{"product_id":"raymie-nightingale-isbn-9780763681173","title":"Raymie Nightingale","description":"\u003cb\u003e\u003cb\u003eA #1 \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestseller!\u003cbr\u003eA 2016 National Book Award Finalist!\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAs featured on The Today Show’s Read with Jenna Jr. Book Clu\u003c\/b\u003eb\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTwo-time Newbery Medalist Kate DiCamillo returns to her roots with a moving, masterful story of an unforgettable summer friendship.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eRaymie Clarke has come to realize that everything, absolutely everything, depends on her. And she has a plan. If Raymie can win the Little Miss Central Florida Tire competition, then her father, who left town two days ago with a dental hygienist, will see Raymie's picture in the paper and (maybe) come home. To win, not only does Raymie have to do good deeds and learn how to twirl a baton; she also has to contend with the wispy, frequently fainting Louisiana Elefante, who has a show-business background, and the fiery, stubborn Beverly Tapinski, who’s determined to sabotage the contest. But as the competition approaches, loneliness, loss, and unanswerable questions draw the three girls into an unlikely friendship — and challenge each of them to come to the rescue in unexpected ways.With its short, vibrant chapters and clear, gentle prose, this \u003cb\u003etriumphant and necessary\u003c\/b\u003e book conjures the enchantments of childhood without shying away from the fraught realities of abandonment, abuse and neglect…Twirling a baton requires flair and confidence, in addition to an understanding that the baton is always balanced just a tiny bit off-center. There is something wonderfully off-balance, too, about ¬DiCamillo’s storytelling. It allows her characters to sparkle and soar. DiCamillo has called this novel, based partly on her own fatherless Florida childhood, \"the absolutely true story of my heart.\" What a \u003cb\u003ebeautiful and generous\u003c\/b\u003e heart it is.\u003cbr\u003e—The New York Times Book Review\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAs in her previous award-winning books, DiCamillo once again shows that life’s underlying sadnesses can also be studded with hope and humor, and does it in a way so true that children will understand it in their bones. And that’s why she’s Kate the Great.\u003cbr\u003e—Booklist (starred review)\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eDiCamillo's third-person narrative is written in simple words, few exceeding three syllables, yet somehow such modest prose carries the weight of deep meditations on life, death, the soul, friendship, and the meaning of life without ever seeming heavy, and there's even a miracle to boot. Readers will approach the tense and dramatic conclusion and realize how much each word matters. Raymie may not find answers to why the world exists or how the world works, but she can hold onto friends and begin to see more clearly the world as it is...Once again, DiCamillo demonstrates the power of simple words in a \u003cb\u003ebeautiful and wise\u003c\/b\u003e tale.\u003cbr\u003e—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWith \u003cb\u003eextraordinary \u003c\/b\u003eskill, two-time Newbery Medalist DiCamillo traces the girls’ growing trust in each other while using understated confessionals and subtly expressed yearnings to show how tragedies have affected each of them. The book culminates with a daring cat-rescue mission: fraught with adventure, danger, and a miracle or two, the escapade reveals how love and compassion can overcome even the highest hurdles.\u003cbr\u003e—Publishers Weekly (starred review)\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe girls don’t form an immediate bond, but their initial association of convenience eventually turns into a friendship of understanding and fierce loyalty. After christening the trio the Three Rancheros, Louisiana delivers these prescient words: “We’ll rescue each other.” And in a \u003cb\u003ebeautifully layered \u003c\/b\u003eset of adventures, they do. The limited third-person narration gives Raymie her distinctive voice and spot-on pre-adolescent perspective of a young girl trying to make sense of the world around her. Here DiCamillo returns—triumphantly—to her \u003ci\u003eWinn-Dixie \u003c\/i\u003eroots.\u003cbr\u003e—The Horn Book (starred review)\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn short, \u003cb\u003eprecisely crafted\u003c\/b\u003e chapters, DiCamillo once again demonstrates her ability to create unique characters that touch readers’ hearts. Raymie, in particular, is observant, thoughtful, and sensitive as she struggles to make sense of the world around her. Her story unfolds in uncomplicated prose, even as the themes explored are complex. Surrounded by the fully realized Louisiana and Beverly, not to mention the adults in her town, Raymie searches for meaning, a search that will resonate with readers. \u003cb\u003ePoignant, insightful, and ultimately uplifting\u003c\/b\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e—School Library Journal (starred review)\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFrom start to finish, Raymie feels her soul alternately shrinking and expanding like an indecisive balloon as she and her new entourage navigate the waters of friendship and heartbreak, love and loss, life and death. Most of the characters in this fine, funny, \u003cb\u003emeticulously crafted\u003c\/b\u003e novel live life \"wishing for things that are gone,\" but there's certainly no chance that Raymie's lovely and large soul will ever completely shrivel with a \"Phhhhtttt.