Our 10 Favorite Books for Children with Cerebral Palsy
Stuck at home during quarantine and looking for some new books to read to your children? We have compiled a list of our favorite books relating to children with cerebral palsy. They help explain the condition to classmates, friends, and siblings, and encourage children to understand and appreciate each other’s differences.
My Friend Suhana: A Story of Friendship and Cerebral Palsy: Winner of the Dolly Gray Children’s Literature Award, this beloved book tells the story of a girl who befriends another little girl with cerebral palsy. They become close through a shared interest in art, and their friendship builds through kindness and love.
Daniel’s New Friend (Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood): A beloved childhood character, Daniel Tiger, meets a new friend who has a disability requiring leg braces to walk. Though the girl doesn’t explicitly say that she has cerebral palsy, this book is a favorite for introducing disabilities to children and promoting kindness and inclusion.
That Teacher Uses Crutches!: Teaching Children About Cerebral Palsy: A story of a new teacher at school who has cerebral palsy. This story introduces some of the conditions associated with CP to children who have never seen them before. It’s a helpful primer on mobility and disabilities in general.
C is for Cerebral Palsy: An interactive and kid-friendly story about a child with cerebral palsy and significant symptoms associated with it. This book explores what these limitations are like for kids with CP and encourages inclusion and understanding. This is the perfect book to explain cerebral palsy to a child with a friend or relative with CP.
Can I tell you about Cerebral Palsy?: A guide for friends, family, and professionals: This book is recommended for kids ages seven and up. It is written from the perspective of Sophie, a girl with cerebral palsy. She explains what it’s like to use a wheelchair and assistive technology to communicate with others. It’s perfect for someone who knows, cares for, or teachers a child with cerebral palsy.
Roll With It: A chapter book for older kids, this book tells the story of a girl named Ellie who has cerebral palsy and uses a wheelchair. But more than that, she has dreams, a new school, new friends, and adventures that await her. This highly-praised tale offers a full perspective of the life of a young girl learning about herself and her community, who just happens to be in a wheelchair all the while.
My Brother is Special: A Cerebral Palsy Story: This story is written from the perspective of a boy whose big brother Ethan has cerebral palsy. It is perfect for a sibling or family member of someone who has been diagnosed with cerebral palsy, as it explains how the condition can look and what caring for someone with the condition means.
Dillon the Dolphin: Part of the “Dillon and His Exceptional Friends” set, this book talks about CP in a kid-friendly way in order to explain differences to kids. This book is great for teaching kids how to interact with other friends who are different from them.
What’s Different About You?: This book explains a number of different medical conditions in a way that kids can understand. It explains the differences with the goal of understanding and inclusion.
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