Remember Dippy

By Shirley Reva Vernick
Hardcover: $16.95

Between helpings of mouthwatering shortcake, mysterious ferret disappearances, and a romance that misfires, thirteen-year-old Johnny discovers an unexpected, improbable friendship.

Description

Johnny’s plans fly out the window when he finds out his single mother is leaving town for the summer. She has a breakthough job in upstate New York. He can live with his Aunt Collette but only on the condition that he “help out with” his autistic older cousin, Remember. Yup, you heard it right: Remember Dippy. That’s his cousin’s name–and Remember is a gawky awkward kid with some pretty strange habits, like repeating back almost everything Johnny says and spending hours glued to the weather channel. Johnny’s premonitions of disaster appear at first to come to cringeworthy fruition, but when the two boys save a bully from drowning, salvage the pizzeria guy’s romance, and share girl troubles, Johnny ends up having the summer of his life.

About the Creators

Shirley Reva Vernick

Shirley Reva Vernick is an award-winning author and journalist. Her works include The Sky We Shared, Remember Dippy, The Blood Lie, and The Black Butterfly. Her interviews and feature articles have appeared in numerous magazines, national newspapers, and university publications. She also runs a popular storytelling website, storybee.org, which is used in schools, libraries, hospitals, and homes all over the world. Shirley graduated from Cornell University and is an alumna of the Radcliffe Writing Seminars. She lives in Amherst, Massachusetts.

Awards

  • Dolly Gray Children's Literature Award

    Brigham Young University

Reviews

  • Invites readers to question assumptions about what young people are capable of, and [Vernick] shows how willing they often are to view the world from a new perspective. An enjoyable and provocative exploration of the clash between "normal" and "different" and how similar the two really are.

    - Kirkus Reviews
  • "Endearing. . .Middle Graders will find the attitudes and experiences of the novel ring very true to life."

    - Middle Grade Mafioso
  • "Shirley Vernick takes a familiar story and reworks it into something entertaining, refreshing, and worthwhile. Remember Dippy, her second book, is highly recommended for school, public, and academic libraries that maintain a juvenile collection"

    - Tennessee Libraries
  • "A fast-paced book with humor, drama, and a keen understanding of the challenges and benefits of autism . . . Short, sweet, fast-moving, and informative, give Remember Dippy a try for its positive look at autism."

    - Shelf-Employed
  • "Remember Dippy is full of characters and a summer you won't soon forget."

    - Chris Grabenstein, NYT #1 best-selling author of I Funny
  • "[Vernick] captures an important part of growing up–that time when young people first start to see beyond their own perspectives and really understand the people around them. --Gesse Stark-Smith"

    - School Library Journal
  • "A sweet, touching tale about learning to look beyond first impressions and outer appearances . . . I couldn't put this little book down."

    - Laurisa White Reyes, author of The Rock of Ivanore

Hardcover

  • ISBN 9781935955481
  • Publication Date Jul 23, 2013
  • Trim Size 9 × 6 in
  • Weight 0.68125 lbs
  • Page Count 176
  • Interests

  • Audience Middle Grade
  • BISAC Category 1 JUV / Family / Marriage & Divorce
  • BISAC Category 2 JUV / Social Themes / Friendship
  • BISAC Category 3 JUV / Disabilities & Special Needs
  • Themes Disabilities, Fiction, Realistic Fiction
  • Reading Levels

  • Age Range Ages 8 - 12
  • Grade Range Grades 7 - 9
  • Guided Reading Y
  • ATOS Book Level 6
  • DRA 60
  • Interest Level Grades 9 - 12
  • Lexile Level 700
  • Reading Level Grades 9 - 10
  • Bebop Reading Fluent
  • ADA Site Compliance-Accessibility Policy