I grew up in the 60s and 70s, when people were often uncomfortable with anyone who had a disability. My sister had Down syndrome and this drew a lot of negative attention. I struggled with being overprotective of her and often angry at those who treated her differently. When I grew up I became an advocate, not only for my sister, but for others who struggled with being accepted because of physical or developmental disabilities. Early on I worked in a pretty awful institution. What I learned there inspired my novel, Free as a Bird. Like my sister, I moved on to do other things, including archaeology, journalism, and teaching for 27 years.
Twelve-year-old Emmaline and her mother are desperate for help with their farm and agree to take on Angus who has just been released from a hospital for patients with mental illness. At first they have the same fears and prejudice as people in town, but they come to learn that Angus is gentle and extremely knowledgeable. Thanks to him they have the best crop they’ve ever had. The most heroic point in the story is when one of the locals, Harry Record, leaves Angus far from town during a snowstorm with the expectation he will die. But as Angus struggles for safety he finds Harry’s little boy who was accidentally stranded in the storm and near death and gets him to the hospital in time to save his life.
Quote: "That man is from the mental, stay away from him."
This book was lovely to read because it was written in verse, but also because its message touches the heart—each of us are valuable beings no matter our exceptionalities or background.It won the Governor General’s Literary Award.
It is 1965, and 12-year-old Emaline, living on a wheat farm, must deal with a family that is falling apart. When her dog, Prince, chases a hare into the path of the tractor, she chases after him, and her father accidentally runs over her leg, leaving her with a long convalescence and a permanent disability. Even worse, from Emaline's point of view, is that in his grief and guilt, her father shoots Prince and leaves Emaline and her mother on their own.
Despite the neighbors' disapproval, Emaline's mother hires Angus, a patient from the local mental hospital, to work their…
Thirteen-year-old Alice moves to a new town where no one knows she has Asperger’s syndrome. When she behaves in a way her teachers feel is inappropriate she gets sent to detention. It’s there she meets Megan, a hard-core “bad girl” who becomes the only person to make a meaningful connection with Alice.
Alice likes rules, Megan likes to break rules. Yet somehow the two girls manage to become good friends. Megan’s home life is bad and she decides to run away. Despite the angst and the inner voice telling her not to, Alice goes with Megan to protect her.
Quote: “Is a hero average in type, appearance, achievement, function, and development?” Alice asks.
This book stands out for me because it shows that we all can “go farther” than any perceived limitation, be it developmental, physical, or emotional.
Alice doesn’t like noise, smells or strangers. She does like rules. Lots of rules.
Nobody at her new school knows she is autistic, and soon Alice finds herself in trouble because the rules here are different. When she meets Megan in detention, she doesn’t know what to make of her. Megan doesn’t smell, she’s not terribly noisy, and she’s not exactly a stranger. But is she a friend? Megan seems fearless to Alice; but also angry or maybe sad. Alice isn’t sure which. When Megan decides to run away, Alice decides that Megan is her friend and that she needs…
In a society that puts so much emphasis on looks, what can you do if your appearance attracts immense negative attention? This is the problem ten year-old Auggie must deal with due to a genetic condition that disfigured his face. There are two kids in his class brave enough to be his friend, but at great cost to their own acceptance.
This story is authentic in its portrayal of the emotional roller coaster a child like this endures. Auggie so wants to fit in, but being “normal” is never going to happen. But then is “normal” the only value marker in life? In Auggie’s case he’s the bravest child in the whole school—just for getting out there and for accepting himself “as is”.
Quote: “I think there should be a rule that everyone in the world should get a standing ovation at least once in their lives.”
9
authors picked
Wonder
as one of their favorite books, and they share
why you should read it.
This book is for kids age
9,
10, and
11.
What is this book about?
'Has the power to move hearts and change minds' Guardian
'Tremendously uplifting and a novel of all-too-rare power' Sunday Express
'An amazing book . . . I absolutely loved it. I cried my eyes out' Tom Fletcher
Read the award-winning, multi-million copy bestselling phenomenon that is WONDER in this new tenth anniversary edition.
'My name is August. I won't describe what I look like. Whatever you're thinking, it's probably worse.'
