Monday, October 29, 2018

Louisiana’s Way Home by Kate DiCamillo - ESSENTIAL

Louisiana’s Way Home by Kate DiCamillo, 227 pages. Candlewick Press, 2018. $17. 

Language: G (0 swears); Mature Content: PG; Violence: G.

BUYING ADVISORY: EL - ESSENTIAL 

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE

Louisiana’s grandmother has abruptly uprooted them due to “the curse of sundering” that she believes they are under. They end up in a motel in Georgia and although things are dire financially and physically (granny has to have all her teeth pulled), they do cross paths with good people. Granny ends up leaving Louisiana alone in Georgia, but Louisiana realizes that she is not alone - she has made friends and she herself is stronger and braver than she once thought. 

This book was such a delight to read - both perfectly heartbreaking and hopeful. The language is beautiful but accessible to a young reader. The thing that most impresses me with this book is that the author takes difficult situations and reveals them gently to a reader who may have never been exposed to those situations. I would recommend this as a classroom read aloud novel for students around third or fourth grade. 


Jen Wecker, HS English Teacher

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