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Under a Red Sky by Haya Leah Molnar

A memoir of childhood under Communism, this book offers a real window into that world.  Growing up in postwar Bucharest, Romania, Eva lives with her extended family in one house.  This includes her grandparents, her parents, two uncles and one aunt.  Eva is surprised at age 8 to discover that her family is Jewish, though readers will know it from the start.  All of her relatives are unique and interesting.  Her father, a filmmaker, survived the Nazi concentration camps.  Her mother is a former ballerina who teachers dance to children.  Her Aunt Puica spends most of her time in her bedroom reading romance novels while her husband, Uncle Max is running into trouble at work for joking too much about the Communists.  Uncle Natan is a bachelor who still lives at home.  Her grandmother is prickly and her grandfather is doting.  The mix of all of these strong characters forms the background of Eva’s life.  They quarrel, fight, make up, love, and joke.  It is a family of very human people who are trapped behind the iron curtain, living lives so similar to our own and yet so very different and frightening.

Molnar has set just the right tone with this book.  Its universal qualities of family and childhood are played out against the repressiveness of Romanian Communism, yet it is not grim.  Moments of humor and humanity shine against the darkness, incandescent against the horrors of Communism.  As the book moves on, Eva begins to understand the dangers of her life, creating a tension that makes for intense reading.

Molnar’s depiction of her relatives is told with great relish and delight.  They are the sort of family members who shape who you are, and readers can see them shaping Eva as we watch.  Each person has their own distinct style and reactions, they are vividly depicted and as the pressures of Communism grow around them, become more and more themselves.  The characters are what make this book a pleasure to read, their colorful lives more than enough relief from what could have been a very grim tale.

Highly recommended, this book offers a memoir that reads like good historical fiction.  Appropriate for ages 9-12.

Reviewed from copy received from Farrar Straus Giroux.

Also reviewed by Killin’ Time Reading.

Magic Below Stairs by Caroline Stevermer

Half of the duo that created the Sorcery & Cecelia series returns with this story of a young man working in wizard Thomas Schofield’s household.  Frederick was selected from the orphanage he lived in when he fit the last boy’s livery perfectly.  That alone is odd, since the boy was much larger than Frederick.  Frederick had also completed an impossible task, despite falling asleep during it, thanks to a strange little man who Frederick thought may have just been a dream.  Frederick is a very hardworking, dedicated boy who took to his new job as a servant easily.  But working in a wizard’s household brings some strange happenings, some of which may be Frederick’s fault, or the fault of the brownie Billy Bly who followed him there.

A delightful read filled with small details that really bring the Victorian period to life.  Frederick is a very  unique young protagonist with his love of details and dedication to working hard for the sake of doing a good job.  Frederick starts the book focused solely on having escaped the orphanage and happy with his lot.  It isn’t until he realizes that there is more that can be attained that he starts to seek more.  It is a pleasure to read a book about someone happy with who and where they are, but also able to move forward when possible.  Stevermer has balanced this aspect of the book perfectly.  Frederick is surrounded by characters that fans of the original series will recognize, but this is a book for younger readers who will enjoy it without having read any of the previous books. 

Stevermer offers a book that is well-paced with plenty of action, but also periods where the details of Frederick’s work and life can be seen.  Her setting is very strong, brought to life via small details rather than long paragraphs of description.  Her prose is friendly and inviting, making the book difficult to put down as the action soars.

A jaunty, fun read filled with plenty of action and magic, this book is appropriate for ages 9-12.

Reviewed from copy received from Dial Books.

Also reviewed by:

• Charlotte’s Library
• Book Aunt

Trickster: Native American Tales, a Graphic Collection edited by Matt Dembicki

21 trickster tales are given the graphic treatment in this spectacular graphic novel.  With great attention to authenticity, Dembicki paired Native American storytellers with graphic artists to create this collection.  Readers will enjoy the diverse types of art within the book, moving from more painterly to cartoony and everything in between.  The text of each story is also quite individual, reflecting that storyteller’s cadence and style.  The collection as a whole is a celebration of Native American culture but also of tricksters and the great stories that revolve around them. 

