Leading Ladies [Hardcover]

Marlee Matlin (Author), Doug Cooney (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 6, 2007 | Age Level: 8 and up

"It doesn't make sense to me...in the book, Dorothy is a girl who can hear and talk - and Toto is a little dog. So I'm sorry - but I just don't see a Dorothy who's deaf and talks with her hands and has a great big dog for Toto!"

Megan's fourth-grade class is putting on their own original musical based on the book The Wizard of Oz, and Megan wants to be the star of the show and play Dorothy. Since she's deaf, she will sign the songs for her audition. However, a problem develops when Lizzie, her best friend from camp, transfers from her all-deaf school to Megan's class - and signs the same two songs that Megan was going to do! Luckily, Megan has some other ideas up her sleeve...

Academy Award-winning actress Marlee Matlin and Doug Cooney follow Deaf Child Crossing and Nobody's Perfect with this winning story that perfectly captures the humor, joys, and frustration of childhood friendships.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Marlee Matlin, deaf since she was eighteen months old, won the

Academy Award and the Golden Globe for Best Actress for her role in

Children of a Lesser God. She was nominated for Emmy Awards for

her performances in Seinfeld, Picket Fences, The

Practice, and Law & Order: SVU. Her film credits include

It's My Party and What the Bleep Do We Know!? She is the

author of Deaf Child Crossing. She has made numerous television

appearances and currently appears on The L Word. Marlee Matlin

lives in Los Angeles with her husband and four children. Visit her at

www.marleeonline.com.

Doug Cooney is the author of the middle-grade novels The

Beloved Dearly and I Know Who Likes You. His musical

adaptation of George Saunders's The Very Persistent Gappers of

Frip recently premiered at the Kirk Douglas Theatre in Los Angeles,

produced by the Mark Taper Forum P.L.A.Y. Cooney also teaches songwriting

and collaboration for Voices Within, an educational outreach program of

the Los Angeles Master Chorale. He divides his time between Los Angeles

and South Florida. You can visit him at www.dougcooney.com.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers (November 6, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0689869878
• ISBN-13: 978-0689869877
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 4.8 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #145,197 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Lively and positive story., January 9, 2008

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Leading Ladies (Hardcover)

Marlee Martin and Doug Cooney's LEADING LADIES continues the story of spunky deaf child Megan in a sequel following her fourth grade adventures, directed to ages 8-12. Here her class is putting on their own original musical based on Wizard of oz - and Megan wants to be the star, and sign Dorothy's part. When a friend from camp transfers into her class from her all-deaf school and covets the same songs, trouble ensues in this lively and positive story.

5.0 out of 5 stars Deaf and Hard of Hearing Girls Along with their Hearing friends Should Read Marlee's books!, November 2, 2008

By 

Michelle A. Kihntopf - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Leading Ladies (Hardcover)

Leading Ladies and Marlee's other two books"Nobody's Perfect and Deaf Child Crossing" are a wonderful series of books that I would reccomend that all girls read. My daughter and I enjoy reading about Megan. My daughter is Hard of Hearing and it is great that she has a series of books where she can relate to the main character.

5.0 out of 5 stars Buy the whole series from Marlee Matlin..., September 24, 2008

By 

Equality Rocks - See all my reviews

This review is from: Leading Ladies (Hardcover)

Great life lessons for pre-teens and empowering for those kids who may not be included in the "majority" group in their community. Your kids will want to read all the adventures of the protagonist in Matlin's series of books. My suggestion is to just go ahead and buy each of her books, you won't be sorry.
Also, for older ASL students, this book is a very quick read (yep, you can do it in one or two sittings) and a beginner's glimpse into one view of deaf culture.