Jason's Secret [Paperback]

Ellen-Marie Silverman (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 9 and up

Jason Loring felt like an alien. His classmates avoided him and called him names. His stepbrother, Robbie, teased him. His father and stepmother didn't listen to him. Now he was starting fifth grade at a new school. He hoped that this time, this one time, he would just fit in. He was smart. He looked OK. He was good at chess. But whenever he opened his mouth, he never knew whether IT would happen, and he would look and sound like a freak. That was the problem. A big problem! And it made him angry. Very angry! He had to learn to cool it, and he had to learn fast!

What happens at the new school, why his father shares his secret, and how Jason changes leads to acceptance at last.

Editorial Reviews

Review

". . . good reading for the story itself and for fresh ways of looking at life with its problems and opportunities." -- Catherine Zimmer, Professor Emerita, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

". . . written for the person who stutters and for parents, siblings, and teachers. . . I would highly recommend this book . . ." -- Shannon Neal-Brown, American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, October, 2001 (www.asha.org)

"I enjoyed the book. It's a professional job and should be motivating to youngsters who stutter." -- Oliver Bloodstein, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus, Brooklyn College, New York, USA

"I highly recommend Jason's Secret. . . written at a fourth-grade to middle school level . . . should be read by parents too . . ." -- Jeffrey Korn, MS, CCC-SLP, ADVANCE for Speech-Language Pathologists and Audiologists, August 13, 2001.

"Most compelling. . . is Jason's angst over his social standing. . . a reminder to parents about the ever-increasing difficulties of growning up." -- Matt Schroeder, Milwukee NorthShore Lifestyles, 2001

A very attractive book. . . It presents a significant part of the problem not always apparent. -- Ehud Yairi, Professor, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA

About the Author

Ellen-Marie Silverman, a Fellow of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, received the doctorate in speech pathology from the University of Iowa. She has conducted research on the prevention and treatment of stuttering problems and has been a therapist for more than 30 years. Having had the problem herself, she writes from a personal as well as professional perspective.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9 and up
  
• Paperback: 232 pages
• Publisher: 1st Book Library (January 20, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1588200787
• ISBN-13: 978-1588200785
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,659,513 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Increases Understanding, November 23, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Jason's Secret (Paperback)

Jason's Secret shows how it feels to be excluded. The reader feels along with 10 year old Jason his anxiety, alienation, frustration, and anger accompanied by the tender sliver of hope he holds onto that he will be accepted by others IF he can just learn to talk without stuttering. Family relationships and school environments showcase his struggles and opportunities. Along the way, as readers, we learn a lot about the world through his experiences birding, getting lost in a bog, and playing and studying chess. And we learn about the very real dangers of keeping problems secret.

Jason's Secret is written for children who feel angry and alienated because they feel left out. But it is a good read for adults, too, because Jason's experiences and feelings remind us how difficult life can be for a child who feels alienated and the simple things we can do to help.

I recommend Jason's Secret because it is so realistic and so helpful to us all!

1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars factual information, dull delivery, January 20, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Jason's Secret (Paperback)

I read this book to learn more about stuttering from a child's point of view (A child of my friend"s stutters). While the facts were there, I found the conversations between characters to be rather dull and contrived. I feel that my needs will be better met by using "technical books". The author states that the book is designed for 5th grade kids, but having my own kids at about that grade level, I don't think that this book would hold their interest from cover to cover.