Skip to Main Content

EARL: Early Childhood Education

This guide is intended for students in the Early Childhood Education program. It will help you locate children's picture books in the Library collection, and conduct research using our online databases.

Suggested Search Terms

Searching for the phrase "people with disabilities" will find you a number of books from our collection. You may also choose to search by a specific disability or disorder:

  • Disabilities
  • Special needs
  • Down syndrome
  • Cerebral palsy
  • Muscular dystrophy
  • Autism
  • Blindness
  • Vision impaired
  • Deafness
  • Hearing impaired
  • Wheelchairs

Picture Books about Physical Disabilities

We Can Do It!

Author: Laura Dwight
Published: 1998
Location: Bethlehem
"Depicts children living with spina bifida, Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, or blindness with the help of family and friends."--Publisher's description.

Howie Helps Himself

Author: Joan Fassler; Joe Lasker (Illustrator)
Published: 1975
Location: Bethlehem
"Though he enjoys life with his family and attends school, Howie, a child with cerebral palsy, wants more than anything else to be able to move his wheelchair by himself."--Publisher's description.

The Making of My Special Hand: Madison's Story

Author: Jamee Riggio Heelan; Nicola Simmonds (Illustrator)
Published: 1998
Location: Bethlehem
"A child who was born with one hand tells the story of how people at the hospital made a helper hand for her, how the new hand operates, how it feels, and how she can use it."--Publisher's description.

Look Up!

Author: Jin-Ho Jung; Mi Hyun Kim (Translator)
Published: 2016
Location: Bethlehem & Monroe
"When a girl in a wheelchair calls to people far below to look up and see her, one finds a way to brighten her day"--Publisher's description.

Rescue and Jessica

Author: Jessica Kensky, Patrick Downes; Scott Magoon (Illustrator)
Published: 2018
Location: Bethlehem & Monroe
"When he is paired with a girl who has lost her legs, Rescue worries that he isn't up to the task of being her service dog"--Publisher's description.

Special People Special Ways

Author: Arlene Maguire; Sheila Bailey (Illustrator)
Published: 2000
Location: Bethlehem & Monroe
"This book describes, in rhyming text, the many ways in which people with disabilities differ from one another"--Publisher's description.

Ballerina Dreams

Author: Lauren Thompson; James Estrin (Photographer)
Published: 2007
Location: Bethlehem
"True story of five little girls with cerebral palsy or other physical disabilities who were determined to become ballerinas."--Publisher's description.

Susan Laughs

Author: Jeanne Willis; Tony Ross (Illustrator)
Published: 2000
Location: Bethlehem & Monroe
"Rhyming couplets describe a wide range of common emotions and activities experienced by a little girl who uses a wheelchair."--Publisher's description.

Picture Books about Hearing Impairment

Moses Goes to a Concert

Author: Isaac Millman
Published: 1998
Location: Bethlehem
"Moses and his schoolmates, all deaf, attend a concert where the orchestra's percussionist is also deaf. Includes illustrations in sign language and a page showing the manual alphabet."--Publisher's description.

Moses Sees A Play

Author: Isaac Millman (author/llustrator)
Published: 2004
Location: Bethlehem
"Moses and his classmates, who are deaf or hard of hearing, attend a play at their school, and Moses makes a new friend from another class"--Publisher's description.

Laurie

Author: Elfi Nijssen; Eline van Lindehuizen (Illustrator)
Published: 2010
Location: Bethlehem
"Laurie is a special girl. She doesn't hear well and that can be hard sometimes. She doesn't always understand what other people say and playing with other children can be difficult. Luckily, there's the ear doctor. He examines Laurie's ears and gives her hearing aids."--Publisher's description.

Picture Books about Vision Impairment

Douglas, You Need Glasses!

Author: Ged Adamson
Published: 2016
Location: Bethlehem & Monroe
"After visiting the eye doctor, a nearsighted dog gets glasses."--Publisher's description.

A Picture Book of Louis Braille

Author: David A. Adler; John C. Wallner (Illustrator); Alexandra Wallner (Illustrator); John Wallner (Illustrator)
Published: 1997
Location: Bethlehem & Monroe
"Presents the life of the nineteenth-century Frenchman, accidentally blinded as a child, who originated the raised dot system of reading and writing used throughout the world by the blind."--Publisher's description.

Do You Remember the Color Blue?

Author: Sally Hobart Alexander
Published: 2000
Location: Monroe
"Children ask questions of an author who lost her vision at the age of twenty-seven, including 'How did you become blind?' 'How can you read?' and 'Was it hard to be a parent when you couldn't see your kids?'"--Publisher's description.

Brian's Bird

Author: Patricia A. Davis; Layne Johnson (Illustrator)
Published: 2004
Location: Bethlehem
"Eight-year-old Brian, who is blind, learns how to take care of his new parakeet and comes to realize that his older brother, while sometimes careless, is not so bad after all."--Publisher's description.

Guide Dogs

Author: Alice B. McGinty
Published: 1999
Location: Bethlehem
"Describes the raising and training of Freedom, a seeing eye dog, beginning with its selection as a candidate to be a guide dog up to its placement with an appropriate master."--Publisher's description.

The Secret Code

Author: Dana Meachen Rau; Bari Weissman (Illustrator)
Published: 1998
Location: Bethlehem
"Oscar, who is blind, teaches Lucy how to read his Braille book."--Publisher's description.

