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David's World: A Picture Book about Living with Autism
Sometimes I do not like David. He is so different. He speaks a different language. . . . David is my brother.
Thus begins a moving story about David, who has autism, and his older brother, who is trying to understand the world David inhabits. David does not like when people are noisy; he does not like being hugged;not even by his own brother. David does not laugh when happy or cry when sad. He speaks his own language, which is difficult to understand at times. And he eats the same foods almost every day. However, David is a brilliant pianist and seems to have an amazing ability to communicate with the family dog. And even though he is not like most children, through the eyes of his brother we are able to see how he makes progress toward understanding his world.
Dagmar H. Mueller's moving text paired with Verena Ballhaus's expressive art help bring to light the notion that there is a lot to learn about spending time with a child with autism. The book's striking narration--told from the point of view of David's brother--will help siblings and friends of autistic children better relate to them. This is a must for any home with children with autism and for classrooms that include mainstreamed special-needs kids.
Thus begins a moving story about David, who has autism, and his older brother, who is trying to understand the world David inhabits. David does not like when people are noisy; he does not like being hugged;not even by his own brother. David does not laugh when happy or cry when sad. He speaks his own language, which is difficult to understand at times. And he eats the same foods almost every day. However, David is a brilliant pianist and seems to have an amazing ability to communicate with the family dog. And even though he is not like most children, through the eyes of his brother we are able to see how he makes progress toward understanding his world.
Dagmar H. Mueller's moving text paired with Verena Ballhaus's expressive art help bring to light the notion that there is a lot to learn about spending time with a child with autism. The book's striking narration--told from the point of view of David's brother--will help siblings and friends of autistic children better relate to them. This is a must for any home with children with autism and for classrooms that include mainstreamed special-needs kids.
28 pages, Hardcover
First published September 1, 2012
1 person is currently reading
38 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
March 22, 2021
I enjoyed this book, and I like the illustrations and how they reflect what is going on in the text. I read it out of curiosity because I wanted to see how autism would be portrayed in this book. I myself am autistic, and I find that often, the portrayal of autism in the media is very stereotypical. While this book certainly was stereotypical, it wasn't overly negative in my opinion, which is good, as autism is often seen as a negative thing. I related a lot to the autistic character in the book, David, as I do have quite stereotypical autism traits, e.g. lack of social skills, dislike of change, special interests, sensory issues, the stereotypical 'photographic' autistic memory, etc. Overall, I think this book would be good for children who have autistic siblings who present very stereotypical traits.
April 6, 2013
When I read a picture book about autism that is better than this one then I might reconsider my review of this one.
June 4, 2013
David's world is a story told from David's brother's point of view. David has autism, and it is very difficult for his brother at times. This story is very informational and does not get into the emotions of living with someone who is autistic. It just gives information, but in a kid friendly way. I could see recommending this book to students who have siblings who are autistic, but I can also see it bringing up many more questions. Each autism case is different, and this book could spark some good conversation about how someone they know might be like David or some of the differences.
This book describes how autistic people just speak a different language. When they do this, it is hard for them to understand other people, and it is hard for others to understand them. I really like when the brother discusses how he looked at the trip to the mall from David's point of view, and it was then that he noticed all the noises and craziness going on around him. He describes that his brother just notices more things.
Being very observant also is a very positive things in some cases. First of all, David is excellent at playing the piano because he can hear the music better, and he can relate to animals better because he can observe what they are doing more.
I think this was a good story to help inform students what people with autism have to go through. I would recommend it for students in the upper elementary grades.
This book describes how autistic people just speak a different language. When they do this, it is hard for them to understand other people, and it is hard for others to understand them. I really like when the brother discusses how he looked at the trip to the mall from David's point of view, and it was then that he noticed all the noises and craziness going on around him. He describes that his brother just notices more things.
Being very observant also is a very positive things in some cases. First of all, David is excellent at playing the piano because he can hear the music better, and he can relate to animals better because he can observe what they are doing more.
I think this was a good story to help inform students what people with autism have to go through. I would recommend it for students in the upper elementary grades.
