Exciting new things are happening here at Literacy In Place! I’m beyond tickled to announce that I’m teaming up with Kendra Winchester at Read Appalachia! I have been a huge Read Appalachia and Kendra Winchester fan for a while now, and as I’ve followed her stellar work, I noticed that she never really ventured into the young adult world. So, I reached out to see if she wanted to join forces, and to my incredible surprise, she said yes! And that’s why I’ll be recommending rural Appalachian or Appalachian-adjacent books for young people that correspond to the Read Appalachia podcast themes.
While Appalachian people and communities aren’t completely absent from children’s, middle grade, and young adult literature, it is somewhat hard to come by. So, some of my suggestions won’t necessarily be Appalachian but will feature aspects, features, or themes that speak to or reflect aspects of (especially rural) Appalachian culture, experiences, and people.
ABOUT THIS MONTH’S THEME: DISABILITY PRIDE MONTH
The Americans with Disabilities Act passed on July 26th, 1990. The ADA provides a baseline of protections for disabled, chronically ill, Deaf, and neurodivergent Americans. While disabled people still don’t have the same rights as nondisabled people, the ADA was a vital step toward a more equitable future. In honor of the passing of the ADA, July is celebrated as Disability Pride Month!
For Disability Pride Month, we’re focusing on books for young people that center disabled characters and their stories. It’s so important for kids and teens to see themselves in the books they read. These books are also a great way for nondisabled readers to better understand that while disabled kids might experience the world differently, they’re still just kids.
July Recommendations
Young Adult Selection: The Reckless Kind by Carly Heath
The Reckless Kind is a Whippoorwill Award winning book that follows Asta, Gunnar, and Erlend, best friends living on Hestaland, an island off the coast of Norway in 1904. Asta has single-sided deafness, an unconventional appearance, and doesn’t particularly care for the idea of marriage despite being betrothed to a local boy named Nils. Instead, she prefers to spend her time acting in the theatre with Gunnar Fugelstad and Erlend Fournier. Gunnar is the son of an unconventional “heathen” farming and farrier family who is secretly in love with the wealthy Erlend Fournier who directs plays at the theater his father sponsors. After a series of tragedies, Asta, Gunnar, and Erlend must figure out how to navigate being different in a small town that doesn’t seem to appreciate or accept them, while keeping their found family safe and together.
Middle Grades Selection: Air by Monica Roe
AIR follows 12-year-old Emmie Ethrige as she works to generate funds to buy a wheelchair and perfect the skills that would allow her to compete in wheelchair motocross. Practicing her wheelies and speeding between portables on school grounds, Emmie takes a bit of a tumble on a poorly designed ramp at the school. Rather than replace the ramp (and other problematic structures at school), the superintendent mounts a well-intentioned but unwelcome campaign to get her the chair she wants that brings a bunch of unwanted media buzz and attention with Emmie smack-dab in the middle of it all. Though she loves her tight-knit rural community, Emmie feels like she’s no longer working for the chair under her own steam. With the help of her friends, Emmie plans a way for her to speak up and show her community what she can do, what she wants, and do it her way.
Picture Book Selection: I Talk Like a River by Jordan Scott and Sydney Smith
Winner of the Schneider Family Book Award and Boston Globe-Horn Book Award, I Talk Like a River tells the story of a boy whose stutter leaves him feeling isolated, lonely, and unable to communicate in the way he would like until a walk by the river with his father gives him a different and more appreciative perspective. A poetic and auto-biographical telling of Jordan Scott’s own experiences is met with the gorgeous watercolors of Sydney Smith. I Talk Like a River is a purposeful picture book that will help anyone with a disability or difference realize that they are valuable and that there is a place for them just like there’s a place for the river.
Keep an eye out next month for selections celebrating Appalachian people, places, and cultures in honor of Read Appalachia’s birthday.
You can follow Read Appalachia on Twitter and Instagram and read Kendra’s work at Book Riot.
For more rural/Appalachian book recommendations check out the Literacy In Place Rural Book List and Virginia Tech’s Rural Literature Library.
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