Temple Grandin: How the Girl Who Loved Cows Embraced Autism and Changed the World

The author started learning about animals by observing her dog as a child. Her respect and affinity for animals grew as she did, turning into a career as a writer and chronicler of animals and their behavior. Gently illustrated, the author shares thoughtful tidbits which is sure to lead readers to her other books.

Scientists are working to save the endangered California Condor. In rich narrative, the author provides information on the condor as well as the history and efforts of scientists to bring them back from the brink. Accompanying photographs add drama and personality for both feathered and human subjects.

Temple Grandin may be the most famous person with autism. Weaving her own experience with remarkable new discoveries, Grandin introduces the advances in neuroimaging and genetic research that link brain science to behavior, even sharing her own brain scan to show which anomalies might explain common symptoms. She argues that raising and educating kids on the autism spectrum must focus on their long-overlooked strengths to nurture their unique contributions. Grandin discusses different ways of thinking and even includes lists of potential jobs for those people among us who think differently. An important and ultimately optimistic work.

Readers may have to change their opinion of spotted hyenas after meeting them as they are studied in the wild. Fluid prose and stunning photographs combine insight into the field scientists and information about the animals they study. While they remain formidable carnivores, hyenas are surprisingly brave and social animals and appealing in appearance. Thoroughly resourced and documented, this is narrative nonfiction at its best.

There is great drama to be found on the Serengeti witnessed by scientists. Meet some of those who study the migration of wildebeest in Tanzania. Observe the animals that share the land with the wildebeest. The author’s insightful, illuminating, and highly readable narration in a handsome format with stunning photographs is also a plea for humankind to respect other mammals.

This groundbreaking book by Dr. Temple Grandin, professor of animal science at Colorado State University, was one of the first to help neurotypical adults understand autism from a first-person point of view. She gives you a peek into her own psyche to help you understand how your child or students with autism might process information. Her explanation of how she sees the world in pictures will change how you relate to people with autism. Temple offers helpful dos and don’ts, practical strategies, and try-it-now tips, all based on her insider perspective and a great deal of research.