I loved this book so much I bought several copies as soon as I finished reading it for the first time. I hand them out like candy at Halloween to all of my friends and order them to read it as soon as possible. Phillip Done is a Bay Area teacher who won the Schwab Foundation Distinguished Teacher Award. He was also nominated for the Disney Teacher of the Year Award, and has taught elementary school for twenty years...although the man looks about 25 years old. Obviously teaching has been good to him, as he has obviously been good for teaching. His writing is hilarous, and quite honestly, the most entertaining stories I've read about kids in a long time. The great part about his style is that it's not "cute" or "precocious" in any sense...just pure love and humor. Pick up the paperback, which is far cheaper, and buy a few for your friends while you're at it!