The Disability Book Archive

[ID: A book cover. The title “All the Way to the Top” is in large red writing across the top. Directly below it, in smaller, black writing, is the subtitle “How One Girl’s Fight for Americans with Disabilities Changed Everything”. This is written on a light blue background. Directly below it, a crowd of people with various disabilities. A young girl is in the foreground. She had blonde hair, is wearing a blue, short sleeved shirt, and a blue headband with a red streak. She is positioned to look like she is climbing up a step using her arms. /end]

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Content Warning:

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Summary:

Experience the true story of lifelong activist Jennifer Keelan-Chaffins and her participation in the Capitol Crawl in this autobiographical picture book.

This is the story of a little girl who just wanted to go, even when others tried to stop her.

Jennifer Keelan was determined to make a change―even if she was just a kid. She never thought her wheelchair could slow her down, but the way the world around her was built made it hard to do even simple things. Like going to school, or eating lunch in the cafeteria.

Jennifer knew that everyone deserves a voice! Then the Americans with Disabilities Act, a law that would make public spaces much more accessible to people with disabilities, was proposed to Congress. And to make sure it passed, Jennifer went to the steps of the Capitol building in Washington DC to convince them.

And, without her wheelchair, she climbed.

ALL THE WAY TO THE TOP!

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Notes:

The foreword of this book is written by Chaffins, the woman whose story this book explores.

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Archivist Comments:

I’d actually been reading about The Capitol Crawl when this book was suggested to me.

There are two things I saw in the reveiws to this:

• People shocked that the ADA isn’t even that old
• This book is a good little introduction to the ADA, why it is needed and the history behind it, especially if you’re teaching it to children.

Apparently, there are photos, a timeline and a bibliography at the back that gives more information regarding the event, although some people think that was probably more aimed towards older audiences.

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