Out of My Mind by Sharon M. Draper  

Out of My Mind tells the story of a young girl during the first part of her life.  It tells about her fond memories of her parents, her doctor visits,  learning while with her next door babysitter and her days at school.  For the most part, it is a typical story about a young girls life.  But Melody is not your ordinary run of the mill girl.  Melody was cerebral palsy and is confined to a wheelchair.  She has limited mobility in her extremities and cannot verbally communicate verbally.  The stories chronicles her life from her point of view.  We learn what it feels like to have these emotions bottled up inside of you and not being able to express them as most can.  We feel her pain, we feel sorrow, and we feel her enjoyment for life.  From reading this book, we learn not to take the simple things for granted; such being able to hold a stuffed animal or drinking water without assistance.  This is a thought provoking book that makes love life a little bit more, thank your blessings and realize that people with cerebral palsy are not dumb but intelligent.  While reading this book, I could not help but think about the new ABC comedy show, Speechless.  This show tales the tale of a High School student with Cerebral Palsy and his day to day struggles in a comedic fashion.

A book trailer can be found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nCG6e2DifxY

Teachers can find ideas to incorporate this book into their lessons at  http://www.varsitytutors.com/englishteacher/out-of-my-mind-lesson-plans

Readers also enjoyed  Turtle in Paradise by Jennifer L Holm and Touch Blue by Cynthia Lord

Additional books written by Sharon M. Draper include Stella by Starlight and Copper Sun.

Draper, S. M. (2010). Out of my mind. New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers.