April is National Autism Awareness Month and here at Peachy Reads we wanted to take the time to highlight a book that teaches readers about autism.  Since that doesn’t always happen through the lens of characters of color, we also wanted to represent diversity in our selection. 

Actress Holly Robinson Peete joined forces with her daughter Ryan Elizabeth Peete to write My Brother Charlie. In the story, Callie and her twin brother Charlie have a lot in common.  They both love the family dog, hot chocolate, and music. However, Callie begins to realize that they are also very different. Charlie doesn’t make friends easily and sometimes his words get stuck inside him. It is even difficult for him to express his love to family members.  The family learns that Charlie is autistic.

In time, Charlie shows his mom and sister that love takes many different forms and that embracing one another, differences and all, is key. His talents are what make him special and that is bigger than him having autism. As Callie realizes, while her brother has autism it doesn’t mean that it defines him.

My Brother Charlie is written by Holly Robinson Peete and Ryan Elizabeth Peete with pictures by Shane W. Evans. It is for young readers 7-10 years old.