Today, I'm so incredibly excited to take part in the blog tour for FLIPPING FORWARD TWISTING BACKWARD and can't wait to introduce you to this wonderful, important book! I'm hoping many educators and librarians will pick it up and share it with students far and wide. We need more books formatted like this one!
(And you can enter to win a copy below for yourself -- or even to share with your local school library!)
First and foremost -- and absolutely most important of all -- the book is set in Sassoon Book, making it so much easier to read if you have dyslexia. Here's some information from Read How You Want regarding why this matters and giving some examples. Here's an example from their site of how such a font can make a difference to dyslexic readers:
Using Sassoon Book makes perfect sense in the context of the novel as well. Our main character, Claire, is an amazing gymnast heading to the State Championships, but is *not* amazing when it comes to school. She can't really read or make letters focus. Over the course of the novel, it is discovered that Claire might have dyslexia, but her mother is reluctant to get testing and have her daughter given a label that will follow her over the course of her life....even if that same testing may change her for the better. So many readers will be able to finally see themselves in Claire! One reason I love Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson series so much is because every demi-god is dyslexic and that's so important for kids to see, but it isn't the focal point of the novel. Plus, they're hecka long, and if you're struggling to read, shorter is so much less daunting.
Another thing that may make reading FLIPPING FORWARD TWISTING BACKWARD easier for readers -- also making it a great read for reluctant readers -- is the fact that it is written in verse, so it takes so much less time to read. It's also to follow the sentences with your fingers as you go down the page. Additionally, the book is full of beautiful illustrations by Sarah Mensinga, which always is a great way to keep kids turning pages. Even though it's middle-grade and a harder read than a beginning chapter book like Junie B Jones or Magic Treehouse, it has that feel of an easier read that will lull readers into picking it up and devouring it.
(You can see some of the illustrations, typset format, and writing style in an extended preview below!)
And of course, this book is also great for gym rats! My eight year old niece has been doing gymnastics for a couple of years now. She's always so excited for end-of-year recitals and is looking forward to when she's good enough to do her first competitive meet. My niece was really excited to find a book revolving around gymnastics and connected with it immediately upon picking it up to read together. Kids who do gymnastics -- or are just interested in the sport -- will glean so much information about gym life and what it takes to make it over the course of the novel.
FLIPPING FORWARD TWISTING BACKWARD is an immediate school staple and I hope to see it crop up again during the 2023 ALA Youth Media Awards!
Read an Excerpt!
About The Book:
Author: Alma Fullerton
Pub. Date: August 2, 2022
Publisher: Peachtree
Formats: Hardcover, eBook
Pages: 144
Find it: Goodreads, Amazon, Kindle, B&N, iBooks, Kobo, TBD, Bookshop.org
A high-energy novel in verse starring a fifth grader who is almost as devoted to competitive gymnastics as she is to hiding her poor reading skills. What happens when Claire’s secret starts unraveling?
Claire is by far the best gymnast on her team, and she’s well on her way to qualifying for the state championships. The gym is where Claire shines. But at school, she’s known as a troublemaker. She seems to spend more time in the office than in class—which is fine with her since it enables her to hide the fact that she can’t read. She has never been able to make sense of the wobbling jumble of letters on a page. No one except her BFF knows.
But when a sympathetic principal wonders if Claire is acting out because she’s dyslexic, her mother balks. She’s afraid Claire will be labeled “stupid” and refuses testing. Claire has always assumed she’s dumb; she never imagined her reading problem could have a solution. Is she strong enough to take on both her reading challenges and her mother’s denial? Is it worth jeopardizing her spot in qualifiers?
Told in clear and poignant verse and featuring black and white illustrations, Claire’s struggle with something that seems to come easily to everyone else will resonate with readers and have them cheering her on.
About Alma Fullerton:
Alma
Fullerton couldn’t read until she was in the fourth grade. Today she works
with students who have learning disabilities. She is the author of several
middle grade and young adult novels that garnered acclaim and awards in her
native Canada. Alma is also the author/illustrator of several picture
books. She is on faculty with the Highlights Foundation for teaching novel in
verse writing and is an RA for SCBWI’s Canada East region.
Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | TikTok | Goodreads | Amazon
GIVEAWAY
1 winner will receive a finished copy of FLIPPING FORWARD TWISTING BACKWARD, US Only.
a Rafflecopter giveawayTour Schedule:
Week One:
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7/25/2022 |
IG Review |
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7/25/2022 |
Excerpt |
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7/26/2022 |
Review/IG Post |
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7/26/2022 |
Excerpt/IG Post |
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7/27/2022 |
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7/27/2022 |
Excerpt |
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7/28/2022 |
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7/28/2022 |
Excerpt/IG Post |
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7/29/2022 |
IG Review |
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7/29/2022 |
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8/1/2022 |
Excerpt |
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8/2/2022 |
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8/2/2022 |
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8/3/2022 |
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8/3/2022 |
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8/4/2022 |
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8/4/2022 |
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8/5/2022 |
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8/5/2022 |
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Comments
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