My Invisible World: Life with My Brother, His Disability and His Service Dog by Morasha R. Winokur

• 11/12/2013
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My Invisible World: Life with My Brother, His Disability and His Service Dog
Morasha R. Winokur
Better Endings New Beginnings (2009)
ISBN 9780984200702
Reviewed by Evan Weldon (age 7) for Reader Views (11/09)

“My Invisible World: Life with My Brother, His Disability and His Service Dog” by eleven-year-old Morasha R. Winokur is an excellent book about what it is like for the author to live with her disabled brother and his service dog.

Morasha and her brother Iyal are both the same age.  They were adopted from Russia.  When Iyal was still in his mother’s womb, his birth mother drank some alcohol.  What the mother eats and drinks is what the baby eats and drinks, too.  Alcohol damages the developing brain in the baby, destroying some of the brain cells that help control behavior, thinking, learning and remembering things.  This kind of disability is called Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder.

Life is hard for Iyal.  Sometimes, if he is even thinking of Morasha, he will scream out her name for a really long time.  Iyal needs a lot of attention from his parents, so sometimes Morasha feels like she doesn’t get any attention.  Sometimes Iyal embarrasses her in front of her friends, and sometimes keeps her from being able to do things she wants to do.  Iyal can be really annoying, but Morasha still loves him a lot.

When they finally get a service dog named Chancer, it helps the whole family immensely.  Chancer gives Iyal (and everybody else, too) lots of love.  When Iyal is having a tantrum, Chancer will lie on him to calm him down.  Chancer can keep Iyal from wandering away with strangers or running into the street.

The book has fifteen pages of photos of Morasha, Iyal, Chancer and their family.  They are extremely good and help you to get to know the family.

If I could give “My Invisible World: Life with My Brother, His Disability and His Service Dog” by Morasha R. Winokur more than five stars, I would!  It is probably the best book I have ever reviewed.  Everybody should read this book.  I think that there are three things that everyone should learn from this book.  First, women should never drink any alcohol if they could possibly be pregnant.  Second, everyone should treat people with disabilities and their families nicely.  Finally, everyone should respect working dogs.