tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1384662678304810045.post8666757895948255564..comments2024-03-08T13:40:46.223-05:00Comments on Child of the Fort: Are You A Fish Or Are You A Clown?Kristinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11008266394008424779noreply@blogger.comBlogger24125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1384662678304810045.post-40129240324026197682022-11-10T00:38:13.808-05:002022-11-10T00:38:13.808-05:00I just came back to this blog post because I searc...I just came back to this blog post because I searched my name and the post came up because of my previous comment.<br /><br />I just found a copy of Kaleidoscope on eBay because I wanted to read a selection that caught my fancy. It was called "The People Downstairs." It was about families that lived in a multi-family building, and the family that lived upstairs kept writing poems (raps?) about the people that lived downstairs. With each family that would move in down below was a new poem about them. Since I have a passion for writing songs and rap, the selection had an impression on me.Phil Scopeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14132393479585602239noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1384662678304810045.post-18533885931904555342019-09-12T05:00:52.370-04:002019-09-12T05:00:52.370-04:00Wow I remember these books too! We used them at Ea...Wow I remember these books too! We used them at Eagle Rock Elementary in Los Angeles, CA, I want to buy them. I remember the names Kaleidoscope, Fiesta and serendipity.Kittychanelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01985833470021356566noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1384662678304810045.post-66104203388586037332015-12-16T20:31:30.423-05:002015-12-16T20:31:30.423-05:00Moonbeams! You're missing Moonbeams! I love yo...Moonbeams! You're missing Moonbeams! I love your blog post we sound so alike. I stumbled upon your blog while locating the books from my childhood too. I was looking for Moonbeams by William K. Durr, a book I read in the first grade and is dear to me. I have to check out all these other books you mentioned, they sound amazing. Araceli Parranoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1384662678304810045.post-70018477769997384962015-04-11T16:24:20.410-04:002015-04-11T16:24:20.410-04:00Kaleidoscope remains a real, exciting memory for m...Kaleidoscope remains a real, exciting memory for me. I was reading it very very early, and for some reason I got stuck and had to work a bit harder.I bought a copy online and it brought back wonderful memories. great stories and some great illustratorsSammyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04937279412273436117noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1384662678304810045.post-15816467251448565962014-02-22T21:07:27.170-05:002014-02-22T21:07:27.170-05:00I attended the A.G. Bell School in Chicago, IL, an...I attended the A.G. Bell School in Chicago, IL, and we used this reader series. The one story that sticks out in my mind that I liked was one in Fiesta about a girl named Stacy in a diving competition that was judged by a computer, and she had a metal frog that messed up the computer when she put it by the pool. By the way, I was in a "partially sighted" program, and our editions of the books were in large print, and each book took up two, or even three, bulky volumes. To this day, I wish they would have given me the regular edition and let me use a magnifier.Phil Scopeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14132393479585602239noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1384662678304810045.post-5099562227803348372012-12-22T01:36:25.605-05:002012-12-22T01:36:25.605-05:00Does anyone remember a story in Images or Galaxies...Does anyone remember a story in Images or Galaxies or higher - about a boy who lives in an apartment with his grandfather who neglects him and the boy re-shelves the empty food cans in the pantry so people (social worker) will think they have plenty of food? I know the story sounds dire, but I am sure I read it in one of these readers. Carolyn Dee Floreshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12318505477103416409noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1384662678304810045.post-22574990049591732132012-10-03T04:24:37.808-04:002012-10-03T04:24:37.808-04:00Fort-child, you write a compelling narrative. My ...Fort-child, you write a compelling narrative. My story is not too different; I was within an ace of going to the Fishes. At my school the reading placement test was a bubble sheet affair. On test day, I remember being instructed to read a paragraph-long story about Mr. Kangaroo. It was the dopiest thing I had ever seen, so really boring, but I followed the directions and read every word in a flash. Done. THEN the shocking surprise: answer these five questions, and you don't get to look back at the story. I couldn't remember a single thing about it, and gave a random answer to every question.<br />I was lucky that my mom was there (somehow?) with me in the school library that day, bless her heart. When I told her what had happened, she somehow talked the teachers into giving me a second shot at the comprehension test. Lucky me. I got to zip through reading books with names like "Cloverleaf" and "Serendipity" for the rest of my time in that school.<br /><br />Just this month, I learned that my boss's boss's boss's boss's mother wrote the "Serendipity" book, which I started Googling, which is how I ended up here. Serendipitously.