My Sister, Alicia May. By: Nancy Tupper Long. Illustrated by Shennen Bersani. (2009)

I really enjoyed reading My Sister, Alicia May, by Nancy Tupper Long. It is a story about a girl named Rachel, and her sister, Alicia May who has Down Syndrome. Alicia May is a very friendly, very lovable little girl. Rachel discussed that Alicia May is a lot like other kids; she likes dogs and horses, and she loves to paint her toenails and watch for bugs, especially ladybugs. Rachel does not always play with Alicia May, because she has her own friends. Sometimes Alicia May really annoys Rachel, some days Rachel is really sick of watching out for Alicia May. But by the end of the book Rachel says to her mama, "I wish everyone had an Alicia May. But then Alicia May wouldn't be special would she?" Rachel loves Alicia May, she loves her for who she is, she loves her for all her differences, and even though Alicia May annoys her sometimes, she feels lucky to have someone like Alicia May in her life. I really loved this book. It was beautiful!

Genre: Special Needs, Character education

Theme/skill: We all have special talents and interests

Grade level:

Pre-reading activity: Teacher should talk about someone with special needs that they know. Maybe the person is in a wheel chair, maybe the person is deaf or blind, or maybe the person has Autism. Teacher should make a point of talking about the things that the person with special needs likes, just like any other kid. Ask students if they also like these things. Its important for students to feel like they can relate people with special needs. It makes them seem less different.

Post-reading activity: Students should be assigned to work with a student that they do not always work with/ are not close friends with. Students will interview their partner to find out their partners special interests, what they like to do on the weekend, what their favorite foods are, what they are scared of, etc. Students should then present their partner to the class. This is a  great way for students to learn about one another.It's a great community builder!

Nancy Tupper Ling won the Writer's Digest Grand Prize and the Pat Parnell Poetry Award. She lives in Walpole, Massachusetts, with her husband Vincent and their two daughters.