Review of What Did They Say?

[Janine Ramirez-Lacy]

[Following is a volunteer review of "What Did They Say?" by Todd Sherman.]

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5 out of 5 stars

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"What Did They Say?: Observations from Eighth-Grade Students" by Todd Sherman is an entertaining book of quotes from eighth-grade students collected over several years. The quotes started when the author realized that "our mouths don't always connect with our brain;" and became a series of "Quotes of the Day" written on the whiteboard in the school room by the students and Mr. Sherman. Some of the quotes were silly, and some were wise, but the students enjoyed this learning activity. All of the quotes were required to be written grammatically correct. Along with most of the quotes, are anecdotes about the students, or the situations that caused the quotes to happen providing the reader with interesting background information (sometimes including what the student ended up doing for college or career).

I recommend this collection of quotes to all teachers, parents, and everyone who finds humor in the inane things people say when their brains and mouths malfunction. This is a quick, fun read that also provides an "out-of-the-box" example for teachers to help with engaging students.

The author, Todd Sherman, became a middle-school language teacher in 1998 and retired in 2021. Before becoming a teacher, Mr. Sherman worked at three newspapers in southeastern Pennsylvania on the sports and crime beats, during which he won over a dozen journalism awards. He graduated from Penn State University in 1986 with a degree in Journalism.

I rate this book a 5 out of 5. "What Did They Say?: Observations from Eighth-Grade Students" is a humorous read with many anecdotes about teenage students and teaching. This book appears professionally edited. The only thing I found disappointing is that the book ended; more quotes or stories of the students and teaching would be a great bonus. My favorite quote was "Is this a feet sticker?" -Izzy.

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What Did They Say?
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