Rita Kramer’s Maria Montessori: A Biography presents an engaging *who*. Montessori: A Modern Approach, by Paula Polk Lillard, details the exceptional *what*. Angeline Stoll Lillard’s Montessori: The Science Behind the Genius offers a well researched *how*. Now, at long last, there is a brilliant book that presents parents and educators with the comprehensive *why*: Charlotte Cushman’s Montessori: Why It Matters for Your Child's Success and Happiness.

My background: I have a B.A. in Elementary Education and taught for five years before choosing to write children’s books full-time. Disillusioned with government schools, I enrolled my son in an AMI Montessori school when he turned 3. His experiences there during the next 11 years were wow-worthy. I don’t say this lightly. I was so impressed with the staff and program, and how excited my son was to go to school every day to work, to learn, to discover, that I made the decision to go back to the university (32 years after originally graduating!) to get my M.Ed. in Montessori/Child Development. I also trained at the Montessori Institute of San Diego, earning my Primary Diploma for teaching ages 3-6.

One of my goals after graduation was to write a book about the Montessori Method: an easy-to-read-and-understand book that would rally more parents to enroll their children in Montessori schools, and encourage prospective teachers to look at this crucial alternative to the Factory Model of education.

Thanks to Charlotte Cushman, I no longer have to write that book! Hers covers everything I wanted to – and more.

Ms. Cushman’s decades of experience working with children, and her thorough understanding of them and the Montessori Method – from the psychological to the philosophical, the intellectual to the emotional – shine through on every page. Her knowledge is impressive; her writing, insightful and intelligent; her dedication to fostering the child’s growth as an independent, thinking individual is authentic and unflagging.

If you are interested in understanding the “educational system based on how children actually learn,” you must buy and read this book. A Montessori education is one of the best gifts you can give a child to ensure his success and happiness. Why? Give this book as a gift to yourself and you’ll *know*.