My Brother Charlie

My Brother Charlie is an award winning contemporary realistic fiction/biography book written by Holly Robinson Peete, Ryan Peete, Denene Millner and illustrated by Shane Evans. This story is intended for primary readers ages (ages five to eight). This book follows Callie and her twin brother Charlie who is diagnosed with Autism. This beautiful story is told from Callie's point of view. Callie loves her brother Charlie as any sister would and is very proud of everything he does. Callie wants to show everyone that Charlie is just like any other child. He is good at things like swimming, running and playing the piano but sometimes he can be quiet. This book represents multicultural literature through the eyes of a family with a special needs child. This story shows that although Charlie may be different than most kids in one simple way, he is still just as important and deserving of love and respect as other children. This book shows children that although the twins are very similar, they are different in ways too, just as everyone is! The beautiful illustrations by Shane Evans bring the characters to life making the story very realistic. This allows children to have a better understanding of what the story truly means. A truly heart warming story!

This is a book that every child should read and a book that every teacher should have on their bookshelf! Autism is difficult for anyone to understand, especially children. If children were able to read books such as My Brother Charlie they would have a better understanding on Autism. It is important for all children alike to understand that all children in this world are unique and different in their own special way and i think this book portrays that. Valuable lessons are seen everywhere in this book. This is a must read and great selection for anyone trying to introduce the topic of Autism or any disability to a child. I, myself have a younger brother who is severely autistic and I think it is very difficult for people to understand, so I think this book would be very beneficial for children!

Discussion Questions for readers:

1. Does anyone know what Autism is? Does anyone know anyone with autism? If so, who?
2. What did Callie mean when she said "Charlie's brain works in a special way?"
3. What were Charlie's special talents? Did those talents seem like things children your age are also very good at?
4. Why is it hard for Charlie to make friends? How would you help someone like Charlie make friends?
5. Does Callie seem like a good sister to Charlie? What are some ways Callie helps her brother?

Now for a motivational and fun activity for students to participate in!

• Ask students to draw a portrait of Charlie as they saw him. On this picture ask the students to incorporate at least two of Charlie's many special talents either in words or within the drawling! When children are done their drawings  allow the students to show their class mates to see if any of the students have similar talents. This will show students that although Charlie is different, he is just the same as they are.

RESPECT

This story and the activities shown in this blog post correlate with St. Leo's Core Value of Respect in more ways than one! This story revolves around the aspect of Respect. Respect all of God's creation as he intended. The activities I've created allow students to see reflect and portray why Charlie is special. The discussion and motivation activity are created in hopes that children will better understand special needs and how they can treat others with special needs with dignity and respect!

Learn more about this book, Charlie and his family here!

"Charlie has autism, but autism doesn't have Charlie"

If you enjoyed this story, here are a few other books you can read about autism!

• Ian's Walk: A Story About Autism
• Conor's Gift: Embracing Autism in this New Age
• In My Mind: The World through the Eyes of Autism
• Leah's Voice
• The Girl Who Spoke with Pictures:Autism Through Art
• Ten Things Every Child With Autism Wish You Knew

Peete, H. R., Peete, R., Millner, D., & Evans, S. (2010). My brother Charlie. New York, NY: Scholastic Press.