He's My Brother

by Joe Lasker

A boy describes the special problems and abilities of his younger brother who is a slow learner

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Family

40 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1974

Reviews

[Jenny Dufault · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story about a young boy's experiences with his brother Jamie, who has special needs. is touching and heart warming. The boy talks about different parts of his life with his brother; life at home, what happens at school, and things his brother excels at as well as what he has trouble with. What is never mentioned directly is that he has an specific intellectual disability. I thought this was a powerful choice for the author, as it makes Jamie character appear without his disability's label while also giving a sense of representation to kids with a wide range of disabilities. The writing style matched the innocent nature of a young boy, not using complex language, while still conveying the realities of children with disabilities. The illustration was expressive and beautifully drawn, giving life to the characters without overshadowing the story.

[Cheryl Reilly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This 1974 publication is a great read for children struggling with "different" or "special" classmates, friends, or family members. A young boy describes the experiences of his slow learning younger brother at school and at home and it really does cover Disability and Health; Learning disability; child with a learning disability. What a great book about diverse families. Even though it is for grades k-3, I think that even older kids would really be able to connect to this book! :) I loved the pictures. As far as a classroom lesson, I think a story map of level one or two would be fabulous for this sweet read!

Level 2

Students consider the setting, characters, beginning, middle, end, problem, and solution of the story.
Level 3

Students consider setting, characters, rising action, conflict, climax, falling action, and resolution of the story.

[Makaley Boyd · Rating 4 out of 5]

personally I thought this book sent a great social message. It is about a boy named Jamie with a brother who has special needs. The story is told through the perspective of his brother and the daily struggles that he faces. You can use this to teach your students about inclusion, diversity, and multiculturalism. It also teaches kids to be kind you never know what people are going through and you shouldn't judge. I thought the message was very clear and can be used to teach and touch a lot of children.

[Michelle Farella · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dated

[Kristina Moss]

This narrative talk about the daily struggles Jamie faces that with the condition of his learning disability from the perspective of his older brother. His older brother narrates the everyday challenges Jamie has to go through as well as all of his hidden talents. The author, Joe Lasker, captures meaningful feelings as he describes his brother and his handicap (Jamie gets teased, he doesn’t know how to answer back, he does things over and over again). As a teacher, I will use his text to teach my students on issues of diversity and multiculturalism. I think this would be a great story to read and incorporate during anti- bully month to show eliminate similar inappropriate behavior. I really loved the way Joe Lasker used real life children dialogue and exemplary black and white and colored illustrations in his story. I feel that these components allowed the audience to connect deeper with the story and text.

[Andrew]

He is my brother is a fictional biography about a boy named Jamie who deals with a non-specific mental disability that prevents him from speaking. Written from the older brother’s point of view the story goes into what Jamie’s life is like at school and at home. The story switches between black and white and colored pages depending on how Jamie is feeling at the time. When Jamie is at school the scene tends to be black and white because Jamie is unhappy. The pages are colored when Jamie is at home and usually happier. When analyzing it I had found this story to be quite saddening while it provided a clear and powerful message. But small children may not be as touch by the story as I was it is clear that they would understand. I would say this story is for children first grade until sixth, the difficulty of reading is at a third or fourth grade level but the message can easily go into the older grades.

[Taylor Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is about a little boy with an invisible handicap that seems like it could autism. I really like that it does not come out and say what the hadicap is. It is a great book about accepting and loving your siblings no matter what.

[Kelley Mcalhany]

A book about a boy and his invisible handicap, but his siblings still love him because he's their brother.

[Kayla · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little out dated but good for students that have a sibling with a disability to show how to care and be patient with them. Shows the value of having siblings.