Half Title
PRAISE FOR
Slug Days
2017 Foreword INDIES: Juvenile Fiction Award finalist
2019 Chocolate Lily Award nominee
2018 USBBY Outstanding International Book
“A necessary addition to elementary school libraries and a potential spark for a discussion about autism, Asperger’s, or simply embracing differences.”—School Library Journal
“Bender’s pencil drawings readily reflect characters’ frustrations and other emotions—feelings that Lauren acknowledges she has trouble recognizing. Leach’s empathetic novel should both open eyes and encourage greater patience and understanding.”—Publishers Weekly
“This nondidactic effort is a fine, affecting addition to the literature for kids on the spectrum and for those who know those kids—in short, for just about everyone.”—Kirkus Reviews
“The first-person narration makes Lauren’s logic clear...”—The Horn Book Magazine
“Slug Days wisely presents autism as neither disability nor exceptionalism. It’s a fact that Lauren lives with; it shapes her encounters without necessarily limiting them. At the book’s core lies a wish that anyone can identify with: the need for a friend. This winsome, gentle introduction to differences will be a positive addition to school and home libraries.”—Foreword Magazine
“In creating a nuanced, formidable character, Leach tackles a challenging topic with skill and even some lightness.”—Quill & Quire
PRAISE FOR
Penguin Days
2020 Bank Street Best Book
“Another fine and enlightening peek into Lauren’s unique, often challenging world that displays her differences but highlights the needs she shares with all children: love, acceptance and friendship.”—Kirkus Reviews
“While she faces particular challenges, Lauren’s misadventures (dealing with loud relatives, letting calves out of their stall, throwing up on her flower girl dress) could have happened to any girl. Other kids will enjoy reading about them from her point of view. Bender’s winsome pencil drawings with gray shading illustrate the story with sensitivity and humor.”—Booklist
“As in the first book, Leach gets into Lauren’s head, showing how she feels when others laugh at her for reasons she doesn’t understand…Black-and-white pencil and digital illustrations should help early-elementary-age readers understand Lauren’s emotions and those of the people around her.”—The Horn Book Magazine
“Honest and descriptive…In Penguin Days, Lauren’s family learns to accept one another, no matter how challenging a situation might seem.”—Foreword Reviews
“Penguin Days provides learning of the most important kind, and has an added bonus of sweet humor, age appropriate text, and engaging illustrations. It belongs on the shelf of every library for young readers.”—New York Journal of Books
Title
Copyright
First published in Canada and the United States in 2020
Text copyright © 2020 Sara Leach
Illustration copyright © 2020 Rebecca Bender
This edition copyright © 2020 Pajama Press Inc.
This is a first edition.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior written consent of the publisher or a licence from The Canadian Copyright Licensing Agency (Access Copyright). For an Access Copyright licence, visit www.accesscopyright.ca or call toll free 1.800.893.5777.
www.pajamapress.ca [email protected]
The publisher gratefully acknowledges the support of the Canada Council for the Arts and the Ontario Arts Council for its publishing program. We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Canada Book Fund (CBF) for our publishing activities.
Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication
Title: Duck days / by Sara Leach ; illustrations by Rebecca Bender.
Names: Leach, Sara, 1971- author. | Bender, Rebecca, 1980- illustrator.
Description: First edition.
Identifiers: Canadiana 20200300156 | ISBN 9781772781489 (hardcover)
Classification: LCC PS8623.E253 D83 2020 | DDC jC813/.6—dc23
Publisher Cataloging-in-Publication Data (U.S.)
Names: Leach, Sara, 1971-, author. | Bender, Rebecca, 1980-, illustrator.
Title: Duck Days / by Sara Leach, illustrations by Rebecca Bender.
Description: Toronto, Ontario Canada : Pajama Press, 2020. | Summary: “Third-grader Lauren, who has Autism Spectrum Disorder, is practicing the skill of “going with the flow,” but finds that difficult when she learns that her best friend Irma has made another friend, Jonas. Meanwhile, Lauren is dreading a looming mountain bike day at school. Her schoolmate Dan teases anyone with training wheels like hers. Lauren feels better about Jonas when he tells her how important she is to Irma, and he helps her face the mountain bike day by imagining unkind words flowing off her the way water flows off a duck”— Provided by publisher.
Identifiers: ISBN 978-177278-148-9 (hardback)
Subjects: LCSH: Autistic spectrum disorders -- Juvenile fiction. | Bullying -- Juvenile fiction. | Friendship – Juvenile fiction. | BISAC: JUVENILE FICTION / Disabilities & Special Needs. | JUVENILE FICTION / Social Themes / Bullying. | JUVENILE FICTION / Social Themes / Friendship.
Classification: LCC PZ7.L433Du |DDC [F] – dc23
Original art created with pencil and digital
Cover and book design—Rebecca Bender
Manufactured by Friesens
Printed in Canada
Pajama Press Inc.
181 Carlaw Ave. Suite 251 Toronto, Ontario Canada, M4M 2S1
Distributed in Canada by UTP Distribution
5201 Dufferin Street Toronto, Ontario Canada, M3H 5T8
Distributed in the U.S. by Ingram Publisher Services
1 Ingram Blvd. La Vergne, TN 37086, USA
Dedication
For my sister, Heather, who is never a big, messy pain—S.L.
For Weston, my athlete—R.B.
Chapter 1
Today was a big day. I went to Irma’s house for the first time.
Irma is my best friend. She came to my class from Sweden last year when we were in second grade. We both like to search for insects, read, and make things out of clay. I am helping Irma with her English, and she is teaching me how to hula-hoop.
Before we left our house, Dad knelt in front of me. “Remember, Irma’s family might not have the same rules and routines as we do.”
I nodded. “But I’ll still use my manners and shake their hands.”
“And go with the flow, right?” Dad said.
Going with the flow was something I’d been working on with Dad. It was a new trick he was trying to teach me, to help me not flip my lid, which happened a lot because of my Autism Spectrum Disorder.
Going with the flow didn’t have anything to do with rivers. It meant not getting angry when things didn’t go the way I thought they would. Sometimes going with the flow was easy, and it felt like I was on a calm pond.
Sometimes it was hard, and it felt
