Book Description
for We Are the Scrappy Ones by Rebekah Taussig and Kirbi Fagan
From Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC)
This purposeful, affirming book about disability concretely addresses some of the realities of being disabled in our society. Vibrant, warm illustrations created with pastel, colored pencils, collage paper, and pen tablet depict a range of smiling, playful children in real and imagined settings, along with their family members and others. Double-page spreads show a wide variety of visible and invisible disabilities, adaptive aids, and mobility or medical devices. The text celebrates the minds and bodies of children with disabilities, while also validating challenges, like existing in a “world that wasn’t built with us in mind. A world starved for creativity and flexibility.” While most of the text is intentionally upbeat, there is honest acknowledgement of the hardship: “All of this—this living, this adapting, this defying—can be exhausting. There’s no shame in feeling it. When you need a break, take it.” Excellent notes from both the author and illustrator offer their personal perspectives and intentions with this picture book anthem of belonging.
CCBC Choices 2026. © Cooperative Children's Book Center, Univ. of Wisconsin – Madison, 2026. Used with permission.

