Children's Books About Disabilities

Page 3 of 5

Children's Books About Disabilities

JF - Juvenile Fiction

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Title: Adam and the Magic Marble
Author: Adam and Carol Buehrens
Publisher: Hope Press, PO Box 188, Duarte, CA 91009-0188; 1991
ISBN #: ISBN-1-878267-30-2
Disability: Tourette Syndrome; Cerebral Palsy
Story Profile: Adam, Chris, and Matt are often harassed by bullies until they discover a magic marble.
Reading Level: JF

Title: A Zebra Named Al
Author: Wendy Isdell
Publisher: Free Spirit Publishing, 400 First Ave., North, Suite 616, Minneapolis, MN 55401; 1993
ISBN #: ISBN-0-915793-58-X paperback; ISBN-0915793-59-8 manual
Disability: Learning Disability
Story Profile: Julie is an eighth grader who has trouble in math. Frustrated, she rests her head on her book... and is awakened by an Imaginary Number who suddenly appears in her room. When she follows the Number through a mysterious portal, she enters a strange land of mathematics, where she meets a zebra named Al.
Reading Level: JF

Title: A Season of Secrets
Author: Alison Cragin Herzig and Jane Lawrence Mali
Publisher: Little, Brown
ISBN #: ISBN-0-316-35889-4
Disability: Epilepsy
Story Profile: Benji is a six-year-old who has been fainting at school and Brooke and Jason, his teenage sister and brother, wonder all summer long what is wrong with him.
Reading Level: JF

Title: At the Back of the Woods
Author: Claudia Mills
Publisher: Four Winds
ISBN #: ISBN-0-07830-5
Disability: Mental Retardation
Story Profile: Davey is a young boy with mental retardation who is at a special care facility. His sister, Clarisse, and his parents come to visit him.
Reading Level: JF

Title: Eagle Eyes: A Child's View of Attention Deficit Disorder
Author: Jeanne Gehret, M.A.
Publisher: Verbal Images Press, 19 Fox Hill Dr., Fairport, NY 14450; 1991
ISBN #: ISBN-0-9625136-4-4
Disability: Attention Deficit Disorder
Story Profile: Ben, a boy with attention deficit disorder, describes the frustrations and feelings associated with his initially unidentified syndrome.
Reading Level: JF

Title: First Star I See
Author: Jaye Andras Caffrey
Publisher: Verbal Images Press, 19 Fox Hill Drive, Fairport, NY 14450; 1997
ISBN #: ISBN-1-884281-17-6
Disability: Attention Deficit Disorder
Story Profile: Paige is a young girl with ADD who is trying to win a school writing contest.
Reading Level: JF

Title: Here's What I Mean To Say...
Author: Sarah Yates
Publisher: GIma B. Publishing Inc., Box #713-740 Corydon Ave., Winnipeg,
Manitoba, Canada R3M 0Y1; 1997
ISBN #: ISBN-0-9696477-2-7
Disability: Cerebral Palsy
Story Profile: Ann (age nine) who has cerebral palsy, takes us through her struggles with everyday activities.
Reading Level: JF

Title: Hi, I'm Adam. A Child's Story of Tourette Syndrome
Author: Adam Buehrens
Publisher: Hope Press, PO Box 188, Duarte, CA 91009-0188; 1991
ISBN #: ISBN-1-878267-29-9
Disability: Tourette Syndrome
Story Profile: Adam, a ten-year-old boy diagnosed with Tourette syndrome, wrote this book to help children with Tourette syndrome understand that they are not alone and that other children are experiencing similar difficulties.
Reading Level: JF

Title: How Dyslexic Benny Became a Star: A Story of Hope for Dyslexic Children and Their Parents
Author: Joe Griffith
Publisher: Yorktown Press, PO Box 795667, Dallas, TX 75379-5667; 1998
ISBN #: ISBN-0-9569379-0-9
Disability: Dyslexia
Story Profile: Benny, who has dyslexia, struggles while his fifth-grade classmates' skills improve. He is suddenly terrified when he is called upon by his teacher to read aloud.
Reading Level: JF

