The London Eye Mystery - By Siobhan Dowb

The London Eye Mystery, written by Siobhan Dowd (David Fickling Books, New York, 2007), is a fictional story with a readability lexile for ages 9-12.

This book was written through the perspective of a young man, Ted, who is autistic. He encounters a mystery and is able to figure out what has happened because of his ability to think about things differently. Ted's cousin, Salim, comes to visit before he is supposed to move to New York. Salim goes in the London Eye and never comes out. The family grows very worried and fear for Salim's safety. Ted and his sister, Kat, come up with theories of what could have happened, and then do some investigating.

This is a well-told story. It was interesting to see through the eyes of someone with autism. The way people treat him sometimes is frustrating. He is told that his brain works differently and he tries to act the way he is told to act. He is told to control his body as to not draw attention and to watch facial expressions to see if the person he is talking to is bored. However, he is honored and respected as a smart person. He looks at things very analytical and literal.

Literary Elements:
Foreshadowing - In the beginning of the story, it is said that it is a story about how because Ted's brain works differently, he was able to solve a mystery.
Idiom - There were many idioms in this book: it was raining cats and dogs.
Metaphor - Ted's father described his aunt as a hurricane.

Mini-lesson:
Do a found poetry exercise where the students pick out lines from the book that convey a particular character, setting, feeling, etc. They are creating something new and their own from the writing and it will help them become better writers, as well as be more engaged in the story.

Here is my found poetry:

The London Eye Mystery Found Poetry – Ted’s Brain

It’s this thing in my brain.

They don’t like me because I only talk big.

I don’t like being in my brain.

But I laughed too because I wanted to be his friend.

I folded my arms across my chest to stop my hand flapping and shaking itself out, which is a habit Mr. Shepherd says I must lose.

When people are bored, Mr. Shepherd says the muscles in their face don’t do anything and they stare without really looking and he says I should always check to see if this is how people are looking when I talk to them.

She laughed and I joined in because it showed I knew what she meant even if I wasn’t sure what was funny.

My hand flapped and I forgot about trying to stop it.

I hate touching people.

Recognizing the five basic emotions is one thing.

Knowing how they mix together is another thing.

I often don’t sleep at night.

My brain is filled with all the strange facts about the world.

The hug was short because she knows I do not like hugs of any kind.

According to the doctors who diagnosed me, people with my kind of syndrome can’t.

I got excited then, because I am good at looking at things differently.

I’m a dyslexic geographer.

I put my hand in my jacket pocket to stop it from shaking itself out.

I’m wiser. You said.

You said you needed my brains.

Our minds had met.

This is my way of describing what it’s like when people have really bad arguments and it is the worst place to be in all the world.

I decided to check out the weather in the garden.

My brain felt like it was overheated, going into meltdown.

Kicking the shed is a good way of emptying your head.

It’s like jumping on a trampoline.

I shut my eyes and imagined a vast, silent void.

Then I knew.

I wondered why no one could hear me when it was so quiet.

Time had a sound too.

I’d never heard it before.

Then I realized.

Since it’s gone there’s a different view.

I choose the lines in the book where Ted shared how he felt about himself and his autism. These particular lines grabbed me and gave me a little insight on what it would be like to have autism. This was a great book to read and I would highly recommend it. I think that children would enjoy this book and it would show them another way to see things.