* “Ellie takes on life head first, and her first-person, present-tense narrative reveals a feisty, dynamic character surrounded by well-rounded characters just as appealing as she is. An honest, emotionally rich take on disability, family, and growing up.” The mother of a son with CP, the author portrays Ellie and her mom's loving but fraught relationship with achingly vivid accuracy, bringing the tension between Ellie's craving for independence and her mother's fears to a satisfying resolution. Kids navigating disabilities may find her frank frustration with inaccessibility, illness, and patronization particularly cathartic, but readers with and without disabilities will recognize her desire to belong. * “Her voice equal parts vulnerable, reflective, and deliciously wry, Ellie is refreshingly complex. * "Drawing on her own experiences with her son, who has cerebral palsy, debut author Sumner doesn’t sugarcoat Ellie’s daily challenges-social, emotional, and physical-including navigating showers and crowded classrooms. . Ellie is easy to champion, and her story reminds readers that life’s burdens are always lighter with friends and family-and a good piece of pie-at the ready." I'm reading it a second time now.'"-Deb Perelman, creator of Smitten Kitchen I liked the scenes and I wanted to hang out with Ellie. "My son Jacob says: 'I usually read books about wizards and magic, but I liked this a lot.
#Roll with it by jamie sumner series
Filled with heart and spirit-I love this book.” -Kristin O'Donnell Tubb, author of The Story Collector series and A Dog Like Daisy "Ellie is filled with ideas for delicious baked goods, but she can’t quite figure out the recipe to make her family feel whole again.
Now she just has to convince her mom that this town might just be the best thing that ever happened to them! It all feels like one challenge too many, until Ellie starts to make her first-ever friends. Except she’s not just the new kid-she’s the new kid in the wheelchair who lives in the trailer park on the wrong side of town. If she’s not writing fan letters to her favorite celebrity chefs, she’s practicing recipes on her well-meaning, if overworked, mother.īut when Ellie and her mom move so they can help take care of her ailing grandpa, Ellie has to start all over again in a new town at a new school.
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The thing is, Ellie has big dreams: She might be eating Stouffer’s for dinner, but one day she’s going to be a professional baker. That surprises some people, who see a kid in a wheelchair and think she’s going to be all sunshine and cuddles. In the tradition of Wonder and Out of My Mind, this big-hearted middle grade debut tells the story of an irrepressible girl with cerebral palsy whose life takes an unexpected turn when she moves to a new town.Įllie’s a girl who tells it like it is. “A big-hearted story that’s as sweet as it is awesome.” -R.J.
(Oct.A Kirkus Reviews Best Middle Grade Book of 2019 Agent: Keely Boeving, WordServe Literary.
Ellie is easy to champion, and her story reminds readers that life’s burdens are always lighter with friends and family-and a good piece of pie-at the ready. In addition, Sumner deftly explores universal difficulties of fitting in and following one’s passions.
Sumner also makes it clear that Ellie is a regular kid who dreams of becoming a chef, which is conveyed partly through letters that Ellie writes to various culinary experts throughout the book. Drawing on her own experiences with her son, who has cerebral palsy, debut author Sumner doesn’t sugarcoat Ellie’s daily challenges-social, emotional, and physical-including navigating showers and crowded classrooms. Soon, Ellie meets free-spirited neighbor Coralee and eccentric schoolmate Bert their acceptance helps her to cope with her new school, which is far from wheelchair-friendly. After Ellie’s grandfather, who has dementia, drives his car into the local supermarket, Ellie and her mom pack up their Nashville home and move into her grandparents’ tiny trailer in Eufaula, Okla. Diagnosed with cerebral palsy at birth, Ellie heads to the kitchen when she gets frustrated with her overprotective mom, her hovering full-time aide, and her absent father. Headstrong 12-year-old Lily “Ellie” Cowan loves to bake.