Published Thursday, 20 July 2017 – Buzz Words In my World: ‘Wheels of Fire’ and ‘The Basketball Tree’ In my World: ‘Wheels of Fire’ and ‘The Basketball Tree’ by Carole Lander, (Checkword Publications 2016) Reviewed by Lucinda Gifford All children whether they live with a disability or not encounter disabled people through school, family and friends. The […]
Category: Disability in KidLit
Anh Doh paints Kurt Fearnley
Kurt Fearnley levers his body out of his wheelchair and hoists himself into a yellow armchair in Anh Doh’s studio. He tucks his lifeless legs under him and grins widely at Anh who is about to paint his portrait for the ABC series ‘Anh’s Brush with Fame’. Kurt was born with a congenital disorder called […]
Developing empathy for difference
The Australian School Library Association has published an article of mine. See how teachers can use my books to the advantage of their students and to comply with the Australian Curriculum. ASLA article_March 2017_empathy
At school with a disability
Last week I wrote about ways in which the national (Australian) curriculum supports students who live with a disability. This is through the General Capabilities. I mentioned the Personal and Social Capability, but there’s another – Ethical Understanding. In an ideal world we would not need to directed towards ethical behaviour but unfortunately that is not […]
Back to school with a disability
Over the years since the development of a national Australian curriculum began, it has become increasingly easier for teachers to feel supported when they have children in their class who live with a disability. This should be reassuring to parents of those children. The ACARA website has pages of information on how to ensure that […]
Illustrating disability in kids stories
I write stories for children that put disability front and centre. Why? Because when I published a nonfiction book on dwarfism I realised that there are so few kids books where the main character lives with a disability. So I decided to fill the gap. My first book for children is called IN MY WORLD. […]
Developing empathy for difference
‘Mummy, why is that man so short?’ ‘Because he didn’t eat his vegetables when he was a kid.’ The short man who overheard this conversation was Jonathan Tripp. He was born with a condition of dwarfism. While he could see the funny side of the mother’s reaction, it was just another incident in which an […]
My new book is out!
My new book called IN MY WORLD consists of two chapter books for readers aged 7+ between the covers . Both stories have a main character who is a young person living with a disability. Basketball Tree Sam is confronted by the fact that he’s very short (he has a condition of dwarfism) and may […]
DIY Publishing
My book Little People Big Lives was published in 2013. I self-published it because the big publishers wouldn’t take it on. The topic is too unusual and not good for sales! The book profiles people who are short-statured (little people) and provides information about dwarfism. While I was going through the process of publishing the […]