Stella by Starlight

Started a book club with my daughter. Perfect book to begin with

Used on book shelf.

I really liked this book. Not at all familiar with gospel music, I was happy to find recordings of all the songs from the book on Youtube and listen to them while reading the surrounding passages. The strength I heard in the voices singing these songs captured the inner strength I felt coming from Stella, her family, and her community, and magnified it.

“Out of my Mind” is a great book because it opens your eyes to the everyday struggles of people who have disabilities. I loved how realistic this book is. The book talked about bullies, friendships, school, the everyday life of a kid and I really liked that. It is about a 10-year old girl who has cerebral palsy and can’t speak or move her arms and hands. She goes through many challenges in life and wants to be like every other kid. Melody, the main character is very smart and loves learning. She has very loving parents who would do anything for her. I loved that they would do anything because she has gone through so much. Her parents know that Melody is smart and she can do more than just sitting all day, not learning anything. No one knows what is in her mind and she is capable of learning so more than her ABC’s. Melody joins inclusion classes when she is in fifth grade to learn more. She ends up joining a quiz team and she is the star of the quiz team as soon as she is on TV. However, things don’t go so well for Melody because the children on her quiz team aren't always the kindest.This book made me cry so if you are a very emotional person or cry happy and sad tears you may not want to read this book. I feel like the book kept pushing the main character and I wish for once she could have had something very exciting happen to her. This book made me want to help people who have disabilities, especially after I read all about Melody’s everyday struggles with cerebral palsy.

I read this book with a 5th grader. We enjoyed it very much. At first, she thought the book would have a neat and tidy happy ending. She said she expected that Stella wouldn't be poor anymore, that blacks would have the same rights as whites and everyone would live together in peace. Thank you, Sharon Draper, for giving my young student a more realistic look at the world! There were so many bright spots in Stella's story, as well as adversity and challenges. THAT is real life!!

This book had both my daughter and I, thinking deeply about how our country has and has not changed over the past 75 years. It provided a platform for us to discuss challenges and issues, that other books simply gloss over and avoid. I was grateful for the feelings of hopefulness that the book retains, in spite of the circumstances of the characters.

Stella by starlight is a great book it is about a little girl named Stella and then the Ku klux klan comes along and starts burning houses and burning fields fields then Stella has to go to school help her brother and help her mom when she gets bit by a snake then she has a lot to do then. My favorite part of the book was when Stella had got all those new stuff including a typewritter but you have to read more to find out . I encourage you yo read this book it was really good.

I started reading this book with my 4th grader and we both love it. It has provided an opportunity for us to discuss race and social issues using a historical lens and present day events. She is at an age where she can identify with the main character, Stella and understands how different her life is a child in 2017 versus a child in the 1930's. Although a work of fiction this is a great novel to use to introduce the topic of race and class inequality.