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1384662678304810045.post-77658226636141170592012-10-03T04:12:57.461-04:002012-10-03T04:12:57.461-04:00To the person who remembered "Serendipity&quo...To the person who remembered "Serendipity" -- I learned to read during the 70's, and I remember this was an advanced (5th? 6th? grade) reader in our elementary school. I remember the ~3rd grade reader "Cloverleaf" too, because I was obsessed with the cover photo of a craft-y paper cow made out of a milk carton. I was the kind of kid who took a 1/2 pint milk carton home to try to make a cow of my own. I think they were all in the Houghton Mifflin series, circa 1979?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1384662678304810045.post-11312612242321686222012-08-24T03:31:45.042-04:002012-08-24T03:31:45.042-04:00Wow! I am 47 yrs. old, and these books bring back ...Wow! I am 47 yrs. old, and these books bring back memories. My favorite story was "The Book That Saved The Earth"(Mother Goose Rhymes!). I remember a funny poem "Jonathon Blake Ate Too Much Cake," We grew up on these readers & Schoolhouse Rock in the early 70's.redsquirrelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09685206953699266125noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1384662678304810045.post-11297059969200613972011-02-18T16:03:56.816-05:002011-02-18T16:03:56.816-05:00I don't know if I would want to be called a &q...I don't know if I would want to be called a "clown," because that's too close to being a "class clown." But anyway...<br /><br />I had this series of readers in elementary school. When I transfered to a school that utilized them, I was in 3rd grade, and went through Fiesta. 4th grade was Kaleidoscope, 5th was Images, 6th was Galaxies, 7th was Serendiputy, and 8th was Diversity. I know that Panorama was below Fiesta, because I overheard a discussion between the teacher and a girl in a lower grade about a Panorama seleciton, and I believe Signposts was below Panorama.Phil Scopeshttp://www.philmorevoicemail.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1384662678304810045.post-79400788711068020602008-08-04T01:51:00.000-04:002008-08-04T01:51:00.000-04:00Which books went with which grade varied a bit by ...Which books went with which grade varied a bit by school. I'm pretty sure that in 1st grade, in public school, I had <I>Rainbows</I> and maybe <I>Signposts</I>. (As the counterpart to your story: I entered 1st grade already knowing how to read and mistakenly formed the impression that school was about being given tasks you already knew how to do, and showing that you knew how to do them. You can just imagine how torn from my moorings I was the next year when my folks innocently put me into a private school where all the kids had learned cursive in first grade AND I STILL DIDN'T KNOW IT.)<BR/><BR/>4th grade book: <I>Kaleidoscope</I><BR/>5th grade book: would've gone to <I>Images</I> if had stayed in private school, but the public school skipped me over <I>Images</I> and put me into the <BR/>6th grade book: <I>Galaxies</I><BR/><BR/>Now this left me feeling cheated -- I wanted to read <I>Images</I>, too! Consequently, when the 5th grade teacher happened to assign me a seat next to the book cart that had all her copies of <I>Galaxies</I> AND <I>Images</I>, any attempts to teach me grammar were doomed, because I spent every single grammar lesson clandestinely reading my way through Images. I still remember certain stories and even pages from those two books: Isaac Asimov's "The Fun They Had"; a story about a girl with cerebral palsy whose mom finds her specially selected clothes so that she'll be able to dress herself, a play with a character named Phoebe, which is how I learned to pronounce the name.<BR/><BR/>Found your page thanks to a couple of Google searches for the books, starting from Kaleidoscope and finding <I>Galaxies</I>, which I recognized immediately. Thanks for the pictures! I've now found a bunch of them on Amazon, though <I>Images</I> is currently not available from anywhere. So there's <I>my</I> example of something to keep working toward.ProudTexasWomanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04765808679173032889noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1384662678304810045.post-51450552270611950762008-05-22T21:41:00.000-04:002008-05-22T21:41:00.000-04:00Did you ever find out if there was a story about t...Did you ever find out if there was a story about the Catskills and Rip Van Winkle in one of those readers?<BR/>--Jamie H DavisAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1384662678304810045.post-41408421547481762902008-05-16T18:43:00.000-04:002008-05-16T18:43:00.000-04:00Primers Tigers, Lions, Dinosaurs1st Grade: Rainb...Primers Tigers, Lions, Dinosaurs<BR/><BR/>1st Grade: Rainbows, Signposts<BR/><BR/>2nd Grade: Rewards, Secrets<BR/><BR/>3rd Grade: Fiesta, Panorama<BR/><BR/>4th Grade: Kaleidoscope<BR/><BR/>5th Grade: ImagesKimenmhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12316928898134691108noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1384662678304810045.post-1332530920482018922008-04-26T10:17:00.000-04:002008-04-26T10:17:00.000-04:00Just an FYI....FWCS doesn't teach phonics. I am wo...Just an FYI....FWCS doesn't teach phonics. I am wondering why so many high school kids still need to help from teachers and parents to read.