Glenn, Sharlee. Keeping Up With Roo. New York: G.P.Putnam’s Sons, 2004. Keeping Up With Roo, by Sharelle Glenn, is a short children's picture book about growing up with a family member who is developmentally disabled. Gracie, a young girl, and and her Aunt Roo, who has a developmental disability, became best friends when Gracie was a baby. Together they would run through the cornfields, eat tart red bull berries, climb trees, and play school; Roo had the heart of a child. Due to this the age gap between them did not matter to Gracie or Roo; at least until Gracie started school. It was when Gracie started school that she began finding it harder to find time to spend time with Roo. Gracie began talking piano lessons, spending time with new friends. She had also grown older and realized her aunt Roo was "different". She became embarrassed of her and no longer wanted to play with Roo. In the end, Gracie realized everything Roo had brought to her life and spends time playing school with both Roo and her new friend. This is a touching story that reminds the readers of the gifts we all bring to the world.
Nowhere in this book does it specifically state Roo's disability, but Sharlee Glenn alludes to Roo's disability throughout the whole story. This allows for Roo's personality to be the highlight of the book, rather than her disability. In the second half of the book I noticed how Gacie became embarrassed by Roo when her friend came over to play. Therefore, this books portrays one typical reaction for many people who have family members who are disabled. These feelings need to be discussed so children understand that they are normal and acceptable to have. With this discussion it is important to realize that everyone is different so children begin to recognize the joy of loving and accepting those that are different than ourselves, just as Gracie did.
I believe this book does a wonderful job of positively portraying an adult with a disability. The focus is on the activities Roo can participate in rather than Roo's lack of achievement. Part of this could be due to Sharlee Glenn's experience spending time on the family farm with her two Aunts, Martha and Mildred, who have a developmental disability. Just like Gracie in the story, Sharlee remembers her Aunt Martha teaching her how to read and playing school with her at a young age. This experience Sharlee Glenn has with family members who are developmentally disabled makes her an insider on the topic of disabilities and causes the emotions and actions of Gracie and Roo to be more accurate
Nowhere in this book does it specifically state Roo's disability, but Sharlee Glenn alludes to Roo's disability throughout the whole story. This allows for Roo's personality to be the highlight of the book, rather than her disability. In the second half of the book I noticed how Gacie became embarrassed by Roo when her friend came over to play. Therefore, this books portrays one typical reaction for many people who have family members who are disabled. These feelings need to be discussed so children understand that they are normal and acceptable to have. With this discussion it is important to realize that everyone is different so children begin to recognize the joy of loving and accepting those that are different than ourselves, just as Gracie did.
I believe this book does a wonderful job of positively portraying an adult with a disability. The focus is on the activities Roo can participate in rather than Roo's lack of achievement. Part of this could be due to Sharlee Glenn's experience spending time on the family farm with her two Aunts, Martha and Mildred, who have a developmental disability. Just like Gracie in the story, Sharlee remembers her Aunt Martha teaching her how to read and playing school with her at a young age. This experience Sharlee Glenn has with family members who are developmentally disabled makes her an insider on the topic of disabilities and causes the emotions and actions of Gracie and Roo to be more accurate
1 comment:
Very nice blog with a lot of good information. You have organized and presented your research and analysis well. I would encourage you to share this with peers. Good luck in all you do. Zoa B.
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