Every kid has had one of those days. You’re outside, running around, feeling on top of the world, and then, boom. You trip. You fall. You get a scraped knee, and you cry a little. Your mom or dad comes running. A band-aid goes on. And life goes on.

Sound like something that happened to you? It happened to Tim, too. And that’s exactly why Just Like You: Tim’s Story by Terri Geerinck is a book worth reading with your child today.

Pages four, five, and six of this beautiful picture book take kids right into the outdoors with Tim. He’s running through a sunny backyard, baseball glove on his hand and a book lying open on the grass. He’s hiking through the woods in his helmet, searching for toads along a dirt trail. His bike is parked nearby. He is a normal kid doing normal kid things, and it feels so real you can almost smell the fresh-cut grass.

“Taking a hike into the woods to catch a toad, riding my bike, unless I take a bad turn and fall on the road!”

That line alone will make every child laugh and nod. Because we have all been there. The bad turn. The fall. The tears. And then, mom crouching down, putting on a band-aid, and making everything okay again.

That’s the magic of this book. It doesn’t try to be fancy. It doesn’t use big words or long explanations. It just tells the truth about what kids actually do and feel every single day. And then it says, hey, Tim feels that too.

What These Pages Teach Without “Teaching”

• Kids with autism love outdoor adventures just like everyone else.
• Getting hurt and feeling upset is something every child goes through.
• Having a parent nearby, for comfort, is a feeling we all share.
• Shared experiences are the fastest bridge between two children.

And that last part, the scraped knee, the crying, the band-aid, it hits different when you read it. Because Tim says it so honestly. He doesn’t pretend he didn’t cry. He says, “Ouch, that hurts!” right out loud. And then he asks the reader, do you hate getting hurt too?

Of course they do. Every child does. And just like that, a wall comes down.

This is what makes Just Like You: Tim’s Story stand out from most books on autism and inclusion. It doesn’t ask kids to understand something difficult. It asks them to remember something familiar. And that is a much easier, and much more powerful, place to start.

If you want your child to grow up seeing others with kindness and an open heart, start here. Start with Tim on the beach, in the backyard, on the hiking trail, and on the pavement with a scraped knee. Start with the things that every kid already knows.

Because friendship, real friendship, always starts with finding common ground.

Grab Your Copy Now

Just Like You: Tim’s Story is available on the official website and on Amazon. A perfect read for home, school, or anywhere kids grow up together.