Final: Critical review of book: My Brother Sammy

        

Edwards, Becky. My Brother Sammy. Brookfield, CT: The Millbrook Press, 1999.

The book, My Brother Sammy, is a touching story about a boy and his brother Sammy. Sammy is autistic and his mom explains to Sammy’s brother that Sammy is special and that’s why he does things differently than other kids. The story is told through Sammy’s sibling, whose name is not given. The first part of the story, Sammy’s sibling compares himself and Sammy and explains that Sammy does not take the same bus or like the same things as he does. He then says each time after explaining a difference between them that it is because, “my mom says it’s because he’s special.” He also uses different phrases, each page, to describe how it makes him feel that his brother doesn’t or cant do certain things with him. He uses phrases such as, I wish in a… “lonely sort of way,” frustrated sort of way,” and “sad sort of way” that Sammy could do certain things with him. The sibling realized that it was sometimes not easy having a “special brother”. 

Later in the story, Sammy knocks over a tall tower his brother has made and Sammy’s brother becomes extremely angry and upset. The narrator, Sammy’s brother, then expresses to his mom that he wants a brother who can, “come to school in the bus with me” and how he wants a brother “who likes to play with me and my friends.” He also lists other things that he wants in a brother and ends his rant by saying that, “I DON’T WANT A SPECIAL BROTHER.”

Right after hearing his brother say that, Sammy pointed directly at his brother, who had just said that, and says, “SPECIAL BROTHER.” His mom then explains to him that this was Sammy’s way of telling him that he was a special brother. This then made him feel very special and he and Sammy end up playing together in Sammy’s “different sort of ways,” as his brother puts it. Sammy’s brother begins to see that it can be fun playing with Sammy the way Sammy likes to play. The narrator, Sammy’s sibling, ends by saying that, “Sometimes I think I’m lucky to have a special brother because that makes me special too.”

            I felt that this book was beautifully written and showed two brothers, one autistic and one who was not, and their relationship. It was very meaningful and powerful that the author, Becky Edwards, chose to have Sammy’s brother narrate the story. This way he was able to express and explain to the reader his frustrations or thoughts regarding certain feelings towards his brother. The book does a very good job of explaining how a child with autism may act and how a child may respond to their sibling’s different ways of acting. I liked how the mom uses the word “special” to describe Sammy and to help explain why Sammy does many things differently than him. I also really liked the last line of the story and felt it was a great ending. The line, which I mentioned above, is said by Sammy’s brother, “Sometimes I think I’m lucky to have a special brother because that makes me special too.” I felt this was a very positive way for Sammy’s sibling to think and also shows a positive example for other children who have siblings with disabilities as well. 

(image from http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61SHQFYDRXL._SL500_AA240_.jpg)