If Someone is Different from You, Just Ask!

The two books that I read for this past week are some of the most insightful and endearing books I’ve read thus far. The stories Just Ask! Be Different, Be Brave, Be You by Sonia Sotomayor and Rafael Lopez and A Boy Called Bat by Elana K. Arnold provide a window into the lives of some younger students who live with different neurological abilities.

Just Ask! Is a story about different children with differing neurological abilities, ranging from having Autism Spectrum Disorder to Diabetes to Tourette's Syndrome. Each of these children presents themselves as being secure in their beings, enough so to encourage other children to simply ask about their differences! Each child presents themselves with curiosity about each other and a sense of confidence in describing their everyday lives.

The imagery within this story is tender and soothing, inviting the reader to join in the hard yet therapeutic work of helping a garden to grow. The metaphor for the children working together, in different areas of a garden, is heartwarming yet also unifying, as they learn how to best understand each other and work towards educating the reader about how their differences and their basic, humane similarities. Each page features one child who is speaking in first person about their own life and abilities which I found to be authentic as well as meaningful about the information I was learning about each individual.

Sonia Sotomayor, the author, has had type I Diabetes since she was young. She had an encounter in a public space where a woman made an incorrect assumption about the injection of insulin she was giving to herself. Sotomayor stopped the woman after she heard the comment made, and confronted her about how if you do not understand what a person is doing, then you should just ask! Thus sparking the creation of her book, featuring more children of different abilities than simply her own. I find this to be of the utmost authenticity, for the author to have a condition herself and to acknowledge those conditions different of her own, and acknowledging that she is learning about others at the same time. Her book is the #1NewYorkTimesBestSeller and has won the Schneider Family Book Award!

Lopez is an award-winning illustrator who "is driven to produce and promote books that reflect and honor the lives of all young people." He grew up in Mexico and thrifted for secondhand books on the weekends with his parents -- which is where he discovered the diverse world that inspires his artwork. In the book, Just Ask! his illustrations do show some elements/aspects of Aztec art but encompass a variety of colors and even embodies a softer artistic style. Each child in the story is presented with such care, as to not cause offense to any child with the same abilities.

Find out more about Supreme Court Justice Sotomayor and her book, Just Ask! Be Different, Be Brave, Be You here in her interview with NPR and the illustrator, Rafael Lopez.

A Boy Called Bat by Elana K. Arnold is about a young boy who has Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and is written in novel format. The way that this novel is written, allows the reader to get to know BAT, or Bixby Alexander Tam, the main character, and see into his thinking patterns. The whole book develops his character through peeking into his thoughts and understandings of the people and the world around him. Throughout the story, the reader comes to know BAT as a very knowledgeable animal lover who doesn't express his feelings very much, except for the new baby skunk his mother rescued and brought home for BAT to help her care and nurse to health.

What I appreciated the most about this story is that the reader gets to see into the relationships BAT has with his family members and their real reactions to some of his behaviors and mannerisms. The relationship between BAT and his sister felt the most authentic to me, as I could feel the tension and frustration between siblings along with the understanding of where and how things became misunderstood between the two. Arnold incorporates a real skunk expert in the story which is also intriguing and creates more authenticity within the story.

Even though I myself do not have an Autism Spectrum Disorder, I have struggled for many years with Anxiety and Panic disorders. **I am not comparing the two disorders or even saying they are comparable. But I did find myself being more empathetic with BAT because I understood many of the anxious thoughts and feelings he experienced throughout the book, like "itchy skin," whenever he was uncomfortable or overstimulated. I often find myself spiraling and trying to avoid an attack or panic attack when I am feeling overstimulated. Seeing how BAT knew that he had tools to help him manage his anxiety was comforting and encouraging to see as well. I have gone to therapy sessions a few times throughout my college years and each time I have found it to be beneficial to me, for my therapists have given me helpful and tangible tools and practices for managing my anxiety levels. Knowing that there is a space for me to breathe and just be, can be the best thing for a person who begins to spiral. I related deeply to the scene in the story where BAT begins to spiral from his sister's anger with him which leads his mother to just embrace BAT. The moment of BAT being embraced seems to be the only thing keeping him present and not "flying away."

Elana K. Arnold is the author. Arnold does not have Autism herself, but she ensured authenticity within this book through her devout determination to research information about people with Autism, reading books by authors with Autism, including Look Me in the Eye: My Life with Asperger's by John Elder Robison. She also looked within at her own experiences as a child and took a spin off of that to help create the

character of BAT.

Charles Santoso is the illustrator of this story. He presents the images throughout the book as black and white sketches. This provides a small glimpse into the events taking place in BAT's life while giving the reader enough room for their imagination still. Santoso often pulls inspiration for his works from his childhood memories and from his curiosities about the world -- this provides truth in the nature in which he draws BAT and the world that surrounds BAT.

The Sound of Colors

This book really struck me as something I would want my students to read. This story walks through the experiences of a girl who is blind. There is repetition throughout the book which emphasizes the routine someone who is blind may take to keep with familiar paths that they know. Throughout the story the girl imagines what the world around her looks like through the sounds she hears, the bodies she feels, and the paths she takes. Jimmy Liao has created an incredible work through a poetic means for representing the story of a young girl who is visually impaired. I have a hard time truly putting into words how much I appreciated reading through this book and it is absolutely on my wish list as of now! The young girl, despite her challenges with vision, seems to endure these grand adventures that in her mind, and based on the sounds around her, are simply magnificent. I feel it is almost inspiring to see all of the places she walks and swings to and from.

Using this text in the classroom:

I would like to invite my students to embark on a path of thinking about what all they are capable of doing every day -- even on their adventure days. Then, I would ask my students to think about if or how their peers with differing neurological and/or physical abilities would experience the same events as them in similar or different ways. I would invite them to openly discuss the abilities of all of their peers and what they do or do not know about each other. I would invite for us all to share a space for speaking to and learning about one another. I would hope students would gain inspiration from the many wonderfully colorful adventures of the young girl in this story. I would like to lead my students into the thinking and understanding that all of their peers are capable, we just need to ask and share our spaces, our ways of life -- inviting in all of the color and adventures we could share with each other.

#OWNVoices