This book is a great look at family life with someone in the family who has down syndrome. I love how close Daisy was with her brother and how much she wanted to help him succeed at so many things in life.
Daisy is a beautiful character, with a courageous heart.
This book will make you look at the world differently.

Thanks NetGalley for this ARC!

I would like to thank Netgalley, Flux, Jolly Fish Press and Melissa Hart for the E Arc copy of this book.
We meet Daisy who is 13 years old, she loves many things such as insects, running and spending time with her older brother. Daisy has a stutter which makes her hate speaking in public, so when her social studies class is given a project to change the world and they have to do an oral presentation Daisy is mortified. She has been bullied by one particular boy all her school years so far and he calls her Woodworm.
Daisy’s brother Sorrel has Down Syndrome, he loves the Special Olympics and Men’s Fashion and he has a dream to have his own fashion show on YouTube and be famous. Daisy decided that her project is to help her brother reach his dream. However, her parents do not want their son on the internet, after a bullying incident the previous year. How will Daisy make his dreams come true? Whilst Daisy wrestles with her project, she helps her best friend Poppy with her project and Miguel, a boy that used to bully her but now wants to be friends. Together they all maybe able to save the world and help others.
I really enjoyed this book; I loved the representation of so many different aspect and disabilities of life. I loved the characters and the plot line, well written and believable. This is a great middle grade book that can teach a lot about acceptance and helping others. I would recommend it.

A beautifully handled sensitive book about love, family and inclusion. The children loved the story and this sparked much positive discussion. Loved it

Thank you to #NetGalley, Melissa Hart, and the publisher of the book for the eARC copy in exchange for an honest review.
Daisy Woodworm is assigned a class presentation project to do something that will change the world for the better. Daisy's biggest worry? That the class bully will continue to make fun of her lisp.
Daisy goes ahead though with the help of an old friend and a new one too. They set out to help brother become a YouTube star. When her brother is harassed by online bullies, her parents are not happy. Especially since they told her not to put her brother on social media.
How is Daisy Woodworm going to change the world?
I thought this was a great read and a great way to show students that there are many ways that they can change the world!

Hissing cockroaches may not be your thing, but Daisy is a budding entomologist; these are her pets.
Daisy is a quirky middle school girl dealing with regular middle school issues, yet her social studies teacher has challenged her class to step up and change the world like other young adults. She, “enemy” Miguel and her best friend, Poppy, work together to help her brother Sorrel and other special needs students through their projects. Daisy’s family has fallen on hard times due to her mom’s health issues, but they are making the best of things. This book will speak to so many of our youth and would be an excellent book study for 5th graders! Thank you, Melissa Hart, for this inspiring story of compassion!

Thank you NetGalley, Flux, and Melissa Hart for the opportunity to read this e-ARC!

Daisy Woodworm is a typical middle-schooler. Insects, track, and supporting her older brother Squirrel (Sorrel) are some of her biggest passions. When her social studies teacher challenges the class to change the world with a big project and oral presentation at the end, Daisy freaks out. She's got a lisp and is worried the class bully will devour her when she makes her presentation. Her big project idea is to make her brother a YouTube celebrity -- against her parent's wishes...and then she ends up helping an old friend with his project to bring back the Special Olympics Summer Games for her brother and his friends. Will Daisy's project end up changing the world? Will she find confidence in her voice?

This is a really sweet book that I would definitely recommend for a middle grade classroom!

An emotional, affirming and delightful novel that hits hard in all the best ways. The characters, their relationships and the way they develop throughout are written wonderfully.

I would like to thank the publisher, the author, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This book is set to be published November 8, 2022.

Daisy is an 8th grade girl with an older brother nicknamed Squirrel, as a result of her not being able to pronounce his name as a child. Squirrel has Down Syndrome and is an energetic, friendly, charasmatic young man who is interested in fashion and YouTube. Daisy is on the track team and has a lisp that she tries to hide in front of some of her classmates as a few of the boys have teased her relentlessly. After Daisy's mother lost her job about a year before the story begins, her parents started their own business called the "Poop Fairies." They are hired by clients to basically pick up and dispose of dog poop. Although the fact that her parents pick up dog poop for a living is a source of embarassment for Daisy, we also see that money is tight for the family, and the parents are doing what they can to support them.

As we begin to know the characters, we learn that Squirrel is very outgoing and would like to be a YouTube star. However, their parents have banned him from being on any social media after one bad experience. When Daisy is presented with a school project where she is supposed to demonstrate how one kid can change the world, she decides to help Squirrel become a YouTube star and also show her parents that he is capable of doing more and that she feels they are overprotecting him. During the course of working on this project, she also begins to form an friendship with a boy who she previously saw as a bully, who, for his project wants to raise money to fund the Special Olympics games which were cancelled, which also effects her brother.

As a special education teacher, I read a lot of stories with characters with special needs, and this is one of the reasons why I wanted to read this book. I really enjoyed the representation of Squirrel's Down Syndrome, as well as his friends with various disablities, as well as Daisy's dealing with her lisp. I also enjoyed seeing the Special Olympics being highlighted, and seeing it presented as a very meaningful event that is important to the athletes who participate there. I have attended Special Olympics games with my students, so I already had a connection to this part of the storyline. I was also intersted at the end of the book when I read that the author had based the main characters on herself and her older brother. She in fact did grow up with a lisp and has an older brother with Down Syndrome. She wrote about how she worked hard to depict the characters and their relationships authentically. This added something to the book to me, knowing it was based on the author's own experiences.

