Critical review of Flight of a Dove by Alexandra Day

I decided to use this review because it focuses on both the positive and negative aspects of the book I decided to include in my collection. She states that although the pictures are "luminous" they still help convey a powerful and serious message about children with autism and gives insight into how they might feel. An example of this is depicting the girl in the box. This shows how autism is like being in your own world where you can not get out and no one can get in.
I do have to agree that the words are much to difficult for a young child but I think if an adult takes the time to read it to a child and explain it, the child would see the importance, and feel the many emotions that are a part of this picture book.
Where I do not agree is the last statement, "it may be more successful as one of those timeless fables that draws adults hungry for meaning and inspiration, than as a typical children's picture book". To me this sounds like an excuse to not read challenging books about complex topics to children. If done the right way, I think it can be very beneficial for a child to learn about a disease that is affecting more and more people every day.
Dawn Elizabeth Hunt (Children's Literature)
From the author of the delightful "Good Dog, Carl" series comes a book with similarly luminous pictures, but a far more serious message. This is the story of four year-old Betsy, a severely autistic child who finally begins to open up to the world as she watches a dove fly. It is based on the true story of the little French girl told in Why the Wild Things Are, and on Ms. Day's experience with her Rottweiler, Zabala, a therapy dog who accompanied her into many hospitals. This is a very touching story. Ms. Day's fans will find paintings in the same radiant style as in all her previous books. Even the pictures of Betsy before her awakening are beautiful--almost too beautiful. Although Ms. Day uses muted tones and encases Betsy in a gray box, one still has a hard time identifying the child in the pictures with the dark, wooden images painted by the words. The publisher lists the book as being appropriate for ages four to eight, but much of the language is more sophisticated than normally found in a picture book. The first page alone weighs in at a 10.2 grade level on the Flesch-Kincaid readability scale. It is a beautiful book with a beautiful message. But because of the reading level, and because so many adults have enjoyed Ms. Day's earlier books, it may be more successful as one of those timeless fables that draws adults hungry for meaning and inspiration, than as a typical children's picture book. 2004, Farrar Strauss & Giroux,
Hunt, Dawn E. Rev. of Flight of a Dove, by Alexandra Day. Children's Literature.