Books

__Joey Pigza Swallowed the Ke__y by Jack Gantos When you f irst st art r eading this book you think poor Joey. Joey is a young boy who has had a tough life. Not only is his home life a disaster but also his school life is not much better. We quickly learn that Joey’s waves of emotions and outbursts are caused from ADD or Attention Deficit Disorder. The worse part is that the medication that he is prescribed does not work for him. After many incidents of acting out and self-inflicting injuries, Joey finally had an episode that set his situation over the edge when he severely injured another student. He is removed from his general education class and put in a special education class where Joey can finally get the help he desperately needs. After receiving the proper help Joey is able to return to his general classroom setting where he finds his own way to function in his classroom. This book is perfect for an upper elementary class, especially as a read allowed, or any students who are affected by ADD. It is also a great resource for parents of ADD children as well as their teachers. It is hard to understand what actually goes on inside the head of an ADD student and the __Joey Pigza__ books give us as close to an incite as we can get. It is a great tool that teaches us what we should and should not do when faced with children with ADD.

__My Friend Isabelle__ by Eliza Woloson This is amazing book about accepting others and being tolerant of people with disabilities. It is geared for young children who may not understand why someone may be different than them. A lot of bullying occurs out of the unknown and children are first to notice this at times. A great way to teach acceptance of all is through literature. The book __My Friend Isabelle__ is a great resource to use in classrooms where students may be faced with classmates with disabilities.

In the book Isabella had Downs Syndrome and her friend Charlie does not. When Charlie talks about Isabelle he notes their differences but in the end loves Isabelle for who she is. Charlie does notes differences like height, running speed, and other “normal” features but does not associate them with her disability, Charlie does not see the intellectual differences. Charlie and Isabelle’s friendship is unique and one that can teach a lot of lessons.

__Knots on a Counting Rope__ by Bill Martin Jr. and John Archambault This is an inspirational story about how a young boy uses his disability as a motivation factor for his life. Boy-Strength-of–Blue-Horse was born on a windy night, a very sick baby. The frail infant showed his first sign of strength at the site of two blue horses, where he gets his name. Boy-Strength-of–Blue-Horse asks his grandfather to tell the story of his night he was born again. The grandfather tells the story and then tells the story of how his grandson lost a horse race he was in. The grandfather explains how he actually won his fight against blindness when he participated in the race, the same way he won his fight for his life when the horses saw him.

There is a lesson for all in this story. Not only is it a culturally diverse book but the main character is also has a disability. It gives messages of courage, hope, and perseverance. This would be a good book to read one on one with a student with a disability, especially if it affects their confidence. Boy-Strength-of–Blue-Horse did not let his blindness stand in his way of participating in activities that everyone else participated in, and that should be a lesson taught to all students with disabilities.

__Be Good to Eddie Lee__ By Virginia Fleming __Be good to Eddie Lee__ is a great book to show tolerance for children with disabilities. “Be good to Eddie Lee” is something Christy always heard her mother say to her but never really understood. Eddie Lee was Christy’s neighbor and her mother always described him as slow or lonely because he had Downs Syndrome. Not being in the mood to be bothered by Eddie Lee, Christy and her friend JimBud try to chase him away. Eddie Lee sticks around and Christy actually ends of enjoying the time she spends with him.

Christy was so focused of how different Eddie Lee was that she didn’t take the time to get to know him. Once Christy is able to get over the difference she realizes that Eddie Lee is just trying show her different things in the pond, not bother her. Christy’s response is not uncommon amongst children who encounter children with special needs. Their first defense is to notice the differences, but through proper education and resources such as literature you can teach tolerance of people who are different students.

__Susan Laughs__ By Jeanne Willis __Susan Laughs__ is an increasable book about how much a child who is restricted to a wheelchair can really do. It focuses on the positive everyday things Susan can do. It has simple clear text that makes the message very straightforward and I personally enjoyed the fact that you did not know Susan was I a wheelchair until the last page of the book. If it was not for the last page of the book no one would of know that she was handicapped. The message behind this story is that just because someone has a physical handicap doesn’t mean that they can’t do things that regular children do. If I had a child with a physical handicap in my class I would read this book to the entire class. Mainly because it reinforces the independence that people who are physically handicapped desire. When children interact with physically handicapped children they have the tendency to baby or treat them differently than other students. Everyone can really learn a lesson from __Susan Laughs__.