Books About Disabilities and Neurodivergence

Check out these books if you're looking for a way to help talk to your child about disabilities and neurodivergence.

Updated June 20, 2024
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You're So Amazing!
Catchpole, James/ Catchpole, Lucy/ George, Karen (ILT)
Paper 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 tricks, but everyone keeps saying how amazing Joe is,...
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?...
Tenacious : fifteen adventures alongside disabled athletes
Cisneros Prevo, Patty
Paper Book
Meet fifteen remarkable athletes who use adaptive equipment in this beautiful and truth-telling picture book. A downhill skier whose blindness has sharpened her communication skills. An adaptive surfer who shreds waves while sitting down. A young man who excels at wheelchair...
Listen : how Evelyn Glennie, a deaf girl, changed percussion
Stocker, Shannon
Paper Book
* Schneider Family Book Award Winner * A gorgeous and empowering picture book biography about Evelyn Glennie, a deaf woman, who became the first full-time solo percussionist in the world. "No. You can't," people said. But Evelyn knew she could. She...
My brain is magic : a sensory-seeking celebration
Sooful, Prasha
Paper Book
Is your brain magic? Whether your brain buzzes around the room like a bee or tells you to be loud and roar like a lion, celebrate the many things that it can be! This sensory-seeking celebration shines a light on neurodiversity and sensory processing in a fun and action-packed way for all...
Hello goodbye dog
Gianferrari, Maria
Paper Book
For Zara's dog, Moose, nothing is more important than being with his favorite girl. So when Zara has to go to school in her wheelchair, WHOOSH, Moose escapes and rushes to her side. Hello, Moose! Unfortunately, dogs aren't allowed at school and Moose has to go...
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...
My ocean is blue
Lebeuf, Darren
Paper Book
'This is my ocean,' the young girl begins as she heads over the dunes with her mother. Then, as they pass the whole day at the seaside, she lyrically describes her ocean in simple, sensory detail. Nothing the girl experiences escapes her careful observation and appreciation. And at day's end, she...
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 Talbott's...
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...
The mermaid with no tail
Long, Jessica Tatiana
Paper Book
Paralympic champion swimmer and gold medalist Jessica Long celebrates the importance of dreaming big and the power of being different in The Mermaid with No Tail. As a baby, Jessica was adopted from a Russian orphanage. Her legs were amputated below the knee when she was 18 months old....
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. Mia likes many of the things other people like--going to the beach, the color blue, drawing. But she doesn't like when strangers stare at her because...
Lost inside my head
Vigg
Paper Book
★"A celebration of hope, resilience, and the power of ­self-acceptance that will resonate with readers of all ages...A work that depicts ­vividly what the mind of a person with ADHD experiences...Highly recommended." -- School Library Journal How is Vincent supposed to focus...
My whirling, twirling motor
Saunders, Merriam Sarcia
Paper Book
Charlie feels like he has a whirling, twirling motor running inside him all the time and sometimes he just can't settle. When his mom wants to talk to him, he figures he's in trouble...but she has a surprise for him instead! Includes a Note to Parents, Caregivers, and...

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