My Life in Dioramas - Hardcover

Altebrando, Tara

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0762456817 ISBN 13: 9780762456819

Publisher: Running Press Kids, 2015

Synopsis

Kate Marino knows very well that home is where her heart is, and if she had any say in the matter, her heart would stay put in Big Red. The old, rambling farmhouse has withstood the test of time with her family, but now Kate's parents have decided to sell it from under her feet.
The preventative solution: sabotage the realtor's tours with the help of best friends and a plan that has maximum stinkage potential.
The back-up plan: hang on to at least a little bit of life at Big Red by creating shoebox dioramas of each room.
But even with a full-scale assault, will her mission be a success? And if not, what will the diorama of Kate's future look like?
With a keen eye for capturing the moments that matter, acclaimed author Tara Altebrando explores the pain-and promise-of letting go.

CCSS-aligned curriculum guidecan be found online at http://www.rpcurriculumguides.com/curriculum_guides.html

About this title

About the Author:

Tara Altebrando is the author of several novels, including The Battle of Darcy Lane, The Best Night of Your (Pathetic) Life and Dreamland Social Club (a Kirkus Reviews Best Book for Teens of 2011). She is also the co-author of Roomies with Sara Zarr. Tara is a Harvard grad living in Astoria, New York, with her husband and two daughters.

From School Library Journal:

Gr 4–6—Kate lives in New York's Hudson Valley with her parents in a house full of quirky character and warm memories. The house is known to everyone around town as Big Red. When her parents, under financial duress, put Big Red on the market, Kate tries to sabotage the realtor's open houses in hopes of being able to stay there. Meanwhile, she starts making dioramas of the house's rooms, as a way of ensuring she can hold onto these meaningful spaces. Bonaddio's black-and-white drawings depict many of these dioramas. Altebrando aptly captures the essence of being 12 years old: fraught friendships, confusing feelings (is this what a crush feels like or not?), and glimmers of so much more on the horizon. Kate's voice is honest and authentic, as she toes the line between needy kid and independent young adult. While Kate's relationships with her two best friends, Stella and Naveen, are a bit too thinly developed, her relationship with her parents is nuanced and three-dimensional, as is the relationship between her mom and dad, as seen through Kate's eyes. Many readers will relate to the girl's initial resistance to moving, to her gradual acceptance of it, and to her ultimate conclusion that "Change is hard. Until it's not." VERDICT A thoughtful middle grade novel that will have broad appeal.—Jenna Lanterman, formerly at The Calhoun School and Mary McDowell Friends School, New York City

About this edition

• Publisher: Running Press Kids
• Publication date: 2015
• ISBN 10: 0762456817
• ISBN 13: 9780762456819
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 256