Book Review #3-Flight of a Dove

Day, Alexandra. The Flight of a Dove. New York: Farrar Straus Giroux, 2004.

Flight of a Dove, by Alexandra Day, is a book that was considered for the Dolly Gray Award for Children’s Literature in Developmental Disabilities. It is about a girl named Betsy who began to show signs of autism at the age of one. She became withdrawn, did not like to be touched, and did not interact with other people. After spending time in a special school, Betsy did not seem to make any progress. She became over stimulated easily, and often made clicking noises to communicate dislike, or discomfort. Betsy was not comforted by her parents, teachers, or children from school. Throughout the book the author describes Betsy’s need for routine, and inability to cope with change. She does not play with other kids, and often sits in a corner by herself for hours on end. By the end of the book, Betsy starts playing with toys by herself, creating patterns and lines with blocks. She also becomes intrigued by the class pet dove. She likes to watch its wings flap, and see the dove fly around the room. Betsy’s parents and teachers were ecstatic to see her make progress. After Betsy’s progress with the dove, she started to break out of her shell, and make small steps toward interactions with others.
The author of this book spent time in a rehabilitation centers and hospitals with her therapy dog. In the hospitals she saw how animals could have positive effects on individuals with disabilities such as autism. Her experience and involvement with therapy animals inspired her to write this book. The illustrations are colorful and detailed with the text wrapping around them. They accurately depict the characters expressions and feelings which are described in the text. Children with autism are accurately depicted in this book without integrating stereotypes. Overall, this book provides children with an accurate example of what they may see in another child with autism.