The Fight for Disability Rights

We Want to Go to School!: The Fight for Disability Rights

by Maryann Cocca-Leffler 

There was a time in the United States when millions of children with disabilities weren't allowed to go to public school. But in 1971, seven kids and their families wanted to do something about it. They knew that every child had a right to an equal education, so they went to court to fight for that right. The case Mills v. Board of Education of the District of Columbia led to laws ensuring children with disabilities would receive a free, appropriate public education. Told in the voice of Janine Leffler, one of the millions of kids who went to school because of these laws, this book shares the true story of this landmark case.

Genres:
Non-Fiction, Picture Book

The Five of Us

by Quentin Blake  

Angie, Ollie, Simona, Mario, and Eric are five fantastic friends, each of whom has an unusual ability. Disaster strikes on a day in the countryside, but by working together and combining their individual powers, the Fantastic Five save the day. Teem­ing with Quentin Blake’s characteristic sense of fun and exuberant illustrations, The Five of Us is a powerful though subtle reminder that the world is a better place when we focus on what we can do rather than what we can’t.

 

Genres:
Picture Book

Tags:
Disabilities, Disability representation, Wheelchair user

Susan Laughs

by Jeanne Willis 

Susan laughs, she sings. she rides, she swings.
She gets angry, she gets sad, she is good, she is bad...

Told in rhyme, this story follows Susan through a series of familiar activities. She swims with her father, works hard in school, plays with her friends -- and even rides a horse. Lively, thoughtfully drawn illustrations reveal a portrait of a busy, happy little girl with whom younger readers will identify. Not until the end of the story is it revealed that Susan uses a wheelchair.

Told with insight, and without sentimentality, here is an inspiring look at one spunky little girl whose physical disability is never seen as a handicap.

Genres:
Picture Book

Tags:
Disabilities, Disability representation, Wheelchair user

Ben's Adventures: Under the Big Top! 

by  Elizabeth Gerlach 

Ben loves school. And Ben loves his teacher. He always has so much fun. But what happens in class when he lets his imagination soar? A day under the big top, perhaps? His teacher learns to juggle. He launches his brother from a cannon. His friend flies on the trapeze. There are even lions, elephants and clowns. Ben uses a wheelchair, but he’s still a child just like the others in his class. He has fun, dreams, aspirations and friends. Paired with vivid illustrations and written in verse, this beautiful book is fun-to-read for all kids and will help them to think about disability and kindness. The important and inspiring messages in this Ben’s Adventures children’s book series are suitable for everyone, helping us to accept and embrace differences and appreciate what makes us unique. Messages of acceptance and inclusion, friendship and family make the books perfect for teaching young kids that people are more similar than they are different. Follow along with these inspiring stories about a boy who loves to dream.  Get it NOW and then download the FREE Activity Fun Guide at Bens-Adventures.com.   Best-selling author of Out of My Mind, Sharon M. Draper, says "These books are awesome and really necessary!"

Genres:
Picture Book

Poisoned: Snow White's Story

by Mary Mecham

A poisoned apple and true love's first kiss were only the beginning to Snow White's story...

After a handsome prince swoops in to save the day, Snow can't help but feel like something is still missing in her life. She begins to wonder if "happily ever after" really exists, because what she is experiencing certainly isn't the idyllic life she imaged a princess would have. With each passing day, Snow feels an increasing desire to escape the pressures of the castle and return to the brothers who live in the cottage in the woods.

Snow adores the youngest of the brothers, who cannot speak and has an inexplicable, infectious joy about him. Oliver's grouchy caregiver doesn't want anyone to get close to their family, and continually rebuffs Snow's kindness. Snow can only hope that the unlikely friendship of these two brothers will be the key to unlocking her heart and happiness.

This retelling of the classic fairy tale, Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, continues the story far beyond the supposed "happily ever after" and explores the value of friendships as Snow discovers the innate worth every person has, regardless of ability level.

