Out Of My Mind By Sharon Draper

Citation: Draper, S.M. (2012). Out of my mind. Atheneum. 
Category: Realistic Fiction, Chapter Book
Awards: Josette Frank Award by the Children's Book Committee of the Bank Street College of Education, Buckeye Children's Book Award, the Sunshine State Young Reader's Award in both the middle school and elementary categories, the Black-Eyed Susan Book Award, the Beehive Book Award, and the Virginia Reader's Choice Award.
Summary: In Sharon Draper's novel, Out of My Mind, we are taken inside the mind of Melody, an 11 year old girl, who has been confined to a wheel chair and her own mind for her entire life.  Melody faces an inner struggle of knowing so much but being unable to share her thoughts, and it is eating her alive.  Melody finally gets a devise to help her communicate, but the world still looks at her though a different lens.
Classroom Use:  I would use this in the classroom to promote awareness of student differences and disabilities.  There is a documentary based on this book that is really powerful that I would show after reading the book.  Students would use the book as a jumping off point to write a narrative about an initiative to start a community awareness outreach project.