Reviews five books: "Garbage Pizza, Patchwork Quilts and Math Magic" (Ohanian), about elementary math instruction; "Ready for What?" (Graue), on school readiness; "The Braid of Literature: Children's Worlds of Reading" (Wolf and Heath); "The Best Years of Their Lives" (Zvirin), a book of resources for teenagers; and "Teaching and Learning in the…

Reviews notable education books: "The Rise and Fall of the American Teenager" (Thomas Hine); "The Big Test" (Nicholas Lemann); "The Educated Child" (William Bennett); "Lost Boys" (James Garbarino); "The Schools Our Children Deserve" (Alfie Kohn); "Ready or Not" (Kay Hymowitz); "High…