Autism Awareness Giveaway Hop

April is Autism Awareness Month.  To help spread the word about autism, Making the Grade is taking part in the Autism Awareness Giveaway Hop, which is hosted by I Am a Reader, Not a Writer. Here on the blog, we are giving away a $10 Amazon Gift Card to one lucky winner as part of the hop.

This hop ends on Tuesday, April 17, 2012, at midnight.

Though involving a controversial topic, the point of this giveaway hop is simply to make people more aware about autism by sharing information and experiences.

When thinking of the topic of autism in film and literature, two specific stories come to my mind.

First is the 1986 film, The Boy Who Could Fly. I am sure that this shows my age, considering this is a movie that many teenagers today have probably never even heard of. (Correct me if I am wrong about this.) But if you HAVE heard of the movie, then you would know it tells the story of 15-year-old Milly Michaelson and Eric Gibb, a boy with autism. After the suicide of her terminally ill father, Milly becomes friends with Eric, who lost both of his parents to a plane crash. Together, Eric and Milly find ways to cope with the loss and the pain as they escape to faraway places. The story is both touching and realistic in its approach to covering sensitive topics such as loss, suicide and mental conditions, even if there are also elements of fantasy within the story.

Second is the 2003 book, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon. This story is a murder mystery told by an autistic boy named Christopher John Francis Boone. He knows all the countries of the world and their capitals and every prime number up to 7,057. He relates well to animals but has no understanding of human emotions. He cannot stand to be touched. And he detests the color yellow. This improbable story of Christopher’s quest to investigate the suspicious death of a neighborhood dog makes for one of the most captivating, unusual, and widely heralded novels in recent years involving the subject of autism. While “technically” an adult book, the story would appeal to teenagers. In fact, I believe that many high schools currently have students reading and discussing the materials.

If you are able to check out both of these titles, I highly recommend that you do. They tastefully address the topic of autism and combine it with storytelling that is both entertaining and thoughtful.

The Boy Who Could Fly: Instant Download on Amazon
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time: Hardcover | Paperback | Kindle

Enter for your chance to win a $10 Amazon Gift Card!

You must fill out this form to enter.

ONE entry per person.
Open to US residents aged 13 and older only.
Giveaway ends at midnight on Tuesday, April 17, 2012.

View the other blogs participating in this Hop (and enter to win even more giveaways!) by visiting the Autism Awareness Giveaway Hop page over at I Am a Reader, Not a Writer.