If you enjoy clean romance, sweet friendships and disability inclusion, then read this book now! This young adult fairy tale retelling is a standalone story.

Genres:
Fiction, Young Adult

Life in a Hearing World with Deaf Queen Boss

EveryDay I Am Just Deaf

by Kellina Powell  

Kellina Powell is a gift to our world. She has proven that no matter what obstacles are in her way, she can overcome them. As a deaf person living in a hearing world, she gives us a peek behind the curtain for living with a disability and creating a life she loves.

In her first book, Everyday I am Just Deaf, Kellina exposes her inner thoughts and feelings to get readers thinking:

  • what it’s like to be deaf in a hearing world
  • what barriers can be removed and
  • what contributions can be made to level the playing field.

Kellina shares her journey so we can better understand how to be a more inclusive world and the considerations that hearing people can make to change the world for people with disabilities.

Genres:
Memoir

Tags:
Deaf, Disabilities, Hard of hearing

Stronger

by Jeff Bauman 

When Jeff Bauman woke up on Tuesday, April 16th, 2013 in the Boston Medical Center, groggy from a series of lifesaving surgeries and missing his legs, the first thing he did was try to speak. When he realized he couldn't, he asked for a pad and paper and wrote down seven words: "Saw the guy. Looked right at me," setting off one of the biggest manhunts in the country's history.

Just thirty hours before, Jeff had been at the finish line of the 2013 Boston Marathon cheering on his girlfriend, Erin, when the first bomb went off at his feet. As he was rushed to the hospital, he realized he was severely injured and that he might die, but he didn't know that a photograph of him in a wheelchair was circulating throughout the world, making him the human face of the Boston Marathon bombing victims, or that what he'd seen would give the Boston police their most important breakthrough.

In Stronger, Jeff describes the chaos and terror of the bombing itself and the ongoing FBI investigation in which he was a key witness. He takes us inside his grueling rehabilitation, and discusses his attempt to reconcile the world's admiration with his own guilt and frustration. . Brave, compassionate, and emotionally compelling, Jeff Bauman's story is not just his, but ours as well.

Genres:
Memoir

When I Grow Up I Want to Be a Chair: A Memoir

by Ryan Rae Harbuck

Her story has (not) defined her.

From where she sat, her perspective of the world was both quite ordinary and rivetingly extraordinary—from a paralyzing car accident in her teens to traveling overseas on a journey of self-reflection to becoming a mom. Throughout everything she experienced, she fervently believed in following her given path.

She wanted to trust its trajectory. She wanted to be sure.

Her story is not about a chair.

Her story is about her strengths and how they rose out of her instinctive vulnerabilities.

Her story is about her struggles and how they became her victories.

Her story is about being willing to hold it all, for herself and the whole of her world.

Everyone has a chair. That thing you are bound to or unwillingly defines you. An element that makes you different from the rest. One that you have little choice in the matter.

What’s YOUR chair?

Genres:
Memoir

The Distance between Me and the Cherry

by Paola Peretti

Ten-year-old Mafalda hides the fact that she is going blind from her family and friends in this lyrical, bittersweet debut novel from Italian author Paola Peretti that shows you how to overcome the darkness—even when you can’t see the light at the end of the tunnel.

There are a lot of things ten-year-old Mafalda cares a lot about. Like, counting the stars in the night sky, playing soccer, and climbing the cherry tree outside her school. Mafalda even goes so far as to keep a list of all these things, because soon she won’t be able to do them anymore—because she’s going blind.

Even with her bad eyesight Mafalda can see that people are already treating her differently—and that’s the last thing she wants. So, she hides the fact that her vision is deteriorating faster than anyone predicted, and she makes a plan: When the time is right, she’ll go live in the cherry tree, just like her favorite book character.

But as Mafalda loses her sight, surprising things come in to focus. With the help of her family and friends both old and new, Mafalda discovers the things that matter most.

Genres:
Middle Grade

Tags:
Blind, Low Vision, Vision Impairment