Big Brother Dustin book review

In this post I will review a non-fiction picture book by Alden R. Carter entitled Big Brother Dustin. Carter’s book addresses a disability called Down syndrome. Prior to reading this text, I understood that Down syndrome can affect individuals in different ways. For example, my November 16, 2008 post titled “Keeping Teachers Uninformed of Students’ Disabilities is Risky Business” focuses on a child with mosaic Down syndrome who has a high I.Q. However, I realize that many children with Down syndrome have difficulties learning. Big Brother Dustin does not clarify any questions or concerns that readers may bring to the text. Carter does not describe Down syndrome which makes this text a poor source of accurate understanding of this disability.

The book follows Dustin, a boy with Down syndrome as he helps to prepare for the arrival of a baby sister. Dustin helps his father build a crib, (Carter 7), organizes baby clothes with his mother, (9), attends a class for siblings of newborns, (11), and eventually chooses a name for his new sister, (18). Everything that Dustin does throughout the story is not out of the ordinary. In fact if it were not for the photographs by Dan Young and Carol Carter, readers would not even realize that Dustin has Down syndrome. Down syndrome is only mentioned in the summary.

Scholar Joan Blaska states that Big Brother Dustin includes “positive, non-stereotypical characters and situations,” (Williams 73). This, I believe, is the point that Carter strives to make by not revealing through the text that Dustin is a boy with Down syndrome. The usage of photographs clearly illustrates the physical symptoms associated with Down syndrome.
The book demonstrates acceptance of Down syndrome. Dustin’s parents, grandparents, and other children in the story do not treat Dustin any differently than they would treat a boy without disabilities. Young, through his photos, describes Down syndrome and Dustin himself as realistic and presents the material in a realistic manner.

In conclusion, although this book does not describe the disability (as author Laurie Lears often does in her explanatory depictions of children with disabilities), the use of photographs and text allows Dustin to be seen as “one of us not one of them,” (Williams 75). This book functions in a constructive way in the disability community. It proves that diversity does not reflect negatively on individuals, families, and communities.

Works Cited:

Carter, Alden R. Big Brother Dustin. Morton Grove: Albert Whitman & Co., (1997).

Williams, Sandra Q, Inkster, Christine D, Blaska, Joan K. “The Joan K. Blaska Collection of Children’s Literature Featuring Characters with Disabilities or Chronic Illnesses.” Journal of Children’s Literature 31, no. 1, (Spring 2005): 71-78.

Image: http://www.aldencarter.com/csc2.htm