books with disabled protagonists or others ....

[emu]

Have been on the lookout for children's books with kids in wheelchairs for a few years now as a close friend has a son (now 5y) with severe cerebral palsy and loves books and reading. Seems a pity that he can't see kids like him reflected in the things he reads, even if just a side character (you know, like they do in Sesame St).

Encountered the same thing trying to think of books to recommend to a woman I met on line who has a teenager daughter with cerebral palsy. There was a quite a good Australian YA novel released a couple of years ago that featured a wheelchair bound protagonist called The Tiger Project by Susanna Van Essen. I liked the fact that it didn't patronise the protagonist by overly labouring the fact that this girl was in a wheelchair but did examine some of the issues she faced (such as discrimination) but in a by the by kind of way. The only other YA book I can think of featuring a young person in a wheelchair was an English book called 'Paralysed' by Sherry Ashworth which is about a teenage football star who ends up in a wheelchair after an accident during a game.

Also got me to thinking that there seem to be very few adult novels featuring characters in wheelchairs or with some other kind of disability. Can anyone else think of any? Esp where this is not the main point of the story but just a characteristic that the character happens to have. Also seems pretty unreflective of broader society where quite a lot of people have a disability of one sort or another (eg, in my small office we have one guy in a wheelchair and one guy who is hearing impaired). Wonder why this is? Is it that non-disabled people feel they can't write disabled characters or does it just not occur to them to do this? What about writers with disabilities? Do they have trouble getting their books to market because they are seen as 'niche' or 'special interest'? Interesting in any thoughts on this.

[jobean]

These are a few books off the top of my head:

- Peeling The Onionby Wendy Orr: Anna Duncan, popular, ambitious, athletic - a karate champion - until a car accident catapults her into a new life of disability, dependency, and pain. The layers of her life are being peeled away and she doesn't know what she'll find inside: Who, now, is Anna Duncan? It won the Children's Book Council of Australia Honour Book Award, and I liked it a lot.

- So Much To Tell You and Take My Word For It by John Marsden: So Much To Tell You is a story about a 14 year old girl whose face is scarred by an acid burn caused by her father. She refuses to talk in the Hospital she was recovering at, so she is sent to boarding school to interact with other girls her age. However, her silence continues. when her english teacher Mr. Lindell gives her class diaries, she vows not to write a single word. A half-sequel, Take My Word For It, was written in 1992, from the point of view of Lisa Morris. It tells Lisa's story over the same period of time, as well as her observation of Marina, but then expands on this and shows Marina after her visit with her father. The second point of view aids the reader by answering some questions from the first, for example, the cause of Marina's nervous breakdown in early April, and the reason for Lisa's crying earlier.

- Deenie by Judy Blume: Deenie chronicles the life of a thirteen year old girl with scoliosis. Her mother has high expectations for Deenie's sister and her but neither of them want to be what their mother wants for them. Her mother wants Deenie to be a model and is in the process of trying to establish her daughter in the business when her scoliosis is discovered. Deenie's sixteen year-old sister, Helen, is extremely smart and is being pressured by her mother to become a doctor or lawyer. Deenie's mother also places a lot of pressure on her to become a model.

(By the way, I got these descriptions from Wikipedia and another site). I've read all these books and thoroughly enjoyed them Hope this helped!

[annak]

the curious incident of the dog in the night-time by Mark Haddon is a great book about a boy with autism.

[bookworm]

The Little Locksmith by Katharine Butler Hathaway is the memoir of a woman with spinal tuberculosis.

[lindsay]

I think that the reason there aren't that many books with a disabled protagonist is probably not due to the fact that these books aren't being written but that they just don't get published. I'm sure that publishers are scared to offend anyone or think that they wouldn't appeal to a large audience. After all, publishing is a business too. I think however that the people who decide what makes it into the bookstores are underestimating their audience.

[Lu]

The first I can think of is The Curios Incident of The Dog in The Night-Time, which is a really good book as Annak already said.

I've also heard of Christopher Nolan, an author who has celebral palsy and he won an award with his autobiography Under the Eye of the Clock, but I haven't read it so I'm not sure what it is about.

[tahlia]

I dont know of any books that will be of use, but think its nice of you to for looking. made me think how children who are disabled can't even find comfort in a book. it's sad. books are supposed to bring you comfort and peace, but a disabled child or adult cannot feel this. I will look online for some books. My mom is a grammar school teacher - maybe she knows of some.

[Pilleriin]

I think that See Ya, Simon by David Hill was also about a boy in wheelchair (he had muscular dystrophy). It was a really sad book, I had to read it for School when I was in 5th grade.

[emu]

Thanks for these recommendations. Have since found a few picture books on Amazon which sound like they could be okay for my friend's son's 5th birthday next month. One book he particularly loved that I sent him for a previous birthday was this one: www.preschoolentertainment.com/html/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=529

They have nice big bright pictures (good as he has a bit of vision impairment), big sturdy flaps that he can manage with his motor control issues and focus on faces and relationships rather than people getting around doing physical things.

Some of those other recommendations might be good for the teenage girl whose mother I know or for my teaching. Have been meaning to read the Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime for a while anyway.

Also interested in the Christopher Nolan book you mention, Lu.

Lindsay, I think your analysis of the publishing industry probably pretty apt. It is sad. After all, don't we read books partly to find out about lives different to our own?

[Hazy]

This book is definitely too old for him right now, but in a few years maybe. (I read it when I was 12ish)

The Faces of Fear (by Monica Hughes)
"Joanna is everything Joan wants to be. She's a sleek warrior with cascading raven hair, a girl who is smart and brave. The catch? Joanna exists only in the Virtual Reality program of Joan's computer. Devastated by her recent accident, and confined to a wheelchair, Joan is searching for a new reality. She thinks she's found one in an exciting experimental computer game she plays with her new friend "Whizkid." But Joan and Whizkid are discovering that their game is becoming too a little too real - and dangerous. There's only one way out: Joan and Steve must confront the faces of their own fears ..."

[emu]

Thanks, Hazy. That sounds like a good one for the 13yo girl.

Since posting here, I went through some YA books I had picked up from a clearance table and came across one with a protagonist who is deaf. It is called a Time of Fear by Kate Chester and is kind of a mystery/crime novel for teenagers. There is a whole series of these books called Hear No Evil all featuring the same protagonist, a girl from a police family called Sara Howell. Actually found the deafness aspect of it really interesting, ie, how she adapts to attending a school with hearing students (had previously been at a school for the deaf), how she goes about solving the crime etc etc. This is a link to the first book in the series if anyone interested:

www.amazon.com/Sudden-Death-Hear-No-Evil/dp/059087991X/ref=pd_sim_b_img_3