Special Life

These stories are an extra peek at Auggie before he started at Beecher Prep and during his first year there. Listeners get to see him through the eyes of Julian, the bully; Christopher, Auggie's oldest friend; and Charlotte, Auggie's new friend at school. Together, these three stories are a treasure for listeners who don't want to leave Auggie behind when they finish Wonder.

Ms. Rachel brings her signature teaching style to her very first book! Children will practice more than 20 important milestones—including gestures and speech—and sing their favorite songs as they help Ms. Rachel find a special surprise just for them.

For Bixby Alexander Tam (nicknamed Bat), life tends to be full of surprises - some of them good, some not so good. Today, though, is a good-surprise day. Bat's mom, a veterinarian, has brought home a baby skunk, which she needs to take care of until she can hand him over to a wild-animal shelter. But the minute Bat meets the kit, he knows they belong together. And he's got one month to show his mom that a baby skunk might just make a pretty terrific pet.

In 1994, Driven to Distraction sparked a revolution in our understanding of attention deficit disorder. Now a second revolution is under way in the approach to ADD, and the news is great. Drug therapies, our understanding of the role of diet and exercise, even the way we define the disorder, all are changing radically. And doctors are realizing that millions of adults suffer from this condition, though the vast majority of them remain undiagnosed and untreated.

Learn about autism and the people who have it.

Set in the 14th century, the classic story of one boy's personal heroism when he loses the use of his legs.

Friar Tuck, a big golden Labrador, is young Helen’s inseparable companion. She still remembers the sunny day three years ago when her father dumped the fat, wriggling puppy into her surprised arms and said, “All yours, Helen.” Since then, her dog has grown into a wonderful friend for the lanky, red-haired girl. No one knows exactly when Tuck began to go blind. By the time Helen and her parents notice the symptoms, the dog is knocking over chairs and can no longer chase squirrels.

My friend Zack has a disability called autism. But that doesn’t matter to us. We talk about airplanes, build models, and enjoy hanging out at each other’s house. I’m glad Zack is my friend!

Melody finally gets to fly on an airplane, and even the airline’s somewhat clumsy handling of her wheelchair can’t dampen her excitement to be in London. There, Melody meets kids from all over the world who are rallying for greater accessibility and more thoughtful planning on how to make the world more equal for every kid, no matter the unusual challenges they face. As Melody’s time to speak approaches, she hopes she can find a way to make every word count and make an impact.

In Your Brain's Not Broken, Dr. Tamara Rosier explains how ADHD affects every aspect of your life. You'll finally understand why you think, feel, and act the way you do. Dr. Rosier applies her years of coaching others to offer you the critical practical tools that can dramatically improve your life and relationships.

Clea can’t control her thoughts. She knows she has to do her homework...but she gets distracted. She knows she can’t just say whatever thought comes into her head...but sometimes she can’t help herself. She know she needs to focus...but how can she do that when the people around her are always chewing gum loudly or making other annoying noises? It’s starting to be a problem - not just in school, but when Clea’s playing chess or just hanging out with her best friend.

From fixing the class computer to repairing old radios, 12-year-old Iris is a tech genius. But she's the only deaf person in her school, so people often treat her like she's not very smart. If you've ever felt like no one was listening to you, then you know how hard that can be. When she learns about Blue 55, a real whale who is unable to speak to other whales, Iris understands how he must feel. Then she has an idea: She should invent a way to "sing" to him! But he's 3,000 miles away. How will she play her song for him?

Veteran psychologist Sharon Saline shares the words and inner struggles of children and teens living with ADHD - and a blueprint for achieving lasting success by working together. Based on more than 25 years of experience counseling young people and their families, Dr. Saline’s advice and real-world examples reveal how parents can shift the dynamic and truly help kids succeed.

For Bixby Alexander Tam (nicknamed Bat), life is pretty great. He’s the caretaker of the best baby skunk in the world - even Janie, his older sister, is warming up to Thor. When Janie gets a part in the school play and can’t watch Bat after school, it means some pretty big changes. Someone else has to take care of the skunk kit in the afternoons, Janie is having sleepovers with her new friends, and Bat wants everything to go back to normal. He just has to make it to the night of Janie’s performance.

After living through an emotionally turbulent journey of infertility and the birth of one son, Fabiana was thrilled to discover that she was pregnant again, this time with twins. She did not expect to encounter a tumultuous road until she was told that one of her twins had no chance of survival. Then, only weeks later, she gave birth prematurely. Her surviving twin spent months in a neonatal intensive care unit and later became a child with special needs. From Surviving to Thriving is about finding the joy; making the choice to see hope where others only see despair, pain, loss, and sorrow.

In the real world, people on the autism spectrum need the same kinds of day-to-day skills everyone else needs to be functional! It's true. No matter how high-functioning children with autism or Asperger's may be or may become, they function better as adults if they've had the chance to learn basic skills, from being on time to good personal hygiene. But many reach adulthood without those skills. Enter Jennifer McIlwee Myers, aspie at large.

Melody, the huge-hearted heroine of Out of My Mind, is a year older, and a year braver. And now with her Medi-talker, she feels nothing’s out of her reach, not even summer camp. There have to be camps for differently-abled kids like her, and she’s going to sleuth one out. A place where she can trek through a forest, fly on a zip line, and even ride on a horse! A place where maybe she really can finally make a real friend, make her own decisions, and even do things on her own—the dream!

Third-grader Aven Green has been solving mysteries for a really long time—a whole month! She has solved many important cases like The Mystery of the Cranky Mom, The Mystery of the Missing Ice Cream, and The Mystery of the Smelly Feet. Her record is nearly 100 percent, with only The Mystery of the Cereal in My Underpants remaining unsolved to this day. Aven asks all the right questions, wields her detective kit carefully, and follows up on every clue. Then her teacher’s lunch bag, with her lunch still in it, is taken, and Aven’s great-grandma’s beloved dog goes missing.

Aven knows she is an expert baker of cakes and cookies since she has been baking with her mom for a really long time. Plus no one bakes quite like she does. She cracks eggs with her feet and measures sugar and flour with her feet—plus measuring cups—since she was born without arms. And now Aven has her eye on the prize: a beautiful blue ribbon for baking at the county fair. So she teams up with her friends Kayla, Emily, and Sujata. But it turns out they all have very different tastes and a lot of opinions about baking.

My friend Robby has a disability called ADHD. But that doesn’t matter to us. We play basketball, tell jokes, go canoeing, and help each other with our homework. I’m glad Robby is my friend!