On Being Special

As I have mentioned before, I come from a family that includes children with special needs. I have a severely autistic cousin who, although he can communicate through the very few words he uses, barely speaks at all. At family parties, I sometimes look over at him and wonder what he is thinking. I realize that this particular communication issue is probably more emotional for me because of my familiar connection, but I think anyone who has ever interacted with a special needs child would find the book Out of My Mind interesting.

Melody, a wheel-chair bound child diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy, can't speak. It isn't that she doesn't have the brain function to speak, it is that her muscles can't move her lips, mouth, and jaw enough to form sounds and words. That doesn't stop her synesthetic and photographic brain from absorbing everything she encounters.

With the help of a computer that she can type into she finally can speak for herself and people begin to realize just how smart she is. The trouble is convincing people to take her seriously and include her, especially for the things that make her 'special'.

I am not sure if it is the fact that I wonder what my cousin would say if he could or the fact that the book is written from Melody's point of view, giving us the insight to understand her frustration, but the book is so well written that I couldn't put it down. Even now, months after I read the book, I sit and wonder how much of what Melody was thinking is what my cousin thinks. Each time I consider this, I tear up.

This is a wonderful book, one which I encourage all people to read. Much like how The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime allowed people to understand the world through the mind of someone who has Autism, this book allows people to experience the life of someone trapped by the limitations of their body. I think it could go a long way to bringing understanding to those who encounter people of all ages with special needs in their daily lives.

Depression... the New Readers' Advisory

It has been a long time since I read a book that created its own depression in me, but it has happened. Sad as it is, while reading The Time Travelers Wife, I came so close to the end of the book at 1am, that I stayed up reading it until 3:30am so that I didn't have to wake up the next morning and be sad again. I cried so hard I woke up my roommate. For days I walked around in a sort of haze... it's a good thing I finished it on a Friday night on a weekend I wasn't working. The lasting effects of the 'book depression' didn't go unnoticed by friends and family (by the way... explaining your depression with a book title does not always make people want to read it).

Anyway, it happened again a few weeks ago while reading a series of books that left me in a 'book depression' for weeks. It all began with the book, The Road to Paris. When I first picked it up, I didn't know I would like it. The young black girl with braids carrying flowers on the cover made me think this might be a black Little House on the Prairie. It wasn't, and boy am I glad.

The story starts out at the end of the book, with Paris sitting at the dinner table, getting up to answer the phone and finding her mother on the other end telling her she wants her to come home. Through the rest of the novel, we follow Paris through multiple houses as she makes her way through the foster system with her brother.

I have to admit, I was crying almost from the very beginning. In a scene I can only describe as emotionally traumatic, it is described that Paris and her brother are locked in a closet, and when Paris has to go to the bathroom so badly she can't hold it anymore there is still no compassion... and she has to pee standing there in the closet. The shame that follows her through the homes that follow is excruciating, but as with most children's books... they don't leave you feeling like you have a hole in your gut. It ends as most books meant for kids do, with a semi-happy ending. Then you can cry out of happiness for the character instead of sadness for her situation.

That Thing About Georgie

While I do read quite a bit, both for pleasure and work, I rarely come across a book that moves me quite like The Thing About Georgie. Today, while recommending another great Lisa Graff novel, Umbrella Summer, and walking the child to the shelf, I noticed The Thing About Georgie sitting next to it. I quickly added the book to the girl's growing pile of reading material, explained how the book was about a dwarf boy and how he learns to fit in with his class, and then grabbed her shoulders and said - don't skip to the end! With tears in my eyes, I walked back to the reference desk. In the instant it took me to sit down, I was taken back a few weeks to when I finished the book.

It isn't every day that I allow myself to finish a book in bed, but it happens. As someone who suffers greatly from 'stuffy noses' at night, I try not to cry too much before bed... but I guess I just didn't see this one coming.

The book was interesting from the beginning, each chapter starting off with a fact about what Georgie can or can't do just like a 'normal' child... such as:

Put your hands in fists... now try to tie your shoes. You can't? Well Georgie can't either.
- or -
Take a tape measure and mark a wall at 42" tall. Look at the items around your room that are taller than 42". Those are the things that Georgie wouldn't be able to reach.

In a polite way, the author of these tidbits of information makes understanding the plight of the dwarf a little more realistic. The rest of the story chronicles the every day events in Georgie's life through the school year, including a falling out with his best friend, the pregnancy of his mother, the impending arrival of his new baby brother or sister, and the torment of having to deal with the meanest girl in the 4th grade.

It isn't until the end that you figure out the author of the aforementioned handwritten information. As it turns out, one of Georgie's classmates has checked out the only book in the school library on what it is like to live as a dwarf, and is writing these bits of information as he or she learns them. As someone who comes from a family that includes children with special needs, it was 1) absolutely heartbreaking to read the story from Georgie's point of view... knowing that the way he feels about being different may be the way my family members feel, and 2) absolutely heartwarming to observe the humanity in those interacting with Georgie. Have you ever had your heart broken and warmed at the same time? It actually physically hurts.

I have to say, sometimes I cry through an entire book, but most times I just tear up a little at the end.... I sobbed through the end of this book, and then woke my husband up so that I could tell him about it. Most times, when telling a real-life story to a friend, I will say 'and then my husband asked me what was wrong', but in the middle of the night, I am not even sure I wait for him to ask - I just simply start to tell him.

A lot of what I read would be considered books for children, but though they are meant for children, I find them more satisfying than any adult title I have picked up (with the exception of Pride and Prejudice). There is something so innocent and gentle about the way they approach every day issues, and for the most part they tend to teach the reader how to deal with a problem in a way that is less than preachy. The thing about Georgie is.... he teaches children to accept life's problems, and that even if you have dug yourself into a hole, a friend's hand is all it takes to help you find the way back out.

Falling For Joey

How many times in your life have you sat down with a book (sometimes thinking you might not like it), and fell in love with its characters? Did it happen with Charlotte in Charlotte's Web or Laura in Little House in the Big Woods or even Aslan in The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe? It happens to me quite a bit - but then again, I have made a life out of reading.... and I get the chance to read tons of really great books. 

This most recently occurred for me while reading the 1984 novel from Michael Morpurgo, War Horse. I was forced to read the book because it was nominated for an Illinois state book award and was not looking forward to it, but almost immediately fell in love with the story's main character, a horse named Joey.

Last week, while describing the plot to a coworker in the lunch room, I broke down crying at the absolute beauty of the story. I tell everyone I meet about how wonderful this book is. It was while describing this novel to a patron that I was informed that a similar story was coming out as a movie in December. I immediately ran to my computer to look it up and sure enough - War Horse is being made into a movie, coming to theaters on December 28th. Not only do the pictures from the promotional materials look absolutely stunning (way more interesting than the cover of the book), but I was pleased to see that Steven Spielberg himself is directing the film.

With the amount of movies being made each year, it is sometimes hard to know when something good is coming out - something with a great moral and a good heart. This one is not to be missed, but you still have plenty of time before the movie comes out to read the book.... it is an incredible story of courage, love, and understanding in a time of war. I highly encourage you to check it out and read it by yourself or together with your family and just like me, fall for Joey.