Authors & Illustrators
When authors and illustrators share their personal experience in their own writing and illustrations is reminds readers that they are not alone and that they are capable of anything regardless of any disability.
Author & Illustrator of Just Ask: Be Different, Be Brave, Be You
Sonia Sotomayor is the first Latina woman Supreme Court Justice. She was born in New York City but her family is from Puerto Rico. In her book, Just Ask, she provides readers with information about her own childhood diagnosis of diabetes. Sonia shares a beautiful story that everyone contributes to the community (garden) in their own way. Because she is a cultural insider and shares her own personal experience the reader is able to feel a connection between the characters and real people.
Rafael Lopez is an illustrator who has also illustrated The Day You Begin by: Jacqueline Woodson (shared in previous blog post). Rafael creates beautiful art work to portray each character in Just Ask. He is even featured as he shares that he has Asthma and what tools help him breath easier.
Author & Illustrator of Listen: How Evelyn Glennie A Deaf Girl, Changed Percussion
Shannon Stocker has a background in screenwriting and a love for reading. Although Shannon does not live with deafness herself, her storytelling skills shares a beautiful story of Evelyn Gleenie, a deaf musician, who withstood stereotypes to become the known percussionist she is today.
Devon Holzwarth images allows readers to visually connect with Evelyn Gleenie's story. Although Devon does not have a personal connection with deafness, her illustrations depict the inner beauty of music and sound which accompanies Shannon's written words.
Experience with Discussion of Disability in the Classroom
I haven't had any experience per say with bringing in discussion of disability into my class yet but I have incorporated conversations of disability in small groups with adults. During the Lunch and Learn Literacy Club (LLLC) with SDAP (Students with Diverse Abilities Program) we engage in weekly reading from the book Disability Visibility (Adapted for Young Adults): 17 First-Person Stories for Today edited by: Alice Wong. This book is for young adults and therefore conversations we engage with are high-level thinking. We ask critical questions, do further research on the writers, and do our own writing related to the short first person stories.
Although we wouldn't engage in Just Ask during LLLC, this piece of literature can bring up similar conversation and critical thinking that is geared towards children. When using this book in my future elementary classroom it is important to have an open conversation with students about what makes people different before reading. This can be beyond disability but rather religion, gender, ethnicity, likes/dislikes, clothing anything that makes us different. This can be observed even as a class. During the reading stopping periodically to engage in conversation of how characters are able to contribute to the garden regardless of their disability is pivotal when explaining to students that communities are built upon differences and diversity. Once the reading is finished, after it is important to have an open conversation with students about other ways people of all abilities can come together. Going back to Disability Visibility as the teacher I can find relatable stories and as a class we can do further research on these authors. In particular, a piece by Alice Sheppard titled Not. So. Broken. brings to light Alice's story and her dance company called Kinetic Light, an internationally- recognized disability arts ensemble. Sharing stories of real people with children and sharing videos of interviews and conversations with the authors themselves allows young students to connect the topic with the author.
Duet Text Set for Instruction
Duet Text Set: “A Duet text set comprises two texts paired together to compare and contrast their content or theme. Sometimes, Duet models ask students to think about similar content across two texts. Sometimes, Duet models ask students to contrast themes or perspectives across two texts. Sometimes, Duet models suggest that students do both. This is the easiest text set model to implement and perhaps the most common” (p.25, Cappiello & Dawes (2021))
Just Ask: Be Different, Be Brave, Be You
Written by: Sonia Sotomayor
Illustrated by: Rafael Lopez
We Move Together
Written by: Kelly Fritsch and Anne McGuire
Illustrated by: Eduardo Trejos
Multimodal Resource:
Theme 6: Disability Community, Justice, and Activism
Discussion Prompt 4: How are people moving together and/or communicating in Scene 17?
Plans for pairing Just Ask and We Move Together as a Duet:
Both Just Ask and We Move Together have the overarching message that being unique and different is what makes a community so welcoming. Think about a community that lacks diversity, this would end up by only seeing issues through the majority's lens (which poses problems of their own). By paring these two texts specifically when discussing the issue of how people move or communicate with one another both pieces of literature emphasis the importance that being unique as a "superpower" and what makes the world more interesting and inviting. It is important to print to students attention not only the conversational piece of communication but other ways we may communicate about ourselves in particular our clothing. What we wear shows the public who we are and what we represent. In these books having students point out articles of clothing brings up conversations regarding religion, self expression, ethnicity, etc.
Respectful and Discerning Depictions of Disability Experiences in Children’s Books
What Happened to YOU? written by: James Catchpole and illustrated by Karen George teaches kids that knowing "what happened" isn't important when making a friend. In contrast, Just Ask draws emphasis that being different is a superpower. She says in her note to readers at the beginning of the book "Each of us grows in our own ways, so if you are curious about other kids, JUST ASK!" Unlike James Catchpole's book where he shines light on the unimportance of knowing why a person is different, Sonia Sotomayor brings attention to the fact that it is okay to wonder and that curiosity is okay to lead to asking (respectful) questions.
It is important to note that Sonia brings to children's attention that not everyone is comfortable answering personal question. This can be seen in What Happened to YOU? By pairing these books this page would be an important point to stop and talk with students. Discussing with kids that asking questions is ok but knowing when and who to ask is also crucial. Just Ask doing a fantastic job of telling students to having curiosity is important and natural while at the same time being respectful of how you phrase the question.
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