Learning Strategies

I seem to be inadvertently continuing my Asperger’s theme here. As Dog is My Witness, by Jeffrey Cohen, is a mystery that features a couple of boys with Asperger’s; one is the innocent suspect, the other the informal detective. You may recall that I reviewed another book by Cohen on December 19. The two books are almost entirely different in everything except for a minor theme about scriptwriting and a major role for the locale, since both so clearly take place in New Jersey with a lot of Jewish characters. An aside:

Why is New Jersey called the Garden State?

Because there’s a Rosenbloom around every corner.

(Say it aloud to get the full effect.)

Anyway, the author is the parent of a boy with Asperger’s, so it’s no wonder that he can write about the subject with authority and confidence. More surprising is that he writes with a great sense of humor. The humor extends not only to Asperger’s — which Cohen carries out with aplomb and not a trace of making fun — but also to family relations. I particularly liked a subplot about the mother of a minor character (no, not a minor in that sense; he’s an adult), as well as a long subplot about the protagonist’s obnoxious inlaws. By all means read this book!

Labels: books, teaching and learning