My Dad Can

A little girl’s father is a manual wheelchair user. She loves when he reads stories, when they make pancakes together, when he takes her swimming, although for this activity, the illustration looks like he needs no mobility aids at all, and she especially loves when he tows her to the park on her roller skates while walking the dog.

When they get to the park, things change because a small boy who is unknown to them says ‘Your dad can’t do anything.’ The little girl questions her dad about this and refreshingly, instead of replying with excessive positivity, he says he can’t do everything but that’s not because of his wheelchair, it’s because he’s a human. He says he can’t do some stuff as well as her mum, but he can do all the things that allow him to be her dad.

This message is beautifully positive and affirming without resorting to toxic positivity which can be a pitfall for picture books tackling physical disability.