy and compassion--exhibiting care for others--but does not seem to be very high on the sympathy side. Actually, none of the gems seem to be very high on the empathy side. They certainly don't seem to be, for example, high on the sociopathy spectrum... but certainly less empathetic than Steven, and probably less than the other humans.
  
  What made Rose special wasn't that she had some greater level of empathy, but that she could separate herself from her initial impressions and still treat people well. Rose wasn't the "I love everything" hippie Steven was, but at the same time those stories everyone says aren't really untrue, the legend has merit... just... not in the way people think.
  
  Let's talk about Pearl, too, because she's also a bit interesting here. She's also, imo, not really comfortable with Garnet. She's following Rose's lead, but she's a bit unsure about the situation. I want to go waaaaaaay back to Alone Together, where i commented (FYI you can now view this link from that comment but not the other link, we're of course getting close to the episode where you can view that one):
  
  >Oh Pearl... I love that she plays the voice of conformity and social norms and stuff.
  
  I thought this, then, and still kind of do. Of course, we couldn't have known back then the precise form those social norms took--fusion outside of combat, fusion between two different types of gem (does Connie count?), and so on. Yeah, Pearl got over that somewhat--she was willing to form Rainbow Quartz just as an attempt to fuck with Greg--but i still feel like some of that remains. Both Pearl and Rose had to overcome Homeworld's feelings toward fusion.
  
  >“Welcome to Earth.” So Garnet got this from Rose? Oh, man, I love this a lot. It gives me more hope for Peridot, too, if Garnet thought that she should say what Rose told her all those years ago.
  
  Think Peridot is going to get a chance to say this to someone? :)
  
  >I only just realized that they used the imagery from Sleeping Beauty
  
  Good eye, that is indeed where it's from.
  
  >My top ten episodes are
  
  Ah! Number 3, huh? Big rating!
  
  >What’s your favorite iteration of any of the gems, outfit-wise?
  
  I really like Lapis. Yeah it's like "traditional feminine waifu outfit", especially compared to the wild stuff like Garnet here or some other stuff coming up, but it's such a functional outfit in terms of the story it tells (back exposed, no shoes, etc) while being an effortlessly classic outfit. You can really imagine some sort of person hanging around the beach in that outfit.
  
  That might be just me being biased to Lapis, though.
  
  Also: holy shit, i managed to just get in under the character limit! I'm not expecting a response to all of this, you can just say "holy fucking words" if you want to :)

EDIT: Had some time to A. Wake up, and B. Get my shit organized.

So my first recommendation is to read these 3 books.

http://www.amazon.com/Relax-Its-Just-God-Religious/dp/1941932002/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1452781395&sr=8-1&keywords=relax+it%27s+just+god

http://www.amazon.com/Parenting-Beyond-Belief-Raising-Religion/dp/0814474268/ref=pd_sim_14_5?ie=UTF8&dpID=41mSJWJjhCL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR104%2C160_&refRID=136KZ8YRX0P0CY93EJGA

http://www.amazon.com/Magic-Reality-Dawkins-Richard-Hardcover/dp/B011SKFWNK/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1452781427&sr=1-2

These are all geared more towards the parents, but it sounds like that will be just as beneficial to you. I've worried about the same exact stuff you're worried about ever since my wife told me she was pregnant. These books have been a fantastic resource. The first 2 help you prepare for the inevitable questions (which it sounds like you're already getting) children ask in regards to our origins. There's nothing I can say here that will really improve upon what's contained in these books, so my #1 suggestion is to just pick them up and read them. "Relax, It's Just God" Is a quick read, so I'd probably start there.

I'll just say, for anyone that hasn't read them, or doesn't intend to, the most important thing I took from these books is this:

Please don't shield your children from religion. It's played an incredibly important role in the founding of civilization, and it continues to be a dominant force in society (particularly if you're in the US). By shielding your children from all things religion, they will have no defense against it when they are inevitably confronted with it. To a child, the easy answers and flimsy logic of religious dogma can seem persuasive. By refusing to talk about it, or not engaging them honestly in discussions about it, you're essentially sending them out into the world unarmed.

Now, once you've sort of amassed this collection of tips and strategies for talking about it with them, you need to build an understanding of the concepts that ACTUALLY govern our world. There's a lot of great resources out there nowadays that introduce complex things in a very approachable way. If your children are on the younger side, I'd recommend these books:

http://www.amazon.com/I-Wonder-Annaka-Harris/dp/1940051045/ref=pd_sim_sbs_14_5?ie=UTF8&dpID=51Xa9vh-4mL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR160%2C160_&refRID=13A7B660SHNYNWGNRS9J

http://www.amazon.com/Our-Family-Tree-Evolution-Story/dp/0152017720/ref=pd_bxgy_14_img_3?ie=UTF8&refRID=12ZKCH4ZP41R11J3AQC3

http://www.amazon.com/Older-than-The-Stars-Karen/dp/1570917884/ref=pd_bxgy_14_img_2?ie=UTF8&refRID=1NTGW8B5FNWYGW2MDDGP

I buy these 3 for every single one of our friends that has a child (provided I'm cognizant of their beliefs, wouldn't want to step on any toes)

I think one of the things religion has going for itself, that science and reason kind of lag behind in, is instilling a sense of wonder in people. It's easy for adults to marvel at things like quasars, black holes, the process of DNA replication, etc., etc., but it's a bit harder to instill that sense of wonder in kids without getting into some really dry science. That's why religion (in my opinion) is still so successful, it offers easy answers to really difficult questions, and doesn't really require you to think too hard on it. "I'm scared of dying" is easily answered by "Well don't worry, God loves you and will bring you to heaven with him."

There's also some great videos on youtube I'd recommend (though they vary a bit in regards to age appropriateness):

https://www.youtube.com/user/sciencestatedclearly (evolution)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0rHUDWjR5gg&list=PL8dPuuaLjXtPAJr1ysd5yGIyiSFuh0mIL (Astronomy)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7X56fBK1JlY&list=PLsmqeqKj7M-rZe1C9PUon8V-VQ1tZj5NF (evolution)


Kids, even very young kids, are a lot smarter than we give them credit for. Knowledge of the way the world actually works is the best insulator against religious dogma, so give them as much as they can handle. When that kid at school tells them God created everything, instill values in your child that will lead them to ask "why" instead of just accepting that at face value. And if your child comes home and says, "Jimmy said god created the world" you can respond with, "Well yes, that's what Christianity says, do you know what Islam says? Hinduism? What about the Greek Myths, those are pretty cool huh? Most civilizations have a story about how everything got started, but none of them really agree with one another, and we've never been able to prove it. Scientifically we have a pretty good idea, but there's a few things we don't know yet, and that's perfectly fine. It's ok to say 'I don't know' when it comes to big complicated stuff like this. Let's see if we can't find out more! (insert books/videos/research here)"

My son is barely a month old, so I'm a ways off from a lot of these conversations, but I'm doing my best to prepare myself. I hope to teach him how to tell whether a source is reliable or not, how to be skeptical (particularly of those in power) and how to think critically, and not stop digging just because the answer he arrives at makes him feel better. Luckily, there's a plethora of information out there nowadays from secular sources that is geared towards people like you and me and our non-religious offspring.


EDIT: The other book I will recommend that's not a parenting book and isn't geared towards kids is "Your inner fish". There is a series of youtube videos based of the book if you prefer that. Basically, it makes evolution really cool, and in a way that (in my opinion) you can tell your children about easily. Things like why our skin is the way it is, why we look the way we do, etc. All stuff kids will probably ask.

As a member of the mildly irritated straight white boy brigade I share your feelings. The angry white boy brigade totally stole our name and is using it for evil and we want it back so ima keep almost poking them till they get so mildly irritated that they relinquish their title. Brilliant!

Anyway, I'm a straight dude and I can't get enough of shows like this and Steven. Every time I hear stronger than you or something entirely new it makes me cry. I had a couple moments in she ra that made me feel that way but I'm not attached to these characters quite just yet. By the end of it I started to, so come season 2 I expect to have a stronger connection to the best friend squad (eventually featuring grumpy catra weather she likes it or not ^ ^)

I do have some critism for the show but it's the same I had with voltron. That's why I know it'll get better. They wanted to do a lot in season 1 and it's just too much to absorb so we'll get more as we have time to expand. For that I cannot wait. I want a whole flashback episode of the mighty captain Seahawk just setting his boats on fire haha.

Speaking of Seahawk, him and Bow have excellent chemistry and I'll be damned if they don't end up together. They're just so damn cute ^ ^. Perfumia and Bow were nice but I could totally just see them as just friends while mermista joins in and lays out straight edged gossip on Seahawk. All the while he's trying to eavesdrop and failing spectacularly lol.

After that I wanna see scorpia and entrapta become best buddies. Scorpia can document all their wonderful adventures in stunning 32 Crayola colors! Then in the next season we can get an even bigger box! Think of all the magnetic art waiting to be created by those beautiful claws! Seriously, I need this to happen!

Before I forget, perfumia! Oh my god the second I heard honey leomon's voice I was excited and then when she showed her power I just got even more excited cause I knew she'd be kicking ass like a hippie poison ivy and I was right!

All in all I can't wait for more. I'm glad you shared your thoughts because I'm always happy reading comments like yours cause it gives me actual feedback from viewers who are gay and I don't know I just like hearing how shows helps or affects them positively. It gives me hope and makes me feel good that there is finally a space in the world I've loved for so long embracing such a wonderful side of humanity. Like you I wish there was more shows that had representation in them like she ra and Steven. Hopefully as we progress further and further we can. Hell, I never thought nickelodeon of all places would be so bold and not only present a gay couple on a main show like the loud house but proudly continue showing how great parents they are.

Lastly, I know you mentioned Steven universe and I thought you'd like a couple lesser known finds I think fans should know about:


If i am ever lucky enough to have kids in my lifetime. This is their bedtime story.

The Answer (Steven Universe) https://www.amazon.com/dp/0399541705/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_tqC-BbB2YQ1DM

And of course. No introduction needed for this comic con gathering ^ ^

https://youtu.be/tPwdHxNhqEQ

Hope you enjoy and have a lovely day ^ ^

The only book I can think of is called Don't Cry, Big Bird BUT I would ask you to preview it to see if you think it's acceptable because I don't remember all the details and I don't want to be held responsible for traumatizing your cousin!
From what I can remember, it's a picture book where Big Bird is very sad because he's too tall to join in games (jump ropes are too short, etc.). He's all sad about it, but then Mr. Snuffleupagus, who is also really big, says that he likes Big Bird's size. He helps Big Bird modify games (tying two jump ropes together) and eventually Big Bird likes his size and finds it useful-- he rescues his friend's kite from a tree when no one else can.
The reasons I can remember for not recommending this book wholeheartedly-- I believe they use the word "big" instead of "tall." It seems like a little thing, but for a girl who is already feeling self-conscious, it might not be the best choice of words. (And yes, no one should be ashamed of their body, regardless-- but I know that personally, when I was called "big" as an underweight but tall preteen, it stung.)

Another resource-- not specifically for tall girls, but adhering to the theme of loving yourself for who you are-- I found this list of "Positive Princess" books really helpful when I started nannying for a very appearances-centered kindergartener. She loves princess books, but a lot of them weren't sending a very positive message. These princess books focus more on having a healthy view of yourself rather than idolizing some airbrushed "Princess" character. I haven't read all of these, but Jane Yolen's and Heidi Stemple's Not All Princesses Dress in Pink is phenomenal.

More awesome picture books celebrating differences and diversity (Amazon has most of these for less than $3 used, and they're mostly popular enough that I would think your library would have them):
It's Okay to be Different
What I Like About Me
I Like Myself!

To take a different approach-- I know this sounds shallow, but when I was still growing and way more self-conscious about my height, I LOVED the fact that Nicole Kidman was (well, is) 5'11" (I was obsessed with Moulin Rouge). I ordinarily do not care about celebrity...stuff, but I thought it was so awesome that she was the same height as I was! Depending on what your cousin's interested in, consider showing her some pictures of tall girls to boost her confidence. For example, if she's familiar with the President's family, Michelle, Malia, and Sasha Obama are all quite tall (Michelle and Malia are both 5'11", and Malia's only 14!) The Obama girls are gorgeous and stylin, and I know I would have loved to see photos of tall younger girls when I was a kid (as opposed to tall women). Hell yeah, tall first family!
5 is too young for The Hunger Games, but Jennifer Lawrence is 5'9 and taller than her costar. She also seems to have a fairly positive view of health/body image as well.
There are a lot of tall women in the media-- Queen Latifah and Tyra Banks are 5'10, Taylor Swift (if she's into her music) and Karen Gillan (I love Doctor Who too much to not include her) are 5'11... and that's just a start! Look at Olympic athletes (Missy Franklin is only 18, 6'1, and a 4-time gold medalist) for other tall role models!

