Help Me Change The World **Updated**

If you follow me on Twitter or are friends with me on Facebook, you know that I am a HUGE fan of the work of Peter H. Reynolds. In August, the book "I'm Here" debuted and I am completely blown away by that book. (Starred review from Kirkus!) The message of the book, originally intended to be about autism, speaks volumes to every person who reads it. I truly believe it belongs in every single school library in the country (and world). Since I don't have the $1,073,696.52 it would take to make that happen, I came up with this idea.

If you want to help me change the world, buy a copy of "I'm Here" and donate it to a local school. Send me an email (tjshay@gmail.com) and let me know your name and address, along with the name of the school that received the donation, and you will be in a drawing for a signed print by Peter H. Reynolds. If there is a tremendous response (I am praying for that), I will offer multiple prints.

Of course your local bookstore probably has this book, but if you want to make a double difference, you could purchase it from FableVision Learning! FVL is the company that Peter H and Paul Reynolds started to change the world. Their mission is to help all learners 'reach their true potential'. I do 'work' part-time for FableVision Learning leading an educator group, but I do not make any money from sales. In fact, the print is going to be from my personal money, because I believe in the message of the book and want kids to have it in their libraries. Purchasing things from FableVision Learning (and there are LOTS of awesome products) will be put back into their mission to create more wonderous things.

Until 12/31/11, purchases of $20 or more at FableVision Learning are 20% off with the code FabFall20, so if you want to purchase several books, you can save some money. Buy one for yourself, who doesn't need a powerful message of 'you are not alone' in your library. "The Dot" and "Ish" are awesome for kids to have in their life arsenal. If you buy from FableVision, email nicole@fablevisionlearning.com with your order and she will have the books signed by Peter!!

The more schools you buy for, the more chances you have to win. The drawing for the print will be around 12/31/11, but continue to help change the world as long as you are able!

**After reading about what I am doing with this event, Peter H. Reynolds tweeted this:

Now one person will win an ORIGINAL piece of art and another (or more) will win a print. I am blown away and thrilled by the response so far, please keep it going!!

This video will give you an idea of the book!

Lack of Communication-Autism Perspective

In my music class, I have had an autistic student for the past four years. In the beginning, I tried many different ways to reach her. When she was in third grade, I found out that she sang "You are my Sunshine" at home all the time, so I taught it to the class. Then, when I learned she knew sign language, I bought a video and taught the class the alphabet and some basic signs for colors and animals. Both of these attempts were met with outbursts. . . Unpleasant outbursts. I am not sure what was happening, but my guess was that the world she lived in and the world I taught in had collided and it made her feel uncomfortable. I kept attempting to reach her by holding a hand and getting her to create a beat with various instruments.

This year, while other students were working on a heavily academic assignment, the student was listening to Masterworks of music. One day, I gave her some paper and said, "Draw what you hear." She proceeded to draw a beautiful representation of the CD Player! I laughed....a lot....and at myself! She did exactly what I asked her to do. She drew a picture of what she heard. Up until this point, when I asked a question, she repeated what I said...including BOTH answers. If I said, "Is this good or bad?" She would reply, "good or bad." On the day of the drawing, I asked her if the music sounded happy or sad. She immediately wrote the word, "Happy" on the paper. True communication occurred! HAPPY!

In that one bright shining moment with the picture and the word, I felt like together we had accomplished a connection.

This year, Peter H. Reynolds illustrated a book called, "Wings of Epoh" (Epoh is Hope backwards) written by Gerda Weissmann Klein, the noted Holocaust survivor. The book is available from FableVision and SARRC. It is a truly moving story of acceptance. I knew it would be a good book....I had no idea how good. Last night, Peter sent me an email to let me know he had published a cartoon on YouTube. Please check it out and check out the book. If you have tried unsuccessfully to truly communicate with someone the book and video just might give you the motivation to keep trying!