A Smile as Big as the Moon: A Special Education Teacher, His Class, and Their Inspiring Journey Through U.S. Space Camp

A Miracle?

About the time you think you've lost faith in the human spirit, a true to life story comes along to shake your senses and revive your optimism. This book achieves that goal; you don't want to miss it!

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

I reccommend this book

This is the kind of story that touchs your heart. I don't mean to spoil the book for you, if you hadn't read it. But in the beginning these special ed kids got bullied and thought of themselves as if they did not belong in the world. But when I finshed the book it completly touched my heart. I am very happy for those special ed kids in real life. I am also very proud of them learning how to not think of themselves as failure and disappointment. Ben schmidt reminds me of my cousin who also has down syndrome. My cousin is always very happy and supportive. She is so sweet and everyone at her school may not accept her... but she does not fuss over the past. She looks ahead in the future to see what life goals she can accomplish. Mike Kersjes helped those special.ed kids believe in themselves. What I learned from Mike was that when you look beyond your dreams and you work toward the effort of working hard to accomplish that dream. That is no longer a dream it's reality. You may come upon challenges but when you go past that challenge you feel pride and courage in yourself

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Inspireing

Thi story is great brcause they gave it a shot and ende up winning s you never quit. I saw the movie too on frbuary 3 rd andit wa great hope you will like it

AWESOME/PRAISE FOR TEACHERS OF OUR GIFTED YOUTH

Books just don't get any better than this. The movie is on Hallmark at 8 pm cst Sat the 3rd of Feb. Can't wait to see it. Hope the movie leaves me with the same warmth and happiness as the book did.

Insparational

I think that this experience is completely insperational because having to go through special ed like some of these children is hard and having a teacher wanting to bring them some where like space camp. On top of it all I truly think that other special ed. teachers should think about doing something simmilar with there students.

0 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Achieving a Goal

This is a book that tells you that some teacher are more sensitive to their students needs than others.You can achieve any goal or any disability that you might have.And school is more enjoyable if teachers and students don't discriminate against special education program.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

A highly recommended book

I enjoyed reading this book. It was very interesting and I did not want to put the book down. I wanted to keep reading to find out how each section would end. I felt proud of the students for what they did and how much time and dedication the teacher put in making sure the students got in to space camp. I would recommend this book to teachers, students and parents, who will all read the book and will have diferent perspectivs about the book.

Pure Excellence.

After reading the true story, A Smile As Big As The Moon, by Michael Kersjes, you will see this teacher go above and beyond for his class of special education students, but by the end of the book you forget about all of there physical and mental problems. He runs into a few problems only the councilman believed in this teachers dream to allow these kids to go to space camp. These kids had great spirit and determination just like their teacher. This book should be read by teachers, parents, and students. It was an excellent book and even better to know its a true story.

Good book

I write 'A Smile as big as the Moon' by Mike Kersjes. This is a really good book. Kerjers and other teachers tried to take their students to Space Camp. At the first try, they didn't have enough money to let the kids to. But luckily then Dan Trierweiler one of the manager in Burger King got 50 thousands dollars from donations. He used all that money to let kids go to Space Cam. At the end of the book, all the kids were successful. I would give this book 5 stars because that will let the readers know how hard students with special education learn and that they can be good students.

Highly recommended.

A Smile as Big as the Moon, by Mike Kersjes is a true story of a wonderful teacher and his twenty gifted children. The true story will easily give you the concept of a true excellent teacher, one who goes above and beyond the ordinary school teachers. Not only is Mike Kersjes, the author and teacher of a wonderful book, but he is a role model for anyone trying to accomplish a difficult task or goal. Reading this book will make the reader realize that anything is possible. The message is don¿t let anything stand in your way, just go for the goal and reach for your dreams. Not only is the teacher/author a wonderful role model of this book, but the special education students are too. These students proved that they are capable of anything and everything equal to that of ¿normal students.¿ As children, nothing should be beyond their reach, and these children completely proved that theory to the readers. Having read the entire book, I have closed the book with a lot more knowledge and inspiration than I had in the beginning. I highly recommend this book to all students, teachers, and adults. This book will make you keep on reading and I promise you will enjoy the book. Mike Kersjes is a good author I personally loved the book.

A must read

Mike Kersjes's book, A Smile As Big As The Moon, is about himself, his special education students, and their journey to Space Camp. They run into a lot of opposition. The principle and the people at Space Camp were against these kids,and said no to the idea.From the school administration, all the way to NASA, they clear one hurdle after another. Kersjes believed in his students and challenged them to reach beyond their grasp. These kids with a host of disabilities, such as Down's Syndrome,Tourette's syndrome,dyslexia, eating disorders,and all kinds of emotional problems, rose to the challenge. They stepped outside their comfort zones and discovered who they were and what they could accomplish. This is a fantastic book! Mike Kersjes and his 'special' kids are truly inspiring.

My smile was almost as big as the moon!

This book is fantastic. I laughed and I cried with true happiness for those children. It is a lesson for ALL of us. I sure feel differently about the special ed teachers and students now. Thank you Mike Kersjes!

A powerful and inspiring book

After reading this book by Micheal Kersjes, I can only say bravo! Mr. Kersjes has written a wonderful story of the power of the human spirit. I have found a new respect for all special education teachers. He shows in this book that faith and hard work can accomplish anything. This is a must read for anyone who enjoys stories of triumph over adversity.