Turning pages in this book is rather like an exploration.  One never knows what is behind the next page.  Dembicki has created a book that works as a collection but also allows each story to stand on its own with its own distinct feel.  There is an art at work in the selection, placement and creation of the book itself and of each and every story.  I love the sense one gets of an entire community of people creating this book, this celebration of story.

Use this to introduce children to Native American stories or to the idea of the trickster in folklore.  It is a powerful example of modern media meeting timeless tales that will resonate with children and adults alike.

Highly recommended, this graphic novel should find a place in most public libraries.  I would hesitate to catalog it as folktale, and allow the graphic novel reader to realize the depth of what a graphic novel can truly be.  Appropriate for ages 7-12.

Reviewed from library copy.

Turtle in Paradise by Jennifer L. Holm

Because her mother gets a job with a woman who doesn’t want a child around, Turtle has to move across the country from Pennsylvania to Key West to live with her aunt and cousins.  Set in 1935 during the Depression, the book captures the unique character of the Florida Keys as well as the poverty and joblessness of the time period.  Turtle finds herself surrounded by boy cousins who have started their own business that pays in candy.  They look after babies by pulling them around in a wagon for a few hours to give mothers a break.  They also have a secret diaper rash formula that helps keep them in business.  Their small town is filled with characters all with interesting nicknames.  Turtle discovers a lot during her summer in the Keys: the ties of family, the power of hurricanes, and how to find buried treasure.  This book is an ideal summer read.

Holm packs such a great story in this brief book thanks to her stellar writing.  It features a heroine who is smart, sassy, and very brave.  She has specific ideas about things and is never afraid to say them, even though they will have readers cringing at her bald honesty.  Holm beautifully creates a town of characters who are constantly surprising, always more complex than expected, and delightfully depicted.  Her writing is clean as an ocean breeze, moving along at a brisk pace.  Dialogue is at the heart of the book and is written with a great ear and accuracy. 

Highly recommended, this book based on Holm’s family history, offers a window into the Great Depression and into Key West with a Little Rascals feel. It would make an excellent read aloud but an even better beach read.  Appropriate for ages 9-12.

Reviewed from copy received from Random House.

Also reviewed by:

• Emily Reads
• Richies Picks
• Shelf Elf
• Welcome to My Tweendom

A Book about Color: A Clear and Simple Guide for Young Artists by Mark Gonyea

This book approaches color as a street with houses.  The houses for the primary colors are bigger than those for the secondary colors, setting them apart.  The book then goes on to talk about the meaning of colors and how one color can mean different things.  Warm and cool colors are discussed along with the way they appear in a picture.  Complementary colors are explained by lining the houses up on opposite sides of the street, the houses next to each other are analogous colors.  The book finishes with saturation of colors, and white and black.  Visually interesting and using a great analogy for learning about colors, this book is a treat.

Gonyea has created a book that really demonstrates aspects of color.  His use of a street and house analogy works very well, keeping the primary houses large throughout the book, using the same street design to show complementary and analogous colors.  His use of strong graphical images and clean design make this a book that children and adults will enjoy using.  It goes well beyond a book for toddlers about color, making it a welcome choice for young artists.

Recommended for art rooms and library collections, this book is best in the hands of artists or those learning about art.  A strong nonfiction book appropriate for ages 5-9.

Reviewed from copy received from Henry Holt.

The Dancing Pancake by Eileen Spinelli, illustrated by Joanne Lew-Vriethoff

Bindi is facing a lot of changes in her life.  First, her father has left their family to find a job in another city.  A few months later, she learns that her parents have separated.  Now her mother and her aunt are starting a restaurant called The Dancing Pancake.  They will be moving into the apartment above the restaurant and out of their house.  As all of these changes hit, Bindi finds herself feeling sad and angry about them.  People at the restaurant and her extended family help her deal with her feelings and show her the positive in her life. 

