Stacey Coolidge’s Fancy-Smancy Cursive Handwriting

This morning was a whirlwind of activity, as it was the first day of school for my oldest, who is now officially a second grader!

Next week her younger sister will be off to pre-school. For now though, it seems awfully quite with just one kid in the house!

I decided to review Stacey Coolidge’s Fancy-Smancy Cursive Handwriting today in honor of all those elementary school kids who are going back or have gone back to school.  

Stacey Coolidge’s Fancy-Smancy Cursive Handwriting by Barbara Esham is the story of Carolyn, a little girl who has just entered second grade. She is confident in many of her abilities, especially shooting baskets, riding a skateboard and almost printing her name inside the lines on notebook paper. But when it comes to learning about cursive handwriting, Carolyn can’t seem to get it right. She knows that if she completes her cursive handwriting work early, she can play with the class guinea pig. Soon Carolyn becomes overwhelmed and jealous of classmate Stacey Coolidge, who seems to have cursive handwriting down pat.

What Carolyn will soon learn is that practice makes perfect and that being a good writer has more to do than perfect cursive handwriting. As her teacher Mrs. Thompson explains “Ideas, thoughts and feelings are the most important parts of what we write. Without the important parts, we just have a bunch of slants and curves.”

While at Book Expo America, I came upon a booth which highlighted a series of children’s books called The Adventures of Everyday Geniuses. Along with this book, there are three other books in the series written by Barbara Esham that you can read about on their website. I was excited to be able to bring home a copy of Stacey Coolidge as my daughter will be learning cursive handwriting this year.

Stacey Coolidge’s Fancy-Smancy Cursive Handwriting is a book that we have read and enjoyed throughout the summer. It is a cute, easy to follow story with relatible characters who struggle to learn new things at school. The book tries to teach children not to get stressed out while trying to learn new things and gives them alternative ways of learning. As the author points out on her website, the books help children understand that “smart” comes in many different forms and that we all excel in different ways.

With very nice illustrations by Mike and Carl Gordon and a delightful story, Stacey Coolidge’s Fancy-Smancy Cursive Handwriting is a winner.

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