But at the end of the day, more than any books or media, you are the one who will have the most positive impact on your cousin! Make sure to talk about your own height in a positive manner, don't set a bad example by saying anything negative about your own body (or anyone else's), and be sure to mention how much you like being tall when you're around your cousin. I outgrew my mom, sister, aunts, uncles, and all my male and female cousins as a kid-- I would have loved to have a role model like you! Your own personal relationship with your cousin will be by far the most powerful and long-lasting influence on her self image.

I don't know a lot of titles for the youngest ages, though the Junie B. Jones and Magic Treehouse books are favorites of my mother's elementary-aged students. Speaking of magic, you can't go wrong with The Magic Schoolbus. Oh! And Where the Wild Things Are.

As suggested by /u/jpop23mn, the Berenstein Bears are great books for young readers (I loved them so much as a kid), and Dr. Seuss is classic.

For middle-schoolers, I recall enjoying Maniac Magee (though I don't recall much about it), lots of Bruce Coville's monster books, the Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark series, and one of my favorites, The Phantom Tollbooth. My sister enjoyed the Warriors series (and still reads them now as a college student). Then there's classics like Where the Red Fern Grows and Bridge to Terabithia, though those books cover some difficult subject matter (death).

Ghost stories are much beloved, and if you can find folklore and fable specific to various cultures, you can learn about other cultures while enjoying a good story!

Some other fantastic books to have around are The Daring Book for Girls and The Dangerous Book for Boys, both of which teach all kinds of fantastic information and skills while also being entertaining. I especially urge you to get the Daring Book for Girls if you have a daughter, because it not only teaches useful skills like changing tires and woodworking, but it also teaches about strong, independent, successful women through history. It promotes independence, self-esteem and self-confidence, which (in my opinion) are vital to any young person's upbringing, but especially women, since so much of the media and society seems bent on making women insecure, dependent and subservient. (Please excuse my politics.)

The Chronicles of Narnia are fantastic, if you don't mind that they're a religious allegory. When I was a kid, I read them for fun, and didn't give a damn about the religious aspect. (I'm agnostic.) Another good series is the Dark Materials series, though some parents avoid it because of Pullman's anti-religious sentiments. Again, I didn't care about that, I just enjoyed a good story.

Hopefully, with a big enough selection of books, your kids will be able to choose their own books by high school. But it's still nice to keep around some young adult and adult novels for the kids to explore. The Dragonlance novels are fantasy novels set in a D&D-inspired world, but this setting has more of a chivalric, idealistic mood, which is good for young adult readers as well as adults. You've also got the Harry Potter series, which is kind of a given...

The challenge is finding adult novels that are appropriate for your kids. If you are trying to avoid exposing your children to certain ideas before a certain age, then you'll have to personally read and consider each book before you put it on their shelf. If you're the kind of parent who allows their kid to read what they want to read, doing your best to answer their questions and put the stories into context, then it's a little easier. If your kid reads Jurassic Park, they're going to be exposed to an awful lot of violence, but they're also going to learn some fascinating scientific information as well. Crichton's books are science-fiction with a strong scientific background, so they're educational as well as thrilling, but they've got adult themes that might be better for more mature readers. (That being said, I was reading them at a young age.)

I hope this is a decent start. There are lots of good lists online, too. I'd suggest checking out GoodReads and various Amazon lists. Just remember that it's up to you to choose what you want your kids to be exposed to.

Edit: As a male, I have a distinct lack of experience with books aimed at young females. I would like to think that a good book can be enjoyed by boys and girls alike, but some books have more of a gender-focus than others.

Update:


Thank you all for your suggestions!! I bought a few of the ones mentioned here as well as some others. I went a little overboard, but I figure I can space out the gifts for later in the year, and some are for her little brother too.

1. Nancy Drew (1-5) I LOVED these when I was younger, they're such a classic and Nancy's take charge attitude taught me so much.
   
   
2. Little Pea (for her brother) A cute little kids book about a young pea who has to eat all of his candy for dinner, so he can have veggies for dessert! It's so charming and silly and is a fun reversal for kids who don't want to eat their veggies :)
   
   
3. The Planets in Our Solar System (Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science) Thanks for the suggestion /u/tectonicus!
   
   
4. The Daring Book for Girls - a fun reference for knowledge and classic kids games, always ideas for fun stuff to do!
   
   
5. Getting To Know The World's Greatest Artists - These art history books for kids gave me such a decent foundation in art history that when I finally took it in college I got my first A+ at a university level. Not to mention, having that knowledge made my time at art museums for field trips and such so much more relevant as I grew up! Also, I give these books full credit for my success in Jeopardy studio auditions :)
   
   

• >Van Gogh
  
• >Monet
  
• >O'Keefe
  
• >Da Vinci
  
• >Rockwell
  
• 
  
  
  
  
  (She's French born, so I made sure to include some American artists in there too.)
  
  

6. The Paper Bag Princess - another one of my favorites that my dad used to read to me when I was younger. I loved it because when the Dragon strikes, it's the princess who has to outsmart him to save the bratty prince :)
   
   
7. The Magic School Bus Lost In The Solar System, and The Magic School Bus On The Ocean Floor. Classics! Thank you /u/tectonicus, /u/mariposamariposa, and /u/caemin!
   
   
8. The Book with No Pictures by B.J. Novak - couldn't tell too much about this one, but it's supposed to be very clever and leave a lot to the kid's imagination, fun to read out loud!
   
   
9. Annie Oakley: Young Markswoman (Childhood of Famous Americans). Another book I enjoyed as a girl about a young woman who who "broke the mold" - stepping outside of social boundaries and working hard at something she was incredibly talented at.
   
   
10. The Way Things Work - This one looks great!
    Thank you /u/mariposamariposa, and /u/moration!
    
    
    Edit: For the commenters saying I should just give her princess stuff if that's what she likes - I have and will continue to. This year I spent over 100 hours making her an Elsa from Frozen dress for her birthday. This should be proof enough that I encourage and share her enthusiasm. http://imgur.com/a/ga9DQ

Adult Dystopian Recommendations:

• Oryx and Crake – Jimmy/Snowman coasts through life fueled mainly by ennui. His only rebellion is to be mediocre when his advantages in society (white, upper (maybe middle) class, Western male) have him poised for success. Glenn/Crake deliberately turns himself into the Big Bad in order to correct the wrongs he sees in society. Whether his main issue is with human nature, sucking the planet dry, socially stratified capitalist society, willful ignorance, or insatiety and curiosity is unclear. Oryx sees it all and accepts them all, knowing that she’s too unimportant to do anything except pick up the pieces and provide comfort in the meantime.
  
  
• The Year of the Flood – The world and especially capitalist society is stacked against you, but resourcefulness and an open mind will serve you well.
  
  
• The Handmaid’s Tale – Quiet rebellions like memory and record-keeping can be subversive also. But it’s only actions that set the stage for change. And the people you (maybe?) save will interpret everything differently from your intentions anyways.
  
  
• Never Let Me Go – Is it truly a dystopia when only a small group is affected? If you’re thinking of reading this, do not under any circumstances watch the movie trailer. The slow build to “something is not quite right” is part of the charm.
  
  
• Into the Forest – Literary fiction. More about acceptance and regression to a [“natural”](#s "and feminist, which apparently means incestuous but Deep! and Thematically! incestuous") state.
  
  
• Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress – Historical fiction about Chinese reeducation camps, but still pretty dystopian. Bourgeois teenage boy questions his educated, upper-class roots and teaches peasant love interest about Western literature. [She](#s "abandons him for a capitalist dream because the lesson she took from it was that love was worthless. Basically, they both take away the worst parts of each other’s starting philosophies and smash them together.")
  
  
• Wild Ginger – If historical fiction is happening, why not another Cultural Revolution one? If you keep your head down, you might just survive long enough to grow up and really see the hypocrisy – stuff even greater than what you saw as a kid.
  
  
• 1984 – Isn’t this more about how the system will break you and leave you a husk of your former self if you trust anyone completely? So you should be smart and skeptical and never assume things are in your best interest just because someone’s telling you so.
  
  
• Brave New World – Have to admit, at 12 this had me thinking that maybe fascism wasn’t such a bad idea after all. The despair and existential crisis aspects weren’t hitting me then: I just noticed how happy almost everyone else was.
  
  
• The Road – All about bleakness and futility and carrying on because the hope of family’s the only good thing left?
  
  
• Fahrenheit 451, where the people in charge are corrupt specifically concerning that thing you're fighting against.
  
  
• World War Z – I’m almost hesitant to call this dystopian, because even though it’s about a freaking zombie apocalypse, it’s uplifting to hear all the stories of human resourcefulness and ingenuity and the mental strength you didn’t think was there. Of course, some of the stories covered are “logical responses” gone bad.
  
  YA-ish Dystopian Recommendations:
  
  
• Feed – It doesn’t work out for the only [person](#s "(Violet)") who truly fought the system (she’s beaten down so horribly that it’s heartbreaking that even the reader wants to look away), but she does technically inspire one other person to at least notice what’s going on in the world, even if it’s probably too late.
  
  
• Hunger Games – Katniss is really only involved because she has nowhere else to go. Side characters have real motivations for being involved, but she really is a figurehead along for the ride and that’s OK. The story is about that and how she copes.
  
  
• The Selection – cough Popcorn cough. America is highly motivated by money (For her struggling family, of course). Ignoring the love triangle stuff, her ideal is to move from serfdom to literally any other [political system.](#s "And this never happens. The political buildup you see in The Selection and The Elite is stomped all over in the vapid cheesecake of the love hexagon finale.")
  
  
• Incarceron & Sapphique – Finn’s rebellion is that he just wants out to someplace that must be better. Claudia lives in artificial luxury and rebels mostly just for personal rebellion, not anyone else’s sake.
  
  
• The Giver – Probably more MG, but how did running away from one collective society automatically become “capitalism is best?” Jonah runs away because he’s learned enough to make his own moral decisions about one of the helpless members of his society (and artificial protection sounds socialist to me). I can’t remember reading the sequels.
  
  
• The Book Thief – Again, MG and historical fiction about a bombed out German town in WWII, but I think a setting like that qualifies it as dystopian. Technically, Liesl fights the system by stealing (possibly forbidden) books from the wealthy and by not reporting the Jew in the basement, but that last one is just showing loyalty to her new family. Her entire upbringing predisposed her to not trust the System, especially a War System, anyways.
  
  Other Dystopias:
  
  
• Matched and Delirium will be considered together because they are the same damn book, right down to the Boy-Who-Could-Have-Been-Chosen-If-Not-For-Rebellion! and the protagonist’s government-approved hobby. Delirium has better writing. Matched is easier to read and has more likable characters. We get it, teenagers should be allowed to date who they like and mommy and daddy non-biological guardians shouldn’t say no. Also, it sucks to have a guidance counselor Make A Schedule for you in order to prepare you for an office job equivalent that’s full of busywork but one of the few respectable positions left. The horror! Seriously, in what world is that rebelling against socialism? You know, that thing that promotes trade schools and equal rights for everyone, even the people you don’t personally like?
  
  
• Divergent – I’m going to let someone else handle that one because urgh. I know a lot of people like it, and it’s YA, so someone else, please support, qualify, or refute.
  
  I’d also be curious to hear what /u/bethrevis has to say about the societies on Godspeed and elsewhere and where they fit into this opinion piece.
  
  Guys, I think I just wrote an English essay. And probably put more work into it than I did in high school. And I won’t even get an A because it’s the internet and we deal solely in lolcats.
  
  But tl;dr: Adult dystopias (that I’ve read) tend to be about the futility of existence or the necessity of self-sacrifice to get a result. The YA dystopias I liked were a little more hopeful (usually) and didn’t support this opinion piece’s thesis. The ones I didn’t like made me understand the hate for dystopias.

