One Book, One School Reading Events 
Make Way For Dyamonde Daniel 

Introduction and Chapter 1 
Reader - Kelly! 
Original Event Date: Tuesday, May 5th 2020

Summary: We meet Dyamonde Daniel who is a “gem”.  She is a very smart girl who is in 3rd grade in a new school and has struggled to make new friends. A few weeks into her time in her new school, another student joins her class named Free. Free has just moved from Detroit and just grunts a lot. Even though Dyamonde doesn’t really want to make such a new friend, she invites Free to eat with her at lunch, but Free says no.  We learn that Dyamonde likes math, and the structure of math helped her to feel better when her parents got divorced. 

Chapter 2 
Mystery Reader - Casey! 
Original Event Date: Wednesday, May 6th 2020

Summary: In the beginning of this chapter we learn that Dyamonde used to live in Brooklyn with her mom and dad, but when they divorced, she moved to a small apartment in Washington Heights with her mom.  She has been feeling lonely at school and is looking back at pictures of her friends she left behind at her old school.  We learn more about the apartment that Dyamonde lives in with her mom (its small and she doesn’t have her own room) and more about her new neighborhood (there’s lots of different variety and people and its very busy.) She misses the fun things she used to do with her friend Alisha back in Brooklyn. 

Chapter 3
Mystery Reader - Caitlin!
Original Event Date: Monday, May 11th 2020

Summary: We learn that Dyamonde is still feeling lonely and left out at school, so she doesn’t like to see all of the groups walking to school. We also learn that Free, or as Dyamonde calls him ‘the rude boy’ is very quiet and shy in class.  He pretends to not know how to read or answer questions, but Dyamonde has seen him reading during recess.  He also stomps around the school, growling at people and bumping into others. He is big and looks mad all the time, but he has also been being mean to younger and smaller kids.  When Dyamonde asks her teacher what is wrong with Free, Mrs. Cordell suggests that Dyamonde speak to Free to find out more about him.  Dyamonde is shocked and not interested.

Chapter 4
Mystery Reader - Jill!
Original Event Date: Wednesday, May 13th 2020

Summary:  Free has a run in with a smaller student and Dyamonde decides that she has had enough! She walks up to Free to ask what his problem is and he says he doesn’t have one! Dyamonde points out the student who is cleaning up and scared and Dyamonde demands that Free apologize for his actions. From then on, Dyamonde watches Free’s behavior and interactions with other students and stands up to him so that he apologizes when necessary.  Free decides to just stay out of everyone’s way, especially Dyamonde's! Later, when Dyamonde is out walking in her neighborhood, she sees that free is sitting outside nearby and says “hey” to him but prompts him to make a joke instead of just grunting.  She becomes determined to learn what is going on with him.

Chapter 5
Mystery Reader - Wandiza!
Original Event Date: Friday, May 15th 2020

Summary: Dyamonde confronts Free about why he is always so mad and stomping around and Free feels hurt instead of mad when having to think about this.  Free admits that he is just feeling mad at his dad who lost his job and made them move here.  Dyamonde is able to make a connection between how she has left friends and experiences behind and so has Free.  Dyamonde reminds him that he can be mad, but he shouldn’t be to people who he doesn’t even know.  The two also connect over people making comments about their names being unique.  Dyamonde feels like her name is fitting as a gem, but Free shares that his name is Reed and people make fun of him reading.  Dyamonde tells Free not to worry so much about what others think

Chapter 6
Mystery Reader - Seth!
Original Event Date: Monday, May 18th 2020

Summary: Our chapter starts with Free heading to eat alone, but Dyamonde soon joins him.  Free mentions that many people seem to be staring at them eating together, but Dyamonde turns around and asks everyone what they are staring at. No one makes any comments. Free comments that Dyamonde really doesn’t seem to care what anyone else thinks.  Dyamonde replies that she doesn’t and says, “I know what I think, and that’s enough.”  Free is thoughtful, and also willing to share his friends with Dyamonde.

