- Title: All My Stripes
- Author(s): Shaina Rudolph, Danielle Royer
- Illustrator/Photographer: Jennifer Zivoin
- Publisher and Year: Magination Press, 2015
- Number of pages: 26
- Genre: Fiction
- Analysis: Zane the zebra has a lot of stripes, but there is one stripe that makes Zane feel different from his peers, his autism stripe. Zane worries that this stripe is the only thing that his classmates notice about him. With the help of his mom, Zane starts to appreciate all his stripes, such as his pilot stripe, honesty stripe, or caring stripe and the unique attributes that he has.
When analyzing the text through theoretical frameworks, I feel as though this book is a great mirror and window for not only kids with autism, but kids who have and have not heard of autism. For children who are autistic, All My Stripes, teaches the importance of loving oneself and being proud of your differences; for children without autism, the book shows a glimpse of what life is like for certain kids who are autistic. The book aims to show representation for children who have feelings of neglect and loneliness due to their differences.
The book’s illustrations are very colorful and give a sense of happiness but can be symbolic. For instance, in the beginning of the book when Zane is telling his mother about his day, it is raining. The rain helps to portray the image of sadness that Zane is feeling. After Zane learns to appreciate his stripes and cheers up, it becomes sunny outside. Furthermore, the book is unframed which allows for readers to be “right in the room” with Zane, giving a more personal feeling to his story and allowing Zane to be more relatable.
Finally, the authors close the book with a reading guide and a note to caretakers and parents about how to deal with autism. In the reading guide, sections of the book are broken down and examples are given on how autism affects Zane and real children. I think these additions were great in the book because they show support outside of just simply writing about autism. These additions offer greater awareness and help about autism in the real world.
