Daisy Woodworm Changes the World — Review & Giveaway

Thought for the Day:

“I hope you realize that every day is a fresh start for you. That every sunrise is a new chapter in your life waiting to be written.”
~ Juansen Dizon, Confessions of a Wallflower ~

Gifts for My Writer Friends:

It’s always nice when we can get good writing information and be entertained while doing so. HERE is a terrific post by David Corbett on Writer Unboxed that will help you with Writing Cromulent Dialogue. (Yeah, I had to look it up.)

Becca Puglisi at Writers Helping Writers has such great content for writers. HERE she gives us great information on How to Reveal a Character’s Inner Conflict. Remember, no conflict — no story, so this is important stuff.

Every book can use a little humor, but it isn’t easy to write. HERE from Story Empire is a post by John W. Howell called Humor in Writing — 5 Ways to Do It.

Who ever thought a balloon could cause such a bruhaha? It’s kind of amazing that in the world we live in, a balloon could command the headlines for nearly a week, but I’m glad it was taken care of in an appropriate manner. It will be interesting to see what our government can cull from the remains, assuming they can find everything important. My daughter told me the debris field is 7 miles long, and, of course, it’s all under water. What a job! It has been kind of a nice respite from the usual political fodder that commands the news. The severe cold snap in the Northeast has been of interest to me. My daughter Maggie is in Rochester, NY for a few weeks doing a show at the Geva Theatre called Woody Sez: The Life and Music of Woody Guthrie. She said her little dog, who loves snow, would dash out to do his business and streak right back in. That’s cold! I sure wish I could get out there to see the show, but I’m not ready to travel yet. The medication they had me on made me exhausted and made my joints ache, so I’m off it (and feeling sooo much better!) and will have to have infusions again starting at the end of the month. That will happen every six months. I’m happy about that because I felt so great when they did that last year, and I get a lot of reading time while they happen. After that, I should be able to travel. I sure hope so because I just heard there is an Edward Hopper exhibit at the Whitney in New York, and I really, really want to see it. He is my favorite artist. Just a heads up, I probably won’t be here next week. Super Bowl Sunday is a big deal for my family.

I want to mention a picture book I read recently. It is simply a beautiful book with a beautiful message. And I do think younger middle-graders still love to read picture books. I have never gotten over my love for picture books, and this is one of the best I’ve ever read. It is Will We Always Hold Hands? written by Christopher Cheng and illustrated by Stephen Michael King. I hope you get a chance to read it. I promise it will make your day. It made my 17-year-old granddaughter cry! In a good way.

I haven’t done a giveaway in a while. It’s been hard for me to get to the post office, but now that I’m feeling so much better, I will be giving away some books again. This is a good one to start with because it’s such a great book. I had run across interesting reviews of Daisy Woodworm Changes the World by Melissa Hart on a couple of blogs, and put it on my list. I had read one of her earlier books, Avenging the Owl (you can read my review HERE), and loved it, so I thought I would like this one. Then I saw it available on the review list for the Manhattan Book Review, so I grabbed it. It’s an important story that kids (and others lucky enough to find it) will really be captured by. Here is the review I wrote for MBR.

Daisy is in eighth grade, busy with running track, her insect collection, and hiding her lisp. Her brother, Squirrel, has Downs Syndrome, but that doesn’t stop him from working, going to school, competing in Special Olympics, and being a great friend to Daisy. Their mom lost her job, and the family hasn’t much money. Their parents have started a business cleaning up dog poop. So embarrassing! The social studies teacher assigns a project for each student to do something to change the world. Daisy wants to help her brother become a social media celebrity, something Squirrel really wants. But their parents forbid Squirrel to be on social media, fearing he will be trolled. With the help of friends, Daisy goes forward with her plan. Will this all go terribly wrong?

Melissa Hart has written a sweet story about a family facing very difficult challenges, not the least of which are Daisy’s. Hart’s experience of having a brother with Downs Syndrome and her own lisp brings authenticity. The writing is lively, the dialogue genuine, and the story and characters believable and complex. The voice of Daisy, as she tells her story filled with middle-school drama, is perfect for an 8th-grade girl.

I have a gently-read ARC for one of you. All you need do is be a follower or subscriber (it’s free!), have a U.S. address, and leave a comment below. If you would like extra chances, please share the link to this post on Facebook, Twitter, or any other social media outlet and let me know you have done that. And don’t forget to check for other Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday posts at Greg Pattridge’s blog HERE.