2019 Fall Kansas Child

that if adults support children in what they
want to do in spite of a physical disability,
they might just surprise us. As I read this
book, I smile and think about how the most
valuable gift we can give children is ourself.
Just watch and join.
OE Wants It to Be Friday is the only
book in this series that has a picture of a
child whose body and equipment immediately
tells us she has a disability. Olga Elise
has cerebral palsy and requires a wheel chair
and special technology to help her do all the
things that typically developing children
naturally can do. For this family, the name of
the game is to learn but always find ways to
have fun: family games, a sport called boccia
coached by Austin (a famous player with a
disability), special days and times with each
family member. When sickness comes, it is
temporary. Life will go on and there will always
be fun to anticipate. OE’s bright smile
and cover picture in a van ready to go somewhere
tells us that what keeps us going is
having something to look forward to. A
perfect book to help people look beyond the
visible disability.
I Don’t Know If I Want A Puppy will
immediately appeal to dog lovers everywhere.
Ethan has a congenital heart defect
but looks perfectly normal. However, his
speech development was delayed because
of that defect, and so Ethan didn’t really
have a voice in the family. His twin brothers
wanted a dog and parents got them one,
but the boys quickly decided they didn’t like
the responsibility involved in doing all the
things a puppy requires, and they were quite
verbal in their decision to get rid of the dog.
Mom was sad, but then she watched Ethan
with Emma. The sweet little Emma cuddles
I see these books as being
key to have in collections
for anyone who works
with families.
against Ethan wondering what will happen
to her. Without training, Emma seems to
take the place of what we call therapy dogs:
dogs who do whatever their person needs.
And Emma also needs a therapy boy: a boy
who can roll around a little, accept puppy
kisses, likes to feed and water, go for little
walks, and clean up messes if they aren’t too
big. A perfect match. Happy Mom. Happy
Ethan. Happy Emma. Be sure and look at
the last page where Ethan is no longer the
baby but a big boy in his family.
Waylen Wants to Jam is about an older
child with autism. This book would be particularly
exciting for parents and teachers
dealing with children who need intensive
work from very young ages. Parents might
worry about what will happen with each
developmental stage. Certainly, the autism
spectrum is a broad one and not every child
will be able to do what Waylen does. But
for many children, there is such an array
of early intervention strategies and people
who learn to promote development in all
domains that there is much more hope
than there used to be. If interests are picked
up and supported, there might be surprising
success. Waylen loved drumming and
was able to get into a top-notch drum line
in the school system because of a gifted
teacher who was dedicated to teaching
Waylen each important step. Some of these
children will grow up to write books and
teach others what made their journey work.
This book, through pictures of Waylen in
the drum line and breakdown of all the
steps that the teacher made, provides hope.
To get these books, go to https:// www.
findingmywaybooks.net/ and click on order
books. I would also encourage you to get your
local bookstore and library to carry them.
www.ks.childcareaware.org
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