Autism: Simple and Inexpensive Natural Autism Therapies to Help Your Autistic Child Live a Calm and Healthy Life

Written by Nancy Perez

The author is a proponent of natural therapies to relieve stress and anxiety. She has used them to treat her own diabetes for years and has written how to employ them to assist in the treatment of autism. In this book, Perez provides an overview of the autism spectrum. While there is a myriad of symptoms and behaviors, all autistic children suffer from communication and socialization issues. Autism appears to have connections with both genetics and the environment.

The heart of the book deals with treatments. While many patients diagnosed with autism require some sort of medication, Perez focuses on more natural treatments. A definite diagnosis is often not made until after age five, but early intervention is important to address a child’s needs. Speech, physical and occupational therapy may be needed as well as special education to address cognition. Depending on the issues the individual faces, music therapy, art therapy, animal therapy, nature therapy, and swing therapy, might be effective interventions. I found the discussion of using horses (hippotherapy) to help a child process sensory movements enlightening. Simpler steps that can be implemented easily in the home include removing chemical products, messaging the child, experimenting with dietary needs, and introducing yoga. Learning each child’s preferences and needs is the most difficult aspect of living and working with a child on the autistic spectrum.

As an educator who has worked as a member of an interdisciplinary team treating autistic children, I would definitely recommend this book to parents and educators who are new to the field of autism as an easy to read introduction to the subject.

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HERE IS MY REVIEW OF BOOK 3 IN THE SWEET T SERIES:

BLOG TOUR

SWEET T AND THE TURTLE TEAM

Written by Cat Michaels

Illustrated by Irene A. Jahns

Nine year old Tara is spending the summer on Gull Island at her Great Aunt Mae’s house with her mom and younger sister Jenna. Tara misses her friends. Billy, who lives next door, tries to befriend her. Tara is upset when she sees him being bullied and doesn’t understand why. Turns out Billy has a secret that he is unwilling to share.

Things are slow and pretty boring until one of the staffers at the Aquarium breaks her ankle. Tara’s mother is short staffed and needs volunteers to help supervise the hatching of turtle eggs on the island.

Tara, Jenna, and Billy study hard and dedicate themselves to protecting the turtle nests. But when a tropical storm named Parker threatens to destroy their charges, everyone rushes to save their mission.

I enjoyed the alliteration and onomatopoeia that the author uses so effectively. At the end of each day Tara texts her older sister Kristen. This is an effective way to keep the story fresh in reader’s minds, making it a good choice for beginning or reluctant readers. Michaels also includes a glossary to explain the texting code. In addition, there are “Mind Ticklers,” questions for readers to answer about the story, as well as a few questions soliciting the reader’s opinions.

This beginning chapter book targeted for children ages seven through eleven is well-written and engaging. The soft watercolor illustrations are pleasant and soothing. I recommend this book as the perfect summertime read.

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Ants: Amazing Facts about Ants with Pictures for Kid

Written by Hathai Ross

The author packs a lot of information into this reference book about ants. Many kids enjoy watching them while exploring outdoors or under glass in an ant farm.

These fascinating creatures live in all parts of the world except Antarctica. More than 12,000 species have been alive for millions of years. Ants live in colonies and are social insects with designated roles. Broadly speaking, there are queens, workers, and male ants. The queen is the largest in the colony whose only job is to lay eggs. Male ants’ only responsibility is to mate with the queen. Worker ants feed the larvae, defend the colony, and remove the waste.

Ross spends a bit of time describing Argentine Ants, Pavement Ants, House Ants, Carpenter Ants, Crazy Ants and Fire Ants. The author describes their appearance, environment, daily life and interesting characteristics. Amazing facts include their exceptional strength, being able to carry twenty times their weight, and the fact that they fight till the death. Ants usually crawl in lines because they are following the pheromones of ants that have crawled before them. There are one million ants for every single human living on earth.

I would have liked to see more photos included in the book. At times the text begins to sound like a list of facts rather than a story about ants, but this book is an excellent reference for children who are interested in these fascinating creatures that are all around us. Recommended especially for young scientists in the eight to twelve age range. Good starting point for a research project.

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Christy’s win over her fear! “I’m not afraid anymore!”

Written by Emma Gertony

Eight-year-old Christy is a happy child, but when night rolls around, she has many fears. Christy imagines the monster under her bed and in her closet. Her brain works overtime reminding her of her fears. When daylight arrives, she is happy and confident once more.

