About
My Big Brother Troy is the endearing story of an African American family and their journey of navigating through life with a developmentally delayed son. The story is told from the point of view of Sasha, our main character’s younger sister. Troy is developmentally delayed, but that does not interfere with Sasha and her big brother becoming best friends.
Troy’s brain works in a special way that makes it harder for him to control his actions, communicate his words and emotions, and learn in the same manner that his peers learn. Sasha faces the same problem as so many other children--getting other people to understand a member of her family. In bringing us this universal story, she also happens to bring us understanding of something many of us may not encounter in our families, but do in our lives. Sasha explains how she views and interacts with her brother and shows how everybody around them views and interacts with him as well. For all the things that are difficult for Troy, Sasha highlights everything he is good at and all of his efforts to learn in the best way he knows how. The hope is for parents and caretakers to view developmental delays as assets based in the same ways that Sasha does, as opposed to deficit based. The main point of this book is to teach acceptance, love, understanding and information regarding children with developmental delays. Perfectly paired with larger-than-life illustrations, this is sure to be a classroom favorite. |