Best Children's Books for Teaching About Awareness and Inclusion of the Disability Community

[Image Description: There are twenty two children's books laying on a red, yellow, blue, and purple quilt on a bed with white and dark pink plaid blankets and white sheets with small purple flowers under the quilt. Part of a white bureau is pictured in the top left corner of the image. The books are laying in four and a quarter horizontal rows in the following order from left to right: "A Room For Us All: A Neuroinclusive Story", "Who Will Read to Me?", "My Brother Charlie", "Thank You Mr. Falker", "All Are Welcome", "Thank You Helpers", "My Monster and Me", "My Friend Has Down Syndrome", "Sesame Street: Family Forever: A Julia Storybook", the original edition of "The Little Engine That Could" book, the updated edition of "The Little Engine That Could" book, "Wonder", "Auggie & Me: Three Little Wonder Stories", "365 Days of Wonder: Mr. Browne's Precepts", "The Wonder Journal", the updated edition of "Please Stop Laughing At Me: One Woman's Inspirational Story", "Dear Mister Rogers, Does It Ever Rain In Your Neighborhood: Letters to Mister Rogers", "Good Night Health Care Heroes", "Good Night Museums", "Baby Signs: A Baby-Sized Introduction to Speaking with Sign Language", "I Can, Can You?".]




    As many of you know, I take teaching about all differences, acceptance, and inclusion in all classrooms and homes very seriously as part of my teacher philosophy. As a disability advocate, I noticed that I was barely taught about disabilities in school in my early childhood. My parents who are also strong disability advocates were the people who taught my brother and I about it for the most part. Once I started working in childcare, I noticed that all types of diversity including disabilities are being taught about more to young children. During this time of my aspiring teacher journey, I promised myself that I would teach my students about people of all differences, acceptance, and inclusion every day. When I officially became a teacher, I started teaching these valuable social lessons to my students every day in a way that they would understand on their developmental levels. I make sure to make an extra effort to include educating about disabilities as part of diversity too since this diverse group still appears to be left out of these diversity lessons too often. I even make a tradition to celebrate Autism Awareness/Acceptance Month in my classroom every year. In 2019, when I was a first-year teacher, I celebrated this observance day with my students for the first time. It made a bigger impact in the lives of my students and their families than I expected. In April 2020, when World Autism Day occurred during the coronavirus pandemic lockdown, I decided to read some of my children's books about disabilities on Facebook Live to still celebrate the cause with children virtually. From crafts to reading children's books to pictures of people of all differences to Sign Language to writing and plenty more, there are so many ways that to teach children about this important cause. Having books about all differences supports diversity representation and pride in classrooms. I especially love the increase in children's books about disabilities and inclusion that exists today.


    Here is a list of children's books about educating students from young toddlers to high school about disabilities, acceptance, and inclusion:

1. Sesame Street: We're Amazing, 1, 2, 3! written by Leslie Kimmelman and illustrated by Marybeth Nelson

[Image Description: The book called "Sesame Street: We're Amazing, 1, 2, 3!" written by Leslie Kimmelman and illustrated by Marybeth Nelson is laying on a red, yellow, blue, and purple quilt. "SESAME STREET" in center-aligned white text in a green sign outlined in yellow with "123" in center-aligned white text at the top of the sign in the top left corner of the book. "Dreams Come True Travel 860-729-4554 traveldct.com" in center-aligned white text on an aqua rectangular sticker with round points with a white cloud at the bottom of it. Under the Sesame Street logo and Dreams Come True Travel sticker, "We're Amazing, 1, 2, 3!" is in left-aligned bolded lavender text. Under the title, "Story by Leslie Kimmelman" is in left-aligned lavender text and "Illustrations by Marybeth Nelson" is in left-aligned lavender text under "Story by Leslie Kimmelman." Under the author and illustrator's names, there is a picture of Abby Cadabby, Julia, and Elmo (left to right). Abby Cadabby is smiling with a red mouth with her pink tongue sticking out with pink skin, purple eyes, black eye lashes, a round red nose, and her hair has two fluffy purple and pink pigtails with white scrunchies in them. Abby Cadabby is also wearing a blue dress with light purple wings on her back and her arms are spread out. Julia is smiling with a red mouth and she is wearing a violet shirt with purple short sleeves and a purple neck collar. Julia also has yellow skin, orange hair, a round orange nose, green eyes, and black eye lashes. Elmo is smiling with a black mouth and he has a red body, round orange nose, and black eyes. The rest of the book's background is light blue with a white spine.]


    In 2015, Sesame Street introduced their first autistic character/character with autism named Julia. This initiative won an Emmy Award and three children's books about Julia exist. In Sesame Street: We're Amazing, 1, 2, 3!, Abby Cadabby meets Julia for the first time and Elmo educates Abby about how despite Julia's struggles with autism, she is a great friend in many ways. All three of Sesame Street's books about autism are great for teaching young children about disabilities and inclusion. It celebrates diversity and teaches children that it is okay to be different. It teaches children about being friends with people of all differences and the importance of helping others. The moral of the story is that even though disabled/differently-abled individuals and individuals with disabilities have struggles, they are just like everyone else in many ways and make great friends.

    The Sesame Street books about Julia are developmentally-appropriate for readers between the ages of 18 months old to 6 years old.


2. Sesame Street: Family Forever: A Julia Storybook written by Leslie Kimmelman and illustrated by Marybeth Nelson

[Image Description: The book called "Sesame Street: Family Forever: A Julia Storybook" written by Leslie Kimmelman and Julia Bascom and illustrated by Marybeth Nelson is laying on a red, yellow, blue, and purple quilt. "SESAME STREET" in center-aligned white text in a green sign outlined in yellow with "123" in center-aligned white text at the top of the sign in the top left corner of the book. Under the Sesame Street logo, "Family Forever" is in left-aligned bolded aqua text. Under that, "A Julia Storybook" is in left-aligned aqua text. Under the title, "By Leslie Kimmelman with Julia Bascom" is in left-aligned aqua text and "Illustrations by Marybeth Nelson" is in left-aligned aqua text under "By Leslie Kimmelman." Under the names of the authors and illustrators, there is a picture of Julia and Sam (left to right) holding each other's left (Julia) and right (Sam) hands and Julia is holding a light brown plush bunny in her right hand. Julia is smiling with a red mouth and she is wearing a violet shirt with purple short sleeves and a purple neck collar. Julia also has yellow skin, orange hair, a round orange nose, green eyes, and black eye lashes. Sam is smiling with a red mouth and his pink tongue sticking out. Sam also has yellow skin, a roundish triangular red nose, and green eyes along with wearing a short sleeved aqua shirt and black pants. The rest of the book's background is light blue with a white spine.]



