Tag Archives: Inclusion

Elem. – The Old Sleigh

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Pumpfrey, Jarrett, and Jerome Pumpfrey. The Old Sleigh. Norton Young Readers, 2025. 978-1-324-05412-2. $18.99. 48 p. Grades PK-3. 

An old sleigh is used throughout a small town to deliver items like wood to townspeople bringing with it joy. However, when the town gets bigger, the sleigh breaks from being overwhelmed with the increased load. Another one is built, and the tradition is carried on with a new generation.

THOUGHTS: I enjoyed this picture book and think it will be a great addition to any winter read aloud list. The illustrations are beautifully done, and while it takes place in the winter, it is not holiday specific.

Picture Book

Elem. – Happy Friendsgiving: A Thanksgiving Celebration of Found Families

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Colleen, Marcie. Happy Friendsgiving: A Thanksgiving Celebration of Found Families. Illustrated by Laura Sandoval Herrara. Doubleday Books for Young Readers, 2025. 978-0-593-64992-3. $18.99. Unpaged. Grades PK-3. 

Thanksgiving gets a new spin, Friendsgiving. Friendsgiving, much like Thanksgiving, is a time to celebrate friendship and togetherness during the holiday season. Readers are shown the many different traditions of a friendsgiving from images of people running a “Turkey Trot,” to spending the day cooking and making crafts. With rhythmic words and beautiful illustrations, readers are shown the spirit of community and the happiness of sharing a meal together. 

THOUGHTS: This book was such a sweet read. The illustrations are absolutely beautiful, and I personally love that it tied into the holiday season with a holiday that is not centered on a specific religion but rather friendship and togetherness.

Picture Book

Elem. – Signs of Friendship

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Silvestro, Annie. Signs of Friendship. Illustrated by Ziyue Chen. A Paula Wiseman Book, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2025. 978-1-665-94169-3.$19.99. Unpaged.Grades K-3.

As this brightly colored and cheerful picture book illustrates, blonde, deaf Sonia and brown, bespectacled Sally have been lifelong friends. Sonia likes art; Sally likes reading; together they share a cozy clubhouse and even start a garden with flowers and vegetables. Sally has learned to sign to communicate with her best friend. Enter Dev, a brown boy with a rambunctious puppy named Pops. Sonia and Dev become quick friends, so Sally feels left out and lonely. When Pops ruins the garden, Sally cannot contain her anger. Dev apologizes and, privately, Sonia reconciles with Sally and reassures her that they are still best friends and that Dev needs friends, too. Dev suggests the garden by named, Friendship Garden. The endnotes contain cameos of often-used words in signing. This pleasant, yet simple story, enhanced by the inclusion of sign language, is a good read aloud and a worthwhile addition to collections needing books that highlight disabilities. 

THOUGHTS: What brings this picture book up a notch is the inclusion of sign language. Without it, the story is the trope of a new person invading the tight friendship of an established pair. I don’t know if this would have been possible, but I think it would have been helpful to have the cameos as inserts on the pages where the characters convey the word.  Teachers can use this book to incorporate sign language in some often used signals (like bathroom), to start conversations about feeling left out and belonging, to role-play how to deal with anger and disappointment, or to reinforce cooperation by starting a garden. 

Picture Book
Realistic Fiction 

MG – The Extraordinary Orbit of Alex Ramirez

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Paulino, Jasminne. The Extraordinary Orbit of Alex Ramirez. G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers, 2025, 978-0-593-85931-5. $18.99. 304 p. Grades 5-9.

Alex Ramirez has spent his educational career within a self-contained classroom. However, this is beginning to leave Alex bored and unchallenged doing the same type of worksheets over and over again. Alex dreams of going to space and being an astronaut, he watches video after video on Youtube about Rockets and NASA. But nobody believes he will actually be able to accomplish his goal of becoming a NASA Rocket scientist, while in a self contained (SC) classroom. Alex is FINALLY sick of everyone else telling him “he can’t” or that “he’s not ready” and so he decides to advocate for himself and show them that he truly is EXTRAORDINARY! 

