How I Learn: A Kid's Guide to Learning Disability

I like school, but sometimes I get confused. 

That's because I learn in a different way. 

But guess what? That's OK.

It's the New Year, and a great time for new learning! With that in mind, I'm reviewing How I Learn: A Kid's Guide to Learning Disability.to keep in line with Book Buzz 4 Kid's mission to support books that discuss issues of diversity, to include cultural, religious, racial, and disabled/special needs communities.

Children with a disability or special need, such as Autism or Dyslexia, often feel embarrassed or ostracized for being different. How I Learn is a wonderful picture book that teaches children that it's OK to be different and learn differently from others.

The story addresses how some kids are good at reading, but not math, while other children who are good at sports, may not be good at drawing or reading. How I Learn encourages children to ask questions when they don't understand, or to use computers for help with a learning disability. The book also encourages children to also ask for their parents help.

What I love most about the book is that in addition to telling children throughout the book that it's okay to learn differently, it also encourages parent-child reading time, and demonstrates how learning things like math can be made fun when taught to count using measuring in the kitchen at home. After all, parent support is the most important thing in cultivating confidence in a child with special needs. How I Learn demonstrates this well and is a great read for any child trying to cope with being different.

How I Learn: A Kid's Guide to Learning Disability

Author: Brenda S. Miles, PhD, & Colleen A. Patterson, MA

Illustrated by Jane Heinrichs

Grace for President

Girls rock! Do you agree? If so, you will love the picture book Grace for President, that teaches children not only about the election process, but to be ambitious and believe that they can achieve anything they set their minds to!

Grace for President, begins with an innocent question from a young student and turns into a race for school president!  In school one day, Grace is shown a large poster featuring all of the past U.S. presidents, and she notices that none of them are women. Grace then asks her teacher "Where's the women?" - to which her teacher responds, informing Grace that there's never been a female president, which bothers Grace, who then decides she will run for class president! Grace wants to show her classmates that women can be president too! Besides, how hard can it be? Or so Grace thinks to herself.

The next day, its announced that Grace has an opponent from another class - one who happens to be the Spelling Bee champion, AND captain of the soccer team. Grace realizes running for president won't be as easy as she thought, but she doesn't let it discourage her and presses on, working hard to win the election. She does doing everything from handing out cupcakes to joining the school safety squad and creating a school beautification committee.

Grace for President is an absolute treat of a picture book for many reasons. It's simplistic style of educating children about politics in a way they can understand and can relate to. It's non-preachy lesson, and fun illustrations featuring diverse children of all races and every skin shade. And most importantly, it encourages young girls and children in general to be ambitious through a fun civic lesson that has the reader wondering what will happen next! If you find these ideals important, purchase Grace for President today!

Grace for President

Author: Kelly DiPucchio

Illustrator: Leuyen Pham

Available at: Teaching for Change bookstores, Amazon.com