Lucy's Fancy Leg

by Lisa J Dejong, Pia Reyes (Illustrator)

Overview

Lucy is a below-the-knee child amputee with a very special talent: she builds her own prosthetic legs in her secret laboratory!

Lucy can do most things like other kids thanks to the many wild, beautiful, and goofy prosthetics she has built. Every day Lucy chooses which leg to wear to school, depending on what activities she'll be doing that day. But when Lucy signs up for ballet, she realizes that none of her fancy legs are quite right. She'll have to build the fanciest leg she's ever built-one that has a perfectly pointed toe!

Lucy's Fancy Leg brings awareness to and celebrates disability in a light-hearted, funny way. It helps children with a disability, as well as able-bodied children, feel comfortable with disability and see it in a positive light. As an amputee herself, the author knows how much kids can benefit from seeing themselves represented in the books they read.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781039196803
Publisher:	FriesenPress
Publication date:	01/08/2024
Pages:	28
Product dimensions:	11.00(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.07(d)

About the Author

Lisa DeJong is a Beijing 2022 Paralympic snowboarding medalist. She often gives school presentations to talk about her experiences, and found there weren't a lot of stories she could share about kids who grew up like her. As a creative storyteller, it was a natural progression to write a book herself. Lisa lives on an acreage outside of Sherwood Park, Alberta, Canada, with her husband, two young daughters, and two horses.

Editorial Reviews

2024-03-26
A young inventor designs the perfect prosthetic leg for her after-school activities in DeJong’s illustrated children’s book.

Freckle-faced Lucy, who was born “with one regular leg and one little leg,” has a special talent. She’s an inventor who has a workshop in her closet for building special prosthetic legs. Before school, she debates which one she’ll wear. Her spring leg will be too bouncy, and the flipper on her swimming leg might trip her up in the classroom. Her snowboard leg is out of season. Finally, Lucy decides on her walking leg, which does everything she needs—until it flies off when she kicks a soccer ball too hard. Luckily, a friend catches and returns it, so Lucy can go to dance class. One thing she can’t do in ballet is get her walking leg to point; she returns to her workshop and soon returns with a perfectly pointed, sparkly ballerina leg. The “fancy leg” is just right for all her activities, but especially for ballet. DeJong uses accessible language in a conversational tone to engage young readers. Lucy is a cheerful, smart protagonist who doesn’t let the lack of a pointed toe get her down for long. Instead, she recognizes problems and finds solutions, surrounding herself with supportive friends and family. DeJong captures the protagonist’s attitude in phrases such as “She had a lot more legs than most of her friends.” Lucy’s community readily accepts her differences and values her imagination and skill, which young readers with their own assistive devices may find affirming. Illustrator Reyes captures Lucy’s enthusiasm and inventiveness in her full-color cartoon illustrations. The scenes that Lucy imagines when she pictures wearing the wrong leg capture her humor, and Reyes’ use of lighting gives the images welcome depth. Lucy is depicted with brown skin; other characters have a range of skin tones.

A clever tale of invention and creativity.

Kirkus Reviews