This Is How We Talk: A Celebration of Disability and Connection

by Jessica Slice, Caroline Cupp, Kayla Harren (Illustrator)

Overview

From the creators of This Is How We Play is a new jubilant, inclusive, luminously illustrated picture book that celebrates all the ways we communicate with each other

We sign, write, clap! We tap, stim, scream! So many ways to talk and joke, play and learn and dream. This joyful read-aloud, with an empowering refrain, from disability rights activists Jessica Slice and Caroline Cupp, demystifies and respects how disabled people and their families use different forms of communication to connect and show love.

Back matter consists of a kid-friendly guide to thinking, learning, and talking about disability and communication; a glossary of the different disabilities represented throughout the book; and a guide for grown-ups on ways to encourage discussions about disabilities with the children in their lives. Throughout, This Is How We Talk centers, affirms, and encourages the disabled children and adults who are already doing the challenging work of advocating for themselves and finding strength in community.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780593529935
Publisher:	Penguin Young Readers Group
Publication date:	07/01/2025
Pages:	48
Product dimensions:	10.38(w) x 10.31(h) x 0.45(d)
Age Range:	3 - 7 Years

About the Author

Jessica Slice is an author and essayist who writes about her experience as a disabled mom who uses a power wheelchair. Her writing has been featured in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Disability Visibility, and more. She lives in Canada with her family. Caroline Cupp is a disabled progressive pastor in Philadelphia.

Kayla Harren is an award-winning illustrator of numerous children’s books, including the Lambda Literary Award winner Calvin. She graduated from the School of Visual Arts in New York City with a BFA in illustration, and lives in Minnesota with her husband and dogs.

Editorial Reviews

★ "Featuring exceptional accounts and impactful illustrations of different forms of communication, this book is a true celebration of all people living with disabilities and an invaluable learning experience for children and their grown-ups. This is a first purchase for all collections.”—School Library Journal, starred review

“An exuberant and inclusive look at the many ways we all express ourselves.” —Kirkus

“This picture book would be great for helping students better understand the variety of communication styles in the classroom or as reassurance for a child who may communicate outside the expected verbal means.” —Booklist

From the Publisher

2025-04-04
In the follow-up toThis Is How We Play (2024), kids and adults with physical, sensory, and developmental disabilities describe how they communicate.

A teacher gives a lesson on dinosaurs via a speech device; a father asks about his child’s day by spelling with his eyes. With a pictorial communication book, two friends create “the silliest story we’ve ever heard.” Emphasizing that communication involves feelings as well as words, characters express an array of emotions. Anxious about attending a parade, a child expresses fear by “falling down onto the floor!” To convey happiness, a youngster yells to Mama; “to say ‘I love you,’ I hold her hand— / we don’t need words to understand.” Importantly, the authors also recognize stimming as a form of communication. “When my dad thinks, he twirls his hands, / I squeeze and squish the slimy sand,” a child explains. “With joy and adaptation,” the racially diverse group exclaims, “this is how we talk!” And as dinnertime arrives, “with joy and hungry bellies, this is how we… EAT!” As in the previous book, Harren’s vibrant illustrations depict people using wheelchairs, forearm crutches, prostheses, and more as they enjoy busy lives, warmly reinforcing the lively rhyming text. Backmatter includes information on the communication methods and conditions portrayed here, as well as guides for kids and caregivers on addressing disability.

An exuberant and inclusive look at the many ways we all express ourselves.(Picture book. 4-7)

Kirkus Reviews