54. Reaching for Sun - Tracie Vaughn Zimmer

Bloomsbury, 2007
HC $15.99/Public Library
181 pgs.
For: Middle Grades (one site shows ages 8-12, one says grade 7 up, though I'm not sure why)
Rating: 4

Josie Wyatt has cerebral palsy, which affects her left hand and arm as well as her speech. However, she just wants to ignore it. People think she's a "retard", but only because she has to work to speak well and because of her physical shortcomings. But she's really, really bright and knows a huge amount about nature and gardening. She is being raised by her single mom and her single grandma. Her mom is rarely home, she's working on a double major and is very job-oriented. It's her grandmother that has taught her about the world.

The farm the Wyatt's live on has been slowly surrounded by massive homes as developers take over much of the land. A new boy, one who happens to be in her class in school, moves into one of the mansions just behind her. He is a naturalist, a scientist, and the two hit it off immediately. This, of course, will change her life.

This is a quick read, but written in lovely verse form:

Kingdom of Imaginary Worlds

An oily stink
blows in again from the bulldozers---
those metal monster dinosaurs
that scar the landscape
behind our old farm.
The tornadoes of dust they kick up
as they move closer each season
leave the porch cushions
and our teeth
dusted with a grimy film.
The echoes
of early-morning hammering
wake me
even on Saturday mornings.
And though I hate
what they've done
to my kingdom of imaginary worlds---
fairy towns and factories
closed,
the summer camp for ogres
shut down,
a homeless shelter for gnomes
flattened---
with chin on knees
I can't help but study the men,
busy as bugs,
not satisfied until they
block another tree
from me.

40. Out of My Mind - Sharon M. Draper

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!