Book Recommendations for Children With ASD
This year, Applied ABC is participating in Reading Across America to share our love of reading. This is why this past week, we’ve been sharing book recommendations for children with autism on our Facebook and Instagram pages.
With each recommendation, we included brief descriptions of the stories, why they will resonate with children diagnosed with autism, and the respective age ranges for each book.
1. ALL MY STRIPES
Our first book recommendation is All My Stripes.
All My Stripes is an empowering story following Zane, a zebra with autism who worries about how his differences might make him stand out from his peers. Through love and understanding, Zane’s mother points out how Zane’s unique qualities are what make him so special and wonderful.
All My Stripes is a wonderful story for children ages 4-8 that may be worried about feeling different. It is written by Shaina Rudolph and Danielle Royer and beautifully illustrated by Jennifer Zivoin.
2. SENSORY LIFE ON THE SPECTRUM
Sensory: Life on the Spectrum is a colorful and eclectic anthology comic series compiled by over thirty creators, all diagnosed with autism.
The book is full of unique, vibrant illustrations and is written with emotional depth and vulnerability as each contributing artist tells a story of their own unique experiences with autism.
While every story is different, there’s a universal underlying thread that exists which makes us all feel like we aren’t so different. This book is an absolute blast to read. It’s full of insightful experiences that just about anyone with ASD can relate to, but specifically, children between 11-18.
3. THE BOY WITH BIG, BIG FEELINGS
The Boy with Big, Big Feelings follows the journey of a young boy as he learns to accept and understand his emotions and senses. The boy discovers that masking or attempting to hide his symptoms is wrong and that he should embrace who he is.
This book is relatable for any child between 4-8, but especially those experiencing extreme emotions or sensory issues. This heartwarming story is written by Britney Winn Lee and is colorfully illustrated by Jacob Souva. It is a part of The Big, Big series, followed by The Girl with Big, Big Questions and The Kid with Big, Big Ideas.
4. THE AWESOME AUTISTIC GO-TO GUIDE: A PRACTICAL HANDBOOK FOR AUTISTIC TEENS AND TWEENS
The Awesome Autistic Go-To Guide: A Practical Handbook for Autistic Teens and Tweens is an interactive book that explores what it feels like to be a young person diagnosed with autism and looks at all the brilliant things people on the spectrum can do. It doubles as a storybook, diary, guide, and uses activities to help digest each lesson.
The short stories celebrate the strengths of understanding the world in a different way and are full of first-hand experiences of the authors, fun activities, and tips for managing meltdowns, sensory issues, and anxiety. All while looking at all the reasons being you and thinking differently can be totally awesome.
Written by two authors on the spectrum, Yenn Purkis and Tanya Masterman, this book is great for children growing up with ASD between the ages of 10-17 and is full of insight for their parents.
5. THE WONDERFULLY WACKY WORLD OF DR. SEUSS
During his lifetime, Dr. Seuss has put out over 60 children’s books in his unique, colorfully wacky, and out-of-this-world way of storytelling.
It’s almost impossible not to light up when you remember classics like The Cat in the Hat, Hop on Pop, Green Eggs and Ham, and the beloved How the Grinch Stole Christmas! Dr. Seuss’ many stories are perfect for learning to read and are ideal for children ages 2-8.
Dr. Seuss’ wacky words have also been found to encourage nonverbal children to speak by encouraging readers to ask questions, repeat a funny word, or making them laugh.
6. JAVIER THE DARING
As a final recommendation, we wanted to bring up our very own Georgia center director, Evelyn Villamar, and her wonderful book, Javier the Daring.
Evelyn wrote this fictional story about Javier, an Afro-Caribbean boy with autism overcoming challenges with patience, love, and understanding. Javier is an amazing character made up of a combination of children Evelyn has worked with as an RBT.
Evelyn explains the importance of representation for both Latinos and Black Americans by saying, “Representation matters. My goal was to not only make it sound and look like a children’s book but also give people in the Latino community a way to hear and talk about autism in a positive and hopeful way.”
Sources Cited:
Ashline, J & The Orange County Register. What does Dr. Seuss have to do with autism?
