Talk to any practitioner about inclusive story books and they are likely to express frustration at the sheer lack of what is available.
At Puffins Neighbourhood Nursery in Torquay, Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENCO) Jenni Hewings is impatient about the lack of stories and factual material. To get around this she often makes up her own stories and tells them through puppets.
She says, 'We need books that are more creative in their approach. By this I mean not just stories about a character with a disability - but more diversity of disability, rather than just a picture of a child in a wheelchair. More material is needed especially about children with visual, hearing and speech impairments.'
Jenni believes stories are important, to prepare before a child with an impairment joins and then for promoting inclusion once the child has arrived.
Janice McKinley, another SENCO based in Bradford, agrees that there is distinct lack of books, photographs and pictures that portray children with disabilities in a positive way.
'Why don't authors consult children with disabilities and their parents?'
she asks. 'So much of the material available is about white children doing middle-class activities.
'There are factual books about impairment, there are stories where the child with a disability saves the day. But what's most needed are books that don't make a point, stories where the child with disabilities is just there.'
Janice's personal recommendation is Letang and Julie Save the Day, part of a series by Beverley Naidoo (Longmans, 4). Another favourite is 1,2,3 for You and Me by Meg Girnis (Albert Whitman and Co, 12.99).
Janice is in the process of putting together a pack of recommended books.
Books from abroad
Kerry Mason, a director at publisher Letterbox Library, says that inclusiveness is still a stumbling block for UK publishers. As a publisher that celebrates equality and diversity in children's books, Letterbox buys in widely from a variety of international sources.
'We buy from almost 200 publishers in the UK and abroad, but still have to work hard to find books featuring children or adults with disabilities,'
she says. 'For us the solution is to buy in from Canada and the US, where there is a lot more available.'
Examples of US publications include Where's Chimpy?, a photographic book about a little girl who has lost her toy monkey. The images show that the character, Misty, has Down's syndrome, but the story is not about this and it is not alluded to.
The UK has some way to go to catch up with the US, but at least it seems some positive moves are being made.
Campaigning project
Last year, the charity Scope launched a project called In the Picture which is part of its Time to Get Equal campaign. The aim of the project is to encourage more visual depictions of children with disabilities - not just in books but in all sorts of material that can be accessed by children, families, practitioners and teachers.
As far as books are concerned, the emphasis is very much on images of disabled children presented in a casual way, so that disability becomes an incidental part of the story.
Susan Clow, In the Picture project manager, says the website is providing the hub of the project, with specially created stories, downloadable pictures for children to colour in and trace, and a gallery of images by illustrators to highlight to the book publishing world how it is possible to represent disability.
She says, 'We are building awareness for all these resources through libraries and workshops, and the response has been fantastic. As the project develops we want to look at ways to give children under five more information and materials relating to disability and will be developing good practice through storytelling and play.'
Becoming an author
Good practice in an early years setting provided the impetus for the owner of Stepping Stones Daycare, Lesley Berrington, to write and publish books herself. She was inspired to write after attending a training course for the Disability Discrimination Act. When she met up with illustrator Karen Middleton and a local printer, the idea for her series Hattie and Friends was born. A Day at the Zoo came out just before Christmas and A Day at the Farm is due to be published at the end of this year.
Lesley believes there is a huge gap in the market for inclusive story books. 'Feedback from practitioners has been very positive, and in my own nurseries it has been rewarding to see how the children respond to the stories,' she says.
'At the moment I'm marketing my books by sending out leaflets to local nurseries, and since January I've sold 200 books, which I am very pleased with.'
Initiatives such as the Scope project may provide the impetus for other practitioners and children to come up with their own material. From talking to children with disabilities and their families, ideas may be inspired in parents, playgroup leaders and childcare providers. And of course it would be constructive to encourage children themselves to tell us what stories they would really like.
Further information
* www.letterboxlibrary.com
* www.childreninthepicture.org.uk
* www.hattieandfriends.com
Dr Sue Jennings is a play therapist, drama therapist and author of professional handbooks. Contact her at www.suejennings.com
What to stock and where to find it
As a trainer for playworkers and children with special needs I am always looking for children's storybooks with inclusive stories and illustrations.
I work as a 'storyteller of diversity' with young children, and usually create my own tales.
Good material is hard to find, although some writers, artists and publishers are being pro-active towards inclusion and disability.
Practitioners who wish to stock their book corners with a diverse range of books will probably have to seek out small, local bookstores which have a wider range than the big high street names.
In my own area, for example, Ottakers (in Wells, Somerset) and The Growing Needs bookshop (in Glastonbury) score highly. The former recently pointed out to me the Balamory books from the TV series, which features a character called Penny in a wheelchair. Penny is part of the story like all the other characters. The several colourful Balamory books are a lot of fun and inclusive in their pictures and storylines. However, children seem to prefer the original photographs of the characters which have now been replaced by drawings.
One of my personal favourites is Animal Boogie by Debbie Harter (Barefoot Books, 5.99). It comes with a singalong CD and is well-used by many nurseries. A variation on the song 'Down in the jungle where nobody goes'
allows children to guess all the wild and woolly or spiky creatures that are variously shaking, flapping, slithering and leaping, and all sorts of children join in on the pages. The book is beautifully illustrated and has a lot of energy.
A Day at the Zoo, by Lesley Berrington (published by Hattie and Friends, Pounds 5.99) and Susan Laughs, by Jeanne Willis and Tony Ross (Red Fox, 4.99), are great fun, although they are limited to images of children in wheelchairs. Both books have superb illustrations which make the text come alive.
A Day at the Zoo is the simple story of two mothers taking their children, one in a wheelchair, to the zoo and having a picnic. The story allows for individual choice. 'Purple is my favourite colour,' said Hattie. 'And green is my favourite colour,' said George. But the two children also like similar things: 'The best bit about the picnic was the chocolate muffin but it was a bit messy.' This is a read-together book for five years and under, and read alone from six upwards.
Susan Laughs is a picture book showing all the things Susan can do with a short rhyming phrase under each one: 'Susan laughs, Susan sings, Susan flies, Susan swings'. It shows Susan taking risks as she is swung through the air and rides a pony. It also shows Susan expressing a range of emotions, including anger and fear. This book is suitable for reading together for three years and under, and read alone for four- to five year-olds.
