#WNDB: Disability Representation

Danielle Jones is a youth and teen librarian in Portland, Oregon. She has served on the 2018 Sibert Committee and the 2016 ALSC Notable Children’s Books Committee.

The Geisel Award’s stated purpose is to honor books that “through their literary and artistic achievements, demonstrate creativity and imagination to engage children in reading.” All children deserve to be a part of this audience that we are trying to engage, and readers are more likely to be engaged in a book where they see themselves represented.

The Condition of Education 2016 report from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) shows that in 2013–14, there were 6.5 million students (13% of students) receiving special education services. Among students receiving special education services, 35 percent had specific learning disabilities. By fourth grade, on average, children with disabilities are reading below grade level. Representation in books should be considered a factor. Having books that serve as mirrors would not only have personal importance, but by engaging the reader, such books could lead to greater reading success. With their controlled vocabulary, beginning reading books are tools that are often used with struggling readers, readers reading below grade level, and students with learning disabilities.

So where are the beginning reading books with characters with disabilities?

I have yet to find a reader that features a main character with a disability. There are some books that show a character in a group shot or in the background in a wheelchair, but none show a prominent character with a disability.

Emerging readers are often drawn to series, as they find their formulas comforting in their predictability as they build their reading skills. Series often feature two buddies that can have multiple adventures, lending themselves to a series format. It must be assumed that book creators must consider that characters with a disabilities won’t fit that formula. It is beyond time for this kind of thinking to be disrupted.

Part of the Geisel criteria is that “subject matter must be intriguing enough to motivate the child to read.” Children at this age and developmental stage are building awareness of their world and communities. Inclusive and respectful representation showing all kinds of experiences creates better understanding of others. Children will respond to these. We need books showing children living full and rich lives, and not just books featuring able bodied, neurotypical, and/or typically developing children. We need books that serve as both mirrors and windows. 

In their paper, Respectful Representations of Disability in Picture Books, authors Ashley E. Pennell, Barbara Wollak, and David A. Koppenhaver encourage teachers to use Tar Heel Reader to write books with characters that represent their students. This is a great solution to get books that have representation into classrooms, something that mainstream publishing has failed to do. But as these books are only e-books, they are not eligible to be considered for the award. 

The Geisel Award should be for all children, but a book has to be published for it to have a chance. Many children have yet to see themselves represented in this format. This has to change.