EarlyStories was an early admirer of Sophia Pappas, a Teach for America recruit whose blog about her pre-k classroom in New Jersey provided tremendous insight into the lives of children. Pappas now has a new book based on the blog, entitled "Good Morning, Children,'' about her experience, and it's well worth reading.

A lot of what is written about pre-kindergarten is framed around academic research, policy debates or budget battles. The book allows Pappas, now a graduate student pursuing a master in public policy at Harvard University, to describe the lives "of the 14 incredible four-year-olds,'' in her class and what they learned, from sharing space to solving problems. The blog, and the book, showed first hand the impact that early childhood education can have and why it matters. In Pappas words, "...I gave my students and their families a voice in this country's discourse on how best to serve our youngest and most impressionable learners."