Double Dutch

Written by Sharon M. Draper

Narrated by Patricia R. Floyd

For eighth-grader Delia Douglas, competing in the World Double Dutch Championships with her best friends is a dream that has come true through hours of hard practice. But that dream is now threatened by a terrible secret: Delia can't read. And unless she finds the courage to reach out and get help, she might never jump in another Double Dutch meet again.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc.
• Release date: Aug 22, 2008
• ISBN: 9781436169516

Sharon M. Draper

Sharon M. Draper is the New York Times bestselling author of Out of My Mind, Blended, and Out of My Heart. She’s won Coretta Scott King Awards for Copper Sun and Forged by Fire and multiple honors. She’s also the recipient of the Margaret A. Edwards Award honoring her significant and lasting contribution to writing for teens. Sharon taught high school English for twenty-five years and was named National Teacher of the Year. She lives in Florida. Visit her at SharonDraper.com.

Reviews for Double Dutch

[susan259 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The secondary storylines are not as compelling as the double dutch one, but still an inside look at double dutch.

[jrlandry1410 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The story of a girl named Delia who loves her friends and double dutch more than anything. They actually form her team in double dutch competitions. But Delia has a secret. She can't read, and when a standardized test threatens to crush her dreams of winning the tournament Delia is torn about what to do. Her friends have their own problems and secrets to contend with. Not to mention the troubling rumors surrounding the towering Tolliver twins that attend their school. In all of the craziness surrounding her world double dutch is the only escape Delia has. Good for children who struggle with reading it shows them that they are not alone and that these problems can persist even all the way up to middle school.

[bogle3 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

In Double Dutch, Delia and Randy has secrets Delia and her friend Yolanda compete on their Double Dutch team. Yolanda can not seem to ever tell the truth and Delia seems to always try to turn the attention away from her when the teacher is talking about reading. All the students in the school are walking away from the very scary twins, Titan and Tabu. These two twins went on T.V. and scared everyone. Randy has been living by himself and is running out of food and money. He is starting to worry about his father. Delia thinks everything is okay till her coach tells her that the new requirements for eligibility for Double Dutch is to pass the State Test. This is a problem for her. Randy finds something disturbing out about his father. The whole school deals with something really traumatic.

This is a great book to use in middle school. The teacher could focus on Delia's urgency to hide the fact she cannot read. Teachers should encourage the students to tell teachers any problem they are having. Another issue that teachers could focus on is bullying. The twins were a big deal in this book and everybody at their school altered everything they did to those twins. Teachers should make sure they are not also giving into to bullying.

I absolutely loved this book. It was very enjoyable and caught my attention from the beginning. I think that teachers should put this book in their classroom library.

[necampos · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is a great story that combines the stories of 3 kids. One girl struggles with reading, one boy hides that his dad has been missing, and then twins are causing problems with all the other students. All 3 hold secrets which keep the book suspenseful.
This is great for all students because everyone has deep secrets in them that we don't share.

[lindalundeen · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Double Dutch is a great read. It gives an insight into the struggles of one young man and how he sets his path for greater things by leaving his mother's shadowing influence. Luther T. is a hero that we want to win. You will find yourself cheering for him by the end of the book

[ph4tti · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This book is the greatest book ever! You will really like it. If you like real life stories and mysteries about disappearance then you'll love this book. Great book honestly! A page turner!

[hippiej_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

this is a fabulous book! thts all i hav 2 say

[mspioneer_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This story is about 3 8th grade friends who were preparing for the international double dutch competition. They compete in their hometown in Cincinatti, OH. -KB