Book Review #1-Poems nad Short Stories About my Borther Kevin who has Autism

Carlson, Richard W. Poems and Short Stories About My Brother Kevin Who Has Autism: Entertainment for Boys and Girls Age 6-10. New York: Writers Club Press, 2002.

One book that I chose to read for my project on autism in literature was Poems and Short Stories About My Brother Kevin Who Has Autism: Entertainment for Boys and Girls Age 6-10, by Richard W. Carlson. This book is aimed towards children in elementary school, and is organized into chapters. Each chapter focuses on funny things that Kevin, a boy with autism, does because he has autism. For example, one chapter is devoted to Kevin eating a stranger’s French fries at McDonald’s because he is too hungry to wait for his own food. The chapter explains that Kevin eats the stranger’s food because he does not understand certain boundaries like other people do. He knows that he is hungry; therefore he eats without considering that his actions might not be appropriate. Other chapters in the book include Kevin Gave Himself a Haircut, and Kevin’s Surprise Ride on Duke Our Dog. Each chapter talks about an event from Kevin’s life, and explains how his autism played a role in the events. At the end of each short chapter there is a rhyming poem that summarizes the events that occurred. The stories about Kevin accurately represent how a person with autism may act, and feel. The book does not stereotype people with autism, and is written from the firsthand experience of a sibling of the main character who has autism.

One aspect of the book that I really enjoyed was that the book was illustrated by Kevin Carlson, who is the main character of the book. Kevin’s brother, Richard, wrote the book, and then had his brother draw the pictures. The illustrations are simple, and are composed of very straight lines. The pictures are done in ink, and lack any color. The pictures, like the text take up only about a quarter of each page, leaving much of the page blank. Another important aspect of the book is the informational page at the beginning. It tells who Kevin Carlson is, and describes the characteristics of autism. It explains that autism cannot be caught, there is no cure, and there is a great deal of research being done on the topic. It also explains that people with autism express themselves and understand people differently than others. I feel that this introduction was an effective way to provide background information about autism before reading the stories, and poems. Overall, this book would be a great resource to add to a classroom library, or to use when discussing autism with grade school children.