Amazon.com (ISBN 0761520139, Paperback)

It has become widely accepted that not all children learn alike. Some grasp information best by reading, while others learn better through listening or discovering concepts in a hands-on fashion. Two longtime educators--Mariaemma Willis and Victoria Kindle-Hodson--suggest in this guide that there are actually five aspects to a student's learning style beyond the simple modes of visual, auditory, or kinesthetic. Their "learning style profile" takes into account a child's talents, interests, preferred learning environment, and disposition, as well as the three more familiar modes. Written as a workbook, with a series of do-it-yourself assessments, the guide offers parents a chance to diagnose their child's learning style in all five areas. A chart of activities accompanies each style.

The assessments are uncomplicated and almost too simplistic. And the writers convey an idealism that may not fly in some schools, suggesting that parents encourage teachers to adapt to their child's learning style, accepting, for instance, a video-taped report instead of a written one from a visual learner who conveys his talents better on screen than on paper. Understanding the assessments' results and applying them involves careful--and lengthy--reading. Still, a parent who follows the workbook from cover to cover could gain insight into why a child is struggling in school and head off the labeling of yet another "learning misfit." --Jodi Mailander Farrell