Reaching for Sun by Tracie Vaughn Zimmer

ISBN-10: 1-59990-037-8
ISBN-13:978-1-59990-03-7
Publication Date: March 6, 2007
$14.95 US
181 pages
Bloomsbury Children’s Books
175 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10010
 

Josie Wyatt knows what it means to be different. Her family’s small farmhouse seems to shrink each time another mansion goes up behind it. Her mom is demanding, her gran is opinionated, and her father- well, she’s never known him.  Then there’s her cerebral palsy: even if Josie wants to forget about her disability, her mom can’t seem to let it go. Yet when a strange new boy, Jordan, moves into one of the mansion, he seems oblivious to all the things that make Josie different.  Josie begins to reach out for something she’s never really known: a friend…and possibly more. Interlinked free-verse poems tell the beautiful, heartfelt story of a girl, a proud family farm reduced to a garden, and a year of unforgettable growth.

Tracie Vaughn Zimmer’s first teaching assignment was special education. She taught high school students with autism and middle school children with developmental and learning disabilities. She holds a master’s degree in reading education and is the author of a book of poetry, Sketches from a Spy Tree. Tracie loves living near Charlotte, North Carolina with her family, but she will always consider Ohio her home.
 

Tracie is speaking at the North Carolina Reading Association this spring on experimenting with poetic forms in the classroom in a presentation entitled “Beyond Haiku.” She’s also a panelist on “Beyond Boundaries in Children’s Literature” in Toronto at the national convention of International Reading Association. In June, she will be part of the Poetry Slam at the American Library Association convention in Washington, D.C.  Tracie visits classrooms across the country to share her love of poetry, children’s books, and writing.  Her teacher guides and book club guides are in high demand from award-winning authors and publishers. www.TracieVaughnZimmer.com