Reflecting on children’s literature about learning disabilities.

When it came to finding books on learning disabilities, I did not think it was very difficult. I used a couple of the books that Valerie brought in to class the week we read Al Capone Does My Shirts. Also, I ran a search on google.com for learning disabilities children literature and searched a few different websites for books that seemed interesting to me. The only part that I struggled on was on determining if my texts are from an insider or outsider’s point of view. I tried to find out information about each author. For this assignment I decided to use the term “insider” to describe someone who had a personal life experience that influence his or her book. However, for A Mango-Shaped¬ Space, I struggled on finding information on Wendy Mass. I decided to still use this book in my text set because it offered a positive portrayal of someone with synesthesia. From the World Wide Web, I also learned that Patricia Polacco is dyslexic, that Jeanne Kraus has a son with ADHD, and that Jack Gantos has had his own personal struggles and even been in prison (like Joey’s father).

As I think about my text set as a whole, I think the main theme is acceptance of people with learning disabilities and the struggles that occur when living with a learning disability. All of the books had positive endings that portrayed the person with the learning disability positively. The only book that varied its main theme was Annie’s Plan. It was the only book that seemed to be geared specifically to a student who struggles in school and needs a plan to gain control and achieve success. It did not promote awareness, understanding, or acceptance about people with learning disabilities. In the other three books, the reality of the learning disability was not hidden and many aspects of the text revealed the difficulty and struggles that come with living with a learning disability. Some of the struggles that were generally seen in the books were, bullying, family issues, medication, acceptance, receiving extra help, and more. I liked the books because they offered hope and taught the reader about what it may be like for someone living with a disability.