For The Kids: Holland Bloorview’s Reading List For Kids Who Are Allies

Today, Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital kicks off their anti-stigma campaign, Dear Everybody. The campaign challenges those in advertising and media to include more people with disabilities, and they’re also sharing stories from young people who are experiencing first-hand the challenges with an industry that needs to be more inclusive and creative in creating roles for people with disabilities. 

As part of the broader campaign, they’ve come up with some fantastic resources that we know you’ll love. Looking for some new reading material for the kids as we head into the school year? Check out these:

• Zoom! by Robert Munsch, Michael Martchenko (illustrator) (ages 6-10): A girl called Lauretta uses a super-speedy wheelchair.
• Since We’re Friends: An Autism Picture Book by Celeste Shally, David Harrington (illustrator) (ages 4-8): A story about two boys who are friends.
• Arnie and the New Kid by Nancy Carlson (ages 3-5): A story about friendship and being nice to each other.
• We Are All Alike… We Are All Different by The Cheltenham Elementary School kindergartners and Laura Dwight (photographer) (ages 4-11). Written for kids by kids, this book is about how we are the same and different.

You can find the complete reading list here. And check out all the Dear Everybody resources, including tip sheets on how to avoid ableist language, and hear from kids and youth on how they want to be seen.