    Sesame Street: Family Forever: A Julia Storybook is the second book in Sesame Street's children's books collection about Julia. The main theme of this story is inclusion because Elmo, Abby, and Julia spend time together just like any other group of friends would. The beginning of the story also shows inclusion by putting Julia as a person first before her disability by introducing other qualities about her such as but not limited to the fact that she likes to draw and things about her family before mentioning that she has autism. This is to show that the disability community's differences do not define them because they are just like everyone else in so many ways too despite their struggles. Their differences are not the only part of them.


3. Sesame Street: Julia's Circle of Friends: A Julia Storybook written by Leslie Kimmelman and illustrated by Marybeth Nelson

    Sesame Street: Julia's Circle of Friends: A Julia Storybook is another Sesame Street book about autism where Julia is attending her first day of camp. She experiences a little bit of anxiety about it at first since difficulty with transitions is one of the things that not all but many people in the autism (spectrum) community struggle with. So, her brother named Samuel, Elmo, Abby Cadabby, and their camp counselor named Mia help her along the way. While attending the camp, Julia meets a boy named Randy who also has autism. Julia stands up for him when she sees him being bullied resulting in the development of their friendship.

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4. Why do some people use wheelchairs?: Questions Children Ask About Disabled People written by Mary Atkinson

[Image Description: The book called "Why do some people use wheelchairs?: Questions children ask about disabled people" written by Mary Atkinson is laying on a bright pink bed sheet. "WHY" is in center-aligned black shadowed text. The "W" is in blue text outlined in white, the "H" is in red text outlined in white, and the "Y" is in green text outlined in white. "do some people use wheelchairs?" is in center-aligned white text under "WHY." Under "do some people use wheelchairs?", there is a center-aligned picture outlined in blue with a child sitting in a wheelchair with a taller child walking on their left side and a short child walking on their right side. The children are moving across a four way intersection light gray side walk with islands of green grass on both sides. Under the picture, "Questions child ask about DISABLED PEOPLE" is in center-aligned white text. There is a picture of a girl with a service dog in the top left corner of the book, a girl wearing glasses who is sitting in a wheelchair on the left side of the big picture on the book, a child with Down Syndrome sitting at the bottom of a red slide with blue handles and a blue ladder in the bottom left corner of the book, a child wearing a hearing aid blue shirt in the bottom right corner of the book, two children standing and communicating through Sign Language on the right side of the big picture on the book, and a child standing and licking an orange popsicle in the top left corner of the book. The text and pictures are in a big yellow square that fills up the cover of the book. The big yellow square is also outlined in blue with a white border.]


    Why: Questions Children Ask About Disabled People is an informational children's book that answers questions that children often ask about the disability community. The book educates young children about different types of disabilities, the disability community's needs, and inclusion. It also celebrates diverse abilities and needs and that it is okay to be different. Real-life pictures of the disability community are provided for representation as well.

    On a personal note, my parents actually bought this book for my brother and I during our childhood and it was how I learned about disabilities. I always supported the disability community, and coincidentally, I favored this book long before my passion for the cause started. The fact that this was my favorite book when I was a child was like a sign that I would be so passionate about this cause.

    Why: Questions Children Ask About Disabled People is developmentally-appropriate for readers from birth to third grade.


5. Wonder written by R.J. Palacio

[Image Description: The book called "Wonder" written by R.J. Palacio is laying on a red, yellow, blue, and purple quilt. "THE #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR" is in right-aligned text in the top right corner of the book with "NEW YORK TIMES" in italicized text and "THE #1" and "BESTSELLING AUTHOR" in printed text. "R.J. PALACIO" is in right-aligned bolded white text under the previously described text. "ARE YOU READY TO MET AUGGIE PULLMAN?" is in right-aligned bolded text in the middle of the book's cover. "WONDER" is center-aligned under the previously described text with the "W" and "NDER" in white text and Auggie's head in a white and black astronaut helmet representing the "O" in the word, "Wonder." Auggie is also wearing a long-sleeved dark green sweater with a yellow shirt underneath of it and blue jeans. His body is standing and pictured at ankle length. "NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE!" is in right-aligned bolded yellow text under "NDER." "Includes full-color movie photos and exclusive content!" is in right-aligned white text next to one of Auggie's hands on the right side of the book cover.  "With a foreword by STEPHEN CHBOSKY" in right-aligned white text with "STEPHEN CHBOSKY" in bolded text and "With a foreword by" in printed text. The background of the book's paperback cover is light blue.]


    Wonder is a multi-award-winning novel for all ages about a boy with a facial deformity named Auggie Pullman. After being home-schooled for his whole life, Auggie's parents decide that it is time to start sending him to school. Auggie starts fifth grade at Beecher Prep Elementary School and faces many challenges from his peers who bully him. Auggie uses those challenges to show his peers that he is more than his differences. Despite the bullies, Auggie also befriends two kids in his grade named Jack Will and Summer Dawson.

    This novel can be inspiring for readers of all ages and was created as a movie in 2017. The story educates readers about awareness, acceptance, and inclusion of people of all differences, especially disabilities. The inclusion of a disabled character/character with disabilities/differently-abled character celebrates diversity. Wonder expresses the message that it is okay to be different and everyone's differences do not define them. This story can also teach readers about bullying prevention, which the disability community tend to experience due to discrimination and/or peers having a lack of understanding.

