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SPARK: A MOTHER'S STORY OF NURTURING GENIUS
Author:
Barnett, Kristine
Biographee:
Barnett, Jacob
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Class:
Biography
Age: Adult
Language: English
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LC: RJ506.A9
Print Run: 50000
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ISBN-13: 9780812993370
LCCN: 2012032774
Imprint: Random House
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Pub Date: 04/09/2013
Availability: Out of Print Confirmed
List: $25.00
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Hardcover
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Physical Description:
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x, 250 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm
H 9.51",
W 6.36",
D 0.98",
1.0625 lbs.
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LC Series:
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Brodart Sources:
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Brodart's Insight Catalog: Adult
Brodart's TOP Adult Titles
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Bibliographies:
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Public Library Core Collection: Nonfiction, 16th ed.
Public Library Core Collection: Nonfiction, 17th ed.
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Awards:
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Starred Reviews:
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TIPS Subjects:
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Disabilities
Family Life
Biography, Individual
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BISAC Subjects: |
BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Memoirs
BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Medical (incl. Patients)
BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Science & Technology
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LC Subjects:
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Autism in children, Case studies
Autistic children, Rehabilitation
Barnett, Jacob,, 1998-, Mental health
Mothers of autistic children, Case studies
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SEARS Subjects: |
Autism, Case studies
Autism, Rehabilitation
Barnett, Jacob,, 1998-, Mental health
Mothers, Case studies
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Reading Programs: |
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| Annotations |
| Brodart's TOP Adult Titles | 01/01/2013 |
| Autism is anything but a death sentence. Learn how Jacob Barnett, diagnosed with Autism when he was three, went on to become a 13-year-old paid quantum physics researcher who is hard at work on an extension to Einstein's theory of relativity as the boy's mom witnesses the miracles born of hope and keeping an open mind. 272pp., 50K, Auth res: Indianapolis, IN |
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| Journal Reviews |
| BookPage | 04/01/2013 |
| Jacob's story may sound familiar. After a healthy babyhood, he began to change as his second birthday approached. His speech slowed and then stopped. He ignored his peers and parents. He developed unusual obsessive patterns, gazing at sunlight, waving his hands. He was eventually diagnosed, as you might have guessed, with autism. And so entered experts for speech development, motor skills, life skills. They announced to mother Kristine Barnett that Jacob would never read. In fact, he'd be lucky to tie his shoes. Yet Barnett was not convinced by the experts. She paid attention to the way her son loved alphabet cards, to his interest in the sky, and wondered, why are we paying attention to what he can't do rather than what he can do? And then she decided--against the advice of his educators and her husband--to prepare Jacob for mainstream kindergarten herself. The rest of Jacob's story spills forth like a fairy tale: He stops many disruptive behaviors, embraces his giftedness, finds friends, responds to his parents and begins attending college at the tender age of 9. While his remarkable trajectory may be discouraging to families of severely autistic children who have not made the same strides, the real pleasure of The Spark does not lie in Jacob's story alone but in his mother's unwavering view that each child has tremendous promise, an innate spark, which can be ignited and nurtured by perceptive parents. Barnett's devotion to her son will stir readers to take a closer look at their own children and loved ones, as will her singular focus on providing meaningful experiences for her boy. After a day of therapy, she packs up the then-silent Jacob, drives out to the countryside, turns on the radio and dances with him under the stars. The two share a popsicle while sitting on the hood of the car. She writes, "Indulging the senses isn't a luxury, but a necessity. We have to walk barefoot in the grass. . . . We have to lie on our backs and feel the sun on our faces." These experiences open us up to our very humanity. In this way, Barnett's inspiring story is really relevant to all of us. Kelly Blewett. 272pg. BOOKPAGE, c2013. |
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| Booklist | 03/01/2013 |
