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In 1975 TJ’s mother was only a chid when she escaped war-torn Vietnam and came to America. Almost 20 years later, she took her eldest son back to meet the family he had never known and to experence firsthand the country and the culture she left behind. A true-life story told in full-color photographs.

In wartime Vietnam, a young girl helps her grandfather who is an herbalist. She and her younger brother gather and dry herbs under his supervision and while he is away. One day, the elderly man returns, announcing that the war is coming to their village. Grandfather ministers to its victims and yet he dies himself. The siblings and their mother flee by boat and the girl vows to return to honor her beloved relative. [School Library Journal review]

Inspired by the author’s childhood experience as a refugee — fleeing Vietnam after the Fall of Saigon and immigrating to Alabama — this coming-of-age novel told in verse offers a child’s-eye view of family and immigration.

Twelve-year old Mai is reluctant to travel with her grandmother from California to Vietnam to learn more about her roots and to help Ba, who is going back to find out what really happened to her husband during the Vietnam War. Mai struggles to understand the language and culture of her family’s heritage in this poignant, often funny novel of being part of two cultures.

Twelve-year-old Jamie Dexter and her brother, TJ, have grown up with the Army: their dad is a colonel. TJ has enlisted and is heading off to war in Vietnam. But then TJ, a photographer, begins to send her rolls of film to develop that gradually reveal the horrors of what he’s seen. The novel invites young people to reflect on the many shades of gray that Jamie confronts. [ALA Booklist review]

An 8-year-old girl decides to make a list of all the things she likes and dislikes about dealing with her autistic brother, and in doing so realizes that she has created A Manual for Marco.

During a summer vacation at his aunt’s house, Johnny is made responsible for taking care of his older cousin Remember, who has autism. Remember is a gawky awkward kid with some pretty strange habits, like repeating back almost everything Johnny says and spending hours glued to the weather channel. Johnny’s premonitions of disaster appear at first to come to fruition, but when the two boys save a bully from drowning, salvage the pizzeria guy’s romance, and share girl troubles, Johnny ends up having the summer of his life.

The narrator and his friend Tyler will soon start 2nd grade. Will his new teacher and the more advanced grade be as bad as the boys’ older sister warn? Happily, the younger siblings catch on to the teasing when they acknowledge that they are no longer as gullible as first graders! The funny narration is accompanied by jaunty, expressive ink and wash illustrations.

As seasons change, fall becomes time for school. In a rhyming text a girl reminds her reluctant brother of all the fun and learning that it will bring. From history to mystery, arithmetic to astronomy, the pair heads to school.Swirling, bolding colored illustrations fill the pages with autumn images and what the children will see and study.

An owl with three babies sleeps atop a branch when and three young bats with their grownup latch on the bottom. Simple lines convey the concern of both families, until a wind storm brings them together. Expressive illustrations are used to develop the drama and wit in this appealing wordless tale.

“Ezra looks like any other sixth grader with faded jeans, turned around cap and a mess of chestnut curls. You see, my brother is like any other eleven-year-old except when he isn’t.” This story follows 14-year-old Jenny as she describes her day-to-day life with her younger autistic brother, Ezra. Ezra can be both her best friend as well as her biggest obstacle to living a normal life, and Jenny often finds herself stuck worrying about her younger brother. Through taking care of Ezra and a very special school project, Jenny ends up learning about her own character and strengths, and a way to shine despite everything else.

When her father begins a long-distance romance with a Washington, D.C. zookeeper, twelve-year-old Frankie sends fabricated e-mail letters to the zookeeper in an attempt to end the relationship in this story about family, friendship, and growing up.

Move over, Captain Underpants, a couple of new pranksters are in town. Narrated by fifth-grader Wilbur and featuring his third-grade brother, Orville, this funny story follows the antics of two boys with overactive imaginations and a comfortable sibling relationship. They manage to make even their daily chores a fun adventure, with games like Snarf Attack, where the goal is to make an opponent laugh so hard at dinner that milk comes out of his or her nose.

