How to Get Straight A's in School and Have Fun at the Same Time

A title like How to Get Straight A's in School and Have Fun at the Same Time seems too good to be true, but educator Gordon W. Green Jr., Ph.D. pulls it off. It's a great guide for younger students (in middle school or junior high) who want to ace their classes while still having time for sports, extracurricular activities, and video games. Well organized, written simply but without condescension, this book inspires new habits in students and then explains how to maintain them--hopefully, well into adulthood.

The first section covers the most important tasks facing any pupil: reading books, taking tests, and writing papers. Each chapter stresses the importance of the activity in question and shows how each can be managed with the least fuss. The next, larger, section is more general, advising the reader on such basics as note-taking and self-confidence, which are crucially important to good grades but are never explicitly taught. Green makes up the difference with admonitions to sit up front, prepare for class, and work with the teacher. Better yet, he recaps his advice from each chapter in a few easily digested instructions that can be quickly referenced as needed. It's not too good to be true, and you don't have to be a genius to follow his system and get straight A's--just willing to take the time to do things right and believe in yourself. --Rob Lightner