My Favorite Chapter Books About Disabilities
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A few weeks ago, I shared my favorite picture books that feature children with disabilities. These picture books are ideal for young children and lower elementary school students. They are a perfect way to introduce disabilities into your home and foster further conversation. If your child is a little bit older and reading chapter books, today’s list is for you! Each of these chapter books features a character with a disability and they are another wonderful tool you can use to help instill disability awareness in your children.
This book is perfect for children who are not yet ready for a chapter book, but can easily read picture books. It is written and illustrated in comic style, which makes it fun to read! El Deafo is about Cece, the author, reflecting on when she was a kid and ended up at a new school. As if it isn’t hard enough to be the new girl, imagine being the new girl with a hearing aid! This book is empowering and focus on real life situations, while highlighting Cece’s superpower - her hearing loss!
You’ve probably heard about the movie, but did you know it was based on this book? If you haven’t seen the movie, Wonder is about a boy named Auggie, who was born with a facial difference. Auggie wants to be treated as an ordinary kid, but his peers can’t get past his extraordinary face. This book beautifully shows compassion and empathy in a way your pre-teens can understand.
This book is perfect for siblings of children with disabilities! In this book, Catrina and her family have to move because Catrina’s little sister, Maya, has cystic fibrosis. Initially, Catrina resents Maya, but as she is exposed more and more to the difficulties Maya faces on a daily basis, she becomes supportive and protective in a way only sisters can!
Everything, Everything - Nicola Yoon
This is another NY Times Bestseller that turned into a movie! Everything, Everything is about Maddy, a 17 year old with a rare immunodeficiency disease that has kept her from EVER leaving her house. That is, until she sees Olly, her handsome new neighbor. Maddy takes a deadly risk to protect Olly, even planning a trip to Maui. *WARNING - for a mature audience*
Out of My Mind - Sharon Draper
This book is absolutely fascinating. It’s about Melody, an eleven year old with cerebral palsy. Melody cannot walk or write or talk, but she has a photographic memory and she is absolutely brilliant. The only problem: nobody knows it. Melody is determined not to be defined by her disability and in this novel, she proves it.
Fish in a Tree - Lynda Mullaly Hunt
“Everybody is smart in different ways. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its life believing it is stupid.” This quote serves as the foundation for Fish in a Tree. Ally is incredibly smart, but she is dyslexic, and she always tries to hide it. One day, her teacher finds out that she struggles to read, but he embraces her “disability” and builds her confidence in the unique way only teachers can.
I hope your children get the chance to read these amazing books, or, better yet, you get the chance to read them with your children! Literature is one of the best ways we can foster conversations about disabilities with our children and students and this list is a great place to start!
