Out of my Mind--My newest novel--Great blog review!

Title: Out of My Mind
Author: Sharon Draper
Release: March 9, 2010
Publisher: Atheneum
Isbn:141697170X (isbn13: 9781416971702)

From blog: eatingyabooks.blogspot.com by Jan Von Harz


Imagine not being able to talk, walk, feed yourself, or take yourself to the bathroom. A real nightmare right? In Sharon Draper’s new book Out of My Mind this nightmare is a reality for eleven-year-old Melody. Born with cerebral palsy, Melody’s mind is filled with words and thoughts she can never express, but Draper’s beautiful and richly detailed prose gives Melody a harmoniously distinct voice impossible to forget. Listen...

Words.
I’m surrounded by thousands of words. Maybe millions.
Cathedral, Mayonnaise. Pomegranate.
Mississippi. Neapolitan. Hippopotamus.
Silky. Terrifying. Iridescent.
Tickle. Sneeze. Wish. Worry.
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.
From the time I was really little—maybe just a few months old—words were like sweet, liquid gifts, and I drank them like lemonade. I could almost taste them. They made my jumbled thoughts and feelings have substance. My parents have always blanketed me with conversation. They chattered and babbled. They verbalized and vocalized. My father sang to me. My mother whispered her strength into my ear.
Every word my parents spoke to me or about me I absorbed and kept and remembered. All of them.
I have no idea how I untangled the complicated process of words and thought, but it happened quickly and naturally. By the time I was two, all my memories had words, and all my words had meanings.
But only in my head.
I have never spoken one single word. I am almost eleven years old.

Using first person narrative Draper provides Melody a voice that is bright, witty, ingenious, and totally believable. I immediately formed a strong connection to Melody partially because of my own experiences working with an adolescent C.P. patient during my career as a nurse. However, the real connection is made because Draper’s characterization is so compelling. Within the first fifty pages, we learn first-hand a great deal about Melody’s life. She explains how she remembers everything she sees and hears, how much her mother and father love and care for her, how frustrating it is to not be able to express herself to those around her. “Nobody gets me. Nobody. It drives me crazy ... It’s like I live in a cage with no door and no key. And I have no way to tell someone how to get me out.”

When Melody’s mother enrolls her in school, Melody is hopeful that she will learn new things everyday. However, school becomes another source of frustration. Surrounded by other “special children” Melody is forced to endure doing the same things every year, “but with a new teacher.” Her experiences give new meaning to “dumbing down the curriculum.” Even her Plexiglass communication tray limits her abilities because it only provides “a handful of common nouns, verbs and adjectives ... and a few necessary phrases, like, I need to go to the bathroom, please and I’m hungry.”

Once Melody describes her first eleven years, the plot begins to truly develop. Melody becomes part of an inclusion program and begins to participate in “real” classroom experiences. Her physical limitations, however, remains a key source of frustrations and continues to define her in the eyes of her non-disabled classmates and regular ed. teachers. With the help of a classroom aide, her parents, and Ms V, a wonderful neighbor whose faith in her Melody is an inspiration, Melody’s imprisoned intellect is released when she receives a computer that talks and allows her to write. The Medi-Talker makes it possible for Melody to participate in classroom discussions and express her thoughts and feeling to her parents and friends without assistance. Sadly, her “regular” classmates and teachers remain skeptical of Melody’s true intellect.

Through Melody’s voice, Draper realistically portrays the insensitivity and discriminatory attitudes that disabled children encounter everyday without resorting to a preachy, bitter, or self-pitying tone. Melody’s perseverance despite overwhelming obstacles both from her physical limitations, and society's intolerance towards imperfections makes this book one of the most poignant and spiritually uplifting stories I have ever read. Melody’s conflicts are very real and the heartbreak she endures will bring tears to your eyes. I predict that Out of My Mind will be a 2010 award winner and is definitely going down as one of my all time favorite reads EVER!


