Written by a mum with two autistic boys, this splendid explanation of what it is like to be autistic would make a wonderful gift to a family diagnosed with autism in one or more of its members. The story is told by Taryn, best friend of Jake, who has ASD (Autistic Spectrum Disorder). Taryn explains to us that because of his ASD, he also has SPD (Sensory Processing Disorder) and that all five of his senses are ‘disordered’. She compares her brain to a ‘super-quick postman’ that gets all the messages to the right place at the right time, whereas,‘In Jake’s brain the brain Postman is very slow and makes mistakes. The message letters all get thrown around like leaves in the wind.’ This can bring on meltdowns, which seem to others that he is ‘naughty’. The detail in this book about how Jake feels when all these sensory messages go wrong in his head is extraordinary. There are sections on ‘Strangers’ and how they affect him, on ‘Famous People’ who may have had ASD, on ‘Taking Things Literally’, on ‘Bullying’, on ‘Feeling’s, on ‘Speech’, on ‘Making Friends’, and on ‘Routine’. The book looks hand-written and is on very white paper with clear black lettering and lots of excellent, expressive, lovable pictures of Jake and his friend Taryn. There is a teddy too, who is constantly in the pictures. A lovely, lovely book that tells it like it is so far a ASD is concerned, but emphasises too that every person with the syndrome is different and should be accepted on their own terms. Available from Amazon, from book shops, and from the publisher: www.jkp.com.