What Happened to YOU? illustrated by Karen George and written by (disabled) author & literary agent James Catchpole is Joe’s story – a one-legged boy who just wants to get on with his game. Described as “the first ever picture book addressing how a disabled child might want to be spoken to”.
Published by Faber in 2021, a new US edition comes out with Little Brown in 2023. There are also Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, French and Korean editions.
What happened to you? Was it a shark? A burglar? A lion? Did it fall off?
Every time Joe goes out the questions are the same . . . what happened to his leg? But is this even a question Joe has to answer?
“Catchpole’s beautifully judged, child-friendly words ably evoke the fatigue and wariness of repeatedly being asked the same question rather than simply being accepted and allowed to play, while George’s warm images amplify the delight of shared imagination.” ― The Guardian
“With beautifully characterful illustrations and plenty of calming white space, it exudes gentle energy and humour to appeal to every child. This is a stunningly clever book” ― BookTrust
What Happened to YOU? is published by Faber and warmly illustrated by Karen George, whose previous books include Hugh Shampoo.
You can find more about Karen on her website.
And there’s more about the book, and James with his author hat on, on our family blog here.