April 24, 2013
David's world is told through they eyes of a young boy whose brother "David" has Autism. The picture illustrations in the book are very revealing and try to capture the mind and mannerisms of a child with autism, as well as, the feelings of a sibling or friend of a child who has autism. David is definitely different and his brother is aware of this but he does not empathize with his brother initially. Towards the end of the story his brother does his best to make sense of the world that David lives in and decides to accept him as he is. This book could be used as a tool for a discussion piece on accepting others people who are different or recognizing the individual talents of other people. It also opens up a great discussion regarding the feelings of siblings of special needs children, Which can be some of the same feelings the kids in the classroom have towards children with disabilities.
June 11, 2022
Great book for kids with ASD siblings
June 21, 2023
This is one of the best picture books I’ve read about having a sibling with Autism.
October 29, 2020
David's World is about the sibling comradery of David and his brother. Unbeknownst to his brother, David has autism and sees things differently from others. His brother cannot understand why his brother acts differently, so he formulates theories that help him figure out what is wrong with David. He thinks David could possibly be an alien from outer space because he doesn't like loud noises or tends to isolate himself from others. He believes that David speaks a different language because he says things in a strange way, or says nothing at all. David's brother wishes that he could understand his language better and longs to take a peek inside of David's world and feels what he feels. After discovering that David has autism, David's family works with a therapist to support David. Once David starts receiving interventions, his brother considers David's autism as his superpower because he is David can see things others cannot see. David is highly sensitive to the environment and works well with animals, which his brother considers his superpowers.
The genre of the story is narrative fiction. The book is developmentally appropriate for children because it is narrated by a child who shares the same thought process as many children. The story compels children to use their imagination because David's brother uses his imagination when he formulates theories about David's condition. The illustrations are accurate because it is parallel to the ideas David's brother describes in the story. The story implements cultural considerations that attribute the abilities of autism as living in your own world, which is the case for most children who have autism. This story motivates children to think about the wonders of autism and help them to understand that even though someone lives in their own world doesn't mean that they are not smart, but in fact, special in their own way.
The genre of the story is narrative fiction. The book is developmentally appropriate for children because it is narrated by a child who shares the same thought process as many children. The story compels children to use their imagination because David's brother uses his imagination when he formulates theories about David's condition. The illustrations are accurate because it is parallel to the ideas David's brother describes in the story. The story implements cultural considerations that attribute the abilities of autism as living in your own world, which is the case for most children who have autism. This story motivates children to think about the wonders of autism and help them to understand that even though someone lives in their own world doesn't mean that they are not smart, but in fact, special in their own way.
February 8, 2020
I really enjoyed this story. David's older brother tells the story of what it is like to live with David. David is austistic. His brother tells what life is like living with David and what he wishes for himself and for David. He does talk about how different he is from David and how David is a brilliant pianist and has an amazing ablility to communicate with animals. The illustrations add to the story as David is drawn in every illustration as made of bricks signifying that he is hard to understand and hard to get to know. It is a touching story of an older brother who begins to realize that his younger autistic brother is special and not just different.
November 23, 2025
I like it that it talks about a child's experience with a sibling on the spectrum. This perspective would be helpful when engaging young learners on this topic. However, I can imagine that people might criticize the ableist views hidden in the text and the stereotypical portrait of autistic children with some kind of special talent. But it's still a good book to include for discussions on ASD.
November 16, 2023
This book is a great way to introduce children to Autism. It details the way David lives and some of the ways he and his brother differ. Even though that can be hard sometimes he understands thats just what makes them their own person.
July 25, 2023
A young boy defends his brother David who has autism. This read like it might be nonfiction.
January 8, 2013
A young girl describes the ways that her brother, David, is different. He has different preferences and interacts with people in different ways. The young narrator wishes that she could understand her brother better. She describes some times when David has a hard time as well as some times when his unusual understanding of the world helps him solve problems. The pictures are interesting and will prompt discussion and questions from elementary school students. The text is a bit long and would benefit from better layout.
Recommended, with age-appropriate text selection, for students in grades 2 through 5. This is certainly a useful fiction text for students who interact with autistic children. While it will serve as an introduction, I think it will also be useful for older students as they change and become more aware of others.
