Diagnosed as severely autistic at the age of three, Tito, nearly nonverbal, was taken in hand by his mother Soma, who taught him to read English and challenged him to write his own stories. The initial result was The Mind Tree, published in 2003, which Tito wrote between the ages of eight and eleven. Now, two years later, comes an equally impressive, beautiful new collection of tales and stories, each prefaced by a charming note from Tito explaining how the story came into being. These often exotic, always poetic, stories are not only small gems in themselves but offer insights into the workings of the autistic mind that will change our way of thinking about, or judging, people with that affliction. Above all, this is the work of a true poet.

Soma’s introduction sets the tone for this latest manifestation of her son’s extraordinary—perhaps unique—talent.