For: Middle Grades"ages 10 and up"
Atheneum Books, 2010
HC $16.99
292 pages
Rating: 5
Wowzer. Sounds trite. This is NOT a trite book. What a wonderful gift, this book. A fifth grader with major cerebral palsy, has never spoken a word, though she is extremely bright and has thousands of words whirling around in her head.
"Words have always swirled around me like snowflakes --each one delicate and different, each one melting untouched in my hands. .... Deep within me, words pile up in huge drifts. Mountains of phrases and sentences and connected ideas. Clever expressions. Jokes. Love songs."
No one knows how smart this drooling, spastic child is. She knows she drools, she hates it. She knows that she makes weird noises and flails her arms in awkward, embarrasing ways. She hates it. No one knows the insightful thoughts that are in her mind. No one knows that that mind is practically photogenic, that she can see colors accompanying music, that is a sponge ready to learn, learn, learn. Her parents have an idea. Her next-door neighbor, the woman who takes care of her while her parents work has certainly figured it out....and we, as readers are to discover how Melody's life changes as others figure it out, too.
How prejudiced our world - me included, I'm ashamed to admit - is to people with disabilities. We stereotype. We are embarrassed. We look away...or we stare. We avoid this world at all costs. We can even be mean. In this story, we watch all this happen and see it through Melody's eyes. We see her frustrations, we look at her world differently, and we celebrate and cry with her.
This is an exceptional story. It is gut-wrenching. Sharon Draper is a brilliant, insightful author to have created this masterpiece. I will not forget it...and I will read it again and again. I want to keep reminding myself to be a better person, to look deeper.
Wowzer. Do NOT miss this book!
Sharon Draper has a blog that includes a great review - much better than mine. And on her website she even has a study guide!
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