Yes I Can!: A Girl and Her Wheelchair

by Kendra J. Barrett, Jacqueline B. Toner, Claire A. B. Freeland, Violet Lemay (Illustrator)

Overview

Carolyn is in a wheelchair, but she doesn't let that stop her! She can do almost everything the other kids can, even if sometimes she has to do it a little differently.

Includes a Note to Parents, Caregivers, and Teachers with more information on discussing disabilities with children and helping them to build positive, empathic relationships.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781433828690
Publisher:	American Psychological Association
Publication date:	11/20/2018
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	8.10(w) x 10.10(h) x 0.10(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Kendra J. Barrett, DPT, is a pediatric physical therapist who has worked in early intervention and public schools for eight years. She currently works in a public school for students age 3–21 with intellectual and physical disabilities. Yes I Can! is her first book. She lives in Maryland.

Jacqueline B. Toner, PhD, is the co-author of several self-help books. She has been in private practice working with children, teens, and families for over thirty years. Dr. Toner earned her PhD from the University of Virginia and completed two post-doctoral programs (in pediatric psychology and adolescent medicine) at the University of Maryland Medical School. Dr. Toner also serves as lead facilitator and consultant on a project on medical ethics led by Johns Hopkins Hospital and the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. She is the mother of three grown children and lives with her husband in Baltimore.
 
Claire A. B. Freeland, PhD, is a clinical psychologist in private practice, working for more than thirty-five years with youth and their families. Interested in bringing the general principles of cognitive–behavioral therapy to families everywhere, she is the co-author of What to Do When It's Not Fair, What to Do When Mistakes Make You Quake, and What to Do When You Feel Too Shy. She lives with her husband in Baltimore. They have two grown children. Visit Dr. Freeland at www.clairefreelandphd.com

Violet Lemay sampled many creative careers before arriving at her dream job: illustrating books for kids Violet has illustrated over twenty books, including Yes I Can!., a handful of which she also wrote. She lives in New York. Visit her at www.violetlemay.com and follow her on Facebook: @violet.lemay and Twitter: @violetlemay

Editorial Reviews

The authors have written a very uplifting story that focuses more on what Carolyn can do, than what she can’t do. Carolyn is very outgoing, social and wants to participate. And there are many things available to help children with disabilities adapt and participate.” —Children’s Books Heal

“This enlightening book shows kids how to overcome the reticence they may feel, whether out of embarrassment or lack of experience, over becoming friends with children with disabilities....Jolly illustrations capture the atmosphere of the classroom, lunchroom, bowling alley, trampoline gym, and other places Carolyn navigates, while the engaging text models inclusive behavior when Carolyn encounters something she can’t do, such as when her friends ask her to referee their footrace.” —Booklist

From the Publisher

2018-09-17

A girl who uses a wheelchair goes about her everyday life.

"This is Carolyn. Like many kids her age, Carolyn loves animals, castles, and building with blocks," opens the text, revealing its aim of conveying to readers who do not use wheelchairs that a wheelchair-using girl is just like them. Carolyn "joins right in during reading time"—but why wouldn't she? Discussions of ordinary pleasures, such as sitting next to a friend at lunch, and everyday adaptations—a school bus with an elevator "made just for wheelchairs!" (not for people using wheelchairs?)—end with exclamation marks. This forced positivity also applies to Carolyn's mood. "Yes I can!" she repeats over and over (not in defense but supposedly out of pure enthusiasm), which makes her sound more like a political slogan than a kid. There's lip service paid to disappointment and frustration, but everything springs back to that can-do spirit. Lemay's children have big heads, tiny, skinny limbs, and good cheer. Carolyn is white or light-skinned, with straight, light-brown hair; her class is multiracial. The prose is mind-numbingly dull ("She is helpful to her mom and dad and even to her baby brother"); even a drop of characterization would serve readers better than this message to kids with and without wheelchairs that wheelchair users should keep everyone's chins up, including their own. Backmatter directed to adults is awkward and, bizarrely, adds new information about Carolyn as if she were real.

Pedantic and, contrary to its goal, exoticizing. (Picture book. 4-6)

Kirkus Reviews