Scotty's Way
Author:Jennifer Fura
Illustrators: Samantha Smith and Matthew Ulrich
Theme: Disabilities, Overcoming obstacles, Being a kid
Genre: Nonfiction, Overcoming obstacles
Age: Kindergarten and up
Synopsis: Scotty is a seven year old boy, who at the age of two and a half was in an accident which resulted in the lost of his right arm. This book is about how Scotty has adapted his life, despite the loss of his right arm, and has shown how he can persevere to do just about anything any child could do. This book is very inspirational.
During my time as a graduate student, I was given the change to meet Scotty and his mother Jennifer, the author of this book. Scotty is an amazing little boy, extremely funny and entertaining, and could put a smile on anyone's face. He was very inspirational and when they first arrived at class many of us did not even notice that he did not have his right arm as he was throwing around a football and was making jokes. I would recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a little inspiration in their lives.
Pre-reading activity: Ask the students what they think it would be like if they did not have an arm or a leg. How would they do some of the things that they do daily. Discuss different ideas on how they could accomplish some of these things.
Post-reading Activity: In groups have students hold one arm behind their back, stand on one leg, etc. and have them try and do different activities such as catch a ball, walk from one side of the room to another, etc. After they have each had an opportunity to preform at least one of the tasks, have them go back to their desks and get out their journals. Have them write about their experience without the use of their arm or legs to preform a task that other wise they would have been able to do easily. Have them write about what they found to be difficult about this task, why was it difficult.
About the Author: Jennifer graduated from West Genesse High school in 1995, and received her bachelors degree from Oswego State University. She now lives in New York with her husband and two children. She wrote this book as a gift for Scotty at first, and he inspired her to share his story with everyone.
Fura, J. (2010). Scotty's Way. Houston:Halo Publishing. Grades K+.
You are so very right, this book is such an inspiration. It is like a pick me up. Scotty was so funny when he visited our classroom. I especially liked the fact that his mother was so open with all of us in sharing how scared she was at first. What a great story and a great boy!
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