In July we celebrate Disability Pride Month by reading and sharing stories about the disabled community. Celebrate in your school or library by sharing the history of Disability Pride Month and by introducing readers to disabled fiction and memoir writers sharing their stories.
PICTURE BOOKS
She Kept Dancing: The True Story of a Professional Dancer with a Limb Difference by Sydney Mesher and Catherine Laudone; illustrated by Natelle Quek
Author and main character have a limb difference
On sale October 2023
This warm and inviting picture book, cowritten with Catherine Laudone and brightly illustrated by Natelle Quek, takes young readers along on Sydney’s journey—through the joyous ups as well as the crushing downs—and tells the story of how through it all, she kept dancing.
No two dances were the same. Each one was beautiful because it was different—just like how Sydney’s body was also beautiful because it was different.
Sydney Mesher was born with ten toes and five fingers. But it was her toes that her mom noticed first. “I can tell she’s going to be a dancer,” she said.
And it turned out Mom was right—after years of hard work, Sydney eventually danced her way onto the famous stage of Radio City Music Hall, becoming the first Rockette with a visible disability.
Everybody Has a Body by Molli Jackson Ehlert; illustrated by Lorian Tu
In this body neutral picture book, debut author Molli Jackson Ehlert and illustrator Lorian Tu show us many of the different ways bodies can look and all of the things they can do.
Everybody has a body. Whether you’re short, tall, fat, thin, hairy, bald, whether you use a wheelchair or have a limb difference, we all rely on our bodies to take us through the world.
From hiking a mountain to playing baseball to exploring an aquarium, Molli Jackson Ehlert and illustrator Lorian Tu show us all the different ways that bodies can look and the things they can do, with representation of many different types of bodies.With a body neutral approach – your body isn’t good or bad, it just is – this is an accessible and fun read that’s perfect for kids who have questions about the different bodies they encounter every day.
MIDDLE GRADE
Second Chance Summer by Sarah Kapit
Author and main character have anxiety and dyspraxia
Breaking up is hard to do, especially when it’s with your best friend. Can these two ex-besties survive summer camp together?
Maddie and Chloe have always been best friends, until last year, when Chloe’s popularity and budding fame as an actor left Maddie in the dust one too many times. Their friendship is over, and they’re both ready to move on.
But when the girls arrive at summer camp, they discover that the universe isn’t ready to let go of this friendship just yet: They’re cabinmates, and each of them has to spend the summer with her ex–best friend. Is it time to try again, or are they doomed to drift apart for good?
Maddie’s newly diagnosed anxiety disorder and dyspraxia (a movement disorder that causes difficulty with balance and coordination) only add to her disconnection from Chloe, who is a natural on stage. But as Maddie figures out how to adjust her life to accommodate her disabilities, she learns that she can be a star, too.
The Gray by Chris Baron
Author and main character have anxiety disorder
The Gray is a sensitively told middle grade story from Chris Baron about living with anxiety and finding ways to cope.
It’s been a tough year for Sasha—he’s been bullied at his middle school and his anxiety, which he calls the Gray, is growing. Sasha’s dad tells him to “toughen up”—and he does, but with unfortunate, hurtful results. His parents and therapist agree that a summer in the country with his aunt might be the best medicine, but it’s the last place he wants to be. He’ll be away from his best friend, video games, and stuck in the house that reminds him of his beloved uncle who died two years earlier.
His aunt is supportive, and there are lots of places to explore, and even some potential new friends. When Sasha is introduced at a local ranch to a horse coincidentally–incredibly–nicknamed the Gray, he feels he’s found a kindred spirit.
But his own Gray is ever-present. When one of his new friends disappears, Sasha discovers that the country is wilder and more mysterious than he imagined. He tries to muster enough courage to help in the search . . . but will the Gray hold him back?
The Brave by James Bird
Author is disabled and main character has undiagnosed anxiety disorder
Perfect for fans of Rain Reign, this middle-grade novel The Brave is about a boy with an undiagnosed anxiety issue and his move to a reservation to live with his biological mother.
Collin can’t help himself—he has a mental health condition that finds him counting every letter spoken to him. It’s a quirk that makes him a prime target for bullies, and frustrates the adults around him, including his father.
When Collin asked to leave yet another school, his dad decides to send him to live in Minnesota with the mother he’s never met. She is Ojibwe, and lives on a reservation. Collin arrives in Duluth with his loyal dog, Seven, and quickly finds his mom and his new home to be warm, welcoming, and accepting of his disability.
Collin’s quirk is matched by that of his neighbor, Orenda, a girl who lives mostly in her treehouse and believes she is turning into a butterfly. With Orenda’s help, Collin works hard to learn the best ways for him to manage his anxiety disorder. His real test comes when he must step up for his new friend and trust his new family.
