Content

This book tells the true story of how a girl with autism changed the life (and death) of so many cattle by designing a more humane way for them to be calmed down. She was a spokesman for autism most of her adult life, helping many understand the nuances that adults and students with ASD exhibit.

Some events of the book: 

1. Temple Grandin never spoke a single word until past the age of three.

2. She was teased at school and was kicked out for throwing a book at a girl.

3. Her parents sent her away to live with her aunt on her ranch, where she intensely studied the habits of cows.

4. When she returned in fall, she went to a new school where she was encouraged to think outside the box. There, she came up with an invention that would "hug" cows and calm them down. It worked on her too!

5. She graduated from college, then received two more degrees. She now gives speeches all over the world!

Message

This story is an excellent example of overcoming obstacles. Temple Grandin went from being almost completely nonverbal at the age of three to becoming a world-renowned public speaker. Her mother was told that her child was mentally insane and would never survive in the real world, that she should be locked away in an asylum. If only all mothers could believe in their children like her mother did, what amazing accomplishments we could achieve!

Evaluation

I first learned about Temple Grandin when I saw the HBO movie chronicling her life. A few of the same elements are in both the movie and the book, such as when Grandin thinks of an object (shoes, for example, in the movie, or a fly in the book), her brain floods her thoughts with every image that she currently has stored of that object. I am amazed how well she has been able to put in words what autism feels like, from one whose own style of communicating is so visual. She is truly an amazing person.

Nonfiction Text Features

diagrams linking pictures (glimpse inside the mind of Temple Grandin), varying fonts, timeline at end of the book, facts about Temple Grandin and a letter written by her