Cover Image: Medieval Mashup

Medieval Mashup

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Member Reviews

A truly heartwarming story of a disable boy and his supportive friends. There are so many outcasts children in the world nowadays. Even different skin color can be a problem. This story reminds me on how you supposed to care for such a friend, not because they need you, but because they are unique people you can befriend and gain insights from.

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Lee is a child in a wheelchair and with his friends they are getting ready for the Renaissance Festival. They want to have the best costumes but really can’t decide what they want to do. As they’re making their costumes Lee gets frustrated because things that might be used to make his costume interfere with his hands or with his chair or with his mobility in total. But a little thought, a little ingenuity, and a little bit of a time out help the team come up with a perfect costume for each member no matter their ability. They all have fun and even win the contest. This is a great story for showing inclusion, however I find the illustrations feel a little old fashion, like something out of the 80s. Overall it’s not a bad book.

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Medieval Mashup (Leigh’s Wheelie Adventure #2). By Charlene McIver, Illustrator: Caroline Keys. 2022 (ARC eBook).

Leigh and his friends Cosmo and Tara are competing in a medieval fair costume contest and are determined to win. But Leigh feels frustrated, believing any costume he chooses will make him look silly or be too confining, as he is in a wheelchair. Medieval Mashup presents a challenge for a wheelchair-bound child, but instead of being excluded; with imagination and patience on everyone’s part, his friends get Leigh to accept their help. And together the group wins the contest, but more importantly, they have a blast at the fair. A sweet book with charming illustrations.

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Medieval Mashup is a picture book about three friends raiding a garage to find items to make costumes for a medieval dressup day. Leigh, a boy in a wheelchair, has some normal kid anxieties about not wanting to look silly matched with some anxieties about navigating in his wheelchair in particular costumes. His friends give lots of a ideas that involve hiding him and the wheelchair, including a large box and a giant bucket. Leigh becomes frustrated (imagine if your friends kept giving you ridiculous costume advice that involves not being able to move or see) and he takes a little break. When he comes back he and his friends find the perfect materials to make a great costume. I like this book because it is a story about a child in a wheelchair that is not about being in a wheelchair yet it still demonstrates some of the day to day challenges people with disabilities face. His friends do not treat him any differently (despite maybe making some not very nice costume suggestions that would actually be hiding the wheelchair) and show him participating in an activity with other kids his age. I think it is so important for children to see a variety of characters in stories demonstrating their diverse interactions with our world and communities without being focused on their diversity. Yes, the wheelchair is a part of this story, as it is for anyone who needs a wheelchair, but this is not a story about wheelchairs and people in wheelchairs, it is a story about how some kids have anxiety about dressing up and this is only magnified when you add the challenge of being disabled and attempting to navigate an able-body designed world, which is unfortunately a fact of life for many people with disabilities.

As a grade 3 teacher I could definitely see this book in my classroom library. I would recommend this book for parents and teachers of children in the 4-9 age range, especially those looking to diversify their book collections. I so appreciate Netgalley and the publisher for giving me the opportunity to read and review this great book!

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Leigh, who is in a wheelchair, wants to join a 'Medieval Mashup' but he fears that he will look silly. His friends help him to realise that this isn't the case.

I wasn't sure about this book because I felt that Leigh's friends were a bit mean to him and that he had good reason to snap at them! They didn't seem very sensitive about his disability but this was probably not intentional on their part.. However, apart from this, it's a sweet story with colourful pictures and it all works out in the end.

I received this free ebook from NetGalley in return for an honest review.

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