Thanks so much, ,Jan!
Sharon D

Well, I’m back home, a bit jet-lagged, but glad to be in the USA once more. The trip to Africa was amazing. The purpose, if you remember, was to take Copper Sun back to the continent. The program Reading Across Continents paired American students with students from Ghana and Nigeria. It was a true inter-continental, global, cross-cultural, shared social and educational experience. It focused on friendship and shared, common interests. As Americans, we sometimes see only the negative aspects of African society. We often fail to recognize the positive—their focus on education and their academic successes. The young people who were part of this program are the future leaders of their countries. And perhaps because of this program, they have formed friendships that will ease some of the world’s social tensions.
Ten students from Ghana and ten from Nigeria visited the United States for three weeks in September. On this trip, twenty American students, all high school seniors from School Without Walls in Washington, DC, made the journey to Africa to meet up with their friends. Ten went to Ghana. Ten went to Nigeria. Their reunions were joyous and heartwarming.
I went to Nigeria first, where I got to know the students there. We visited the American Embassy in Abuja, as well as other sites, and the students began taking classes—in the uniforms of the Nigerian students. I did a book talk about Copper Sun to the teens from both Nigeria and America. It was an amazing discussion.
All too soon I had to leave Nigeria for Ghana, where I met the ten American students as they arrived from the US. Another joyous reunion of friends from two continents.
In Ghana, the American students again embraced the uniforms of their Ghanaian friends. I did another book talk with the teens in Ghana about Copper Sun, and somehow it was an even more effective and powerful discussion. I think it’s because Ghana is where it all started.
The next day we got to travel to Cape Coast Castle, the place where the seeds of Copper Sun was born. I got to retrace my steps, to touch the stones of that building once more, and to tell Amari that I had done what she asked me to—tell her story to the world. I stood at the Door of No Return, in front of those twenty students, their teachers, and assorted guides and other visitors, and told the story of how the story started, of how I felt that I was asked to tell the tale. Then I gave thanks that not only was I able to write the book, and bring it back to that place, but that the book had been instrumental in joining the hearts and minds of forty young people and their teachers and schools. Not only had the story been told—it had been shared with the world. Standing in front of that door at that moment was one of the most powerful, emotional moments in my life. I wept. So did many of the students.
I took Amari back home.
Thank you.

To see all the pictures go to: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=39769&id=1473964793&l=12154a2803

My Trip To Africa--Day One

Today I am writing this from Abuja, Nigeria. I just arrived, and of course the first thing I did was to find the computer in the lobby! It's warm and welcoming here. The World Cup Soccer games are in town, so there is a great air of excitement all around. I have no pictures to post yet, but I'm going to take lots!
The reason I'm here is because my book Copper Sun was chosen by the State Department and the International Reading Association to be read by students in the US, and students in Nigeria and Ghana. How cool! Now that is a truly international, inter-continental, multicultural literacy event. Twenty America students were chosen to come with us. Tomorrow we begin our adventures with the Nigerian students. I'll post whenever I find a computer. I don't think I'll have access after today. But when I get home I'll post pictures and lots of good stories. Pray for us!

Back to School! Read, Read, Read! And Enjoy the Process!

Salute to Librarians and Teachers--The Reader's Rap! It's back to school and back to reading.
Thanks for all you do to celebrate books, and to spread the magic and beauty of language.
The name of the poem is Reader's Rap, and you can find it in Book 6 of the Ziggy series. It's called Stars and Sparks On Stage.
The music is done by my friend Annie Ruth--visual artist, poet, musician, and creator of a magic all her own.

Have a wonderful school year!

Lovely article in Publisher's Weekly!

http://email.publishersweekly.com/cgi-bin2/DM/y/hBHJO0NNdRx0QGj0D2HK0Eh&rid=337288426
Q & A with Sharon M. Draper
This article originally appeared in PW's Children's Bookshelf. Sign up now!
By Felicia Pride -- Publishers Weekly, 6/25/2009

Sharon M. Draper has been busy of late, with her new Sassy series for tween girls from Scholastic, as well as the release of Just Another Hero (Atheneum, July), the final book in her Jericho trilogy. The former teacher now writes fulltime, and does school visits and appearances. Children’s Bookshelf caught up with the author to talk about her writing life.


This year marks the 15th anniversary of Tears of the Tiger, your first book. How have things changed for you?
So much has changed. I’ve learned a great deal about writing and the publishing business. I’ve been blessed with two really good editors who have taught me so much about the nuances of writing—Marcia Marshall, who has retired, and Caitlyn Dlouhy, my current editor. I believe I’m a better writer now than I was when I started. I’m grateful that I had good guidance because you don’t make it in this business without good editors and a lot of support from your publishers.

Have things changed regarding the types of books that young people want to read?

No. They want it to be good. They are very impatient, so the cover, back copy and flap have to grab them. It has to grab them on page one because they don’t have time to read 10 chapters to get to the good part. If those don’t capture them, then they put it down because the cell phone is ringing, text messages are coming in, and there are other things to do.

Like The Battle of Jericho and November Blues, the two previous titles in your Jericho trilogy, Just Another Hero tackles serious issues, including prescription drug addiction and school violence. How do you manage to pack so much into your books?

Well, I try not to overload them. But I found that young people are expecting something to happen. Also, there are issues that they need and want to talk about. A lot of times, the adults in their lives won’t.

I’ve been thinking about doing something about school violence since Columbine, but I couldn’t write about killing children. I wanted to bring up the issue so kids can talk about it, without gratuitous bloodshed. I also wanted to discuss the idea of heroism. What is a hero? What makes a hero? We have a tendency to think of heroes as movie stars; I wanted young people to talk about the real heroes in their lives.

This is your second trilogy. Is there something in particular that you like about them?

With the Hazelwood High trilogy, I wasn’t sure I was writing a trilogy. I would just write one book, then another, and then another, because the young adults who wrote me told me that they wanted to read more. This time, I knew I was writing a trilogy and planned it, so it reads chronologically. There’s so much to cover and you can do it more effectively in a three-part series than in one book.

Are you sad when the final book is released?

I’m waiting for the letters that ask when I’m going to write book four. I got those a lot with the first trilogy.