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6. Auggie & Me: Three Wonder Stories written by R.J. Palacio

[Image Description: The book called "Auggie & Me: Three Wonder Stories" written by R.J. Palacio is laying on a red, yellow, blue, and purple quilt. "auGGie & ME" in center-aligned fancy text. "auGGie &" is in black text and "ME" in white text. Under that, "three wonder stories" is in center-aligned fancy text a black rectangle with frayed edges. "three" and "stories" are in white text and "wonder" is in blue text. There are pictures of Julian, Christopher, and Charlotte (left to right) under "three wonder stories." Julian has black hair with bangs, light blue eyes, and white skin with a mouth missing with "The Julian Chapter" in center-aligned black text above his head. Christopher has black hair, brown eyes, and white skin with a small light green star on his forehead with a mouth missing and "Pluto" in center-aligned cursive black text above his head. Charlotte has blonde chin-length hair, blue eyes, and white skin with a mouth missing and "Shingaling" in center-aligned cursive black text above her head. "R.J. PAlACiO" is in center-aligned cursive white text at the bottom of the book. A round yellow sticker that says "WONDER SOON TO BE A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE" in center-aligned black text with "WONDER" in cursive text and "SOON TO BE A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE" in printed text. The background of the book's paperback cover is light blue.]


    Auggie & Me: Three Wonder Stories is actually not a sequel to Wonder; it shares the perspectives of the characters who we did not get to read the perspectives from in Wonder: Julian, Auggie's old best friend named Christopher, and Charlotte.


7. 365 Days of Wonder: Mr. Browne's Book of Precepts written by R.J. Palacio

[Image Description: The book called "365 Days of Wonder: Mr. Browne's Precepts" written by R.J. Palacio is laying on a red, yellow, blue, and purple quilt. "365 DAYS of WONDER" in center-aligned cursive black text. "Mr. Browne's PRECEPTS" is in center-aligned black text in a white cloud center-aligned under "WONDER." A boy with short black hair, one left eye, white skin, a short-sleeved black shirt with a center-aligned black and white striped heart on it, white pants, and black and white sneakers who is waving his left hand is left-aligned under "Mr." On the left side of the boy, "A QUOTE for EVERY DAY of the YEAR ABOUT COURAGE, FRIENDSHIP, LOVE, and KINDNESS" is in center-aligned cursive black text in a square shaped orange cloud. The word "and" is underlined in black. Under the boy and orange cloud, "R.J. PAlACiO" is in center-aligned cursive black text with a round yellow sticker on the right side of the author's name. The yellow sticker says "WONDER SOON TO BE A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE" in center-aligned black text with "WONDER" in cursive text and "SOON TO BE A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE" in printed text. "#1 New York Times bestselling author of WONDER and AUGGIE & ME" in center-aligned black text is at the bottom of the book cover. The book's paperback cover is light blue.]


    The summary of 365 Days of Wonder: Mr. Browne's Book of Precepts is pretty self-explanatory just by reading the title. It is a book full of precepts from the English teacher named Mr. Browne for each day of the year.


8. The Wonder Journal written by R. J. Palacio

[Image Description: Rectangular light blue book cover with "wonder" in enlarged justified cursive white text. In the bottom left corner of the book cover "jour•nal" is in left-aligned bolded black text with "noun:" in italicized black text on the right. Below this text, "a book in which you write down your personal experiences and thoughts" is in left-aligned black text.]


    A Wonder themed journal to write any of your thoughts, ideas, stories, experiences, lists, and/or other important stuff in.


9. Thank You, Mr. Falker written and illustrated by Patricia Polacco

[Image Description: The book called "Thank you, Mr. Falker" written by Patricia Polacco is laying on a red, yellow, blue, and purple quilt. "PATRICIA POLACCO" is in center-aligned black text at the top of the book cover. "Thank you, Mr. Falker" is in left-aligned maroon text under "PATRICIA POLACCO." At the bottom of the page, there is a big picture of Trisha (left) wearing a dress and sitting at a table looking at the pages in a book with Mr. Falker (right) wearing a green jacket and red collar, smiling, and standing with his fingers on his chin. There are hands on another child holding a book and pointing to the pages in the bottom right corner of the book cover. The rest of the background of the book cover is white.]


    Thank You, Mr. Falker is based off of the author and illustrator named Patricia Polacco's real-life struggles with dyslexia in her childhood. When Trisha starts school, she has a really hard time reading and her classmates bully her for it. She often cries about it until one day, the new teacher named Mr. Falker stands up for her and helps her improve her reading skills. Today, Patricia Polacco is a successful children's books author and illustrator and I highly recommend all of her books for all children. Lots of Patricia Polacco's books are actually about her childhood experiences and very relatable too.

    Thank You, Mr. Falker is a great way to teach readers in elementary school about disabilities (especially dyslexia) and that affect learning along with acceptance, inclusion, and bullying prevention. It also gives reassurance and hope to children in the disability community who had experiences similar to Patricia Polacco's experiences. Thank You, Mr. Falker is developmentally-appropriate for readers in Kindergarten through sixth grade.

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9. It's Okay to be Different written and illustrated by Todd Parr

    It's Okay to be Different celebrates people of all differences including disabilities, race, cultures, families with same-sex and single parents, adoptive families, diverse physical appearances, likes, dislikes, different beliefs, ethnicities, and languages. It even teaches young readers about the importance of inclusion and helping others.

    It's Okay to be Different can be developmentally-appropriate for readers between the ages of 18 months old to Kindergarten.

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10. My Brother Charlie written by Holly Robinson Peete and Ryan Elizabeth Peete and illustrated by Shane W. Evans

[Image Description: The book called "My Brother Charlie" is laying on a red, yellow, blue, and purple quilt. "My Brother Charlie" is in center-aligned yellow text at the top of the hardback book cover. Under the title, there is a picture of two standing Black children named Callie and Charlie. Callie (left) is smiling with her eyes closed and hugging Charlie (right) and wearing a long sleeved red and yellow striped shirt and blue jeans with curly brown hair that has one pig tail pictured to the left. Charlie is smiling with his brown eyes opened and wearing a long sleeved green sweater and blue jeans with short curly brown hair. To the right of Charlie, there is a head of a brown dog facing to the left and sticking their pink tongue out. In the bottom left corner of the book cover, "written by HOLLY ROBINSON PEETE and RYAN ELIZABETH PEETE pictures by SHANE W. EVANS" is in center-aligned text. "written by HOLLY ROBINSON PEETE" is in green text with "HOLLY ROBINSON PEETE" in bolded text and "written by" in printed text. "and RYAN ELIZABETH PEETE" is in dark blue text with "RYAN ELIZABETH PEETE" in bolded text and "and" in printed text. "pictures by SHANE W. EVANS" is in dark brown text with "SHANE W. EVANS" in bolded text and "pictures by" in printed text. The rest of the background of the book is a blue sky with lighter blue clouds.]


