Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus, by Dusti Bowling

I’ve always particularly loved window books.  There’s just so much to be learned by reading about a person so different from you, or a time period so removed from the one in which you live.  From challenges faced to experiences had, the world seems to open at your fingertips, giving you glimpses into lives so opposite from your own. Perhaps this is one of the reasons I loved Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus, by Dusti Bowling, a middle grade novel written about a girl with no arms.

Aven Green, the story’s protagonist, is a spunky girl who loves to make up stories about how she lost her arms. But the truth is, she was simply born without them. And her adoptive parents wouldn’t let her sit by and mourn a life of things she couldn’t do. Instead, they made her work for everything she wanted — she opens her own backpack and plays the guitar and eats her own food — all with her feet.  But life with no arms is not easy.  Especially when you suddenly find yourself moving to a new state, starting a new school, and friendless.  But when Aven meets Connor, a boy at her school struggling with Tourette’s Syndrome, a new world opens up for both kids, and they not only learn how to help each other, but they learn a ton about themselves, too.

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If your kids or students loved Wonder, this is a fabulous “read-a-like” that upper elementary children will devour. Equal parts humorous and emotional, with even some mystery thrown in for good measure, Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus was a quick read that truly gave me much to ponder about my advantages as a fully able bodied woman. It is a book that will build bridges and empathy, taking the stigma away from “others” who may be different in certain respects, but who have the same yearnings for friendship and connection as everyone else.  A beauty, and one I cannot wait to get into my students hands.  Two trunks up!

Want the book? Get it here! Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus, by Dusti Bowling.