I Can, Too!

Kayla and Piper are busy children who love to move and engage with the world around them. Watson’s brightly saturated, warm and expressive illustrations introduce readers to the two girls as babies riding happily in their strollers. As they grow, Kayla and Piper share activities like learning to stand, bike riding at the park, hiking in the forest and swimming at their local pool. Both children participate equally in all activities, but they do so a bit differently from one another. Piper runs fast using her legs while Kayla rolls fast in her wheelchair. Piper zooms down the mountain standing on two skis while Kayla shouts for joy in a sit-ski.

Autio’s text is simple yet effective, using varied movement vocabulary to describe both Piper and Kayla’s development and daily life. Young readers are invited to notice differences between Piper and Kayla while also noticing the many similarities between them, making I Can, Too! a wonderful tool for supporting conversations about different lived experiences. In addition to Kayla and Piper, who present as African and Asian Canadian respectively, Watson depicts diverse friends and family members in the community. The book ends with a glossary highlighting the adaptive equipment used by Kayla. Each piece of equipment is visually represented alongside a description of how it works.

Available in both French and English, I Can, Too! is a book to love and share.