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Developmental Psychologist, Anne-Marie DePape and Social Worker, Christine Quaglia have always wanted to write a children’s book featuring a main character with a disability. This kind of book was not available when Anne-Marie and Christine were children and impacted their beliefs around disability. For Christine, who has a neuromuscular disorder and has used a wheelchair from a young age, this impact was even more pronounced as it shaped her identity when she could not find herself in the pages of her favourite childhood books.
Charlotte’s Shadow is the first children’s book for both authors and its journey leads readers to discover that Shadow is more than a pet, he’s a service dog.
The book is written from the dog’s perspective, which allows readers to see Charlotte as Shadow sees her and that is as a larger-than-life superhero.
Both Anne-Marie and Christine believe that representation like that found in Charlotte’s Shadow matters, with children with or without disabilities knowing that “if you can see it, you can be it”.
Anne-Marie and Christine are grateful for the positive response they have received from their book based on the feedback from parents, teachers and children alike. They have been invited to provide readings of their book at schools and libraries along with interviews on television, radio and print medias. They hope this book will initiate important conversations about disability, inclusion and resiliency as well as the role of service dogs.
Reviewed by Savannah Aldridge for Readers' Favorite
Charlotte’s Shadow by Anne-Marie DePape and Christine Quaglia is a fun and informative picture book told from the perspective of a service dog. Shadow sees his owner, Charlotte—a girl who uses a wheelchair—as a superhero, and is excited to work beside her through a day full of errands. On their journey, Shadow and Charlotte visit family, do chores for Mommy, and cross a busy street together. They even encounter questions from another child—“Why are you allowed to bring your dog here?”—that end with a new friendship. Throughout their journey, we learn about what service dogs do and how to interact with them, and we see that Charlotte is a joyful and capable kid with a fulfilling life. This is a wonderful picture book for children who use a wheelchair to see themselves as a main character, and for other children to learn more about living with disabilities in a helpful way.
As someone with wheelchair users in my family, I enjoyed the way that Charlotte’s Shadow shows a full day in the lives of the protagonists, whereas many stories don’t show disabled characters in the spotlight. My favorite moment was showing a conversation between Charlotte and another child who wanted to know why Shadow was allowed in the library. What a great way to break the stigma around treating disabilities as taboo while also explaining appropriate ways to interact with service animals! Illustrator Kenzie Edge’s art style is creative and vibrant, showing diverse people and bringing the reader into Charlotte and Shadow’s world. Text sections are in several short paragraphs on each page, so this book is well-suited for story time with an older reader, or for an early reader seeking a small challenge to read on their own.