| In this compelling memoir, the mother of an autistic savant featured in a 60 Minutes segment tells the story of her remarkable son. The book would have benefited from a foreword by a prominent scientist and/or psychiatrist who could establish that this is completely legit. At two, Jake is diagnosed with autism. As a tyke, he memorizes every license plate in the neighborhood and teaches himself Braille. At eight, he starts auditing college courses. At 10, he teaches himself the entire high-school math curriculum in two weeks. At 13, he is a college sophomore at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis. The book contains many interesting nuggets about kids with autism; for example, they dislike bowling alleys (too noisy). The family's story, which includes Jake's dad losing his job and his mom suffering from a stroke at age 30, seems destined for a TV or movie screen. Barnett even runs a day-care center, takes in foster kids, and starts a sports program for autistic kids. Jake is unusual, but so is his superhuman mom. Springen, Karen. 256p. AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION, c2013. |
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| Kirkus Reviews | 05/01/2013 |
| A memoir that attempts to answer the question, how do we determine the differences between gifted and disabled? By even the most conservative of estimates, the number of children diagnosed with autism in the United States has skyrocketed in recent decades. However, the rise is attributed not to an increase in individuals with autism, but the changing methods of diagnosing the disorder. Also changing is how we respond to different facets of autism, which is at the heart of Barnett's memoir. Her son Jake received a diagnosis at the age of 2, which set off a series of standard educational responses; research indicates that a focus on daily life skills--self care, motor skills, etc.--provides the best chances of success. Jake's educational plan was no different, except that when the teacher discouraged the author from letting Jake engage too much with his alphabet learning cards, it simply didn't feel right. Barnett took an approach that instead focused on what she would refer to as his "spark," hoping to bring out the strengths that were at risk of being overshadowed by his perceived deficits. Focusing on his interests and strengths came with its own set of risks; there was no guarantee that reinventing his education would have an end result that would be any different than the standard education plan. Not working on "achievable" goals could result in frustrations that would hamper future efforts to help him learn core life skills. Barnett's approach would not, of course, necessarily work for all parents, but that's part of the point. Her wrestling with the choices she faced is laid bare on the page, and readers get a sense that she has ideas bigger than just her family. Her success with Jake is unimpeachable: He is a "prodigy in math and science" who "began taking college-level courses in math, astronomy, and physics at eight and was accepted to university at nine." An invigorating, encouraging read. 272pg. KIRKUS MEDIA LLC, c2013. |
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| Library Journal Prepub Alert | 11/05/2012 |
| At age 12, Jacob Barnett became a paid researcher in quantum physics, and his IQ is higher than Einstein's was. But as a distracted toddler, he was diagnosed with autism, and Jacob's parents were advised to abandon dreams of a bright future and focus on basic skills. Instead, Barnett decided to let Jacob follow his own interests (his "spark") and encouraged his sense of play, drawing on what she has learned running a daycare center. After some hard work, Jacob was out of special ed, into mainstream kindergarten, and on to some jaw-dropping accomplishments. Not every child diagnosed with autism is a hidden genius, but every child has a spark, so there should be much that's useful here for any parent--or education expert. 272p. LJ Prepub Alert Online Review. LIBRARY JOURNAL, c2012. |
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| Publishers Weekly | 03/11/2013 |
| Barnett, the mother of a child prodigy who was diagnosed with autism at the age of two, swiftly draws readers into her family life, sharing her humble upbringing in central Indiana as a member of the New Amish, and her whirlwind romance and marriage to a young man named Michael Barnett. The couple settles down to raise a family, he working at Target, she running a daycare center. When informed that their first child will never read or tie his shoes, the author follows her "mother gut," opening her own pre-kindergarten "boot camp" for autistic kids to prepare them for mainstreaming. Barnett had seen a "spark" in Jake and deeply believed that her child had much higher potential. Indeed, Jake--with an IQ higher than Einstein's--not only soon reads, but creates an original theorem that may put him in line for a Nobel Prize (at nine, he's been admitted to a nearby university). With passion and grace, Barnett covers Jake's transformation, how close he came to being "lost" in a special ed system focused on what children "can't do," and her own journey as the mother of three sons and as advocate for Jake and other autistic children. She also explores and defends the balance between Jake's intellectual pursuits and his right to an ordinary, happy childhood. This eloquent memoir about an extraordinary boy and a resilient and remarkable mother will be of interest to every parent and/or educator hoping to nurture a child's authentic "spark." (Apr.). 272p. PUBLISHERS WEEKLY, c2013. |
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9780812993370,dl.it[0].title
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