Slug Days: a day in the life of a girl with Autistic Spectrum Disorder

 

Slug Days by Sara Leach and illustrated by Rebecca Bender, is a slim read at just 116 pages, however, Leach leaves much to be considered after the story is through.  The main character, Lauren, is in elementary school, and she has Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) which includes Asperger's Syndrome.  Her brain works differently than others, a term known as neurodiverse, therefore, she has to work extra hard at remembering rules for how to behave at school and at home.  Lauren's range of emotions guide this story, as it is told from Lauren's point-of-view.  Her relationship with her classmates, teachers, bus driver, parents, and sibling are all on display as Lauren navigates her daily schedule.  

As a parent and educator, this is a story I recommend to others in order to consider how a person with ASD may be interpreting the world.  The author, Leach, is a former educator who writes from experience of having students with ASD and I, too, can say that the story's portrayal of Lauren is authentic.  This is also a great story for elementary-age and middle-grade readers to read, listen to, and discuss in order to build empathy.  When they are in their daily lives, are they mindful of others' neurodiversity?  How would they respond if they were in Lauren's class? The story leaves much to be discussed and readers can note how others they know who have ASD are similar or different from Lauren.  

Another part that drew me to this story were Bender's detailed illustrations.  They help tell Lauren's story, especially her feelings of anticipation, joy, frustration, fear, etc.  The book would not be the same without them. I can see my students wanting to draw Lauren and her "slug and butterfly days" to show what makes her feel uplifted or down.  

In honor of Autism Awareness Month in April I decided to read this book that I had added to my school's library collection earlier this year. It should really be a whole-staff read in all schools so that more educators can have a better understanding of ASD.  I was happy to learn that Leach & Bender continued Lauren's story with two follow-up books in this series:

Here are more books featuring characters with ASD:

• Autism Spectrum Australia
• San Francisco Public Library
• Reading Rockets

If you have more to share please leave the titles in the comments below! 

Anisa's International Day: cultural pride

Anisa’s  International Day by Reem Faruqi is an early chapter book story about a 3rd grader named Anisa who is Pakistani-American. She is a positive role model for young people as she is proud of her heritage and is eager to share it with her classmates. It even inspires her teacher to create a project around it for her whole class: an International Day!

As an immigrant myself, I enjoy this story because of how Faruqi seamlessly weaves in cultural information into the story and supports it with recipes, directions for the crafts and a glossary at the end of the book! As a parent and teacher, I like how Faruqi shows how Anisa uses her doodling to help with her anxious feelings and how Anisa’s teacher helps her when there is a misunderstanding with her best friend. Conflict resolution is an important topic for social-emotional lessons for children and this story is a perfect example to use. 

A huge thank you to Reem Faruqi for sharing an ARC of this book with my Book Excursion book review group. I cannot wait to share this with my students!