No Ordinary Day by Deborah Ellis
“I would recommend any of Ellis’ books for adults & teens, as well as the upper elementary students they are geared towards. She has much to say that we need to hear. This powerful book is another eye-opener about poverty and the lives of women and girls in other parts of the world. Valli is a street child in India who fears the “monsters”, as she thinks of the people with leprosy. She has a chance encounter with a doctor, who recognizes both Valli’s leprosy and her innate intelligence. Valli’s rejection and eventual acceptance of medical help mirror her growing ability to make sense of a difficult world. She comes to realize “Nobody really owns anything. We give back our bodies at the end of our lives. We own our thoughts, but everything else is just borrowed. We use it for awhile, then pass it on.” An Author’s Note provides more information about leprosy, and proceeds from the book’s sale go to The Leprosy Mission.”
Read about it or request it from the library catalog