Title: Howie Helps Himself
Author: Joan Fassler
Publisher: Albert Whitman & Co.; 1975
ISBN #: ISBN-0-8075-3422-6
Disability: Cerebral Palsy
Story Profile: Howie has cerebral palsy. He gets around in a wheelchair, or rather, other people get him around in his wheelchair. More than anything, Howie wants to move that chair himself.
Reading Level: JF

Title: How Many Days Until Tomorrow?
Author: Caroline Janover
Publisher: Woodbine House
ISBN #: ISBN-1-890627-22-4
Disability: Dyslexia
Story Profile: Josh is a 12-year-old who has dyslexia. When he spends a summer on an island with his grandparents, he develops his strengths and discovers talents he did not know he had.
Reading Level: JF

Title: I'm Joshua and "Yes I Can"
Author: Joan Lenett Whinston
Publisher: Vantage Press, Inc., 516 West 34th St., New York, NY 10001; 1989
ISBN #: ISBN-0-533-07959-4
Disability: Cerebral Palsy
Story Profile: Joshua, a young boy with cerebral palsy, describes his fears and insecurities about his disability on his first day in first grade.
Reading Level: JF

Title: Josh: A Boy with Dyslexia
Author: Caroline Janover
Publisher: Waterfront Books, 98 Brookes Ave., Burlington, VT 05401; 1988
ISBN #: ISBN-0-914525-18-2 hardcover; ISBN-0-914515-10-7 paperback
Disability: Dyslexia
Story Profile: The life and adventures of Josh, who has dyslexia, as he moves to a new town and school.
Reading Level: JF

Title: Learning Disabilities and the Don't Give Up Kid
Author: Jeanne Gehret
Publisher: Verbal Images Press, 19 Fox Hill Drive, Fairport, NY 14450; 1990
ISBN #: ISBN-9625136-0-1
Disability: Dyslexia
Story Profile: A dyslexic boy wants to grow up to be an inventor like Thomas Edison but is constantly frustrated by problems at school. He switches into a small special education class of children with auditory processing difficulties. The teacher gives him more personal attention, using an example from Edison's life to inspire him.
Reading Level: JF

Title: Ludwig van Beethoven: Musical Pioneer
Author: Carol Greene
Publisher: Childrens Pr.
ISBN #: ISBN-0-516-04208-4
Disability: Deafness
Story Profile: The life of Beethoven is chronicled from his despair over his worsening deafness to his deepening commitment to his music.
Reading Level: JF

Title: Margaret's Moves
Author: Bernice Rabe
Publisher: Dutton
ISBN #: ISBN-0-525-44271-5
Disability: Spina Bifida
Story Profile: Margaret is nine years old and has problems with the fact that she is in a wheelchair and blames it for slowing her down.
Reading Level: JF

Title: My Friend Ben
Author: Wanda Gilberts Kachur
Publisher: Peytral Publications, PO Box 1162, Suite 976, Minnetonka, MN 55345; 1997
ISBN #: ISBN-0-9644271-4-1
Disability: Head Injuries
Story Profile: Narrated through the eyes of a classmate, this story tells of Ben, a boy with traumatic brain injury who is included in a general education, third-grade class.
Reading Level: JF

Title: My Name Is Brain Brian
Author: Jeanne Betancourt
Publisher: Scholastic Inc., 730 Broadway, New York, NY 10003; 1993
ISBN #: ISBN-0-590-44921-4
Disability: Dyslexia
Story Profile: Brian, a sixth-grade boy is diagnosed as having dyslexia. His initial trepidation at being singled out for attention and diagnosis is gradually replaced by enthusiasm for learning new ways of learning.
Reading Level: JF

