Katherine

Steven Covey's message is as valid now as it was when the book was first published and listening to it on audiobook is great way to refresh those lessons we thought we wouldn't forget after reading it so long ago. My only critque of the audiobook is that Covey mispronouces words so often that it causes one to wonder why he would narrate his own book. I recommend the audiobook if you have read the book before and are willing to listen to his original pronunciation.

As a teacher, I am always on the lookout for books that will help motivate and inform me - this book looked like a good "read". And initially it is. The stories are heartwarming and show what can happen when everything works right. Ironically, it is the overwhelming "happiness" quotient of this audiobook that becomes its downfall. Clark does not really deal with the tough issues of the classroom and indeed parenting. His examples have happy endings where children are always succeed. Is this the real world? I don't think so. I like Clark's basic message but he needs to temper it with overcoming failure - how does one move past a situation where nothing has worked? Clark's message, at its heart, is useful but needs to reach beyond the 1950's rose-colored glasses.