Children's Book Suggestions | Disability Pride Month Chapter Books

A diverse selection of chapter books, graphic novels, and nonfiction books for readers in Grades 2-7 that celebrates a variety of disabilities, including neurodivergence. While most of the books center children with disabilities, there are also a couple of books including the experiences of children who have a sibling or parent with a disability.

Looking for more children's books about the disability experience? Try our Disability Pride Month Picture Books list for younger readers 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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The absent alpacas
Whaley, Kayla
Paper Book
AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER! Another thrilling domestic suspense novel from the New York Times bestselling author of The Couple Next Door "The most addictive book I've read in ages--so slick and disquieting and clever. Just brilliant." -...

Disability in KidLit founder Kayla Whaley is at the helm for this reboot of the classic A to Z mysteries for newly independent readers. (Bridging Fiction Grades 2-4)

Marshmallow & Jordan
Chau, Alina
Paper Book
Alina Chau's Marshmallow & Jordan is a middle-grade graphic novel about a disabled, sports-loving Jordan, and the magical elephant named Marshmallow who she befriends. Jordan's days as star player for her school's basketball team ended when an accident left her...

A mysterious white elephant helps an Indonesian girl navigate friendship and disability when she takes up a new sport after a life-changing injury. (Children's Graphic Novel Grades 3-5)

Race for the ruby turtle
Bramucci, Stephen
Paper Book
A heartfelt middle grade eco-adventure story full of friendship and self-discovery, perfect for fans of Dan Gemeinhart and Gary D. Schmidt. Jake Rizzi is about to spend the summer at his great-aunt's cabin in the mossy, sodden Oregon backwoods. His parents seem to need a break...

A fast-paced adventure set in the Oregon Coast Range in which a boy with ADHD helps protect an endangered species from international trophy hunters. (Children's Fiction Grades 3-5)

Show me a sign
LeZotte, Ann Clare
Paper Book
Don't miss the companion book, Set Me Free CRITICS ARE RAVING ABOUT SHOW ME A SIGN Winner of the 2021 Schneider Family Book Award * NPR Best Books of 2020 * Kirkus Reviews Best Books of 2020 * School Library Journal Best Books of 2020 *...

Deaf author/educator LeZotte crafts a suspenseful historical fiction tale set on Martha's Vineyard in 1805, in a real-life community where many residents were Deaf and everyone communicated using a unique form of sign language. (Young Teen Fiction Grades 5-7)

The chance to fly
Stroker, Ali
Paper Book
A heartfelt middle-grade novel about a theater-loving girl who uses a wheelchair for mobility and her quest to defy expectations-and gravity-from Tony award-winning actress Ali Stroker and Stacy Davidowitz Thirteen-year-old Nat Beacon loves a lot of things: her dog Warbucks,...

Tony award-winning performer Ali Stroker co-authors a novel inspired by her own experiences of getting involved in musical theater as a wheelchair-using middle schooler. (Children's Fiction Grades 3-5)

A boy called Bat
Arnold, Elana K.
Ebook
The first book in a funny, heartfelt, and irresistible young middle grade series starring an unforgettable young boy on the autism spectrum. For Bixby Alexander Tam (nicknamed Bat), life tends to be full of surprises--some of them good, some not so good. Today, though, is a good-surprise...

A boy on the autism spectrum convinces his veterinarian mom to let him adopt a pet skunk in the first installment in this popular chapter book series. (Children's Fiction Grades 3-5)

No matter the distance
Baldwin, Cindy
Paper Book
An unexpected animal companion helps a girl with cystic fibrosis learn to write her own story in this captivating novel in verse by award-winning author and disabled activist Cindy Baldwin. Penny Rooney has cystic fibrosis, which means she has to do breathing treatments to help her lungs...

A young girl with cystic fibrosis finds her poetic voice when she assists an injured dolphin stranded in the creek behind her house. (Young Teen Fiction Grades 5-7)

Secrets of Camp Whatever. 1
Grine, Chris
Ebook
When twelve-year-old Willow went to her weird new town's even weirder summer camp, she didn't expect to get caught up in an ancient mystery involving forest-dwelling vampires, living garden gnomes, and other completely bonkers creatures most people would never believe exist. Now she's not only...

A tween who uses hearing aids encounters unusual and unsettling things at her dad's creepy old summer camp in this spooky mystery. (Young Teen Graphic Novel Grades 5-7)

Figure it out, Henri Weldon
Davis, Tanita S.
Paper Book
Tanita S. Davis, author of Partly Cloudy and Serena Says, has written another funny, warm story featuring middle school and family life--all about the complex calculations it takes for everyone to balance the equations of their lives and what it takes to be part of a team while...

A middle schooler with dyscalculia, a math disability, struggles with schoolwork, family conflicts, and friend drama after she leaves her school for kids with learning disabilities to attend a traditional public school. (Young Teen Fiction Grades 5-7)

The storm runner
Cervantes, Jennifer
Paper Book
Zane would much rather explore the dormant volcano near his home in New Mexico than go to school with kids who bully him for his limp. But what Zane doesn't know is that the volcano is a gateway to another world, a world he's thrust into with his dog, Rosie, and the new girl at school, Brooks -...

A teen boy discovers that his disability is linked to his Mayan heritage as son of a deity and central figure in a powerful prophecy related to a war between the gods. From the Rick Riordan Presents imprint featuring stories from world mythology that appeal to fans of the Percy Jackson series. (Young Teen Fiction Grades 5-7)

Get a grip, Vivy Cohen!
Kapit, Sarah
Paper Book
In this perfectly pitched novel-in-letters, autistic eleven-year-old Vivy Cohen won't let anything stop her from playing baseball--not when she has a major-league star as her pen pal. Vivy Cohen is determined. She's had enough of playing catch in the park. She's ready to pitch...