    My Brother Charlie is based off of the real-life parenting experience of the actress named Holly Robinson Peete's son named R.J. and his childhood with autism. The story is told from the perspective of his sister named Ryan and the characters' names have been changed to Callie and Charlie. R.J. has also written a book about his life with autism called Same but Different: Teen Life on the Autism Express.

    My Brother Charlie is developmentally-appropriate for readers in PreK to fourth grade.


11. My Friend Has Down Syndrome written by Jennifer Moore-Mallinos and illustrated by Marta Fabrega

[Image Description: The book called "My Friend Has Down Syndrome" written by Jennifer Moore-Mallinos and illustrated by Marta Fabrega laying on a red, yellow, blue, and purple quilt. There is a square logo that says "LET'S TALK" in a square in the top left corner of the book cover. "LET'S" is in a white rectangle and "TALK" is in a black rectangle under "LET'S." "My friend has Down Syndrome" is in white text with "My friend" in left-aligned text and "has Down Syndrome" in right-aligned text to the left of the "LET'S TALK" logo. "Do you have a special friend? I do! Her name is Ella, and she's my best friend." is in center-aligned black text under "syndrome on the right center of the book. "let's talk about it!" in center-aligned curved black text under "my best friend." There is a sun flower with yellow petals, an orange center, and 3 green leaves at its bottom on the right side of "let's talk about it!". "Jennifer Moore-Mallinos Illustrations: Marta Fabrega" is in left-aligned purple text under "let's talk about it!". In the bottom left corner of the book cover, there is a picture of a girl with Down Syndrome named Ella who is smiling and wearing her long straight blonde hair down in a middle part along with a short sleeved dark purple shirt and gray shorts. Ella has her left hand spread out in front of her and is holding three small light brown pottery creations. There is one big sun flower with yellow petals, an orange center, and two green leaves behind Ella to the left and two big sun flowers with 2 leaves of all of the same colors behind Ella to the right. The top to the middle of the book cover is dark purple and the middle to the bottom of the book cover is white.]


    My Friend Has Down Syndrome is about a group of campers who find out from their camp counselor named Miss Theresa that a little girl with Down Syndrome named Ella will be joining their group. The main character is very excited when Miss Theresa asks them to be Ella's welcome buddy to show her the ropes. However, the campers also worry about Ella attending the camp such as being concerned that they will catch her condition and insisting the possibility that she should attend a "special camp." So, Miss Theresa educates them about Down Syndrome and inclusion.

    My Friend Has Down Syndrome can be developmentally-appropriate for readers between the ages of 18 months old to third grade.

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12. The Little Engine That Could written by Watty Piper and George Doris Hauman

[Image Description: The book called "The Little Engine That Could" written by Watty Piper is laying on a red, yellow, blue, and purple quilt. There is a blue and yellow train facing to the right with one big center-aligned black and gray wheel outlined in yellow, two small gray wheels outlined in yellow on the left and right sides of the center-aligned wheel, and a gray engine on the front of the train. The train has a smile on the chimney and a yellow bell behind the head of the train. There is a smiling clown who is sitting on the back of the train. The clown is holding a red flag attached to a yellow stick in their right hand. The clown is wearing a white and green polka dotted outfit with red neck and wrist collars, big yellow shoes, a red pointed hat with two white cotton balls on it, a blue clown nose, and red, white, and black face makeup. The clown has their back turned away from the front of the train with their head turned towards the front of the train. "THE LITTLE ENGINE THAT COULD" is in center-aligned yellow text outlined in black. There is white smoke coming out of the train's smokebox and the rest of the white board book's cover matches the shape of the train.]


    The Little Engine That Could is about a small blue engine who must help pull toys and animals over a mountain after the little red train stops working. Although the little blue engine is reluctant about performing this task due to its size, they are determined to give it a chance by repetitively saying "I think I can" while doing so resulting in success and pride.

    This is a colorful, fun, motivating book for readers between the ages of 18 months old to Kindergarten.

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13. Who Will Read to Me? written by Donna Lugg Pape and illustrated by Tony Ross

[Image Description: The book called "Who Will Read to Me?" written by Donna Lugg Pape and illustrated by Tony Ross is laying on a red, yellow, blue, and purple quilt. "Who Will Read to Me?" is in center-aligned curved light purple text. "by Donna Lugg Pape" is in left-aligned black text under "Who Will" and "Illustrated by Tony Ross" is in left-aligned black text under "by Donna Lugg Pape." Under the name of the title, author, and illustrator, there is a picture of a lion wearing a yellow crown, black framed glasses with clear lenses, a black tuxedo, a white dress shirt, and bare feet while carrying twenty stacked colorful books. The lion's tail is hanging from behind them and onto the ground. There are three bumpy light gray rocks of different sizes behind the lion. In the bottom right corner of the white book cover, there is an imprinted gold colored ribbon that says "HOUGHTON MIFFLIN READING The Literature Experience EXPERIENCE" in center-aligned curved black text. "HOUGHTON MIFFLIN" is in printed curved bold text above "The" and "READING" is in printed curved bold text below "Experience." "The Literature Experience" is in cursive bold text.]


    Young children who struggle with reading skills as part of their disabilities, especially dyslexia, can definitely relate to Who Will Read To Me? written by Donna Lugge Pape and illustrated by Tony Ross. The lion constantly asks their animal friends to read to them because they do not know how to read. Struggling with learning how to read is a common sign of dyslexia and other types of disabilities that affect reading skills. The lion does not tell their animal friends about their struggle with reading due to possible insecurity and fear of judgement. This is until they confront the lion about why they are constantly being asked to read to them. After the lion confesses their struggle to their animal friends with tears in their eyes, they reassure the lion that they will teach them how to read. This leads to the lion overcoming their struggle with reading. In the end, the lion and their animal friends are very proud and happy about this accomplishment.

    The overall story of Who Will Read To Me? can educate readers in Kindergarten to third grade about awareness of their peers with learning differences. The moral of the story teaches acceptance of peers with these struggles and the importance of helping friends. In addition, the story reminds young readers of all abilities about the importance of reading and provides encouragement in their learning process.


14. Fred Rogers books

[Image Description: The book called "Dear Mister Rogers, Does it ever rain in your neighborhood?: Letters to Mister Rogers" written by Fred Rogers is laying on a red, yellow, blue, and purple quilt. "Dear Mister Rogers," is in center-aligned tipped bold yellow text. There is a white envelope tipped and facing to the left on the left side of "Mister." "Does it ever rain in your neighborhood?" is in center-aligned yellow text under "Rogers,." "Fred Rogers" is in left-aligned dark blue text under "neighborhood." "Letters to Mister Rogers" is in center-aligned white text in a red oval on the right side of "Rogers." There is a neighborhood of colorful homes with many square shaped windows on them at the bottom of the book cover. There is a blue sky with three white clouds above the neighborhood.]


    Mr. Fred Rogers was a legendary American TV personality who created, managed, and hosted his own educational children's television program called Mister Rogers' Neighborhood. On the show, Mr. Rogers passionately discussed a variety of important topics in a way that young children would understand on their developmental levels. Mr. Rogers made sure to include challenging circumstances that children and their families could relate to and made an extra effort to include disabilities as part of these lessons. This was because like me, he took focusing on awareness, acceptance, inclusion, and kindness towards people of all differences very seriously. After unfortunately passing away from stomach cancer in 2003, his impactful, notable legacy still lives on. As a result, there are many children's books that Mr. Rogers and other authors wrote that still exist in today's world to celebrate his legacy. Dear Mr. Rogers (pictured above) is filled with letters that real fans of all ages and their families sent to Mr. Rogers and his replies from back when Mister Roger's Neighborhood was still on the air. The letters were so inspirational, relatable, and some of the letters that children wrote are also funny. The author of the book is actually Mr. Rogers himself! 🤩 The original letter that Mr. Rogers received from a blind little girl requesting that he announce when he was feeding the fish because she could not see him feeding the fish on the air and would get upset when she did not know that he was doing it is also included in this book.

    Dear Mr. Rogers is developmentally-appropriate for readers between PreK through adulthood.


15. Baby Signs: A Baby-Sized Introduction to Speaking with Sign Language written and illustrated by Joy Allen

[Image Description: The book called "Baby Signs: A Baby-Sized Introduction to Speaking with Sign Language" written and illustrated by Joy Allen laying on a red, yellow, blue, and purple quilt. "Baby Signs" is in center-aligned curved blue text at the top of the book cover. Under the title of the book cover, there is a white smiling baby who is sitting on a white floor in front of a yellow wall with eleven scattered white stars on it. The baby has some straight brown hair who is wearing a long sleeved light green shirt, a white bib with a yellow duck with an orange beak, medium green and dark green striped pants, and white socks. The baby's left hand is raised and there is a triangular red block, a cube blue block, and a cube yellow block with a center-aligned orange "C" on it on the left side of the floor. There is an orange block with a center-aligned black "B" on it and brown teddy bear in front of the baby. There is a triangular purple block on the right side of the floor. "pictures by Joy Allen" is in center-aligned dark blue text in the bottom right corner of the book cover.


    Baby Signs: A Baby-Sized Introduction to Speaking with Sign Language is a board book for teaching baby signs. Sign Language is not universal; so, the definition of Baby Sign Language is pretty self-explanatory - it is a type of sign language created for infants and toddlers. The signs are developmentally-appropriate gestures that infants and toddlers will typically understand and be able to apply. Baby Sign Language can be a great way to teach infants and toddlers of all abilities since their verbal communication skills are so limited at their age. It is also a great diversity lesson for them since Sign Language is commonly used by many people in the deaf and hard of hearing community. It is common for people who struggle with their verbal communication skills as part of their disabilities to use Sign Language as well. When I was a toddler teacher, I taught Baby Sign Language to my toddler students every day at circle time and incorporated it into our daily routine. I taught Baby Sign Language to my infant students back when I was a Lead Infant Teacher as well. Teaching Baby Sign Language to my infant and toddler students definitely positively and strongly impacted their development. There are many other additional Baby Sign Language books out there as children's books and informational books for families and infant/toddler teachers. I bought Baby Signs: A Baby-Sized Introduction to Speaking with Sign Language. To find out more about Baby Sign Language, you can visit the website of the founders of Baby Sign Language: www.babysigns.com

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16. All Are Welcome written by Alexandra Penfold and illustrated by Suzanne Kaufman

[Image Description: The book called "All Are Welcome" is laying on a red, yellow, blue, and purple quilt. "Alexandra Penfold" and "Suzanne Kaufman" are in center-aligned blue text at the top of the book cover. There is a small orange sun in the middle of "Penfold and "Suzanne." The book title says "All Are Welcome" in center-aligned red text under the names of the authors. Under the name of the book title, there is a picture of seven diverse children across a yellow and white striped street behind a tall man who is holding one of the children's hands. The rest of the book cover's background is white.]


    All Are Welcome is a children's book about kindness, inclusion, and people of all differences. It focuses on people of all differences using nameless diverse young child characters who celebrate their inclusive friendship together in a school. The reason that the characters remain nameless is most likely because they symbolize every person with the differences that match theirs. All Are Welcome is a great way to celebrate the beauty of being different and the importance and benefits of inclusion and kindness in schools.

    All Are Welcome is developmentally-appropriate for readers between the ages of 18 months old to fourth grade.


17. I Can, Can You? written and photographed by Marjorie W. Pitzer

[Image Description: The book called "I Can, Can You?" written and photographed by Marjorie W. Pitzer is laying on a red, yellow, blue, and purple quilt. "I Can, Can You?" is in center-aligned white text outlined in pink. "Written & Photographed by Marjorie W. Pitzer" is in center-aligned white text outlined in pink at the bottom of the book. On the right side of the book cover, there is a smiling baby with short blonde hair who is wearing a purple strapped bathing suit with four light pink flowers on the chest part of the bathing suit. The baby is also sitting in green grass.]


