Synopses & Reviews
Johnny's plans fly out the window when he finds out his single mother is leaving town for the summer. She has a breakthough job in upstate New York. He can live with his Aunt Collette but only on the condition that he "help out with" his autistic older cousin, Remember. Yup, you heard it right: Remember Dippy. That's his cousin's nameand Remember is a gawky awkward kid with some pretty strange habits, like repeating back almost everything Johnny says and spending hours glued to the weather channel. Johnny's premonitions of disaster appear at first to come to cringeworthy fruition, but when the two boys save a bully from drowning, salvage the pizzeria guy's romance, and share girl troubles, Johnny ends up having the summer of his life.
Winner of the Dolly Gray Children's Literature Award and 2014 Skipping Stones Honor Award
Shirley Reva Vernick's debut novel The Blood Lie was named on the 2012 Best Fiction for Young Adults list from the American Library Association. It also received the Simon Wiesenthal Once Upon a World Children's Award and Sydney Taylor Honor Book Award. Shirley lives with her husband, two daughters, and two frisky dogs in western Massachusetts. In addition to running a popular storytelling websitestorybee.orgShirley has written for Cosmopolitan, Good Housekeeping, Ladies' Home Journal, national newspapers, and the publications of Harvard, Johns Hopkins, and Boston universities.
Review
"Invites readers to question assumptions about what young people are capable of, and [Vernick] shows how willing they often are to view the world from a new perspective. An enjoyable and provocative exploration of the clash between normal” and different” and how similar the two really are."
&8212Kirkus Reviews
Review
"Invites readers to question assumptions about what young people are capable of, and [Vernick] shows how willing they often are to view the world from a new perspective. An enjoyable and provocative exploration of the clash between normal” and different” and how similar the two really are."
Kirkus Reviews"Endearing
Middle Graders will find the attitudes and experiences of the novel ring very true to life." Middle Grade Mafioso
"A fast-paced book with humor, drama, and a keen understanding of the challenges and benefits of autism
Short, sweet, fast-moving, and informative, give Remember Dippy a try for its positive look at autism." Shelf-employed
"Shirley Vernick takes a familiar story and reworks it into something entertaining, refreshing, and worthwhile. Remember Dippy, her second book, is highly recommended for school, public, and academic libraries that maintain a juvenile collection." Tennessee Libraries
"Remember Dippy is full of characters and a summer you won't soon forget." Chris Grabenstein, NYT #1 bestselling author of I Funny
"[Vernick] captures an important part of growing upthat time when young people first start to see beyond their own perspectives and really understand the people around them." School Library Journal
A sweet, touching tale about learning to look beyond first impressions and outer appearances
I couldn't put this little book down.” Laurisa White Reyes, author of The Rock of Ivanore
Synopsis
Between helpings of mouthwatering shortcake, mysterious ferret disappearances, and a romance that misfires, thirteen-year-old Johnny discovers an unexpected, improbable friendship.
About the Author
Shirley Reva Vernicks interviews and feature articles have appeared in Cosmopolitan, Good Housekeeping, Ladies Home Journal, national newspapers , and the publications of Harvard, Johns Hopkins and Boston Universities. She also runs a popular storytelling website, storybee.org, which is used in schools, libraries, hospitals and homes all over the world. Shirley graduated from Cornell University, majoring in economics and nutrition, and is an alumna of the Radcliffe Writing Seminars. Her first novel, The Blood Lie, won the Simon Wiesenthal Once Upon a World Children's Book Award; was a Skipping Stone Honor Book; won the Langum Prize for American Historical Fiction, Directors Mention; was the silver medalist for the Sydney Taylor Book Award; and was listed by the ALA for the 2012 Best Fiction for Young Adults. She lives in Amherst, Massachussetts.