I Am Not A Label

Name: William Joseph
Price range: $

by Cerrie Burnell

Interest age: 9 to 12
Reading age: 9+

Published by Wide Eyed Editions, 2020

Non-fiction
Autistic spectrum conditions
Behavioural/emotional/social
Disability
Learning disability
Mobility/wheelchair
Visual impairment

About this book

Meet 34 trailblazing disabled role models in this powerful and stylish book.

From the famous to the less well-known, and from the past to the contemporary, it’s a wonderfully eclectic range of stories, each introduced with humour and heart. Each biographical account focusses on the individual’s unique experience, reminding us of the diverse spectrum encompassed by the word ‘disability’. Along with the likes Beethoven, Helen Keller and Stephen Hawking, it also introduces less familiar stories such as Lady Gaga’s life with fibromyalgia, Lil Wayne’s epilepsy and Dynamo’s experience of Crohn’s disease.

Large illustrations and simple biographies will encourage readers to explore the lives of these disabled artists, thinkers, athletes and activists who are leaders in their fields. Yet this is more than just an inspirational book celebrating difference, or a book that simply says you can be a hero ‘despite’ being disabled. Crucially, it also recognises that you do not have to be a hero. As comedian Stella Young (one of those featured) points out, disability is neither a disaster nor a gift – it is just another normal. It can be wonderful, it can be tedious, it can be hilarious. Just like anyone else’s life.

Fascinating, funny and informative, this is an anthology that breaks stereotypes and challenges assumptions.

About the author

Cerrie Burnell is an actress and writer best known for her work on CBeebies, a role that has earned her critical recognition and a devoted fan base. Alongside this, she works very closely with a number of charitable organisations linked to childhood and diversity, as Cerrie is passionate about these subjects.

In 2011, Cerrie was named in the Observer’s top ten children’s presenters and in the Guardian’s list of 100 most inspirational women. Cerrie is author in residence for Great Ormond Street hospital and a patron of Polka children’s theatre.

She trained at Manchester Metropolitan and her credits prior to CBeebies include Eastenders, The Bill, Holby City, and Comedy Lab for Channel Four and various plays, including Winged, an original play she wrote and starred in at the Tristan Bates theatre.

Cerrie’s one-woman show The Magical Playroom opened in Edinburgh in 2013 and she has published seven books for children with Scholastic. Harper and the Sea of Secrets was a World Book Day title in 2016. Cerrie recently adapted her picture book Snowflakes for the stage, which was performed at the Oxford Playhouse in December 2016. Harper and the Night Fox was published by Scholastic in 2017, and her novel, The Girl With the Shark’s Teeth, was published by Oxford University Press in January 2019. Her novel, The Ice Bear Miracle, was published in February 2020.

More books like this

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by Louise Gooding, illustrated by Caterina delli Carri, Angel Chang, Cathy Hookey and Melissa Iwai

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Unicorn Seekers: The Map of Lost Unicorns

by Cerrie Burnell, illustrated by Lucy Fleming

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by Cerrie Burnell

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The Ice Bear Miracle

by Cerrie Burnell

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