David Schaafsma presents a powerful and compelling book about the struggle of teaching literacy in a racially divided society and the importance of story and storytelling in the educational process. At the core of this book is the concept of storytelling as an interactive experience for both the teller and listener. Schaafsma offers rich samples of students' writing about their lives in a troubled neighborhood. Eating on the Street offers stories by Schaafsma, his colleagues, and students to illustrate how talking across multiple perspectives can enrich the learning process and the community-building process outside the classroom as well.