Just Like Me

Louise Gooding (Author) Louise Gooding lives in Switzerland with her partner and three children. After years working in children's entertainment, Louise channelled her creativity into books. Having a neurodiverse family herself, Louise wrote this book to increase the visibility of disabled and neurologically different people in children's books.Melissa Iwai (Illustrator) Melissa Iwai is the author and illustrator of Soup Day and Pizza Day. She has illustrated more than 30 picture books, including Thirty Minutes Over Oregon by Marc Tyler Nobleman, an Orbis PictusHonor Book for Outstanding Nonfiction 2019 and Junior Library Guild Selection. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband and son.Caterina Delli Carri (Illustrator) Caterina was born in Puglia, Italy, and moved to Rome and Turin to study Visual Arts and Set Design at The Academy of Fine Arts. Caterina's works are inspired by nature, old photos and childhood memories. She lives in the Tuscan countryside where she works on books, magazines and drawings for clients worldwide.Dante Hookey (Illustrator) Dante Hookey is a queer, autistic, non-binary illustrator-author from England who lives in Texas. After graduating with a BA(Hons) in Illustration from Falmouth University, their work has included a BBC children's show and gifts with LUSH. Dante Hookey's evocative work uses colour, character, nature and magic to tackle themes of trauma, mental illness and navigating a neurotypical society.Angel Chang (Illustrator) Angel Chang is an illustrator from Taiwan who lives with high-functioning autism symptoms. Angel's clients include Chronicle, Macmillan Publishers, The Washington Post and National Geographic. Her first illustrated picture book, Most of the Better Natural Things in the World, was longlisted in World Illustration Awards 2020.

Our uniqueness makes us who we are. This glorious anthology encourages us to celebrate this uniqueness and recognise our potential to achieve whatever we want.The 40 neurologically and physically diverse people introduced in this book have done just that. They have all smashed stereotypes, overcome misconceptions and shown the world just what they are capable of. There's a fascinatingly eclectic range of names, including both the globally famous (like Usain Bolt and Richard Branson) but also the lesser known, like Turia Pitt (who survived a fire with 65 per cent burns) and Nkosi Johnson (who was born with HIV). All their profiles are brought to life with absorbing biographies, inspiring quotes, facts and colourful portraits by four different artists.Plus there's a wealth of surprising facts and fascinating details to be discovered and discussed along the way. Who knew that Daniel Radcliffe had dyspraxia? Have you ever seen Frida Kahlo pictured in a wheelchair? And can you spot Matt Haig's "black dog"?The author (who has ADHD) sets out to prove to neurodivergent children that you can overcome any potential limitations of a label, but in doing so she has also created an absorbing and highly attractive book relevant to any and every child.