Book # 22: All My Stripes

All My Stripes  A Story for Children with Autism

All My Stripes has many endearing qualities and an overall positive message (a child is much more than his "autism"). Children between the ages of 3 and 10, both with and without a neuro-developmental disability like autism, will enjoy the story. The illustrations add a lot with their rich color and expressiveness. The main character, Zane the Zebra, is very self-aware ("I started talking about all the things I knew about the game, but since I was staring at the floor, nobody knew I was talking to them.")--so much so that he seems a bit unrealistic. The book has an extensive Reading Guide at the end that clearly states that the story can be used for teaching typical children about children with autism and what they may be feeling. Yet the title suggests that the story was written for children with autism. My conclusion is that this story is geared both toward children with high-functioning autism and typical children. There are a few weaknesses, such as the main character being left screaming under his desk during a fire drill without anyone noticing. That could definitely frighten young readers with a disability and should not happen in 2015. Overall, I think it is a good story.

Related Information	Comments
Title	All My Stripes
Author	Shaina Rudolph and Danielle Royer
Illustrator	Jennifer Zivoin
Publisher	Magination Press
Year of Pub:	2015
ISBN:	978-1-4338-1916-2
Age range	2-10
Type of Disability	Autism
Fiction or Nonfiction	Fiction
Category:  B A) books that provide factual information about a disability B) books that provide information about a disability in a story format in which the character with a disability is integral to the plot C) books that provide stories that have a character with a disability who may or may not be integral to the story line and who has been added to the story to achieve diversity and reflect reality D) books that include a main character with a disability but whose focus is not necessarily the disability
Annotation  All My Stripes is the story of Zane the Zebra telling his mother about his bad day at school and his mother helping him feel better about himself. Zane has autism, symbolized by an "autism stripe" on his forehead. At school he experiences sensory processing difficulties and social interaction challenges, both of which make him feel different from his peers. His mother is able to hear his frustration and point out his other qualities--other stripes--like caring, navigating, and truth-telling. She points out to him that his autism stripe is not what defines him, but rather all of his different stripes together. Through this discussion with his mother, he realizes that he has a lot of positive qualities and that autism is just another stripe. By the end of the discussion, he "loved himself again."
Link to publisher:	http://www.apa.org/pubs/magination/index.aspx?utm_source=Publishers+Weekly%27s+Children%27s+Bookshelf&utm_campaign=280cefd00b-UA-15906914-1&utm_medium=email
Links to professional reviews:	http://portlandbookreview.com/2015/05/all-my-stripes-a-story-for-children-with-autism-by-shaina-rudolph-and-danielle-royer-illustrated-by-jennifer-zivoin/; http://www.amazon.com/All-My-Stripes-Children-Autism/dp/1433819171 (scroll all the way down to see reviews)
Awards:

                       

Standards for Quality Portrayal of Characters with a disability		Comments
1. Promotes empathy not pity	Yes
2. Promotes acceptance, not ridicule	Yes	Zane's mother and Zane himself are the only characters showing acceptance by the end of the story.
3. Emphasizes success rather than, or in addition to failure	Yes
4. Promotes positive images of persons with disabilities or illness	Yes
5. Assists children in gaining accurate understanding of the disability or illness	Yes	Because autism is such a wide spectrum, this story portrays a specific profile of a child with autism, but it cannot be said that Zane represents all children with autism.
6. Demonstrates respect for persons with disabilities or illness	Yes
7. Promotes attitude of “one of us” not “one of them.”	Tries to	But Zane is not shown in the company of peers after he comes to his realizations.
8. Uses people-first language	Yes
9. Describes the disability or person with disabilities or illness as realistic (not subhuman or superhuman)	Yes	Zane has a high-degree of self-awareness, probably more than most children with autism.
10. Depicts people with disabilities as more similar to than different from other people	Yes
11. Shows peoples’ strengths and abilities along with their disabilities	Yes
12. Represents characters as strong, independent people who others can admire or learn from	Yes
13. Represents people with disabilities from different racial and cultural backgrounds, religions, age groups, and sexual orientations	Yes	Zane is a zebra, which makes him universally acceptable
14. Shows people with disabilities in integrated settings and activities	Yes	Zane is shown in a school setting with typical peers.
15. Shows people with disabilities in valued occupations and diverse roles.	No
16. Shows people with disabilities in reciprocal relationships	No	Just with his mother
17. Main character develops and grows emotionally as a result of what happens in the story	Yes	Zane realizes that there is more to him than just autism.