Staff Pick
Melody is a funny and amazingly intelligent nonverbal 11-year-old girl with cerebral palsy. She struggles to fit in with her verbal peers at school, and begins to feel fed up with it. With the help of her family, a speech therapist, and a family friend, she receives assistive technology to help her communicate. This is an amazing read for anyone of any age. Melody's story asserts the notion that one should always assume competence with our nonverbal peers, or those who communicate differently. Recommended By Rin S., Powells.com
Synopses & Reviews
Melody has a photographic memory. She remembers everything that has ever happened to her in precise, exact detail — from the words to a song she once heard when she was little to what she ate for a typical mundane breakfast. She also knows thousands and thousands of facts. Her head is like a video camera that is always recording. Always — and there’s no delete button. She’s the smartest kid in her whole school — but, NO ONE knows because she has virtually no way of communicating. Melody has cerebral palsy. All most people see is a special needs kid — never suspecting that trapped inside this eleven-year old girl is more information and insight than they ever imagined.
Being stuck inside her head is making Melody go out of her mind — that is until she discovers a computerized talking device that will allow her communicate for the first time ever. A dream come true! At last, she's able to talk, to be in a regular classroom, and have regular conversations! Melody even joins the Whiz Kids Quiz Team — and becomes one of their most valuable members. She’s showing everyone what she is really capable of and surprising even herself with the power of her computerized voice. But, what if people — teachers, classmates, friends — don’t want Melody to succeed? And what if Melody’s new voice isn’t loud enough to be heard over all her difficulties?
From multiple Coretta Scott King Award winner Sharon Draper comes a story full of heartache and hope. Melody is learning to communicate with the world... and teaching the world how to communicate with her. If you are brave enough, strong enough, if you can bear to listen, hers is a story you need to hear.
Review
"Uplifting and upsetting....This moving novel will make activists of us all." Booklist (starred review)
Review
"Unflinching and realistic....Rich in detail of both the essential normalcy and the difficulties of a young person with cerebral palsy." Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
Review
"Kids will benefit from being introduced to Melody and her gutsy, candid, and compelling story. It speaks volumes and reveals the quiet strength and fortitude it takes to overcome disabilities and the misconceptions that go with them." School Library Journal (starred review)
Review
"Will appeal not only to middle school readers but also to anyone who wonders what might be going on in the minds of individuals with severe physical handicaps." VOYA
Review
"If there's only one book teens and parents (and everyone else) can read this year, Out of My Mind should be it." The Denver Post
Synopsis
From award-winning author Sharon Draper comes Out of My Mind, the story of a brilliant girl who cannot speak or write.
"If there is one book teens and parents (and everyone else) should read this year, Out of My Mind should be it" (Denver Post).
Melody is not like most people. She cannot walk or talk, but she has a photographic memory; she can remember every detail of everything she has ever experienced. She is smarter than most of the adults who try to diagnose her and smarter than her classmates in her integrated classroom--the very same classmates who dismiss her as mentally challenged, because she cannot tell them otherwise. But Melody refuses to be defined by cerebral palsy. And she's determined to let everyone know it...somehow.
In this breakthrough story--reminiscent of The Diving Bell and the Butterfly--from multiple Coretta Scott King Award-winner Sharon Draper, readers will come to know a brilliant mind and a brave spirit who will change forever how they look at anyone with a disability.
Synopsis
Over 1.5 million people have read the #1 New York Times bestseller Out of My Mind and discovered the brilliant mind of Melody Brooks. Out of My Mind spent two years on the New York Times bestseller list
"If there's one book teens and parents (and everyone else) should read this year, Out of My Mind should be it." --Denver Post
"A gutsy, candid, and compelling story. It speaks volumes." --School Library Journal (starred review)
"Unflinching and realistic." --Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"Uplifting...This moving novel will makes activists of us all." --Booklist (starred review)
From multiple award-winning author Sharon Draper comes a story that will forever change how we all look at anyone with a disability, perfect for fans of RJ Palacio's Wonder.
Eleven-year-old Melody is not like most people. She can't walk. She can't talk. She can't write. All because she has cerebral palsy. But she also has a photographic memory; she can remember every detail of everything she has ever experienced. She's the smartest kid in her whole school, but NO ONE knows it. Most people--her teachers, her doctors, her classmates--dismiss her as mentally challenged because she can't tell them otherwise. But Melody refuses to be defined by her disability. And she's determined to let everyone know it...somehow.
Synopsis
Eleven-year-old Melody has a photographic memory. Her head is like a video camera that is always recording, and she’s the smartest kid in her whole school — but no one knows it. If only she could speak up, if only she could tell people what she thinks and knows... but she can’t, because Melody can’t talk. She can’t walk. She can’t write. Melody has cerebral palsy, and most people — her teachers and doctors included — don’t think she’s capable of learning.
Being stuck inside her head is making Melody go out of her mind — that is, until she discovers something that will allow her to speak for the first time ever. At last Melody has a voice... but not everyone around her is ready to hear it.
From multiple Coretta Scott King Award winner Sharon M. Draper comes a story full of heartache and hope. Get ready to meet a girl whose voice you’ll never, ever forget.
Synopsis
Melody is not like most people. She cannot walk or talk, but she has a photographic memory; she can remember every detail of everything she has ever experienced. She is smarter than most of the adults who try to diagnose her and smarter than her classmates in her integrated classroom — the very same classmates who dismiss her as mentally challenged, because she cannot tell them otherwise. But Melody refuses to be defined by cerebral palsy. And she’s determined to let everyone know it…somehow. In this breakthrough story — reminiscent of The Diving Bell and the Butterfly — from multiple Coretta Scott King Award-winner Sharon Draper, readers will come to know a brilliant mind and a brave spirit who will change forever how they look at anyone with a disability.
About the Author
Sharon M. Draper is a two-time Coretta Scott King Award-winning author, most recently for Copper Sun, and previously for Forged by Fire. She’s also the recipient of the Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe Author Award for New Talent for Tears of a Tiger and the Coretta Scott King Author Honor for The Battle of Jericho and November Blues. Her other books include Romiette and Julio, Darkness Before Dawn, Double Dutch, Just Another Hero, and The Clubhouse Mysteries. An Alan Award recipient, she lives in Cincinnati, Ohio, where she taught high school English for twenty-five years. She’s a popular conference speaker, addressing educational and literary groups both nationally and internationally. For more information visit her at SharonDraper.com.