Celebrating Dyslexia Awareness Month with A Walk in the Words

October is Dyslexia Awareness Month and I always like to celebrate by sharing children's books about kids with dyslexia. This October, I'm featuring A Walk in the Words, an autobiographical picture book written and illustrated by Hudson Talbott about his struggles with learning to read. 

Drawing was always easy for Talbott, but reading was a challenge.  His love of creating stories was one of the things that inspired him to persevere. He compares learning new words for his stories with finding new colors for his art. He learned that it was okay to tackle words at his own pace which is a lesson that can be hard for many kids to learn. He describes the words he knew as "Stepping stones leading me onward." One of my favorite illustrations is his "Slow Readers Hall of Fame," which includes people like Albert Einstein, Leonardo DaVinci, George Washington, and William Shakespeare. 

A Walk in the Words was a 2022 Schneider Family Honor Book. This award honors an author or illustrator for, "A book that embodies an artistic expression of the disability experience for child and adolescent audiences." Read about this award and find other titles featuring children with a variety of disabilities on the website for the Schneider Family Book Award. 

Hudson Talbott is the creator of over 20 children's books including We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story which Steven Speilberg turned into a full-length animated film.

To find other titles about kids with dyslexia, visit last October's Post on Children's Books Featuring Young People with Dyslexia.

NEW DECODABLE BOOK SERIES

I'm also celebrating Dyslexia Awareness Month by giving away a free PDF of the first book in my Decodable Series, No Gift for Man. The PDF is text only. It also links to an online audio version of the book. The illustrated version will be available on Amazon in November. This is the first installment in the HOT ROD Series (Higher Order Thinking Through the Reading of Decodables.) 

Visit the Sign Up Page on my new website at www.wordtravelpress.com for details. Then explore strategies like Pair and Share Reading. Find downloadable activities to go with the book on my page for COR Instruction. If you already receive my newsletter, a link to the free PDF will be available in the November edition. If you are attending the International Dyslexia Association Annual Conference in San Antonio, be sure to check out my session on decodable books. See details below:

International Dyslexia Association - November 10-12, 2022 in San Antonio, TX
1. Live presentation - #93 - The Goldilocks Effect: Finding the “Just Right” Books for Struggling Readers - Saturday morning, 11-12 pm, November 12, 2022.
2. Recorded Presentation - #165 - Heracles vs. Hercules: The Importance of Cognitive Flexibility (I will be doing this presentation with Kelly Cartwright Ph.D.)