This verse novel features a full cast of interesting characters.  The poems are written from Bindi’s point of view.  She is a protagonist who is open and honest about her feelings, even when she is struggling with them.  She offers readers a clear view of what children deal with when parents separate and life changes.  At the same time, she is uniquely Bindi, a girl who loves to read, worries about what sort of friend she is, and tries to help others whenever she can. 

Spinelli’s verse is short and sweet.  It has a clarity and understated feel to it that makes it very easy to read.  Lew-Vriethoff’s illustrations have a breezy, effortless quality to them.  They are simple line drawings that capture the moments in the book.  The verse format and the illustrations throughout the book will make this a very inviting title for young readers.

Highly recommended, this book strikes just the right balance between a girl’s life falling apart and a family ready to catch and hold her.  Appropriate for ages 7-10.

Reviewed from copy received from Knopf.

How to Clean a Hippopotamus by Steve Jenkins and Robin Page

A fascinating tour through symbiotic relationships in the animal kingdom, this book uses comic book frames and short text bubbles to become incredibly appealing to reluctant readers.  Filled with Jenkins’ paperwork illustrations that offer clarity beyond that of photographs, this book is a visual treat.  It is also filled with interesting facts, and is sure to surprise even the most informed reader with several of the relationships inside.  Journey through symbiotic relationships where one animal cleans another one to others where enemies become friends and supporters for a time.  Get this one into the hands of children who love animals and struggle with books, they are sure to feel right at home here.

Jenkins’ art is done with such confidence and cleverness.  His use of fuzzy papers to get the feel of fur, of color to get the feel of skin, and of pattern to get the texture right really take him beyond most other paper artists in children’s books today.  The fact that he manages to capture what an animal actually looks like is amazing.  Animals have a light in their eyes, a focus and in this book a relationship with each other, all captured with paper. 

The facts here are done with just the right amount of text and a playful, interested tone.  The book invites readers in and marvels alongside them.  The design here is wonderfully done, breaking what could have been paragraphs of text to wade through into windows of color filled with bite-sized bits of text that get readers wanting more.

Highly recommended, every library needs this book on their shelves.  Guaranteed to go home over and over again.  Appropriate for ages 5-9.

Reviewed from library copy.

Check out another review at A Patchwork of Books.

Word After Word After Word by Patricia MacLachlan

Fourth grade was dull until the author-in-residence arrived.  Ms. Mirabel brings a love of words and writing as well as her ready laugh to the class.  Through the course of several months, she inspires five fourth graders to write, express themselves, and by doing that change their lives.  The five characters are many for a book this slim, but through their writing they become very distinct.  One of the greatest pleasures in the book is the poetry included throughout, giving us a clear understanding of each character and what they are dealing with in their lives.  A charming book that will inspire us all to carry pen and paper and write to change our lives.

MacLachlan has created a book that is very accessible to young readers with its large font and small size.  She has also managed to portray five characters who go to the same school but are individuals and clearly so.  The character of Ms. Mirabel captures the wonder and inspiration children find in a visiting writer.  It also shows what an impact such a free-thinking and open teacher can have.  But most importantly, this book teaches children what writing can mean to a person, how it can impact their lives, and how important it is. 

Slim and short, this book packs so much in a small wrapper.  Pair it with Spilling Ink: A Young Writer’s Handbook by Ellen Potter and Anne Mazer for a winning combination that will truly inspire young writers to create.  Appropriate for ages 8-12.

Reviewed from library copy.

Instructions by Neil Gaiman, illustrated by Charles Vess

Making this poem into a picture book was pure genius, especially with illustrations by Vess.  Gaiman takes one fairy tale and folk tale image after another and offers them up as instructions for your journey (in life, reading and magic).  The book follows the journey of a cat-like creature who travels through a door into a strange world of myth and whimsy.  Readers, young and old, will be charmed by beloved motifs, surprised by familiar yet strange moments, and ultimately completely satisfied as the journey comes full circle.

Gaiman’s poem reveals why he is such a beloved storyteller as he weaves together giants, dragons, wolves, toads and gems into a book that is about story, myth and our lives as well.  Vess’s art adds greatly to the child-appeal of the poem, offering a vintage, classic fairy tale feel. 

