Raymie Nightingale

Ramie Nightingale

by Kate DiCamillo

Published by Candlewick Press

Published date April 12, 2016

3 Friends
   
     3 Lives

          3 Dreams

               which all include the Little Miss Central Florida Tire competition,
               but for very different reasons.

I couldn't help but fall in love with these three girls; each having to be brave, each chasing a dream, and each becoming vulnerable as their unlikely friendships evolve.

Oh, the many connections...I had to laugh out loud at Louisiana's Granny's station wagon with the brown wooden sides falling off - we had one; central Florida in the 70s - grew up on the West Coast in Central Florida in the 70's; trying to get in the paper - my best friends and I liked to get in the paper; The Flying Elefantes - childhood friend in family circus plus lived in Ringling Brothers winter quarters town; the nursing home - candy-striper in a hospital; jar of candy corn - favorite childhood candy; dad left - so did mine; baton - orange one with green tips and glow-in-the-dark stripes on the end; green shag rug - orange shag carpet; misfit dog - misfit stuffed animals; ...just to name a few.

A big plus for me was the readability with its short chapters.  I admire Kate's ability to make magic with words.  I wish I had made notes of them!

Here are some of my favorites that I remember:
     "flex her toes and isolate her objectives"
     "Little Miss Central Florida Tire competition"
     "Very Friendly Animal Shelter"
     "swampy lungs"
     "feathers and regrets"
     "Three Rancheros"

I highly recommend this book for the elementary library and for those realistic fiction lovers.  I've seen talk about Raymie in historical fiction.  I get it - but, it isn't really about an event that happened in the 70s, so I think it reads more like realistic fiction.  Just my opinion.

And a big thank you to @Loveofxena and @MrSchuReads for my copy that I won!


Summary from Goodreads:

Raymie Clarke has come to realize that everything, absolutely everything, depends on her. And she has a plan. If Raymie can win the Little Miss Central Florida Tire competition, then her father, who left town two days ago with a dental hygienist, will see Raymie's picture in the paper and (maybe) come home. To win, not only does Raymie have to do good deeds and learn how to twirl a baton; she also has to contend with the wispy, frequently fainting Louisiana Elefante, who has a show-business background, and the fiery, stubborn Beverly Tapinski, who’s determined to sabotage the contest. But as the competition approaches, loneliness, loss, and unanswerable questions draw the three girls into an unlikely friendship — and challenge each of them to come to the rescue in unexpected ways.