The Top Shelf

Spring 2003 Book Reviews

Volume 3 / Issue 3 / Spring 2003

A Forgotten Voice: A Biography of Leta Stetter Hollingworth, by Ann G. Klein. Great Potential, 2002. Trade paper, 246 pp., ISBN 0-910707-53-7. $22.00

A Forgotten Voice details the life and accomplishments of Leta Hollingworth, one of the founders of gifted education in America. Klein skillfully weaves Hollingworth’s professional and personal writings and her letters into this biography, allowing the reader to gain rich insights into her reflections, thoughts, and theories about gifted children. Surprisingly, many of the questions raised by Hollingworth in the early 1900s still engage the field today: Can public schools identify and serve gifted children? Should acceleration, enrichment, or a combination of them be used to educate gifted children? Should gifted children be segregated into special schools or classes? This book is recommended reading for anyone interested in the history of gifted education. After reading it, you will undoubtedly ask yourself how the field of gifted education has progressed since the days of Hollingworth.

Raisin’ Brains: Surviving My Smart Family, by Karen L. J. Isaacson. Great Potential, 2002. Trade paper, 184 pp., ISBN 0-910707-54-5. $16.00

Think you have a weird family? After you read the quirky and humorous tales compiled in this book, your family will surely seem more normal to you. In between laughing and experiencing a multitude of “Aha!” moments, the parents of gifted children will identify with the many incidents that Isaacson shares from her own life as the daughter of gifted parents and then as the mother of five gifted children. This book is sure to lift your spirits and alter your perspective regarding the idiosyncrasies of giftedness. It’s a good read for parents who need revitalization from the demands of raising gifted children.
—Kristen R. Stephens, Ph.D.

Kristen R. Stephens is support services coordinator at the Duke University Talent Identification Program and adjunct assistant professor in the Program in Education at Duke.