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Recommended Social Justice Books on Disability

Screenshot of social justice book covers

From Social Justice Books: A Teaching for Change Project, this powerful site offers more than 60 curated lists of literature and history books on social justice and multicultural points of view for children, young adults, and educators. Book lists are organized by topic areas–including Changemakers, Disabilities, Immigration (and specific immigrant groups), Organizing, and Voting Rights! 

"Not only do we look for stories of collective action in children’s books, we believe the process of selecting and reviewing children’s books needs to be a collective process. We also believe it is important to look beyond the limited offerings of the corporate publishing industry to review books produced by alternate means. Many marginalized creators choose to self-publish only to find that most bloggers and review outlets refuse to consider self-published books; some, like Kirkus Indie Reviews, charge large fees. At Social Justice Books, our lists and reviews include self-published books, held to the same standards as traditionally published books." -- Social Justice Books     Click here to learn more about Social Justice Books' criteria for selecting and rating titles.

Recommended children's books on people with disabilities: 

  • All the Way to the Top. Annette Bay Pimentel. 
  • The Girl Who Thought in Pictures: The Story of Dr. Temple Grandin (Amazing Scientists). Julia Finley Mosca and Daniel Rieley. 
  • Benny Doesn’t Like to be Hugged. Zetta Elliott. 
  • Just Ask! Be Different, Be Brave, Be You. Sonia Sotomayor, Rafael Lopez. 
  • My Brother Charlie. Holly Robinson Peele and Ryan Elizabeth Peele. 
  • We Can Do It! Laura Dwight. 

 

In this School Library Journal article, Margaret Kingsbury suggests eight books about people with disabilities:

  • Sam’s Super Seats by Keah Brown
  • What Happened to You? by James Catchpole, illustrated by Karen George
  • Bodies Are Cool by Tyler Feder
  • We Move Together by Kelly Fritsch and Anne McGuire, illustrated by Eduardo Trejos
  • My City Speaks by Darren Lebeuf, illustrated by Ashley Barron
  • My Ocean Is Blue by Darren Lebeuf, illustrated by Ashley Barron
  • Best Day Ever! by Marilyn Singer, illustrated by Leah Nixon
  • Ali and the Sea Stars by Ali Stroker, illustrated by Gillian Reid

 

Centering Neurodiversity - Recommended Children’s and Young Adult Literature in the Dyslexia issue - Marie Havran - Literacy Today - pages 60-61 - October-November, 2023 - International Literacy Association. 

 

Additional Recommendations of Children's Books on Disabilities

 

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