Saturday, June 2, 2012

Buster Bear and Uncle B

J. Aday Kennedy, who uses a wheelchair herself, has written a cute picture book about a boy and his uncle who was injured in a war.

Ham, the boy, is disturbed when his beloved uncle arrives in a wheelchair, but soon realizes that Uncle B is still the person he has always loved and is able to do lots of fun things even though he's a paraplegic. After all, Ham still loves his teddy bear even though Buster Bear is now worn and torn.

The feisty little boy playing cowboy at the beginning of the book took me back to  my own childhood and the art by Marina Movshina is as lively and bright as Ham himself.

Kennedy has written a Teacher Guide to go with the book and, speaking from experience, I can say the  questions and activities will certainly help kids understand people with disabilities. For more information please go to the author's website http://www.jadaykennedy.com/Web_Pages/Writing/Childrens_books.html

This book will be helpful, not only to kids who know injured war veterans, but to any who might encounter people with special needs. And that includes just about every child.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

What a necessary book this is! And told through the life of a person living it is rich beyond measure. Thanks to you both for this post!

Janet Ann Collins said...

Thank you for the nice comment, Nancy.