Ten books featuring neurodivergent characters.

Here are 10 GREAT books that feature neurodiversity and neurodiverse characters.

I have included links to the books, as I thought these may be useful, please note these are not affiliate links. 

Talking is Not My Thing by Rose Robins

The main character in this book is non-speaking. It is time to stop playing and begin the evening routine. The story shows how she communicates with her brother and granny using pictures, gestures and by drawing. This is a simple story which is likely to lead to conversations about getting ready for bed, favourite toys and the importance of inclusion.

Rose Robins has written a number of books that would be great additions to your collection - Whisper to the rescue, Loud, Me and my sister, and Elena’s shells.

Questions and prompts

• I wonder what she has been playing

• I wonder why he speaks to his sister when he knows she will not answer - what do you think? 

• What might help when it feels noisy? What could her family do to help? You could talk about some of the supports children in your class/setting use. 

• Do you have a story at bedtime?

• I like her toothbrush - what kind of toothbrush do you have?

• How do you think she feels when she realises her bunny is not there? 

• What could help her to tell her grandma and brother where she is going?

Talking is not my Thing a book by Rose Robbins.

Pablo and the Noisy Party by Andrew Brenner and Sumita Majumdar

Pablo has been invited to his cousin’s birthday party. He likes the purple box with yellow ribbon that he is given to take to the party, but when the door is opened the noise is too much and he goes back to the car. He starts to draw and his animal friends help him to think about what is going on. 

Pablo will be a familiar character to many of your children, due to the Cbeebies series (which was the first to feature an autistic main character). This story shows that everyone can feel differently about an event, and that’s ok. 

Questions and prompts

• What do you think could be in the box?

• Do you prefer noise or quiet?

• Is that different when you’re tired or somewhere knew? 

• Do the animals all think the same thing about parties? 

• Have you been to a party? Tell me about it? 

Pablo and the noisy party

Lily and Myles: The Torch by Jon Roberts (author) and Hannah Rounding (illustrator)

Lily is autistic, Myles is her assistance dog - his job is to help her to do things. It is the school holidays and Lily and Myles are staying with Grandma. Lily is bored so decides to see what she can find to do. She finds a torch and enjoys watching the light and listening to the sound as she turns the light on and off. When Grandma is ready Lily and Myles go outside to explore.

This lovely story about Lily and her assistance dog, it shows how Lily experiences the world and the support an assistance dog can provide. It provides the opportunity to talk about the sensory differences and support, as well as about spending time outside and enjoying finding new things. 

Jon Roberts has written four books that you may wish to add to your collection, including Through the eyes of me, Through the eyes of us and See what I can do.

Questions and prompts

• What can you see? 

• How can we tell Myles is an assistance dog? 

• What could you do if you wanted to stroke a dog? 

• I wonder how Lily feels in the cave? 

• How does Myles help Lily? 

Lilly and Myles: The Torch a book by Jon Roberts and Hannah Rounding.

Through the Eyes of Me by Jon Roberts (author) and Hannah Rounding (illustrator) 

Kya is always moving, she loves running and when her daddy spins her round and round. While she does not always look you in the eye when you speak to her, she is listening. She is not aware of life’s dangers, so needs her mummy and daddy to keep her safe. 

This beautiful book is inspired by the author’s daughter, Kya. The book is narrated by her as she shares the things she enjoys - and those she finds difficult.

Questions and prompts: 

• I wonder what her mummy and daddy may need to do to keep her safe? 

• Look at how the words are written - perhaps prompt a conversation about how this shows the movement. 

• What foods/toys can you see? 

• Have you noticed that Kya keeps her wings on? 

• Listening can look different for some people - did you notice what Kya said about when she is listening? 

Through the Eyes of Me a book by Jon Roberts and Hannah Rounding.

More than Words: so many ways to say what we mean by Roz MacLean

This is a book that celebrates communication. It features characters who communicate in a number of different ways. The illustrations provide lots to chat about as we see children share their thoughts, feelings and ideas with facial expressions, sign language, pictures and technology (and in other ways). 

At the end, there is an important reminder that we need to listen to those around us and think about what they are telling us. 

Questions and prompts: 

• How do you show when you feel? 

• Do you know what Braille is? 

• I wonder how the children are feeling (look closely at the pictures and chat about what the children are communicating). 

• I wonder how the children knew Nathan wanted to play?

More than Words: So Many Ways to Say What We Mean a book by Roz MacLean.

