"The Bus Kids" offers a compelling and uniquely detailed examination of the experiences of kindergarten students in California participating in a voluntary school desegregation programme. Ira Lit focuses on the day-to-day school life of a group of minority children bussed from their poor-performing home school district to an affluent neighbouring district with high-performing schools. Through these kindergarteners' experiences, the book sensitively illuminates the processes of school transition, socialization, and adaptation, and addresses an array of important issues relating to American education. Lit acutely observes these 'bus kids' and the quality of their social, emotional, cultural, and academic experiences. He presents a moving picture of the complexity of challenges, often unrecognized by teachers and parents, each young student confronted every day.

Ira W. Lit is assistant professor and director, Elementary Teacher Education Program, School of Education, Stanford University, and a former elementary school teacher.

"Ira Lit provides us with a human portrait of the unintended consequences of educational reform on children. He is a close and expert observer of children at school, and a graceful writer."--Sam Intrator, Smith College
--Sam Intrator