Title: A Manual For Marco: Living, Learning, and Laughing With an Autistic Sibling
Author: Shaila Abdullah
Illustrators: Iman Tejpar & Shaila Abdullah
Genre: Children’s Picture Book
Date Published: February 1, 2015
About the Book
Pages from the diary of an eight-year old girl who 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.
My Review
I received a free ecopy of this book for an honest review.
I really like this book! It’s a children’s book narrated by Sophie, who has a brother named Marco who has autism. Sophie decides to keep a journal about the special and not so special things about Marco. She describes how Marco is different, such as his genius with numbers or that he hides things of hers or that he thrives on routine. What Sophie eventually realizes is that she has written A Manual for Marco.
A Manual for Marco is not only a good book for children to read to help them understand other children with special needs, but it’s also a good book for adults. It even has tips for parents at the end.
There are photos of the family that the book is based on at the end of the book and some information about the members of the family. I thought this was a good addition to the story. It makes Marco and his family more real.
About the Author
Shaila Abdullah is an award-winning author and designer based in Austin, Texas. She has written five books: Saffron Dreams, Beyond the Cayenne Wall, My Friend Suhana, Rani in Search of a Rainbow, and A Manual for Marco. The author has received several awards for her work including the Golden Quill Award and Patras Bukhari Award for English Language. Several academic institutions have adopted her books as course study or recommended reading, including the University of California, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Indiana University, Boston University, California State University, and George Washington University. Learn more about the author at http://ShailaAbdullah.com
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