PrAACtically Reading: Books Featuring Children & Youth with Disabilities

Here in the US, a new school year is starting, and while it will look very different from the previous years, we always get excited for the opportunity to consider new educational materials. In today’s post, we’ve listed books that include characters with disabilities for those who may want to include those in their educational programs.

The books in these lists vary in terms of their subject, target audience, and reading level. As with any book that you consider providing to children and youth, be sure to review it first to determine its appropriateness for the individual reader. Some of the books, particularly those for teens, have scenes that are intense and may contain mature content, and/or strong language.

Note: If you have others that you would recommend, please reach out to us and we will update the list.

Books Featuring Children & Youth with Disabilities

AAC

• Dancing Daisies (2013) by Sara Pyszka
• How Katie Got a Voice (And A Cool New Nickname) (2012) by Pat Mervine
• Inside My Outside: An Independent Mind in a Dependent Body (2020) by Sara Pyszka
• Lucas the Lion Loves the Tiny Talker (2018) by Ryan Rollen and Brittani Rollen
• Private Eye Romeo Riley Series (2012) by April M. Whitt
• On Being Sarah by Elizabeth Helfman
• Out of My Mind (2010) by Sharon M. Draper
• Sara’s Surprise (1992) by Nan Holcomb
• So Don’t and See What Happens (2012) by Sara Leal
• Something to Say about My Communication Device (2017) by Eden Molineux
• Sour Puss (2013) by Sara Leal
• Resonating the Sound (2011) by Linda Mitchell Maddox
• Rules (2007) by Cynthia Lord
• The Boy Who Saw Too Much (2012) by April Whitt
• The Case of the Crooked Campaign (2012)
• The Cottage Tooth Fairy (2013) Sara Leal

Autism

• A Boy Called Bat (2017) by Elana Arnold & Charles Santoso
• A Manual for Marco: Living, Learning, and Laughing with an Autistic Sibling (2015) by Iman Tejpar & Shaila Abdullah
• A Whole New Ball Game: A Rip and Red Book (2015) by Phil Bildner & Tim Probert
• Al Capone Does My Homework (2014); Al Capone Does My Shirts (2005); Al Capone Shines My Shoes (2011); Al Capone Throws Me a Curve (2018) by Gennifer Choldenko
• All My Stripes: A Story for Children with Autism (2015) by Shaina Rudolph & Danielle Royer& Jennifer Zivoin
• Anything but Typical (2010) by Nora Raleigh Baskin
• Apples for Cheyenne: A Story about Autism, Horses, and Friendship (2010) by Elizabeth King Gerlach & Kim Miller
• Armond Goes to a Party: A Book About Asperger’s and Friendship (2014) by Nancy Carlson & Armond Isaak
• Blue Ribbon Trail Ride (2016) by David Cook & Miralee Ferrell
• Crow Boy (1955) by Taro Yashima
• Emma-Jean Lazarus Fell Out of a Tree (2007) by Lauren Tarshis
• Every Turtle Counts (2014) by Sara Hoagland Hunter& Susan Spellman
• Everyday Hero (2016) by Kathleen Cherry
• Here’s How I See It: Here’s How It Is (2009) by Heather Henson
• How to Build a Hug: Temple Grandin and Her Amazing Squeeze Machine (2018) by Amy Guglielmo, Jacqueline Tourville, & Giselle Potter
• How to Say I Love You Out Loud (2015) by Karole Cozzo
• Ian’s Walk (1998) by Laurie Lears & Karen Ritz
• Jasper and the Magpie: Enjoying Special Interests Together (2015) by Dan Mayfield& Alex Merry
• Just My Luck (2016) by Cammie McGovern
• Kids Like Us (2017) by Hilary Reyl
• Leah’s Voice (2014) by Lori DeMonia & Monique Turchan
• Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend (2012) by Matthew Dicks
• My Brother Charlie (2010) by Holly Robinson Peete, Ryan Elizabeth Peete, & Shane Evans
• My Brother Sammy (1999) by Becky Edwards & David Armitage
• My Friend Has Autism (2010) by Amanda Doering Tourville & Kristin Sorra
• Nathan Blows Out the Hanukkah Candles (2011) by Tami Lehman-Wilzig, Nicole Katzman, & Jeremy Tugeau
• Navigating Early (2013) by Clare Vanderpool
• Rain Reign (2014) by Ann Martin
• Remember Dippy (2013) by Shirley Reva Vernick
• Rookie of the Year (2016) by Phil Bildner& Tim Probert
• Sarah’s Socks: My World of Autism (2010) by Litsa Kamateros & Nia Morfonios
• Secrets of the Book (2014) by Erin Fry
• Silent Days, Silent Dreams (2017) by Allen Say
• Since We’re Friends: An Autism Picture Book (2012) by Celeste Shally & David Harrington
• Slider (2017) by Pete Hautman
• Somebody Please Tell Me Who I Am (2012) by Harry Mazur & Peter Lerangis
• Sometimes Noise is Big: Life with Autism (2017) by Angela Coelho & Camille Robertson
• Summerlost (2016) by Ally Condie
• Superstar (2017) by Mandy Davis
• The Alien Logs of Super Jewels (2015) by B. Bradshaw & Travis Hanson
• The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (2003) by Mark Haddon
• The Emperor, C’est Moi (2015) by Hugo Horiot, translated by Linda Coverdale
• The Girl Who Thought in Pictures (2017) by Julia Finley Mosca & Daniel Rieley
• The London Eye Mystery (2010) by Siobhan Dowd
• The Someday Birds (2017) by Sally J. Pla & Julie McLaughlin
• The Two Trees (2015) by Sally Meadows & Trudi Olfert
• The World From Up Here (2016) by Cecilia Galante
• Tillmon County Fire (2009) by Pamela Ehrenberg
• Tomas Loves: A Rhyming Book about Fun, Friendship and Autism (2015) by Jude Welton & Jane Telford
• Trainman: Gaining Acceptance…and Friends…Through Special Interests (2010) by Stefan & Barbara Kavan & Michaelin Otis
• Understanding Sam and Asperger Syndrome (2008) by Clarabelle van Niekerk, Liezl Venter, & Clarabelle van Niekerk
• Waiting for Benjamin (2008) by Alexandra Altman& Susan Keeter
• Waiting for No One (2012) by Beverley Brenna
• We’re Amazing, 1, 2, 3! (2015) by Leslie Kimmelman & Marybeth Nelson
• West Meadows Detectives: The Case of Maker Mischief (2016) by Liam O’Donnell & Aurelie Grand

