<div><b> "Swope's marvelous, moving book revives the teaching memoir . . . And takes it to new realms of tenderness, insight and humanity." -Phillip Lopate</b><br><br>In 1995, writer Sam Swope gave a workshop to a third-grade class in a Queens school bursting at the seams with kids from around the world. So enchanted was he with his twenty-eight students that he "adopted" the class for three years, teaching them to write stories and poems. <i>I Am a Pencil </i>is the story of his years with this very special group of students. It is as funny, warm, heartbreaking, and hopeful as the children themselves. <br><br>Swope follows his colorful troop of resilient writers from grades three to five, coaxing out their stories, watching talents blossom, explode, and sometimes fizzle. We meet Cindy (whose mom was a Taoist priestess), Brian (who cannot seem to tell the truth), and Lourdes (a wacky Dominican chatterbox). Preparing his students for a world of adult dangers, Swope is astonished by their courage, their humanity, and most of all, their strength.<i> I Am a Pencil </i>is a book about the power and magic of imagination, providing a unique window on the immigrant experience as seen through the lives of children.<br></div>