Very different from the first three books published by Mikayla’s Voice, The SpOt is not a collaborative effort by a group of students, rather a work of fiction written and illustrated by a 5th grade student. After attending one of our inclusion assemblies, Holden Frye accepted Mikayla’s Voice challenge to write a book about the ladybug in our logo. Is the ladybug a girl or a boy? How did he or she get their spot?
Turns out her name is Dot, she is a “teenage ladybug with a cool and different look, and life is good…but it wasn’t always that way.” While Dot is a fictional character, like Mikayla, Jeffrey and Brady, she has also faced some similar challenges thanks to the big yellow spot on her back, her curly antenna, and the fact that she cannot fly. And like the first three books, once her friends get to know her, they learn we are all more alike than we are different.
In 2022, thanks to a generous donation from Steidl & Steinberg, PC, The Spot book was donated to all first grade classrooms in Allegheny County. Mikayla’s Voice partnered with Achieva in Pittsburgh whose staff volunteered to deliver the book to the schools. The Spot book was donated to 13 Children’s Hospitals in Pennsylvania in 2023.
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Mikayla’s Voice is proud to have published four books written and illustrated by children for other kids about having a friend with a disability. Kids are sometime the best teachers because they know what will be most meaningful to other children. Simply explained by these young authors, “All kids are different… so kids with disabilities are really no different than us.”
Brady is challenged by autism, Mikayla was born with a brain injury, Jeffrey has Down syndrome, and Dot has a yellow spot, but these books are about much more than their main characters or their disabilities. They are about friendship. And kindness. Invaluable messages for kids of all ages and abilities.
Invaluable books for every home and classroom. All proceeds benefit Mikayla’s Voice.
