Make Way for Dyamonde Daniel

Gr 2—4—Dyamonde, a third grader, is still coping with her parents' divorce and the subsequent move to a new neighborhood. She misses old friends and is trying to find her spot in a new school. When a new boy, Free, joins her class, she tries to be friendly, but is quickly shut down. What's going on with that boy? It's like he's trying to make everyone hate him. Dyamonde is a take-charge kind of girl who isn't willing to take "no" for an answer. Over time, the two African-American children discover common threads in their lives and gradually become friends in Nikki Grimes's beginning chapter book (Puffin, 2010), the first title in a projected series. Read by the author with gentle humor, this delightful book will find an audience with the Junie B. Jones and Clementine set.—Teresa Bateman. Brigadoon Elementary School, Federal Way, WA