Tag Archives: Disabilities

Bronze and Sunflower

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Set during the Chinese Cultural Revolution (late 1960s and early 1970s), Sunflower, a young girl and her artist father are banished to do hard labor in the countryside at a cadre school. It’s a difficult life for her and she is lonely. She meets Bronze, the mute son of poor villagers, who is bullied by the other village boys. After Sunflower’s father dies, Bronze’s family takes her in despite facing extreme hardship, and Sunflower finally finds happiness. This engrossing, beautifully written novel, with luminous imagery, will broaden readers’ horizons. Notes in the back of the book provide historical background and information about Cao’s inspiration for the book. mjw

Title: Bronze and Sunflower Author: Cao Wenxuan Illustrator: Meilo So Publisher: Walker Books Ltd. London Copyright: 2015 Original Language: Chinese Translator: Helen Wang Original Copyright: 2005 ISBN: 978-1-4063-4846-0 Paperback pages: 400 Age range: 9 up Genre: Fiction Book setting: Damaidi, China Author’s ethnicity: Chinese Author’s residence: China Illustrator’s ethnicity: Chinese Illustrator’s residence: England Awards: 2016 Hans Christian Andersen Author Medal, 2019 Global Literature in Libraries Initiative Shortlist Subjects: China, Cultural Revolution (1966-1976), Friendship, Poverty, Survival

Heidi: The Years Of Learning And Travel

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Young, orphaned Heidi lives with her Aunt Dete, but is taken to live with her good-hearted, but grumpy, grandfather in the mountains. Grandfather mistrusts everyone and hopes to protect Heidi from the evils of the world. Heidi makes friends with Peter, the goatherd, and they live in their idyllic mountain world until Dete appears again to take Heidi to Frankfurt (Germany) to live with Fraulein Rottenmeier and work as a companion to her granddaughter Clara, who cannot walk. Heidi suffers from homesickness and eventually returns to her grandfather. Heidi and Clara keep in touch and Clara visits to experience the joy and healing power of the mountains. Gorgeous watercolor paintings take readers to the Swiss Alps and reflect the beauty of the region as described by Spyri in this classic story. An Afterword by Verena Rutschmann, head of research at the Swiss Institute of Media for Children and Young Adults, provides more information about the novel, which is the most popular piece of Swiss literature ever written. A condensed, illustrated young readers’ edition (2009, paperback 2015) is also available. mjw

Title: Heidi: The Years Of Learning And Travel Author: Johanna Spyri (1827-1901) Illustrator: Maja Dusikova Publisher: North South Books, Inc, an imprint of NordSud Verlag AG, Zurich Switzerland Copyright: 21105 Original Language: German Original Title: Originally published in two parts. Heidi’s Lehr und Wonderjahre and Heidi Kann brauchen, was es gallant hat Original Copyright: 1881 ISBN: 978-0-7358-4250-2 Hardcover pages: 162 Age range: 5 up Genre: Fiction Book setting: Switzerland, Germany Author’s ethnicity: Swiss Author’s residence: Lived in Zurich, Switzerland Illustrator’s ethnicity: Born in Czechoslovakia Illustrator’s residence: Florence, Italy Subjects: Alps, Swiss; Grandfather; Grandparent and child; Mountain life; Orphans

The Snow Rabbit

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Two blonde sisters look out of their window at the snowy sky in this charming wordless picture book. One sister goes out and builds a snow rabbit. When she brings it inside to her wheelchair-bound sister and it begins to melt, they take it back outside and magical things start to happen. The sisters chase the rabbit and the wheelchair gets stuck in the snow. Finally the girls ride the rabbit, which has grown to an enormous size, back through the moonlight to the safety of their cottage. The 3-D hand-colored cut-paper illustrations, set in dioramas, dramatically lit, and photographed, add impact to the enchantment. mjw

Title: The Snow Rabbit Author: Camille Garoche (Princesse Camcam) Illustrator: Camille Garoche (Princesse Camcam) Publisher: Enchanted Lion Books, New York Copyright: 2015 Original Language: English  ISBN: 978-1-59270-181-0 Hardcover pages: 56 Age range: 4-8 Genre: Wordless Picture Book Author’s ethnicity: French Author’s residence: Paris, France Illustrator’s ethnicity: French Illustrator’s residence: Paris, France Subjects: Children with disabilities, Magic, Rabbits, Sisters, Snow, Stories without words