1.[A cobalt blue mixer for all of your baking needs.] (https://www.amazon.com/KitchenAid-KSM150PSBU-Artisan-Pouring-Shield/dp/B00005UP2Q/ref=sr_1_13?ie=UTF8&qid=1525043431&sr=8-13&keywords=blue)

2.[Nothing says summer like sunscreen!] (https://www.amazon.com/Banana-Boat-Performance-Spectrum-Sunscreen/dp/B00B81XR1Y/ref=sr_1_5_s_it?s=beauty&ie=UTF8&qid=1525043593&sr=1-5&keywords=sunscreen)

3.[ A hot dog slicer in the shape of a dog.] (https://www.amazon.com/Banana-Boat-Performance-Spectrum-Sunscreen/dp/B00B81XR1Y/ref=sr_1_5_s_it?s=beauty&ie=UTF8&qid=1525043593&sr=1-5&keywords=sunscreen)

4.[ I'd love to gift this record player to someone simply because it is awesome!] (https://www.amazon.com/Victrola-Bluetooth-Suitcase-Turntable-Speakers/dp/B076JV6ZM8/ref=sr_1_3?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1525043902&sr=1-3&keywords=record+player)


5.[ I think that everyone should read the complete harry potter series for an adventure that will last.] (https://www.amazon.com/Harry-Potter-Paperback-Box-Books/dp/0545162076/ref=sr_1_11?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1525044043&sr=1-11&keywords=harry+potter)

6. A nifty book of christmas songs for the low price of 0.99

7.[ A fancy dog bed, so your dog can rest comfortably!] (https://www.amazon.com/Best-Friends-Sheri-OrthoComfort-20x20x12/dp/B008GQV004/ref=sr_1_16?s=pet-supplies&ie=UTF8&qid=1525044898&sr=1-16&keywords=dog+bed)

8.[ These llamas don't really have a use, but they are stinking cute!] (https://www.amazon.com/NOVICA-Llama-Couple-Ceramic-Statuettes/dp/B01M01J4XL/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1525045051&sr=8-6&keywords=llama+statue)

9.[I think everyone should watch wonder and realize that it is totally okay to be different.] (https://www.amazon.com/Wonder-Julia-Roberts/dp/B07894ZBDN/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1525045156&sr=8-4&keywords=wonder)

10.[ A lifestraw would surely come in handy during a zombie attackas you are still going to need uncontaminated water to drink.] (https://www.amazon.com/LifeStraw-Personal-Emergency-Preparedness-LSPHF017/dp/B006QF3TW4/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?ie=UTF8&qid=1525045256&sr=8-1-spons&keywords=lifestraw&psc=1)

11.[ This yoga mat will totally help me achieve my fitness goals for this year!] (https://www.amazon.com/Sivan-Health-Fitness-2-InchExtra-Exercise/dp/B00UXXF734/ref=sr_1_17?s=sporting-goods&ie=UTF8&qid=1525045361&sr=1-17&keywords=yoga)

12.[ Add on items can be the worst or the best. Whatever your opinion on them you are going to love this hair mask!] (https://www.amazon.com/Garnier-Fructis-Strengthening-Treat-Minute/dp/B074V4TGW9/ref=sr_1_3_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1525045564&sr=8-3&keywords=garnier%2Bhair%2Bmask&th=1)

13.[A harry potter funko for those in love with the world of wizards and magic!] (https://www.amazon.com/Funko-Quidditch-Harry-Potter-Figure/dp/B010OOSBMK/ref=sr_1_1?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1525045675&sr=1-1&keywords=harry+potter+funko)

14.[A cabinet set for the low price of 13000. What a deal!] (https://www.amazon.com/Chinese-Rosewoo-Noodle-Cabinets-Acs1500/dp/B004WLU2LA/ref=sr_1_1?s=furniture&ie=UTF8&qid=1525046163&sr=1-1&refinements=p_36%3A1000000-99999999)

15.[ A shark anatomy model that will show you the inner workings of your favorite aquatic species!] (
https://www.amazon.com/Vision-Great-White-Shark-Anatomy/dp/B001YIT1YI/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1525046239&sr=8-5&keywords=shark)

16.[ This is honestly the best candle ever! Who doesn't love the smell of fresh apples?!] (https://www.amazon.com/Yankee-Candle-Large-Jar-Macintosh/dp/B007FSDIJA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1525046342&sr=8-1&keywords=apple+yankee+candle)

18.[I think a nice journal would be helpful for writes to jot down their ideas quickly.] (https://www.amazon.com/Tree-Life-Leather-W-Cord/dp/B00A5T35JY/ref=sr_1_4?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1525046405&sr=1-4&keywords=leather+journal)

19.[ For some strange reason I am currently obsessed with pins! There are so many different ones, but I think this is my favorite one!] (
https://www.amazon.com/Night-Owl-Paper-Goods-Sloth/dp/B072KLVW8B/ref=sr_1_3?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1525046480&sr=1-3&keywords=enamel+pin)

20.[ I mean who doesn't want a tacocat on a hamburger in their bathroom?!] (https://www.amazon.com/Waterproof-Bathroom-Space-Shower-Curtain/dp/B01834W4H6/ref=sr_1_13?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1525046532&sr=1-13&keywords=Cat+in+space)

This book was pretty great for me a kid: Dragon Rider

It's a great fantasy. It may seem a bit big and pretty long, but it's easy to understand and the concept is good.
Looking back, I think this may hvve been one of my favorite books. I really liked the fantasy world.
This Frozen book

The Harry Potter series were amazing.

Get those kids some books!

Please surprise me if I win

THanks for contest! :)

Great questions! (from both you and your kiddo!). I came across this article - http://www.washington.edu/news/2013/01/08/the-philosophical-child-a-book-for-when-your-child-asks-why-are-we-here/ - which recommends a book for parents, but that doesn't sound like exactly what you're looking for.

In terms of philosophical picture books, the closest thing I can think of would be I Wonder by Annaka Harris. You might also check out the Zen Shorts series, though I don't think any of them really address "nature of reality" type questions directly. Also, while not exactly a picture book, the book Is Nothing Something? might give you some good starting points for discussion. Big Questions for Little People is similar but aimed at slightly older kids. You're Here For A Reason could also be relevant, although maybe not philosophical in quite the way you're looking for.

You could also take "How am I alive?" in a more scientific direction - you might enjoy You Are Stardust and Older Than the Stars, or a simple introduction to evolution such as Our Family Tree. You could also explore simple books about the human body and discuss how her heart, lungs, brain, etc allow her to walk and talk and stay alive - something like See Inside Your Body or Outside-In - or even go into a bit more detail about how she got "in mom's tummy" with a book like Who Am I? Where Did I Come From? or Before You Were Born - or talk about past generations (i.e. mom came from HER mom's tummy!) with a book like Me and My Family Tree

Hope some of that is helpful - of course this is a discussion you can continue as she gets older, and there are lots of great books for older kids that more directly tackle different beliefs and ideas about why we are here.

HAPPY FREAKIN' CAKEDAY !

Best gift I ever got was probably my dog. I categorize it as a gift, even though my parents made me earn her by getting all A's in school 3 times in a row, but that was a gift. They didn't have to do that and give me that incentive, they could have just expected me to get good grades. Anyways, she is the gift that keeps on giving. Still alive and kicking and the sweetest little brat in the world. Love her to death !

Linky for winny

/u/purrImacatpurpur get your butt in here and talk about the best gift you ever got. Which was totally me naming a fish after you. Totally. Yep. I'm just gonna keep on believing that :p

Given both like art, would a low-end drawing tablet be in the cards?

For Rylee, maybe an art kit composed of the following: Tachikawa nibs and holders and ink, or a finetipped pen set Deleter manga paper, and a grown up sketchbook a la trendy Moleskine or Pentalic or classic art student hardcovers like so. As she develops as an artist she'll learn more whether she likes different sizes, thicker or thinner paper, or toned paper. Maybe throw in a few making of books from her favorite series (like IDK this one for Avatar the Last Airbender or this one for Spirited Away.) Getting a good making of book for a movie or animated film can be life changing. For me, even though I read it years after Brother Bear came out, this was an enlightening read about the movie making process and has some seriously gorgeous art. I haven't read the one for Moana yet so I have no idea whether it leans more toward text (like the making of Hunchback of Notre Dame did...so very little art in that book) or pictures, but it's more recent than Brother Bear. And yes, most of us artists have these books on our shelves, albeit with different movies/series depending on taste. Some of the Marvel movies have excellent making of books too. ;)

I'd recommend some drawing books, but the ones I know all have nudity in them and I don't know how you'd feel about that. I'd caution against 'how to draw manga' books as a general rule, but I owned a few and some art very, very good at teaching how to direct the eye for storytelling.

For your younger, I'd suggest many of the same things, except maybe not the nibs and ink because sharp and messy. If you get either of them colored art supplies, I'd either make sure they get the exact same set of markers or colored pencils, or get one markers, the other colored pencils. It can be rough sharing an interest with a sibling. And maybe some Sideways Math from Wayside School (I'd also suggest all three Wayside School books, they're brain bendy in a good way). Another brain tickling book (for me it was, anyway) was the Phantom Tollbooth. Maybe a how to draw horses book. A making of book or two about movies she liked - Frozen, maybe? IDK. Maybe a Goldiblox set to get her engineer brain in gear. Oh! I forgot about Spirit, the animated horse movie no one remembers.

My oldest, now 10, sounds much like your son. He showed an interest in science from about the same age. He won the 4th grade science fair this year. :D

OK, done with my bragging. There are a lot of good videos & documentaries on youtube & netflix also. It really depends on what your son's methods of learning are. Personally, visual, with followup conversations seemed to work best with him. All kids learn differently, so if he seems to be getting bored, try something new.

This book is his ALL TIME favorite book. Here is another that the two of you can do together.

Find what works best for him, and switch it up often to make sure he is staying excited. Bright young minds have a tendency to wander fast when they're not being engaged. Good luck, and congrats on raising a great kid!

books? movies? I'd say you should get the Cosmos DVD set for general science, and maybe The Ascent of Man book/series. maybe some Attenborough documentaries as well? of course, this is more for the theoretical side of things and not for curriculum, but it would definitely be a positive experience for kids wanting to get the gist of what's involved in science, I think.

depending on your location and the logistics of your teaching environment, you might want to get a telescope as well as a microscope. you can get a pretty good general purpose telescope for a few hundred bucks and I know that I would have loved the shit out of that as a kid, but I'm not sure what you could possibly do with it being that you're probably only teaching during daylight hours.

so for an actual indoors "lab," maybe you should get one of those Thomson C3000 chemistry sets, in addition to a general assortment of beakers and test tubes and such. that seems to be the best chemistry kit around these days, sadly, but it's not half bad. it does come with some decent experiments and supplies. in addition to it, I recommend Robert Bruce Thompson's Illustrated Guide to Home Chemistry

Is there anything in particular you're leaning to?

Author Cherie Priest has a couple excellent books.

• Boneshaker, first book in her Clockwork Century series. It's a steampunk setting with zombies and all sorts of wonderful stuff. This book is actually on sale through the end of the month for $2.99.
  
• Bloodshot, first book in her Cheshire Red Reports series. It's about a vampire gal who is a thief-for-hire.
  
  The Dresden Files series, by Jim Butcher, is a wonderful series. It's about a wizard-for-hire in the modern world, and delves into the wonderful magic environment that Jim has created. Jim likes to put his characters through trouble and turmoil, and it's good for character development! The series starts off with Storm Front.
  
  The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins is another great series. It's a post-apocalyptic/oppressed setting, centering around something called 'The Hunger Games' - an annual battle that captivates the capitol and all twelve remaining districts. There is a movie releasing next year, as well.
  
  The Name of the Wind is a terrific book by Patrick Rothfuss, the first entry into his series The Kingkiller Chronicles. It's a fantasy setting, and is about a character named Kvothe recounting his life. The writing style has an absolutely artistic writing style that is captivating to read, and such interesting and progressing events that make you eagerly turn the page. I have not yet read the sequel, The Wise Man's Fear, but I'm told it's even better in every way.
  
  Terry Pratchett is an amazing and renowned author. He has been knighted, an event for which he created his own sword for by hand, battles against Alzheimer's in a most respectable and commendable way, and has created such an interesting and provoking world that provides a lot of laughs and curious perspectives on matters. Where you start is a more difficult choice. A couple choice options might be as follows (I haven't read others yet, so I can't attest to others, but there are many!).
  
  
• Guards! Guards! which is the first installment to the City Watch sequence.
  
• The Reaper Man trails after Death, after he has been fired from his job.
  
  I haven't started this book yet, nor looked into it, but I have heard terrific reviews. The Lies of Locke Lamora, by Scott Lynch, is his first book in his Gentleman Bastard Sequence series.
  
  And of course, if you haven't entered George RR Martin's world of Westeros, the series A Song of Ice and Fire could be a wonderful read. It's very complex and very long and not yet complete (five books so far). It starts off with Game of Thrones, which is what the recently-aired HBO series was based upon.
  
  In the science fiction sphere, I would recommend Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card. It's the first in his Ender's series, and there are quite a few books set in the world. I have only read the first one, and it was an excellent read, insightful and thought-provoking.
  
  ...anyway, that should be a few to peek at!

