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Out of My Mind
Melody is a fifth grade girl with severe cerebral palsy. She has never been able to speak—words come out as guttural sounds. Although Melody’s parents can’t always understand her, they do recognize her intelligence. To almost everyone else, including the kids and most teachers at her school, she is incapable of thought and essentially invisible. The smart, funny girl she is can finally emerge from silence when Melody acquires an electronic voice, allowing her to program words and “speak” for herself. Determined to prove what she can do, Melody tries out for her school quiz bowl team and aces the exam. Her inclusion on the team is met with skepticism by some, but others welcome her, including a girl who becomes her first school friend. Still, things are far from perfect; there is prejudice and hurdles and heartbreak that even words can’t overcome, along with a heartrending scene in which she needs her “voice” at a moment when she doesn’t have access to it. But Melody’s world opens up. More important, the world opens up to her in Sharon Draper’s profoundly affecting novel. Told in Melody’s first-person voice, the story relates details of family and school life from Melody’s unique, memorable, eye-opening perspective. ©2010 Cooperative Children’s Book Center
CCBC Age Recommendation: Ages 9-13
Age Range:
Grades 3-5 (Ages 8-10)
Grades 6-8 (Ages 11-13)
Format:
Novel
Subjects:
Ableism
African Americans
Competitions and Contests
Discrimination and Prejudice
Families
Friendship
Physical Disability
School
Diversity subjects:
Black/African
Cognitive/Neurological Disability/Condition
Physical Disability/Condition
Publisher:
Simon & Schuster
Publish Year: 2010
Pages: 295
ISBN: 9781416971702
CCBC Location: Fiction, Draper