Books on this list have characters with physical or mental challenges. Encouraging children and teens to read fiction books with disability representation is a great way to teach diversity and inclusion.
Third-grader Aven Green has been solving mysteries for a whole month, cracking such cases as The Mystery of the Cranky Mom. But can this perceptive detective solve two cases at the same time? First, her teacher’s lunch bag disappears. Then Aven’s great-grandma’s dog goes missing. Fortunately, since Aven was born without arms, all the “arm” cells went to her super-powered brain instead. (That’s her theory.)
While visiting the historic library where her aunt works, wheelchair-bound Jane encounters a tortured spirit with a shocking story to tell.
The Kids of Widney Junior High Take Over the World! is a fun-filled story for middle-grade readers ages 8 to 12 inspired by the real-life Kids of Widney High, a rock band made of members with developmental disabilities, and offers readers fresh thoughts on how to better interact with classmates and friends living with disabilities.
Possessing a supernatural ability to travel through time, Sam, a disabled foster child, discovers his heroic destiny alongside an adventurous girl and two unusual snakes while outmaneuvering a vengeful adversary.
After a car accident injures her parents and paralyzes Janine from the waist down, her best friend and teammate urges Janine to try sledge hockey.
In a class for the newly deaf, former musician Simon meets G and his quest to create an entirely new form of music helps him better understand her, himself, and his relationship to the hearing world.
While facing disturbing revelations about the cause of her disability, a high school junior with cerebral palsy is on the verge of giving up on herself until she learns that her childhood crush has moved back into town.
David Scheinman is the popular president of his senior class, battling cystic fibrosis. Jamie Turner is a quiet sophomore, struggling with depression. The pair soon realizes that they’re able to be more themselves with each other than they can be with anyone else, and their unlikely friendship starts to turn into something so much more.
An exceptional new novel about falling down, risking everything, and embracing what makes us unique. Danger “Danny” Danielle Warren is no stranger to falling. After losing an eye in a childhood accident, she had to relearn her perception of movement and space.
Sixteen-year-old Aza never intended to pursue the mystery of fugitive billionaire Russell Pickett, but there’s a hundred thousand dollar reward at stake, and her Best and Most Fearless Friend, Daisy, is eager to investigate. Aza is trying. She is trying to be a good daughter, a good friend, a good student, and maybe even a good detective, while also living within the ever-tightening spiral of her own thoughts.