Auggie wants to be an ordinary ten-year-old. He does ordinary things - eating ice cream, playing on his Xbox. He feels ordinary - inside. But ordinary kids don't make other…
Fifteen-year-old Christopher has ASD (autism spectrum disorder). This is never stated, but it comes out in his behaviour. He relates better to animals than humans, so when his neighbour’s dog is found murdered he decides he has to solve the mystery. But his probing uncovers a lot more than just who killed the dog. It unravels a lot of family secrets that his parents had kept from him. This story is funny and moving, but most importantly it gives a window into the challenges someone with ASD faces, as well as the toll it can take on family members.
Quote: "My name is Christopher John Francis Boone. I know all the countries of the world and their capital cities and every prime number up to 7,507.”
'Mark Haddon's portrayal of an emotionally dissociated mind is a superb achievement... Wise and bleakly funny' Ian McEwan
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time is a murder mystery novel like no other. The detective, and narrator, is Christopher Boone. Christopher is fifteen and has Asperger's Syndrome. He knows a very great deal about maths and very little about human beings. He loves lists, patterns and the truth. He hates the colours yellow and brown and being touched. He has never gone further than the…
This is actually an adult novel but I think YA readers would really enjoy it. This beautifully crafted story takes place before and during WWII. As you read the narratives of two strangers, far apart, you see how their lives are destined to collide. Marie-Laure is a blind girl growing up in France and Werner is an orphan boy growing up in Germany. How and why their paths cross has a lot to do with their common knowledge and passion for the transistor radio. This is an exciting read and the tension ratchets up steadily. There’s far too much going on in this story to include in this recommendation, but let me say that when I finished it I turned around and started reading it again.
Quote: "Why do any of this if not to become who we want to be?"
WINNER OF THE 2015 PULITZER PRIZE FOR FICTION NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER WINNER OF THE CARNEGIE MEDAL FOR FICTION
A beautiful, stunningly ambitious novel about a blind French girl and a German boy whose paths collide in occupied France as both try to survive the devastation of World War II
Open your eyes and see what you can with them before they close forever.'
For Marie-Laure, blind since the age of six, the world is full of mazes. The miniature of a Paris neighbourhood, made by her father to teach her the way home. The microscopic…
Sometimes a hero is someone who saves a stranded cat from a burning building. And sometimes a hero is someone who survives a life of neglect, abuse and ridicule but still finds joy in life and can love others. Such a hero is Ruby Jean Sharp. Ruby Jean was born with Down syndrome at time when being a mentally disabled person could mean growing up behind locked doors. As a child, her mother abandons her at Woodlands Institution. She must learn to survive isolation, boredom, and every kind of abuse. Just when she can hardly remember if she’s ever been happy, she learns a lesson about perserverance from an old crow.
Shortlisted for the Governor General’s Award for Children’s Literature and five other book awards.
I’m an OB/GYN, passionate about adventuring beyond what’s expected. This has led me to pivot multiple times in my career, now focusing on writing. I’ve written a play, The Post-Roe Monologues, to elevate women’s stories. I cherish the curiosity that drives outer and inner exploration, and I love memoirs that skillfully weave the two. The books on this list feature extraordinary women who took risks, left comfort and safety, and battled vulnerability to step into the unknown. These authors moved beyond the stories they’d believed about themselves–or that others told about them. They invite you to think about living fuller and bigger lives.
Tap Dancing on Everest, part coming-of-age memoir, part true-survival adventure story, is about a young medical student, the daughter of a Holocaust survivor raised in N.Y.C., who battles self-doubt to serve as the doctor—and only woman—on a remote Everest climb in Tibet.
The team attempts a new route up the East Face without the use of supplemental oxygen, Sherpa support, or chance for rescue. When three climbers disappear during their summit attempt, Zieman reaches the knife edge of her limits and digs deeply to fight for the climbers’ lives and to find her voice.
The plan was outrageous: A small team of four climbers would attempt a new route on the East Face of Mt. Everest, considered the most remote and dangerous side of the mountain, which had only been successfully climbed once before. Unlike the first large team, Mimi Zieman and her team would climb without using supplemental oxygen or porter support. While the unpredictable weather and high altitude of 29,035 feet make climbing Everest perilous in any condition, attempting a new route, with no idea of what obstacles lay ahead, was especially audacious. Team members were expected to push themselves to their…
