American Library Association honors autism books for kids
by Beth
Two children’s books about autism are included on a new American Library Association list of “outstanding books that portray emotional, mental, or physical disability experiences.” Here’s how the American Library Association describes the two books about autism on the list:
Choldenko, Gennifer. Al Capone Does My Shirts. Putnam’s Sons, 2004.
Twelve-year-old Moose Flanagan moves to Alcatraz Island in 1935 when his father takes a job at the maximum-security prison there. Moose struggles to make friends while taking care of Natalie, his older autistic sister, and their mother unrealistically tries to have Natalie accepted at a special school. For grades 5 to 8. Newbery Honor book, 2005.
Lord, Cynthia. Rules. Scholastic Press, 2006.
Sometimes twelve-year-old Catherine resents her brother David, who is autistic, breaks all the rules, and gets all her parents’ attention. Then she meets Jason, a teenage nonverbal paraplegic, at David’s therapy center. As the two become friends, Catherine realizes that accepting differences matters more than any rules. For grades 5 to 8. Schneider Family Book Award, 2007.
You might wonder how I learned about this American Library Association list in the first place. Well, I must confess, one of the books listed caught my eye. Or better put, it caught my ear:
Finke, Beth. Hanni and Beth: Safe and Sound. Blue Marlin, 2007.
Seeing Eye dog Hanni describes her routine duties to guide and protect her partner Beth, a woman who is blind. Both Hanni and Beth provide personal notes about their background. For kindergarten to grade 3. ASPCA award.
All three of these books are available at the Easter Seals and Autism Bookstore link on our autism Web site – the online bookstore features books reviewed on this blog, and every time you order a book through our bookstore, a portion of that sale goes to Easter Seals.
Happy reading!