From a past discussion:

"Princesses and pornstars by emily macguire is a good and easy to read primer. also, the word 'porn' in the title is likely to pique interest (though he will ultimately be disappointed in this regard)

Comic books like The Maxx: Realistic woman (and men too) and a savage look at victimization. As well as action, journey into the subconscious, and questioning face value. Plenty of good stuff in there, though it is more than a little weird.

"Feminism is for Everybody" by bell hooks

A lot of Margaret Atwood's works have a good, uncompromising approach to women in society and the ways they are treated and exploited - and they tend to be aimed at a young adult fiction market.

Reading Oryx and Crake isn't going to stop him from being objectifying and offensive but it will help him gradually understand things, and hopefully build some empathy for women as a foundation for further personal development."

***

Further recommendations for young readers:

100 Young Adult Books for the Feminist Reader - http://bitchmagazine.org/100-young-adult-books-for-the-feminist-reader

The Amelia Bloomer project http://libr.org/ftf/bloomer.html

Some past recommendations from our users about inspiring/strong young women:

• "The Fault in Our stars, Visible Amazement, anything by Tamora Pierce (especially the lioness, protector of the small, and trickster series') Persepolis."
  
  
• Hunger Games Trilogy
  
  
• "Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston. It's pretty old, came right out of the Harlem Renaissance. Its about her relationships with different men, and how in each of the relationships she takes a different role. It also reveals a lot of the racial zeitgeist, as well as women's issues. Plus, it's a love story, and who doesn't love a good love story?"
  
  
• A Wrinkle in Time
  
  
• Native Tongue
  
  
• "HIS DARK MATERIALS by Philip Pullman. Lyra is amaazing. Lirael and Abhorsen are great too."
  
  
• "Left to Tell. It's a true story told by a woman who survuved the massacres in Rwanda, and how she overcame the obstacles during and after. It's a very compelling read."
  
  
• "Lynne Andrews-Medicine Woman Jean Auel-Clan of the Cave Bear Dr. Clarissa Pinkola Estes-Women Who Run with the Wolves"
  
  
• "detective novels by Laura Lippman, who is an excellent writer. Her protagonist, Tess Monaghan, solves mysteries in Baltimore."
  
  
• "Not One Damsel in Distress: World Folktales for Strong Girls by Jane Yolen"
  
  
• "The Paper Bag Princess. Not only is it empowering to young girls, it lampoons the whole "I'll just wait here helpless for my Prince charming to come rescue me" mentality you find so often in disney films. "

There's definitely some critiquing of Steven Universe's queerness that one could do (for one, there's no outright human queer characters yet), but I would say with confidence that SU is very open about the queer characters it does have.

The censoring you linked to (featuring the same three characters involved in the love triangle in "It's Over") was done by Cartoon Network UK -- in the US the scene is left uncensored.

I think one would have to do some mental gymnastics to take "It's Over" as a "losing my best friend" song. Pearl, the character who's singing, says "You won, and she chose you" directed at the character Greg, who ultimately ended up with the character Rose (the "she" in the song). There can't be a winner unless Pearl and Greg are playing the same game, you know? You could probably argue that the two dads in The Loud House have the same last name because they're brothers, using similar mental gymnastics.

There is another ongoing, completely uncensored, non-subtextual same-sex romance involving two other characters, Ruby and Sapphire. There's an entire episode called "The Answer" that's devoted to how they met and fell in love (and there's a forthcoming children's book of the same name!). I'll gladly link you to more videos and images if you're interested, but since you're not a fan of the show I think that might just bore you. :P


I'll stop here...sorry about the overly extensive response!

1.) Something that is grey.

2.) Something reminiscent of rain. It always rains when I go camping

3.) Something food related that is unusual. Tiramisu wafer cookies. Better than sex.

4.) Something on your list that is for someone other than yourself. I have a whole wishlist for other people. My boyfriend, gramdma, mom, dad, and little brother.

5.) A book you should read! Clearly. You should have read these already because they are the best books evar.

6.) An item that is less than a dollar, including shipping Not on my wishlist

7.) Something related to cats Leopards are big cats.

8.) Something that is not useful, but so beautiful you must have it.

9.) A movie everyone should watch at least once in their life. Because it's the best trilogy of all time.

10.) Something that would be useful when the zombies attack. To whack them in the head and the use the pick to smash their brains out. And it's foldable so it will fit in a backpack.

11.) Something that would have a profound impact on your life and help you to achieve your current goals. I'm a student and I practically live in the library most of the school year. I need a laptop because the computers at school are SO outdated.

12.) One of those pesky Add-On items.

13.) The most expensive thing on your list. Your dream item. PS4! I need this because I love to game and I really, really need Kingdom Hearts 3. Like really.

14.) Something bigger than a bread box.

15.) Something smaller than a golf ball.

16.) Something that smells wonderful. This is the BEST SCENT EVER. It smells like marshmallows, fire burning, and vanilla.

17.) A (SFW) toy. Grown-up toy!

18.) Something that would be helpful for going back to school.

19.) Something related to your current obsession, whatever that may be. Harry Potter is always an obsession.

[20.) Something that is just so amazing and awe-inspiring that I simply must see it. ]()

[Anything that has my real name on it.]()

Anything made in Oregon. This is a bit of a stretch but bear with me. The Bourne Triology preceeds The Bournce Legacy. Which starred Edward Norton who also starred in Fight Club. A movie based off the book who was written by none other than Chuck Palahniuk who is from Oregon & resides there.

I'll be back to finish this!

fear cuts deeper than swords

1. Now this is a goblet worthy of a queen. And honey you should see me in a crown.
   
   
2. Every witch should look her best. These face brooms should help me out!
   
   
3. Sure, the hat completes my look, but this will make sure that the hair underneath is just as fabulous.
   
   
4. Sure, this may not be much of a stretch as far as explanations go, but how much more fitting could you get? (PS - It was even on my wishlist before today!).
   
   
5. I would be HORRIFIED if my chest were to look like just any one I could have snagged at Amazon-Alley. This will ensure that I can customize it to be completely unique!
   
   Bonus: This is one classy cape. I have to look my best when I'm off campus!

oh my gosh. placeholder so i can work on this after my kids get to bed. excited! <3 you guys and your contests! I'm back!!

Morthy demands

• I'd probably feel pretty posh in this wool slouchy hat but i don't know how it'd make me feel like an englishman. :) ^^Fashion ^^Attempts ^^WL.
  
• I would probably never wear these outside of the house or yoga studio but these yoga pants look amazing! ^^Fashion ^^Attempts ^^WL
  
  
  
• I am lacking in phallic looking items, so this is a bit of a stretch, a salt shaker. ^^kitchen ^^WL.
  
  Akeleie demands
  
  
• Most geeky item : Geek Dad book with projects and fun things to do for my husband and our kids. ^^The ^^Mr. ^^WL.
  
  
• Item which would help me achieve my goal of being a single car household and an active, fun, hot mama is this double bike trailer ^^ActiveLifestyle ^^WL
  
  
• Best item to bring on a deserted island is The Harry Potter series, i have NOT read these books yet, but plan to do so along with my sons when they are a little older. ^^books ^^WL

What got me to go down the science route was the "cool" hands on stuff I got to do as a kid.

Two examples are when my dad got us some wires, a light bulb, and some miscellaneous and we made different circuits "flashlights". He let me play around with it and make my own so I could use it at nights so I thought it was cool that more battery = brights, longer wire = dimmer, and the important lesson that Light bulbs generate heat. I just messed around with it using different stuff, seeing what was conductive and what wasn't so on forth. Another one he did with me was wrapping a wire around a large nail to make a magnet. I thought all of this was cool shit.

This was kind of a start to me reading more sciencey books, learning cool stuff to do, which lead me to like reading which in the end turned into a vicious cycle.

What I liked about it is that it wasn't forced on me, but it was given as a fun project. Made me want to pursue it further. more I looked, more fun it got.

One thing I would suggest is to get a book of experiments or look some up online and do one together every weekend. It can be whatever, chemistry, mechanics, etc. I just googled this for you.

http://www.amazon.com/Everything-Kids-Science-Experiments-Gravity-Challenge/dp/1580625576

This is just my 2 cents.

-Wish the best and good luck!

My son's 7, so my situation's a bit different from yours. But what I did was pick up a copy of "All Cats Have Aspergers Syndrome" (http://smile.amazon.com/dp/1843104814) to start the conversation with my son. He LOVES cats, so this was an easy way to start the conversation. I started talking to him about some of they symptoms I noticed, and how that was a little different than other people. But I also have Aspergers, so I was able to frame it as "other people don't do it, but you and mommy do." We started discussing how he doesn't like to make eye contact, and I asked him if it was easier to look at my mouth (my go-to when having conversations) or my hair line. The conversation built up from there, because he likes to ask questions & learn things. We went over each of the statements in "All Cats Have Aspergers" and he was able to relate them to himself. I did my best to focus on positive statements, letting him know that we're different & that's okay. There's nothing wrong with us.

He still asks me questions about it, and we discuss something about it at least a couple times a week. But the book helped start the discussion.

I hope that helps you out.

My son is 9. We told him last year because he wanted to know why he was seeing his other doctor so much (because the school wouldn't get off our case until we had a diagnosis. Until we got it, we knew already, but had no need for it to be formal).

I got a book called "all cats have aspergers". It's a picture book and it's for kids, but it's really cute and it got the idea across in a simple way.

If you have a decent relationship with him and can talk to him about other things, I say go for it. If not, then maybe find a way to work it into a conversation. We made sure to clarify for our son that this diagnosis was not his end-all excuse for his behavior (when it was bad), nor was it something that he had to view as something "bad"....but rather, it was an explanation for those questions like "why am i different/why do i think/see things so differently" or "why do we have to go about things differently than so&so"...

I hope that helps and I wish you the best of luck. After the initial fun of saying Ass-Burgers, my kid has mostly forgotten about it and just does his thing.

I would love some art! Could you do a Harry Potter-themed painting anime style? That would be so rad.

Favourite books:

1. The Harry Potter series (counting it as one) is my absolute favourite. It's been with my ever since I was a wee one, and I'll be a fan until I die. It's just fantastic and magical and amazing.
   
   
2. Skinny which is about a girl with an eating disorder. I'm currently struggling with one, so it hits close to home. It was just incredibly well-written and sucked me in immediately. I love it.
   
   
3. The Giving Tree is amazing. I've loved this book since I was little. I'm a huge Shel fan and this book just make me feel so much. So happy, and terribly sad. I love reading it, and can over and over.
   
   Thank you so much for this contest! Someone is going to be very happy!

We've discovered the Rookie Toddler series at our library. It's a great educational series that our LO loves! https://www.amazon.com/Books-Rookie-Toddler/s?ie=UTF8&page=1&rh=n%3A283155%2Cp_lbr_books_series_browse-bin%3ARookie%20Toddler

We have 2 Peekaboo Sophie books with nice heavy flaps.

Who's Hiding? is also a good lift flap series. We have this one https://www.amazon.com/Whos-Hiding-Garden-Lift-Flap/dp/0764163159

I like the books by Todd Parr too. We have the I Love You book, the Daddy book, and Doggy Kisses. Lots of bright colours and fun to read. I want to get this one next https://www.amazon.ca/Its-Okay-Different-Todd-Parr/dp/0316043478

I do an activity using the book It's Okay to be Different. First, we read the book, then the kids make a person out of contruction paper using a math glyph format by answering questions about themselves.

If you live with one parent, you get a square head; if you live with two parents, you get a triangular head; if you live with no parents, you get a round head.

If you have a pet, you get a red shirt; if you do not have a pet, you get a blue shirt.

If you like math best, you get green pants; if you like reading best you get yellow pants.

The number of eyes is the same as the number of children that live in your house.

The pictures turn out really cute, and all my kids from pre-k through 8th love it because it's funny.

If you're interested I can probably email you the pattern I use to make the people tomorrow night. PM me your email address if you'd like it.

I am already looking on Amazon :)

Some ideas for OP:

http://www.amazon.com/Dont-Let-Pigeon-Drive-Bus/dp/078681988X/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1419580113&sr=1-4&keywords=pigeon

Plus - the boardgame that about the pigeon driving the bus. So cute, and great for social skills.

For your 7 year old: http://www.amazon.com/Book-No-Pictures-B-J-Novak/dp/0803741715/ref=lp_10238950011_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1419580437&sr=1-1

It is meant to read out loud - hilarious!!

These are awesome: http://www.amazon.com/Fiskars-Gel-Pen-48-Piece-Value/dp/B000S161FO/ref=sr_1_1?s=arts-crafts&ie=UTF8&qid=1419580561&sr=1-1&keywords=gel+pens

And should go with this for the 7 year old:

http://www.amazon.com/Boys-Doodle-Book-Pictures-Complete/dp/0762435062/ref=sr_1_14?ie=UTF8&qid=1419580657&sr=8-14&keywords=doodle

And if you have some tolerance for crafting :) this: http://www.amazon.com/Klutz-Spiral-Draw/dp/B00BEKOAYW/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1419580776&sr=8-9&keywords=spiral+art

Does your little one need jammies? http://www.amazon.com/Leveret-Stars-Piece-Pajama-Cotton/dp/B00P1NL1JU/ref=sr_1_9?s=apparel&ie=UTF8&qid=1419580939&sr=1-9&keywords=pajamas

What about a backpack? This might work for the 7 year old: http://www.amazon.com/Everest-Backpack-Front-Pockets-Orange/dp/B00DQMWN6S/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1419580816&sr=8-5&keywords=kid+backpack

)

You're right! The Answer is very Disney. In a recent convention panel, Rebecca Sugar was asked about diversity- in general, but also in regards to queer representation. She explained about how important it was that children learn about different kinds of romance existing, because it'll be too late to tell them when they're adults. She explained about how when she was a child, she always loved the beautiful Disney romances, but she "never felt like that was me".

... so she made her own queer Disney romance.

There's even a picture book adaptation coming out in September!

How do you pass the time? What do you do with your weekends?

Games and sex. Watch a TV show/movie with SO or kids every now and then too.

How do you balance family, friends, and personal time?

When I was 21, I cut ties to most of my family and friends. I realized I didn't really get anything back from them. They took from me, and I got nothing in return. It was draining and not worth my time. I first struggled with the guilt these thoughts made me feel, like I was a terrible brother/cousin/nephew/friend, but I eventually realized it was foolish to keep relationships that didn't improve my life. Life is too short. Do I miss them from time to time? Sure, briefly.

Now if your friends/family don't make you feel like that, that's cool. You used the term "balance" though, which to me implies you think there must be some sort of "optimal"... balance (lol). If there is, it's different for everybody, and to find your balance, I'd say you just need to be more honest with yourself, then you'll know what your balance is, then you can just enforce it.

As a fellow INTP, I'd suspect you often wish you could have more personal time, and that your friends/family take up more time than you want to give. Either they don't understand you, or they don't care. It's probably the former. Maybe sit down and explain kindly how you need more space, and it's not personal. Basically, do what you want, and do not let things like guilt or social norms decide for you.

How do you explain your goals to people without having a complete idea of what you want to have accomplished?

I got a book for my kids, and was pleasantly surprised by the core message.

In current society we're often discouraged from appearing "dumb", but really, there's nothing wrong with saying "I don't know". It's worthy of celebration in fact! It's really the first step. If you can't explain your goals, don't. There is no shame in saying you can't. So what if some parents/grandparents already had whole families and careers by the time they were your age? Even if you have cousins your age who have "done more", it's not fair to compare.

You sound like you have a pretty nice life. It's good to think about the future, but like Qui-Gon clarified "Be mindful of the future, but not at the expense of the moment."

I came here to post this. His chemistry play list is really good (especially organic chem). It will give you a really solid fundamental understanding of college level chemistry and will make it much easier to understand other higher-level sources of information like wiki pages and MIT open courseware lectures.

Also, (to op) I recommend The Illustrated Guide To Home Chemistry. This book will help you build a decent lab setup and give you the necessary basics of lab procedure to have a strong understanding of chemistry as well. Good luck.

The Harry Potter series has made a seriously huge impact on my life. It changed my life. I love it so much--it has so many great life lessons about love, acceptance, and bravery. I don't understand people who think they're just kids' books--there are so many beautiful passages that have really shaped my worldview.

I would love to read this book (used) from my Under $6 wishlist. Or really, any book from that wishlist would be great! But I have read some of them, and you specified a book I haven't read.

OH MY GOODNESS they are so cute!!! :3 I have a little chihuahua/rat terrior mix named Pookie :)

Young Adult is great! I really enjoy dystopias as well! If you're interested in trekking down that path, a few good Young Adult/Dystopias are The Hunger Games, Divergent, and The Giver. I also highly recommend Ready Player One and The Handmaids Tale :D

The comparison between cats and autistic people is interesting. Like cats, they tend to like their own space, like and need routine, lash out when upset etc. It can be a pretty useful way to explain and understand Autism - there’s actually a children’s book that playfully shows the similarities between cats and people with Aspergers, called All Cats Have Asperger Syndrome. Just like the cat doesn’t communicate in a human language so we have to look for the ways she does communicate with us, Autistic people use a different communication language to allistic people.

I particularly like this comparison because it asserts that there’s nothing wrong with the cat, or the Autistic person, they just see the world differently and communicate in a different way. Rather than forcing them to fit into our understanding of “normal”, we can work together to communicate needs and desires effectively.

Happy Happy Happy Birthday!!!!!!

happy birthday elisha you're so awesome thanks for living

Item

Thanks for the contest! :)

Good for you! I don't know if you're in the process of getting a diagnosis or not, but the only reason we went through with the whole thing is so that he can get the appropriate educational support at school. Some teachers will only believe kids are special when doctors say so...actually, it's more the bean-counting administrators than it is the teachers. A lot of times their hands are tied without a diagnosis. Anyway, before his diagnosis we got him some awesome books which really helped him make sense of things...especially how everyone else thinks (he understands the way he thinks perfectly). I'm not sure how old your son is, but I'd recommend this book: http://www.amazon.com/books/dp/1849059152. He references it regularly and it's made a HUGE difference.

Seriously, awesome contest. You are amazing and super generous! :D

I guess I would have to go with this!

I never read them when they got popular and refused to see the movie. Then I broke down and watched the movie....and I really liked it. Now I am mad at myself for not believing everyone! I should have read them!!

My sister let me borrow her Game of Thrones book, or else I would say those.

And again...you are super sweet for doing this! <3

I am Luna & I would personally love to get & read The Hunger games the movie looks interesting but I would love to read the book. Reading has always been important to me, I am always looking for new books to read.

You're amazing this is a fantastic contest :)

Well, if she loves Harry Potter there are some great special editions out there.

The 20th anniversary edition is pretty sweet, you can get it in the colors of your favorite house.
http://www.harrypotter.bloomsbury.com/uk/bookshop/20th-anniversary-editions/

I've got this illustrated edition. It's fully illustrated, and just beautiful.

https://www.amazon.com/Harry-Potter-Sorcerers-Stone-Illustrated/dp/0545790352

Cats. Seriously. Your cat sounds like a terror, and that happens sometimes. It's more likely to happen with re-homed adult cats, because they don't bond well with their new owner. I would tend to recommend a kitten, around 10 weeks old. (Alternately, if could have been trying to play with you; some people teach cats to play too roughly as kittens, and are then distressed when the behaviour continues as adults.) You also have to learn what cats, and your cat in particular, does, and does not, like. Four of my seven cats hate being held, but love perching on my shoulder while I walk around. (I often have small punctures from their claws.) One is half-feral, and barely tolerates being touched at all, but likes being in the same room, and within 2' of me. (He will bite, but not nearly as hard as he used to.) Something to remember with cats is that they mostly use body position and tails to communicate with each other, so you have to consciously learn what they're saying to you. Oh, and direct eye contact is considered aggressive and a sign of dominance in cats.

If you decide to give a cat another try, look for cat breeds that are generally considered both docile and affectionate; a Ragdoll would be a great choice (as long as you keep up on brushing).

I'm getting my best friend's 6 month old daughter a copy of the illustrated Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. Which is wildly inappropriately for her age, but I figure if I give her one HP book every year for Christmas she will have the complete set by the time she's old enough for her mom to read them to her. Seems logical.

Edit: Thanks, everyone! I kind of thought it was a silly/dorky idea but I'm glad to hear that a lot of people would appreciate it. Makes me feel less anxious than I normally do about gift-giving. Also, if you haven't seen the illustrated HP books OMG you need to, they are beautiful!

Another new book release that might interest some people here: a picture book called "The Answer", based on an episode of Steven Universe that told the backstory of how their main queer couple met and fell in love during a rebellion. The art is gorgeous, and so is the story it was based on, which you can definitely read without knowing much or anything about the cartoon. I'm excited to donate it to my local library for the kids. There are hardly any queer books for beginner readers, and the few I've seen are pretty low quality and/or focused more on neutral mommies and daddies.

There's a few things that you should consider:

1. Children don't really have book level attention span until they're over 2 years old. Books for one year olds are really more like toys they can chew on that are shaped like books and typically have 0-2 words per spread. These are called board books. A lot of the "classic" picture books that people think of are written for children age 4-6.
   
   
2. If you wanted to get a book printed and shipped to you by Christmas, using standard shipping, you have 1-2 weeks to write your story, get it illustrated, and do the layout. That seems ambitious. Also, a baby will destroy a book with paper pages and I don't know of any print on demand services for board books. Board books are pretty expensive to manufacture.
   
   
3. Books for young children are illustrated, unless you are B.J. Novak. You didn't really mention how you intend to address this. If you want to write a story that doesn't need pictures, you're bumping up the age range to around 6 years old. If you intend to hire an illustrator, you're going to need to budget a substantial amount of money and push this gift to next Christmas. If you want to draw the illustrations yourself, I recommend giving it a try and seeing what it looks like (and if you enjoy it) before making that kind of commitment.
   
   I think it's admirable that you want to do a book for your nephew, but I think it's an unrealistic goal to aim to have it done by Christmas, and even if you get it done, it will be years before he can actually appreciate it.
   
   If you decide that you do want to do a picture book, I recommend starting with the following exercise:
   
   
4. Go to your local independent bookstore and find 5 picture books you like.
   
   
5. Buy one or two of them.
   
   
6. Get the rest of them at the library.
   
   
7. Transcribe the books into google docs.
   
   
8. Print out the docs and read the stories to yourself. Pay attention to the sentence structure, how the words sound as you read them aloud, and what you are missing without the illustrations.
   
   
9. Change one thing about the story and re-write it.
   
   
10. Repeat this exercise until you understand picture books.

Hey welcome! It's nice to meet you! Vet tech sounds pretty awesome, plus living overseas. What are the differences between there and the US?

Either this book or this pop figure would be absolutely amazing

Not your typical response, but I'm super excited to for the illustrated versions of Harry Potter! My husband and I are huge Potter fans, and these books are gorgeous.

The terms are from traditional print publishing.

Collection: pieces by the same author collected from other publications
https://www.amazon.com/Short-Stories-Anthologies-Zora-Neale-Hurston/s?ie=UTF8&page=1&rh=n%3A10300%2Cp_lbr_one_browse-bin%3AZora%20Neale%20Hurston

Anthology: pieces by different authors
https://www.amazon.com/Short-Stories-Black-Writers-1899-1967/dp/0316380318/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1541250872&sr=1-4&refinements=p_lbr_one_browse-bin%3AZora+Neale+Hurston

Bundle: Those used to be the plastic or paper wrapped sets of paperbacks or hardbacks that were sold as bargains. They are always discounted from the price of the books separately. They could be either the same author or different ones. You can still see them in bookstores and grocery stores.

https://www.amazon.com/2-Book-Bundle-Chicken-Womans-Second/dp/B01N410A1T/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1541251195&sr=1-3&keywords=chicken+soup+for+the+soul+bundle

Box Set: These are gift sets. They are sometimes aren't discounted depending on the material used to make the books. The book can be in paper, cloth, leather, special bindings, hardcover, QP, or mass market. The books come in a slip case to either better display the books like the Harry Potter gift sets or protect them in the case of expensive art or folio books like from Taschen.

Harry: https://www.amazon.com/Harry-Potter-Paperback-Box-Books/dp/0545162076/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1541251733&sr=1-1&keywords=harry+potter+box+set

Taschen: https://www.amazon.com/Monet-Catalogue-Raisonne-4-Set/dp/3822885592/ref=sr_1_12?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1541251650&sr=1-12&keywords=taschen+box+set

i dont know much about kid sizes since i am only a university student and dont have kids of my own, i would love to help you guys out this Christmas, if you can message me back telling me if the snow pants are okay for the triplets and what size is the correct one(i believe you said 5/6 but i want to make sure is the right size), i also saw they like science and as a science guy myself, i wanted to send them this science book, let me know if its a good idea and if they would like it

Thank you all for such thoughtful replies. What a great community!

I also wanted to let you all know how much my son has loved this book:
https://www.amazon.com/Asperkids-Secret-Book-Social-Rules/dp/1849059152. My adult friend with Asperger’s recommended it and said he wished he’d had it when he was younger.

Congratulations!

My kids are now adults, and I teach young children. Over the years, these are the books for very young children that I have found to have the most staying power.

Infant/Toddler/Early childhood books: (you can read these to a child under 1 year, he or she will appreciate the rhythmic sounds, and both words and pictures acquire meaning as time goes on.)

