Stern, Rebecca, and Brad Wolfe, editors. Breakfast on Mars.

Stern, Rebecca, and Brad Wolfe, editors.  Breakfast on Mars.  Macmillan/Roaring Brook Press  2013  206p  $16.99  ISBN 978-1-59643-737-1  ms/hs      Essays  E-BN    

Well-known authors who write for every kind of publication, from the news media to novels, have written this collection of essays in response to a series of prompts.  Each of the prompts falls into one of five essay categories: persuasive, informative, literary, personal and illustrated.  Illustrating that well-written essays need not be just the stuff of history and philosophy, all stuffy and puffed up with opinions, the essays provided here blow that stereotype out of the water.  All of the essays are so very well written that they make essay-writing look ridiculously simple (and we all know it is not).  

Three essays in particular spoke to this reader.  First, the sweet personal essay entitled “My Life Before Television” drew me right back to my childhood. Next, the personal, graphic essay “A Rite of Passage”, about the trip that Chris Epting and his daughter took to Antarctica to learn about penguins, turned out to be not just about penguins, but also about father-daughter relationships.  Finally, “A Single Story Can Change Many Lives”, about one young boy who saw the injustice of child labor, joined up with a human rights group, and eventually started the organization Free the Children, made such an impression on me that I will be trying to start a chapter of this group in my school.  This essay illustrates very clearly that one child can make a difference.

Writers, also, can and do make a difference, and these well written, well prompted, well crafted essays definitely speak to the reader.  All of the essays found in this book are perfect examples for students trying to figure out how to write a good essay, for anyone interested in writing, or most importantly, for anyone looking for a really good, satisfying read.   

Summary: Well-known authors from the news media to novels have written this collection of essays in response to a series of prompts.  Each of the prompts falls into one of five essay categories: persuasive, informative, literary, personal and illustrated. 

Essays, Writing-Study and Teaching                    --Lynn Fisher