    I Can, Can You? written and photographed by Marjorie W. Pitzer is a book that features babies with Down Syndrome without their differences being mentioned and focusing on their abilities and interests including playing patty cake, playing in a sand box, self-feeding, etc. While educating about differences to spread awareness is needed when teaching about inclusion, it is also important to teach children to look past people's differences by focusing beyond those differences. This is because differences do not define people meaning they are not the only part of people. There are other qualities about people in the disability community that need to be recognized just like they get recognized in nondisabled people/people without disabilities.

    I Can, Can You? is developmentally-appropriate for readers between the ages of birth to 5 years old.

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18. My Monster and Me written by Nadiya Hussain and illustrated by Ella Bailey

[Image Description: The book called "My Monster and Me" written by Nadiya Hussain and illustrated by Ella Bailey is laying on a red, yellow, blue, and purple quilt. "My Monster" is in center-aligned bolded green text at the top of the beige book cover. "and Me" is in green text right aligned under the last four letters of "Monster." There is a big yellow monster standing in the middle of the book cover and a boy with short brown hair standing in front of the monster. The boy has a worried look on his face and is wearing a white and red striped shirt with a pocket on it, green pants, and dark green socks. "A reassuring story about sharing worries" is in center-aligned orange text on the left side of the monster. "NADIYA HUSSAIN" is in center-aligned bolded orange text on the bottom left of the book. "ILLUSTRATED BY ELLA BAILEY" is in center-aligned orange text with "ELLA BAILEY" in bolded text. "From the star of Nadiya's Time to Eat and winner of The Great British Baking Show" is in center-aligned black text at the bottom of the book cover. "Nadiya's Time to Eat" and "The Great British Baking Show" is italicized text.]


    My Monster and Me written by Nadiya Hussain and illustrated by Ella Bailey is a book that acknowledges that early childhood youth's mental health matters. It provides representation of what mental health struggles look like especially when it comes to anxiety, depression, self-expression, negative thoughts, and lack of motivation to participate in activities that one once loved. In the beginning of the book, there is a section that contains information about Nadiya Hussain and her life with a panic disorder.

    My Monster and Me is developmentally-appropriate for readers between the ages of eighteen months old to nine years old.


19. Good Night Books written by Adam Gamble and illustrated by Mark Jasper

[Image Description: In the bottom left corner of the book cover there is part of a green bush and some grass pictured. On the right side of the bush there is a white sidewalk with two healthcare workers wearing light blue scrubs and white face masks standing on the back left side of the sidewalk. On the right side behind the healthcare workers, there is a person wearing a white face mask who is sitting in a wheelchair while with another person walking behind them and following them. There is a green bush on the right side of both of them. They both appear to be moving towards the faded clear colored glass doors of the hospital that have several light gray silhouettes of people behind the glass doors and windows. Above the healthcare workers, person in a wheelchair, and person following behind them, there is a dark blue visor roof that says "Welcome" in center-aligned light blue text on the front of it. At the end of the sidewalk, there is a child wearing a light purple face mask who is sitting in a wheelchair while holding a dark brown teddy bear that is wearing a dark purple face mask. There is a person wearing a blue face mask who is carrying a bag and following behind the child in the wheelchair with their head turned around. On the right side of the person with the blue face mask, there is another person who is wearing a white face mask and waving to the healthcare workers. On the left side of the child in the wheelchair, there is another child who is wearing a light yellow face mask. Behind the child who is wearing a light yellow face mask, there is the rest of the dark blue building with several rectangular light yellow windows with a patch of green grass. There is a dark blue night sky with several white scattered white dots that represent stars.]


    When I used to read the Good Night Books children's books brand to my former young toddler class and former infant class at circle time, I noticed that many of the characters in the books have visible disabilities. They are in wheelchairs and using canes and crutches while participating in activities.

    I like that these are other books that feature disabled characters/characters with disabilities and focus beyond their differences. The characters' disabilities are not mentioned in the Good Night Books and I was so pleased to see this during the first time that I made this observation. To reiterate, while it is important to have and read children's books about disabilities to spread awareness, understanding of differences, and acceptance, it is also important to have children's books that include characters with disabilities/disabled characters/differently-abled characters and characters of all differences in the stories because just looking at the characters in the pictures will also help readers to gain acceptance and inclusion of differences through the pictures serving as visual representation. Doing this teaches children and all readers that disabilities do not always need to be mentioned because they are not the only part of people. People with disabilities, disabled people, and differently-abled people are more than their disabilities and despite their struggles, they can do many other of the same things as everyone else too. This is because they are capable of being included in other opportunities that focus beyond their differences.

[Image Description: There is a picture of a person with short brown hair who is sitting in a wheelchair with a purple seat and blue and white wheels. There is a blue robot and taller blue robot standing on a purple platform. Part of a robot's hands and arms playing a gold trumpet is pictured on the left in front of the person who is sitting in the wheelchair. The head of a child who is wearing glasses with short blonde hair and part of the head of a child with short brown hair (left to right) are pictured at the bottom of the page to the right of the robot that is playing a trumpet. On the right side of the page, there is a smiling child with blonde hair who is wearing a light yellow t-shirt and green backpack. The walls behind the people and robots are bright blue. At the top of the page, "Hello, science museum, where learning is fun" is in center-aligned white text.]


    Good Nights Books are developmentally-appropriate for readers between the ages of birth to 5 years old.

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20. The Blind Men and the Elephant written by Karen Backstein and illustrated by Annie Mitra

[Image Description: "The Blind Men and the Elephant" center-aligned blue text at the top of the white book cover. Below the title, there is the front of a gray elephant's body facing to the right and wearing red, yellow, and blue felt on its back and a red and yellow headpiece on its head. There is a blind man with a black mustache wearing a yellow and white outfit with bare feet while touching the elephant's white tusk. There is another blind man with a black mustache wearing a blue and white outfit and blue hat with bare feet while touching the elephant's front right foot.]


