Customer Reviews

Where's Chimpy? (Albert Whitman Concept Paperbacks)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

As an early childhood special educator, I am always looking for books that include children with special needs in an appropriate way. I love this book because it tells a great story that many children can relate to about a little girl and her daddy looking for a lost toy. The fact that Misty has Down Syndrome is never mentioned, which sends the message that kids need to receive -- that children with special needs are children first and that Down Syndrome and other disabilities are a part of the spectrum of humanity.

I thought this book was wonderful! It shows how a day in the life of a little girl with Down Syndrome can be like a day in the life of ANY child. I have read this book to my children many times and it is one of their favorites. My 2-year-old daughter (with Down Syndrome) loves the beautiful photos and pretends to read the book to us! I donated a copy to my 7-year-old's classroom--I think it is a great book for teachers, as well as families.

I love this book!! It is just a sweet, simple children's story that features a little girl with Down syndrome. The great thing about this book is that no mention is made of her disability - she's just a little girl searching for her favorite stuffed animal with her Daddy!

I thought when I bought the book this weekend that I would read it once. However, I found myself reading it three or four times. The author captured the day in the life of a child. The fact that Misty is portrayed as a child and not a child with Down Syndrome makes the book unique. The photographer did a masterful job of capturing the many expressions on Misty's face. Because of the wonderful relationship between father and daughter, the book has depth beyond the cute story about the search for the lost toy.

Our daughter has Down syndrome, and we read this book to her 1st grade classmates to help them understand more about Down syndrome. It is geared for the late preschool to 1st grade level, and the kids really liked it. The book is wonderfully illustrated with full-color photographs of a young girl who has Down syndrome. The book never mentions in the story that she has Down syndrome, but it subtly reflects that her language development is a bit delayed and of course you can see from her appearance that she has features of Down syndrome. But it realistically shows that people with Down syndrome are very much like everyone else and usually enjoy doing the same things as everyone else, particularly when they are in a loving home and given the same opportunities other children have. The author, a neighbor of the girl in the story, demonstrates an exceptionally good understanding of what this little girl's life is like and captures it beautifully.

When my daughter with DS started Kindergarten, some of the children in her class were really uncomfortable with her (she was the only one with a visible, identified disability). I sent this book in for her to share, and it became a class favorite. One little boy - the class wild child - took it home for the weekend even. I credit this book with normalizing DS for my daughter's classmates.

My standard baby gift now is a selection of books that includes Where's Chimpy, and a stuffed monkey. Books like this help children grow up seeing commonality rather than differences.

Don't get me wrong, this is a cute little book but I feel that the story goes on a little too long. My son, who has DS, gets bored with the search for Chimpy pretty quickly. The love and affection between father and daughter are very apparant and it's possible that he just prefers "boy things" like Russ and the Firehouse. But I felt this book could have been better. The indoor pictures lack spark and have a somewhat dated appearance. I found myself wondering how old the little girl in this story is now, instead of feeling that it was timeless.