Highly recommended, this book will be best appreciated by readers who know about story and tales, because page after page they will be visiting beloved moments from books and stories.  Get this into the hands of middle school kids who love to read, they will understand it, appreciate it, and let it guide them forward. 

Appropriate for a very wide range of ages.

Check out this online version of the book read by Neil Gaiman from HarperKids:

Reviewed from library copy.

Once by Morris Gleitzman

This book looks at the Holocaust through the lens of one boy.  Felix is an extraordinary boy whose head is filled with stories that help explain the horrors he sees around himself.  His parents had left him in a Catholic orphanage to keep him safe as Poland was invaded.  But when he saw the books from the orphanage library being burned, he feared his parents were in danger since they were book sellers.  He isn’t sure why the Nazis hate books so much, but he certainly doesn’t want his parents to be hurt.  So Felix runs away from the orphanage and towards the big city, which means he is heading directly toward the Nazis.  As Felix travels, he tries to make sense of what he is seeing.  At first he naively explains much of it away, but as the book progresses he begins to understand what is happening to him and the people he loves.  Powerfully written, this book allows children to understand the horrors of the Holocaust without being overwhelmed.  It also shows children that they too can be heroes even when their world is falling apart.

In this book, Gleitzman has hit the balance perfectly between honestly depicting the atrocities of the Holocaust and yet making it accessible and appropriate for young readers.  He does this entirely through Felix who is an incredible protagonist, protectively telling himself untruths and stories about what he is witnessing.  It is a powerful device to use, as we see Felix almost killed time and again.  Because of Felix’s misunderstanding of the situation he is in, the book can be chilling and frightening.  Modern readers will understand more clearly than Felix what being a young Jew in Nazi-occupied Poland means. 

Gleitzman’s writing is wry and warm.  Told in Felix’s voice, the story is gripping, filled with action, and moves along at a brisk pace.  This brisk pace can be alarming as Felix is almost always moving closer and closer to more perilous areas and situations.  Gleitzman plays with our own understanding of history, creating our own lens to contrast with Felix’s. 

This is the sort of book that invites you in for carrot stew, shares stories whispered in the dark, and brings you to tears.  It is a story to savor, to linger with, to be amazed by.  I don’t hug every book I read, but this is one that I had to sit with my arms wrapped around for a bit.  I was holding Felix tightly to me because he had become so vivid and real to me as I read.

Beautifully done, this book should be shared with classes learning about the Holocaust.  It is a story of hope, a celebration of childhood, and a way to tell young people the truth of history.  Appropriate for ages 9-12.

Reviewed from copy received from Henry Holt.

Poetrees by Douglas Florian

Florian has turned his poetic talents to trees in this newest collection.  His poems move from the parts of a tree like bark and roots to specific types of trees.  He includes oaks, baobab, Japanese cedar, yews and many more.  In each, he celebrates what makes them unique and special.  He merges puns with poetry, offering a funny twist or humorous phrase.  Florian evokes the essence of trees with ease here.  His forest is one that is definitely worth wandering in.

Florian has also done the art work in this book.  Done with a variety of media on paper bags, they evoke a roughness, a bark and a natural feel that perfect mesh with the poems.  I particularly appreciate that you can see the folds and creases in the bags.  They make you want to run your fingers across the page, only to find them glossy smooth. 

Ideal for Earth Day or Arbor Day, this is a beautiful way to spend time with the trees around us.  Appropriate for ages 5-10.

Reviewed from copy received from Beach Lane Publishers.

Also reviewed by Jama Rattigan’s Alphabet Soup.

