I read Sharon M. Draper’s Out of My Mind with my third grader. He was excited to read the story of Melody, who has cerebral palsy, because she reminded him of his cousin who has autism and is non-verbal.
The story is told from Melody’s perspective. Although she has little control over her physical body and cannot speak, she has a strong, healthy, and curious mind. Melody struggles to express herself to others but makes amazing progress throughout the book.
Out of My Mind is an emotional read. There were many tearful points for me as Melody is misjudged and mistreated because of both real and perceived disabilities. It made me wonder what I would see and learn if I could be inside my nephew’s mind.
Both my son and I enjoyed this book. There is a scene at the end that I considered gratuitous and unnecessary in an already emotionally heavy book. I just could not bring myself to read that scene out loud with my son because of my own emotions and a concern for his mental health (we talked about what happened in the scene instead). Overall, though, it is an important book for both youth and adults.
The story is told from Melody’s perspective. Although she has little control over her physical body and cannot speak, she has a strong, healthy, and curious mind. Melody struggles to express herself to others but makes amazing progress throughout the book.
Out of My Mind is an emotional read. There were many tearful points for me as Melody is misjudged and mistreated because of both real and perceived disabilities. It made me wonder what I would see and learn if I could be inside my nephew’s mind.
Both my son and I enjoyed this book. There is a scene at the end that I considered gratuitous and unnecessary in an already emotionally heavy book. I just could not bring myself to read that scene out loud with my son because of my own emotions and a concern for his mental health (we talked about what happened in the scene instead). Overall, though, it is an important book for both youth and adults.