Goodnight Moon and Runaway Bunny by Margaret Wise Brown (simply the best parental bonding books)

What Do People Do All Day by Richard Scarry

PeekABoo, The Jolly Postman and Each Pear Each Plum by Janet and Allan Ahlberg
All three books have engaging text and illustrations that both child and adult can appreciate.

Little Blue and Little Yellow This book, in my opinion, is a work of art on several levels. Kids never get tired of its reassurance.

No, David by David Shannon (but IMO the other David books are not nearly as good)

Caps for Sale Another book with repetitive rhythms for children, with an amusing story

Blueberries for Sal A classic that has stood the test of time, I still read this to the class every fall.

The Lion and the Mouse This is Aesop's fable, told with no words, only Jerry Pinkney's amazing illustrations. Two, three and four year olds ask for this story over and over again.

Other favorites:

The Tenth Good Thing About Barney

Ferdinand the Bull

The Cat in the Hat

Harold and the Purple Crayon

Authors to consider: Jan Brett, Shel Silverstein, Judith Viorst, E. B.White, Frank Asch, Roald Dahl.

Robert Munsch gets mixed reviews but to me, The Paperbag Princess is a must.

I'm a youth and family program assistant at the library where I work. I could use some kids books! Well, a kids book since we're going for a $10 item and kids books are ridiculously expensive sometimes. I would love to have my own copy of The Day the Crayons Quit. It's always checked out from the library and it'd be nice to have a copy that I can take with me to storytimes without needing to plan it ahead of time. This science experiment book would be awesome, too, if you wanted to gift two people something around $5 each. I'm working on a series of STEAM storytimes. I'm really looking forward to it. This would be a great book to get ideas from.

Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezy

My three Tiny Turtles haven't seen the movie yet, but I'm sure they would LOVE it. As would I! Throw in some blankets, add in popcorn... baby you got a stew family movie night going!!!

Little Golden Book

Zambambo - thanks for the contest!

Maybe get her a nice set of books for a gift?

Like if she likes Harry Potter, find a good version of it (leatherback, graphic novel, something like this: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0545790352/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_a8Clzb5BMGKNN)

The text in the North American version is different (i.e. rubbish is trash), I think the choice depends really on whether the you value the authenticity of the content of the visuals of the book more. Personally I like the American version because I really love the art style, but at the same time I am a more visual person and the differences in text don't bother me as much as some other people.

If it helps you should also think about the type of box it will be in if that affects you. The American version boxed set looks like this (Amazon for more angles). While the signature version looks like this (Amazon for more angles)

There is also the question of whether you want paperback or hardback covers.

TGIF

I plan on relaxing and doing some thrift store shopping for my Halloween costume.

This would be awesome.

Thanks for the contest! Sounds like you've been stressed about something. Hope it gets better !

Oh jeez, I have like 50 in my lists... Hmm... Let's go with this one!

Thanks for the cute contest!

Edit: or this one! instead.Really, any one in my lists would be wonderful. :)

Life is about using the whole box of crayons!

I would adore he one coloring book on my wishlist Yes, it's a frozen coloring book!

and I shall summon /u/Memetoparty because she's been sweet and a good friend since we met on RaoA a few months ago. She is a disney fanatic as well so I'll say she would like.. This one for her daughter who wants to be a princess

I agree with other comment- it depends on what she already has (also what she likes). But I recently was given the illustrated version of book 1 that came out last year and I love it more than anything! 1 and 2 are already out (with the 3rd being released in October) which means 6 more gift ideas for the future. ;)
It might seem silly to buy her books since she probably already owns them- but I find the illustrated ones so special! I love them so much and am happy to have them along with my original copies.

1. Go to Khan Academy's Chemistry and Physics sections and select which videos are applicable to your course.
   
   
2. Assign these lectures as the Homework (Explained how to do this here)
   
   
3. Purchase The Illustrated Guide to Home Chemistry. (This book has over 60 very straightforward experiments that show various aspects of chemistry. There probably won't be an experiment for each aspect you want to cover, but you should be able to get at least quite a few. Plus it's just an extremely good reference book for chem.)
   
   This still leaves you short for a few of your requirements, but should be a good start. I'm interested in seeing others' suggestions as well.

I wonder if the player in question is referencing these house rules:

https://www.amazon.com/Book-Lost-Things-John-Connolly/dp/1442429348

The author has a comment about exotic weapons in there that reads as follows:

> If you wanted a quick fix, you could meld some of the exotic weapons into existing weapon groups (axes, bows, close, cudgels, firearms, flails, hammers, heavy blades, light blades, spears, thrown). Katanas could fall into heavy blades while daisho would be light blades.

> Using your GM’s discretion, you could also create entirely new weapon groups. In this case, it may make sense to group traditional samurai melee weapons together (katana, wazikashi, daisho). That way your samurai could still specialize in a distinct flavour of weaponry.

Those rules are designed to make martial characters a little more interesting a little more quickly, allowing them to skip prereq feats and get to the fun bits of a given build at lower level. Tinkering is all well and good, and playing with those linked rules seems like an acceptable change to me. As others have said however, demanding to play with your preferred house rules or picking up your ball and going home is not cool.

I don't know how I'd advise OP. Capitulating to a whiner undermines GM authority, but giving up a game is tough too. Perhaps a compromise? Maybe everyone gets a free feat at character creation, and this counts as the free feat for the player in question. In my most recent game, I've allowed players to take 3 traits or 1 trait and a story feat, for example. Hasn't broken anything yet.

I don't know where my used copies are, but I'd be happy to buy a paperback set for them. (http://www.amazon.com/Harry-Potter-Paperback-Box-Books/dp/0545162076/ref=sr_1_1_title_0_main?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1332526177&sr=1-1)

Can you set up a wishlist or something so that I can have it sent it directly there?

I'd also like some sort of verification that you actually do work with impoverished kids, if it wouldn't be too bothersome. :)

Hello! I have a brand new cousin actually, we started her library already :). I'm big on seeing beyond the social expectations of women, and I want to be the "cool cousin" as she gets older! I honestly don't want to ask for a cliche book like princesses being rescued, shopping, or big poofy dresses. I want her to look back when she's older and see a uniquely different book that her cousin got her. Thanks for doing this contest! The Used book is good enough!

Your mom might like this book since she's a preschool teacher! If you haven't heard of the Humans of New York fb page, you should check it out, it's awesome!

Brother might like this book too, has great reviews, very interactive.

• ✓
  
• ✓
  
• ✓
  
• I've never seen Frozen but would much like to, if it's as good as everyone claims it is then having a copy would be great!
  
• Zambambo
  
• Little Golden Book

They're all kids' novelizations, but still, they do exist.

Official junior novelization.

Little Golden Book.

Big Golden Book.

And for other more grownup friendly reading material, as always, I'm going to plug The Art of Frozen, which gives a tremendous amount insight into the behind-the-scenes of the art and design process; and A Sister More Like Me, which is a short but adorable look at the sisters' childhoods, with some additional exposition of the time that gets fast-forwarded through during Do You Wanna Build a Snowman.

Chemicals

http://www.carolina.com/category/physical+science/chemistry.do

http://elementsales.com/

http://www.onlinesciencemall.com/Shop/Control/fp/SFV/30852

http://www.aaa-chemicals.com/

Equipment/Chemicals

http://www.hometrainingtools.com/default.asp

http://www.labdepotinc.com/

http://www.pyrocreations.com/

http://www.labx.com/

http://expediglass.com/

http://www.freyscientific.com/

Bottles

http://www.specialtybottle.com/index.asp Like their selection, I don't think they carry polyconde lids

http://www.containerandpackaging.com/index.html They carry polycone lids

http://www.bottlesolutions.com/

As far as these bottles go, try to get the polycone lined caps as they seem to seal better, like in this one: http://www.containerandpackaging.com/item/L069

And lastly, if you're going to be doing home chemistry, I highly recommend this book: http://www.amazon.com/Illustrated-Guide-Home-Chemistry-Experiments/dp/0596514921

They forum I linked you to before is by the author Robert Bruce Thompson.

And if you can, I'd recommend getting a sink like this one: http://www.lowes.com/pd_56972-10882-MF20000FM.001_0__?productId=3448692&Ntt=utility+sink&pl=1&currentURL=&facetInfo=

It would make washing glassware a hell of a lot easier than trying to use a small ceramic sink in the bathroom and MUCH safer than using your kitchen sink. Don't use your kitchen sink. Don't. Really Don't.

Let me know if you have any more questions!

I can't believe no one has mentioned Sideways Arithmetic from Wayside School!

This is a great introduction to the concept of variables and it's really fun, too!

Please get her the books, too. I bet she's also good at reading, and if it a little challenging you can certainly read it to/with her. They're broken into very short chapters.

I would truly love this coloring book because it would make me happy everyday to color. I know that's slightly sad but I do that in my free time. :) I'll color you a picture!

Some of my favorites:

• The Myth of Sisyphus for philosophical essays.
  
• The Road and The Stand for dystopian fiction.
  
• American Gods or Neverwhere for fantasy.
  
• Brave New World, The Picture of Dorian Gray or Les Miserables for classics.
  
• Harry Potter is my favorite book of all time. It's pure story that is fun to read, evokes emotion and has great depth.
  
• The Beach is good to begin with, better if you're a traveler or like utopian type fiction. (Think of it as a dirtier, contemporary version of H.G. Wells' The Time Machine.)
  
• The Autobiography of King Henry VIII for historical biographies. Note that this one is fiction, but well researched.
  
• A few final random ones are Flowers for Algernon, Angela's Ashes and Italian Folktales.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/18/science/18dogs.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all found something mentioned here at least:

> His team has also used the dog SNP chip to scan for genes that show signatures of selection. One such favored dog gene has a human counterpart that has been implicated in Williams syndrome, where it causes exceptional gregariousness.

But they only speak of a single gene here; if that is all it is, it sounds a bit like a soundbite statement implying the connection too strongly.

But then again, if we're going by connections, it all makes perfect sense... Just consider the undeniably logical proposition that Williams' is the opposite of Asperger's, and then look at this exciting research result.

Have you thought about the illustrated books? The third one was just released this past October. The illustrated versions are great for any fan, plus they’re great once your friends child is old enough because they can read to their child and show them the pictures as they follow along.

Amazon link to books

Berenstain Bears on the Moon. This was the first book I can remember reading by myself at age 3.

Also, my parents used to read a book called The Clown Arounds to me when I was a baby. Read it to me so much the cover fell off from use.

The last major influence on my young life was Canadian author Robert Munsch. Most Americans I find are familiar with his heartwarming story Love You Forever which was a big hit with baby showers when I worked in a book store. Little did anyone know that he writes a ton of other books that are hilarious to kids. Such as Mortimer which is about a kid who doesn't want to go to bed. Or I Have to Go! about a little boy and his finicky bladder. The big one though was The Paper Bag Princess about a princess who has to go rescue her handsome prince after the dragon burned down her castle, but all she has to wear is a dirty paper bag. My mom even took me to see this guy live when I was like 5 years old, performing his own stories. I used to love the stories, and when I have kids, I'm going to stock their library with all of them.

This video is a great resource. The artists have captured the literal sense of language, special interests (trains as an example in this case), and lack of eye contact or use of social greetings--all true and accurate symptoms of Asperger's Disorder. We frequently recommend the book All Cats Have Asperger Syndrome to families. Feed back has been positive.

It was at barns and Noble or here https://www.amazon.com/All-Cats-Have-Asperger-Syndrome/dp/1843104814


It was super cute, and seemed true with my kid.

Both my kids love storytime! That is one of the only times they will sit still for a little while. My little Rylee almost 3 loves frozen. http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0736430512/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1415885061&sr=8-1&pi=SY200_QL40. Ayden is 5 and loves ninja turtles.http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0553508660/ref=mp_s_a_1_26?qid=1415885435&sr=8-26&pi=AC_SX110_SY165_QL70

Some gift ideas:

Lunchbox for when she starts school?

There's also a backpack

"The Answer" storybook

Lion plushie There's also plushies of the rest of the gems if you scroll down on that page.

Here's a Cookie Cat hairbow. Hot Topic also sells these if you don't want to buy on Amazon. I've also seen a pretty Rose Quartz bow in the stores as well, but I don't see that online anywhere.

On Hot Topic now, here's a cool woven blanket, she could put it on her bed.

And here's an Amethyst necklace. I've seen a Pearl one in the stores too, but I can't find it online.

Hope this helps. :)

Yes, they absolutely DID cripple the chemistry sets in the 70s and beyond, in the name of protecting their asses from the run-away litigious society that the left and right created together.

