Ian's Walk: A Story About Autism

by Laurie Lears, Karen Ritz (Illustrator)

A young girl realizes how much she cares for her autistic brother Ian when he gets lost at the park.

Genres: Picture Books, Realistic Fiction, Autistic Spectrum Disorder, Childrens, Disability, Fiction, Family

32 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1998

Reviews

[Courtney · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good introduction picture book to a potentially complex relationship of siblings.

I have one complaint about ‘a note about autism’. I think this terminology is unintentionally damaging: “The healthy siblings learn valuable lessons of responsibility...”
The word healthy stops me, worries me.
I believe the best term is ‘neurotypical’; it is the best choice, if it is fitting. It could also be said ‘siblings without (the challenge of) autism’, I understand that it’s bulky, but it’s better than ‘other’ which is also problematic.

I did appreciate that the word normal was in quotes: “Very often the child with autism looks “normal” but reacts so very differently...”

[Abigail · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although she loves her younger brother Ian, who has Autism, Julie sometimes feels embarrassed by the fact that he doesn't react the way the other children do - he likes different smells (bricks rather than lilacs), and is fascinated by different things (like the movement of a ceiling fan) - and she gets impatient when he needs special care or attention. Look away for a minute, as Julie does when she, her older sister Tara, and Ian all walk to the park, and he vanishes! Now Julie, whose mother told her that she must take good care of Ian, must put herself in his shoes, if she is to find him again...

I have little first-hand knowledge of this subject, so I am not sure how accurate Laurie Lears' depiction of a young boy with Autism is. It seems, looking through the online reviews, to be quite well received by readers who do have some experience in the area. For my part, I thought the story really highlighted how a sibling might feel and react if their brother or sister had this disorder, and that it managed to address those concerns without being either overly sanguine ("everything's just fine!") or too negative. The result is a narrative that will affirm such siblings' experiences, offering them emotional support, while also providing a vehicle for discussion. The accompanying artwork by Karen Ritz ably captures the emotional pitch of each scene.

All in all, this is a most engaging story, one that addresses an important topic with sensitivity and compassion. I recommend it to families with autistic children, and to young readers who have either been touched by Autism themselves, or who want to learn more about the subject.

[Lisa Vegan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fictional picture book for children about autism, more specifically how the siblings of a child with autism feel and react to their sibling’s condition. There is even a psychologist’s note at the beginning of the book, regarding children who have siblings with disabilities.

The simply told story is engaging and aims to give readers a feel both for what it might be like to have a sibling with autism and what it might be like to have autism, especially as it pertains to sensory differences.

I appreciate the level of psychological sophistication shown, albeit told very superficially, of the mixed feelings Ian’s sister has about him and her responsibility for him.

The illustrations are fabulous, done in a realistic style and perfectly mirroring the emotional tone of the story.

This could be a very useful book for children who know a child/children with autism, whether in their family, or as a classmate or friend. It could also be a springboard for discussion or introspective thought regarding empathy for when readers see someone who appears different, acts differently than one would expect, etc.

[Jordyn Finkenkeller]

This review is required for Dr. Sykes' READ3307 course at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor.
I really enjoyed the perspective of this book and the artwork of the illustrator! It is recommended for 1st through 3rd grades. The story starts at the home of Julie and Ian. Julie is a young girl who has a younger brother, Ian, with autism. She really wants to go to the park with her older sister, but her brother wants to join them. Julie is frustrated because her brother sees, hears and feels things differently, which makes their walk to the park take longer as he experiences the world in his own way. When they are finally to the park, Julie looks away for a moment, and Ian disappears! The plot takes place over a few hours of the afternoon.
At the beginning of the story, Julie just wanted her brother to be “normal,” so they could have a “normal” walk in the park. However, we see Julie’s frustration with her brother turn to appreciation for her brother’s differences after she loses him (even if only for a brief moment). Ian, on the other hand, senses the world differently than others and being “different” does not seem to bother him.
Laurie Lears does a wonderful job of portraying Ian without stereotyping and grouping all children with autism into one category of personality. Instead, Lears takes Ian’s story and individualizes his personality. She writes the story from Julie’s point of view, so it captures her thoughts and feelings of having a brother with autism. Therefore, she writes in a childlike tone with a childlike word choice. When Julie is faced with finding her brother, she has to “think like Ian” in order to find him. By thinking like Ian, she learns to appreciate his unique brain, and readers should do the same; Lears challenges readers to “put themselves in someone else’s shoes.”
Ian’s Walk is a medium-sized, hardback picture book with beautiful, detailed illustrations by Karen Ritz. The pages are mostly filled with the pictures and a small section for the words of the story. Both work together in a beautiful way to tell this important story.
In the past, talking about and recognizing autism has almost been taboo. However, that isn’t the case anymore, and as a teacher, I want to model how we need to treat all of our students. Being a good role model is important but this book can be a useful tool to demonstrate that everyone’s story is different, everyone’s story is unique and everyone’s story is significant.

