Reading about disability for Children's Book Week

Ross_Scope

It is Children's Book Week, a chance for primary school children to indulge in the delight of reading for pleasure, which can be both educational and entertaining.
First held in 1919, the annual celebration has become a staple in the lives of several generations, I'm sure we all remember that time of year at school where we would receive a free book or be encouraged even more than usual to visit the library.

Educating children about disability through literature

Why is it important to educate children about disability?
 We often say how important it is for disability awareness to be raised amongst the adult population, but arguably it is even more vital that children are educated about the subject. Doing so will:

• teach them about different kinds of disabilities
• start to make them aware of the challenges a disabled person may face
• normalise the subject within society to make things better for future generations

And during Children's Book Week, what better way to do this than through the joy of literature. There are many books about disability that are written for children, some of which are below.

My Friend Isabelle

A story of two friends, Charlie and Isabelle who has Down syndrome. Charlie tells about the things they both like to do together, and also how he and Isabelle are different.
Lively illustrations work beautifully with the text to bring the story to life. The book encourages readers to think about what makes  friendships special and how our differences can make the world more interesting.

Susan Laughs

This book has been used in classrooms as a way of teaching children about diversity and inclusion. Susan Laughs is a short story told in rhyming couplets, it describes a range of common emotions and activities experienced by a little girl, Susan. It is not until the end of the story that the reader discovers that Susan is a wheelchair user. Throughout, Susan is never unassisted but the reader does not realise any of this until it is bought to their attention in the final illustration.
The story delivers a powerful message and provides a positive image of disabled children. It focuses on Susan's abilities rather than on the things she may struggle with and shows that she is like all children.

Thank You, Mr Falker

This book tells the story of a young child called Trisha who can’t wait to learn how to read! She loves listening to her mother and brother read stories to her and is so excited for when she will be able to share the stories as well.
As she grows older and enters each new grade, the words and numbers never seem to make any sense to her. It isn’t until the 5th grade, when young Trisha meets Mr. Falker, that she is given the extra help and understanding she needs.
The story is based on the author’s experiences with dyslexia, who's life was changed for the better by the caring and understanding of Mr Falker, which shows the impact a teacher can have on a child's life.

Quick fire stories from Scope

Scope has published story books featuring disabled children, they're no longer available in physical formats but you can download PDF versions by visiting this page.
The stories include:

• Celine’s New Splints - A story about Celine, who wears leg splints
• Fun in the Sun - Peg Ted and Mikki Dolly show how tube feeding does not stop children having fun
• Jacob’s Traffic Jam - Explains cerebral palsy to young children
• My Brother is an Astronaut - Lucy's younger brother Jake has sensory needs and sees the world differently

Do you have any other suggestions for children's books about disability? How important is it that children read books that will develop their understanding of the subject?

 

Chloe_Scope

Great post @Ross_Scope! 

Ross_Scope

Thank you @Chloe_Scope  

chiarieds

We have had some authors long ago having characters that had a disability; think of Tiny Tim in 'A Christmas Carol' by Charles Dickens, & Quasimodo in Victor Hugo's 'The Hunchback of Notre Dame;' both characters who either have/gain the reader's sympathy. Lenny in 'Of Mice and Men' by John Steinbeck (a novel I personally disliked). Then even more modern day writers such as Mark Haddon who wrote 'The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night time,' & John Green's 'The Fault In Our Stars,' tho perhaps these latter 3 for older children.

If we look at non-fiction, there's the inspirational autobiography of Helen Keller, a short book by Jean-Dominique Bauby called 'The Diving-Bell and the Butterfly,' & neurologist Oliver Sacks' books, again possibly for older readers, to name but a few that I've read.

I think on the one-hand, anything that promotes understanding about disability is good, & on the other think that, especially young children, don't see any difference, & just accept another child for who they are. It's probably good to raise awareness, but we're all the same, disabled or not.

Just to add, all the links given seem to be for a younger age group; a wider reading as children get older may also be helpful.

Ross_Scope

Hi @chiarieds, those are all great examples, thanks for sharing them  

I have the biography of Helen Kellar saved on my phone with the intention of reading it some day, have you read that book? 

Thanks for the feedback, I think raising awareness is always a good thing, regardless of age, but I don't think it's necessarily always about teaching children about disability, but even just exposing them to literature with disabled characters in, which is something that personally never happened to me in school.

Having things that cover that wider age range as children get older is important, so possibly it's something we could talk about in the future  

chiarieds

I've read all of the above books except Victor Hugo's. Helen Keller's story I must have read as a child as I thought about it shortly after I qualified & worked with Mark, a little boy who'd been battered by his father as a baby. This left him completely blind, & with just a little hearing in one ear. He used to sit all day in a chair, at times banging his head repeatedly against the wall behind him. He got upset if touched; the nurses couldn't cuddle him as he scratched, & the only time he seemed happy was when he was spoon fed.

My initial 'treatment' was to pick him up & cuddle him in; I went home with the back of my neck badly scratched on many occasions. But just holding him whilst talking gently on his 'good' side paid off, & then I was able to work properly with him, & eventually got him walking with a rollator, after an orthopaedic surgeon agreed it was worthwhile to lengthen his achilles tendons so he could put his heels down.

