It would be glib to talk about this book around Halloween and have a zombie doing the narrating. Granted that could certainly draw in more curious readers than the actual topic about All About Brains. It’s an illustrated book that looks at brains the way that early to upper-elementary can relate to, if they wanted to read a book about neurodivergence. Woah, easy there elementary school reader, do you mean that this is a fun book about the very broad field of neurodiverse kids? In a way, that is correct, All About Brains takes a macro look at some of the differences in that field. It starts with a young girl as she starts her day with medicine and her younger sibling asking to have some of her medicine that helps ease her ‘brain sparkles’.
Nova is a happy little girl who knows she doesn’t think like everyone else. At school, presumably a pre-k or kindergarten class, she’s eager to share what makes her unique. A couple of the kids share their gross talents or animal impersonations. When it’s Nova’s turn to share, she tells the story of how her brain and body ‘sparkle’. That’s how she equates the crossed thought patterns she sometimes gets that cause seizures because she has epilepsy. The kids ask a couple of questions about her epilepsy, which leads the teacher to open everything up to an even bigger question: “What is a brain?”
As you can see, All About Brains is not a typical ‘illustrated book.’ It is an illustrated book in its layout and presentation, but the content and delivery is aimed at people who are slightly older than the carpet-time crowd. The pre-k and K crowd will enjoy the All About Brains, but its key audience is going to be those readers who discovering their uniqueness. That‘s a wide range of elementary-age school children who could relate to, or enjoy the book for any number of reasons.
It deftly, and at an age-appropriate level, introduces young ages to dyslexia, epilepsy, ADHD, and more. These are not topics the average elementary age kid wants to hear about. Again, its not your typical illustrated book, built on the backs of unicorns and lollipops. It’s also not your typical illustrated book that’s a Trojan Horse message instrument. This is a longer-than-average illustrated book, but that’s because it intends to educate, but to do so in an entertaining, non-preachy way.
Kids who are neurodivergent need something to let them know that their thing takes many different shapes. It also helps for older readers, like me, who have no idea what neurodivergent is. All About Brains accomplishes that by explaining that the word encompasses a bigger classification of people whose brain works differently. The book’s subtitle goes a long way towards speaking directly to those kids who need encouragement if they’re in that camp.
All About Brains: A Book About People, that’s the official title. Nobody is going to mix this illustrated book up for a zombie romp that’ll only be read around Halloween. The second usage of ‘about’, in the book’s title infers to young readers, in the softest of ways possible that they matter. Yeah, I see words backwards or I need to keep my room impossibly clean, but I’m a person. Bi-pedal, upright walking, millions of years of evolution, check, that’s me. People have different hobbies. People like different types of movies. People enjoy foods that are different from other people. Some people are better at art or math than other people, you get the idea.
That’s the idea that All About Brains tries to get across. It’s a by-the-numbers STEM book about the grey matter that’s inside our head. As the book gets into the final 25%, the text might be a little long or intimidating for young readers to dig into and comprehend on their own. That could’ve been solved by chopping the text into two blurbs, one above the illustration and the other one below it. Ages nine and up should be able to read it without assistance. As a read-aloud or carpet time book, All About Brains will reinforce positive thoughts and educate all ages about characteristics we’re learning more about.
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