One way children begin to feel as though they are an integral part of a group is by seeing themselves (or children like them) in books, posters, and other materials used in the classroom. The National Association of Educators of Young Children has for many years required accredited programs to provide books showing diversity, and most educators make every effort to reflect diversity in the children’s books used in the classroom.

However, much of this diversity in children’s books represents cultural, language, and ethnic differences rather than differences in mobility, visual, auditory, and learning abilities. It is important to broaden our idea of diversity as we seek to provide inclusive early educational settings for children with disabilities. Toward that end, this set of books includes stories and images of children who have visible special needs that are “just one of the crowd.” The books treat the children matter-of-factly, without the goal of educating children about one disability or another. Books of this type are not available in huge numbers, so to help teachers, here are a few good stories that include children who have Down syndrome, have vision issues, or use a wheelchair to move about.

Books selected and reviewed by Carol Price.