[Chiming sound]
Hey Everyone!
Welcome back to my channel.
So for todays video I thought I would talk about a topic that I've been wanting to discuss-
on my channel for a while now.
And it is disability in picture books.
Now I did actually talk about this a while back, I talked about disability in children's books in general on my channel.
It got quite a popular response.
So I thought I'd come back and do one talking about picture books in specific.
So for those of you who don't know, I'm actually studying a masters degree in children's literature.
And a couple of months ago I was writing an assignment on the representation of disability in picture books.
So I thought you guys might be interested to know what I found and some of the books that I've discovered that have got disabled-
characters in them and also some of my thoughts on disability in picture books.
When I was growing up, personally I never found characters with disabilities in picture books.
Perhaps I just wasn't looking in the right places or perhaps my school didn't think it prudent that there were disabled-
characters in picture books.
Something that I hear a lot is that the disability community in picture books is a very unrepresented group.
And I will definitely agree it is very unrepresented and it is sometimes not very well represented or-
the representation is very unfavourable for whatever season.
There is certainly a number of disabled characters in picture books that i've discovered.
Now for me personally throughout my studies the books that I have discovered have predominantly been-
characters with physical disabilities, with sensory disabilities and I think the reason for this-
is because some illustrators and artists have claimed that its very difficult to represent an invisible disability in picture books.
Like that of perhaps a learning disability or something that is not immediately visible.
And I guess its the idea of how do you portray a disability in a picture book and how do you artfully-
incorporate it into a picture so that its part of the story.
Now with disability in picture books there are two key types of literature.
The first one is inclusive literature, now this literature is usually focused towards showing that-
disabled are everyday people.
As the name wold imply its about including people from the disability community into everyday society.
And its about educating children who don't necessarily have a disability about disabilities.
Now I'd say this is usually literature thats more intended towards the non disability community.
Because from my personal findings and from discussing this with peers who've got disabilities-
we would rather read about characters who go on adventures, not read about the disabilities.
We don't need to be educated about our disabilities, we know about it quite well enough as it is.
So that literature is usually focused towards the non-disability community I tend to find.
The second type of literature is called immersive literature, now immersive literature is about-
a text where there might be a character or several characters who have disabilities.
They might not necessarily be the protagonist, they might be a secondary character, they might-
be the antagonist.
But, they are present in the book and it is just a part of the story.
The disability is not the focal point of the story, so they're there but thats not the main thing.
The disability is only secondary to the plot and this literature is usually more successful for everybody and it tends to be-
more popular with the disability community.
Because its about actually enabling them to go on a journey and see themselves represented in books.
But to not feel like they're being pigeonholed.
I think that both types of literature have their place and have their purpose.
I do prefer immersive literture, but alas I've not come across as many books as I'd have liked to that are immersive.
But certainly I've come across both and I think both are successful in their own way.
And I think both are very important to have, but I think its about time that there is-
equal representation of the two.
Now I think with disability it can sometimes be a very taboo subject with children and-
sometimes children don't really know how to talk about it.
Or sometimes I think the educators don't really know how to bring it up into the conversation.
But I think that picture books are a fantastic way of actually enabling children to have an open-
conversation about disability.
So without further adieu I'm going to discuss a few of my favourite books that have disabled-
characters in them and why I like them.
The first book I want to mention to you is Lucy's Picture by Nicola Moon.
Now this book is about a little girl called Lucy and she basically makes a collage picture for her Grandad.
#SpolerAlert!
But at the end of the book its revealed that her grandfather is blind.
And thats the reason why Lucy chose to make a tactile collage as opposed to a visual picture.
And I think this is a great example of showing how a child who perhaps has a family member-
or a friend who's got a visual impairment how to learn to advocate for them and relay the visual world-
to them in an accessible way.
And it is essentially a book about access and opening the visual world to someone with sight loss.
And I just thought this was a really successful book and plus its the first picture book I have-
come across that actually has a guide dog in it so another reason why I love it.
So defiantly for me this has to be one of my favourites and I think its a great book for anyone who perhaps has-
a family member or a friend who's got a visual impairment and they want to learn more-
about sight loss and the ways that someone with sight loss can access the world and interpret the world.
Another book that I wanted to mention to you is called the secret code by Dana Meachen Rau.
This is about a little boy called Oscar, now Oscar is blind and he uses braille.
And thought the book its essentially about him explaining to his classmate-
how he uses braille and whats its for and dispelling the myth is essentially a secret code.
And that braille is just the same as his classmates use but its just a different way of being able to-
understand text and to read.
And I think this is a really good book for anybody who perhaps is working with a child in-
a classroom who uses braille and they want to help their classmates understand what braille is and whats its for-
and what it actually does.
And I just thing this is another example of how you can educate someone about sight loss in a fun way through a picture book.
Another book that I really loved is called Sometimes by Rebecca Elliot.
Now this is about two siblings, Toby and Clementine and Clementine happens to have a disability-
a physical disability. She uses a wheelchair and she has to go for regular hospital visits and-
the book is essentially about their relationship and about how much Toby values and loves his sister-
and admires her for being such a strong willed person and for being able to-
undertake hospital visits and just still be an everyday person and to still be able to play games-
and invent new worlds.
