Reading Lists

Special Needs

Picture Books & Easy Readers | Juvenile Fiction | Young Adult Fiction | Juvenile Non-Fiction | Young Adult Non-Fiction

Picture Books & Easy Readers

Armstrong, Jennifer                                                                                                     
King Crow (JE ARM)
Jailed by an evil foe, a king receives invaluable help from a crow that regularly brings him the latest news.

Backstein, Karen                                                                           
The Blind Men and The Elephant (JE  READ BACKSTEIN)
A retelling of the fable from India about six blind men who each get a limited understanding of what an elephant is by feeling only one part of it.

Berenstain, Stan                                                         
The Berenstain Bears and the Wheelchair Commando (JE BER)
Harry, a new student at BearCountrySchool who is disabled and uses a wheelchair, has trouble making friends until the others discover that he is really very much like them.

Carlson, Nancy L.                                                                                                   
Arnie and The New Kid  (JE CAR)
When an accident requires Arnie to use crutches, he begins to understand the limits and possibilities of his new classmate, who has a wheelchair.

Carter, Alden R.                                                                                             
Big Brother Dustin  (JE CAR)
A boy with Down Syndrome helps his parents and grandparents get ready for the birth of his baby sister and chooses the perfect name for her.

Fleming, Virginia                                                                                             
Be Good To Eddie Lee  (JE FLE)
Although Christy considered him a pest, when Eddie Lee, a boy with Down's Syndrome, follows her into the woods, he shares several special discoveries with her.

Foreman, Michael                                                                                            
Seal Surfer  (JE FOR)
Although he is on crutches, a boy goes to the beach with his grandfather, where they watch a seal being born, and over the following seasons, the boy and the seal develop a special bond.

Girnis, Meg                                                                                             
A B C for You and Me (JE GIR)
Photographs show children with Down Syndrome in activities with objects corresponding to the letters of the alphabet.

Gregory, Nan                                                                                                            
How Smudge Came  (JE GRE)
Cindy, who is developmentally challenged, decides to keep a dog she found, even though no dogs are allowed where she lives. Everything turns out happy when the hospice where Cindy works adopts Smudge.

Heelan, James                                                                  
Rolling Along: the Story of Taylor and His Wheelchair (JE HEE)
Explains how having cerebral palsy affects Taylor, and how getting a wheelchair makes a big difference in helping him get around, do things by himself, and even play basketball with his twin Tyler.

Hesse, Karen                                                                                                             
Lester’s Dog (JE HES)
A boy overcomes his fear of Lester's fierce dog when he has to protect an abandoned kitten.

Hines, Anna Grossnickle                                                                                     
Gramma’s Walk  (JE HIN)
Donnie and Gramma, who is in a wheelchair, take an imagined walk to the seashore and smell the salty breeze, walk barefoot on the warm sand, observe animals, and build a sand castle.

Lakin, Pat                                                                                                    
Dad and Me In The Morning  (JE LAK)
A deaf boy and his father share a special time as they watch the sun rise at the beach.

Lasker, Joe                                                                                                         
Nick Joins In  (JE LAS)
When Nick, confined to a wheelchair, enters a regular classroom for the first time, he and his new classmates must resolve their initial apprehensions about mainstreaming.

Martin, Bill                                                                      
Knots On A Counting Rope  (JE MAR)
Boy-Strength-of-Blue-Horses and his grandfather reminisce about the young boy's birth, his first horse, and an excitiing horse race.

Mayer, Gina                                                                                                         
A Very Special Critter  (JE MAY)
Alex joins Little Critter's class at school, but because he's in a wheelchair, nobody knows how to treat him.

Millman, Isaac                                                                                               
Moses Goes To A Concert  (JE MIL)
Moses and his schoolmates, all deaf, attend a concert where the orchestra's percussionist is also deaf.  Includes illustrations in sign language and a page showing the manual alphabet.

O’Shaughnessy, Ellen Cassels                                             
Somebody Called Me a Retard Today-And My Heart Felt Sad (JE OSH)
A girl expresses her sadness at being called a "retard" by people who do not know how loving and self-reliant she is.

Osofsky, Audrey                                                                                             
My Buddy  (JE OSO)
A young boy with muscular dystrophy tells how he is teamed up with a dog trained to do things for him that he can't do for himself.

Rabe, Berniece                                                                                               
The Balancing Girl  (JE RAB)
A first grader who is very good at balancing objects while in her wheelchair and on her crutches thinks up her greatest balancing act ever to benefit the school carnival.

Rabe, Berniece                                                                                               
Where’s Chimpy?  (JE RAB)
Text and photographs show Misty, a little girl with Down's syndrome, and her father reviewing her day's activities in their search for her stuffed monkey.

Rodriguez, Bobbie                                                                                                   
Sarah’s Sleepover  (JE ROD)
When the lights go out while her cousins are spending the night, a young blind girl shows them what to do in the dark.

