"Smart Kids is certainly an interesting and readable book about talented children and their education in the United States. But it also directly provides parents of both young children and teenagers with new insights and ideas about what they can do now to improve the quality of education being experienced by their sons and daughters." "The book first reviews the ups and downs of American interest in the problems of talented children, then carefully explains the approach used at CTY, which emphasizes flexible pacing, opportunities for individual inquiry, academic rigor, and creative teaching, but the use of otherwise off-the-shelf curriculum materials. In connection with nine interesting case studies, the authors vividly explain the crucial drawbacks in our current educational system, and how clear improvements can be workably introduced."--Jacket.