Special Collections
Schneider Family Book Award Winners (disability related)
Description: The Schneider Family Book Awards honors an author or illustrator for a book that embodies an artistic expression of the disability experience for child and adolescent audiences. #disability #award #kids #teens
- Table View
- List View
Silent Days, Silent Dreams
by Allen SayJames Castle was born two months premature on September 25, 1899, on a farm in Garden Valley, Idaho. He was deaf, mute, autistic and probably dyslexic. He didn't walk until he was four; he would never learn to speak, write, read or use sign language.
Yet, today Castle's artwork hangs in major museums throughout the world. The Philadelphia Museum of Art opened "James Castle: A Retrospective in 2008." The 2013 Venice Biennale included eleven works by Castle in the feature exhibition "The Encyclopedic Palace." And his reputation continues to grow.
Caldecott Medal winner Allen Say, author of the acclaimed memoir Drawing from Memory, takes readers through an imagined look at Castle's childhood, allows them to experience his emergence as an artist despite the overwhelming difficulties he faced, and ultimately reveals the triumphs that he would go on to achieve.
Winner of the 2018 Schneider Family Book Award (Young Children Book)
Piano Starts Here
by Robert Andrew ParkerRegardless of whether they've heard of jazz or Art Tatum, young readers will appreciate how Parker uses simple, lyrical storytelling and colorful and energetic ink-and-wash illustrations to show the world as young Art Tatum might have seen it. Tatum came from modest beginnings and was nearly blind, but his passion for the piano and his acute memory for any sound that he heard drove him to become a virtuoso who was revered by both classical and jazz pianists alike. Included in the back matter is a biography and bibliography.
Winner of the Schneider Family Book Award
The Deaf Musicians
by Pete Seeger and Paul Dubois JacobsLee is a piano man. Every night, he plays jazz for the crowd. It sounds something like this:
Plink-a-plink-BOMP-plink-plink.
Yimba-timba-TANG-ZANG-ZANG.
One night, Lee's bandmates notice something is off. Lee's music comes out like this:
Ronk. Phip. Tonk.
There's no way to hide it: Lee is losing his hearing. Then Lee discovers sign language. And soon after, he meets Max, who plays the sax. Together they form a new band-the Deaf Musicians. But who will listen to a deaf musician?
With The Deaf Musicians, Pete Seeger, Paul DuBois Jacobs, and three-time Coretta Scott King Honor winner R. Gregory Christie present an inspiring story of overcoming obstacles, set to a jazzy score.
OO-AH, BE-DOOP, BE-DOOP, OO-AH, YEAH!
Winner of the Schneider Family Book Award
A Splash of Red
by Jen Bryant and Melissa SweetAs a child in the late 1800s, Horace Pippin loved to draw: He loved the feel of the charcoal as it slid across the floor. He loved looking at something in the room and making it come alive again in front of him. He drew pictures for his sisters, his classmates, his co-workers. Even during W.W.I, Horace filled his notebooks with drawings from the trenches . . . until he was shot. Upon his return home, Horace couldn't lift his right arm, and couldn't make any art. Slowly, with lots of practice, he regained use of his arm, until once again, he was able to paint--and paint, and paint! Soon, people--including the famous painter N. C. Wyeth--started noticing Horace's art, and before long, his paintings were displayed in galleries and museums across the country. Jen Bryant and Melissa Sweet team up once again to share this inspiring story of a self-taught painter from humble beginnings who despite many obstacles, was ultimately able to do what he loved, and be recognized for who he was: an artist.
Winner of the Schneider Family Book Award and a Sibert Honor
The Pirate of Kindergarten
by George Ella LyonGinny was not born a pirate.
But since her birth she was headed in that direction. This book tells the story of Ginny's voyage toward earning herself an eye patch--a voyage made mostly at school.
No other kid there had the honor.
Words and pictures offer up a double helping of surprise on the subject of seeing.
Winner of the Schneider Family Book Award
Emmanuel's Dream
by Sean Qualls and Laurie Ann ThompsonEmmanuel Ofosu Yeboah's inspiring true story--which was turned into a film, Emmanuel's Gift, narrated by Oprah Winfrey--is nothing short of remarkable. Born in Ghana, West Africa, with one deformed leg, he was dismissed by most people--but not by his mother, who taught him to reach for his dreams. As a boy, Emmanuel hopped to school more than two miles each way, learned to play soccer, left home at age thirteen to provide for his family, and, eventually, became a cyclist. He rode an astonishing four hundred miles across Ghana in 2001, spreading his powerful message: disability is not inability. Today, Emmanuel continues to work on behalf of the disabled. Thompson's lyrical prose and Qualls's bold collage illustrations offer a powerful celebration of triumphing over adversity.Includes an author's note with more information about Emmanuel's charity.
