Fiction

Cesaria Feels the Beat by Denise Rosario Adusei, illustrated by Priscila Soares (Roaring Brook Press, 2024, 40 pages, ages 4-8). Cesaria is a little girl who loves to dance, and she’s excited to be part of a group that’s dancing for Carnival. She can’t hear the music, but she feels it through her feet and shows the rest of the dancers how it’s done.

Song in the City by Daniel Bernstrom, illustrated by Jenin Mohammed (Amistad Books for Young Readers, 2022, 40 pages, ages 4-8). Emmalene is blind, but as she walks with her grandmother to church, she hears the song of the city and works to find a way get Grandma to slow down and hear that song as well.

My Three Best Friends and Me, Zulay by Cari Best, illustrated by Vanessa Brantley Newton (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2015, 40 pages, ages 4-8). Even though she’s visually impaired, Zulay enjoys first grade with her three best friends and finds a way to participate in everything.

Mama Car by Lucy Catchpole, illustrated by Karen George (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2025, 40 pages, ages 3-8). A young girl shows the reader her mother’s “Mama Car,” the wheelchair that helps her get around. 

Hello Goodbye Dog by Maria Gianferrari, illustrated by Patrice Barton (Roaring Brook Press, 2017, 40 pages, grades K-2). This story is mostly about Moose the dog becoming a therapy dog at a school, but his owner Zara, who is in a wheelchair, is fully integrated into her classroom and a capable dog trainer.

Some Bodies by Sophie Kennen, illustrated by Airin O’Callaghan (Sleeping Bear Press, 2022, 32 pages, ages 3-8). Size, color, wheelchairs, prosthetics, glasses, tattoos, top surgery, hair, and the amount covered by clothing are all touched upon in a light-hearted body-positive way.

Rescue and Jessica: A Life-Changing Friendship by Jessica Kensky and Patrick Downes, illustrated by Scott Magoon (Candlewick, 2018, 32 pages, grades K-5). Rescue’s worried that he didn’t make it as a Seeing Eye Dog, and Jessica is worried about life after losing both legs. Fortunately, they find each other, and each one thinks the other is amazing. The husband-and-wife author team each lost legs in the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, and Rescue is their dog.

This Way, Charlie by Caron Levis illustrated by Charles Santoso (Harry N. Abrams, 2020, 40 pages, ages 4-8). Jack the goat has had a tough life and keeps to himself. But when blind horse Charlie comes to the farm, Jack has to learn to reach out and help his new friend.

I Am Ingrid: the Adventures of the World’s Greatest Guide Dog by Aria Mia Loberti, illustrated by Vivienne To (Scholastic, 2025, 48 pages, ages 4-8). Ingrid tells about her journey to becoming a guide dog.

I Hear the Snow, I Smell the Sea by Janice Milusich, illustrated by Chris Raschka (Anne Schwartz Books, 2025, 48 pages, ages 4-8). Neveah enjoys the four seasons with her mother using her senses of hearing, smell, taste, and touch to experience them. While she never mentions being visually impaired, the story and illustrations imply that, but it doesn’t slow her down from experiencing each season to the fullest.

Lucas Makes a Comeback by Igor Plohl, illustrated by Urška Stropnik Šonc (Holiday House, 2021, 32 pages, ages 4-8). Igor Plohl drew on his own experiences to create Lucas, a lion who loses the use of his legs after falling off a ladder and injuring his spine. There’s a sequel: Lucas at the Paralympics.

I Talk Like a River by Jordan Scott, illustrated by Sydney Smith (Neal Porter Books, 2020, 40 pages, grades K-4). A boy describes his struggles with stuttering, especially at school, and how his dad takes him to the river to calm down and find peace.

Best Day Ever! by Marilyn Singer, illustrated by Leah Nixon (Clarion Books, 2021, 32 pages, ages 4-8). A dog describes the best day ever hanging out with her best friend, a boy in a wheelchair.

Ali and the Sea Stars by Ali Stroker, illustrated by Gillian Reid (HarperCollins, 2022, 40 pages, ages 4-8). Nothing can stop Ali when she and her friends decide to put on their own production of Peter Pan.

We Are the Scrappy Ones by Rebekah Taussing, illustrated by Kirbi Fagan (Carolrhoda Books, 2025, 32 pages, ages 4-8). A celebration of people with disabilities that portrays a diverse group of kids and adults.

Nonfiction

Six Dots: A Story of Young Louis Braille by Jen Bryant, illustrated by Boris Kulikov (Knopf Books for Young Readers, 2016, 40 pages, grades 1-4). The story of Louis Braille, who lost his sight at a young age, and whose love of books inspired him to create the Braille alphabet.

A Life of Service: The Story of Senator Tammy Duckworth by Christina Soontornvat, illustrated by Dow Phumiruk (Candlewick, 2022, 48 pages, grades 1-5). Tammy Duckworth always dreamed of living a life of service. After losing both legs in the Iraq War, she could no longer serve in the military but found a different way to serve as a U.S. Senator.

The William Hoy Story by Nancy Churnin, illustrated by Jez Tuya (Albert Whitman and Co., 2016, 32 pages, grades K-3). Hard work, talent, and determination helped William Hoy become the first deaf man to play professional baseball. When he struggled to understand the umpires’ calls, they came up with a system of hand signals that is still used today.

All the Way to the Top: How One Girl’s Fight for Americans with Disabilities Changed Everything by Annette Bay Pimentel, illustrated by Nabi H. Ali, foreword by Jennifer Keelan-Chaffins (Sourcebooks, 2020, 32 pages, grades K-4). Jennifer Keelan-Chaffins never let her cerebral palsy keep her from doing what she wanted to do. When photos of her climbing the steps to the U.S. Capitol during a demonstration to support the Americans With Disabilities Act hit the news, the publicity helped convinced Congress to pass the act.

The Fastest Girl on Earth: Meet Kitty O’Neil, Daredevil Driver! by Dean Robbins, illustrated by Elizabeth Baddeley (Knopf Books for Young Readers, 2021, 40 pages, ages 4-8). Despite losing her hearing as a baby, Kitty O’Neil embraced any challenge that came her way, including driving a car 618 miles per hour to break the women’s land-speed record.

Just Ask! Be Different, Be Brave, Be You by Sonia Sotomayor, illustrated by Rafael López (Philomel Books, 2019, 32 pages, ages 4-8). Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor tells of her own difficulties as a child with juvenile diabetes and helps kids understand that it’s okay to ask other people about their differences.

A Tulip in Winter: A Story About Folk Artist Maud Lewis by Kathy Stinson, illustrated by Lauren Soloy (Greystone, 2023, 44 pages, grades K-3). Although Maud Dowley was small and bent from a young age, nothing stopped her from finding joy in the world around her and expressing it through her art. Her small house became a work of art, which, following her death, was restored and placed in the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia.

Emmanuel’s Dream: The True Story of Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah by Laurie Ann Thompson, illustrated by Sean Qualls (Random House Children’s Books, 2015, 40 pages, grades 1-6). Born with a deformed right leg, Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah was determined to learn to do what he could with one leg. His persistence led him to pursue his dream of riding from one end of his homeland of Ghana to the other to show what people with physical disabilities are capable of.