The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime: Booktalk

Christopher is a whiz at numbers. He can name all the prime numbers up to 7.057 and multiply  251 x 684 in his head (171,684) and win the Expert version of Minesweeper in 99 seconds.

He also has behavioral problems.

Here are some of his behavioral problems:

-         not talking to people for a long time (once, he didn’t talk to anyone for five weeks)

-         not eating or drinking anything for a long time

-         not liking to be touched

-         screaming when he is angry or confused

-         refusing to use his toothbrush if someone else has touched it

-         not noticing that people are angry with him

-         not smiling

-         hating France

Christopher is autistic, which means he doesn’t look at the world in the same way as other people. For example, if you were standing in a field in the countryside, you might think:

-         I am standing in a field that is full of grass

-         There are some cows in the field

-         There is a village in the distance

Christopher thinks:

-         There are 19 cows in the field, 15 of which are black and white and 4 of which are brown and white.

-         There is a village in the distance which has 31 visible houses and a church with a square tower and not a spire.

One night, he discovers his neighbor’s dog Wellington dead, with a garden fork sticking out from his body. He’s going to solve the mystery. He’ll write a book about solving the mystery. This is Christopher’s fabulous, unusual, CURIOUS book, told by a character that is unlike anyone you’ve ever met.