Make Way for Dyamonde Daniel (A Dyamonde Daniel Book)

My 7-year old completed the book in three reading sessions. She stayed up later, under the blankets with a book light, because she could not wait to see the ending. Her favorite theme throughout the book was Dyamonde's willingness to help the new kid, Free, adjust to his new school. She liked the idea of one kid, with her own problems, helping another.The author Nikki Grimes handled the issues of divorce and separation incredibly well. The book sparked a discussion between my daughter and me about divorce. One of her friends at school is experiencing the difficulties of divorce. Dyamonde's experience helped to shape my daughter's understanding of how kids deal with this complex situation. The book, in the end, was a joy for my daughter to read, while helping her conceptualize some of life's complicated experiences.

This book is part of our Teacher's College reading curriculum, and I am so glad it was! Students are engaged with the main character, Dyamonde. They can relate to the problems she faces and are so excited to find out how she solves them! My students are in 3rd grade.

I got this book for my second grader so they can get used to chapter books. They read the book in three nights. They loved Dyamonde so much that they want all the books in the series! You’re definitely doing your little Black reader a favor putting them on to Miss Dyamonde Daniel!

This book is about friendship. First Dyamonde moved to another city without friends. Then there was a boy named Free...We recommend this book to third graders, especially kids who don't have many friends. It teaches good lessons, like how to make friends, what to do if you're sad and need friends and not to judge someone, because they might have something bad in their life. It also shows you that it's important to be friends with people who don't have friends.In our third grade class, we compared the characters in this book to those in Because of Winn Dixie. It was a great text to use to learn this impotant reading skill.We gave this book five stars because it helps people who are sad to get happy!(Written by Class 3A)

I don't normally write reviews as they are so subjective and sometimes very misleading. However, I am a huge fan of illustrator R. Gregory Christie and have many of his books. They are amazing, and part of that artistic excitement is his use of bold color. This book is the first book I've seen by him that is not only an unusually small in size children's book, but the illustrations are in black and white and wow - what a shock, and not in a good way. Maybe this whole Dyamonde Daniel series is like this; I just did not know. If I had, I might have had second thoughts about purchasing. But I got it used and inexpensive, so it was not too painful upon receipt. It would be helpful if it was mentioned in the description that the illustrations are not in color.UPDATE 4/4/13: I want to give a more balanced review. I did actually read this book last night. It is very sweet and teaches our young readers compassion and perspective. The entire Dyamonde Daniel series most likely offers children many more positive ways to handle the ups and downs of life. Recommended reading even without the wonderful uplifting bright colors of Mr. Christie's art.

This little lady is unstoppable. Even though she's young, she has pearls of wisdom from her own experiences with her family, school, and friends. She's a force that the new boy, Free, doesn't want to cross. Nikki Grimes teaches valuable lessons with this book. One lesson is you can NOT judge a book by its cover. You should always get to know about people, places, and things BEFORE you judge. This is a great lesson for young people to learn. Ms. Grimes did a fantastic job connecting this message in her story where children can relate.The discussion questions at the end were great!!

It gives good words and funIt is about friends and familyAnd have fun in life this is my favorite book in the world

This an excellent book for middle or older Elementary school age children! Perfect for 8, 9, 10 year olds. The characters are diverse and very relatable, the problems they face are at the right age level, the chapters are short and the illustrations are great.