About this episode

Dr. Erin Bailey interviews Jenna Elyse Johnson about authentic disability representation in children's literature.

In this episode of Reading Inspires, host Dr. Erin Bailey talks with author, educator, and bookseller Jenna Elyse Johnson about writing authentic disability representation for kids. Jenna shares her path from teacher to author, her personal experience with cerebral palsy and epilepsy, and how her books Every Body Move and I Spark Like Lightning celebrate mobility tools and epilepsy with joy and honesty. The conversation covers common pitfalls in disability representation, the difference between "disability books" and authentic incidental representation, and practical advice for building inclusive classroom and home libraries year-round.

People in this episode

Host: Dr. Erin Bailey

Guest: Jenna Elyse Johnson

Topics covered

• disability representation
• children's books
• inclusive education
• mobility tools
• epilepsy
• authentic storytelling

Keywords

• disability
• children's literature
• cerebral palsy
• epilepsy
• inclusive libraries
• authentic representation

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Every Body Move, I Spark Like Lightning

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