Books for Children with Autism: Our Winter Reading List

Literacy for autistic children is how they practice communication, understanding, and connecting with the world. Books can open doors to new ideas, feelings, and experiences.

For ways to build on a story after reading, see our guide to storytelling and literacy learning for autistic children.

Orchid Academy’s Book Criteria

Orchid Academy uses three criteria when choosing books for children with autism:

1. Fun!

Books must captivate the child’s interest through enjoyable stories, colorful illustrations, or interactive elements. Fun matters because a child who enjoys a book will come back to it. This can include humorous stories, exciting adventures, or interactive features like flaps, textures, or sounds!

2. Educational Value:

The book must contribute to the child’s cognitive and language development. For children with autism, books that help them understand social cues, emotions, and routines are especially useful.

3. Age-Appropriate and Developmentally Suitable:

The book’s content should be appropriate for the child’s age and developmental level. For emerging readers, this might mean simple texts with lots of pictures. More complex narratives or non-fiction topics can be appropriate for more advanced readers.

December Reading List

Here are the top 5 books that Orchid will read this December in our Intensive Day Program.

Book: “How to Catch a Gingerbread Man”

Benefits:

• Stimulates imagination and creativity.

• Enhances sequencing and predictive thinking.

• Develops problem-solving skills.

Activity Ideas:

• Sensory Story Bag

Create a bag with items related to the story (e.g., a small gingerbread toy or a piece of soft fabric for the gingerbread man’s icing). Let the child explore these items as you read the story.

• Create Your Own Gingerbread Man

Encourage the child to draw or craft their version of a gingerbread man, then tell a short story about its adventures.

“Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Sleigh!”

Benefits:

• Improves understanding of emotions and expressions.

• Encourages decision-making and assertiveness.

• Enhances language and communication skills.

Activity Ideas:

• Emotion Matching Game: Use pictures of the pigeon showing different emotions. Ask the child to match these pictures with emotion cards.

• Role-Playing Scenarios: Engage in a role-play where the child gets to decide and explain why the pigeon should or should not drive the sleigh, which draws out reasoning and verbal expression.

“Never Let a Unicorn Meet a Reindeer!”

Benefits:

• Encourages understanding of friendships and social dynamics.

• Stimulates creative thinking.

• Develops empathy and emotional recognition.

Activity Ideas:

• Texture Exploration: Use materials that mimic a unicorn and a reindeer (e.g., soft fabric for the unicorn, rougher texture for the reindeer). Allow the child to touch and feel these as you read, linking tactile sensations to the story.

• Story Extension Activity: Have the child draw or write what they think would happen if the unicorn and reindeer became friends.

“Sneezy the Snowman”

Benefits:

• Teaches cause and effect.

• Enhances sensory awareness.

• Improves vocabulary related to weather and emotions.

Activity Ideas:

• Sensory Snowman Building: Use materials like cotton balls or cool gel packs to build a sensory snowman that matches events in the story.

• Problem-Solving Discussion: Talk through different ways Sneezy could avoid melting.

“Touch & Feel Weather”

Benefits:

• Enhances sensory processing and recognition.

• Develops weather-related vocabulary.

• Encourages observational skills and description.

Activity Ideas:

• Weather Sensory Board: Create a board with various textures representing different weathers (e.g., fluffy cotton for clouds, a cool surface for rain). Let the child explore as you read each page.

• Weather Diary: Encourage the child to keep a diary of the weather for a week, describing how each type feels and looks.

Ask your child’s team if you want help turning one of these books into a reading goal at home.