Strollerderby : children's book

Girl Diagnoses Herself With Autism

JeanneSager — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 19:55:00 GMT

A little girl who has always had difficulty reading people's facial expressions and making friends has been diagnosed with autism. No surprise there. But this little girl is extra special. Rosie King diagnosed herself after reading a children's book about autism.

The British youngster had been given a copy of Little Rainman to help her make sense of her little brother, Lenny's disabilities. The six-year-old boy is almost completely non-verbal, and his difficulties in social situations are significantly more pronounced than his sister's. Their sister Daisy, at eight the middle child, suffers from Kabuki syndrome, a rare disorder that is characterized by - among other things - arched eyebrows similar to those favored by the Kabuki theater performers in ancient Japan. Most of the sufferers have myriad physical abnormalities plus mild to moderate intellectual difficulties.

Rosie's mom said her oldest was always a "little peculiar," but an otherwise "happy and healthy child." Her personality was so different from that of Lenny, who was diagnosed with autism at two, that her parents simply never thought of an autism diagnosis. When Rosie pointed out the child in the book was a lot like her, the Kings made an appointment with a a speech therapist, child psychologist and behavioral therapist. The diagnosis was Asperger's, a form of autism.

Why do I love this story? Because Rosie sounds like the kind of kid any of us would love to have - smart, happy, healthy . . . and still willing to snuggle with mom and read a book. She's a prime example of why autism can't be painted with a broad brush. She's proof that developmental disabilities don't take away from a child's ability to love or be loved, and not every disability affects a child's brain.

Image: Yorkshire Evening Post

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Cloudy With a Chance of GI Joe? Hunt's On for Man Who Threw Action Figure

JeanneSager — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 14:09:00 GMT

My childhood included repeated readings of Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs and the accompanying dreams that I could one day find a town where inclement weather meant my favorite treats dropping out of the sky. Like any kid, my wishes skewed more toward toys from the heavens than food.

Who knew all I had to do was move to Florida? A child riding a bike through Auburn, Fla. felt something bounce off the right side of his face. When he stopped to find out what it was, he discovered a small action figure.

The toy came not from God (I know, shocking, right?) but from a man who police spent some time searching for last week but never found. The driver of a dark-colored Buick was seen chucking the toy at the child and speeding off. What they would have charged him with, I don't know. But if the action figure was G.I. Joe and he was packing, would that have qualified for assault with a deadly weapon?

Image: Amazon

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Banned Books Week: Shel Silverstein

JeanneSager — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 16:33:00 GMT

His A Light in the Attic and Where the Sidewalk Ends were my first introductions to poetry, his The Giving Tree one of the first hardcovers I bought for my daughter's library. But Shel Silverstein is one of the authors whose books have been repeatedly yanked from the shelves of local libraries.

Which is not to say that I hesitated a second when I placed them on my daughter's shelves. In fact, the reasons two of his books have been censored in America top publisher Harper Collins' list of the Top Ten Silly Reasons to Ban a Harper Collins Children's Book delve right into silly themselves.

A one-time Playboy cartoonist, Silverstein is a scary looking guy - I'll give you that. I've been tempted to remove the book jackets from all four of his titles before letting my daughter take them to bed (as she likes to do with her books - kind of reminds me of her mother). But I still refuse to judge a book by its cover, even one with a bald-headed guy with a full beard and some strange wooly thing wrapped around his neck.

Because inside, his books of poetry are full of hilarious nonsense. There are few rhymes and plenty of made-up-words. There are simple line drawings paired with poems that let kids explore the questions they're dying to ask, from why a babysitter doesn't sit on the baby to what you'll find where the sidewalk ends. In fact Silverstein pretends every child's dream can come true, which is why I remember late nights with my books of poetry in bed as a kid, giggling over the mustache grown 100 inches long just so you won't have to use a rope or board for your tree swing.

So what was so awful about his books? On page 12, A Light in the Attic "encourages children to break dishes so they won't have to dry them" according to the folks at the Cunningham Elementary School in Beloit, Wisconsin back in 1985. Oh, the horrors. In fact, the poem How Not To Have To Dry The Dishes is like most of Silverstein's itty bitty ditties. It's a total of eight lines about an "awful, boring chore." A chore, he supposes, "maybe they won't let you" do anymore, if you drop one of the dishes on the floor. Which I'm sure the kids will be debating once they finish considering the poem on the facing page - how someone could have possibly stolen someone's knees.

Apparently Silverstein should steer clear of Wisconsin. Where the Sidewalk Ends was pulled from the shelves at West Allis-West Milwaukee, Wis. school libraries (1986) because the book "suggests drug use, the occult, suicide, death, violence, disrespect for truth, disrespect for legitimate authority, rebellion against parents." Shhhhh. Don't tell the kids there's real life beyond these four walls. Of course the poem Dreadful from Sidewalk really takes the cake, or should we say the flesh? A mention that "someone ate the baby," prompted people at the Central Columbia School District in Bloomsburg, Pa. to yank Sidewalk, lest children be encouraged to consider cannibalism. This was in 1993, folks.

I'm willing to risk my daughter's rebellion, the fact that she may one day want to take a bite out of my arm and a broken dish or two in favor of some creativity and the fact that she likes a book enough to take it to bed. Come to think of it, maybe it's time to introduce her to Silverstein's contribution to class rock and roll. You know, life ain't easy for a boy named Sue.

Image: HarperCollins

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