What students are saying:...i luved ur book when i started 2 read it i just couldn’t put it down because the story was so thrilling and i found it conectes 2 real life stories in my school a lot . -- Leah gr.7 I'm not a bully. Before I read your book I didn't care much about bullying.Now, I care a lot. Great book! -- Julian gr.6 I liked your book because it reminded me of the phrase "Don't judge me until you walk a mile in my shoes." -- Michael omg like i love your book im reading in class were alomst done and its like really good ! : you are my favorite author and this year i got the pleasure of meeting you at the red maple festival i will like to thank you for your books because from your books you have taught me reading lets you escape from everyday life. It shows you that you're not the worse one off.It gives you a reason to cry when you really need to, but can't. It lets you laugh when the day has been hard. I recently finished reading your amazing book egghead! i think it was the best book I have ever read. I thought it was really good how it was about a true story that you experinced. I loved this book so much!! Thank you for the autographed bookmarks from your awesome novel. We thought it was: hilarious fun "eggquisite" funny spectacular wonderful intriguing well-written surprising phenomanal "eggxtraordinary"emotional touching "eggciting" "eggsplosive" magnificent life-changing heartfelt stunning inspiring personal superb realistic enjoyable amazing well-voiced down to earth heart-stopping eye-opening unpredictable unique epic marvellous fantastic terrific interesting "eggcellent" heart-warming impressive creative.......good, we're running out of adjectives!!! You cracked us up:) Keep the books coming! Mrs. McRae's Grade 8 Class — CDSBEO hi my class just finished reading your egghead book and i really liked it kinda reminded me about when i was bullied it helped me a lot too thanks writing it. — Mickayla Your book Egghead … was one of the only books I read where the characters seemed to step out of the pages and come to life, they became real. I only hope i can write as good as you one day you are my writing role model. You caught the true perspective of a kid dealing with that predictment, they made mistakes, they had crushes and felt hurt….I know it is hard to write in a kid perspective but you made me and other readers in my class think that these peaple were real. To me reading is an escape to a new world where the characters become your freinds and other become your enemey. And when you find the right book you sometimes bacome the charater you laugh when they laugh and creid when they creid. In your book I did . This must sound silly coming from a 14 year old girl but I don't know this book was a world and life on pages and I was truly in love with it. sincerly, a HUGE fan, age 14 It was so realistic, I felt compassion for the characters. — Anya Gr. 6 my grade 8 glass just finished reading the book...it was amazing. I liked how devan turned good after awhile. I also liked all of wills poems. my teacher has a major test for us coming up in a few days on the book egghead and I think I'm going to ace this test because it was the best book ever that I have read. … all of you readers and teachers out there you should get your class or you to read this book. I rate this book 5 STARS. — michelle Hi, My name is Jacqueline and I am writing this letter with my sidekick Mykah. We are in 8th grade and we can't put down your book, Egghead. We are reading it for a school assignment and because the book is sooo good, we are loving school!!! Thankyou Hey Caroline I am 15 years of age, Male, and go to high school in Picton Ontario. We had just recently Read your book Egghead. I would just like to say I love your book I can relate to it and so many ways and I strongly encourage you to continue writing books … I honestly think this is the best book I had ever read. —Nic |
What teachers are saying :my students had to do a final project on Egghead. Some chose to write prequels, sequels, commercials, promos, diary entries or adding in a new character. I had two students who did a 22 minute interview of Katie and Devan. Each student took a turn being the interviewer and the other student one of the characters. It was fabulous. Your novel was truly inspiring to my students. Thanks again.
