Review of Let's Talk! A Story of Autism and Friendship by Lisa Jacovsky

 

Autism is a topic near and dear to my heart. I was honored to have the opportunity to review Let's Talk! A Story of Autism and Friendship by Lisa Jacovsky. You can read all of my thoughts below, as well as take a peek inside. Be sure to follow the tour for even more and leave your thoughts and questions along the way. Best of luck entering the giveaway!

Harper, a seven-year-old little girl that is typically developing, loves going to the pool. One day when she gets to the pool, she meets a new friend, a little girl who is also seven years old . She has no idea that this friend is any different than her. All Harper knows is she has a new friend that wants to play in her tube with her. They both love to swim at the pool and want to play together however, Emma has little communication skills. Emma can make sounds and not words and flaps her hands when she is excited. When Harper realizes she cannot communicate with her new friend she becomes determined to find a way to. In talking to her mom, Harper is told that Emma has Autism Spectrum Disorder. Determined to not let this stand in the way of her new friendship she becomes determined to learn how to communicate with Emma. She begins to learn about Autism Spectrum Disorder and asks Emma's mom to show her the different ways she can communicate with her new friend. Harper becomes excited to begin to use her new tools to communicate with Emma. The two become inseparable from that day on. Harper introduces Emma to all her friends and teaches them how to communicate with her. Harper and Emma become the center of their circle of friends and begin to have many more adventures together.

Take a peek inside:

Buy on Amazon

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**My thoughts**

Autism has a special place in my heart. Throughout my many years of childcare and teaching, I have had many young friends with autism. Some of their families have remained close friends. One of my goals in my classroom was to always facilitate awareness and acceptance between the children, neurotypical and otherwise. This book is an excellent demonstration of how one young child and her mother open up those doors of both awareness and acceptance. I would absolutely use this book in my classroom to start conversations. And I think that even adults would benefit from reading it. I look forward to reading more in this series!

I received a requested review copy from the author via Goddess Fish. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Lisa Jacovsky currently is a Doctoral Level student at the Chicago School of Professional Psychology. She is excited for the possibilities having her Doctoral degree will bring her. She has been in the field of ABA since 2014 where she began her career working with adults in residential group homes. She moved onto working with children with an Autism Spectrum Disorder in 2018 and is currently working in Early Intervention. It is her experience with children that inspired her to finally fulfill her dream of writing a book. Lisa began writing short stories when she was seven years old. Writing is a passion for her and one of the many things she enjoys. Lisa lives in New Jersey where she enjoys spending time with family and friends, traveling, and working on the next stories of the Rascal Cat brothers silly shenanigans.


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Website: www.lisajayauthor.com

Email: ljayauthor@gmail.com

Lisa Jacovsky will be awarding signed copies of both her children's books and four kinds of stickers (two of each book) to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

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Review of Roxy the Raccoon by Alice Reeves

Roxy the Raccoon

Roxy lives in the forest with her three best friends, who she loves to visit and play games with. Roxy is in a wheelchair, so sometimes it is harder for her to go to the same places and play the same games as the other animals. Roxy and her friends realise that by making a few small changes and working together, they can make the forest a better place for everyone. Roxy teaches us that there are bunches of ways to be more inclusive of those who have a disability so that everyone can join in.

Part of the Truth & Tails series, which aims to eliminate prejudices and encourage acceptance in young children aged 4-8, the story of Roxy and her friends is accompanied by hand-drawn, watercolour illustrations.

Book Links

Goodreads * Amazon * BN * IndieBound

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**My thoughts**

Roxy the Raccoon has a lot of friends who want to spend time with her and include her in their fun. But she is in a wheelchair, so it isn't possible for her to do so. They feel bad about not thinking about making accommodations for her and then work together to find ways to include her.

I found it to have a great message about inclusion and being sensitive to special needs. You cannot change the person to fit the activity, but you can adapt the environment to accommodate the person. That's pretty much the foundation of my Montessori background.

In the back of the book are suggested questions for teachers to use at a circle time for conversation. They can be adapted to fit the age level of your students. And parents reading this book at home could also use these for conversations with their children.