Alchemy and Meggy Swann by Karen Cushman

The Newbery Medal winner for The Midwife’s Apprentice returns with a book set in Elizabethan London.  Meggy has been summoned for by a father she has never met.  When she arrives at his doorstep with only clothes and her lone friend, a goose, she is met with disdain and dismissal.  It could be that she is a girl, but it probably also that Meggy can’t walk without using two crutches.  She calls her gait “wabbling” and has spent her life hidden from sight at her mother’s inn.  Now Meggy doesn’t have any choice but to head out into the streets of London to find food since her father has more important things to do than feed her.  He is an alchemist searching for the secrets of transformation and perfection.  When Meggy heads out into the streets, she makes more friends than she ever has had before, finds a young man who could be more than a friend, and allows readers to experience the colors, smells, and noises of life in England at this time.

Cushman has created a marvel here.  It is a short novel filled with entrancing details about Meggy and her surroundings that never bogs down and moves along without any “wabbling.”  Meggy is a great character.  She is far from perfect which makes her very interesting.  She is sharp-tongued and says her mind.  She is brave but often frightened.  She is scorned but also makes lasting friends.  She is a wonderful, realistic enigma whose wide eyes make a great lens to see Elizabethan England through.  Her growth throughout this book is truthful and lovely to experience.  It is especially noteworthy in such a short book.

Beautifully written with a strong female heroine, Cushman is at the top of her game with this title.  Appropriate for ages 9-12.

Reviewed from ARC received from Clarion Books.

Also reviewed by Book Aunt, BooksforKidsBlog, Children’s Books Too Cool for School, Rebecca’s Book Blog, and Reading It All.

The Night Fairy by Laura Amy Schlitz, illustrated by Angela Barrett

Newbery winner Schlitz returns with a celebration of fairies that will have any child entranced.  Flory, a night fairy, was only the size of an acorn when she was out flying and was crunched on by a bat who mistook her for a luna moth.  After her wings were crushed, she fell down into a cherry tree in a giant’s garden.  There she found a birdhouse just the right size for a fairy’s home.  Because she couldn’t move around easily on her own without wings, Flory befriended a very hungry squirrel who let her ride him in exchange for food.  But Flory wanted a grander animal to ride and when she saw the hummingbirds she knew just what she wanted.  But the hummingbirds were aloof and distant, too busy to talk with her about her needs.  It wasn’t until one bird was trapped in a spider web in the garden that Flory could bargain with her.  That bargain would take her on an even greater adventure that teaches Flory what friendship and being a fairy is really about.

Schlitz’s writing is laced with magic.  This deceptively slim volume holds so much story that it could have been much longer.  Instead, Schlitz has written a tightly woven story gilded with wonderful language.  The language invites readers deeply into the story, lets them know that something special has been written here, and then sails them off on adventure. 

I greatly appreciate that Flory is a fairy with plenty of chutzpah and guts.  She is prickly, brave and wonderfully independent.  At the same time, she dresses in flower petals, is a tiny size, and is undeniably feminine.  Bravo for a heroine who wields a dagger while dressed in petals!

Highly recommended, this book should be handed to any youngster who enjoys a good fairy tale.  This book has plenty of action and adventure married with magic and beauty.  Appropriate for ages 8-11.

Reviewed from Advanced Reader Copy received from Candlewick Press.

Extensively reviewed across the Kidslitosphere.

One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia

Eleven-year-old Delphine has looked after her two younger sisters, Vonetta and Fern, ever since her mother left them soon after Fern’s birth seven years ago.  Now she and her sisters have traveled across the United States from Brooklyn to Oakland, California to see the mother they barely remember.  Once there, they discover a distant woman who won’t let them into her kitchen, feeds them only takeout, and insists that they are gone outside all day.  She sends the girls to a summer camp run by the Black Panthers where they are educated about revolution and black rights.  Set during in 1968, the girls see first hand the changing times.  Written with a depth of character, pitch-perfect dialogue, and a great deal of warmth, this book is an amazing work of children’s fiction.

Williams-Garcia has outdone herself with this novel.  Her portrayal of the girls, their mother and the Black Panthers is done even handedly and with appreciation for what was being done.  Cecile, the mother, is a complicated figure with a complex history and a fractured relationship with her children.  Williams-Garcia’s depiction of her is captivating in both good and bad ways.   This book reads as though it is about real people, with real personalities living during real times.  The characters grow convincingly throughout the story, with no one leaving behind their personality for sudden, simple change.  It is all deeper and more honest than that.

