"SOMETIMES I CAN BE ANYTHING": Power, Gender, and Identity in a Primary Classroom.

Karen Gallas. New York: Teachers College Press, 1998. 154 pp. $18.95. In this honest and thoughtful book, teacher/researcher Gallas takes the reader into the social world of her combined 1st- and 2nd-grade classroom. Gallas chronicles four years of research to present an in-depth look at how children maneuver the social terrain of the classroom community. Her premise is that the classroom is a "laboratory of life" where children test, revise, and reflect upon their understandings of gender, race, identity, and power. Gallas uses children's stories and conversations to bring to life her evolving understanding of their social behaviors and interactions. The children in the book are both familiar and memorable.

The sequence of chapters reflects the author's changing research focus. Her initial concentration on gender gradually incorporates issues of race, culture, and power. She alternately narrows and broadens her research lens to offer different perspectives or new insights, such as that children create "sociodramas" to try out social roles or that physical beauty can affect a child's behavior. Gallas continuously questions her assumptions about the motives that underlie children's social behaviors and, in doing so, goes beyond surface conclusions and stereotypes.

This is an important book for teachers and others interested in the "social work" that children do in the classroom. It can be enjoyed on several levels: first, for its insights into children's social behaviors, which are illustrated with engaging examples; second, for its introspective look at the process of teacher research; and, finally, for the beauty of its prose. Reviewed by Donna R. Witherspoon, Principal, Baggaley Elementary School, Greater Latrobe School District, Latrobe, PA