Will the Test Rattle Jerry? Jerry is a regular kid who likes school. But one day things change, and Jerry must face . . . the test Follow Jerry and friends through the twists, turns, difficulties and challenges of school and test prep. Will Jerry conquer this challenge? Who will help Jerry through? Overview: Jerry Versus the Test is about a child struggling for the first time with the impact of standardized testing plus the stresses and anxieties it instills in children. Jerry enjoys school until the third grade when students are suddenly faced with standardized testing. Everything changes. Jerry fears failure; interesting lessons have given way to relentless test prep; school has become a testing lab. The story takes Jerry through the experience and its difficulties, closing with a positive slant in which Jerry realizes the test does not define who you are as a student. Author Bio: Salvatore Barcia Jr. has been an elementary school teacher since 2006. Prior to teaching he worked in public relations. He is a proud alumnus of Rutgers University (go RU ), receiving a Masters in Education at the College of Staten Island. A self-taught drummer, he has performed with marching bands, drum and bugle corps and rock bands. He has also toured as a percussionist for children's theater, which first opened his eyes to the joy of working with children. As a teacher he has witnessed firsthand the challenges students must face in the testing era of education. Illustrator Bio: Jessica Thaler is a graduate of UCLA and Fordham Law School and works as a transactional attorney in NYC, specializing in the sports, entertainment, videogame, software and financial industries. She has been engaged in fine arts since her finger painting days in nursery school, decorating her notebooks throughout her educational years, taking art classes and spending whatever time she can drawing and painting. Her passion for art and love of children and education made working on Jerry Versus the Test an exci