Point to Happy: A Book for Kids on the Autism Spectrum by Miriam Smith and Afton Fraser

Congratulations to Commenter #3, Deanne!

I want to start off this review by saying that the full title of this book is Point to Happy: A Book for Kids on the Autism Spectrum, however, in my opinion this book is an incredibly brilliant book for all young children!

There is a removable sticker that says, a book for kids on the autism spectrum on the front of the book can be peeled off. With the sticker removed, the book is called “Point to Happy”. A huge debate about this could occur and this post is by no means meant to generate a debate about this, but I did feel it was important to mention that there is a removable sticker with part of the book’s official title on it.

I am a huge fan of this book. It comes with a “magic wand” hand pointer so that children can have a tactile tool to point to the pictures as they are reading through the book which is a fabulous reading tool. Within a couple of days of having the book in our house with my 2 and 6 year old, the pointer was “removed” from the ribbon. Is this a flaw in the design of it? I’m not sure. My kids aren’t that rough on their toys.

The pages in this oversized board book are not traditional paper but they are also not thick boardbook material. They are durable enough that they certainly don’t get ripped like a traditional storybook which is nice.

I really like the fact that the pictures of children in this book are life size and the words are nice and large. The text is colour coded in a pattern which makes it easier for pointing to the text as you read along.

The text in the book also has some repetition in it which is good for learning language.

The theme throughout the book is to point to the pictures with the included pointer. This is a great routine to get into because being aware of photos in a book is important in developing early literacy skills and it is also a great way to teach vocabulary for every day routines such as eating, caring for oneself, etc.

I also like the fact that there is an opportunity to personalize the book with four places to put pictures of people that your child knows and four lines where you can write their names.

Both of my children have read this book many times (aged 2 and 6) and have both enjoyed it for different reasons. I also know that this would have been a well loved book in my Kindergarten classroom amongst all of my students, but especially with my students who were on the autism spectrum because we would have used it to help teach them about their daily routines.

Would you like to win a copy of Point to Happy: A Book for Kids on the Autism Spectrum by Miriam Smith and Afton Fraser?

One winner will be selected.

This giveaway is open to Canadian and US residents only.

This giveaway closes on Friday May 27th, 2011 at 11:59pm.