Out Of My Mind by Sharon M Draper

A little summary:

Out of my mind is a book about a girl called Melody who is handicapped. She cannot talk walk or move because her body is numb but her mind works fine.
In the novel she tries to find a way to communicate with the world.
She finds a special computer  for disabled people like her...

Melody:

Melody at the beginning of the novel is a girl who is locked inside her own little world  unable to communicate with anyone.
At the end of the novel she is like many other kids she can talk using a special computer and isn't teased and bullied.

The bully:

The 'villain' of this novel is a pair of friends Claire and Molly. Molly is the follower more than the bully. Around the middle-end of the novel there is a competition which their school enters and gets through to the finals. But all good things cant last... Melody misses the plane to Washington D.C where the finals are held and her team comes 9th.
When Melody goes back to school she goes to the team class. They explain themselves and offer as a sorry gift their trophy. Melody starts to laugh and drops the trophy which smashes leaving everyone except Melody dumfounded. Melody types on her computer "I don't need it" "You deserve it" and leaves.

This is the book cover:

A Long Way Home by Saroo Brierly

A Long Way Home

 

 

Version 1 

 

A long way home,

from train to train,

station to station,
A long way home.

 

A long way home,

from orphanage to orphanage,

city to city,

A long way home.

 

A long way home,

from plane to plane,

country to country,

A long way home.

 

A long way home,

from maps to reality,

corner to corner,

back to his family,

A long way home?

Not if you try! 

 

 

 

A Summary of the story

 

Saroo Brierley in his young age (4 years of age) was lost on a train and sped away from home.

A year later in his orphanage a Tassie (Tasmanian)couple came across him and decided to adopt him. Saroo did not know much about what happened to him that year he lost his home, but 26 years later he stumbled across Google Earth (which was in its early days back then) which started to intrigue him and urge him to find his family. He started his search from the train station in Calcutta (where he was sure to have been), chose a rail to follow and followed it. One day he finds the right one and takes a trip back to infancy.

He goes back to his old house and finds it abandoned and is about to leave when a man comes along. Saroo asks him about the family who used to live there and the man says "I will take you to your mother." Saroo finds his mother  sister brother nephews and brothers in law. He also finds out that all this time he had been mispronouncing his name which was really "Sheru" not "Saroo"

 

"I hate to think what would have happened if that man had not come. I would have been so close to my mother without knowing it and just turn away."

Quoted Saroo Brierley

 

 

Images;

 

This is Saroo Brierley

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is the book. The colours in the background is part of his trousers and the rails.

 

This is his Tassie family (far left is his adopted brother)

 

 



This is his Indian family



This is where he lives in Tasmania and where he lived in India

This is how far he traveled by train when he was 5



The Princess and the Foal by Stacy Gregg

The Princess and the Foal

Good Luck!



 S S G T R R A V R U W S B P W D J C L A R M X S Y 
 O H E E R B I S A I L Q T P U I M J V M U W B S O 
 P Z E R Z W Y J M Y T X A A A C I E B A L T B I D 
 I M T I E T O C M Q O P O H C R S M H M H X M F A 
 B A B A K R I Q U C Y E O C Q Y A G X F W J R Y O 
 L S O W D M N Z H T N B Q B S O G D N H L I N K I 
 V C T A M K O P L S M W V U K J K R E I E B R D Z 
 T Z N U Y D D H A A P M A F E S D C E N K W I R R 
 X E D P D J P W A L D I S X S S O S D G C P V S E 
 H R N M Y A O C X M B D Q X K S T S R N G A L G I 
 W R A T X V Z R M A M A E F D E H R W W U W G T C 
 W K A N P M D F R C G E M Z A I N M I L I T N A S 
 V G P H S E A A Z A E A D U P L I Z T A K C J C V 
 Z T B G U Q G E D E Z Q V F T L C I A U N G I M Y 
 C X T I N R E G R R O Y A L I E N O H W Y W R W V 
 Y V P J O I J Z I D M S S T S G V A N N V W E K S 
 P R W X X P P D V N W M A R W M Y X R R O L O P I 
 Y C T M S J N M C B G R U H C A A I Q S Y M J M Q 
 K N L R Y A K O U E Y P D X B Z X K M G A P R S Q 
 A R B X L L C U T J H Z N Z F R K Q R M V A N D H 
 L D T G M G X B T D W X T O Q N O J A L N K R M R 
 H H N F F V K T O H V O T Q T D Z Y B L S C M K E 
 H E F I J G E J G F D M H O W M L T G W I H X K X 
 E S R O H R H R V Z O R U S J Q T X L L N F W L Y 
 A N Q H M Q T R N M T M T X M P W N Q D I Z Z F A 

ALHUMMAR
ALI
ARABIA
BABA
BREE
DREAM
ENGLAND
EQUESTRIAN
FALCONRY
FRIENDSHIP
HAYA
HORSE
JODHPURS

JORDAN
KINGSCUP
MAMA
MILITARY
PARADE
POLO
ROYAL
SANTI
SHEIKMOHAMMED
SHOWJUMPING
STACYGREGG
TENTPEGGING
VAULTING

Click here for the solution:
http://puzzlemaker.discoveryeducation.com/code/PuzzleSolution.asp?submit2=Solution
Don't cheat!

The Princess and the Foal is a book about the princess Haya and her horse Bint al Reeh (Daughter of the Wind or Bree) training together and preparing for the kings cup, the biggest horse event in Jordan.

Great book, recommended for horse lovers!
Here is Bree and princess Haya: