Kids Like Us (children with special needs)
Suggestions from Mt. Lebanon Public Library, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
www.mtlebanonlibrary.org
Picture books and non-fiction featuring kids with special needs.
For children in preschool - grade 3.
____________________________________________________
Kids with Autism / Asperger Syndrome
Kids with Autism / Asperger Syndrome
Picture books:
My brother Sammy / Becky Edwards
A boy describes some of the many feelings he has about his brother Sammy, who is autistic.
Looking after Louis / Lesley Ely
When a new boy with autism joins their classroom, the children try to understand his world and to include him in theirs.
My brother Charlie / Holly Robinson Peete
A girl tells what it is like living with her twin brother who has autism and sometimes finds it hard to communicate with words, but who, in most ways, is just like any other boy.
Understanding Sam and Asperger syndrome / Clarabelle van Niekerk
When Sam is diagnosed with a form of autism called Asperger syndrome, his family and teachers understand him better and learn how to help him succeed.
Non-fiction:
Call number: j 616.85882
My friend with autism / Beverly Bishop
j 616.85882 Bis
A young child describes the good things about his autistic friend, and the things he has difficulty with.
Autism and me : sibling stories / Ouisie Shapiro
j 616.85882 Sha
Ian's walk : a story about autism / Laurie Lears
j 616.85882 Lea P-T (parent-teacher collection)
A young girl realizes how much she cares for her autistic brother Ian when he gets lost at the park.
Andy and his yellow frisbee / Mary Thompson
j 618.9289 Tho P-T (parent-teacher collection)
The new girl at school tries to befriend Andy, an autistic boy who spends every recess by himself, spinning a yellow frisbee under the watchful eye of his older sister.
Picture books:
See you tomorrow, Charles / Miriam Cohen
The first graders learn to accept the new boy, who is blind, as just like themselves.
Anna & Natalie / Barbara H. Cole
Anna and her seeing-eye dog Natalie are chosen by Anna's teacher to participate in the wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery.
Keep your ear on the ball / Genevieve Petrillo
Davey, a blind student, refuses all help from his new classmates, even while playing kickball at recess, until they find a way to help without doing everything for him.
Non-fiction:
Call number: j 362.41
We can do it! / Laura Dwight
j 362.4 Dwi
Depicts children living with spina bifida, Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, or blindness with the help of family and friends.
Listen for the bus : David's story / Patricia McMahon
j 362.41 Mcm
A real-life look at David, who is blind, as he begins kindergarten.
Blindness / Angela Royston j 362.41 Roy
**To find books written in Braille search
Subject: Braille books -- Specimens.
Picture books:
Be quiet, Marina! / Kirsten DeBear
A noisy little girl with cerebral palsy and a quiet little girl with Down Syndrome learn to play together and eventually become best friends.
Nathan's wish : a story about cerebral palsy / Laurie Lears
A boy with cerebral palsy helps out at a raptor rehabilitation center and is inspired himself when an owl that cannot fly finds another purpose in life.
Non-fiction:
Call number: j 362.19 ; j 616.836
Stretching ourselves : kids with cerebral palsy / Alden R. Carter
j 362.19 Car
Describes cerebral palsy and focuses on the daily lives of three children with varying degrees of this condition.
Living with cerebral palsy / Susan H. Gray
j 362.19 Gra
Summer tunes : a Martha's Vineyard vacation / Patricia McMahon
j 362.4 Mcm
Ten-year old Conor, who has cerebral palsy, spends a summer vacation with his family on Martha's Vineyard in this photographic essay.
Ballerina dreams : a true story / Lauren Thompson
j 616.836 Tho
True story of five little girls with cerebral palsy or other physical disabilities who were determined to become ballerinas.
Picture books:
Moses goes to the circus / Isaac Millman
Moses, who is deaf, has a good time with his family at the circus, where they communicate using sign language. Includes illustrations of some of the signs they use.
Moses goes to a concert / Isaac Millman
Moses and his schoolmates, all deaf, attend a concert where the orchestra's percussionist is also deaf. Includes illustrations in sign language and a page showing the manual alphabet.
Moses goes to school / Isaac Millman
Moses and his friends enjoy the first day of school at their special school for the deaf and hard of hearing, where they use sign language to talk to each other.
Non-fiction:
Call number: j 362.42
Deafness / Angela Royston
j 362.42 Roy
I'm deaf and it's okay / Lorraine Aseltine
j 362.784 Ase
A young boy describes the frustrations caused by his deafness and the encouragement he receives from a deaf teenager that he can lead an active life.
Amy, the story of a deaf child / Lou Ann Walker
j 362.784 Wal
Text and photographs depict the life of deaf fifth-grader Amy Rowley, who goes to a regular school and enjoys normal activities with the help of hearing aids and sign language.
Books on Sign Language: j 419
Picture books:
Big brother Dustin / Alden R. Carter
A boy with Down Syndrome helps his parents and grandparents get ready for the birth of his baby sister and chooses the perfect name for her.
Dustin's big school day / Alden R. Carter
Second-grader Dustin, who has Down syndrome, anticipates the arrival of two very special guests at his school one day.
Be quiet, Marina! / Kirsten DeBear
A noisy little girl with cerebral palsy and a quiet little girl with Down Syndrome learn to play together and eventually become best friends.
Be good to Eddie Lee / Virginia Fleming
Although Christy considered him a pest, when Eddie Lee, a boy with Down's Syndrome, follows her into the woods, he shares several special discoveries with her.
1, 2, 3 for you and me / Meg Girnis (j Eac GIRNIS)
Photographs show children with Down syndrome in activities with objects corresponding to numbers one through twenty.
Russ and the almost perfect day / Janet Elizabeth Rickert
Russ, a student with Down syndrome, is having a perfect day until he realizes that the five-dollar bill he has found probably belongs to a classmate.
Russ and the apple tree surprise / Janet Elizabeth Rickert
After Russ, a five-year-old with Down syndrome, picks a basket of apples and helps his mother and grandmother make a pie, his grandfather invites him into the backyard for a surprise.
The best worst brother / Stephanie Stuve-Bodeen
Older sister Emma tries to be patient while teaching three-year-old Isaac, who has Down syndrome, how to communicate using sign language. Includes questions and answers about sign language.
My sister, Alicia May / Nancy Tupper Ling
Older sister Rachel tells the story of her relationship with Alicia, her younger sister who is very different and very special because she has Down Syndrome.
My friend Isabelle / Eliza Woloson
A young boy named Charlie describes the activities he shares with his friend Isabelle, a girl with Down Syndrome.
Board Books:
I can, can you? / written and photographed by Marjorie W. Pitzer
My up & down & all around book / written & photographed by Marjorie W. Pitzer
Non-fiction:
Call number : j 616.85
Down Syndrome/ Angela Royston
j 616.85 Roy
Picture books:
Trudi and Pia / Ursula Hegi
A dwarf girl goes to the circus where she meets another dwarf and realizes that she is not alone.
Alex is my friend / Marisabina Russo
Even though Alex is a dwarf and sometimes has to use a wheelchair because of the operation he had on his back, his friend does not mind because they still have good times together.
Non-fiction:
Call number: j 618.92
Thinking big : the story of a young dwarf / text and photographs by Susan Kuklin
j 362.1 Kuk
Text and photographs depict the life of an eight-year-old dwarf who lives in an average-sized family and attends a regular school.
Never sell yourself short / Stephanie Riggs
j 618.92 Rig
Picture books:
Puppies for sale / Dan Clark
When the owner of a pet store will not sell a puppy with a missing hip socket to a boy, the boy shows the man the braces on his own leg.
Non-fiction:
Call number: j 362.43
Some kids wear leg braces / Lola M. Schaefer j 362.43 Sch
Picture books:
All kinds of friends, even green! / Ellen B. Senisi
In a school assignment, seven-year-old Moses, who has spina bifida and uses a wheelchair, reflects that his neighbor's disabled iguana resembles him because they both have figured out how to get where they want to be in different ways than those around them.
Non-fiction:
Call number: j 362.4
Picture books:
Arnie and the new kid / Nancy Carlson
When an accident requires Arnie to use crutches, he begins to understand the limits and possibilities of his new classmate, who has a wheelchair.
Nice wheels / Gwendolyn Hooks (j Er PRIMER HOOKS)
The classmates of a new boy at school find that, although he is in a wheelchair, he can do what they do.
Alex is my friend / Marisabina Russo
Even though Alex is a dwarf and sometimes has to use a wheelchair because of the operation he had on his back, his friend does not mind because they still have good times together.
All kinds of friends, even green! / written & photographed by Ellen B. Senisi
In a school assignment, seven-year-old Moses, who has spina bifida and uses a wheelchair, reflects that his neighbor's disabled iguana resembles him because they both have figured out how to get where they want to be in different ways than those around them.
Best friend on wheels / Debra Shirley
A young girl relates all the ways she and her best friend, Sarah, are alike, in spite of the fact that Sarah uses a wheelchair.
Helping Sophia / Anastasia Suen
When Sophia's helper is absent, her fellow third-graders help out by learning how to push her wheelchair.
Susan laughs / Jeanne Willis
Rhyming couplets describe a wide range of common emotions and activities experienced by a little girl who uses a wheelchair.
Non-fiction:
Call number: j 362.4
It's ok to be me! : just like you, I can do almost anything ! / Jennifer Moore-Mallinos
j 362.4 Moo
The story of a child in a wheelchair who explains how he can do almost anything that other children can do.
Using a wheelchair / Angela Royston
j 362.4 Roy
Dancing Wheels / Patricia McMahon
j 792.8 Mcm
Describes the creation, training, and performances of the dance troupe known as Dancing Wheels who incorporate the movements of dancers who dance standing up and those who are in wheelchairs.
Picture books:
How Smudge came / Nan Gregory
Cindy, a developmentally challenged women, finds a stray dog to love and shares it with a blind man at the hospice where she works because she is not allowed to keep it at home.
Special people, special ways / Arlene Maguire
Describes the many ways in which handicapped people differ from one another.
Sea crow / Shannon Stewart
Shannon overcomes her shyness about her artificial leg when she starts a new school.
Non-fiction:
Call number: j 362.4
Someone special, just like you / Tricia Brown
j 362.4 Bro
Brothers and sisters / Laura Dwight
j 362.4 Dwi
In Brothers and Sisters, we meet a number of sibling groups in which at least one member has a physical disability.
We can do it! / Laura Dwight
j 362.4 Dwi
Depicts children living with spina bifida, Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, or blindness with the help of family and friends.
Extraordinary friends / Fred Rogers
j 362.4 Rog
Focuses on people who are different, who might use equipment such as wheelchairs or special computers, who are more like you than you might think, and suggests ways to interact with them.
Just kids : visiting a class for children with special needs / Ellen B. Senisi
j 371.9 Sen
Second-grader Cindy is assigned to spend part of each day in the class for students with special needs, where she finds out that even though some kids may learn differently or have different abilities, they are all "just kids."
Ballerina dreams : a true story / Lauren Thompson
j 616.836 Tho
True story of five little girls with cerebral palsy or other physical disabilities who were determined to become ballerinas.
The making of my special hand : Madison's story / Jamee Riggio Heelan
j 617.57 Hee
A child who was born with one hand tells the story of how people at the hospital made a helper hand for her, how the new hand operates, how it feels, and how she can use it.
Find these and other great books at
The Children's Library
Mt. Lebanon Public Library
16 Castle Shannon Blvd.
Pittsburgh, PA 15228
412.531.1913 3/10
www.mtlebanonlibrary.org
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