What's Wrong With Timmy?

From Barnes & Noble

The Barnes & Noble Review
Maria Shriver offers a compassionate platform for discussion with this well-written story about disabilities. Influenced and inspired by her parent's involvement with the Special Olympics, as well as her husband's devotion to the cause, Shriver writes a tender tale about accepting others for who they are.

Kate is a young a curious girl, always inquiring about those things she does not understand. When she meets a boy in the park who looks and acts differently, she asks her mom, "What's wrong with Timmy?" Her mom calmly and clearly tells her that people are different: "Timmy is a child with special needs, and he takes longer to learn than you." But Kate's mom emphasizes that the two kids have more in common that people might think. Kate and Timmy are formally introduced, and while Kate initially feels uncomfortable, she realizes that they can be friends. Including Timmy in a basketball game with some leery friends, Kate shows her true colors as a friend. She vows that if anybody asks, "What's wrong with Timmy?" she'll simply tell them, "Why, nothing...nothing at all!"

Shriver's gentle language evokes the style of her first children's book, "What's Heaven?" Words are carefully chosen and should offer parents a guideline for how to deal with Kate's tough questions. A phrase on each page, usually summing up the corresponding illustration, appears in bold, large, type, perfectly sized for young readers.

Pastel illustrations by Sandra Speidel add a warm and dreamy element to the story, providing a cozy environment in which to foster discussion. Speidel also illustrated What's Heaven? and the Shriver/Speidel team seems to work wonderfully.

Maria Shriver is a well-known media personality, poised and professional, with a large dose of spirit and a big heart. Following the initial success of her first children's book, this endearing story promises us that we are sure to see more from this talented mother and author in the future. (Amy Barkat)

Editor's Note: This title is also available in a Spanish-language edition, ¿Qué le pasa a Timmy?

Bernie Siegel

Disabilities are not irredeemable and may in the long run enable since from them may come individual works of art and beauty such as this book...

Bob Costas

... a wonderful book that parents and children should read together.

Christopher Reeve

...a book that parents should read and discuss with their kids....Maria Shriver's simple narrative makes a valuable contribution.

Harold Kushner

This book will help special needs children by making their world a kinder place, but it will help "normal" children even more by expanding their souls...

Publishers Weekly

Young Kate (now eight years old) and her mother, who first appeared in What's Heaven? return in this companion volume as Kate questions her mother about Timmy, a boy at the park who is mentally disabled and looks and acts differently from the other kids. Once again, journalist Shriver uses the narrative to model a difficult conversation between parent and child. In a calm tone Kate's mother delivers information, insight rooted in her Christian faith ("We all have to realize that God loves us just as we are") and anecdotes about children with disabilities and why it's "so important to treat Timmy like any other kid." Kate's uneasiness and curiosity allayed, she begins to build a friendship with Timmy and subtly invites her other pals to be equally accepting of him. Shriver's message perhaps a natural choice considering her family's founding and support of the Special Olympics is to be lauded. But the dense text, delivered with a heavier hand than its predecessor, never quite achieves the connection with the reader needed to make an impact. Speidel's hazy, soft-edged pastels suggest a spiritual quality and universality that match the book's theme. Ages 4-8. (Oct.) Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

School Library Journal

Gr 3-5-This brief book tells of the meeting in the park between an eight-year-old girl and the "mentally retarded" son of her mother's friend. The writer describes Timmy as someone who "looked different" and has a face that seems "flatter" than other children's. Kate asks her mother about the boy and learns that he is her age and was born with disabilities. The children discover that they like the same things at school, recess and sports, and don't like math. After a game of basketball with her friends, Timmy and Kate make a play date. The warm pastel illustrations support the theme of acceptance of all people no matter their differences. However, the little girl's questions and actions are quite mature for her age. The lack of paragraphs might be a bit confusing to young readers, and the intermittent use of bold-faced, larger-sized type is a bit disruptive, although its purpose seems to be to highlight the theme. The book reads well, though, and would be a good introduction for youngsters welcoming a disabled child into their school or neighborhood.-Margaret C. Howell, West Springfield Elementary School, VA Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.