Book Review: "My Brother Sammy"

Edwards, Becky. My Brother Sammy. Brookfield, CT: The Millbrook Press, Inc. 1999.

My Brother Sammy tells a story of the relationship between two brothers from the older brother’s point of view. Sammy has autism, and does not always do things the way his brother wishes he would. His brother shares different emotions that Sammy makes him feel in different circumstances, for example he explains “I wish, in and embarrassed sort of way, that he would just join in our games.” Throughout the story he expresses emotions of being sad, lonely, and frustrated when sharing his experiences with Sammy. His mother explains to him that Sammy is "special" and he responds by saying that he does not want a special brother. Sammy responds by pointing to his brother and calling him special. This helps him see his brother Sammy in a new way and begins to participate in activities with Sammy the way he enjoys doing them. The mother accommodates for both of their needs by allowing them to ride to school together instead of taking separate buses, and encourages the older brother to participate in Sammy’s interests. In the end the older brother feels that having a special brother makes him special too!

Edwards has created a lovely book that helps address the issues that siblings may encounter when accepting a sibling with developmental disabilities. Edwards has experience working with children with special needs which allows her to realistically express feelings that a sibling may struggle with and ways that they may come to accept others that are different from them. It may have been helpful to explain that the character Sammy has autism, rather than just explain him as “special,” however, the overall message of acceptance is positive and could be helpful in encouraging acceptance and understanding in others. My Brother Sammy was awarded the Dolly Grey Children’s Literature Award for its positive representation of characters with developmental disabilities.

Book Review: " Ian's Walk"

Lears, Laurie. Ian's Walk, A Story about Autism. Morton Grove, IL: Albert Whitman and Company, 1998.

Ian's Walk is a story that follows two sisters and their brother, Ian, as they go for a walk to the park. The book focuses mainly on the relationship between Ian and his sister Julie. Julie seems to be at times frustrated with Ian's differences and having a brother that demands a lot of attention. As the trio walks to the park, Julie points out the differences about Ian that can sometimes be embarrassing and difficult to explain. Along the way, she explains that "Ian smells things differently," or "hears things differently." While at the park, Julie is in charge of watching Ian when he suddenly is no where to be found. Julie and her sister search nervously for Ian. Julie tries to think like he does, and eventually finds him in his favorite spot near the bells. After Julie's close encounter with losing Ian she realizes how much she cares about her brother and begins to accept and understand his differences. They decide to walk home the way Ian likes to, and try to see things his way by not only accepting but also participating in the quirky habits that Ian enjoys, such as watching the ceiling fan at the local diner.

Ian's walk would be a helpful book to use in order to bring awareness to siblings, or other children about children with autism. In the beginning, Julie struggles with Ian's differences, but as the book continues, Julie begins to see that it is Ian's differences that makes him special, and accepts Ian for the special person he is. Julie's struggles and frustrations in the beginning of the book are something that many children may relate to when living with siblings that have developmental disabilities, and may help them to see the positive things about having a special sibling like Ian. The author also provides a note about autism in the beginning of her book that explains the challenges of having a sibling with autism and the difficulty one can have when trying to explain autism to others. This note is a great forward to the book, and would be helpful for parents of autistic children, or anyone that is having difficulty explaining or understanding the responsibility, and important life lessons that can come out of having a child with autism in their lives. Laurie Lears has written many good books focusing on children with developmental disabilities, such as Nathan’s Wish, however, Ian's Walk was awarded the Dolly Gray Children's Literature Award. This award is presented to children's literature that positively portrays characters with developmental disabilities.

Book Review: "Me and Rupert Goody"

O'Connor, Barbara. Me and Rupert Goody. New York, NY: Frances Foster Books, 1999.

