Schneider Family Book Award

2024 - Winner(s)

Sadie is an Oakland, California activist who shares her passion for social justice online. After witnessing a violent incident of police brutality, her chronic anxiety...

2024 - Honor(s)

A extraordinary novel-in-verse about a neurodivergent girl who comes to understand and celebrate her difference. In this dynamic novel, Selah navigates the challenges of day-to-day...

2024 - Winner(s)

Share Time happens on Fridays in Ms. Tanaka’s class. When it is displaced by a special parade and moved to Thursday, Henry, who is autistic...

2024 - Honor(s)

Every time Joe goes out the questions are the same . . . what happened to his leg? But is this even a question Joe...

2024 - Honor(s)

This picture book about friendship and sign language, originally published in the Philippines in concert with nonprofit Room to Read, is revised for this global...

2024 - Honor(s)

Where You See Yourself combines an unforgettable coming-of-age tale, a riveting romance, and much-needed disability representation in this story about Effie, a girl who's determined...

2024 - Winner(s)

Maudie, a neurodivergent young woman, loves spending summers with her dad in California. When a wildfire forces an evacuation, they move to a trailer on...

2024 - Honor(s)

Simon O’Keeffe’s biggest claim to fame should be the time his dad accidentally gave a squirrel a holy sacrament. But the story the whole world...

2024 - Honor(s)

Tilly Twomley is desperate for change. She feels like she's white-knuckling her way through high school as flawed executive functioning has left her burnt out. Things...

2023 - Winner(s)

Maggie’s parents send her to her grandfather’s home in hopes that the Cornish countryside will improve her stuttering. There, she finds and saves an abandoned...

2023 - Honor(s)

a heartfelt story about a girl who -- armed with her trusty, snazzy wheelchair -- refuses to let her brittle bone disease stand in the...

2023 - Honor(s)

Gillian McDunn explores boyhood in a funny, big-hearted story about a kid trying to find the best way to be his best self. Elliott has been struggling since...

2023 - Honor(s)

In this gorgeously written and authentic novel, Verónica, a Peruvian-American teen with hip dysplasia, auditions to become a mermaid at a Central Florida theme park...

2023 - Winner(s)

As a child, Evelyn Glennie loved music. After the nerves in her ears began to degenerate, she became deaf. Defying doctors’ predictions, Evelyn persevered to...

2023 - Honor(s)

An emotional and tender award-winning picture book that accessibly explores depression within a family, through the use of color. As one father embarks on...

2022 - Winner(s)

Ariel and her identical sister were born with a rare condition called Crouzon Syndrome, a disorder preventing the typical growth of the skull, affecting the...

2022 - Honor(s)

Addie is Autistic. She explains to people that it is who she is. Being neurodivergent, she often hears and feels things more deeply than most...

2022 - Honor(s)

Portico Reeves is dealing with a lot in his life - his parents’ impending divorce, his own anxiety, and middle school friendships. But never fear...

2022 - Winner(s)

Myers employs poetry and science to create a bird-loving autistic boy whose disability strongly shapes his identity. As Axel seeks to help heal his broken...

2022 - Winner(s)

In this work of speculative fiction, Piper searches for her identity as a Deaf teenager through her art and activism in a futuristic Australia rife...

2022 - Winner(s)

Photographer Darren Lebeuf and paper artist Ashley Barron collaborate on the tale of a girl with a visual impairment and her father as they journey...

2022 - Honor(s)

An ode to persistence and determination, this inspiring autobiographical picture book recounts the author’s struggles and triumphs in learning to read. Drawing came easily to...

2022 - Honor(s)

Set in Afghanistan, this brightly illustrated picture book shows readers the power of determination and cooperation. Living with war has impacted many aspects of Aria’s...

2021 - Winner(s)

Told in dual narrative, I.W. Gregorio’s second YA novel is an own voices story exploring mental illness stigma, race and culture, and relationships. Jocelyn...

