Breakfast on Mars and 37 Other Delectable Essays: Your Favorite Authors Take A Stab at the Dreaded Essay Assignment

We needed this in our English/Literature program this year. I wasn't sure about it, I thought it would be a waste of money and my youngest homeschooler wouldn't read it. He absolutely loves this book and is enjoying it. There was one story so far that he didn't care for (french kissing), haha. We skipped that part and moved on. Other than that, it's been great. I would recommend this book along with Painless Grammar and The Norton Sampler: Short Essays For Composition. The three work together well.

My son loved this ! A very interesting and unique way of getting kids wheels turning regarding writing , using prompts and example answers/essays

"Breakfast on Mars" is a fantastic compilation of entertaining essays for children. As a teacher, it is challenging to make essay writing interesting for students. However, "Breakfast on Mars" has made essay reading not only bearable, but actually enjoyable. The humorous, heartfelt, relatable works of the authors in "Breakfast" have given new perspective to essay writing - no more drab, formulaic, five-paragraph essays. My students have learned that essay writing can be creative and fun. (By the way, I'm enjoying my lessons more, too.)

'Breakfast on Mars' is a collection of dozens of enjoyable, borderline silly essays that young teens would love. At the end of the book there are tips on how to write an essay, a valuable skill for schoolkids. As an adult I found the book to be a fun read. Each essay is only 2-4 pages long, easily digestible while doing business travel or simply wanting to kill a few spare minutes constructively. Bottom line: unusual for sure but reading it is certainly a pleasant, constructive way to pass the time. Recommended.

I have always wanted something like this, to pull out when primary school teachers ask me whether I have persuasive (or any other type of) essay they could use as a prompt or mentor text with their students. This is a brilliant collection of essays, with a super user friendly index that lists the essays by essay type as well as by prompt. And yes, I can just see how this book will get students excited about writing, just as the editors intended to!

I'm using this in homeschooling a 13-year-old. I figured reading well-written essays would be the first step to writing them. We are getting a kick out of them, and I love that each one is described by its purpose.

Outstanding collection of stories. Great interest level for grades 4-6. This is a good collection of stories to read with your kids, regardless of the educational value (which is exceptional)

The students loved these stories! They are awesome!!