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[CCBC-Net] Books about disabilities
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From: Ching, Edie <Edie_Ching>
Date: Wed, 11 Oct 2006 14:23:59 -0400
Changeling, a new book by Delia Sherman is the story of Neef, who, as a baby, was stolen by the fairies and has lived among them in Central Park. After violating a fairy law, she is banished from that life. She makes a deal with the Green Lady of Central Park to go on a quest and finds that her "helper" is the very changeling that replaced her in the
"real world", Jenny Goldhirsch. But Jenny has her own problems, she does not like to be touched, she must do things in a certain order, and she has other behaviors that suggest Autism or Obsessive Compulsive disorder. Nothing is named, and Jenny becomes an integral part of Neef's successful return to the life she loves. One of the appeals of this book is that clearly Jenny has problems that frustrate those around her, but once they recognize her strengths, she is able to perform quite well and make an important contribution to others.
Edie Ching,St. Albans School
-----Original Message----- From: ccbc-net-bounces at ccbc.education.wisc.edu
[mailto:ccbc-net-bounces at ccbc.education.wisc.edu] On Behalf Of angelica carpenter Sent: Wednesday, October 11, 2006 2:13 PM To: ccbc-net at ccbc.education.wisc.edu Subject: [CCBC-Net] Books about disabilities
Dear all,
The Illustrated Mum by Jacqueline Wilson features two sisters whose bi-polar, alcoholic, but nevertheless loving mother tackles each problem in life by getting a new tattoo. The sisters cover for their mother because they know that involving social services will split up the family, but things get so bad that finally the younger girl does seek help.
In Harry Sue by Sue Stauffacher, the heroine's best friend is a boy who is paralyzed from the neck down after a diving accident. Terribly depressed, he has shut out the world but he changes over the course of the book and decides to take part in life after all, under new conditions which he is beginning to understand.
I think that Laura Ingalls Wilder does an excellent job of portraying Mary's blindness and how it affects the whole family in the Little House books. Of course the character of Mary is well established before she goes blind, so a child reader can understand that she is still the same person under different conditions.
And a Victorian story, The Little Lame Prince by Miss Mulock (Dinah Maria Mulok Craik) offers a hero who cannot walk. As a child, he is heir to a kingdom, but he gets locked up in a tower by his uncle, the evil Regent. He travels around his kingdom via a flying cloak given to him by his fairy godmother. Eventually he gets out of the tower and becomes king, but he is never able to walk.
Best wishes,
Angelica Carpenter, Curator
Arne Nixon Center for the Study of Children's Literature
California State University, Fresno
_______________________________________________ CCBC-Net mailing list CCBC-Net at ccbc.education.wisc.edu Visit this link to read archives or to unsubscribe... http://ccbc.education.wisc.edu/mailman/listinfo/ccbc-net
Received on Wed 11 Oct 2006 01:23:59 PM CDT
Date: Wed, 11 Oct 2006 14:23:59 -0400
Changeling, a new book by Delia Sherman is the story of Neef, who, as a baby, was stolen by the fairies and has lived among them in Central Park. After violating a fairy law, she is banished from that life. She makes a deal with the Green Lady of Central Park to go on a quest and finds that her "helper" is the very changeling that replaced her in the
"real world", Jenny Goldhirsch. But Jenny has her own problems, she does not like to be touched, she must do things in a certain order, and she has other behaviors that suggest Autism or Obsessive Compulsive disorder. Nothing is named, and Jenny becomes an integral part of Neef's successful return to the life she loves. One of the appeals of this book is that clearly Jenny has problems that frustrate those around her, but once they recognize her strengths, she is able to perform quite well and make an important contribution to others.
Edie Ching,St. Albans School
-----Original Message----- From: ccbc-net-bounces at ccbc.education.wisc.edu
[mailto:ccbc-net-bounces at ccbc.education.wisc.edu] On Behalf Of angelica carpenter Sent: Wednesday, October 11, 2006 2:13 PM To: ccbc-net at ccbc.education.wisc.edu Subject: [CCBC-Net] Books about disabilities
Dear all,
The Illustrated Mum by Jacqueline Wilson features two sisters whose bi-polar, alcoholic, but nevertheless loving mother tackles each problem in life by getting a new tattoo. The sisters cover for their mother because they know that involving social services will split up the family, but things get so bad that finally the younger girl does seek help.
In Harry Sue by Sue Stauffacher, the heroine's best friend is a boy who is paralyzed from the neck down after a diving accident. Terribly depressed, he has shut out the world but he changes over the course of the book and decides to take part in life after all, under new conditions which he is beginning to understand.
I think that Laura Ingalls Wilder does an excellent job of portraying Mary's blindness and how it affects the whole family in the Little House books. Of course the character of Mary is well established before she goes blind, so a child reader can understand that she is still the same person under different conditions.
And a Victorian story, The Little Lame Prince by Miss Mulock (Dinah Maria Mulok Craik) offers a hero who cannot walk. As a child, he is heir to a kingdom, but he gets locked up in a tower by his uncle, the evil Regent. He travels around his kingdom via a flying cloak given to him by his fairy godmother. Eventually he gets out of the tower and becomes king, but he is never able to walk.
Best wishes,
Angelica Carpenter, Curator
Arne Nixon Center for the Study of Children's Literature
California State University, Fresno
_______________________________________________ CCBC-Net mailing list CCBC-Net at ccbc.education.wisc.edu Visit this link to read archives or to unsubscribe... http://ccbc.education.wisc.edu/mailman/listinfo/ccbc-net
Received on Wed 11 Oct 2006 01:23:59 PM CDT
