Neurodiversity Booklist

Recommended reads for children and teens

Updated May 8, 2024
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Thunder and the noise storms
Ansloos, Jeffrey Paul
Paper Book
A Nov/Dec Loan Stars Jr Top Ten Pick 2021! A Blue Spruce Award nominee 2021! When the world gets too loud and chaotic, a young boy's grandfather helps him listen with wonder instead.    Kids laughing, sneakers squeaking, balls bouncing--for Thunder, the sounds...
Also available as an eBook.
Aaron Slater, illustrator
Beaty, Andrea
Paper Book
Aaron Slater loves listening to stories and dreams of one day writing them himself. But when it comes to reading, the letters just look like squiggles to him, and it soon becomes clear he struggles more than his peers. When his teacher asks each child in the class to write a story, Aaron can't...
Comme Tu Es!: Un Livre Sur L'inclusion
O'Hair, Margaret
Paper Book
See below for English description. C'est parfois difficile d'être différent, que ce soit à cause de son physique, de l'endroit où l'on vit ou de ce que l'on peut faire ou non. Mais est-ce que ce ne serait pas ennuyeux si nous étions tous pareils? Être différent, c'est super! C'est...
Ma maison-tête
Vigg
Paper Book
I am a masterpiece! : an empowering story about inclusivity and growing up with Down Syndrome
Armstrong, Mia
Paper Book
Tween actress Mia Armstrong celebrates her fun, funny, beautiful childhood living with Down syndrome in this debut picture book. Don't miss Mia in A Christmas in New Hope, streaming now! Mia likes many of the things other people like--going to the beach, the...
Fifty-Four Things Wrong with Gwendolyn Rogers
Carter, Caela
Paper Book
From the critically acclaimed author of the ALA Notable and Charlotte Huck Honor Book Forever, or a Long, Long Time comes a moving own-voices story that shines a light on how one girl's learning differences are neither right nor wrong...just perfectly individual. For fans of Alyson Gerber,...
Growing pangs
Ormsbee, Kathryn
Paper Book
AN NPR BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR * A PARENTS MAGAZINE BEST BOOK Inspired by a true story! Eleven-year old homeschooled Katie has always felt different . . . and now she can't stop worrying.  Introducing an irresistibly relatable graphic novel about friendship,...
Also available as an eBook.
Buzzing
Sattin, Samuel
Paper Book
ALA 2025 Rainbow Book List Pick * 2024 Eisner-Nominated for Best Publication for Kids * A 2024 ALA Notable Children's Book * New York Public Library Best Book of 2023  ★ "Heartwarming [and] authentic" --Shelf Awareness,...
Also available as an eBook.
At the Speed of Gus
Scrimger, Richard
Paper Book
A smartly funny and sympathetic story about being different and finding your way. Meet the compelling, charismatic 13-year-old Augustus Constantine, a boy whose mind (and mouth) operate at a different speed than the rest of society. Gus has ADHD, and he's on medication to help him focus....

Also available as an eBook.

Canadian author.

Just roll with it
Durfey-Lavoie, Lee
Paper Book
Starting middle school is hard enough when you don't know anyone; it's even harder when you're shy. A contemporary middle-grade graphic novel for fans of Guts and Real Friends about how dealing with anxiety and OCD can affect everyday life. As long as Maggie rolls...
Something more
Khalilieh, Jackie
Paper Book
Fifteen-year-old Jessie, a quirky loner obsessed with the nineties, is diagnosed as autistic just weeks before starting high school. Determined to make a fresh start and keep her diagnosis a secret, Jessie creates a list of goals that range from acquiring two distinct eyebrows to getting a magical...

Also available as an eBook.

Canadian author.

I got you babe
Coccia, Paul
Paper Book
This year's fun fair will have a Pride Carnival theme and twelve-year-old Mac couldn't be more excited. Mac convinces his best friend, Amy, to do a Sonny and Cher drag number. He has their outfits all planned out, right down to the bellbottoms and fur vests. And he wants their performance...

Hi-Lo Fiction.

Canadian author.

Racing hearts
Di Lorenzo, Melinda
Paper Book
To honor the death of her best friend, teen Sienna signs up to do a triathlon and finds a connection with an unexpected training partner in this body-positive romance exploring first love, grief, perseverance and trusting in yourself. Five months ago, Sienna Shoring lost her best friend,...

Hi-Lo Fiction.

Canadian author.

He who dreams
Florence, Melanie
Paper Book
Juggling soccer, school, friends and family leaves John with little time for anything else. But one day at the local community center, following the sound of drums, he stumbles into an Indigenous dance class. Before he knows what's happening, John finds himself stumbling through beginner classes...

Hi-Lo Fiction.

Also available as an eBook and in DAISY format.

Canadian author.

The crosswood
Prendergast, Gabrielle
Paper Book
Key Selling Points In The Crosswood, a young teen has to enter a magical forest to rescue his twin siblings when they are kidnapped by a Faerie king. This is the first book in the Faerie Woods series in the Orca Currents line. The book examines family dynamics and...

Hi-Lo Fiction.

Also available as an eBook.

Canadian author.


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