4 stars, A New Class of Poetry, April 2, 2009 By Odona (Pt. Pleasant, PA USA)  It seems, in the creation of "It's a Teacher's Life," Helena Harper has developed a new form - what can only be called the anecdotal poem. No one in academia would ever consider the warding over teenaged girls a walk in the park, but in these Vignettes in Verse Ms. Harper has imbued the process with a sense of stalwart humour and a marvelously controlled clarity of vision over the process... A must read for anyone in the teaching profession and absolutely ANYONE "blessed" with young girls in the family.

5 stars, Insightful, humorous book, April 1, 2009 By b&n.com reader "book lover" (New York) It's A Teacher's Life...! by Helena Harper is a delightful and humorous book of poetry about the hardships, trials, and drama of a teacher's career. As parents, we have all heard our whiny adolescent pop through the door straight from the bus complaining about the horrible assignment his or her teacher just assigned, "Due Friday! My teacher stinks!" What a breath of fresh air to read this book and appreciate the situation from a teacher's perspective! In the 5th poem, 'Lessons,' we find that students can be more demanding than teachers! "When will we get our homework back?" What a funny poem! In other passages, the exhausted teacher must deal with absentee homework, sassy mouths, wrong answers, dress code issues, student complaints, and the list goes on and on... Sometimes, I'm ashamed to admit, we parents aren't always so understanding when it comes to understanding the teacher. The School Ethos, the first poem and my personal favorite states "When an incident occurs, surprise is expressed for how could that be when all are so wonderfully caring?" Don't you get it, parents?!? The teachers do care! Which is why discipline is a necessity! This funny book of poetry also tells of other dedicated school staff, including the school nurses, the janitor, and my favorite, the lunch lady. I do wish our school's lunch ladies were as pleasant as Joy! We find out in this book that a teacher's career is accompanied by loads of drama, not only from the students affairs, but also with staff room gossip and complaints from fellow teachers! I do hope the poor teacher who recites these poems doesn't find her job this terribly miserable! She should realize she is a hero to parents and students everywhere! Teachers, parents and especially students should all read this funny and insightful book about a teacher's life!