I Am Odd, I Am New

Benjamin Giroux is the author of the poem “I Am Odd, I Am New.” The poem, now also a picture book (I Am Odd, I Am New), has received a Kirkus Reviews starred review and was named a Kirkus Reviews Best Book of the Year. Benjamin is also an award-winning songwriter, was named poet laureate of Plattsburgh, New York, and has been the face of the National Autism Association’s antibullying campaign. He has been featured in the Huffington Post and on the Today Show and Good Morning America. His poem has been translated into several languages and made into a critically acclaimed music video, releasing in April 2022. Benjamin lives in upstate New York with his parents and pet snake, Monty. Roz MacLean is an award-winning Canadian illustrator and children's writer. She especially loves making art about themes that are important to her, like exploring emotions and diverse ways of being in the world. She has written and illustrated two books, The Body Book and Violet's Cloudy Day.

"Written when the autistic author was 10, Giroux’s poetic exploration of being/feeling different from the perspective of living on the spectrum brings to light that being neurodivergent is not the same as being broken or “less.” Being different is not an insurmountable obstacle to experiencing life but rather a gift to experience more."