Reviews for 100 Days Smart

Praise for the memoir 100 Days Smart by Karin Tramm

“… one of the most delightful and charming books I’ve read in a long time … I thoroughly enjoyed Mrs. Tramm’s Kindergarten Chats … humor throughout the book … an element of suspense … a recipe for Risotto & Dandelion Greens … I loved the language interspersed throughout the book and the references to history and culture. Even if one had never been to Italy even as a tourist, it was entirely possible to get the feeling of the country and how people were coping with COVID … Kudos to Karin Tramm for creating such a heart-warming and very well-written book and for creating such delightful images for the reader to enjoy!”
—Barbara Ferg-Carter, Ed.D., retired Chief of Staff, District Superintendent’s Office, DoDEA Mediterranean District

“… a joy to read. Tramm’s account of teaching kindergartners online chronicles not only the Defense Department school’s agility in dealing with a global pandemic but also the adaptability and dedication of its teachers and the resiliency of its students and their parents. Part travelogue, part journal, part instructor’s guide, 100 Days Smart is a memoir that documents recent history in an entertaining and inspiring way. Readers familiar with the DoDEA system will appreciate the dedication and professionalism of its faculty, like Mrs. Tramm and Mrs. Dee … made me nostalgic for my time teaching overseas and reflecting on the positive lessons I learned from the pandemic shutdown. This book will make a great gift for classroom teachers or any parent who found themselves filling the role of ‘home-teachers’—or for folks who lived or worked in Northern Italy.”
—Circe Olson Woessner, author of Poetry and Prose in a Pandemic: A Father and Daughter Write Out COVID-19

“… a charming insight into daily life for families on an American military base. Tramm has spent most of her adult life teaching children of military families stationed abroad, from Guam, to Spain, to Italy. When COVID struck, in 2020, she was teaching kindergarten in Vicenza, Italy, just about to celebrate the first 100 days of learning … The reader can really empathize with Tramm as she tries to navigate setting up a virtual classroom on the ironing board in her kitchen, wondering if her husband has actually contracted COVID, trying to support her son who must leave his Peace Corps post in Thailand, and keeping track of her elderly parents in Florida, who refuse to take the pandemic as seriously as she would like. This is a book that all of us who have lived through COVID can relate to. Be sure to read all the way to the end to find out about turtle benefits!”
—Judy Bloomberg, author of Always a Traveler, Never a Tourist: In Search of People and Places on the Road Less Traveled

“Semper Gumby (Always Flexible) is a term I learned when my son left for Marine boot camp, and 100 Days Smart encapsulates that very meaning. Told with humor, love, a large amount of thinking outside the box as a teacher, and vino deliveries, Karin Tramm brings us into her pandemic world. Commuting from an upstairs bedroom to the Kindergarten in the Kitchen downstairs, driveway strolls, worrying about loved ones, and always thankful for parents as the home teachers, Tramm takes us on a heartwarming wild ride of being an educator during the height of COVID-19.”
—Cheryl Johnson, author of (forthcoming) My Brother Goes to Boot Camp

 

Elva Resa Publishing