Author: Maria Shriver
Photographer: Sandra Speidel
Publisher: Warner Books/Little, Brown, and Company/AOL Time Warner Co.
Genre:Fiction
Age Level: 7-9
Theme:Mentally handicapped/Friendship
Synopsis: This book is about a boy born with disabilities; as a result, he was not able to do all the things that other children were able to do. Kate who was born one month apart in the same hospital with Timmy grew up curious about everything. She asked what was wrong with Timmy and when her mother told her about Timmy's problems, she became friendly with him. Other children made fun of Timmy for being different but Kate was always there for Timmy. Here friendship with Timmy became stronger. She even allowed Timmy to be in her team while others did not want him. According to Kate, "Mom, I think Timmy and I are going to be friends for a long time, too. I can just feel it.... and if anyone ever asks me 'What's wrong with Timmy?' .....I'm going to smile and say, 'Why, nothing....nothing at all!' "
About the Author: Maria Shriver was born on November 6, 1955, in Chicago, Illinois. She is the niece of John F. Kennedy. She started as a news writer and producer at a Philadelphia TV station. She joined NBC in 1986 as a correspondent. She resigned in 2003 when her husband, Arnold Schwarzenegger, became the Governor of California. She is an advocate for several causes including playgrounds in lower income neighborhoods. MARIA SHRIVER is a mother, wife, daughter, sister and friend. She is also a best selling author and an award-winning broadcast journalist. She is the author of the following books: What’s Heaven? - Ten Things I Wish I’d known-before I Went Out into the Real World.
Sandra Speidel lives in northern California. She grew up in a mostly artless environment; as a child, Speidel filled countless sketchbooks. She studied fine art at San Francisco Academy of Art University and San Francisco Art Institute. She specializes in figurative and abstract painting. She has degrees in English, and journalism. She danced for eight years, studied acting for 5 years, and is a published poet, all of which inform her paintings. She was an award winning illustrator before turning to painting. She teaches both graduate and undergraduate figurative drawing and painting at the Academy of Art.
Pre-Reading: After reading this book with the children, I will ask them about how they feel when someone makes fun of them. Do you want to make fun of someone who is different from you?
Post Reading Activity: This lesson is meant for children to learn that each of them is special and has a different talent and gift regardless of their differences. They will learn about the golden rule, do to no one what you would not like to be done unto you. Children will write about someone they have not been nice to and how they would like to make up with the person. They will write how they would like to forgive someone who has hurt them by words or action. They will also write how they will ask forgiveness from someone they hurt by words and action.
Reflection: This book is worth reading because it shows the uniqueness of every child. Parents will learn from this book how to help their children to accept children who are different from them and teach them how to reach out to their fellow children who need help. After reading this book, one will appreciate the uniqueness of every person. We should always look at the things that children can do and feel compassion for them for the things they cannot do due to their disabilities.
Works cited:
Cari Meister is the author of many books for children, including the My Pony Jack series and Luther's Halloween. she lives on a small farm in Minnesota with her husband, four sons, three horses, one dog, and one cat. The Kickball Kids was her first graphic novel. She started making up stories as a young girl. One of her favorite places to make up stories was on her grandpa and grandma's farm in southern Minnesota. Her imagination wanders where she finds quiet little spot in the corn field or on a swing. Cari has lived in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Minnesota. She now lives in Evergreen, Colorado, with her husband, John and their four boys. Besides writing and reading, Cari loves to ride horses, play pirates, and make dinosaur noises. She also enjoys running, snowshoeing, and yoga. 
Julie Olson grew up in the middle of six brothers and tow sisters, so she learned to play kickball well. Julie found her individuality at home through art. Since them, Julie earned a BFA in illustration and ha illustrated numerous books for many markets, and started creating her own kickball team with a husband, two sons, and a daughter.