    The Blind Men and the Elephant written by Karen Backstein and illustrated by Annie Mitra is about six blind men who feel a prince's elephant following sharing different perceptions of how the elephant feels from touching it's different body parts. This book supports representation of the blind/vision loss community.

    The Blind Men and the Elephant is developmentally-appropriate for readers between first to second grade. Including a sensory stimulation activity as a guided reading activity after reading this book to young learners could also be great to promote their understanding of what it is like to be blind or have vision loss.


21. You Are Enough: A Book About Inclusion written by Margaret O'Hair, illustrated by Sofia Cardoso, and inspired by Sofia Sanchez

[Image Description: "WRITTEN BY MARGARET O'HAIR ILLUSTRATED BY SOFIA CARDOZO" in center-aligned black text at the top of the book cover. "you ARE enough A BOOK ABOUT INCLUSION" in center-aligned colorful text. "INSPIRED BY SoFiA SANCHEZ" in center-aligned colorful text. There is a doodled yellow sun in the top left corner of the book cover and colorful abstract art on the book cover. At the bottom of the book from left to right, there is a child with short red hair and red glasses who is wearing a long-sleeved lime green sweater with white collars and blue pants, a child with short dark brown hair who is wearing a short-sleeved striped white and blue t-shirt and orange pants, a child who represents Sofia with shoulder-length blonde hair with a yellow barrette clipped on its right side and wearing a sleeveless white dress while waving, a child who has shoulder-length red hair and is wearing a pink and white cap, a short sleeved lime green shirt underneath an aqua and light blue polka-dotted strapped romper and light purple leggings, and a child who is sitting in a black and gray wheelchair with shoulder-length braided dark brown hair and is wearing a long-sleeved yellow shirt with violet pants and waving.]


    You Are Enough: A Book About Inclusion written by Margaret O'Hair and illustrated by Sofia Cardoso is based off of the real Sofia Sanchez who is a young girl with Down Syndrome who takes pride in her disability.

    You Are Enough: A Book About Inclusion is developmentally appropriate for readers between the ages of 5 years old to third grade.

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22. Helen Keller written by Margaret Davidson

    Helen Keller written by Margaret Davidson tells the true story of Helen Keller's life after becoming deaf-blind, her relationship with her family and Annie Sullivan, her journey of learning American Sign Language (ASL), how to use a Louis Braille typewriter, read, and write along with her resiliency, and legacy. The students in the third grade classroom that I did my Field Experience I-III towards my Bachelor's Degree in read this book in their reading class in the month of December since Christmas is featured in the plot of this book.

Helen Keller is developmentally-appropriate for readers between third through fourth grade.


23. Who Was Helen Keller? written by Gare Thompson and illustrated by Nancy Harrison

Who Was Helen Keller? written by Gare Thompson and illustrated by Nancy Harrison is a book that is part of the Who Was...? children's chapter book series. Who Was Helen Keller? is an illustrated autobiography about how Helen Keller became deaf-blind at two years old, the struggles that she faced, and Annie Sullivan's support, which contributed towards Helen Keller's success. Who Was Helen Keller? also includes a timeline of Helen Keller's life, resourceful information about Louis Braille typewriters, and a bibliography to grow readers' understanding about part of disability history.

    Who Was Helen Keller? is developmentally-appropriate for readers between third through sixth grade.


24. Amanda Gorman (Little People, BIG DREAMS) written by Maria Isabel Sanchez Vegara and illustrated by Queenbe Monyei

    Amanda Gorman (Little People, BIG DREAMS) written by Maria Isabel Sanchez Vegara and illustrated by Queenbe Monyei is about perseverance to become a poet and activist since childhood. This book also shares details about how Amanda Gorman's speech impediment and Auditory Processing Disorder (APD) made her work extra hard during her childhood and current life. Her many successes are also shared including her opportunity to perform her inspiring poem called "The Hill We Climb" at Joe Biden's Presidential Inauguration in January 2021 and the fact that she became America's first National Youth Poet Laureate.

    Amanda Gorman (Little People, BIG DREAMS) is developmentally-appropriate for readers between four years old to third grade.


25. A Thought Is Just a Thought: A Story About Living with OCD written by Leslie Talley and afterward written by Michael E Jenike, MD

[Image Description: On the left side of the book cover, there is a big gray and white picture of a female child who is wearing a short-sleeved shirt with flowers on it with four petals on each with her eyes closed. In the top right corner of the book cover, "A Thought Is Just a Thought" is in center-aligned dark aqua text with "A STORY OF LIVING WITH OCD" in center-aligned black text. Below the top text, There is a picture of a female child who is smiling and wearing dark aqua romper with a short-sleeved dark purple t-shirt underneath and there is a light brown puppy behind her. The puppy is touching and looking at a light green ball with its head down and tail up. In the bottom left corner of the book cover, "LESLIE TALLEY" is in center-aligned black text with a dark red line underneath it. "AFTERWORD BY MICHAEL A. JENIKE, MD" is in center-aligned black text under the dark red line.]


    A Thought is Just a Thought: A Story of Living with OCD written by Leslie Talley with an afterword written by Michael A. Jenike is about a child named Jenny and her struggles with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD). After she shares her concerns with her mother, her mother tells her that she lives with the same mental health struggles and takes her to a doctor named Dr. Mike for additional support. Some of the mental health concerns that Jenny experiences are repetitively tapping the wall with her fingers because she is afraid that her sister won't come back home and her fear of walking on the white squares of the kitchen's black and white tiled floor in her home. Dr. Mike shows kindness towards Jenny by helping her overcome her fears and relieve her stress when she has bad thoughts to help her come to the realization that "a thought is just a thought."

    A Thought is Just a Thought: A Story of Living with OCD is a great book for enhancing children's and families' understanding of OCD. This book is developmentally-appropriate for readers between three years old to second grade.


