Howie Helps Himself.

by Joan Fassler, Joe Lasker (Illustrator)

Though he enjoys life with his family and attends school, Howie, a child with cerebral palsy, wants more than anything else to be able to move his wheelchair by himself.

Genres: Picture Books, Disability, Realistic Fiction, Childrens, Nonfiction

32 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1975

Reviews

[Betty Ortega · Rating 5 out of 5]

* Book Summary
Howie is a boy with disabilities who tries to work really hard to improve his therapy to be more like the other kids at school.

*Awards
None

* Grade Level/ Interest level
This book can keep the interest of a 1st grade - 2nd-grade class because is around the age kids start to notice and understand major differences between their classmates.

* Appropriate Classroom Use
During class discussions about building empathy towards others who are "different"

*Student Who Might Benefit From Reading
Students who have disabilities and students who do not relate to them

* Small Group Use
This would be a good book to use during group discussion on how we can make others feel welcome and not assume things

* Whole Class Use
During reading period about building empathy towards others

*Related Book In Genre
Ian's Walk a Story about Autism
*Multimedia Connections
N/A

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Though he enjoys life with his family, and attends school, Howie, a young boy with cerebral palsy, wants more than anything to be able to move his wheelchair by himself.

Lower Grades K-3

Topic - Subtopic: Disabilities-Physical; Family Life-Sisters; People-Children;

[Tianna Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book is about a young boy named who struggles to maneuver his wheelchair on his own. he has cerebral palsy and that has limited his movements in his limbs since birth. the other students in his classroom have learned to move their wheelchairs on their own. Howie is on a mission to learn to do the same so he can make his father proud. i recommend this book because I feel it gives an insight on the personal struggles children with cerebral palsy face. they have feelings and wants just like any other kid. it is something we see so small that is huge in their world. it will help parents also understand that the children look to them for approval more than they think. i love this book because Howie doesn't let his disability affect his will and desire to push forward and hit those milestones for himself. this book shows a great sense of self-encouragement!

[Deja Hall · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this story, a young boy with cerebral palsy is absolutely determined to learn to push himself in his wheelchair. Howie loves his family and school but he faces challenges because of his illness with cerebral palsy. By learning to push himself in his wheelchair, he becomes a more understanding person with higher self-esteem. The illustrations for this book are realistic and because some are in black and some are in color, I feel that it helps the book flow nicely with the story, offering context to early readers. I would recommend this book to students ages 4-8 because it gives them a better insight of a child who may be physically different from them. Just like any other person, Howie has trouble learning how to accept and understand his disability, but overtime he sees positive in his situation. I love how every where Howie goes their were accommodations made for him such as a ramp for stairs and one for getting off of the bus. Although Howie was so used to people pushing his wheelchair, I'm glad that he made an effort to do it on his own and didn't give up. Towards the end of the book, a page stuck out to me and it said " When a child hugs their parent, it doesn't matter if they are strong or weak, it's how the child and the parent feel that matters". This quote helped me understand that it doesn't matter if you have a disability or not, but when you are loved, that overcomes every bad time you may go through. It was very hard to find books with characters who have cerebral palsy, but I'm very glad I was able to read this one. The author didn't victimize the character because he couldn't push his wheelchair, but made him stronger by making sure he stayed determined to do it himself. This book would inspire any reader who may have doubts or don't feel like they can accomplish something because of who they are. This book shows that you can do anything you put your mind to and this storyline not only gives a problem, but a solution.

[Lindsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although this book is older and clearly outdated, its message is great! Its about a little boy, Howie, who is disabled with an illness such as cerebral palsy and is in a wheelchair. Although he is in a wheelchair, his hands and arms don't always work the way he wants to and can't push the wheels of his chair on his own so he must rely on others to help him get around. How decides that he wants to start getting himself around on his own and although he wasn't able to at first, he worked hard at it over and over and he eventually was able to.

This book helps to teach perseverence. I would use this book in class to teach the lesson of perseverence and to also expose them to disabilities.

-The only thing I didn't like about the book is that since it was outdated, Howie was in a special education classroom with other kids that were disabled so it wasn't reflecting the inclusion that we have today.

[Taylor Hainley · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book "Howie Helps Himself" was a very great book for a child that is in about 2nd or 3rd grade. This book was about a little boy named Howie that is in a wheelchair and thinks he can't do anything by himself. The only thing Howie really wanted to do was be able to push himself in his wheelchair all by himself. He would always try so hard to do this and he could never seem to get the wheels to move. One day when Howie's dad came to pick him up from school, Howie was having a very good day and decided to try again. Howie pushed on the wheels of the wheelchair with all his strength and when he looked up he had made it all the way back to his dad. I would use this book in my own classroom to show my students that they can achieve anything they set their minds to. I think this would be a great book to show my students that. Overall, I really enjoyed this children's book.

[Andrew]

Howie helps himself is a fictional story about a boy named Howie as he struggles with cerebral palsy. The story gets into the things that Howie can and cannot do because of his cerebral palsy, while I think it is harsh for the book to start off with all the things Howie cannot do it is a good way to help small children to understand that people without disabilities take a lot of what they can do for granted. It also has a great message about how to push yourself to do the things that you want to be able to do. This book is for kindergarteners to third graders any one older than that would need a more updated book with more medical information

[Dolly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an interesting book that helps to explain what life is like for children with Cerebral Palsy. It depicts a young boy, who can do many of the things that other children can do, like go to school and eat ice cream and go for rides in the car with his daddy. But he cannot do lots of other things and sometimes it makes him sad and frustrated. With encouragement, practice, and determination, we see Howie succeed at something he really, really wants to do. It's a good story and is helpful for initiating a discussion about disabilities.

