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Rolling Warrior
The Incredible, Sometimes Awkward, True Story of a Rebel Girl on Wheels Who Helped Spark a Revolution
0 of 1 copy available
Wait time: About 2 weeks
“If I didn’t fight, who would?”
Judy Heumann was only 5 years old when she was first denied her right to attend school. Paralyzed from polio and raised by her Holocaust-surviving parents in New York City, Judy had a drive for equality that was instilled early in life.
In this young readers’ edition of her acclaimed memoir, Being Heumann, Judy shares her journey of battling for equal access in an unequal world—from fighting to attend grade school after being described as a “fire hazard” because of her wheelchair, to suing the New York City school system for denying her a teacher’s license because of her disability. Judy went on to lead 150 disabled people in the longest sit-in protest in US history at the San Francisco Federal Building. Cut off from the outside world, the group slept on office floors, faced down bomb threats, and risked their lives to win the world’s attention and the first civil rights legislation for disabled people.
Judy’s bravery, persistence, and signature rebellious streak will speak to every person fighting to belong and fighting for social justice.
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Creators
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Publisher
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Release date
June 15, 2021 -
Formats
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OverDrive Listen audiobook
- ISBN: 9780807094624
- File size: 114401 KB
- Duration: 03:58:20
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Languages
- English
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Reviews
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July 1, 2021
Gr 6-9-Heumann was paralyzed after contracting polio as a baby in 1949. Many disabled children were institutionalized at the time, but by age six, she was getting around by herself in a wheelchair. This was tricky not because she wasn't capable but because there were stairs everywhere, there were no wheelchair ramps, and motorized wheelchairs weren't available yet. On the first day of kindergarten, Heumann went home early after the principal told her parents that she was a "fire hazard." She graduated from college with aspirations of teaching but was denied a job after doctors unfairly determined she was medically unfit to teach. Compelled to make a change, Heumann turned to activism. In 1977, she organized a sit-in of a San Francisco federal building that set the groundwork for the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. She seamlessly weaves together her personal journey and the harrowing adventure of her decades-long fight for disability rights as a white disabled woman, while offering clear, accessible explanations of the legislative process. VERDICT Adapted for young readers, this captivating story shines a light on the critical fight for disability rights and will empower aspiring activists to find their own voices.-Allison Staley, Lake Oswego P.L., OR
Copyright 2021 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
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Starred review from June 1, 2021
Grades 5-8 *Starred Review* "I don't think my life is a tragedy because I've had a disability," says disability rights activist Judy Heumann in this inspiring and wryly humorous young readers edition of her adult memoir Being Heumann (2020). Paralyzed at 18 months after falling ill with polio, Heumann, the daughter of Holocaust survivors, relates her lifelong fight to be treated as an "equal citizen." From being denied kindergarten attendance because the principal thought she was a "fire hazard" to being humiliated at her public high school graduation because the stage had no wheelchair ramp, she took on the New York City school system and won after they denied her a teaching license because she was disabled. She was the driving force behind a rousing 24-day San Francisco sit-in by disabled activists that forced the passage of regulations supporting disability rights in federally funded programs. At age 41, Heumann finally became an "equal citizen" in 1990 when, through her own and others' tenacity, the ADA was passed. She then went on to fight for disability rights worldwide. Readers will be outraged to read about the treatment disabled individuals have faced and still face and cheer as Heumann persists against incredible odds. Necessary reading.COPYRIGHT(2021) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
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