Book it!

November 26, 2010 10:24 AM

I need book suggestions for an autistic 7 year old.

My nephew is 7, and as an autistic kid doesn't have a lot of use for many of the 'predictable' kid Christmas presents - he doesn't really like to play games (video or board), doesn't understand puzzles just yet, and has plenty of one thing he does love - Toy Story action figures - already. The other thing he loves, though, is books. He's learned to read in the last 18 months, and he loves both reading and being read to - once he 'knows' a book by having it read to him/with him, he reads it repeatedly for himself.

According to his mom, the kind of books he likes are books with a good sense of humor (he's developing a sense of humor almost as fast as he's developing words), and books with illustrations that depict what the words are saying - he loves to look at the picture on the page and be able to point to the words in the story that describe the picture, and doesn't care for more abstract/general illustrations.

Not being 7, and not having kids of my own, I am completely out of the loop when it comes to kids books, so I turn to the ever-wise hivemind for help. What are some of your favorite kids' books that fit the above description?

posted by pdb to Shopping (19 answers total)

This doesn't fit your description (feel free to flag if needed), but he might really enjoy the DK Eyewitness books, particularly ones on machines and buildings. They have really excellent, detailed illustrations and the text is sort of all over the page to follow the pictures (so you're not overwhelmed with a huge block of words). If you're not familiar with the books it's kind of hard to get a feel for them online, but you'll find plenty in the young readers section of any bookstore if you want to take a look and see what they're all about. (My favorite part about them as a kid is that if there's a bathroom in the structure, they always draw the bathroom and they almost always draw someone going to the bathroom. If that's not funny, I don't know what is.)
posted by phunniemee at 10:37 AM on November 26, 2010

phunniemee -

Those are great books, but are probably too sophisticated for my nephew at this point - I assume you're talking about this series, right?

At this point, he's still reading things like Brown Bear What Do You See. Even though he's seven, he's reading at about a four year old level, and he doesn't so much comprehend what he reads and learn more words as absorb what he sees on the page and re-state it. He's less a "young reader" than a kid that only has a small vocabulary and not a lot of patience, if that makes sense.

That said, though, browsing the DK library, some of their little-kid books, like this, might be right up his alley. Thanks for the suggestion!
posted by pdb at 10:53 AM on November 26, 2010

Thanks for the update on his reading level! Here are some good, funny kids' books with equally funny/literal illustrations.

Diary of a Fly, Diary of a Worm, and Diary of a Spider by Doreen Cronin. Might be a TAD advanced for independent reading, but not by much.

Fly Guy series by Ted Arnold.

Ivan the Terrier by Peter Catalanotto.

No, David! series by David Shannon.

By James Marshall: George and Martha series, the Miss Nelson books, and many others.

Mo Willems' Pigeon books are hilarious, as are his Elephant and Piggie books.

And my absolute best killer readaloud, hilarious for adults and kids alike: Bark, George by Jules Feiffer.
posted by Knicke at 11:06 AM on November 26, 2010

He might really like Go Dog Go. It is designed for beginning readers - it starts with one or two words on a page and works up to four sentences with lots of repetition. The pictures match the text. There are bits of humor throughout the story and lots of dogs in cars. I LOVED this book - I still know parts of it by heart.
posted by metahawk at 11:14 AM on November 26, 2010

Of course, don't forget the Dr. Seuss classics. They're renown almost precisely because of their sense of humor.
posted by LSK at 11:39 AM on November 26, 2010

Richard Scarry is an oldie-but-goodie. The Best Storybook Ever really is the best storybook ever, and it includes stories at a wide range of reading levels, some humorous, some sweet, plus lots of more "skill building" segments like alphabets, counting, and vocabulary.
posted by SomeTrickPony at 11:40 AM on November 26, 2010

I'll agree with the Fly Guy Series, and also the No, David books.

Soon, he'll be ready for Captain Underpants, and he might find the author's bio interesting.

My daughter who is around the same age and only just now "getting" reading is really loving Another Perfect Day by Ross MacDonald - and thinks The Noisy Alphabet is hysterical. His illustrations are beautiful, layered, humorous and as you requested, relate to the words on the page beautifully. There are lots of action words, which makes it fun to read as well as to be read to.
posted by peagood at 11:44 AM on November 26, 2010

The New Way Things Work. Even if he's only reading a small amount of it now, the illustrations are fantastic, and it's a book that he'll be able to grow into. (But if you think it's too much for him now, file it away for next year!) My parents must have bought this book when I was 4, and I can vividly remember looking at mammoths illustrating the mechanics of pulleys well before I understood exactly what a pulley was.
posted by deludingmyself at 12:09 PM on November 26, 2010

Eliot Jones, Midnight Superhero, and the Jillian Jiggs stories have been big favourites with the boys I babysit for.
posted by purlgurly at 12:12 PM on November 26, 2010

Magic Tree House series
Junie B Jones series
Captain Underpants series
Ricky Ricotta series
Pokemon manga and Let's Find
Naruto manga and/or readers
Megaman manga
All are reading level geared or age appropriate with intrigue and humor.
posted by eatdonuts at 12:12 PM on November 26, 2010

I live with The Moo, a four year old on the autism spectrum. He can already read and has loved these books. Brown Bear Brown Bear was a favorite for a longggg time. He likes books with pictures that illustrate the words too, and loves anything that rhymes or has rhythm.

Gallop and the series

Over in the Meadow

Brown Bear Brown Bear has others in the series like Panda Bear Panda Bear

Alphabet books like this Sesame Street series.

The Cookie Count pop up book.

The Olivia books
posted by dchrssyr at 12:25 PM on November 26, 2010

May I suggest board books? They are sturdy and will stand up to repeated handlings. Also, they're small and can easily be tucked into backpacks, purses and the backs of car seats.

