Spaghetti Is Not A Finger Food by Jodi Carmichael

In this humorous book about an eight-year-old boy with Asperger’s Syndrome, written by Jodi Carmichael and illustrated by Sarah Ackerley, Connor struggles to make his way through a typical school day. In his attempt to be as cool as everyone else, he leaves a hilarious trail of destruction. But, by the end of the day, and despite many miscommunications and misunderstandings, Connor realizes that he is exactly as cool as he is supposed to be.

Jodi Carmichael’s dream of becoming an author began to come true when she attended her first SCBWI conference in Los Angeles in 2007. She was thrilled when her submission was nominated for the Sue Alexander Most Promising New Work Award. She is a strong advocate for Asperger’s Syndrome which led to Connor and his adventures in Spaghetti is NOT a Finger Food and Other Life Lessons. It is her belief that understanding brings tolerance, acceptance, and compassion for others. Jodi lives in a big yellow house in the heart of Winnipeg, Canada, where she can often be found dancing in her living room with her two wildly imaginative daughters, her patient and supportive husband, and her scruffy Border Terrier named Zoe.

As a mom of children on the spectrum I truly appreciated this book.  It is funny to view a “typical day in the life of…” from the outside.  Sometimes living through it you forget to look it objectively.  I often wonder, particularly in my son’s case, just how he perceives the world.  My son is very much like Connor – very light hearted, happy go lucky but struggles to navigate through the world of rules.  He also focus’ on his favorite things and cannot understand why everyone else is not as excited about his passions as he is.  I found this book cute and well written.  This is an excellent book and I loved it.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.