Picture Books about Down Syndrome

Big Brother Dustin

Author:Alden R. Carter; Dan Young with Carol Carter (Photographs)
Published: 1997
Location: Bethlehem
"A boy with Down Syndrome helps his parents and grandparents get ready for the birth of his baby sister and chooses the perfect name for her."--Publisher's description.

Dustin's Big School Day

Author: Alden R. Carter; Dan Young & Carol S. Carter (Photographs)
Published: 1999
Location: Bethlehem
"Second-grader Dustin, who has Down syndrome, anticipates the arrival of two very special guests at his school one day."--Publisher's description.

Be Good to Eddie Lee

Author: Virginia Fleming; Floyd Cooper (Illustrator)
Published: 1993
Location: Bethlehem
"Although Christy considered him a pest, when Eddie Lee, a boy with Down's Syndrome, follows her into the woods, he shares several special discoveries with her."--Publisher's description.

Russ and the Almost Perfect Day

Author: Janet Elizabeth Rickert; Peter McGahan (Photographer)
Published: 2000
Location: Bethlehem & Monroe
"Russ, a student with Down syndrome, is having a perfect day until he realizes that the five-dollar bill he has found probably belongs to a classmate."--Publisher’s description.

Russ and the Firehouse

Author: Janet Elizabeth Rickert; Peter McGahan (Photographer)
Published: 2000
Location: Bethlehem & Monroe
"Russ, a five-year-old with Down syndrome, visits his uncle's firehouse and gets to help with the daily chores."--Publisher’s description.

Russ and the Apple Tree Surprise

Author: Janet Elizabeth Rickert; Peter McGahan (Photographer)
Published: 1999
Location: Bethlehem & Monroe
"After Russ, a five-year-old with Down syndrome, picks a basket of apples and helps his mother and grandmother make a pie, his grandfather invites him into the backyard for a surprise."--Publisher’s description.

What's Wrong with Timmy?

Author: Maria Shriver; Sandra Speidel (Illustrator, Artist)
Published: 2001
Location: Bethlehem & Monroe
"Making friends with a boy with Down Syndrome helps Kate learn that the two of them have a lot in common."--Publisher's description.

We'll Paint the Octopus Red

Author: Stephanie Stuve-Bodeen; Pamela DeVito (Illustrator)
Published: 1998
Location: Monroe
"Emma and her father discuss what they will do when the new baby arrives, but they adjust their expectations when he is born with Down syndrome."--Publisher’s description.

My Friend Isabelle

Author: Eliza Woloson; Bryan Gough (Illustrator)
Published: 2003
Location: Bethlehem & Monroe
"A young boy named Charlie describes the activities he shares with his friend Isabelle, a girl with Down Syndrome."--Publisher's description.

Picture Books about Autism

Russell's World

Author: Charles A. Amenta; Monika Pollak (Illustrator)
Published: 2011
Location: Bethlehem & Monroe
"Russell is a boy with autism. Russell is a boy with a great big smile and a family who loves him. Step into Russell's World for an inside look at a real-life family as they share their photos and stories. Kids can see just what Russell and his family experience as well as the surprises and challenges that can come with autism."--Publisher’s description.

He's My Brother

Author/Illustrator: Joe Lasker
Published: 1974
Location: Bethlehem
"A young boy describes the experiences of his slow learning younger brother at school and at home."--Publisher’s description.

Ian's Walk

Author: Laurie Lears; Karen Ritz (Illustrator)
Published: 1998
Location: Bethlehem
"A young girl realizes how much she cares for her autistic brother Ian when he gets lost at the park."--Publisher’s description.

My Brother Charlie

Author: Holly Robinson Peete, Ryan Elizabeth Peete; Shane Evans (Illustrator)
Published: 2010
Location: Monroe
"A girl tells what it is like living with her twin brother who has autism, and sometimes finds it hard to communicate with words, but who, in most ways, is just like any other boy."--Publisher's description.

Other Picture Books about Special Needs

Waiting for Mr. Goose

Author: Laurie Lears; Karen Ritz (Illustrator)
Published: 1999
Location: Bethlehem
"Stephen, who has trouble sitting still and paying attention, surprises himself when he summons up the patience to catch and help an injured goose. Includes a note to adults about children who have difficulty staying focused, including those with ADHD."--Publisher’s description.

Catherine's Story

Author: Genevieve Moore; Karin Littlewood (Illustrator)
Published: 2010
Location: Bethlehem
"Catherine, a young girl with multiple learning disabilities whose challenges include being unable to speak, walk without assistance, and understand a lot of what is said to her, has many characteristics and abilities that make her special."--Publisher's description.

Shelley, the Hyperactive Turtle

Author: Deborah Moss; Carol Schwartz (Illustrator)
Published: 1989
Location: Bethlehem
"After his mother takes him to the doctor, Shelley the turtle begins to understand why he feels so jumpy and wiggly inside that he can't stay still."--Publisher's description.

Our Friend Mikayla

Author: Mikayla; Kimberly Resh (Editor)
Published: 2006
Location: Bethlehem & Monroe
"We think it is important to tell other kids about people with disabilities. You should not make fun of someone who has a disability. Treat people with disabilities the same way you treat other people. Mikayla has a disability, and we still treat her the same."--Publisher's description.