[Jes Hancock · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was emotional for me and my partner; the portrayal of Ian was spot-on with our little boy. It's so easy to feel like you're alone, so this helped ease that some. I initially picked this book up for our oldest child to read, although she is older than the recommended age, but it touched me so much I made everyone that is close to Atlas read it. I enjoyed the turn around that Julie made in regards to her attitude about her brother and some of his mannerisms. This book gives a little insight into a neuro-typical sibling's view of their Autistic sibling, which is something that doesn't get talked about enough.

[Ashley Fulkerson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading this book because I loved seeing the change that Julie makes in the book. In the beginning of the book, she is only viewing the world in the way that she is able to see it and gets annoyed with her brother, Ian, for being different. However, when Ian goes missing, she has to challenge herself to see the world the way that Ian sees it so she is able to find him. Then on their way home, she is no longer annoyed with him but rather takes part in trying to see the world from his perspective. This story makes me think about the TED talk Adichie (2009) gave because Julie is viewing see the world as a single story and it isn't until she steps away from that thinking and opens up her mind that she is able to see the world from Ian's point of view.

[Julie Suzanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this brief narrative, one can see how Ian hears, tastes, sees, and feels differently from his siblings. A sister, upon almost losing her brother, decides that sometimes they can do things his way instead of being embarrassed of him and trying to get him to do things HER way. Precious.

[N_Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the story about 2 sisters who take their autistic brother on a walk to the park. it follows them on their way to the park and shows how Ian does everything differently than others, for example, instead of smelling the flowers, he smells the bricks on a building. The sisters proceed to lose track of Ian, panic and them find him. This makes them realize that he really does not do things differently but actually in his own way that may be different than others. This a great book that points out just how hard autism is to explain to others. It touches on how ordinary situations are approached by an autistic child and shows the difficulties that sibling might face in understanding and dealing with these unpredictable behaviors. I think this book would lend itself well to a classroom that has an autistic child in it. It would help the students to understand that the autistic child in not "different" just does things his/her own way. It would help to teach compassion, and tolerance of people who are not the same as the majority of the world.

[Paige Clarke · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ian's Walk is a story of Ian and his two older sisters Julie and Tara. Ian is a little different because he has autism. This makes him act funny sometimes, and it embarrasses Julie. When Ian wants to come along to feed the ducks with Julie and Tara, Julie is a bit worried. They take him through the park, but then lose him. Using what she knows about the way that Ian looks at the world, she is able to find him.

Ian's walk is another realistic fiction book. This book was written by an insider, because Laurie Lears taught special education for seven years. While she does not have autism herself, she is somewhat of an expert in the field of children with disabilities. This book is age appropriate for kindergartners and 1st graders, because all three of the main characters are young and close to the age of my targeted audience. The illustrations in this book are sub-par and do not really help or hurt the story. I believe this book would incite a lot of questions about autism, and raise awareness to students of what autism is.

[Randie D. Camp, M.S. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story is told from the sister's perspective, which is unique and appealing for a book about a child with a disability. Julie's brother, Ian, has autism. So, when Julie and her older sister, Tara, want to go on a walk, they must watch Ian carefully. Julie is embarrassed by some of Ian's sensory differences and rushes him along--even pulling him along at times. But when Ian goes missing for a few minutes, Julie's feelings change. She loves Ian very much and is relieved to find him safe...she even tries to think and feel like him.

I feel the book does a nice job of capturing the complex emotions that a sibling might experience when a sibling or family member has a disability. Autism has such a wide spectrum that the mannerisms of Ian may or may not relate to readers. I do think the emotions felt by Julie will help readers to connect to this story and gain meaning from that perspective.

