At the turn of the 1900s they came to America, and began again. Some made fortunes, but most did not. Born here, their children and grandchildren have little understanding of what life offered those brave souls to arrive, build, and grow old in this country. Jakob, a prominent merchant, and Charlie, a poor house painter, sat on the benches in the Bronx, New York in the 1940s with my grandmother Yetta. When the Board of Directors of the department store chain he had built retired him, Jakob fled to his Southern California beach house, and soon wrote a letter inviting Charlie. Their lives were as full of people, creatures, joys and sorrows as yours and mine but they saw life another way.

In the 1940s, while her sons served in the war, my grandmother, Yetta, sat on the benches in the Bronx, New York, almost every day. Everywhere in the world, people sit together and share ideas, hopes, joy and sorrow. This book presents some events-as I remember them-as if in the minds and out of the mouths of people I knew.

Fun, engaging and effective, Story Friends (TM) is the first research-based Tier 2 language intervention programme for 3- to 5-year-old children at risk for reading difficulties. Through interactive animal-themed storybooks and lively, engaging audio recordings, Story Friends (TM) effectively boosts oral language and vocabulary development - two of the most important predictors of later reading success. With colourful illustrations, rhyming text, interactive story components, and appealing narration, the programme hooks and holds young attention spans. Story Friends (TM) is a natural fit with any existing classroom schedule or curriculum, so it's easier than ever to deliver interventions when they matter most, and get all young children ready to read and succeed. Packed in a sturdy box with a handle for easy carrying, this kit contains: one Teacher Guide with complete guidance on implementing the programme; one set of 26 full-colour, animal-themed storybooks; one USB with the audio tracks that accompany each storybook (252 minutes of instruction); and one set of 18 shrink-wrapped picture cards for assessing children's acquisition of words. Ideal for SLPs and reading specialists, this convenient kit contains everything you need to implement the Story Friends (TM) early language and literacy intervention with one child. if you're using Story Friends (TM) for small-group intervention, you'll need extra sets of storybooks to conduct the programme with multiple children at once. Here's a link to a webinar introducing Story Friends (TM): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y2lyUAbsY5Y

The Assessment of Story Comprehension (ASC) is used to measure preschool children's story comprehension. It was developed using a general outcome measurement framework so that it can be used for progress monitoring throughout the preschool year. There are six individual ASC forms, and each form includes a teacher script with a brief story followed by a series of eight comprehension questions about the story, including one vocabulary item. Child responses are recorded and scored on a 0-1-2 scale (except for the vocabulary item), with 0 indicating incorrect and 2 indicating correct, complete, and clear. The ASC form takes about 3 minutes to administer and 1 minute to score. While the ASC was designed to measure comprehension gains following intervention, it can also be used to monitor comprehension for any preschooler exposed to classroom curriculum across the pre-K year. It can also serve as a useful tool for monitoring the English language growth of English-language learners.

Fun, engaging and effective, Story Friends (TM) is the first research-based Tier 2 language intervention programme for 3- to 5-year-old children at risk for reading difficulties. Through interactive animal-themed storybooks and lively, engaging audio recordings, Story Friends (TM) effectively boosts oral language and vocabulary development - two of the most important predictors of later reading success. With colourful illustrations, rhyming text, interactive story components, and appealing narration, the programme hooks and holds young attention spans. Story Friends (TM) is a natural fit with any existing classroom schedule or curriculum, so it's easier than ever to deliver interventions when they matter most, and get all young children ready to read and succeed. This book is your user-friendly guide to implementing the programme. You'll get an accessible, concise overview of the programme and its benefits; a look at the research behind the programme; complete guidance on setting up your listening centre and implementing the programme; instructions on monitoring student progress; and photocopiable resources, including assessments, programme pacing charts, and attendance logs. Here's a link to a webinar introducing Story Friends (TM): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y2lyUAbsY5Y