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Book Reviews

The Grammar of Fantasy: An Introduction to the Art of Inventing Stories by Gianni Rodari

The Schoolhome: Rethinking Schools for Changing Families,  by Jane Roland Martin. 

Literacy as Snake Oil: Beyond the Quick Fix, Edited by Joanne Larson
New York, Peter Lang, 2001

Years of Promise: A Comprehensive Learning Strategy for America's Children
First appeared in Childhood Education, September 1997

This report underlines our collective responsibility toward children from communities that have historically not provided good education. It emphasizes that children and families are not the problem, and cites many examples of children who succeed once programs are designed to meet their needs.

The Real Ebonics Debate

Theresa Perry & Lisa Delpit, Editors. Boston: Beacon Press, 1998. 192 pp. $12.
First appeared in Childhood Education, March 1999

On Dec. 18, 1996, the Oakland, Calif., School Board passed a resolution stating that teachers who better understand the structure and history of the home language spoken by many African American children will be better equipped to help them use standard English. Unfortunately, the press and many people of good will distorted the true intention of this resolution (which was not clearly worded, and since has been revised). The 17 contributors to this book correct the misinformation surrounding the debate.

Rethinking 'Freedom Writers'

See the third letter down on the "Rethinking Schools" website.
The letter begins: "I think Chela Delgado's review of Freedom Writers [Vol. 21 No. 3] provokes thought, so it's a good thing. But I think she's missing some of the virtues of the film."

E-mail:  sydney@eceteacher.org, www.eceteacher.org • (C) Copyright Sydney Gurewitz Clemens, 2008