Shriver, Maria                                                                  
What’s Wrong with Timmy? (JE SHR)
Making friends with a mentally retarded boy helps Kate learn that the two of them have a lot in common.

Thompson, Mary                                                         
My Brother, Matthew  (JE THO)
Though David knows frustration and resentment at times, he feels he understands his disabled little brother even better than his parents; and together the two boys experience a great deal of joy.

Wells, Rosemary                                                                                             
The Little Lame Prince  (JE WEL)
A young crippled prince must reclaim his kingdom from his evil uncle, with the help of a magic cape from his godmother.

Young, Ed                                                                                                    
Seven Blind Mice  (JE YOU)
Retells in verse the Indian fable of the blind men discovering different parts of an elephant and arguing about its appearance. The illustrations depict the blind arguers as mice.

Juvenile Fiction

Andrews, Jean F.                                                                 
The Flying Fingers Club (JUV FIC ANDREWS)
Entering a new school, Donald struggles with his learning disability and makes friends with a deaf boy who teaches him sign language and joins Donald in a search for a newspaper thief.

Andrews, Jean F.                                                         
The Secret in the Dorm Attic (JUV FIC ANDREWS)
While visiting his friend Matt on the campus of his special school for the deaf, nine-year-old Donald discovers something strange going on in the attic of Matt's dorm and becomes involved in the theft of a priceless necklace from a nearby museum.

Banks, Jacqueline T.                                                             
Project Wheels (JUV FIC BANKS)
While helping to raise money to buy her classmate Wayne a motorized wheelchair, eleven-year-old Angela finds her relationships changing with her four best friends.

Burnett, Frances H.                                              
The Secret Garden (JUV FIC BURNETT)
Ten-year-old Mary comes to live in a lonely house on the Yorkshire moors and discovers an invalid cousin and the mysteries of a locked garden.

Christopher, Matt                                   
Fighting Tackle (JUV FIC CHRISTOPHER)
When he becomes stronger but slower, Terry must deal with being moved from defensive safety to offensive tackle on his football team and with the fact that his younger brother, who was born with Down's Syndrome, is becoming a faster runner.

De Angeli, Marguerite                                                             
The Door in the Wall (JUV FIC DEANGELI)
A crippled boy in fourteenth-century England proves his courage and earns recognition from the King.

Dodds, Bill                                                                
My Sister Annie (JUV FIC DODDS)
Charlie's sister has Down's Syndrome and he is learning to deal with it.

Helfman,  Elizabeth S.                                                           
On Being Sarah (JUV FIC HELFMAN)
Even though life with cerebral palsy isn't easy for twelve-year-old Sarah, she manages with the help of her loving family and several new friends.

Hodge, Lois L.                                                                   
A Season of Change (JUV FIC HODGE)
A thirteen-year-old hearing-impaired girl feels frustrated by her limitations but tries hard to assert her independence.

Johnson, Emily Rhoads                                                   
Spring and the Shadow Man (JUV FIC JOHNSON)
Plagued by an overactive imagination, Spring wishes she could be different, until, in helping a blind neighbor, she learns that imagination is something to be treasured.

Johnston, Julie                                                                        
Hero of Lesser Causes (JUV FIC JOHNSTON)
In 1946 twelve-year-old Keely is devastated when her older brother Patrick is paralyzed by polio, and she starts a campaign to reawaken his waning interest in life.

Levinson, Smiler                                                   
Annie’s World (JUV FIC LEVINSON)
Annie, who has been nearly deaf since she was seven, must leave her school and be mainstreamed into a public high school, an adjustment which she finds difficult but ultimately not impossible to handle.

Philbrick, W.R.                                                   
Freak the Mighty (JUV FIC PHILBRICK)
At the beginning of eighth grade, learning disabled Max and his new friend Freak, whose birth defect has affected his body but not his brilliant mind, find that when they combine forces they make a powerful team.

Taylor, Theodore                                                       
Timothy of the Cay (JUV FIC TAYLOR)
Having survived being blinded and shipwrecked on a tiny Caribbean island with the old black man Timothy, twelve-year-old white Phillip is rescued and hopes to regain his sight with an operation. Alternate chapters follow the life of Timothy from his days as a young cabin boy.

Taylor, Theodore                                                       
Tuck Triumphant (JUV FIC TAYLOR)
Fourteen-year-old Helen, her blind dog Friar Tuck, and her family face some dramatic challenges when they discover that the Korean boy they have adopted is deaf.

Write, Betty R.                                                                   
Rosie and the Dance of the Dinosaurs (JUV FIC WRITE)
Rosie discovers that having nine fingers can be an asset as she faces the challenges of an upcoming piano recital and the absence of her father who moved away to find a new job.

Young Adult Fiction

Baer, Judy                                                                      
Unheard Voices (YA FICTION BAER)
Lexi Leighton is furious with the awful treatment that a new hearing-impaired student is receiving from the other students and even the teachers.