THOUGHTS: I really enjoyed this novel. I think it highlights the realities of students who may feel like they are being held back in the self-contained classrooms and unable to really stretch their legs and grow. I also really enjoyed seeing Alex advocate for himself within the pages of the book and hope that resonates with some other students as well! 

Realistic Fiction
Novel-In-Verse

Elem. – Wildflower

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Brown, Melanie. Wildflower. Greystone Kids, 2022. 978-1-77164-906-3. Unpaged. $17.95. PreK-2.

When Daisy blooms in the garden, she is immediately insulted by the other flowers for being a weed. She is told that she isn’t as beautiful as Rose or as tasty as Sage. Her flowers can’t make tea like Chamomile’s. Just as she begins to droop completely in shame, she meets other plants who have amazing qualities, even though they also are called weeds. For instance, Blackberry Vine makes delicious berries, and Sweet Pea smells amazing. Daisy soon realizes there is a place for everyone in the garden, no matter what they are called. Gorgeous, simplified illustrations highlight Daisy’s emotions throughout the story and provide readers with convincing representations of actual plants.

THOUGHTS: This is an adorable story with a subtle message about inclusion, self-respect, and accepting others for who they are. I also love that it incorporates educational information, including back matter about plants and weeds. Give this to fans of The Rainbow Fish (1992) or to gardening enthusiasts.

Picture Book          Julie Ritter, PSLA Member

Elem./MG – That’s Betty! The Story of Betty White

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Bonsignore, Gregory. That’s Betty! The Story of Betty White. Henry Holt and Company, 2022. 978-1-250-79660-8. $18.99. 48 p. Grades PreK-3.

When Miss Cruz assigns a presentation on a “trailblazing woman” one student decides he will pick Betty White as his topic. Though his classmates do not know who Betty White is, and his teacher and two dads each try to persuade him to pick a more traditional topic, the unnamed male student sticks to his idea. He adores Betty White and wants to learn more about her life. When our young researcher enlists the assistance of a librarian, he begins to find plenty of material on his unconventional topic choice. As he pours through resources at the library, a smartly dressed woman in a large hat and sunglasses appears from behind the stacks. She knows an awful lot about Betty White and engages the student in discussions about the many trailblazing accomplishments of the pioneering television star. When the student fears his topic may be too different from his peers’ presentations, the woman in the hat encourages him to follow Betty’s example of making unconventional choices and believing in himself. The presentation is a huge success, and the lady from the library even makes a surprise appearance to cheer on the student. It isn’t until she drives away from the school that the teacher, class, and student realize the mystery woman was Betty White herself. Includes timeline and bibliography.

THOUGHTS: Very cute story that does a nice job of highlighting the many accomplishments of Betty White, while subtly championing the causes she held dear – inclusion, diversity, charitable work, and being an LGBTQIA+ ally. Wonderfully detailed illustrations by Jennifer M. Potter. Listed as K-3 this would be a wonderful read aloud for students through 8th grade.

Picture Book Biography          Anne McKernan, Council Rock SD

Elem. – John’s Turn

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Barnett, Mac. John’s Turn. Candlewick Press, 2022. 978-1-536-20395-0. $17.99. 32 p. Grades PreK-3.

Every Friday John’s school has a morning assembly with announcements, activities, and guest speakers. If the students are well-behaved during the assembly, then one student may perform. This performance is called “Sharing Gifts.” Many students do not like the name, but all of the students enjoy seeing each other perform. Today it is John’s turn, and he plans to dance. Students wait attentively for John to prepare for his performance. John is nervous and unsure at first. Kids snicker at the classical music as his performance begins. John is tentative at first, but then begins to relax and enjoy performing. There is stunned silence as he finishes his dance. For a brief second the reader will worry that this will not end well for John; that perhaps he will be shamed for performing ballet in his “Sharing Gifts” performance. And then the students rise to their feet to cheer and applaud.

THOUGHTS: This book is perfect in its simplicity. This is a very straightforward story that beautifully invites discussion about talents, interests, acceptance, and diversity. Kate Berube’s illustrations are gorgeous. The three full-page wordless spreads show John’s transformation from a nervous performer to joy-filled dancer are absolutely splendid.

