Book Review: Trouble At Recess

Trouble at Recess: A Sure Hit

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This 30-page book written and illustrated by 8 year-old Jamie describes the tribulations that many children who stutter encounter both in the classroom and on the playground.

Jamie was encouraged to write the book by her speech-language pathologist, Julie Gasway, M.A., CCC-SLP.

"The initial goal of writing the story was to help Jamie develop a positive feeling about stuttering and an awareness that all kids have problems they have to deal with," said Gasway.

"The plot of Trouble at Recess was formed when Jamie started therapy with me. We read books about stuttering, watched other kids who stutter on the DVD Stuttering: For Kids, By Kids, and learned more about how others deal with teasing," added Gasway.

Molly, the main character who stutters, learns what to do when she is teased. She also learns what makes a good friend and how to teach classmates about stuttering.

Jamie shares, I'm very excited that my book might help other children who stutter."

Because it deals with problems that all children encounter, this book should have universal appeal.

Download book (PDF)

CELEBRITY FOCUS

Bruce Willis

While the world knows Bruce Willis as an A-list actor, few know that he struggled with stuttering throughout his first 20 years.

Walter Bruce Willis was born in 1955 in West Germany to his German mother, Marlene, and his American GI father, David Willis. The family settled in David’s hometown of Penns Grove, New Jersey in 1957, and the couple has three other children.

Bob Love

Bob Love has dreamt about being a great public speaker since his early days in Bastrop Louisiana, even though, as a young man, he could barely put two words together, let alone speak a full sentence.

In spite of his severe stuttering disability, Bob Love, the son of a sharecropper, rose to become a Chicago Bulls NBA superstar, whose records were eventually surpassed by Michael Jordan. Throughout his entire athletic career, Bob Love kept his stuttering a secret from the fans who adored him, thinking he could do his “talking” on the basketball court.

Jack Paar

While Jack Paar is among the most prominent of the entertainers on the Stuttering Foundation’s list of Famous People Who Stutter, he deserves special recognition as he was among the first to openly address his stuttering in public. As host of The Tonight Show from 1957-1962, he spoke of his difficulties as a stuttering child and teenager, giving hope to young people.

Byron Pitts

Byron Pitts has brought much attention to stuttering with his memoir, Step Out on Nothing: How Faith and Family Helped Me Conquer Life’s Challenges, released in September, 2009. The book not only details his speech difficulties, but also his illiteracy until age 12 and his unstable family life. Pitts overcame the odds to become the chief national correspondent with ABC News.

Bill Withers

While Bill Withers has long been on the Stuttering Foundation's list of Famous People Who Stutter, many people probably didn’t realize he stuttered. He passed away on March 30, 2020.

Born in 1938 in Slab Fork, W.V., Withers was the youngest of six children. When his father died when Withers was small, he was raised by his mother and grandmother, both of whom worked as domestics.