Summary: Daymonde Daniel got very jealous of her classmate when she got new sneakers. She was willing to do things that she knew weren’t right in order to get her mother to get her the shoes that she really wanted. Even after her friends warned her. Her plan didn’t turn out the way she expected, but she learned a very important lesson from this experience.
Summary of Professional Reviews: The Horn Book Guide gave this book a rating of 2. The review said that “the character dynamics are pitch perfect, with third grade Daymonde realistically balanced between self-confidence and self-doubt”. The author did a great job at really showing how a 3rd grader thinks and acts. The Kirkus Review for this book says that “Christie’s modern black-and-white illustrations are perfect for the urban setting. Daymonde’s readers will enjoy seeing a strong, smart, African America girl face the same challenges as they do”.
Review by Ivette Thompson: In this story the author uses different fonts to emphasize specific words and also to show what Daymonde is thinking. The author also uses the repetition of the phrase “oh puleeze” to give us a sense of who Daymonde is and what her personality is like. There are some illustrations in this story. The book cover is illustrated with a picture of Daymonde holding empty hangers and the red shoes that she really wants flying away. This picture is in color but the rest are in black and white. The author used days of the week to show movement in the story, which I really liked. I liked how about half way through the story, we see the tittle of the book appear when the biggest event of the story happens. I also like how this book is written using language that a third grader would really use. This makes it more relatable to the young readers.
This book would be useful when teaching…
Summary of Professional Reviews: The Horn Book Guide gave this book a rating of 2. The review said that “the character dynamics are pitch perfect, with third grade Daymonde realistically balanced between self-confidence and self-doubt”. The author did a great job at really showing how a 3rd grader thinks and acts. The Kirkus Review for this book says that “Christie’s modern black-and-white illustrations are perfect for the urban setting. Daymonde’s readers will enjoy seeing a strong, smart, African America girl face the same challenges as they do”.
Review by Ivette Thompson: In this story the author uses different fonts to emphasize specific words and also to show what Daymonde is thinking. The author also uses the repetition of the phrase “oh puleeze” to give us a sense of who Daymonde is and what her personality is like. There are some illustrations in this story. The book cover is illustrated with a picture of Daymonde holding empty hangers and the red shoes that she really wants flying away. This picture is in color but the rest are in black and white. The author used days of the week to show movement in the story, which I really liked. I liked how about half way through the story, we see the tittle of the book appear when the biggest event of the story happens. I also like how this book is written using language that a third grader would really use. This makes it more relatable to the young readers.
This book would be useful when teaching…
- This story helps students learn about the difference between needs vs. wants
- This story can be used to teach children how to develop round and flat characters, using the conversations and interactions that the characters have with each other.