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Nancy Keane's | Booktalks -- Quick and Simple | |
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Draper,
Sharon.
OUT OF MY MIND New York : Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2010 IL 5-8, RL 4.3 ISBN 141697170X |
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Melody,
a ten year old with cerebral palsy, is trapped in a body that leaves
her unable to walk or to talk. Melody’s parents are convinced she’s intelligent
and ignore a doctor’s advice to institutionalize her at an early
age. Mrs. Valencia , a next door neighbor who baby-sits Melody, sees the
potential in her and challenges her physical abilities along with creating
new ways for her to learn. Melody is sent to public school but because
she can’t verbally communicate, no one is aware of all the information
locked in her brain. Melody is a collector of words: “cathedral, pomegranate,
silky and iridescent” to name a few; all are precious to her. Melody’s
special needs class’s introduction to “inclusion class” is a mixture
of encountering children who are friendly to her special needs classmates
and others who are openly cruel. As years go by Melody’s ability to communicate
progresses from a communications board to eventually a talking computer,
and she’s able to prove her high intelligence to the point of qualifying
for the school’s quiz bowl team.
This isn’t a book with a “happily ever after” ending, but it leaves you admiring a character who is determined to overcome the limitations of a disability and to stand up to the hurtful attitudes she encounters in the public life she wants to be part of. This book is great for opening discussions in families, in school, or in library book groups. One person will read it and recommend it to others: you won’t be able to keep it on the shelf! (New Hampshire Great Stone Face Award nominee, 2011-2012) |
| SUBJECTS:
Cerebral palsy -- Fiction.
People with disabilities -- Fiction. Communication -- Fiction. Interpersonal relations -- Fiction. Genius -- Fiction. |
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