Disability Visibility - Picture Books

We’ve gathered together picture books that feature young people with disabilities. Many are memoirs or fiction that draw upon the authors’ own experiences. We hope you find books here to share with your family that can serve as mirrors for children with disabilities and doorways to deepen understanding and empathy for all.

Updated May 26, 2023
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LINCC (Libraries in Clackamas County)Happy Valley Library
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Awesomely Emma : a Charley and Emma story
Webb, Amy
Paper Book
Fans of When Charley Met Emmawill love seeing Emma champion her inner awesomeness in this inspirational sequel that teaches readers about the power of self-advocacy. Emma has limb differences, but different isn't bad, sad, or strange. It's just different! But when some accessibility...
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...
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...
What my daddy loves
Figueroa, Raissa
Paper Book
In her joyous authorial debut, Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award Honor winner Raissa Figueroa celebrates the warm love between Black fathers and their children.  Capturing a child's perspective and infused with gentle humor, Raissa Figueroa's tender, insightful look at fathers is...
This beach is loud!
Cotterill, Samantha
Paper Book
Patience, understanding, and a soothing exercise saves the beach day when excitement turns to sensory overload. Going to the beach is exciting. But it can also be busy. And loud. Sand can feel hot or itchy or sticky...and it gets everywhere! In This Beach Is Loud...
I will dance
Flood, Bo
Paper Book
This poetic and uplifting picture book illustrated by the #1 New York Times bestselling illustrator of We Are the Gardeners by Joanna Gaines follows a young girl born with cerebral palsy as she pursues her dream of becoming a dancer. Like many young girls, Eva longs...
Just ask! : be different, be brave, be you
Sotomayor, Sonia
Paper Book
Justice Sonia Sotomayor and award-winning artist Rafael Lopez create a kind and caring book about the differences that make each of us unique. A #1 New York Timesbestseller! Winner of the Schneider Family Book Award! Feeling different,...
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...
We are little feminists : on the go
Fačy, Bernard
Paper Book
2021 Stonewall Award Winner - the first ever board book to win an American Library Association medal! Beautiful photos of real LGBTQ and ally families showcase all the wonderful forms of family, gender, and sexuality while poetic text builds both vocabulary and empathy. FAMILIES helps families and...
How we eat
Fuente-Lau, Shuli de la
Paper Book
"★ Meaningful and inclusive." - Kirkus Starred Review Mealtime just got a whole lot more fun! HOW WE EAT helps families and educators discuss ability, culture, and food at home and in the classroom. Complete with family discussion questions and a guide detailing the...
I talk like a river
Scott, Jordan
Paper Book
Winner of the Schneider Family Book Award Boston Globe-Horn Book Award Winner What if words got stuck in the back of your mouth whenever you tried to speak? What if they never came out the way you wanted them to? Sometimes it takes a change of perspective to get...
Happy again
Plohl, Igor
Paper Book
Lucas fell, and now he lives with a disability. A Level G story about resilience that first graders can read on their own. Lucas is a happy lion. One day Lucas Falls. Can Lucas be happy again? When Lucas falls off a ladder, he hurts...
We want to go to school! : the fight for disability rights
Cocca-Leffler, Maryann
Paper Book
A Junior Library Guild Selection February 2022 The true story of the people who helped make every public school a more inclusive place. There was a time in the United States when millions of children with disabilities weren't allowed to go to...
Unbound : the life + art of Judith Scott
Scott, Joyce
Paper Book
A moving and powerful introduction to the life and art of renowned artist, Judith Scott, as told by her twin sister, Joyce Scott and illustrated by Caldecott Honor artist, Melissa Sweet. Judith Scott was born with Down syndrome. She was deaf, and never learned to speak. She was...

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