CCBC booklist are compiled from books we have recommended in various editions of CCBC Choices. Most of these booklists are updated annually. You can also select books from one or more booklists to create a custom list, which can also include additional books from the CCBC-Recommended Book Search.
To print a CCBC booklist, click on a list below and then use your browser’s “Print” command.
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
The Degenerates
by Mann, J. Albert
Atheneum/Simon & Schuster, 2020. 258 pages. Ages 11-14
All the Way to the Top: How One Girl's Fight for Americans with Disabilities Changed Everything
by Pimentel, Annette Bay
Illustrated by Nabi H. Ali.
Sourcebooks/Sourcebooks eXplore, 2020. 32 pages. Ages 6-9
Tenacious: Fifteen Adventures Alongside Disabled Athletes
by Prevo, Patty Cisneros
Illustrated by Dion MBD.
Lee & Low, 2023. 40 pages. Ages 7-10
Navigating the World
Thunder and the Noise Storms
by Ansloos, Jeffrey and Shezza Ansloos
Illustrated by Joshua Mangeshig Pawis-Steckley.
Annick, 2021. 36 pages. Ages 4-8
You're SO Amazing! Being Singled Out Doesn't Always Feel Amazing
by Catchpole, James and Lucy Catchpole
Illustrated by Karen George.
Little, Brown, 2024. 36 pages. Ages 4-8
More Than Words: So Many Ways to Say What We Mean
by MacLean, Roz
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
What Stars Are Made Of
by Allen, Sarah
Farrar Straus Giroux/Macmillan, 2020. 276 pages. Ages 9-12
Where You See Yourself
by Forrest, Claire
Scholastic/Scholastic Press, 2023. 306 pages. Age 12 and older
Sal & Gabi Break the Universe
by Hernandez, Carlos
Disney/Hyperion/Rick Riordan Presents, 2019. 382 pages. Ages 10-13
Stuntboy, in the Meantime
by Reynolds, Jason
Illustrated by Raul the Third.
Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy Books, 2021. 257 pages. Ages 7-10
Breathe and Count Back from Ten
by Sylvester, Natalia
Clarion/HarperCollins, 2022. 346 pages. Age 13 and older
Stars in Their Eyes
by Walton, Jessica
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 access to CCBC-recommended titles based on subject headings created by our staff.
Please send questions or comments about CCBC booklists to ccbcinfo@education.wisc.edu.