Illustrated by Alex Merry
5 stars
A hilarious and sweet story. Told from the perspective of an autistic child, we learn about Johnny, who is neurotypical. Because of this, Johnny does things differently than the narrator. He doesn’t show up at the right time, he varies his routine, he speaks in idioms, and wants to interact with others all the time. Despite their differences, the children are great friends and enjoy spending time together. Through their friendship, the narrator shows that being neurotypical is okay even if you don’t always understand it.
I love the way this book flips the script on the trope of neurotypical children introducing their neurodivergent friends/classmates in books and on TV.
A sweet book with great humor. Fantastically written. Nice illustrations.
This book was so much fun. Also includes an authors’ note at the end that continues the idea of centering the autistic perspective and pointing out the strange things neurotypical people do. Two thumbs up for these researchers and parents of an autistic child.