Edited by Jen Campbell, James and Lucy Catchpole.
Illustrated by Sophie Kamlish.
How many young people read or are given the opportunity to read autobiographies of other young people?
‘Owning It. Our Disabled Childhoods’ gives the reader exactly that. The chance to step into someone else’s shoes and discover what life is like for those with disabilities.
The book, with twenty-two stories, covers topics such as birthday parties, hospital visits, and taking part in sports with a disability by writers from around the world. I have mentioned a couple below but honestly found it hard to choose, each story is so interesting.
Learning that he had a choice was important to James Catchpole in ‘Faking It’. Always encouraged to wear a false leg, he discovered that at times, he was so much happier without it. Finally he put it to one side and ignored the expectations of others.
His story is one of making up your own mind and having the power of your own convictions.
Nina Tame in ‘All Bodies are Good Bodies’ writes honestly about how she felt when she was bullied for having a lump in her back due to spina bifida. When she was growing up, disabilities were not discussed. Hopefully that has changed these days and surely this book will be a great help in not only prompting discussions but reassuring those with their own disabilities that talking is helpful.
‘There are no rules about what bodies should look like.’
‘Well Served’ by Ashley Harris Whaley
A natural grade A student and hard worker, in middle school Ashley decided to join the volleyball club. In a small school it was great for the social life and the fun she had when travelling to away games.
Serving overhand wasn’t a possibility so Ashley served underhand and would be subbed in and out to serve.
As her fifteenth birthday approached, she faced major surgery to realign the bones in both legs.
She had ‘rarely, if ever given herself permission not to excel’ and in playing volleyball she was given the opportunity to have the freedom to enjoy what she loved doing without being burdened by the expectations of herself or others.
Full of honest accounts of what life is like with a disability, this book is a must have for schools and libraries.
The illustrations by Sophie Kamlish at the beginning of each story are thought provoking and, as with the stories themselves, invite discussion.