Overall I really enjoyed this story and would recommend it. I am looking forward to seeing what else this author may release in the future.

Este é um bom livro juvenil, que nos fala sobre Daisy, a sua família e as suas amizades. A história foca-se na vontade de Daisy ajudar o irmão, Squirrel, que tem Síndrome de Down, a perseguir os seus sonhos ainda que os pais estejam contra. Durante o decorrer da história vemos a evolução de Daisy como pessoa e essa foi a parque que mais gostei. A escrita é bastantes simples e o plot era previsível, mas sendo um juvenil, não podia ser de outra forma.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the e-ARC of this book.

I really loved this one. Daisy's story, and her transformation seeing herself as someone who can make a real difference is a good one. Better still, I loved that this story portrayed a character with a differently abled sibling who truly loved him for him.

Wonderful insight into the world of a family living with Down Syndrome. Daisy has been given an assignment to change the world. Her discoveries along the way will changer her as well. A delightful story with characters that bloom.

I liked the premise of this book. I run an inclusivity based hok club for tweens and had hoped this would be a good selection to use for the group. Unfortunately, as I was reading this pit loud with my two young co-reviewers, I noticed they weren't getting into the story. They eventually asked to stop the book and move on to a book they would enjoy. There was a lot of repetition in the book, which is probably in part due to the disinterest. The story line dragged.

Daisy is the type of hero everone needs today. She's the best little sister, bff, and daughter. She intuits her parents' struggles and, even though they are sooooo embarrassing (she's in 8th grade after all), Daisy does her best to help out even when it isn't the easy choice. Daisy adores her Downs older brother, and everything she attempts in this story stems from her love for her brother. And though she's often bullied for her own disability, she stands strong in the face of opposition to stand up for her brother. Daisy's best friend Poppy (whose moms are a subtle nod toward LGBTQIA+ representation) helps Daisy be more herself and recognize her own worth, just as Daisy values Poppy.

The backbone of the story is an 8th grade assignment to create a civics project that will make the world a better place. Each of us deserves to be challenged in the same way. How will you make the world a better place? Daisy's teacher, Mr. Lipinsky (aka new track coach), reminds students: "Even though we're all different, we're connected by the common pursuits of food, water, shelter, and community."
"You forgot coffee," Poppy gestured with her thermos.
"Coffee," Mr. Lipinsky agreed. "Or warmth, anyway. Comfort."

This book will challenge you to ask yourself the same question. What will you do to make the world a better place?

Daisy Woodworm Changes the World is a heartfelt story about a girl, her friends, and sibling trying to change their little piece of the world. All the characters felt fleshed out with unique personalities and dialogue. Daisy's brother Squirrel, who has Down syndrome, was a pivotal piece of the narrative. In fact, most of the supporting characters were Special Olympics athletes, many of whom also have Down syndrome. Many books dealing with disabled or neurodiverse protagonists, especially those written by someone able-bodied and neurotypical, have ableist undertones or are flat-out rejections of the characteristics that make that protagonist special. Thankfully, this book is not one of those stories. Squirrel is his own person, and Daisy encourages him to become more independent and shoot for his dreams.
The only negative I would add for this book is that it feels a little young. Daisy is in eighth grade, about to enter high school, yet the narrative is written with an obvious middle grade audience in mind. The protagonist occasionally says, "H, E, double hockey sticks" instead of swearing, and the explicit morals woven throughout the book make it feel a bit juvenile for middle or high school readers.
Despite this, I would recommend Daisy Woodworm Changes the World for anyone who enjoys reading and who has a heart.

One of the things I loved about this book was how much responsibility it showed a young teenager having. Daisy is only 13, but she gets herself to and from track and takes training seriously. And her teacher completely believes that his students can change the world. As a huge fan of the rising generation (I think they can change the world, too!) I loved this! I think it’s so important for kids to know how capable they are of change.
I also loved the Down syndrome rep in this book. Squirrel was a multi-faceted character that had just as much depth as Daisy. And their sibling relationship was delightful!

LOVED this book. Girl who wants to be an entomologist. Characters with Down Syndrome. Determination to be true to her passion.

I enjoyed Daisy Woodworm Changes the World a whole lot, despite being conflicted about a few things. What I enjoyed: The family dynamics, Daisy and her classmates learning how to work together to make the world a better place, and the depiction of working-class families where money issues are part of the plot but not the majority of it. What I was conflicted about: how much Daisy felt the need to speak for Sorrel, and the fact that sometimes she and Poppy came across more as twenty-somethings than middle schoolers. Overall, I would recommend this, with the caveat that I don't feel qualified to assess exactly how accurate or sensitive the depiction of Sorrel/Squirrel (who has Down Syndrome) was.

There's so much to love about DAISY WOODWORM CHANGES THE WORLD! Daisy's voice is authentic and relatable for middle grade readers, and her friendships and family dynamics ring true. I loved the way Daisy's family's new business, The Poop Fairies (ha!) brings both humor and conflict to the story. Daisy's relationship with her brother Squirrel, who has Down Syndrome, is sweet and supportive for both siblings. And I love the budding romance! DAISY WOODWORM is a triumph and I can't wait to see what Melissa Hart brings next!

A solid 4 out of 5 star!

This was a great read! I thoroughly enjoyed it. Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC!

I loved this one! A great middle grade read for both middle grade readers and adults. It was filled with such an amazing message and a fun story and I just loved it.