26. Of Mice and Men written by John Steinbeck

[Image Description: There are two men with dark brown hair who are sitting on a red and brown grass hill their backs turned who are wearing black overalls and long-sleeved dark green shirts underneath. There is a light blue sky with several small white cloud in front of the men. There are black silhouettes of trees on the left side of the men. At the bottom of the book cover, there is a big black rectangle with "JOHN STEINBECK" in center-aligned orange text and "Of Mice and Men" in center-aligned italicized white text below it. Above "JOHN STEINBECK," there is a smaller white rectangle with a center-aligned tiny orange oval with a penguin inside of it. On the left side of the penguin, "PENGUIN" is in black text with all of the letters spread out. On the right side of the penguin, "CLASSICS" is in black text with all of the letters spread out.]


    Of Mice and Men written by John Steinbeck is about two migrant ranch workers named George Milton and Lennie Small who constantly move from place to place together in California in search of new job opportunities during the Great Depression in the United States. Lennie Small is a tall and physically strong man with a severe mental disability and he and George are close friends. George acts as Lennie's guardian and protector. George is always showing concern that Lennie's mistakes that he is well-known for will result in something worse happening. This foreshadows one of the most important parts of the story. Although Of Mice and Men has a heartbreaking ending, it does have an engaging story line and I highly recommend it.

    Of Mice and Men is developmentally appropriate for readers in ninth grade to adulthood.


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27. Please Stop Laughing at Me: One Woman's Inspirational Story written by Jodee Blanco

[Image Description: In the top left corner of the beige book cover, there is a red circle that contains "The New York Times Bestseller" in center-aligned white text. "New York Times" is in italicized text. On the right side of the text "'Courageous and honest.' -Publishers Weekly" is in center-aligned black text. "Publishers Weekly" is in italicized text. "Please Stop Laughing at Me..." is in center-aligned black text. "UPDATED EDITION" is in center-aligned red text with a long red line on each side in the middle of the book cover. Below that text, "One Woman's Inspirational Story" is in center-aligned italicized black text. In the bottom left corner of the book cover, there is an enlarged picture of a female teenager with her blonde hair pulled back in a bun or ponytail and wearing a long-sleeved olive green shirt with a white shirt underneath. Her legs and arms are crossed across each other as she is sitting on a beige colored floor. On the right side of the teenager, "We've all seen the frightening results of school bullying. Please Stop Laughing at Me... can help us prevent other teens from being harmed.' -DAVE PELZER, #1 New York Times Bestselling Author" is in center-aligned black text. "Please Stop Laughing at Me..." and "New York Times" are in italicized text. Below this text, "Jodee Blanco" is in enlarged center-aligned black text.]


    I want provide a strong ⚠️TRIGGER WARNING (TW)⚠️ for Please Stop Laughing at Me: One Woman's Inspirational Story written by Jodee Blanco. This is the true story of Jodee Blanco and even some of her disabled peers every kind of bullying that you can think of from insults to rumors to humiliation to exclusion to ableism to threats to violence and many other traumatic ways. Jodee Blanco explains how most of her teachers and administrators neglected the situation and there bullying prevention resources provided in the back of the book.

     Please Stop Laughing at Me gives a strong representation of how harmful bullying can be to anyone's mental health. That is why I also want to provide a strong TW for self-harm. I also want to give TWs for medical trauma and childhood trauma since doctors kept insisting that Jodee was fine when she developed a deformity that needed treatment all along. There are mentions of Jodee's bullies experiencing other childhood traumas as well. As a bullying survivor, I related to this book so well when it comes to how neglectful not all, but many educators can be when handling school bullying.

    Please Stop Laughing at Me is developmentally appropriate for readers in ninth grade to adulthood.

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                                                                       Citations

1. Allen, J. (2008). Baby Signs: A Baby-Sized Introduction to Sign Language. Penguin Young Readers Group.

2. Atkinson, M. (1997). Why do some people use wheelchairs?: Questions Children Ask About Disabled People. D.K. Publishing, Inc.

3. (2023). Baby Signs. www.babysigns.com

4. Backstein, K. (2003). The Blind Men and the Elephant. Berrett-Koehler Publishers.

5. Please Stop Laughing at Me: One Woman's Inspirational Story. Jodee Blanco. 2022.

6. Helen Keller. Margaret Davidson. 1989.

7. Gamble, A. (2005). Good Night Books. Good Night Books. https://goodnightbooks.com

8. Gamble, A. (2020). Good Night Health Care Heroes. Good Night Books.

9. Hussain, N. (2021). My Monster and Me. Penguin Random House, LLC.

10. Kimmelman, L. (2018). Sesame Street: Family Forever: A Julia Storybook. Sesame Workshop.

11. Kimmelman, L. (2015). Sesame Street: We're Amazing, 1, 2, 3! Sesame Workshop.

12. Moore-Mallinos, J. (2008). My friend has Down Syndrome. B E S Pub Co.

13. O'Hair, M. (2021). You Are Enough: A Book About Inclusion. Scholastic, Inc.

14. Auggie & Me: Three Wonder Stories. R. J. Palacio. 2015.

15. 365 Days of Wonder: Mr. Browne's Precepts: A Quote for Every Day of the Year About Courage, Friendship, Love, and Kindness. R. J. Palacio. 2015.

16. The Wonder Journal. R. J. Palacio. 2015.

17. Wonder. R. J. Palacio. 2012.

18. Pape, D. L. (1991). Who Will Read To Me? Houghton Mifflin Company.

19. Parr, T. (2009). It's Okay to be Different. Little, Brown Books for Young Readers.

20. My Brother Charlie. Peete, H. R. & Peete, R. E. (2010).

21. Penfold, A. (2018). All Are Welcome. Penguin Random House, LLC.

22. Piper, W. (1991). The Little Engine That Could. Platt & Munk.

23. Pitzer, M. W. (2004). I Can, Can You? WOODBINE HOUSE, Inc.

24. Polacco, P. (1998). Thank You, Mr. Falker. Babushka, Inc.

25. Dear Mr. Rogers, Does it ever rain in your neighborhood? Fred Rogers. 1996.

26. Of Mice and Men. John Steinbeck. 1965.

27. Talley, L. (2004). A Thought Is Just a Thought: A Story About Living with OCD. Lantern Publishing & Media.

28. Who Was Helen Keller? Gare Thompson. 2003.

29. Vegara, M. I. S. (2023). Amanda Gorman (Little People, BIG DREAMS). Frances Lincoln Children's Books.

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