reviewed by: Nika Cox and Marci Revelli
reading time: 3 minutes
The views expressed in this post are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of NWACS. No endorsement by NWACS is implied regarding any device, manufacturer, resource, or strategy mentioned.
Nika and Marci review two picture books in a series.
My Brother Otto book cover
Book Title: My Brother Otto
Author: Meg Raby with illustrations by Elisa Pallmer
Published in 2019
Age Range: 2-5+ years old
Book Type: picture book
How AAC is Featured: The main character talks about her brother who uses AAC.
My Brother Otto is about a family of crows. The main character is a girl named Piper with a younger brother named Otto. Otto doesn’t talk. Otto’s sister, Piper, describes a typical day living with her brother. Piper shares things about Otto that are not considered average to everybody else. She describes what makes Otto feel comfortable such as holding yellow pipe cleaners, spinning round and round, and often covering his ears. Otto can’t talk so he uses his tablet to communicate. Piper sometimes gets annoyed with Otto but she describes that he is just a crow who likes to play and learn and have friends just like her.
My sister (first author) doesn’t talk and uses a tablet just like Otto. She sometimes does the same things like using a tablet to communicate, going to sleep with people around her, loving hugs, and often unplugging and plugging her ears.
We (both authors) think the overall story was OK. It was slightly repetitive. The illustrations are bright colors and the images jump off the pages. The drawings are very detailed and we like how they have a worm on each page.
This book would be good for children who need a better understanding of how to show compassion with people who are different from them.
My Brother Otto and the Birthday Party book cover
Book Title: My Brother Otto and the Birthday Party
Author: Meg Raby with illustrations by Elisa Pallmer
Published in 2022
Age Range: 2-5+ years old
Book Type: picture book
How AAC is Featured: One of the characters uses AAC.
This book describes Otto and his sister Piper being invited to a birthday party by a friend named Ruthie. Before the party, Otto’s family helps him understand what will happen. They help him pick out his clothes which are always yellow. They show him pictures of different things he might see at the party. Otto and his sister Piper go to Ruthie’s birthday party and have a great time.
In our opinion, My Brother Otto and the Birthday Party shows greater detail than the original book, My Brother Otto. This book names Otto’s disability as Autism. This book adds another character who doesn’t speak. The author does a good job of describing how Otto thinks differently from other people. An example of a difference is how Otto learns. Otto uses visuals to understand different events. The author describes the birthday party and Otto’s interactions with his friend Ruthie. They both like jumping on the trampoline and popping bubbles. They communicate in lots of ways such as looking at each other, being close together, and putting their heads together. Otto also uses his tablet to communicate with Ruthie.
The illustrations in this book are more colorful and with a cleaner design than the first.
There is a description of the characters on the jacket cover of the book. Otherwise, you may want to read the first story, My Brother Otto, to understand more about Otto. Overall, we (both authors) liked My Brother Otto and the Birthday Party better. They are both good stories to read to young kids who may be learning about how kids can be different but also enjoy lots of the same things.
Have you read either of these books? What did you think?
About the reviewers:
Nika Cox, age 13, is a middle school student in Bellevue, WA.
Marci Revelli is a Speech-Language Pathologist in Seattle, WA.
