BRODY THE LION NEEDS A HAIRCUT

Brody, a lion cub who has autism, is anxious about an upcoming haircut in Wegner’s series picture book.

The author, a clinical psychologist, offers another work that models ways that parents of children with autism can offer positive support and coping techniques. Sometimes young Brody gets upset, as when Mom says he’s due for a haircut and he’s not sure what to expect. Here, his mother and father help him overcome his fears with patience, acceptance, and plenty of advance preparation: “We’ll do more practice,” Mom says. “We’ll take it slow / and wait until you are ready to go.” Success comes after preliminary visits to the salon, where Brody sees how the chair works, gets his hair washed (with Dad’s help), and listens to the clippers’ loud buzz; he also plays barber at home. The book’s visually pleasing design features easy-to-read, black text that’s well integrated into Stayer’s full-page, full-color cartoon art; the latter features lively, cute anthropomorphic animal characters with big eyes in a benign world of family and friends. (Confusingly, however, Brody is pictured without his long mane of hair for a few pages before he gets it cut.) A deeper look at autism and a list of tips for parents to follow the main story.

Simple, gentle storytelling offers clear methods for helping kids cope with sensory sensitivity.