Lucky Dyamonde Daniel, third grader, has a zest for living and a heart the size of Texas. She likes to know everything that's going on so when she catches sight of a girl in her class, Damaris, on the street, she begins to wonder what her secret might be.
When her teacher announces the local library is having a poetry contest, Dyamonde isn't interested in writing a poem but her friend, Free, hates to be poor and has decided to enter the local library's poetry contest to win the hundred dollar prize so he can buy himself some video games.
Someone else in the class has entered the poetry contest too. It's the shy girl, Damaris, who seems to have a secret.
What's it like to walk in someone else's shoes? Does it matter where someone lives or who someone is?
Dyamonde learns that Damaris lives in a shelter and doesn't want anyone to know. But Dyamonde is the kind of person who goes into a secondhand shop on a treasure hunt and learns to look for and imagine the stories behind the things that have ended up there.
She teaches that understanding of others to her friend Free and she empowers her friend Damaris to tell her true story. How wonderful that Nikki Grimes has written this story for this reading level-second and third grade. A great message for them to consider.
And from Penguin.com: Dyamonde Daniel is excited about the local library’s poetry contest, and so is her friend Free. The prize is one hundred dollars—just think what they could buy with that much money! But when they find out that Damaris, one of their classmates, has been living in a homeless shelter, their ideas about what it means to be rich or poor start to change. And when they get to know Damaris, they realize the one who could use the prize money the most also happens to be the best poet in class.
In this fantastic follow-up to Make Way for Dyamonde Daniel, Nikki Grimes tackles big issues like homelessness in a sensitive, kid-friendly way. Dymonde’s can-do attitude and lively spirit will endear her to readers.