Lola And I

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Narrated by blind Lola’s black Lab guide dog named Star, this picture book portrays the friendship between a girl and her dog. At first, Lola was afraid to go outside. But eventually, she and Star go out to explore Lola’s Italian environment. They shop for clothing, have cream croissants and lemonade in the park, go tobogganing in the mountains, and have their portrait painted at the beach.   The strong text, with sight-free sensory details, is enriched by warm, soft-focus illustrations. mjw

Title: Lola and I Author: Chiara Valentina Segre Illustrator: Paolo Domeniconi Publisher: Fitzhenry and Whiteside Copyright: 2105 Original Language: Italian Translator: Chiara Valentina Segre Original Title: Lola e io Original Publisher: Camelozampa.  Monselice, Italy Original Copyright: 2012 ISBN: 978-1-55455-363-1 Hardcover pages: 32 Age range: 5-8 Genre: Picture Book Book setting: Italy Author’s ethnicity: Italian Author’s residence: Italy Illustrator’s ethnicity: Italian Illustrator’s residence: Italy Awards: 2105 IBBY  Outstanding Book for Young People with Disabilities Subjects: Blind, Children with disabilities, Dogs, Guide dogs, Human-animal relationships, Special needs, Visually impaired

The Nest

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Anxious, OCD-ridden, pre-adolescent Steve has a new baby brother who has congenital health problems. The baby needs surgery and may never be completely normal. Steve’s parents are pre-occupied with the baby and Steve starts to have dreams and nightmares with angels/wasps who promise that they can grow a new, healthy baby to replace his sickly newborn brother. And at the same time, a wasps’ nest is rapidly growing outside the baby’s bedroom window. Scientific information about wasps is woven into Steve’s first-person perspective. Black and white graphite drawings add to the mood of this very intense, intriguing, and scary story that will appeal to fans of Neil Gaiman mjw

Title: The Nest Author: Kenneth Oppel Illustrator: John Klassen Publisher: Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers Copyright: 2015 Original Language: English ISBN: 978-1-4814-3232-0 Hardcover pages: 256 Age range: 10 up Genre: Fiction Book setting: Canada (Toronto) Author’s ethnicity: Canadian Author’s residence: Toronto, Canada Illustrator’s ethnicity: Canadian Illustrator’s residence: Los Angeles, California, USA Awards: Author has won the Canadian Governor General’s Literary Award.  Illustrator has won the Caldecott Medal Subjects: Babies, Changelings, Ghost stories, Horror stories, Infants, Paranormal fiction, Special needs, Supernatural, Wasps

John Diamond

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Twelve-year-old William Jones cannot stop hearing his father’s footsteps and sighs at night. When William learns that his father is troubled because he swindled his old business partner, Mr. Diamond, he promises to himself that he will travel to London to rectify his father’s wrongs. He quickly realizes that London is an eerie city full of danger, death, and betrayal. The author’s gothic writing is reminiscent of Charles Dickens’s works. Middle-grade readers who are fans of Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events will devour this mystery novel. ema

Title: John Diamond Author: Leon Garfield (1921-1996) Illustrator: Isobel Lundie Publisher: Random House Copyright: 2014 Original Language: English Original Title: John Diamond Original Publisher: Kestrel Books Original Copyright: 1980 ISBN:978-0099583271 Paperback pages: 256 Age range: 9-11 Genre: Historical Fiction Book setting: Victorian London Author’s ethnicity: English Illustrator’s ethnicity: English Illustrator’s residence: London Awards:1980 Whitbread Prize for Children’s Novel Subjects: Creepy, Death, Detective stories, Mystery, Scary stories

