Children’s Bookwatch reviews Amanda’s Fall

The Health Shelf

Amanda’s Fall: A Story for Children About Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)
Kelly Bouldin Darmofal, author
Bijan Samaddar, illustrator
9781615994502 $26.95 hc / $15.95 pbk / $4.95 Kindle

Amanda's Fall

Amanda’s Fall

Amanda’s Fall” is a story for children about traumatic brain injury, with special information for parents, teachers, and caregivers. Written by a survivor of TBI who became an advocate for TBI survivors, “Amanda’s Fall” is written in cheerful verse and illustrated with brightly colored cartoons. Amanda is a seven year old girl who suffers a mild TBI in the course of normal play when her head encounters a rock while rolling down a hill. She does not lose consciousness, but loses the ability to speak clearly. Her teacher is able to help her by calling an ambulance and her parents, and she is evaluated at the hospital. She was diagnosed with concussion or mild TBI, and Amanda and her parents received more information about the features of TBI and ways to prevent problems and to work with results of TBI. In addition to the story for kids, there is also information for parents and caregiver on TBI, its causes, signs, and symptoms, related facts to know, and a relevant study of head injuries in young football players at Wake Forest Baptist Health. There is also a list of 12 tips for TBI survivors under A Few Tips for Coping with TBI, plus tips for friends and caregivers and teachers of TBI survivors. A list of resources includes books for parents, teachers, caregivers, and children, and helpful website links. “Amanda’s Fall” is an excellent resource for children and adults about dealing with traumatic brain injury.

Children’s Bookwatch: October 2019
James A. Cox, Editor-in-Chief
Diane Donovan, Editor
Midwest Book Review
278 Orchard Drive, Oregon, WI 53575

And You Can Love Me

978-1-61599-424-3
$12.95
In stock
1
Product Details
UPC: 978-1-61599-424-3
Brand: Loving Healing Press
Binding: Paperback
Edition: 1st
Author: Sherry Quan Lee
Illustrator: Teagan "Trif" Merrifield
Pages: 32

And You Can Love Me is a story for everyone who loves someone with ASD (autism spectrum disorder). It is the fictional story of Ethan, a nonverbal autistic child, based on the author’s observations and experiences with her grandson. The bounce of a ball is not only a metaphor, but also how the author imagines that the child is releasing his innermost physical and emotional challenges. It is a love story that can be recognized by parents, caregivers and teachers; a story that embraces Ethan, a nonverbal child, who may never/or not yet be able to write his own story, yet he lives it every day and tells it by his actions and by bouncing a ball– any ball, any size, any color.

And You Can Love Me is also a picture book that a child with ASD may, in some way, recognize within himself/herself. It doesn’t try to explain, define or even educate; it is merely Ethan’s story - the story of one particular nonverbal autistic child; one of the many stories that will add to the diversity of ASD stories.

ACCLAIM FOR AND YOU CAN LOVE ME

“As a mother and grandmother, this story speaks to me about the power of unconditional love we bring to any situation. This book is an excellent resource for adults who have a child or grandchild with autism. It acknowledges the different ways a loved one with autism may communicate and reminds me that we love completely. As a former special education teacher, I am able to keep sharing with people, through this story, about the wonderful diversity that we see in the world. Everyone has gifts.”
--Deb Holtz is a former special education teacher, a current end-of-life doula and a mother and grandmother.

"In And You Can Love Me, Sherry Quan Lee gives us the world of Ethan, a little boy with autism. Although Ethan is mute, his daily routine of bouncing a ball and expressing his needs, as well as his interior life, are revealed through simple sketches and lovely lines, like Today I am another year of being me. A welcome and wonderful addition to the as-yet-tiny body of work about children with autism, And You Can Love Me is a beautiful, profoundly moving book.”
--Alison McGhee, New York Times bestselling author of many books for children and adults.

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