Flipping Forward Twisting Backward, Alma Fullerton
Flipping Forward Twisting Backward, Alma Fullerton
List: $8.00 | Sale: $5.60
Club: $4.00

Flipping Forward Twisting Backward

Author: Alma Fullerton

Narrator: Erin Ruth Walker

Unabridged: 1 hr 25 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 07/18/2023


Synopsis

A diagnosis of dyslexia could change everything for an aspiring fifth-grade gymnast struggling at school in this authentic, high-energy novel in verse. 

The gym is where Claire shines and she’s on her way to qualifying for the state championships. But at school, she’s known as a troublemaker—which is fine with her since it helps her hide her reading problem. Claire has never been able to make sense of the wobbling jumble of letters on a page.

When a sympathetic principal wonders if she’s acting out because she may have dyslexia, she’s stunned. Claire has always assumed she’s dumb, so she’s eager to get evaluated. But her mother balks. Afraid Claire will be labeled “stupid,” she refuses testing. Can Claire take on both her reading challenges and her mother’s denial? Is it worth jeopardizing her dream of the state championships?

Told in clear and poignant verse, Claire’s struggle with something that seems to come easily to everyone else will resonate with listeners and have them cheering her on.

About The Author

Alma Fullerton couldn’t read until she was in the fourth grade. Today she works with students who have learning disabilities. She is the author of several middle grade and young adult novels that garnered acclaim and awards in her native Canada. Alma is also the author/illustrator of several picture books. She is on faculty with the Highlights Foundation for teaching novel in verse writing and is an RA for SCBWI’s Canada East region.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Afoma (Reading Middle Grade) on September 02, 2022

Twisting Backward Flipping Forward is a compelling, eye-opening, and empowering verse novel about dyslexia and gymnastics. Enriched with illustrations, this book will appeal to younger readers and anyone who enjoys gymnastics and middle grade sports books. I love that it’s under 200 pages long and f......more

Goodreads review by el (celestialbronz) on May 02, 2022

This book is so AMAZING. Claire, a fifth grader, is gymnast. She's really good at it, but she has difficulties in school. Her main problem is that she can't read. One thing leads to another, her teacher--who didn't understand her condition--being discriminating and too harsh on her. Her friends bull......more

Goodreads review by Shannon on July 08, 2023

A moving middle grade novel in verse about a young gymnast who struggles with her dyslexia and having a mother that doesn't want her to get tested or admit her daughter might have a learning disability. Great on audio and recommended for fans of books like Fish in a tree by Lynda Mullaly Hunt. Many......more

Goodreads review by Zac on February 23, 2024

A wonderful , short verse novel about a 10 year old girl who is great at gymnastics but can’t read. With the help of her sister, friends and teachers she works to overcome her dyslexia. I found her mother irritating because she refuses to believe her daughter has a learning disability.......more

Goodreads review by Marija on May 05, 2022

This was such a wholesome story, told through poems about a girl who loves gymnastics but doesn’t like learning and feels like there might be something wrong with her, but soon finds out that it’s her surroundings that got it all wrong. She is such a smart little girl who found her way through schoo......more