About this item
Lauren and her family drive to a farm in North Dakota to visit relatives and celebrate her Auntie Joss' wedding. But Lauren finds to her dismay that she is expected to do more than meet adults who hug her and invade her personal space. Lauren is going to be -- horror of all horrors -- a flower girl.Lauren has Autism Spectrum Disorder, and she sees the world a little differently from other kids. What makes her comfortable are her routines and her coping mechanisms for her anxiety, which can get out of control in no time. So it is a challenge to deal with her rambunctious cousins, try on scratchy dresses, and follow impossible directions about going down aisles slowly-but-not-like-a-sloth and tossing pretend flowers around. Is it any surprise that Lauren flips her lid more than once? But while having an extended family seems like a lot of trouble at first, she's about to learn just how much they can care for one another. In Penguin Days, two award winners revisit second-grader Lauren from the acclaimed Slug Days with equal humor and empathy. Drawing on her experience teaching children with ASD, Sara Leach creates an energetic character who stomps eloquently off the page. And Rebecca Bender's delightful black-and-white illustrations show in Lauren's fraught situations and facial expressions all the love and assertiveness that could possibly dwell together in one unique little person. (Publisher)
About the Author
Sara Leach is the author of eight books for children, including the recently released Penguin Days. Its companion book, Slug Days, was a finalist for a Foreword Indie Book Award for Juvenile Fiction and nominated for the Chocolate Lily Book Award. Her middle grade novel Count Me In has been translated into four languages, and won the Red Cedar Book Award. Sounds of the Ferry, illustrated by Steven Corvelo, was nominated for the Chocolate Lily Book Award. In addition to being a children's author, Sara is also an elementary school teacher-librarian. She is a frequent presenter at elementary schools and public libraries, both in person and through Skype. Sara lives in Whistler, BC, where she enjoys skiing, hiking and biking in the local mountains. You can connect with Sara on Facebook at facebook.com/sara.leach.71, or follow her on Twitter at @sara_leach.
