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Award-Winning Children's Book

Carden: The Wheelchair Warrior

About the Book

“The only disability is when people cannot see human potential.” – Debra Ruh

"Carden: The Wheelchair Warrior" is named 2023 Gold Award Recipient of the Moonbeam Children's Book Awards. View more information here!

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Inspired by the life of my friend and team member, Carden Wyckoff, I felt the power behind her story simply had to be told. Thus, I took her powerful narrative and created a book: One that can be read by children everywhere to know that their abilities are not DISabilities, but instead are their unique strengths.

 

"Carden: The Wheelchair Warrior" is a story of whimsy, courage, and individuality. The book follows Carden as she navigates a new school and takes her classmates on a journey through her imagination before eventually realizing the true warrior within her. 

The Inspiration

The idea to write Carden: The Wheelchair Warrior came from a dear friend of Pierre’s; Carden Wyckoff. The two met while taking a Diversity and Inclusion course at Cornell University and they immediately hit it off. Pierre asked Carden to join his company as an Accessibility Consultant; not only because she is a part of the community they were aiming to serve, but because she is a scholar in a multitude of topics. 

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Once he recognized that the alias Carden uses as she advocates for justice is “Carden: The Wheelchair Warrior” he was struck with inspiration. He wanted to merge his passion for empowering others, his love for storytelling, and his admiration for Carden to create something beautiful. Thus, with Carden’s blessing and guidance, he crafted a tale that tells the story of a young girl just trying to fit in on her first day of school. All too often, those who are different find themselves doing and saying anything to acclimate to the status quo. Carden is no different, using her wild imagination to exaggerate in order to fit in amongst her peers. But she will learn that children love regardless of age, race, physical ability, or gender.


I can’t give away any more! I encourage you to get a copy of "Carden: The Wheelchair Warrior" and join Carden on her empowering journey!

Meet The Team

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Pierre Paul

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Author

Pierre Paul is a young entrepreneur with a passion for empowering others. As a child, he was fortunate enough to have core memories of his father making time to read to him every night. He gained an understanding of how important it is to see people who look like you represented in our literature, movies, music, etc. His passion for helping others manifested in the creation of his company We Hear You®, a company that creates accessibility technology to help all people, but specifically those with disabilities. 

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Kiana Bannister

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Illustrator

As a self-taught artist, Kiana Bannister has walked many creative paths in her journey, across varied mediums and styles. Facing chronic illness since childhood, her passion for art was sparked by a Looney Toons coloring book, gifted by her mother during another long hospital stay. Since then, Kiana has worked tirelessly into young adulthood to cultivate her passion and talent. She hopes her work in Carden will help inspire other children to discover their own passions and express themselves - 100%.

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Carden Wyckoff

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Inspiration

Carden Wyckoff is a wheelchair warrior and disability advocate who believes in creating an accessible and equitable world for people with disabilities. Diagnosed at age nine with the progressive disability, Facioscapulohumeral Muscular Dystrophy (FSHD), Carden has never let it slow her down. If anything, it has only pushed her forward. The world has no shortage of barriers, whether physical or digital. 
Carden’s advice? Become an ally for the disability community by working to remove these barriers. Challenge yourself to implement strategies to elevate people with disabilities. Recognize your own bias by educating yourself on ableism and ableist language. Accessibility should be run like a business and included in every project. Hire people with disabilities. Ask people with disabilities to provide feedback. Nothing about us without us.

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Becca Foley

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Editor

Becca Foley works on the Newsroom Development and Support Team at the New York Times, which focuses on how journalism changes while adapting to reader’s needs. She focuses on training and support for the newsroom and print paper, but writes occasional articles in her free time. As a journalist, she is passionate about diversity in reporting and making sure everyone’s stories can be told. She currently lives in Manhattan with her french bulldog, Baxter. 

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