I'm finishing up my first draft of a MG book. It's about a 12 year old boy who uses a wheelchair who is learning a new sport. I want the book to appeal to kids with disabilities who might be inspired to try new sports. I also want the book to appeal to boys (and maybe girls!) who just like reading books with lots of sports and adventure action.
To that end, I have tried to make my character as much of a 'boy's boy' as possible. He likes going fast and playing video games, hangs out with his buddies, deals with school bullies, has typical pre-teen social agonies, has adventures, etc. He has an unspecified physical disability which means he cannot walk. His classmates know and mostly don't care. He is not at all fragile, and has the same types of fears and worries as other kids his age.
I am striving not to make the book a didactic morality play about the impact of disability on a kid, or a list of all the limitations or adaptations that he makes due to his disability. Rather, I am aiming for a book about how awesome kids who happen to have disabilities go about their normal awesome kid adventures, but maybe in a slightly different way than a not-disabled kid would do.
I don't want the character's disability to make the book dull. Instead, I want it to make the book thrilling! (I'm not saying disability is a dull topic, I'm just saying kids books about it often are)
In my perfect world, a kid would take away from this book not that 'people with disabilities are special,' but rather that 'people with disabilities are just like me and my friends.'
What are some dos or don'ts for achieving this effect? Any guidance or specific examples would be so helpful!
PS I know dozens of little boys with physical disabilities so I know I am getting the details right. I just want to make sure those details are interesting and easy to relate to for diverse readers.
To that end, I have tried to make my character as much of a 'boy's boy' as possible. He likes going fast and playing video games, hangs out with his buddies, deals with school bullies, has typical pre-teen social agonies, has adventures, etc. He has an unspecified physical disability which means he cannot walk. His classmates know and mostly don't care. He is not at all fragile, and has the same types of fears and worries as other kids his age.
I am striving not to make the book a didactic morality play about the impact of disability on a kid, or a list of all the limitations or adaptations that he makes due to his disability. Rather, I am aiming for a book about how awesome kids who happen to have disabilities go about their normal awesome kid adventures, but maybe in a slightly different way than a not-disabled kid would do.
I don't want the character's disability to make the book dull. Instead, I want it to make the book thrilling! (I'm not saying disability is a dull topic, I'm just saying kids books about it often are)
In my perfect world, a kid would take away from this book not that 'people with disabilities are special,' but rather that 'people with disabilities are just like me and my friends.'
What are some dos or don'ts for achieving this effect? Any guidance or specific examples would be so helpful!
PS I know dozens of little boys with physical disabilities so I know I am getting the details right. I just want to make sure those details are interesting and easy to relate to for diverse readers.