I got a speech therapist involved, who said she would be able to help him feed himself, which with minimal help he became able to do. One of the best sights I saw walking onto the ward one day, was to see him sat on a nurses knee as she was singing nursery rhymes to him. He had stopped head-banging, & I'll never forget the radiance of his smiles.

Ross_Scope

I can't imagine how witnessing that transition in his actions must have made you feel @chiarieds, to make that difference to a child's life must make it all worth it. Especially when they've been through such appalling experiences.

AlexW_Scope

Another book that people might like is a wonderful new picture book from Jonathan Roberts

See What I Can Do!

It tells the stories of a number of children with a variety of differences inspired by the real-life experiences of his daughter, Kya who is on the autistic spectrum, and some of her friends.

A variety of conditions, including autism, dyslexia, dyspraxia, dyscalculia, ADHD, Down's Syndrome, cystic fibrosis, muscular dystrophy, cerebral palsy, spina bifida, epilepsy and asthma are introduced for young readers, discussing how the challenges of each affect children both in a school setting and outside and how they engage in activities they love.

80% of royalties from the sale of this book will go towards the work of Scope and Sarah’s Trust.

66Mustang

chiarieds said:

Lenny in 'Of Mice and Men' by John Steinbeck (a novel I personally disliked)

Just wondering but why did you dislike the novel? I had to study it in depth for my English literature and am interested in what you thought the flaws were.

It wasn't a happy story at all and it had some language in it that was "appropriate for the times" but I thought it was a good story and quite "powerful".

chiarieds

My son studied it for his English literature too, &, in trying to help him, I read 'Of Mice and Men' three times. It just didn't resonate with me, & made me feel uncomfortable; I'm not saying it was flawed. Bearing in mind that we had a secondhand bookshop, & I read avidly, going through up to 150 books a year, I feel I've read better prose, & I've read widely from 'classics' such as Charles Dickens, to modern day novels. 'Ivanhoe' by Walter Scott was the first 'classic' I remember reading when I was about 11, & which I've re-read as an adult with much more understanding. Give me the descriptive prose of Mikhail Sholokhov or Mervyn Peake (the Gormenghast books) any day. The writing seemed to me sparse, & somewhat lacklustre; just not for me, sorry.

WestHam06

Reading books is such a powerful way to ensure that there is more understanding around disability. Much of the problem, in my opinion, is that there is not enough acknowledgement around disability in all areas of society and the focus is always around what a disabled person can't do rather than focussing on what they can do. I agree with @Ross_Scope when I was at school I don't recall any books which had characters who represented me until I was given a book called 'Show Me'. Please forgive me as I  can't recall the author's name but to see a character that I could relate too was helpful, both for me and my peers. There are other ways to educate people and one of the greatest ways is real-lived experience for example it would be great to see more disabled teachers. At the end of the day, we are all individually unique and we must continue to ensure that the rights of disabled people are met and that there is greater awareness. Thank you for sharing @Ross_Scope. Thanks

HanzRolo

I think it's worth discussing books that are accessible as well.  I personally find reading a physical book with an audiobook helps me to take in more of the information.  Audiobooks are becoming more popular, but perhaps not so much as a format to support children who do have difficulties reading.  I know dyslexia is discussed with reading books with your eyes, but I believe you can have braille dyslexia too since it's to do with processing rather than visual.  Maybe we need to be discussing how we can combine reading experiences in a multisensory way so that everyone can enjoy these books 

66Mustang

chiarieds said:

My son studied it for his English literature too, &, in trying to help him, I read 'Of Mice and Men' three times. It just didn't resonate with me, & made me feel uncomfortable; I'm not saying it was flawed. Bearing in mind that we had a secondhand bookshop, & I read avidly, going through up to 150 books a year, I feel I've read better prose, & I've read widely from 'classics' such as Charles Dickens, to modern day novels. 'Ivanhoe' by Walter Scott was the first 'classic' I remember reading when I was about 11, & which I've re-read as an adult with much more understanding. Give me the descriptive prose of Mikhail Sholokhov or Mervyn Peake (the Gormenghast books) any day. The writing seemed to me sparse, & somewhat lacklustre; just not for me, sorry.

I guess if you have experienced lots of books you are able to say that.

I like it but as someone who has probably read only about 150 (adult) books in their life.

I suppose it’s like someone who has never eaten Michelin star food or listened to proper classical music - they may say a pub dinner or a piece of pop music is great quality but have nothing “better” to compare it to!

I will take your word for it and try to seek out better books!

Lisatho11987777

I also loved thst book @66Mustang it was very powerful of mice and men 

Tori_Scope

Great points @HanzRolo  

Naz18

Thankyou for such an interesting read.  I agree, books are powerful. There are a lot of books now written for children specifically with disabilities in mind. I find the books talking about Invisible disabilities really helps too. School environments that have School Values of Kindness and treating everyone with Respect and already have children with disabilities in Mainstream schools find these books really useful. I particularly like Noah the Narwhal for younger age groups.