Learning disabled Donald and his deaf friend Matt are kidnapped by crooks who have stolen rare cockatoos from the San Diego Zoo, while his older sister is involved in a Hispanic boy's abuse by his father.

This book, by Beauchamp, Chung, Mogilner and Svetlana Zakinova examines how authors have used characters with disabilities to elicit emotional reactions in readers; additionally, how writers use disabilities to present individuals as "the other" rather than simply as people. Finally, the book discusses how literature has changed, or is changing, with regards to its presentation of those with a disability.

Young people who feel marginalized due to physical differences or disabilities may benefit from discovering fictional characters who face similar difficulties. This unique bibliography surveys the field of children's and young adult literature published since 1990, identifying 200 quality books that deal with a wide range of contemporary health and self-image topics. Coverage includes physical handicaps, Autism, burns, scars, and disfigurement, obesity and anorexia, speech disorders, skin color, and basic issues of popularity and fitting in. The literature covered here includes picture books, chapter books for middle school readers, and young adult novels spanning different genres, such as mysteries, historical fiction, and poetry. Annotations provide brief plot synopses, full bibliographic information, publishers' age-level suggestions, and subject key words. This resource is perfect for obtaining information about authors, titles, and age levels of books on particular subjects, or to determine the subject of a particular book. Four indexes-Title, Author, Subject, and Age Level-facilitate easy reference for all users and readers.

Learning disabled Donald and his deaf friend Matt are kidnapped by crooks who have stolen rare cockatoos from the San Diego Zoo, while his older sister is involved in a Hispanic boy's abuse by his father.

Today, traditional illnesses and high risk behaviors of adolescents have become interrelated through the multitude of physical, social and emotional changes young people experience. Good literature which gives adolescents the truth has incredible power to heal and to renew. This reference resource provides a link for teachers, media specialists, parents, and other adults to those novels that can help adolescents struggling with health issues. Educators and therapists explore novels where common health issues are addressed in ways to captivate teens. Using fictional characters, these experts provide guidance on encouraging adolescents to cope while improving their reading and writing skills. With the advancement in medicine, traditional types of health issues such as birth defects, cancer, and sensory impairment have shifted to more behavior related problems such as depression, alcoholism, and eating disorders. All of these issues and others are examined from both a literary and psychological perspective in thirteen chapters that explore health issues through fiction. Each chapter confronts a different health issue and is written by a literature specialist who has teamed up with a therapist. In each novel, these experts define the central character's struggle in coming to terms with an issue and growing in response to their difficulties. Annotated bibliographies of other works, both fiction and nonfiction, explore these same issues give readers insight into helping teenagers with similar problems, and provide the tools with which to get teenagers reading and addressing these problems.

Tough times are unavoidable. Family strife, temptations, death...no one is immune to them, including Christians. The question isn't whether hardships will come, but how you will handle them. James, the brother of Jesus, knew about tough times. He also knew how to respond-not just to the heavyweight problems like a parent's marital failing or the death of a friend, but to others you might not consider, such as hypocrisy, judgment, and favoritism. When Things Get Tough offers wise perspectives on fourteen 'tough' topics. It takes you to the book of James for a frank look at how to handle the downsides of life. So when tough times come knocking, they won't knock you down- just help build you up. This devotional is for the adventurous- for young adults who want to do more than skim the surface of their faith. Each of the fourteen weekend sections shares a slice of life that will move, challenge, and energize you with insights from God's Word. Insights you'll build upon during the week with daily 'Checkpoints' that will help you grow stronger, wiser, and deeper as a Christian.