Susan Laughs

Willis, Jeanne. Susan Laughs. New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1999. Illustrated by Tony Ross

This book, written by a mother with two young children, discusses all the things a young child with a disability can do. The main character in the book, a red head girl named Susan, is portrayed as what American society would consider typical. She is an active child who spends time with family and friends. In Susan Laughs the young girl's range of emotions are depicted. "Susan's happy, Susan's sad...Susan's shy...Susan's angry, Susan's proud." It is through the depiction of Susan in her everyday setting that causes children to identify with her by the end of the book: "That is Susan through and through - just like me, just like you." This book allows other children to identify with her by focusing on Susan's abilities rather than the things her wheelchair limits her from doing and therefore breaks down stereotypes about the inabilities of people in wheelchairs. It does this by only showing Susan in her wheelchair in the last illustration of the book. Susan Laughs is wonderful for explaining to children the similarities between children with and without disabilities.

An interesting thing about this book is that the author, Jeanne Willis, became interested in the topic of disabilities when she first thought about what it would be like if her daughter aged but did not grow. She received her inspiration from her imagination, but her interest in disabilities makes her an “insider” author due to the fact that she has done research on the topic. Her two children were the inspiration for her to write the book. This inspiration has caused her to gain an understanding of what how a parent may feel when their child is diagnosed with a disability. Jeanne Willis’s ability to empathize when talking about the topic of disabilities and her life with two typically developing children has allowed her to create a book which helps children focus on the abilities of a person with a disability.