Chapter 7
Mystery Reader - Andrea!
Original Event Date: Wednesday, May 20th 2020

Summary: Free is waiting for Dyamonde to walk to school in the morning, and Dyamonde asks him why he’s always so grouchy in the morning. He replies that she would be too if she had to share a bunk bed with a baby brother who is noisy.  Free explains that its taking some time to get used to because back in Detroit, he had his own bedroom.  But now, he’s feeling cramped living in his grandma’s crowded apartment with everyone.  Dyamonde remarks that he should be happy he has a bedroom at all.  The two begin to share what sports and activities they like to play, and Dyamonde also shares that she moved this summer with her mom when her parents got divorced.  Dyamonde remarks that Free is lucky because he has such a big family, that she wishes she had people to talk to.  Dyamonde introduces Free to many of the people and business owners in the neighborhood, and assures him that he will get to know everyone in time.  Free says he’s not sure how long they will stay, as they might move when his dad gets a job again.  She also says that they might end up moving to another local apartment so Free can stay in the same school.  She thinks, “I hope so.

Chapter 8
Mystery Reader - Matilda!
Original Event Date: Friday, May 22nd 2020

Summary: Dyamonde and Free have really become friends, walking to school together, eating lunch together and playing together.  Dyamonde still misses her friend Alisha from Brooklyn a lot, but not as much anymore.  Free is also much less grouchy than he used to be.  He even volunteers to read out loud in class, which he had been avoiding doing since he joined school.  Of course, he was an amazing reader, which surprised everyone except Dyamonde.  That night, Dyamonde takes out her photo album and says goodbye to Alisha’s photo, explaining she also has a best friend here now.  The next day, Saturday, Dyamonde calls Free to ask him if he wants to go on an adventure together.  She is happy, reflecting on the idea that Dyamonde plus Free equals two, which is a great even number

Rich
Book 2 in the Dyamonde Daniel Series 

Chapter 1 
Reader - Ina! 
Original Event Date: Thursday, May 28th 2020

Summary:  We are introduced to the characters in this story, including Dyamonde and Free who we are already familiar with! We also meet Damaris, a quiet girl in her class… Dyamonde wonders if she has a secret. Dyamonde and Free are window shopping and having a conversation about what it means to be ‘poor’.  Free thinks it means when you don’t have money to buy things that you want, like a video game.  Dyamonde says her mom has told her that everyone wants something they can’t have, but there’s a different between not being able to get what you want and just not having money right now.  Dyamonde also reflects that she thinks being ‘poor’ means, “…having no clothes, and no food, and no place to live, and nobody who cares.”

Chapter 2
Reader - Jennifer!
Original Event Date: Friday, May 29th 2020

Summary: Mrs. Cordell tells the class that the library is doing a poetry contest. The top poems will be published in the newspaper and the winner will get $100! Free is VERY excited about the chance to win the money, and Dyamonde notices that many students are interested, including a student named Damaris.  Dyamonde thinks that is strange, since Damaris doesn’t usually raise her hand to volunteer for anything.  Dyamonde and Free share some fun short poems back and forth.

Chapter 3
Reader - Priya!
Original Event Date: Monday, June 1st 2020

Summary: While they are at lunch, Free tells Dyamonde that his poem is going to win the contest. However, while they are talking Dyamonde is paying attention to Damaris reading instead of eating – and realizes she does that a lot.  She hardly ever seen Damaris eating.  The two talk a little bit more about Damaris and about Free’s plans for the poetry contest, and Dyamonde threatens to not go on a treasure hunt with Free!

Chapter 4
Reader - Katie!
Original Event Date: Wednesday, June 3rd 2020

Summary: We learn that Free likes treasure and doing scavenger hunts.  Today Dyamonde leads them on a treasure hunt, but Free is surprised that they go to a second hand store, which he says he hates – he feels embarrassed at the thought of someone seeing him go in.  He remembers having gone into them before when his mom forced him to go to buy clothes.  He wonders why someone would want something that someone threw away, when you can have something new! Dyamonde replies that there might be an interesting story with the clothes and they can be mysterious – she wonders what adventures the clothes have been on.  She says that everything has a story, and that’s what makes it a treasure.  Just when Free thinks he won’t find any treasures, he finds a jar of marbles and is very excited.  Dyamonde finds a nice box for her rock collection.  As they’re leaving the store with their treasures, Dyamonde thinks she seems Damaris down the street, but the girl doesn’t turn when she calls out.

