Larger-Than-Life Lara / Dandi Daley Makall / 151 pages / Missouri Challenge

Dandi Daley Makall's voice certainly came through loud and clear in Larger Than Life Lara. It almost felt as if she were reading the book aloud to me personally. Three hundred pound Lara come to Paris Elementary School and despite merciless teasing and outright bullying, she effects dramatic changes through her calm, poetry-quoting-advice-giving presence. Ten year old Laney Grafton tells the story while enumerating the various elements and components of a story, emphasized with chapter headings. This book would be an excellent read-a-loud, especially for fourth grade.