One day in my reading class we had to read Out of my Mind for homework. I took a look at the bright blue cover and the thickness of the book, and thought that I wouldn’t like it because it was not going to be interesting, and it would be too long. We read the first chapter of the book in class. The first chapter of the book was really short, and it was about words. It was pretty boring. After the class I read some of the book. Five days later I had finished the book. This book turned out to be very interesting. Out of my Mind is a book about a girl named Melody Brooks, and her life. Melody can’t talk or walk and her body is very stiff. She has a disability named cerebral palsy. In the book lots of sad things happen to her as well as many happy things. Melody needs perseverance in this book. One example is she needs to keep, and keep practice for the Whiz Kids team. Melody also is brave in this book. An example for how she is brave is she goes to Mrs. Dimming’s room even though Melody is really mad and sad at the Whiz kids team kids because they abandoned her. Melody is misunderstood by most people because they think her brain is messed up just like the rest of her. Most of her teachers, doctors and other students unfortunately don’t treat her very well. They treat her from her outside and think Melody’s outside is the same as her inside. She also remembers everything really well from a lump of oatmeal stuck on the roof of her mouth to the mailman who comes to the door. “Mornin’, Mrs. Brooks. How’s the baby?” Out of my Mind is a really heart-warming story about a disabled girl. Melody is really smart despite what you see from the outside. Just like her mother said, “she has a spark. More than that-a flame of real intelligence. I just know it.” The book makes you really want to help Melody with all the trouble she has. And with the mean people (like Molly and Claire) it makes you find yourself really want to shut them up. I highly recommend Out of my Mind by Sharon M. Draper to everyone (including other disabled people). The book is for everyone and everyone should read it. I learned my lesson to (literally) never judge a book by its cover and thickness. Just remember the next time you see another disabled person see them from their inside NOT there outside. Out of My Mind by Sharon M. Draper. Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2012. Buy the book here and support Stone Soup in the process!
Out of My Mind
Book Club Report: Out of My Mind, by Sharon M. Draper (cont.)
An update from our seventh Stone Soup Book Club meeting! This week, during our 7th meeting of the Stone Soup Book Club, we were very lucky to have Adam Gidwitz, the author of The Inquisitor’s Tale come and join our discussion for a little while! We had the exciting opportunity to ask Mr. Gidwitz questions about his book, and about writing overall. We listened as he explained how he came up with the characters of Jeanne, William, and Jacob, as well as how all of the events of the story came together. We found out how Mr. Gidwitz settled on his unique style of narration in his book, what inspired him to tackle all of the subjects that he did, and we learned about the perseverance that all authors have. Our conversation was very thoughtful and meaningful, and it was a great experience all around! We did not have much time left after our discussion with Mr. Gidwitz, but we used our remaining time to talk about the ending of Out of My Mind, by Sharon M. Draper, the book that we had been reading over the past week. In a similar fashion to Gidwitz’s The Inquisitor’s Tale, Out of My Mind talks about differences in people and about overcoming adversity in your path. It was very cool to see what connections people drew between the two stories! Finally, we chose our next book, and the book that we will read after that one! Participants: Anya, Djin, Georgia, Lena, Chloe, Joanna, Katie, Enni, Lucy, Abhi, Isabel, Chloe C., Rachel, Madeline, Kaya, Allegra, Penelope, Sophia, Ariana Our Next Book (6/3, 6/10): Lord of the Flies, by William Golding Our Second-Next Book (6/17, 6/24): The List, by Patricia Forde The Stone Soup Book Club is open to all Stone Soup contributors and subscribers, age 9-13, during the COVID-19-related school closures and shelter-in-place arrangements. We meet every Wednesday for one hour via Zoom to discuss our chosen book, and always welcome new members! Join us!
Book Club Report: Out of My Mind, by Sharon M. Draper
An update from our sixth Stone Soup Book Club meeting! This week, in Book Club, we began discussing Out of My Mind, by Sharon M. Draper. This is the story of a 10-year-old girl with Cerebral Palsy. She is extremely intelligent but struggles to communicate her thoughts—she cannot speak, write, or walk. We began our session talking in small groups about the importance of words. We discussed the role words play in our lives, whether words are more valued verbally or written, and how we might try to communicate without the ability to speak or move our bodies. We went on to discuss the strength of Melody as the main character and the role of the many companion characters the author uses to tell her story. We also talked about what we considered the core themes of the book, including perseverance, courage, strength, the importance of friendship, and our deep human yearning to communicate with others. Next week, we are so excited to be joined by Adam Gidwitz, author of The Inquisitor’s Tale: Or, the Three Magical Children and Their Holy Dog, for the first part of our session. Please come prepared with a few questions about the book, if you read it, or writing more generally. Since we have only a short time with Mr. Gidwitz, please keep in mind that everyone may not have the opportunity to ask a question directly. Following our time with Adam Gidwitz, we will continue discussing Out of My Mind and conclude by voting on the next one or two books we will read in Book Club. The Participants: Anya, Georgia, Lena, Vishnu, Rachel, Lucy, Joanna, Djin, Enni, Kaya, Allegra, Arianna, Katie, Zoe, Penelope, Em Jay, Isabel, Chloe The Stone Soup Book Club is open to all Stone Soup contributors and subscribers, age 9-13, during the COVID-19-related school closures and shelter-in-place arrangements. We meet every Wednesday for one hour via Zoom to discuss our chosen book.
