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Neurodiversity & Disability
Born Just Right by Jordan Reeves; Jen Lee Reeves
Follows the life of author Jordan Reeves, a girl who was born without the bottom half of her left arm, tracking her life story growing up and not letting her lack of an arm stop her from doing the activities she wanted to, ranging from CrossFit to dance and using a 3-D printer to make her very own prosthesis.
Can You See Me? by Libby Scott; Rebecca Westcott
Eleven-year-old Tally really wants to fit in at her new school, which means somehow hiding her autism, hypersensitivity to touch, and true self, and trying to act "normal". But Tally begins to wonder--what is "normal" anyway?
Chance to Fly by Ali Stroker
Theater-obsessed teen Nat Beacon pushes aside her fears and her family's overprotective warnings to audition for a community theater youth production of "Wicked" after her family moves from California to New Jersey. In spite of the fact that she uses a wheelchair, she makes it into the production and quickly forms a close-knit group of friends that includes handsome Malik Young, the male lead in the play. But navigating her new environment proves challenging and her worry about growing apart from her best friend Chloe, whom she left behind, leaves her with self-doubt that she'll need to overcome by opening night.
El Deafo by Cece Bell
This graphic novel memoir chronicles the author's humorous and sometimes difficult childhood experiences after she loses most of her hearing ability from an illness and must wear a large hearing aid on her chest.
Get a Grip, Vivy Cohen! by Sarah Kapit
Eleven-year-old pitcher Vivy Cohen is pen pals with her favorite professional baseball player, VJ Capello, and expresses her desire to be a real pitcher. Her mother, however, is worried about Vivy being the only girl on a team and the only one with autism. Then a coach sees the girl's knuckleball and asks her to join his team.
Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book One the Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book One) by Rick Riordan
ick Riordan gives Greek mythology a makeover with his new series starring twelve-year-old Percy (Perseus) Jackson, the Greek version of Harry Potter. Life is tough for Percy, having gone to six schools in six years. To make matters worse, his ADHD allows his self-control to know no boundaries, getting him into trouble repeatedly. After being expelled again, Percy's mortal mother sends him to Camp Half-Blood Hill where he learns that Greek Gods still exist and that there are other half-bloods (the outcome of a relationship betwen a god and a human) like him. When he learns that a lost lightning bolt will spark a war between the gods, Percy and his friends Annabeth and Grover set out to retrieve it from the Underworld (by way of L.A.).
Me and Sam-Sam Handle the Apocalypse by Susan Vaught
Autistic middle-schooler Jesse, witnesses the arrest of her father for allegedly stealing money from the library fund. Convinced of his innocence, Jesse recruits her one and only friend, Springer, to investigate. They begin interviewing suspects, even confronting a trio of bullies, but Jesse begins to think that she’s not cut out for crime fighting since she will sometimes "get stuck on lots of stuff, like words and phrases and numbers and smells and pictures and song lines and what time stuff is supposed to happen." When a tornado hits the town, Jesse finally thinks she can show people what she’s made of, and maybe even help her father at the same time.
Mighty Jack by Ben Hatke
ack is probably the only kid in the world who dreads the arrival of summer. Summertime is when his single mother takes a second job, leaving Jack at home to take care of Maddy, his autistic kid sister. It's a lot of responsibility, but it is also boring, because Maddy never talks. However, this summer is different. While walking through a flea market, Maddy tells Jack to trade their mother's car for a box of mysterious seeds. What a wonderful mistake! What begins as a normal little garden grows up into a magical jungle, with pink pumpkins that bite and little onion babies running free everywhere!
Out of My Mind by Sharon M. Draper
Draper's daughter Wendy has cerebral palsy, and from that experience Draper crafted the story of fifth-grader Melody who cannot speak, walk, or care for herself because of her cerebral palsy. However, Melody's brain is sharp and trapped in a body that will not respond to her mental commands. Melody narrates how frustrating it is to be unable to communicate and what it's like to endure bathroom issues, unattractive clothes and the thoughtlessness of children and adults alike. But despite all of her challenges, it is Melody's spirit and intelligence that readers will remember.
Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus by Dusti Bowling
The one question Aven Green is sure to get from strangers is, “What happened to your arms?” Sometimes she tells people they got bitten off by an alligator, but the reality is she was born without her arms—a fact she has never let stop her from doing anything she sets her mind to. When her parents' new job running a Western theme park forces them to move to Arizona, Aven discovers adventure with Connor, a new classmate who has his own disability, when the two of them find a hidden room in Stagecoach Pass with a mystery inside.
Planet Earth Is Blue by Nicole Panteleakos
Autistic and nearly nonverbal, twelve-year-old Nova is happy in her new foster home and school, but eagerly anticipates the 1986 Challenger launch, for which her sister, Bridget, promised to return.
Show Me a Sign by Ann Clare LeZotte
Mary Lambert has felt safe and accepted on her beloved island of Martha's Vineyard, comforted by the fact that her great-great-grandfather was the first deaf islander and paved the way for many to learn sign language. However, when Mary's brother dies and her family shatters amidst land disputes with the English settlers and Wampanoag people, it paves the way for an opportunistic young scientist to come and study the island's prevalent deafness.
Tornado Brain by Cat Patrick
Thirteen-year-old Frankie is neurodivergent: she can't stand to be touched, loud noises bother her, she's easily distracted, and hates changes to her routine. It also means that she doesn't have a lot of friends. When Colette, her one friend, vanishes, Frankie is convinced that she left behind clues that only Frankie can decipher.
The War That Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
Mam, ashamed of her daughter Ada's club foot, has kept Ada a prisoner in their apartment for nine years. Ada's brother, Jamie, brings Ada stories of the outside world that make her long for escape all the more. World War II arrives and the Germans begin bombing London, prompting the evacuation of all of London's children. Ada's cruel mother intends to keep her from going, but Ada escapes with the help of Jamie and ends up in the care of Miss Susan. Although Miss Susan claims she is not a nice person, her growing affection for the children is evident. However, the love between Miss Susan and the siblings may not be strong enough to carry them through the war's end, when Ada may have to return to her abusive mother.
What Stars Are Made Of by Sarah Allen
Libby Monroe, who is twelve years old and has a condition called Turner's Syndrome, enters a STEM competition after she learns her sister's pregnancy has complications that put her in financial straights. Libby hopes that by writing about Cecilia Payne, an astronomer who discovered the composition of stars, she can win the cash prize and save her unborn niece.
Born Just Right by
Follows the life of author Jordan Reeves, a girl who was born without the bottom half of her left arm, tracking her life story growing up and not letting her lack of an arm stop her from doing the activities she wanted to, ranging from CrossFit to dance and using a 3-D printer to make her very own prosthesis.
Can You See Me? by
Eleven-year-old Tally really wants to fit in at her new school, which means somehow hiding her autism, hypersensitivity to touch, and true self, and trying to act "normal". But Tally begins to wonder--what is "normal" anyway?
Chance to Fly by
Theater-obsessed teen Nat Beacon pushes aside her fears and her family's overprotective warnings to audition for a community theater youth production of "Wicked" after her family moves from California to New Jersey. In spite of the fact that she uses a wheelchair, she makes it into the production and quickly forms a close-knit group of friends that includes handsome Malik Young, the male lead in the play. But navigating her new environment proves challenging and her worry about growing apart from her best friend Chloe, whom she left behind, leaves her with self-doubt that she'll need to overcome by opening night.
El Deafo by
This graphic novel memoir chronicles the author's humorous and sometimes difficult childhood experiences after she loses most of her hearing ability from an illness and must wear a large hearing aid on her chest.
Get a Grip, Vivy Cohen! by
Eleven-year-old pitcher Vivy Cohen is pen pals with her favorite professional baseball player, VJ Capello, and expresses her desire to be a real pitcher. Her mother, however, is worried about Vivy being the only girl on a team and the only one with autism. Then a coach sees the girl's knuckleball and asks her to join his team.
Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book One the Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book One) by
ick Riordan gives Greek mythology a makeover with his new series starring twelve-year-old Percy (Perseus) Jackson, the Greek version of Harry Potter. Life is tough for Percy, having gone to six schools in six years. To make matters worse, his ADHD allows his self-control to know no boundaries, getting him into trouble repeatedly. After being expelled again, Percy's mortal mother sends him to Camp Half-Blood Hill where he learns that Greek Gods still exist and that there are other half-bloods (the outcome of a relationship betwen a god and a human) like him. When he learns that a lost lightning bolt will spark a war between the gods, Percy and his friends Annabeth and Grover set out to retrieve it from the Underworld (by way of L.A.).
