Disabled Athletes 21 True Stories of Top Competitors, Adventurers, and Explorers

Breaking records. Making history. Meet the world’s most accomplished disabled athletes in this picture book biography, showcasing superstars with blindness, learning disabilities, amputations, and others—all of whom are changing the game.

Whether they’re winning Olympic gold medals or climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro, these disabled athletes are reaching new heights. This collective picture book biography introduces young readers to twenty-one legendary disabled athletes, from world motocross champion Ashley Fiolek, whose deafness allows her to become one with her bike, to blind pole vaulter Aria Ottmueller, who says she “can’t be afraid of what she can’t see.” 

The text celebrates record-breaking athletes that young readers may never have heard of but won’t soon forget, whose accomplishments include walking to the North Pole, setting a National Football League record that stood for forty years, and many more. Although these athletes’ disabilities vary, they all have one thing in common: they’re making history at the top of their game.

From nonfiction pro and longtime teacher David A. Adler's thrilling look at disabled athletes' accomplishments offers readers a winning combo of dynamic photographs and high-octane action to truly capture the stakes and excitement of these athletes’ achievements.

David A. Adler is a former math teacher and author of more than two hundred books for children. He has collaborated on several science picture books with Anna Raff, including Light Waves and Magnets Push, Magnets Pull, both named finalists for the AAAS/Subaru SB&F Prize for Excellence in Science Books. He is also the author of the Picture Book Biography series and the Cam Jansen mystery series. He lives in New York.