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Lived Disability Experiences: Books for Children and Teens
This bibliography encompasses different kinds of lived disability experiences: Type 1 Diabetes, Cerebral Palsy, anxiety, noise sensitivity, hip dysplasia, and many others. While many books about disabled people focus on the disability, these books show disabled individuals as dynamic people living their lives as just themselves. Included in this bibliography are books for a wide range of ages, as well as both disabled and non-disabled authors. These books are for everyone and may be especially meaningful for those who share an identity with any of the characters. Intersectional identities are also a focus of this bibliography in an effort to reflect the fact that disabled people exist in all different kinds of bodies and alongside other identities. Whether the story is about manipulating time and space or playing at recess, these books portray disabled children and teens who embrace (or are learning to embrace) their disability identity.
This booklist was developed by Caitlin Tobin to complement the 2024-2025 Go Big Read selection, Sitting Pretty: The View from My Ordinary Resilient Disabled Body.
Real People, Real History
Mann, J. Albert The Degenerates. Atheneum/Simon & Schuster, 2020. 258 pages. Ages 11-14
Pimentel, Annette Bay All the Way to the Top: How One Girl's Fight for Americans with Disabilities Changed Everything. Illustrated by Nabi H. Ali. Sourcebooks/Sourcebooks eXplore, 2020. 32 pages. Ages 6-9
Prevo, Patty Cisneros Tenacious: Fifteen Adventures Alongside Disabled Athletes. Illustrated by Dion MBD. Lee & Low, 2023. 40 pages. Ages 7-10
Navigating the World
Ansloos, Jeffrey and Shezza Ansloos Thunder and the Noise Storms. Illustrated by Joshua Mangeshig Pawis-Steckley. Annick, 2021. 36 pages. Ages 4-8
Catchpole, James and Lucy Catchpole You're So Amazing!. Illustrated by Karen George. Little, Brown, 2024. 36 pages. 4-7
MacLean, Roz More Than Words: So Many Ways to Say What We Mean. Illustrated by Roz MacLean. Henry Holt/Macmillan, 2023. 40 pages. Ages 4-7
On-the-Go (We Are Little Feminists). Little Feminist, 2020. Ages 1-4
Adventures and Challenges
Allen, Sarah What Stars Are Made Of. Farrar Straus Giroux/Macmillan, 2020. 276 pages. Ages 9-12
Forrest, Claire Where You See Yourself. Scholastic/Scholastic Press, 2023. 306 pages. Age 12 and older
Hernandez, Carlos Sal & Gabi Break the Universe. Disney/Hyperion/Rick Riordan Presents, 2019. 382 pages. Ages 10-13
Reynolds, Jason Stuntboy, in the Meantime. Illustrated by Raul the Third. Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy Books, 2021. 257 pages. Ages 7-10
Sylvester, Natalia Breathe and Count Back from Ten. Clarion/HarperCollins, 2022. 346 pages. Age 13 and older
Walton, Jessica Stars in Their Eyes. Illustrated by Aska. Graphix/Scholastic, 2023. 209 pages. Age 11 and older
Can’t find what you’re looking for? Our Recommended Book Search includes subject access to CCBC-recommended titles based on subject headings created by our staff.