A Manual for Marco: Living, Learning, and Laughing With an Autistic Sibling

by Shaila Abdullah, Iman Tejpar (Illustrator)

Overview

An 8-year old girl decides to make a list of all the things she likes and dislikes about dealing with her autistic brother, and in doing so realizes that she has created A Manual for Marco.

"Through her genuine and caring accounts about growing up with an older, autistic brother, this 8-year-old also shows her love for her sibling who is special but sometimes does things that are not-so-special. I highly recommend this book written with sensitivity and beautifully illustrated."
--Lorna d'Entremont, M.Ed., Special Needs Book Review

"Shaila Abdullah proves to be a great ambassador for autism, using explanations and warm, welcoming illustrations in A Manual for Marco that give a complex condition a simpler explanation."
--C. Hope Clark, Author of The Carolina Slade Mysteries and The Edisto Island Mysteries

"A Manual for Marco is a welcome addition to children's literature that will help in introducing the condition of autism to young people and providing information that will enable them to understand a little more about it so that it will not seem so scary."
--Wayne Walker, Home School Book Reviews

For more information, please visit www.ShailaAbdullah.com

SHAILA ABDULLAH is an award-winning author and designer based in Austin, Texas. She has written four other books: Saffron Dreams, Beyond the Cayenne Wall, My Friend Suhana, and Rani in Search of a Rainbow. Along with illustrations by the author, A Manual for Marco also includes artwork by IMAN TEJPAR, a 12-year-old artist from Canada.

From the Growing With Love Series
Loving Healing Press
Juvenile Fiction: Social Issues - Special Needs

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781615992485
Publisher:	Loving Healing Press
Publication date:	02/01/2015
Pages:	36
Product dimensions:	8.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.25(d)
Age Range:	6 - 8 Years

About the Author

Shaila Abdullah is an award-winning author and designer based in Austin, Texas. She has written four books: Saffron Dreams, Beyond the Cayenne Wall, My Friend Suhana, and Rani in Search of a Rainbow. The author has received several awards for her work, including the Golden Quill Award and Patras Bukhari Award for English Language. Several academic institutions have adopted her books as course study or recommended reading, including the University of California, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Indiana University, Boston University, California State University, and George Washington University. Iman Tejpar is the 12-year-old artist behind the sketches of A Manual for Marco. She is the youngest of three siblings, born and raised in Calgary, Canada. From an early age, Iman loved to dabble with art and would sit for hours with her sketch pad and colors. Over the years, art became a passion, and Iman continues to draw, paint, and color every chance she gets. She has a keen sense of balance of colors and elements. In addition to being a budding artist, she is an avid crafter, creating masterpieces with ordinary items like duct tape.

Read an Excerpt

CHAPTER 1

I walk into a house full of screams. It is not the first time.

Mom is struggling to get my brother Marco out of his favorite red jacket. Together they look like football players on separate teams. He's not making it easy for her, but Mom is not giving up.

"Hi, Mom," I say. She grunts in response.

I quietly put my backpack down and walk inside the kitchen to grab an apple.

In a short while, Marco walks away — with his jacket still on. Mom sighs. I hand her the remaining half of my apple and give her a hug.

My mom is no football player. Neither is Marco into sports. He has autism. It is a condition that makes it very hard for him to do things the normal way. He is one of those children who should have come with a manual. You know, those handbooks that tell you how something (or in this case somebody) works.

I didn't come with a manual either, but Mom says I do things by the book. She says she means it in a good way. She is a doctor, so I have to believe her. And although I can swim, dance, and do many special things, Mom insists that Marco is the special one.

For a long time, I didn't understand why.

So I decided to make a list of all the things that make Marco special and not-so-special in my purple diary, the one that I keep under lock and key. (You'll soon know why.)

Special: He is a math genius

Marco can add, count, and subtract faster and higher than anyone I know. Once we had to climb a long flight of steps to reach a hill, and when we reached the top, Marco happily announced, "42!"

It amazed me that while we were huffing and puffing all the way up, Marco was counting each step.

Mom says Marco likes predictability. That means he likes things to happen in a certain way or at a certain time. Counting calms him down. Steps make sense to him since they don't change like people and weather do.

So does this mean I am special too? I don't like my steps doing anything crazy either!

Not-so-special: He hides things

Marco mostly likes to play by himself. But every once in a while, he picks up something that belongs to me and hides it for no reason. It is very annoying.

Hiding objects that are special to others or throwing them into the toilet are two of Marco's favorite hobbies. I don't know how that can be counted as special.

