"For Sibs Only"        

Reading Lists

YOUNG ADULT FICTION 

'The Alfred Summer'

        by Jan Slepian

Four preeteen outcasts, two of them with special needs, learn lessons in courage and perseverance when they join forces to build a boat.

Are You Alone on Purpose?'

        by Nancy Werlin

When two lonely teenagers, one the son of a widower rabbi and the other the sister of a twin with autism, are drawn together by a tragic accident, they discover they have more in common than they guessed.

Chelsey & the Green-haired Kid'

            by Carol Gorman

Convinced that the fatal accident she witnessed a the basketball game was not accidental, thirteen-year old Chelsey, a paraplegic, and her unusual friend, Jack, join forces to prove it was a deliberate murder. 

Flowers for Algernon

            by Daniel Keyes

This fascinating tale of a daring human experiment on a man with mental retardation has been described as "a love triangle between two people," "a suspenseful gripping story," and "a brilliant fantasy."

'Freak the Mighty'

        by W. R. Philbrick

At the beginning of the eighth grade, Max, who has a learning disability and his new friend Freak, whose birth defect has affected his body but not his brilliant mind, find that when they combine forces they make a powerful team. 

'Ian's Walk: A Story About Autism'

        by Laurie Lears

Julie learns valuable lessons of responsibility, compassion and toleration of differences from growing up with a brother with autism.

'I Never Promised You a Rose Garden'

        by Joanne Greenberg

Life through the eyes of a girl who lives in an entirely different environment in her own mind.

'Killing the Kudu'

        by Carolyn Meyer

Suffocating under his mother's over-protectiveness, Alex, an eighteen-year old paraplegic, finds freedom, his first love, and a reconciliation with the cousin who caused his disability by accidentally shooting him years ago.

'Lisa Bright and Dark'

        by John Neufeld

The life of a girl with Behavioral Problems, who thinks she is losing her mind, gets help from her friends.

'Only Love'

        by Susan Sallis

When she finds herself the object of a young man's love, a spirited, physically handicapped sixteen-year old is both touched and frightened for she knows she may now have to share her painful secret. 

'Stuck in Neutral'

        by Terry Trueman

Shawn McDaniel is an enigma and a miracle--except no one knows it, least of all his father.  His life is not what it may seem to anyone looking at him.  Not even those who love him best have any idea what he is truly like.  In this extraordinary and powerful first novel, the reader learns to look beyond the obvious and finds a character whose spirit is rich beyond imagining and whose story is unforgettable.

And a Highly Recommended Video

'Understanding the Disabled:  Dances with the Minotaur'

        by Cambridge Educational

This staged movie is about the high school experience of two teenagers with disabilities  

                        - Duration: approx. 44 minutes.