Muscular Dystrophy Children's Literature Reviews

Arnie and the New Kid by Nancy Carlson

This book is about a young student who is in a wheelchair and is often left out of activities in which his classmates regularly participate.  One boy, Arnie, often teases him and disregards his position in a wheelchair.  One day, Arnie, falls down the stairs and breaks his leg, leaving him with a cast and crutches.  Therefore, Arnie and the student in the wheelchair bond over the fact that they can’t use their legs to maneuver around.  This is great children’s book portraying children with special needs because Arnie is the student who is not compassionate towards his friend in the wheelchair until he experiences it for himself.  It shows students to be kind to their classmates, even if they have special needs.

All Kinds of Friends, Even Green! By Ellen B. Senisi

This book is about a young boy named Moses.  He is in a wheelchair because he has multiple disabilities.  At school, his teacher gives him an assignment to write about a special friend.  Moses begins to think of all of his special friends, but decides to write about his next door neighbor’s iguana because the iguana has special needs just like him (He lost all of his toes on his back foot).  This book is a great resource because it shows how normal children in wheelchairs can be in the classroom, and that you can have all types of friends to share special moments with!

Rolling along with Goldilocks and the Three Bears by Cindy Meyers

This adaptation of the classic fairytale Goldilocks and the Three Bears puts an interesting spin on the story by adding in that baby bear is in a wheelchair.  Throughout the story it shows the accommodations for baby bear because he is in a wheelchair, from having a bed that moves up and down to even going to physical therapist!  I think this is a great way to show young children what students with disabilities go through and that they are normal just like other children, they just need a few different accommodations in their lives.

Holcomb, Nan.  (1992).   Fair and Square.  U.S.A: Jason & Nordic Publishers.   

This children’s book is about a young boy who is in a wheelchair.  All throughout the book, he is watching his parents and his brother and sister play games that he can’t play because of him being in a wheelchair.  His brother and sister play a board game with him but have to move the pieces and roll the dice for him, and they “let him win.”  He does not like this and wishes to win a game fair and square.  His therapist introduces him to a computer game that is controlled by a single button that the young boy has to push, and he ends up excelling at this game and beats many opponents fair and square.  This book is very interesting because often people will constantly change the rules in order for young children with special needs to accomplish something, but sometimes that will just make them feel worse.  There are many activities out there that children with special needs can excel in, it is just up to them to find them.

Osofsky, A. (1994). My Buddy. New York: Henry Holt & Company.

A young boy who has muscular dystrophy has a best friend named Buddy, who is his golden retriever service dog.  They do everything together from playing ball to going for a walk.  This book is a great resource to teach children about muscular dystrophy because it shows that children with physical disabilities can do regular activities if they have a little help.