2021 - Honor(s)

In this perfectly pitched novel-in-letters, autistic eleven-year-old Vivy Cohen won't let anything stop her from playing baseball--not when she has a major-league star as...

2021 - Honor(s)

Heartbreak, hope, and gentle humor exist together in this graphic novel about a childhood spent waiting, and a young man who is able to create...

2021 - Winner(s)

Ann Clare LeZotte, a Deaf librarian and author, tells the story of Mary Lambert, a young deaf girl growing up on the island of Martha’s...

2021 - Winner(s)

Jordan Scott, poet and debut picture book author, and award-winning illustrator Sydney Smith tell an own voices story of a young boy who feels isolated...

2021 - Honor(s)

Experience the true story of lifelong activist Jennifer Keelan-Chaffins and her participation in the Capitol Crawl in this inspiring autobiographical picture book.

2021 - Honor(s)

This picture-book biography of violin virtuoso Itzhak Perlman will inspire young readers to follow the melody within themselves

2020 - Winner(s)

In Just Ask, United States Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor celebrates the different abilities kids (and people of all ages) have. Using her own experience as...

2020 - Winner(s)

2020 - Winner(s)

2020 - Winner(s)

2020 - Winner(s)

2020 - Winner(s)

2019 - Honor(s)

2019 - Winner(s)

2019 - Honor(s)

2019 - Winner(s)

2019 - Honor(s)

2018 - Winner(s)

Julia is an artist; her medium graffiti. She thrives on the thrill of creating and the risk of getting caught. When she is expelled from...

2018 - Winner(s)

This tender, free-verse novel welcomes readers into sixth-grader Macy’s world. Through an intergenerational relationship with her neighbor, Iris, Macy learns to navigate friendships, family changes...

2018 - Winner(s)

Allen Say’s distinctive biographical picture book spotlights the work and life of James Castle, an outsider artist. Deaf and autistic, this artist used his untraditional...

2017 - Winner(s)

2017 - Winner(s)

2017 - Winner(s)

2016 - Winner(s)

Set during World War II, Ada is a resourceful character who slowly and believably makes accommodations for her untreated club foot. Her growth as a...

2016 - Winner(s)

Enter 13B, where the support group for young adults with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder meets each week. Here an unlikely band of “superheroes” led by their...

2016 - Winner(s)

Against almost insurmountable odds, Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah, born with only one strong leg, sets out to ride a bike 400 miles across Ghana to raise...

2016 - Winner(s)

Ally moves through multiple elementary schools without learning to read by using her strengths in math and art along with some behavior distractions. When a...

2015 - Winner(s)

2015 - Winner(s)

2015 - Winner(s)

2014 - Winner(s)

Reluctant Princess Tilda, sheltered due to her deformed foot, longs to escape her destiny. A thwarted kidnapping sends Tilda, Lord Parzifal and her handmaiden Judith...

2014 - Winner(s)

This picture book biography of self-taught African American folk artist Horace Pippin demonstrates the dogged determination of a wounded soldier to paint again. After a...

2014 - Winner(s)

After a daring flight maneuver, young pilot Rose Justice is captured by Nazis and sent to Ravensbrück, the notorious women’s concentration camp. Assigned to a...

2013 - Winner(s)

Ben surprises everyone by enlisting in the army after his high school graduation. When his convoy is caught in an IED explosion, Ben suffers a...

2013 - Winner(s)

A year after her mother’s death, Cally, a fifth grader, has stopped speaking when no one seems to care about what she has to say. ...

2013 - Winner(s)

Stan is excited about making a birthday card for his principal, Mr. Slippers, until he discovers that he has to write a message. For him...

2012 - Winner(s)

Rose and Ben are children who are deaf living 50 years and worlds apart, yet both marvel and connect with the world around them. The...

2012 - Winner(s)

When sixteen-year-old track star Jessica loses her leg in an accident, she is devastated believing she will never run again. Rehabilitation forces Jessica to...

2012 - Winner(s)

Twelve-year-old Foster dreams of growing up to become a famous celebrity chef despite her reading disability. Can the quirky townsfolk of tiny Culpepper help Foster...