[Leanne Proctor · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this book was really interesting.
Ian’s walk: A story about Autism
by Laurie Lears, Karen Ritz (Illustrator)
This book looks at autism through a sister’s eyes. Julie loses her brother in the park and tries to find him. In order to do so she must place herself in Ian’s shoes and see what it is like to have Autism.
This is a colourful book and really helps readers identify with those who are diagnosed with Autism. This book would be good as a class read to young juniors. This book can help deal with misconceptions about Autism.
It may be good to introduce this story for citizenship lessons.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

My son has been asking me about "special" kids and this was a great book to teach about the topic. Ian has autism and the book describes what the world is like for him, narrated from the point of view of his older sister.

[Marie Sheedy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ian's Walk: A Story about Autism really resonated with me. I read a digital version of this text from the local public library. The picture book is about 3 siblings that go for a walk. The 2 oldest siblings are heading to the park and, frankly, do not want to take their younger brother. This story is told by the middle child, so we know that she particularly does not want her younger brother to tag along. She is uncomfortable with him coming because he has autism, and that to her means that he will make the trip to the park different than what she wants. As they walk, she is right. Ian is not behaving in a typical way, and that causes her to become annoyed with her brother. However, when Ian temporarily goes missing, she forgets all about her annoyance and the love she has for her brother is apparent. She does have a connection with him because she thinks like her brother, and quickly figures out where he could have wandered off to. Ian is safe and the sister has learned a deeper level of acceptance, by allowing her brother to do things on the walk that he finds enjoyable. For example, he perseverates on the fan in the diner, he lines stones up while laying on the ground, and he flaps his hands. Of course, these are all typical behaviors of children with autism, but his sister starts to accept these at the end of the story. I really liked the forward that was included at the beginning of the book, written by a Pediatric Psychologist and also a Director of Sibling Services at Illinois Masonic. The general message is that siblings are impacted by a brother or sister with a disability. Sometimes that is negative, but it can also be positive. The important thing to remember is that the negative feelings are not wrong, they are okay. They are normal. It is how the sibling comes to accept their brother and sister that is important. With love and support that will come with time. My brother has Down Syndrome. As a child growing up in the 1970's - 1980's this was not as widely accepted as it is today. I had many feelings about my brother's disability, but I don't ever remember them being of embarrassment. They were probably there, it is normal. But now that I am an adult, it is not the feeling that comes to mind. I do remember other children making fun of him, and then also us, his 4 sisters. But I always felt anger toward the bullies, and protective of my brother. As an adult sibling of someone with a disability I hope parents of younger children know that, with acceptance, this can be the greatest gift a family can experience. It is something that has impacted me so much that I grew up to be a special education teacher, primarily working with students with autism. I highly recommend this book to people of all ages. It gives an accurate portrayal of autism, of sibling interactions and of family love.

[Taylor Meier · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ian's Walk: A Story about Autism is a fantastic book. Ian is a young boy with autism. Ian's sisters, Julie and Tara, wanted to go for a walk in the park, however, their mother said that Ian must go with them. On the walk, Julie describes Ian's different behavior and how she is embarrassed by the way he is acting. While on the walk with his sisters, Ian goes missing. Julie, who was moments earlier complaining about her brother Ian, was now in full panic mode. Julie has no idea where Ian might have gone, but she knows she needs to find him fast. Julie decided to think the same way that Ian would. When Julie began to think like Ian, she found herself walking toward his favorite spot, where she found her brother Ian safe. Julie and Tara took Ian home. Julie began to appreciate her brother Ian and accept his actions and personalities. I loved this book because I enjoyed reading the way that Julie's character evolved. At the beginning of the story, Julie was very embarrassed by her brother Ian and didn't understand why he acted in such an embarrassing way. When Julie thought she had lost her brother, I believe she realized how important he was to her. After brining Ian home, Julie started to try and understand her brothers actions. I feel like this is a great book to read to learn more about someone with autism, and that even if they may act different, they are still a human being. I love this book and I highly recommend it.

