Breakfast on Mars and 37 Other Delectable Essays - by Brad Wolfe & Rebecca Stern (Paperback)

About the Book

Book Synopsis

Breakfast on Mars and 37 Other Delectable Essays will inspire students to think differently about the much-feared assignment in elementary and middle schools around the country: essay writing.

Rebecca Stern's fifth-grade students were bored to death with essay writing, and the one thing Rebecca needed to inspire them--great examples appropriate for kids--was nowhere to be found. Inspired by a challenge, Rebecca joined forces with her friend, social entrepreneur Brad Wolfe, and the two came up with a terrific proposal--to gather together a collection of unconventional essays by some of the best writers around. They have compiled and edited a collection of imaginative, rule-breaking, and untraditional essays that is sure to change the way you think about the essay.

Contributors include: Ransom Riggs, Kirsten Miller, Scott Westerfeld, Alan Gratz, Steve Almond, Jennifer Lou, Chris Higgins, Rita Williams-Garcia, Elizabeth Winthrop, Chris Epting, Sloane Crosley, April Sinclair, Maile Meloy, Daisy Whitney, Khalid Birdsong, Sarah Prineas, Ned Vizzini, Alane Ferguson, Lise Clavel, Mary-Ann Ochota, Steve Brezenoff, Casey Scieszka, Steven Weinberg, Michael Hearst, Clay McLeod Chapman, Gigi Amateau, Laurel Snyder, Wendy Mass, Marie Rutkoski, Sarah Darer Littman, Nick Abadzis, Michael David Lukas, Léna Roy, Craig Kielburger, Joshua Mohr, Cecil Castellucci, Joe Craig, and Ellen Sussman.

Review Quotes

"* An important collection that ought to become a staple in writing classes." --Kirkus Reviews, starred review

"* A refreshing and useful tool for every middle- and high-school writing teacher to keep handy." --Publishers Weekly, starred review

"In this valuable resource, the authors include research in their essays and sometimes make convincing arguments for something totally impossible. Best of all, they even bring humor back to this old, musty format." --Booklist

"A unique volume, well worth the read." --School Library Journal

About the Author

Rebecca Stern was an elementary and middle school teacher for ten years and is now a freelance editor. She lives with her husband and their dog, Laika, on a hill in San Francisco.

A Bay Area native, Brad Wolfe helps rising high school seniors craft their college admissions essays. He enjoys the breakthrough moments when his students begin to see their lives as empowering personal narratives, using the essay writing process to uncover their truest passions and aspirations.