My Name is Faye

Book excerpt: 'My Name is Faye' is a picture book which illustrates a poem told by Faye, an eight-year-old girl with autism. This poem is also available in a form of a rap-like and upbeat song, put to the author's original music. The author, Larissa G, a musician and a songwriter, is also this book's illustrator. Well aware that she is different from others, in this poem, Faye describes her unique and literal view of the world. Faye is mystical, yet realistic, since her character is influenced by Larissa's own childhood growing up on the Autism Spectrum, making both Faye and her creator uniquely qualified storytellers on the topic of autism. In this book, Larissa G introduces autism to children in a fun and multi-sensorial way: by allowing them to read the book while listening to Faye singing the song, and then, by engaging them with the coloring pages of the book's characters, along with learning child-friendly facts about autism. Hoping that her readers will grow to like Faye, the author aims to help children develop tolerance and acceptance of autism. To further this goal, Larissa shares her own life story of overcoming autism's challenges. This book includes coloring pages. The song 'My Name is Faye' is available to download on all major music platforms.