Children's Book Suggestions | Disability Pride Month Picture Books

A diverse selection of picture books celebrating a variety of disabilities, including neurodivergence.

Looking for more children's books about the disability experience? Try our Disability Pride Month Chapter Books list for readers in Grades 2-7 and the American Library Association's Schneider Family Book Award winners & honor books.

Updated May 17, 2024
LINCC (Libraries in Clackamas County)Oregon City Public Library
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What happened to you?
Catchpole, James
Paper Book
A Schneider Family Book Award Honor book! This accessible, funny, and groundbreaking story addresses the questions children often ask, as well as a disabled child's choice not to answer. What happened to you? Was it a shark? A burglar?...

An award-winning story from English author James Catchpole, who uses gentle humor to navigate an all-too-common question asked of people with visible disabilities. (Picture Book Age 4-8)

Sam's super seats
Brown, Keah
Paper Book
A joyful picture book about a disabled girl with cerebral palsy who goes back-to-school shopping with her best friends, from #DisabledandCute creator and The Pretty One author Keah Brown. Sam loves herself, learning, and making her family and friends laugh. She also loves...

An author with cerebral palsy shares an inclusive back-to-school shopping story about the various seats that help a young girl with CP enjoy a day at the mall with her friends. (Picture Book Age 4-8)

My city speaks
Lebeuf, Darren
Paper Book
A young visually impaired girl and her father spend a day in the city, her city, travelling to the places they go together: the playground, the community garden, the market, an outdoor concert. As they do, the girl describes what she senses in delightfully precise, poetic detail. Her city, she says,...

A girl and her dad set out to spend a day in their city in this sensory exploration of sound, smell, taste, and touch. (Picture Book Age 3-7)

A day with no words
Hammond, Tiffany
Paper Book
An instant #1 New York Times bestselling picture book and Dolly Gray Award winner! A Day With No Words invites readers into the life of an Autism Family who communicates just as the child does, without spoken language. The American Library Association Booklist...

A day of ups and downs in the life of a nonverbal boy, showing all of the ways he communicates with friends, family, and his community. (Picture Book Age 4-8)

Rescue & Jessica : a life-changing friendship
Kensky, Jessica
Paper Book
A 2019 Schneider Family Book Award Winner Based on a real-life partnership, the heartening story of the love and teamwork between a girl and her service dog will illuminate and inspire. Rescue thought he'd grow up to be a Seeing Eye dog -- it's the family business,...

Inspired by the true story of Jessica's dog Rescue, who trained to be a service dog and joined her family after Jessica and her husband were injured in the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings. (Picture Book Age 5-9)

Best day ever!
Singer, Marilyn
Paper Book
A sweet dog-loves-kid/kid-loves-dog story, in which the kid uses a wheelchair, from an award-winning children's poet and talented debut illustrator. This playful puppy thinks she's having the best day ever! She's so happy to be out with her friend, she doesn...

Despite some setbacks, a puppy and her boy enjoy a day of playing and exploring together. (Picture Book Age 4-7)

Every body : a celebration of diverse abilities
Rotner, Shelley
Paper Book
Join this photographic celebration of differing physical and neurological abilities from a National Geographic photographer. We have different ways to move around. Celebrating children of different abilities, this photographic book presents large, clear images of...
Vibrant photos show kids with all sorts of visible and invisible differences playing and learning together, celebrating the many ways our different bodies experience the world. (Picture Book Age 3-6)
Fighting for yes! : the story of disability rights activist Judith Heumann
Cocca-Leffler, Maryann
Paper Book
A picture book biography celebrating the life and work of disability rights activist and icon Judith Heumann, highlighting one of her landmark achievements--leading the historic 504 Sit-in in 1977From a very young age, Judy Heumann heard the word NO. When she wanted to attend public school, the...

A biography of disability rights activist Judith Heumann, focusing on her childhood experiences as a kid with a disability and her work as an activist to improve the lives of people with disabilities, including the 504 Sit-In and other protests that led to the passage of the ADA in 1990. (Children's Nonfiction Age 6-9)

All the way to the top : how one girl's fight for Americans with disabilities changed everything
Pimentel, Annette Bay
Paper Book
2021 Schneider Family Book Award Young Children's Honor Book (American Library Association) Experience the true story of lifelong activist Jennifer Keelan-Chaffins and her participation in the Capitol Crawl in this inspiring autobiographical picture book. This beautifully illustrated story...

The Capitol Crawl was a little-known pivotal moment in the fight for the passage of the ADA--and elementary school student Jennifer Keelan was part of it! (Children's Nonfiction Age 4-9)


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