| December, 2001 |
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Book Reviews
by Maria Shriver, Sandra Speidel (Illustrator)
by Marcia J. Scherer by Katharin A. Kelker, Roger Holt, John Sullivan
How AT impacts the lives of people with disabilities
What's Wrong with Timmy?
D.
List Price: $14.95
Reading level: Ages 4-8
School & Library Binding - 48 pages (October 16, 2001)
Little Brown & Co (Juv Trd); ISBN: 0316233374
Book Description
All children ask questions that are difficult to answer. What is the best response when a child points out that a disabled child or adult looks "different?" How can a parent talk about differences while emphasizing the things all people have in common? In this book, remarkable for its sensitivity and generosity of spirit, Maria Shriver uses her storytelling art to provide some answers. She tells the story of eught-year-old Kate, who, while at the park with her mother, notices Timmy, a boy who looks and behaves differently from the other children she knows. Kate wonders if there is something "wrong" with Timmy, but when her mother introduces her to Timmy, the seeds of friendship are planted. Soon Kate and Timmy are laughing and playing together, and Kate learns that she and Timmy have a lot in common-that in fact, there's nothing "wrong" with Timmy at all.
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
When 8-year-old Kate meets a boy who seems somehow different, she feels funny inside. After talking with her mom, though, Kate begins to understand that Timmy is just like her in many ways. Timmy has special needs; he takes longer to learn than Kate, and can't walk or run as well. But he also "loves his family, he wants friends, he goes to school, and he dreams about what he wants to be when he grows up." Kate and Timmy meet, and the seeds of a friendship are planted.
For all those children who ask their parents why someone looks or acts "different," author and journalist Maria Shriver's What's Wrong with Timmy? provides a base for discussion. Kate's mother models appropriate behavior, speaking to her daughter calmly and directly, and providing examples from her own life to help Kate understand about Timmy. Illustrator Sandra Speidel's soft, intentionally hazy pastels are lovely; bold, enlarged phrases on the opposite pages of text act as captions. Shriver and Speidel collaborated previously on the tremendously popular What's Heaven?, also starring Kate and her mother. (Ages 4 to 8) --Emilie Coulter
From Publishers Weekly
Young Kate (now eight years old) and her mother, who first appeared in What's Heaven? return in this companion volume as Kate questions her mother about Timmy, a boy at the park who is mentally disabled and looks and acts differently from the other kids. Once again, journalist Shriver uses the narrative to model a difficult conversation between parent and child. In a calm tone Kate's mother delivers information, insight rooted in her Christian faith ("We all have to realize that God loves us just as we are") and anecdotes about children with disabilities and why it's "so important to treat Timmy like any other kid." Kate's uneasiness and curiosity allayed, she begins to build a friendship with Timmy and subtly invites her other pals to be equally accepting of him. Shriver's message perhaps a natural choice considering her family's founding and support of the Special Olympics is to be lauded. But the dense text, delivered with a heavier hand than its predecessor, never quite achieves the connection with the reader needed to make an impact. Speidel's hazy, soft-edged pastels suggest a spiritual quality and universality that match the book's theme. Ages 4-8.
Living in the State of Stuck
How AT impacts the lives of people with disabilities
D.
List Price: $24.95
Paperback - 212 pages 3rd edition (February 15, 2000)
Brookline Books; ISBN: 1571290796
Editorial Reviews
Book Description
Assistive technology is radically changing the lives of people with disabilities. Here, Dr. Scherer sets the background for this radical transformation and discusses the implications of assistive technology for the lives of those born disabled, or who become disabled later in life. In the author's words, "this book shows how, paradoxically, the more technology became available and the more free from limitations individuals became, the more stuck they seemed."
A severe disability no longer need prevent a person from attaining the same educational, personal and career goals as other adults. Scherer details assistive devices that enhance the quality of their lives, mobility, speech, and ability to work. But while these devices may enhance independence, Scherer explains how friends and relatives can better understand the personal issues and needs that arise from living with a disability and 'needing' these devices. This is a unique, well-researched account that will help anyone -disabled or not- deal with the physical and emotional spects of adjusting to a life with assistive technology.
Family Guide to AT
D.
List Price: $15.95
Paperback - 149 pages (January 22, 2000)
Brookline Books; ISBN: 1571290745 ; Dimensions (in inches): 0.32 x 8.15 x 5.43
Editorial Reviews
Book Description
Assistive technology can work wonders for children with disabilities, but it takes expertise and persistence to find the correct devices and identify funding.