"At once beautiful and heartbreaking, Aaron Philip found a way to make me laugh even as I choked up, found a way to bring on my empathy without ever allowing me to feel sorry for him. An eye-opening debut." —Jacqueline Woodson, National Book Award winner and Newbery Honor author of Brown Girl Dreaming In this heartbreaking and ultimately uplifting memoir, Aaron Philip, a fourteen-year-old boy with cerebral palsy, shows how he isn't defined so much by his disability as he is by his abilities. Written with award-winning author Tonya Bolden, This Kid Can Fly chronicles Aaron's extraordinary journey from happy baby in Antigua to confident teen artist in New York City. His honest, often funny stories of triumph—despite physical difficulties, poverty, and other challenges—are as inspiring as they are eye-opening. Includes photos and original illustrations from Aaron's personal collection.
This "intense reading experience"* is a Printz Honor Book. Shawn McDaniel's life is not what it may seem to anyone looking at him. He is glued to his wheelchair, unable to voluntarily move a muscle—he can't even move his eyes. For all Shawn's father knows, his son may be suffering. Shawn may want a release. And as long as he is unable to communicate his true feelings to his father, Shawn's life is in danger. To the world, Shawn's senses seem dead. Within these pages, however, we meet a side of him that no one else has seen—a spirit that is rich beyond imagining, breathing life. *Booklist starred review
The author of Impact uses this compilation of inspiring stories of disabled people to convey ten important life lessons to help anyone. This book reveals that people with disabilities are the invisible force that has shaped history. They have been instrumental in the growth of freedom and birth of democracy. They have produced heavenly music and exquisite works of art. They have unveiled the scientific secrets of the universe. They are among our most popular comedians, poets, and storytellers. And at 1.2 billion, they are also the largest minority group in the world. Al Etmanski offers ten lessons we can all learn from people with disabilities, illustrated with short, funny, inspiring, and thought-provoking stories of one hundred individuals from twenty countries. Some are familiar, like Michael J. Fox, Greta Thunberg, Stephen Hawking, Helen Keller, Stevie Wonder, and Temple Grandin. Others deserve to be, like Evelyn Glennie, a virtuoso percussionist who is deaf—her mission is to teach the world to listen to improve communication and social cohesion. Or Aaron Philip, who has revolutionized the runway as the first disabled, trans woman of color to become a professional model. The time has come to recognize people with disabilities for who they really are: authoritative sources on creativity, love, sexuality, resistance, dealing with adversity, and living a good life. “This book reminds us of what we have in common: the power to create a good life for ourselves and for others, no matter what the world has in store for us.” —Michael J. Fox “Hopefully the universal lessons in this book will not only empower all of us to trampoline to our highest potential but also move the global disability rights movement to achieve the success it fully deserves—so we can all live in a more just and equitable world.” —Susan Sygall, disability activist and MacArthur fellow “Etmanski engages every reader, whether new to the world of disability or an old hand, with thoughtful insights on the value of difference. This book made me laugh, made me cry, made me proud.” —Yazmine Laroche, former chair, Muscular Dystrophy Canada
You just can't keep a good girl down . . . unless you use the proper methods. Piper McCloud can fly. Just like that. Easy as pie. Sure, she hasn't mastered reverse propulsion and her turns are kind of sloppy, but she's real good at loop-the-loops. Problem is, the good folk of Lowland County are afraid of Piper. And her ma's at her wit's end. So it seems only fitting that she leave her parents' farm to attend a top-secret, maximum-security school for kids with exceptional abilities. School is great at first with a bunch of new friends whose skills range from super-strength to super-genius. (Plus all the homemade apple pie she can eat!) But Piper is special, even among the special. And there are consequences. Consequences too dire to talk about. Too crazy to consider. And too dangerous to ignore. At turns exhilarating and terrifying, Victoria Forester's debut novel has been praised by Stephenie Meyer, author of the Twilight saga, as "the oddest/sweetest mix of Little House on the Prairie and X-Men...Prepare to have your heart warmed." The Girl Who Could Fly is an unforgettable story of defiance and courage about an irrepressible heroine who can, who will, who must . . . fly. This title has Common Core connections. Praise for Victoria Forester and The Girl Who Could Fly: "It's the oddest/sweetest mix of Little House on the Prairie and X-Men. I was smiling the whole time (except for the part where I cried). I gave it to my mom, and I'm reading it to my kids—it's absolutely multigenerational. Prepare to have your heart warmed." Stephenie Meyer, author of the Twilight saga "In this terrific debut novel, readers meet Piper McCloud, the late-in-life daughter of farmers...The story soars, just like Piper, with enough loop-de-loops to keep kids uncertain about what will come next....Best of all are the book's strong, lightly wrapped messages about friendship and authenticity and the difference between doing well and doing good."--Booklist, Starred Review "Forester's disparate settings (down-home farm and futuristic ice-bunker institute) are unified by the rock-solid point of view and unpretentious diction... any child who has felt different will take strength from Piper's fight to be herself against the tide of family, church, and society."--The Horn Book Review The Girl Who Could Fly is a 2009 Bank Street - Best Children's Book of the Year.