And I just also think the illustrations are beautiful and I just think its a really sweet book and it-
definitely does show how the relationship between two siblings can form, regardless of disability.
Another book I want to mention is called The Five of Us by Quentin Blake I'm not going to talk about this-
to much because I have mentioned this before in a previous video.
This is about five characters each of which have a different disability from cognitive to sensory to a-
physical impairment.
And what I love about this book is that it shows how each person with a disability has their own strength.
And what this book essentially does is emphasise the power of teamwork over disability.
By showing that each character has their own individual strength regardless of their disability-
and how they each use it to their advantage and still work collaboratively as-
a group and work together towards and end goal.
Susan Laughs by Jeanne Wills.
Now I really like this book because it's about a little girl who is a wheelchair user-
however you don't actually know that until the very end of the book where-
she is revealed to be in a wheelchair and its a very powerful end image where at the end-
its revealed that she actually is a wheelchair user. But, up to this point you just see her-
embarking in everyday tasks like going to the park, enjoying being with her family and having fun.
And I just think this is a very powerful message to send to children.
Because its essentially saying that your disability isn't the overriding factor about you and that-
you are more than your disability. But also a disability doesn't have to necessarily be there-
in the forefront originally and that you can have a disability and you don't have to necessarily-
see it all the time.
And I just think the is a good example of how showing a child that essentially that a disability is not a defining characteristic of you.
Max the Champion by Alexandra Strick and Sean Stockade.
Now actually I'm lucky enough to know Alexandra Strick who is an absolutely wonderful, wonderful lady.
She is the co-founder of Inclusive Minds which I'm an ambassador for.
Now she co-wrote this book and its about a little boy called Max.
Now whilst Max does not have a disability, its one of the secondary characters, one of his friends-
who have a disability.
What I think this is a really good example of is showing how a disability can compete in sport.
And I think this is a really good example of showing how someone with a disability can-
still partake in sport and classroom activities and don't have to isolated or estranged from the group.
I mean take a look at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games for example.
Team GB came back with a phenomenal amount of medals and we did so well at the Paralympics this year.
Including many Paralympian's like the lovely Libby Clegg who I'm lucky enough to-
actually know.
With a book like this which includes disability in an everyday sports setting without the need to-
estrange them from the sports environment.
I think it could really change some attitudes towards disability in sport in children and-
and definitely in the school setting this could really turn things around.
So I think this is a really good example of immersive fiction and how it can really work.
And certainly its one of my favourite examples of immersive fiction because-
the disability is there and its not the focal point of the story, but yet it's-
speaking a very strong and very clear message, that disability and sport can and do mix.
Moles Sunrise by Jeanne Wills.
Again another book with a visual impairment in it and again another book written by Jeanne Wills.
Now this is about a little Mole and one day he goes on an adventure with is woodland friends.
And they take him to 'see' the sunrise, but of course because he's blind and he can't see it-
they instead describe him by synergising it with other things Mole can experience-
like touch, sound, smell and taste.
Now I think this would be a really good example to show young children who perhaps-
know someone with a visual impairment or perhaps you've got a visually impaired-
young child in your classroom and you want to help someone understand-
how visually impaired children understand and see the world and its-
another example of how you can advocate for disability and how you can become and advocate for disability.
And its a book about inclusion as well, it's essentially about a group of people learning how to-
advocate and include someone with sight loss into their environment and to make them-
feel included and part of the group.
Now the final book I want to mention is definitely one of my all time favourites that I've discovered.
And its called Moses Goes to Concert by Isaac Millman.
Now this is an American book it was written in the US and its about a little boy called Moses-
and he one day goes on a trip with his classmates (all who happen to be deaf)-
to an Orchestra.
And during his time there with his classmates they meet a percussionist who also happens to be deaf.
And what the book really successfully does is shows children how sign language is used-
and what it is.
I mean I couldn't actually show this to the group of children I was working with because its using-
American Sign Language and we use British Sign Language and there different.
I think its a good example of how you can incorporate elements and cultural aspects-
of disability into a book in an accessible and interesting way.
Because its really interactive and it teaches a child how they could use sign language.
But also I think its a really great book because its dispelling the myth-
that people with sensory disabilities can't love something that is parallel to their sense-
that they don't have.
If you take me for example I get a lot of people saying to me-
[In a shocked voice] "You're a fashion blogger and your blind! How does that work."
A friend of mine who is a blind artist she gets a similar reaction people say that-
how could she possibly draw when she's blind.
And I think this is a similar kind of thing because its essentially dispelling the myth that-
if you're deaf you can't love and have an interest and a career in music.
Which it clearly does dispel and it does it in a very successful way.
And I just think this is a really good book to help people understand how the hearing loss community communicate-
and I just think its a really empowering book and it communities a very strong message in a fun way.
So that concludes my video on disability in picture books.
I really hope you liked it, I certainly had fun discussing some of my findings throughout my-
Masters project, I really did enjoy doing this.
Let me know in the comments if you have come across any character's who've got disabilities in picture books-
I would really love to know and don't forget to like, comment and subscribe if your new to my-
channel as well.
And I'll see you guys in my next video, goodbye!