A baseball-loving middle school girl with autism begins writing letters to her MLB idol in social skills class, while also navigating sexism and ableism when she becomes the first girl to join her school baseball team. (Young Teen Fiction Grades 5-7)

Wink
Harrell, Rob
Paper Book
A hilarious and heartwrenching story about surviving middle school--and an unthinkable diagnosis--while embracing life's weirdness. Ross Maloy just wants to be a normal seventh grader. He doesn't want to lose his hair, or wear a weird hat, or deal with the disappearing friends...

A young teen navigates the twin challenges of middle school and a cancer diagnosis that threatens his sight in this novel inspired by the author's adolescent experiences. (Young Teen Fiction Grades 5-7)

Song for a whale
Kelly, Lynne
Paper Book
The award-winning and USA Today bestselling story of a deaf girl's connection to a whale whose song can't be heard by his species, and the journey she takes to help him. "Fascinating, brave, and tender...a triumph." --Katherine Applegate, Newbery Award-winning author of...

When she learns of a whale whose song can't be heard by other whales, an empathetic Deaf girl sets out to help him find a way to communicate. (Young Teen Fiction Grades 5-7)

Daisy Woodworm changes the world
Hart, Melissa
Paper Book
Thirteen-year-old Daisy Woodward loves insects, running track, and hanging out with her older brother, Sorrel, who has Down syndrome and adores men's fashion. When her social studies teacher assigns each student an oral report and project to change the world for the better, Daisy fears the class...

A middle school girl secretly helps her fashionable older brother, who has Down syndrome, launch a YouTube channel after his parents restrict his Internet access after a bullying incident. A great look at positive, supportive sibling relationships between disabled and non-disabled siblings. (Young Teen Fiction Grades 5-7)

The war that saved my life
Bradley, Kimberly Brubaker
Paper Book
*Newbery Honor book *Winner of the Schneider Family Book Award  *Forbes 25 Top Historical Fiction Books Of All Time selection This #1 New York Times bestseller is an exceptionally moving story of triumph against all odds set during World War II,...
An award winner with lots of kid appeal, this historical fiction novel about a girl from London who finds freedom when she's evacuated to the English countryside during WWII. (Young Teen Fiction Grades 5-7)
Will on the inside
Eliopulos, Andrew
Paper Book
"An honest, sophisticated look at the myriad emotions surrounding chronic illness and growing up 'not straight' in a religious Georgia town." --Publishers Weekly (starred review) "Relatable, real, and utterly engrossing." --School Library Journal (starred review) ***<...

One of several books for middle schoolers about Crohn's/IBD that have been published in the last year! For more representations of this experience, try The Year My Life Went Down the Toilet by Jake Maia Arlow or Gut Reaction by Kirby Larson & Quinn Wyatt.

El deafo
Bell, Cece
Paper Book
The beloved #1 New York Times bestselling and Newbery Honor winning graphic novel memoir from Cece Bell   Starting at a new school is scary, especially with a giant hearing aid strapped to your chest! At her old school, everyone in Cece's class was deaf....
Author/artist Cece Bell explores her experiences growing up as a D/deaf child in the 70s in this award-winning graphic novel. It's also an animated series on AppleTV! (Children's Graphic Novel Grades 3-5)
Aniana del Mar jumps in
Méndez, Jasminne
Paper Book
Pura Belpre Author Honor Award ** Four starred reviews!** A powerful and expertly told novel in verse about a twelve-year-old Dominican American swimmer who is diagnosed with Juvenile Arthritis by an award-winning poet. Aniana del Mar belongs in the water like...

A young swimmer diagnosed with juvenile arthritis pursues her passion for the water in spite of her mother's fears. (Young Teen Fiction Grades 5-7)

Rules
Lord, Cynthia.
Paper Book
This Newbery Honor Book is a heartfelt and witty story about feeling different and finding acceptance--beyond the rules.Twelve-year-old Catherine just wants a normal life. Which is near impossible when you have a brother with autism and a family that revolves around his disability. She's spent years...
Siblings of kids with disabilities often struggle to find stories that mirror the complexities of their family life! This award-winning novel explores the experiences of a non-disabled sibling of a kid with autism. (Children's Fiction Grades 3-5)
Buzzing
Sattin, Samuel
Paper Book
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, starred review

A middle schooler with OCD finds solace in a role-playing games group, one of several graphic novels on this topic for tween readers in recent years. For more perspectives on this experience, try Just Roll With It! by Veronica Agarwal & Lee Durfey-Lavoie, Growing Pangs by Kathryn Ormsbee, and Puzzled by Pan Cooke.

Rolling warrior : the incredible, sometimes awkward, true story of a rebel girl on wheels who helped spark a revolution
Heumann, Judith E.
Paper Book
As featured in the Oscar-nominated documentary Crip Camp, and for readers of I Am Malala, one of the most influential disability rights activists in US history tells her story of fighting to belong. "If I didn't fight, who would?" Judy Heumann...

One of America's most famous disability rights activists tells her story in this kid-friendly story about her childhood experiences as a disabled kid pre-ADA and her work as an adult to ensure equal access for people of all abilities. (Children's Nonfiction Age 10-14)

Chunky
Mercado, Yehudi
Paper Book
In this full-color middle grade graphic memoir for fans of Raina Telgemeier and Jerry Craft, Yehudi Mercado draws inspiration from his childhood struggle with his weight while finding friendship with his imaginary mascot, Chunky, as he navigates growing up in a working class Mexican...

Hudi, who lost a lung due to a childhood illness, follows his doctor's advice and tries a variety of sports--even though he'd rather be practicing for his SNL debut in this colorful, hilarious graphic novel memoir. (Young Teen Graphic Novel Grades 5-7)


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