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1384662678304810045.post-62880721450257917552008-04-16T22:07:00.000-04:002008-04-16T22:07:00.000-04:00Kristina,Your ability to recall the details of you...Kristina,<BR/><BR/>Your ability to recall the details of your childhood so vividly is astounding!Kevin Whaleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02513665143337970723noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1384662678304810045.post-13763840540168283732008-04-13T23:01:00.000-04:002008-04-13T23:01:00.000-04:00We had different readers, but I cannot for the lif...We had different readers, but I cannot for the life of me remember what they were....they were retro, even then. <BR/><BR/>And man...I remember wanting to read ahead in the primer, and we weren't allowed to do that, and it KILLED me.Colleenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17935365838959104217noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1384662678304810045.post-90022161571659511612008-04-13T22:44:00.000-04:002008-04-13T22:44:00.000-04:00I can't believe you found those books. I'll never ...I can't believe you found those books. I'll never forget "Rainbows" as that was what we were reading when my tablemate, Annette, threw up during our language arts period -- right into her open book. I was thinking that was 6th grade, but I can't remember for sure.Kirkwood Park Neighborhood Associationhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03664321663306890717noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1384662678304810045.post-54846298833100039172008-04-13T21:27:00.000-04:002008-04-13T21:27:00.000-04:00But wait - here's Serendipity!http://www.amazon.co...But wait - here's Serendipity!<BR/><BR/>http://www.amazon.com/Serendipity-Teachers-Houghton-Mifflin-readers/dp/0395161924/ref=sr_1_73?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1208136390&sr=1-73Kristinahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11008266394008424779noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1384662678304810045.post-20030832128943864782008-04-13T21:15:00.000-04:002008-04-13T21:15:00.000-04:00Here's Kaleidoscopehttp://www.amazon.com/Kaleidosc...Here's Kaleidoscope<BR/><BR/>http://www.amazon.com/Kaleidoscope-Houghton-Mifflin-Reader/dp/0395161754/ref=sr_1_12?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1208135678&sr=8-12Kristinahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11008266394008424779noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1384662678304810045.post-53512820012165727912008-04-13T21:10:00.000-04:002008-04-13T21:10:00.000-04:00Jamie,I ordered them earlier in the weekend.Here's...Jamie,<BR/><BR/>I ordered them earlier in the weekend.<BR/><BR/>Here's the books that seem familiar to me (Serendipity does not).<BR/><BR/>Fiesta <BR/>Panorama <BR/>Rainbows<BR/>Secrets <BR/>Signposts<BR/>Images<BR/>Galaxies<BR/>Rewards<BR/>Gateways<BR/><BR/>If you go to Amazon.com, type in William K. Durr. It will bring up for you, all of the books he authored. You'll see about 140 - when you select one you're interested in, see who is selling it used and just add it to your cart (and check out). Also, if you type in William K. Durr on ebay - there are some there too!Kristinahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11008266394008424779noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1384662678304810045.post-69802188506645589942008-04-13T20:48:00.000-04:002008-04-13T20:48:00.000-04:00I think Serendipity was 6th grade. I didn't see i...I think Serendipity was 6th grade. I didn't see it on your site. Does that sound familiar?<BR/><BR/><BR/>JamieJamie H Davishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00350554428775797388noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1384662678304810045.post-15983320828050849652008-04-13T20:41:00.000-04:002008-04-13T20:41:00.000-04:00Howdy! Thanks! You just now ordered the actual b...Howdy! Thanks! You just now ordered the actual books?! Tell me how you did this. I am not familiar with Amazon Marketplace. I will order all of them once I learn how! :)<BR/><BR/>I'm not sure in which book the short story is located. ?? It may even be one of the other books from elementary school. I just can't remember.<BR/><BR/>JamieJamie H Davishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00350554428775797388noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1384662678304810045.post-5815672072341489322008-04-13T20:35:00.000-04:002008-04-13T20:35:00.000-04:00Hi Jamie! I just found both from Amazon Marketpla...Hi Jamie! I just found both from Amazon Marketplace and they are enroute. No need to pay me. When they arrive (I hope this week), I'll scan it in and email to you.<BR/><BR/>And I see you are my neighbor. I live in Fishers!Kristinahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11008266394008424779noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1384662678304810045.post-34025251112121614752008-04-13T20:31:00.000-04:002008-04-13T20:31:00.000-04:00Hello! I am so excited to find your blog/website!...Hello! I am so excited to find your blog/website! I typed "panorama and kaleidoscopes reading books" into Google and found it. Do you have actual copies of these books?<BR/><BR/>I am looking for a short story in one of the books that's about the Catskill Mountains and Rip Van Winkle. Would you mind looking in the books? I would gladly repay you for a photocopy of the story. ??<BR/><BR/>Jamie H Davis<BR/>Noblesville, IN<BR/>jhd0822@comcast.net<BR/>(I grew up in Anderson, IN.)<BR/><BR/>PS: I think Fiesta was 4th grade, and Panorama was 5th grade.Jamie H Davishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00350554428775797388noreply@blogger.com