2022 Schneider Family Picture-Book Roundup: My City Speaks, A Walk in the Words, and A Sky-Blue Bench

The Schneider Family Book Awards are given annually by the American Library Association, for “books that embody an artistic expression of the disability experience.” Here’s a roundup of this year’s winners in the picture-book category.

My City Speaks by Darren Lebeuf, illustrated by Ashley Barron. Kids Can Press, 2021, 32 pages

Reading Level: Picture book, ages 4-8

Recommended for: ages 4-8

A little girl and her father experience  their city. But readers soon realize, this little girl does not see the city the same way as she uses a red and white cane to guide herself along. Instead, her city is a stream of sounds and sensory experiences. Unique artwork captures the joy and bustle of urban life. One funny picture shows the little girl taken aback as a dog licks her while its dog walker is busy picking up after another dog. With a sweet conclusion, here is one thoughtful window into life without sight.  

Worldview/moral value: 3.5
Artistic/literary value: 3.5

Award: Schneider Family Award Winner

A Walk in the Words by Hudson Talbot. Nancy Paulsen Books (Penguin Random House), 2021, 32 pages.

Reading Level: Picture book, ages 4-8

Recommended for: ages 6-10

Once upon a time there was a little boy who didn’t read fast. Talbot tells his own story. He explains how a love of art encouraged him as a dyslexic, struggling reader. He uses his illustrations to visualize the struggle of reading when words are unknown. A lovely book -though readers should also read Thank You, Mr. Falker by Patricia Polacco. That book made me wish that Talbot had his own Mr. Falker and didn’t have to find his way through words alone.

Whimsical, sweet, and thoughtful, this book is an ode to reading and the power of words as well as a tribute to art to personify words and capture stories!

• Worldview/moral value: 4.5
• Artistic/literary value: 5

Award: Schneider Family Honor Book

A Sky-Blue Bench by Bahram Rahman, illustrated by Peggy Collins. Pajama Press (Canada), 2021, 30 pages.

Reading Level: Picture book, ages 4-8

Recommended for: ages 6-10

Aria is excited to start school again after her accident. Her new prosthetic, or “helper-leg,” allows her to walk with the other girls, but the schoolroom presents a problem. All the wooden furniture was burned for firewood during the war, so the girls have nowhere to sit except the floor. What’s easy for most of them is torture for Aria, but what can she do? Her little brother offers to help, but the solution is mainly up to Aria, who decides to build herself a bench to sit on. The local carpenter offers advice, along with a can of sky-blue paint: “the color of courage, peace, and wisdom.”

Younger children won’t need context to enjoy this joyfully-illustrated story of overcoming obstacles. But the author is writing from his own experience of growing up in Afghanistan during the Civil War of 1993 (the war that brought the Taliban to power). Aria’s accident was an encounter with a land mine, and many land mines remain buried to this day. A Sky-Blue Bench was written before the Taliban took control of the country again, shutting down opportunities for most girls to go to school. That fact adds weight and pathos to the story, but should remind readers to keep that unhappy country in their prayers.

• Worldview/moral value: 4
• Artistic/literary value: 4

Award: Schneider Family Picture Book Honor Award

Also at Redeemed Reader:

• Reviews: For more books about Afghanistan, see our “Reading Afghanistan” roundup.

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