Me and Sam-Sam Handle the Apocalypse by
Autistic middle-schooler Jesse, witnesses the arrest of her father for allegedly stealing money from the library fund. Convinced of his innocence, Jesse recruits her one and only friend, Springer, to investigate. They begin interviewing suspects, even confronting a trio of bullies, but Jesse begins to think that she’s not cut out for crime fighting since she will sometimes "get stuck on lots of stuff, like words and phrases and numbers and smells and pictures and song lines and what time stuff is supposed to happen." When a tornado hits the town, Jesse finally thinks she can show people what she’s made of, and maybe even help her father at the same time.
Mighty Jack by
ack is probably the only kid in the world who dreads the arrival of summer. Summertime is when his single mother takes a second job, leaving Jack at home to take care of Maddy, his autistic kid sister. It's a lot of responsibility, but it is also boring, because Maddy never talks. However, this summer is different. While walking through a flea market, Maddy tells Jack to trade their mother's car for a box of mysterious seeds. What a wonderful mistake! What begins as a normal little garden grows up into a magical jungle, with pink pumpkins that bite and little onion babies running free everywhere!
Out of My Mind by
Draper's daughter Wendy has cerebral palsy, and from that experience Draper crafted the story of fifth-grader Melody who cannot speak, walk, or care for herself because of her cerebral palsy. However, Melody's brain is sharp and trapped in a body that will not respond to her mental commands. Melody narrates how frustrating it is to be unable to communicate and what it's like to endure bathroom issues, unattractive clothes and the thoughtlessness of children and adults alike. But despite all of her challenges, it is Melody's spirit and intelligence that readers will remember.
Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus by
The one question Aven Green is sure to get from strangers is, “What happened to your arms?” Sometimes she tells people they got bitten off by an alligator, but the reality is she was born without her arms—a fact she has never let stop her from doing anything she sets her mind to. When her parents' new job running a Western theme park forces them to move to Arizona, Aven discovers adventure with Connor, a new classmate who has his own disability, when the two of them find a hidden room in Stagecoach Pass with a mystery inside.
Planet Earth Is Blue by
Autistic and nearly nonverbal, twelve-year-old Nova is happy in her new foster home and school, but eagerly anticipates the 1986 Challenger launch, for which her sister, Bridget, promised to return.
Show Me a Sign by
Mary Lambert has felt safe and accepted on her beloved island of Martha's Vineyard, comforted by the fact that her great-great-grandfather was the first deaf islander and paved the way for many to learn sign language. However, when Mary's brother dies and her family shatters amidst land disputes with the English settlers and Wampanoag people, it paves the way for an opportunistic young scientist to come and study the island's prevalent deafness.
Tornado Brain by
Thirteen-year-old Frankie is neurodivergent: she can't stand to be touched, loud noises bother her, she's easily distracted, and hates changes to her routine. It also means that she doesn't have a lot of friends. When Colette, her one friend, vanishes, Frankie is convinced that she left behind clues that only Frankie can decipher.
The War That Saved My Life by
Mam, ashamed of her daughter Ada's club foot, has kept Ada a prisoner in their apartment for nine years. Ada's brother, Jamie, brings Ada stories of the outside world that make her long for escape all the more. World War II arrives and the Germans begin bombing London, prompting the evacuation of all of London's children. Ada's cruel mother intends to keep her from going, but Ada escapes with the help of Jamie and ends up in the care of Miss Susan. Although Miss Susan claims she is not a nice person, her growing affection for the children is evident. However, the love between Miss Susan and the siblings may not be strong enough to carry them through the war's end, when Ada may have to return to her abusive mother.
What Stars Are Made Of by
Libby Monroe, who is twelve years old and has a condition called Turner's Syndrome, enters a STEM competition after she learns her sister's pregnancy has complications that put her in financial straights. Libby hopes that by writing about Cecilia Payne, an astronomer who discovered the composition of stars, she can win the cash prize and save her unborn niece.