The Boy Who Loves to Lick The Wind
Fiona Carswell and Yu Rong
Otter-Barry Books

This story features two boys – the narrator who is dark haired, and his blonde neighbour. Puzzled by the blonde boy’s behaviour, the narrator speaks to the boy’s mother who responds thus, “He’s licking the wind. You should try it.” She goes on to invite the inquirer to join them on a visit to the beach, the place where the best winds can be found. Off they go with ‘the boy next door showing his excitement by his actions and the sounds he makes. Once at the beach he dashes onto the sand stands still and begins his licking ritual, ignoring an invitation to collect shells, Instead he picks up a stone and tosses it into the water.

The two boys then spend time throwing stones until mum calls them for lunch. The boy bites into his sandwich, tosses it away and shows distress, which his mum deals with calmly.

Meanwhile the narrator starts collecting smooth stones and using them to make a castle. Just as he finishes the boy next door runs up, grabs the top stone and hurls it into the sea. The boys then take turns dismantling the castle splash by splash till nothing remains. They jump, spin and yell into the wind till Mum calls to give her son a five minute warning before it’s time to return home. This prompts both boys to dash into the sea and dance around.

The beeper sounds indicating it’s time to leave, which causes the boy to cover his ears and cry. Again Mum is empathetic and they head towards the car but before they reach it, both boys give one final tongue swirling lick of the wind. How wonderful it feels.

The following day in school the narrator tells his class during a circle time session about their day at the beach; his friend demonstrates and then they all lick the wind together.

Some child listeners and adult readers aloud will understand from the outset that the narrator’s new friend is neurodivergent. That means that his brain works in such a way that he experiences and interacts with the world differently from neurotypical people. The story, related and illustrated with great empathy, is an ideal way to introduce neurodivergence to primary school children.