Read the Editorial Review for this book

** BTW, nice snap-judgmental attitude you have there: "relying on your fuzzy anecdotal experiences" and "you sound like the type to stare evidence in the face and say 'So?' ". You don't know jack shit about "the type" of person I am. Bravo on your winning, shining personality.

My situation is very different, DH and I are both out. I do however worry a lot about Utah culture influencing my kids and my kids wanting to please beloved TBM grandma. One thing I do is read them children's books about different beliefs/science. Here are a few I ordered recently. My heart goes out to you. Keep doing your thing, being a loving father and talking to them openly.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1940051045/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0152017720/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0756672287/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 (for older kids)

It's OK to Be Different is one of my favorites:
http://www.amazon.com/books/dp/0316043478

Not specific to being tall, but a goofy book about being different. For a younger audience than her, but still lots of fun :)

Summertime and the livin' is easy

This is a picture of me my girlfriend and my daughter up on a beach in Nanaimo :)

I read on the beach all the time so here is a book I would love to read Or any book on my wishlist and I am ok with used (especially for the beach)

I love these new covers. Even though I grew up with the old ones, I feel like these new illustrated ones are just beautiful, and they really represent the magic of the reading experience.

After a bit of searching, I found the set on amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Special-Edition-Harry-Potter-Paperback/dp/0545596270/

The image is black because its a place-holder, I guess.

This is fantastic. Our 3 year old daughter is going through a big princess phase, which provokes the exact train of thought listed in the comic. We've been reading her books like The Paper Bag Princess and Not All Princesses Dress in Pink to try and broaden her view of what princesses are and aren't.

Ironically, my niece, from whom my daughter caught this princess craze, went this past Halloween as the Hulk. There's this awesome picture of her, with green face and those huge "Hulk Smash" fists sitting with the rest of her ballet class, who are all princesses or fairies or ballerinas. Her classmates were all pretty nonplussed when she showed up to class. :)

I might not have the exact answer you're looking for but this book came to mind: http://www.amazon.com/All-Cats-Have-Asperger-Syndrome/dp/1843104814

I passed by this book when I worked at a Barnes and Noble and always found it mildly interesting..

Cats are a complete mystery to me and there may be explanations out there. Maybe some in books like this but I think their mysterious ways/quirks make them so fun to be around. And yes I realize the book is a children book about Aspergers.

Awesome! Reminds me of this book that I loved as a girl. The whole homecoming court/prom queen "tradition" is a fucking joke, and that's how it should be treated.

Went out shopping with my gf for one of my childhood friends that recently had a baby and got a cute bunny plush and one of my favourite children's books from my childhood. She also suggested this cute book for friend's baby's first birthday.

Also my mom has been pestering me the past little while on when we're gonna get married. Been giving her the roundabout answer of soon cause even though I wanna marry tf outta my lovely GF, I don't wanna be rushing into it, plus I don't have an engagement ring picked out yet.

i have an 11 year old on the spectrum. i think it's great that your kid has a good friend.

we just got this book for him and he seems to be inhaling it: https://www.amazon.com/Asperkids-Secret-Book-Social-Rules/dp/1849059152/ref=sr_1_3?crid=B8X704BGHU36&keywords=aspergers+books&qid=1556635398&s=gateway&sprefix=aspergers%2Caps%2C121&sr=8-3

we got this beautiful illustrated version as a shower gift, and have been reading a little every night! i'm hoping to get my husband hooked on HP like I am :)
https://www.amazon.com/Harry-Potter-Sorcerers-Stone-Illustrated/dp/0545790352/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1501438835&sr=8-1&keywords=illustrated+harry+potter+book+1

I have this set. They’re pretty cool.

Harry Potter Complete Book Series Special Edition Boxed Set https://www.amazon.com/dp/0545596270/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_9F9JDbPFG0PZA

Edit: Also a very good price right now.

Some good ones for him and/or his class: Different Like Me, Can I Tell You About Asperger Syndrome, All Cats Have Asperger Syndrome, What it is to be me, The Autism Acceptance Book, The Juice Box Bully, Ethan's Story, The Bully Blockers.

Of Mice and Aliens and the other books by Kathy Hoopman are awesome. My son read them them all in a day.

I most recently read "The Book of Things" by John Connelly. Fabulous book. Definitely off-pudding, and obscure, but it's really good. If you want to look it up.... The Book of Lost Things (:

Here are some fantasy/sci-fi books that I liked at that age, or would have liked had they been published. A couple of them have some sexual content, but nothing overly detailed.

DEFINITELY "The Dark is Rising" series. They're short, but excellent. Also The Hunger Games is a good bet (never read the sequels, but that first book is great). Other suggestions: The Name of the Wind, Waylander, Rose of the Prophet, 1984, To Your Scattered Bodies Go, The Strain, any of the Dragonlance books (I would start at the beginning, with Dragons of Autumn Twilight), or nearly anything by Stephen King.

• Me & Dog
  
  
• The Magic of Reality
  
  
• Older Than the Stars
  
  
• I Wonder
  
  
• 
  Raising Freethinkers: A Practical Guide for Parenting Beyond Belief
  
  
• Parenting Beyond Belief: On Raising Ethical, Caring Kids Without Religion
  
  
• The Emperor's New Clothes
  
  
• When Someone Very Special Dies: Children Can Learn to Cope with Grief (Drawing Out Feeling series)
  
  
• What Do You Believe?

• Done
  
• I promise!
  
• Link
  
• :)
  
• Lots of Warm Hugs

Ok so on amazon theres a boxset with the hardcovers and i think its that design also, and on there it says the dimensions are 19 x 15 x 10 inches for the box, so i suppose it should be something similar to that? but i dont know about each individual book, sorry. Good luck!
https://www.amazon.com/Harry-Potter-Hard-Cover-Boxed/dp/0545044251?ref_=fsclp_pl_dp_2

http://www.amazon.com/Harry-Potter-Paperback-Box-Books/dp/0545162076/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1312756153&sr=1-1 There, you can get complete set of hardcover for about $70 and softcover for a little over $40. Waaay better than $200

Edit: Oh and alot of times on items over $25 there's free shipping. Yay to that

I think that red cabbage powder is used as a PH indicator here.

Zinc sulfide will react with acids to produce zinc citrate and some hydrogen sulfide that smells like rotten eggs.

And while zinc sulfide won't dissolve in water, the zinc citrate salt will dissolve.

The cross linked powder is a bit of a mystery to me,since I have no idea what they wanted to demonstrate. I guess it will just absorb water while increasing in volume, might also heat or cool slightly. I think it is the stuff used in diapers and similar products.

There are better chemistry sets out there, but they do cost a lot for the simple chemicals they put there. More or less good examples are these two:

https://www.amazon.com/HMS-Beagle-Heirloom-Chemistry-Set/dp/B01AQ0N0ZU - this one is the stuff all little chemistry kiddies used to crave, but the price is in the range of several thousand dollars, IIRC.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B004UU3REC - this one is $200 - $300

I also have a wild guess that the zinc sulfide with added copper chloride might be luminescent, but I am not sure. Pure zinc sulfide won't glow, but if doped with copper it should have that familiar greenish glow in the dark after being under the sun or a loghtbulb. But I might be wrong.

If you want further info, then I guess books like this one: https://www.amazon.com/Illustrated-Guide-Home-Chemistry-Experiments/dp/0596514921 or even The Golden Book of Chemistry Experiments might be useful, but the second one is from a different era, where you could buy more chemicals and your safety was more like your responsibility, than the responsibility of the authors.

All in all, it is the most basic set you can get, but should be fun. Plus, I don't know how old is your kid and I guess they should not get anything dangerous until their teens. I still do remember how my classmate spilled some acid on me. It was very diluted, no harm done and it even dissolved all the dirt on my backpack.

Think of the things you (or others) would enjoy working with her using. A telescope/binoculars is great if you do regular viewing, but terrible if it sits in a closet. An electronics kit (I like snap circuits) or chemistry kit (Thames and Kosmos or Thompson's book with supplies) is fun if you can do them. Programming (lego mindstorm for example) is fun, if you do it together, but will likely otherwise collect dust.

Don't think of a gift to give and forget, think about something the two of you can do together and get the supplies for that. It is a much bigger investment, but has a much bigger payoff.

I'm a stay at home mom so I don't know if my entry counts but this coloring book would help keep my daughter occupied so I could focus on other household tasks that need to be done!

Takin' care of business!

The Book With No Pictures is a fun book. It requires some effort from you during the reading but it's sure to get a laugh.

[Cheepest] (http://www.amazon.com/dp/0736431217/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=2VPWR63H4D2I0&coliid=I2SBNDCLD24O9L)

And

[Most wanted!] (http://www.amazon.com/Habitrail-OVO-Dwarf-Hamster-Habitat/dp/B0030UCNAW/ref=sr_1_4?s=pet-supplies&ie=UTF8&qid=1396809744&sr=1-4&keywords=habitrail+ovo)

Hope you have a nice day :)

The Book With No Pictures is my #1 favorite for creating hysterical laughter.

I try to up the humor of this already funny book by dressing myself in a silly outfit (kid sunglasses, large sunhat, big scarf) and telling them I'm going to read a very serious book and there must be NO laughing. I then proceed to become horrified every time I have to say something silly and keep reminding them they must not laugh!

I think I might like it even more than the kids, lol.

On Amazon you can get each one brand new for £3.85 each, or get them in a nice box set for £30. Really cheap, as buying 7 paperbacks is usually like £50 - 70.


Edit: Noticed you're in US. Here is a set for like £30 ($52). https://www.amazon.com/Harry-Potter-Paperback-Box-Books/dp/0545162076/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1491334637&sr=8-1&keywords=harry+potter+books


If you want to own them that's probably the cheapest way if you want them brand new.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002MQYOFW?ie=UTF8&force-full-site=1&ref_=aw_bottom_links


Always wanted to read hunger games after I saw the movie. I love a good book. You might be able to guess my name from my username :)

Oh man, good on you for giving that kitten an escape. There's a book on my Amazon wishlist, All cats have Asperger's Syndrome that I want to read because I've always had animals growing up and I absolutely believe that's true. Even the most social cats and kittens need some time away from people, and being tugged at and in a loud environment (screaming) would have probably scared the poor thing to death...


Good job!

One of my cats is waaaay more "autistic" seeming than the other - he avoids physical contact totally until he trusts you, at which point all boundaries are null and void. He's very vocal, so I've had to learn how he communicates, rather than being able to teach him to communicate in a way I find convenient. He's got very strong preferences about texture, and will go hungry rather than eat something "wrong" even though the other cat dgaf. He has his routine, and gets upset when it's thrown off. The other cat travels with only mild complaints, but this one goes nearly comatose from fear and discomfort because he doesn't handle that kind of stimulus well. A lot of stuff that's just "cat behaviour" is kind of magnified with him, and is really similar to the behaviours I see in myself and other people on the spectrum.

OP might also be referencing the kind of ideas in this book.

All Cats Have Aspergers/ All Dogs Have ADHD are useful tools in showing how traits we associate with those disorders are actually valued elsewhere, for example in our beloved pets. It can help teach empathy, including to people who don't have those disorders (eg, the way people are waaaay more patient with a hyperactive puppy than a hyperactive human - apply some of that patience to the human, too!)

Yes, I have read it. It is pretty cute. http://www.amazon.ca/All-Cats-Have-Asperger-Syndrome/dp/1843104814/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1420042702&sr=8-1&keywords=all+cats+have+asperger

Good reminder for Bob's Burgers. I've been meaning to get back to that.

​

Here's some books that we liked around Kindergarten:

• https://smile.amazon.com/Jimmy-Zangwows-This-World-Moon-Pie-Adventure/dp/068985563X/
  
• https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1423133080 ( We Are in a Book! (An Elephant and Piggie Book)
  
• https://www.amazon.com/Gruffalo-Julia-Donaldson/dp/0142403873
  
• https://www.amazon.com/Day-Crayons-Quit-Drew-Daywalt/dp/0399255370
  
• https://www.amazon.com/Book-No-Pictures-B-Novak/dp/0803741715
  
• https://www.amazon.com/Press-Here-Herve-Tullet/dp/0811879542/
  
• https://www.amazon.com/Bad-Case-Stripes-Scholastic-Bookshelf/dp/0439598389
  
• https://www.amazon.com/Have-Filled-Bucket-Today-Bucketfilling/dp/099609993X
  
  Really any Tony Diterlizi, Dave Shannon, or Mo Williams books are good.
  
  ​

http://www.amazon.com/dp/0545596270/ref=cm_sw_r_udp_awd_.KuXtb0EHHXMX

This is probably the best deal you will find, and free shipping!

