Emily's out and about making mischief

Meanwhile, great British athletes Sammi Kinghorn, Kare Adengan and Hannah Cockcroft are showing the world how their wheelchairs are no barrier to success.

In my work as an author, illustrator and Policy and Campaigns Officer at Disability Rights UK, I'm all about narratives that show positive, relatable stories of people who use wheelchairs— stories that match with the inspiring, active, intrepid people I know. The books I have created feature Brook, a confident girl who uses a wheelchair and wouldn't change her circumstances. She is the kind of character that I wish Emily had been exposed to as a child; her able-bodied friends and classmates too. In her debut, Brook travels to the moon, tapping into the childhood dream of being in space that so many of us share. Brook also goes on an escapade in a time machine, meeting different inspiring people who have used wheelchairs through the ages, and meets kids who are new to having a wheelchair, helping them see the transition needn't be scary. Throughout the series,

Brook is proud of her disability and empowered. My hope is that she will be a role model for the young readers who meet her, whatever their own abilities or background.

At the moment, there aren't many Brook-like characters in print, but my fingers are crossed that this is changing now, and for the better. The world has had too many safe, uninspiring stories about wheelchair users, and collectively they're taking a toll on us all.

Wouldn't it be brilliant to remove the air of pity and woe that too often surrounds wheelchair users and their families? If the default associations made by strangers were not set to "oh dear," "oh no," or "poor thing"? If the mainstream population could see that the limitations hanging over wheelchair users simply do not belong to wheelchair users themselves?

People in wheelchairs can be messy and complicated; exhilarated and extroverted; naughty, nice and everything in-between. They can aim as high as they want to, and then go further.

These are the stories we need to be sharing and hearing. That is the understanding that today's publishers can unlock. Brook's tale is just a small part of a wider narrative. It's time to write and shape that narrative for new generations, spreading the message that people in wheelchairs are… people. End of story.