Chapter 5
Reader - Tahese!
Original Event Date: Friday, June 5th 2020

Summary: Dyamonde goes on a shopping trip with her mom, and sees Damaris leaving another building. When Dyamonde calls out to say hello to her, Damaris runs in the opposite direction.  As Dyamonde and her mom walk past the building that Damaris came out of, she sees that the sign reads Shelter. Dyamonde knows that shelters are where people go who are struggling with money and don’t have anywhere else to live.  She now knows that Damaris is someone who is having a similar problem

Chapter 6
Reader - Sasha! 
Original Event Date: Monday, June 8th 2020

Summary: Dyamonde sees Damaris in school and asks her why she ran away from her on the street.  Damaris says that no, she doesn’t think that was her.  Damaris seems nervous and doesn’t want anyone to hear her.  She says that no one knows where she lives, and please not to tell anyone.  Although Damaris avoids Dyamonde for the rest of the day, Dyamonde sits down with her at lunch anyway the next day.   Dyamonde offers Damaris some chicken nuggets, but Damaris says that she’s not hungry.  Dyamonde tries to convince her that she will actually be helping her out by helping her eat some of the nuggets.  Damaris is like a magician, making the chicken nuggets disappear! Dyamonde has made up her mind that she is going to get to know Damaris.

Chapter 7
Reader - Melissa! 
Original Event Date: Wednesday, June 10th 2020

Summary: Damaris tells Dyamonde that she loves poetry, and that she would have entered the contest even if there wasn’t any money to win. She shows Dyamonde her notebook that is absolutely filled with poems. It even makes Damaris smile, which is rare.  Damaris says that she likes poetry because she also enjoys playing with words.  She tells Dyamonde that there are 3 categories for the poetry contest – nature, make-believe and home.  Dyamonde tells Damaris that she should write about home, but Damaris says no – that how can she when she lives in a shelter.  Dyamonde tells her that the difference in where she lives will make her poetry different from the others.  Damaris becomes upset because Dyamonde had promised not to tell where she lives, and now Dyamonde wants her to write about it.  Dyamonde says that people usually laught at others because they don’t understand- that if Damaris writes about what its like to live in a shelter, maybe that will help others to understand and not judge.  We learn that Damaris’s family lives in a shelter because her mom lost one of her jobs and because they couldn’t pay rent, they and their things got thrown out on the sidewalk.  They need to stay in the shelter until her mom can save up enough money to get another apartment.  Damaris also tells her that most of their stuff had probably ended up in a second-hand store.  Dyamonde remembers how she had always wondered about the things that had happened to things in second-hand stores before she looked at them, but now this is real. She also reminds Damaris that when she told Dyamonde the story of how she ended up staying in the shelter, Dyamonde didn’t laugh once.

Chapter 8
Reader - Joe! 
Original Event Date: Friday, June 12th 2020

Summary: The three are now great friends as a trio.  They play games together at school, eat together, and play together at home- except not at the shelter. Free begins to wonder why Damaris never invites them to her house.  He wonders if it is because she is ashamed of them – but it’s also difficult because it’s actually that she is ashamed, but because of where she lives.  Dyamonde tells him to be quiet because it’s a library.  After Free leaves, Dyamonde invites Damaris over to spend the night

Chapter 9
Reader - Mercedes! 
Original Event Date: Monday, June 15th 2020

The girls have a fantastic time in the evening for their sleepover, but Damaris is feeling sad the next morning.  It also seems like Damaris is trying to make her pancakes last longer for breakfast. Damaris says she wishes she could stay here and not have to go back to the shelter. ​

Chapter 10
Reader - Erin! 
Original Event Date: Wednesday, June 17th 2020

Dyamonde leaves Damaris at the entrance to the shelter and is feeling so sad because she wants to be able to help Damaris. She goes into the second hand store and finds Damaris a great book on poetry.  Dyamonde leaves it as a gift for Damaris on her seat, but she is feeling nervous that she might not have picked a good book, as she doesn’t know much about poetry.  The book is called Honey I Love by Eloise Greenfield and Dyamonde remembers that her teacher has said that this author is special.  When Damaris finds the book and note, she smiles.  She later asks Dyamonde how she knew that Eloise Greenfield is her favorite poet.  Damaris tells her that before they lost their house, she had a copy of every single book she wrote. But now… she trails off. Dyamonde invites her to come treasure hunting with them at the second-hand store to see if they can find another of Eloise Greenfield’s books.

Chapter 11
Reader - Regina! 
Original Event Date: Friday, June 19th 2020

We learn that Frees poem, Give a Pigeon A Break, has made it into the paper.  We also learn that the poem Damaris wrote had won first prize.  Dyamonde is proud of herself for pushing Damaris to write about home.  The poem is called Rich, and it is a reflection on what Damaris misses about having a house again and her experience living in a shelter, but that she is rich with good friends, so she is never alone.  The friends spend the next day at lunch congratulating each other on their successes and laughing at Free for being so over the top and silly about being published