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I’ve followed Shane for quite some time now and this is an awesome way to introduce disability to a child - although I think most people could get something from it (especially those who point, stare or judge!). Normalising disability from a young age is so important. This book is awesome.
This quality picture book falls under the Autobiography genre and I believe that it is appropriate for 3rd though 5th graders. Shane Burcaw does a great job of explaining his disability and painting a picture of his life in words that can be easily understood by these students. I think that by reading about Shane's life, students (and adults) can learn about spinal muscular atrophy, while also developing empathy for what Shane and other people with disabilities go through on a daily basis. I rea...
What a great way to help bridge the gap between the disabled and those who are curious about them! The author explains his genetic spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) in easy to understand terms and provides a frequently asked questions format detail of what it means to have SMA in everyday life. Highly recommended.
This nonfiction text introduces readers to individuals who have a disability and how it influences their daily lives. Shane Burcaw has a phenomenal sense of humor and engages with readers about a topic that could otherwise be considered challenging. I love how the author wants students to be aware of Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) and explains how he lives his daily life. I would use this text in any upper level classroom as a read aloud.I would use this book in my class to build a strong classro...
I think that this should be read to all kids; the tone is so engaging, the illustrations are terrific, and it covers a topic that isn't often talked about in a simple, open, and humorous way. Thank you, Shane for this book!
As a former Special Education teacher I wish I had had this book long ago. Wonderful!
I picked this up today when doing new book changeovers and it was excellent. This book deftly explains that Shane is a normal person, and answers a lot of the questions children might have about him that they might otherwise be afraid or ashamed (thanks, society!) to ask. There are some general, some specific questions and an overall attitude of the people-first model of disability. Shane doesn't shy away from using the actual terms surrounding Spinal Muscular Atrophy and disability, because tho...
What I like most about this book is that the questions are written very much the way kids would ask them, what we as adults would want to call "rudely." It's actually quite helpful for parents or other adults who have no idea how to respond to questions like this from kids, and hopefully, will help discourage the all-too-common adult tendency to tell children to stop asking questions about uncomfortable topics.
It's hard to express how much this book means to me. As someone who lives with someone who lives with disability, it is such a huge part of our life, but such a normal part of it as well. Burcaw shows the challenges he lives with and the adaptions which occur daily, but best of all he give his readers a pathway to connecting to those who live with disability, beyond how they are different.
Everyone should read this book! You might know Shane from his website, https://www.laughingatmynightmare.com/, or his YA memoir of the same name. In this picture book, which received a 2018 Sibert honor for being a distinguished informational book, he introduces himself as having spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), and addresses common questions about his life. It's hard to know which is better, his honest, approachable voice (he includes poor decisions he's made, and even some bathroom details), or
I enjoyed the author's earlier memoir, Laughing at My Nightmare, published a couple of years ago, and was delighted to see that he'd written this account of what his life is like for curious younger readers. Containing photographs of Shane at various ages and engaged in different activities, the book is set up as though someone is asking him questions, allowing him to respond in his own unique way with candor and humor. Because Shane has spinal muscular atrophy, his muscles are weak and his body...
Important book for kids - well done.
I am so pleased that this won a Siebert honor award, as opposed to the Schneider award! This is excellent nonfiction full of humor and honesty and positive thinking. If you have read Laughing at my Nightmare, you already have a pretty good idea what is in this book. My favorite page, hands down is where he and his brother try to cheat at basketball in a completely unique way! I'm just so grateful my boys never tried any variation of that stunt! The photography is excellent. The subject matter is...
this book is really fun and accessible and approaches ableism with humorthat said it would be nice to have more books that are for disabled kids rather than to teach abled kids stuff.
Both my 5 year old and 8 year old have read this several times. An extremely valuable resource for children curious about people with disabilities. Also, the author is funny.
I love this book! I am using it immediately with 6th grade boys to talk about positivity. I almost stood up in the library and shouted "YES!" when I read the author's note. Fantastic! Thank you Shane Burcaw for writing this book and your other book Laughing At My Nightmare--which I will be ordering momentarily.
I am the biggest fan of Shane Burcaw and his non-profit Laughing at My Nightmare. I was excited to talk about his second book at a Macmillan breakfast event for librarians AND met and talked with him at an American Library Association publisher dinner event, and follow the YouTube channel and him on social media. I didn't realize that this book existed until I was scanning through Sora and was like, YES! This is exactly the kind of short picture book biography that I would expect from him. With
When young children see someone in a wheelchair or someone that is differently abled, then they naturally are curious and have lots of questions. The author of this awesome picture book was born with spinal muscular dystrophy, which makes his body grow smaller and weaker as he gets older. With awesome photographs and a relaxed, conversational text style, young readers can see that Shane is not so different from everyone else. This could be a great conversation starter about people with disabilit...
What and amazing man and family. He is so positive and honest!
I loved this! Burcaw uses vivid photos, light tone, light humor and honesty in answering the obvious questions kids probably have when they see someone with his condition. Would be a GREAT read-aloud with elementary kids, and I'd love to see what ELSE they are wondering! I bet the author, who has a blog and is all about awareness and making connections, would respond if kids wrote to him with those questions, providing them an authentic audience for their writing. He is an inspiration and this b...