The U.S. Census Bureau reported in 2012 that one in every five Americans, almost 20 percent of the population, lives with a disability. Some disabilities are severe and recognizable, while others are invisible to those who are unaware. Despite the fact that such a large number of Americans live with a disability, many people are not familiar with ableism, or discrimination against disabled people. This text contains a breakdown of what ableism looks like, how to recognize it, and how to face it. Special features include a Myths and Facts section and 10 Great Questions to Ask a Specialist.
Reaching Reluctant Young Readers features 150 middle-grade books. Each profiled title has the potential to hook the reluctant reader and lure them to read the entire book. To specifically encourage elementary and middle-school-age reluctant children to read, there is first a pitch to get the reader’s attention. That is followed by a short reading passage to “set the hook” and encourage the young person to read the rest of the book on their own. Further, the book contains several hundred additional recommended titles. The books selected for this collection were chosen following the criteria of reluctant reader books created by the Quick Picks committee sponsored by the Young Adult Library Services Association. While these guidelines were designed for young adult books, they also work well for middle-grade books. The criteria include: clear writing (no convoluted long sentences with sophisticated vocabulary), high interest “hook” in the first few pages, well-defined characters, interesting plot, and familiar themes.
One summer, best friends, Jack and George, decided to go to summer camp together. Little did they know that their parents would send them to a camp built on the idea of having an inclusive environment for all people. Their plans of spending time together take a turn when they are placed in separate groups. On their adventure, however, they encounter new friends with a wide range of different abilities. Through the eyes of the children in the camp with special needs such as spina bifida, Down syndrome, and autism, Jack and George get to see how our differences are not what define us. Rather, the boys learn a valuable lesson. They realize that it's important to know each other’s abilities and not focus on our disabilities. Jack and George learn through their new friends that our differences truly are what make each and every one of us beautifully unique.
Life is supposed to be fun. We knew this instinctively as kids, but somehow forgot on the way to adulthood. We got busy and overwhelmed, started valuing things that don't matter, and learned to follow the rules that don't even exist: hate mondays only celebrate when the calendar gives you permission don't make a mess don't play hooky hide your weirdness hide your wrinkles care what other people think Following these so-called rules is a terrific way to stress you out, sap your energy, and ensure a boring life. But there's a better way. In his enlightening book, author and artist Jason Kotecki uncovers some of the most useless rules so you can shift perspective and start seeing the world with wonder once again. It's time to stop living by someone else's rules. Your life is a story, and a short one at that. Make it a good one.
Fly Guy is hungry. He wants something brown and smelly. Yuck! Fly Guy returns home to discover that Buzz has gone on a picnic without him! Sad and hungry, Fly Guy takes off in search of his favorite food. He gets shooed away from a hamburger, a slice of pizza, a dog's bones, and even roadkill--leaving readers to guess what Fly Guy's favorite oozy, lumpy, smelly, brown food could possibly be. It's Shoo Fly Pie, of course!Using hyperbole, puns, slapstick, and silly drawings, Tedd Arnold delivers an easy reader that is full of fun in his NEW YORK TIMES bestselling Fly Guy series.
