in elementary school we actually watched this as a movie too. this was one of the most profound books that i have ever read. it would make me sob! but it is such a great book to encourage compassion and remind "tough" children that it is ok to be tender and to show that you love something...

I was a 4th grader in a lot of trouble and detached from school. Our librarian gave this book to me and I read it hundreds of times that year and the next. I rememberd it only recently. I now work as an international photojournalist and assume that Gordon Parks images kept me intersted in literacy as a child and had a profound impact on the course of my current career. This book was to me what the kitten was to J.T.- a saviour.

I have used J.T. for years to reach reluctant readers. The pictures and dialogue give an easy context for lower readers to decode and comprehend the text. J.T. is a wonderful character that anyone can relate to. The copies I have are falling apart from much use and love.

I'm in an arts/high school program, PCCA. I came in after all of the other students had already been there for over a year. This was the first piece I ever performed there. I did a section of it where Trudy is Trudy, in the beginning.

The character was so rich. So many different quirks. The audience loved it, so did the other performers who did the same piece. This is one funny script.

I wasn't nervous when i performed it at all. I just kept thinking how funny the script was, and that, not matter how terrible the acting, the audience would still enjoy the performing.

This one woman plays many characters, and will take you on a journey of laughter, and much more, and leave you smiling for long after you put it down...

As she tries to explain human beings to extraterrestrials who are searching for signs of intelligent life in the universe, Trudy, the bag lady, channels among others: Agnus Angst, a throwaway teenage punk; Chrissy, an unemployed young woman who doesn't know what to do with herself; Kate -- a rich socialite bored with everything. It's a tough job, but Trudy is up to it -- she refuses to be intimidated by reality.

Wagner weaves together the stories of these separate lives with speculations about time, space, reality, art, and human nature. From Trudy's skewed perspective a vision forms of the interconnectedness of human life -- maybe of all intelligent life in the universe. Filled with laugh-out-loud one-liners and characters whose words and feelings ring true, this one-woman play is masterful writing from a deep and generous heart. If you didn't see Lily Tomlin's performance on Broadway, don't miss reading the book. It's more than a story; it's an experience.

Edith Ann is charming. With the simplicity of a child, she faces fears that we all deal with. When I feel that I am losing any part of my childhood, I reach for this book. You should too.

This book tells stories through the eyes of a child that are more of parables to adults that take life WAY too seriously. I've read this book several times, and each time it brings back a piece of my childhood that I shouldn't forget, and it teaches me things about life that I should always remember. Edith Ann's life thus far should be an example to our lives as we continue to complicate things and remain over-stressed...Read it!

This book not only describes and helps the new teacher in the English classroom, but any high school classroom. It illustrates many common classroom problems, then helps identify solutions. Some of the situations they accentuate are defending a grade, mandated testing and especially for the English teacher-problems with student interpretation, what to do when the students have read the book before, and numerous others. As a pre-service teacher in college, I can honestly say that after all the droll books on theory and pedagogy, this book can teach you so much more in a real-life approach.

This book was very interesting, informative, and educational. Moffett and Wagner have done an excellent job of giving instructional strategies appropriate to every age group from K-12. Moffett is a visionary whose ideas were ahead of his time. The authors begin by giving a step by step guide to setting up a classroom geared toward student centered learning. The book has three sections, orientation, basic processes, and kinds of discourse. The orientation portion helps the reader to become familiar with student centered learning. The basic processes give different methods of engaging students in activities where they are the center and not the teacher. The book linked reading, spelling, and writing. Moffett and Wagner believe that reading, spelling, listening, and thinking are major determinants to learning to communicating effectively. The section kinds of discourse give innumerable ideas on facilitating the effective use of language arts throughout the curriculum. I would suggest this book for anyone looking to enhance instruction for their students in the classroom or children at home.

Remember the animated specials with Edith Ann in them? As much as I adore Lily Tomlin, as much as the little girl in the huge chair cracked me up, the Jane Wagner version, the smart, sarcastic, slightly sad little girl with the big head, is better. Her voice is perfect, and some of the things she says are things I say, or wish I'd thought of first. "Childhood is the leading cause of stress among kids my age."