Highly recommended, I would expect this book to garner Newbery attention as well as Coretta Scott King Award interest.  This would work well in a classroom, since it is filled with moments worth discussing.  It would also make a fantastic summer read.  Appropriate for ages 9-13.

Reviewed from library copy.

Also reviewed by The Goddess of YA Literature, Bib-Laura-graphy, A Patchwork of Books, Muddy Puddle Musings, Fuse #8, A Chair, A Fireplace & a Tea Cozy, and Young Books.

Wait Till Helen Comes: A Ghost Story by Mary Downing Hahn. Clarion Books 1986. Sandpiper Paperback Reissue 2008. Brilliance Audio 2009. Narrated by Ellen Grafton.

The Plot: Molly, younger brother Michael, and stepsister Heather, a newly blended family, have moved to a house in the country. Heather has never been the most likable child, and she gets even worse now that she has a friend. Helen. A ghost child only Heather can see. Heather's father, Dave, thinks his daughter is imaginative and doesn't understand Molly's concern.

Molly finds out that a nearby home burnt down over a hundred years ago, killing a young girl named Helen. Several children have drowned in a nearby pond. Molly becomes convinced that Heather is in danger. Can she save her stepsister?

The Good: Wait Till Helen Comes is a scary as hell ghost story about not one, but two, mean little girls. Is there anything more terrifying than an evil child? How about an evil child that everyone else thinks is young and nice and harmless?

Heather, seven, is a brat even before Helen enters the picture. She manipulates all those around her and is particularly gifted at getting her father to take sides against his new stepchildren, Molly and Michael, and against his new wife. Helen is not just the ghost egging Heather on; Helen is also a ghost responsible for the drowning deaths of several children over the years.

But that's not the scary part. Oh, it is scary, and kids looking to be scared will love this book. Creepy, atmospheric, spooky, with a very real danger.

That's not what scared me as an adult. As an adult reader, I was appalled at how the stepfather, Dave, treats his stepchildren, his wife, and his own daughter. No physical abuse; but enough nastiness and neglect that I couldn't help but wonder at what type of rebellions Molly, Michael and Heather would have in high school. Molly, given the model that to have a man, you put up with his garbage, is Most Likely To Be In Abusive Relationship. Scientist Michael stops escaping to woods and bugs and starts escaping with drugs. And Heather, looking for the love she doesn't get from Daddy, will be Sixteen and Pregnant.

Let me give some examples. Dave, talking to his ten year old stepson, Michael, says "what kind of little monster are you anyway." And the mother, hearing her child called a monster, does . . . Nothing. Instead, mom tells her children to be nicer. Basically, setting the stage of future dysfunction by modeling the "if you don't piss him off, he won't get mad, just be good so he will stay with us" relationship, rather than the "he's being irrational and over the top in his anger, and I won't put up with me and my kids being treated that way" relationship.

Frankly, it's upsetting. And honestly? Dave isn't that much better with Heather. He flips flops between spoiling her and ignoring her. No wonder Heather is obnoxious -- her father repeatedly rewards her worst behaviour and totally plays into a very uncomfortable wife versus child struggle.

And -- here is the best part

Meanwhile by Jason Shiga

Combine a Choose-Your-Own-Adventure book with a graphic novel and you have this book.  Open the book and you are immediately stopped and the format is explained.  Follow the tubes, they move in all directions, and you get the chance to make all sorts of choices.  The first choice you have is ice cream: chocolate or vanilla.  That small decision sets you off on an adventure that could involve a time machine, entropy or even immortality.  The choice is yours.  Chocolate or vanilla?

Shiga has taken the best of both formats and combined them into a stellar book.  Readers get to make decisions that have direct impact on the storyline, they get to try to figure out codes to reach new areas, and there is the joy of a book with thousands of potential stories inside it.  At the same time, it also has the appeal of a comic book.  It’s filled with humor as well as drama.  One never knows where the next turn in the tube or story will take you, making it virtually impossible to put down until you have tried story after story after story.

