Inclusivity, Awareness & Literacy

Illustrations and simple, rhyming text introduce a school where diversity is celebrated and songs, stories, and talents are shared.

Little Bear feels the world around him. He feels the floor shake when someone stomps to get his attention - but something is missing. Little Bear is not sure what is happening. All around him he hears the familiar refrain: "Can bears ski?" Then Dad Bear takes him to see an audiologist and they learn that Little Bear has been experiencing deafness. With new hearing aids, he discovers that "Can bears ski?" is actually "Can you hear me?" His new world...

When a child has a "bad speech day" at school, his father gives him a new perspective on his stuttering.

"Lucas the Lion discovers the Paralympics--where physically disabled world-class athletes exemplify strength, determination, and courage"--

A boy relates how he and his autistic sister are alike and different, and some of the ways in which they show their love for each other.

"A young girl, who is visually impaired, finds much to celebrate as she explores the city she loves.A young girl and her father spend a day in the city, her city, traveling to the places they go together: the playground, the community garden, the market, an outdoor concert. As they do, the girl describes what she senses in delightfully precise, poetic detail. Her city, she says, 'rushes and stops, and waits and goes.' It 'pitters and patters, and...

"A girl with a disability explores every facet of the ocean during a day at the beach. A girl spends an entire day exploring the seaside with her mom. A keen observer, she sees the ocean as both "big" and "small" and both "sparkly" and "dull. It's also "dotted and spiraled and wavy and straight." Her ocean is full of sounds -- it "splashes and crashes" and "laughs and hums." But, at times, it's silent. She is inspired to examine and celebrate every...

"Meet a boy with a heart so big, his feelings glow from his cheeks, spill out of his eyes, and jump up and down on his chest. What good is this giant heart?"--

Augie enjoys the company of his dog, Daisy, and using his imagination, but painfully endures the taunts of his peers because of his facial deformity.

Five-year-old Charley gets teased for daydreaming and drawing more than his friends, but when he meets Emma, who is physically different, he needs help remembering that being different is okay.