Fans of two-time Coretta Scott King Award-winner Sharon Draper have reasons to celebrate this fall. Draper’s new middle grade novel Out of My Dreams—the third in her bestselling Out of My Mind series—will be released from Simon & Schuster this September. The author’s debut picture book Bella Ballerina is also slated for fall release from Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy Books. The covers of both books are revealed here for the first time.
Draper’s Out of My Mind series follows tween Melody Brooks, who is in many ways a typical kid. She loves music, her family, and her dog and hates chocolate. She has cerebral palsy, which prevents her from walking and talking, but it doesn’t affect her brilliant mind. Melody wants to be independent and doesn’t want her condition to define her life. The book was released in 2010 and has become a middle grade classic, spending over four years on the New York Times bestseller list. Draper followed it up in 2021 with Out of My Heart, which was also a bestseller.
In this new installment of Melody’s story (likely the last, Draper says), the tween flies to London to speak at a convention for children with different abilities who are advocating for greater accessibility in an effort to make the world more equal for every kid. Melody has “all the hopes and dreams and insecurities of an adolescent,” Draper said, but along with them, she has “added life challenges that would intimidate even adults.” In Out of My Dreams, she said, “Melody’s world vision is expanded. She manages to save the life of a neighbor, and that allows her to be chosen as a delegate to an elite group of thinkers and creators.” Here in this new environment, she may indeed have found that sense of purpose she has been seeking.
“As Melody’s world widens, so do the challenges,” said Draper’s editor Caitlyn Dlouhy, v-p and publisher of Caitlyn Dlouhy Books. “But how she continues to put herself out there, how her inner compass never stops steering her toward the knowledge that she, and every other kiddo who makes their way throughout the world differently than most, are as deserving of access to that world, remains steadfast.”
Draper said the book was inspired by her own travel to London, a city she calls “magical.” It seemed the perfect place for Melody to be surrounded by like-minded peers focused on equality and world-changing big ideas. And it seemed the logical evolution for Melody, whose story started with her rejection of the limitations others imposed on her, and her entry into the wider world. In Out of My Dreams, “Melody learns that there is always something more to strive for, to learn about, to accomplish,” Draper said. In Melody, the author said she hopes readers will see at least a part of themselves.
Dipping into Picture Books
Dance has long been an important part of Draper’s life. She is a ballroom dancer and her daughter Crystal owns a dance studio. Her granddaughter Ailey Rose began ballet classes when she was three; “she loved it from the very first lesson,” Draper said. Ailey Rose was the inspiration for Bella Ballerina. In the story, ballet student Bella learns some important lessons about teamwork while learning new dance steps. Draper said she “wanted to share the joy of a child discovering what they love and working hard to make it magical for others.”
Dlouhy says Draper mastered the picture book category with grace and ease. “What I especially love about Bella Ballerina is the wealth of what Sharon is gently imbuing—the idea that no matter the stumble, you just keep on trying… the idea that through helping others, you forget your own fears, and that doing something with joy in your heart not only helps you improve, but it brings joy to others as well.”
Comparing the process of writing a novel vs. a picture book, Draper said it was “like learning to swim instead of walking,” adding that picture book writing “is fluid and magical.” Although she didn’t work directly with illustrator Ebony Glenn (illustrator of Mommy Time by Monique James-Duncan and Twelve Dinging Doorbells by Tameka Fryer Brown, among others). “She took my words and made them sing,” Draper said.
Draper hopes Bella will be a read-aloud that encourages kids to try something they love and to “fly.” She can’t wait for her granddaughter, now nearly eight, to pick up the book she inspired. “She is now an avid reader, so she is very excited,” she said.
There’s even more excitement in Draper’s life this year, though. The film adaptation of Out of My Mind is due from Disney+ this year. The film stars Luke Kirby, Judith Light, and Rosemarie DeWitt. “I had very little to do with that process, but I’m pleased with the result!” she said. “I’m sure that readers will have lots of opinions about the filmmakers’ interpretation of the book. I hope to receive lots of emails from young readers.”
Out of My Dreams by Sharon M. Draper, Atheneum/ Dlouhy, $18.99 Sept. 3 ISBN978-1-66594-954-5
Bella Ballerina by Sharon M. Draper, illus. by Ebony Glenn. Atheneum/Dlouhy, $18.99 Oct. 15 978-1-5344-6396-7
