The 5-star reads are rated as such once they’re loved and added to our home library. The Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus is one of those books. I cannot recommend it enough as a family read-aloud. It opens up raw topics of fitting in and disability and our society’s general avoidance of disability as something that makes us feel uncomfortable. Bowling handled this topic with light-hearted humor and grace, opening our eyes to the struggles of those who are different from whatever we deem the “norm” to be, teaching us that our assumptions could be wrong. 

As a side note, if you’re constantly fighting your child to step away from The Diary of a Wimpy Kid to a more wholesome literature, I think Bowling offers a great alternative with deeper subject matter, more respectful attitude, but still lots of good-natured laughs.