\"\u003cbr\u003e—Shelf Awareness (starred review)\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAlthough this story is fictional, DiCamillo describes it as the true story of her heart...DiCamillo does a wonderful job of allowing readers into the depths of Raymie’s feelings and even into her soul. By the end of the book, readers feel like Raymie, Beverly, and Louisiana are true and lasting friends of their own. It is truly a \u003cb\u003eheart-filled and heartfelt \u003c\/b\u003ebook.\u003cbr\u003e—VOYA\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFans will recognize DiCamillo's unique wry voice as it gives readers vivid images, dizzying ideas, humor, heart-wrenching emotions, and \u003cb\u003egorgeous, gorgeous language\u003c\/b\u003e. You all have something to look forward to this April, I promise.\u003cbr\u003e—Huffington Post\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eDiCamillo writes with her usual easygoing delicacy; the portrayals of the girls are swift, telling, and gentle, with elliptical hints at Beverly’s and especially Louisiana’s homelife challenges (lack of money clearly limits Louisiana’s diet)...While DiCamillo fans will certainly enjoy reading this on their own, it’s also \u003cb\u003eexcellent classroom material\u003c\/b\u003e, encouraging kids to stretch their decoding—and also to realize that even if you don’t get the outcome you want, it’s still possible to find closure.\u003cbr\u003e—Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIt’s an \u003cb\u003einspired \u003c\/b\u003echoice, for surely this coming-of-age story is a fairy tale for our times. The young damsels in distress test their courage and rescue one another; and the book closes not with a conventional “happily ever after” but with a shared vision of the world as vast and yet intimately connected.\u003cbr\u003e—Washington Post\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eDiCamillo, who has just ended her tenure as the National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature, understands that children can handle the tough stuff in fiction–after all, they have to handle problems like divorce, grief, abuse and poverty in real life. And a book like this can help. As Raymie’s neighbor told her before dying, “If you were in a hole that was deep enough and if it was daylight and you looked up at the sky from the very deep hole, you could see stars even though it was the middle of the day.” For children looking up from their own deep holes, the Three Rancheros could be those stars.\u003cbr\u003e—TIME Magazine\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eKate DiCamillo seems always to write with an understanding heart and a gentle archness of tone...As the summer progresses, the girls find poignant points of commonality and a surprising comradeship in this \u003cb\u003ewistful, tender, funny\u003c\/b\u003e novel for readers ages 10 and older.\u003cbr\u003e—The Wall Street Journal\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eRaymie Nightingale is\u003cb\u003e filled with humor, poignancy, and life-sized lessons\u003c\/b\u003e. It is predictably unpredictable: a hallmark of DiCamillo’s brilliant writing.\u003cbr\u003e—New York Journal of Books\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e…though this book is awash in personal tragedies, it’s not a downer. It’s tightly written and full of droll lines and, yes I admit it. It’s \u003cb\u003emeaningful\u003c\/b\u003e. But the meaning you cull from this book is going to be different for every single reader. Whip smart and infinitely readable, this is DiCamillo at her best.\u003cbr\u003e—A Fuse #8 Production (blog)\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Raymie\" is fast and fleet — a crystalline \u003cb\u003eode to childhood friendship\u003c\/b\u003e that shines as brightly as anything that DiCamillo has written.\u003cbr\u003e—Chicago Tribune\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eDiCamillo...wryly captures the adventure and confusion of childhood with a gut-wrenching lack of sentimentality and a razor-sharp wit.\u003cbr\u003e—Star Tribune\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eKate DiCamillo shines \u003c\/b\u003eonce again with her latest somewhat autobiographical children’s novel...Their adventures are fraught with conflict and humor, as they try to do good deeds, rescue animals, and even participate in some breaking and entering. Through their zany antics they realize some things are more important than winning a contest, and Raymie discovers happiness and friendship can exist despite unpleasant realities of life.