Title: My Sister Annie
Author: Bill Dodds
Publisher: Boyds Mills Press Inc., 910 Church St., Honesdale, PA 18431; 1989
ISBN #: ISBN-1-56397-114-3
Disability: Down Syndrome
Story Profile: Charlie is an 11-year-old boy who attempts to cope with growing up in the shadow of an older sister with Down syndrome.
Reading Level: JF

Title: Rosie: A Visiting Dog's Story
Author: Stephanie Calmenson
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Co., 215 Park Ave. South, New York, NY 10003; 1994
ISBN #: ISBN-0-395-654477-7
Disability: Disabilities
Story Profile: Rosie, a Tibetan terrier who is trained to work as a visiting dog, provides therapeutic comfort and entertainment to children and adults who are hospitalized or in nursing homes.
Reading Level: JF

Title: Sara's Secret
Author: Suzanne Wanous
Publisher: Carolrhoda Books; 1995
ISBN #: ISBN-0-87614-856-9
Disability: Cerebral Palsy
Story Profile: Justin is five with cerebral palsy and mental retardation. He "can't walk or talk or feed himself, or even sit up," but still, he makes his sister Sara happy. Sara is not happy, however, when her teacher plans a unit on disabilities. Sara doesn't want her friends to know about her brother.
Reading Level: JF

Title: The Best Fight
Author: Anne Schlieper
Publisher: Albert Whitman & Company, 6340 Oakton Street, Morton Grove, IL 60053-2723; 1995
ISBN #: ISBN-0-8075-0662-1
Disability: Reading Difficulties
Story Profile: Jamie is an adolescent boy who has learning disabilities that impair his reading. Frustration at his low reading ability combines with alienation due to his placement in special classes. His mixed emotions toward his teachers, friends, and family are explored.
Reading Level: JF

Title: The Flying Fingers Club
Author: Jean F. Andrews
Publisher: Kendall Green
ISBN #: ISBN-0-930323-44-0
Disability: Deafness
Story Profile: Donald is a third grader who is bitter about repeating that grade when he meets Matt, who comes to class with an interpreter because he is deaf; they become fast friends.
Reading Level: JF

Title: The Summer Kid
Author: Myrna Neuringer Levy
Publisher: Second Story Press, 760 Bathurst Street, Toronto, Canada M5S 2R6; 1991
ISBN #: ISBN-0-929005-20-1
Disability: Language Impairments
Story Profile: Karen, a ten-year-old girl who stays at a summer cottage with her grandmother encounters Tommy, a nine-year-old boy with a severe language disorder.
Reading Level: JF

Title: Trouble with School: A Family Story About Learning Disabilities
Author: Kathryn Boesel Dunn and Allison Boesel Dunn
Publisher: Woodbine House, 5615 Fishers Lane, Rockville, MD 20852
ISBN #: ISBN-0-933149-57-3
Disability: Learning Disabilities
Story Profile: A family's real-life experiences with learning disabilities follows Allison and her mother as each tells her side of the story of diagnosing and adjusting to Allison's special learning needs.
Reading Level: JF

Title: Wrongway Applebaum
Author: Marjorie Lewis
Publisher: Coward
ISBN #: ISBN-0-698-20610-X
Disability: Learning Disabilities
Story Profile: Stanley is in fifth grade when his awkwardness and inability to tell left from right conflict with his family's interest in baseball.
Reading Level: JF

Title: Zipper, the Kid with ADHD
Author: Caroline Janover
Publisher: Woodbine House, Inc., 6510 Bells Mill Road, Bethesda, MD 20817; 1997
ISBN #: ISBN-0-933149-95-6
Disability: Attention Deficit Disorder
Story Profile: Zachary (nicknamed Zipper), a fifth grader who has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has trouble concentrating and controlling himself until a retired jazz musician recognizes his talent, believes in him, and gives him the motivation to start trying to do better.
Reading Level: JF