Some people's challenges are more visible than others.
Imagine a world where you can’t talk, walk, or feed
yourself. Imagine a world where you want desperately to be understood, but fail
miserably. Imagine a world where you are the smartest kid in the class and
everyone thinks you are the dumbest. This is the world of 11yo Melody
Brooks. Trapped in a body that can barely function, Melody must find a way to
convince people that there is more to her than they can see.
10yo Auggie has been homeschooled his whole life, and
now his parents have decided that it’s time for him to attend school. There’s
one problem. Auggie has a severe facial deformity that many surgeries have not
been able to correct. Little kids are scared of him and big kids bully him.
Through it all, Auggie is one brave boy with parents who have his back at every
turn.
Catherine has a problem. Her autistic brother, David, has a
hard time following rules. Don’t put toys in the fish tank. Late doesn’t mean
not coming. Catherine struggles with the social ramifications of having an
autistic brother. When a girl her age moves in next door, she becomes more
determined than ever to teach David the rules. If only her brother could be
normal.
England is on the brink of a German invasion. Ada, born with
a clubfoot, is forbidden from going outside by her abusive mother. As children
take shelter in the countryside away from the bomb threat in London, Ada and
her younger brother use it as an opportunity to escape. They are reluctantly
taken in by a woman who ends up transforming their lives. Ada finds the person
she was capable of being all along if only she had had a mother who loved her.
Rose is a 5th grader with autism and a father who doesn’t
understand her. When he unexpectedly brings home a dog on a rainy night, she
names it Rain, and the two become instant companions. When Rain goes missing
during a hurricane, she will stop at nothing until she finds her dog. Excellent
man’s best friend story with an autistic voice.
Ally is always getting in trouble. No one understands her,
even her teacher. Other kids tease her and the other “different” kids
relentlessly. Then Mr. Daniels arrives to sub for the regular teacher. He
suspects an underlying cause for Ally’s behaviors and soon realizes that she
has dyslexia. This story shows the power of a teacher to change the trajectory
of a kid’s life.
12yo Heidi knows very little about herself. All she
knows is that she showed up on Bernadette’s doorstep with her mentally
handicapped mother when she was only a few days old. Her mother only speaks 23
words and can’t tell her anything. When she discovers some pictures that might
offer clues about her family, she decides to follow the clues across the
country to a mental hospital where her mother might have been a patient.
This is a graphic novel about the author’s childhood dealing
with hearing loss brought on by an illness. She doesn’t like being different so
she refuses to learn sign language. Instead she wears a huge amplifier box that
picks up the sounds from the teacher’s microphone. Since she can pick up
conversations the teacher has when not in the room, this gives her a
“superpower” other kids don’t have.
by Valerie McEnroe, The Chattering Librarian
by Valerie McEnroe, The Chattering Librarian
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