I'm not picky about my reading material; I read books intended for any audience, no matter the age. I am always pleasantly surprised when I encounter a character who's "different," and when the author of the book handles it well. A good example of that would be a recent favorite of mine, The Strange Case of Origami Yoda by Tom Angleberger , which features a deaf supporting character who reminded me a lot of myself at that age.
As noted in the article, researchers looked at 131 winners of the Newbery Medal and Honor and found that just 31 contained a character - major or supporting - with a disability. According to the article
What's more, characters with disabilities were most likely to be supporting characters and were often used to boost the emotional growth of those without disabilities rather than to develop in their own right, the study finds.
As a child I would have loved to read a book that contained a strong character who wore hearing aids, like me. I definitely wouldn't want to see "different" characters shoehorned in like Very Special Episodes of television shows, but more representation would definitely be nice.
As noted in the article, researchers looked at 131 winners of the Newbery Medal and Honor and found that just 31 contained a character - major or supporting - with a disability. According to the articleAs a child I would have loved to read a book that contained a strong character who wore hearing aids, like me. I definitely wouldn't want to see "different" characters shoehorned in like Very Special Episodes of television shows, but more representation would definitely be nice.