Picture Book          Anne McKernan, Council Rock SD

This is a simple but powerful story of a child sharing their gifts with their community. John’s elementary school has an assembly every Friday, and one component of that assembly, to be earned if students behave well, is a segment called “Sharing Gifts,” in which students share their talents with the school. The story focuses on John’s turn to share. He is nervous and excited to share his ballet with his classmates, and their initial reaction of laughter and comments is to be expected… but then John danced, and the clapping began.

THOUGHTS:  This is a wonderful story about being oneself and the courage that it can take. Kate Berube’s illustrations present a diverse audience of John and captures movement, joy, and growing confidence in his dancing. A strong selection that can be enjoyed by all as well as one used to create classroom community for show and tell and talent shows.

Picture Book          Hannah J. Thomas, Central Bucks SD

Elem. – This is a Dog Book!

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Henderson, Judith. This is a Dog Book! Julien Chung Ill. Kids Can Press, 2021. 978-1-525-30493-4. 40 p. $17.99. Grades PreK-2.

Bunny wants to be in this book, but it is a dog book, and bunny is not a dog. Bunny tries to convince the dogs that he is a dog by providing them with cookies and answering all of their dog questions. Bunny does everything the dogs ask of him except answer the “doo-doos” question which he successfully avoids until the end when he must pass the “sniff test”. But that still isn’t enough for all of the dogs. Finally, the big dog asks Bunny if he is a good friend. If he passes this test, Bunny might just make it into the dog book after all. 

THOUGHTS: This is a sweet story about acceptance and inclusion. The red shirt of Bunny against the black and white illustrations of the dogs highlight that he is indeed not a dog even though he can do all that the dogs do. This text is a great conversation starter for students to discuss inclusion and exclusion and how each makes one feel.  

Picture Book          Erin Bechdel, Beaver Area SD

Elem. – I Will! A Book of Promises

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Medina Juana. I Will! A Book of Promises. Versify, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2021. 978-0-358-55559-9. Unpaged. $14.99. PreK-1.

In this uplifting, beautifully illustrated book, readers will make promises to make the world a better place through a variety of actions, such as being kind, helping others, and taking care of nature. Bright, bold illustrations feature racially and physically diverse characters, and the short, simple text makes this an incredibly accessible, straightforward guide for young readers who want to build a better world for themselves and others.

THOUGHTS: This would be a great book to share with preschool and Kindergarten students who are just beginning to interact with each other and the world. It would help spark important discussions about how they can show compassion towards themselves and others. It would also make an excellent gift for high school and college graduates, serving as a gentle reminder to be compassionate citizens as they go forward.

Picture Book          Julie Ritter, PSLA Member

MG – The Chance to Fly

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Stroker, Ali, and Davidowitz, Stacy. The Chance to Fly. Amulet Books, 2021. 978-1-419-74393-1. 279 p. $16.99. Grades 3-7.

After moving across the country and leaving her best friend Chloe behind, Natalie Beacon feels a little lost. She finds some solace in belting Broadway showtunes and hanging with her dog, Warbucks. Her father believes that getting her back on a wheelchair racing team will make her feel better, and it might have…until Nat sees a flyer advertising open auditions for a teenage production of Wicked! Without her parents’ permission or knowledge, Nat auditions with the hope of playing Nessarose, the only Broadway character that is in a wheelchair. Yet even if she makes it into the show, Nat knows she will constantly worry about how her wheelchair might get in the way: what if backstage isn’t wheelchair accessible? What if the dance moves are too complicated for her? What if her parents don’t think she is capable of doing something on her own without their help? Determined and eager, Nat sets out to prove to everyone that she is not defined by her wheelchair.

THOUGHTS: Ali Stroker, co-author of this book, knows firsthand about Nat’s predicament. She is the first actress in a wheelchair to appear on a Broadway stage AND win a Tony Award, Broadway’s highest honor. This middle grade novel is packed with show tune lyrics and Broadway references. Readers will be charmed by (and also relate to) Nat and her friends. Her story is proof that no one should give up on their dreams.

Realistic Fiction          Danielle Corrao, Manheim Central SD