Thunderboots by Naomi Jones (author) and Rebecca Ashdown (illustrator)

Trixie loves bouncing and dancing, everyone in her flat knows when she is home! She is excited about starting school and loves her teacher and her friends. But she finds some things more difficult than everyone else. She works hard and keeps practising, but she just can’t turn the letters into words. 

Trixie is sad, but her dad explains that everyone learns things differently and arranges to talk to the teachers. They make a plan to help Trixie to learn - she likes having a plan and realises that everyone is good at different things.

This story is a reminder that learning differently and needing support does not take away from the things that are special about a person. 

This story is inspired by the author’s diagnosis of dyslexia when she was 21.

Questions and prompts: 

• What is everyone doing? 

• How do you think the neighbours feel about the noise - how can you tell? 

• Why do you think Trixie is quiet? 

• What helps you when you find something hard?

• Talk to a friend about what you are good at…

Thunderboots a book by Naomi Jones and Rebecca Ashdown.

This Beach Is Loud by Samantha Cotterill

The child in this story is so excited about a trip to the beach that he gets up at 4am, and does everything he can to get ready to go. But when he arrives at the beach it is busy, and loud; the sand is scratchy and hot - it just doesn’t feel right. His dad keeps calm and supports him to carry out a grounding exercise before giving him a quiet space in a beach shelter where he can regulate. The boy, with his dad’s help and a bit of time, is ready to embrace the visit to the beach, despite it being overwhelming at first. 

This simple story shows how an experience that may be familiar to many of your children, can be overwhelming - and how understanding and support can help when things feel too much. 

Questions and prompts: 

• Look at the clock - 4 o’clock in the morning, that’s very early… 

• I wonder why he’s putting on different shorts? 

• What are they taking to the beach? 

• How do you think he feels when he sees the beach? How can you tell? 

• Do you think this was what he was expecting? 

• Who could help you when you feel overwhelmed?

• Do you think they had a good day? How can you tell? 

This Beach is Loud a book by Samantha Cotterill.

Bea by the Sea by Jo Byatt

One day Bea’s mum suggests they go to the beach. But, Bea does not like sand, it’s scratchy and sticky and gets everywhere, she does love lions and decides to be brave like a lion on the trip to the beach. 

When she gets there she meets a sand lion, who helps her to discover that sand is not so bad after all (although she still wanted to wash it off).  While in this book, a patient friend helps Bea feel more comfortable playing in the sand, you may talk to the children about how this might not happen as quickly for everyone.

Questions and prompts: 

• Can you see what Bea likes? How can you tell? 

• Do you find something scary? 

• I wonder how we can see Bea is feeling frightened? 

• How does the sand lion help her? 

Bea by the Sea a book by Jo Byatt.

Leo and the Octopus by Isabelle Marinov (author) and Chris Nixon (illustrator)

Leo feels like he is different from other children, sometimes he thinks he must be from another planet. One day, he visits the aquarium and sees Maya the octopus, she looks like an alien - so he thinks they could be friends. Leo goes to the library to learn all about octopuses, before returning to see Maya again. He realises he and Maya have other things in common, and starts to feel like he is not alone - now he knows how to make a friend. 

This is a story about feeling different and finding similarities, it may prompt conversations about individual needs (for example, for quiet space) and sharing and learning about each other's interests.

Questions and prompts: 

• Can you see the things that make the world feel stressful for Leo? 

• Do you know anything about octopuses? 

• How do you think Maya feels with all the people there? 

• What could we do to help someone in our school/setting if they needed quiet or space?

• What do you like to do with your friends? 

Leo and the Octopus a book by Isabelle Marinov and Chris Nixon.

Aaron Slater, Illustrator by Andrea Beaty (author) and David Roberts (illustrator)

Aaron loves stories and he loves drawing. Sitting on the old garden swing listening to stories, ‘makes his heart sing’. He cannot wait to learn to read and thinks that writing stories is a really great thing! But when school starts he finds that learning to read is much trickier than he expected - how can he be a storyteller if he cannot write? Inspiration strikes and Aaron discovers there is more than one way to share a story. 

This is a slightly longer story, so may be more suitable for children in reception or year one. It could provide inspiration for storytelling - whether that is through pictures, writing or telling a story. 

Questions and prompts: 

• Where do you like to read stories? 

• How else can we share a story? 

• How do you feel when you find something difficult?

• What could we do to help if someone is finding something hard? 

Aaron Slater, Illustrator a book by Andrea Beaty and David Roberts.