Deaf boy's baseball superpower gives him courage to turn bullies into friends in a new picture book!

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - March 30, 2023 - PRLog -- April is Deaf History month. In the United States, there are an estimated 300,000 deaf or hearing-impaired school-aged children, according to the National Association of the Deaf. For these children, being able to relate to a character in a picture book is immeasurable, providing a reading experience that is a boost to the heart and mind. With his charming new picture book, Sky, the Deaf Home Run Hero:  A Lesson in Courage, author Mickey Carolan brings a story of bravery and friendship to young readers, the debut title in his Deaf Kids Can series.

Carolan did not have to look far for inspiration for this uplifting story. As a hearing child raised by two deaf parents, he witnessed firsthand the challenges that face some deaf children, namely being bullied for being different. As a legacy to leave behind for his own family and all families of the deaf community, it became Carolan's mission to create a book in which a deaf child can see themselves in the story and how they can make a positive difference.

In Carolan's story, young Sky is a boy who was born deaf, but it doesn't stop him from doing what he loves most: playing baseball. Eager and determined, he works hard on his skills until he notices that, swing after swing, every ball is hit, soaring out of the park…Sky has a superpower! Not hearing enables him to focus on the ball and hit home runs with ease. But when the bullies try to bring him down, baseball gives him the courage to face them and win them over, and "with every home run, a bully becomes a friend."

Having grown up as a CODA, or child of a deaf adult, Carolan shares, "This story was inspired by my late father, Sky, to whom sports were a great equalizer." And with Carolan himself a National Champion boys fastpitch softball player as a child, for his family baseball became a language that could speak volumes, giving a powerful voice when one felt unheard—or even a superpower. Carolan's Sky, the Deaf Home Run Hero:  A Lesson in Courage, the first installment in the Deaf Kids Can series, is available now wherever books are sold.

Carolan recently shared the story behind the book with Shelley Irwin on the WGVU Morning Show. https://www.wgvunews.org/the-wgvu-morning-show/2023-03-29...

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If you would like more information about author Mickey Carolan Sky, the Deaf Home Run Hero: A Lesson in Courage, and the Deaf Kids Can series, please contact mickey@mickeycarolan.com