Genres:
Memoir

Excerpt:

1% Better: Reaching My Full Potential and How You Can Too

by Chris Nikic

What would life look like if you measured your success by improvements instead of victories? Nik Nikic shares the incredible story of his son Chris’s journey to become the first person with Down syndrome to ever complete an IRONMAN® triathlon, inspiring others to achieve their goals by getting 1 percent better every day.

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From the moment Chris Nikic was born, his parents knew he could achieve anything he set his mind to do. So when he became involved in triathlons with the Special Olympics, his dad, Nik, took on the role of coach and encouraged Chris to aim even higher. Together, they set their sights on making history—Chris becoming the first person with Down syndrome to complete an IRONMAN® triathlon.

Written from Chris’s father’s perspective, Nik shares the 1% Better mindset that has helped Chris achieve many of his goals—and the underlying principles of the 1% Better system can help you pursue and achieve your dreams too! Through Chris and Nik’s story, learn the benefits of applying the model to your own life and discover how to:

  • Overcome the mental hurdles of pain
  • Stay motivated using three irrefutable laws of motivation
  • See failures as opportunities for improvement
  • Form a lifelong habit of success

You may never be the best. But you can be better than your best when you stop imposing self-limitations and begin the journey to reach your goals—one confident step at a time.

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Genres:
Picture Book

Excerpt:

Hiya Moriah

by Victoria Nelson

A beautifully illustrated, rhythmic story about a young girl's life with special needs. Through her brave attitude, and silly humor, Moriah is an inspiration for us all. This is a book that families can enjoy together with a timeless message about love and acceptance, and just saying "hiya" when making a new friend with different abilities. The bonus picture glossary and "What's This? What's That?" page in Hiya Moriah creates a space for children to celebrate how special and unique each of them were made to be.

Genres:
Picture Book

Excerpt:

Louie's Together Playground (The Able Fables #3)

by Dr. Nicole Julia

Empower your children to celebrate diverse friendship and embrace inclusive play. Join Louie, a crafty llama with dwarfism who loves to build construct and create. Together, he and his friends dream up a plan to build their town's first inclusive playground.

Genres:
Picture Book

Excerpt:

Gary's Gigantic Dream (The Able Fables)

by Dr. Nicole Julia

Invite inclusion into your home, and empower your kiddos that We're ALL Able with, Gary's Gigantic Dream, the first book of The Able Fables series. An upbeat, rhythmic tale of a young giraffe who gets evaluated for his very first wheelchair. Upon receiving his chair, Gary discovers newfound independence, zest for life, and a gigantic dream of his own. Join Gary, as he shouts the worth of all kiddos:

"Whoever you are, wherever you go,
it is this I truly need you to know:
You’re able to learn, to play, and to grow."

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The Able Fables collection proudly represents characters with diverse abilities, empowering children to embrace inclusion and see first, ability.

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Genres:
Picture Book

Excerpt:

Hey Jasmine! Let's Go to the Park

by Amber Nichole

Jasmine is a fun loving girl who has cerebral palsy and wears leg braces. Follow her adventures as she explores a day at the park.

About the Author: Amber Nichole is a mom and an educator who has a passion to help others.  Her daughter, Jasmine, was born with cerebral palsy. Jasmine inspires her to create books that educate others about special needs kids.

Genres:
Memoir, Middle Grade

Excerpt:

Her Own Two Feet: A Rwandan Girl's Brave Fight to Walk

by Meredith Davis

Through her eyes, the moving story of a young Rwandan girl born with club feet and the risk she takes for the chance to walk on the bottoms of her feet for the first time.

Rebeka Uwitonze was born in Rwanda with curled and twisted feet, which meant she had to crawl or be carried to get around. At nine years old, she gets an offer that could change her life. A doctor in the US might be able to turn her feet. But it means leaving her own family behind and going to America on her own.

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Her Own Two Feet tells Rebeka's inspiring story through her eyes, with the help of one of her hosts. She travels from Rwanda to Austin, Texas, to join the Davis family, despite knowing almost no English. In the face of dozens of hospital visits and painful surgeries, Rebeka's incredible bravery and joyful spirit carry her to the opportunity of a lifetime. A stunning debut about hope, perseverance, and what becomes possible when you take a risk.

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An Oral History of the Disability Rights Movement

Genres:
Non-Fiction

Excerpt:

What We Have Done: An Oral History of the Disability Rights Movement

by Fred Pelka

Nothing about us without us has been a core principle of American disability rights activists for more than half a century. It represents a response by people with disabilities to being treated with scorn and abuse or as objects of pity, and to having the most fundamental decisions relating to their lives―where they would live; if and how they would be educated; if they would be allowed to marry or have families; indeed, if they would be permitted to live at all―made by those who were, in the parlance of the movement, "temporarily able-bodied."

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In What We Have Done: An Oral History of the Disability Rights Movement, Fred Pelka takes that slogan at face value. He presents the voices of disability rights activists who, in the period from 1950 to 1990, transformed how society views people with disabilities, and recounts how the various streams of the movement came together to push through the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, the most sweeping civil rights legislation since passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Beginning with the stories of those who grew up with disabilities in the 1940s and '50s, the book traces how disability came to be seen as a political issue, and how people with disabilities―often isolated, institutionalized, and marginalized―forged a movement analogous to the civil rights, women's rights, and gay rights movements, and fought for full and equal participation in American society.

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Genres:
Memoir

Excerpt:

Grace Anna Sings: A Story of Hope through a Little Girl with a Big Voice

by Angela Ray Rodgers

Often in life we feel beat down. Life has lost its joy and we want to give up. Then there is a light—a light from someone unexpected. A story so inspiring, we begin to wake up and dream again.

Before the birth Grace Anna, Angela experienced heartbreaking loss that left her seeking God’s guidance and healing to make it through each day. After Grace Anna’s birth, Angela went from being a science teacher to an advocate for her daughter. The Rodgers have gone through incredible highs and heartbreaking lows. But through it all, God has been their refuge and has blessed them with amazing, joyful lives.

Genres:
Non-Fiction, Our Favorites, Picture Book

Excerpt:

Emmanuel's Dream: The True Story of Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah

by Laurie Ann Thompson

Born in Ghana, West Africa, with one deformed leg, he was dismissed by most people - but not by his mother, who taught him to reach for his dreams. As a boy, Emmanuel hopped to school more than two miles each way, learned to play soccer, left home at age 13 to provide for his family, and, eventually, became a cyclist. He rode an astonishing 400 miles across Ghana in 2001, spreading his powerful message: disability is not inability. Today, Emmanuel continues to work on behalf of the disabled. Thompson's lyrical prose offers a powerful celebration of triumphing over adversity.

Genres:
Picture Book

Excerpt:

Don't Call Me Special: A First Look at Disability

by Pat Thomas

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This unique picture book explores questions and concerns about physical disabilities in a simple and reassuring way. Younger children can find out about individual disabilities, special equipment that is available to help the disabled, and how people of all ages can deal with disabilities and live happy and full lives. Titles in this series for younger children explore emotional issues that boys and girls encounter as part of the growing-up process. Books are focused to appeal to kids of preschool through early school age. Written by psychotherapist and counselor Pat Thomas, A First Look At books promote positive interaction among children, parents, and teachers, and encourage kids to ask questions and confront social and emotional questions that sometimes present problems. Books feature appealing full-color illustrations on every page plus a page of advice to parents and teachers.

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