Button Pusher by Tyler Page
Author and main character have ADHD
A memoir-driven realistic graphic novel about Tyler, a child with ADHD and has to discover for himself how to best manage it.
Tyler’s brain is neurodiverse. Unlike his friends, he has a hard time paying attention in class. He acts out in goofy, over-the-top ways. Sometimes, he even does dangerous things—like cut up a bus seat with a pocketknife or hang out of an attic window.
To the adults in his life, Tyler seems like a troublemaker. But he knows that he’s not. Tyler is curious and creative. He’s the best artist in his grade, and when he can focus, he gets great grades. He doesn’t want to cause trouble, but sometimes he just feels like he can’t control himself.
In Button Pusher, cartoonist Tyler Page uses his own childhood experiences to explore what it means to grow up with ADHD. From diagnosis to treatment and beyond, Tyler’s story is raw and enlightening, inviting you to see the world from a new perspective.
YOUNG ADULT
One for All by Lillie Lainoff
Author and main character have Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS)
One for All is a gender-bent retelling of The Three Musketeers, in which a girl with a chronic illness trains as a Musketeer and uncovers secrets, sisterhood, and self-love.
Tania de Batz is most herself with a sword in her hand. Everyone thinks her near-constant dizziness makes her weak, nothing but “a sick girl.” But Tania wants to be strong, independent, a fencer like her father—a former Musketeer and her greatest champion. Then Papa is brutally, mysteriously murdered. His dying wish? For Tania to attend finishing school. But L’Académie des Mariées, Tania realizes, is no finishing school. It’s a secret training ground for new Musketeers: women who are socialites on the surface, but strap daggers under their skirts, seduce men into giving up dangerous secrets, and protect France from downfall. And they don’t shy away from a sword fight.
With her newfound sisters at her side, Tania feels that she has a purpose, that she belongs. But then she meets Étienne, her target in uncovering a potential assassination plot. He’s kind, charming—and might have information about what really happened to her father. Torn between duty and dizzying emotion, Tania will have to decide where her loyalties lie…or risk losing everything she’s ever wanted.
Lillie Lainoff’s debut novel is a fierce, whirlwind adventure about the depth of found family, the strength that goes beyond the body, and the determination it takes to fight for what you love. Includes an author’s note about her personal experience with Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome.
A Face for Picasso: Coming of Age with Crouzon Syndrome by Ariel Henley
Author has Crouzon Syndrome
I am ugly. There’s a mathematical equation to prove it.
At only eight months old, identical twin sisters Ariel and Zan were diagnosed with Crouzon syndrome — a rare condition where the bones in the head fuse prematurely. They were the first twins known to survive it.
Growing up, Ariel and her sister endured numerous appearance-altering procedures. Surgeons would break the bones in their heads and faces to make room for their growing organs. While the physical aspect of their condition was painful, it was nothing compared to the emotional toll of navigating life with a facial disfigurement.
Ariel explores beauty and identity in her young-adult memoir about resilience, sisterhood, and the strength it takes to put your life, and yourself, back together time and time again.
We Are All So Good at Smiling by Amber McBride
Author and main character have depression
They Both Die at the End meets The Bell Jar in this haunting, beautiful young adult novel-in-verse about clinical depression and healing from trauma, from National Book Award Finalist Amber McBride.
Whimsy is back in the hospital for treatment of clinical depression. When she meets a boy named Faerry, she recognizes they both have magic in the marrow of their bones. And when Faerry and his family move to the same street, the two start to realize that their lifelines may have twined and untwined many times before.
They are both terrified of the forest at the end of Marsh Creek Lane.
The Forest whispers to Whimsy. The Forest might hold the answers to the part of Faerry he feels is missing. They discover the Forest holds monsters, fairy tales, and pain that they have both been running from for 11 years.
The Dos and Donuts of Love by Adiba Jaigirdar
Author is disabled and main character has an anxiety disorder
A pun-filled YA contemporary romance, The Dos and Donuts of Love by Adiba Jaigirdar finds a teenage girl competing in a televised baking competition, with contestants including her ex-girlfriend and a potential new crush – perfect for fans of The Great British Bake Off and She Drives Me Crazy!
“Welcome to the first ever Junior Irish Baking Show!”
Shireen Malik is still reeling from the breakup with her ex-girlfriend, Chris, when she receives news that she’s been accepted as a contestant on a new televised baking competition show. This is Shireen’s dream come true! Because winning will not only mean prize money, but it will also bring some much-needed attention to You Drive Me Glazy, her parents’ beloved donut shop.
Things get complicated, though, because Chris is also a contestant on the show. Then there’s the very outgoing Niamh, a fellow contestant who is becoming fast friends with Shireen. Things are heating up between them, and not just in the kitchen.
As the competition intensifies , Shireen will have to ignore all these factors and more— including potential sabotage—if she wants a sweet victory!
