Temple Grandin: How the Girl Who Loved Cows Embraced Autism and Changed the World by Sy Montgomery

Temple Grandin:  How the Girl Who Loved Cows Embraced Autism and Changed the World by Sy Montgomery

Montgomery, S. (2012). Temple Grandin: How the girl who loved cows embraced autism and changed the world. Houghton Mifflin Books for Children/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. ISBN 978-0547443157

🚨Content warning: graphic images🚨

Temple Grandin tells the story of Temple Grandin's life as a baby, to a young girl, to a young adult, to the present day.  Diagnosed with autism in an age where it was almost unheard of, readers get to view an insider look at Temple's life and how her autism diagnosis changed it and others' life for the better.

I walked into this book almost completely blind; I had no idea what to expect, so I was surprised to learn that we would learn about Temple's life from the very beginning as a baby.  We got glimpses into her life and learned facts, such as her father believing that she had an intellectual disability due to her not laughing, smiling, or talking at a young age.  Facts about her life are prevalent in the book, but much to my happiness, so are facts about autism and how Temple experienced life with autism

This book offers a unique insight into life from an autistic person's point of view.  That is not something everyone experiences, but the book details life as Temple experienced it.  For instance, Temple described how wearing clothing scratched like sandpaper, felt like needles stabbing her skin, or her senses felt as if they were on fire.  How certain smells become so overwhelming that it took her attention away from everything, and it was the only thing she could focus on.  It was interesting to learn that Temple thought in pictures and not words!  She was very literal in the sense that when someone said a word or phrase, she thought of the literal meaning of it and that that was because that was the way that her brain handled sights, sounds, and feelings.  Chapter 3 details what autism is, and there is a list of fast facts that help educate readers about Autism.  I myself learned a few facts about it and will take them to heart as I continue to work with Autistic individuals in my workplace. Things that may seem regular and normal to us are not the same for everyone with Autism, and that is why we need to make sure that we are doing what we can to learn and accommodate everyone. Seeing how passionate Temple was about helping the cows was inspiring.  She has helped bring comfort to millions of animals by persuading major corporations to be conscientious of the decisions they make and how they affect not just their business but the animals well being as well!  I loved that despite the hardships Temple faced, she stayed true to herself and never changed for anyone or any reason.  

Courtney Webb of New York Journal of Books blog summed up the book well by stating, "The message of Temple Grandin"  How the Girl Who Loved Cows Embraced Autism and Changed the World is one of acceptance and including, using autism awareness and education as vehicles to achieve this aim.  Bravo!" You can watch Miss Adrienne from Herrick District Library book talk here!  If you enjoyed reading about Temple's life, you should read her book Thinking in Pictures:  My Life with Autism.

Awards and Recognition:  

• 2013 Notable Children's Book

Sources

 Adrienne. (2021, March 17). Temple grandin: How the girl who loved cows  embraced autism and changed the world by Sy Montgomery. YouTube. https://youtu.be/ug4LVhfanDM

Montgomery, S. (2012). Temple grandin: How the girl who loved cows embraced autism and changed the world. Houghton Mifflin Books for Children/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. ISBN 978-0547443157

Webb, C. (2012, April 3). Temple grandin: How the girl who loved cows embraced autism and changed the world. New York Journal of Book. https://www.nyjournalofbooks.com/book-review/temple-grandin-how-girl-who-loved-cows-embraced-autism-and-changed-world