Recommended, with age-appropriate text selection, for students in grades 2 through 5. This is certainly a useful fiction text for students who interact with autistic children. While it will serve as an introduction, I think it will also be useful for older students as they change and become more aware of others.
November 14, 2015
A moving depiction of life with someone on the autistic spectrum. This picture book follows the narrator as he explains his quirky and often infuriating brother David, who is autistic. The story does a beautiful job of depicting the everyday challenges of living with an autistic child, but also points out the unexpected gifts and talents of someone like David.
This is a wonderful book to give to the siblings of children on the autistic spectrum, and would also be good to share in classroom story times to raise awareness and foster acceptance of classmates on the spectrum.
I wish I'd had a book like this when my son was a child, and I believe it would be an excellent gift for the parents of newly diagnosed autistic children.
This is a wonderful book to give to the siblings of children on the autistic spectrum, and would also be good to share in classroom story times to raise awareness and foster acceptance of classmates on the spectrum.
I wish I'd had a book like this when my son was a child, and I believe it would be an excellent gift for the parents of newly diagnosed autistic children.
August 30, 2016
I really liked that this book used identity first language for the majority of the book, except for the line at the end "For me, David is not even autistic. For me, David is just my brother. " I enjoys the illustrations and the way that David's brother put more emphasis on trying to understand David, rather than exasperated, annoyed, woe-is-us attitude. This book is definitely for older kids. I wasn't able to sit down and read it to my 5 year old because there is a lot of text on the page. I would have liked to see more about how the family approaches understanding David's "language".
January 10, 2013
David's sibling narrates this picture book about living with autism--and living with someone on the autism spectrum. The quirks, challenges, struggles and therapies are explained without emotion, which is great for discussing such an emotionally charged subject. I will be recommending this to families, teachers, and service providers to use as a way of explaining to family members or members of the school community why those who fall on the spectrum are different.
March 29, 2013
3.5 stars
Fictional story told from a brother's perspective of living with a sibling who is autistic. Lots of information and explanations of David's feelings and actions which could be explored with students. Ending: "For me, David is not even autistic. For me, David is just my brother. And he is someone special." I am curious about the author's background for writing this story and couldn't find any notes or credentials in the book. I may need to investigate further.
Fictional story told from a brother's perspective of living with a sibling who is autistic. Lots of information and explanations of David's feelings and actions which could be explored with students. Ending: "For me, David is not even autistic. For me, David is just my brother. And he is someone special." I am curious about the author's background for writing this story and couldn't find any notes or credentials in the book. I may need to investigate further.
February 12, 2013
A great book to help children understand autism, whether for siblings of autistic children or in the classroom to spur discussion about what autism is. There is no sugar coating of David's way of life but it does presents the positives as well as the struggles of having an autistic brother.
April 17, 2018
Another perspective
I really liked the simplicity of the writing and the honest approach from a child’s perspective. Autism is not easily defined due to being a spectrum. Still, I found this author’s descriptions very powerful.
I really liked the simplicity of the writing and the honest approach from a child’s perspective. Autism is not easily defined due to being a spectrum. Still, I found this author’s descriptions very powerful.
July 7, 2013
David's brother is telling the audience about his autistic brother. A great perspective but a lot of text and very informative rather than fictional.
March 19, 2017
Had to break this book up over days to keep my 4 year old listening. Overall enjoyed it
January 18, 2013
Great concept, but way too many words per page to be useful for a storytime.
April 2, 2017
Read for an upcoming Under the Radar update:
A sibling’s account of living with a brother with autism, this picture book provides a sensitive account of a family learning to bridge communication gaps, appreciate differences in perception, and adapt social environments to better connect David’s world with our own. A brick wall serves as a visual motif for the barriers that exist between children with autism and the neurotypical world, and the artwork throughout effectively conveys the alienness of the social and physical world to those among us who regard it through the lens of autism.
A sibling’s account of living with a brother with autism, this picture book provides a sensitive account of a family learning to bridge communication gaps, appreciate differences in perception, and adapt social environments to better connect David’s world with our own. A brick wall serves as a visual motif for the barriers that exist between children with autism and the neurotypical world, and the artwork throughout effectively conveys the alienness of the social and physical world to those among us who regard it through the lens of autism.
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews