Journey to Gameland: How to Make a Board Game from Your Favorite Children’s Book

“Bad” Helen is in trouble. If she can’t improve her reading skills, she will be stuck in the sixth grade forever! An ace baseball pitcher and class clown, Helen must now face the fact that reading is not one of her skills. With the help of a sympathetic teacher, Helen decides to brave her classmates’ teasing and enter a special education class.

Samantha Abeel is learning disabled and gifted. She does not understand mathematical concepts, but she is an extremely talented writer. Samantha was on the edge of despair when a caring English teacher who recognized her hidden talents intervened, offering Samantha an opportunity to describe in words the hauntingly beautiful paintings of artist Charles R. Murphy.

As any parent, teacher, coach, or caregiver of a learning disabled child knows, every learning disability has a social component. The ADD child constantly interrupts and doesn’t follow directions. The child with visual-spatial issues loses his belongings. The child with a nonverbal communication disorder fails to gesture when she talks. These children are socially out of step with their peers, and often they are ridiculed or ostracized for their differences. A successful social life is immeasurably important to a child’s happiness, health, and development.

This book was written to help children understand that being “different” is not only okay, it’s what makes people and our world more interesting! Through positively designed activities, children with disabilities become confident and learn to accomplish tasks in their own way, while children without disabilities learn to value diversity.

Ted Cheltoni, 12, has a good friend, a great girlfriend, and would have a pretty normal life if it weren’t for his little brother, Harry. Harry’s not bad on purpose, but Ted would sure like to fix the kid up so everybody would stop asking him to undo Harry’s hyperactive, outrageous behavior. The tension at home gets so bad that Ted’s afraid his parents will get divorced. One day, after Harry finds out he’s suspended from school and kicked off the bus for the following week, Ted finds him packing to leave home. Ted knows he has to do something, and quick, to help his little brother.

Josh was living a great life — he knew how to get around who his friends were. In the middle of the school year, though, his family turns that all upside-down by moving to a new neighborhood. Suddenly he has to deal with new kids, a new school, and a nasty bully who makes fun of the way Josh learns. But when the bully needs help, it’s Josh who can save the day.