Halfway to Perfect

HALFWAY
TO
PERFECT

A
DYAMONDE DANIEL
Book

Nikki Grimes

illustrated by

R. Gregory Christie

G. P. Putnam’s Sons

An Imprint of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

G. P. PUTNAM’S SONS

A division of Penguin Young Readers Group.

Published by The Penguin Group.

Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 375 Hudson Street, New York, NY 10014, U.S.A.

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Ontario M4P 2Y3, Canada (a division of Pearson Penguin Canada Inc.).

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Penguin Books Ltd, Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England.

Text copyright © 2012 by Nikki Grimes.

Illustrations copyright © 2012 by R. Gregory Christie.

All rights reserved. This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the publisher, G. P. Putnam’s Sons, a division of Penguin Young Readers Group, 345 Hudson Street, New York, NY 10014.

G. P. Putnam’s Sons, Reg. U.S. Pat. & Tm. Off. The scanning, uploading and distribution of this book via the Internet or via any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated. The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Grimes, Nikki. Halfway to perfect : a Dyamonde Daniel book / Nikki Grimes; illustrated by R. Gregory Christie. p. cm. Summary: Despite what Dyamonde and Free say, Damaris worries that she is getting fat, until a classmate’s problem with diabetes causes her to change her thoughts about body image.

[1. Body image—Fiction. 2. Diabetes—Fiction. 3. Schools—Fiction. 4. African Americans—Fiction.] I. Christie, R. Gregory, 1971– ill. II. Title.

PZ7.G88429Hal 2012  [E]—dc23  2011045960

ISBN: 978-1-101-65727-0

For Eden Del Valle,
who is perfect in every way.
—N.G.

To Amy “Amethyst” Hagan
—R.G.C.

Dyamonde

This third-grader loves food, especially her mom’s home cooking! Dyamonde is super smart, but even she doesn’t have all the answers—and she wonders why looks are so important to some people.

Free

Dyamonde’s best friend has a bottomless stomach—this boy sure can eat. He can’t imagine going on a diet. He always has room for more!

Damaris

She has a million amazing qualities, but lately she’s been feeling less than sure of herself—so it might be time for Dyamonde to remind her that she’s perfect just the way she is.

Amberline

Amberline acts like she doesn’t want any friends. She doesn’t seem to care what anyone thinks of her, but could there be more to her story than her classmates realize?

The Three T’s

Tanya, Tylisha and Tameeka talk about the most ridiculous things, like how important it is to look and act a certain way. They haven’t yet learned that it’s what’s inside that counts.

Dyamonde’s mom

Nothing beats her spaghetti and meatballs, except maybe her Saturday morning pancakes. But sometimes she has to remind her super-smart daughter that veggies are great, too!