It’s a fantastic independent book seller that will actually be responsive and select appropriate books for you. Some of the more embarrassing extracts from her childhood and teenage diaries are used as the diary entries in her debut novel, Dandelion Clocks. These books aimed at 11-13 year olds contain themes around friendships and overcoming a variety of challenges, as well as starting at a new school.

It’s really important to point out to neurotypical readers that Tally is not a universal representation of how Autism presents itself. One thing Tally had that I did not have was the knowledge that she is autistic, she knew - I wish I had known and I wish I had books like this when I was that age.Again, I'm not autistic, and I know that my experience is different, but the message of "this is just who Tally is," as accepting as it seems, can be a cop out from finding solutions to someone's misery. Having a grandson that is only 5 and just starting main stream school as an autistic young man, this helped me to recognize his behaviors and appreciate how brilliant he is. Your words, like your reviews, bring books to life and give them a voice before the front cover is even turned.

These could be useful for showing autism positively as well as understanding some different aspects children may experience. Yesterday a parent came over to tell me how impressed she was by the book fair and that you did a fabulous job of selling the books to the children first.I have even talked the head into a little revamp of the library so that we can display them properly! But in the time it took to have this conversation, the worm could have easily have been removed to the grass!

While I didn't relate to all of Tally's traits--it seemed to me in a few parts that she might fit the criteria for something else as well, perhaps OCD--the portrayal of what it feels like to have a meltdown is one of the most insightful I've seen. It's been fun, because even though that is the last time in my life I would ever want to experience again, I've gotten to enjoy my memories of the good parts while better reconciling myself to the awful aspects. I'm looking forward to my daughter learning to read better as I will be saving this for her and I think she will really enjoy this and can relate so much. Her mum is an early years consultant, trainer and conference speaker who previously worked for the London Borough of Lewisham as a School Improvement Advisor for Early Years and a Strategic Lead for Early Years. The idea of featuring autistic characters in fiction is a good one, and I think it's a great idea to help people understand what it's like to live with autism.No one ever says to Tally, Tiger Girl is still Tally and that she is strong enough to do those things without wearing her tiger mask because she is Tally and she’s wonderful and strong and did all those things by herself. Help your child develop kindness and empathy with these middle grade books that inspire compassion: whether that’s towards animals, friends, or people in very different situations to your own.