Nope. Never. Not for Me!

Title: Nope. Never. Not for Me!
Genre: Special Needs
Author: Samantha Cotterill
Major Awards: None
Age Group: Preschool-Kindergarten

This is a story of a little girl with autism having to try broccoli for the first time. Her mother places it in front of her, and the girl states that it is too bumpy, too lumpy, and very jumpy. She states, "Nope. Never. Not for me!" Her mom asks her if she will at least touch it. She does, but says it feels too pokey, too scratchy, and too ouchy. She again states, "Nope. Never. Not for me!" The little girl has a fascination with dinosaurs, so her mom tells her that she guesses not every dinosaur likes trees, after all. This causes the girl to place her toy dinosaur in front of the broccoli, and then the girl gets the courage to try it on her own. She tries it, but is not a fan. Her mom calls her a brave "Try"ceratops for trying something new. In the end, she gains more courage to try other foods and ends up liking some! 

I think this would be a great book to have in my classroom! It shows students that they can be brave and try new things, even if they do not end up liking them. I think that young students would be more willing to try new foods after reading this story. It also would be a great one for a group of students to have read to them who struggle with sensory issues or autism themselves, because it helps them relate and realize that they are not alone in their struggles.

This book would be most appropriate for Preschool through Kindergarten students. The child in the book appears to be around age three or four, so I think students these ages would relate to this character the most. It also would be great to give to a beginning reader to read on their own because the plot and words on each page are very simple. The illustrations are also very well done, and I think that young students would really enjoy them!

In my classroom, it would be fun to have the students try different foods. We could all vote on favorites, and then make a graph with the results. We could also talk about healthy foods, and why it is important to fuel our bodies with them. It would also be a good time to discuss the importance of at least trying new foods, because we may surprise ourselves by actually liking them!