Priscilla Cummings

This is one of my favorite books. I enjoy this novel because of the descriptive language that is emotion provoking. Priscilla Cummings uses extensive research as the basis of her novel. With this she is able to write with knowledge and the description. She transforms the words to create visuals and to transport the reader to feel along with Kelly while she is in the burn unit and going back to school. I got emotional when reading this novel due to the words that Priscilla Cummings uses. The show more novel is about Kelly and her journey of recovery after a car crash on her way to school. Kelly ends up being burned and sent to the local burn unit in Baltimore. Kelly undergoes multiple skin graphs and extensive physical therapy before being allowed to go home. Once home she struggles with her self-identity and her looks. She has a hard time seeing her old friends and accepting herself. The novel is about one girl’s ability to survive and the struggles she faces along the way. The big idea is about loving you and accepting yourself despite the thoughts of others. show less

This is a cute lift-the-flap book about animals the live in the Chesapeake Bay. The format of Who Am I?, then clues given allows the reader and child to guess what the creature might be. Opening the flap, then shows the answer with a great picture. If you know the area, this will be a guessing story, if not, it is quite educational about Chesapeake Bay life. The illustrations are really cute, and the text has a good rhythm/rhyme to it. A great story for children aged 4 to 6. A wonderful show more addition to kindergarten and grade one classes as well as family libraries. Both my grandchildren loved it and wanted me to read it again. The publisher, Schiffer Publishing Ltd. - Schiffer Kids generously provide me with a copy of this book to read. show less

I would probably actually put this book at about three and a half stars, but I rounded up because I'm not the intended audience, who I think might like it better. :-)

I'm reading along with my son's required summer reading for 7th grade this year, mainly just to be companionable, but I enjoyed this book quite a bit.

Although it starts out slowly, and it takes a while to get used to Brady's voice, I thought the story structure and the pacing were excellent for this age group. If something show more isn't happening on every page, my kid loses interest; while the things that happen might not seem too exciting to an adult (Brady takes the train to visit his cousins; he works on his neighbors' lawn; he helps his dad with the crabbing), they move the story along well.

While I personally think Brady is a bit too good to be true, I think my son will find him admirable and relate to him easily. His struggle to decide what to do feels genuine, and even though the conclusion to his dilemma feels a little unrealistic, I didn't mind. The setting is described so well that if I had read this book in 7th grade I would totally want to move to the Chesapeake Bay.

Now I'm looking forward to my son finishing the book he's reading so he can read this one. Most of the other books on his required reading list are dystopian YA, which he doesn't like much, but I think this one, despite being a little bit dated, will be a hit. show less

Gr. 6-9. In this satisfying crime and coming-of-age drama, a toddler drowns in a kayak accident after friends of teenage Brady, the victim's neighbor, vent some anger against the child's dad by drilling holes in the bottom of his craft. It was a mean-spirited prank--but no one was supposed to die. What happens now? Revealing the terrible secret would implicate Brady's friends in the drowning, and it clouds his whole world with guilt and fear. Cummings works plot and characterizations show more skillfully, building suspense as the evidence unfolds and as Brady wrestles with his decision and tries to come to terms with his own responsibility. Brady's eastern-Maryland surroundings and heritage (his father, a waterman, struggles to make a living from crabbing) are also vividly evoked. Brady's ultimate decision is both anguished and well reasoned, making for a realistic conclusion show less