I Am a Pencil A Teacher, His Kids, and Their World of Stories [Paperback]

Swope's marvelous, moving book revives the teaching memoir . . . And takes it to new realms of tenderness, insight and humanity. -Phillip Lopate

In 1995, writer Sam Swope gave a workshop to a third-grade class in a Queens school bursting at the seams with kids from around the world. So enchanted was he with his twenty-eight students that he adopted the class for three years, teaching them to write stories and poems.I Am a Pencilis the story of his years with this very special group of students. It is as funny, warm, heartbreaking, and hopeful as the children themselves.

Swope follows his colorful troop of resilient writers from grades three to five, coaxing out their stories, watching talents blossom, explode, and sometimes fizzle. We meet Cindy (whose mom was a Taoist priestess), Brian (who cannot seem to tell the truth), and Lourdes (a wacky Dominican chatterbox). Preparing his students for a world of adult dangers, Swope is astonished by their courage, their humanity, and most of all, their strength.I Am a Pencilis a book about the power and magic of imagination, providing a unique window on the immigrant experience as seen through the lives of children.

If only Swope's book were a lesson plan we could follow. Los Angeles Times Book Review

It's really hard to communicate the sheer pleasure in teaching, and really connecting with, students like the ones Swope describes in such rich and generous detail. Is there a book that more convincingly demonstrates that any students, anywhere, from any backgrounds or surmounting any obstacles, can be led to love poetry, to read like madmen, to write compulsively and be open to the possibilities of the word on the page?I Am a Pencilshould be read by anyone who wants to find inspiration in today's students, teachers and the Sam Swopes that enhance the lives of both. Dave Eggers, author of A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius

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