Great Books of the Western World - I just picked up a full, mint set for free!

Gateway to the Great Books

Harvard Universal Classics

Penguin Classics

Harry Potter

Avicenna Canon of Medicine Complete Five Volume Set

1. I know these people aren't graphic designers, but PowerPoint comes with default fucking slide templates that allow you to make information presentable. This is barely readable in parts strictly because of the haphazard way it's put together.
   
   
2. If you want to be taken seriously, don't type like a 13-year-old girl texting her friend about white privilege.
   
   
3. The "math" slide reminded me of this. "Math" is not "phrase + phrase = word". Don't call that math.

Plus her attitude towards others with disabilities will strongly shape her children's attitude.

There also a lot of kids books on the subject, though it may be difficult to find ones that aren't overdone. Kathy Hoopmann's books are really good, IMO. She's got one on Aperger's/Autism and one on ADHD. She her descriptions of both Aspergers and ADHD are spot on and easy to understand.

As they get older, you might consider having them volunteer to work with children with disabilities (like a camp counselor, tutor, reading buddy, or whatever).

You might also consider enrolling them in a preschool that has "blended" classes (both typical peers and those that are "developmentally delayed"). My younger siblings have all gone this route and it's been a good experience for them, I think.

This book has been a family favorite for YEARS since one of my kids found it in the school library. We've worn out at least three hardcover copies at this point - I wonder if your daughter might like it, too. ❤

This reminds me of my favorite book when I was growing up, The Paper Bag Princess . Yay for empowering young girls!

I'll recommend the Harry Potter series (the new illustratred editions are beautiful) and Chronicles of Narnia. I read each of those series when I was younger and then sold off the books thinking I'd never read them again, only to re-buy them years later to read with my kids. Also something fun like the Discworld series, Hitchiker series or the Complete Calvin & Hobbes.

I strongly suggest reading this:

http://www.amazon.com/Illustrated-Guide-Home-Chemistry-Experiments/dp/0596514921/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1240275430&sr=8-1

It tells you how to setup a home chemistry lab, and how to handle chemicals safely. Has some very interesting experiments.

It was a bit under $50 with tax and free shipping from Amazon. Here are the titles:

The Answer

Guide to the Crystal Gems

Too Cool for School

Steven Universe Vol. 1

Steven Universe Vol. 2

Contrary to popular belief, it is not that difficult to qualify as a national finalist. I am very close with a few of the 2018 and 2019 campers, and they barely even study. In fact, the only textbook they seem to use is this one: https://www.amazon.com/Everything-Kids-Science-Experiments-Gravity-Challenge/dp/1580625576/ref=zg_bs_3214_2?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=4VN9EKWFQHHGJMV5K25N which isn't even that difficult to cram the night before the exam.

As for college, many campers do not attend IVY league/HYPSM schools, with only 2/11 getting into MIT. My advice to you would be to follow your passion. What gets you out of bed in the morning?

Your opinion does seem to have some supporting facts. Once the books started to balloon out, I began to loose interest in them. Not that my interest was great to begin with.

They're celebrating HP's and JK Rowling's Bday's, apparently. New artist, though.

They're here on Amazon and here is an explanation on Mashable.

board games are fun!! or read harry potter!! I was on bed rest for about 3 months after my appendix ruptured!

thank you for contest!!

Check out the book ["All Cats Have Asperger Syndrome" by Kathy Hoopman] (http://amzn.com/1843104814). I gave a copy to my daughter who cares for an autistic young adult and they both loved it.

Well said, I just had a similar thought upon reading a long reply on my cat question ('why are we obsessed with cats') that I just posted on this sub inspired by this post and comment. It made me think of exactly this - NTs are like dogs and we are like cats - and then I saw your comment!

The book is in many places, for example here https://www.amazon.co.uk/All-Cats-Have-Asperger-Syndrome/dp/1843104814 But yeah, I need to order it too when I get £££, and I can't believe I first heard about it a few years back and still haven't actually ordered it.

Another book of number puzzles I loved when I was a girl about her age were the Sideways Arithmetic books. They add and subtract words to get another word, and so you have to apply logic to figure out which number each letter represents for it to add up correctly. I learned algebra mostly from the book Algebra the Easy Way. It introduces principles of algebra by having characters in a fantasy story face problems that require them to develop the algebra techniques to solve, and it comes with exercises to practice. There are other books in the series, including one for trigonometry and one for calculus.

FEED ME!

This is my favorite sweets recipe! They are heavily addicting.

And if I could get this awesome Frozen coloring book? Coloring is my stress reliever.

Thanks for the contest!

Awesome prize should I get lucky

Boomerang!

My daughter (5) and son (7) both enjoy this book I Wonder. Also, Older Than The Stars is pretty decent too.

Canadian Amazon has it here, it's kind of pricey though. I've never had a problem shipping from UK Amazon to the US, so maybe you can ship from US Amazon?

Here are some really good prices on Ebay, don't know how much shipping would be for you though.

My favorite book is 1984 and my favorite book series is Harry Potter!

Every child and every person has weaknesses. A lack of social skills is not necessarily worse than a child who is aggressive or one who refuses to attend to their education. Or one who will not follow any rules or is bipolar or becomes addicted to substances. You seem to think that your parents got a raw deal here. Trust me, many parents of neurotypical kids got it much worse. No one gets a designer baby. So why draw the line at autism?

Also we have learned a lot about autism since you were born 20 years ago including much better ways to address it. This progress will certainly continue. Your child may not have to struggle like you did.

Not sure if this is OK in this sub, but here is a book you might find useful: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1849059152?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=ox_sc_sfl_title_2&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

I'm getting started on the Hunger Games series, and I don't have the second book lined up yet. I'm super excited to start it. I've heard both good things and bad things, so I can't wait to make my own judgement. :D I'd like some butterbeer!

Frozen Coloring Book

My daughter Ellie first watched Frozen on Thursday night since then we have watched it about 10 times. She will be two in May! She is trying to get me to come into her bedroom to play with her baby doll Mary Sue right now so I better go! Thanks for thinking of the kiddos!

Right now: The Paper Bag Princess! I try to gift this to all the kids in my family. I remember my aunt reading it to me as a little girl and making her re-read the ending a few times because it was so cool and unusual to have a story where the princess saves the prince from a dragon, and then goes off to have a happily ever after all by herself when the prince turns out to be shallow and ungrateful.

When she's a little older: The Secret Garden, Enchanted Forest Chronicles, the Wayside school books, Little House on the Prairie, and Redwall.

This coloring book and I KNOW /u/the_skyis_falling would love it as well.

Life is about using the whole box of crayons.

I love The Paper Bag Princess by Robert Munsch. The princess saves the prince, not the other way around, and there is a surprise ending.

You should give us a little insight as to what genre you like, since every reader is different. Here are a few of my favorites from some random genres.

Fantasy: A Song of Ice and Fire, Harry Potter, Neverwhere, American Gods.

Sci-Fi: The Illustrated Man, Gold.

Dystopian Fiction: The Stand, The Road.

Classic Fiction: Flowers For Algernon,

Philosophy: Thus Spake Zarathustra, Meditations by Marcus Aurelius

Whatever Else: Fight Club, Fast Food Nation

edit: formatting

• The Stonecutter, Chinese folk-tale
  
  
• Pretty well-known, but always nice: The Ugly Duckling by H.C. Andersen
  
  
• Rumplestiltskin
  
  
• Sandman or "Ole Lukoeje"
  
  
• Three Billy Goats Gruff, Norwegian fairy tale
  
  I can also recommend you either watch the show Once Upon a Time or read The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly for inspiration

This is in a similar vein. I bought it for my girlfriend last year to appease her OTGW longing and she loved it.

After reading most of the comments (6) I am reminded of https://www.amazon.com/All-Cats-Have-Asperger-Syndrome/dp/1843104814

which is a light-hearted comparison of cats (with pictures) to Aspies. Good luck with your cat.

When I was a kid I loved Sideways Arithmetic From Wayside School as well as More Sideways Arithmetic From Wayside School. There are some tough logic puzzles in those books.

A room without books is like a body without a soul. I don't mind used. Actually, I prefer it. I need to own [this] ( http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0545586178/ref=tmm_pap_title_0?ie=UTF8&colid=1F9R74OEZ5ITT&sr=&qid=&coliid=IW6TGKPO9HXE3). I love the Hunger Games trilogy so much. :) thank you for the contest!

This one from Amazon is pretty cool!

Been There, Done That - Try This (edited by tony Atwood) might be useful. There are a couple of good books aimed at teenagers also which may or may not be helpful - freaks, geeks and Asperger syndrome by Luke Jackson and the asperkids book of (secret) social rules by Jennifer O’Toole

The other thing to consider is using trusted neurotypicals as social rules translators - no book is going to cover every situation fully or enable you to see clues that may be obvious to NTs.

The book with no pictures has a great page of nonsense words to read really fast. ( https://www.amazon.com/Book-No-Pictures-B-Novak/dp/0803741715/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=book+with+no+pictures&qid=1574704377&sr=8-1 )

Also This Little Piggy by Tim Harrington https://www.amazon.com/This-Little-Piggy-Tim-Harrington/dp/0062218085/ref=sr_1_9?keywords=this+little+piggy&qid=1574704395&sr=8-9 Really funny for Preschool Read Alouds because of that wall of text to read really fast!

These are it. I had to give him them... He picked up SS and It started his reading journey.


I couldn't deny him the love.

I came across this one the other day. I think it's pretty neat, and I plan to buy it in the future to replace my set that's currently falling to pieces.

link for the curious.
I was gifted this book and it's really cute and wholesome.

Srsly, go look at the customer images here. AMAZING.

I'm pretty sure it's this one:

https://www.amazon.com/Harry-Potter-Paperback-Box-Books/dp/0545162076

I can't say no one else has read it, but I don't know anyone else that has, but I really love The Book Of Lost Things by John Connolly.

Have you read All Cats Have Asperger Syndrome? We're pretty used to being compared to cats, and it's more or less true in some cases (not all cases of autism spectrum disorder are alike). It bugs me a little, but it's because I'm not enough of a cat person to like being called a cat-person.

If you binge watched them you could get them done in as little as two days. As a 16 year old during summer, I've done it. Also there are 8 movies, the last book was split into 2.

Movies on Amazon if you're interested.

Books

The books take significantly longer to finish obviously.

If you have any questions feel free to PM me. I've read and watched the whole series 10 times.

• All Cats Have Asperger Syndrome - just explain that Asperger's is an older name for autism.
  
  
• My Best Friend Will is very sweet.
  
  
• Since We're Friends is good but not great.
  
  I would really recommend you to preview any books you're going to give him. Unfortunately, a lot of books take the tone of, "Autism is a big problem, because autistics can't do X, Y, or Z, and that makes me sad and embarrassed." Make sure he knows that all autistic people have different abilities, and it isn't a bad thing. He's more likely to be understanding if he gets that there's a reason his brother acts differently.

You can get a boxed set on Amazon for $48. Buying all of the books new on Amazon would run you $51. I think $48 is a good price for 7 books.

It's beautiful, when Hagrid & Harry sets off to London to buy supplies for his upcoming semester at Hogwarts!

It's from Jim Kay's Adaptation found in "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone: The Illustrated Edition (Harry Potter, Book 1)"

http://www.amazon.com/Harry-Potter-Sorcerers-Stone-Illustrated/dp/0545790352/ref=pd_sim_14_2?ie=UTF8&refRID=0NDPN8ZZ8605ZFT1WBH6

I suggest a few things:

• ebay
  
• used book stores near you
  
• This set from Amazon
  
• You can also search through Amazon and look in the Used section instead of new. You'll have more options there.
  
  I hope this helps!

The Very Hungry Caterpillar!

Pretty much anything by Robert Munsch, especially The Paper Bag Princess, and Mortimer

This is a great book for introducing autism to kids - All Cats Have Asperger's Syndrome

You should get this book its amazing!

https://www.amazon.com/Sideways-Arithmetic-Wayside-School-Sachar/dp/0590457268

That book was my intro to algebra before I had started doing algebra and I'm definitely sure I got it in 4th grade.

So... I tried to recreate the issue.

I found the Books with Narration

Mockingjay

Here's the description of [kindle unlimited] (https://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html/ref=sv_kstore_2?ie=UTF8&docId=1002872331)

> thousands of Kindle books come with the free professionally narrated Audible audiobook. With Whispersync for Voice, whenever you see "Kindle Unlimited with Narration,"

Here's a book with actual narration

Amazon isn't wrong. Just a bit unclear until you read the directions.

I can also really recommend this book and the show Steven Universe in general for your kids then. The creators really do a lot to portray a world where everyone feels accepted for who they are.

yeah but like it's not real math