Me and Rupert Goody is a book about Jennalee, who lives with in southern North Carolina's Smoky Mountains with her very large family. Jennalee's only escape from her chaotic home life is working with Uncle Beau in his general store. Jennalee enjoys helping Uncle Beau stock the shelves and he is always attentive and understanding of her troubles at home. Beau is not her real uncle, but they have a special friendship that is turned upside down when a young African American boy who is cognitively impaired comes to town proclaiming that Uncle Beau is his father. Jennalee does not welcome Rupert right away, worried that he will take her spot in Uncle Beau's life, but after the town begins to object to Rupert because he is African American, Jennalee begins to realize how Rupert has become an important part of her life as well as Uncle Beau's and she comes to Rupert's Defense. Jennalee transforms from being stubborn and jealous of Rupert to having an accepting friendship.

The story focuses greatly on the life of Jennalee, and the developmental disabilities of Rupert are only secondary to the story as she is introduced to him and struggles to finally accept Rupert into her life. While developmental disabilities are not the main issue in the story, and race is also brought into the picture, Me and Rupert Goody is a well written book that helps bring awareness about people with developmental disabilities as Jennalee finds a way to reach acceptance of Rupert, teaching positive lessons about tolerance, belonging, and even love. Me and Rupert Goody is the second chapter book to be recognized by the Dolly Gray Children's Literature Award. This award is given to quality literature that positively portrays characters with developmental disabilities. While Barbara O'Connor does not always tackle the topic of developmental disabilities in her works, in Me and Rupert Goody, she gives a realistic portrayal of a young person’s exposure to someone with disabilities and the positive but sometimes difficult steps taken toward acceptance.

"Boy Meets Boy"

While reading "Boy Meets Boy," by David Levithan, many questions came to mind. Though our questioning the text papers had to focus on questions of diversity, there were other things about the text that posed questions as I read. Because the topic of homosexuality is such a touchy subject in schools, I often thought about if I would feel comfortable using this book in my classroom as a future teacher. I couldn't help but think about whether the issues were really age appropriate. Though children struggle with establishing an identity at an early age, I don't remember personally thinking about my identity in a sexual way while I was in elementary school. I thought it may have been a little unrealistic for the character to have such strong sexaul feelings at such a young age (kindergarten), and that parents of middle school students may not think this is age appropriate material. I do feel however, that it is important for all students to have representation in the classroom and after our class discussion, I feel that Levithan was not intending to make the book completely realstic placing it between the genre of realistic fiction and fantasy. The world these characters live in is not reality, but a representation of how youth may be able to express themselves if the pressures and norms of society weren't so strongly enforced. I feel that this book may be difficult to include in the classroom, and may face some criticism, but it is important to provide all students representation and characters that they can identify with. Like Levithan said, "silencing books silences the readers who need them most." The homosexual youth needs representation as much, and probably more, than other students in order to build a sense of acceptance and belonging. While the topic of homosexuality is controversial in schools, I agree with Levithan when he explains, "being gay is not an issue, it is an identity. It is not something that you can agree or disagree with. It is a fact, and must be defended as a fact."

Challenging traditional views of "American"

This past class session has really encouraged me to think about what it means to be American and how traditional views of the word deny some people the ability to form an identity as an American because of their ethnicity. Both the novel "Project Mulberry," and Margaret Cho's stand up helped me understand the importance of challenging these views. Like the character Julia in "Project Mulberry," Margaret Cho expresses the difficulty in finding acceptance as an Asian American in a country where, for many people, the term American still holds traditional European ideals. While Julia is a fictional character she struggles to accept both her Asian and American identity and strives to be seen as more "American," until she begins to realize she can identify with both if she changes her views of what an American is. Margaret's stand up helps show that in reality many people have difficulty being accepted as both Asian and American rather than one or the other. She has received much criticism from both ends. She explains struggles in finding acceptance in a career that featured generally the traditional views of Americans, while some Asians denied her as a role model because she broke the mold of traditional Asian views. She shares times when "Americans" made assumptions about her dieting strategies, fish and rice, and had even been employed an Asian consultant to help her appeal more to the Asian audience. American's viewed her as too Asian and Asians viewed her as to American. Cho makes apparent the difficulties one can face when people so strongly hold on to traditional views of what an American is. It is important for people to begin to challenge these views and broaden their understanding of American to include those American's that share different ethnicities than their own.