Disability experiences are diverse, and not all disabilities are visible so it’s important to find books with genuine representation of all types of disability including physical, psychiatric, and sensory disabilities, and neurodivergence. The books on this list put disabled kids and teens at the centre of the story.
Together, a Forest: Drawing Connections Between Nature’s Diversity and Our Own
Written & illustrated by Roz MacLean
Henry Holt and Co, 2025
IL: Ages 4-8 RL: Grades p-3
Joy and her peers are eager to visit a nearby forest for a class trip. But Joy's excitement quickly turns into anxiety when she is asked to choose one thing in the area for a school assignment. Seeing her classmates connecting with the natural environment, Joy discovers how each of their choices reflect the ways they relate to and interact with the world.
Together, a Forest begins as an exciting journey into nature and blossoms into a meditation on how our unique personalities and ways of being help create a more vibrant and beautiful world. The forest reveals that everyone—including those of us with disabilities and neurodivergence—belong to nature. There is no one right way for a mind, body, or person to be.
The Man In Motion: How Rick Hansen’s World Tour Helped Break Down Barriers for People with Disabilities
Written by Lorna Schultz Nicholson & Rick Hansen
Illustrated by Emma FitzGerald
Owlkids Books, 2026
IL: Ages 5-8 RL: Grades 1-3
In 1973, at the age of 15, Rick Hansen was in a life-changing car accident that left him paralyzed from the waist down. Twelve years later, motivated by the challenges he faced, Rick embarked on the two-year-long Man In Motion World Tour, wheeling 40,075 kilometers through 34 countries on four continents.
Despite the many obstacles Rick encountered during the Tour, he never gave up on his dream: to raise awareness about the enormous potential of people with disabilities. His tour raised $26 million to help with the creation of an accessible and inclusive world.
Written in consultation with Rick Hansen and dynamically illustrated, this biographical picture book invites readers to join Rick through the ups and downs of the Man In Motion World Tour and shows the power of perseverance and dedication.
A Garden of Berries and Crows
Written by Rosalie Nyce
Illustrated by Marie-Eve Turgeon
Orca Book Publishers, 2026
IL: Ages 6-8 RL: Grades 1-3
Maeve loves crows. She likes to talk to the ghost of her late aunt while making origami crows that come to life.
But Maeve is always alone—until she meets Fern, a new student mourning the recent loss of her father. As their friendship blossoms, Maeve struggles to share her unique perspective of the world with Fern because Maeve is autistic. Yet it’s through their friendship that Fern finds a creative way to honor her father’s memory. Fern’s drawings of her father’s favorite plants bloom into living magic, joining Maeve’s origami crows. Together the friends cultivate a magical garden—and an even more magical connection.
Rewriting the Rules: How Dr. Kathleen Fiel Created New Possibilities for Brain Research and Disability
Written by Danna Zeiger
Illustrated by Josée Bisaillon
Lerner Publishing Group, 2025
IL: Ages 6-10 RL: Grades 1-5
IL: Ages 6-10 RL: Grades 1-5
When Kathleen Friel was young, she was diagnosed with cerebral palsy, and a doctor told her parents all the things she'd never be able to do. They left his office for good and found a new doctor.
As Kathleen grew up, she found her own methods to tackle tricky tasks and make her way through the world. After becoming fascinated by science, she went on to earn a PhD, investigating how injured brains can build new connections. She now runs her own lab, developing new techniques to help others with cerebral palsy.
This is the incredible story of how a determined scientist rewrote the rules and followed her dreams.
All About Us: 20 True Tales of Courage and Disability
Written by Hannalora Leavitt
Illustrated by Stef Wong
Orca Book Publishers, 2026
IL: Ages 9-12 RL: Grades 4-7
Meet twenty inspiring kids and adults living with disability today.
From journalists to NASA scientists to TikTok stars and kidpreneurs, young readers will be introduced to people who were born with a disability and others who became disabled because of illness or an accident. All About Us explores the basic categories of disability: intellectual, sensory, physical and invisible. Readers will discover how every disability, whether it’s deafness, blindness or neurodiversity, has its own unique set of adaptations to help manage the tasks of daily life. No two blind people, intellectually challenged people or people who use wheelchairs are the same.
Benny on the Case
Written by Wesley King
Beach Lane Books, 2025
IL: Ages 8-12 RL: Grades 3-7
Benny isn’t your average boy from Newfoundland. He lives in a retirement home that his mother runs, he has an eighty-six-year-old best friend named Mr. Tom, he knows more about fixing boats than video games, and he has Mosaic Down syndrome. When Benny transitions to a mainstream classroom for the first time, the other students tease him for his differences…except for Salma. She’s new, too, and not your typical Newfoundland girl: she’s tech savvy, speaks Arabic, plays basketball, and isn’t afraid to eat lunch with Benny.
