Picture Books and Characters with Disabilities: Picture Books for All: June 2012

Welcome to Picture Books for All

Children of all abilities should see themselves in the books they read. That's what makes reading fun. There are many picture books that include characters with disabilities; some are excellent in terms of their portrayal of these characters, some are pretty good, and some miss the mark. This blog features these picture books and evaluates them based on standards for quality in children's books that portray characters with disabilities. For more information, see the first post entitled "Welcome to Picture Books for All." (Click here) Welcome to Picture Books For All

Monday, June 25, 2012

Book #2 Keep Your Ear on the Ball

	Related Information	Comments
Name of Book:	Keep Your Ear on the Ball
Author	Genevieve Petrillo
Illustrator	Lea Lyon
Publisher	Tilbury House, Publishers
Year of Pub:	2007
ISBN:	978-0-88448-296-3
Age range	6-10 (or even older)
Type of Disability	Blindness
Fiction or Nonfiction	Fiction
Category: B A)books that provide factual information about a disability B) books that provide information about a disability in a story format in which the character with a disability is integral to the plot C) books that provide stories that have a character with a disability who may or may not be integral to the storyline and who has been added to the story to achieve diversity and reflect reality
Annotation Davey is the new kid in class. He’s typical in every way, except that he is blind. Eager to assist Davey in any way they can, the other students ask whether they can help him get around and complete the activities. But Davey, determined to show them he can do everything himself, gives the same answer every time: “Thanks, but no thanks.” They get the hint and stop asking how they can help him. But during recess, it’s time to play kickball, and Davey keeps missing the ball or running into people. Nobody wants him on the team. The kids’ moods are low until one of them comes up with a plan. Through innovation and determination, they provide Davey with the tools he needs to play the game. And most important, Davey is able to maintain his independence and dignity AND learn how to accept what others have to offer. Vivid, realistic, portrait-like illustrations.
Link to publisher:	http://tilburyhouse.com/childrens/keep-your-ear-on-the-ball.htm
Links to professional reviews:	http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/990363.Keep_Your_Ear_on_the_Ball
Awards:	Moonbeam Award (bronze), 2008; http://www.moonbeamawards.com/

Standards for Quality Portrayal of Characters with a disability		Comments
1. Promotes empathy not pity	Yes
2. Promotes acceptance, not ridicule	Yes
3. Emphasizes success rather than, or in addition to failure	Yes
4. Promotes positive images of persons with disabilities or illness	Yes
5. Assists children in gaining accurate understanding of the disability or illness	Yes	The book jacket provides information about the real person who was the inspiration for the character (David DeNotaris) and about assistive technology used today by students with visual impairments.
6. Demonstrates respect for persons with disabilities or illness	Yes
7. Promotes attitude of “one of us” not “one of them.”	Yes	Especially so!
8. Uses people-first language	Yes
9. Describes the disability or person with disabilities or illness as realistic (not subhuman or superhuman)	Yes
10. Depicts people with disabilities as more similar to than different from other people	Yes	Absolutely.
11. Shows peoples’ strengths and abilities along with their disabilities	Yes
12. Represents characters as strong, independent people who others can admire or learn from	Yes	The illustrations play a major role here.
13. Represents people with disabilities from different racial and cultural backgrounds, religions, age groups, and sexual orientations	No	Character is white. Classmates are culturally diverse.
14. Shows people with disabilities in integrated settings and activities	Yes
15. Shows people with disabilities in valued occupations and diverse roles.	Yes
16. Shows people with disabilities in reciprocal relationships	Yes
17. Main character develops and grows emotionally as a result of what happens in the story	Yes	This is a main point of the book.

Watch for an interview with the illustrator, Lea Lyon!

Sunday, June 24, 2012

People-First Language

People-first language

Since people-first language is one of the standards for quality portrayal of characters with disabilities, writers and readers need to understand what it is and why it is important. People-first language is simply sentence structure that places people first and details or descriptors second. A person with a disability is first a person. A child with spina bifida is a child who happens to have spina bifida. We are all people first, and it makes a lot of sense to speak and write with this in mind. Now that I know about people-first language, my ears ring when I hear terms like "special-needs child" or "the disabled population." "Special needs parents" is no better, nor is "wheelchair-bound individual" or "mentally-ill adult." The respectful way to refer to people with disabilities, whatever those disabilities may look like, is "people with disabilities."

And while we're on the topic of language, there are some words that we just don't use any more because they are outdated and disrespectful. These include "retarded" and "mentally retarded," which are doubly negative because they are not "people first" (the old term being "mentally retarded child") nor are they acceptable words in this day and age. We now use "a person with an intellectual disability" or "a child with an intellectual disability" to describe or refer to someone with an IQ below 70. People with an IQ below 70 can still think, feel, and talk. Imagine someone having to tell another person what his or her disability is. You can hear how much more self-respect someone can maintain by saying, "I have an intellectual disability" rather than "I'm retarded." How liberating that we have finally realized this and come up with respectful terms.

Other terms that have become archaic and make my ears hurt are: "crippled," "lame," (how easily our youth use this term today to mean "not good enough," "stupid," "unoriginal," "annoying," or "worthless"), and yes, even "sped student." "Sped student" is neither people-first (a student in special education), nor respectful (what's a "sped"?). There are many others as well, but thankfully, they have totally dropped out of the vernacular and therefore do not need mention here.

So next time you hear language that is not "people-first," or if you use the old terminology by mistake, think twice and then make the correction. Pointing out to others that people-first language is more respectful takes courage. So be brave people, and make your mark on a positive and very meaningful change in the way our society views all kinds of people: people with long hair, people with tattoos, people with light or dark skin, or people with disabilities. Remember, we are all people first.

Tuesday, June 19, 2012