Winner of the Scheider Family Award
Django
by Bonnie Christensen"When I think about the best guitar players ever, the first name that comes to mind is Django Reinhardt. No one has ever equaled his sound or techniques." - Willie Nelson
Born into extreme poverty in a gypsy encampment, Django Reinhardt (1910-1953) overcame tremendous obstacles, including a debilitating injury, to become the world's most acclaimed jazz guitarist.
Here, Bonnie Christensen tells his story with a haunting, rhythmic, jazz-inflected text and lush oil paintings that capture the spirit of both the man and his music.
Jazz Americain, [scanner's note this is cain not just can] jazz like Django--moving bending changing blending
Try that rhythm, stretch that measure, syncopation.
Twist that line.
Winner of the Schneider Family Book Award
Dad, Jackie, and Me
by Myron UhlbergJackie Robinson is the new first baseman for the Brooklyn Dodgers--and the first black player in Major League Baseball. A young boy shares the excitement of Robinson's rookie season with his deaf father.
Winner of the Schneider Family Book Award
Back To Front And Upside Down
by Claire AlexanderIt's the principal's birthday, and the class is busy writing cards for the special occasion. But Stan's letters tumble out in a muddle.
With a friend's help, Stan finds the courage to voice his fears. And after lots and lots of practice, Stan's letters come out the right way round and the right way up.
This warm, sympathetic book deals with a common childhood frustration and will remind readers that everyone has to ask for help sometimes.
Winner of the Schneider Family Book Award
Close to Famous
by Joan BauerFoster McFee dreams of having her own cooking show like her idol, celebrity chef Sonny Kroll. Macon Dillard's goal is to be a documentary filmmaker. Foster's mother Rayka longs to be a headliner instead of a back-up singer. And Miss Charleena plans a triumphant return to Hollywood. Everyone has a dream, but nobody is even close to famous in the little town of Culpepper. Until some unexpected events shake the town and its inhabitants-and put their big ambitions to the test. Full of humor, unforgettable characters, surprises, and lots and lots of heart, this is Joan Bauer at her most engaging.
Winner of the Schneider Family Book Award
A Boy And A Jaguar
by Alan Rabinowitz and Catia Chien2015 Schneider Family Book Award Winner
Alan loves animals, but the great cat house at the Bronx Zoo makes him sad. Why are they all alone in empty cages? Are they being punished? More than anything, he wants to be their champion--their voice--but he stutters uncontrollably.
Except when he talks to animals...
Then he is fluent.
Winner of the Schneider Family Book Award Follow the life of the man Time Magazine calls, "the Indiana Jones of wildlife conservation" as he searches for his voice and fulfills a promise to speak for animals, and people, who cannot speak for themselves. This real-life story with tender illustrations by Catia Chien explores truths not defined by the spoken word.
My Pal, Victor / Mi Amigo, Víctor
by Diane Gonzales BertrandTwo Latino boys experience carefree friendship despite one boy's disability.
Winner of the Schneider Family Book Award
Kami and the Yaks
by Andrea Stenn StryerJust before the start of a new trek, a Sherpa family discovers that their yaks are missing. Young Kami, anxious to help his brother and father maintain their livelihood, sets off by himself to find the wandering herd. A spunky deaf child who is unable to speak, Kami attempts to summon the yaks with his shrill whistle. Failing to rout them, he hustles up the steep mountainside to search the yaks' favorite grazing spots. On the way he encounters the rumblings of a fierce storm which quickly becomes more threatening. Surmounting his fear of being alone in the midst of treacherous lightning and hail, Kami uses his heightened sense of observation to finally locate the yaks. Reunited with their animals, the astonished family is once again able to transport their gear and guide the mountain climbers into the majestic terrain.
Winner of the Schneider Family Book Award
Looking Out For Sarah
by Glenna LangPerry a yellow labrador tells about a day in his life. Where he goes with his owner Sara to the park, to the post office, to a diner, and to a school where Sara tells about guide dogs. Perry also remembers the time Sara and him walked from Boston to New York to show what a Guide dog could do.
Winner of the Schneider Family Book Award