This is your life…
When I was a kid there used to ba a TV program called “This Is Your LIFE!” Clues were given and identities revealed. Sometimes the guests were celebrities, sometimes members of families were united. All the participants had unique moments and shared memories that helped form the person that they had become. Everybody’s life has those little quirks and serendipities that make us different and special.
I read a couple of books just lately that reminded me of this. Trudy by Jessica Lee Anderson (an Austin Author by the by) is the story of a middle school girl whose parents are old enough to be her grandparents. Her mother was in her late fifties and her father many years older than that when Trudy was born. She loves them and the special traditions and family lore that are theirs alone. However, sometimes it is just plain hard to have parents that cannot do what your friends’ parents can. It is even harder when you find out that your dad has Altzheimer’s disease. This book has quite short chapters that make it an easy book to navigate.
The Very Ordered Existence Of Merilee Marvelous by Suzanne Crowley is the story of thirteen-year-old Merilee whose self-imposed regime includes a pb and j with a pickle daily, and a trip to recycling once weekly on Fridays. Merilee has Asperger’s syndrome. Extraordinarily bright, she needs her routines to hold her world together. Biswick, the young boy who moves into her neighborhood, does not understand that kind of order. Biswick too is special and he insinuates himself into Merilee’s life, disrupting her precise schedules. It takes some getting used to but each helps the other grow.
A couple of other titles about kids with ADHD come to mind. There are all of the Joey Pigza books by Jack Gantos, funny but with an emotional tug. I also read The Middle of Somewhere by J. B. Cheaney.
Have you read a book about someone with a special need? How can these kinds of books help the reader to change and grow? Maybe you can tell me about a book that has helped you to understand someone else’s point of view, life style, or disability.
I’ve never read any of those books, but I did once read Rules by Cynthia Lord. It is a book about a boy with autism, told from the point of view of his big sister. In it, the boy keeps himself in order by obeying rules of life that his sister writes down for him. I found it a very good book.
In 6th grade I read this book called 1000 Cranes. It’s about a Japanese girl Sadiko trying to survive an atom bomb diease while trying to make a thousand cranes to survive. It’s an intersting book, try to get a copy from the library if you can find it.
- Chandler.T
In 6th grade my Social studies teacher read the class a book called 1000 cranes. It’s about a Japanese girl called Sadiko trying to survive an atom bomb disease. She also believes that if you make a thousand paper cranes you will survive any sickness. It’s an interesting book
-Chandler T
I have never read a book with a character with a special need. But I think it would be useful because I would know what they are going through. We could teach each other things about us and they can teach us about there special need.
No I haven’t read a book with a character with needs but I want to.
People might make fun of people with needs but when they read a book they will know what they are going through. Also I think people should respect other with needs because in the future their kids might have special needs. I have read a book with a character that has needs “A kid gets laughed at then the people that made fun of know respect him.”