Professional Inclusion Learning Communities
(PILC)Book Club Choices
The following are a few books that educators can read and discuss as a staff to gain additional insights about disABILITIES. If you have other titles that you like, do share and I will post them as well! More to soon follow with a sampling of children’s choices across the grade levels!
House Rules
Jodi Piccoult
Teenage boy with Asperger’s tries to figure out crime scenes and ends up becoming the one on trial.
The Dive From Clausen’s Pier
Amy Packer
A relationship between two young adults changes after the boyfriend has an accident that results in his physical disability.
Running With Scissors
Augusten Burroughs
Story of a boy’s life growing up in a dysfunctional environment
Memory Keeper’s Daughter
Kim Edwards
A man gives away his new born daughter who has Down syndrome
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time
Mark Haddon
A young boy with autism investigates the death of a neighbor’s dog
Still Me
Christopher Reeve
Candid memoirs from Christopher Reeve who talks about his life before and after his paralysis
Helping the Child with Learning Disabilities Find Social Success: It’s So Much Work Being Your Friend
Richard Lavoie
Talks about the social challenges students with learning differences face and the strategies that help students learn how to succeed
Being the Other One: Growing Up With a Brother or Sister Who Has Special Needs
Kate Strohm
Speaks about the emotional challenges of siblings who have brothers and sisters with disabilities
You Will Dream New Dreams: Inspiring Personal Stories by Parents of Children With Disabilities
Stanley Klein and Kim Schive
Inspirational stories and narratives from the parents of students with disabilities who share their perspectives to inspire and inform other parents and professionals
Learning Outside the Lines: Two Ivy League Students with Learning Disabilities and ADHD Give You the Tools for Academic Success and Educational Revolution
Jonathan Mooney & David Cole
Two students who were considered academic failures end up collaborating as authors to talk about their perseverance to succeed despite initial learning challenges. They offer strategies for other students to succeed in college and beyond
Born on a Blue Day: Inside the Extraordinary Mind of an Autistic Savant
Daniel Tammet
A young man candidly talks about his strengths and weaknesses including his synesthesia, which is a neurological syndrome that allows a person to experience numbers and words as shapes, colors, textures and motions.
The Way I See It!
Temple Grandin
An animal activist and self-advocate for autism shares her inspirational achievements.
My Thirteenth Winter
Samantha Abeel
A girl with dyscalculia talks about the challenges she encountered in school.
Embracing disABILITIES in the Classroom: Strategies to Maximize Students’ Assets
Toby Karten
Ways to integrate lessons with sensitivities and strategies that maximize students’ abilities by teaching through a strength paradigm; teacher lessons for children’s literature circles and activities for disABILITY awareness are offered.
Of Mice and Men
John Steinbeck
A friendship between two men unfolds in the 1920s California
Catcher in the Rye
J.D. Salinger
A story of the emotional turmoil of a teenage boy who experiences feelings of rebellion and alienation.
The Heart is a Lonely Hunter
Carson McCullers
The novel unfolds in the deep South and discusses each character’s individual personalities, inherited traits, and circumstantial experiences.
Flowers for Algernon
Daniel Keyes
A man with developmental differences undergoes a radical experiment that temporarily heightens his intelligence
Dibs In Search of Self
Virginia Axline
A true story of how a boy who was unable to interact with others gains emotional strength through child therapy.