A Summer Start to Forever Friends

Sat, 06/11/2016 - 4:18pm by mansii

If you haven't gotten on the list for Newberry award winning author Kate DiCamillo's delightful new book, you are seriously missing out. Raymie Nightingale will make you grin ear-to-ear, sob a little, and say, “I know exactly what she means!”—whether you are ten like Raymie, or all grown up.

In the wake of her parent's divorce and father's abandonment, Raymie enrolls in a Florida Little Miss contest, hoping to regain her father's affection with her baton-twirling expertise. What she doesn't expect is a blossoming group of unlikely friends: The Three Rancheros. Each privately possess a heart of small wounds they would rather not mention. In response, while one pretends to be as tough as nettles, the other invents grandiose stories to feel better. Still, little by little, they let each other in on their secrets and pool their unique strengths, rescuing a library book, an unexpected mutt, and a soaked person. Their real discovery is the kind of friendship that brings new purpose and hope. A friendship that makes life okay, even with the occasional mud-slide.

Despite themes as sensitive as divorce and poverty, Raymie bubbles with tenderness and humor. DiCamillo has a talent for helping us see the gifts placed before us even in difficult situations, one of the greatest of which is the belonging of friendship.

Each Kate DiCamillo book is more delightful than the last: read them all here. And once you've read them (or even if you haven't) look for AADL's upcoming Raymie Nightingale craft, and, soon after, author event. Yes, you heard correctly: Kate Dicamillo will be at AADL IN PERSON. NEXT MONTH. Click here for more info.