Pre-K Reads: Celebrate Disability Pride Month!

July is Disability Pride Month - Check out these picture books and nonfiction titles for younger readers that center the stories of people with disabilities.

Updated July 1, 2026
Rochester Public Library RPL Youth Librarians
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Pre-K Reads: Celebrate Disability Pride Month!

July is Disability Pride Month - Check out these picture books and nonfiction titles for younger readers that center the stories of people with disabilities.

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Cesaria feels the beat
Adusei, Denise R.
Paper Book
In this powerful and inspiring picture book, a deaf girl stands up for herself and takes off her shoes while dancing at her Carnival performance so she can feel the music through her bare feet. Cesaria is going to perform for the seaside Carnival. She skips past the beach...
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...
Aaron Slater, illustrator
Beaty, Andrea
Paper Book
Aaron Slater, Illustrator is an uplifting story about the power of art, finding your voice, and telling your story even when you're out of step with your peers, from Andrea Beaty and David Roberts, the #1 bestselling creators of Sofia Valdez, Future Prez and Ada...
Song in the city
Bernstrom, Daniel.
Paper Book
From Daniel Bernstrom, the acclaimed author of One Day in the Eucalyptus, Eucalyptus Tree, comes a charming and irresistibly fun picture book about a young blind girl and her grandmother who experience the vibrant everyday music of their busy city. A young girl, filled with the sounds of...
You're so amazing!
Catchpole, James
Paper Book
A Schneider Family Book Award Honor book! ​In this authentic and humorous picture book, a child with a limb difference is tired of being told how amazing he is for doing normal things. Joe and his friend Simone are practicing their best playground...
The boy who found his voice
Gordon, Tyler
Paper Book
From teen activist and artistic prodigy Tyler Gordon comes a heartwarming picture book inspired by his own life about a boy with a speech difference who learns the power of self-expression through art. There once was a young boy who had trouble with words. He paused and...
Wanda hears the stars : a blind astronomer listens to the universe
Hansen, Amy
Paper Book
A nonfiction picture book biography of astrophysicist Wanda Diaz Merced and how losing her sight didn't stop her from studying the stars. This 2026 Schneider Family Book Award winner is an inspiring true story of a woman scientist of color and a riveting, intersectional STEM read for...
A little like magic
Kurpiel, Sarah
Paper Book
Winner of the Schneider Book Award and glistening with winter charm, this is an exhilarating, tender story of pushing past your comfort zone and finding inspiration in art and natural beauty. Our young narrator doesn't like itchy hats or cold wind, and she especially doesn't like...
My city speaks
Lebeuf, Darren
Paper Book
A young girl, who is visually impaired, finds much to celebrate as she explores the city she loves. A young girl and her father spend a day in the city, her city, traveling to the places they go together: the playground, the community garden, the market, an outdoor concert. As they...
I hear the snow, I feel the sea /
Milusich, Janice,
Paper Book
In this lyrical picture book illustrated by a two-time Caldecott Medalist, share in a blind child's joyful experience of the changing seasons. A SCHNEIDER FAMILY BOOK AWARD HONOR Where I live, seasons change. I know because my fingers and toes, my ears, my...
Oshún and me : a story of love and braids
Nelson, Adiba
Paper Book
Tenderly illustrated by Alleanna Harris, Adiba Nelson's debut picture book Oshún and Me is a heartwarming ode to family, identity, and the beauty of braided hair. Also available in Spanish! It's Sunday, and that means it's Hair Day! As Mami weaves gold and cowrie...
You are enough : a book about inclusion
O'Hair, Margaret
Paper Book
A beautiful and inclusive picture book all about celebrating being yourself from Down syndrome advocate and viral sensation Sofia Sanchez! It can be hard to be different -- whether because of how you look, where you live, or what you can or can't do. But wouldn't it be boring if we were...
Dancing hands : a story of friendship in Filipino sign language
Que, Joanna
Paper Book
Read the world to change the world! This artful picture book about friendship and sign language, originally published in the Philippines in concert with nonprofit Room to Read, is beautifully revised for this global edition.  Our new neighbors' hands...
A sky-blue bench
Rahman, Bahram
Paper Book
It's Afghan schoolgirl Aria's first day back at school since her accident. She's excited, but she's also worried about sitting on the hard floor all day with her new prosthetic "helper-leg." Just as Aria feared, sitting on the floor is so uncomfortable that she can't think about learning...
A sky that sings
Sanchez, Anita
Paper Book
Mia, a blind girl who enjoys identifying birds by their distinct calls and songs, leads her aunt through the park on a bird-listening adventure! Mia and her tía are spending a sunny afternoon at the park bird-listening! Some people enjoy bird-watching but as a blind person, Mia uses...
Listening to the quiet
Silva, Cassie
Paper Book
What does nothing sound like? Jacki's mama has a rare condition. She is slowly losing her hearing. Together, they are learning Sign Language so that they'll always be able to tell each other everything. But as Mama's world becomes quieter, Jacki's remains full of sound, especially on Music...
This is how we play : a celebration of disability and adaptation
Slice, Jessica
Paper Book
A jubilant, inclusive, luminously illustrated picture book that features families at play, each with a family member who has a disability. With love and adaptation, this is how we play! This joyful read-aloud with an empowering refrain, from disability rights activists...
This is how we talk : a celebration of disability and connection
Slice, Jessica
Paper Book
From the creators of This Is How We Play is a new jubilant, inclusive, luminously illustrated picture book that celebrates all the ways we communicate with each other. A NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR We sign, write, clap! We tap, stim,...
Soon, your hands
Stutzman, Jonathan
Paper Book
Come get to know three neighboring families, each with a young child learning about themselves in this wondrous world. This poetic picture book is a parent's ode to everything their child is--and will be--capable of doing as they grow. Tonight, each small hand fits inside...
A walk in the words
Talbott, Hudson
Paper Book
Winner of a Schneider Family Honor!   "A beautifully rendered and deeply inspiring book for everyone who has ever read slowly--myself included! Hudson shows us the beauty and magic that can come from taking our time. Brilliant."--Jacqueline Woodson   Hudson...
Obioma plays football
Unigwe, Chika
Paper Book
9 year-old Obioma is a football star. She uses a special stick to score goals and never loses a race in her wheelchair! But when she moves to a new city, she has to go to a new school where she has no friends, and everyone calls her "the girl with the wheelchair". Obioma misses playing football most...
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