\u003cbr\u003e—School Library Connection\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eKate DiCamillo is the author whose books I anticipate with the most delight. I read them over and over. In simple but elegant prose, with grace and great humor, she writes truthfully about the human experience but always with hope. Raymie Nightingale is beautiful,\u003cb\u003e a celebration of life\u003c\/b\u003e, as are all her books.\u003cbr\u003e—Dean Koontz, bestselling author\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eNewbery winner DiCamillo at her best.\u003cbr\u003e—People\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Modest” and “tour de force” don’t usually go together, but they perfectly describe this \u003cb\u003equirky but melancholy\u003c\/b\u003e coming-of-age novel.\u003cbr\u003e—San Francisco Chronicle\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Raymie Nightingale\" is striking for its portrait of 10-year-old Raymie Clarke, who hopes to win the contest and push her father, who has abandoned the family, to come home.\u003cbr\u003e—Orlando Sentinel\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWhile Raymie Nightingale is written for a middle-grade audience, it is a \u003cb\u003emoving \u003c\/b\u003enovel that can be enjoyed by readers of all ages.\u003cbr\u003e—Providence Journal\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIt is an \u003cb\u003eexpertly layered and beautifully crafted\u003c\/b\u003e story with not a wasted word or moment. The characters are living, breathing humans in whose struggles the reader becomes invested. And it’s a novel that shimmers with hope at its close, even if that absent father never actually pulls through.\u003cbr\u003e—Kirkus Reviews (blog)\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eReaders will once again be treated with a novel that is rich and \u003cb\u003eimportant \u003c\/b\u003eon multiple levels by the exceptional writer Kate DiCamillo.\u003cbr\u003e—Books to Borrow...Books to Buy (Kendal A. Rautzhan column)\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eEveryone should read Raymie Nightingale by Kate DiCamillo. It’s a classic tale of friendship, which we can all relate to.\u003cbr\u003e—On Our Minds (Scholastic blog)\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eDiCamillo's\u003cb\u003e original, loveable characters\u003c\/b\u003e bring with them a hint of magic and an abundance of humanity and humor.\u003cbr\u003e—News-Gazette\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eTwo-time Newbery Award-winning author Kate DiCamillo has crafted a \u003cb\u003eunique \u003c\/b\u003eand deeply appealing character in Raymie, and young readers will love watching her finally find a degree of peace.\u003cbr\u003e—A Mighty Girl (blog)\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eKate DiCamillo featured promoting summer reading\u003cbr\u003e—Panorama Magazine\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cb\u003eKate DiCamillo\u003c\/b\u003e is one of America’s most beloved storytellers. She is the National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature and a two-time Newbery Medalist. Born in Philadelphia, she grew up in Florida and now lives in Minneapolis, where she faithfully writes two pages a day, five days a week.\u003cb\u003eOne\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThere were three of them, three girls.\u003cbr\u003e   They were standing side by side.\u003cbr\u003e   They were standing at attention.\u003cbr\u003e   And then the girl in the pink dress, the one who was standing right next to Raymie, let out a sob and said, “The more I think about it, the more terrified I am. I am too terrified to go on!”\u003cbr\u003e   The girl clutched her baton to her chest and dropped to her knees.\u003cbr\u003e   Raymie stared at her in wonder and admiration.\u003cbr\u003e   She herself often felt too terrified to go on, but she had never admitted it out loud.\u003cbr\u003e   The girl in the pink dress moaned and toppled over sideways.\u003cbr\u003e   Her eyes fluttered closed. She was silent. And then she opened her eyes very wide and shouted, “Archie, I’m sorry! I’m sorry I betrayed you!”\u003cbr\u003e   She closed her eyes again. Her mouth fell open.\u003cbr\u003e   Raymie had never seen or heard anything like it.\u003cbr\u003e    “I’m sorry,” Raymie whispered. “I betrayed you.”\u003cbr\u003e   For some reason, the words seemed worth repeating.\u003cbr\u003e   “Stop this nonsense immediately,” said Ida Nee.\u003cbr\u003e   Ida Nee was the baton-­twirling instructor. Even though she was old — ​over fifty at least — ​her hair was an extremely bright yellow. She wore white boots that came all the way up to her knees.\u003cbr\u003e   “I’m not kidding,” said Ida Nee.\u003cbr\u003e   Raymie believed her.\u003cbr\u003e   Ida Nee didn’t seem like much of a kidder.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e   The sun was way, way up in the sky, and the whole thing was like high noon in a Western. But it was not a Western; it was baton-­twirling lessons at Ida Nee’s house in Ida Nee’s backyard.\u003cbr\u003e   It was the summer of 1975.\u003cbr\u003e   It was the fifth day of June.\u003cbr\u003e   And two days before, on the third day of June, Raymie Clarke’s father had run away from home with a woman who was a dental hygienist.