Over the weekend my 7-year-old niece Bean excitedly discussed her World Book Day costume with me. I laughed as my sister said there was absolutely no way Bean could get painted blue for school so she could go as a Nac Mac Feegle (which are characters from her current favourite Terry Pratchett books).

Over the last year or so it’s been a joy to watch Bean really get into books. She has an insatiable appetite for stories, and this makes my heart sing. I know how much it matters to both of us that stories reflect our family and experiences, and that disability and neurodiversity are as present within the imaginary worlds she inhabits as they are in her real world.

Too often though disability isn’t present within books and stories in nuanced and authentic ways. One important way for the words and pictures in children’s books to reflect disabled people’s realities is for us to be the writers and illustrators – and for our stories to get to places like libraries and schools, where children can access them.

I know from my own experiences how important it is that disabled, neurodiverse and chronically ill children can find themselves in stories. This is why for the last few years we’ve been gifting books by disabled writers and illustrators to local schools and nurseries, and sharing them as lists on this website.

The good news is that each year it feels easier and easier to find great books by disabled people and I’m excited to share this year’s list below.

1) Mama Car (2-5 year olds) (Fiction), by Lucy Catchpole (Author) and Karen George (Illustrator)
2) Gina Kaminski Saves the Wolf (3-6 year olds) (Fiction), by Craig Barr-Green (Author) and Francis Martin (Illustrator)
3) A Little Like Magic (4-8 year olds) (Fiction), by Sarah Kurpiel (Author and Illustrator)
4) Terrible Horses (4-8 year olds) (Fiction) by Raymond Antrobus (Author) and Ken Wilson-Max (Illustrator)
5) The Dictionary Story (4-8 year olds) (Fiction) by Sam Winston (Author and Illustrator) and Oliver Jeffers (Author and Illustrator)
6) My Little Pony – Skye’s Secret (4-10 year olds) (Comic), by Tee Franklin, Yancey Labat, Natacha Bustos
7) Wonderfully Wired Brains (7-9 year olds), (Non-Fiction), by Louise Gooding (Author) and Ruth Burrows (Illustrator)
8) Lights Up (9-12 year olds) (Fiction), by Lisette Auton (Author) and Valentina Toro (Illustrator)
9) Break the Mould (9-12 year olds) (Non-Fiction), by Sinéad Burke (Author) and Natalie Byrne (Illustrator)

There’s some great looking books on the horizon too and I’ve already started on my list for next year.

Children access stories in different ways and reading is only one way of getting into a book. Audiobooks have massively increased my access to literature because both my tics and my pain and energy levels impact my reading. Or more accurately when it comes to involuntary motor tics, books have a tendency to physically impact me.

There are other ways to access stories too – if you know a child who requires tactile books check out Living Paintings or if a child you care about needs a multi-sensory approach, the work of bag books might be of interest.

The knowledge, worlds and possibilities that books create are for all of us, and we want to make sure all children get to experience glorious disabled characters having wide-ranging adventures.