Superworm!

Superworm

by Julia Donaldson

Illustrated by Axel Scheffler

Superworm

My boy and I always take note of books

written in rhyme. This picture book

rhymes whilst extolling the versatility

of Superworm. A fun read aloud, with predictable

rhymes and a pattern

to appeal to the young 

(or older child clinging to picture books)

reader with autism.

My Son's Review:

There was a toad on the road. Superworm became a lasso to pull the toad. 

Superworm then became a skipping rope for animals to play on. 

An animal was going to sink into the well. 

Superworm became a fishing line to rescue her. A crow put Superworm in his beak. Superworm’s friends tried to rescue him. 

When Superworm came back, he became a swing! Then a slide! 

Superworm even became a belt! And a hat! And an ac-ro-bat! 

Hip, hip, hooray for Superworm!

Most RecomMended 3

When my son was very small, I read him a Fisher-Price book from who knows where. A flimsy book with a 

flimsy colorful cover with pages stapled in, and

then falling out, and then taped in, again and again

and again, because even though he had the whole

book memorized he wanted to read it again. 

And again.

And again.

It is now more tape than book and I swear I will

throw it out after posting this. Really, I will.

He can't really need to read this again?

(sigh)

Perhaps he does. But I may throw it out anyway.*

We've been trying to make the teenage divide 

visible to him.

Anyway,

Little People Opposite Safari is filled with simple big pictures and simple rhymes.

“Let’s go on safari.

There’s nothing to lose.

Remember your camera,

And wear comfy shoes.”

The rhymes are logical, the little Fisher-Price people and animals

direct and engaging with the opposites bolded for quick emphasis:

“The monkeys climb up, the lions lie down,

They’re all smiles, except for one

rhino’s frown.” 

This flimsy paperback soon became more scotch tape than paper.

Oddly, I never sought out the others in the series, perhaps because

though it clearly satisfied a craving for my son, the merchandizing link

and the simplistic structure became a bit much for me after a while.

If you’ve a source for old paperbacks, the others in the series are:

Alphabet Farm

Number Circus

Color and Shape Shop
-Spectrum Mom
* I tried to recycle it, my husband fished it out and said "But I read this to him hundreds of times!" It's currently in his car.

Huff & Puff

Huff and Puff simplifies and sillifies The Three Little Pigs story

into an interactive read-aloud.

"It's like the The Three Little Pigs story. It doesn't say, 

'Little Pig, Little Pig, let me in."

Your kid and you get to blow things down (or, spoiler

alert, out) together through a hole in the page.  Then

you turn the page to see on what you've blown.

A gentle story with few words and very cute pictures,

most young readers will enjoy either hearing or reading

it.

Kids are out (of school), so so am I.

Happy reading,

Spectrum Mom

Read Aloud Books Part Two

This week, read aloud books for school-age kids. Whether you're reading at home, at school, or putting together a story time for kids with special needs, figuring out what to read aloud to kids in elementary school may be puzzling. But as one of my librarian friends says, there's a picture book for every age! 

So here's a list of picture books (and one well-illustrated chapter book) to try with older kids with autism (or without).

500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins/Seuss

Bartholomew and the Oobleck/Seuss

longer, more complex Dr. Seuss-never be afraid to abridge if you’re losing your audience.

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs/Barrett

and

Pickles to Pittsburgh/Barrett

are two books with proven appeal and great visual humor.

Lady Lollipop/King-Smith A fun chapter book about a royal pet pig, by the author of Babe.

Madeline/Bemelmans  Rhymes make this classic almost irresistible, and kids w/autism are usually less tied to gender/age expectations.

Meanwhile Back at the Ranch/Noble  A funny book that plays off of story conventions-also featured on an episode of Reading Rainbow.

Stand Tall Molly Lou Mellon/Lovell A be yourself book.

The Twin Giants/King-Smith  A funny story with BIG pictures.

Tuesday/Wiesner  another in the visual humor vein, very few words but with time and

date references (which appeal to kids with calendar interests).

Let me know which ones worked best-and ask the kids for their

favorites too.

-Spectrum Mom

Read Aloud Books for Children with Autism Part One

A request from a librarian friend brought a flurry of suggestions for books to read
aloud to children with autism. So today's post shares that group sourced knowledge
with you.*  My boy read all of these too and enjoyed them to varying degrees. He still adores Dr. Seuss. The Little Critter and Berenstain Bears include holiday themed books and make 

good gifts in Easter baskets etc. Next week, some ideas for reading aloud to older kids.

Quotes indicate the parents’ words (I’ve edited, so any mistakes are mine).

Bark, George/Feiffer

Berenstain Bears/Berenstain 

     “Great social stories,” rhyming, pictures.

Don’t Let the Pigeon . . ./Mo Willems  

     “fun” a cute, engaging series.

Elephant and Piggie/Mo Willems 

     His early reader series, delightful.

If You Give a Mouse a Cookie/Numeroff

Repetitive (in a good way) with strong internal logic.

Little Critter/Mayer

     “I like that these are written in the first person.”  

Mr. Brown Can Moo, Can You?/Seuss

   Great for group participation.

My Two Hands, My Two Feet/Walton & Gorton 

     “good for teaching about expression of emotions” - a toddler book.

Rainbow Fish/Pfister

     "Sparkly .  .  . everyone can help someone"

The Very Hungry Caterpillar/and other Eric Carle books

-Spectrum Mom

*I've alphabetized by title rather than author. I find myself searching on the computer

first, so titles work better. What do you think?

Summer Foolery

"Where do toasters go to mail their letters? The toast office."

My older boy told us that one in the car yesterday. If you look
through the old posts you'll find joke books he likes.

We had visitors today and I cued him to tell "his" joke.
My friend remarked that her youngest boy (he's on the
spectrum, I think he has a diagnosis of Asperger's) has
no interest in jokes, and they've put away their joke
books. 

Sloppy Joe might be a bridge between our two boys.
The story includes several ridiculous jokes, but the main
theme is the titular character's attempt at self-reformation
(too many multisyllabic words for Summer-sorry)-um,
a sloppy kid tries to clean up his act.


My older boy happily read the story to my younger,
but would not read Punk Farm because his teacher
read that one to the class in second grade (over two
years ago). Novelty is essential-anyone else find that
with their child?


Summer break continues, so see you in about a week-

Spectrum M