Butler, Beverly                                                           
Witch’s Fire (YA FICTION BUTLER)
Thirteen-year-old Kirsty, confined to a wheelchair by a car accident, finds herself living with a new stepmother and stepsister in a strange old house formerly inhabited by a witch who wants it back.

Covington, Dennis                                                       
Lizard (YA FICTION COVINGTON)
Sent by his guardian to live at a Louisiana school for retarded boys, Lizard, a bright, deformed youngster, escapes with the help of a visiting actor who gives him a role in his repertory company's production of "The Tempest."

Crutcher, Chris                                                           
The Crazy Horse Electric Game (YA FICTION CRUTCHER)
A high school athlete, frustrated at being handicapped after an accident, runs away from home and is helped back to mental and physical health by a black benefactor and the people in a special school where he enrolls.

Paulsen, Gary                                                                   
The Monument (YA FICTION PAULSEN)
Thirteen-year-old Rocky, self-conscious about the braces on her leg, has her life changed by the remarkable artist who comes to her small Kansas town to design a war memorial.

Slepian, Jan                                                              
The Alfred Summer (YA FICTION SLEPIAN)
Four preteen outcasts, two of them handicapped, learn lessons in courage and perseverance when they join forces to build a boat.

Slepian, Jan                                                              
Risk ‘n Roses (YA FICTION SLEPIAN)
In 1948, newly-moved to the Bronx, eleven-year-old Skip longs to shed her responsibility for her mentally handicapped older sister and give her whole attention to her new friendship with the bold and daring girl who seems to run the neighborhood.

Juvenile Non-Fiction

Baker, Pamela J.                                                                                          
My First Book Of Sign  (JUV 419 BAKER)
Pictures of children demonstrate the forming in sign language of 150 basic alphabetically arranged words, accompanied by illustrations of the words themselves. Includes a discussion of fingerspelling and general rules for signing.

Berger, Gilda                                                                
Learning Disabilities and Handicaps (JUV 371.9 BERGER)
Describes learning disabilities, emotional disabilities, physical handicaps, and mental retardation as they apply to children in the educational system.

Bergman, Thomas                                                      
Seeing in Special Ways: Children Living With Blindness (JUV 362.4 BERGMAN)
Interviews with a group of blind and partially sighted children in Sweden reveal their feelings about their disability and the ways they use their other senses to help them "see."

Bove, Linda                                                                            
Sesame Street Sign Language ABC With Linda Bove (JUV 419 BOVE)
The actress Linda Bove introduces letters of the alphabet and useful words in sign language while the residents of Sesame Street cavort with depictions of the words signed.

Butler, Beverly                                                                  
Maggie By My Side (JUV 362.418 BUTLER)
The author describes her experiences at Pilot Dogs, a facility in Ohio where she trained with a guide dog.

Cairo, Shelley                                                                       
Our Brother Has Down’s Syndrome: An Introduction For Children (JUV 649.152 CAIRO)
Tara and Jasmine, two sisters, describe what it is like living with their brother, Jai.

Cheney, Glen Allen                                                     
Teens With Physical Disabilities: Real-Life Stories of Meeting the Challenges (JUV 362.404 CHENEY)
In eight monologues, teenagers relate their experiences with coping with muscular dystrophy, deafness, paralysis, and other physical challenges.

McConnell, Nancy P.                                                                                     
Different and Alike (JUV 362.4 MCCONNELL)
Points out that some people are "different" because they are blind or deaf, have a speech disorder, are mentally handicapped, or have some other disability; but, in even more ways, they are "like" you.

McMahon, Patricia                                                        
Listen For The Bus: David’s Story  (JUV 371.911 MCMAHON)
A real-life look at David, who is blind, as he begins kindergarten.

Meyer, Donald                                                                  
Views From Our Shoes: Growing Up With a Brother or Sister With Special Needs (JUV 362.196 VIEW)
These unpretentious, honest snippets, contributed by 45 children ranging in age from 4 to 18, explore the feelings of a disabled child's brother or sister.

Rotner, Shelley                                                         
The A.D.D. Book For Kids (JUV 618.928 ROTNER)
Text and photographs explain what it is like to live with A.D.D., or attention-deficit disorder.

Senisi, Ellen B.                                                            
Just Kids: Visiting a Class For Children With Special Needs (JUV 371.8 SENISI)
Second-grader Cindy is assigned to spend part of each day in the class for students with special needs, where she finds out that even though some kids may learn differently or have different abilities, they are all "just kids."

Stein, Sara Bonnett                                                                                             
About Handicaps: An Open Family Book For Parents and Children Together (JUV 362.4 STEIN)
Uses photographs and separate text for adult and child to explore the relationship between two children, one of whom is handicapped.

Young Adult Non-Fiction

Kaufman, Miriam                                                         
Easy For You to Say: Q & A’s For Teens Living With Chronic Illness or Disability (YA 362.4 KAUFMAN)
A straightforward, non-judgmental, honest book of advice for teenagers with a wide range of illnesses—including cancer, asthma, spina bifida, and cerebral palsy—which covers such subjects as growing up, sex, and drugs.