Final Project: Review of a Professional Resource

The review I found was of "Where's Chimpy?" by Berniece Rabe. The review was from the School Library Journal by Margaret C. Howell. Howell stressed the importance of this text as "photo essay on the fact that children with disabilities can and do enjoy the same things other children do". I agree very much with what Howell says about how this book really concentrates on how Misty is portrayed as a child that can do what other children are able to do. The book really shows how Misty is no different than any other child when she forgets where she put her toys, remembers playing with other children, and ends up finding other toys that she lost at a different time. I think that Berniece Rabe does a great job showing the "normalcy" of the child while still using the photographs to show the storyline in a realistic nature while embracing the child's differences. Howell also says, "This would be a good book to share with children when discussing handicaps, particularly as it shows a disabled child participating in and enjoying regular play instead of concentrating on the differences." I completely agree with this statement. I think that a good piece of diverse literature doesn't point out the differences in this group, but shows how similar this group is to other groups. Stressing the fact of similarities rather than differences is a much more positive aspect when teaching diverse literature and also aims to cut down acts of discrimination. With more books like "Where's Chimpy?", children can begin to see diverse groups in terms of how they relate to themselves rather than pinpoint the group's differences. In terms of acceptance, I think that Howell was right when giving such a positive review of this text. I can see how this text displays diversity in a positive way that will make a positive impact on its readers.



Howell, Margaret C.. School Library Journal (1988):