Customer Reviews

Joey and Sam: "A Heartwarming Storybook About Autism, a Family, and a Brother's Love"

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I love this book! Having a younger brother with autism, I can't tell you how helpful it has been when I talk to children about autism. The most amazing thing is that when I go into a classroom or a group and talk about autism using this book, the kids all want to help and almost mentor the kids with autism or Asperger's Syndrome that may be in their class or in their school. If there were more books like JOEY AND SAM maybe the world would be a better place.

Without question, if there were more books like JOEY AND SAM, this world would be a better place. I love this book! Having a younger brother with autism, I can't tell you how beneficial it is to use this book when I talk about autism to other children. With the help of this book they seem to understand what autism is. Not only that, but the change in the kids is amazing! Suddenly they all want to help! This book is a godsend. I wish there were more books like it.

The book was a disappointment.As a parent I was looking for a book to show my 10 year old not to judge his autistic brother on what other people think or what he can do.The very high funtioning austistic child in the book receives his brothers approval only after the 5 year old reads a poem for the school and wins his brothers friends acceptance. I was able to read the book to my 5 year old twins changing the story.

Without question, if there were more books like JOEY AND SAM, this world would be a better place. I love this book! Having a younger brother with autism, I can't tell you how beneficial it is to use this book when I talk about autism to other children. With the help of this book they seem to understand what autism is. Not only that, but the change in the kids is amazing! Suddenly they all want to help! This book is a godsend. I wish there were more books like it.

The storybook is written with Joey as the narrator and starts out with Sam waking up Joey on the first day of spring. Joey than quickly calls out Mommy to come get Sam so he can get some sleep. Sam has started his ritualistic behaviors by waving his hands in the air, walking on his toes and making sounds that Joey could not understand. "Why can't he be like other brothers?" asked Joey. "Why is he different?"

To me it reads like Joey cannot accept his brother until his friends do and that goes against what was previously stated from the Epilogue. Nowhere in the text did either parent help Joey with his feelings for his brother and there was no compassion shown in the home privately.

I liked the premise of Joey and Sam: A Heartwarming storybook about Autism, a family and a brother's love but the brother who showed what love really is would have to be Sam. The book fell short in these areas of compassion and dealing with the family unit. The parents were more of a back drop with Sam having the big heart living happily in his own world while his brother was in denial earlier on. Joey cared more about what his friends thought.

It was such a contrast going from what the classroom for Sam was like and then Joey focusing on the quiet of his class or the fact that he ate lunch with his friends and had recess with them. I liked the way the therapists and teachers were involved with the children in the autism class. Another complaint would be how the classmates for Joey were considered friends but for Sam they were just classmates. In the end Sam is a very happy and content kid going about his routines while Joey focuses on his friends and frets about having a brother like Sam.

I still recommend this book for families as a whole to read but not to place too much emphasis on the story line for siblings to autistic children. The illustrations would warrant five stars as well as the portrayal of autistic behavior and the positive role of the classroom teachers and assistants.