[Cameal Maxey · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a good book to help children see life through the eyes of a child with cerebral palsy.This book is cute yet informative,about how things are for children whom have cerebral palsy.It gives them hope to remind them that they should never give up, with practice ,and paients they can do the things they wish. They may just have to work harder than most people do

[Shannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book does a good job of showing the struggles that people with disabilities may go through. However, I really wish the author had given Howie a voice. All too often people with disabilities are not allowed to speak for themselves. The point of the book is that Howie works hard to empower himself, so the fact that he doesn't speak for himself at all throughout the story seems off to me.

[Ashley Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is about a disabled boy named Howie and how he cant do normal things that other children can do without help, but he keeps trying.

setting- Howie's house, school

grade- 3rd/4th

use- I would use this to teach students about diversity

[Tierra Wooten · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would use this book to teach my kids how to make independent choices. The way I would have them show me this is by making a silent lunch choice, since some kids make lunch choices based off of who they want to sit by.

[Jazzmyne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Howie is a boy with cerebral palsy, and he wants to be able to move his wheelchair by himself. I would use this book to teach children what cerebral palsy is and to let nothing stand in their way of mastering a skill.

[Angelica Cowart · Rating 2 out of 5]

Howie helps himself is good to the classroom in that it introduces other kids to some of life's disabilities and shows how those kids have feelings as well. This to me would be a level 2 or 3 grade book.

[Buxmont Uu]

WAMWAO Session 25

[Taryn Dean]

Howie has cerebral palsy... Students will tell about a time they were sick or maybe hurt themselves and they needed a lot of help, they will tell if they liked the help or not.

[Kiana Davee · Rating 5 out of 5]

When reading aloud it has descriptive language and descriptive pictures to follow!

[Hannah Monroe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Howie is a little boy who has cerebral palsy and he moves by using a wheelchair. Howie accepts that he has differences, and he is still very much capable of many things. Howie goes to school and loves to play with friends. Howie has a big, big goal. He wants to be able to push himself in this wheelchair. Howie practices and tries very hard, but he doesn't think he will be able to do it. Right when Howie is on the verge of backing down from his goal, he pushes himself all the way to his dad!
I gave this book 5 stars. As someone who became friends with someone with CP, I think it was beautiful to read a book about a child with the disability and can only hope he found support through literature like this book. I think this book is a good way to not only offer support to children with CP but to explain CP to other children. The illustrations showed that Howie was able to do many things, and illustrated Howie as a happy child!

[Desire Jones]

It is evident to other readers that some children with impairments are unable to perform tasks that we take for granted as it discusses all of the things Howie is unable to do. It's transparent and not sugar-coated. It's good to finally read a book where the protagonist experiences major limitations rather than simply the more common minor ones. For young readers who are unaware of disabilities, the book's first half presents a very unfavorable image of handicaps by emphasizing what Howie can't do. After all the talk of what, Howie's desire is finally revealed in the second half of the story: to be able to propel his wheelchair as quickly as his buddies can which can show that progression takes time.

[Taylor Ray · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the concept of this book. A young boy with cerebral palsy who is determined to move around and manage his life by himself. I think this is a good book to have in the classroom because students start to notice from a young age other kids that are different from them. Sometimes, people assume because someone has a disability that they are incapable of doing things without help. I think this is a great story to show that people with disabilities should not be treated differently than anyone else, they are just as capable as the rest of us.

[Rose Siegmund · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are a lot of reasons i liked this book. To start, I like that it was made in 1975, because i think back then there wasn't a lot of books of it's kind. Second, i think it's amazing that it's about cerberal palsy. A lot of books about diabilities that i've noticed throughout this weeks theme in class are about being deaf, or blind. Cerberal palsy is a rare disease but if you are a kid who does have it, you probably don't see any books with it. Really good story about how a disease doesn't define you!

[Keith Mannina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Talk about a tearjerker! This book really grabs at your feelings. People with degenerative conditions are far too often viewed as less than human. I have a family member that was suffering from muscular dystrophy. He became nonverbal over the course of a year. Most of my family or not what you would call “progressive“ he was treated like a piece of furniture. Warren Junior was not very well taken care of. Howie just wanted to run around and be like a normal, regular kid.

[Debby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Though he enjoys life with his family and attends school, Howie, a child with Cerebral Palsy, want more than anything else to be able to move his wheelchair by himself. He does by the end of the book. Much needed topic of the handicapped treated accurately and effectively. Color and black and white pictures are well done.

[Hope · Rating 3 out of 5]

Checked out from Kilbourn Public Library 📚 in Wisconsin (3.5 stars for inclusivity and bringing awareness to handicapped children)

[Steph · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very interesting language used in Author's Note (book is from 1975)

[Beth · Rating 2 out of 5]

Howie has cerebral palsy and is in a wheelchair. He want to learn to move his wheelchair on his own and works hard to achieve his goal. Written in the 1970's, the book still has appeal for those wanting a good story for young children featuring a wheelchair-bound main character.

Read for LIS 5564 Info Needs of Children - Spring 2017 FSU