My Good friend Suhana (Rising with Love)

A beautiful friendship
A beautiful book about love. It is written from a child’s perspective making it even better. I purchased this along with 2 other books to help my preschool class learn about children with different abilities. I cried reading it the first time and recommended it to everyone I know.

Five Stars
Very touching and wonderful story of a friendship between two girls, one of whom has cerebral palsy

Horrible Book
Please do NOT buy this book. I bought this because it won an award for Children’s Literature from the Dolly Gray Society. I don’t know how these people judge books, but as a healthcare professional that works with children with disabilities, I found this book horrifying in their depiction of this population. The book focus’ on everything that Suhana CAN’T do. It depicts her playing with baby toys, talks of her rolling on the floor and states “She can’t even play”. Please don’t waste your money nor support this author

Inspiring and heartwarming picture book about a special relationship
My Friend Suhana is based on the true story of 10 year-old Aanyah Abdullah (one of the authors) and her friendship with a young girl who has cerebral palsy, Suhana. Aanyah and her mother Shaila volunteer on a weekly basis at a community center in a special needs class attended by Suhana. It is here where Aanyah and Suhana have forged their special friendship.The reader is introduced to Suhana through Aanyah’s eyes who describes how Suhana is different from other girls her age in that she cannot stand, walk nor speak, nor does she communicate through language. However, what is so beautiful about this book is that the authors describe what Suhana IS capable of such as waving her arms and legs, rolling around, squealing with delight, clenching her fists in anger, and in a tender moment, Suhana reaching out to touch Aanyah’s hair – a small gesture but one with great significance.I love this focus on highlighting for children all the ways a child with cerebral palsy has “abilities” rather than focusing on the “disability” and the things that are wrong. The other important consideration is teaching children the ways they can interact with and/or communicate with children who have a disability. My Friend Suhana does this so well. In the book, Aanyah describes how she hugs and tickles Suhana, draws pictures for her, and even is her cheerleader as she learns new skills. There is also an excellent section discussing how Suhana reacts to colors rather than words with certain colors associated with specific emotions (e.g., red for anger, blue for sad, etc.).I really enjoyed the cheery, bright, and colorful illustrations. I really love the imagery in the text and pictures of the kite surrounded by stars as a metaphor for Suhana (the kite) and the people in her life who care for her (the stars). It was very touching. Finally, at the end of the book, there is a section discussing cerebral palsy and some basic facts about this condition as well as a note encouraging children to reach out to a child with a disability and forge new friendships. It was a great way to end the book!My Bottom Line:My Friend Suhana: A Story of Friendship and Cerebral Palsy is the heartwarming account of a special friendship forged between the young co-author (10 year-old Aanyah Abdullah) and a little girl, Suhana who has cerebral palsy. The book does a great job of focusing on the “abilities” of Suhana and provides guidance for children with regards to facilitating friendships with children who have a disability. This book would be a great resource in early elementary classrooms or in a school or public library. I highly recommend this book for ages 3+.* I received a copy of this book free-of-charge from the author in exchange for my honest opinion. All opinions expressed are my own.