Book Review: This Is Gabriel Making Sense of School

Hartley Steiner, of Hartley's Life With 3 Boys was one of the first bloggers to welcome us at Knowledge Safari to the fold! So, I was very excited to learn that she was writing a book that is inspired by her son Gabriel who has Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD). I was even more excited to receive the book in the mail that she offered me so that I could review it! We LOVE reviews at KnowledgeSafari.com - you can write one HERE and we also LOVE this book!

I read This Is Gabriel Making Sense of School and as an adult, you can't help but notice the bright and cheerful cover graphics and that they continue quite cleverly throughout the book. I have to tell you that the kids will love the graphics too - they really draw you in!

I decided to read the book to one of the kids that I tutor, Connor he is 7. I read the book and Connor was captivated right from the start. You know, it is not always easy to capture the attention of a 7 year old boy - but this did the trick!

Connor really loved the illustrations and commented, “he looks like a boy I know at my school”! The illustrations truly helped him relate to Gabriel. Even at 7, he could understand the content because the explanations of the different aspects of sensory processing disorder were concise, yet gave enough information for him to visualize how a child with SPD goes through a school day. It was very interesting how the book lays out challenges and also provides solutions. Adults will benefit from the content as well for this reason.

As an educator, I appreciated the explanation of the many sensory issues, how some children handle it, how Gabriel handles it and then a tip on how to help Gabriel or another child with SPD in the classroom . I also had a new understanding of just how difficult and tiring it must be for a child with SPD to complete a school day successfully. The illustrations helped me easily explain some of the more abstract concepts. I think this book is not only good for children, but is a fun way for adults to learn about SPD too.

I am so proud of Hartley and this wonderful book! Yes, it is a great tool to teach and learn about SPD, but it is a good read just for the joy of reading as well.

If you would like to have this book, here is a LINK to purchase it. Make sure to come back to Knowledge Safari to review it yourself!

This is Author Hartley Steiner!