FINDING A COMMON LANGUAGE: Children Living with Deafness; ON OUR OWN TERMS: Children Living with Physical Disabilities; ONE DAY AT A TIME: Children Living with Leukemia; SEEING IN SPECIAL WAYS: 'Children Living with Blindness; WE LAUGH, WE LOVE, WE CRY: C

These excellent books, imported from Sweden, focus on the humanity of their subjects, compellingly validating the American publisher's introduction: ""a disability should not be a cause for embarrassment, separation, and fear. Instead, it should be a reason for reaching out, sharing the joys, sorrows and hopes of our lives."" The approaches vary here, as do the children's ages: two toddlers are shown and described in detail in their treatment for leukemia; the several school-age blind children, who attend a boarding school, are quoted in an interview with the author; two retarded sisters live with their normal parents; children with a Wide range of disabilities are shown in vigorous physical therapy. Bergman is a splendid, notably compassionate photographer whose beautifully reproduced candid shots are informative, scrupulously realistic, and intensely, unsentimentally, appealing. His texts are clear, honest, and thorough. An exemplary brief for sensitivity and for the carefully individualized care needed to maximize each child's potential. Each book concludes with a section of answers to some questions from children; good suggestions for consciousness-raising exercises and helpful acts; a list of organizations; a well-selected bibliography of children's books; a glossary; and an index.