\u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003e  Hey, diddle, diddle, the dish ran away with the spoon.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e   Those were the words that went through Raymie’s head every time she thought about her father and the dental hygienist.\u003cbr\u003e   But she did not say the words out loud anymore because Raymie’s mother was very upset, and talking about dishes and spoons running away together was not appropriate.\u003cbr\u003e   It was actually a great tragedy, what had happened.\u003cbr\u003e   That was what Raymie’s mother said.\u003cbr\u003e   “This is a great tragedy,” said Raymie’s mother. “Quit reciting nursery rhymes.”\u003cbr\u003e   It was a great tragedy because Raymie’s father had disgraced himself.\u003cbr\u003e   It was also a great tragedy because Raymie was now fatherless.\u003cbr\u003e   The thought of that — ​the fact of it — ​that she, Raymie Clarke, was without a father, made a small, sharp pain shoot through Raymie’s heart every time she considered it.\u003cbr\u003e   Sometimes the pain in her heart made her feel too terrified to go on. Sometimes it made her want to drop to her knees.\u003cbr\u003e   But then she would remember that she had a plan.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e Two\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “Get up,” said Ida Nee to the girl in the pink dress.\u003cbr\u003e   “She fainted,” said the other baton-­twirling student, a girl named Beverly Tapinski, whose father was a cop.\u003cbr\u003e   Raymie knew the girl’s name and what her father did because Beverly had made an announcement at the beginning of the lesson. She had stared straight ahead, not looking at anybody in particular, and said, “My name is Beverly Tapinski and my father is a cop, so I don’t think that you should mess with me.”\u003cbr\u003e   Raymie, for one, had no intention of messing with her.\u003cbr\u003e   “I’ve seen a lot of people faint,” said Beverly now. “That’s what happens when you’re the daughter of a cop. You see everything. You see it all.”\u003cbr\u003e   “Shut up, Tapinski,” said Ida Nee.\u003cbr\u003e   The sun was very high in the sky.\u003cbr\u003e   It hadn’t moved.\u003cbr\u003e   It seemed like someone had stuck it up there and then walked away and left it.\u003cbr\u003e   “I’m sorry,” whispered Raymie. “I betrayed you.”\u003cbr\u003e   Beverly Tapinski knelt down and put her hands on either side of the fainting girl’s face.\u003cbr\u003e   “What do you think you’re doing?” said Ida Nee.\u003cbr\u003e   The pine trees above them swayed back and forth. The lake, Lake Clara — ​where someone named Clara Wingtip had managed to drown herself a hundred years ago — ​gleamed and glittered.\u003cbr\u003e   The lake looked hungry.\u003cbr\u003e   Maybe it was hoping for another Clara Wingtip.\u003cbr\u003e   Raymie felt a wave of despair.\u003cbr\u003e   There wasn’t time for people fainting. She had to learn how to twirl a baton and she had to learn fast, because if she learned how to twirl a baton, then she stood a good chance of becoming Little Miss Central Florida Tire.\u003cbr\u003e   And if she became Little Miss Central Florida Tire, her father would see her picture in the paper and come home.\u003cbr\u003e   That was Raymie’s plan.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e Three\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e The way that Raymie imagined her plan unfolding was that her father would be sitting in some restaurant, in whatever town he had run away to. He would be with Lee Ann Dickerson, the dental hygienist. They would be sitting together in a booth, and her father would be smoking a cigarette and drinking coffee, and Lee Ann would be doing something stupid and inappropriate, like maybe filing her nails (which you should never do in public). At some point, Raymie’s father would put out his cigarette and open the paper and clear his throat and say, “Let’s see what we can see here,” and what he would see would be Raymie’s picture.\u003cbr\u003e   He would see his daughter with a crown on her head and a bouquet of flowers in her arms and a sash across her chest that said \u003ci\u003eLittle Miss Central Florida Tire 1975.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e   And Raymie’s father, Jim Clarke of Clarke Family Insurance, would turn to Lee Ann and say, “I must return home immediately. Everything has changed. My daughter is now famous. She has been crowned Little Miss Central Florida Tire.”\u003cbr\u003e   Lee Ann would stop filing her nails. She would gasp out loud in surprise and dismay (and also, maybe, in envy and admiration).\u003cbr\u003e   That’s the way Raymie imagined it would happen.\u003cbr\u003e   Probably. Maybe. Hopefully.\u003cbr\u003e   But first she needed to learn how to twirl a baton.\u003cbr\u003e   Or so said Mrs. Sylvester.","brand":"Candlewick","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46303919964389,"sku":"NP9780763681173","price":16.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780763681173.jpg?v=1767735430","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/es\/products\/raymie-nightingale-isbn-9780763681173","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}