[Reagan Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ian's Walk tells the story of a boy named Ian, who has Autism. When Ian goes on a walk with his sisters to the park, the book points out all of the unique things that he does in comparison to the other kids in the story, such as observing the fan in the diner or laying on the ground at the pond. On the way to the park, Ian's sisters try to prevent him from doing these things in order to avoid the strange looks of those who pass by them. After an eventful trip to the park in which they lose track of Ian and have to search for him, the sisters learn to accept Ian for his uniqueness and allow him to do the things that he wants to do with no fear of what others are thinking.

The overall theme and purpose of this book is to teach others about Autism, but more broadly, to teach others about acceptance and embracing differences.

When I read Ian's Walk, it made me feel good and reminded me the importance of accepting others and not judging people as there may always be a side of the story that I do not know. I hope to one day be a special education teacher, so this book reminded me to cherish the special characteristics that these kids have, rather than try to hide them.

I would recommend this book, as it could serve as a first exposure into Autism for those who have not been educated on the topic. Along with this, it also serves as a resource to remind students the importance of not judging others.

[Monique Gil · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ian's walk is about two sisters who want to go to the park but their little brother Ian also wants to go with them. They question whether they should take their brother because he is a bit different, he has autism. They take him to all the places they want to go but Ian slows them down a little bit because he sees, hears, smells, and tastes differently than they do. They go to the park where Ian goes on a walk while his sisters are distracted. They both freak out and look for him everywhere but Julia stops and thinks where Ian would go and they found him, she hugged him tight and realized how much she actually cares for her brother and his autism.
I loved this book so much, I haven't had much hands on experience with people or children who are autistic. This book I feel gives us a great perspective on what it is like taking care of someone who is autistic. I really liked how the author included a note before reading the book about autism and what families and siblings go through having someone who is autistic in their lives.
The way I could incorporate this book into the classroom would be creating a week long unit for read alouds focusing on differences and social issues portrayed in children's books. We could have small group discussions about what we think the main issues are and how we could deal with them. I would like the students to use a graphic organizer to help them write down their ideas and suggestions on how to deal with those issues.

[Caitlen Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a timeless story about not appreciating your younger sibling until you think you've lost them. The only difference is that in this story, Ian, the younger sibling, has autism. The story follows several of the common beats for these types of disability stories. The in depth explanation early, as well as the frustrated main character who has to "deal" with their sibling's strangeness. The basic plot is that Ian and his two sisters go for a walk in the park. Ian takes a long time to go for walks because he gets engrossed in things easily. His older sister loses him and must attempt to experience the world as Ian does to find him. She does and realizes there is value in Ian's way of seeing the world, as well as being grateful that her brother is safe.
I appreciate that this book has a nonverbal character with autism. I think that being nonverbal is a symptom that doesn't get talked about enough. It is also often used as a measure for when a child is "too autistic" or "low-functioning". I really appreciate that the book shows that because Ian is not speaking, he is taking in the world around him. He can almost appreciate things better because he can have such clear focus. The book does a great job of showing that lots of traditionally negative attributes can have their own benefits.
The art style is very 90s. It almost looks like the book drew the images from photographs. It's hyper-realistic but still painted.

[Meredith Bradford · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Ian's Walk" begins with Julie about to go to the park with one of her friends. However, before she leaves, her brother Ian, who is autistic, gives the sign that he wants to go, too. When they walk to the park, however, Julie stops Ian from doing everything he would normally do. She is embarrassed by her brother and his actions. However, when they all get to the park, Ian runs off. Julie begins to "think like Ian", and she finds him at the bell in the park, which is his favorite spot. This makes her realize that she had been thinking of her brother completely wrong. On the walk back home, Julie lets Ian do everything he would normally do, and she is proud that Ian is different.

I thought that this story was amazingly written. I have 2 cousins who have autism, so I thought it was amazing to see autism represented. I firmly believe that it's important to have children with special needs or disabilities represented in books and media. I believe that this would give them a sense of confidence and prove to them that they are not alone, especially in a world where it can feel like they are.