Twelve-year-old Catherine just wants a normal life. Which is near impossible when you have a brother with autism and a family that revolves around his disability. But the summer Catherine meets Jason, a surprising, new sort-of friend, and Kristi, the next-door friend she’s always wished for, it’s her own shocking behavior that turns everything upside down and forces her to ask: What is normal? (2007 Newbery Honor Book)

Willow Chance is a 12-year-old genius, obsessed with nature and diagnosing medical conditions, who finds it comforting to count by 7s. Willow is also an outsider, a girl possibly somewhere on the autism/Asperger’s spectrum (although that is never stated). Suddenly Willow’s world is tragically changed when her parents both die in a car crash, leaving her alone in a baffling world. This story is about her journey to find a fascinatingly diverse and fully believable surrogate family.

From inside Caitlin’s head, readers see the very personal aftermath of a middle school shooting that took the life of the older brother she adored. Caitlin is a bright fifth grader and a gifted artist. She also has Asperger Syndrome, and her brother, Devon, was the one who helped her interpret the world. A compassionate school counselor works with her, trying to teach her the social skills that are so difficult for her. Through her own efforts and her therapy sessions, she begins to come to terms with her loss and makes her first, tentative steps toward friendship. (Winner of the National Book Award)

Sam doesn’t like his pancakes to touch, his coat hurts his skin, and his sister is annoyed by his incessant singing. But once he is diagnosed, teamwork-based support helps Sam’s life become a little easier. The book includes 10 helpful tips geared toward children, showing them how to respect and accept differences as well as to interact with a classmate or friend with Asperger’s.

A sensitive, gently illustrated book about helping a child understand autism in a sibling, playmate, or classmate. The storyline is simple and easily accessible to younger children, who will learn that exploring the personal feelings around social issues is a first step in dealing with them.

Julie can’t wait to go to the park and feed the ducks with her big sister. Her little brother, Ian, who has autism, wants to go, too. Ian doesn’t have the same reactions to all the sights and sounds that his sisters have. Through its simple plot, the story conveys a complex family relationship and demonstrates the ambivalent emotions Julie feels about her autistic brother. This natural mix of resentment, anger, isolation, loyalty, and love is explained in preliminary notes written by professional pediatric caregivers.

Fourth grade is not going at all how Benny Barrows hoped. He hasn’t found a new best friend at school. He’s still not a great bike rider — even though his brother George, who’s autistic, can do tricks. And worst of all, he worries his dad’s recent accident might be all his fault. Benny tries to take his mom’s advice and focus on helping others, and to take things one step at a time, but Benny doesn’t know how he and his family will overcome all the bad luck that life seems to have thrown their way.

Charlie’s perfectly ordinary life has been unraveling ever since his war journalist father was injured in Afghanistan. When his father heads from California to Virginia for medical treatment, Charlie reluctantly travels cross-country with his boy-crazy sister, unruly brothers, and a mysterious new family friend. This story is equal parts madcap road trip, coming-of-age story for an autistic boy who feels he doesn’t understand the world, and an uplifting portrait of a family overcoming a crisis. See our interview with the author, Sally J. Pla ›

Twins Callie and Charlie have a lot in common, but they are also very different: Charlie has autism. Callie narrates the story, describing what autism is and exploring the issues that come along with it. The theme is of love, patience, and acceptance. Endnotes give a few basic facts for children unfamiliar with autism. The authors, a mother-daughter team, based this story on personal experience. The bright, mixed-media illustrations depict the family’s warmth and concern.

Jasmine is only 8 years old but wants to do what the boys do. It’s her family Japanese tradition for the boys to pound the rice for mocha at her family’s New Year’s celebration. But can she really handle it? Readers of all backgrounds will empathize with Jasmine’s dilemma and see themselves in her. 

When their parents go on a trip, Yorick decides to play around with his father’s alchemy. Accidentally inventing a shrinking potion, a very tiny Yorick must rely on his younger — now much larger brother — Charles to keep him safe until the spell can be reversed. Steig’s rich language and cartoon illustration set the tale in medieval times and remain as fresh today as when the book was first published.