Someone Special, Just Like You Review

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(More customer reviews)I volunteered to put together a group of books for my daughter's preschool (ages 3 1/2-4) which dealt with the topic of diversity and disabilities. I have ordered and read about 15-20 children's books on the subject of children with handicaps. By far this was the very best one that I came across. It had beautiful photographs of children with all types of disabilities and the message in this book (unlike several others which I read) was 100% positive. What I mean by this is that while some other books on disabilities may deliver a message that says "don't be mean, or tease children with disabilities" , etc., this one was totally focused on all children as being lovable and worthwhile people -- very focused on only a positive message. I really enjoyed it and my daughter's class also did. The message is simple, straightforward and very warm. Compared to other books on the subject, this one really was written at a good level for the 3-4 age group.

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Here are children singing, dancing, going down slides, and blowing bubbles. A girl with a sly smile carefully crosses a balance beam. Out on a science trip, two boys step close enough to touch the glass wall between themselves and a huge porpoise. One young child smells a lovely flower, another splashes in a pool, and a third bangs on a tambourine. Here are children discovering the world around them, at home and with their friends.All of these children are doing the things that children like to dothe children in these photographs have handicaps. Although they may not walk, talk, hear, or see the way that others do, that doesn't make them different in their need to experience life completely. Each child in Someone Special, Just Like You is a full participant in the joys and pains of childhood.The wonderful pictures and words presented here are an important first step in helping children, parents, and teachers to understand that the differences that seem to separate these children from others are not important. What is important is the common delight in life: a desire to love, learn, and play, and to be accepted for themselves, as other children are.The photographs in Someone Special, Just Like You were taken at four different preschools in the San Francisco Bay Area. These preschool are for children with visual impairments, hearing impairments, physical handicaps, and mental handicaps.

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Nathan's Wish: A Story about Cerebral Palsy Review

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(More customer reviews)"I want to fly like an eagle, till I'm free. Fly like an eagle, let my spirit carry me." -- Steve Miller Band, 1976
Nathan is a young boy who has cerebral palsy. He uses a walker and a wheelchair for mobility.
Nathan's neighbor, Ms. Sandy is a raptor rehabilitator. She takes in injured raptors (birds of prey) and nurses them back to health. In time, she retains them to survive in their natural habitat.
Nathan dearly wishes he could be more helpful to Ms. Sandy and her birds. When an injured female owl named Fire is brought to her, it is Nathan who helps Ms. Sandy work with her. The bird's wing is broken and had to be reset; while Fire is healing, Nathan cleans the aviaries and fills the water pails.
In time, the owl's wing heals. Eager to be on her way, she tries to fly, only to crash to the ground. Dispirited, Fire languishes in the cage while Ms. Sandy explains to Nathan that she cannot be returned to the wild with that traumatized wing. Nathan bonds with the bird, knowing just how painful it is to wish for freedom and mobility, only to find it inaccessible. He brainstorms to come up with an idea to help the bird.
Going online, Nathan reads about injured female birds acting as "mama" birds to orphan birds. Suggesting this to Ms. Sandy, the pair bring some orphaned owlets to Fire. That is very heartwarming, as is Fire's feeding the little owlets.
This is a beautiful and very moving story that might make you cry. The boy's love for the bird and the parallels he sees in his own life and that of the bird named Fire are truly heartwarming. It is this kind of indomitable spirit that makes one think of the Steve Miller 1976 classic, "Fly Like an Eagle."

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Slippery Willie's Stupid, Ugly Shoes Review

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(More customer reviews)Larry Peterson has accomplished many feats in this his first children's book: he has provided an entertaining and clever story that will definitely entertain youngsters, illustrated the book with absolutely first-class drawings, and has delivered a message much needed in the education of children (and parents alike!) - to learn to accept differences in others and in ourselves.
Willie Wiggins has an odd way of ambulating - he has slippery feet that cause him to slip and slide around, unable to climb tress or perform in other forms of play. He hates his slippery feet, and so does his mother and he is the laughing stock of his friends because he slips around instead of walking or running. His mother takes the matter in hand and has special shoes that will prevent Willie from sliding around. Problem? Willie hates the "stupidest, ugliest shoes in the whole world."
When Willie steps into his ugly stupid corrective shoes even his mother laughs at him as do all of his friends at school, making Willie miserable - until Willie wakes up from his dream and realizes he hasn't worn the new shoes yet! When he indeed puts on the shoes not only can he walk normally but he also becomes the envy of his friends for the fabulous new shoes he wears!
Peterson's story flows so well and is so well married to the illustrations that the book is at once engrossing and entertaining as well as being sophisticated. Caldecott and Newbery Awards alert! The only aspect of the book that in a way takes it from the intended reader is the added instructions at the end - well meant ways of listing things that are different in us and in other people and how to deal with these differences. It is one of those examples of overkill as the book is so beautifully done that adding the workbook or study guide at the end feels tacked on and extraneous and because the story and presentation itself makes such a finely honed point: it comes close to dumbing down the reader.
Final diagnosis? Excellent book by a fine new author/illustrator. Hopefully many more books will come from Larry Peterson and Tribute Books. Grady Harp, January 11

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Willie Wiggles hates his slippery feet. He just slips, slides and spins all over the place. But what he hates even more are the special shoes that have been made for him that will help him to walk just like all the other kids. Willie thinks that they are the "stupidest, ugliest shoes in the whole world."Discover how sometimes we worry about things about ourselves when actually there is nothing to worry about in the first place.

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Becky the Brave: A Story about Epilepsy Review

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(More customer reviews)I used this book as a basis for a lesson plan introducing Epilepsy to lower grades. The story not only shares some basic information about Epilepsy, but does a great job of getting children to think about what it might feel like to have it and how nervous and afraid a child may be to come to school. A great way to teach compassion to all children. Well written and great illustrations.

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