Listen to a sample
A Different Sort of Normal
- Narrator
- Abigail Balfe
- Publisher
- Penguin Random House Children's UK
- Publish Date
- 22 July 2021
- Run Time
- 3 hours 10 minutes
- Format
- Audiobook
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What to expect
Brought to you by Puffin.
The beautiful true story of one girl's journey growing up autistic - and the challenges she faced in the 'normal' world
I'm not like the other children in my class . . . and that's an actual scientific FACT.
Hi! My name is Abigail, and I'm autistic. But I didn't know I was autistic until I was an adult-sort-of-person*.
This is my true story of growing up in the confusing 'normal' world, all the while missing some Very Important Information about myself.
There'll be scary moments involving toilets and crowded trains, heart-warming tales of cats and pianos, and funny memories including my dad and a mysterious tub of ice cream. Along the way you'll also find some Very Crucial Information about autism.
If you've ever felt different, out of place, like you don't fit in . . . this book is for you.
*I've never really felt like an actual-adult-person, as you'll soon discover in this book...
Told through the author's remarkable words, this is the book for those who've never felt quite right in the 'normal' world.
Very important, very funny and very informative. This is the book the world needs right now.
'Funny, poignant and wise, with a rich seams of understanding and empathy . . . one of the best children's non-fiction books I've read in long time' The Bookseller
'This book is what I needed as a kid! Empathetic, joyful and beautifully authentic. I loved it!' Elle McNicoll, author of A Kind of Spark
© Abigail Balfe 2021 (P) Penguin Audio 2021
Critics Review
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A funny, fascinating illustrated memoir that conveys - via joyous tangential leaps, vivid doodles and informative notes - how it felt to grow up autistic and undiagnosed . . . a rewarding and highly entertaining read
Guardian
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I REALLY love it. It's the book I wish I'd had when I was a kid (I'd have known I was autistic immediately, right down to the cats). Buy it for your kids, your parents, your grandparents. Mostly buy it for yourself
Holly Smale
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Illuminating
The I Paper
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A hugely engaging, funny and informative account of being neurodivergent
Observer
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This book is what I needed as a kid! Empathetic, joyful and beautifully authentic. I loved it!
Elle McNicoll, author of A Kind of Spark
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Funny, poignant and wise, with a rich seam of understanding and empathy . . . one of the best children's non-fiction books I've read in a long time
The Bookseller
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Insightful, accessible and easy to navigate, this is an essential book for autistic and allistic (non-autistic) readers of all ages
Booktrust
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An amazing, life-changing hug of a book I wish I had when I was growing up. It's funny, eye-opening and supremely reassuring and an important, myth-busting look into autism and how that experience can vary so much. For anyone and EVERYONE who has ever felt different. Time to reclaim it and celebrate it
Rashmi Sirdeshpande
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This book is a great explainer, full of empathy for different situations, which explodes many misconceptions about autistic people along the way! I wish I had had this available many years ago when teaching an autistic child on a one-to-one basis
Love Reading 4 Schools
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What a difference Abigail Balfe's new book is going to make for so many people! A Different Sort of Normal is a wonderful blend of humour, information & reassuring comfort
Emma Perry
User Reviews
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Details
- Author
- Abigail Balfe, illustrated by Abigail Balfe
- Narrator
- Abigail Balfe
- Duration
- 3 hours 10 minutes
- Release Date
- 22 July 2021
- ISBN
- 9780241531082
- Format
- Audiobook
- Publisher
- Penguin Random House Children's UK
- Genre
- Children’s / Teenage personal and social topics: Disability, impairments and special needs, Children’s / Teenage general interest: Biography and autobiography, Children’s / Teenage personal and social topics: Self-awareness and self-esteem
Synopsis
Brought to you by Puffin. The beautiful true story of one girl's journey growing up autistic - and the challenges she faced in the 'normal' worldI'm not like the other children in my class . . . and that's an actual scientific FACT.Hi! My name is Abigail, and I'm autistic. But I didn't know I was autistic until I was an adult-sort-of-person*.This is my true story of growing up in the confusing 'normal' world, all the while missing some Very Important Information about myself.There'll be scary moments involving toilets and crowded trains, heart-warming tales of cats and pianos, and funny memories including my dad and a mysterious tub of ice cream. Along the way you'll also find some Very Crucial Information about autism.If you've ever felt different, out of place, like you don't fit in . . . this book is for you.*I've never really felt like an actual-adult-person, as you'll soon discover in this book...Told through the author's remarkable words, this is the book for those who've never felt quite right in the 'normal' world.Very important, very funny and very informative. This is the book the world needs right now.'Funny, poignant and wise, with a rich seams of understanding and empathy . . . one of the best children's non-fiction books I've read in long time' The Bookseller'This book is what I needed as a kid! Empathetic, joyful and beautifully authentic. I loved it!' Elle McNicoll, author of A Kind of Spark© Abigail Balfe 2021 (P) Penguin Audio 2021
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