As I logged onto the online library catalog this morning and searched the "teaching" under keyword, i hoped that i would stumble upon a new teaching book to help get me psyched about starting school in a month and a half. Lucky for me, Phillip Done's 32 First Graders and One Class Bunny was the first book listed. Well, who can resist a title like that?? I stopped by the library later this morning and checked out this book along with a stack of others. (I am determined to read as much as possible this summer because i recognize that my free time will be rapidly decreasing in just a few short weeks)When I started Done's book, I was so excited to see that it's a collection of hilariously funny anecdotal essays about things that have happened to him, funny tips for teachers, and lots of those "you know you're a teacher when..." stories. In teaching so many hilarious things happen every day (if you can manage to laugh about them...), and Done actually wrote them down and made a book! Candid and genuine (and HONEST!), Done's voice leaps from the pages of the book and takes the reader away to his funny classroom where the stapler always jammed, his tie gets stuck in the laminator, and the love the teacher has for his students is obvious.
I found it hard to put the book down to go to work this afternoon and dove back into it when I got home. Done's stories, horrifying as some of them are, remind me why i love teaching and why i love kids. If you're a teacher or have ever been a student, read this book :-)
Dear Amy,
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for the beautiful review. I'm so glad you enjoyed the book. I'm writing to both thank you and let you know that I have a new book coming out in a few weeks entitled Close Encounters of the Third-Grade Kind: Thoughts on Teacherhood. I thought since you enjoyed the first book so much, you'd get a kick out of the second. Thanks again for your kind words about the book.
All the best,
Phil Done
www.phillipdone.org