Newcastle Herald
“Kelly first wrote about autism in a picture book, The Chalk Rainbow, which was published in 2017. The main character is frightened of the colour black, likes to line things up and has his own made-up language.”
Educating Young Children
“Year Fours really got into the discussion and came to the conclusion that most problems could be solved if we looked at them from different points of view. A great book to start that discussion that would be good to use at the beginning of the year to help the children settle in and accept others.”
Story Monsters
“A staple for families, friends, and schools to teach insight, understanding, and creative problem solving, The Chalk Rainbow is both an important communication tool and story time treasure.”
Blue Wolf
“Sensitive, as well as delightfully enjoyable with a good dose of fun added, makes The Chalk Rainbow a pleasure to read and be read, as well as an excellent teaching and discussion text for small children learning to accept that different is OK, just sometimes, you just have to come at the situation from a different perspective”
Armadillo Magazine
“The Chalk Rainbow is a gentle, aware story of the difficulties children can so often face. The illustrations are full of colour and warmth, with a wit and love that shows”
50 Something Magazine
“explores difference and diversity through a family living with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). It’s a story of love, trust and learning to look at the world through the eyes of others, and is told by Zane’s older sister in a way that children can relate to.” – Click here to read.
The Sunday Telegraph
“This thought-provoking picture book shows the challengers faced by a family living with Autism, and how love, acceptance and all the colours of the rainbow help them work through the difficulties together.”
Kids On The Coast Magazine
“A story of learning to look at the world through the eyes of others” – Click here to read the review.
Voice FM
“Although the reader will gain insight into the difficulties families face with autism, the story is also bright and cheerful and the brightly coloured rainbows add to this feeling of positivity.”
Disability Link
“Deborah Kelly’s charming picture book explores difference and diversity through a family living with Autism Spectrum disorder”
Midwest Book Reviews
“very highly recommended for family, preschool, elementary school, and community library collections”
ReadPlus Blog
“Through imagination and love, the rainbow bridges work for Zane’s family and instead of being frustrated even his dad is able to free Zane from the prison walls of black”
JUNO Magazine
“A very colourful story about helping children in a creative way”
Spectrum Women
“Reading this book to my eight year old autistic son, he says “it reminds me of my brother, and the little boy is me.” To him, it is simply a book about a big sister helping her little brother, and I believe not making autism a literal issue (by actually stating that Zane has autism), means that this book does not need to be pigeon holed as an “autism book” but can rather be viewed as a book about inclusion, and respecting differences, no matter what those differences are.”
The Sunday Telegraph
“This thought-provoking picture book shows the challengers faced by a family living with Autism, and how love, acceptance and all the colours of the rainbow help them work through the difficulties together.”
Pinerolo
“Being different is hard. Zane is autistic and can’t stand the colour black. His sister devises a perfect way to deal with this and the family joins in. Touching and thought-provoking with colourful illustrations.”
Parents in Touch
“the story is empowering and uplifting as we see Zane’s family work together in harmony.”
In The Good Books
“The Chalk Rainbow is a story about trusting others and experiencing unconditional love. The illustrations in this book are beautiful and bright, with many pages highlighted with colourful rainbows.”
In Touch Magazine
“The Chalk Rainbow explores difference and diversity through a family living with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) although the word Autism is never mentioned. It is really a story of unconditional love, of trust and of learning to look at the world through the eyes of others”.
The Bottom Shelf
“An essential addition to the school library’s collection and the home library of the siblings of an ASD child.”
Toddler Book Reviews
“(an) important (book).. for all childcare centres, kindergartens and primary schools”
Jnr Bookworm Book Reviews
“A wonderful book to share with the children giving them a real insight into how kids with autism see the world. It encourages acceptance and understanding of difference while showing there are many ways to solve a problem.”
Bookseller NZ
“Here is a story of trust, where we learn that unconditional love can help us to view things differently…There are many ways of solving problems and sometimes it is important to follow that rainbow.”
Kirkus Reviews
“the arcs of imaginary rainbow are as bright and present as the actual chalked part, and they convey a buoyant sense of triumph as they lengthen to fill the pictures with light and color.”
Ultra 106five
David Wood interviewed Deb Kelly for his Saturday morning statewide Tasmania programme July 1, “enter the world of a boy with autism in a story of love, trust and learning to look at life through the eyes of others.” – Click here to listen
Pass It On
“Chalk Rainbow (EK Books 2017) was inspired by my experiences with children on the Autism spectrum and their families.” Click here to read.
3BA
“There are plenty of books about autism and kids, but not so many that explain it to playmates, classmates and other family members. We caught up with Deborah Kelly, author of ‘The Chalk Rainbow’. It’s a book that explains what goes through the mind of a boy on the spectrum – yet you won’t see the word ‘autism’ mentioned at all. “
Boomerang Books Blog
“… would make a useful classroom text to create positive responses for common conditions like autism but is a pleasure to enjoy and share even if you are not faced with this issue.” Click here to read.