[Raquel Nunez · Rating 2 out of 5]

I work with Autistic, kids so I can understand Ian. This is a great book for children to read. So that when they encounter someone who is Autistic; they can treat them the same as other kids who do not have as many challenges as Autistic kids do. The author does depict characteristic that can occur from an Autistic kid. Such as when Ian does not pay attention to loud noises like the firetruck, sensory things like the hot ground and placing his face on it, and being fixated on one thing like the ceiling fans in the resistant. The illustrations in this book were made with water color. They are realistic and proportional drawings. This was not one of the best books I have read because I think that it can be explained better what autism is and what that looks like and how it can be handled by others. The book gives a one point of view which is the sisters view of baby-sitting her brother as she goes out to the park and along the way all the things they encounter and Ians reaction to things. This book could be used once autism is taught to a class to be able to point out the things that make them different and how other students can respond to the differences.

[Deja Hall · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book expels the many stereotypes and misinformation society gets about children with autism. This book starts with stating how when we see strange things and wonder why, but it also explains how people tend to not look past the “strange things” children with autism do. Aside from being interesting, as a reader, I got to delve into the life of the sibling of a child who has autism. The characters were not judgmental or stereotypical, and it was based on the acceptance, questions, and answers, that come along with understanding someone with autism. I enjoyed reading this book because it shows the many things children with autism can do instead of portraying them as people that need help doing everything. This book is also informational because it describes the various behaviors children with autism may display to as to not assume or judge them before understanding. Lastly, I loved how the author had questions for discussions at the end of the book. Those questions allow for students to stop and think about their perspectives and ideas on their feelings towards children with disabilities, their connections with them, and how they would treat a child with autism. This book doesn’t make children with disabilities feel less than or different, they just view things differently. The characters were not from different cultural backgrounds, but I did enjoy the fact that the author, Laurie Lears, used her experiences with having a sibling with autism to write this text. Using the checklist, I saw that the illustrations were beautiful and instead of portraying negative stereotypes of Ian, his sister found everything in him that was positive while adding how it makes him a better person every day.

[Sandi Ferris]

What a beautiful story with beautiful illustrations. The story is about something that is so real. Julie and Tara are asked by their mother to take their little brother on a walk. The difference for this everyday occurrance in families is that Ian is autistic. He reacts to the people and places the come upon in different ways than the girls do. In the beginning Julie is embarrassed about how Ian reacts differently than she would. All things change when Ian wanders off and disappears. The girls then need to try to think like Ian would to find him and make sure that he is safe. After successfully finding him the walk home is different. Julie is able to appreciate how Ian is and allows him to react to situations how he wants and needs to. He stops and takes time to line stones up in a row and sniffs the brick wall at the post office, and stops to stare at the ceiling fan in the local diner. Karen Ritz has paired the story with beautiful paintings that display the emotions of the children that add so much to the story told. LOVE IT!!

[Michael Morley · Rating 2 out of 5]

Another story about a family who narrates what it’s like to live with an autistic sibling, this book was a contrast to My Brother Charlie. Julie, the older sister, describes a day in the life of living with Ian where they go for a walk together. In My Brother Charlie the focus was more on the emotions of an autistic child, but this book was a more accurate depiction on the realism of just how different autistic children are. Julie explains her brother’s condition through how he sees, hears, smells, touches, and tastes the world. Also, Julie is a stark contrast to Callie. Julie displays her frustrations with her brother’s condition, but Callie embraced it.
This book was a more realistic telling of what autism really is. Even looking at the pictures, My Brother Charlie has bright, fun, cartoonish illustrations, whereas Ian’s Walk was more serious and the muted colors and accurate facial features depicted that as well.

[Megan Ewald · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book about Ian, his sister and her friend Tara. The girls want to go for a walk and Ian wants to tag along. On the way to the fair, Ian's sister talks about all the things that Ian does differently. Once his sister realizes that it's okay to be different, Ian's sister decides to let Ian take the route he wants back to the house. The illustrations in this book are amazing and very detailed. They help put the story together but they never show that Ian is different.

I absolutely love the story of this book. It is so perfect to describe what is different about Ian in a way that does not teach children that they are nothing. I love that book allows Ian to choose what he wants to do and his sister tags along to do them too. This has been my favorite book thus far. It's talked about autism in a way that helps explaining what autism is for the students. It keeps the importance of family and not treating others differently so important.

[Rachael Fricke · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ian's walk is about a young boy, Ian who has autism, and his two sisters who want to go to the park. Before the sisters leave the house Ian wants to go with them. The two girls are a little on the fence about taking Ian to the park with him, as he has a mind of his own. Ian doesn't want to eat what the girls want. Ian stops to look and smells things the girls are not interested in. Ian doesn't like the way certain things feel. However, Ian wanders off in the middle of the story, and the girls have to find him. They try to think like Ian would and find him sitting under a bell in the middle of the park. They realize that Ian's way isn't so bad so on the way home they walk back Ian's way.