So when Salma’s grandmother and several other residents in the retirement home are robbed, Benny asks Salma to help him catch the thief. Time is not on their side as an inspector threatens to close the home. And to make matters worse, Benny and Salma must crack the case while working on a class assignment with their bullies. Can Benny save his home and take a stand against the bullies once and for all? He’s about to find out, b’ys.
Rose Wolves (Book 2): Out of the Blue
Written & illustrated by Natalie Warner
IDW Publishing, 2025
IL: Ages 9-12 RL: Grades 4-7
Kids and families who love the beauty of the woods will adore this minimalist graphic novel sequel, which spins a new enthralling fable about family, disability, transformation, and the passage of time.
In the first volume of Rose Wolves, a young girl made a wondrous connection with a magical creature linked to a mysterious rosebush. Now she’s excited to share this discovery with her mom…but as the seasons change and the forest falls asleep for winter, the world of the rose wolves must change as well. Ahead of them lie new problems, new discoveries, and even more new friends!
Love on Planet A
Written by Christina Minaki
James Lorimer & Company Ltd., 2025
IL: Ages 8-14 RL: Grades 6-12
Lydia has had a passion for climate issues for as long as she can remember. After a fall at school, her well-meaning friends and family are against her getting out on the streets to protest, but Lydia is determined to challenge ableism, promote climate action, and make a statement, no matter the risks.
Love on Planet A explores friendship, first love, and fighting for change. With its authentic representation of disability, a strong-willed protagonist, and a socially conscious narrative, this novel is perfect for teen readers who are passionate about activism and making their voices heard. A must-have for libraries, schools, and bookstores looking to expand their selection of engaging, inclusive fiction.
The Mizzy Mysteries: The Shadow on the Wreck
Written by Claire Hatcher-Smith
Tundra Books, 2026
IL: Ages 10-18 RL: Grades 5-12
A mysterious figure on an old fishing boat, anonymous postcards, disappearing cousins — Mizzy is thrilled to have a new mystery to solve! The next installment of this charming series for middle-grade readers, starring a girl with Down syndrome.
Mizzy is spending half-term with cousins in St Jude’s-on-Sea: a seaside town struggling to accommodate an influx of refugees. When she sees a spooky shadow on a wrecked old fishing boat on the shore, she thinks she’s found her next mystery. But her cousins seem determined to keep her in the dark about their comings and goings to the wreck, and she’s left alone to help their old Greek-Cypriot grandfather Papou sort out his papers.
Then an anonymous postcard arrives for Papou, featuring a picture of the old wreck and the words WHAT REALLY HAPPENS? Mizzy must solve the mystery of the postcard sender and prove once again that she is the best detective in town.
Sugar Crash
Written by Melinda Di Lorenzo
Orca Book Publishers, 2025
IL: Ages 12-18 RL: Grades 8-12
Zoe Harmon doesn’t remember what life was like before she had type one diabetes. Her insulin pump feels like a body part now—just one she has to think about a little more than she thinks about her kidneys or her liver. Yeah, it’s annoying sometimes, but it sure beats being dead. When she begrudgingly accepts a ride to a school camp from her former best friend, Vic Niels, a crash sends them flying off a remote mountain road. Stranded without her phone or insulin, Zoe is forced to team up with Vic in order to save her own life. And his. Twenty-four hours stuck with Vic? Fine. But twenty-four hours without insulin? This could get deadly.
Everything Comes Back to You
Written by Jackie Khalilieh
Tundra Books, 2026
IL: Ages 14-18 RL: Grades 9-12
Lennon is excited and apprehensive about starting high school, where her older sister is going to be a senior. Then her sister drops a bombshell: she is pregnant. Her Palestinian Canadian parents are devastated, and Lennon finds herself under even more pressure to be a "good girl” – a role autistic Lennon has always played well. But after a chance encounter with John, a white boy in the grade above, Lennon finds herself nursing a crush on someone her parents would definitely not approve of—which only seems to intrigue her more.
As Lennon and John are drawn together and pulled apart throughout her four years of high school, Lennon wrestles with feelings of shame and yearning, obedience and rebellion through the lens of her autism, trying to both please her parents and herself. When a relationship with a different boy challenges her notions of family and happiness, her way forward becomes clear, even if it might mean losing everything and everyone she loves.
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Book list curated by Spencer Miller