So far I have lost 17 hair clips, 2 toothbrushes, 13 blocks, 44 beads, a very dear stuffed monkey, and countless markers. Recently, the doctors found a bead in Marco's nose. Oh, and four months ago, they found a cut up dollar bill in his ear.

The toilet might have many problems of its own. I am pretty sure Marco stuffed a pillow down there at some point.

You also can't leave any crayons lying around. If you do, there's a good chance that you'll find all sorts of gibberish on walls. That's pretty odd because Marco taught himself how to read at the age of three.

Marco also enjoys locking bathroom doors. All of them! Mom and I walk around with little keys to open them. I keep mine wrapped in my hair band for easy reach.

There's no use being mad at Marco. Each morning, he wakes up a blank book.

I am afraid of losing any more stuff and I think Mom finally realized that. For my birthday, she gave me a glittering purple and yellow treasure box with lock and key to store my special things.

Although, I worry where the box will end up one of these days.

(Continues…)

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Excerpted from "A Manual for Marco"
by .
Copyright © 2015 Shaila Abdullah.
Excerpted by permission of Loving Healing Press, Inc..
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

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Editorial Reviews

"A Manual For Marco by Shaila Abdullah, illustrated by her and Iman Tejpar, is a frank look at what it is like to be a sibling of a challenged brother. Eight-year-old Sofia struggles with the love she feels for her brother and how protective she is when it comes to classmates and friends who don’t understand and poke fun, but she also struggles with how Marco’s differences mean that he receives a bit more attention and care than she does. This is a dilemma that most kids will struggle with if their sibling is disabled. This story hit home for me and brought back the memories I had as a child dealing with the attention my brother received as a child that I did not. Abdullah has created a book that could help kids who were like me, confused by the situation at home and yet protective of the brother who was not understood by those outside the family. Abdullah is doing important work, and her book is mature in its approach to how these kids relate to one another and how they think and feel. The manual Sofia creates for her brother not only helps her put into perspective how special her brother is, but also how special her relationship with him is to Marco. The images are bright, and parents reading this to children can use the story as a way to bring up these discussions about being disabled and communication. Compassion and understanding are important tools that all children should have, but they are difficult to teach with immediacy"

-- Serena Agosto-Cox, Savvy Verse and Wit

A Manual for Marco is written from the point-of-view of an eight-year-old girl learning how to deal with her autistic brother Marco. She decides to make "a list of all the things that make Marco special and not-so-special" in her purple diary. When she is finished, she realizes she has created a manual for Marco. The book is presented in a notebook format with highlighted characteristics followed by anecdotes to expand on these qualities, both good and bad. The book is illustrated by author Shaila Abdullah, with contributions by 12-year-old Iman Tehpar, Sophia Ali (the inspiration behind the book's narrator), and the author's daughters Aanyah and Aaliyana. At the end of the book, there is an introduction to the Ali family who are the inspiration for this story, as well as some tips for parents by Dr Salima Ali, and a list of helpful autism website resources.

This is a confronting, yet touching book about sibling love, suitable for the whole family. It is perfect for children who are having trouble coping with an autistic brother or sister."

-- Lynda Dickson, Books Direct

"Through her genuine and caring accounts about growing up with an older, autistic brother, this 8-year-old also shows her love for her sibling who is special but sometimes does things that are not-so-special. I highly recommend this book written with sensitivity and beautifully illustrated."

--Lorna d'Entremont, M.Ed., Special Needs Book Review



"Shaila Abdullah proves to be a great ambassador for autism, using explanations and warm, welcoming illustrations in A Manual for Marco that give a complex condition a simpler explanation."

--C. Hope Clark, Author of The Carolina Slade Mysteries and The Edisto Island Mysteries



"A Manual for Marco is a welcome addition to children's literature that will help in introducing the condition of autism to young people and providing information that will enable them to understand a little more about it so that it will not seem so scary."

--Wayne Walker, Home School Book Reviews

From the Publisher

12/08/2014
In a story inspired by a real-life family, Abdullah, who tackled cerebral palsy in My Friend Suhana, discusses life with an autistic sibling, as described by a girl named Sofia. The story is constructed as entries in Sofia’s notebook, which she keeps “under lock and key” since her brother, Marco, has a tendency to hide things. Sofia is open about Marco’s strengths (“Marco can add, count, and subtract faster and higher than anyone I know”), as well as things that make him “not-so-special” at times (his difficulty handling departures from routine, for instance). The flattened digital cartoons don’t do much to establish the characters’ personalities, and Sofia’s narration can be wooden (“The amount of time we save on shopping allows for other fun activities, such as visits to the park or library”). Endnotes provide additional tips and information about interacting with those on the autism spectrum. Ages 6–8. (Feb.)

Publishers Weekly