THE SCOOTER TWINS

Twins feel mixed emotions when their doctor recommends mobility scooters.

On Melanie and Melvin’s eighth birthday, Dr. Singh gives the siblings an “unexpected present”: She tells them that they should use mobility scooters for their long walk to school. Motorcycle-loving Melanie can’t wait to “zoom like the wind”; she’s “tired of being left behind.” Reading about curb cuts, which make sidewalks more accessible, lessens Melvin’s fears of falling, but he worries people will stare. And Grandma says scooters are expensive. They’ll have to sell one of Mom’s paintings—losing another link to their deceased parents. Palmer, a scooter user herself, sympathetically highlights how these devices are seldom marketed with kids in mind: The clerk at the Accessibility Store initially assumes that Grandma is the customer, and some scooter models provoke the twins to protest they’re “eight, not eighty” and “disabled, not dying.” Though both find their ideal scooters, the delivery is bittersweet; Melanie’s scooter is slower than she imagined despite its wolf-shaped handlebars, and Melvin refuses to move, even though his is “little-green-frog perfect.” But recalling their parents’ wise words bolsters their confidence. Mitigating the somewhat stilted dialogue, Sweeney’s warm-hued illustrations convey the twins’ emotions, and despite its “ancient” furniture, Grandma’s small apartment is cluttered with comfortingly cozy details. Melvin, Melanie, and Grandma have light brown skin, while Dr. Singh is cued South Asian.

An educational, reassuring take on disability and loss.