But I do get a little sad because the characters are like friends to me. I treat them like they’re real people. I live with them and know what their kitchen smells like. If you can get that kind of detail in the minds of readers, they tend to feel the same way.

What about your new Sassy series? Will there be more than three books?

Yes. Three are done and there will be more.

How did that project come about?

I already had the Ziggy series from Simon and Schuster, which is geared more towards middle grade boys. Girls have come to me and said, “These are nice, but what about something for us?” Girls read a boy book, but boys don’t necessarily want to read a girl book. I wanted to do something for these girls. I also have a sassy granddaughter—well, she’s not sassy, she’s fun.


I wondered if you had a specific girl in mind when you developed Sassy Simone Sanford’s character.
I did interview a whole class of fourth-graders. We met after school and had pizza. They showed me what they carried in their purses. We had a fun time. The teacher is a former student of mine, so they thought that was special.

Do you do this type of field research often?

I do research for every single book, regardless. For Double Dutch, I learned to jump, and learned the scoring system. For November Blues, I interviewed pregnant teens. I like to get up close and personal with the kids involved in the situations I write about.

In Sassy: Little Sister Is NOT My Name, the first book, Sassy wants her own identity and to shed the “little sister” nickname. What does she experience in the forthcoming book, The Birthday Storm?

In book two, she and her family visit her grandmother in Florida for a birthday party. The party is cancelled because of a hurricane, so instead of candles and cake, they have bottled water and boarded-up windows. Sassy learns that family is more important than cake and ice cream and she also gets to save a family of sea turtles from the hurricane.

The colorful Sassy sack that she carries with her everywhere always seems to come in handy.

In Sassy’s sack, she has anything that she or someone else might need. If someone needs a rubber band, Band-Aid, gum, Sassy can reach down in her sack and give it to them. It’s the magic of the sack.

I could use a sack.

I have one! I had it specially made. I take it with me to school visits and all the girls want one. I got an email from a parent who said she had looked all over the city looking for something that resembled a Sassy sack.

What’s in yours?

I have pencils which are sparkly. I have pens with feathers, key chains with sparkles, lip gloss, eye shadow that glimmers, sparkle nail polish, all kinds of things. Everything is shiny, of course.

Throughout your teaching career, it was your students who encouraged you to enter a writing contest, which led to writing books. Do you find that young people continue to encourage you?

They encourage me through emails, letters, and personal conversations. They’re so funny sometimes. Some will say, “I have to do a report on you, can you tell me everything about yourself by Thursday?” But others will be more serious. During [Hurricane] Katrina, I got letters that said, “The only thing that kept me going was reading, because that’s all I could do.” Young people lead me into the directions of the kinds of issues that I need to talk about.

Just Another Hero by Sharon M. Draper. Atheneum, $16.99 ISBN 978-1-416-90700-8

Sassy: Little Sister Is NOT My Name by Sharon M. Draper. Scholastic Press, $14.99 ISBN 978-0-545-07151-2

Sassy: The Birthday Storm by Sharon M. Draper. Scholastic Press, $14.99 ISBN 978-0-545-07152-9

14 applications to college. 14 acceptances. Great success story!

Now this is the kind of story you want to read as you sip your morning coffee. She's the daughter of a good friend.


Country Day grad to head for Stanford full swing | Cincinnati.com | Cincinnati.Com

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"Speed Dating" in NYC at Book Expo--Sassy Sack is featured!

http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6662060.html?desc=topstory

BookExpo America 2009: Speed Dating with Authors, Illustrators
By Rocco Staino -- School Library Journal, 6/2/2009

Those attending this year’s Book Expo America in New York from May 29-31 had a chance to speed date—with their favorite children’s authors and illustrators.


Sharon Draper shows off her Sassy sack.

Some 23 children’s book creators took part in the event, sponsored by the Children’s Book Council, which involved spending three minutes talking about their latest book and the creative process behind it before jumping to another table.

Sharon Draper introduced her new character Sassy (Scholastic, 2009), the nine-year-old character in her new series, by bringing along her patchwork Sassy Sack filled with super glue, lip gloss, and paperclips, which Sassy uses to help her friends out of various difficult situations.

Newbery Medalist, Linda Sue Park handed out blue baseball caps with the name of her book Keeping Score (Clarion, 2008) emblazoned across the front. The story, set during the 1950s Korean War, is about a girl who loves the Brooklyn Dodgers.

Holly Black brought along geek candy and nerd pocket protectors to pitch Geektastic (Little, Brown, 2009), a collection of short stories from various authors, including Garth Nix, John Green, and Scott Westerfeld.

Illustrators Michael Rex (Goodnight Goon, Penguin, 2008) and cartoonists, James Sturm, Andrew Arnold, and Alexis Frederick-Frost (Adventures in Cartooning, Roaring Brook, 2009) all drew three minute sketches as they spoke about their latest books.



After 90 minutes of table hopping the authors and illustrators were exhausted, and more than 100 of their “prospective dates” anxious to try out their new books. There didn’t seem to be any telephone numbers exchanged.