You Belong Book Project – July Book List
July is Disability Pride Month
This month we are taking time to celebrate those who are differently abled.
To kick off Disability Pride Month we were joined by Kris Ann Piazza who read Everyone Belongs by Heather Avis; Illustrated by Sarah Mensinga.
Other Disability Pride readings include:
- Just Ask!: Be Different, Be Brave, Be You by Sonia Sotomayor; Illustrated by Raphael Lopez read by Denise Gueli
- That Terrible Awful Day by Suzette Wright read by Ray Zylinski
Watch the You Belong Book Project Story Time
Book Drive:
A quality education begins with reading. When children are able to read to learn, they imagine more richly, develop a stronger vocabulary and engage in critical thinking. For United Way, increasing access to books is one way we help set kids up for future success. In that spirit and to coincide with our weekly readings, United Way is hosting an ongoing book drive to benefit a variety of local nonprofit organizations.
Here’s How You Can Help:
Shop:
Use our specially curated book lists for each cultural heritage and identity recognition month to purchase books from your favorite retailer! You can double your impact in the community by shopping locally for the books that you donate.
Drop:
Books can be dropped off or shipped directly to United Way of Buffalo & Erie County, 742 Delaware Ave, Buffalo, NY 14209 (Lobby hours 9 a.m. – 3 p.m, M-F) Orders through local booksellers can also be delivered directly to UWBEC.
All books collected for the You Belong Book Project will be donated to several of our nonprofit partners in our community including Boys & Girls Clubs of Buffalo, Boys & Girls Clubs of the Northtowns, Buffalo Prenatal Perinatal Network, Family Help Center, CleveHill School District, King Urban Life Center, YWCA Western New York, Jericho Road Community Health Center, Peace of the City, Seneca Street Community Development Center, Valley Community Center and the West Side Community Center.
Book List for Disability Pride Month:
Below you will find a specially curated list of early childhood books in celebration of Disability Pride Month. If you are donating to the book drive this month, we encourage you to pick a book from this list. Books with a * at the end are books that were read for this month’s You Belong Book Project Story Time.
You can learn more about the You Belong Book Project, or watch the You Belong Book Project Story Time videos here.
- All the Way to the Top: How One Girl’s Fight for Americans with Disabilities Changed Everything by Annette Bay Pimentel; Illustrated by Nabi H. Ali
- Can Bears Ski? By Raymond Antrobus; Illustrated by Polly Dunbar
- Everyone Belongs by Heather Avis; Illustrated by Sarah Mensinga*
- I Talk Like a River by Jordan Scott; Illustrated by Sydney Smith
- Just Ask!: Be Different, Be Brave, Be You by Sonia Sotomayor; Illustrated by Raphael Lopez *
- Little Senses Series for Children on the Autism Spectrum: By Samantha Cotterill:
- The Beach is Loud
- It Was Supposed to be Sunny
- Can I Play, Too?
- Nope, Never. Not for Me.
- Mama Zooms by Jane Cowen-Fletcher
- My Three Best Friends and Me, Zulay by Cari Best; Illustrated by Vanessa Brantley-Newton
- My Whirling Twirling Motor by Miriam Sarcia Sanders; Illustrated by Tammie Lyon
- Rescue & Jessica: A Life-Changing Friendship by Jessica Kensky and Patrick Downes; Illustrated by Scott Magoon
- Sam’s Super Seats by Keah Brown; Illustrated by Sharee Miller
- Susan Laughs by Jeanne Willis; illustrated by Tony Ross
- Taking Cystic Fibrosis to School by Cynthia S. Henry
- Taking Tourette Syndrome to School by Tira Krueger; Illustrated by Tom Dineen
- We’ll Paint the Octopus Red by Stephanie Stuve-Bodeen; illustrated by Pam DeVito
- We Move Together by Kelly Fritch, Anne McGuire, and Eduardo Trejos
- Zeeba and the Siezure written and illustrated by Michaela Barnes