Being Charley

Charley invites you to enter the world of autism. Being Charley: Embracing Differences is a story about a Canada goose who is unlike his siblings. Charley has autism. The words and illustrations tell the story with awareness, understanding, and acceptance of individual differences.

Learning how to swim, honk, and fly are challenging. Charley is hesitant to swim because the water is too cold against his feathers. Learning to honk with his siblings hurts his ears because it is so loud. The sun is too bright when flying in the V-formation so Charley flies upside down. The family flock does not understand at first but soon realizes that Charley is different.

The authors’ goal in writing the story is for readers to embrace the uniqueness of individual differences. The story has a theme: Together, we can be different and still belong.