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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Can bears ski?
Antrobus, Raymond
Paper Book
Is Little Bear ignoring his friends when they say hi, or is something else going on? A discovery opens new doors in a tale that will delight kids with deafness and all children learning to navigate their world. Little Bear feels the world around him. He feels his bed...

A small bear who has trouble hearing the world around him until he visits an audiologist, who fits him with hearing aids. (Picture Book Age 3-7)

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)

Different : a great thing to be!
Avis, Heather
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER . This joyful rhyming book encourages children to value the "different" in all people, leading the way to a kinder world in which the differences in all of us are celebrated and embraced. Macy is a girl who's a lot like you and me, but she's also...

A young girl with Down syndrome encourages readers to see differences of all kinds as something to be valued and celebrated. (Picture Book Age 3-8)

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)

The black book of colors
Cottin, Menena.
Paper Book
A New York Times Book Review choice as one of the 10 Best Illustrated Children's Books of 2008 It is very hard for a sighted person to imagine what it is like to be blind. This groundbreaking, award-winning book endeavors to convey the experience of a person who can only see through his or...
Braille and textured illustrations provide a tactile guide to colors as experienced through touch in an accessible book for both sighted and non-sighted readers. (Picture Book Age 4-8)
Rescue & Jessica : a life-changing friendship
Kensky, Jessica
Paper Book
A New York Times bestseller! 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...

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)

Henry and the something new
Bailey, Jenn
Paper Book
"Relatable characters, familiar scenarios, and gentle humor make this a remarkably satisfying read." --Horn Book Magazine, Starred Review  From the creators of the Schneider Award-winning books A Friend for Henry and...

This early reader series, based on Bailey's award-winning picture book A Friend for Henry, explores the joys and challenges of an elementary school classroom for a kid who appears to be on the autism spectrum. Gentle, empathetic, and never preachy. (Easy Readers Level 4)

The lemonade stand
Reid, C. L.
Paper Book
It's summer, and Emma and Izzie are bored and broke. Setting up a lemonade stand is a sweet way to solve both those problems! But running a business isn't as easy as it seems. Hopefully their hard work will pay off! Emma is Deaf and often uses sign language to communicate, and this early chapter...

Deaf-blind author C.L. Reid incorporates ASL into this easy reader series about a young girl who uses cochlear implants and sign language to navigate the everyday challenges of childhood. (Easy Readers Level 4)


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