Climbing The Stairs

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Fifteen year-old Vidya has aspirations of attending college, but this is rare for a girl living in British-occupied India during World War II. When misfortune falls upon Vidya’s family, they are forced to live with her father’s family which is a traditional Indian household where women are expected to be married and not educated. Vidya feels suffocated by the lifestyle, but she feels like she can breathe a bit easier when she discovers her grandfather’s library. In the library, Vidya gains a new friend who encourages her to pursue her education. Unfortunately, it is when Vidya finally feels that she finds some comfort in the house that her brother unexpectedly leaves. This  moving story about a young woman overcoming political and her own inner turmoils will effectively enlighten readers about Hindi words, traditions, religious festivals, and historical events that occurred during a critical time in Indian history. ema

Title: Climbing The Stairs Author: Padma Venkatraman Publisher: Speak, an imprint of Puffin Books Copyright: 2010 Original Language: English  ISBN: 978-0142414903 Paperback pages: 254 Age range: 12 up Genre: Historical Fiction Book setting: India during WWII Author’s ethnicity: Indian Author’s residence: America Awards: A New York Public Library Book for the Teen Age, A Bank Street College of Education Best Book of the Year, An ALA/YALSA Best Book for Young Adults, An 2009 ALA/Amelia Bloomer Book, A Book Sense Notable, A Publishers Weekly Flying Start Selection, A Booklist Editor’s Choice Subjects: Brain damage, British occupation of India, Gender roles, Prejudices, World War II

The God Beneath The Sea

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The ancient Greek gods and goddesses are brilliantly reimagined in this novel which combines classic Greek myths together to create one continuous story. The story begins when a hideous shrieking baby, later known as Hephaestus, falls into the sea and is raised by sea goddesses Thetis and Eurynome. From then on readers discover the origins of gods and man. This classic of English children’s literature with macabre illustrations effectively introduces young readers to Greek Mythology. ema

Title: The God Beneath The Sea Author: Leon Garfield (1921-1996) and Edward Blishen (1920-1996) Illustrator: Charles Keeping (1924- 1988) Publisher: Doubleday Copyright: 2014 Original Language: English Original Title: The God Beneath The Sea Original Publisher: Pantheon Books Original Copyright: 1970 ISBN: 978-0-875-53311-1 Paperback pages: 215 Age range: 12 up Genre: Greek Mythology, Fiction Book setting: Ancient Greece Author’s ethnicity: Both English Illustrator’s ethnicity: English Awards: 1970 Carnegie Medal Subjects: Greek gods and goddesses,  Mythology, Reimaginings, Retellings

Zac And Mia

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Seventeen year old leukemia patient Zac says that he accepts his odds. His world changes when he hears loud music from the hospital room next door. His neighbor, the fiery osteosarcoma patient Mia, refuses to accept the unfair reality that is her life. When the two are released from the hospital, they try to resume normalcy, but they are unable to erase their minds about the other. The writing, as told in dual narratives from Zac and Mia, tells a genuine tale about a friendship that builds between two strangers. ema

Title: Zac And Mia Author: A.J. Betts Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers Copyright: 2014 Original Language: English Original Title: Zac And Mia Original Publisher: Text Publishing Original Copyright: 2013 ISBN: 978-0544331648 Hardcover pages: 304 Age range: 14 up Genre: Contemporary Fiction Book setting: Australia Author’s ethnicity: Australian Author’s residence: Australia Awards: 2012 Australian Text Prize Subjects: Cancer, Disabilities, Family, Farming, Farms, Friendships, Hope, Hospitals, Relationships,Teens

Totto-Chan: The Little Girl At The Window

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Japan’s most popular television personality, Tetsuko Kuroyanagi, reflects upon her childhood growing up in Japan during World War II. “Totto-chan”, as the author is called in the novel, after she is expelled from her elementary in the first grade chooses to attend Tomoe Gakuen. Headmaster Sosaku Kobayashi’s elementary school, which has old train cars for classrooms, is considered unusual, but it is the perfect school for Totto-chan. The headmaster’s pedagogy is that children should be able to freely express their thoughts and choose what they would like to learn. Brilliantly written text will have readers laughing, crying, and cheering for Totto-chan. The book features softly beautiful illustrations by the late picture book illustrator Chihiro Iwasaki, a postscript from the author, an epilogue explaining where Totto-chan’s classmates are now, and notes which translate some words into Japanese characters. ema

