Drawing on her experiences as a child with juvenile diabetes, the Supreme Court justice addresses kids' curiosity about disability and illness."Each of us grows in our own way," says Sonia, a Latina child based on the author, as she and her friends plant a garden. Just as each plant has a "different color, different shape, and different purpose," kids are "all different too." Encouraging curious readers to "JUST ASK," Sonia and 11 friends introduce their respective disabilities and chronic illnessesranging from blindness to nut allergiesby asking such questions as "How do you use your senses?" and "Are you really good at something?" The kids' matter-of-fact explanations blend strengths and difficulties. Bianca, who has dyslexia, "love[s] learning by doing things"; Manuel, who has ADHD, "can get frustrated when [they] really feel the need to move around even though [they're] supposed to sit still." Though the number of conditions may tax younger readers' attention spans, kids with those conditions who "don't feel ready to explain" will appreciate the text's inclusiveness; as Sonia acknowledges, "Not everyone is comfortable answering questions about themselves." Enlivening the familiar theme, Lpez's bold figures, vibrant colors, and close perspective welcome readers into a garden bursting with assorted blossoms, insects, and birds. Refreshingly, most characters present as kids of color of various heritages, ranging from black and Latinx to South and Southeast Asian. One presents white.An affirmative, delightfully diverse overview of disabilities. (Informational picture book. 4-8) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Supreme Court Justice Sotomayor's (Turning Pages) experience as a child with juvenile diabetes spurred this meditation on the idea that we're all different. Using a compassionate, forthright tone, she engages the metaphor of a garden to explain how variation creates beauty: "Thousands of plants bloom together, but every flower, every berry, and every leaf is different... Kids are all different too." Extending the theme, artwork by López (The Day You Begin) shows children working together on a spacious garden. Starting with her own story and continuing with López's experience with asthma, Sotomayor next includes 12 additional characters with diverse experiences, such as dyslexia, a nut allergy, and Tourette's syndrome. The children introduce themselves, sometimes noting differences along a spectrum (Jordan and Tian, both autistic, communicate differently). Characters engage with readers, too; after describing how he gets around in a wheelchair, Anthony asks, "How do you get from place to place?" The title expresses Sotomayor's conviction that asking, far from being impolite, banishes isolation. If anyone doesn't "feel ready to explain," "I just ask my parents or my teachers and they help me to understand." A quiet musing about how "each of us has unique powers to share." Ages 4--8. (Sept.)

In this inviting picture book, 12 friends are planting a garden. Each child is distinct in appearance and personality, but other differences are harder to see or to understand. Seven-year-old Sonia tells of pricking her finger to measure her blood sugar and giving herself insulin shots to manage diabetes, which she briefly explains. Next, Rafael talks about having asthma and using an inhaler when he has trouble breathing. Ten more children in succession talk about their wheelchair, blindness, deafness, dyslexia, autism, stuttering, Tourette's syndrome, ADHD, nut allergy, or Down syndrome. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who began giving herself insulin shots at age seven, offers an amiable, matter-of-fact text in which each child handles a challenge with courage and grace. Created with pencil, watercolor, and acrylic, then digitally manipulated, the vibrant artwork celebrates these self-assured kids, shown working, communicating, and interacting with nature. The garden becomes a metaphor for a community where all the ways we are different make our neighborhood our whole world really more interesting and fun. Along the way, Sotomayor quietly encourages those who don't understand someone else's differences to just ask that person or a parent. Addressing topics too often ignored, this picture book presents information in a direct and wonderfully child-friendly way.--Carolyn Phelan Copyright 2010 Booklist