2011 - Winner(s)

Ginny’s eyes play tricks and, in her world, there are two of everything. Reading, math, and kindergarten activities are a challenge. Wearing an eye patch...

2011 - Winner(s)

Tells the story of Jeffrey who is free of cancer, but not the fallout from the treatment. Tad, his cancer survivor buddy and he swap...

2011 - Winner(s)

Dumb is not the name Piper, a high school senior who is Deaf, would have chosen for a heavy metal band, yet she volunteers to...

2010 - Winner(s)

“Django” is the biography of musician Django Reinhardt, who was in an accident that severely burned his hands and threatened to end his career. Through...

2010 - Winner(s)

While Jason Blake who has autism, considers himself to be anything but typical, his life is that of a conventional 12-year-old boy. He wants a...

2010 - Winner(s)

“Marcelo in the Real World” tells the story of Marcelo Sandoval who has Asperger Syndrome. Marcelo is pushed beyond his comfort zone when he is...

2009 - Winner(s)

Jazz musician Art Tatum, who was born with limited vision and lost much of it as he grew, never felt sorry for himself. In this...

2009 - Winner(s)

Addie has spent most of her twelve years “waiting for normal,” a stable family and a real home. Connor’s resilient heroine uses humor, creativity and...

2009 - Winner(s)

After graduating from high school, Sam/Jack begins a cross country quest to learn the truth about his dead father and embraces his inherited Tourette Syndrome...

2008 - Winner(s)

Kami, a young Sherpa boy who is deaf, rescues his family’s yaks and livelihood during a violent storm. Stunning, realistic watercolors add depth to a...

2008 - Winner(s)

Zimmer uses lyrical free verse to tell the story of one girl’s thirteenth year. Josie, a young teen with cerebral palsy, blossoms through her relationship...

2008 - Winner(s)

Initially isolated by her mother’s refusal to let her learn American Sign Language (ASL), Joey grows from a lonely teen to a mature animal rights...

2007 - Winner(s)

A realistic depiction of 12-year-old Catherine’s quest to find her place in a family consumed by her autistic brother David’s needs. Catherine copes by developing...

2007 - Winner(s)

Armpit’s humorous adventures portray the unexpected friendship between a recently released juvenile delinquent and 10-year-old Ginny, who has cerebral palsy, as they help each other...

2007 - Winner(s)

After losing his hearing, jazzman Lee learns to make music in a new way. The book’s upbeat narrative, along with its bright colors, teaches the...

2006 - Winner(s)

This exceptional portrayal of a young boy's affectionate relationship with his deaf father hits home when his dad identifies with baseball player Jackie Robinson and...

2006 - Winner(s)

Cornelia “Corny” Thornhill, a self-described bookworm who stutters, is judged to be a poor student because of her reluctance to speak or read aloud. During...

2006 - Winner(s)

This compelling narrative of journal entries by a 16-year-old boy immerses the reader into his deteriorating mental state. Unable to cope with his mother's death...

2005 - Winner(s)

The bilingual text and bold, colorful illustrations weave the story of two Latino boys who share the joys of friendship—telling scary stories and outrageous riddles...

2005 - Winner(s)

Ryan uses imaginative language and great sensitivity in portraying an 11-year-old girl’s emergence from the timidity of an emotionally abusive relationship to becoming a lioness...

2005 - Winner(s)

The book was chosen for its honest and sensitive portrayal of the author’s youth as she struggles with dyscalculia, a learning disability in mathematics. The...

2004 - Winner(s)

In this outstanding picture book, the beautiful harmony between text and illustrations conveys the special bond between Perry, a black Labrador retriever guide dog, and...

2004 - Winner(s)

In this thought-provoking novel, main character Bobby, 15, wakes up one morning invisible. He feels isolated until he meets Alicia, a teenager who has experienced...

2004 - Winner(s)

The main character Mia is a sensitive 13-year-old girl who comes to terms with a rare neurological condition called Synesthesia. The story is an introspective...