Title: Totto-Chan: The Little Girl At The Window Author: Tetsuko Kuroyanagi Illustrator: Chihiro Iwasaki Publisher: Kodansha USA Copyright: 2011 Original Language: Japanese Translator: Dorothy Britton Original Title: Madogiwa no Totto-chan Original Publisher: Kodansha  Ltd. Original Copyright: 1981 ISBN: 978-1-56836-391-2 Paperback pages: 229 Age range: 9 up Genre: Historical Nonfiction, Memoir Book setting: Japan during WWII Author’s ethnicity: Japanese Author’s residence: Japan Illustrator’s ethnicity: Japanese Illustrator’s residence: Died on August 8, 1974 Awards: Non-Fiction Prize Subjects: Biography, Elementary schools, Nontraditional schools, Tomoe Gakuen, TV personalities

Bartolomé The Infantina’s Pet

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Madrid is a harsh place for a dwarf named Bartolomé. He is seen as incapable and worthless due to his deformities. When Bartolomé moves to the city with his family, he is hidden in a back room so as to not be seen. One day while Jeronima, a 20 year old neighbor who has an intellectual disability, is carrying Bartolomé back from secret reading and writing lessons with a monk, Bartolomé tumbles out of the laundry basket and into the path of the royal carriage of the Infanta, the king’s daughter. The Infanta gets out of the carriage and gazes upon Bartolomé, perceiving him as a human dog and plans to make him into another one of her playthings. Now having lost his dignity, Bartolomé must be dressed up daily as a dog to please the Infanta. Andrés is the painter’s apprentice who is in charge of painting Bartolomé’s face. Kindly, he teaches Bartolomé how to make paint and even allows him to create his own work of art which is beautiful and meaningful. With the help of his family and members of the painters’ guild, a clever magic trick allows Bartolomé to be free from his degrading work and he becomes a painter’s apprentice himself. This story takes place during the 17th century and explores the intolerance of individuals with disabilities while a hopeful tone shines through. cc

Title: Bartolomé The Infanta’s Pet Author: Rachel Van Kooij Publisher: Little Island Copyright: 2012 Original Language: German Translator: Siobhán Parkinson Original Title: Kein Hundeleben für Bartolomé Original Publisher: Jungbrunnen Verlag Original Copyright: 2003 ISBN: 978-1-908195-26-5 Paperback pages: 208 Age range: 12 up Genre: Historical fiction Book setting: Madrid, Spain Author’s ethnicity: Dutch Author’s residence: Austria Subjects: 17th century, Disabilities, Discrimination, Dwarfs, Families, Madrid, Spain

I Have The Right To Be A Child

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Inspired by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, I Have The Right To Be A Child is a picture book that makes young readers ponder about rights of  children. The simplistically beautiful acrylic illustrations perfectly accompany the book’s first person narration. This moving picture book explains the types of rights children around the world should be entitled to. It is important to note that at the end of the book, there is an explanation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. This explanation details the specific rights the states who sign the agreement must uphold. There is also a list of states who are party to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. There are only three members of the UN who are not party to the Convention. These three countries are Somalia, the United States, and South Sudan. I Have The Right To Be A Child is a perfect book to teach about peace and human rights. It illustrates the type of world we hope to live in and challenges readers to advocate for children’s rights. ema

Title: I Have The Right To Be A Child Author: Alain Serres Illustrator: Aurélia Fronty Publisher: Groundwood Books House of Anansi Press Copyright: 2012 Original Language: French Translator: Helen Minster Original Title: S’ai le droit d’être un enfant Original Publisher: Rue du Monde  Original Copyright: 2009 ISBN: 978-1-55498-149-6 Hardcover pages: 48 Age range: 4-7 Genre: Non-Fiction Picture Book  Book setting: Around the World Author’s ethnicity: French Author’s residence: Paris Illustrator’s ethnicity: French Illustrator’s residence: France Awards: IRA Notable Books for a Global Society List, Selected for Children’s Literary Assembly, 2013 Notable Children’s Books, and USBBY Outstanding International Booklist Subjects: Activism, Children’s Rights, Disabilities, Diversity, Education, Families, Friends, Gender, Human Rights, Peace, Race, United Nations, United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child