The princess and the ruby: An autism fairy tale

The Princess and the Ruby: An Autism Fairy Tale is a new twist on an old classic. A young girl shows up at the castle, and the king knows right away that she is the long-lost princess. His new wife, however, does not believe it and sets about to find out. Set in The Princess and the Pea fashion, this book is sure to please young children with or without autism.

Interested? Email us at cedir@indiana.edu to check out this title or use worldcat.org to find it in a library near you.

Fly Away

Fly Away is a powerful film directed by Emmy Award® winner Janet Grillo (Autism: The Musical). This film narrates the story of Jeanne (Beth Broderick, Bonfire of the Vanities, Sabrina the Teenage Witch) and her autistic teenage daughter, Mandy (Ashley Rickards, One Tree Hill). Jeanne has cared for Mandy since the day she was born, growing closer every day to a child who is charmingly offbeat one moment and nearly impossible to manage the next. As the pressures of work and her child's needs increase, Jeanne must decide whether or not to enroll Mandy in a therapeutic residential facility.

Want to check it out? Email us at cedir@indiana.edu or use worldcat.org to find it in a library near you.

Wild Orchid

Looking for a lighter read? Set in Canada, Wild Orchid is about a young adult with Asperger's. Even though she is 18, Taylor cannot be left alone and must accompany her mother on her summer vacation to Prince Albert National Park. What Taylor learns about herself that summer will change her life forever.

Shortlisted for Canadian Library Association Young Adult Book of the Year Award
2007 Manitoba Young Readers' Choice Award nominee
2007 Saskatchewan Young Readers' Choice Willow Awards nominee
Canadian Children's Book Centre Our Choice Starred Selection
White Pine nominee, 2007

Want to check it out? Email us at cedir@indiana.edu or use worldcat.org to find it in a library near you.

Haze

Summer is drawing near. Ready to read a book just for fun? Check out Haze by Kathy Hoopman. This fast-paced Young Adult fiction book is only 159 pages long and will get you started! Full of computer fraud, romance, lies, and Asperger syndrome, this story will keep teenagers of all types turning the pages.

Want to check it out? Email us.

Live outside of Indiana? Check worldcat.org to find it in a library near you.

Anything But Typical

Anything But Typical by Nora Raleigh Baskin is a work of young adult fiction and the winner of the Schneider Family Book Award. The novel is told from the perspective of a twelve-year-old boy with autism as he navigates the world of "neurotypicals." It begins:

"Most people like to talk in their own language.
...But more than talking in their own language, people like to hear things in a way they are most comfortable...so I will try to tell this story in that way.
...I not he. Me not him. Mine not his.
...I will try--
To tell my story in their language, in your language.
I am Jason Blake."

Interested in this book? Indiana resident? Email us!

Not an Indiana resident? Find this book at your local library through Worldcat.

Marcelo in the Real World

Marcelo in the Real World is a work of fiction written in the first person present by Francisco Stork, a winner of the Junior Library Guild Schneider Family Book Awards. The title character is Marcelo, a seventeen-year-old with high functioning autism. Marcelo's father, who does not "believe" in his son's condition, sends him to work in the mailroom of his law firm one summer to expose him to "the real world." There Marcelo encounters mysteries, intrigue and romance.

Interested in this book? Indiana resident? Email us!

Not an Indiana resident? Find this book at your local library through WorldCat.

NBC's Parenthood

A new NBC series premiered this month based on the 1989 comedy-drama movie Parenthood. Airing Tuesdays at 10pm, the show follows the "very large, very colorful and imperfect Braverman family."


In one of the first plotlines of the show, Adam and Kristina Braverman come to terms with the fact that their youngest son, Max, has Asperger's Syndrome. The show's executive producer, Jason Katims, has a son with Asperger's and "wanted to portray the disorder in as accurate a light as possible." Laura Shumaker of the San Francisco Chronicle says he succeeded: "[Katims] not only [showed] the quirks of a child struggling with an autism spectrum disorder, but [also] how his parents and extended family grapple with understanding and accepting....I was so convinced by the the 8 year old actor's portrayal of a child with Asperger's that I thought he must have the disorder himself."

You can view full episodes of Parenthood by visiting the link on the NBC's official page: http://www.nbc.com/parenthood/.

In His Shoes

In his shoes: a short journey through autism by Joanna Keating-Velasco is a work of juvenile fiction centering around a middle school student with autism. Keating-Velasco's 150 page book details the everyday life of 13-year-old Nick Hansen as he visits the beach and mall and attends his first school dance. The book is perfect for students age 11-15 with classmates or friends with autism.

Interested in this book? Indiana resident? Email us!

Not an Indiana resident? Find this book at your local library through WorldCat.