Deafblindness

• A Dog Called Homeless (2012) by Sarah Lean
• Helen’s Big World: The Life of Helen Keller (2012) by Doreen Rappaport & Matt Tavares
• I Am Helen Keller (2015) by Brad Meltzer & Christopher Eliopoulos
• Me and Mr. Bell (2013) by Phillip Roy
• Miss Spitfire: Reaching Helen Keller (2007) by Sarah Miller
• She Touched the World: Laura Bridgwater, Deaf-Blind Pioneer (2008) by Sally Hobart & Robert Alexander
• The Awesome Miss Seeds: Her Courage Overcame Disabilities; Her Determination Changed Schools and Teaching (2016) by Dolores Escobar, Sandra R. Radoff, & Stephen Adams

Intellectual Disabilities

• A Small White Scar (2006) by K. A. Nuzum
• A Step Toward Falling (2015) by Cammie McGovern
• A Time to Run: Stuart and Sam (2018) by Lorna Schultz Nicholson
• Be Good To Eddie Lee (1993) by Virginia Fleming & Floyd Cooper
• Because of Winn-Dixie (2001) by Kate DiCamillo
• Best Kept Secret (2014) by Ann M. Martin
• Crazy Lady! (1994) by Jane Leslie Conly
• Dear America, Down the Rabbit Hole (The Diary of Pringle Rose) (2013) by Susan Campbell Bartoletti
• Dear Blue Sky (2012) by Mary Sullivan
• Desperate Measures (2011) by Laura Summers
• Encore Edie (2011) by Annabel Lyon
• Fort (2015) by Cynthia DeFelice
• Gap Life (2016) by John Coy
• Half a World Away (2014) by Cynthia Kadohata
• Keeping Up with Roo (2004) by Sharlee Glenn & Dan Andreasen
• Me and Rupert Goody (1999) by Barbara O’Connor
• Mosquitoland (2016) by David Arnold
• My Louisiana Sky (1998) by Kimberly Willis Holt
• My Sister, Alicia May (2009) by Nancy Tupper Ling & Shennen Bersani
• Pablo Pineda: Being Different is a Value (2016) by Albert Bosch, Maria Sala, & Silvia Alvarez
• Perfect Game (2013) by Fred Bowen
• Prince Noah and the School Pirates (2016) by Silke Schnee & Heike Sistig
• Rain Shadow (2014) by Valerie Sherrard
• So B. It (2004) by Sarah Weeks
• The Ables (2015) by Jeremy Scott
• The Bus People (1989) by Rachel Anderson
• The Last Best Days of Summer (2010) by Valerie Hobbs
• The Prince Who Was Just Himself (2015) by Silke Schnee & Heike Sistig
• This is Ella (2017) by Krista Ewert & Celia Marie Baker
• Tru Confession (1997) by Janet Tashijan
• Welcome Home, Jellybean (1988) by Marlene Fanta Shyer
• When I’m Asleep, I Can Fly (2017) by Jill Ostrowski & Amy Butterfield
• Why Are You Looking at Me? I Just Have Down Syndrome (2013) by Lisa Tompkins & Ryan Eubanks