From the Bookshelf of Mock Newbery 2026…

Ferris

Kate DiCamillo

Start date: May 1, 2024

Finish date: May 31, 2024

Discussion: What We Are Reading This Month

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What We Are Reading This Month

October 2026 - Graciela in the Abyss
By Kristen · 3 posts · 51 views

last updated Oct 28, 2025 11:24AM

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What Members Thought

Mar 13, 2024 Laura Harrison rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2024-middle-grade-early-reader

Kate DiCamillo is one of the best children's story tellers EVER! I loved every bit of Ferris. There was so much that was unexpected and original. I am completely biased when it comes to Kate. I do think this is a title worthy of children and one they will absolutely love :) ...more

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May 01, 2024 Richie Partington rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fiction

Richie’s Picks: FERRIS by Kate DiCamillo, Candlewick, March 2024, 240p., ISBN: 978-1-5362-3105-2

“Ferris thought that the world didn’t make much sense, no matter how many words you knew.”
‘It passeth understanding, thought Ferris. It passeth all understanding.”

“It's such a lonely, lonely, lonely world
People turn their heads and walk on by
Tell me, is it worth just another try?
Light of the world, shine on me
Love is the answer (let it shine)
Shine on us all, set us free
Love is the answer”
– Todd Rundgr ...more

2 likes · Like · see review

May 31, 2024 Alyson rated it really liked it

Shelves: family-relationships, audio-book, friendship, realistic-fiction, 3rd-grade, mock-newbery-2025

Ferris's little sister, Pinky is one of my favorite characters. So many laugh out loud moments. I'm chuckling even thinking about her.

There is a lot to love about this book. I could relate to Ferris's relationship with her grandmother, Charisse. I had a close relationship with my own grandmother like that. Here interactions with her uncle, parents, friend . . . there is just a lot to love!

...more

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Jun 27, 2024 Kristin R rated it really liked it

Shelves: fiction, juv

Ferris lives with her sister, Pinky, her parents, her grandmother, and her Uncle. She spends most of her time with Billy Jackson, her best friend, her grandmother and dog Boomer. This is a story about friendship and family.

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Jul 19, 2024 Dolores rated it it was amazing

Shelves: death, family, humor, libraries, friendship, ghosts, middle-grade, aging, fiction, relationships

The summer before fifth grade is an especially turbulent one for Emma Phineas Wilkey, called Ferris because of her untimely birth beneath a Ferris Wheel at a local carnival. That's the summer Uncle Ted leaves Aunt Shirley and moves into their basement to paint a history of the world (per divine instructions.) That's the summer her little sister Pinky, always a "difficult child" goes off the rails in an effort to fulfill her ambition of becoming an outlaw. And that's the summer her beloved grandm ...more

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May 04, 2024 Karen Arendt rated it it was amazing

Quirky supporting characters really make this story fun to read. Ferris is quiet, eager to please, and everyone’s caretaker it seems. But she has love. “Every good story is a love story”. Whether it’s Uncle Ted and Shirley, Charisse, Mrs. Mielkel- everyone has a story.

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