Bella brings her own chair

08 Feb 2007

Ok, this blog's a little different from my others. In this one, I'm asking for your help (rare, so don't get too used to it!).

Last year, Shelley, Kat and I wrote a kid's book about a funky little girl in a wheelchair. It's aimed at the 4-6 year old market, and the idea is to normalise disability, emphasising similarities, not differences. All three of us have been there, and there's certainly a need.
Sounds boring? Not when it's written by 3 members of the Australian Women's Wheelchair Basketball Team who usually forget that they have a disability (particularly after a few bevvies).

Go on...have a read. Just to give you an idea, we thought that every line would be on a new page, with a colourful picture of a cool chick in a bright wheelchair (with definately NO HANDLES!!!)

Bella brings her own chair.

Bella and I like to play in the sandpit at school.
This is our classroom. I sit next to Bella. Bella brings her own chair.
I have a blue bike. Bella has a pink wheelchair.
Bella uses the ramp. I use the stairs. When we race, Bella always wins.
When we play cricket, Bella hits the ball…and Sam runs for her.
Sometimes, we have sleepovers. Bella tells the best scary stories.
When it is sunny, we take our dogs for a walk in the park.
On Tuesdays, we play basketball…
And one day, we will both win a gold medal.
Bella is my best friend.
She is just like me.


Don't like it?? Help us with some comments to improve it.
Like it?? Well then, help us find an illustrator (definately not my forte), and a publisher. (if you don't know any, just leave some encouraging comments. Ta)So far, all we've had are rejections...even from Oprah (considering she once had a show dedicated to showing a dog with no front legs, this was a pretty low blow for us!)

Go on...give us a leg up...so to speak.

Cheers,
L