Reaching for Sun

This lyrical free verse novel of Josie Wyatt's thirteenth year is oh, so deserving of the Schneider Family Book Award, which honors an author or illustrator for "an artistic expression of the disability experience for child and adolescent audiences." Three cheers for Zimmer and this lovely book that lingers in the heart.

"Reaching for Sun" by Tracie Vaughn Zimmer was the first book I read, cover to cover, in one day. Zimmer kept me turning the pages with her inspirational characters and free style poetry. She reminded me of the longing that a child has for friendship, especially if the child is different. Josie Wyatt is a 13 year old girl with cerebral palsy who has never had a close friend. She lives with her mother and her Gran, but has never known her father. Josie's mom is overly ambitious; her Gran is a little idealistic, but she is close to both. With all the exercises and treatments Josie's mother reminds her to do daily, Josie can never forget how different she is from everyone else. Jordan, the new boy in the neighborhood, doesn't seem to notice Josie's uniqueness. He becomes Josie's first and only best friend. Before Jordan came along, Josie, having no friends, spent her time crocheting, gardening with Gran, or watching the workers build mansions behind her farm house, but when Jordan befriends her she experiences a whole new side of her life. She and Jordan spend time making traps for insects, experimenting on the marigolds and catching tadpoles. Jordan even teaches her Morse code before they go on a family camping trip, so they can to tap out messages to each other through the bunk bed. Jordan accepts Josie just the way she is and is not bothered by her disability. During this summer, Josie matures into a young woman and learns the importance of family through struggles with her mother and the complications of Gran's stroke. Zimmer suggests that Josie may even discover some new feelings for Jordan when they start school in the fall. Zimmer's words paint detailed pictures through free verse poetry. This style of poetry is attractive with its few distinct rules or boundaries and the words are allowed to flow in their own uneven pattern. This permits Zimmer to emphasize phrases, making the book memorable. Her creative prose gives the story a colorful flair and keeps it upbeat; it will appeal to reluctant readers. Here Josie talks about the special red plate: "If you get good grades, or graduate, land a new job, or just any small thing, Gran will fix your favorite meal and serve you on our one red plate." I would love to meet Josie Wyatt. I feel like I have been allowed to be a part of her intimate world: her thoughts and her feelings about her disability. I have not been around many people with disabilities, but after reading this book, I feel like Josie bridged some invisible gap between me and people with special needs. I've never known exactly how someone with cerebral palsy feels, and I probably never will, but from Josie I learned that we, as humans, all have the capacity for the same feelings. Josie often felt the same way about herself as I have felt toward people with special needs: uncomfortable and unattached. Josie showed me that people like her just want to forget about their disability for a moment; be treated like everyon

Josie Wyatt is trying to live as normal a life as possible, but there's one thing thats stopping her--her cerebral palsy. Josie lives in a small farmhouse with her mother and grandma that is surrounded by huge mansions. Josie's mother is always at work and whenever she's at home she's always busy. Her grandmother loves gardening and never keeps any comments to herself. At school, everyone knows that Josie attends special ed, but when a strange new boy, Jordan, moves into the neighborhood, he never thinks of her as different, just normal At the end of the school year, Josie and Jordan have become close friends, and all Josie wants to do is spend the whole summer with Jordan--but Jordan has another plan, which is to go to basketball camp. Josie can't imagine a summer without Jordan and she doesn't know how to cope when her grandma has a stoke. REACHING FOR SUN by Tracie Vaughn Zimmer is a wonderful novel full of free-verse poems that tell the story of a pre-teen girl dealing with the fact that she has cerebral palsy. I definitely recommend this book for any girls who love to read, and I guarantee that you will love it just like I did. I give it 4 stars! Reviewed by: Kylie

This novel in verse tells the story of Josie, a girl with cerebral palsy who'll win your heart on every page as she navigates the various relationships in her life, including her first real friendship. This is a quick read with lots of white space, which should make it appealing and accessible for reluctant readers. At the same time, Josie's wry observations will provide plenty of food for thought for more sophisticated readers who will savor the garden imagery and Vaughn Zimmer's gorgeous writing.

Reaching for Sun celebrates the growth of a young girl who flourishes over the course of a year, just like the flowers in her family's garden. As things change with the seasons, so does she, thanks in part to an unexpected new friend, her motivated mother, and her inspirational grandmother. Josie was born with cerebral palsy, a condition which has affected one side of her body more than the other. She is a little shy and a little embarrassed to be in the special education class. She is very close to her mother and her grandmother, but hasn't any close friends at school. Reaching for Sun is a verse novel told from Josie's point of view. Though Josie sometimes has difficulties expressing herself and speaking her thoughts, her voice on the page is full of strength. The book is split into four portions, marking each season and accentuating it with a famous quote. The floral motif is punctuated with illustrations of a flower slowly sprouting, budding, and opening on the bottom of the right-hand pages, creating a sort of flipbook, akin to that in What My Mother Doesn't Know by Sonya Sones. A beautiful book simply told, I recommend Reaching for Sun alongside Rules by Cynthia Lord, Hugging the Rock by Susan Taylor Brown, and So B. It by Sarah Weeks, all well-written stories in which young characters and/or their family members overcome physical limitations and discover their inner strengths. Take note of this book. Reaching for Sun has already been placed on my Best Books of 2007 list. I highly recommend it.