Book Review #2-Ian's Walk

Lears, Laurie. Ian’s Walk: A Story about Autism. Morton Grove: Albert Whitman & Company, 1998.

I chose to read Ian’s Walk, by Laurie Lears as part of my project about autism in literature. It was awarded the Dolly Gray Award for Children’s Literature in Developmental Disabilities. The book is by a woman who has written many books about different issues and disabilities that children face such as epilepsy, stuttering, adoption, and cerebral palsy. Laurie Lears does extensive research on the topic she writes about in order to relay accurate information in a sensitive manner. The book is about a boy named Ian who has autism. The story follows Ian and his two older sisters as they travel to the park to feed the ducks. Along the way, the sisters face challenges because Ian is interested in different things than his sisters. The book describes how Ian’s senses are stimulated in unique ways. It shows Ian smelling bricks, laying on the cement sidewalk, and eating crunchy cereal instead of pizza or ice cream. These desires are typical of people with autism because they like their senses to be stimulated in a strong way. The book showed how everyday events are interpreted and enjoyed differently by people with autism. The book also follows the sisters on their journey from frustration and irritancy to acceptance, and support of their brother. Throughout the book Ian does not verbally communicate with others, which can be another characteristic of autism. This book accurately represents what it might be like to have a sibling with autism. It provides the reader with information about autism, and how to cope with the differences.

The way that the text and the illustrations worked together is impressive. Each picture represented the expressions of the characters brilliantly. People with autism often have a dazed look on their faces and they can appear to look through people, as if they are entering a separate world. This expression was captivated in the illustrations of Ian. The pictures are colorful, and draw the reader into the story. Another aspect of the book that was useful was the note about autism at the beginning of the book. This one page explanation about autism and its effects on families provided a wonderful introduction to the topic. This note and the book as a whole were endorsed by Carol P. Rolland, Ph.D, chief psychologist of developmental pediatrics. Ian’s Walk is an accurate and useful book to use when discussing autism with young children.