 | ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids. |
 | OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | NOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age. |
Anything But Typical
- By Nora Raleigh Baskin
- Genre: Emotions
Common Sense Media says
Realistic look inside the world of a tween with autism.
Parents say
Kids say
QUALITY
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that this book deals with a child who has autism and how it affects others around him. There are some emotional situations, as well.
What's the story?
Jason is 12 years old and has autism. He doesn't like loud noises, likes order and routine, but more importantly, he loves to write. His stories are a way to express himself to a world that often doesn't understand him. He submits his stories to an online website and finds a friend in another writer, a girl named Rebecca, who goes by the name Phoenix Bird. She likes his stories and accepts him, but when an opportunity comes for them to meet in person at a writing conference, Jason wonders if he'll lose his friend once she learns he has autism.
Is it any good?
Author Nora Baskin tries to bring readers into the world of a child with autism, and it's a heartbreaking, moving, yet loving look as Jason struggles to use "our language" to describe the world around him and how he fits into it. He describes knowing how others feel about him even though they think he doesn't understand -- his mother taking his baby brother with her everywhere because she's afraid he might hurt him, his grandmother speaking slowly and loudly to him as if he can't hear, kids making fun of him, his anxiety about meeting a friend who doesn't know about his condition.
The words can sometimes come in a jumble, but the words are Jason's way of trying to connect his life to the lives of "normal" people. Some of the true gems of this book are Jason's stories that he posts online that parallel his life in ways he may not understand, but the readers will. Both kids and parents will love this wonderful, eye-opening, and sensitive story.
What families can talk about
Families can talk about being different. Are there special needs kids in your school? How do others treat them? How do you treat them?
Can you imagine what it would be like to be them? What are some things
about you that are different from most of your friends? Why is
different OK?
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AGE
girls or boys will like it
This book was one of my favorites!
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AGE
It's pretty good, but little kids won't understand
It's about a boy with autism, and it's a little confusing, since it jumps from one storyline to another. Great message. Love Bennu. :)
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AGE
Wonderful Book.
This was such a great book. It almost made me cry. I stopped and relized "wow, kids like this actually think about other people." All he wanted was friends. And I hope one day the school kids wake up and realize what a great person Jason is.
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AGE
Wow! Autism is not a subject many like to talk about. Anything But Typical is a wonderful book about a 12-year old Autistic boy named Jason. He is most comfortable at his computer, writing fantasy stories and posting them to a blog devoted to amateur writers of the genre. It is a compassionate look inside Jason's thoughts and dreams. I love the honesty with which the book is written.
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AGE
but I think its for 12 and up ages
great book!
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AGE
Awesome Book
I loved this book! I can relate to Jason a lot, and I kept thinking, 'Exactly!' and 'I thought I was the only one!' I really liked this book. It was a lot better than some of Baskin's other books, and I will almost definitely read it again. I recommend it for kids 10 and up, because some younger kids have a hard time understanding autism, and it can kind of scare them sometimes. The only thing that I thought was kind of weird was that Jason told his friends that PheonixBird was his girlfriend, and she had never agreed to that. That would be kind of weird, if I were in her place, and I would get mad. Other than that, I really, really loved this book!
Happy reading! :)
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AGE
great for tweens and teens
Very educational with out trying to be.
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Kid, 12 years old
April 23, 2011
AGE
GREAT BOOK
I love this book I had to read it for a book club and I love it usually these books r boring but this was awesome Jason is such a great role model he teaches lessons in his own way it's very eduicational because it teaches about plots and writing
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AGE
I Love this book because it teaches kids how to learn more about other kids around them and also in their life
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AGE
I had to do this for Summer reading... and liked it!
A very interesting story. It will help kids understand autism and how every has a different way of seeing the world.
I put it a "on for 11 and up" because kids have to be mature enough to understand all of this.
It also has a lot of good advice for writers. : D
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| Author: | Nora Raleigh Baskin |
| Book type: | Fiction |
| Genre: | Emotions |
| Publisher: | Simon & Schuster |
| Publication date: | March 9, 2009 |
| Number of pages: | 208 |
| Hardcover price: | $15.99 |
| Publisher's recommended age(s): | 9 - 12 |
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