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HandiLand: The Crippest Place on Earth

Elizabeth A. Wheeler 2019
HandiLand looks at young adult novels, fantasy series, graphic memoirs, and picture books of the last 25 years in which characters with disabilities take center stage for the first time. These books take what others regard as weaknesses—for instance, Harry Potter's headaches or Hazel Lancaster's oxygen tank—and redefine them as part of the hero's journey. HandiLand places this movement from sidekick to hero in the political contexts of disability rights movements in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Ghana.

Elizabeth A. Wheeler invokes the fantasy of HandiLand, an ideal society ready for young people with disabilities before they get there, as a yardstick to measure how far we've come and how far we still need to go toward the goal of total inclusion. The book moves through the public spaces young people with disabilities have entered, including schools, nature, and online communities. As a disabled person and parent of children with disabilities, Wheeler offers an inside look into families who collude with their kids in shaping a better world. Moving, funny, and beautifully written, HandiLand: The Crippest Place on Earth is the definitive study of disability in contemporary literature for young readers.

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Series
  • Corporealities: Discourses of Disability
ISBN(s)
  • 978-0-472-07420-4 (hardcover)
  • 978-0-472-05420-6 (paper)
  • 978-0-472-12571-5 (ebook)
Subject
  • Literary Studies
  • American Studies
  • Disability Studies
Citable Link

  • Table of Contents

  • Resources

  • Stats

  • Cover
  • Title Page
  • Copyright Page
  • Dedication
  • Contents
  • Acknowledgments
  • Introduction: Welcome to HandiLand
  • Part One. Kids in Public Space
    • One. Play Structures
    • Two. Masculinity at the Orthopedic Preschool
    • Three. Epistemology of the Toilet
  • Part Two. Nature
    • Four. Moving Together Side by Side
    • Five. Disservice Animals
  • Part Three. School
    • Six. Rehearsing the Future
    • Seven. One Difference at a Time
  • Part Four. Fantasy
    • Eight. Portkeys to Disability in British Fantasy Literature
    • Nine. Inside Your Head
    • Ten. Runoff
    • Conclusion
  • Notes
  • Appendix A: Picture Books Featuring Children with Disabilities and Animals
  • Bibliography
  • Index

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  • Introduction2
  • Chapter 13
  • Chapter 24
  • Chapter 31
  • Chapter 42
  • Chapter 62
  • Chapter 81
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  • Picture Book Illustrations3
  • Child Activists2
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Amid a circle of onlookers Jennifer Keelan, eight, crawls up the Capitol steps.

Jennifer Keelan at the Capitol Crawl, March 12, 1990

From Introduction

Fig. 1. Jennifer Keelan at the Capitol Crawl, March 12, 1990. AP Photo/Jeff Markowitz.

A smiling boy drives a power wheelchair outdoors while an exhilarated girl hitches a ride on the back of the chair.

Kevin and Bridget Shin-Wheeler, ages 12 and 10

From Introduction

Fig. 2. Kevin and Bridget Shin-Wheeler, ages twelve and ten. Photo by Jordan Shin.

Adams play structure: bridge, stairs, and slide.

The play structure at Adams Elementary School, Eugene, Oregon

From Chapter 1

Fig. 3. The play structure at Adams Elementary School, Eugene, Oregon. Photo by Jordan Shin.

Wheelchair ramp on the play structure at RiverPlay.

The wheelchair ramp on the play structure at RiverPlay, Eugene, Oregon

From Chapter 1

Fig. 4. The wheelchair ramp on the play structure at RiverPlay, Eugene, Oregon. Photo by Jordan Shin.

African American rapper Angel Haze in concert, at a microphone.

Angel Haze in concert, Belgrave Music Hall, Leeds, Britain

From Chapter 1

Fig. 5. Angel Haze in concert, Belgrave Music Hall, Leeds, Britain. Rex Features/AP Images.

Kevin crawls across a carpet while Miriam throws a towel over him.

Kevin playing with Miriam Christou

From Chapter 2

Fig. 6. Kevin playing with Miriam Christou. Photo by Jordan Shin.

Jaymason, a white boy in sunglasses, sits in a Tumble Forms chair.

Jaymason Bouwman, almost three

From Chapter 2

Fig. 7. Jaymason Bouwman, almost three. Photo by Jordan Shin.

Close-up of Hailey Cooper in a birthday crown.

Hailey Cooper

From Chapter 2

Fig. 8. Hailey Cooper. Photo by Jordan Shin.

Close-up of Alex Yozzo, age fifteen.

Alex Yozzo, age 15

From Chapter 2

Fig. 9. Alex Yozzo, age fifteen. Photo by Jordan Shin.

Shanti, age eleven, in a sports wheelchair playing basketball.

Shanti Morrell, age 11

From Chapter 3

Fig. 10. Shanti Morrell, age eleven.

Watercolor painting shows Ben and the seal surfing side by side.

Ben and the seal ride a wave side by side

From Chapter 4

Fig. 11. Ben and the seal ride a wave side by side. Seal Surfer by Michael Foreman, Andersen Press, 1996.

Sosu crawls through the rain while Fusa the dog encourages him.

Sosu and Fusa, side by side through the rain

From Chapter 4

Fig. 12. Sosu and Fusa, side by side through the rain. Sosu’s Call by Meshack Asare, Sub-Saharan Publishers, 1997.

Close-up of Billy Dean Bogard, a young white man with dark hair and eyes.

Billy Dean Bogard

From Chapter 6

Fig. 13. Billy Dean Bogard. Photo by Jordan Shin.

Alana Unfried onstage performing in Heroes from Another Earth, 2018. Alana is a young redheaded woman with Down Syndrome, wearing a tuxedo and gesturing with her right hand.

Alana Unfried onstage performing in Heroes from Another Earth, 2018

From Chapter 6

Fig. 14. Alana Unfried onstage performing in Heroes from Another Earth, 2018. Photo by Nicolas Walcott.

Lewis Carroll’s drawing of Alice stuck upside down in a box.

Lewis Carroll’s drawing of Alice stuck upside down

From Chapter 8

Fig. 15. Lewis Carroll’s drawing of Alice stuck upside down. Courtesy of The British Library Board, Alice’s Adventures Underground, MS 46700.

Amariyanna Copeny, wearing her sash and tiara, holds a protest sign reading “#Justice For Flint.”

Amariyanna Copeny, the reigning Little Miss Flint, at a protest on March 6, 2016

From Chapter 10

Fig. 16. Amariyanna Copeny, the reigning Little Miss Flint, at a protest on March 6, 2016. Jake May / The Flint Journal–MLive.com via AP Photo.

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