by Ethan Atwell

April is Autism Awareness Month. The annual celebration is not only meant to bring awareness to autism, but also the opportunity to create unity and collaboration by highlighting stories of autistic individuals. I’ve created a list of youth books to read featuring autistic individuals below.

Picture Books:

• “My Brother Charlie” by Holly Robinson Peete. Callie is very proud of her brother Charlie. He's good at so many things, but sometimes he is quiet and seems far away.
• “The Girl Who Thought in Pictures: The Story of Dr. Temple Grandin” by Julia Finley Mosca. The life and accomplishments of Dr. Temple Grandin, from her early life and autism diagnosis through her journey to become a livestock expert.
• “A Friend for Henry” by Jenn Bailey. Henry has been on the lookout for a friend. This heartfelt story from the perspective of a boy on the autism spectrum celebrates the everyday magic of friendship.

Chapter Books:

• “A Boy Called Bat” by Elana K. Arnold. For Bixby Alexander Tam (nicknamed Bat), life tends to be full of surprises—some good, some not so good.
• “Planet Earth Is Blue” by Nicole Panteleakos. Nova and her big sister, Bridget, share a love of astronomy and the space program. But now Bridget has disappeared, and Nova is in a new foster home where she is dismissed as severely autistic and nonverbal.
• “How to Speak Dolphin” by Ginny Rorby. Lily loves her half-brother, Adam, but she has always struggled with him, too. He's definitely on the autism spectrum and needs to find some kind of program that can help him.

Young Adult/Teen Books:

• “The Many Half-Lived Lives of Sam Sylvester'' by Maya MacGregor. Autistic nonbinary eighteen-year-old Sam moves to a new town and school and finds friends in an LGBTQ-plus club, but they all must come together to solve the decades-old murder of a teenage boy.
• “Even If We Break” by Marieke Nijkamp. Friends Finn, Liva, Maddy, Carter, and Ever begin a farewell round of the game they have played for three years, but each is hiding secrets and the game itself seems to turn against them.
• “Afrotistic” by Kala Allen Omeiza. In her new town, the fifteen-year-old strives to make Dean's Merit Society, an elite honor society that she sees as her ticket to success. Desperate to make it in the society, she creates her own group consisting of autistic students and names it the "Roaring Pebbles".