Anthony Best: A Picture Book about Asperger's

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Description

Anthony Best is not like the other kids in his neighborhood. He screams at loud noises, doesnt like to be called Tony, spins around in circles to have fun, and throws sand at kids in the sandbox. Other kids laugh at silly knock-knock jokes, but not Anthony; he simply stands and stares. And instead of giggling, he flaps his hands when he is happy. Anthony has Aspergers syndrome, which makes him see the world in a different way. But his friend Hannah knows that although Anthony is different and doesnt play like other kids, he has something very special insidesomething that makes him the best. When Anthony receives a new piano, his hidden talent is revealed.
Everyone has their quirks and traits that make them different from others, as Davene Fahy and Carol Inouye illustrate, but those differences are precisely what make us specialno matter how we interact with others. With around 1.5 percent of children in the United States diagnosed with Aspergers syndrome, Anthony Best is a useful tool for teachers, speech therapists, and parents to use in discussions with children about communication problems, accepting differences, teaching tolerance, and discovering what makes each one of us special.

Reviews

"This story is rich in so many ways . . . a window into Asperger's syndrome and at the same time, a window into childhood." --Sima Gerber, PhD, CCC-SLP, professor of speech-language pathology at Queens College

"This kind of a book can only do good things." --Daniel Gottlieb, PhD, author of Letters to Sam: A Grandfather's Lessons on Love, Loss, and the Gifts of Life

"Compassionately teaching that differently abled children may also have special gifts." --Midwest Book Review

"I think Anthony Best is a great avenue to teach typical children about their autistic friends and why they often act so differently." --Kristen Mullaney, parent of two children with autism

Author Bio

Davene Fahy, MA, CCC-SLP, has worked as a speech therapist and special education director for more than forty years in and around Philadelphia and in Maine. She is a life member of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA).

Carol Inouye has written and illustrated over a dozen children's books. She has also illustrated for advertising, national magazines, and television networks. Prior to becoming an illustrator, Inouye worked as an art director for several publishing houses in New York. She has won various awards for illustration, graphic design, and art direction from the New York Society of Illustrators, the New England Museum Association, and the Art Directors Club of New York.