— Teacher, Ottawa Jewish Community School I just wanted to drop you a line to let you know that I have just finished reading "Egghead" to my grade 8 English classes - they loved it! It was such a great opportunity to learning about empathy and growth and change in characters. Many of the children could see themselves or others in various parts of the story. Thank you for tackling difficult subjects that are important for teens and young adults to think about and discuss in a safe environment. We will definitely be reading more of your work in the near future! — Teacher, RCDSB My grade 7 students just finished reading your book Egghead. I have 32 students, and I need to tell you that they couldn't put the book down.....they loved it!! We discussed the book and issues while reading, and completed character traits and conflicts seen in the book. They want to know if there is a sequel (a story about Katie and Devan). At the moment, they are working on visual arts/media literacy tasks such as anti-bullying posters, film trailers, murals and a different book cover. — Teacher, St Faustina School Thank you for writing the one book that has the ability to captivate my Grade Six class. Several times throughout the day, someone will ask me to read some more. My students say they can identify with all the characters in the book and they appreciate how accurately you portray the struggle facing students at school. I know they want me to hurry up and finish reading Egghead, but when we're done they'll be wishing for more. Thanks again, Egghead was the perfect book to use to start the year! -- grade 6 Teacher, Waterloo Region District School Board Let me tell you that your book is moving like wildfire through my circle of friends. I can think of at least 10 teachers who plan to use it this year! Everyone loves it. -- Teacher, London District Catholic School Board A masterfully woven story. The voices are perfect. — Library Services Supervisor ...In today's society that is filled with egocentrism and immediate gratification, I am trying to get my students to put themselves in other people's shoes and to try to understand their feelings. I tell them that their perception will shape their reality and that not everyone shares the same reality. "Egghead" is the perfect way to deliver this valuable lesson! --Grade 10 Teacher, OCSB I loved your book Egghead. Some of my grade 8 students have read it and it certainly has been a hit!! The poetry written by Will is so powerful. It adds so much insight and depth to the story. I am recommending that this book be done as a novel study for the grade 7 class as part of our Character education focus. It deals with so many issues. -Teacher Librarian, Durham Board My two Grade 7 classes have just finished reading your brilliant masterpiece, Egghead. Everyone LOVED it!! We read, we discussed, we analyzed Will's poems, we acted out skits, we wrote narratives from another character's point of view. Now I have Will's poems on our graffiti wall, where students add their own comments, connections and ideas beside the copy of the poem for everyone else to see. The students are just so engaged! —Grade 7 Teacher, WRDSB For several years now, my grade 7 classes have been reading your book, Egghead. When I first read your book, I knew there was so much to be gained from your extremely insightful and raw look at the sometimes isolated world of a young teenager. Not only have my classes and fellow staff enjoyed reading it, but I still have students coming back to visit years later that talk about your book and what it meant to them. I'd like to thank you for that. — Teacher, Peel, ON Just finished reading Egghead to my new batch of Grade 8s and they, as most classes are, blown away by its brilliance. —Teacher, Aurora, ON One of our favourite books to study in grade 7 here at Emily Carr MS is Egghead. — Teacher, Ottawa Most of the students who bought the book have loved it and I've heard nothing but positive responses. — Teacher-Librarian, Notre Dame HS amazing resource ... we feel our students could learn a great deal from and hopefully make a difference in our school environment... great book with such an important message. -Grade 7 Teacher, Hyland Heights Elementary School It's an easy read and the students never wanted to stop reading, which is always what we want as teachers. The short chapters keep their interest and of course, the relatable characters. -Grade 8 Teacher, lmmaculata High School I believe your book should be required reading for all students in grades 7 to 9. -Teacher-librarian, OCSB The book is engaging and what I most like about it is that the boys never seem to want to put it down, which is awesome. - Grade 7 and 8 Teacher, OCSB My students love it, and some even say it's the best book they have ever read. When I first read your novel myself, I knew right away that this book was special. It felt like people had to read it and explore how raw and articulate it was at capturing each issue, as well as the mentality of this age group. -Grade 7 Teacher, Dolphin Senior Public School I wanted to tell you that I started reading it with my Grade 8 class yesterday. They are chomping at the bit to hear more. Kudos for getting the voice just right. They are really loving it, as am I. — Teacher, CDSBEO My first period class is a Developmentally Challenged Special Education class. We just finished reading your novel Egghead for our novel study. Today we did an activity where the students had to predict what would happen if the story were to continue. They absolutely loved doing this activity and one of students suggest we e-mail you and share our ideas! … I thought you would enjoy knowing how much fun we had reading your novel and the lessons learned from the bullying aspect are extremely valuable! Thanks for a great book! — Teacher, Strathroy My grade 10 class, which comprises of 7 Locally Developed English students and 3 Special Education students just finished reading "Egghead" and they loved the book. — Teacher, Brampton I had crafted my bullying awareness & prevention lesson, in my sixth grade health classes with Egghead as an added feature. Reading your work was a huge success. The students truly connected with each character, generating some very poignant conversations. My over-all message & goal was to remind the students that we all have a back-story- that drives our behaviors- and even the best of friends may or may not know all the details. And to be mindful of how we interact with others, as our words & actions can either enhance or degrade someone’s life. — Teacher, Mahopac Middle School We have just begun discussions about bullying and have found our students to be extremely engaged as they are all personally affected by bullying in some capacity. We have found your Educators' Guide to be extremely helpful in providing us with prompts and thinking associated with this difficult topic. Thank you. — Grade 8 Teacher, Cedarview Middle School I am an Educational Assistant with the Hastings and Prince Edward District School Board. I am currently working with a grade 9 locally developed english class and we just finished reading Egghead. Our teacher chose this book as we were having issues with bullies in the class and school. Some of our students were the bullies and some the recipient of being bullied. Reading this book aloud with the class has been very successful. Our bullies took a look at what was happening. The class discussion were heartfelt , truthful and meaningful. I would like to thank you for sharing this story with us. — Educational Assistant, HPEDSB |