5 out 5 stars. “The Girl Who Figured It Out” has the potential to be a very important book in the children’s picture book space. I think it will appeal to kids with and without disabilities and deserves to have a place in elementary school libraries and classrooms.
The Evoflex Padded Pelvic Wheelchair Stabilizer Belt by Bodypoint essentially holds the seatbelt at your desired angle once it’s installed. It’s then possible to adjust it a little bit more which allows you to position the seatbelt out of the way or fine tune the angle as needed. I waited a long time before deciding to actually order the seatbelt because I was nervous about determining what size to get, how easy it would be to install and whether or not I really needed it or not. I even tried to get an appointment with my durable medical equipment provider so they could be the ones to do the measuring and installing but that never worked out. I finally said forget this and decided to order it on my own.
5 out of 5 stars. Be a Bridge by Irene Latham and Charles Waters is a gorgeously illustrated book with a message that all can benefit from. The text is fun and engaging. Even in digital format I can tell that the illustrations will be amazing in a printed format. The cast of characters throughout the book is quite diverse. There are kids and adults of all races and ethnicities. There is a young girl wearing a hijab. There’s a student who uses a manual wheelchair. I can see this book being an excellent addition for a child’s home library or a classroom library. In fact I’ve already suggested that my friend who’s a first grade teacher consider adding it to her classroom library once it’s released. The authors also include a listing of additional books and activity ideas to reinforce the concepts described in the book. There is also a Bridge Builder Pledge that kids can sign. The authors also provide a link for a downloadable version of the pledge which would be perfect for classrooms or similar groups.
3 out of 5 stars. Traveling to America’s National Parks is something that my family has talked about off and on over the years. Surprisingly, I haven’t been to any of the National Parks here in Michigan but I have been to Great Smokey Mountains. Therefore when I saw a guidebook called Accessible Vacations: An Insider’s Guide to 10 National Parks by Simon J. Hayhoe was available on NetGalley I got excited. Sadly, I was overall disappointed with the book. Scroll down for more details.
The AbleNet Micro Light Switch is working well for me to easily control my wheelchair’s lighting system. Installation was straightforward, but that was because I was able to see where the other switch was plugged in. If I didn’t have that guide I’m not sure I’d know where or how to plug it into my wheelchair’s battery. The switch came with different color stickers that could be placed on it to help the person keep track of what it controlled. But, it didn’t come with anything to mount it. I think you can purchase a more complex mounting plate but that seemed expensive for what I wanted to do. I also wish the switch itself wasn’t so expensive. But, all in all, this was a good purchase and has helped with reducing the number of times my chair light’s are accidentally turned on.
5 out of 5 stars. Oh. My. Goodness. This is an amazing book. I was drawn to it because of the cover- it features a woman sitting in a wheelchair so I had a feeling that a disability rights perspective would be included in the book and I was not disappointed. The book touches on all sorts of themes including race, age, and ability/ disability. This book explores the experiences of three women as they learn more about themselves as well each others’ life experiences. The book also includes discussion questions at the end which would be perfect for either personal reflection or to help prompt discussion with others. For example, I could see a mother and daughter reading it together. This book is unique in that I think it would appeal to readers of all ages. As the characters grow, so many good questions are posed for readers to reflect on. I enjoyed the fact that there was factual information about different women’s rights leaders in a way that didn’t seem out of place or like a textbook. Including their names as well as the names of different civil rights organizations may encourage readers to learn more and/or become active in their community. All in all, I absolutely recommend this book.
4 out 5 stars. The book covers numerous ways that people of all ages can work to reduce their waste. It is divided up into 6 sections (described below). Then, at the end of the book there are “50 kid-friendly changes to launch your zero-waste life” which seem practical and manageable. I will say though that the title of the book is a little misleading because many of the activities require either adult help/supervision or at the very least adult approval. But I think this book would help prompt tons of good conversations among families. I would recommend this book to anyone wanting to encourage a kid in their life to be more environmentally conscious.
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