This is a great story that will provide children with an experience of what a day is like for someone with autism and their siblings. It was a wonderful example that his sisters followed what he did and saw things from his perspective, instead of trying force him to understand theirs.

[Julia McMenamin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Laurie Lear's does a great job with this book. The beginning of this book has an informational note from a doctor that explains what it may be like for the siblings of children with autism. Then, the book takes the reader through a story of two girls and their brother, who has Autism. This book brings light to the behaviors of autistic children that may seem odd compared to the behaviors of somebody without. For example, child with Autism see things differently than we do, hear things different, smell things different, etc. At first this is challenging for the sisters until they lose their brother in the park one day. When they find him, they realize they even though he may be different and his world isn't perfect, he is still their brother and they still love him. I enjoyed this book because I sometimes find it hard to identify Autism, so reading this helped me become more understanding for my future students.

[Mariela Alfaro · Rating 4 out of 5]

Summary
Ian has autism. Both his sisters are ashamed of him because he does things differently, he is not like everyone else. Julie want to go to the park but does not want to take Ian because of the way he acts she thinks it looks silly. However, while they are eating Ian gets lost. After finding him Julie and Tara appreciate Ian and try to understand the way he looks at the world and on the way back home they let Ian do the thing his way.

Major Themes
Acceptance

Personal Response
I found this book as very interesting and relatable. At the begging when we encounter someone with differences it is hard to know how to act however as we understand the way they act we learn to accept and act with them.

Recommendation
I would recommend this book to be incorporated in the classrooms so students will understand different disabilities such as an autism. It will help children become more open and understanding.

[Yissel Martinez · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really like this book, becasue this book is about a condition that many children don't know about or don't understand. This book gives children an insight on how these kids behave and what interests them and what doesn't. It is good that children learn about different conditions that other kids their age might have, that way they don't bully or talk bad about these kids that might not behave the same way they do. It's also good to teach them at a young age so that if one day they do come by a person with this difference they won't behave differently towards them. This book is easy to read for children and it is fun to read with an adult, that way if the child has any questions, the adult can help. I also love the drawings, because they have a lot of detail, they are clear and they are drawn with water color.

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is about a young boy who wants to go with his older sister to feed the ducks at the pond. He doesn't speak but they know exactly what he wants. Ian's brain sees things differently than others. when walking past a Diner he will walk in and watch the fan go in slow circles. He hears things differently, he hears things others don't hear quite as well. He smells and feels things differently than others. Ian then wonders off and is soon found playing with his favorite Bell in the middle of the town. His sister starts to understand and does things the way Ian wants to and when they reach home she gets a warm smile from her brother. This book is great because of the background story and the illustrations that go along with it. the pictures really could tell their own story themselves if there weren't any words to help.

[Kylee Doty · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ian's Walk: A Story About Autism is an exceptional book written by Laurie Lears that teaches children valuable lessons about our unique differences. Lears writes about the story of a young boy with autism named Ian. Ian has two sisters, Julie and Tara, both who want to go to the park. However, their mother informs them that Ian must come along. During their walk in the park, Ian goes missing and Julie reiterates her frustration from having a brother like Ian. Nevertheless, Ian is found and Julie is able to appreciate how imperfectly perfect her brother is. I rated this book five stars due to the book being an appropriate length for young children to keep their attention. Also, this book uses wonderful illustrations to captivate young readers. I also enjoyed that this book teaches readers about autism in a direct and engaging way, unlike other books.

[CHIAO-YIN LO · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like this book, and I also like Ian. I think he was a cute boy and kind and creative boy. In our daily life, we should take concerns to the people who are in need. Like Ian, I think he is a talented boy, he was the same as anyone else. One different was that the way he look this world was a little different from us. He could see more interesting things which we could not see from our eyes. At the beginning, I think his sister thought her brother was a little strange than any other children. But after Ian was missing, she got nervous. At the end, she hugged Ian tightly! We should think more to the people who are in need.They are the same as us,they just need you to give them more patient and space!