Highly recommended for all library graphic novel collections, this book will be adored be reluctant readers, embraced by comic lovers, and simply enjoyed by most.  Appropriate for ages 8-12.

Reviewed from library copy.

Also reviewed by 100 Scope Notes, Books4YourKids, and Comic Book Resources.

Mockingbird by Kathryn Erskine

Released April 15, 2010.

In this small novel, Erskine has combined the tragedy of a school shooting with the unique voice of Asperger’s syndrome.  Caitlin’s older brother, Devon, has been killed in a school shooting along with others.  As Caitlin struggles to understand the emotions around her and the feelings she herself has, she has to do it for the first time without her brother helping her.  She tries to do it without flapping her hands, without burying herself in her father’s sweater, but she does retreat to her safe places like under the dresser in Devon’s room.  Her world is black and white, just like her award-winning drawings, color only confuses things.  But as the days go by, Caitlin begins to connect with other people in new ways and perhaps through her own literal understanding of things she just might find closure and help others find it too.

I don’t feel that I can encapsulate this book in a paragraph.  It is so much larger than I can describe, so much more profound and uplifting.  Erskine has taken two ideas that seem very divergent and created something amazing from them.  The two become more vital and important joined into a single book than they would have been separately.  Caitlin’s own grief is explored in such a literal and detached way that it becomes even more painful to witness.  Her inability to speak her emotions hands them over to the reader to feel for her.  We all become a part of her syndrome and feel it to our bones.

Through the lens of Caitlin readers also get to witness the grief of others.  Get to wince when Caitlin puts something too bluntly.  Cry when she is unable to understand.  Rejoice when connection is made, no matter how small.  Through Caitlin we get to see difference as a sliding scale that we too fit on somewhere.

This is a book about one family, one tragedy, one girl, but it reaches far beyond that.  It is a book about surviving, about scrambling for connections, about living life in color.  It is about fear, about being alone, and about reaching out despite how very hard it is.

I think we are going to hear a lot about this book with its large scope of ideas offered in a small package through the eyes of a brilliant girl.  I hope we do hear a lot about it.  It should be read in classrooms, discussed and embraced. 

Beautifully written, this book has the power to unite.  Appropriate for ages 10-13.

Reviewed from Advanced Reader Copy provided by Philomel.

Out of My Mind by Sharon M. Draper

Melody is eleven years old and has never said a single word.  She also has a photographic memory so she remembers being a baby, remembers every show she has ever seen on TV, remembers the commercials too, remembers songs, factoids, everything.  All those words are trapped in her head, unable to be released.  Her parents know she is bright, but how could anyone know just how smart Melody actually is with her cerebral palsy being all that they can see?  At school she is in the classroom for those with special needs where the quality of instruction varies from year to year. One year she was subjected to the alphabet over and over again along with a CD of nursery rhymes.  Pure torture!  So when Melody realizes that she needs a computer to help her talk, everyone had better be ready to hear what she has to say!

This in-depth character study is beautifully done.  Melody is a character with charisma, brilliance and a sassy attitude that is integral to her personality.  Despite being unable to speak, Melody will speak deeply to any reader who takes the time to meet her.  Draper does not sugarcoat Melody’s disability.  She does not make the people around Melody too perfect and good.  Instead everyone is human, especially Melody. 

Draper brought me to tears several times in the novel.  From spectacular moments of Melody speaking to the cruelty of other children, this book offers such highs and lows.  And through it all, living it all, we have Melody, a true heroine, an amazing person, and someone we all should get to know.

The cover is wonderful with its fish out of water theme and a direct tie to the storyline.  I love the contrast of the pale blue and bright orange, because Melody is such a flash of bright color in the novel.

This will make a brilliant read aloud for a classroom of 5th or 6th graders.  It will also be adored by single readers who will find Melody a person worth spending time with.  Appropriate for ages 9-13, this book is a real winner.

Reviewed from library copy.