The watercolor illustrations are cute for the most part, though I will say I am not usually a fan of unrealistic depictions of animals, such as a chipmunk, in a book that is supposed to be talking about real life issues. Some of the scale seems a bit off and the wheelchair looks like something someone made back in the early 1900s at home. I don't think many children will necessarily notice these things, though. But they could also provide for further conversations with the children. I think the message of the story far outweighs these.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a review copy of this book. I was not required to leave a positive review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

It's OK to be Different by Margarita Marti

It's OK to be Different

Five children...
A boy in a wheelchair,
a little girl that lost her hair,
a little boy that has a hard time with lessons,
a girl from another country and
a not so “girly” girl,
form a unique friendship at the schoolyard…

Available on Amazon

Too Many Lights, Too Many Trees (A Christmas Sensory Story) by Eleisa N. Walker

Too Many Lights, Too Many Trees

Christmas is the most wonderful time of year! It is especially fun and amazing to see Christmas through the eyes of those with special needs especially those with sensory-related disabilities. This book presents a holiday related social story to share with your children this time of year. Some of our kiddos may consider Christmas overwhelming, but they can come to love and enjoy the beauty of the season.

Available in ebook and paperback

Review of 'Baby Jaimie Has a Crush'

Book Blurb:

From the minute she met him everyone thought Baby Jaimie's first crush was Derek. Derek even thought so. That's why he asked her first grade teacher, Mrs. Smith if he could come in to visit her.

The day of the visit didn't go as planned. While Derek was introducing himself a new student, Jack, entered the room and stole everyone's attention. Especially Baby Jaimie's. For that reason Derek took an instant disliking to the new kid.

Baby Jaimie is forced to choose between Derek and Jack, and she doesn't know what to do. Is there a way to combine old friends with new friends? Can't they all just get along? Find out in The Adventures of Baby Jaimie: Baby Jaimie Has a Crush.



My thoughts:

The Baby Jaimie series is very sweet. All of them are based on author Jaimie Hope's real life. Her situation in this book is a familiar one to parents and teachers of six year-olds. Baby Jaimie really enjoys spending time with her friend Derek, who also has a wheelchair. A new boy named Jack shows up, who has braces on his legs. The other children don't seem to like him, so Baby Jaimie takes him under her wing. Derek is jealous of her attentions to Jack. Her family, particularly her sister, gently teases her about having a new boyfriend. Baby Jaimie makes it her mission to make Derek and Jack understand that she can be friends with them both.

I have students with the same big heart as Baby Jaimie in my classroom. They want to be friends with everyone and are determined to be the peacemakers in the classroom. That quality in the character will resonate with young readers. The fact that the children all have some kind of physical disability can help demonstrate that just because a person looks different, doesn't mean that they are mentally or emotionally different. This book is a gentle way to incorporate that lesson. Most importantly, the book focuses on the lesson of friendship. I think it could be a great springboard into either classroom discussions or one-on-one talks with your child about being a friend at school and how to handle difficult situations.

Children are also going to relate to the illustrations in the book. They are all hand-drawn and have a youthful quality about them. I recommend checking out this series.

Buy links: Kindle | Paperback

About the author:




I was born November 3, 1976 in New York. Growing up one of my favorite time of the day was story time.

Even at an early age, I became wrapped up in whatever story was being read. At the time, I just wanted to be part of the story. It wasn't until high school that I decided I wanted to be a writer. This is when my ideas for the Adventures of Baby Jaimie started forming.

I was on the newspaper staff for two years in high school and really enjoyed it. We didn't have assigned stories, but we were able to do investigative reporting if we chose to. I was usually more into the freelance style of writing about whatever happened to be on my mind at the time.

In my senior year, I took a creative writing course where I got to explore the depths of my creativity. After graduation in 1995, I put writing aside for a while. I went to college and did what most people try to do, "try to find myself". I got my Associates degree in 1999.

In 2002, I moved to Florida. I did quite a lot while I was there. I was an active volunteer in the local historical society. I also did volunteer work at the local library.

During this time, I also sang on a few demos at the local studio, tried my hand at songwriting and ran a book club.

It wasn't until 2005, when I picked up The Adventures of Baby Jaimie and started working in earnest to get it done. I finished the text of my manuscript within a month. I submitted it to a handful of publishers, only to be rejected.

Again, I shelved The Adventures of Baby Jaimie, temporarily, when I moved back to New York in the spring 2006 that I even thought about picking it up again. I had lunch with a friend one day in the summer of 2006 who told me about a friend of hers who was also an author. She put me in contact with him, and he gave me advice on how to go about making my dreams of becoming a published author come true.

In November of 2006, AuthorHouse released The Adventures of Baby Jaimie.

After the release, I got busy trying to promote it, and as they say, life happened. I began to try my hand at writing a novel. This proved to be a slow process as well, but not as slow as my first book.

In July of 2008, PublishAmerica released my first short novel, Who Says You Can't Go Home.

You may be asking yourself what's next. Only time will tell.

Visit her website at www.jaimiehope.com.

Follow her on Twitter @jaimiehope.

Visit her on Facebook.