76 pages
228mm x 145mm
ISBN-10: 1 85856 213 9
ISBN-13:978 1 85856 213 1
March 2000

Most modern people will be involved with or affected by disability, yet we rarely teach children how to manage when they encounter disability in themselves, their families or their communities. Too often their perceptions are formed by unhelpful ideas portrayed in the books they are encouraged to read. And helping children to interpret these disability issues appropriately tends to be neglected.
This is the first book to offer a simple framework by which children's fiction can be examined for out-dated or erroneous portrayals of disability. Using readily available children's books, it provides an accessible and adaptable method for teaching all children about understanding and coping with disability and is a guide to introducing young readers to a more realistic perception of relative abilities.

Authors whose books are reviewed include Raymond Briggs, Kathryn Cave, Shirley Hughes, Rose Impey, David McKee, Margaret Mahy, Jill Murphey, Michael Murpurgo, Tomie De Paola, Terry Pratchet, Susan Sallis, Martin Waddell.
Kathy Saunders is a disabled mother and writer.

This book will be of interest to anyone who is concerned about the information and hidden messages children recieve from their books and it will help us all to use books more effectively to promote positive images of disability. - Action for Leisure

A very practical and useful addition to school staff room collections. - REACH Newsletter

... will be useful for opening discussions on disability in the classroom or on a one to one basis and will give an early start to promote awareness and understanding of people and disabilities. - Talk, the magazine of the National Deaf Children Society

I would like to think that this book will become a popular choice throughout primary and secondary schools, as a powerful tool to combat the negative images of disability which surround children at the moment. - Disability, Pregnancy and Parenthood

This book succesfully delivers a framework to foster in children the capacity to accept disability and minimise fear and misinformation. In addition, this book enables children to value a whole variety of skills, including the ability to take care of one another. - Through the Looking Glass