As others have suggested, look into the Dr. Seuss Bright and Early series, particularly:

Stop, Train, Stop! a Thomas the Tank Engine Story

I'll Teach My Dog a Lot of Words

Also explore:

Mouse Paint

I Spy

Risom and Scarry's I Am a Bunny; I Am A Puppy; and I Am a Kitten

Yummy Yucky

Olivia; Olivia Counts; Olivia's Opposites

Charlie and Lola
posted by MonkeyToes at 12:36 PM on November 26, 2010

MsNotMyselfRightNow is a speech and language therapist who works with autistic children about the same age as your nephew, and she's a huge fan of good children's literature. I sent her this question, and here's what she recommends based on what her kids love:

Any book by Laura Numeroff:
- If You Take A Mouse to School
- Mouse Cookies & MOre
- If You Give a Pig a Party
- If You Give a Mouse a Cookie
- If You Take A Mouse to the Movies
- Dogs Don't Wear Sneakers
- Time for School, Mouse!
- If You Give a Moose a Muffin
- The Best Mouse Cookie
- If You Give a Pig a Pancake
- 10-Step Guide to Living with Your Monster
- Sometimes I Wonder If Poodles Like Noodles
- Merry Christmas, Mouse!
- The Jellybeans and the Big Book Bonanza
- Beatrice Doesn't Want To
- The Jellybeans and the Big Dance
- Happy Valentine's Day, Mouse!
- If You Give an Author a Pencil
- If You Give a Bear A Brownie Recipes
- When Sheep Sleep
- The Chicken Sisters
- A Mouse Cookie First Library
- The Jellybeans and the Big Camp Kickoff
- You Can't Put Braces on Spaces

Almost anything by Sandra Boynton:
- Hippos Go Berserk!
- Hester in the Wild
- If At First
- A to Z
- Blue Hat, Green Hat
- Doggies
- Horns to Toes
- The Going to Bed Book
- Moo, Baa, La La La!
- Opposites
- But Not the Hippopotamus
- A is for Angry
- The Story of Grump & Pout
- Birthday Monsters!
- Barnyard Dance!
- One, Two, Three!
- Oh My Oh My Oh Dinosaurs!
- Rhinoceros Tap and 14 Other Seriously Silly Songs
- Snoozers
- Dinosaur's Binkit
- BOB and 6 More Christmas Stories
- Dinos To Go
- Hey!, Wake Up!
- Pajama Time!
- The Heart of Cool
- Philadelphia Chickens
- Snuggle Puppy!
- Fuzzy Fuzzy Fuzzy
- Moo Cow Book
- Belly Button Book!
- Dog Train: A Wild Ride on the Rock-and-Roll Side
- Your Personal Penguin
- What's Wrong, Little Pookie?
- Bath Time!
- Fifteen Animals!
- Barnyard Bath!
- Let's Dance, Little Pookie
- Night-Night, Little Pookie
- One Shoe Blues
- Happy Birthday, Little Pookie
- Perfect Piggies
- Amazing Cows

Usborne touchy-feely books ("That's Not My Monkey," "That's Not My Train," "That's Not My Kitten," etc.).

"We're Going on a Bear Hunt" by Michael Rosen

"Silly Sally" by Audrey Wood

"Dear Zoo" by Rod Campbell

"There's a Monster in the Tree" by Rozanne Williams and Kathleen Dunne

"Leo the Late Bloomer" by Robert Kraus

Jane Yolen dinosaur books:
- How do Dinosaurs Clean Their Rooms?
- How do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight?
- How do Dinosaurs Love Their Dogs?
- How do Dinosaurs Go To School?
- How do Dinosaurs Laugh Out Loud?
- How do Dinosaurs Say I Love You?
- How do Dinosaurs Eat Their Food?
- How do Dinosaurs Get Well Soon?
- How do Dinosaurs Love Their Cats?
- How do Dinosaurs Learn to Read?
- How do Dinosaurs Count to Ten?
- How do Dinosaurs Play With Their Friends?
- How do Dinosaurs Play All Day?
- How do Dinosaurs Learn Their Colors?
posted by NotMyselfRightNow at 2:08 PM on November 26, 2010

I loved the Bearenstain Bears when I was four to eight years old.
posted by SMPA at 5:39 PM on November 26, 2010

Tedd Arnold has these books - Parts, More Parts, and Even More Parts; they present idioms and metaphors in a comical way. My son has autism, and they were a great lighthearted way to bring up and explain turns of phrase that he had a hard time processing. They're funny and a little gross (perfect for that age range) and the three books would be a great gift, I think.

Be careful with series like the Magic Treehouse! My son loved them, but the fact that they were a series meant he wanted them ALL. In order. He tends to do that with series of books.
posted by lemniskate at 6:23 PM on November 26, 2010

Definitely the Pigeon books, those are hilarious.

*I* think "Goodnight Gorilla" is hilarious but that's more a picture story than words.

Sandra Boynton's quick and quirky rhymes are fun and often funny.
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 7:11 PM on November 26, 2010

Thanks all for the great answers - I now have a ton of things to choose from. I appreciate the help!
posted by pdb at 8:36 PM on November 26, 2010

Amelia Bedilia!
posted by alon at 7:04 AM on November 27, 2010

Daddy Hug is good - nice illustrations and it's really expressive language (daddy slimy, daddy long, daddy busy, daddy strong!) with all different animal daddies that are related to the words (snail daddy, snake daddy, hummingbird daddy and gorilla daddy). It's got a nice emotional hit at the end and a page where you can point out all the different animals.

the Pigeon books are great but need a confident storyteller - you HAVE to do emotional voices.
posted by geek anachronism at 2:58 PM on November 27, 2010