Second Chance is narrated by Chance a shelter dog who is adopted into a family with an autistic boy. He keeps hearing the word adoption and wonders what it is. Ryan is autistic and has trouble communicating with most people but is able to communicate with Chance.
This is a book I would recommend to the right audience: those who are adopted or autistic or have children that are. It's a great book for helping to explain what adoption is to a child. It didn't delve into autism as much as it did adoption but still addressed the subject.
The biggest drawback of this book is the way it was formatted. Small print on dark colored pages made the text difficult to read. There were too many words on each page for it to be a read aloud yet it was a picture book making it a little young for older children who would be able to read it alone.
What I really liked was knowing this was based on a true story. A visit to the authors website and seeing the pictures that the illustrations were based on made me appreciate the book more.
About the Author:
Sandra J. Gerencher is a special education teacher in the Bangor Area public school system. Prior to becoming a teacher, she worked at Lehigh University in a school-based program, as a Program Specialist for adults with disabilities. Over the past 20 years she has worked with children and adults with special needs in such areas as counseling, Behavior Specialist Consultation, behavioral research, crisis intervention and abuse therapy. Sandra graduated from Lehigh University with a M.Ed. in Special Education (2004) and from Chestnut Hill College in Philadelphia with an M.S. in Counseling Psychology (1999).
Rating 3.5 Stars
Source: Tribute Books Tour
2 Comments on Blog Tour: Book Review: Second Chance by Sandra J. Gerencher, last added: 1/28/2011
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Thanks Kathy for sharing SECOND CHANCE with all of the wonderful readers of I Am A Reader, Not A Writer. I'm so glad that knowing the book is based on Sandra's real life family made an impression on you. It makes the book that much more special.
Best wishes,
Nicole
Tribute Books
Sounds like a book that would be good for parents dealing with an autistic child. There aren't enough resources that deal with it at a very basic level. Because it is so basic, it will help with explanations to siblings and other children. Adoption falls into the same category.