The first day at a new school is always daunting, particularly when one is at that unenviable pre-teen age when so much seems to revolve around who is sitting with whom at lunchtime. For ten-year-old August ('Auggie'), the level of the challenge is acutely more profound. For one thing, he has only ever been home-educated, so must acclimatise to the whole concept of going to school. For another, Auggie has a facial disfiguration, and of the most severe kind. It invokes widespread reactions of shock, suspicion and fear, and those around him behave in ways that are sometimes thoughtless and...

Sam and Ruby have a lot in common. They are both bright, but find school tedious and are permanently in trouble, albeit for very different reasons. Whilst Sam can be found using his computing prowess to play practical jokes on the staff, Ruby spends lessons playing with her mobile and inspecting her make-up. The headteacher has had enough and gives them one last chance to prove themselves, or else lose their places on the much-anticipated end-of-term trip. Their mission? To create an Olympic-themed project and present it at assembly. It’s an assignment which does not go down well at first....

When Toby’s sister Clemmie is unwell, she has to go and stay in hospital. So, together, they find a string of ways to make the experience as fun as possible – from exploring the playroom and making friends with other children to sailing to distant lands on her hospital bed. Best of all, the family has an excuse for a great party when Clemmie comes home. This book is a follow-up to Elliott’s first book about the relationship between Toby and his disabled older sister, Just Because. This time, Toby and Clemmie ably illustrate how hospitals need not be feared,...

A high school shooting has left a small American town devastated. Caitlin’s brother Devon was one of victims of the tragedy. In addition to coming to terms with the death of her beloved brother, Caitlin must understand her father’s response to the loss and grapple with the well-meaning efforts of various teachers, relatives and counsellors. Caitlin has Asperger’s Syndrome, and the world around her can often seem like a minefield of discrepancies and ambiguities. She just wishes people could be more like books – where the words and pictures stay the same, no how many times you open and close...

Mia loves nothing better than spending time with Uncle Robbie. He has an infinite knack for coming up with fun things to do. He builds her a puppet theatre, creates treasure hunts and even entertains her by making an egg appear from her ear and handkerchiefs change colour. And it is Robbie’s flair as a conjurer which proves invaluable when Mia wants to learn a new skill for the school end of year talent show. Then Mia doesn’t hear from him for a while. She misses her uncle and writes to ask him to come and perform a magic show...

A young man heads to New York with ambitions of becoming a private detective. Modelling himself on his hero (a comic book private eye), Trueman Bradley sets up an office and opens for business, only to find the Big Apple is rather less hospitable than he had pictured. Plus, nobody seems to take his abilities as an aspiring detective the least bit seriously. Trueman has Aspergers Syndrome, which results in a succession of confusing and confrontational encounters, as he tries to make sense of the constant stream of idioms and social niceties. People in turn struggle to understand his unconventional...

The Great Big Book of Families is not ‘about’ disability, but rather about the diversity of families. The simple message is that every family is unique and special. This message is delivered effectively through simple, accessible text and an abundance of delightful,cartoon-like illustrations. Subtle inclusive images of disability are scattered throughout. These include several wheelchairs, lots of glasses, leg braces, and a walker. It’s a book packed with detail, humour and interest, reminding us that there is no such thing as ‘normal’ or ‘abnormal’ – we are all equal. In terms of diversity in its widest sense, books simply don’t...

This is a quirky and entertaining read. Translated from German, it is the story of two misfit boys who find friendship as they set out to solve a very unusual mystery. The reader is drawn in right from the start, when the narrator Rico is intrigued to find a small piece of pasta on the pavement. This leads him to uncover the truth behind all manner of strange goings-on in his neighbourhood, including a local kidnapping plot. Rico is mildly autistic and his friend Oscar is gifted and anxiety-ridden, and both are enormously likable. Any young reader will fall in...

This uplifting book focuses on a sibling relationship, as a little boy affectionately describes his older sister. Both children are very three-dimensional and eminently likeable. Clemmie is severely disabled, but there is no sense of pity or pathos about the book, rather a feeling of equality and mutual appreciation and respect. All the things she cannot do (such as walking or talking) are described matter-of-factly alongside the fact that she can’t cook macaroni or pilot a plane either. To Toby, she is definitely the best sister in the world – she’s kind, she doesn’t eat his crayons and she never...