This Kid Can Fly: It's About Ability (NOT Disability)
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
"At once beautiful and heartbreaking, Aaron Philip found a way to make me laugh even as I choked up, found a way to bring on my empathy without ever allowing me to feel sorry for him. An eye-opening debut." —Jacqueline Woodson, National Book Award winner and Newbery Honor author of Brown Girl Dreaming
In this heartbreaking and ultimately uplifting memoir, Aaron Philip, a fourteen-year-old boy with cerebral palsy, shows how he isn't defined so much by his disability as he is by his abilities.
Written with award-winning author Tonya Bolden, This Kid Can Fly chronicles Aaron's extraordinary journey from happy baby in Antigua to confident teen artist in New York City. His honest, often funny stories of triumph—despite physical difficulties, poverty, and other challenges—are as inspiring as they are eye-opening.
Includes photos and original illustrations from Aaron's personal collection.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In an enlightening and candid memoir, Philip recalls his early childhood years, when he moved from Antigua to New York City to seek medical attention for cerebral palsy. Now 14, he shares memories of grueling physical therapy and multiple surgeries in passages that are honest, raw, and devoid of self-pity. Feeling friendless at school, Philip devoted himself to creating anime-inspired cartoons and a Tumblr blog, Aaronverse, as both "a place where other people who spend most of their days in wheelchairs could express themselves" and a vehicle for advocating for those with disabilities. Accented with b&w family photos, the narrative is alternately funny, frank, and reflective; eating lunch at a table with other students with disabilities "felt like we were on an island in the middle of the ocean." In addition to his family, Philip expresses gratitude for "Aaron's Angels," the dedicated friends and professionals who support him. Readers will finish the book impressed by what Philip has already accomplished and certain that more is yet to come. Ages 8 12.
