Roald Dahl books, maybe? Although I assume they probably already have quite a selection.

That might work for some of them, but a lot of the students can only read at preschool or kindergarten level (4 or 5 year old) and some of them can read at 1st or 2nd grade level.

So she's looking for more picture books. The school wants kids to have books that are more "age appropriate" instead of somethign that's seen as being "babyish" like Barney.

The problem is the books that a lot of the kids can read are stuff like Barney or Seseame Street, but since the kids are teenagers the school is trying to move them away from that.

The Wolves in the Walls? That book that Tony Kushner and Maurice Sendak did a few years ago, based on the opera, whose name I can't recall right now? I've seen a really nice illustrated version of Casey at the Bat.

Are there such things as foreign language books for elementary/middle school kids? That would get simple vocabulary but slightly more grown-up topics, maybe.

This list looks like it could be useful: [link]

I don't know if this would be appropriate or not, but what about DK Eyewitness Books? You know, books like this and this. They're designed for an upper elementary/middle school readership, but they have so many pictures that Annabel enjoys looking at them, and the pictures and text are detailed and informative enough that I've found them useful for research when I want to describe some piece of historical clothing or technology.

DK Eyewitness Books?

I gave my nephew some of those when he was fairly young and he loved them.

Those are great ideas! I'll pass those on to Mom.

I wish I could remember the details of the system they are using for reading and math, but the idea is you base what you teach on the ability of the students. Like the boy I mentioned, who will probably never be able to read, but they've taught him a love for books anyway - just looking at the pictures and turing the pages. The example Mom had for math were two students that the teacher taught how to measure things and some basic addition, and it's been a struggle for them but they've worked at it because it's interesting and they're abilities have gone up a year level. Which is pretty astonishing.

I was going to say the Eyewitness books, and also the "100 Things You Should Know" series.

I shriek about designers who come into people's rooms, look at the books cases and go

And what's with the new fad of putting the books on the shelves so that the pages, not the spines, are showing? God. It's like advertising that you can't or don't read.

My suggestion would be narrative comic books. Much easier to figure out the story even if you can't read the words, and they're usually reasonably high-level.

signed,
read one of the Tintin books in French years and years before I discovered it was a story about the opium trade and the Japanese invasion of China. Even without the words, it was still very exciting!

Middlesex

I didn't care for that book, either, and I sold my (purchased used) copy to a used book store.