One day Christy decides to admit her fears to her mother. Her mother develops a plan to dispel the monsters and fears. By using pencil, crayons, Play-doh, construction paper and dolls, Christy learns to confront and destroy the monsters in her mind.

This short three chapter book has three parts. First, Christy walks the reader through her fears of the dark, second, she explains how the brain, senses, and organs work together to protect us, and third, Christy and her mother demonstrate how to face our fears and overcome them. This book is targeted for children from kindergarten through grade five. The sentences in the text are quite long and complex making them difficult for young children to understand. On the other hand, there are some pictures to portray the emotions Christy is undergoing. In general, I would recommend the book for children over age seven who have phobias. Parents would need to elaborate on and discuss the text with younger children.

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The Puppy Place # 1 Where Every Puppy Finds a Home

Written by Ellen Miles

This is my first time reading a book in this series. I enjoyed reading this chapter book that is perfect for beginning readers who love dogs. Lizzie and Charles are two siblings who really want a dog, but their mom favors cats and feels that their family is not ready to shoulder the responsibility of caring for a dog. One day, their father, who is a volunteer fireman, rescues a golden retriever puppy from a fire. The children plead with their parents to keep the pup. When their two-year-old brother falls in love with “Goldie,” and follows her everywhere, mom reluctantly agrees to adopt the dog temporarily as a foster pup. Lizzie researchers how to train puppies and Charles helps out with socialization training. Mom insists that they advertise in the community for a permanent placement, and the children reluctantly agree. They come up with a plan to keep the pup nearby. In the end, the family is surprised at how this golden retriever has transformed them.

This chapter book is charming; it tells the story from the viewpoint of the children as well as in the first person from the viewpoint of a puppy. In the process, children learn responsibility and the proper way to care for a puppy. Recommended especially for readers ages seven through ten, but the tale can be enjoyed by all ages.

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The War of the Stories

Written by Galia Koplis

This book is an interesting mixture of genres, science fiction, fairy tale, and time travel. The plot is an unusual one combining many themes that will appeal to a variety of middle grade, teen and adult audiences.

Shirley is the protagonist. Her best friend Orelia is retelling the story to us many years after it happened. On the first day of school, Miss Brown has asked each member of the class to relate an interesting story that they have read during the summer. Shirley is embarrassed because she does not have one. She is given an extra day to find one. When Shirley retreats to the library for her search, the adventure ensues.

Shirley becomes trapped in Storyland. Here the short stories are less important than the large and famous ones. Royalty, commoners, and warriors are engrossed in life and death struggles for survival and dominance. Shirley decides to help a princess find her true love, and persuade a shy story to overcome his diffidence. The tides of battle are constantly changing; Shirley experiences difficulty distinguishing right from wrong and fact from fiction. How will she fare in the battle? Will Shirley escape Storyland, and if she is successful how will her life and those of the characters in Storyland be changed forever?

Young and older readers will be able to look in the mirror and see themselves in the pages of this fantasy that has more elements of realism than appearing on the surface. This tale is fun and pleasant to read, and it contains many layers of meaning embedded deep within its surface. Recommended for anyone age nine and older who enjoys fantasy and is up for a unique read.

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Gift of Gift: Super Amazing Princess Heroes

Written by Sanjay Nambiar

Illustrated by Sedi Pak

A picture book or early chapter book centering on a trio of princesses who use their super powers to accomplish great things. Kinney, Sammie, and Oceania have just completed building a much-needed school in Uganda. Suddenly Kinney becomes ill; Doctor K’s diagnosis is a hole in her heart. Because the hospital in Uganda is not equipped for the surgery, Kinney along with friends return to the United States. When the girls learn that their friend Gift in Uganda has been diagnosed with the same medical problem, they decide to enlist the help of Betty, their mentor, who is the Fairy Mother Superstar Queen. They return to Uganda resolving to use their super speed, super strength, and flying powers along with the doctors and engineers in Uganda to construct a modern hospital. Gift’s heart surgery is successful, and the princesses’ Fairy Mother has a special gift in store for Gift.

This book is beautifully illustrated with bright,  multicultural photos that will appeal to non-readers. The text is done in large print and is easy to read for the beginning reader. While the story is clearly fictional, the lessons of empathy, selflessness, and friendship will inspire little girls who want to be princesses in their own right.

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