Books that highlight characters with disabilities help young readers see the world through many different perspectives. They affirm that there is no single “right” way to move, think, communicate, or experience life. These stories center the disabled characters as full, complex people—friends, family members, and problem-solvers—rather than focusing only on challenges. By sharing everyday moments, emotions, and relationships, these books build empathy and understanding for all readers. Most importantly, they offer representation that allows disabled children to see themselves reflected with respect, joy, and possibility. Signs of Friendship By Annie Silvestro New York : Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2025 Signs of Friendship explores how friendships change when new people are introduced. Two close friends who communicate using sign language must work through feelings of jealousy and misunderstanding when a new neighbor joins their world. With patience and honest communi...
The Lions' Run By Sara Pennypacker New York: Balzer + Bray, 2026. Fiction. 288 pgs. 13-year-old Lucas Dubois grew up in the abbey orphanage in the French village of Lamorlaye. Even as a young boy, Lucas never had a lot of friends. Called petit éclair by the other abbey boys for his soft disposition, Lucas rescues a litter of kittens from being drowned at the beginning of the novel. It's World War II, Lamorlaye is under Nazi occupation and food is scarce. But still, Lucas can't bear to see the kittens killed so he sneaks them away to a deserted stable where he meets Alice, a wealthy British girl who is hiding her racehorse from the Nazis. Meeting Alice, who is defiant of the Nazi orders, and Lucas' own small act of resistance, saving the kittens, emboldens him to take another risk -- Lucas becomes a messenger for the French resistance. His job as a greengrocer delivery boy enables him to move through the village freely, including accessing the Lebensborn clinic where tee...